JulieLeung.com: a life told in tidepools

It’s a holiday in Geneva, Switzerland, celebrated on the night of the 11th to the 12th of December. Escalade literally means “climbing,” and refers to the unsuccessful attempt of the troops of the Duke of Savoy (from neighboring France) to scale the walls of the City of Geneva in 1602 and conquer it.

So you had these Savoyard soldiers climbing up ladders and threatening to take over this wonderful Swiss city. BUT! But, but, but. You see, there was this lady, a mother of fourteen children, who is now honored as “Mère Royaume” (mother of the realm) because she was brave enough to throw her big hot pot of scalding vegetable soup on the heads of the encroachers! Clearly that was the decisive factor in the failed invasion, don’t you think?

Too bad the blog post doesn’t have any sound or scent components…

Today Richard described how they celebrated the bris and baby-naming of our twins last SundayI enjoyed reading the explanations of why and how they chose to circumsize Adin as well as Miriam’s brit bat ceremony.

A Jewish boy who does not have a bris distances himself from his forbears and the tradition itself. I’m not making an argument here that circumcision somehow guarantees a boy will become an observant Jew. But it allows him the option to become whatever type of Jew (observant, secular, agnostic, atheist) he might choose to be once he develops the ability to make such a choice. In making this decision we felt that the chain of tradition trumped any other consideration. Another secondary reason is that this ritual draws together the community to celebrate, in the most visceral way, the miracle of birth and life.

You know that winter has descended upon you when the days become long and you can feel the cold in your bones. It is also then that descending upon the west coast of North America, from San Francisco bay up to Alaska, is the Dungeness crab.

Dungeness Spit, and such crustaceans, are not far from our home.

If you love someone who loves you back and you are in the same room, lean over and give them a kiss. Remember how lucky you are.