Tuesday, No Newsday!

after five, consecutive, days of torrential rain storms, it has let up for a while and the sun is actually, shining. we don't complain about the inconvenience here in the holy land, because we have been suffering from a long and serious drought. we simply give thanks for all the rain. a little while ago i went downstairs to take apart the metal frame of the sukkah. i finally got it disassembled and put the pieces into my storage shed. unfortunately, it had already begun to rust. that's what i get for leaving it outside for a month. i will buy rust proof enamel paint on my next visit to the hardware store. i do not enjoy going there, at all. i think hardware stores are more 'women' friendly in the states. i find that the salesmen here are not very helpful or patient with their female customers. and try to imagine, not knowing the correct hebrew word for some tool or part that you need! truthfully, i don't think that these salesmen are all that knowledgeable, themselves. it is definitely, no picnic, being a single woman, having to deal with salesmen and handymen, here in the middle east. i went out late last night to check my mail box. it has been quite a while since i did that. it is located about two city streets from my home. it wasn't raining that hard, and i actually, welcomed the chance to leave the house. i didn't even get dressed. i simply threw on a long, black, woolen cape and went out into the fog. the box was filled to the max. most of the mail was for my son and wife. there was also, an assortment of letters for people who do not live at this address. i actually, got a couple of bills and some kind of governmental notice that i couldn't decipher. my son scolded me and warned me about it's seriousness. so i spent a good hour on the phone this morning, trying to connect with the right clerk and of course, i just got voice mail or message machines. i started to feel panicky and called my son at work. i decided to let him try and deal with this by email. i can't seem to manage this in hebrew. tomorrow, i have an appointment to meet with a social worker, who is giving a course in elder care. i decided a while ago, that i need to do some type of volunteer work with old people. however, now that winter has officially started , here in the holy land, i am feeling less enthusiastic about leaving my warm and dry home. and on thursday, i have an appointment with the u.s. consular service to renew my american passport. likewise, i am feeling less inspired to take care of this right now. this process entails, going into town and getting passport photos, and bank checks and transferring dollars into shekels. i simply don't feel like bothering. the problem with this is that i don't know when the consular will be coming to zefat again. and if i do need to leave the land in the future, i will have to travel to another part of the country to deal with the passport renewal. i hate taking photographs in general, and having a slightly twisted face doesn't make it easier. let's face it, i am a slouch! i put off everything that is bureacratic for as long as i can get away with it. and then i make a mad scramble to deal with said things. i have to babysit for sahar this afternoon and then i will sit down a make a plan. michal is bringing over her two pet dogs for me to watch, while she is away for a month. i am feeling very anxious about this. i at first, thought that i could leave them in the shed. i went downstairs and removed a huge crib from the shed, to make more room for the dogs. but then i realized that it may not be the best solution. i had a small female pincher living there for almost a year but i don't feel comfortable about leaving two grown up dogs in that space. so that leaves the laundry room downstairs and the responsibility of letting them outside every day. i am simply overwhelmed at the task at hand. my dogs already know the lay of the land and i don't worry about them not coming home. but i can't take the chance of losing these other dogs, while michal is away. and of course, i'm worried that cloey might begin to endlessly, bark from the sounds of the dogs downstairs. the sun has faded and the sky is once again dark grey. it is beginning to rain once more. praise the Lord! the large dog in the picture kissing the baby, is not cloey. and the baby in the picture, is not sahar. it is just a manifestation of the fantasy that i have of intergrating my dog and my grandson, some day. i bought the plastic doll and cradle for the bris reception. i colored the plastic head with a dark permanent marker. i wrote the family name on the pajama top, as i didn't know until the last moment what they had decided to call him. we don't name our sons until the eighth day when they are ritually, circumsized. i filled the crib to the top with candies for all the kids to sugar out on. i wanted to show you the pix of the wedding dolls. i bought a doll bride and simply, used that bridal dress on the gal doll. i changed the hair style and attached plastic flowers and added the pearls. i used liquid white out to turn the red plastic platform shoes into white bridal shoes. i made a plastic floral bouquet and cut up a piece of tuelle for the bridal veil. i made a gold watch out of a charm and a key chain for the zvi doll. i placed the two dolls on a silver tray and covered it with candies. i just got word from gal that i am not needed to babysit, afterall. so now i am waiting for my new borders, the dogs, to arrive. tuesday, no newsday!