Maya's 1st Chanukah

A Vision of Joy is Maya's First Chanukah

collage by Joy Krauthammer 

Maya played her first dreydle and mamash 'gazed' at the Chanukiyah lights every night on both coasts.

True to the Tribe, Maya even ate Chinese on Chanukah.

~

collage by Joy Krauthammer 

Can't believe I totally forgot that I'd made this collage of Maya's first Chanukah 2012

so I then made the collage above.

~

Tree Time

Tree I decorated in lobby. 

© Joy Krauthammer  
http://visions-of-joy.blogspot.com/2012/11/tree-time.html

ITS TREE TIME

by Joy Krauthammer

Left doc's office couple days ago for ultrasounds to make sure I'm 'healthy', and in the large central main lobby of the medical building was this big TREE. 

So,

I asked the team of male holiday wreath decorators high on the upper level if I could put A Christmas decoration on the bare tree. Kinda like TuB'Shvat and sap flowing. Celebrate the barren tree and its potential.

On the floor In the long cardboard, filled holiday ornament box, I chose a large subdued gold matte colored ball, and then after moving that one ball around several times walking 360* around the tree until I could find just the right spot to hang it from it's string, I asked for another decoration. Wish granted. OK, cool-- I got daring and I chose one gold with red large ball with a metal hook. Ah, a choice of hanging device! Where to balance that second big but shorter one? After hanging # 2, I switched them so they had freedom to breathe from other branches poking them and inhibiting them. Good feng shui.  There was still more tree with only two big balls on it. I acquiesed, dipped down into the low box, and added a small matte red ball. One decorator man nearby went into the box and handed me a smaller shiny red ornament since I'd been avoiding plain shiny red ones. (Felt Christmasy.) I added another small red one roped in gold looking like a fun percussion shaker. When I felt I was through with my artful hanging collage, the men thanked me "for helping". They could have charged me for helping!  Their loss.

Enjoy my little art work with five balls balanced very nicely on the tree. (If it were Easter, they'd be eggs.) If they were bells I would ring them. Do you think they look like funny figs from my favorite mama fig tree? No they are not pomegranates, nor are they passion fruits hanging from my vine.   (Shh, when I pick the grapefruit and oranges off my garden trees, I do it so that the citrus left hanging form artful balanced designs as if a decorated tree.)

I hadn't decorated a tree in over half a century since when my childhood friend, Theresa Lenihan McMillan, obm, let me help her, and we hid the "ugly old" decorations from her grandmother in the back of the tree, including the decapitated angel. For assisting, Terry had a stocking for me hanging on her fireplace.

Bo'e Santa.

Chanukah is next week, yay. You should see how I decorate with Chanukah gelt.

~

PS
I left chocolate Chanukah gelt coins everywhere during my holiday. (Even in my local bank.)

I found the same tree in the medical lobby the next week, but not as I had proudly decorated it. My carefully selected and arranged balls were moved!  I should have stayed to supervise!

Fully decorated tree sans ornament 'cluster' 
© Joy Krauthammer 

PPS
Because of my recent holiday expertise, I was invited to decorate friend Edith's great fresh green tree.
You can see which sparkly joyous ornament I contributed to the cause.

PPPS
I also enjoy purple holiday trees. See photo below. That was the day I sung during the Holiday concert at the Music Center. (That's another story.)

Joy enjoys Purple holiday tree
LA Music Center
© Aviva Bell

JOY on Edith's tree

© Joy Krauthammer  

  

"Rudolph, with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"

Santa Claus rides the skies of Beverly Hills, Wilshire Blvd., LA

Driving home from LACMA, I saw this happy overhead holiday site through the car window.

© Joy Krauthammer  

~

Bird of Paradise Sukkah

Giant Bird of Paradise fronds and flower

© Joy Krauthammer 

Sukkah for Sukkot

"One who has not seen the rejoicing of Sukkot, has never seen true rejoicing." -Talmud

You shall live in huts seven days; all citizens of Israel shall live in huts, in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in huts when I brought them out of the Land of Egypt, I am HaShem your G*d.  -Leviticus 23:42-3  

Bird of Paradise Sukkah has been gifted to friends of my daughter. Aviva has known Lisa since their early grades and now Lisa has a husband and two young daughters. A sukkah (temporary small spiritual living hut) would be good for the young family, and they never had one, so this is their first!

Aviva, her dad Marcel, z'l, and I always built a sukkah since she was five years old, thirty years ago. At that time we bought many long beams of wood and followed instructions to create a sukkah. (It can be made of other materials.) We decorated it with mostly fake fruits (not to waste food) and seasonal dried corn, Aviva's art, holiday cards, tapestries (my sixties hippie bedspreads) to cover the blue tarps, posters of sukkot themes, rugs, and hung a lamp inside and added tables and chairs.  For meals in the sukkah (and to shake the lulav and etrog), we invited ushpizin/guests*. When Marcel became paralyzed and Aviva no longer lived at home, he could no longer erect the annual sukkah.  For Marcel during Sukkot, I lovingly created a temporary cozy hut, with rugs and seating (although maybe not halachically accurate). We then celebrated in the homey, intimate sukkah.

Following Yom Kippur, I just gave away our family sukkah to Lisa and her family. I am thrilled that I did a double mitzvah in preparing for that gift.  Driving on the street, I saw an elderly man who had pruned 20 very long healthy green and shiny fronds from his giant Bird of Paradise bush and they were sitting on his lawn. The eight foot beautiful fronds/leaves are as long as the inside of my SUV. I asked if I could have them and the man answered "yes". He was probably happy that he didn't have to bend down and pick up all the leaves and try to stuff them into his garden garbage pail.  I drove the fronds (and additional greenery) a few miles over to the owners of the new Sukkah. The fresh green leaves would now become the schach/roof for the sukkah. The schach must be from detached plants, trees and may be dried. (I used to use my flowering oleanders and palm fronds.)
(Fronds now sell for $3.50 each plus $15 delivery in LA, and I recall when they were half that price, and free before that from the City of LA.) 

Sukkot is in 24 hours and I hope the young family invites me over to see how in their grassy garden, they have erected their new Sukkah-- one filled with many sweet family holiday memories with guests. It is a coincidence that the shul teacher of the little girls, is the widow of the man, Steve, z'l, who used to help my husband build our sukkah.
love, Joy

Krauthammer Sukkah and guests

*Guests are both mystical, biblical, and real.

Learn more about Sukkot and building a Sukkah:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/4784/jewish/What-is-Sukkot.htm

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/420823/jewish/How-to-Build-a-Sukkah.htm

~

Thank You

Thank You

Image sent from Apple after I answered their One to One questionnaire.

Hebrew is now included in their Thank You. 

I feel good because I wrote to Apple after never seeing Hebrew 

in their multi-cultural images,

and strongly requested that Hebrew be included,

and a few weeks later this Hebrew 'Thank You' appeared. 

Thank you, Apple, Todah.

BlesSings, 

Joy

Upgrade from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion

© Joy Krauthammer

Each week I shlep into the Apple store

my big heavy iMac, smaller MacBook Pro and little iPod

(which will no longer 'sync'!)

as well as my sweater, notebook, pen, portable hard drive, flash drives, current projects (CDs), water and snacks to sustain me

 to meet the lion Apple trainers!

I bought the smaller Apple computer so I would only shlep that one, but now I shlep BOTH!

Upgrade from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion

- Joy Krauthammer

Yes, there's a learning curve (as my daughter warned me at original Apple purchase time), and I already met that when I bought my first iMac 23 months ago. Much is different now due to the upgrade on my computer, but I had to make the change. Several weeks ago, Mobile Me with its iCloud ended for everyone leaving me unsync'ed for over a month. (I would calendar items on iMac but when I looked at MacBook Pro, no calendar events were listed, etc. Photos added and edited on Apple laptop while on holiday, never made it automatically to the iMac where I do most of my creative work.)

'Single users' wouldn't know the feeling of being out of sync, but with 3 devices, 'no more sync'ing' caused problems for me. Feeling like an Olympics diver (in London this week), I took the plunge, paid for the upgrade from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion, and hit the button "upgrade."  Simple. No gold medals. Just lots of new questions and new ways of doing. 

When 23 months ago I told my daughter that I wanted for the first time to purchase a Mac, she said to me, "Mom, don't do it; it's a learning curve!"

I'm still learning on both my Macs, and taking on the challenges.  :)  I'm amazed when I see real smiling senior citizens sitting on the Apple stools, creating away.

I love my Apple store trainers, and always feel that I'm in the TV CHEERS bar because I sit on a stool and everyone knows my name and greets me! Now I'm a Mountain Lion customer. Hear me roar.

~

Joy teaches at AJU

Joy teaches at 
American Jewish University
 and invites YOU to register.  :)

AJU WINTER 2012
Sundays, March 11 & March 18, 2012

Miriyahm HaNeviah  

Do you share Miriyahm's Joyous Attributes and Song?

Sunday, March 11, 10am - 12:30pm

course # 12WD7JJK

http://wcce.ajula.edu/Content/CourseUnit.asp?CID=279&u=9152&t=0

~

Class registrations close Monday prior to each Sunday class.

~

Kabbalistically Count the Sephirat HaOmer 

Joyously Prepare for 49 Days

Sunday, March 18, 10am - 12:30pm

 course # 12WD7J81

http://wcce.ajula.edu/Content/CourseUnit.asp?CID=279&u=9153&t=0

For more info:

http://miriamhaneviah.blogspot.com/

http://count-the-omer.blogspot.com/

http://sephirathaomer.blogspot.com/

~ ~ ~ 

AJU FALL 2011

I'm always happy to offer these workshops at other venues.

Simchat Chochmah ~ Joy of Wisdom

Illuminating the Joy of G*d's Holiest #7

For more info:

http://simchatchochmah.blogspot.com/

http://holiestnumber7.blogspot.com/

~ ~ ~

Hamsa Copper Pendant

Joy Loves Being Jewish

Hamsa, metal etching on copper pendant

with design and textures by Joy 2012

taught by Ruth Shapiro with pre-cut hamsa

& Ruth curled wires

 © Joy Krauthammer

I loved making the Hamsa pendant after I was initially frustrated working with difficult tools.

Process then became meditative working with the acid.

When I was young, I loved doing copper hammering and then cloisonne' on copper.

Bead Necklace

First bead necklace I have ever made was at Lev Eisha's retreat, Dancing With My Soul. 

Jeweler Suzanne Gallant added clasp for me. 

I enjoyed choosing the happy beads. 

Even when half fell off when I dropped it before adding clasp, it was fun to add the many beads all over again. The pattern changed. 

Fun to add a heart bead, and a couple music cymbal-shaped beads. 

Feels joyous and colorful to me.

Jan. 25, 2015

© Joy Krauthammer  1.25.2015

Front Porch Welcome Mat

New Front Porch Welcome Mat

- Joy Krauthammer

Purple is my color so this new front porch mat is good. A sunburst or flower; it blends with my fuscia bougainvillea-colored ramp (which I commissioned, painted and installed 8 years ago when my husband, obm, became paralyzed). The pink color matches the fallen flower petals. I shlep my percussion instruments in rolling cases, so I keep the ramp which meets the front door and my needs. I gave another way to an appreciative needy neighbor. 

I purchased the mat this week when finally, the many plumbers and plasterers left my premises, after a nasty water pipe burst in my home. I needed a pick-me-up after pools of water were picked up.


I purchased a new mat also for kitchen sink area, after plumbers and plasterers opened up walls in kitchen. It was a mess. They opened up walls in both bathrooms, so I bought new mats for those rooms also, knowing I needed something to cheer me up from the mess and stress.

Joy Krauthammer  ©

Jan. 24, 2012