Resting A Bit

it's 11:15 p.m. on thursday night in the holy city of zefat. my guest arrived a little while ago and i found myself reminiscing about my parents' deaths. the guest lost her 101 year old father two years ago. he was a survivor.

it was a lovely and sunny day. it was warm until about 5:00 p.m. the electrician came over pretty early and then the gardner arrived. i like 'hanging' with the gardner. he is a very savvy guy. we have a 5 minute rap session while he takes a cigarette break.

the electrician wasn't savvy. he couldn't fix one of my outlets and actually, asked me if i needed it. he tried to figure out where it was connected to. i was getting nervous when he played with the wiring near the computer so i told him that i didn't need the outlet. he fixed an extension cord, changed a few light bulbs to energy saving fluorescent ones, changed a fixture or two and charged me over $110. he was here for almost an hour but he was really slow. and part of the time he was taking other calls.

i was relieved that the apartment upstairs was well lit but it was not worth that type of money. when people come to this huge place they see $$$$. i couldn't wait for the guy to leave. he was creeping me out. the refrigerator repairman worked a lot harder for his 400 shekels but unfortunately, the fridge is still leaking and freezing up again.

zvi was mad at me for paying the electrician so much. now adays, a repairman won't set foot in your house for less than 180 israeli dollars. times are rough, i know. the gardner does me favors all the time. he would never think of asking me for extra pay. i try to repay his kindness by giving him cash when i have it. i paid him in advance today. i was afraid that i wouldn't have the money later on this month. between the gardner and the electrician, i was riped out this month.

the money from the guest visitor goes right to the lawyer for the probate. zvi's car riped him out this month. it is really hard to survive here. i really worked hard to make the guest apartment nice. i bought an inexpensive rug in the supermarket. zvi got mad that i wasted money on a guest. i explained that a rug is an investment. i can always use it downstairs. anyway, perhaps this can lead to other guests.

i woke up feeling like i had been run over by a truck. i guess i over did it yesterday. anyway, i couldn't get myself over to the senior's. gal drove zvi to work and left the baby with me. he was really interested in watching the electrician work. i think he has potential. anyway, i sat in the sun until gal got back. she took the baby to a family event in hadera. i ran to the drug store to buy her antibiotics before she travelled. i asked her to meet me at the super on her way out of town.

i bought sahar a little book and a large 'winnie the poo' bib. i met her mom outside the pharmacy and we dished on the kids for a good half an hour until gal arrived. i then leisurely, did my food shopping for shabbat. it was a pleasure. the store was empty. there weren't any carts but i stalked a guy until he gave me his. i took a taxi home and ran upstairs to lay down the rug. it looked great. i took the baking pan form the new toaster oven to the local mikveh. i then headed to the small super because i forgot to buy eggs.

i checked out the local gift shop for cheap place mats for the upstairs, but they didn't have any. i got back home and thought it would be nice to take a nap or just lie down for a while. instead, i decided to start cooking for shabbat. i also wanted to make a soup for the guest. my hands were stinging, and swollen and red. my fingers had small abrasions on them. i could barely close them. that's what you get for not using gloves when you do a pesach clean up.

i treated myself to a whole wheat roll and can of tuna. i hadn't had any solid food in days. i have been living on almonds and tahina and drinking lots of coffee. surprisingly, i lost some weight but my stomach is still huge. the roll was very delicious. i shared some of the tuna with the dogs. water tuna, just doesn't do it for me anymore.

i made tuna fillets and potatoes in a hot red sauce for tomorrow night. i also cooked the piquant morracan tomato relish that gal loves. it takes a couple of hours to do. i made it with fresh tomatoes. the prices have come down somewhat. i also made a cheesecake. i accidentally used potato flour instead of cornstarch, so it might be a tad, weird. i made a potato salad with mayonnaise for gal. i already took out the chicken to defrost. i ran out of eggs so it doesn't look like kugel this week.

i made a veggie, mushroom and barley soup which was really yummy and hearty. i had three bowls. i also made a batch of corn muffins and i actually, ate one. it was yummy! i had some rice dream left over from thanksgiving which was still good, so i made a double batch of batter and filled up the large muffin tin. this way i could use my pareve oven and muffin tin.

i invited the guest to join us for shabbat but i don't know if she will. i think she has food issues. she declined a hot drink and didn't seem interested in muffins or soup. i left some upstairs for her, anyway. maybe she'll be hungry in the morning. usually people want something to eat after a long flight and trip. go know!

i think i'll pot some chicken and potatoes for a change. i don't feel like broiling this week. gal does love her potatoes but manages to weigh in at a slight, 120 pounds. i'll probably make a pareve cholent with potatoes, barley, chickpeas and wheat for lunch. after all, i did make a cheesecake to serve 12.

i defrosted the coconut cake from the housewarming party, so i won't be baking tomorrow. i'll mosey on down to the super to buy challah and that's it. i have jello for dessert and taco chips and bambas for nash. i'll make a green salad for zvi and maybe i'll do a mexican corn salad for gal. she liked it when i put a piece of a chile in it. i just remembered buying fresh corn today but i can't find it anywhere. it may not have made it into the shopping cart.

the cheesecake and fish are already in the fridge. by now the tomato relish should be cooled down, so after i put it away, i can lay back and watch a little t.v. i don't think that gal got back yet. it's almost 1:00 a.m. well anyway, nightie night!!! and good shabbos!