Technology Fun ... Again...

I may be behind the times, but when I went clothes shopping with my teenage daughter yesterday (...trust me - I'd rather be Pesach cleaning.... I'd rather have root canal actually....), I was entranced by some liquid crystal glass dressing room doors. I'd never seen such things before.

When you pass by, they are clear doors and the inside of the dressing room is completely visible. When you step inside the dressing room, a motion detector triggers an electric current in the glass which renders it opaque. I wish I'd had the forethought to video the process for you (but I was a bit worn out from shopping with aforementioned teenager). Thankfully, I found a YouTube clip of just this phenomenon.

Have you seen this before?

Scene on the Web - Don't Think These Things Don't Happen

I wouldn't believe half this stuff, if I hadn't experienced a good number of these when I sat shiva for my father - INCLUDING the one where a visitor asked how old my mother had been.... (she was in the kitchen at the time....).

Sometimes less is more.

Purim at KAJ / Breuer's - The Choir Sings

For the past several years, the choir of KAJ has performed a medley of Lewandowski Purim songs for the enjoyment of those people who choose to stay a few minutes after mincha in shul on Purim afternoon.

Pesach Cleaning Finds - Part I

All right.
So, some part of Pesach cleaning has to be fun, right?

If it's not fun, we need to MAKE IT fun, because, as I remember Rav Schwab z"l telling a women's shiur many years ago, it's a mitzvah to come to the seder and feeling simchas Yom Tov, NOT wiped out, so clean accordingly.

This feat can be accomplished in many different ways.

First off "Staub ist kein Chometz" [German for "Dust is not Chometz...." - doesn't it sound more FUN in German ;)?] This means - step away from the windows, the cornices, the chandelier, the draperies (you heard me, Avram) and if you didn't do those before Purim, then they can wait until after Shavuos.

Joey, as a child, when cleaning his room used to have a rule that any interesting find he made during cleaning, he would don. This made for some wonderful Pesach cleaning photographs that without even asking, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have permission to share with you. But there's an idea for you, anyway.

Now my area doesn't yield such finds that are exactly wearable. I mean, on which body part would I put the 11 month old (dead) check for $23.99 from my insurance company? Sigh....

I DID find though, a fun sized candy bar (that may also be 11 months old.....) that I am definitely going to eat (as an experiment of course). I will let you know if chocolate goes stale in that time frame as soon as I do my important research.

I also found a sizable sum of cash whose origins I can't recall, but that will be long gone after Aisles 1 & 2 of my Pesach shopping spree have been traversed.

We also finally got down to counting and rolling all the money in the "spare change vase". Yes folks, we put it off so long that the little box grew to be a ten inch by five inch diameter glass vase, which we now know is capable of holding $65 in assorted coinage (Aisle 3 of the Kollel Store right there......).

I also reclaimed one nail scissor, two nail clippers, three plain white number 10 envelopes and about 8 CDs without any identifying labels on them......

I'll keep you posted as cleaning continues because I know that you are all just on the edge of your seats.

So to summarize: GO FORTH AND CLEAN BUT HAVE FUN!!! (and report to me in the comments section any "fun finds" of your own!)

Joey's Purim Grammen 2012

He was kind to me this year.
I only had to edit out one line ;)

Food Photo Friday - Purim Dessert

This was Jennifer's idea, and I thought it might be particularly fun for the younger set, while still yummy for "children of all ages".
Which Purim Character Cupcake would YOU choose? And why?

Group Purim Shot - Those Not "Blog Shy"

Happy Purim - The Early Returns

Just a few table photos to start you off.
First off - remember the corks I was looking for? Due to the largesse of several blog readers and others, we managed to amass enough for my new set of place card holders. Thanks to Eric and his nifty exacto knife kit (yes, a whole kit!) for making them so sharp and neat.

Good Shabbos To All