For those of you who missed the fun, the title above is not a typo.  Quite the contrary, it is the product of the assembled wit and wisdom of congregants celebrating shabbat August 27th at Coopers Rock.

     To explain.  Services were, as usual, preceded by a Pot Luck Supper.  As usual we were treated to a delicious variety of home made treats.  As usual, we had cold drinks, cups and cutlery.  But, one thing was not as usual.  We had no plates!  To be precise, neither plates nor napkins.  While a box of pop up tissues substituted nicely for the napkins, missing plates represented more of a challenge.  However, never fear, we are resourceful.  If you have cups but no plates, obviously you must dine from cups.  The Rabbi didn't miss a beat as he began the experiment with "Ladies and Gentlemen:  Grab Your Cups!"

     To our surprise, cups did well.  One congregant noted portion control was tough when spooning into a cup, but we adapted.  Another congregant, holding up her transparent cup, decided dinner looked like an elegant parfait.  Everyone discovered an unexpected benefit.  Eating from a cup while standing is easy.  As a result, hardly anyone sat at the picnic tables.  Instead we all stood around and chatted.  Another congregant, surveying our diners, decided it was almost like a Jewish Tapas Bar.

     You know that old cliche about making lemonade from lemons.  Tree of Life now has its own version:  turning "oops!" into original!

     The evening ended early, proof that summer is closing and autumn arriving.  Shorter days.  Earlier sunset.  But still a lot of good memories from Shelter Three.