Sunday, January 29, 2012

I'm Back, I Think

The last few months have been hectic to say the least. Thankfully, our ill family members are on the road to recovery, although it's a long road and a sometimes bumpy one. Somehow we all made it through. Here I am facing the beginning of a new term again. Hopefully this new beginning will apply across the board, and I hope to find time for the things I like to do, not just the things I have to do, the blog being one of those things I hope to be more regular with.

So, let me begin. What would January be without my mentioning those dreaded "P" words--Purim and Pesach. Yup, with January ending we're well on the road to preparing for yom tov once again. And once again I'm suggesting that now would be a good time to use your computers to your benefit and get yourself organized ahead of time. No reason to wait to the very last second to make up and save a list of those to whom you are going to be giving shalach monos. If you will be making the Purim seudah, now is a great time to create your menu and shopping lists.

As for Pesach, what could be better than a January Sunday to get the whole family into the closet cleaning mode? Yup, kind of scary to see what has hidden in those deep, dark recesses in the back of the closets. Now is a great time to cull the old clothing and donate it. Now is also a great time to finally decide to throw out or donate some of those strange items we somehow keep and have no idea of when or if we will ever use them.

Yes, I'm practicing what I'm preaching. Today I tackle the linen closets. I think I've finally talked myself out of being sentimental about sheets that are older than my kids are. My treat for my anniversary is to finally replace the bed linens--there are still comforter covers and sheets that joined my family when I got married almost 40 years ago. I have a feeling that I'm not the only one with "antiques" lurking in the linen closet.

Whatever you choose to tackle today, comfort yourself with the idea that it will be one less thing to "have" to do much closer to yom tov.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're back alright. But did ya really need the P words to be your comeback post?! Not fair depressing readers on a Sunday.

Just curious though, how long are sheets supposed to last for?

Anonymous said...

Love your sense of humor!

JS said...

I think, therefore I'm back.

Not sure if anyone is reading this comment since there's a new post, but I'm curious what people do when purim falls on a weekday like it does most years - what do you do in terms of delivering mishloach manot and what do you do for seudah?

Do people take off from work? Deliver really early in the morning? Use Amit or a similar program? Do the "charity was given in your name" thing? Go out to a restaurant during work hours for seudah?

ProfK said...

JS,

I can't speak for everyone else, but here are some of the solutions to Purim on a weekday that I've seen/heard about.

1)some take Purim or a 1/2 day on Purim as a personal day/vacation day
2)Some arrange to take a half day off. I've heard of some people who "pay" for that half day by either coming in an hour early on the other four days or working straight through their lunch hours on four days.
3)Lots of organizations and schools that sell and will deliver shalach monos for you--a fairly pricey undertaking.
4)Some people deliver shalach monos at night after the megillah reading since they won't be available during the daytime.
5)Some have their kids (off from school) doing the delivering while they are working.
6)Some hire an older teenager to do the delivery of the shalach monos for them.
7)Some get up much earlier on Purim day and deliver the shalach monos before leaving for work
8)Some have curtailed the number of shalach monos they give to only those that could be delivered in around 5-10 minutes or so.
9)Some people no longer make seudah in their own homes but go to a child/friend/family member who will be around on Purim day to do the preparing
10)Some (not all that many that I've heard about) meet their family at a restaurant for seudah, preferably one close to their work so seudah can still start during the day.
11)Some buy everything for seudah ready made so that it only has to be warmed up and then take off an hour or two early to get home in time to sit down to the seudah.
12)For those whose work hours are not in the familiar 8-5:30 range it can get even more complicated. A friend's son in law is a medical resident and has to report for duty at 3:00. They go to an early morning megillah leining and then have seudah at lunch time so he can attend.

It does get complicated when Purim falls out on a weekday, particularly for those working in non-Jewish firms or businesses.

ProfK said...

First Anon,

How long do sheets last for? Depends on a lot of factors.

First, mattresses do not last all that long. If you are replacing the mattress, chances are that it's with one of the newer types that are deeper than the old mattresses were. That means that your old sheets are quite likely to not fit on that new mattress, not being deep enough.

Second, of what were your sheets made? The thread count of the sheet contributes to how long it's going to last.

Third, how often do those sheets get washed? The more you wash them and the hotter the water they are washed in can affect the lifespan. Are you adding any bleach products? Also going to shorten the lifespan.

Fourth, do you care if the sheet colors are getting faded looking? If you don't care, those sheets might last a long time. If you care, they won't last as long.

Fifth, just how much do you love the colors/patterns on the sheets? Tastes can change over time and spending 40 years with a sheet just might have you gagging because you can't believe that color/pattern combination was something you fell in love with way back when.

Truth is that museums around the world have bedding samples way older than 40 years--in some cases older than 400 years.

So my real answer to how long should sheets last for is--darned if I know.