We learned last night that my sister-in-law and brother-in-law evacuated from their Santa Barbara home and went up the coast to safety. They aren't sure about the state of their house but they are grateful to be out of harm's way.
This morning I woke up to the news of the bombing in the tunnel between the Port Authority and the subway. Fortunately, nearly all of the damage was born by the man who tried to blow up his fellow New Yorkers.
I hope that tomorrow brings better news.
Meanwhile, I wanted to share some unexpected pleasures of our trip.
The first was shul. It was my mother-in-law's yahrzeit last Monday. We found an egalitarian evening minyan in Austin. AQs it is often the case, while in the rest of the world there are six degrees of separation, among Jews, it is often only two degrees of separation.
It is not a surprise to discover that the rabbi of the synagogue knew our rabbi. That is to be expected. It was nice to discover a college classmate of my sister's among the attendees and to also discover some other lovely connection between her family and mine.
I was also completely charmed by this old ark carving. The ark itself is new but the carving looks like it was made during the very early days of the 20th century.
The red painted mouths on the lions make them look a bit like Iris Apfel.
During our Sunday in Houston, our cousin and her boyfriend took us on a walk in downtown Houston. My husband and I love old architecture. I stopped to take this photo of the entry of an art deco bank.
The guard invited us inside.
This morning I woke up to the news of the bombing in the tunnel between the Port Authority and the subway. Fortunately, nearly all of the damage was born by the man who tried to blow up his fellow New Yorkers.
I hope that tomorrow brings better news.
Meanwhile, I wanted to share some unexpected pleasures of our trip.
The first was shul. It was my mother-in-law's yahrzeit last Monday. We found an egalitarian evening minyan in Austin. AQs it is often the case, while in the rest of the world there are six degrees of separation, among Jews, it is often only two degrees of separation.
It is not a surprise to discover that the rabbi of the synagogue knew our rabbi. That is to be expected. It was nice to discover a college classmate of my sister's among the attendees and to also discover some other lovely connection between her family and mine.
I was also completely charmed by this old ark carving. The ark itself is new but the carving looks like it was made during the very early days of the 20th century.
Every detail of the bank had been thought through and embellished.
The guard clearly loves the building and kept leading to see and notice details that we might have missed.
The guard asked us if we wanted to see the elevators. We did.
Our visit was as satisfying as a great meal.
We continued our walk until we got to the oldest Episcopal church in the city. We walked inside only to hear their excellent choir rehearsing a funeral mass. We sat and listened.
Reviewing the day over dinner that night I thought about the rich experiences we had had during the day and then realized that while our senses were well fed, the experience hadn't cost a penny.
Sounds lovely,
ReplyDeleteI forgot you were still in Texas. I thought about you when I heard about Port Authority. I hope your sister-in-law and family do not lose their house. But I am glad they have made it safely away.
By the way on the photos, I can only see Iris and the elevator. (Which makes it sound like a modern pop band!)
Sandy
Sandy, sorry I wasn't clear enough. We got home late Wednesday night. I was unable to do much posting while I was away and am just catching up with my photos and blog posts. I can email you the photos of the bank and of the synagogue ark.
ReplyDeleteYesterday morning we were all safe, although my husband and I walked through the tunnel that got bombed on Saturday evening to avoid the wet snow on the street.