Rosh Hashanah - Day One

We went to shul this morning at Garnethill , which, incidentally is at the corner of Garnet and Hill Streets in the Garnethill section of Glasgow. I think the people who brought us "...For Dummies" books made the streets signs and place names in and around Glasgow.

The shul has been around since 1879 and Josh's great-grandparents belonged there. In fact, this is where Josh's grandparents met! So that place holds a lot of memories and significance for him.

After the services Josh's uncle took us out to a kosher restaurant for lunch. You might wonder what kosher restaurant would be open on Shabbos AND Rosh Hashanah? Well this is where the proverbial rubber hits the road! Josh's uncle found this place and its grand opening was today. He pre-paid for the meals, so that takes care of the handling money issues and they cooked the meals in advance, so that takes care of the food preparation issues. It's still not in the 'spirit of things', but for Glasgow it was the only real alternative.

The meal itself was quite nice, but watching Josh's uncle eat pretty much spoiled my appetite. The way that man eats is simply frightening! His place was piled high and he ate every last bite, to the point that he used his challah to nab at the last couple of grains of rice on his plate. He really takes 'waste not, want not' to a whole new level! The entire meal was a buffet, and when it came time for dessert, he took five little cakes and a couple cookies. By this description, you would think he weighed a lot, but in fact he is quite slim and trim. Perhaps this is the diet secret I've been looking for; eat until you're about to burst and then eat some more!

Then, just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...

We were invited to Josh's aunt and uncle's for dinner, yes, that's just whawt we wanted after today's gastromonic parade.

When we got there we went for a long walk and talked, which was quite pleasant. Then we had dinner and I was grateful that I wasn't hungry! She served sandwiches; egg, herring, and lox and cream cheese. That was fine, but on top of the bread was butter. BUTTER! I don't think I've ever been so grossed out as I was eating a cream cheese, lox and butter sandwich. I only realized after I bit into it that there was butter on it. The look that must have been on my face...

She kept trying to stuff food on our plates. Everytime our mouth was empty, she kept offering more! Then came dessert which was cookies and cake, and surprise, the cake was coated in...come on, you can guess...BUTTER!

Thankfully everyone was tired after dinner so we called it a night. WHEW!

After we got home my mom called us and the first words out of her mouth were "don't worry". I asked her what was wrong and she said that she checked on Deuce today and there was nothing in his litter box. At the time I thought that maybe Deuce was having a bit of a temper tantrum because we weren't there. We said our goodbyes and I called Josh's father and he said that Deuce's box was completely empty on Thursday, but on Friday they added some kitty litter and he ran in and did what he had to do. He asked if he should call the vet and I said that might be a good idea and that was where matters rested for the night.

Let's just say I don't think I got a wink of sleep that night.