This Is A dog's World

it is 8:00 a.m. in the holy city of safed.  I am utterly exhausted.  I finally tackled cleaning up the rooftop apartment.  there was a lady who wanted to see it.  I dragged myself upstairs on Friday afternoon and washed the porch area and the bathroom.  I was too tired to deal with it in the morning.  it took about 2 hours to do this task.  everything had to be washed.  I did all the dishes, pots and pans, cutlery, knickknacks and pictures and the screens and windows.

I had my friend's dogs with me so I put them out on the porch while I worked.  on Saturday night after Shabbat ended, I began washing the floor.  I could not finish it.  yesterday morning at 6:00 a.m. I washed the entire wooden floor.  that was no easy feat.  I had to go over it about four times.  the space is about 120 meters.  the place needs throw rugs, for sure.  I also dragged up a couple of tables and chairs and other heavy items.

the lady in question, had emailed me that she was available to come in the evening to see the place.  of course, I came home from cooking at the yeshiva in time to meet her.  when I got home I checked the phone and internet for messages.  she had decided not to waste my time as she was exploring other situations and locations.  I kind of knew it in my gut that this was a no show but I am ever so glad that I finally took care of the apartment.  I now know what repairs are needed to do when I get some money.

it is pesach clean right now and will make a great sleeping space for the holidays.  I might even show it to a student .  there are not many jewish students, unfortunately; and I feel uneasy renting to moslem arabs.

at around midnight last night I was awakened by the hysterical shrieking of my friend's two dogs.  I had no idea what time it was.  I was beat.  I had to walk over to my son's apartment and feed his cat while they are away on vacation.  I waited for the sun to go down because it was another hot day.  it is a 15 minute walk uphill.  I struggled.  I used to walk an hour and a half every night, effortlessly.  a lot  has changed.  I am older, heavier, and I have high blood pressure now.

I have let myself go.  I used to do cardio and yoga.  I can't bend down to pick up objects without wincing.  I still haven't lost an ounce.  it's been about two months now without sweets and nashing.  I do not eat after 8:00 p.m. and before 8:00 a.m.  I need to get this belly fat cut down once and for all.  I lost a ton of weight after the cancer treatment but I felt too thin.  I gained about 10 pounds this summer after I had a bitter fallout with my family.  I am not the kind of person who stops eating when she is sad.

I have an animal crisis.  my friend's dog wandered into my neighbor's yard and she let her out.  I should have let the neighbor's no that I was babysitting other dogs.  I hope she will find her way back to my house.  I just went around the neighborhood with the other 2 dogs but didn't see her.  I am feeling awful.  a few years ago I sat for another friend's dog and she made it out for hours.  I will wait until this afternoon before I go to work.  oh well....

aftermath:  it is 9:00 p.m. in the holy city of safed.  I went downtown at around 2:00 pm. to see if the doggie had made its way back back home.  I stayed home all day long in case she returned.  I ran around the neighborhood for hours looking for her.  I prayed all day long and put coins in a charity box to find her.  it turns out that the neighbor heard her barking and called her nephew, who in turn called my son to get my cell number.  he was going to pick me up and take me there.  my son,
G-d bless him, never thought to call my house phone to let me know that the dog was downtown.  anyway we got reunited and I took her home in a taxi.  I then went to work and came home around 7:00 p.m.

I stopped off to make a condolence call.  a young man aged 33 passed on.  he was a tortured soul with schizophrenia    I knew him when he was a young lad. what a tragedy!