Friday evening starts the regular Shabbat, then there's no cooking or weekday-like activities from then until Saturday after sundown. As it happened this year, the first day of Passover started on Saturday, so Passover meals had to be prepared ahead of time. And, since we don't eat grain products, legumes, anything with leavening, special foods had to be purchased and prepared.
The second day of Passover is treated as a continuation of the first day in that we still don't do any weekday-like activities. So food had to be prepared for that day, too, ahead of time.
I knew my little crockpot wasn't going to be sufficient for the amount of soup needed, so I went out and bought a larger crockpot, which I will put away when Passover is done, and use it next year as a "kosher for Passover" utensil.
I had an extremely restless night Friday. Went to bed early so I could get up for the 7:30 A.M. Shabbat service Saturday morning. The reason for the early service was so that the traditional cholent and challah could be served during the kiddush (luncheon) after the service. We quit eating chametz by 10:30, and the usual Shabbat service is just getting started by then. Thus the early service on Shabbat Pesach. I did try. I set the alarm so I'd have plenty of time to get ready, but I couldn't get both eyes open and I couldn't walk a straight line. I finally did wake up about 11:00, and it was *way* to late to go to shul. So I read the Torah portion and tried to make a little Shabbat for myself.
Now the good part. Calichef came Saturday afternoon as I had invited her to be my guest at the first Seder. Megan and Rena were my guests, too. And then I heard from a friend that she was coming to the first night Seder, so we all walked over to the shul early so we could reserve seats at the table so we could all sit together. It was, as usual, a wonderful service, recounting the Jews' redemption from slavery in Egypt. Of course, it was a momentous occasion, and we recall it with great joy.
But the four cups of wine during the Seder...! I have no tolerance for alcohol. I can smell the cork and get a buzz. However, the first cup was wine. The second cup was wine and grape juice. The third cup was grape juice and a little wine. The fourth cup was all grape juice. And I was still feeling the effects of the first cup.
When the meal was served, I actually ate some chicken and enjoyed it. I'm a vegetarian, but when Megan offered me a small bite from her piece of chicken I thought it deserved another bite. Then, eventually, I fairly demolished a chicken breast. I don't know the recipe, but the chicken was well done without being dry, and it didn't give me the willy-wollies to have a piece of meat in my mouth. Will wonders never cease?
Megan had to leave before the celebration was over; she had to go to work the next morning and needed to get at least her minimum amount of sleep. Rena didn't want to go home just then, so she stayed overnight, and Megan picked her up after work the next day. Cali had first dibs on the spare bed, but Rena managed very nicely on the sofa.
I don't remember what time we all finally went to bed, but once again, a very restless night when I did hit the sheets. Finally, after nothing else worked, I took a hot soak bath until the twitches stopped. Not even the Klonopin worked. So, once again, I couldn't wake up in time to go to shul for the second Pesach service on Sunday morning.
And in other news besides Passover, between Megan and Cali, I have a working computer again. It doesn't take 10 minutes (or more) to load. When I click on delete, the item is deleted. I haven't gotten any "This page cannot be displayed" messages. So maybe I'll get through my mail without a massive delete. However, I'll probably not leave very many comments, or reply to very many emails. Just read and delete. Maybe I can keep up now.
Thank you Megan and Cali. I'm very much attached to this infernal machine, and I really-really need it to work efficiently.
Cali left this afternoon to go back home, and we had a grand visit. Talked about just about everything under the sun. She's good company. Come back soon.
Shalom