First off, Eva and I want to express our deep gratitude to the community for all you are doing for us. We aren't out of the woods yet, but thanks to all of you, we're on a path.

We posted yesterday's letter to the community at 12:30. By 2:30, we had not one, but two offers from US Bank.  One is an offer for us to buy our way out of the lease (for an amount that might be workable for us), and the second a reduced rate on the lease for the coming year. We believe that the firestorm of activity you all provoked brought them to the table. 

Eva and I have not yet decided what we want to/need to do. There are a lot of issues for us to weigh. Prime among them is the outpouring of support we are feeling from all of you. We are humbled by the donations you all are making. We are overwhelmed  by the statements you are making telling us (and others) how much CubeSpace matters to you, and what a difference we've made in your lives over the past 2.5 years. 

Thank you all so much, and we will absolutely continue to post progress reports here and on twitter. 

You rock our world,
Eva and David

Over the last couple of months, I've been hearing more and more folks asking about possible gigs. They ask me this because often Eva and I know about job opportunities, and we love to throw them the way of folks in our extended community. But, there is a problem. The problem is my memory.

My memory is not the most wonderful. I don't have the best memory for names (or faces, for that matter). Most days I remember Eva's name. I get our employees' names right better than 50% of the time. My name--let's just say I have a button that reads, "The face is familiar but I can't quite remember my name." All of which is to say that I'm having a little trouble remembering who is looking for what work. But I have a solution.

The people whom I most often remember when there is work available are those I see day in and day out. Especially those who work out of CubeSpace. Which brings me to my deeply self-serving point. 

If you get a membership at CubeSpace, and hang out here, and are looking for work, I (and Eva) are far more likely to call you when jobs that are a good match for your skills come our way. Just saying.

During Seder last night, Daniel R brought a wonderful sweet matzah kugel. People asked about the recipe, and he emailed it to me for posting. Here it is:

Mango-Banana Matzo
Kugel

Serves 12

8 matzot, broken into small pieces

3 bananas

1 tsp. salt

1 c. sugar

½ c. olive oil

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/3 c. walnuts, crushed

2 mangos, chopped

1 c. raisins

1.       Preheat
oven to 350?.

2.       Cover
matzo pieces with cold water.  Let soak
until soft (about 10 minutes).  Drain but
do not squeeze.

3.       Mash
bananas thoroughly.  Whip with salt,
sugar, oil, and cinnamon.

4.       Add
soaked matzot.  Fold in walnuts, mangos,
and raisins until well mixed.

5.       Transfer
to well-oiled 9x13 pan.  Bake uncovered 45
minutes, until lightly browned (to the best you can tell, if your matzot were
well-baked).

CubeSpace will be CLOSED on Monday, September 1, 2009, for Labor Day. Stay home. Don't Labor.

As perhaps you've gathered, I'm strongly in favor of celebrating. The more holidays the better. So the opportunity to light Chanukkah candles near the Christmas tree is too good to pass up.

I love the way the two co-exist, and have been enjoying sitting and knitting while the candles burn and the Christmas tree doesn't the last few nights.

In a similar spirit, I want to remind everyone of our upcoming Holiday Party, Tues, Dec 18, 4:30 to 8 PM. Come celebrate with us!

Once again, the rabbi put up the Christmas tree. With some help from Schwern the tree was quickly and efficiently erected and decorated. I'm pleased, though I think it will look even better as the Holiday season continues and we add more decorations. It is my hope that many in the community will feel inspired to add their own decorative touches as we continue. People have been commenting on how much they are enjoying the tree today, which makes me really happy, since I like Christmas trees. As last night was the first night of Chanukah, we also lit Chanukah candles.

Tonight is the first night of Chanukah. Co-incidentally, Hanukkah, Chanukkah and a host of similar sounding if varying-spelled Jewish holidays also begin this evening. (It may be that one of my least favorite Jewish questions is, "How is Chanukah spelled?" The correct answer is, "in Hebrew." We're just trying to approximate the same sounds with English letters when we write it in English).

In any case, whichever holiday we're celebrating this evening, it will involve the lighting of candles. Because no one creates a winter solstice type holiday without including light. In fact, Chanukah is called the festival of lights. So, tonight at CubeSpace, we will be lighting the first candle of Chanukah (to be followed by more candles on subsequent nights).

Mostly, we regard the end of Daylight Savings Time with a bit of sadness. After all, it means less light at the end of the day, and makes the days feel significantly shorter. However, there is an upside. More light in the mornings.

At CubeSpace, more light in the mornings means that when we come in, the sunrise is just beginning. We can watch the light gradually brighten the eastern sky.  Then note the colors reflecting off the buildings of downtown. Finally, as the sun peaks above the horizon, sunbeams come pouring through the main work area, and the buildings of downtown sparkle in the direct sunlight. 

So, if some morning at around 7AM you're looking for something to do, come watch the sunrise with us.  

Knitting night at CubeSpace is one of the more interesting events we hold. Often, no one shows up except those of us who work here. However, every time we think about eliminating it from the calendar, howls of protest arise from those who don't come.

The time has come to attempt to garner more support for knitting night. I would like to remind everyone that knitting night is not just for those who knit, but also those who crochet, do needlework, spin on something portable, or create fiber art in another manner (which won't result in permanent damage to CubeSpace...no dyeing).