Erev Pesach

it's 11:00 a.m. and all is well in the holy city of zefat. i finally finished all my cleaning and set up my pesach kitchen at about 2:00 a.m. at one point, i felt a tiny bit desperate but i drank a cup of coffee and ate some bananas and dates for a sugar rush.

i finished my final sponger at about 3:30 a.m. i think i threw about 8 buckets of soapy water on the floor. it took forever to sponge it all outside. the dining room chairs are nearly dried. zvi will have to screw them together when he gets back from town. i already took out my pots and pans and utensils so it's already for me to start cooking.

i absolutely could not fall asleep last night. i was also cold and wet and snuggling with the dogs wasn't enough. by the way, they are all traumatized by all the sponger and their new pesach food bowls. anyhow, i jumped up at 9:00 a.m and persuaded zvi to help me burn the chometz outside. well, perhaps, his wife did the real persuaion. with all this rain and wind, it was no easy feat to start a fire. a neighbor passed by and dropped a bag of pitos and i looked down and saw fluffy, our newest dog, with a whole pita in his mouth. i quickly grabbed it away from him before he knew what was happening and threw it into the small fire that was still burning.

cloey the fat pincher dog, managed to grab a quarter of a pita and ran into the house with it. i chased after her like a mad woman but she consumed it all under the dining room table, before i could get a hold of it. are we having fun yet?

i just quickly washed and semi blow dried my wig. it's nearly dry. you can do that with synthetic wigs. i already cut up the toilet paper for the chag and i put up the eggs to boil. i'll have one last cup of coffee and then it's back to the kitchen. i'm not all that pressured because i have all day to cook. but i'd love to get a nap today. you can only wish.

a kosher and a happy pesach to one and all!

Bedikas Chometz Day

it's already 11:00 a.m. on a cold and rainy morning in the holy city of zefat. tonight we check our homes to make sure that we don't have any bread or chometz lying around the house. we have theoretically, checked all of our pockets and closets and bleached out our floors and counters. tonight is the big show that we have been 'rehearsing' for the past month.

my dining room chairs are still soaking wet. it is a bit unusual for it to be so cold and rainy the day before pesach. i'm happy for my lawn and garden but i don't exactly feel like doing any more sponger this morning. my pants and work jumper are still wet from last night.

i just had a very long phone conversation with my big sister in L.A. what a luxury! i'm not ready to move yet. in the past, i have pulled an all nighter beore pesach but i don't think it will come down to that. i am absolutely, not, going to do any windows today. it will be a quick mop up in each room. the bedroom porch and glass doors will get done after pesach, when it is warm and sunny once again.

my legs are really hurting this morning. i wonder why. i only, poured tons of boiling water after pouring tons of cold, soapy, water on the dining room chairs last night and then mopped it all away after each chair. i did this process eight times for about 2 hours. you could see the stream of dirty, soapy, water down the street. ah pesach!

i need to eat a good and hot breakfast this morning. i can make myself some eggs on my electric 2 burner stove. i cooked the shabbat fish on it on friday. it's still on my counter for a reason, i guess. i can even make toast. why not go for it all. tomorrow it's matzah for a week.

the sun is appearing! and there it goes. it's final, i am not doing windows. i hope that by tomorrow night the dining room chairs will be dry. we can always hope. if not, there are always, the plastic ones.

Saturday Night

it's 1:00 a.m. in the holy city of zefat. i just finished washing the dining room chairs. i sure hope they'll dry by monday night for the pesach seder. shabbat ended around 8:00 p.m. and i got into action mode. we had an easy clean up because i used mostly, throw away plastic plates and cups this shabbat. the counters are all clear and hopefully, i'll get to wash them down tomorrow and cover them with razer sharp, extra strength, aluminum foil.

i didn't get to take a nap today because my son brought my grandson downstairs for me to watch, while he went to shul. apparently, his wife needed a nap. i got to catch up on the week's tehillim, because i was not exactly in davening mode this week. i also read some laws about pesach and read part of the haggada. little sahar was sitting on my lap, playing with his own books for almost an hour and a half. he was pretty mellow but kept on grabbing cloey the dog. she didn't seem to mind.

i still need to clean two bathrooms, the t.v. couches and two bedrooms. a cinch! right? i am not going to do windows tomorrow. i'll finish the spring cleaning after pesach, some time before shavuot. tomorrow, i'll do my final wash down of all the floors in this apartment. i am feeling rather hopeful and not desperate, at all. the pesach stove is already hooked up and ready to go.

last year at this time, i was suffering with acute facial paralysis and not in good shape at all. my face was twisted to one side and i couldn't close my eye. drinking was a sight, with the liquid dribbling down my face. i made it through the seder all right but the next day the nerve pain in my face became unbearable. i spent the rest of pesach in my bedroom hiding from people.

my eye still bothers me, especially after using cleaning fluids and straining myself. i absolutely cannot tolerate bleach anymore. so i compensate and use tons of soap and liquid detergent for the floors.

i have a bunch of seat cushions to wash tomorrow and a few plastic chairs. i still haven't polished my mom's brass candlesticks. to quote the song from annie, "tomorrow, tomorrow, i love you tomorrow...."

Friday Morning

it's 9:30 a.m. in the holy city of zefat. it's really 8:30 because we set the clocks ahead last night. it was great for me because once it turned 2:00 a.m.(1:00) i fell asleep.

yesterday, i went to yoga and then went and bought the veggies and dairy products. i didn't get home until 3:00 p.m. it only took a 'mere' 4 1/2 hours to do that. i was then asked to watch sahar while his mom cleaned the upstairs apartment. i didn't mind much because i knew that i didn't have any more energy to do any cleaning tasks.

later that evening, my sister came over to work downstairs, and once again, i sat for sahar while the kids went to the supermarket. sahar was in the most delicious mood yesterday, laughing out loud and blabbing away. i couldn't keep my hands off of him.

last night i ate two white pitas with some avocado before i went to sleep. that is something that i rarely do and am happy to admit that i survived it. my plan of attack this morning is to wash the kitchen chairs and perhaps do the t.v area and couches. then i have to make dinner. it will be a very simple meal. i bought a package of niles perch fish and i'll make tons of potatoes. i can't be on the south beach diet while i'm slaving away because i do need carbs to get the job done. as long as i don't eat cake or chocolate, i am fine. the bananas and dates and walnuts get me through the day. and the little amount of honey that i add to the yogurt goes a long way for my sugar cravings. thank goodness, i am managing to maintain my weight.

i better sign off and get on with the day's work. at least we have an extra hour this week before sundown. that really helps. zvi just called from work to ask if i can go to town and buy a grilled chicken. how i'll manage that is really up to heaven. shabbat shalom!

Wednesday Night

9:00 p.m. i can't believe that it's already wednesday. i haven't blogged in two days. i've been taking it easy but today i got up at 7:00 a.m. and started my pesach cleaning at 8:00 a.m. i ran downstairs and put in a super load of laundry. it was pretty warm outside so i hung it on the outside lines. i then threw in another gigantic load and hung that one up, too.

i then got down to serious business. i washed the kitchen windows and the curtains, too. i then washed the outside porch windows. i do these once a year. it is so clean that you forget there are windows. of course, right after i finished the windows we had an insect infestation smearing up the shine.

i was on a roll and took out my trustee steam machine and started cleaning the pantry/pesach kitchen. i did the ceramics and counters and then i tackled the oven and stove. the oven racks are soaking in some oven cleaner and boiling water. zvi came home with the neighbor's tool kit and unscrewed the dining room chairs for me. i do this once a year. i remove the seats and wash out all the crumbs. are we having fun yet?

i was in such a cleaning blitz, that i actually sprayed oven cleaner onto the racks while zvi was still standing in the kitchen. he and the neighbor were coughing from the oven cleaner. i must be mad. i called it quits about half an hour ago. my hands and back are aching. i think 12 1/2 hours of cleaning is enough. i forgot to mention that i washed the kitchen and dining room floors twice today.

zvi just ordered a pizza because there isn't any food in the house. i ate a huge amount of walnuts today, a banana, an orange, a grapefruit, a giant green apple, some dates and some left over spicy thai chicken wings and some fried noodles. i shared the left over turkey with the hounds. i can't remember exactly what time i ate, or i should say, ravaged, the leftovers.

i hope to make it to yoga tomorrow. i will then buy the dairy and veggies for pesach. i got a load of free apples, pears and avocados today so we only need veggies.

i spent a lot of time in town yesterday searching for a holiday outfit for sahar. i bought a few things for him but i goofed up on the sizes so they need to be returned. i don't know if i'll make it to the store tomorrow. i still have a lot to finish. i scrubbed the small hall bathroom already so i still need to do the large bathroom and my bedroom.

i walked a half an hour to yoga yesterday and then walked another half an hour to town to get to the unemployment office. i sold my chometz at the rabbinut and then went to every baby store in town. i didn't get home until 3:00 p.m. and i was fit for nothing. i think i made up for it today.

Sunday Night

it's 9:00 p.m. in the holy city of zefat. i am still drinking the same cup of coffee that i made about eight hours ago. who knows what's in it by now. a little soap, or windex perhaps? i didn't want to leave you with the idea that zelda is a slacker so i decided to let you know what i've been up to this afternoon.

after i finished the blog, i put away all the purim costumes and props that were on the bed in the computer room. i rearranged the closet and make it more organized for future plays or purim. i even made a list of all the props and costumes that were not returned to me after the purim show. after pesach, i will try to track them down.

after i rearranged the closet, i took out all the chatchkas and cutglass from the living room and washed them all. i then cleaned all the pictures and furniture. i washed the black leather couch and covered it with one of the couch covers that i bought last week. it's a a bit chintzy but i didn't go for the big bucks this time. it was $45 for three pieces. i want to cover my t.v.couch with the smaller one and hopefully, the last piece will fit on the big ripped black chair in the t.v. room.

i took out my mini steam machine and steamed all the couches and chairs. they're all pretty ancient, but i think they're a bit fresher now. i couldn't be bothered going upstairs to drag down the vacuum cleaner. i washed around the window sills and wiped down the screens. i couldn't lift out the windows, so i simply wiped them down. i opened the windows to air out the room. i'd like to start hanging out in the living room again, now that the weather is getting warmer.

the gas company delivered the gas balloon today instead of tomorrow, so i was able to ask my neighbor to schlepp the full balloon downstairs for me. apparently, i need to have a gas inspection and put the balloon outside of my storage area according to the new law. this way, i avoided the inspection and the cost of installation. am i smart or what! i am really blessed to have nice neighbors.

so you see, i haven't been idle all day long. i think i broke my toe today. i banged the same toe twice, while i was steaming the couch. it really hurts right now, and i'm too tired to pull off my sock and see the damage. i am heating up the rest of the kasha and brown rice from shabbat and some turkey meat. the kids don't want any part of it. i guess i'll share it with the dogs. and then i'll call it a night.

SUNDAY

sunday morning in the holy city of zefat. i just got back from yoga in the neighborhood. i have zero energy today. everyone is busy doing their windows and vacuuming their homes and i am typing on my blog. gal left this morning very early with the baby. she has a part time job at the childrens' gan in canaan and left sahar with her family. i didn't feel the slightest bit unhappy about that. i am totally on my own today. i cannot force myself to function so i will simply, take it easy until my energy returns.

we still have a full week to complete the pesach cleaning. my hands and fingers are so swollen that i can hardly fold them. i am completely worn out. i spent all day friday just cleaning up the kitchen and straightening up the house for shabbat. i have no more strength to continue today. that's how it goes with pesach cleaning. one day you go for 8 hours straight and the next day you can't move.

i used up almost all of my chometz so the closets are pretty empty. i just ate my last tablespoon of tahina. forget about bread, there isn't any. i ate a vat of rice, kasha and mashed potatoes during shabbat and i already gained about 3 pounds. my body just cannot deal with carbohydrates. what i really want to do is lie down on the sofa with about 2 swiss dairy chocolate bars and just pig out. pardon my non kosher language.

i ate a few of the sephardi pesach cookies on shabbat and suffered a massive headache on friday night. they are chuck full of sugar and some unknown ingredients that do not sit well with me.

zvi is still obsessed with trying to buy a used car. heaven help him! i decided that i am not going to deal with the city tax people until after pesach. i've had enough of this folly. speaking of folly, the water company jacked up all the water bills and fled to another town. you cannot see a clerk in person now. all matters can be dealt with only by phone or mail. way to go peleg!

i have decided that this, too, can wait until pesach is over. welcome to the holy city of zefat and it's inner politics. i will resist from speaking any more lashon hara about the town, now. i will simply, make myself another cup of coffee and 'chill', which isn't hard to do because the house is still freezing.

i am very excited that i found my favorite brand of instant coffee that is kosher for pesach. what a relief! i bought three. if i had seen more, i would have bought them. so all i still need, is to buy veggies, fruits and some dairy. i'll let the kids buy the snacks by themselves. i already sprung for pesach marshmallows, chocolate bars, potato chips and chocolate spread.

Thursday Night

it's nearly 9:30 p.m. in the holy city of zefat. it is cold again. i ran to town this evening and finally found dog kibble that was kosher for pesach. i bought two of the 3 kilo bags to make sure we'll have enough from now and through pesach. i cabbed it to yoga this morning. it was way too chilly and windy to walk there. my cab never showed so i flagged another one down on the main street buy i still came a bit late.

i am stiff! i practically moaned after each and every move. i am going to try to go three times next week. i walked over to the pesach meat store but it was closed until sunday. i ended up going to another pesach store on the next street and i bought what i needed for pesach. i also bought another present for a neighbor. it was a pleasure to shop in an empty store. i put everything in the freezer and started to schlep the heavy toaster ovens and electric hot plates downstairs. the counters are getting cleared a little at a time. i stored some glass bowls in the dishwasher, where i usually store the alcohol. (gin, vodka, scotch, and rum.)

i had to cook the defrosted beef and turkey meat this evening even though i was not really in the mood. i made a spicy turkey stew with the remainder of a large can of tomato paste. i made a beef cholent with the remainder of my brown rice, buckwheat groats and white navy beans. i threw in a few potatoes for luck. it's pretty thick! i stewed a couple of salmon steaks and a couple of st. peter fish fillets with a bit of tomato puree and added potatoes and carrots to boot. i've already cooked up the potatoes and boiled eggs for the shabbat lunch.

i bought an assortment of pesach cookies during the week but they already seem to be dried out. i really don't feel like baking tomorrow. i want to straighten out the kitchen a bit. i think i'll hold off until sunday to do the heavy job of cleaning the alcove kitchen.

i bought a small humus and i'll make some tahina saladand use up the container. i have some cucumbers and tomatoes and some romaine lettuces. i have a couple of avocados to mash up with some boiled eggs. it should be relatively easy. i already bought the challah so hopefully, i won't have to go out.

Wednesday Night

it's nearly 10:00 p.m. in the holy city of zefat. is anyone still reading the blog? i should say besides, mikimi. i am thoroughly exhausted. i finished cleaning the fridge this evening. Yeh! zvi came home from work a little while ago and helped put back the cover on the freezer. i remove it every year. i usually find a crumb or two. this year i found a ton of white navy beans. go know! i was shocked to see how trashed the freezer was. i'm usually more of a balabusta.

the plumber came and supposedly, took care of the stuffed drain in the upstairs shower. he was here for about a total of two minutes. i hope he really fixed it. i don't want problems during pesach. one year we had a sewer back up in the downstairs apartment during the holiday. i cleaned raw sewage from the bathroom until the kitchen for about an hour or more.

i saw a car from the city tax office pass the house this afternoon. i ran outside to catch the guys but they were already gone. i hope that this was not the extent of their 'so called' investigation. i need a reduction on my real estate taxes and i don't think that i should be denied because i live in a big house. i called the office to see if they had been here officially, but of course, no one called me back. i should go over to the office again tomorrow, but i hate to waste precious cleaning hours sitting there.

now that the freezer is clean, i want to buy the fish, chicken and meat for the holiday. the store is also, right across the street from the yoga class. i defrosted some beef and some turkey meat so i better cook it up tomorrow. i put all of my food upstairs in the kids' fridge. i'm too tired to sort it out now.

i spilled something really sticky on the floor this afternoon and even though i did a semi mop job, our shoes are sticking to the floor. it's quite disgusting but i am way too tired to deal with it now. hopefully, i'll have more energy after my yoga class. my right knee is still hurting and it is sheer torture to climb the stairs. the laundry got finished around 2:00 a.m. last night. the kids were thrilled with the great smell. i think i might have thrown in about 4 or 5 softener sheets into the dryer. these kids sure love perfumes and strong scents.

i'm a bleach freak. i'd love to say a reformed freak but i had a major setback today. i used tons of chemicals to clean the fridge and the toaster oven. my hands are all blistered and swollen. what an accomplishment!

once i remove the toaster ovens from the counters, i will start to 'napalm' the counters. what fun! i started to shine one of my mom's candlesticks, but gave up. my hands were too sore to polish. there's always tomorrow. i want to tackle the little out-cove kitchen, where i actually, do all the baking and cooking, tomorrow. that entails cleaning the tiles, counters, stove and oven. the real deal. then i can scrub the floor and wash out all the sticky gook. that will only take me about all day to accomplish. i might just put off going to the city tax office until sunday.

the post offices, and banks and city offices are all closed on fridays. sunday is our main day to deal with all of the bureaucracy. it's a little hard to keep track of the days when you're doing marathon spring cleaning. i must remember to order a gas balloon tomorrow. and i need to give the gardener his monthly check. i guess i'll buy the veggies and dairy products next week.

i bought a mini blender by mistake. what i really meant to buy was a mini food processor. i hope it will be sharp enough to chop up the horse radish root and to chop up the nuts for the seder. we'll find out, i guess. i bought the new sink inserts but i realized that they didn't come with the sink drainers. that's another trip back to town. i better compose a giant list of what i need to do in town. the first thing that i need to do is buy pens. they have all suddenly disappeared. someone has sticky hands.

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.!

Sunday Night

it's 9:00 p.m. in the holy city of zefat. i haven't posted since last week. we have had an unusual heat wave and it has left us with zero energy. the sky is grey and there hasn't been much air of late. there were health warnings in the center of the country where there is a high rate of pollution. i am sorry to say that i have been lethargic all week long.

except for going to yoga, i have been totally inactive. i've slept a lot during the day, too. i started cleaning for pesach. i wiped down all of the kitchen cabinets and drawers and finally put away my pots and pans and dishes from last shabbat. i took care of sahar for about an hour this evening. he started creeping/crawling yesterday. this evening he was doing flips and turns. this is the age that they become human vacuum cleaners.

i went to yoga this morning and was loose for a change. i guess the heat does that. i came home at 11:00 a.m. and started to wash all of the chatchkas in the kitchen. i also polished all of the silver and brass judaica, too. eight hours later, i was nearly finished. this entailed my climbing up a ladder several dozen times. each time i prayed that i wouldn't fall. i am finished for tonight.

tomorrow, i will, hopefully, polish my mother's brass candlesticks. i have already washed all of the picture frames but still need to do the mirrors. i started using very caustic cleaning materials and had a minor setback with my face. so i am swearing off bleach, windex, and oven cleaner for now. i used a lot of water and dish soap today. i still have some cut-glass to wash. i used to love to show my mother how much i cleaned for pesach. she really loved to see everything shine.

i went on another food binge last night. it's a real shame because i started looking svelte again. my stomach is back to being poofy from all the sugar. i started phase 1 of the 'south beach' diet once again. all i had today was a plain yogurt, 15 almonds, 2 fried eggs, and a cup of chick peas and a can of water tuna. that will have to suffice.

zvi went back to work today. he is absolutely obsessed with finding a used car to buy. i am sorry that i can't help him. i am still waiting to know when the city jerks are coming to make their big investigation of my house. my phone doesn't ring so i check my messages a couple of times a day. i haven't used the cell phone in months. so far no messages.

am i the only one who thinks that 'american idol' sucks this year?. i am hoping to clean the refrigerator tomorrow so i can buy the meat and fish for pesach this week. it shouldn't be so hard to do because it's practically empty. and of course, i still need to clean the oven and stove and both the dairy and meat toaster ovens. are we having fun yet?

SUNDAY

it's 10:00 p.m. in the holy city of zefat. i walked to town and back yesterday after lunch. it was quite sunny and hot. as the sun would fade we would all freeze. i did all the shabbat dishes and pans but left everything out on the counter. i want to start cleaning out all the cupboards for pesach before i put back the dishes and pots. i thought i'd have a good crack at it today, but no such luck.

i fell asleep watching 'american idol'. they broadcast it here on saturday nights from 10:30 p.m to 2:00 a.m. i must say, that i'm not all that involved with the show this year. i had been a slave to it in previous years but not so, now. i woke up at about 2:00 a.m. and watched the clint eastwood movie, "Mystic River". i fell asleep and woke up at the end. of course, i couldn't sleep after watching that. so i watched the end of an army movie to about 4:30 a.m. and finally, fell asleep.

i woke up at around 8:00 a.m. and popped out of bed so i wouldn't fall back to sleep. i had a yoga class on the next street. i don't know why i'm so tight on sundays. i am just not a limber person. i caught a ride to town and went back to the bitach leumi office for the extra papers i needed. this time i only waited about ten minutes. i got to the city tax office and had to wait an hour. the woman clerk remembered me from thursday and actually, returned my reading glasses. i didn't know where i had left them.

she told me that i was eligible for a 70% discount and before i knew it she was bringing my file to the manager for inspection. they told me that it was problematic that my son lived with me and now they were going to send an investigator to my house. they now want us both to pay city taxes even though the house is listed in my name. it was too late to go to the bank to order checks so i took the bus home. i dreaded telling my son the news.

i fell asleep in my clothes. i slept all afternoon under the heavy comforter. i think that it was actually, hot outside. i woke up late this evening and watched sahar while his parents made a barbecue downstairs. he had been having a hard afternoon after getting another inoculation shot but he was perfectly fine with me. he sat on my lap and watched the entire "ellen" show and petted cloey the dog. they just went back upstairs. i ate the left over barbecued chicken wings and a lamb chop even though i wasn't really hungry. the aggravation from the city office did me in. it's in the hands of the Lord right now and i have to give it over to a higher power and let it go.

i feel very much like binging on some sweets, but luckily, i have none. until my puffy stomach goes down again, i will be more careful. i'm hoping to start the cupboards and do the refrigerator, tomorrow. i also need to bring some things to my niece tomorrow. she managed to rent out her place for pesach while they're in india and needs a pesach stove and a hot water urn. i also found a dollar bill that i want to give her for good luck when traveling.

Oh What A Day!

it's 12:00 a.m. in the holy city of zefat. i just got back from gal's family. her sister had a birthday party in the local bomb shelter. the location was changed at the last minute and i wasn't told. so, i ended up going to her sister's apartment in another part of town. of course, i didn't have my cellphone with me so i couldn't call another cab. finally, i caught one on the street.

today, the energy in zefat was on the hostile side. zvi woke me up at 8:00 a.m as per my request last night. i fell asleep around 3:00 a.m and i was not at my sharpest this morning. i cabbed it to yoga and then walked to town afterwards. i'm still feeling queezy from all the junk that i ate on tuesday. i went to the national insurance office this morning to get a letter stating how much i receive from them. i needed this to get a reduction on my city real estate tax. i had a bank statement that listed my national insurance monthly allotment, but of course, that wasn't acceptable.

they love paper here. the bureaucracy is insane. every time i go to take care of this they request another form. i took a number and waited for about half an hour. when my number was called i was told by the clerk that i was in the wrong cubicle. so when i requested in a louder voice, that they give me the letter, none the less, the clerk yelled at me for raising my voice. a second later, the guard was at my back, asking me if i had raised my voice to the clerk. i had zero patience for him. i answered rather sarcastically, that i hadn't pulled out a gun or anything like that to warrant all the attention. i told him that i was a 'tad' nervous. he told me to take another number and to drink some water.

i got another number and waited a few more minutes. i finally got my letter and proceded to the city office to get my reduction for the local tax. first, the clerk said that i had a big house and that they had changed the law. she then came back and said that i was entitled to an 80% discount. but of course, i needed to bring another form from the bank. i was right on time and made it to the bank before they closed. i got a copy of my last three bank statements and headed back to the city office. of course, i got flack from the other people waiting on line for their turn. i had to turn and explain to them that i had been in the middle of this a few minutes before.

the clerk glanced down at the statement and asked me what a certain deposit in my account was for. i really didn't know. it was really strange. i explained that perhaps it was sent for my son around the time that we had the bris. she came back a moment later and told me that it was indeed, a dollar transaction from out of the country and that i was no longer entitled to a discount. i tried to reason with her and explain that it was only a one time deposit, but she wouldn't budge. i told her quite calmly, that i still needed financial assistance. she had the nerve to tell me to sell my house. we finally agreed on a 70% discount. when i asked to speak to the manager, she said that i would surely get a 0 discount, if i did. she then decided that i needed two more forms from the national insurance office for 2007 and 2008. i told her that all that information was already in my file but she said that until i produced the two papers, i didn't have a reduction.

it was too late to deal with this today, because the national insurance office closes at 1:00 p.m. i'll have to go back to town on sunday. i stopped in to the local grocery store to buy some fish and veggies for shabbat. i saw the bus and made a run for it. i only had a 100 shekel bill because i had given the remainder of my change to people collecting charity. the bus driver refused to make change. he claimed that he didn't have any. before i said a word, he told me that he wasn't required to make change. i was too embarrassed to ask people for the 5 shekel fare so i got off the bus. i went to a local store to buy a gift for the birthday girl and to break the 100 shekel bill. i missed the next bus and waited for another 30 minutes. when i got home i went right to sleep. i had had enough aggravation.

i woke up at around 5:00 p.m. and i wanted to blow off the birthday party. i put on a bit of makeup and changed my sweater. i melted a bag of white chocolate chips but something went wrong and it clumped up into a giant ball. i added oil and water and put it into the molds. it didn't freeze well nor come out of the molds. and now i have to empty and clean all of the molds. at 7:00 p.m. zvi came down to request food. he didn't want anything that i offered. finally, he agreed to my frying up some meat cigars. i brought the greasy cigars upstairs and i called a cab and jotted down to gal's sister's place. the cab driver gave me a hard time about breaking the 50 shekel note.

i climbed the four floors to find no one home. i realized that the party was probably in canaan. but i couldn't get a cab. when i finally arrived at gal's parents, miriam was still frying up morracan crepes. i waited to go to the party with miriam. i was there for all of 10 minutes when miriam announced that we should leave. i took sahar in the stroller back to miriam's. it was pitch black and very scarey pushing the carriage down the stairs. we drank some coffee while miriam drove all of the girls home. she then took us home. i carried sahar upstairs and got him into pajamas. i then hit the blog.

i still have two sinks full of pots and pans from purim and from last night's dinner. hopefully, i'll have more energy tomorrow. i am officially, calling it a night.

Wednesday Night

it's nearly 11:00 p.m. in the holy city of zefat. my nieces and nephew just left with mendush. we had a very relaxed dinner together. zvi is in the process of looking for a used car. he eats, breathes, and lives used car ads. gal finally passed her driver's test last week. it was her 10th try. 5000 shekels later, she got her license. the whole thing makes me very nervous.

we went down to the cemetery this afternoon to pray at the gravesite of our friend who passed away last month. it was a very modest gathering. michal and i didn't go back with the family. i had to get home and straighten up a bit. my dirty pots and pans from purim are still soaking in the sink. and i left tonight's dishes on the counter. i am simply too tired to deal with any washing up tonight. i fell asleep last night about 4:00 a.m.

i made a very simple meal tonight. i poached some st.peters fish fillets with potatoes with a lot of cilantro and tumeric. i also made a mushroom and barley soup with carrots and potatoes. i had two bowls of soup even though i'm supposed to be on the strict part of the south beach. barley is definitely, a no - no. i think that the damage from the sugar binge is beginning to show. my nearly flat stomach is very puffy once again. why did i have to go so crazy?. my stomach was hurting all day, too. what should i expect after i did such a stupid thing.

my niece brought over a mushroom kugel and some tabouli salad that she made for me for purim. i made a huge green salad, which got devoured, pretty fast. of course, i put out some humus. i served some left over carrot cake and non dairy ice cream for dessert. my nephew loves his ice cream. i try to keep some on stock for him at all times. i was honestly, a little shocked to see him feed some ice cream to mendush. i am a strong believer of not giving sugar to tots.

i had some fish and humus, but i avoided the potatoes. i cooked up some frozen broccoli and i finished it off by myself. i did help myself to some mushroom kugel. it was very tasty.

i spent at least an hour or more washing the floors. they smelled so doggie! the white dog continues to pee all over the entrance way. my nephew, mendush, is a crawler so i needed the floors to be really clean. he was very excited by the three dogs. my niece was less excited by the dogs, and in fact, didn't want him to touch any of them. the dogs were pretty well behaved and didn't bother with mendush at all.

at one point mendush's dad was holding both little boys in his arms and mendush tried to push sahar out of the equation. sahar, innocently tried to pat mendush. it was so cute. then mimi started trying on wigs. both nieces tried on gal's very long, black wig. i believe it cost me nearly $2000. anyway, it was nice that all the youngsters were getting along. it warmed my heart.

i am hoping to get to yoga tomorrow. i asked zvi to wake me up on his way back from shul. they'll be here for shabbat so i guess i'll need to shop tomorrow. i have some left over meatballs from purim and i have some frozen chicken in the freezer. what i really need is veggies and those dreaded potatoes. michal brought over a flat of eggs from the moshav so i think i'll make a very 'eggie' cake. maybe i'll try to make a sponge cake.

i think i'll have to put off my pesach cleaning until sunday. i'm really itching to start. but i can't see it happening until after shabbat. the weather has once again, turned cold. i went down to the garden to cut some oranges and lemons for my niece and her husband and i nearly froze.

Purim Is Over

i can't remember exactly, what i did the past few days. i didn't move much the day after the show because i killed myself, schlepping chairs around. i managed to get to yoga on thursday morning, which was a fast day. the day did move along fast, but i actually, fasted until 6:00 p.m. i ran to town to shop for the food for the purim seudah. i spent all of friday morning, cooking and doing laundry. i stayed in by myself because the weather was too stormy to visit anyone. the kids took sahar to gal's family for the shabbat.

i went to hear the megilah with michal on saturday night at the local shul. it was really cold. we then went to a 'mixed' party in the artist colony. i was dressed as an over the hill go-go dancer. my friend and i wore identical blond wigs and sunglasses and we had on a matching dress and skirt to boot. i had bought each item in second hand clothes stores in previous years. we got up in front of the party and did our best go go dance. not bad for two broads pushing 60, i might add.

michal was dressed as an israeli female soldier. she made a skirt out of the camouflage netting that my son had taken home from the army. she looked so pretty in a wig of blonde pigtails. she had an authentic israeli army beret, tee-shirt, and backpack to use. the only thing missing was the toy machine gun. i don't know what happened to it. it would have been a hoot.

hopefully, we will post some pix soon. the party fizzled out early, so we were home by midnight. i got up the next day at 7:00 a.m and started to hustle. (make food and clean the house, not dance.) michal had to brave the pouring rain to sign up at unemployment. gal and i ran to the local shul to hear the megilah at 10:00 a.m. i made tons of chocolates and made some chocolate cds for the neighbors. my rum balls were deadly. my hamentashen dough was a disaster. it was too mealy. i added more liquid and then more flour and then i chucked it all into the garbage can.

i had baked a lot of carrot cupcakes to bring to the old age center but i never made it out. i threw together a few batches of both tahina and peanut butter cookies so i had a nice variety of baked goods to give out. i made giant chocolate clown lollipops which were a big success. the chocolate cds were also a big hit. i never got around to making pina coladas this year. i kept it simple. we drank bacardi and pepsi. i did make a sangria for the ladies with oranges and lemons form the garden and threw in some frozen strawberries. michal and i finished the pitcher later that night.

around midnight, i ate an entire bitter sweet chocolate bar. that began a real purim sugar binge for me. the next day, i ate a dozen or more mini chocolate bars, two bags of jelly beans, a couple of assorted bags of bissli and pretzels, a plate of cold, greasy, left over potatoes, several scoops of non dairy ice cream, and hands full of taffies. somehow, i managed not to throw up. i of course, started my diet again, today. i won't even tell you how much weight i put back on. i was looking pretty slick on purim. i have every confidence that i'll knock off the few pounds again.

we were all having a great time during purim until zvi's brother-in-law started breaking wine glasses. he is usually a very timid and compliant guy. zvi created a real purim monster. the poor guy drank too much wine on an empty stomach. he had us all laughing uncontrollably, until the glass started to fly. there wasn't any real danger of violence but i just wasn't up for picking up any more broken glass.

during purim day, i took on the persona of a 'professor' in the hospital. i spent the day shining a tiny flashlight into everyone's eyes and mouths. i demanded that the kids call me 'professor zelda', too. the little boys spent the day, shooting off fireworks outside and walking the little white dog up and down the street. the other two dogs were totally traumatized from the noise. they spent the day, hiding in the computer room and shaking.

miriam made traditional sephardi purim challah with a hard cooked egg in the middle. she also made a vat of greasy potatoes and a vat of rice. she brought over a huge tray of roasted chicken and her delicious sephardi tsimis of stewed prunes, apricots, raisins, and fried walnuts. i served cocktail franks, kabobs and spicy chicken wings before the official meal. the fancy plastic cocktail forks made it more fun to walk around with. i made a small pot of braised beef in wine and some curried meatballs in artichoke bottoms. we did not want for anything. we had dozens of hand made chocolates and rum balls and a neighbor sent in a package of filled chocolates with liquor. we also had six flavors of non dairy ice cream. we even made toasted marshmallow kabobs on bamboo skewers for overkill.

everyone left happy. no one seemed short changed. i grabbed the last of the sangria and rum balls and called a cab and went on to another party. but it was a bust so we came home early. we babysat for sahar on tuesday and hit the kid's purim stash pretty hard. luckily, sahar couldn't blow the whistle on us.

i went to volunteer this morning at the old age center. someone, apparently died, just before i left. thank goodness, i didn't see the body. tonight, i went to a tribute class for our friend who passed away last month. as i was waiting for the bus, a small cat keeled over in the middle of the road and died. i quickly, scooped it up with a newspaper and disposed of it before a car ran could run over it. i plan to visit my friend's grave tomorrow.

my niece and husband and baby are coming over for dinner tomorrow. they are leaving for india next week. the house is still in shambles. hopefully, i'll get around to straightening it out before they arrive. and then i want to start my pesach cleaning. it's hard to believe that it's already a year since i got the facial paralysis. it's almost back to normal, thank goodness!