Purim’s over.
The costumes have been put back in the attic, the noisemakers have disappeared and my megilla has been safely stored away from harm’s reach. I’ve had 3 different containers for my megilla scroll;
A container from a Glenmorangie 10 year old bottle of Scotch.

An IDF 72 mm mortar round container. (Closest Pic I could find)

A leather “Etzion Art” megilla holder.
(They are pathetic...even if they make great stuff since their web site is down and I can't even get a picture from them)
The last one is where my megilla is kept now.
As people know who have been reading my blog, it’s that time for year again.
With Purim over, there’s only one possible solution…and that means…it’s time for Jameel to be less than helpful with Pesach cleaning.
Obviously, its not intentional. It just somehow works out year after year, right after Purim, I have to fly away on business to some corner of the globe. **
Places include; Manila, Las Vegas, Los Angelas, London…and this year’s lucky location is…New York. Many, many thanks to the Mrs @ The Muqata for her positive spin to this trip, (despite a rather unexpected start), for buying gifts for different relatives we’ll be seeing, for buying last minute food when we found out we might not have kosher meals (and we ended up eating it all during this flight), and in general – for remembering the details that I overlook.
To put a twist on it, I’m not actually flying for business this year, but rather for a family simcha, and I’m flying with 3 of the Muqata kids as well.
That’s why my blogging has been a bit light lately.
Actually, it’s a combination of over-working myself with the podcast, an abundance of work, less sleep than usual, and this trip I’m on now.
So, while the Muqata kids refuse to sleep on the plane, and they zap through 18 channels of airline video, I thought to let you know why things have quieted down a bit.
And while we’re at it, a few observations on the JBlogosphere.
There seems to be an unusual alignment of the planets now or perhaps a hiccup in the time/space continuum – because there’s a sense of contentment among different bloggers that I haven’t seen in a while.
(Updated and fixed...must have been jetlag ;-)
The XGH blogger is now content at being Frum, and while he still has questions…he seems to have reached a new level of serenity. We’re very happy for him!
The Holy Hyrax blogger wrote a great, optimistic piece about creativity and I think it's one of his best submissions to the JBlogosphere. (Then again, while he refuses to do a banner for Chardal, he did the amazing poster for the Purim Podcast!)
The Renegade Rebbitzen, while sort of on hiatus from blogging because she claims she's "busy", is still keeping us amused on a more regular basis (and we even got mentioned here and here!)
Even this post itself is having a good effect on the Muqata kids…and now 2 out of 3 are asleep.
So, I’ll end this now; if you spot me around the Eastern Time Zone of the USA, you’ll be able to identify us by the yellow smiley faces.
Regards,
Jameel
Wherever I am…even on a plane, my blog is facing Eretz Yisrael.
** Having just seen Shifra's post about the NEXT podcast, I will say that if I waste one second of potential "Pesach cleaning time" on a podcast, I would feel forever guilty.
On the other hand, Im getting much better at it -- and with a bunch of volunteers, it may only take up a fraction of time. Hmmm....maybe a post Pesach podcast? :-)

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael