Saturday Night

it is 10:00 p.m. in the holy city of safed.  the kids just left.  Shabbat and pesach holiday went swimmingly well despite the weather.  it was storming for days.  we even had a real live hail storm this afternoon.  I kept on heaters in the dining area, t.v. room and bedrooms.  I and the grandkids slept in a bedroom without a heater and we survived.  we huddled together under two blankets and the dog slept on my feet so I was toasty.  I did wake up with a bit of a headache but it went away after a few cups of tea. 

the food was pretty tasty.  I had to toss the fried eggplant chips that I made because they dried out on the hot plate.  I thought that I didn't have enough food for lunch today and was kicking myself sideways for not making a meat stew.  however, when I served the chopped liver, apple charoset, avocado and egg salad, potato salad, lettuce and tomato salad, mashed potatoes, chicken nuggets, salty herring and the orange and honey chicken, I relaxed.  I even took out all of the turkey meatballs from the soup and added it to the orange chicken sauce.  it was a big hit.  and of course, we had matzah up the wazoo.  no one missed the meat except for the grandson and I had just a few slices of the beef in wine left for him.

the kids were pretty well behaved and I even got a short nap.  there was no serious incident with tiny dog and puppy, toffee.  we all stayed on this floor.  it was very comfortable.  the grandkids ate a lot of cornflakes and milk. and didn't really wreck the house.  in the evening, I served my son the spicy tilapia fish for third meal with the leftover salads.  he also had matzah and butter.  the little kids ate most of the matzah cookies that I bought and they did get a bit hyper.  my son was a bit shocked that I let them have so much sugar. in truth I was stricter as a parent.  I was a bit out of it today.

my son brought three incredible wines from the winery where he once worked.  we have been using these wines for the seder for years. I had no problem drinking the four cups this year.  I don't by any means, drink eight ounce cups but anyway, I did the deed..

before they left I heated up the remainder of the turkey neck soup.  they all loved it.  unfortunately, there wasn't enough left for seconds  when I cooked it on Thursday, I added a few lemons for punch.  I am very grateful that my food turned out so tasty and I stayed true to my old chabad customs.  the kids are thinking about leaving the puppy with me for the second half of the holiday.  my friend will help me dog sit.  she is great with puppies.  the grandkids wanted me to come to Jerusalem for the rest of the holiday.  if I didn't have friends coming tomorrow, I would have gone.

I am thinking about inviting my friends for the second holiday on Thursday night. we shall see what happens. in the meantime, I can call it a night.  tomorrow morning I will go downstairs and make the beds and set up the heaters.