When I presented Mom with her birthday present, I couldn’t get my phone to record her reaction. The present was a big frame with eight photos of our family, and she loved it. So, what did I do? I took back the present, waited about 10 minutes, and gave it to her again. This time I filmed it—the same, wondrous reaction to seeing all her loved ones is now recorded. I’m both amused and horrified by my use of Mom’s Alzheimer’s to get what I wanted. What I really want is my mom ba

Post-Independence Humus Situation Here’s the perennial question: What do you do with your left-over humus after Israel’s Independence Day? If you are lucky enough to have a friend named Ken who loves to cook and share his creations, you make Ken’s amazing Meat and Humus. Our family has a tradition of getting together with our University of Maryland friends who have also chosen to live in Israel. Even my parents have joined in some years (though this year, Daddy decided to sta