I bet the story would have gone something like this: Mary and Martha invite Jesus over for a "thanks" giving meal a week earlier and Martha gets to work--going through all her "cook-scrolls" looking for some improved versions of her old stand-by recipes. She probably wasted a lot of time doing that, the week before (like me) when she could have been getting her house in order instead. She probably wound up running out of time, (like me) and feeling very frantic to get it all together, she became cranky,worn out and frustrated, way ahead of time, just thinking about what she'd planned to be done (also, like me). The day arrived and she was hustling all around the house, falling over the men who had gathered early to watch a goat-wrestling match, in the middle of the dirt floor of the gathering room. The children were running in and out the kitchen door, needing *this and that* (especially something to drink) and looking for things to occupy themselves with and asking lots of questions about what she was doing (sounds familiar)! Jesus arrives, early, and they all rush to get the best seats next to Him. Mary, Martha's sister, also rushes in and happily finds a seat on the floor at His feet! She's very content to just listen to Him talk and hear others ask Him questions! She forgets all about the work to be done, planned by her sister! She could have at least finished setting the table or the floor (the custom of the day was to eat reclining! There must have been a *floor-cloth* to be put in place, at the very least)! Martha is incensed! How dare Mary abandon her to all the work, (her plans) of preparing all the latest and greatest dishes for her very important guest and family! Sure she enjoyed the idea of making all those wonderful dishes, but she had miscaluculated the reality of being able to accomplish it all in one day, especially the new recipes she hadn't tried before, and couldn't rely on familiarity to make them easier to do! Martha pulls Jesus aside and says, "Jesus, can you please shake some sense and shame into Mary, and make her come help me?" Jesus says to Martha, very kindly, "Martha, Martha! You are worried about making too many different things! A turkey and some dressing, gravy and maybe some green beans, a jello-salad and a pie would have been enough! We don't need, in addition to all that, *special* mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts, tossed salad, fruit salad, cranberries, home-made Parker House rolls (okay-whatever *special* bread they had then), spiced apple rings, green-bean casserole (onion rings and sauce made-from scratch) scalloped oysters AND marinated asparagus! (groan--that was A LOT--and that, also, DOES sound familiar!) Get real, Martha! Mary has it all figured out! It's more important to be with Me and those you love, than trying to prove how much you care, by how much and how fancy the food is you prepare! Make it easy on yourself, and have some of *you* left-over for those who love you!" Martha must have felt like she'd been hit with a brick-bat. All that work, all that fussing about what would be really impressive to set before Him and the crowd, and all He really wanted was for her to do just what was necessary to meet a need, and spend her time with Him. Blush! I hear it! This was also about me, and our Thanksgiving-Day celebration/not! Everyone else seemed to enjoy the day, (I must say) but I was left completely wrung out--and not much fun to be around--I'm sure! I hope the rest of you, learn from my experience yesterday! Please, take time to enjoy the day, by not putting so much on yourselves, doing more than is reasonable and expected. Your family wants to be WITH you! If they want a waitress and a chef, they could go out to a restaurant, instead of to your house! Enjoy your Thanksgiving, and please, take time to give *thanks*--I know you have much to be thankful for--I've seen the pictures! :o) Janice/'Martha' P.S. That 'Best Ever Green Bean Casserole', that I posted, above---wasn't--IMHO!

Yup, definitely better off in Niagara on the Lake than NF! The carriage ride sounds nice though. The last time I went to the falls w/ some friends we took them on a hot air balloon ride which was also a nice way to see it. We had great food too, don't get me wrong! Lots of seafood and lobster chowder and delicious muscles! Did you have PEI muscles on Prince Edward Island? We ate lobster, but I actually liked the lobster stews and seafood stews better than just the plain lobster for the most part. We just got a little sick of the local restaurants in the area where we were since we ate out every single day for a month (it was nice to eat in Bar Habor, Calais, Eastport and the other places we visited!) Did you go to Acadia National Park on your trip or no? We did a nice lighthouse/ nature tour in Bar Harbor, which had gorgeous scenery. We were on a lake, not the ocean. We picked a lake b/c we were told the water was much warmer on lakes in Maine and actually swimmable as opposed to the ocean which was too cold. May have been why there were so many mosquitos! Glad to hear that you'll be doing some remodeling at least :) A new kitchen, baths and a pool sound fun to do! We're embarking on a backyard landscape/screen porch project soon, but no swimming pool. Summer place: We want weather that is reasonable cool (no 80 degree days); a place where we can be on open water (lake or ocean, no houses visible) and a place where we can have at least 5 acres. I've learned my lesson after FL and I will never buy property on less than 3-5 acres again, I don't care how good the view is. It would be nice if it wasn't a super far drive from PA but that seems unlikely. If anyone has rental suggestions for next summer for a place for us to try, I'd be open to hearing them :) In the meantime, we're shifting our focus to finding a new FL house to buy (hoping the old one sells quickly this winter!) and will wait a few years for the summer home.

San - I am by no means an expert on Judaism but this is my understanding -- Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement and is the holiest day of the year -the last of the 10 Days of Awe -- (the first day being Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year) -- Reform Judaism teaches there are at least 3 reasons to fast: (1) for self-discipline - to remember that we can be master, not slaves, of our desires; (2) for empathy, so we can think of those who go hungry not by choice; and (3) for penitence, as part of the atonement we are supposed to seek during this time -- during the days of Awe, Jews are supposed to ask those whom they have hurt for forgiveness - Yom Kippur itself is for Jews to atone for sins they have committed against God-- the fast begins after the evening meal the night of Yom Kippur and continues until after sundown on the next day (all Jewish holidays go from sundown to sundown) - so one actually misses only 2 meals -breakfast and lunch the day of Yom Kippur -I actually like to fast on Yom Kippur, as it distinguishes Yom Kippur from all other days of the year for me, but I think most of my friends don't fast -- even so, they are all happy to join us for break-fast however(I'm expecting 40+ tomorrow night) -so I need to do a little more cleaning, as I'll be at temple all tomorrow -hope all who are fasting have a good fast -Happy New Year and for all, have a good weekend!

I have to go to work...will try to work on this from there...or when I get home. Nancy