Four Feasts & a Physical

11:44pm Why am I up? Should gone to bed by now. But this here new fangled computin' machine got me burnin' watchyamacall ...that midnight errl. Been schlepin' all over creation a-singin', a-crackin' jokes & a-shoppin'. Kids are all excited about going to Safta's (Grandma's) house for our annual Hanukkah get together. All the cousins will be there. Then the following day we're having Xmas Eve dinner here with H's family. Then Xmas Day at Nana's house. Mo gifts. Mo dinner. Then Kwanzaa (the next day)...we don't celebrate it...but my bro is takin' me & the little lady to yet another dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant. Looks like four eves of feasting! Got get back on that imaginary treadmill. Or at least pace me self at buffet & dinner tables, before I go for my annual physical. Maybe Santa will bring me a gym membership (right next to my lump 'o coal.)

Anyhoo, it's just great to see the kids getting excited about the holidays...lighting candles, giving gifts to teachers, making cookies, decorating the house, seeing relatives...would be nice if we got some snow.

1st night

1st night of Chanuka! Hannah lit candles. Jonathan enjoyed clapping & attempting to sing "Chanuka, Chanuka" with his bros. I made scallion latkes which totally rocked! Can we ever go back to plain latkes? I don't think so. Well, maybe...if there's a scallion shortage.

Oh, XM has a new channel, XM 108, XM Hanukkah: http://www.xmradio.com/hanukkah/. I checked it out today. Some cool rock-based & klezmer tunes, & some heart-on-your-sleeve, quick-turn-it-off-before-I-platz tunes.

What's the TRUE spelling for Hanukkah, Hanuka, Chanuka?

On an unrelated note, I'm running a contest on my other blog, Indie Kids Rock, courtesy of Trout Fishing In America. Keith & Ezra have autographed 3 CD's & 3 DVD's for a giveaway on my blog. There will be an interview with TFIA there shortly.

10:00pm Just got back from our whirlwind Hanukkah Concert tour of NJ & PA. Two concert in two states on the same day! OK, so the venues were only an hour apart, but the shows rocked! The sound system at JCC in Deal was great, & we got the kids & parents clappin', singin' & rockin'. Later, a private concert for Temple Kol Emet in Yardville, PA was packed with 130+ folks. The kids were jumping out of their skins...too much sugar, I guess. Parents joined in the dancing. We even did Hava Nagilla about as well as any Jewish Wedding Band which is saying something cause we have no clarinet player. Next week we're off to Bridge over troubled Waters, I mean JCC in Bridgewater.

40 !

Yup, I'm official in mid-life. Crisis? No. Just a leather jacket, first tattoo of a Harley saying "Born to Be Wild, Baby!" Kidding, of course. Just another regular day, except for some well-wishers, the b-day song & a home-made cake. Yum. My dad used to say he felt like 18 when he was 40+. I dunno, somehow 18 felt lighter in many ways. Don't mean to complain but there's the beginning of arthritis in one hip, & I aint quite as 'springy' as I use to be. BTW: I share my birthdate with Mark Twain, & Billy Idol. Two notorious pains in the tuchass. What will the next 40 bring?

Hanukkah Rehearsal

10:14pm Just finished rehearsal with The Superdads. We're putting together The Rockin' Hanukkah Concert. Lots of new takes on traditional Hanukkah songs. Maoz Tzur actually sounds like a U2/Yardbirds tune. Joe's backups are soaring & add texture to my vocals. Scotts lays down a great groove, & Gary's just colors it all beautifully. It's really exciting. I'm imaging a Hanukkah CD or DVD, & supporting gigs for next year. We'll give it a trial run this December & see where it goes.

Earlier we (The Levins) went out to dinner with The Glass Family at Friendly's. Not my fave place to eat, but always a good time when we hang together. The kids got lot to chat about & so do the grown-ups. Robs shoulder was hurting. We talked about the various incarnations Rob has been through often exemplified by his hairdos...mullet as a young hick teen, crew cut in the military, afro & lately, long with pony tail.

Just put together Danny Adlerman's interview & posted it on Indie Kids Rock. It looks great! The pic is a beaut! I'm diggin the intro. Surprising (but then again maybe not so surprising) how when one writes from the heart things seem to flow.

Plan for tomorrow: work on new brochure, set up rehearsal with sit-in drummer (for one gig), f/u calls.

Mo Indian Summer

Beautiful day! Must've been in the low 60's. Blue sky. Kids wanted to see "Happy Feet." Fun flick, a bit long...wish there was a change of scene. All that snow & ice has a chilly effect. Afterwords, we headed home for lunch. I got the bright idea to pick up mulch at the local recycling spot & spread it around some beds. Heather figured out where to edge the beds with a garden hose. Like always an hour long project turned into a three hour project. That was fun, & shoo looks perrty.

Day to day.

As if I don't have enough to do on a daily basis. Something about this blog world really appeals to me. There's a space & a DIY feel that just gives me the warm fuzzys. I'm not sure where this blog is going. Perhaps it's an open diary with musings & reflections. Perhaps it's a dumping ground for all the non-essentials, yet somehow essential daily trivia that glues this so called life together.

Here goes:

Today, we had Matt & Nik's 10th B-Day at Insectropolis; a bug museum. They are budding entomologists & this was the perfect place for their party. About 15 of their friends showed up. Boys & girls. They all took turns holding hissing roaches, giant millipedes & spiders. They all (yes, even the girls) ate sour cream & onion flavored crickets, & nacho cheese flavored meal worms. What a troop! After the demonstration & "Fear Factor" munch fest, they had cupcakes & explored the place.

Jon had a bit of a fit when we got home, protesting the fact that it wasn't his birthday. These lessons are hard on a 4 year old who's the youngest & feels he needs all the attention he deserves. Hannah was great with the kids, especially filming the whole party.

I'm a-gettin' tired. Long day.

Oh, about the name of this blog...if you ain't figured it out yet, you gotta ask yourself.