Sing it with me!!! Matzo-Matzo Man!!

Today was the day that Melanie and Lorie prepared for Passover. We drove into Milwaukee, and we immediately went to the Kosher Meat Klub. Despite it's name, it is not exclusively meat. Melanie was warned by our Rabbi that we could find the prices a bit high at this supermarket, but we were delighted at not only the prices but also the selection! This place was a DREAM! (I mean-- as much as you can dream about Matzo Meal, I suppose!!) We normally would go to Madison, and we would spend much too much on only a portion of what we needed. This year, we spent much too much, but we walked away with about two to three times more than we normally get for about the same price! It was splendid! Look at our haul---
















We also had a chance to visit a bit with Lorie's parents and Melanie's dad.... of course, these visits included us showering our parents in gifts! Lorie's parents got newspapers (her mom was sick, so we thought that she'd need some reading material) as well as donuts, cherry juice concentrate, and fish oil! (YUM!-- just take a shot of fish oil followed by a chaser of Cherry Juice! It's a new kind of martini for old people!) Melanie's dad got some shirts and a whole bunch of food from the Polish store including bread, sausage and liverwurst. (I know, I know.. yuck.... and not kosher, right?) We also went over to visit Lorie's sister. We figured that we shouldn't deprive Lorie's sister with the chance to have a nice, surprise visit with all the family showing up at her door! (just in time for Gizmo, Lorie's sister's dog, to poop on the floor.) Lorie's sister made fresh cookies for us and then told us stories about nail fungus and foot corns.

All in all, today was a strange, yet very nice day.

Purim Pigs and Plants

Today was the annual Purim Carnival up in Wausau. For those of you that aren't Jewish, Purim is a Jewish Holiday that celebrates the failure of Haman's plot to destroy the Jews. (Scroll of Esther) Everyone is supposed to be in costume and drink a LOT! Many were in costume, but there was no drinking. (this is a family event folks!) Melanie was lucky enough to win first place in the adult costume division. She went as a pig (already ironic at a Jewish Temple, no?) in lipstick with a "Miss Alaska" sash on... can you guess who she was? (Hint: I got all "Maverick-y"











Also, here's a HINT of Spring... typically, when Purim rolls around, we know that it's time for the spring thaw. One would never know this by looking out the window (we have a winter storm warning right now...), but we do have a hint of spring to show to you---- SEEDLINGS!!!!!!




We're amazed at how well the grow lights are working. Lorie had a brilliant idea to install this lighting system in our spare bedroom. This will save a LOT of money because we can now start everything from seed. Melanie practices a form of gardening called "Square Foot Gardening", and for those of you that don't know about it, you should learn it! It's amazing! It's very little work, and the crop yield is fantastic. You'll certainly get more pictures as the sprouts develop and reach to the sky! Spring has Sprung!