Tonight We Dine Outside

it is nearly 4:00 p.m. in the holy city of safed.  the house is clean and very quiet.  I already made up the downstairs bedroom for the kids.  they are coming next sunday night for the holiday of simchat torah.  tonight they will be going to the Sephardi family for the holiday.  I am also going there for supper.  they have a massive sukkah. it will be crazy with 5 young kids running around and countless others inside and possibly a dog.  I will walk home later tonight.  my friend is staying the week and watching my dog.   I am going back with the kids to Jerusalem after the holiday ends Monday night.  i'm thinking that I may stay the entire week.  this is my last vacation from the yeshiva and my last chance to be with the grandkids.  they go back to school and I return to work right after the holiday..

I already cooked up some chicken and meatballs and froze them in case I return to safed on sunday of next week.  I bought prepared salads and kugel.  hopefully, everything will be okay.  my neighbor came over to put on the bamboo covering of the sukkah for me.  I ended up stringing up my plastic grapes and a few plastic pomegranates.  it is quite hot here, once again.  I didn't bother hooking up a fan to the sukkah.  if it is too hot to stay in the sukkah, i'll eat and leave right away.  i'm thinking of bringing a woolen shawl for tonight.  it gets chilly at night.

I baked two small honey cakes this morning.  I used organic whole wheat flour and organic cane sugar.  they really aren't so yummy.  I used my standard recipe but I don't know where I went wrong.  I bought cheap honey flavored cupcakes for the grandkids.  I also bought chocolate rugalach.  I really wanted to make a tiramisu or cheese cake for the day time but I didn't have the patience to go to the supermarket this morning.  I bought tons of chocolates and ate all of them during the week.  I have one small package of mini chocolates and halvah hidden in the closet.

I bought a small kids' sukkah and i'm thinking that they are probably too big for it.  I will give it to them to take back to Jerusalem if they want it.  they already have a huge plastic tent in the backyard.   maybe i'll save it for next year and give it to a family with little kids.  it's collapsible and fits into a small bag.  it's pretty cute.  it is so strange not having the grandkids here anymore.  that's life now.  I have to get used to it.  I went shopping at the large supermarket twice and I don't have a single thing to bring to my in-law's tonight.  I spent a fortune, too.  I didn't buy any presents for the kids, either.  I figure i'll get them stuff in Jerusalem.

I did buy the sukkah for 20 bucks and a new scooter for my grandson for 30 dollars.  that won't impress them at all.  luckily, my check came in early this month so I have a bunch of loot to travel with.  I hope to meet up with my friend there and go out for dinner with her.  there is a restaurant where my son works and I've been interested in checking it out.  we shall see what happens.  I really should get ready soon.  the kids may pick me up to bring me to the Sephardi clan.  I will dress in flats because there will be plenty of going up and down steps tonight.  isn't sukkot grand!!