A New Year for Trees

Well, dear friends, I've made it thru the first three weeks of tax season and I'm still kicking! (Just barely some days, but kicking just the same. LOL!) Things will be more than hectic for a few more weeks and then they'll slow down to a more reasonable rate. So please hang in there with me.

This week we have Tu' B'Shuvat. That's Hebrew for "the fifteenth of Shuvat". This is the eleventh month of the Hebrew year and the 29th of this month (which is the 15th of Shuvat) is the day we start over on figuring out what we're to tithe from our trees produce for giving to YHWH. Now, since there isn't a Tabernacle in Jerusalem anymore, we really don't have to count out a tithe and send it to Yerushalyim. But it's also when we plant new trees. Dodi would like to get a couple olive trees, but I don't think they'll grow here in our area. Our second choice would be a pomegranate tree. Little Critter and I LOVE to eat pomegranate. So it'll be fun to search out a new tree for our yard. (not to mention figuring out where we have room to plant another tree!!!!)

For Shabbat this week, our congregation is planning all sorts of wonderful foods made from things from trees. I'm planning on making some old fashioned Kolaches with apricot and prune fillings, pear and pomegranate salad (it's wonderful!!!!) some date logs and possibly a walnut encrusted fish to go with our salad and barley soup. Oh, and I was asked to make cinnamon sticks for the congregation. So I have lots of cooking to do this week just for Shabbat. I wonder what I'll cook for our meals this week.....hmmm. Forgot to think that close to home....worried more about getting everything I'd need for Shabbat. Oh boo!

Our scouts will be having their car races. Little Critter has done a really good job on his car....in my humble opinion. And my little cubs all made some great looking cars. It'll be interesting to see who wins the races. I'll try to get a pic of Little Critter's car after the race and post it. He did it himself with Dodi only helping him put the tires on. And I helped him draw the letter Zayin on the trunk. It's also the number 7 which was the number he wanted his car to have but he wanted it in Hebrew. He even took one of the little Star of David's we used at Hanukkah that missed being put up and placed it on the front of his car. It really looks cool!

All other things are going well. Work is busy, but really going quite smoothly. Still a little trouble with our afternoon receptionist, but she's young (really young) and a bit immature. So I'll have to continue doing some retraining on how to deal with folks with her. But the rest of it's going well. Wow, I don't know what's going on outside, but that's the third set of sirens I've heard going nearby. I'd better get off here and start praying hard for the emergency personnel and whoever they're going after. Ya'll have a great week, be blessed and don't forget to thank Papa for the beautiful and varied trees He made for us. I'll try to post again before next week, but no promises. Shalom. Spitfire