Every houseplant I’ve ever been responsible for could attest, from beyond the grave, that I don’t exactly have a green thumb. So it was interesting to move out to Seattle over a decade ago and be thrown into the Pacific Northwest gardening scene. People out here take their horticulture, like their outerwear, very seriously. Raised…
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Kids & Family
Bay Area
Camp scholarships now a 'Birthright' for Russian-speaking Jewish kids
Growing up in Soviet-era Ukraine in the 1970s and ’80s, attending Jewish summer camp was not an option for Rabbi Shimon Margolin of San Francisco. The…
Parenting
Summer is a real page-turner in my book-happy family
My grandparents’ basement is a magical place. Always cool in summer, it’s filled with piles of old movie posters from our family-owned movie theater,…
Unions
‘It can happen at any age’: Single mom marries for first time at 61
To say that Judy Penso and Marc Manason were feeling hopeful during their second date was an understatement. On their first date, in early November 2016…
Bay Area
New East Bay Hadassah chapter focuses on women in 30s and 40s
When she was a child, Jenette Woskow was undoubtedly the youngest member of a local Hadassah chapter in New York’s Westchester County. Her mother formed…
Mixed & Matched
My daughter refuses to spend Christmas with me
Dear Dawn: You know me, but please make this letter anonymous. I was born a Christian and will die one; that’s just who I am. But I was happy to raise my…
Parenting
As if Covid wasn’t enough, my new nightmare is ticks
The microscopic Covid-19 pathogen is often anthropomorphically illustrated as a fiendish ball with a destructive look on its face, studded all over with…
Parenting
‘Honor system’ on masks puts my young kids at peril
When it comes to medical choices about my kids, I couldn’t be more conventional. Mine got all their childhood vaccines right on schedule; the more, the…
Mixed & Matched
Issue of patrilineal descent raises some more questions
I was delighted by the many responses to my April column, “At a loss after my rabbi said I’m not allowed to read Torah.” Let’s walk through the…