#See I'm retaining some yiddish

[meatmensch]

I read May His Memory Be A Blessing months ago and commented then, but I'm still thinking about rabbi Miriam and what a brilliant character she is. Especially in her POV, just seeing her thought process is so interesting. She's so full of wonder and love, exactly the kind of person I'd expect to be a rabbi. No real point to this just saying thanks for this woman I think about now and then

Awe, thank you so much! Because May His Mem Be a Bless was one of the first fics I published, it's sad, and it's Jewish, it hasn't gotten at much attention as some of my other fics. It's the one I feel to be the most artistic though, haha. So, anyway, I really appreciate comments and messages like these!

I'm glad you like the character of Rabbi Miriam! The whole idea for the fic was born because I thought it'd be interesting for Dean to express his genuine, personal anger with God to an atheist, who is a religious leader. My original thought was to make him be in a church alone, just sobbing/screaming at the idols, and a pastor's like, "You good?" Then I remembered I don't really know what church or pastors are like, lmao. And, the concept of an atheist rabbi made more sense to me than an atheist pastor. From there, I just tried to make her loving, quirky, bold, passionate, wise, and helpful.

Some more Rabbi Miriam tidbits that (for now) only exist in my brain:

She plays the fiddle

Her wife is a fat Black Jewish woman who's a mechanic and owns/runs her own garage. They met at community college when they both went back to school to take a class for fun

Their son Dudi's adopted, trans, bi. DOES TRY to hit on Dean when they first meet, but then Miriam's like, "Young man WHAT are you doing? This is my friend the widower with the recently revived husband I've been telling you about." "Oh SHIT, sorry y'all. Hey Dean, good to finally meet you!"

She drinks a lot of Manischewitz which Dean clowns on her for cuz "Rabbi it's WINE. If you're going to drink, have a real drink, like beer" "Dean that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard" "And it's so sweet! You'll be pissing corn syrup!" "What I piss is none of your business"

She has a sister. That sister has a husband and 2 kids. Dean dated one of them in high school. Yes, Lenny Cortez. Neither Dean nor Rabbi Miriam have realized this connection yet

She and Sam aren't as tight as her and Dean, but they do love to hang out and talk about literature

Her and her wife both grew up with Yiddish speaking grandparents but they didn't retain much. When they got together they decided to relearn Yiddish together. Their son's a native speaker

She did a lot of peyote back in the day

Her and her wife have EXTENSIVE record and book collections. Just walls of them

#i hope u do not mind how i went off here #spn #my posts #my art and writing #mail #jupernatural

[wahlpaper]

All-of-a-Kind Family Review

All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor

CW: Scarlet Fever, Money Problems, Lost Child, Police Propaganda, Parental Problems, Jealousy

5/5

I recently overheard a conversation about Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I couldn't help but think about the fact that I've never read the book nor seen an adaptation. I was raised on Sydney Taylor's All-of-a-Kind Family instead.* Certainly they aren't quite the same, but it was my story collection about young girls in a large family. I decided it was time to revisit this part of my childhood, and I'm very glad I did! I have been able to gush about it with my mom and remember things that had been lost to time. Taylor is an excellent author and Suzanne Toren did an amazing job narrating the audiobook.

All-of-a-Kind Family is about 5 Jewish sisters growing up in a tenement house in New York City in the early 1900s. Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte, and Gertie are all very close. The book follows these sisters, their family, and a family friend as they go through roughly a year of their life. This family loves the library, seeing new things, and finding clever ways to spend their allowance. They get themselves into a fair bit of trouble, but they always have each other to count on when that happens.

This book is told in vignette-like chapters as it progresses through time. Each one is a little story from their lives, but it retains continuity as it goes from one to the next. For example, the first chapter is about a lost library book. The book is being paid back throughout the rest of the chapters, being brought up in a couple of them. I quite enjoyed this style of writing. There were some background plot lines to tie the whole book together, but I was specifically captivated by the chapter-long plots. It kept me from being able to predict what would come next. This was a relief, for I had forgotten much of All-of-a-Kind Family in the decades since reading it last.

One of the most interesting things about reading All-of-a-Kind Family now is that it's historical fiction from before even my mom was born. The book was written about the turn of the 20th century, it was published in 1951, and I read it in 2023. I had a lot of fun trying to figure out what was included as historical and what was just normal for Taylor. Tenement life is not something I knew a lot about. It was interesting to learn about the candy they had, all of the peddlers trying to sell things, and the fashion, among other things.

I certainly loved all the Judaism in All-of-a-Kind Family! This is likely why I was raised on the series, because it was a group of young Jewish kids. I'm only one of 3 instead of the large number in this family, but there was still plenty of relatable content. I smiled at all the Yiddish included, the voices done by the narrator, and all of the holidays they celebrated. Although each holiday was explained to Gertie, the youngest child, it's clear that the book was written for a Jewish audience (but don't let that discourage you if you aren't Jewish!). It was interesting to see the religion from their perspective, as they're clearly more conservative than I am. Women did not typically go to synagogue, and when they did, they were separated into sections. They also had the two sets of dishes that kosher rules dictate. I keep kosher-style. This means that I follow the basic rules only. Not everyone practices Judaism the same way, so I appreciate that variety being represented in what I read.

All-of-a-Kind Family is aimed at children, likely to be read to them by their parents. Each chapter is very much its own story, the children are young, and the other characters are referred to in ways a child would (ex. Mama, Library Lady). Still, it seems to have transcended time and age-range. Someone of any age could get something out of this book. The point of view for the book is 3rd Person Omniscient. That means you get to know what's going through the minds of the adults too. It also has some relatively universal themes like familial love, money problems, a love for reading, and the weight of responsibility. Don't be afraid to read a children's book for your own pleasure, especially this one.

If you like historical fiction, books about Jewish characters, or stories that take place in New York City, give All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor a chance! The girls and Mama have all kinds of adventures for you to join them on. And if you need me to up the stakes, if you're a fan of Little Women, you can challenge me to read that while you read this! Now let's get to reading about these book lovers!

*I want to make it clear that I am snubbing Little Women, it just wasn't part of my childhood.

#all-of-a-kind family #sydney taylor #jewish authors #jewish books #book blog #bookblogger #jewish family #jewish histroical fiction #historical fiction #turn of the century #tenement #jewish nyc #suzanne toren #nostalgia read

[coquelicoq]

another themed puzzle 🥰

Across

1. Casual conversations 6. British network nickname, with "the" 10. "A Farewell to ___" 14. Party hearty 15. Poker pot starter 16. Horn sound 17. ___ acid (protein building block) 18. Actress Rowlands 19. Male turkeys or cats 20. Show up late to Wimbledon? 23. In a snobby fashion 24. "___ High" (1999 song that name-drops Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, and Aphrodite) 28. Striped shirt wearer 29. Suffocate 30. Non-___ (label on some organic foods) 33. Insult Sesame Street's resident vampire? 36. Satisfied sounds 38. Shortly before? 39. Farm equipment 40. Put one's money where one's foot is? 45. Broadway sign acronym meaning "we have no more seats to sell" 46. Binge 47. ___ capita 49. "It has a certain je ___ quoi" 50. Like an issue divided along party lines 55. Take a whack at farming? 57. In this place 60. Peeples and Long 61. Patterned upholstery fabric 62. Awestruck 63. "Give or take" 64. Run in the wash 65. Musician related to Herman Melville who shares a name with a Herman Melville character 66. "Read 'em and ___!" 67. Makes, as income

Down

1. Studies into the wee hours the night before a test 2. Surround 3. Dispatch boat 4. Tightening muscle (anagram for NOTERS) 5. Like spoons used to make spaghetti 6. "Everything" breakfast item 7. Foe 8. Sicilian volcano 9. "Heck if I know" 10. Above all others 11. Friend of Pooh whose name rhymes with "Pooh" 12. May honoree 13. Ave. crossers 21. Old 45 player 22. Popular ice cream flavor, for short 25. Synagogues 26. Mister in Mexico 27. "One lump ___?" 29. Storage space for yard equipment, often 30. West African nation 31. Purple shade 32. "That's for sure" 34. Labor Day mo. 35. Uno + due 37. Game plan 41. ___ to the throne 42. "Whoa, Nelly!" 43. Mortgage figs. 44. 1970 Beatles chart-topper 48. Swiss lozenge brand 50. New moon, e.g. 51. "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" writer 52. Downhill racer 53. Kind of wrench 54. Requires 56. Goodyear product 57. Western omelet ingredient 58. Bigheadedness 59. Burgle

#i like this one because i think the theme clues are quite clever! and theme clues are really hard for me #cruciverbs #my posts #i said the other day that simple/common french and spanish was allowed in american crosswords but there is also a very little #german and italian that is allowed. german: the numbers 1-3 (4 and 5 are pushing it)‚ a‚ the‚ no‚ Frau‚ Herr #i've seen echt a few times but it always reeks of desperation. if a constructor can use anything else in that spot‚ they will #danke and to a much lesser extent bitte #italian: the numbers 1-3 and 7-8‚ ciao (which doesn't count because it's been borrowed into english)‚ sera (as in buona sera) #and sometimes german and italian is included if it's part of the titles of famous works but i would count that separately #japanese: obi is very common. i used to see hai but haven't in a while. nisei. tatami. noh (this one also reeks of desperation) #a bit of arabic. a bit of scots but honestly i don't know enough about it to know whether it's scots gaelic or scottish english #nyet in russian. sometimes you'll see duma and dacha. as you can see it's either words that are extremely well known #(greetings‚ yes/no) or words that just have a very convenient arrangement of letters #of course words that have been borrowed into english are fair game. there are several yiddish words/phrases that show up #some hebrew. names of holidays in various languages #lots of names of culinary dishes which i also wouldn't count because usually they are retained in english #now i'm thinking about sera and how sometimes it's clued to be about que sera sera #and how up until like...a month ago i just had that filed in my head as italian #and idk why i was thinking about it but suddenly i was like wait. que is not an italian word. that is definitely not italian #i just looked it up and apparently it's not spanish either (or it's ungrammatical spanish) #fascinating! you can put whatever in a song and americans will just be like sure sounds like it could be some language or other #and then not think about it ever again #i think all americans should learn more languages so i have more options for words to put in crosswords #i kid i kid. that's a stupid reason. unless...? 😳 #just found this in my drafts and idk why it's in here. it seems fine to post? so i'm posting it lol #it's already been printed in the freakin' newspaper