Pre Shabbat odds and ends

Tomorrow I am giving a d'var Torah about the vestments of the High Priest. If you are around, stop by.

I have cooked Shabbat dinner but I will skip the description this week.


This week I have rediscovered the value of complaining well. I had called Verizon to check on when they planned to actually fix our phone. When I was told  April 26, after I hit the roof, I realized that not giving phone service from January 25 to April 26 might actually be a legal problem for Verizon. I called the fabulous people at 311. They connected me to the New York State utilities board. The lovely woman I spoke to was appropriately outraged. Two days later, my phone was reconnected.

Our internet has been intermittent (at best). yes, this too has been provided ( if you can call it that) by Verizon. After a looong talk with a rep at Verizon I have been upgraded to the "Escalations" office. It's like old fashioned customer service. I have a case number and responsive people to take care of me.

I might be rejoining the universe soon.

While I was waiting I mended my late mother-in-law's tablecloth.

Ida owned lots of these printed cotton cloths from the 1940's and 50's. The prints are charming, not exactly beautiful but I am really fond of them.

Ida rarely used these on tables when she served meals when I knew her. The dining room table was covered with layers of plastic tablecloths by the time I met her. These cotton cloths covered ratty beach chairs, stacks of boxes or other things she wanted to hide. 

I like layering these quirky cloths on my larger tablecloths. The often incongruous pairings amuse me.

There is something so comforting about the act of mending something several decades older than I am. My mother loved a beautiful table cloth. A nice piece of napery just gave her great joy.  My mother's initial reaction to Ida's cloths was to sniff at them because they were made of lowly cotton and not linen.

Eventually, after eating many meals at my table my mother told me that she too found certain nostalgic charm in these not exactly beautiful cloths. 

Shabbat Shalom!