I learned how to make borscht and homemade gefilte fish from Ina. I just tasted the gefilte fish, which we made in kosher chicken stock with carrots and onions, and you have to boil it for an hour, taste the broth, add this or that, taste the broth again. Then you have to put it in the refrigerator until it gets cold. Well, I ate a piece with a little horseradish, and almost died. But this is a picture of the borscht I made. You cannot believe what that broth tasted like. It's made from beets. When I was in Cuba, they used to have a lot of Russian food at El Club, the restaurant for the elite artists etc. And I loved borscht. You put a spoonful of sour cream in your bowl, if you have no meat in it. Well, I'll do that when I serve it for Shabbat dinner. I'm gonna die. Here is a picture of the borscht cooking. It's art.

Of course I picked them out. They are German hatpins, made of gold and pearl (like my earrings!) from the Tadema Gallery -- their cheapest price point. I intend to wear them as hair sticks put diagonally in a bun to match my earrings. :-) Ah, jewelry is so the meaning of life. ;-P Birthday preparations for Dec. are starting in August. LOL

Elliot took me to the beach at St. Padre Island, off Corpus Christi, TX. The beaches are as beautiful as Georgia, and the dunes reminded me of Marina Beach, CA.

If anyone was curious as to how our pets are doing, here they are in all their glory!

Sara Cat


Squirrel?




Harry Bird



Grace, "What do you want from me now, you inferior, tiresome creature?"




Lucy




Alice




Knishie, our girl Puli dog




Mazel Tov, aka Mazey, our boy Puli dog

As Laredo, TX, is Spanish Texas, the beauty and sublime nature of Mexican art shines as bright as the sun. When Marilyn, Ricarda, and I went to Marti's store in Nuevo Laredo, we had a wonderful time. These are just some pictures of us enjoying a marvellous afternoon.

We all dream of being the most beautiful woman in the world. There are several painters who found her. Leonardo found Mona Lisa, and Vermeer found this girl. This is my favorite painting, and when I had my fake pearls made into real ones once again, I fantasized myself with her turban and costume, and those unforgettable eyes looking into your soul.

I went to an astonishingly beautiful store in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, the day before yesterday. Here are some of the things I saw, featuring the finest art of the beautiful country of Mexico. Click on each picture to see the artworks in full size:

Click on each picture to see the full-sized version. :-)

I had the lovely pleasure of meeting Elliot's sister Janet, her husband Jon, her daughter Jessica, and his mother Marilyn. They were all fantastic, and I felt immediately comfortable with all of them. I was so happy to be there. Then I went on the adventure of a lifetime. My honeymoon. The first thing we saw were the caves and the bats of Carlsbad National Park in New Mexico. The caves were something, and I have pictures of them. But the bats, you couldn't take pictures of. At 8:00 pm, about 400,000 little bats flew out of the cave, circling 7 times and then flew out into the night. They were breathtaking. We also ate breakfast at a lovely coffee shop. Here are my first pictures of Elliot's family and of Carlsbad, NM:

There are no words to describe the beauty of this place. There are, however, words to describe getting out of a camping van in 35-degree weather to go to an outdoor public toilet at 3:00 am. I will not mention them here. :-) I remember in Monterey, CA, I was invited to a hang gliding outing, and the club-owner's daughter said, "Does Barbara know it's camping?" Prophetic, she was. :-) Here is the magnificent Yellowstone:

America, America, God shed his light on thee, with purple mountains' majesty...

Salt Lake City was a surprisingly amazing place. I had no idea the city was so interesting, with each old house painted and gardened with individual fervor. There was no homogeny, no Stepford Wife robotic similarity in the architecture, so I took pictures of Salt Lake City houses. Then we visited the Mormon Tabernacle and a Mormon conference building, both of which were awe-inspiring, too, but seemed to be on the top of a culture, underneath which lived great diversity. We also saw a bird sanctuary to die for. First, the houses of Salt Lake City:






































The birds of Salt Lake City:





















































This is what the Mormons built:

















In this monument, you look at the inscription, and not only do you see all different people drawn, you see your own reflection, so you are included, too.

The Grand Canyon was one of the most astounding places I ever saw. To think that it was a dried up riverbed for the Colorado River, and water created that blew my mind. Made me want to be a geologist.We stayed at a lovely inn before we went to see this natural masterpiece.

Before Elliot and I went to the Bellagio, we dropped off our son Svi at Julie's breathtaking house in a gated community high above Las Vegas in Henderson, Nevada. He had fun and played video games with his friend Ethan. I took one picture of the view, and another of the new love in my life. His name is Tyson. Yes, he has 4 paws, and the entire house seemed to be dedicated to making him comfortable, which I think is as it should be. :-)


This is why all Jewish mothers want their daughters to marry pediatric eye surgeons. ha!



I love Tyson!

I had the time of my life in decadent luxury at the Bellagio -- an unforgettable place. From the Dale Chihuly sculptures everywhere to the food, to the SPA! Yes, that's right. I went to a spa for the first time. Oh boy! This experience must be repeated regularly. ;-) I was born to go to spas! I got a 50-minute massage and a 50-minute facial, with products to buy afterward. Oy. I just figure. OK, Barbara, you need another product obsession. French olive oil and hair combs aren't enough. You need to grow rare orchids and get addicted to French face cream. ;-) Anyway! Here are the pics:















































The hotel also had a gorgeous gift shop, but everything was over $1000, so I took pictures instead. ;-)


























My wedding dinner photo. :-)

The houses and gardens are to die for.

We stopped for two days in LA to see Venice Beach and meet Elliot's niece Jodie. She works on projects with the ER people she has gotten to know -- very impressive. We ate at a great deli. But the most emotional, miraculous moment of this vacation for me was setting eyes on my cousin Max after 20 years. I held him as a baby. His kid pictures with me have always been all over my room. We ate at Smokin' -- the best barbeque place in the world and glatt kosher. Then, Elliot, Max, and I went to see "The Hangover," after dinner, which was hysterical. In the parking lot, Max put his beautiful hands on my face, looked at me, and said, "I think you're great." My heart went to the ceiling. He wants to come visit us in Laredo in October! What a joy! Here are the pictures.

The last place we went was the poetically beautiful Malibu Beach in California. The weather was perfect and the light shone on the rocks and the water like a painting. Here are the photos.





























There was also a lovely garden store, with such beautiful things.

Well, today I became Mrs. Rosenbaum. Here are some pics of my wedding. :-) It was an Orthodox Jewish wedding in an Orthodox synagogue. Me? Jewish? Who knew. ;-P












This is me, Elliot, and his beautiful 16-year-old son Sviatoslav, whom we call Svi. :-)




This is what an Orthodox synagogue looks like. The curtain is to separate men and women! Yikes!




We were honored to be married by Rabbi Scheinberg, an extremely inspired leader, learned, and lovely man who heads a big congregation in San Antonio, TX.


















When you break the glass, it's over! woo! Then everyone dances! What fun. :-)

The dogwood is pink, and the bees are having a field day pollinating it. Daffodils peek. A couple of other trees are flowering now. Here is what I see before spring yard cleanup.