You can find a Passover seder in virtually any locale throughout the world using Chabad.org’s International Seder Finder at www.Chabad.org/Seders. Many are free of charge or the fee is very nominal.

Thanks! I sent this article from NY Times earlier this morning to my entire family suggesting perhaps that I did not have to work so hard to produce 2 large meals, but no takers; they are all still planning to come to my house!

Aliska, I hear you! So is my family. But I got out of the last one yiipppiiiieeeeeee

Oh, while doing the cleaning, don't forget to get rid of the cookies in your computer

Okay, the cookies have to go..my regular dishes will go in the back room, I need to go to the kosher butcher/supermarket, clean the stove,, make my farfel cookies batter to bake, doctor up the gefiltue fish and I have made my own horseradish.. and then..clean the damn house..especally the kitchen..and have a small seder

I love getting ready for Passover. As I am cleaning out my kitchen, I feel such a sense of connection with Jewish women through the ages and all over the world.

The silliest part of our tradition is that my husband and son always watch the movie The Ten Commandments while I'm doing the Passover baking. I pop in from time to time, and for some bizarre reason, it does help us all get in the mood. The brownies, chocolate chip cookies, cherry muffins, and apple cake are done.

Friday I'll make the gefilte fish (I'm spolied--I only eat my mother's homemade recipe), granola, turkey, tzimmes, and mushroom/farfel stuffing.

The gefilte fish will be tough because this is the first time in man years that my mother isn't coming for Passover. She fell on a cruise Dec 30, fractured her shoulder and shattered her elbow. It's been a long and rocky recovery, and she isn't read for long distance travel yet. The reason she went on the cruise is that is was her first New Year's Eve without my Dad, and she thought doing something different would be a good idea.

Abram, best wishes to your mother!
(from one broken bone to another )

Abram, sorry to hear about your mother. Mine is flying into CMH from Florida on Thursday. She offered to bring some Passover cakes from Ft. Lauderdale, which would have helped a lot, but afraid to let her go through TSA security. That's all I need, a 78 yr old Holocaust survivor being profiled like a MidEast terrorist!

If this is any consolation, not only making 2 Seders from scratch but big family Shabbat dinner Friday night as well. Can anyone spell R-E-S-E-R-V-A-T-I-O-N-S?

Thank you very much for the kind wishes. She is improving, but the combination of a slowly healing shoulder, an elbow replacement for the shattered elbow, a non-healing elbow wound where the bone poked through, and COPD make air travel requiring a change of planes too much for her.

Today I picked up a couple of crucial items that I forgot yesterday--the horseradish root ($4.79 a pound) and lamb shank bone (free); I figure that they balance each other. The 5# box of matzoh, which was $20.49 Sunday, was now $4.99 with the store card. Woo-hoo!!

Yesterday the shopkeeper refused to sell me matzot

I was in a gift shop at JCC, and saw boxes of 5, so I took one. She said, go to the butcher's, they sell it cheaper (this tells you how many kosher stores are in San Francisco: exactly one!)

I said, I don't care, it's difficult for me to get around (after breaking a foot), I'll pay whatever they ask. She gave me 10% discount.

It's not that often you run into honesty, so I found this surprisingly out-of-the-ordinary.

The large grocery stores in certain neighborhoods here now carry enough Passover stuff that I don't have to go across town to the crowded, not-so-clean kosher market anymore.

Best wishes to all for a good Passover. I am lucky this year and do not have to make the Seder. I inherited this holiday when my mom died many years ago shortly b4 peseach. I was young with a baby and a toddler, a full time job and it was all too much for me. It is a sad holiday to me because of my mom. It was her holiday. She hosted Seders for 30-40 people, effortlessly. It seemed to be the place where our future spouses were introduced to the family (if they could live through that, they were worthy of us I guess)
Reading these posts is helping me be more positive about it. We are going to my brother's for the 1st Seder and the second night, i will make a mini seder at home, for just DH, son at home and maybe one more interfaith family. DH leaves to fly to FL the next morning to drive back with older son who is finishing Jr. year at college there, so I dont want a ton of work and stress. I rec'd an email of a funny 2 minute Seder that might make 2nd Seder fun to do.
I am lucky that even in a city with a relatively small Jewish community, our grocery stores have a good supply of peseach stuff. I've stocked up on Matza, jelly rings, fruit slices (my kids like all the junk) and macaroons. We even have a local bakery that bakes great desserts. Not glat kosher, but kosher enough for my family. I've ordered a key lime pie, with almond macaroon crust.
Abram-good luck with your mom. hope she recovers and isnt scared to continue with some adventures.