Other familiar boats are Santa's sleigh with reindeer and a fire engine carrying Santa. I've learned since moving to Oregon that other places have similar events, but to me, the Parade of Ships perfectly matches Oregon's slightly-unconventional style. With our busy lives, finding time to sit down together as a family is an almost impossible task. With three teenage daughters, each on a different schedule, plus running our own business, the phones are constantly ringing. Radio, CD players and televisions are blaring and someone is almost always on the computer.
Dinners usually consist of microwave prepared meals or pizza delivery.
That's why the holidays are special for our family. They're the only times when I actually cook using real kitchen appliances. The first night of Hanukkah was on a Sunday last year, so I had the entire day to get ready. Around noon I began gathering all the necessary cooking utensils I would need to prepare our holiday dinner. After making all the difficult preparations, I had plenty of free time to work on an article I was writing about the Jewish Brownie Girl Scout Lehavah Award.