Norwitz Notions

Drash for Congregation Ner Shalom‘s Shabbat service, October 13, 2023, a few days after the start of the Israel-Gaza war. by Cyndi Norwitz. A few days ago, we celebrated Simchat Torah, marking the cycle of our sacred book from the end all the way forward to the beginning.  We unrolled the Torah scroll, creating a […]

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  Jewish Cemetery in Žilina, Slovakia Sorted by Surname I visited the very well-kept Žilina cemetery in May 2017.  At the entrance are two framed maps of the cemetery, painstakingly hand drawn to scale, each grave listed with the name found on the headstone.  This document is my transcription of these maps. The cemetery is […]

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This is two days in Taos.  [Mom says: it’s actually three days.  Miriam says: But there are no pictures from the first day.]  We are at the Taos Pueblo.  So we are at the Taos’s little town.  This is a sign that says “sorry, we’re open” instead of “yes, we’re open.”  Why would you be […]

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This the pool in Moab, Utah, after we left Arches.  This has an indoor and an outdoor pool.  This is the indoor pool and a huge water slide.  There’s two diving boards way in the back. This the shallow pool and three little water slides on those brown rocks.  It was too little for me. […]

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This is Landscape Arch.  It was a very long and hard hike to it. This is me and my mom in front of landscape Arch. This is the sign for the tour of the Fiery Furnace.  *chol!*  It’s a three hour long tour, including stops.  There was lots of rock climbing, lots of challenges.  It […]

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This is Broken Arch. It was a long hike. Balanced Rock is cool. I love it! This is windows. We sat under it. It was a little fun! This is me going into a little cottage in Wolfe Ranch.  It never ever got moved.  The family lived there. This is the other cottage which you’re […]

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We arrived at Arches National Park and our tent is set up and this is our campsite.  Those gray clouds are rainclouds.  There was a huge thunderstorm with lightening and really strong wind and really hard rain.  Our tent almost blew away. This is a beautiful sunset.  We could see it from our campsite. This […]

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This is our last day in Salt Lake City last Saturday. This is the Salt Lake City library and I am in the children’s section looking at Rainbow Magic fairy books.  The second and the third shelves is all fairy books and I’m looking at one.  There are so many, I couldn’t believe my eyes. […]

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Bridgers Bay Beach on Antelope Island, UT. It was a really really REALLY long walk to the water.  When we were about 3/4 of the way to to the water, it started sprinkling, and we thought it was nothing.  Then it started raining raining.  And then it started pouring and then when we were further […]

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This me mining for gold in a creek at the Heritage Center.  I found about 5 or 6 pieces. This is me in a ship back in the old days laying down in the beds they slept in. This is some leather I put stamps on and a necklace I made in the crafts center […]

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We’re driving across the Nevada desert.  It is very beautiful.  Seeing all the mountains.  But it was very very hot. This is me eating coconut tapioca pudding.  It is delicious. I am at a playground at Wendover town.  This is spinning very fast.  So fast I can’t even get on it to stand up.  This […]

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This is me posing for a picture for my mom at Meeks Bay beach in Lake Tahoe. This is me jumping off a rock in the water. The water in the lake was VERY cold.  I could barely even swim in it. This is me reading a book with my sunglasses on because the sun […]

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This is the first day of our trip, driving to Tahoe. This is my mom and me by a lake.  By Donner Lake. These are some people we met.  They bicycle all around the US.  The person’s name is Ron and the dog’s name is Buddy. This is Meeks Bay lake.  This is where we […]

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Quick, name some fermented foods.  What did you come up with?  Beer? wine? cheese? pickles?  Let’s not forget yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut, miso, kombucha, natto, tempeh, vinegar, and bread.  These and more were the focus of the second annual Freestone Fermentation Festival in Sonoma County, California, May 15, 2010. This was my first time at this […]

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After all our travel posts, I thought it was time to share some places close to home.  Really close to home in this case. Peterson’s Farm 636 Gossage Ave, Petaluma, CA 94952 ettamarie@petersonsfarm.com http://www.petersonsfarm.com/ Yes, we are lucky enough to live across the street from a small, working, chemical-free farm.  In a mere 6 acres, […]

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