The Party's Over Shavuot 2018.

the holiday of Shavuot ended a couple of hours ago.  the grandkids slept over last night and just left.  I had them from 7:30 a.m. until 10:30 p.m.  I managed to get them to synagogue this morning to  hear the ten commandments.  we had an horrific heat wave.  I felt faint on Friday night and had to hold onto the kitchen counter for dear life.  my friend came over and I made fried chicken cutlets.  I had some leftover rice, kasha and beets and that is what we ate.  for lunch we had cold cuts sandwiches.

I was supposed to go to a friend's for lunch.  I woke up looking like a Cyclops and didn't feel any better than I looked.  I was beyond exhausted.  the kids were with me on Thursday afternoon and slept over.  I picked them up after work.  it was pretty warm but nothing like it was for the holiday.  we made no bake cheesecakes on Thursday.  I froze them.  they weren't too good but the kids enjoyed making them.  I kept them home from school on Friday.  I was in no mood to schlepp to town to pick them up in the heat.  we waited 40 minutes in the hot sun on Thursday for the school van.

I worked from 7:30 a.m. on Friday until 7:30 p.m. preparing the Shavuot meals.  I ended up making a lasagna, two types of prepared mini ravioli, cheese pancakes, a Greek salad and a spinach mushroom salad.  we had a French creamy goat cheese, lox, a raisin whole wheat challah, strawberry yogurt drink, many flavored Yoplait yogurts, chocolate puddings, cream cheese, salty butter and a fruit platter of grapes, plums, cherries and peaches.  we had a hybrid fruit which was a mix between an apple and a pear and we had a huge fresh papaya.  I think it was my first papaya.  we ended up putting it into the spinach salad.

and of course, I made a cheesecake.  I was afraid that there would be complaints because I used lemon pudding instead of the standard vanilla.  last year I used chocolate and it was left untouched.  the caramel pudding was, actually, liked.  the real winner of the evening was the parmesan cheese shaker bottle.  it went on the lasagna and the ravioli and even on the spinach salad.  the lasagna was a bit problematic.  the sauce was a bit watery and the cheeses didn't really melt.  I don't know what happened.  I baked it for over an hour.  my son thought I accidentally bought synthetic cheese.  I'm sure I didn't but, then again, I had my doubts.

I left it on  he electric platter all morning and it was finally cooked.  it tasted good the night before but it was definitely, not up to par.  this morning I got up at 6:30 a.m. and set the table before the grandkids woke up.  I made a new Greek salad.  I read online that, under no circumstances ,should an authentic Greek salad contain lettuce or onions.  in safed they, pretty much, shred the lettuce and mince the tomatoes and cucumbers and grate the cheese.  today I made chunky veggies and chunks of cheeses.

I also sliced up the smoked tuna and plated it.  it tasted like a bland lox.  I made another spinach salad but this time it was without mushrooms.  I used up the rest of the papaya and added the remainder of the creamy goat cheese and added some red onion.  I forgot that the daughter-in-law doesn't like goat cheese.   go know?  I made a new fruit platter.  I put the pancakes on the hotplate to warm them up.  I set everything up clearly in the fridge in case I was still at services wen the grown up kids came.

it was extremely hot this morning.  we got to services, just before they read the torah passages which included the ten commandments.  it was unbearable in the synagogue.  they didn't have the a.c on nor did they turn on any fans.  I left right after the commandments and prayed at home.  the kids were happy to get home and out of their clothes and back into their summer pajamas.  I think I took 3 cold showers today.  I placed a fan in every room but it was  still, pretty hot in my house.  I made sure that we had plenty of cold drinks.

I have to work tomorrow but the kids don't have school.  they will be brought to the yeshiva and stay with me until I finish  up.  we will then go to town and get them prizes for going to hear the ten commandments.  I quizzed them all day long on the commandments and on the megilla Ruth.   they earned points which will add up to shekels at the store. 

I saw myself in some selfies at the cast party and again in the video of the play. I really am fat.  I am so miserable.  I had yogurts and lasagna and ravioli and bread and butter and cheeses and tons of fruits but I didn't touch the cheesecake.  I have to get this weight off now.  I have never been this overweight.  I do not want to post any pix.

Shavuot Is Coming

it is 8:30 a.m. in the holy city of safed.  I haven't blogged in a while because I have been too tired.  I have recently had to take care of the grandkids while the daughter-in-law worked part time.  we are once again, in the middle of a heat wave which doesn't help.  I was very busy with the play and costumes and I am happy to tell that they were a huge hit.  I will be posting some pix soon.  I want to find a good shot of the famous appliqued pink poodles and paws dress.  we had a cast party the other day and I did a mock tony ceremony and gave out statues that we bought in the toy store.

I went on line and studied every aspect of the tonys.  I learned way more than I wanted to.  my friend and I had also worked out some shtick to do.  as soon as I started to read my presentation I got a blinding headache and I thought that I might pass out.  I was sure that I was having an aneurism.  it still is sore today.  I have another MRI soon so if it is my tumor acting up I will know.

I wanted to clean the house today but I am too hot and too tired.  working at the yeshiva is very hard.  I stand on my feet from 4-5 hours each day.  yesterday the rabbi decided to make a set menu.  I tried to explain to him that it will only work if the kitchen is stocked.  it is hard to make an egg dish when there are no eggs.  I hate to be limited to a menu.  I need to be free.  I don't want to make shakshuka every Monday morning.  on the other hand, I made a mushroom soufflé yesterday and it wasn't really consumed.  the corn bread wasn't eaten up either.  I tasted them both.  they were yummy.  the soufflé was a bit bland but still they didn't want any part of it.

the main problem is that growing men need a lot of protein.  in the past I cooked for vegan and vegetarian guys but this crowd wants meat and chicken.  we give them meat only on Shabbat day in a mixture of potatoes and barley.  there isn't any fish or chicken there.  we have too many hot dogs and minced turkey.  it is hardly filling.  it makes my job a bit hard.

I am going in early today to buy some fruit for the guys for Shavuot , which starts on Saturday night.  I also want to make a non baked cheese cake with biscuits for them.  it is customary to eat dairy products.  I spent a true fortune on dairy and fruits.  I am planning on making a cheesecake and a lasagna.  I also want to make a spinach quiche.  I bought two kinds of prepared ravioli.  I bought tons of fancy yogurts and puddings.  I think I over did it.  I do not have a crowd coming.  it will be just my son and his wife, the two grandkids and a friend.  oh well.....

we bought ingredients yesterday for the kids to make their own non bake cheesecake.  we will make it when we come back from their school.  we will leave it in the freezer until Saturday night.  it beats making slime.  the kids probably will want to go to town but I will be to tired and hot.  I took them to a theater production for kids the other day.  it was a small fortune but they won't be around much longer.  the family is moving to Jerusalem.  I enjoyed the show because I got to see professional costumes and set designs.  the kids were bored and tired.  they will at least have the memory of having gone with me.

I seem to be spending money faster than I can earn it.  I don't know how much longer I will be able to work.  between the heat and the recent rain storms I needed to cab it to work.  I have been too tired to take the bus.  my legs ache and I seem to look a lot older these days.  I get treated like an old lady.  it isn't really a bad thing.  taxi drivers help me with my bags and kids give me a seat on the bus.  it is what it is.

we in Israel have been celebrating lately.  we had an historic victory in the Eurovision song contest, an embassy move to Jerusalem and a miraculous defeat of  Iranian forces in Syria.  I cannot predict the immediate future but I am loving the recent success.

Showtime

it is 9:00 p.m. in the holy city of safed.  I just got back from the dress rehearsal of my friend's show.  I coordinated the costumes and props.   I actually, appliqued pink felt dog paws and poodles onto a trashy looking black dress.  I was going for a modern day take on cruella Deville but couldn't find any Dalmatian material, hence the poodles.  the character wears a Sia like short wig. one side is platinum and the other is black.

I dressed the same actress in a blue and white polka dot two piece outfit circa princess Diana.  she wears a small red satin shoulder bag, red beads and a large red hat with a huge red flower.  we had the skirt, which was a maxi; turned into a mini skirt.  the actress is stunning and very thin with long beautiful legs.

I went to the gallery, where they are performing the play, early this morning with almost all of the costumes and props.  we forgot a suit bag filled with three costumes.  after work I returned with the bag.  I managed to give each actor a small suitcase with his own costumes and props.  I spent the entire rehearsal picking up clothes and props from the floor.  I also helped close buttons and zippers  and even applied face makeup to the actors.  I even ran back to my friend's house to bring three costume wigs.  she assumed that I had packed them up.  I assumed that the actresses had them.

I went to work and only had to cook dinner.  there were about 50 hamburgers left over form Thursday's barbecue.  I had made over 100 patties.  I quickly fried them up and made a pot of rice to go with them.  I baked a couple of eggplants and called it a day.  even though I wasn't required to feed the guys lunch, I left canned tuna, boiled eggs, canned corn, leftover kasha and fresh veggies and tahini.  I  felt sorry for the guys.  they had an out Shabbat but they all seemed to be back at the yeshiva in the morning.

I got home and I was starving.  I finished the rice and green lentils from Shabbat.  I had a little tuna left over, too.  the dog got most of the rice and tuna.  the cast wanted me to take a bow but I don't think costume designers take bows.  I also feel too self conscious about my weight gain.  I wanted to make a 'costumes r us' tee shirt.  turns out that there is already a huge costume store in England with that name.  I decided to change my name to 'costumes 4 us'.  I don't really have any shirts that I can mark up.  oh well....

I have to go to work in the morning and cook 2 meals.  I hope I will have enough time to come home and shower and get dressed up a bit for the show. I have been running around lately taking care of a lot of details.  I did some shortening of pants and taking in a tuck or two on a dress.  I bought headbands just for the large bows and I changed buttons on jackets.

the kids were away for Shabbat.  I felt overwhelmingly alone and depressed.  I ate way too much sugar, too.  they are leaving safed soon and I am feeling really sad.  I got to take the kids to a lag  b' omer rally on Wednesday night.  I bought them presents because they always get sad when they don't win the raffle prizes.  this time they got prizes before we left.  I didn't make it to meron this year.  we had a heat wave and I felt awful.  there were terrible traffic jams until today.  I may go with my friend next week.