Unexpected Opportunities to do Random Acts of Kindness

Yesterday morning I had the radio on in the car while driving to the recycling drop off center. The DJs were going on about nothing in between songs. At one point they began reading the names of celebrities who were having a birthday. Then they read the names of local residents with birthdays. I don't know how they know whose birthday it is unless a family member or friend calls it in.

One of the names I heard was a woman who was stopping by my house later in the day to pick up some things I had posted on Freecycle. Her name is a little bit unusual, so I knew it was her.

When I got home I put a little gift together (including balloons and shiny, curling ribbon), put it on top of her bag of Freecycle items, and just left it there for her to discover.

I have never met this woman face to face. Our interaction has been only emails exchanged in reference to the Freecycle post I had placed and she had answered.

About mid-afternoon I heard a light knock on the door. I was in the middle of doing some things so did not answer it, thinking it might be a salesperson or traveling missionary.

Last night I got the following email from the birthday girl: hi ya i wanted to say thank you for the birthday bag .. hugs

I responded, telling her how I knew it was her birthday. I then got this email: i could not figure out how in the world you knew it was my birthday lol its been a good day thanks husband got me chinese food so would not have to cook and my 7 year old got me a cat cup cake and a card .. he is waiting for me to cut him some lol night (name omitted)

I am glad that I recognized an unexpected opportunity to bless someone with a random act of kindness. I was blessed by blessing her!

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Pirkei Avot 1:2: The world stands on three things: on the Torah, on the service (of G-d), and on acts of loving-kindness.

Pirkei Avot 6:9: When a person departs from this world, neither his silver, nor gold, nor precious stones nor pearls accompany him; only his Torah and good deeds.

Shabbat 127a: People who perform acts of loving kindness will be rewarded by G-d in this world [during this life], and rewarded a second time in the next world.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Something on a Stick Day!

March 28 is National Something on a Stick Day. So I decided to make foods on a stick for our Deckard Shabbat Spread. We have been having a special "spread" for many years now every Shabbat.

I love doing this, and my family loves that I love doing it. On Shabbat day I put out our main meal buffet style and we call it "the spread". Sometimes it is just Lance and me. We have the spread whether we are at home or at the cottage.
Many times Laurie will call and say they are coming over for the spread. I always enjoy having the girls here with us for our Shabbat meals (or any other time, for that matter).

I always try to have special foods, fruits, and desserts that we don't have during the week. But no matter what we have I like to set it out in pretty dishes, display it beautifully, and make it a true celebration meal. We honor Shabbat by eating tasty foods. And today those foods are on a stick.

I hope you enjoy the pictures and descriptions.

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I love corn dogs, but since I stopped eating meat that is not certified kosher I have not been able to have a corn dog at the mall or fair or anywhere else. It has been 10 years since I have had a corn dog. A couple of years ago while at the mall I had a fried cheese on a stick. It was absolutely delicious. I would not even want to guess how many fat grams and calories, as well as high sodium content was in that thing. But it was a wonderful treat.

So today I decided to try to make cheese on a stick.

First I set out all the ingredients for the batter - which I looked up on a recipe website since I had never done it before.



I then cut the cheese into chunks and put a stick in each piece.






I mixed the batter.



I then put the shortening in the pan to melt and heat it.





After it was hot, I put the battered cheese chunks into the grease to cook.



I did not choose the correct type of cheese to use because most of it melted into the pan. Next time I will probably try cheddar or some other kind that is harder so it won't melt so quickly.



I have to say that, in spite of them not being gooey like the ones at the mall, they still tasted pretty good. I used a VERY HOT mustard for the dip. Yummy!

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The other foods on sticks that I prepared for our spread:

Corn on the Cob



Salmon (We had to eat this with chop sticks since I did not know how to get it on a stick.)



Pickles and Olives



Boiled Eggs sprinkled with Paprika



Bean KaBobs (soy beans and garbonzo beans)





Fruit KaBobs (strawberries, cherries, banana chunks)



Jelly Beans



When I set everything out for the spread I added our American and Israel flags (on sticks) for a reminder to pray for our troops today and also to pray for the Peace of Jerusalem and our dear Rabbi and his family who live in Israel.

Noahide Seminar in Dallas Texas

I am just now getting around to making an entry on my blog about a wonderful three day Noahide seminar I attended in Dallas recently. It was great to learn from Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum from Jerusalem, Israel and to study with other people living a Torah based life.

It was held in the DATA of Plano shul. The meal on Sunday was catered by Cafe Fino and was delicious I might add. My dear friend, Andrea Woodward, spent a lot of time, effort, energy, and money to put it together, and it was a great success! I appreciate all she did.

I met some new people that I hope to stay in contact with - although I have not been very good at doing so thus far. It seems I always have too many projects going on if I am at home, or I don't have internet availability if I am at the cottage, which is as often as I can get down there.

Andrea is planning another seminar in June. I plan to attend (G-d willing) and can't wait to learn more about living a better life.