It Is Very Close To Pesach

 it is 12:30 p.m. in the holy city of safed.

I woke up this morning to what sounded like a monsoon.  it was a dirt storm.  I ran outside to retrieve a sheet but it got ripped up.  I felt like I might blow away, too.   I tried to mend the sheet and finally gave up and threw it away.  all the kids' cars and go carts were covered in brown.  yesterday I washed them all with the hose.  it also rained and everything was clean.  the front porch windows are trashed but I can't see myself doing them any time soon.

my laundry stand was blown down and I struggled to pick it up.  it started being warm again and sunny.  I did more laundry.  I took out my pesach table cloth and it was really crinkled.  I threw it in the wash hoping it would straighten out.  it didn't.  I tried ironing it, too.  it is still damp and a little crinkled.  I give up.  I managed to set a comforter with duvet cover on all 6 beds downstairs.  I closed all the windows so the rain wouldn't enter but it lacks air downstairs.  I am going mad. 

I think I will be too tired to cook tonight.  I want to set up the pesach plastic sinks so I can defrost the meat and poultry.  I think I will be making chopped liver, shepherd's pie, chicken soup and possibly, fried tilapia fillets.  of course, I have to make the charoset, beets and hard cooked eggs, too. and I will need a salad or two.  I best start very early in the morning.  maybe I will do something tonight.

I have to wash the kitchen counters with bleach and cover them with tin foil.  I then need to do my final sponger of the kitchen area.  I can't see doing that until the kids go home.  it is cold, hot, cloudy and sunny all at once.  some say that this is a sign of the coming of the messiah.  it  is definitely weird weather.

it is now 7:00 p.m.   the kids left at 4:00 p.m.  I just finished washing the kitchen and dining room area.  I bleached the counters and I will throw boiling hot water on them in a moment.  I am afraid of getting electrocuted so I must wait for the floor to dry a bit.  my back is spazing.   I am beyond tired.  I still have to tin foil the counters.  it is raining hard and it is freezing outside.  I still need to do a chometz check on both floors.  neighbors came to check on the downstairs for their renters.  they seemed pleased.

I thought about cooking tonight but there is just no way I can do one more thing.  we are supposed to burn our chometz in the morning.  with the rain and wind factor this will not be an easy feat.  perhaps we will get a reprieve tomorrow and have nice and sunny weather.  I promised a friend to burn a bunch of chicken necks for her for the seder.  we shall see if I can light the barbecue.  I am definitely not having fun.  I put the liver, chicken, chopped meat and red meat in various pots to defrost.  once I get the sink insert in I'll transfer the food there.  all I need is for my dog to munch out.  it is absolutely pouring right now.  it might even be hailing.  this is just a bit too much.

10:00 p.m.  just finished the traditional ceremonial search for chometz.   some of us, just to make it more fun; wrap up 10 morsels of bread and hide them.  they say that it's best to make a list of where you placed them but who really bothers?.  tonight I could only find 9 little morsels of bread.  I checked every room in the house on both floors.  finally, I found an empty baggie on my bed.  tiny the dog, had found the chometz and eaten it. 

I could go for an all nighter and start cooking but I already feel a migraine coming on.  the weather is calming down.  I just threw out the last of my garbage and it was no longer windy.  it actually felt warmer.  I have my kitchen set up mostly, and I will attach the gas range in the morning.  I think I've done enough today.  last year I had the kids help me crack the nuts and it went rather well.  they won't be here tomorrow until the night.  I'll manage somehow by myself.  I will skip making the fried fish and stick with the chicken soup, shepherd's pie and chopped liver for meal after the seder.  and for lunch I will make a beef cholent with potatoes.  if I do have any time to spare I'll think about making a fish dish.

11;30 p.m.  went to bedroom and found a bag with a half of a pita.  and there were crumbs all over  the clean sheets.  is tis really happening????