sahar had his first birthday and party last night. too bad that he slept through it. the poor thing was so tired that by the time all the guests arrived, he needed to nurse and then he passed out.
i've been showered and dressed and ready to hit town since 9:00 a.m. the only problem is that i am too tired to move. my eye is also hurting me very much. this new bout of bellspalsey is mostly effecting my eye. i'm also still sick and blew off the old age home. i'd hate to pass on the virus to the already fragile public there.
i went to town yesterday with gal to buy a few things for the party and get a gift for the birthday boy. i watched sahar for a short while so his mom could do her homework for her accounting course. he was so delightful and full of life. i hadn't seen him for about 8 days. he was quite happy to see me. he looked taller and thinner and he had 4 teeth.
i figured that we'd mosey on over to town in the afternoon when it was less sunny, and buy the nash, drinks and extra franks and buy the gift. gal came down at 11:30 a.m. to inform me that she was ready to go. trying to be the ultimate good sport, i hurried to my room and got dressed. this was my first outing in 9 days. we stopped off at gal's parents' house to leave off sahar. two of the sisters came along.
gal parked in a free area that was about 5 minites from town. in this heat, it felt more like 20. by the time we finally shlepped to town, i felt all of the life force draining out of me. we first went into the most expensive baby store in town to check out the toys. i wanted to buy sahar a baby scooter, that is called a bimba, here. there is quite a range in prices in bimbas. they start at about $12 and go up to about $50. i wanted to buy something in the middle. i wanted something strong that he could really play with.
we then went into the cheap party favors store where everything is about a shekel a piece. gal was looking for party favors for all the little kids coming that night. i bought some plastic party bags for the nash and she decided to buy picture frame key chains. she had her digital camera and decided to have shots of sahar made to insert into the key chain frames. so we then went to the photo shop. i was feeling dehydraded and generally, lousy so i ran off to buy a drink. i settled for a bottle of ice tea mix, something that i never, ever drink for fear of a migraine. when i returned, the kids were still deciding which picture to copy.
i felt myself begin to panic. i suggested moving on to the large toy store to check out bimbas. i saw a couple that were really special and of course, very expensive. gal saw a tricycle that looked more like a baby carriage than a bike. it had a sun hood, a long handle for the parent to push, and a special baby seat that harnessed the kid within. she had her heart set on that. she had seen it on vacation for 800 shekels in a major city and here in the tiny holy city of zefat, it was only 500 shekels.($100+) after a long debate, i decided to give up on my bimba gift idea and go half and half with the kids on this gift.
after we bought the tricycle, we went back to the photo shop and that took another really long time until they decided on the perfect snapshot. we then trecked back to the car and drove to the super on the other side of town and bought the nash, drinks, icecream, and the kabobs, franks and chicken wings with the correct sephardi heksher. i then had to buy a special bunch of kabobs, burgers, and franks for my chabad family who do not eat the sephardi heksher. not to worry, the sephardi bunch do not eat the chabad heksher, either. it does keep one one his toes. i made sure to buy extra charcoals and lighters and plastic plates just to be on the safe side.
we swung by the photo store and picked up the pix and i jumped out at the bakery to buy pitas. we then picked up sahar and finally got home around 5:00 p.m. i just wanted to crawl into bed and collapse. but that wasn't on the program. gal wanted to set up the tables downstairs so i watched sahar. it was still hot downstairs and i was quite skeptical about having the party outdoors. gal blew up all the balloons and hung up the birthday decorations. the last time that i tried to blow up a balloon, i thought that i might have a heart attack. gal had a hard time covering the tables because the wind was blowing everything off. she practically, scotch taped everything down.
sahar was having a ball playing in the grass with me. zvi came home and was his usual,uptight self. he wanted real lambchops and he wasn't so pleased about the guest list. he also wanted beer and red bulls. i had only bought soft drinks. i let his wife deal with it. i was wiped. but as wiped as i was, i made a trip down to the local super to buy icecream cones. i thought we still had a full box at home. i guess we hit them during the music festival. who remembered?
at 8:00 p.m. i demanded that zvi fire up the barbecue. his brother in law usually does the deed but he was, nowhere in sight. i started cutting up an israeli salad and baking a vat of frozen french fries. the barbecue was called for 8:00 p.m.
sahar came down dressed like a big party boy in a long sleeve white shirt and striped bermuda shorts. his hair was freshly styled. he was wearing his birthday crown and his aunt was pushing him around in his new tricycle. too bad nonone else was there to see him in all his glory.
everyone arrived around 9:00 p.m. and by then, the kid was exhausted and wanted to go to sleep. he nursed and passed out. happy birthday! he missed the party. he woke up screaming about 11:00 p.m. when everyone was cleaning up and getting ready to leave. he didn't hear any happy birthday tunes, nor did he get to eat any birthday cake. safta miriam made the most beautiful cake, too. maybe today he'll get some.
i hope to be able to post some party pix later this week.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
I Declare War!
it's 11:30 a.m. on a sunday morning in the holy city of zefat. i have just had my lunch of a stale white flour roll smeared in butter with a slice of slimy tomato. no, i am not, currently, a contestant on 'fear factor'.
i am just a person recovering from an extreme virus trying to manage in the middle of a record breaking heat wave. i didn't fall asleep until after 3:00 a.m. and consequently, couldn't get up to go to yoga. i actually, did get up, but couldn't get out of bed or function until about half an hour ago.
i made myself a luke warm mug of coffee and poured in the last few drops of milk. i think that i have hit rock bottom. i really will have to get myself to the supermarket a little later. i guess i can always call a cab.
i was bombarded again my ants this morning. they were all over the dogs' food bowls, all over the garbarge can, and running a muck in the cupboards. i read that vinegar seems to detail ants. it also seems to chase away cats, keep dogs from scratching their ears, and keeps chickens from pecking at each other.
there are actually, another 45 household things that vinegar is good for. i keep a list posted on the inside of the cupboards and i read the list once a year. if you would like me to send you a list of these helpful hints, just write in and ask for it. i'm not no sure about spraying vinegar all around the house. in this heat wave, who knows about the smell.
i honestly, do not see any immediate results from the vinegar. i used a cheap apple cider. perhaps it isn't the right kind but i don't have any white vinegar on hand. if i ever get out of this hell house today, i will buy the most deadly type of poisonous ant spray, money can buy. this is war!!! i've tried everything else. i've bleached til my face twists. i've also spread cinnamon all around the entire premises. do you have any idea how hideous wet cinnamon looks like on your ceramic floors?. i've also gone down the baking soda road, believe me.
i finally checked out my face today in the mirror. it is definately a bit twisted. my right eye isn't closing, either. hello again, bells palsey. i guess every bleach i breathe, and every virus i succumb to, goes right to my face. beauty is only skin deep, right?
i got a call last night from my son. if seems that some family member of gal's died last night. the grandparents headed off to jerusalem for the funeral. the woman was only 40. i don't know how that will effect the bithday bash for sahar tomorrow. i feel like putting off going to the store until i know more, but i might have to babysit for him tomorrow. i've also learned from experience, not to always put things off.
i am just a person recovering from an extreme virus trying to manage in the middle of a record breaking heat wave. i didn't fall asleep until after 3:00 a.m. and consequently, couldn't get up to go to yoga. i actually, did get up, but couldn't get out of bed or function until about half an hour ago.
i made myself a luke warm mug of coffee and poured in the last few drops of milk. i think that i have hit rock bottom. i really will have to get myself to the supermarket a little later. i guess i can always call a cab.
i was bombarded again my ants this morning. they were all over the dogs' food bowls, all over the garbarge can, and running a muck in the cupboards. i read that vinegar seems to detail ants. it also seems to chase away cats, keep dogs from scratching their ears, and keeps chickens from pecking at each other.
there are actually, another 45 household things that vinegar is good for. i keep a list posted on the inside of the cupboards and i read the list once a year. if you would like me to send you a list of these helpful hints, just write in and ask for it. i'm not no sure about spraying vinegar all around the house. in this heat wave, who knows about the smell.
i honestly, do not see any immediate results from the vinegar. i used a cheap apple cider. perhaps it isn't the right kind but i don't have any white vinegar on hand. if i ever get out of this hell house today, i will buy the most deadly type of poisonous ant spray, money can buy. this is war!!! i've tried everything else. i've bleached til my face twists. i've also spread cinnamon all around the entire premises. do you have any idea how hideous wet cinnamon looks like on your ceramic floors?. i've also gone down the baking soda road, believe me.
i finally checked out my face today in the mirror. it is definately a bit twisted. my right eye isn't closing, either. hello again, bells palsey. i guess every bleach i breathe, and every virus i succumb to, goes right to my face. beauty is only skin deep, right?
i got a call last night from my son. if seems that some family member of gal's died last night. the grandparents headed off to jerusalem for the funeral. the woman was only 40. i don't know how that will effect the bithday bash for sahar tomorrow. i feel like putting off going to the store until i know more, but i might have to babysit for him tomorrow. i've also learned from experience, not to always put things off.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Bleach Storm
it's 5:30 p.m. in the holy city of zefat. it's candlelighting in anther hour. i just finished bleaching all the floors on my floor. well, actually, i didn't do the living room or blog room.
we are having another unprecedented heat wave. they're claiming that it might jump up to 104 or higher. funny, i don't feel so hot. i guess i'm still feverish from this virus that i have. i've decided not to turn on the airconditioner in the living room. it really makes a difference leaving all the waindows shut. i hope i'll manage.
i didn't have the strength today to make it down to the grocery. i have about half of a container of milk left and that will just have to last until sunday. i managed to find a couple of old whole wheat rolls in the freezer. i also defrosted a couple of dishes from the freezer. i have a stewed chicken leg and a blob of failed meatball mixture that i must have frozen at one time. unfortunately, i couldn't find any cooked frozen fish and i don't even have a can of tuna in the house. i'm debating on opening up a can of pareve stuffed vine leaves.
it doesn't really matter what i eat because i don't have much of an appetite. i actually, lost a bit of weight this week. i also, haven't been drinking hot cofee all week. i've been mostly, sticking to iced cold water.
i felt so horrible this morning that i convinced myself that maybe i had pnemonia. i still think it's a bad virus and partial nervous breakdown. it's rather quiet here without the kids. they went to gal's grandparents in hadera for a few days. zvi called to ask how i was and was a bit shocked to hear how awful i sounded on the phone. i think that all the bleach is loosening up my sinuses. i just hope that it doesn't start to twist my face up.
i want to wash the dogs today. i have a need for total cleanliness this shabbat. i skipped the dusting. hopefully, i'll get around to it on sunday. there was a terrible smell in the house. it was probably, the result of the dogs pishing all over the floors and some of the furniture. having the windows closed all week didn't really help matters, that much.
i have so many things to do next week. i need to pay the water bill and sign up at the unemployment office. i also need to go to the bank and check up on my balance. i haven't been able to rent the downstairs apartment, in spite of the fact, that there are many families coming on aliya in september. i think that i have come off as either, too wishy washy or too aggressive.
i don't seem to have much luck with my rental business. i actually, agreed to work in a gallery part time, but the owner never called me back. i don't know why i am having such a hard time with parnussa and ants this summer.
i wish you all a good shabbas. i got to go if i am going to wash the dogs, and heat up my 'meal' and put up a thermos of hot water.
i just quickly gave the dogs a flea shampoo and as i stared at the bottle of dog shampoo a sad memory flooded back to me. this was about 6 years ago and my father was still alive. it was erev shabbat and the part time caregiver was impatient to get dad into the bath. he didn't wait for me to bring in dad's brush, shampoo and soap. he used the dog flea shampoo on dad by mistake. he may have used the dog brush too, i really can't remember. i went balistic and i screamed at him to leave. sensing the anger, dad got all excited and violent and chased him out of the house.
the man was really a very lovely and caring elderly worker. he was devoted to dad, too. he came back a little while later to tell me that my beloved, pincher, Sushie had been run over by a car on the next street. i ran to the top street and found sushie lying on the curb. she was still breathing. i didn't know at the time that she was in a coma. we were able to get the town's vet to come pretty fast but she died a little while later. i think the vet put her to sleep.
we are having another unprecedented heat wave. they're claiming that it might jump up to 104 or higher. funny, i don't feel so hot. i guess i'm still feverish from this virus that i have. i've decided not to turn on the airconditioner in the living room. it really makes a difference leaving all the waindows shut. i hope i'll manage.
i didn't have the strength today to make it down to the grocery. i have about half of a container of milk left and that will just have to last until sunday. i managed to find a couple of old whole wheat rolls in the freezer. i also defrosted a couple of dishes from the freezer. i have a stewed chicken leg and a blob of failed meatball mixture that i must have frozen at one time. unfortunately, i couldn't find any cooked frozen fish and i don't even have a can of tuna in the house. i'm debating on opening up a can of pareve stuffed vine leaves.
it doesn't really matter what i eat because i don't have much of an appetite. i actually, lost a bit of weight this week. i also, haven't been drinking hot cofee all week. i've been mostly, sticking to iced cold water.
i felt so horrible this morning that i convinced myself that maybe i had pnemonia. i still think it's a bad virus and partial nervous breakdown. it's rather quiet here without the kids. they went to gal's grandparents in hadera for a few days. zvi called to ask how i was and was a bit shocked to hear how awful i sounded on the phone. i think that all the bleach is loosening up my sinuses. i just hope that it doesn't start to twist my face up.
i want to wash the dogs today. i have a need for total cleanliness this shabbat. i skipped the dusting. hopefully, i'll get around to it on sunday. there was a terrible smell in the house. it was probably, the result of the dogs pishing all over the floors and some of the furniture. having the windows closed all week didn't really help matters, that much.
i have so many things to do next week. i need to pay the water bill and sign up at the unemployment office. i also need to go to the bank and check up on my balance. i haven't been able to rent the downstairs apartment, in spite of the fact, that there are many families coming on aliya in september. i think that i have come off as either, too wishy washy or too aggressive.
i don't seem to have much luck with my rental business. i actually, agreed to work in a gallery part time, but the owner never called me back. i don't know why i am having such a hard time with parnussa and ants this summer.
i wish you all a good shabbas. i got to go if i am going to wash the dogs, and heat up my 'meal' and put up a thermos of hot water.
i just quickly gave the dogs a flea shampoo and as i stared at the bottle of dog shampoo a sad memory flooded back to me. this was about 6 years ago and my father was still alive. it was erev shabbat and the part time caregiver was impatient to get dad into the bath. he didn't wait for me to bring in dad's brush, shampoo and soap. he used the dog flea shampoo on dad by mistake. he may have used the dog brush too, i really can't remember. i went balistic and i screamed at him to leave. sensing the anger, dad got all excited and violent and chased him out of the house.
the man was really a very lovely and caring elderly worker. he was devoted to dad, too. he came back a little while later to tell me that my beloved, pincher, Sushie had been run over by a car on the next street. i ran to the top street and found sushie lying on the curb. she was still breathing. i didn't know at the time that she was in a coma. we were able to get the town's vet to come pretty fast but she died a little while later. i think the vet put her to sleep.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Lost My Voice
after hostesting friends for 5 days and not sleeping very much; i got sick. i woke up on sunday morning and couldn't get out of bed. i felt like i had been run over by a truck.
i went to bed around 5:30 a.m. on thursday and struggled to make a really nice shabbat dinner for eight. i even made a potato kugel, which got devoured by the crowd. i threw some bottled sweet chili sauce over the chicken and broiled it. it was also devoured on the spot.
everyone went down for a nap on saturday afternoon, except for me. i spent the afternoon watching sahar. i didn't even get to daven or read the newspaper. i kept stuffing myself with carrot cake that was topped by chocolate spread. we had bought three pints of the goat ice cream on thursday but i hardly touched any. i was too busy hitting the cake pretty hard.
we were all thinking about going out on saturday night but in the long run, we just stayed in and ordered a pizza. i knew better than to have any. after all, i still had left over carrot cake to indulge in. i did all the dishes after shabbat ended, which was a good thing, as martha stewart would say. it would have been really bad to wake up sick to two sinks full of dirty dishes and pots.
i couldn't even get up to walk my guests to the door on sunday morning. i didn't realize that i was sick. i just thought that i needed a nap. i ended up sleeping through the entire sunday. i had excrutiating cramps in my legs and lower back. i couldn't make it over to yoga or the aroebics class at night. i stuffed myself with bowls of cornflakes and milk.
my throat was throbbing and burning on monday and i didn't have the strength to chat on the phone. i tried a remedy but i'm not sure that it helped. i lost my voice on tuesday and couldn't talk to anyone. i spent the day in bed. i couldn't even phone the old age home to let them know that i wouldn't be in.
the baby was taken to the clan all week long so i didn't even get to see him. i think that he is also sick from teething. i probably caught what i have from him. the kids are going away for a few days which is fine by me. i need lots of rest and quiet. i had my first cup of coffee in days this morning. i was beginning to think that i was going through some type of caffeine withdrawal. i felt like a junkie.
i think that i really got sick because i went on a week's long sugar and junk food binge. i can't even bring myself to get on the scale and check the damage yet. i did drink tons of water yesterday to detox. i don't have much food left in the house beacuse i ate most of it last week. it is pretty hard to swallow, anyway. i seem to have an odd craving for green olives.
it's hot again so i can't really tell if i'm feverish or not. i can't deal with the air conditioner in this state so i'm sweating it out with just a fan. i need to get out all of these toxins. i need a hot shower, too.
i did a huge amount of laundry on monday night. most of it was for the kids. i even hung a bunch of it outside. so it seems that i was semi functional at the beginning of the week. i also have been waging war against the tiny ant infestation in the kitchen. yesterday, the sink was filled with them. there wasn't anything sticky, nor were there any crumbs on the counters, but that didn't seem to stop them. i guess that i am being tried for something that i've done.
i tried to watch the movie, 'shutter island' the other night, but i got very paranoid at the beginning and turned it off and ran back into bed. i was having a very hard time relaxing because my legs have been hurting and i think that i had the chills.
i got up in the middle of the night and tried to lie down on a regular bed in the blog room. i tried lying on my stomach and i also tried lying on my back. i couldn't get comfortable. i finally got up and rubbed some arnica oil onto my feet and legs. it helped a bit.
i babysat for sahar for about 40 minutes this morning, while gal drove zvi to work. i couldn't really speak to him and i didn't have the strength to hold him or chase after him. i managed to make him a bottle of tea and gave him some bambas. he seemed sick, too. he remembered me even though we haven't seen each other all week long. i guess he remembers that i'm the 'soft touch' safta who gives into his every wish.
next week is his first birthday and i need to buy meat for the barbecue. i also have to get to town to buy him a gift and pay the water bill before they tun it off.
well, i'm im a pool of sweat so i will end the blog.
i went to bed around 5:30 a.m. on thursday and struggled to make a really nice shabbat dinner for eight. i even made a potato kugel, which got devoured by the crowd. i threw some bottled sweet chili sauce over the chicken and broiled it. it was also devoured on the spot.
everyone went down for a nap on saturday afternoon, except for me. i spent the afternoon watching sahar. i didn't even get to daven or read the newspaper. i kept stuffing myself with carrot cake that was topped by chocolate spread. we had bought three pints of the goat ice cream on thursday but i hardly touched any. i was too busy hitting the cake pretty hard.
we were all thinking about going out on saturday night but in the long run, we just stayed in and ordered a pizza. i knew better than to have any. after all, i still had left over carrot cake to indulge in. i did all the dishes after shabbat ended, which was a good thing, as martha stewart would say. it would have been really bad to wake up sick to two sinks full of dirty dishes and pots.
i couldn't even get up to walk my guests to the door on sunday morning. i didn't realize that i was sick. i just thought that i needed a nap. i ended up sleeping through the entire sunday. i had excrutiating cramps in my legs and lower back. i couldn't make it over to yoga or the aroebics class at night. i stuffed myself with bowls of cornflakes and milk.
my throat was throbbing and burning on monday and i didn't have the strength to chat on the phone. i tried a remedy but i'm not sure that it helped. i lost my voice on tuesday and couldn't talk to anyone. i spent the day in bed. i couldn't even phone the old age home to let them know that i wouldn't be in.
the baby was taken to the clan all week long so i didn't even get to see him. i think that he is also sick from teething. i probably caught what i have from him. the kids are going away for a few days which is fine by me. i need lots of rest and quiet. i had my first cup of coffee in days this morning. i was beginning to think that i was going through some type of caffeine withdrawal. i felt like a junkie.
i think that i really got sick because i went on a week's long sugar and junk food binge. i can't even bring myself to get on the scale and check the damage yet. i did drink tons of water yesterday to detox. i don't have much food left in the house beacuse i ate most of it last week. it is pretty hard to swallow, anyway. i seem to have an odd craving for green olives.
it's hot again so i can't really tell if i'm feverish or not. i can't deal with the air conditioner in this state so i'm sweating it out with just a fan. i need to get out all of these toxins. i need a hot shower, too.
i did a huge amount of laundry on monday night. most of it was for the kids. i even hung a bunch of it outside. so it seems that i was semi functional at the beginning of the week. i also have been waging war against the tiny ant infestation in the kitchen. yesterday, the sink was filled with them. there wasn't anything sticky, nor were there any crumbs on the counters, but that didn't seem to stop them. i guess that i am being tried for something that i've done.
i tried to watch the movie, 'shutter island' the other night, but i got very paranoid at the beginning and turned it off and ran back into bed. i was having a very hard time relaxing because my legs have been hurting and i think that i had the chills.
i got up in the middle of the night and tried to lie down on a regular bed in the blog room. i tried lying on my stomach and i also tried lying on my back. i couldn't get comfortable. i finally got up and rubbed some arnica oil onto my feet and legs. it helped a bit.
i babysat for sahar for about 40 minutes this morning, while gal drove zvi to work. i couldn't really speak to him and i didn't have the strength to hold him or chase after him. i managed to make him a bottle of tea and gave him some bambas. he seemed sick, too. he remembered me even though we haven't seen each other all week long. i guess he remembers that i'm the 'soft touch' safta who gives into his every wish.
next week is his first birthday and i need to buy meat for the barbecue. i also have to get to town to buy him a gift and pay the water bill before they tun it off.
well, i'm im a pool of sweat so i will end the blog.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Almost Shabbat
it's 4:00 p.m. in the holy city of zefat and it's three hours away from candle lighting for shabbat. i'm pretty much done with the cooking. there's a carrot cake in the oven and i've already done an eggless chocolate fudge cake.
we came home from the music festival at 3:30 a.m. and had a pyscho babble witch session until 5:30 a.m. it's still hot here. i'm too pressed for time to expound. i still have laundry to do.
wishing you all a good shabbat!
we came home from the music festival at 3:30 a.m. and had a pyscho babble witch session until 5:30 a.m. it's still hot here. i'm too pressed for time to expound. i still have laundry to do.
wishing you all a good shabbat!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Summertime Fun
it is 5:00 p.m. in the holy city of zefat. it is still hot. i am sitting here sweating. i'm situated at the computer in front of a mini fan that is blowing hot air on me.
we just got back from dalton where we visited the winery that my son works at. they also produce the most delicious goat yogurts, cheeses,and ice creams. we actually came at a bad time as there wa a group of 100 tourists inside. we had to sit outside of the tourist center where it wasn't air ocnditioned. we sat outside for hours and it was really hot. zvi was very busy with the group and had to keep us witing for a very long time.
he finally brought us some incredible wine to sample and we were happy. i got up and got some ice cream samples for us to devour. then zvi brought us the most delicious fresh, whole wheat bread straight from the oven, with fresh apple preserves and olives. i bought a block of cheese, a bottle of yogurt with date honey and some cream cheese so we really had a feast.
i also got a designer coffee so i was a happy camper. we paid up our bill and indulged in the purchase of 3 containers of the goat ice cream. ben and gerry eat your heart out!
we stopped off at the supermarket to buy what we need for shabbat. that's right, tomorrow is shabbat once again. and once again i have to go into cooking mode. i've had it easy for the last few days. we've all gone out to the music festival and bought junk food on the street. i ate an entire container of chocolate ice cream ywsterday.
i struggled but i did go to yoga this morning and aroebics, last night. i think i pulled every muscle in my body. the not drinking water in this heat wave didn't do much for the pain. i haven't felt my toes all week long.
last night i got separated form my buddies. i absolutely, refused to walk through the crowds in town. i went with my girl pal the first night because we needed a toilet and something to eat. i had a slice of pizza and felt sick the whole night long. i vowed not to eat any more pizza and to avoid the town until next week.
i went to the concert area by myself and found a great seat. i also found my sister and brother in law who have been avoiding me lately because i refused to take in the grandmother for the entire summer. after a couple of hours of sitting in silence, i finally found my friends and ran over to sit with them. we stayed until the last religious hippie rock band finished their set. we were really punch drunk by then.
i jumped up at 7:00 a.m. and immediately cleaned up the morning's ant infestation off of the kitchen counters, floors and cabinets. i ran to yoga and zvi brought the baby over to gal's sister. how nice of them for giving me a day off.
we are all pretty spent from the wine and from the heat. we are not planning to go down to the festival until it cools off. the boys want to do a grill. i am still stuffed from the winery. i do not feel like eating fleish tonight. we bought a small piece of steak and a lot of chicken wings to do up. there are franks, kabobs and hamburgers in the freezer. let every man do what he wants to do.
we just got back from dalton where we visited the winery that my son works at. they also produce the most delicious goat yogurts, cheeses,and ice creams. we actually came at a bad time as there wa a group of 100 tourists inside. we had to sit outside of the tourist center where it wasn't air ocnditioned. we sat outside for hours and it was really hot. zvi was very busy with the group and had to keep us witing for a very long time.
he finally brought us some incredible wine to sample and we were happy. i got up and got some ice cream samples for us to devour. then zvi brought us the most delicious fresh, whole wheat bread straight from the oven, with fresh apple preserves and olives. i bought a block of cheese, a bottle of yogurt with date honey and some cream cheese so we really had a feast.
i also got a designer coffee so i was a happy camper. we paid up our bill and indulged in the purchase of 3 containers of the goat ice cream. ben and gerry eat your heart out!
we stopped off at the supermarket to buy what we need for shabbat. that's right, tomorrow is shabbat once again. and once again i have to go into cooking mode. i've had it easy for the last few days. we've all gone out to the music festival and bought junk food on the street. i ate an entire container of chocolate ice cream ywsterday.
i struggled but i did go to yoga this morning and aroebics, last night. i think i pulled every muscle in my body. the not drinking water in this heat wave didn't do much for the pain. i haven't felt my toes all week long.
last night i got separated form my buddies. i absolutely, refused to walk through the crowds in town. i went with my girl pal the first night because we needed a toilet and something to eat. i had a slice of pizza and felt sick the whole night long. i vowed not to eat any more pizza and to avoid the town until next week.
i went to the concert area by myself and found a great seat. i also found my sister and brother in law who have been avoiding me lately because i refused to take in the grandmother for the entire summer. after a couple of hours of sitting in silence, i finally found my friends and ran over to sit with them. we stayed until the last religious hippie rock band finished their set. we were really punch drunk by then.
i jumped up at 7:00 a.m. and immediately cleaned up the morning's ant infestation off of the kitchen counters, floors and cabinets. i ran to yoga and zvi brought the baby over to gal's sister. how nice of them for giving me a day off.
we are all pretty spent from the wine and from the heat. we are not planning to go down to the festival until it cools off. the boys want to do a grill. i am still stuffed from the winery. i do not feel like eating fleish tonight. we bought a small piece of steak and a lot of chicken wings to do up. there are franks, kabobs and hamburgers in the freezer. let every man do what he wants to do.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
War What Is It Good For
it's 2:30 p.m. in the holy city of zefat and i've been doing, you guessed it, 'sponger'. i woke up this morning to another ant infestation in the kitchen area. the counters and floors were covered with them. the cinnamon and baking soda stopped repelling them. i immediately went into balabusta mode and started scrubbing the counters. i threw about 6-7 buckets of water mixed with dishwashing detergent on the floor. soap is supposed to erase there tracks.
i actually went to sleep yesterday without doing the shabbos dishes. i guess i got used to my daughter in law cleaning up for me. last night she was suffering from a toothe ache. actually, she had her wisdom tooth removed on tuesday. unfortunately, the stiches ripped open and she was in a lot of pain, poor thing. it was also her 20th birthday and what a way to celebrate! i did have my first root canal on my 40th
a 'few' years back.
my son wanted to take gal out for a meal last night but she was, simply, in no condition to go out on the town. they both stayed home from work today and took the baby over to the sephardi clan. what a relief for me. they went to carmiel to see a movie and i got to clean my house. is that really spoken like a true mother and grandma?
i was in my washing the floor reverie when i got a call from a pal. she was hot and she sounded like she was dehydraded. she told me that there was going to be a war next week. she heard it from her friend talia, who heard it from a taxi driver who 'knows' these things. we are having the annual klezmer music festival this week in zefat on tuesday, wednesday and thursday. the town is going to fill up. my friends are coming up from efrat to visit. i am not ready for another war.
the last time we had a war, the ketushas started falling on a thursday afternoon, the day after the klezmer festival ended. it was a miracle that the crowds had fizzled out. that was four years ago. we are still recovering, emotionally, from that trauma. i can't begin to think about another war. this time they are predicting that it will not just be in the north and that there will be no place to run to. we didn't leave zefat during the last war. we were quite comfortable here.
we do have a safe room downstairs and hopefully, we won't have to evacuate from our home. i can't dwell on this right now. i have to get to the store downstairs and buy some party favors, drinks, and junk food for the surprise birthday party we are throwing for gal tonight. it's too hot to make chocolate molds so i might make a fruit platter with melon balls. that ought to wow her. and i better find a token birthday gift, too.
sahar will turn one year's old in another two weeks and we're planning a family barbecue and birthday party. i bought all the paper plates, and cups, and birthday hoopla ages ago. the freezer is also stuffed with franks, hamburgers, kabobs, chicken steaks and lamb chops. we still need to get some chicken wings. zvi wants to buy some steaks.
two weeks after sahar's birthday will be rosh hashana. the jewish new year. i'm just about planning my menu and haven't bought the honey yet. so that's how it is. we are just way too busy too think about war! please pray for the jewish people in israel to have a peaceful new year!!
i actually went to sleep yesterday without doing the shabbos dishes. i guess i got used to my daughter in law cleaning up for me. last night she was suffering from a toothe ache. actually, she had her wisdom tooth removed on tuesday. unfortunately, the stiches ripped open and she was in a lot of pain, poor thing. it was also her 20th birthday and what a way to celebrate! i did have my first root canal on my 40th
a 'few' years back.
my son wanted to take gal out for a meal last night but she was, simply, in no condition to go out on the town. they both stayed home from work today and took the baby over to the sephardi clan. what a relief for me. they went to carmiel to see a movie and i got to clean my house. is that really spoken like a true mother and grandma?
i was in my washing the floor reverie when i got a call from a pal. she was hot and she sounded like she was dehydraded. she told me that there was going to be a war next week. she heard it from her friend talia, who heard it from a taxi driver who 'knows' these things. we are having the annual klezmer music festival this week in zefat on tuesday, wednesday and thursday. the town is going to fill up. my friends are coming up from efrat to visit. i am not ready for another war.
the last time we had a war, the ketushas started falling on a thursday afternoon, the day after the klezmer festival ended. it was a miracle that the crowds had fizzled out. that was four years ago. we are still recovering, emotionally, from that trauma. i can't begin to think about another war. this time they are predicting that it will not just be in the north and that there will be no place to run to. we didn't leave zefat during the last war. we were quite comfortable here.
we do have a safe room downstairs and hopefully, we won't have to evacuate from our home. i can't dwell on this right now. i have to get to the store downstairs and buy some party favors, drinks, and junk food for the surprise birthday party we are throwing for gal tonight. it's too hot to make chocolate molds so i might make a fruit platter with melon balls. that ought to wow her. and i better find a token birthday gift, too.
sahar will turn one year's old in another two weeks and we're planning a family barbecue and birthday party. i bought all the paper plates, and cups, and birthday hoopla ages ago. the freezer is also stuffed with franks, hamburgers, kabobs, chicken steaks and lamb chops. we still need to get some chicken wings. zvi wants to buy some steaks.
two weeks after sahar's birthday will be rosh hashana. the jewish new year. i'm just about planning my menu and haven't bought the honey yet. so that's how it is. we are just way too busy too think about war! please pray for the jewish people in israel to have a peaceful new year!!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Almost Shabbat
it's already 2:00 p.m. on friday afternoon in the holy city of zefat. candlelighting is at 7:00 p.m. which means that i have another five hours to get the meals cooked and wash the floors again. i've only started to cook the morracan tomato relish and i boiled some eggs.
i am really dragging today. i didn't have to take care of the baby this morning which is the first time this week. we have been literally, joined to my left hip all week. i went down to the grocery at 10:30 a.m. and the rest is a blurr. i did manage to dispose of all the empty plastic bottles at the recycling bin near the supermarket.
i just put up a small amount of fish to stew with assorted peppers, carrots, and potatoes. we'll have tuna salad for lunch. they are predicting that it will be even hotter on shabbat. last night we were well relieved with a lovely breeze. i ran around collecting sheets and towels after the family of renters finally left at 3:00 p.m.
michal came to 'chill' out at my place yesterday. she had to get out of her house before she had heat stroke or worse. i sent her upstairs to the kid's apartment where there was airconditioning for a few hours. i managed okay with sahar downstairs. we later filled up a laundry basket with water and let him splish splash in the nude outside in the courtyard. he stayed in his make shift pool for a couple of hours.
while michal stood guard, i ran downstairs and threw in three super large loads of laundry. they dried in about half an hour on the lines outside. i finished all the laundry about 9:00 p.m. i also dragged a bunch of stuff downstairs to store for my niece, who returned to india. it was left off on my porch the day before and i had the pleasure of dealing with it. i really strained my back doing this. i was not a happy camper when i went to lie down.
my back is still stiff this morning. i went downstairs to bring in all the laundry and washed the kitchen floor. thank goodness, the family didn't trash the apartment.
to be continued/////// shabbat shalom!
i am really dragging today. i didn't have to take care of the baby this morning which is the first time this week. we have been literally, joined to my left hip all week. i went down to the grocery at 10:30 a.m. and the rest is a blurr. i did manage to dispose of all the empty plastic bottles at the recycling bin near the supermarket.
i just put up a small amount of fish to stew with assorted peppers, carrots, and potatoes. we'll have tuna salad for lunch. they are predicting that it will be even hotter on shabbat. last night we were well relieved with a lovely breeze. i ran around collecting sheets and towels after the family of renters finally left at 3:00 p.m.
michal came to 'chill' out at my place yesterday. she had to get out of her house before she had heat stroke or worse. i sent her upstairs to the kid's apartment where there was airconditioning for a few hours. i managed okay with sahar downstairs. we later filled up a laundry basket with water and let him splish splash in the nude outside in the courtyard. he stayed in his make shift pool for a couple of hours.
while michal stood guard, i ran downstairs and threw in three super large loads of laundry. they dried in about half an hour on the lines outside. i finished all the laundry about 9:00 p.m. i also dragged a bunch of stuff downstairs to store for my niece, who returned to india. it was left off on my porch the day before and i had the pleasure of dealing with it. i really strained my back doing this. i was not a happy camper when i went to lie down.
my back is still stiff this morning. i went downstairs to bring in all the laundry and washed the kitchen floor. thank goodness, the family didn't trash the apartment.
to be continued/////// shabbat shalom!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Hot To Trot
i just walked back from aroebics. it is 9:30 p.m. in the very hot and holy city of zefat. when i left there was a breeze. however, i returned with none. it is already wednesday and it was the first time that i left the house since this historic heat wave started.
i have babysat sahar all week long. today i finally got a nap when he passed out around 3:30 p.m. i sure needed it. he was rolled up in the inside corner of the t.v. couch and i was scrunched on the outside. cloey the dog, was sleeping on my legs. it was prety darn hot. i left the living room's airconditioner on all day long. it is pretty old but does cool down the apartment.
the t.v area, which is normally, cool and comfortable was a sauna. you cannot imagine how hot the rest of the house felt. i haven't moved off the t.v. couch all week. forget about venturing outside! at around 5:00 p.m. there was definately a nice breeze outside. i put sahar in the stroller and cruised up and down the street with him. i then quickly bathed him in my jacuzzi and sat outside in the shade until his mom came home.
my not having any prepared baby food nor being able to budge in the heat and go to the store, made for some interesting improvising. i threw some frozen blueberries in a blender and then heated them up and added it to his baby cereal. he seemed to like that. i then did the same process with frozen peas. he did not like this at all. i hate to admit it but l ended up eating it. to hell with the south beach diet!
later on, i made some mashed potatoes and added cow's milk. he loved it. i also gave him his favorite bambas snack and a scoop of green ice cream. i think it was supposed to be pistashio flavored. believe me, it's nothing close to the taste of pistashio.
i have been pretty good and have been staying away from the ice cream myself. it's been really too hot to eat much, anyway. i somehow went up 3-4 kilos without really eating much of anything. i think it was just intense bloating. i was simply baffled but too hot to overreact.
i decided to go to aroebics this evening after not moving all week. i walked there and kind of dragged myself home. i had very little coordination, stamina, speed, stomach muscles and joie d'vivre. i really struggled. the worse part was that i was situated in the back with the younger women. what a drag! i just wanted to shout, "i'm almost 60 for goodness sake!"
the renters leave tomorrow. it's hard to believe that the 4 days are over already. i wonder if i'll have any other customers. i seriously doubt that anyone else will agree to stay here without aironditioning. we shall see, i guess.
i have babysat sahar all week long. today i finally got a nap when he passed out around 3:30 p.m. i sure needed it. he was rolled up in the inside corner of the t.v. couch and i was scrunched on the outside. cloey the dog, was sleeping on my legs. it was prety darn hot. i left the living room's airconditioner on all day long. it is pretty old but does cool down the apartment.
the t.v area, which is normally, cool and comfortable was a sauna. you cannot imagine how hot the rest of the house felt. i haven't moved off the t.v. couch all week. forget about venturing outside! at around 5:00 p.m. there was definately a nice breeze outside. i put sahar in the stroller and cruised up and down the street with him. i then quickly bathed him in my jacuzzi and sat outside in the shade until his mom came home.
my not having any prepared baby food nor being able to budge in the heat and go to the store, made for some interesting improvising. i threw some frozen blueberries in a blender and then heated them up and added it to his baby cereal. he seemed to like that. i then did the same process with frozen peas. he did not like this at all. i hate to admit it but l ended up eating it. to hell with the south beach diet!
later on, i made some mashed potatoes and added cow's milk. he loved it. i also gave him his favorite bambas snack and a scoop of green ice cream. i think it was supposed to be pistashio flavored. believe me, it's nothing close to the taste of pistashio.
i have been pretty good and have been staying away from the ice cream myself. it's been really too hot to eat much, anyway. i somehow went up 3-4 kilos without really eating much of anything. i think it was just intense bloating. i was simply baffled but too hot to overreact.
i decided to go to aroebics this evening after not moving all week. i walked there and kind of dragged myself home. i had very little coordination, stamina, speed, stomach muscles and joie d'vivre. i really struggled. the worse part was that i was situated in the back with the younger women. what a drag! i just wanted to shout, "i'm almost 60 for goodness sake!"
the renters leave tomorrow. it's hard to believe that the 4 days are over already. i wonder if i'll have any other customers. i seriously doubt that anyone else will agree to stay here without aironditioning. we shall see, i guess.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Too Darn Hot!
over here in the holy land we are experiencing an unprecedented heat wave. it's like 100 degrees here in zefat or maybe more. it feels like hell. there hasn't been any air in days. they are even predicting a black out here and are warning people to conserve on energy. not that simple when it's this hot.
i finally got a rental. a family of ten are encamped downstairs. i worked all morning yesterday until about 3:00 p.m. making up beds and putting the finishing touches in the apartment. i even cut some fragrant cuttings from the garden to add some freshness to the rooms.
i ran up and down the stairs about 25 times, carrying chairs to and fro. i tried to turn the laundry room into a lounge and set up a television and dvd. i placed fans in every room and i really did my best to make it a pleasant experience.
i'm sure this incredible heat wave put a damper on their vacation but it isn't my fault. i didn't make up a lie. zefat is usually airy and very cool at night. most people request blankets. one doesn't usually need air conditioning at night. i hadn't even turned on my ceiling fan before the heat wave came. they say it is a desert heat coming from iraq.
it finally let up a bit this evening. i just saw the family sitting outside and having a late night dinner on the patio. someone was sitting on the grass with a guitar. i felt a little relieved. i fretted the entire day thinking that at any moment they were going to knock on my door to say that they were leaving.
i really need this money. logically, i know that zefat is probably booked up for the next couple of weeks. next week there is the annual klezmer music festival for three days. the last time i went down to the festival was four years ago. mom and i walked all over town and mom was really enjoying getting around. i hadn't been to the festival in years before that. we caught a taxi home at about 1:00 a.m. and the next day the ketushas landed in zefat and we were at war.
how time flies! my good friends from efrat are coming next week. i haven't seen them since my grandson's bris which was 11 months ago. we are planning to go to the winery where my son works to check out the different wines and taste the goat cheeses and ice creams. how yummy is that!
i am on babysitting duty all week long as the sephardi clan went on vacation. i have missed yoga and aroebics and haven't been out of the house since wednesday. i figure that the eleven hours of washing floors and the five hours of shlepping furniture around was enough of a work out for me.
i have been a very lazy grandma this week. i have let sahar stand in front of the television for hours at a time. i haven't taken him for walks or even talked to him that much, either. i have kept him plied with bambas and have given him formula and baby cereal too. i haven't made it out to the store to buy gerber. they were completely sold out at the large super because zefat is crawling with tourists for the next two weeks.
i think i fell asleep today on the couch while sahar was watching t.v. no, i was not under the influence of alcohol. i was simply, wiped out from the heat. my computer started acting up yesterday and i feared that it might be dying. i even lost my access to my gmail account today. all is well once again, i am happy to admit.
i finally got a rental. a family of ten are encamped downstairs. i worked all morning yesterday until about 3:00 p.m. making up beds and putting the finishing touches in the apartment. i even cut some fragrant cuttings from the garden to add some freshness to the rooms.
i ran up and down the stairs about 25 times, carrying chairs to and fro. i tried to turn the laundry room into a lounge and set up a television and dvd. i placed fans in every room and i really did my best to make it a pleasant experience.
i'm sure this incredible heat wave put a damper on their vacation but it isn't my fault. i didn't make up a lie. zefat is usually airy and very cool at night. most people request blankets. one doesn't usually need air conditioning at night. i hadn't even turned on my ceiling fan before the heat wave came. they say it is a desert heat coming from iraq.
it finally let up a bit this evening. i just saw the family sitting outside and having a late night dinner on the patio. someone was sitting on the grass with a guitar. i felt a little relieved. i fretted the entire day thinking that at any moment they were going to knock on my door to say that they were leaving.
i really need this money. logically, i know that zefat is probably booked up for the next couple of weeks. next week there is the annual klezmer music festival for three days. the last time i went down to the festival was four years ago. mom and i walked all over town and mom was really enjoying getting around. i hadn't been to the festival in years before that. we caught a taxi home at about 1:00 a.m. and the next day the ketushas landed in zefat and we were at war.
how time flies! my good friends from efrat are coming next week. i haven't seen them since my grandson's bris which was 11 months ago. we are planning to go to the winery where my son works to check out the different wines and taste the goat cheeses and ice creams. how yummy is that!
i am on babysitting duty all week long as the sephardi clan went on vacation. i have missed yoga and aroebics and haven't been out of the house since wednesday. i figure that the eleven hours of washing floors and the five hours of shlepping furniture around was enough of a work out for me.
i have been a very lazy grandma this week. i have let sahar stand in front of the television for hours at a time. i haven't taken him for walks or even talked to him that much, either. i have kept him plied with bambas and have given him formula and baby cereal too. i haven't made it out to the store to buy gerber. they were completely sold out at the large super because zefat is crawling with tourists for the next two weeks.
i think i fell asleep today on the couch while sahar was watching t.v. no, i was not under the influence of alcohol. i was simply, wiped out from the heat. my computer started acting up yesterday and i feared that it might be dying. i even lost my access to my gmail account today. all is well once again, i am happy to admit.
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