Well, looks like my S.A.D. (Shvat Affective Disorder) is on the wane, which is good. I get the blues every Shvat*, which is logical since it’s both that part of winter that just drags on a little too long, and for me personally, it’s a month with too many yahrtzeits** in it.

Anyway, my mother’s–that’s the big one, natch–just ended and I feel my spirits lifting already. Had some great experiences the last 24 hours crashing a couple of communities (Pardes and the Conservative Yeshiva) that let me sh”tz and say the Mourner’s Kaddish. People are so nice. I forget how much I miss having a daily minyan, since I’ve been mostly out of that loop this year, mostly davvening on my own during the week. Anyway, today had that bitter taste that 20 Shvat always does, but it got better the very moment that I finished Mincha. The Jewish calendar (in its daily cycle as well as more globally) continues to be smarter than me.

My birthday was a couple of days ago, and it was really sweet, too–friends and chocolate cake and stinky cheese, plus a bunch of people played HaRemez (aka the Israeli version of Clue) which made me happy even if I wasn’t one of the players. Did you know that stinky cheese really likes raspberry jam? Truly.

Plus I started Chapter 9 for real today, which is wayyy about time. Today I was asked to spill some more info about the project, so I will in the next few days (check the “About” tab above for some basics). No time just now–gotta start thinking about dinner.

*That’s a month in the Hebrew calendar.
**A yahrtzeit is the anniversary of a death.