Voted Off the Island

What Are You Doing Labor Day Weekend?

Summer is here and it's time to make your plans.  Me, I'll be on the shore in July, in the Berkshires in August, and in the Georgia Mountains at Tumbling Waters Resort for Atlanta's first LimmudFest over Labor Day Weekend. This multi-day Limmud event takes Limmud Atlanta to the next level, offering 3 full days of community, performances and learning. The resort offers comfortable cabins, lake and pool swimming, hiking, and all meals are included.

See the amazing list of confirmed presenters and folks we'll be living and learning with. 

Analia Bortz, Congregational rabbi, medical doctor, teacher, and mother from Argentina
Richard Chess, Professor of literature and classics at UNC-Asheville
Marshall Duke, Professor of psychology at Emory University, chrayn-maker extraordinnaire
Barbara Flexner, Painter, weaver, and spinner
Paul Flexner, Teacher, educator, and MG enthusiast
Marcus Freed, Performer, writer, and Bibliyogi from London
Richard Friedman, Professor of Jewish Studies at UGA, author of Who Wrote the Bible?
Shalom Goldman, Professor of Hebrew and Middle Eastern Studies at Emory University
Eric L. Goldstein, Associate professor of history and Jewish Studies at Emory University
Helene Kates, Musician, performer, and teacher, lead singer of The Baal Shem Tones
Linda Nathanson Lippitt
Laurie L. Patton, Professor of Religion at Emory University
Dafna Robinson, Chair of visual arts department at Georgia Southwestern State University, art director at Ramah Darom
Peninnah Schram, Storyteller, author, recording artist, and professor of speech and drama at Stern College
Craig Silverman, Jewish JAG in Iraq
Rae Sirott, Social worker, music therapist, group-drumming facilitator
Click here for full bios

Our host site has been voted "Best Conference Resort" in Georgia for 2009

I Heart Beacon, NY

To think that I almost didn't go.  It would have been so easy to just jump in the rental car last week and head straight up the Thruway to Blue Mountain Lake, NY where turkey, mashed potatoes, a big glass of wine and my family were waiting. But instead I took the road less traveled thinking, 'what the heck, there are no pesky children or moody ex husbands in this car,' so why NOT drive across the Beacon-Newburgh Bridge and visit the Dia Museum in Beacon, NY. 

I'm so glad I did.  Dia Beacon is the finest setting for modern art I've ever seen.  And that includes MOMA, The Guggenheim, and Mass MOCA. What makes this museum so stupendous is that so many of the art installations were created for the space, not shoe-horned into it.  It just works beautifully.

Donald Judd boxes let you walk around, peer inside, and experience the
endless ways a plywood cube can be fashioned

Dan Flavin light sculptures are showcased in this gallery

Andy Warhol's "Shadows" takes up a gigantic room with comfy couches
so you can sit and take it in s l o w l y

The Dia Beacon  space is an old Nabisco packaging plant on the banks of the Hudson River. 

Built in 1929 by Nabisco (National Biscuit Company), the historic steel, concrete, and glass factory building, designed by Nabisco’s staff architect Louis N. Wirshing, Jr., is a model of early-twentieth-century industrial architecture. Its most recent owner, International Paper, donated the building to Dia in 1999. The design elements that advanced the work of the factory also create an outstanding environment for viewing works of contemporary art. These elements include broad spans between supporting columns and more than 34,000 square feet of skylights, which introduce exceptional amounts of reflected north light. At Dia’s instigation, the building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The museum is literally a 5 minute walk from the Beacon train station, which is only 1.5 hours north of New York City.  Having lived in the river town Croton-on-Hudson and commuted daily into NYC, I can tell you that the ride is gorgeous and thrilling in every season and that I never tired of it. The trip to Beacon takes you even further north, where the real beauty of the river unfolds.

When you get to Beacon, there's another surprise -- downtown Beacon, also a 5 minute walk from the train station, has come back from the dead. It's practically Woodstocky...yet so much easier to get to and enjoy than the iconic Catskills town. 

   Beacon, NY in the fall

For most of the last 40 years, Beacon was an impoverished river town, famous for being the home of Pete Seeger and home port of the Sloop Clearwater.  The Dia Museum has accelerated the gentrification and renewal of the city.  Main Street now has shops and galleries and eateries and a vibrant street life. It's a place that's definitely on its way back to health and definitely worth a visit, even a weekend.

UPDATE ON DIA BEACON

King of Picnics

As the reigning Queen of Picnics, a skill honed by 20 years of al fresco meals on the lawn at Tanglewood in the Berkshires, I have been thinking of giving up my title and just retiring. I haven't been in a terribly picnicky mood lately. Perhaps it has something to do with not having the time or money to actually BE at Tanglewood anymore. Perhaps its my funk just knowing that the season has begun for my Berkshires rat pack and I'm not at the party anymore. The Great White Middle Class Yuppie Culture-Fest is underway, and I am consoling myself with plans for one splendid night in August, and the Berlioz Saint-Saens program. It will have to be enough. 

Picnicking on  the Lawn at Tanglewood

At any rate, Mark Bittman wins my vote for King of Picnics.  Today in the NY Times he offers 101 20-minute "Inspired" picnic recipes, and man they're good. This is like getting a picnic cookbook for free.  The categories are:

1. Raw Vegetables 
2. Cooked Vegetables
3. Beans, Rice & Grain Salads
4. Potato Salads & Egg Salads
5. Fruit                                                                            
6. Seafood
7. Meat & Poultry
8. Sandwiches
9. Cold Noodles
10. Desserts

Now on to one of my own picnic favorites --

Israeli Cous-Cous Salad
1 cup Israeli Cous Cous (fat, pearl sized)
Juice of 2 lemons
1 cup of fresh dill, minced
1 can (drained) garbanzo beans
1/2 bag (2 cups) fresh uncooked spinach, arugula or swiss chard, finely chopped
1 large red pepper, seeded and minced
olive oil (about 1/2 cup)

Boil the cous cous and drain. Toss with olive oil and salt to taste.
Add the remaining ingredients while cous cous is still warm. 
The greens will wilt. 
Serve warm or refrigerate for your picnic.

My House: Ready for it's Closeup

Jim Moss,  my wonderful Bed and Breakfast booker, is taking pictures of my house today for his website, Bed & Breakfast Atlanta. The ones you see here are from my real estate listing.

Now that I'm responsible for the mortgage, which is more than my monthly take-home, (thanks MEX) I'm doing bed and breakfasts at the house to make up the gap.  It's actually worked out well, better than having a tenant, and a good way to keep the house on the market.  So here's a little tour of Neener's B&B:

The living room . . . flooded with light

The Parlor, where I sometimes serve guests breakfast . . . cheery, eh?

The dining room, where I serve delicious fresh fruit, granola, yogurt, and outrageous baked goods for breakfast.  The coffee is French Roast and strong.  On weekends I flip eggs and make hot cereal.

The kitchen, which makes me weep with pleasure. My 18 years in New York as a rabbi's wife, living in congregation owned housing up north, made this the kitchen of my dreams.  It even has a wine refrigerator.

If you are traveling to Atlanta, doing business at the CDC, Emory University, or just want a nice intown Atlanta getaway weekend, come to Nina's Bed & Breakfast. It's literally walking distance to Emory and Emory Village, and a short stroll to VA Highlands. Book through Jim at BedandBreakfastAtlanta.com -- it's his business and he works hard for his clients! 

When Jim's photos of the guest suite are done, I'll post them here, but trust me, it's a really nice space -- two room suite with King sized bed, private bath, cable TV, wi-fi, and tons of character. 

If you ask nicely, I'll even make you cheese grits. :-)