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It's Officially Summer!

You might have thought it was summer when the pool opened on May 26, and it was really hot, mais non. Then you might've guessed it was June 15, when school let out extra-early since there had been no snow days all winter (last year was June 22!), but you again miscalculated. What about June 20, the summer solstice? Nope. Last week, when temperatures hovered close to 100° for several days and I—yes, I!—actually submerged myself in the pool for the first time since 2010? Wrong again.

No, my friends, summer began yesterday, when we packed up the car and headed to Good Harbor for a magnificent beach day. Alas, I have no photos to share with you to prove that we were there, but I assure you that it was a splendid day all around. Sun, sand, surf, and fried food were enjoyed by all.

Today was Pete's first day of soccer camp, and for once the weathermen earned their keep by accurately predicting a 100% chance of powerful thunderstorms. About an hour after drop-off, I received a call for pick-up. Tomorrow is expected to be better—I sure hope so, because losing even 1 whole day out of a 5-day program is kind of a big deal. And the following day we drop Steph at camp for 2 months! We've done it in the rain before, and it ain't pretty. Let's all cross our available appendages for dry weather, shall we?

Just a Few Photos

Every day I play a little waiting game where I decide whether to post a few more photos from Pete's Bar Mitzvah or just wait until I get the whole batch in. So far I keep being disappointed, so today I'll go the Murphy's Law route and post some, secure in the knowledge that even more, even better ones will likely show up tomorrow.

Here we are before the whole thing began. Don't we clean up nice?

And here's the Man of the Hour, posing with the Torah that he was about to read from:

Our temple was completely torn down and rebuilt a couple of years ago, and it still takes my breath away. Here's a shot of the sanctuary taken by our friend:

It is huge and magnificent but at the same time warm and intimate. I still get a little choked up during services when I look around.

Remember the sign-in poster I made? Here are Pete's friends doing their thing:

Oh, and that amazing dessert I told you about? Here's a shot from Linda, the caterer:

Yum! More to come!

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up with Strings

We take this brief break from Bar Mitzvah–related posts (more photos to come soon!) to bring you another installment of My Favorite Things:

1. We finally saw The Avengers on Sunday! It was awesomely fun, and Robert Downey Jr. is still the be-all and end-all as far as I'm concerned. I know everyone thinks Scarlett Johansson is really hot, but she does nothing for me, and plus she was really overdoing the Stride Purposefully With Serious, Determined Expression thing. My favorite line of all was when Jeremy Renner's character Hawkeye, a whiz with bow and arrow, hitches a ride hanging onto Iron Man, who says, "Better clench up, Legolas!" Did I mention how much I love Robert Downey Jr.?

2. Remember a few years ago when everyone downloaded the free Bump app? The idea is that you go to a convention, "bump" your iPhone with someone else's, and instantly exchange contact info. Very clever, except that I've never actually been to a convention, so it sat unused on page 4 of my app library. Until now! I didn't realize (or maybe this is a new thing) that you can also bump to exchange photos—so, for instance, if I take a cute photo of Gracie, I can then bump iPhones with Andy and he instantly gets the photo (and can instantly delete it). But wait, it gets way better. You know how when you take a photo on your iPhone, and then in order to get it on your iMac you have to email it to yourself (or sync or whatever), which is a pain? Well. Now you go into the Bump app, select the photo(s) you want, walk over to your iMac, go to the Bump website, and tap your iPhone onto the spacebar. The photo is transferred instantly, and you can then download it, get a link to it, or share it on Facebook. Like magic. (Also works with Androids, PCs, and other alien lifeforms.)

3. Look at this very cool photo from Paramount Pictures in honor of their 100th birthday. You can hover your mouse over people if you can't recognize them.

4. This is fun: 33 Perfectly Timed Photos. (And another one here, via @PammyBean.)

5. I think I must be a bad person, because I thoroughly enjoyed this 2-minute video of runway models falling off their ridiculously high heels. (via @MsRedPen)

What We Ate

You might recall that after Steph's Bat Mitzvah, I swore that you'd have to be out of your mind to have a party in Boston and not use Linda Marino at La Bonne Maison caterers. Well, I'm no fool, so once again we wowed our guests with the best food they'd ever had at a party. Really: I can't tell you how many people said that to me. Not, "The food was delicious!" or "Everything was wonderful!" but "Oh. My. God. I've never tasted anything like this!" and "You must get me this caterer's card!"

It was very tempting to go with the identical menu as last time—everything was that good. But Linda reminded us that June is different from February and also that it's fun to mix things up a bit. So we did—but just a bit. The kids had pretty much the same fare as last time with just a few minor substitutions, like mini quesadillas for the mini pizza hors d'oeuvres and garlic bread for the rolls and butter. There was no way we were messing with the make your own sundae bar for them!

The weather was magnificent, so the grownups had their cocktail hour out on the lovely new patio just off the social hall at the temple. We kept some of the same hors d'oeuvres as last time and swapped out a few others:

Petite Filet Mignon with Herb Butter
Sesame Salmon Skewers with Lime Ginger Sauce
Asian Tasting Plate: Peking Ravioli, Shu Mai, Tempura, and Spring Rolls
Crispy Manchego with Claret Syrup
Wild Mushroom Purses
Baby Lamb Chops with Tarragon Mustard
Asparagus Wrapped in Puff Pastry

For me, the standout was the fried chunks of breaded manchego cheese with claret syrup. I think I had approximately 300 of them.

After we made our way back inside and found our seats, the first course was served. Last time I couldn't make up my mind between soup and salad, so we had a little of both. Same this time, but with a summery twist. The salad consisted of Arugula and Mixed Greens with Pink Grapefruit, Shaved Fennel, and Fried Capers. It was tossed with cider vinaigrette and served with a crisp cheese straw lying across the plate. And right next to it was a gazpacho shooter—the best I've ever had. I had planned to take photos of everything and everyone; as it turned out, I took exactly one photo the entire day:

The shooter looks like a full-size tumbler from that angle; in truth it was about 3 inches tall and maybe the diameter of a quarter. Yum.

Then came the main course: Statler Chicken Breast with Port-Soaked Figs and Toasted Hazelnuts. It tasted exactly as awesome as it sounds. (Statler means partially boned.) It was served with a risotto cake and jardinière of spring vegetables. Our friend Chris got a photo of that:

Then, for dessert, we again went for an assortment. This time Linda found these lovely plates in the shape of an elongated teardrop. At the bottom was a thin wedge of very rich chocolate cake. In the middle was a scoop of Lemon Soufflé Glace with Raspberry Sauce—like a very fluffy sorbet. And at the top was the most ginormous strawberry, dipped in dark chocolate, and then rolled in shredded coconut. I took one bite and thought I'd died and gone to heaven. We were all too spell-bound to take a photo, I'm afraid. [Update 6/20/12: Here's a photo of it!]

Believe it or not (I sure didn't!), a week ago we got a letter with the date for Julie's Bat Mitzvah—in December 2014! I have so far done only one thing about that: Told Linda to block out that date for me.

The Big Day

I may never touch ground after yesterday. I will try to hover down here near the keyboard for long enough to tell you what a soul-lifting experience Pete's Bar Mitzvah was. 

Pete's been working hard since the beginning of October preparing for his Bar Mitzvah. When his friends were playing sports or computer games, he was having tutoring sessions at the temple. (For those who don't live in a city with a 30% Jewish population as I do and thus have not been to hundreds of Bar/Bat Mitzvahs over the years, the ceremony marks the fact that the child has reached adulthood in the eyes of the community and is ready to take on all the responsibilities that entails. It also means that he or she gets the honor, for the first time, of leading the congregation in prayer by chanting and teaching from the Torah. Suffice it to say: It's a big deal.) 

Like most 13-year-old kids, Pete was not exactly thrilled at the prospect of getting up in front of all his friends and extended family members to sing and speak. And many of you know from blog posts of years past that unlike most 13-year-olds, Pete is a stutterer, so any kind of public speaking event is more of a challenge for him than for others. Pete's been stuttering since about kindergarten, and the various speech pathologists he's seen all suggest that it's likely he always will. 

But here's the thing: Although he certainly wishes he didn't stutter, he doesn't let it stop him from doing anything. He has a million friends. And a girlfriend (whoops, you didn't hear that from me). His teachers report that he never hesitates to participate in school, even volunteering to act out a scene or make a presentation. He readily answers the phone, which is normally the last thing a stutterer wants to do. Etc. And everyone who knows him just knows that that's a part of who he is, and they couldn't care less. 

But it did mean that Pete had to work a lot harder than most kids to prepare for his Bar Mitzvah, and it was not necessarily easy or fun. And guess what? He hit it out of the park yesterday. Whether in Hebrew or English, speaking or singing, he did everything the best I'd ever heard him in any practice session. Sure, he got "stuck" a few times, but he persevered. And when he finished and breathed a very visible and audible sigh of relief, I think everyone had to sit on their hands to not applaud (which you just don't do at a Bar Mitzvah, even if you really really really want to). 

Andy and I had to prepare a little speech, a blessing of sorts, and the whole thing was about how Pete is quite possibly the nicest person either of us has ever met. He has a truly good heart, and there's a sweetness about him that people have always been drawn to. And probably going along with that is the fact that he's a very emotional kid. At several points during the service—particularly when Andy and I were up there with him, delivering our blessing—his eyes filled with tears. And then mine did. And then Andy's did. And before you knew it, there was not a dry eye in the sanctuary. And it was all because everyone was so happy and proud of this great kid. (Yes, I'm crying again.)

Oh yeah, and then we had the best party ever, details of which will come.

I'm still waiting for the photographer to email me a few photos, but luckily our dear friend Chris (Dad of Pete's pal Timmy) snapped several hundred at the party and uploaded them as soon as he got home. (He does the same thing after every school or sports event, too—just another reason we're glad that Pete is friends with Timmy!) First, the proud and happy parents:

And then the Bar Mitzvah boy himself (having already removed his suit jacket and tie), along with his sisters (having already donned glitzy necklaces being handed out by the DJ):

Stay tuned for more....

Arty! Crafty!

Today was a day I was dreading a little bit, because it required me to step well outside my comfort zone, which generally does not include arts and crafts. But I'm happy to report that I rose to the challenge!

Remember for Steph's Bat Mitzvah when I made a poster for her friends to sign? Well, today was Pete's turn. Once again I visited A.C. Moore, spent just a few bucks, and ended up with a perfectly respectable poster. I took a dark blue foam board, stuck on mirror-y letters to spell PETE, then cut out stars from glittery silver foam, and stuck them all on. The kids will sign in silver Sharpie. 

Not bad for a non-crafty type, eh? (Please refrain from mentioning anything about the kerning. I know. Thank you.)