"Pardon me while I burn!" - Incubus

Tonight, the first night of Chanukah. Not a huge deal for us, and it is not a huge deal for most of the Jewish population. My mother made about 80 potato pancakes, mostly to one up my Aunt whose Chanukah par-tay we are invited to, tomorrow. My mother said that my Aunt was either going to buy Ratner's and heat them up in the oven, or make it from mix. Well, Mom pulled out the Fanny Farmer cookbook and began peeling those potatos, doing her magic and 2 hours later had 80 latkes. The house, and my glasses are coated with oil. Figures.

I was thinking about how its been one year since I was in Israel last (for Sar-El). What a year it has been. Dad's surgery, classes, summer classes, my nephew, 30 added pounds. Sheesh.