an UPDATE OMG!!! :)

Ok - so i guess it's not that astounding, but Minijaxter did ask if I was going to be updating regularly, and I figured I should try to post again.

So, I never gave any info about the anti-seder.

Background -

I guess the first bit of background that most people need would be the fact that I am, in theory, Jewish. :) Mom and I usually refer to ourselves as Pagan jews. We tend to have a rather irreverent outlook on religion. The truth is, we are jewish by culture more than any thing else (having grown up in a 60% jewish community/area on Long Island, there's a lot of "culture.) We tend not to go in for formal or oganized religions choosing our own spirituality. But the truth is, when you are raised jewish and most of your family is conservative or conservadox, there's culture you just can't escape.

So Background part 2. :) Last year around passover we had been trying to figure out if we were going to NY for the big family seder. Well with weather being what it was, and my grandmother being very happy in Florida, we suggested they stay there (along with my aunt and uncle) and we would host our own seder. (we of course at this point we had no intention of having our own seder.) My Husband, being Episcopalean light (which is very light {grin}) made the following suggestion: "hey, why don't have have a kind of Anit-Seder. We can make that free ham we got from Acme for the main course..." I of course started running with an expanding this idea. He meant it as a COMPLETE joke. I told my mother, who loved it and ran with it further. And so the ***-annual anti-seder was born.

Last year, we had a rip roaring time with jokes and amusements and Echrai drinking a juice glass filled with vodka. :)

So this year's Anti-seder (forever now known as the AS cuz i'm tired of typing anti-seder) was a full house. We had 12 and then later 13 people come and join in. We had as much non kosher food as we could have. Spiral cut honey ham, roast leg of lamb(more on that later) corn dumplings instead of matzoh balls (corn is not kosher for passover, i've heard various reasons why) rice, green beans (with butter :) ), and so forth. We did do the horseradish and the Charoset (apples and walnuts in wine) though. Gotta have some tradition there. The wine flowed, the puns were made, and the evening progressed.

When we got to the part with the 4 questions, my mother decided that rather than 4 questions, everyone at the table would ask *me* a question. :) so that was 11. :) one person asked if she could pass while she thought and we said "nope, that was your question. Next?"

Another question was "what level of hell was going on outside on the deck." Apparently the grill got rather aggressive with the roast lamb. The temp guage which maxed at 700, had pegged a 1/4" past 700 and the dials were too hot to touch. Interestingly enough, a good portion of the lamb though charred on the outside, was still medium rare on the inside. :)

There were a lot of wonderful one liners and puns, and a good time was had by all. :) We will definitely do this again next year.... though if word spreads I might have to find more than 12 chairs. As it is I went to staples to buy a 4 pack of folding chairs, used the 2 others that I had, and we still had to pull over an armchair from the living room for the late comer.

All in all a good AS though. :) The dogs were rather tired out. (we had put them in day care that day so they wouldn't be too hyper with all the people and then all the people tired them out.) And something spooked zoe, because all day easter she was afraid to go into the living room. It MIGHT have been the string maze my husband had laid out. Apparently tradition in his family is to twist string around all over the place and follow it to where your easter basket is hidden. So this year he did a string for me and a string for my mom... :) That might have scared her a bit. But she is easily scared. :) we had the hose on the deck the other day and she woudlnt' go back out on the deck for a little while. Mister could care less. :)

Not much else going on in recent days... my brother's bday is tomorrow and he's feeling all "blah, it's a non day, no one is doing anything is mid week and blah blah blah. " Which of courseI shouldn't make fun of cuz i get the same way. :) but i'm pretty sure his friend has something planned.

THere's all kinds of new dramas in the NY front with my grandmother's estate but i think i'll make that a different post.......