Chanukah, the time of year when it’s actually acceptable to eat foods prepared in oil, gamble and expect gifts every night for eight nights. Let’s be honest, how many of us really take the time to learn about the history, interesting and unknown facts and folklore of Chanukah. more

Chanukah, the time of year when it’s actually acceptable to eat foods prepared in oil, gamble and expect gifts every night for eight nights. more

As I write this column, on Cyber Monday, people are at home, work, in cars or public transportation, on their desk tops, laptops, smart phones or tablets checking out amazing deals on things they can’t live without, have to replace, want to buy as gifts, for the thrill of a bargain or just simply want. more

Thanksgiving, to me as a kid growing up, meant a day or two off from school, getting bundled and attending the Thanksgiving day parade and getting together with family and friends to stuff ourselves and give thanks for all that we had. more

No power. No heat. No fridge or freezer. No oven. No microwave. No TV. No Internet. No phone. No cell service. No lights, washing machines or dryers. Gas lines were blocks long and ran out of gas as it was nearing my turn. A huge tree fell across my pool, my boiler broke and after the power was returned, my Sub Zero compressor blew. My thermostat in my bedroom read 43 degrees at night and I went to bed so bundled that I resembled the Michelin man. more

As cliché as this sounds...boy have times changed since I was a teenager in the 70s. In those days most of us babysat on Saturday nights. You know, to make money to buy those “frivolous” things that our moms said wasn’t necessary to buy, and if we wanted it, we could pay for it with our own money....I actually find myself saying the same thing to my daughter, but usually end up buying it for her. more

Just when I thought I had heard every adventure about my husband’s youth, he came up with another one over the weekend. While sitting around our dining room table with good friends, he recalled a weekend, long ago, at a hotel in the Catskills. more

Fall football Sundays and post season baseball usually wipes out “couple’s time” as we know it. more

Sukkot is related to the way the Jewish people lived while wandering in the desert for 40 years. As they moved from one place to another they built tents called sukkot that sheltered them. more

Yom Kippur. Doesn’t matter how much you eat or drink right before the fast begins. As soon as you get home from Kol Nidrei chances are you’re going to be dying of thirst, and in the morning you’ll be craving that cup of joe (along with a danish or donut, in my case). more