Home Again Home Again

it is 7:30 p.m. in the holy city of zefat.  the big kids finally returned home from their vacation on Saturday night at 1:00 a.m.  I had their little kids with me the entire week.  they were supposed to come back on Thursday night but they decided to break up their long ride back from Eilat .  they spent Shabbat in the old city of Jerusalem.  the little kids stayed with me for Shabbat.  I just served my son and grandkids organic premade gnocchi with tomato sauce.  they were on sale at the supermarket.

I spent a few hours on Friday doing the small kids' laundry.  I made minimum food for Shabbat.  I cooked up a few chicken legs with potatoes. I made a bit of instant couscous and a small salad.  I bought mini challah rolls and pastries.  that was it.  the kids had lots of junk before Shabbat. I bought several cartons of chocolate milk.  I didn't even feel like mixing up chocolate milk for them.  I actually enjoyed the store bought chocolate milk.

I took both kids to synagogue with me on Friday night but I was very nervous.  I gave my grandson a slap.  that wasn't exactly conducive to want to be in shul.  I was way too tired to be with the kids by myself.  I finished my stint as a cook in the yeshiva on Thursday.  I returned home from work and had about an hour to get ready for a wedding.  I returned home from said wedding at 2:00 a.m.  I did get up and dance a bit to the very loud Israeli trance music.  I wore my wig and it was winging wet.  it was fun to be with all the neighbors again.  it's been a few years since I could manage to go to a simcha.

I decided to take the kids back to shul on Saturday morning.  I managed to pray inside while they ran around outside.  a family who lost their soldier son last year donated a new sefer torah to the shul.  they made a simple Kiddush after services.  the kids were happy to sit and eat.  they had brown hard cooked eggs and lots of soda.  I never buy soda.  I let them have as much as they wanted.  I munched on nuts and raisins and eggs, too.  when we got home I let them go in the wading pool. when they came upstairs they ate some cold cuts.

we all settled down in a bed together and I fell asleep.  I was rudely awakened by my granddaughter bopping me on the head.  my friend came to visit and we had a couple of vodka breezes.  the kids were making as much noise as they could.  my grandson had a birthday while his parents were out of town.  I didn't get a chance to buy him a gift or make him a cake on Friday.  I didn't realize that it was his birthday until Saturday morning.  my granddaughter and I sang 'happy birthday' and made a big fuss over him.  I tried lifting him 6 times in a chair.  I hurt my back. the kid weighs a ton.  he will have his official party on Tuesday.  i'll make the usual cheesecake.

my daughter-in-law's sister took care of the kids all week long.  she got here every morning around 9:30 a.m. and was here when I returned from work at around 4:30 p.m.  one day I went to pick them up at the Sephardi grandma's house and we returned home on the bus.  almost every day, I took them locally to have a frozen coffee drink.  I needed one every day to keep me going.  I bought barekas, potato puff pastries with potato filling, every day too.  it was our staple food.  I had cheerios and cornflakes on hand and lots of milk.  I managed to make an omelet or two. and I opened plenty of cans of tuna last week.

I wasn't much for cooking after working all day long in the yeshiva's kitchen.  it was good for me to work this summer.  I haven't felt so much like my old self in years.  I am a fatter version of the old zelda but I can still bust a few moves o the dance floor.  I lost a few pounds but can't seem to get the bulk off.  I haven't been exactly eating well lately.  I haven't binged in a couple of months.  I did eat a bag of Doritos this afternoon.  and I had my fair share of the gnocchi at dinner time. I didn't have any ice cream this summer or any candy.  I did have an occasional cookie or piece of cake. it was really too hot to eat much this summer. I tasted some milk chocolate yesterday but it tasted nasty.

I managed to buy a few tops and skirts this summer.  I definitely, haven't been running around in the old rags lately.  I need to shed about 18 pounds to look like my old self.  it's funny but when I got thin after the  chemo, I felt emaciated and couldn't wait to put on some weight.  I then, unfortunately, spiraled out of control to my present day state of being grossly overweight.  even the gyn oncologist said that I should start losing some weight. I see him again in December.  if only I can be slender again....