A box of matzo, a jug of wine and thou

Gittit, Gilly and Tamara put together a beautiful seder table while Yaron and I spent the day in the salt mines and Sema sweated out her fever.

Never before have I hosted a seder in my home without assuming the role of chief cook and bottle washer. It was weird. I am eternally grateful to my devoted clan, not to mention my special friend Randee who delivered her now famous Passover mandel broit. Phyllis, thanks for the spring bouquet.

Gittit led the proceedings, and we all participated. She noted how different families celebrate the same holiday with their own unique traditions. We've had very few seders together due to the tremendous distance between us. We spent the evening creating new memories. I had my wine glass confiscated after one 1/2 glasses. Fatigue is a powerful ingredient, don't you know.

Our day got off to a less than favourable start. Gilly did not feel 'normal' this morning. His awoke with swollen eyelids, and a noticeably absent smile. Good thing Gittit was around; I would have felt torn going off to work and leaving him alone.

Later on in the morning, Gittit heard a thump. Gilly had fallen while taking a shower, hitting his head and side. When I called at noon to check on the day's events, I was surprised to find them lunching at Lafleur's instead of cooking up a storm. Gilly informed me of his tumble, and I immediately asked if he had fallen on his shunt. I was shaken to find he had indeed. I urged him to go have it checked out at the hospital. His refusal came as no surprise; the dance is familiar, but I don't like the steps.

There went my afternoon. I could not wait to get home and see him with my own eyes. I had to survive the rest of my work day, so I distractedly went through the motions.

In the meantime, back at the ranch, Gittit suggested they try the neat science experiment she found yesterday on our smelly hound. Liylah was quite patient with the whole ordeal, but the stench of skunk still lingered. They reasoned that it must be Liylah's bed, and decided to put it through the washing machine. They neglected to remove the cover from the foam mattress, and so a flood in the laundry room was the unfortunate result. This balagan (one of my favourite Gittit-isms) kept them busy for the better part of the afternoon. It's a wonder that they found time to prepare the soup and home made knaidelach a la Gittit.

We are all looking forward to an uneventful Thursday, and another seder at Grandma Shirley's. Kadima!