I have a bunch about to happen, and I've done very little, spiritually or physically, to prepare for them. And they're staring me in the face now - we have to give money to our synagogue for reserved seats (*not* tickets - no one is refused entry for the Holidays, but if they don't reserve a seat, they risk not having one. This is a result of "Three Day a Year" Jews - people who only go to shul on Rosh HaShanah (2 days) and Yom Kippur (1). Given the way I've been acting the past few months, I could be one of them. I've been sleeping in more often than going lately.), and I have to plan meals that are sufficiently festive and yet follow all our restrictions, and get enough clothes so I can dress appropriately for three two-day holidays and one one day holiday, all made much easier because the two-day holidays all fall on weekends this year., so I don't have to worry about both the Holidays and Shabbat.

This year already promises to be different in many respects. 1. We will be in our new synagogue, whose liturgy is closer to what Jonathan grew up with than in our old one, and the rabbi is a much better speaker with greater learning than our old one. 2. We have permission from our landlady to use the rear of the house to build a sukkah, a booth in which we will have all our meals for the week of Sukkot. We have never been able to do this before. I'm excited, Jonathan is worried because it means buying the booth and the furniture to go in it, and then *storing* them.

Jonathan bought a shofar, a ram's horn, on Friday. He's wanted to own one for years. I'm not sure why.

I have to buy new clothes. I hate buying new clothes, but I need them, and it's sort of required. Also, it's going to be hot because they're so early. I will live. I found a nice jacket/skirt combo on justmysize.com that will do also as a winter shul outfit, so I'm partway there.

First night of holidays are Fridays, so I'll make chicken. We've been eating chicken once a week anyway. I'm making sea bass for second night Rosh HaShanah, figuring it's festive enough. I'm making lasagna for second night Sukkot.

I've never cooked for the first night of Sukkot before. In our old synagogue, we had a communal dinner the first night, and last year we'd moved the day before, so we went to friend's. We haven't gotten invitations yet, but whatever happens, happens.

I'm making lamb chops for second day lunch, because it's Jonathan's Hebrew birthday and I used to make steak. He can't eat steak anymore, but he can eat lamb. We'll live on dairy casseroles, as usual, the rest of the week.

No one ever cooks for Simchat Torah. Not really.

The women in this area have a women's service for Simchat Torah so that they can dance and sing with the Torah scrolls. I don't go. One is that it's rather far from where I live, so it's a very long walk latish at night. But the other is that Simchat Torah is my father's yarhzeit, and I need to be with an Orthodox-style minyan so I can say Kaddish. The responsibilities of feminism take precedence over the fun.