it is 9:00 p.m. in the holy city of zefat. I just finished putting away the metal poles of the sukkah. I left zefat around 12 hours ago to travel to Tel Hashomer to see the neurosurgeon at Sheba hospital. I got there an hour early and had an additional 2 1/2 hour wait. the surgeon wants to remove the brain tumor. it hasn't grown much in three years, but there seems to be more swelling than was seen in January.
I have been given another 8 months to consider the surgery and monitor the brain by way of MRI. I'm thinking "if it ain't broke then don't fix it". I do not have any symptoms so I am going to do the waiting game. I went to the shopping center at the hospital to look for possible sales. I couldn't find any shoes in my size at the orthopedic store, unfortunately. they were giving them away, practically.
I waited for about a half an hour or more in the hot sun for a bus to Tel Aviv. it took forever to get to the train station where I catch my bus back to zefat. fortunately, there was a taxi going back to zefat for the price of a bus. so for about $10 I rode home in comfort. the driver left me off near my house. the regular price is about 700 shekels. ($170). the driver actually, lived in my neighborhood.
my health care provider paid for my taxi ride to the hospital this morning. so I really locked out today. I got up at 7:00 a.m. and took off the bamboo roof from the sukkah and removed all of the decorations. they are predicting a huge storm tomorrow. I had some tea and I showered and I left. I got home some 12 hours later, grabbed a chicken schnitzel and let the dogs out. Tiny, the overgrown puppy, ate a huge hole in my bed. I didn't leave him on the balcony, as usual, when I go out. I guess it's karma. he ate a gigantic hole in the Sephardi grandmother's mattress that was in my room, and I didn't replace it yet.
at 7:00 p.m. I took down the sukkah material and wooden slats. Just then my son came home and I ran in to heat up the leftovers for him. after he had some dinner, he was open to taking apart the sukkah frame. I ran up and down the stairs with the metal poles and finally rearranged the items in the storage unit to make room for the entire sukkah. I then came back upstairs to blog. I am really tired now. I hope we have a huge rainstorm tomorrow to wash away all of this brown dust.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Simchat Torah
it is 12:30 p.m. in the holy city of zefat. we end the holiday of sukkot today and start a new holiday called Simchat Torah, tonight. we have a farewell meal in our sukkah and we go to synagogue this evening. we eat in the house tonight. after all that work decorating the sukkah with my enormous collection of plastic fruits and vines, it's nearly over. it's like Pesach. you work really hard and the week goes too fast to enjoy it. I must have spent 7 hours hanging my decorations.
we actually used the sukkah each day this year. I made meals every night. one night my son and his married cousins-in law ate hero sandwiches and beers in the sukkah. they were supposed to do a barbecue but when push came to shove, everyone was too tired to bother with the grill. the little kids were with me the entire week. their parents had to work and I had to stay home with them. I tried to eat most of the meals in the sukkah with the kids.
their mother and I took them to an outdoor party that chabad made for kids. the kids could run around the playground, which was a good thing. they didn't win any prizes in the gift grab bag so we had to buy them candy and balloons to placate their disappointment. their mom went off to an exercise class and their dad went off to a soccer game in Haifa that night. nice life these big kids have. I, on the other hand, do not have a life.
I was sick all week with a throat virus so I didn't have the energy to do much. I took the kids to a Chassidic puppet show at the chabad house but they were bored out of their little heads. too bad it wasn't 'Power Rangers' or Roy Boy'. at least I didn't have to schlepp them on the bus to town. their mom drove us to the show and took us home. that was a bit of good fortune for me. I even got treated to an ice coffee drink.
I let go with the diet regimen and am totally puffed out once again. even my new fat clothes don't fit. I need to see the brain surgeon near Tel Aviv on Tuesday. it's a bit scary to travel these days. I ran out of checks and cash and have been running on empty, as we say. I went to the bank before the holiday to order checks but the machine was out of order and I was on a mission to buy a new bamboo roof for the sukkah. I also ran around the neighborhood trying to find a cash machine. they were all out of order, too.
I managed to get some cash at the bank when we went to the puppet show but it went very fast on drinks and veggies for shabbat. I ran into a friend at the supermarket and got to borrow some money to finish my shopping. my pantry and freezer are nearly empty. I didn't have money to buy a cake for the holiday. I made a lovely tiramisu for the holiday but we ate it on Shabbat. I just made a chocolate fudge cake which is an eggless cake. I made it with mayonnaise. I was all out of eggs, sugar and oil. I did have a large jar of mayonnaise in the fridge and this recipe. the cake is awful. I used the rest of my organic brown sugar. I've made this cake before but this time it didn't come out great.
I fried up my last package of chicken breasts today. I had one egg left and two challah rolls, which I turned into bread crumbs. I had a two pound package of chopped beef. I added some eggs, cilantro and parsley and bread crumbs. I filled a package of cannelloni noodles with most of the mixture and baked it in a tomato sauce. not my best work. I turned the rest into meatballs and threw them into the pot of meat simmering in wine. I had this tiny piece of meat. I didn't have any sweet wine so I used a bottle of dry red wine and added some honey. the meatballs are soggy. I guess it's better than being hard like hockey pucks.
I don't really have a dessert. I have been picking pomegranates in the neighborhood. I didn't get to shop today. I went to bed really late last night. the men stayed up all night learning torah and I stayed up all night watching season 10 of 'Grey's Anatomy". I got up at 7:00 a.m. and washed the floor. I didn't have the strength nor the care fare to go to town. I hope my son buys drinks and milk because I'm nearly out. I was hoping to get a bit of cash from the kids this morning but it didn't happen.
I will have to do a huge shopping next week.
we actually used the sukkah each day this year. I made meals every night. one night my son and his married cousins-in law ate hero sandwiches and beers in the sukkah. they were supposed to do a barbecue but when push came to shove, everyone was too tired to bother with the grill. the little kids were with me the entire week. their parents had to work and I had to stay home with them. I tried to eat most of the meals in the sukkah with the kids.
their mother and I took them to an outdoor party that chabad made for kids. the kids could run around the playground, which was a good thing. they didn't win any prizes in the gift grab bag so we had to buy them candy and balloons to placate their disappointment. their mom went off to an exercise class and their dad went off to a soccer game in Haifa that night. nice life these big kids have. I, on the other hand, do not have a life.
I was sick all week with a throat virus so I didn't have the energy to do much. I took the kids to a Chassidic puppet show at the chabad house but they were bored out of their little heads. too bad it wasn't 'Power Rangers' or Roy Boy'. at least I didn't have to schlepp them on the bus to town. their mom drove us to the show and took us home. that was a bit of good fortune for me. I even got treated to an ice coffee drink.
I let go with the diet regimen and am totally puffed out once again. even my new fat clothes don't fit. I need to see the brain surgeon near Tel Aviv on Tuesday. it's a bit scary to travel these days. I ran out of checks and cash and have been running on empty, as we say. I went to the bank before the holiday to order checks but the machine was out of order and I was on a mission to buy a new bamboo roof for the sukkah. I also ran around the neighborhood trying to find a cash machine. they were all out of order, too.
I managed to get some cash at the bank when we went to the puppet show but it went very fast on drinks and veggies for shabbat. I ran into a friend at the supermarket and got to borrow some money to finish my shopping. my pantry and freezer are nearly empty. I didn't have money to buy a cake for the holiday. I made a lovely tiramisu for the holiday but we ate it on Shabbat. I just made a chocolate fudge cake which is an eggless cake. I made it with mayonnaise. I was all out of eggs, sugar and oil. I did have a large jar of mayonnaise in the fridge and this recipe. the cake is awful. I used the rest of my organic brown sugar. I've made this cake before but this time it didn't come out great.
I fried up my last package of chicken breasts today. I had one egg left and two challah rolls, which I turned into bread crumbs. I had a two pound package of chopped beef. I added some eggs, cilantro and parsley and bread crumbs. I filled a package of cannelloni noodles with most of the mixture and baked it in a tomato sauce. not my best work. I turned the rest into meatballs and threw them into the pot of meat simmering in wine. I had this tiny piece of meat. I didn't have any sweet wine so I used a bottle of dry red wine and added some honey. the meatballs are soggy. I guess it's better than being hard like hockey pucks.
I don't really have a dessert. I have been picking pomegranates in the neighborhood. I didn't get to shop today. I went to bed really late last night. the men stayed up all night learning torah and I stayed up all night watching season 10 of 'Grey's Anatomy". I got up at 7:00 a.m. and washed the floor. I didn't have the strength nor the care fare to go to town. I hope my son buys drinks and milk because I'm nearly out. I was hoping to get a bit of cash from the kids this morning but it didn't happen.
I will have to do a huge shopping next week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
