Westminster Waltz - 5/1/16 - Did Not Pass (bummer)

Today, Sunday, May 1, 2016, Annabelle took the Westminster Waltz test, but did not pass. I thought the test was really good and am posting the videos and test scores for reference. She'll wait the required 28 days and take the dance again.

 

Joel Looks Good! - May 1, 2016

My son has been on the road with Disney On Ice for almost two years. The second tour ends in two weeks on May 15, 2016. Here he is smiling by the hotel pool at a pool party with other cast members in Lafayette, Lousianna.

(We've been worried about him this week since he was in an accident on Thursday, April 28, 2016.  Pray that no injuries occur later.)

This photo below was taken of Joel at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport last Monday, April 25, 2016, just as the cast arrived on a plane from Georgia. As you can see, traveling is exhausting....as a mom, I can't help but worry...but I'm so glad Joel has a great job and is getting to travel the world!

Remembering Got Shabbat - August 26, 2011

We attended "Got Shabbat" at Temple Israel in Long Beach on 8-26-2011 while we were on vacation there. Wow!

This video playlist is five years old (almost), but the temple still holds Got Shabbat services.

Last night, 4-29-16, in fact, my dad, Dan, and I tuned in via video stream! Last night's video is not archived, but the same songs were sung last night.

Got Shabbat is AMAZING!  I love it.

 

Remembering San Jose February 2016

In February of this year my dad and I drove to San Jose to see Joel in the Disney On Ice Frozen show. (It was the 15th Time I saw the show!) Anyway, on Joel's day off we had dinner with one of my closest friends from college and the Athertion House days, Helen. I've only seen Helen once a few times in the last 20 years. It was so special for her to meet Joel!

Grama and Bella - April 29, 2016

This is a WONDERFUL photo of Grama Farris (my husband Dan's mom who just turned 92) with Dan's sister Penny's grand-daughter, Bella! I have never met Bella, but this photo shows how wonderful the Farris family is! It made me cry..

April 29, 2016 - More Snow! April Showers In Colorado Springs

Wow...April 2016 will be remembered as a very snowy month!

Snow! April 26, 2016

Colorado weather is SO WEIRD! It snowed quite hard this afternoon. After dinner, of course, I skied, but at the same time, Annabelle took a run and in shorts! We dressed in "very opposite" attire!

Annabelle in shorts, JO ANN in ski clothes!

Passover 2016 Was GREAT!

We had a wonderful Passover with the Cohen family and my friend Joanna and her sister Jennifer at the Colorado Schneider family vacation home on Saturday, April 23, 2016.

We used a combination of Haggadas (mainly from the Jewish Federation and a bit from the Maxwell House Haggadah) and the Jewish Federation's Haggadah was so easy to follow. Everyone took part.

It was a dairy and fish seder. Everyone loved the salmon and we even had Gefilte fish that we cooked ourselves that came from New York City (I bought it from The Bagel Deli in Denver)!  We also had the regular gefilte fish from the jar and they tasted great too.

We even had three kinds of matzah (egg, israeli, and handmade Smurah matzah, courtesy of Torah Mates, from Israel.)

Annabelle made two kinds of Matzah Ball soups, one loaded with vegetables and the other just matzah balls and broth. We also had the red horshradish - YUM!  And...Annabelle took the time to pre-peel the hard boiled eggs before the meal.  (Thanks Annabelle!)

We ever ate kosher mashed potatoes and sliced sweet potatoes and Quinoa and tomatoes.  Kosher dill pickles were available to eat, but we forgot to eat them until after the seder....or well...

The Choroset was made by Sabrina. It was so good. And....Sabrina played the piano for us as we sang traditional Passover songs and also played for us while we ate.

Karen brought some amazing dessert and we enjoyed those wonderful Passover desserts with coffee and tea. The macaroons were a hit. Joanna's fresh fruit also was gobbled up.

After the meal, we took a walk and Joanna and I did some scootering! Rebekah left us early to study and Annabelle headed off to the prom.

Joanna and her sister Jennifer stayed for most of the day and of course we enjoyed more dessert and coffee.

Dayenu! And...next year in Jerusalem!

Next year, I want to use the Haggadah from JewBelong.com.  It looks like so much fun!

Celebrate Passover CD

I highly recommend the music on this CD for Passover. I've been listening to it all day!

Old Photo - JO ANN at age 15

This is me during my sophomore year at Hollywood Professional School. I was 15 and I think the photo was taken by Bill Udell!

Spring Skiing! Wednesday 4-20-16

I had the most awesome day today Spring Skiing! The snow was so soft and incredible!

I had such a great time in the morning, that I went back in the afternoon to enjoy the snow before it melts tomorrow or the next day.

In the afternoon, my friend Cheryl joined me. It was her first time doing nordic skiing and she caught on fairly quickly!

My Letter to the Editor in 4-20-16's Colorado Springs Independent!

My Letter to the Editor to the Colorado Springs Independent was printed in today's 4-20-16 issue! Click on the link below.

They've titled my letter "Wonderful, really?"

• 'Safety-sizing' North End streets, skinhead life, dog feces on Strawberry Fields, and more Letters - Colorado Springs Independent, April 20, 2016

Great and Funny Article About Colorado Springs!

I stumbled on this wonderful blog post: Moving To Colorado Springs, Colorado – A Strange Experience by Ron Stauffer. He lists the quirkly things about Colorado Springs and everything he lists is so true!

His article is so amusing and will make anyone who lives in Colorado Springs (or has lived here) smile and laugh. There are really some very strange things that go on in our city.



Here's Ron Stauffer's list, but read his complete blog post on living in Colorado Springs to enjoy his thoughts and humor:

1. Colorado Springs is a major military town.
2. People in Colorado Springs don’t really recycle.
3. Kids in Colorado Springs play Lacrosse.
4. People here don’t swim much, but if they do, it’s at an indoor pool.
5. Colorado Springers can’t pronounce Spanish words. And they don’t care about it at all.
6. Pikes Peak is really just for tourists.
7. Bottled items and bags are under pressure.
8. Many homes in Colorado Springs don’t have an air conditioner.
9. People in Colorado Springs are very, very, very nice to strangers.
10. Most people in Colorado Springs are white.
11. The elevation is killer. (Literally).
12. There is no good seafood in Colorado Springs.
13. The coolest cars here are SUVs, not sports cars.
14. There are (nearly) NO bugs here!
15. There’s almost no humidity. That’s good and bad.
16. Deer are pests in Colorado Springs.
17. Every coffee shop in town has a bible study every morning.
18. The drivers here are absolutely horrendous.
19. Are there “Springs” in Colorado Springs? No. Yes. Sorta. Not really.
20. Colorado has more microbreweries than any other state.
21. Being local is very important.
22. Colorado Springs is a land of contradictions.
23. Colorado Springs has a cemetery of tech companies.
24. There’s a huge presence of SCUBA divers in Colorado Springs.
25. There’s static electricity everywhere.
26. The snow here stays for half a day, then melts.
27. Constant, never ending road construction and potholes
28. The entire city shuts down at 10pm, every night.

Bring Back Ski Broadmoor!

I learned to ski at Ski Broadmoor long, long ago! Wow, do I miss it. You could go skiing for a few hours and not spend big bucks or spend the entire day traveling to the slopes.

 I wish...I wish...Ski Broadmoor would come back to the Springs (or at least locals could access it and climb up and ski or sled down again!)

 Getting something like Ski Broadmoor back would make losing Strawberry Fields Open Space feel "not as bad."

Here's some information I found out about Ski Broadmoor:

For many years, quality ski instruction and programs for young and old were offered at SKI BROADMOOR. The small ski area, designed to complement The Broadmoor Hotel’s winter sports program, officially opened in 1959. It was a pioneer of innovation, boasting lights for night skiing and a $200,000 snow making machine known as the “Phenomenal Snowman”, the first of its kind west of the Mississippi.

The slope dipped 3,000 feet with a vertical drop of 600 feet. A double chair lift carried 600 people an hour up to the top. There was an excellent ski school for everyone from toddlers to adult with certified professional instructors. In addition there was the Broadmoor Ski Club, Senior Racing Club and a Junior Racing Club for youngsters who advanced from white hat status to red hat, then blue hat and finally black. These teams and skiers went on to race in national competitions.

As Colorado ski laws changed, insurance costs escalated, and the “Phenomenal Snowman” fought a changing climate that brought Chinook winds and drastic changes in temperature each season, it became hard to maintain economic viability.SKI BROADMOOR closed as an operation of the hotel in1986, when the city of Colorado Springs leased the area. The city ran the area for two seasons until Vail leased it in 1988. Vail never made a profit and closed the area in 1991.

A Wonderful Shabbat Service From Temple Israel in Long Beach California - Friday, April 15, 2016

Another WONDERFUL Shabbat service from Temple Israel in Long Beach 4-15-16! It's great our family can "be there" from Colorado! (This is the temple my father's family helped found in Long Beach's early days.)

In memory, my Uncle Bobby's name is said near the end of this service. (He passed away two ago.)