In Progress

Thanks to the kindness of a friend with both skills and the patience to fiddle around with Hebrew fonts, I was able to transfer the tallit blessing onto a piece of silk using inkjet transfer paper. How cool is that?

The embroidered text is the Hebrew blessing one says when putting on the tallit. It's kind of silly in a way, because everyone who needs to know it usually gets it down pretty quickly. Like most Hebrew blessings it follows a standard format with a few words tossed in at the end for the particular occasion. Still, it's pretty standard to include the text on the atarah, which is the piece that helps the wearer figure out how to put the tallit on.

I'm not so great with embroidery though it's one of many skills I'd like to improve and use more often in my projects. But I'm really enjoying this part. It's not terribly challenging (other than I really need those bifocals now) but each letter is different and requires an assessment of how to fill the space. It's a little bit meditative and not hard to re-do when I screw up. Oh, and it looks smashing, if I do say so myself.

Don't Forget to Vote

For those in Oregon, I just wanted to throw out a reminder to vote. Now.

It's too late for the mail, but you can drop your ballot at numerous sites throughout the state until 8 pm on Tuesday, May 20.

I kind of lost interest in the presidential race when my guy dropped out but I'd planned on writing him in on the primary ballot. However I gave up on that idea once Edwards endorsed Obama. I really hoped he would keep his mouth shut and keep working on the progressive issues no one else would touch. Politics as usual, I guess. Obama might get some white guy votes. I wonder what Edwards will get out of it.

At least I got to vote for this guy, a true progressive with a vision for our state that includes universal health care, affordable college for everyone, and a serious attitude towards global warming.

My boys asked me to take them to yesterday's Obama rally here in Portland. I probably should have but the combination of heat and crowds, not to mention my general lack of enthusiasm for Obama made me say "no". I don't think we were missed among 70,000+ people who did show up.

He's OK, I guess. I'll vote for him but I just can't seem to do so with the passion and starry-eyed awe that so many Obama supporters seem to exhibit. What am I not getting?

Silver Linings

One of the exciting things about becoming a bar mitzvah is that it is the first time a young person gets to wear a tallit in public. Most families we know make a big deal out of the tallit. Either one is specially made after much consideration, or perhaps handed down from a relative. With a weaver in the family (my mother), we expected nothing less than handwoven for The Dark Lord's bar mitzvah. MonkeyBoy, on the other hand, was offered weaving lessons from a good friend and the opportunity to make his own which seemed like a very generous and exciting offer at the time though even then I suspected it would be too much given this friend's often poor health.

The weaving lessons began well over a year ago and MonkeyBoy and his teacher have had great times together. To date I've seen exactly one completed project and became understandably worried giving the rapidly approaching event. I was reassured numerous times that all was well and on track. Then, quite suddenly, with exactly 4 weeks to go, I was informed last night that it would be impossible to complete the project on time. Now I find that with approximately 275 things I need to complete before June 14, I have the added obligation of finding Mr Picky a tallit that would satisfy him. This is the boy who hand colored 80+ invitations so it's safe to say he has his aesthetic standards and takes them seriously. Also, Portland is not New York City or even Los Angeles. We don't have nice Judaica shops where we could browse and compare and we've had no interest in risking mail order.So what's a crafty mama to do? I still have most of the bolt of silk I used to make my tallit years ago and MonkeyBoy found that acceptable. We spent quite some time gathering trims and supplies today and I have to say that I was surprised by the colors that drew him. This is a kid who normally goes for crazy bright colors. The yarmulkes we ordered for the bar mitzvah are purple velvet with silver rickrack, of all things. But what really caught him today was some lovely but rather sedate ribbon with a ginkgo design in slightly off greens. We used that as a starting point and chose accent fabrics and trims accordingly.

There aren't a lot of rules about this particular garment's construction except that it must be 4-cornered, with tzitzit at each corner. The tzitzit are sets of strings tied in a precise formula, kind of a Jewish macrame if you will. These four sets of threads on four corners are the only clearly proscribed element and I've seen lovely variations on this basic idea including elegant vintage lace and exuberant Guatemalan ikat.

While I expect to be doing most of the work on this myself, I realized there was no reason why MonkeyBoy couldn't learn to run the sewing machine and make the corner squares through which the tzitzit will be threaded. Tonight we retired to the cool of our basement for sewing lessons and he did well though I did mention that there was little point in my drawing seam lines on the fabric since he seemed to be ignoring them anyway.While I really wish time wasn't a factor, I am delighted that I get to do this for (and with) my son.

Whew!

With the help of a little Valium I made it through 3 hours in the dentist's chair yesterday for a root canal and two crowns. While the dentist and his staff are very kind and patient but I think what really made yesterday tolerable (apart from the Valium) was that for the first time ever, a dentist actually listened to me about my sensitivity to epinephrine and used an alternative anesthetic. The alternative's effect is much shorter so I ended up having somewhere around 14 separate injections. My mouth is quite sore today, but it's so minimal compared to not feeling like I'm having a heart attack. I really think all my dental anxieties over the years can be directly traced to this one drug which is bad for me. What a different experience when someone actually listens.

So, for anyone in the Portland area, needing an excellent mercury-free dentist, do let me know. I get a $20 credit for each patient I refer. Since I still need another $2000 worth of work before my mouth is mercury free, every little bit will help.

Bee Pants and the Dark Lord's Face

How's that for a title?

I mentioned The Dark Lord's Mother's Day gift to me in yesterday's post. Wow! Is this kid gorgeous or what?

He asked me why mothers hate long hair. I thought about it and realized I have absolutely nothing against long hair and often find it quite fetching. Except on my boys. It's not about looking respectable or tidy. It's just that I want to see their lovely faces and when their hair is short I don't have to wait for the occasional parting of great drifts of hair to get a glimpse. I know I drove him crazy staring at his face which has changed so much in recent months. I think the girls at school gave him the seal of approval today. What do mothers know anyway?

I spent a few minutes finishing up the promised Bee Pants for The Princess. I can't even begin to describe how delightful I find the bee ribbon which I added around the hem of these loose, comfy, summery linen pants. I think I might need a pair myself.

Happy Mother's Day

Many years ago, shortly after The Spouse and I got married, I went to school with "an older woman", the mother of a teenage daughter. I remember her telling me that one her favorite ways to spend time was sitting in a cafe with her daughter, reading, writing, and talking together. My goodness, that sounded like the most idyllic thing in the world but something I doubted I'd ever achieve. Even before having kids I had my doubts about parenting a teenager.
So where does Mother's Day find me? In my favorite cafe with The Dark Lord who is writing a paper for English class. He's a little stressed out, so our cafe interlude hasn't been quite idyllic, but given how many kids refuse to go out in public with their parents, I'm pretty pleased. He's even come up with Mother's Day gift for me. I'll have to pay for it, but I don't mind. He's getting his hair cut!

Now if it's tangible gifts I needed, thank goodness for 5 year old girls. The Princess has been steadily cranking out fabulous, sparkly Mother's Day gifts for me and squirreling them away for the better part of a month. There's a necklace made with glitter and styrofoam, a tiny paper fan that has the word love written all over it, an embroidered bookmark, and a card, all wrapped in a bag Sharpie-printed all over with the word MOM. Am I lucky or what?

I have friends struggling to come to terms with infertility and other friends waiting to adopt. I know today can't be easy for them. I don't know what the future holds for these families, but I know that things often unfold in ways we can't even imagine. I am thinking of them today, too, even as I celebrate my own blessings as a mother.

As if I have anything to complain about....

My dental woes are pretty small potatoes compared the the devastation of Myanmar by Cyclone Nargis. Now they're predicting over 100,000 dead. 100,000 children, fathers, sisters, grandmothers, farmers, students, babies....I can't even begin to fathom such a number. They're reporting over a million homeless and extensive damage to the Burmese rice crop which could worsen the global food crisis.

Much of the tragedy, as I understand it was avoidable. The cyclone was not a surprise. How many people would still be alive had the government done its job and given evacuation orders?

I made my donation through American Jewish World Service, just one of many worthy organizations doing good work to help in this disaster. The urgent need for food, shelter, drinking water, and medicine is likely to continue for a long time.

Facing Fears

In a remarkable show of bravery, I faced down one of my biggest fears today. I went to the dentist. Over the years my dread of going to the dentist has grown to such epic proportions that anything (rolling naked in broken glass, for example) would be preferable. I'm a good mom, I take my kids regularly but I tend to stay out of the chair unless something really drastic pushes me to go.

I have a broken molar with an exposed filling which has been leaking mercury into mouth for a couple of months. About the amount of time I've been feeling lousy as it happens. My doc suggested I deal with it as soon as possible and after scaring myself silly reading about the effects of mercury on autoimmune diseases I decided maybe I could call the mercury-free dentist nearby. When a $100 coupon for new patients appeared in the neighborhood paper I took it as a sign and made the call.

The dentist is kind and quiet and his staff is very friendly. Everyone was sensitive to my tendency to panic in the dentist's chair. I don't think I could have asked for a a better experience. I wish I could say it was one of those cases when all my worry was for nothing but, in fact, my mouth is a mess and I need up to $3000 worth of work immediately, with another $2000 to make my mouth truly mercury free.

That's a lot of money, especially when I'll be paying off my hospital adventure for a couple more years. And MonkeyBoy's bar mitzvah is approaching quickly. It would be easy for me to make excuses and put this off because I can think of many far more exciting ways to spend that money. But I guess I need to be a grownup and deal with it. At least I feel a tiny bit braver about things......