first night

Hi my dears. Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah! Being that the hard drive to my beloved laptop literally went KABLOOEY early this morning, I have been distraught all day trying to figure out how I was going to create this post. I stole my son's laptop for a time this afternoon, and am finally borrowing my husband's laptop tonight. OY

I am not Jewish myself, but all my life I have had many friends of the Jewish faith. What a fascinating religion. I also spent 6 months studying in Israel when I was in college, so the people and the land have a soft spot in my heart. When my children were young, I made a menorah out of wood, and carved Hebrew characters in it using my dremel tool. Every few years we would celebrate Hanukkah along with Christmas because it was important to me to teach my children to know about and respect the beliefs of others. I love the origin of Hanukkah - it is a beautiful miracle indeed - and I have fond memories of celebrating those times.

So happy first eve of Hanukkah! I found the above menorah a few days ago on - where else? - Apartment Therapy. I absolutely loved it! They had a post on eco-friendly menorahs and this one made out of galvanized pipe was so creative I couldn't take my eyes off of it!  

Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel. How I adore this story! In fact, my entire family adores this story - so much so that we have read it year round for countless years. Even tonight when I pulled it out, my 18 year old quickly grabbed it away from me as soon as he saw it. A delightfully playful story about brave Hershel who helps a little town celebrate Hanukkah again by outwitting the greedy, creepy, and downright scary goblins that have been tormenting the town for years. The story is wonderful, but the illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman are so creatively and beautifully drawn, they bring every page to life. A story you will never tire of!

So happy first night of Hanukkah my friends - I wish you all a lovely celebration :)

Special times xoxo