Taking A Break

it's 3:00 p.m. in the holy city of zefat. i'm taking a break from pesach cleaning today. after a short lived heatwave, it turned cold and rainy once more. there goes the windows!

i took care of sahar for a few hours this morning. the little scoundrel got out of the house and was running through the grass. luckily, it wasn't raining too hard. it was quite cold, never the less. he escaped a little while ago and came running through my apartment right up to the front door.

the kids are planning to go out in a little while, so i may have to watch him some more. i already decided not to do anything too physical today. i spent about 8 hours yesterday, doing laundry and cleaning out the kitchen cabinets. it wasn't too demanding on my back. most of the laundry dried outdoors. i took in the remainder just as it started to sprinkle and threw it in the dryer.

i still have the rest of the cabinets to do but not today. i routinely, keep everything clean so it's not heavy duty work. i always clean up sticky messes and wash surfaces on a need to do so basis. the only area that i do seem to neglect, is the actual cooking area in the little kitchen outcove. that is my major pesach concern. i don't keep chometz in the pantry area, either. the cabinets are used basically, for spices, cookbooks and paper goods. the bottom shelves are used for storing wine and other beverages. i keep the hard liquior in the dishwasher.

the freezer and fridge are nearly empty. i need a warmer day to clean them. there isn't a real mess to clean up, thankfully. i still need to do the master bedroom. that entails, putting away all of the clothes, at this point. it also is a major job, washing the huge sliding glass doors and screens. i'll try to bring up the hose from the back yard.

i'm still thinking of painting the downstairs walls. they are pretty blackened in some places from the rain. i might end up 'selling' the third floor. i don't know if i'll be able to get it done in time. right now, i'm in good shape. if i start having to deal with sahar every morning, i won't be able to finish. i can't seem to work at night. my house isn't well lit so it's stopping time at sunset.

i haven't totally completed one room. i still need to make up the beds in the computer room and back bedroom. i'd like to throw the slip covers of the mattresses in the wash. i still need to wash the dining room chairs. they aren't so badly soiled this year. this however, entails unscrewing the seats. i depend on zvi for this task.

he was supposed to go to the army today in tel aviv. he put on his most winkled army work clothes and looked like a real shlumperdink. gal made him undress and dutifully, ironned the uniform. in the end, he didn't go. i'm kind of hoping that sahar goes to safta miriam at 4:00 p.m. but i don't know if gal will drag him out in the rain. if he does go out, i'll surely start to feel guilty that i'm not cleaning something. you can't win.