Day 403: Las Vegas, Day 19

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Ben

M’s bar mitzvah over Shabbos was a tremendous success. Last week, Trish and B prepared the lunch for the shul, and about 90 people showed up. M read the Torah very well and gave a nice pshetl as well.

This morning, I took our friend Rabbi M back to the airport. He came in from Monsey for the Bar Mitzvah, which was really great.

After getting back form the airport, I managed to catch a 40ish mile club ride with the Green Valley Cyclists. The ride fragmented into an A group and a B group, and I managed to stay up front for most of the ride. There were about 20 riders, and it was nice to get back into pace line riding.

Later in the day, we said goodbye to my brother and his daughters, who had flown in for the Bar Mitzvah:

Today I finished the shelving in M’s bedroom:

We moved the RV to my parents’ house for the night. We hope to leave Las Vegas tomorrow, heading for cooler climes.

Day 401: Las Vegas, Day 17

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Ben

M wore his hat for the first time today:

We moved out of Duck Creek RV park to my parents’ synagogue for Shabbos. Good Shabbos from Henderson, Nevada! M’s bar mitzvah is tomorrow!

Day 400: Las Vegas, Day 16

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Ben

This morning we drove out to Jean Lake for my third flight there:

Out of the seat, coming in for a landing:

Here’s a video of the flight:

Tricia’s high school friend Joe happened to be in town so he came out to spectate:

M continues to practice for his bar mitzvah. Zaidy taped together M’s portion for him so he can read it as if it’s the actual Torah scroll:

This afternoon I completed the shelves for B’s half of the room:

Trish soldiered on making deserts for the Bar Mitzvah:

Only two more days until the big event!

Using PPG to announce Shabbos

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Ben

An article here talks about a PPG used to announce Shabbos over the beaches of Tel-Aviv:

It’s a creative use of a PPG!

Day 399: Las Vegas, Day 15

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Ben

Preparations for M’s bar mitzvah continue. Trish and B spent most of the day at the Rabbi’s house, using the kitchen to prepare the lunch for the 100 or so congregants and guests we expect to be having in shul on Shabbos.

Trish has also been experimenting with sculptable frosting to make edible tefillin for the tops of cupcakes:

Meanwhile, M has been practicing his Torah reading and pshetl, and I’ve been rebuilding the shelving we had to remove from the bunkhouse when we split it into two separate bedrooms.

The rest of the week will no doubt be increasingly hectic!