Jesse, right when I typed down my plan, I cheated by doing a fifth thing I didn't remember until typing. In my plan I was fifth-part-less, but in real life, not so much.
she illustrated the idea of mitzvot by lighting Shabbat candles, and invited all the women to come up and light small candles as well.
I've never heard of a bat-mitzva being celebrated that way. Interesting. The bar-mitzva is usually mentioned on the shabbat right after the boy turns 13. In the morning prayers of each shabbat a certain section from the Torah is read (it's in a cycle - the whole 5 books of the Torah are finished in one year, each year). The bar-mitzva boy reads aloud at least part of that, instead of the usual person who reads it (I want to say cantor, but I'm not sure that's the word), up to the whole thing. It's nice that they found a way to tie the bat-mitzva to shabbat, as well.
getting to spend Shabbat with you at Deb's house, and how lovely it was.
Remember the part where you asked me to translate the words I was saying, the blessing on the whine? I hardly get to say them aloud on my own on regular shabbats (usually the father of the family does that), but nearly whenever I get to do that, speaking them out loud, I remember that evening. I notice the meaning of the words more now, that they're not just the ones I know by heart from pretty much the time I can remember myself. I'm not sure I'm making myself clear. I'm trying to thank you. It was a lovely weekend, wasn't it?