Rosh Hashonah 2026

 

Sundown tonight, Friday (also the beginning of Sabbath) is the beginning of the Jewish High Holidays. Friday night and alll day Saturday we celebrate Rosh Hashanah which is the Jewish New Year. The following is from the Judaism 101 site. 

In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, "head of the year" or "first of the year." Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. There is one important similarity between the Jewish New Year and the American one: Many Americans use the New Year as a time to plan a better life, making "resolutions." Likewise, the Jewish New Year is a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year. 

It is customary during Rosh Hashonah, the Jewish New Year, to start fresh and cast your sins into the water.  This is called the tradition of Tashlikh. This afternoon, Larry and I will travel to the closest body of water to our house, the Ballona Creek flood channel, and cast our sins off!

One of the many traditions during this holiday is to eat something sweet to make sure that you will have a sweet and happy New Year.  We dip apples in honey or eat some delicious honey cake. Sometimes, I will cook a simple dinner of roast chicken, noodle kugel (with raisins for sweetness) and carrots cooked in butter, brown sugar and a bissel orange marmalade.  The carrots are cut into little circles to represent coins to symbolize wealth in the New Year.

It's always good to review your life for the past year and think ahead to what you'd like to accomplish in the coming year. We all make mistakes throughout the year. The difficult thing is to try and correct those mistakes or to not repeat them. I'll give it my best shot! 

Larry's Birthday 2024

On Sunday night even though our City was mourning over fire damage and considerable loss, I did not want to let Larry's birthday go un-celebrated!  We drove up to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and dined at Shirley Brasserie.  

I do love the Roosevelt Hotel.  It's a part of Hollywood history.  The hotel has undergone massive restorations in the past 20 years and really looks beautiful. The lobby at night is a bit dark and scary, but I guess you could call it Hollywood Noir!

Shirley Brasserie is the fancy restaurant at the hotel.  There's a coffee shop on the street level, different bars, etc.  It's called Shirley Brasserie after Shirley Temple! It seems that Shirley learned her tap-tastic dance up those Spanish tiled stairs right outside the restaurant from Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.  The photo below is from the actual film, "The Little Colonel" (1935).

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Shirley Temple, "The Little Colonel" (1935)

We were the only couple in the entire, huge restaurant at first.  People started coming in a bit later. We figured that because it was Sunday night and the town was watching TV to see where the next flames would strike was the reason.  Luckily, our house is out of the danger zones.

Shirley Brasserie at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Dinner was lovely!  We started out with a Caesar salad and French Onion Soup.  I had the Duck Breast in Orange Sauce with Spinach for my entree and Larry ordered the New York Steak with mini-potatoes.  We topped off our meal with their Chocolate Mousse with Espresso Cream!

Everything was really delicious and I would definitely return to this elegant place the next time we have something to celebrate.  The atmosphere is sophisticated and serene!

The Magnificent Lobby at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Rosh Hashonah

Sundown Wednesday is the beginning of the Jewish High Holidays. Wednesday night and alll day Thursday we celebrate Rosh Hashanah which is the Jewish New Year. The following is from the Judaism 101 site. 

In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, "head of the year" or "first of the year." Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. There is one important similarity between the Jewish New Year and the American one: Many Americans use the New Year as a time to plan a better life, making "resolutions." Likewise, the Jewish New Year is a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year. 

It is customary during Rosh Hashonah, the Jewish New Year, to start fresh and cast your sins into the water.  This is called the tradition of Tashlikh. This Wednesday, Larry and I will travel to the closest body of water to our house, the Ballona Creek flood channel, and cast our sins off!

Click to make larger.  So, THIS is how gefilte fish is made!

One of the many traditions during this holiday is to eat something sweet to make sure that you will have a sweet and happy New Year.  We dip apples in honey or eat some delicious honey cake. Sometimes, I will cook a simple dinner of roast chicken, noodle kugel (with raisins for sweetness) and carrots cooked in butter, brown sugar and a bissel orange marmalade.  The carrots are cut into little circles to represent coins to symbolize wealth in the New Year.

It's always good to review your life for the past year and think ahead to what you'd like to accomplish in the coming year. We all make mistakes throughout the year. The difficult thing is to try and correct those mistakes or to not repeat them. I'll give it my best shot! This year, my Cousin Lauren is having a Rosh Hashonah dinner at her home.  I look forward to having challah and honey with my cousins and her besties.  

The Summer Olympics in Paris

Oooo!  It's so exciting to watch the Opening Ceremonies to the Summer Olympic 2024 on TV.  They are in Paris this year!  The ceremonies are being held on the streets of Paris, not in a traditional stadium!  WOW!

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 1932 Olympic Summer Games

Los Angeles was the host city in 1932 and then again in 1984.  We will be hosting again in 2028.  there's a LOT of work to do to get our City ready by then!

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 1984

It was a glorious 2-1/2 weeks in Los Angeles in 1984 when we hosted the Olympics. Many residents, fearing extra traffic and crowds left town for the duration of the games. People curbed their driving. There was no smog. The weather was perfect. I attended many events in person, which was a thrill. It was a wonderful time in Los Angeles.

Santa Monica Beach L.A. Public Library Photo Archives

My Dad attended many of the events during the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. I even have a printed program from the 1932 opening ceremonies at the Coliseum where my tween-aged Dad pasted newspaper clippings of his favorite Olympic swimming star, Johnny Weismuller!  Mom and Dad both volunteered for the 1984 Olympics.  It was a proud day for both of them, having experienced TWO Olympic times in their home town.

The Olympics makes a city do some wondrous things. For instance, the renaming of 10th Street in Los Angeles was renamed Olympic Boulevard for the 1932 Summer Olympics, as that was the occasion of the tenth modern event. Tenth Street School, at Olympic and Grattan, was founded in 1888 and has kept the original name. Parts of the old 10th Street exist as smaller streets near Hancock Park, in Westlake, and in the Central City East area southeast of Downtown. 10th Street stopped at the eastern edge of 20th Century Fox Studios. It picked up on the western side of the Studio as Country Club Drive. Below, see Shirley Temple at the 1939 bridge dedication at the Studio. Subsequently, this bridge was torn down, but another, structurally safe Olympic bridge exists, connecting to Century City.

The Olympic Boulevard bridge dedication, connecting the north and south portions of 20th Century Fox Studios, 1939.  Shirley Temple, presiding

In 1932, Helms Bakeries became the official bread supplier for the Olympics. The company’s signature “Olympic Bread” was packaged in distinctive wrapping that sported the famous five-ringed Olympic symbol. The recently restored Helms Bakeries neon sign still proudly advertises that Olympic history.

Helms Bakery Neon

Have fun for the next two weeks watching the Olympics and cheering on our teams!  Go USA!

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend is the kick-off for summer!  It is also a day to remember all the people who have served, and are serving, in the armed forces; our surviving veterans; and to honor those who have died in past wars.  Thanks, guys! Wikipedia's description of this day, Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 28th in 2018). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. women and men who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War), it was expanded after World War I.

Summer also means backyard barbecues, parties, the beach and vacations! We are experiencing some cloudy and cool weather here in Los Angeles right now.  We call it "May Gray," which leads to "June Gloom."  Eventually, we'll have plenty of sunshine.  Savor the coolness while it's here!

Photo by Nicole Houff

My local ukulele group, The CC Strummers are having their annual Memorial Day Potluck on Sunday.  It's always fun, full of great food selections and excellent conversation!  We are also holding an Open Mic with about 10 participants. Ukulele has changed my life!  I hope you also have a fun weekend planned. Try to stay out of traffic and just enjoy your current surroundings. There's a lot to be said for a home-grown holiday!

Birthday Week 2023

B-Day carnations (my faves) from Mr. Larry

I've been on a birthday roller-coaster since last week!  My actual birthday was on Thursday, July 20th.  We had lunch with Mollie and Jeffrey on Monday (Miolie's b-day is 7/23) at Bodhi Thai on Olympic Blvd. in BH.  Delicious! Tuesday, I finally passed my obligatory written CA-DMV test.  When you reach a certain age (ahem!) you are required to re-take this tricky test!  On Wednesday, some of the Ladies of the Uke took me to lunch at our fave place, Jackson Cafe.  

On Thursday, the big day, I was greeted with flowers and gifts from my Sweetie! After my online ZOOM ukulele class with Cali Rose (where the group sang "Happy Birthday" to me), Larry and I embarked on our b-day field trip.

6th Street Bridge View from the Street Below

First stop, the Sixth Street Viaduct Bridge. The original bridge built in 1932 was torn down in 2016 and replaced by 2022.  This is the longest bridge in L.A. spanning the L.A. River, The 101 Freeway and the I-5 Freeway. This bridge looks totally different from the original and the other bridges cross the L.A. River, which are Art Deco in design. It's a modern miracle.  The bridge was so popular and unique when it opened, that people were performing all kinds of stunts on it, driving too fast, getting into accidents, jumping off, etc.  It had to be closed numerous times for these knuckleheads!  It's been a year since the bridge opened, so we figured we'd be able to drive across without closures.  No such luck.  We got there and police activity had closed the bridge.  So, we drove around underneath and took a few pictures.

We head over to Al & Bea's  Mexican food stand on East 1st Street in Boyle Heights for lunch.  They make the BEST bean and cheese burritos!  I haven't eaten anything else there because the beans in those burritos are so flavorable, but I'm sure everything is good!  There's always a guy playing popular tunes on his guitar out front.  It's a pleasant and delicious time at Al & Bea's.

The famous bean and cheese burrito at Al & Bea's doesn't look like much, but it's divine!

On our way back home to Mid-City, we drove down to Whittier Boulevard (which transitions into 6th Street on the other side of the L.A. River).  The 6th Street Bridge was open!  We finally got to drive across.  A park environment will be built beneath and surrounding the base of the bridge in the near future!

Driving across the 6th Street Bridge, east to west

We stopped at home to rest up a bit before the next leg of our birthday field trip. Later in the afternoon we headed over to the newly refurbished Hammer Museum in Westwood. The lobby has been remodeled with some added gallery space.  We toured the galleries and generally enjoyed the atmosphere.

Yarn installation, "Uncertain Journey," by Chiharu Shiota in the Lobby of the Hammer

A crocheted man met us in the first gallery

Selections from the Hammer's contemporary collection

An entire room made out of particle board by artist, Roland Reiss

Mixed media piece by Noah Purifoy

For dinner, we tried out the Santa Monica branch of Bludso's Barbecue on S.M. Boulevard at 14th Street.  The BBQ was delicious!  The restaurant operations and staff could use a bit more time to get up to speed, but all-in-all it was a great experience.

I have a few more lunch dates this week and next!  Thanks for all of the cards, gifts and greetings!

East Side Los

Candelas Guitars, 2724 East Caesar Chavez Ave., Boyle Heights

We took a ride out to Boyle Heights this morning to visit Candelas Guitar Shop.  Candelas has been making premium acoustic guitars since the 1920s. They also make ukuleles!  I tried out this beautiful tenor ukulele at the Folk Music Center in Claremont last week and I loved playing it.  I wanted to see if the source had other ukes available.

Candelas "Heart" Tenor Ukulele at The Folk Music Center, Claremont

We met the owner and master luthier, Tomas Delgado and his son, Tomas, Jr. at Candelas.  They were both super-sweet and gave us a tour of the shop. We tried out a few ukuleles. They all had a beautiful sound to them. Considering the workmanship put into each ukulele, the prices were fair, just a bit more than I am willing to spend.  Many famous celebrities own Candelas guitars and ukuleles! They will customize an instrument for you to your exact specifications. It was a great visit, one that I will never forget. If you're looking for a custom, high-end instrument, Candelas is the place to go!

Ellen with Tomas, Jr. and Tomas Delgado at Candelas

After all of that decision and non-decision making, we were hungry!  We drove around the block to Al & Bea's Mexican burrito stand. Their bean and cheese burritos are SO DELICIOUS! It's comfort food at it's finest!

Larry at Al & Bea's, Boyle Heights

There was a really good guitar player sitting on the sidewalk next to Al & Bea's. His name is Sergio and he played every pop standard and Mexican oldies song while we had our lunch!  Smooth playing and excellent chord melodies!

Song stylings by Sergio Villaneda

We drove back over the bridge and headed for home, but not before stopping at the Brooklyn Bagel Bakery on Beverly Boulevard to pick up a dozen bagels for future use!

I LOVE LOS ANGELES!

Thanksgiving at the Office

Kevin's Perky Turkey Sugar Cookies

Happy pre-Thanksgiving to all! I hope you have a marvelous, stress-free day. Next Thursday. About 18 of our family will be convening at my cousin Carolyn's home in Valencia. We're all helping with the dinner.
If you want to contribute to your family's Thanksgiving feast, you can bake Kevin's easy Perky Turkey Sugar Cookies, pictured above. We used to have a progressive Thanksgiving lunch at my office. Everyone brought a dish.

Here's my interpretation of Kevin's recipe:
Get some of that Pillsbury Sugar Cookie dough in the deli aisle of your supermarket...you know, the kind you slice down. In the cake section, pick up some squeezable cake frosting in white, orange and black. You'll find candy corn in the candy aisle. Bake the cookies according to package directions. Smoosh a bit of white frosting on the top curve of the cookie, smash in the candy corns. Draw in the eyes, beak and turkey gobbler neck with the proper color of frosting! Done! Proudly serve your Perky Turkey Sugar Cookies!

Another marvy recipe gleaned from a co-worker is Jelled Cranberry Mold. Rochelle brought this divine dish. As you can see by the photo below, I liked it alot.

Office Progressive T-Giving Luncheon

Rochelle's Jelled Cranberry Mold
1 large box cherry Jello™
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 can crushed pineapple (blue can with syrup)
1 cup chopped walnuts
Dissolve the Jello™ in 2 cups boiling (or very hot) water. Add all the other ingredients, mix well and chill...that's it!
Rochelle's tip: She usually switches bowls after dissolving the Jello™ since it leaves a grainy coating on the bowl. Next, she adds the cranberry sauce and uses a fork or spoon to really mash it up well (so you don't get chunks of cranberry sauce)...then the crushed pineapple and lastly the nuts.

The only bad thing about eating out for Thanksgiving is that there are no leftovers! I love these recipes so much, that I'll probably whip them up after the big day, along with a turkey breast, some yams, stuffing and creamed spinach for my sweetie pie! Barbie has the right idea.  Serve plastic food. No muss, no fuss!