Tuesday Night

it's nearly 9:00 p.m. in the holy city of zefat. my sister and niece are downstairs right now bleaching the heck out of the fridge. the smell of bleach reached all the way to the third floor. they decided to take me up on my offer of staying here for pesach. the downstairs apartment is virtually chometz free and needs to be freshened up.

i'm struggling to finish my apartment. yesterday, i sat for my grandson for four long hours and i was completely spent afterwards. i didn't do a thing towards the spring cleaning. i am in the process of catching up with the kids' laundry this evening. i'm on my third super load. in between loads, i hand-washed some of the soiled baby clothes. my machine doesn't have a hot water cycle. we've had three plumbers already, and no one successfully got it to work.

i went to volunteer with the alzheimer's group this morning and left a bit early to catch the bank. i was left alone for most of the morning with the group. the official caregiver was busy bathing and diapering some of the seniors. i gave them their tea break and they nearly pounced on me for more sugar. most of them left the tea. i may have made it too strong. i spent the morning schmoozing with the group. i think that they think i'm one of them.

i ran to town and bought two new plastic sink inserts for the kitchens on the other floors. i tried to find dog food that was kosher for pesach but it hadn't arrived yet. i tried three stores. i bought some sephardi pesach cookies for shabbat because i have decided not to bake. i actually, put the remainder of my rye flour in the closet. i'm defrosting the remaining beef and turkey meat and i will cook it up tomorrow for shabbat. i bought a small humus salad and a lettuce for shabbat. i bought a bunch of potatoes, too. i'll mash up a few avocados and hard cooked eggs and voila! shabbos.

i bought a couple of inexpensive gifts to give out to the neighbors. we exchange gifts at pesach and at rosh hashana time. i usually give out honey dishes and small jars of honey for the new year. we have about a $5 limit. you can buy hand towels, or challah covers or decorative plates for that amount. i have a lovely dish that is still in it's wrapping paper. if i can only figure out who gave it to me last year, i can pass it on to another neighbor. the trick here, is not to return it to the original gift giver.

my knee seems to have given out this evening, making climbing the stairs, a bit of a hassle. i am planning on staying in tomorrow to finish up the refrigerator and kitchen. i still have to polish mom's candlesticks, and wash some more cut glass. i bought some couch covers this afternoon. hopefully, they'll fit and make the couches less 'doggie'.

last night zvi came downstairs at 10:00 p.m. looking to be fed. i was stretched out on the couch and couldn't move. he asked for a salmon steak and i told him to have a a bowl of cereal or something else upstairs. that's called pre-pesach 'tough love'. i, myself, cooked up a pot of red lentils and ate the entire pot all by myself. i needed hot food badly. the weather went from heat wave and no air to freezing cold and windy in just a couple of hours.

my bedroom is covered in clean laundry, clothes, and purim costumes. the computer room is also covered in costumes, props and wigs. one of these days, it will all get cleared up. but what i really need is to focus and to finish up cleaning the kitchen!

i think i'll hit town, once again on thursday, after yoga. i'll sign up at the unemployment office, sell my chometz, buy pesach dog food and shop for the meat and chicken. once, i had other pets and spent a lot more time looking for blood worms for the fish, special kosher for pesach sunflower seeds for the bird and of course, the kosher for pesach dog kibble.

i couldn't find pesach marshmallows yet. i already bought potato chips and chocolate bars. i'm waiting to see if the store gets pesach chocolate molds this year. i have a strange custom of not buying cola on pesach. i'll buy plain seltzer but not cola. i have a bunch of wine but i haven't found any pesach kedem grape juice yet.

zvi just came down and begged me to make him some food. he seemed down. this finding a used car business, is really dragging him down. i made him some frozen french fries and soy hot dogs. i didn't have the patience to bake them so i fried them in a bit of sesame oil. i hobbled upstairs to bring him his dinner and went downstairs again to throw in another load of laundry. that's it for tonight folks.!