it is 1:00 p.m. in the holy city of safed. I am just waiting for the rain to let down for a moment so I can run down to the supermarket. I promised the kids kinder chocolates. you know, the chocolate covered eggs with a prize inside?. the kids don't eat the chocolate but they cherish these mini toys. I have been with the kids since last Saturday night. the parents went away for 5 days on vacation. the Sephardi grandma has been chauffeuring them to and from school so I've had it easy. I haven't had to go out in this miserable weather to pick them up.
they have demanded that I sleep with them so I have been catching up on some most needed sleep. I feel better but I still cough. my grandson is sick again after having a throat infection. he also coughs all night. I haven't really walked or had any physical exertion in weeks. I am badly out of shape. I was supposed to sit in a rehearsal of a friend's play this morning but I cancelled. my throat was killing me and even though it was on the next block, I couldn't get myself together to go out. I have to get the kinder and probably some veggies for Shabbat. the kids are returning to safed on Friday morning.
I will cook Shabbat food and they can have the option of staying here or taking the food home. it is supposed to snow on Friday. my home is freezing even though I have electric heaters going on in each room. I washed all of the kids' clothes but it's all still wet in the bedroom. I left a heater on and I hope that it will dry by tomorrow. I kind of disassembled the drier downstairs. I need to buy a new hose. I hardly need it. I have a drier upstairs that I bought for the kids when they married. I'm afraid to use it and possibly burn the kids' clothing.
it has been a bit hard getting the kids up in the morning and ready for school. I forgot to help the granddaughter with her Hebrew homework last night. I couldn't really understand the instructions. I've been here for over 30 years and still can't read simple Hebrew. shame on me! I ran to the supermarket yesterday to buy Colgate toothpaste. we were trying to make homemade slime. none of the recipes that we saw online worked. I simply couldn't get to town to buy the more serious of materials, like borax. I doubt that they even have it here.
we tried shampoo, dish soap and salt and then we tried it with sugar. we also tried toothpaste, dish soap and salt. and we tried four and dish soap. we froze it. I don't have a micro grill. I didn't have any face mask, lens solution or mucilage glue or Elmer's in the house. I can't really say it was fun. my grandson is very sweet in bed. he covers me and hugs me until he falls asleep. my granddaughter is the opposite. she grabs me in inappropriate places, calls me names and rips off my head covering. if I pass gas, the two of them howl with laughter. I know that I snore but it didn't keep the kids from sleeping.
it will be strange when they go home. it will be so quiet without them. the kids, mostly play by themselves when they aren't online or watching movies. it's not like i'm needed all that much. yes, I had to wake them up and help dress them and bathe them at night but they kept themselves busy. I may be getting a new handbag as a gift. I'm sure there is no shortage of leather goods in Italy. my daughter-in-law is sick. poor thing has a throat infection. what a drag to be on vacation when you are sick.
the weather hasn't really let up. I may just shower and hit the road. who knows what will be tomorrow. I will need to cook and to clean the house. it is truly trashed.
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Monday, January 15, 2018
The End Of An Era
it is 3:00 p.m. in the holy city of safed. I just got back from quitting my cooking job at the yeshiva. I wasn't planning on quitting today, although I wanted too, very badly. I am recovering from the flu, once again. I spent the entire Chanukah sick and in bed. I went back to work a week later and covered for the other cook. too, who was recovering from kidney stones. I worked 7 hours a day and helped pick up the grandkids. I would come home and fall asleep in the early evening. I fell apart once again. my grandson had a throat infection and bronchitis. I thought I caught the bug from him.
this time around, I couldn't eat and felt like I was surely, dying. the weather turned stormy and I stayed inside. I started coughing, more kike hacking and bending over. my neighbor heard me. I finally went to the doctor because I thought I had pneumonia. my neighbor is a doctor and he came over to say that I should do an x-ray. I waited for the rain to stop and went to the clinic. the doctor there just looked at me and said I had the flu. she did listen to my breathing but said that my lungs were clear.
she also said that I was low in vitamin d. this was based on my last blood test from nearly 2 years ago. I underwent another set of blood tests. the doctor didn't bother to have my vitamin d level tested. there were several other important things that were not tested, also. I wanted to see a complete overview of everything because I had issues with my kidney function. so now I need to make another appointment to go back to the doctor to get the paperwork to do the additional tests. and then of course, I need to do another 12 hour fast and do the blood tests. I have very depleted veins so I have to suffer, once again, while the nurse struggles to find a vein. I am still black and blue from the last test.
I am also still hacking away. I can't seem to stop coughing. my throat doesn't actually hurt. I am so tired. I went to work yesterday to make supper for the yeshiva. even though I know that they had hired someone to cover for me, I felt obligated to go. I took a taxi to work. the weather was very nasty. I spent about 3 hours making dinner. I put up rice and mashed potatoes and made two medium sized meatloaves. I threw in some frozen veggies and added some tomato puree. I found some leftover cooked beets and made a salad with onions and made a corn salad. I had to sit down while I peeled and cut the potatoes. right there, it's defeat for me. I always stand. anyway, I felt validated. I walked to the bus stop because I didn't want to spring for another cab. I waited outside in the cold for a bus and had to stand while dozens of school kids boarded. the entire ride home I felt satisfied that I was back on my feet again.
I could hardly move today. I forced myself to go to work. I took two busses. I got there to the smell of yummy food. I was excited to meet my replacement. I wanted to share my knowledge with him and coordinate a meal plan. it turns out that it was someone I knew from the old yeshiva. he is a lovely young man. he used to be my assistant at the yeshiva. I went to his wedding just before I quit the yeshiva to go to cancer care. he thought that he had a full time job. he had already made dinner. the manager said that we should figure it out ourselves. I decided to quit right there and then. he is a married man with a few kids and a wife to support. I felt free. I got my wages and went to town to buy some food. next week the grandkids are staying with me while their parents go on a vacation. I will miss the extra money that I have been earning but I will survive somehow.
the age of the yiddisha mama cooks is over. I am slightly saddened. I need this time to regroup. my health comes first. I need to rest. I hope I didn't make the strong decision. I feel less pressured right now. we shall see how I feel later on down the road.
this time around, I couldn't eat and felt like I was surely, dying. the weather turned stormy and I stayed inside. I started coughing, more kike hacking and bending over. my neighbor heard me. I finally went to the doctor because I thought I had pneumonia. my neighbor is a doctor and he came over to say that I should do an x-ray. I waited for the rain to stop and went to the clinic. the doctor there just looked at me and said I had the flu. she did listen to my breathing but said that my lungs were clear.
she also said that I was low in vitamin d. this was based on my last blood test from nearly 2 years ago. I underwent another set of blood tests. the doctor didn't bother to have my vitamin d level tested. there were several other important things that were not tested, also. I wanted to see a complete overview of everything because I had issues with my kidney function. so now I need to make another appointment to go back to the doctor to get the paperwork to do the additional tests. and then of course, I need to do another 12 hour fast and do the blood tests. I have very depleted veins so I have to suffer, once again, while the nurse struggles to find a vein. I am still black and blue from the last test.
I am also still hacking away. I can't seem to stop coughing. my throat doesn't actually hurt. I am so tired. I went to work yesterday to make supper for the yeshiva. even though I know that they had hired someone to cover for me, I felt obligated to go. I took a taxi to work. the weather was very nasty. I spent about 3 hours making dinner. I put up rice and mashed potatoes and made two medium sized meatloaves. I threw in some frozen veggies and added some tomato puree. I found some leftover cooked beets and made a salad with onions and made a corn salad. I had to sit down while I peeled and cut the potatoes. right there, it's defeat for me. I always stand. anyway, I felt validated. I walked to the bus stop because I didn't want to spring for another cab. I waited outside in the cold for a bus and had to stand while dozens of school kids boarded. the entire ride home I felt satisfied that I was back on my feet again.
I could hardly move today. I forced myself to go to work. I took two busses. I got there to the smell of yummy food. I was excited to meet my replacement. I wanted to share my knowledge with him and coordinate a meal plan. it turns out that it was someone I knew from the old yeshiva. he is a lovely young man. he used to be my assistant at the yeshiva. I went to his wedding just before I quit the yeshiva to go to cancer care. he thought that he had a full time job. he had already made dinner. the manager said that we should figure it out ourselves. I decided to quit right there and then. he is a married man with a few kids and a wife to support. I felt free. I got my wages and went to town to buy some food. next week the grandkids are staying with me while their parents go on a vacation. I will miss the extra money that I have been earning but I will survive somehow.
the age of the yiddisha mama cooks is over. I am slightly saddened. I need this time to regroup. my health comes first. I need to rest. I hope I didn't make the strong decision. I feel less pressured right now. we shall see how I feel later on down the road.
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