Livre d'Or

Yeah, I knew you weren't going to be able to make it. Sorry for the bad timing; I assumed the middle of January would be a rather quiet time, but apparently not. We should definitely plan for you to come and visit, probably before the clocks go forward so you can reasonably travel motzaei shabbat.

I do have everything I've ever owned in the new house, yes, it's quite exciting, really. Even my undergraduate notes, which in some ways I don't want, but I also can't bear to throw them away.

I've never looked at chanukat bayit in an Orthodox siddur; it may well be that the ceremony is a Reform invention. Our siddur has a couple of short readings, the Shema itself, and the blessings. I know I could have done it with just a blessing and no particular ritual, and that's what I would have done if I'd been on my own and rushed to fulfil the mitzvah the day I moved in. To me it felt more meaningful to wait and do something a bit more special to mark the beginning of a new phase in my life.