<$BlogRSDUrl$>
THE WEISS CHRONICLES
Chronological Account of the Weiss family with contextual remarks, some weather, sports and other news.
You can write to me at: mhw20854@yahoo.com
The people in the Weiss family are: Martin, Ann, Beth and George. I also sometimes write about other people or our pet.
Friday, June 24, 2016
Flower Picture for last Sabbath in June
This is another pre Sabbath flower blog post.
The tallest flowers are day lilies.
The flower bunch leaning to the left are roses.
The flower leaning to the right is a giant lily - first of the year that I've noticed (its also very fragrant).
The one at the bottom is the first purple cone flower I've noticed.
For scale, the Panda is about 5" high.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Extra Base Hits not a recipe
Scott Kazmir started last night for LA against the Nationals.
He has a season ERA of about 4.5 as of this post.
In the 6 innings he pitched against the Nationals, he gave up 2 HRs and 4 doubles but only 2 runs.
I don't recall ever seeing any 'scattering' of hits like this before.
Washington Post story on the game is here.
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Square Plates
We got a new set of stoneware several weeks ago. Last Sabbath was our first use of the new plates, bowls and cups.
The first image shows the new stoneware. It also shows the roses from our Sabbath flowers, another view of which is below by a few blog posts.
We decided to get a set with square plates.
This was partly because I've noticed, at the catering company, that some very upscale functions insist on square plates. I'm guessing this is some sort of statement being made for example, "we're not afraid to be different" or "we're better because we've improved" or some such.
We still have round plates for Passover.
While doing this, I remembered that a hostess of a late night horror movie series named Elvira (real name was Cassandra Peterson) famously (well maybe not that famously because I doubt if that many people remember it) marketed her movie within a movie, "Elvira, Mistress of the Night" with the phrase, "Be there or be square".
That's her in the second image (although it seems to have been a daylight parade).
A Father's Day Memory - although with an anti climax
Yesterday, the Washington Nationals were playing on the west coast. The game began about 10:00pm EDT 18 July.
The National's starter, Max Scherzer, pitched well for 6 innings. He gave up only one run and struck out 10 with no walk (Scherzer's walk to strikeout ratio is amazing). The National's 7th inning pitcher got the side out in his inning and the National's had a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the 8th. The National's 8th inning pitcher was Felipe Rivero (first image). Rivero (now pitching on 19 July EDT, that is father's day) gave up 3 hits, walked two and fumbled a ground ball to the mound that should have been a double play. He was charged with 6 runs (5 earned) and failed to get a man out.
This reminded me of something my father asked me at least three times as we watched numerous Senator pitchers blow leads over the years.
Dad would ask something like,
"The warm up catcher in the bullpen has caught this pitcher dozens and dozens of times. Can't this catcher just tell the manager when the pitcher doesn't have his stuff and they can warm someone else up?"
The short answer to this question seems to be "No" (that's the anti climax).
A somewhat longer answer is that the warm up catcher can tell if there is some major problem with the pitcher (say he is throwing way too high) but not if some subtle defect exists. In the case of Rivero's performance, none of the hits against him were hard hit and his fumbling error was obviously not something a bullpen catcher could foresee.
Friday, June 17, 2016
Weekly Flower report
The tallest flowers in the vase are some day lilies.
The purple one on the right is a Siberian lily.
The pink flowers below the Siberian are roses.
The ones at the bottom of the vase are astilbes, a.k.a., sweet meadows. They are one of the few shade plants that I find come close to what the catalogues say they are supposed to look like.
The astilbe, Siberian lily and roses are all resistant to deer and rabbits (second image from internet) . I've managed to keep the day lilies in good shape by using a commercial product that repels rabbit and deer. I also have occasionally put some egg shells in with the flowers because some advise columns say this also repels deer and the decay of the shells adds calcium to the soil.
The blue blossoms in the separate pot is the same plant as last week (bellflower). The blossoms actually look better than last week partly because I remembered to use the flash and partly because they opened a bit.
The white flowers in the pot on the left are chrysanthemums. I'll plant these soon but typically the nicer the chrysanthemums look, the more likely they are to die in the winter.
After School Year Party at the Pizza Place
I was working at Siena in Rockville Maryland today (first image is from the internet and shows the front of the restaurant that faces Twinbrook Parkway).
I had a faint recollection that this was the final day of the Jewish day school year but had never experienced what such a day was like.
It was a mad house.
Typically on Fridays, they have some pizzas for delivery (as many as sixty 14" boxes) and a few walk in customers and a few people coming by for pick up.
Not today ('why is this lunch different from every other lunch').
They had about 10 boxes to be delivered, about 10 boxes picked up and about 80 walk in customers between 1130am and 130pm.
The second image is from the internet but it was about this crowded.
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Calorie Heavy Feast of Weeks
We had a very calorie heavy Shavuos (aka Pentacost, aka Feast of Weeks).
The first night of the holiday was Saturday night. The synagogue had all night learning with lectures at midnight (there were at least a hundred people for this), 1 am, 2 am, 3 am, 4 am and 5 am (still about 30 people including Ann and myself).
Each lecture was about 45 to 50 minutes and in between lectures we snacked and chatted.
At 1250am, the main snack was ice cream.
At 150am, it was tuna and sesame noodles.
At 2:50am, it was barbeque wings.
at 3:50am, it was wings with a different BBQ sauce or tuna and sesame noodles
at 4:50am, it was wings with both BBQ sauces (two separate pans)
At each snack time there was coffee or soda.
Shaharit was from about 510am to about 710am.
\
Sunday, early afternoon, we had fish (I cooked it with minimal oil and with the skin off to reduce the calories) and cheese cake at home.
Then on Monday morning, after Shaharit, our annual Synagogue Shavuot BBQ took place.
It had burgers, hot dogs, wings, pastrami bits, fries, Cole slaw, tomatoes, vegetable salad and a few more things. One surprise was a lack of Coca Cola products (they had Dr Brown products and, I think some other brands which I'm guessing were donated).
Ann was still tired from the all night study and didn't make it.
I estimate I had about 8000-10,000 calories of food and drink over the 48-50 hours of the feast (evening of June 11 through evening of June 13).
Postscript: some years ago our Rabbi initiated both the 'meat on 2nd day Shavuot' and the 'BBQ on Shavuot' to make several Halachic points. The first is that the custom to eat dairy on Shavuot is only for the first day of Shavuot and for the second, the Talmud says in Tractate Pesachim (109) that 'there is no simcha (joy) without meat and wine' and the Torah commands simcha on festival days (Deut 16:11 in the case of Shavuot) and there is even a warning against not enjoying that which you are suppose to enjoy (Deut 28: 45-47). The second is that while lighting a fire is forbidden on Shavuot, adjusting a fire and cooking are both permitted activities (because the commandment for the sabbath forbids work [melacha] while for the festivals it forbids servile work melacha avodah).
Friday, June 10, 2016
Lily Season begins
This continues my 'flowers for the Sabbath' series.
One of the first lillies to bloom is the Siberian Lily.
We have a pretty substantial patch of these on the side of our yard near the sidewalk.
They make a border between our house and the house next door.
I also got some roses (one pink, one red). The other plant is a Campanela or bellflower (first image). Coke bear and Panda got into the image somehow.
There are several varieties of bellflowers, I think I have bought a dwarf variety but you never know.
The one I bought was small and discounted to $1.00 at the grocery store. A close up of the flowers is the second image (from the internet).
Friday, June 03, 2016
Roses and Peonies time in the yard
I brought in some roses (the smaller blooms) and peonies (the larger ones) for the sabbath this week.
Two of our stuffed animals were then discussing it.
To find out what they said, go to the stuffed animal blog post on this event.
Archives
09/01/2003 - 10/01/2003
10/01/2003 - 11/01/2003
11/01/2003 - 12/01/2003
12/01/2003 - 01/01/2004
01/01/2004 - 02/01/2004
02/01/2004 - 03/01/2004
03/01/2004 - 04/01/2004
04/01/2004 - 05/01/2004
05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004
06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004
07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004
08/01/2004 - 09/01/2004
09/01/2004 - 10/01/2004
10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004
11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004
12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005
01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005
02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005
03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005
04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005
05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005
06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005
07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005
08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005
09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005
10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005
11/01/2005 - 12/01/2005
12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006
01/01/2006 - 02/01/2006
02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006
03/01/2006 - 04/01/2006
04/01/2006 - 05/01/2006
05/01/2006 - 06/01/2006
06/01/2006 - 07/01/2006
07/01/2006 - 08/01/2006
08/01/2006 - 09/01/2006
09/01/2006 - 10/01/2006
10/01/2006 - 11/01/2006
11/01/2006 - 12/01/2006
12/01/2006 - 01/01/2007
01/01/2007 - 02/01/2007
02/01/2007 - 03/01/2007
03/01/2007 - 04/01/2007
04/01/2007 - 05/01/2007
05/01/2007 - 06/01/2007
06/01/2007 - 07/01/2007
07/01/2007 - 08/01/2007
08/01/2007 - 09/01/2007
09/01/2007 - 10/01/2007
10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007
11/01/2007 - 12/01/2007
12/01/2007 - 01/01/2008
01/01/2008 - 02/01/2008
02/01/2008 - 03/01/2008
03/01/2008 - 04/01/2008
04/01/2008 - 05/01/2008
05/01/2008 - 06/01/2008
06/01/2008 - 07/01/2008
07/01/2008 - 08/01/2008
08/01/2008 - 09/01/2008
09/01/2008 - 10/01/2008
10/01/2008 - 11/01/2008
11/01/2008 - 12/01/2008
12/01/2008 - 01/01/2009
01/01/2009 - 02/01/2009
02/01/2009 - 03/01/2009
03/01/2009 - 04/01/2009
04/01/2009 - 05/01/2009
05/01/2009 - 06/01/2009
06/01/2009 - 07/01/2009
07/01/2009 - 08/01/2009
08/01/2009 - 09/01/2009
09/01/2009 - 10/01/2009
10/01/2009 - 11/01/2009
11/01/2009 - 12/01/2009
12/01/2009 - 01/01/2010
01/01/2010 - 02/01/2010
02/01/2010 - 03/01/2010
03/01/2010 - 04/01/2010
04/01/2010 - 05/01/2010
05/01/2010 - 06/01/2010
06/01/2010 - 07/01/2010
07/01/2010 - 08/01/2010
08/01/2010 - 09/01/2010
09/01/2010 - 10/01/2010
10/01/2010 - 11/01/2010
11/01/2010 - 12/01/2010
12/01/2010 - 01/01/2011
01/01/2011 - 02/01/2011
02/01/2011 - 03/01/2011
03/01/2011 - 04/01/2011
04/01/2011 - 05/01/2011
05/01/2011 - 06/01/2011
06/01/2011 - 07/01/2011
07/01/2011 - 08/01/2011
08/01/2011 - 09/01/2011
09/01/2011 - 10/01/2011
10/01/2011 - 11/01/2011
11/01/2011 - 12/01/2011
12/01/2011 - 01/01/2012
01/01/2012 - 02/01/2012
02/01/2012 - 03/01/2012
03/01/2012 - 04/01/2012
04/01/2012 - 05/01/2012
05/01/2012 - 06/01/2012
06/01/2012 - 07/01/2012
07/01/2012 - 08/01/2012
08/01/2012 - 09/01/2012
09/01/2012 - 10/01/2012
10/01/2012 - 11/01/2012
11/01/2012 - 12/01/2012
12/01/2012 - 01/01/2013
01/01/2013 - 02/01/2013
02/01/2013 - 03/01/2013
03/01/2013 - 04/01/2013
04/01/2013 - 05/01/2013
05/01/2013 - 06/01/2013
06/01/2013 - 07/01/2013
07/01/2013 - 08/01/2013
08/01/2013 - 09/01/2013
09/01/2013 - 10/01/2013
10/01/2013 - 11/01/2013
11/01/2013 - 12/01/2013
12/01/2013 - 01/01/2014
01/01/2014 - 02/01/2014
02/01/2014 - 03/01/2014
03/01/2014 - 04/01/2014
04/01/2014 - 05/01/2014
05/01/2014 - 06/01/2014
06/01/2014 - 07/01/2014
07/01/2014 - 08/01/2014
08/01/2014 - 09/01/2014
09/01/2014 - 10/01/2014
10/01/2014 - 11/01/2014
11/01/2014 - 12/01/2014
12/01/2014 - 01/01/2015
01/01/2015 - 02/01/2015
02/01/2015 - 03/01/2015
03/01/2015 - 04/01/2015
04/01/2015 - 05/01/2015
05/01/2015 - 06/01/2015
06/01/2015 - 07/01/2015
07/01/2015 - 08/01/2015
08/01/2015 - 09/01/2015
09/01/2015 - 10/01/2015
10/01/2015 - 11/01/2015
11/01/2015 - 12/01/2015
12/01/2015 - 01/01/2016
01/01/2016 - 02/01/2016
02/01/2016 - 03/01/2016
03/01/2016 - 04/01/2016
04/01/2016 - 05/01/2016
05/01/2016 - 06/01/2016
06/01/2016 - 07/01/2016
07/01/2016 - 08/01/2016
08/01/2016 - 09/01/2016
09/01/2016 - 10/01/2016
10/01/2016 - 11/01/2016
11/01/2016 - 12/01/2016
12/01/2016 - 01/01/2017
01/01/2017 - 02/01/2017
02/01/2017 - 03/01/2017
03/01/2017 - 04/01/2017
04/01/2017 - 05/01/2017
05/01/2017 - 06/01/2017
06/01/2017 - 07/01/2017
07/01/2017 - 08/01/2017
08/01/2017 - 09/01/2017
09/01/2017 - 10/01/2017
10/01/2017 - 11/01/2017
11/01/2017 - 12/01/2017
12/01/2017 - 01/01/2018
01/01/2018 - 02/01/2018
02/01/2018 - 03/01/2018
03/01/2018 - 04/01/2018
04/01/2018 - 05/01/2018
05/01/2018 - 06/01/2018
06/01/2018 - 07/01/2018
07/01/2018 - 08/01/2018
08/01/2018 - 09/01/2018
09/01/2018 - 10/01/2018
10/01/2018 - 11/01/2018
11/01/2018 - 12/01/2018
12/01/2018 - 01/01/2019
01/01/2019 - 02/01/2019
02/01/2019 - 03/01/2019
03/01/2019 - 04/01/2019
04/01/2019 - 05/01/2019
05/01/2019 - 06/01/2019
06/01/2019 - 07/01/2019
07/01/2019 - 08/01/2019
08/01/2019 - 09/01/2019
09/01/2019 - 10/01/2019
10/01/2019 - 11/01/2019
11/01/2019 - 12/01/2019
12/01/2019 - 01/01/2020
01/01/2020 - 02/01/2020
02/01/2020 - 03/01/2020
03/01/2020 - 04/01/2020
04/01/2020 - 05/01/2020
05/01/2020 - 06/01/2020
06/01/2020 - 07/01/2020
07/01/2020 - 08/01/2020
08/01/2020 - 09/01/2020
09/01/2020 - 10/01/2020
10/01/2020 - 11/01/2020
11/01/2020 - 12/01/2020
12/01/2020 - 01/01/2021
01/01/2021 - 02/01/2021
02/01/2021 - 03/01/2021
03/01/2021 - 04/01/2021
04/01/2021 - 05/01/2021
05/01/2021 - 06/01/2021
06/01/2021 - 07/01/2021
07/01/2021 - 08/01/2021
08/01/2021 - 09/01/2021
09/01/2021 - 10/01/2021
10/01/2021 - 11/01/2021
11/01/2021 - 12/01/2021
12/01/2021 - 01/01/2022
01/01/2022 - 02/01/2022
02/01/2022 - 03/01/2022
03/01/2022 - 04/01/2022
04/01/2022 - 05/01/2022
05/01/2022 - 06/01/2022
06/01/2022 - 07/01/2022
07/01/2022 - 08/01/2022
08/01/2022 - 09/01/2022
09/01/2022 - 10/01/2022
10/01/2022 - 11/01/2022
11/01/2022 - 12/01/2022
12/01/2022 - 01/01/2023
01/01/2023 - 02/01/2023
02/01/2023 - 03/01/2023
03/01/2023 - 04/01/2023
04/01/2023 - 05/01/2023
05/01/2023 - 06/01/2023
06/01/2023 - 07/01/2023
07/01/2023 - 08/01/2023
08/01/2023 - 09/01/2023
09/01/2023 - 10/01/2023
10/01/2023 - 11/01/2023
11/01/2023 - 12/01/2023
12/01/2023 - 01/01/2024
01/01/2024 - 02/01/2024
02/01/2024 - 03/01/2024
03/01/2024 - 04/01/2024
04/01/2024 - 05/01/2024
05/01/2024 - 06/01/2024
06/01/2024 - 07/01/2024
07/01/2024 - 08/01/2024
08/01/2024 - 09/01/2024
09/01/2024 - 10/01/2024
10/01/2024 - 11/01/2024
11/01/2024 - 12/01/2024
We got a new set of stoneware several weeks ago. Last Sabbath was our first use of the new plates, bowls and cups.
The first night of the holiday was Saturday night. The synagogue had all night learning with lectures at midnight (there were at least a hundred people for this), 1 am, 2 am, 3 am, 4 am and 5 am (still about 30 people including Ann and myself).
At 2:50am, it was barbeque wings.
This continues my 'flowers for the Sabbath' series.
