Yay latkes is always the right conclusion.

And yeah, that's tough, but I agree that they should understand the cultural background, even if not religiously observant.

I'm hungry now. And my teakettle is boiling. What should I have?

Seems only yesterday she was echoing my carelessly uttered "oh shit" in a hotel room in SF.

Quite possibly my favorite F2F moment ever.

Definitely my favorite.

My day so far:

Mr Peabody had another seizure at 5 a.m. However, by the time I got dressed to go to the emergency vet, he was fine, so I decided to wait until my vet opened. As I was leaving for the vet, I realized that Hershey, the chocolate lab who lives next door, was in my yard. I called my neighbor and she came to get him. Hershey had dug and pushed her way under the chain link fence. As my neighbor tried to put Hershey back into the yard, the other dog, Tikka, got by her and ran down the street. She ran after him and then, as I watched, Hershey lifted the gate latch with his paw and ran after them. (There are also several bolts on the outside, but in her hurry, she didn't lock them.) I put Mr Peabody up and ran after in case she needed help. Then we put a bunch of rocks along the fence and I finally took Mr Peabody to the vet.

The vet wants to give it more time, because she doesn't want to put Mr Peabody on medication unless it's absolutely necessary. She gave me some valium to give him for the next two days and whenever he has a seizure. She also wants to check his urine for infection. He inconveniently failed to produce enough there, so I have to follow him with a stick with cotton balls attached to it to get a urine sample for her.

I got home and opened the back door without realizing that both Hershey and Tikka were in the yard. Even though Mr Peabody and Tikka play together along the fence all the time, Tikka, who's a 90-pound Husky, grabbed Mr Peabody and started shaking him, and I think I barely got her off him in time. I grabbed Tikka and yelled for my neighbor. She got the dogs back in her yard and we piled a bunch of rocks against the fence. I looked out a little while ago, and Tikka was digging out a place we hadn't reinforced, so I piled more rocks.

I think the vet said the valium is for the dog.

Sheesh, Ginger! Doggie drama! And poor Mr. Peabody.

My brother is an aetheist. (He announced it at Thanksgiving - it doesn't surprise me but I hadn't really thought about it either.) He got married in a Buddhist ceremony and his daughter is doing the Catholic thing because my sister-in-law was raised Catholic (although, I don't know how devout she is.)

Happy Chanukah!

Jessica, have you looked into the Society for Ethical Culture? It looks like they've got a Brooklyn branch. I don't know too much about it, but a bunch of people I know went to the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, and they've described it as "Judaism without the G-d stuff." The web page for the Brooklyn one makes it seem more Quaker than Jewish, though.

Wow, that's awful, Ginger. I hope the rest of your day goes much better.

Jessica, have you looked into the Society for Ethical Culture?

I attended one of their meetings in DC when I was looking for wedding officiants, and yeah, it definitely had a Quaker/UU vibe. Could be worth looking at again though - thanks!

I remember reading an article in one of the Jewish newspapers a few years ago about a Jewish school in NYC taking their eighth grade class to see Richard Dawkins speak. The teacher quoted said something like, "We want to expose the kids to different beliefs, rather than just tell them that this and only this is the right one." One of the kids said something like, "I liked that he answered our questions like we were adults. Also, I thought it was interesting, because my dad's an atheist."

Though I'm not too fond of Dawkins, that still sounds way more interesting than my Jewish education -- the only field trips I can remember were to the Jewish Museum and to a matzo factory. Also a few to nursing homes where we'd sing holiday songs.

The teacher quoted said something like, "We want to expose the kids to different beliefs, rather than just tell them that this and only this is the right one." One of the kids said something like, "I liked that he answered our questions like we were adults. Also, I thought it was interesting, because my dad's an atheist."

Huh. That sounds really cool.

Poor Ginger & Mr. Peabody. Really, truly, consider taking him to a specialist.

Also, considering the valium they give to dogs is for rectal use, I would suggest seeing your own doctor for a prescription.

I am full of good advice!

Jessica, our neighborhood has a Children's Minyan, which is more potluck than G_d, and held at someone's house at appropriate holidays. A rabbi is there, but we don't have to join any institution.