Checking In

[gnomi]

(checkin', checkin', checkin'...)

Item the first: no new stove yet today, alas. The stove guy never showed up. Hopefully tomorrow, hopefully before Shabbat.

Item the second: After they saw my fridge last night and today, a couple of different people said that I had to post photos of what my (now eight or nine rounds of) Refrigerator Tetris fridge looks like. So, here they are:












Many, many magnificent people have come by during the three days and nights that we had posted hours for shiva. Tomorrow morning we'll have shacharit here again (as we have the past three days), and then, though mabfan will still be sitting shiva, I will be getting ready for Shabbat (I? am out of clean socks. A pre-Shabbat laundry is in my future). And hoping that the oven is delivered. At chatzot (the religious definition of mid-day, which tomorrow is at 12:59 PM), mabfan is allowed to start doing his own preparations for Shabbat (and certain things that have been prohibited for him all week become permitted due to the impending arrival of Shabbat). On Shabbat morning, his shiva ends, so we will take a symbolic walk around the block, and then we'll head to shul (synagogue).

Comments

[norda.livejournal.com]

That's not a fridge, that's a TARDIS.

::::gentle hugs to both of you, and a peaceful Shabbat::::

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

Wonderful talking to you both tonight.

Does that white box with red lettering say "World of Cheesecake?" Is it a new module for World of Warcraft?

[malkaesther.livejournal.com]

Wow that is a lot of food. May your stove be installed in the morning and shabbat prep go smoothly.

[eal.livejournal.com]

And my first thought:

Wow, you're prepared if P ever comes to visit -- you have Redi-Whip :). That and some coffee and he's all set.

Is the symbolic walk aroud the block a you thing or a Jewish thing that I didn't find in my reading to understand the shiva/grieving process.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

I was going to look for my Tetris piece but I think I'd need x-ray vision. :-) Hope the stove comes on time!

[zsero.livejournal.com]

World of Chantilly. It's a bakery in Brooklyn, NY. Someone must have sent a box from it to the house in Queens, and then it got taken up to Boston.

[zsero.livejournal.com]

Going for a short walk immediately on getting up from shiva is a fairly common Jewish thing. I don't know whether it symbolises anything deep and meaningful, or it's just to get out of those four walls after being cooped up inside them for a week. Probably the practical reason came first, and then it was overloaded with symbolism.

[zsero.livejournal.com]

12:59? I think you meant 11:58.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Heh. I keep saying I need a Refrigerator of Holding (like a bag of holding, one in which you can put everything you need and you always have space).

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Actually, the kosher bakery up here carries them. The cake in question was purchased at the bakery on our corner and brought by the head librarian of the Brookline Public Library.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

It was wonderful to talk to you, as well. Thanks so much for your call.

And while there is a cheesecake on top of that box, that box contains a black forest cake from World of Chantilly.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

...though I think a World of Cheesecake is an excellent idea. :-)

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

The rabbi told me 12:59 PM when he came last night with part of Shabbat dinner for us, and since he's my halachic authority, I'm going to follow his ruling.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Heh. Your Tetris piece has been transformed into a smaller Tetris piece (read, Glad container), as we ate most of it the first day and a half of the shiva locally.

When Mr. Cohen was here for shacharit this morning, he said he'd call and lean on the stove guys to make sure they come early.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Yes, indeedy. I've been saying we're going to have to have over a small army to eat all the food. This is in no way a complaint. The community has been amazingly generous.

And thank you for your good wishes; I'm hoping the stove will come within the next hour or so.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Heh. The Redi-Whip is for when I don't feel like making whipped cream myself (I use it for topping my chocolate cheese pie, which I made a bit ago to go with some Shabbat meal or other, and I bought the Redi-Whip in case I didn't have time to whip the cream).

And, as zsero said, it's a Jewish thing. It's supposed to be a walk with no particular destination, which is why we're not just going to use the walk to synagogue as that walk. Instead, we'll walk a circuitous route to synagogue, with an extra loop around our block to begin with.

[lisafeld.livejournal.com]

*blinks* Wow, that's a heck of a lot of food! You clearly have a lot of people who care about you.

A peaceful and healing shabbat to you both.

[zsero.livejournal.com]

Either he misread a digit from the chart he was looking at, or whoever compiled it thought we would already be on Summer Time, or he wants you to wait an hour after noon. Because noon in Brookline today is at 11:58.

[zsero.livejournal.com]

I didn't know they exported. Cool. They make good stuff.

And now that I looked for it, I find that they take orders over the web.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

We do, and for that I am very grateful.

Thank you! And a very good shabbat to you, as well.

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

I was wondering: would you fine people like some doughnuts? They need no refrigeration and they are yummy and also well-hekshered.

[malkaesther.livejournal.com]

It is great the way community helps.

I have a "minhag" of waiting a week or two before bringing food to people as so much is brought the 1st week and then it sort of drops down to nothing. So locally, I try to do something the following shabbat (for shiva, for a baby) as I figure people are still trying to get their bearings.

[jonbaker.livejournal.com]

I think the symbolism is the pragmatic thing, in this case: one is getting up from shiva. Remember, the whole thing is stages in reintegration with the world. The onen is completely inner-directed, lost in grief, except for what needs to be done for the burial. The shiva person is starting to deal with other people, but restricted to the home, and restricted from things that will make hir happy. To demonstrate that you can go out in the world again, you ... go out into the world. Take a walk around the block. Then in shloshim/year, you're in the world, but still not quite of the world.

[jonbaker.livejournal.com]

I saw tote bags labeled "bag of holding" at Arisia in the dealers room.

With the split shiva, you didn't get this - your local friends were warned, and had time to prepare before you got there: When Debbie was sitting for her father, well, the first couple of days NOTHING came. I had to buy/cook for ourselves. Then Shabbos came around, I figured nothing was coming, so I had my mother make shabbos dinner for us. Then the rebbetzin shows up with shabbos dinner as well. Then the food started coming. At the end, some of it just rotted, because there wasn't time to eat all of it before it went bad.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Um, almost...

We sat at my mom's for the first two days, so we had a split shiva as well.

You cooked one meal for the first day we were home, and that night the rabbi brought food anyway, and then we had a fridge full to bursting by the next day.

Your mom prepared the meal of mourning, not Shabbat - we had Shabbat covered because we went to Alex N's dinner honoring the yarzheits of his parents on Friday night, which we thought was appropriate (and, yes, Sarah still made food for us.) And I got up from shiva Sunday morning.

[eal.livejournal.com]

Thanks for explaining this to me. Because my education on Orthodox tradition is so weak, I'm often asking this kind of question. I'm always a little awed by the generosity and patience everyone shows when I ask.

[eal.livejournal.com]

Yes, well, you know me -- never met a question I was afraid to ask. Witness our discussions of Sam's 'Passover' diet. Silly girl -- keeping Passover restrictions year round in an Episcopal house.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for the offer, but I think we're good for now. :-)

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Hope your stove is comfortably settled by now.

[aunt-becca.livejournal.com]

The pictures are impressive! If only people could have seen fridge-tetris in action.....
We will gladly help you consume the mass quantities of food :)