So far my yard has only recorded 24F as a low temperature (which is surprising since during the fall the night temperatures were slightly lower in my yard, but it seems like the night temepratures are pretty similar to local weather stations this time of the year). So far the palms look good and I havent been worrying about my fig (I havent even thought of protecting it since most people dont around here lately, but if any record cold was forecasted then I would have to throw something over it!). But its true, the wind can cause damage to the palms that doesnt show until the warmer weather in the spring. Hopefully that doesnt happen, so far I have gotten pretty lucky with that and there hasnt been any surprising damage to my palms. 18F isnt too terrible. Its cold, thats for sure, but if its the coldest we get all winter, I will be VERY happy and my plants will be too! I still hate winter, but I noticed that this one has been pretty bareable so far. -Alex

It snowed last night so everything is a blanket of white for Christmas day. I feel a little guilty, but I don't think it is too deep so I'm not going out with the snowblower til tomorrow. I'm the caregiver for my Mom, and it is just the two of us this year. We open presents on Christmas Eve, so we had a lovely night with the house decorated, the fireplace going and the tree all decorated and lit. Then about 11:00 pm as I was settling into bed but not asleep yet, I heard this funny thump and a tinkling. Uh oh, that can't be what it sounded like! Sure enough, go out to the living room and the tree had fallen over. Didn't fall out of it's stand, just tipped the stand and flopped over! Luckily only one ornament broken. Unfortunately, it was one of my favorites, my duck bell. If you are now scratching your head and going, "Duck bell???", it has a bell for a body with a duck neck and head on top and duck feet for the clappers. Very cute. Fortunately I think I can glue it back together. And I was very relieved that none of the older (my grandmother's and mother's) ornaments were hurt. Anyway, just stood the tree up again, filled up the water and everything seems back to normal today. We just had a simple dinner (lunch?) today, turkey and cranberries, asparagus, rolls and peppermint ice cream. And just for snacks, of course, we have 3 lbs. of See's candy and assorted cookies, fudge and other goodies in the house. Should be enough to last for awhile! Forgot to mention the wine we had with lunch, which will make Mom nice and sleepy. So I figure she will plop herself down in front of the football game and promptly fall asleep, thus giving me a restful Christmas afternoon to read or shop on the computer - my sister-in-law gave me an Amazon gift certificate. Which reminds me, Mom gave me a moth orchid for Christmas. First orchid I've tried, so anybody who has any tips, send them along. Also growing paperwhites this year (usually do amarylis). They are just starting to bloom. Look lovely. However, they are supposed to have a wonderful fragrance and while they do have quite a strong smell, I'm not so sure yet that it's wonderful. Maybe it will improve as they open more, or maybe I will get used to it. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to all of you and yours.

Ann H., traditional Chanuka foods vary with the community. Jews of Eastern European descent eat latkes (but never agree on how to make them). Israelis eat fried filled doughnuts. As you see in the string, and can find on many web sites, everywhere in the world, Jews come up with something different for Chanuka. The one constant is that it should be something cooked in oil; that's the point. The idea is to commemorate the story about the oil for the menorah. lpinkmountain, if you use a mix for matzo balls, you will go to hell. JUST KIDDING! But really, I have never understood what the point is of that mix. I mean, matzo balls contain matzo meal, salt, egg, water or broth, and fat (chicken fat best if you are not a vegetarian and your cardiologist isn't looking). So what's in that mix? I think it's just matzo meal, salt, and some bouillon powder (which I don't like anyway); you still have to add the rest -- doesn't really save any time and just costs a lot more and uses more packaging. Lakeguy, here is how I (a genuine Jewish mother) make chicken soup and matzo balls. It's a very simple recipe, without even any dill or garlic, but it really doesn't need it, because the strongly developed chicken flavor holds its own, so try it this way first. Really, you can make any kind of chicken soup your family likes, but make sure to follow the two essentials about the type of chicken and the length of cooking. Try to find a kosher chicken -- the bigger, fatter, and older, the better. The taste is just much, much better. It's not that the kosher slaughtering makes a difference. But they grow them bigger, and they don't feed them chemicals (not for kosher purposes, just to broaden their market to foodies), and the soaking and salting of kashering is like brining it. If you can't find a kosher chicken in your town, then go for an organic one, I guess. Lindac taught me the money-saving tip of using a package of wings instead of a whole chicken (kosher chickens are not cheap). Gellchom's Jewish Chicken Soup (eat! eat!) 1 cut up kosher chicken, or a large package of wings, necks, etc. 2 stalks celery, NO LEAVES, scraped and cut into sticks 2 large carrots, scraped and cut into sticks one whole onion, peeled Salt and pepper Rinse the chicken and put it in your soup pot. Cover with water to about 3/4 inch from top. Bring to a good hard boil, reduce the heat, and skim. Then add the vegetables, 1-2 T salt, and some pepper. Cover and simmer a LONG time -- absolute minimum 1 1/2 hours, but I like to let it go to much longer, even to 6. If it cooks too far down, then just add some water; the taste will still be plenty rich, I promise. Remove chicken and use for something that can have seriously overcooked chicken! Discard onion (and celery, if you want, but I like it in the soup). Remove carrots and set aside. Strain soup and return carrots, celery, and maybe some of the chicken. Chill and remove some but not all of the fat before reheating. Serve with matzo balls, kreplach, noodles, or rice. Matzo balls (this is just the old recipe off the back of the Manischewitz matzo meal box, before they changed it from schmaltz to oil) 2 T schmaltz (rendered chicken fat; buy frozen in kosher market or make your own) or oil (if you must!) 2 lg eggs, slightly beaten ½ c matzo meal 1 t salt, optional 2 T water or broth (use broth if no schmaltz) Mix schmaltz and eggs. Mix matzo meal with salt and blend. Add water and mix. Cover and chill at least 15 minutes. Boil slightly salted water. Reduce heat to low, form balls (with wet hands, and note that they will enlarge as they cook), and add to soup. Cover and cook 30-40 minutes.

When I was a kid my Jewish aunt had what she called a "Hanukkah bush". To me it suspiciously like an aluminum Christmas tree that was illuminated by a tri-color revolving light that sat on the floor. :-) Happy Hanukkah to all and to all a good holiday season. Jodi-