it is 9:00 a.m. in the holy city of safed. I have been schlepping chairs all morning to get ready for the Purim festive meal later this afternoon. the fast day started at sunset and ended at 6:00 p.m. since I haven't been eating after 8:00 p.m. I ended up fasting until 7:00 p.m. I felt a bit lightheaded in synagogue while hearing the megilah. I realized that it wasn't really the fast that was getting to me. I suddenly remembered going to bed at 4:oo a.m. that morning.
I did all of my cooking yesterday during the fast. I made chicken liver teriyaki, sweet chili chicken wings, spicy turkey meatballs and potato kugel. I also made black bean veggie hamburgers for the Sephardi grandfather who doesn't eat meat. I had two when I broke my fast. they were terrific. looked like meat and had quite a punch. I think I added a spoonful of cumin and one of chili flakes. it turns out that the grandpa eats meat on purim. go know!
at 8:00 p.m. I made some hamentashen. I found a recipe online using coconut oil. it actually works like shortening. I had forgotten how sticky the dough can get, especially with the coconut oil. I added more flour and played with it until it formed a good dough. I used prepared date spread from the supermarket. I also bought chocolate spread. the isreali's love chocolate hamentashen. I grew up with poppy seed, prune and apricot hamentashen. my mom made the best.
I got into costume at 9:00 p.m. and ran up the block to the Sephardi synagogue. I thought they were having a party and I wanted to see the grandkids in their costumes. the synagogue was dark and definitely locked. I ran home and made another batch of hamentashen using whole wheat flour. I halved the recipe and got about 13 cookies. they all pretty much kept their shape.
I already broke my diet and ate 4 hamentashen. oh well....
I have to get to the synagogue in an hour to hear the magilah again. I made a pitcher of sangria for me and a couple of gal pals but I'm way to tired to drink any now. I went to bed after 2:00 a.m. I am pretty exhausted now. I still need to schlepp down a small table from the upstairs apartment. perhaps my son will help, later. I doubt it, but one can always hope.
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Saturday, February 24, 2018
A New Beginning
it is 7:30 p.m. in the holy city of safed. Shabbat ended over an hour ago. I fell asleep at around 5:00 p.m. it was a much needed nap. the grandkids slept over last night. they simply told their parents and packed their pajamas into their knapsacks. the 6 year old granddaughter cried when her mommy left. she wanted to sleep here but she wanted her mommy , too. I suddenly invited them to play bingo and the tears stopped instantly. the grandson usually is the spinner, I'm the caller and the granddaughter hands out the dots. last night she was a one woman show. she did pretty good until the grandson knocked over all of the cards by accident.
he is the lego savant. he will sit for hours making intricate buildings and structures out of the minutest pieces of lego. most of the lego pieces end up on the floor. luckily, the dog doesn't eat any of them. the living room right now is covered with large lego pieces and toys. the kids' carpet is trashed and it pains me to look into the room. I started cleaning up the room last week but I gave up. I know that as a good grandparent I should insist that they clean up by themselves. the granddaughter used to love to clean and make order in every room but she has become addicted to slime and it takes over her being. I have slime on my ceiling in the computer/costume room. it was all over the bedroom wall but I used a magic sponge and it came off fairly easily. I don't know how I will clean the ceiling. I hate climbing ladders. in all fairness, I think the grandson slimed the walls.
I am officially hosting the separdi clan for purim. the Sephardi grandma shut down the idea of a barbecue. I would have liked that because I wouldn't have had to do much. I already cleaned the fridge and freezer for pesach but I lined all the shelves with plastic. I think i'll make turkey meatballs, spicy chicken wings and liver teriyaki. and of course, I'm planning on making mashed potato kugel. any leftovers will be used for Shabbat as purim comes out on Thursday. I already bought most of the chicken and meat for pesach. i'm weird that way. I try to do as much as I can because I'm the one that usually takes care of the kids during their spring vacation before pesach. last year I cleaned all three apartments and I wasn't stressed at all. spring cleaning entails a bit of redecorating on my part. I always change around the pictures in the house. I also start chucking out papers.
I found a folder of court papers from 2005 when I had to get medical guardianship of my father. it pained me to read them but I did chuck them out. unlike my dear mother who saved every bill and receipt from the 1940's until her passing 9 years ago, I am not a hoarder. in saying that, I still find it difficult to get rid of my parents' passports and I even have my father's discharge papers from the army in world war two. I also have letters from congressman, senators and vice presidents to my father. he was an ardent correspondent. he wrote letters to everyone. I don't think my son would care to keep these papers. this is from my past and I'm a dinosaur.
I am planning on making my famous sangria for purim. I bought a small bottle of brandy, two bottles of rose and I will pick fresh lemons and oranges from the garden. as the Sephardi women don't usually drink, I will enjoy myself with a girlfriend. the weather is hot and cold at the same time. we all went to synagogue this morning and nearly passed out from the heat. by early afternoon we were freezing because it turned windy. the kids want to make a dance party so they can go downstairs after the sit-down meal and go crazy. I am trying as usual, to be accommodating.
he is the lego savant. he will sit for hours making intricate buildings and structures out of the minutest pieces of lego. most of the lego pieces end up on the floor. luckily, the dog doesn't eat any of them. the living room right now is covered with large lego pieces and toys. the kids' carpet is trashed and it pains me to look into the room. I started cleaning up the room last week but I gave up. I know that as a good grandparent I should insist that they clean up by themselves. the granddaughter used to love to clean and make order in every room but she has become addicted to slime and it takes over her being. I have slime on my ceiling in the computer/costume room. it was all over the bedroom wall but I used a magic sponge and it came off fairly easily. I don't know how I will clean the ceiling. I hate climbing ladders. in all fairness, I think the grandson slimed the walls.
I am officially hosting the separdi clan for purim. the Sephardi grandma shut down the idea of a barbecue. I would have liked that because I wouldn't have had to do much. I already cleaned the fridge and freezer for pesach but I lined all the shelves with plastic. I think i'll make turkey meatballs, spicy chicken wings and liver teriyaki. and of course, I'm planning on making mashed potato kugel. any leftovers will be used for Shabbat as purim comes out on Thursday. I already bought most of the chicken and meat for pesach. i'm weird that way. I try to do as much as I can because I'm the one that usually takes care of the kids during their spring vacation before pesach. last year I cleaned all three apartments and I wasn't stressed at all. spring cleaning entails a bit of redecorating on my part. I always change around the pictures in the house. I also start chucking out papers.
I found a folder of court papers from 2005 when I had to get medical guardianship of my father. it pained me to read them but I did chuck them out. unlike my dear mother who saved every bill and receipt from the 1940's until her passing 9 years ago, I am not a hoarder. in saying that, I still find it difficult to get rid of my parents' passports and I even have my father's discharge papers from the army in world war two. I also have letters from congressman, senators and vice presidents to my father. he was an ardent correspondent. he wrote letters to everyone. I don't think my son would care to keep these papers. this is from my past and I'm a dinosaur.
I am planning on making my famous sangria for purim. I bought a small bottle of brandy, two bottles of rose and I will pick fresh lemons and oranges from the garden. as the Sephardi women don't usually drink, I will enjoy myself with a girlfriend. the weather is hot and cold at the same time. we all went to synagogue this morning and nearly passed out from the heat. by early afternoon we were freezing because it turned windy. the kids want to make a dance party so they can go downstairs after the sit-down meal and go crazy. I am trying as usual, to be accommodating.
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
It's Been Awhile
it is 7:30 a.m. in the holy city of safed. it's been quite awhile since I've last blogged. I don't quite know what happened. I seem to have fallen into a black hole. I started binge watching old television series and have been pretty much,a recluse. I didn't have to watch the kids this week. I started my pesach cleaning, too. I already did my refrigerator, pantry and freezer. we had summerlike weather for a while, but the house was freezing inside. I stayed in bed under a comforter for days. it turned cold, once again.
yesterday, it was gloriously sunny and warm. I did several batches of laundry. I caught up with the sheets and blanket covers. I redid the linen closet. I went down at night to retrieve the rest of the sheets but it was cold and dark so I left them hanging. I woke up a little whole ago to the sounds of pouring rain. I ran downstairs and managed to get everything off the lines. I threw half of the laundry back into the washing machine on a gentle cycle. I will have to hang it over the doors and closets downstairs. most of it is for double beds. they are all pretty large.
I spent the better half of my morning yesterday, making doctors 'appointments. right after pesach, I do another brain scan. the following week, I have back to back appointments with the oncologist and the neurosurgeon. I start shaking just thinking about this. I know that more and more celebrities have been speaking out about their brain tumors and successful surgeries. I heard that faith hill refuses to undergo surgery. I still am not ready to do the surgery, also. I watched an old show where one of the main characters had breast cancer and underwent chemo. I only had three chemo sessions, myself. it was more a mental thing than physical with me. I got pretty crazy on the steroids.
I have a doctor's appointment this morning. I underwent , what I thought, was an all inclusive blood work up. there were several key items missing when I got the results. I want to have these items checked. they are important towards my kidney functions and I want o make sure everything is good. when I had the flu, the doctor told me that I had a vitamin d deficiency and prescribed a high amount of this vitamin for 3 days. she based this on an old blood test. I just assumed that I was being tested for vitamin d but I wasn't.
I also need to pay some bills at the post office. I had some cash so I don't have to spend my day sitting in the real estate office all morning and running around town to the water company, too. I stopped working at the yeshiva and the money situation is once again, very tight. I would love to buy a new small sofa for the t.v. area. the one that I have been sleeping on for the past 17 years is broken and needs to be thrown out. I can't stomach the thought of cleaning it for pesach. I want to go to town next week and check out prices.
next week is purim. I am not in the mood. I think the whole Sephardi gang will end up here for the holiday meal and mayhem. no one is committing. I plan to buy paper goods this morning and some wine, just in case they do come. the kids want to come for Shabbat again. I don't think they will because it is raining once again. I have been making Shabbat for them every week. I even send home food when the weather is bad. I would love not to have to do anything this week if I can avoid it.
yesterday, it was gloriously sunny and warm. I did several batches of laundry. I caught up with the sheets and blanket covers. I redid the linen closet. I went down at night to retrieve the rest of the sheets but it was cold and dark so I left them hanging. I woke up a little whole ago to the sounds of pouring rain. I ran downstairs and managed to get everything off the lines. I threw half of the laundry back into the washing machine on a gentle cycle. I will have to hang it over the doors and closets downstairs. most of it is for double beds. they are all pretty large.
I spent the better half of my morning yesterday, making doctors 'appointments. right after pesach, I do another brain scan. the following week, I have back to back appointments with the oncologist and the neurosurgeon. I start shaking just thinking about this. I know that more and more celebrities have been speaking out about their brain tumors and successful surgeries. I heard that faith hill refuses to undergo surgery. I still am not ready to do the surgery, also. I watched an old show where one of the main characters had breast cancer and underwent chemo. I only had three chemo sessions, myself. it was more a mental thing than physical with me. I got pretty crazy on the steroids.
I have a doctor's appointment this morning. I underwent , what I thought, was an all inclusive blood work up. there were several key items missing when I got the results. I want to have these items checked. they are important towards my kidney functions and I want o make sure everything is good. when I had the flu, the doctor told me that I had a vitamin d deficiency and prescribed a high amount of this vitamin for 3 days. she based this on an old blood test. I just assumed that I was being tested for vitamin d but I wasn't.
I also need to pay some bills at the post office. I had some cash so I don't have to spend my day sitting in the real estate office all morning and running around town to the water company, too. I stopped working at the yeshiva and the money situation is once again, very tight. I would love to buy a new small sofa for the t.v. area. the one that I have been sleeping on for the past 17 years is broken and needs to be thrown out. I can't stomach the thought of cleaning it for pesach. I want to go to town next week and check out prices.
next week is purim. I am not in the mood. I think the whole Sephardi gang will end up here for the holiday meal and mayhem. no one is committing. I plan to buy paper goods this morning and some wine, just in case they do come. the kids want to come for Shabbat again. I don't think they will because it is raining once again. I have been making Shabbat for them every week. I even send home food when the weather is bad. I would love not to have to do anything this week if I can avoid it.
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