On FRIENDS, there's an episode where Chandler has his "nubbin" removed and it appears to remove his funny as well. I've commented before on how my blog is not as funny or interesting as it was originally, but today it's worse than ever. I have tried to write a whole blog post on the fact that I've been MIA for the last week due to a saga culminating in the removal of my gallbladder. I swear there are some puns and some jokes in there somewhere but I can't come up with them. I wish it was because the drugs were so good, but they're not. They didn't give me many and the only supplemental pain med I can take is Tylenol. I believe Tylenol is Latin for PLACEBO THAT DOES NOTHING.
While I am really grateful that the surgery went well, I am sad because this was the weekend we'd set aside as our weekend to clean, plus we're missing a friend's choir concert and our pastor's last Sunday. He's preaching on Philippians 1-4 today a different sermon for each service, we were going to make a day of it going to each one. The silver lining was going to be listening to it live streaming, but this message greeted us this morning was: ATTENTION LIVE STREAMING Is UNAVAILABLE TODAY Due to a Lack of Internet Connectivity in the Meetinghouse.
Best laid plans and all that. . .
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Ketubah
See and you all thought being engaged might mean I blogged more! At least I haven't lost my personality completely now that I am an engaged woman. I am blogging about wedding stuff again though (so maybe I am becoming a little obsessed -- becoming, ha, who are we kidding?).
When we first started wedding planning (and by that I mean week two when I had come up with two plans, our break up plan and our getting married plan), my boy and I decided we'd like to have a formal rehearsal dinner with all of our out of town guests, our family and a few very close friends who live in Boston. We had known all along we'd like a casual wedding where we could invite everyone we know and love, but we also wanted something a little more formal, for those closest to us.
I had heard about Quaker weddings from a friend of a friend and I thought they were a lovely idea. In the Quaker wedding ceremony there is no pastor leading the service, it's an unprogrammed service where the friends surround the couple and as the Spirit leads they say blessings, prayers and bible verses. I thought it sounded absolutely lovely. A perfect way to start a marriage. Also, my boy is from the Quaker state, so I felt like it was a little nod to his roots (even if his family isn't Quaker and they're from Amish country --they're not Amish either). It also reminded me of what the ketubah signing has evolved into for a lot of Jewish weddings; an opportunity to gather together with a small number of close friends and family in an intimate moment prior to the whirlwind of the ceremony.
It turns out that Quakers also have a wedding contract that they have signed by all those present and which they hang in the center of their home just like Jewish families have for generations as well. My boy and I want a ketubah (I'm calling it that even if it's more similar to a Quaker marriage certificate for us because we're Christians). Well really I want a ketubah and my boy is very supportive of all things honoring my Jewish (on the wrong side) ancestry. I think that may stem from his love of Challah, noodle kugel, and latkes, but you know what? I think that that would just make my people even more happy. My people are all about the food ya know.
We want a ketubah hanging in our home to show the world the commitment we've made. We want it to remind us (when we're less than thrilled with each other) about that commitment. We want the ketubah, hanging with all its signatures, to remember all those people who were there with us when we made that commitment and who also committed to support us.
When we started thinking about a getting a ketubah, we thought back on something we'd seen in one of the art galleries in Rockport, MA. It was microcaligraphy done by Leon Azoulay, he creates art illustrating parts of the Torah or important Jewish prayers/blessings and underlying it all in tiny Hebrew lettering is the entire book of the Torah, prayer or blessing. The problem was, that as amazing as they all were we weren't sure that any that were meaningful for a wedding/marriage were something we'd want to hang in our house for the rest of our lives. . . .
When we were in the same gallery we were struck by an artist, Charles Fazzino, who did amazing 3-d work. It's pop art and it was a lot of fun. Also, it turns out, though he's not Jewish, his love of Jewish related things came through food too (so how could we not love him?):
Unfortunately, though he does do ketubah's and he has a lot of fun art work, we're not alone in being charmed by his work. A ketubah he created was apparently featured on platinum weddings. We are not in the platinum wedding league. . . Even the non-commissioned items seem above our, very limited, price range, so while we might be tempted to get one of his works because we think we could live with it for the rest of our lives, we can't really afford the price. So we're still sort of stuck on the Ketubah front.
We're also stuck on the Quaker marriage/rehearsal dinner front. I was really excited when I found out about Elephant Walk having a "benefit restaurant." We're having a circus theme for our wedding so Elephant Walk sounds like it fits in and we love benefiting something in the process of doing something we'd already do. It's sad that we've worked really hard so that our guests can get everywhere via public transportation and the benefit restaurant is out of town, but we could probably figure something out. What made me even more sad though, was when I realized that we couldn't do a benefit dinner. I mean it's perfect pricing and half of the cost goes to a charity of your choice!!!! Unfortunately, it's only good on Mondays and as much as I'd like to finagle something with our wedding, the only Monday we have to work with when everyone will be here, would be the Monday after our wedding and then it's not really a rehearsal dinner anymore, more like a redundant dinner. . . .
We keep putting off worrying about these two fairly important facets of our wedding celebration figuring it will work itself out. I do have a nagging voice telling me that we don't have that long to plan. Decisions need to be made. Commitments formalized. You think I'm speaking figuratively; I'm not. While she hasn't said these exact phrases, especially about the two topics I've mentioned, my sister has actually been the one to make me the most anxious about the impending deadline of our wedding! So if you have rehearsal dinner ideas of kettubah's you think we could live a lifetime with, let me know. . .
When we first started wedding planning (and by that I mean week two when I had come up with two plans, our break up plan and our getting married plan), my boy and I decided we'd like to have a formal rehearsal dinner with all of our out of town guests, our family and a few very close friends who live in Boston. We had known all along we'd like a casual wedding where we could invite everyone we know and love, but we also wanted something a little more formal, for those closest to us.
I had heard about Quaker weddings from a friend of a friend and I thought they were a lovely idea. In the Quaker wedding ceremony there is no pastor leading the service, it's an unprogrammed service where the friends surround the couple and as the Spirit leads they say blessings, prayers and bible verses. I thought it sounded absolutely lovely. A perfect way to start a marriage. Also, my boy is from the Quaker state, so I felt like it was a little nod to his roots (even if his family isn't Quaker and they're from Amish country --they're not Amish either). It also reminded me of what the ketubah signing has evolved into for a lot of Jewish weddings; an opportunity to gather together with a small number of close friends and family in an intimate moment prior to the whirlwind of the ceremony.
It turns out that Quakers also have a wedding contract that they have signed by all those present and which they hang in the center of their home just like Jewish families have for generations as well. My boy and I want a ketubah (I'm calling it that even if it's more similar to a Quaker marriage certificate for us because we're Christians). Well really I want a ketubah and my boy is very supportive of all things honoring my Jewish (on the wrong side) ancestry. I think that may stem from his love of Challah, noodle kugel, and latkes, but you know what? I think that that would just make my people even more happy. My people are all about the food ya know.
We want a ketubah hanging in our home to show the world the commitment we've made. We want it to remind us (when we're less than thrilled with each other) about that commitment. We want the ketubah, hanging with all its signatures, to remember all those people who were there with us when we made that commitment and who also committed to support us.
When we started thinking about a getting a ketubah, we thought back on something we'd seen in one of the art galleries in Rockport, MA. It was microcaligraphy done by Leon Azoulay, he creates art illustrating parts of the Torah or important Jewish prayers/blessings and underlying it all in tiny Hebrew lettering is the entire book of the Torah, prayer or blessing. The problem was, that as amazing as they all were we weren't sure that any that were meaningful for a wedding/marriage were something we'd want to hang in our house for the rest of our lives. . . .
When we were in the same gallery we were struck by an artist, Charles Fazzino, who did amazing 3-d work. It's pop art and it was a lot of fun. Also, it turns out, though he's not Jewish, his love of Jewish related things came through food too (so how could we not love him?):
"My Jewish art collection actually started with my discovery of Kosher food,"
remembers Fazzino. "I went to the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan and I was
always discovering new restaurants, but as a struggling artist, I couldn't
afford the finer ones. That didn't matter anymore once I discovered the delis on
the Lower East Side. I LOVED them! I was soon exhibiting in the Village art
shows and thought the Jewish delis would be an appealing subject, and they were.
I began incorporating entire streets in order to capture the unique culture of
the area. Eating the food and painting the street scenes led to more research on
my part into the people who made this wonderful food. That, in turn, led to my
growing knowledge and appreciation of Judaism. I didn't just wake up one day and
decide to paint the Star of David. I have spent years researching and
appreciating the Jewish faith, and my Jewish collectors seem to appreciate my
view of their religion through a gentile's eyes."
Unfortunately, though he does do ketubah's and he has a lot of fun art work, we're not alone in being charmed by his work. A ketubah he created was apparently featured on platinum weddings. We are not in the platinum wedding league. . . Even the non-commissioned items seem above our, very limited, price range, so while we might be tempted to get one of his works because we think we could live with it for the rest of our lives, we can't really afford the price. So we're still sort of stuck on the Ketubah front.
We're also stuck on the Quaker marriage/rehearsal dinner front. I was really excited when I found out about Elephant Walk having a "benefit restaurant." We're having a circus theme for our wedding so Elephant Walk sounds like it fits in and we love benefiting something in the process of doing something we'd already do. It's sad that we've worked really hard so that our guests can get everywhere via public transportation and the benefit restaurant is out of town, but we could probably figure something out. What made me even more sad though, was when I realized that we couldn't do a benefit dinner. I mean it's perfect pricing and half of the cost goes to a charity of your choice!!!! Unfortunately, it's only good on Mondays and as much as I'd like to finagle something with our wedding, the only Monday we have to work with when everyone will be here, would be the Monday after our wedding and then it's not really a rehearsal dinner anymore, more like a redundant dinner. . . .
We keep putting off worrying about these two fairly important facets of our wedding celebration figuring it will work itself out. I do have a nagging voice telling me that we don't have that long to plan. Decisions need to be made. Commitments formalized. You think I'm speaking figuratively; I'm not. While she hasn't said these exact phrases, especially about the two topics I've mentioned, my sister has actually been the one to make me the most anxious about the impending deadline of our wedding! So if you have rehearsal dinner ideas of kettubah's you think we could live a lifetime with, let me know. . .
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