Alll Alone By The telephone

 it is 6:30 a.m. in the holy city of safed.  i just got back from walking the dogs.  tiny woke me up at 5:50 a.m.  he didn't wake me up yesterday because i had accidently locked him out on the bedroom veranda.  it is getting harder each day to keep track of these two dogs.  someone is getting locked in a room each day.  the puppy, aka, teeny, ran off during our stroll.  she ran into the street and nearly got hit by a car.  it was a tense few minutes.  i am glad to be back home.  my throat hurts because i kept yelling for her to return to me.  i am not good at raising dogs.  they never listen to me.  i give out desperate vibes to them, i guess.

i came home from work yesterday in a bad way.  i had worked roughly seven hours and had not taken a break to drink, eat or even, pee.  i felt like i might collapse.  i borrowed money to get a taxi.  i walked down the street from the yeshiva and found one.  i noticed that i was not walking exactly, in a straight line.  i thought that maybe, the brain tumor was kicking in.  when i got home i couldn't find the fifty shekel note that i had borrowed.  i felt just dreadful.  i thought that i had lost it in the street.  i had a vague memory of putting it in my pocketbook.  i was so tired and nervous at that moment.  the driver gave me his phone number and told me to pay him another time.  he was such a mensch. 

i got inside and searched every nook and cranny of my pocketbook.  i finally found the money in the slot where you insert credit cards.  i never, ever, put money there.  i called the driver back and he was luckily, still in the area.  i was relieved to pay him before Shabbat.  fifty shekels is really not a lot of money but i earn only thirty shekels an hour.  i have to stand on my feet and cook for an hour to pay for a ten minute taxi ride.  some economics, heh!

i got inside and i needed to sit down.  i also needed to pee and i also needed to have a cup of tea.  the dogs wanted to go out but they also wanted some people food.  i put on my Australian cooking contest and went to the kitchen to boil up some hot dogs and some instant mini sweet potato raviolis. i was ready to have a non gluten roll with my hot dogs but i decided to eat a few raviolis instead.  i haven't really eaten any pasta in a while.  i sat down on the couch and had a cup of tea.  when the show ended, i took the dogs out for their nightly stroll.  i felt pretty strange.  my legs hurt and my right leg felt like wood.  my head was tingling and my ears were ringing.

i needed to make a few phone calls but i couldn't concentrate to find the numbers in my phone book.  i was zapped.  i think i fell asleep on my t.v. couch.  i can't remember when.  i called my son somewhere in between, to check if they were coming to safed for Shabbat.  i needed to buy some veggies and fruits for the Shabbat lunch. as it turns out, they aren't coming .  the Sephardi grandparents and three of my daughter-in-laws siblings went down to Jerusalem for Shabbat to be with them.  this is  monumental.  i was planning on going there next Shabbat, as i have an off Shabbat at the yeshiva and don't need to cook their Shabbat lunch.  i hope i am still welcome to visit.  i haven't seen the grandkids since Rosh Hashanah.

i got to work yesterday at 12:30 p.m.  i immediately, threw the eggplants into the oven to make a spread for their shabbat lunch.  i put up about 30 eggs to boil for their Friday lunch.  i quickly started to cook a large pot of pea soup for their lunch.  i also prepared about 6 pounds of sliced potatoes with turmeric for the lunch and roasted a bunch of zucchini, too.  i cooked a small amount of carrots to prepare a sweet carrot  kugel for their dinner.  i cooked up a large pot of rice for their supper.  i was planning on making turkey burgers.  i also cooked up three bags of pasta to make an oriental pasta salad for their Friday lunch.  i cooked up a pot of beets with vinegar and turmeric for their Shabbat lunch.  i made a cucumber and onion salad to go with lunch and set out the potatoes, zucchini, pea soup and salad in the lunch room at 2:15 p.m.  i had brought some leftover cake that i had frozen, for the guys.  it wasn't much but they devoured it.  one was a chocolate yeast cake and the other was a spelt carrot cake that i had made for sukkot.  i tasted the chocolate icing.  it was very tasty.

at 4:00 p.m. i checked to see if there was any leftovers from lunch.  there was a small amount of soup left and i put it in the freezer.  i thought that i would take it home on sunday for my dinner. i started to make the beef cholent stew for their Shabbat lunch and i cooked a package of quinoa to make a salad for their Shabbat lunch.  i opened two industrial sized cans of tuna and added a bunch of mayonnaise for their Shabbat lunch and i blended the baked eggplant and made a salad.  i usually add tahini and lemon juice but i didn't have the patience to open up a container and whisk up some tahini sauce. i added mayonnaise, instead.  i had tons of pots and pans and bowls to wash. i looked up at the clock and it was already close to six and i hadn't made the hamburgers yet. i was feeling desperate.

i scrambled to do the washing up.  i frantically washed all of the pots and serving utensils and bowls that i had used all day.  i threw soapy water on the floor.  i threw all of the turkey mince into a large skillet and added every spice i had and an onion and some tomato paste and sautéed it all up  i then incorporated it into the rice; leaving a portion of plain rice for the vegan.  and voila! i finished supper for them.  i quickly washed down the counters and stove top and mopped the floor.  i cut up some veggies for their Friday breakfast and put the carrot kugel and rice and turkey 'stir fry 'on the electric hot plate for their supper.  i then left and caught a taxi to go home.

i need to go down to the supermarket to get a few things for my Shabbat.  i need challah rolls and fruit.  i haven't had a fruit shake in days.  i need to lie down for a bit.  i feel a bit shaky. my eyes are burning.  i will probably be lone for Shabbat.  i hope i get to the synagogue for services.  i haven't made it out for the past two sabbats.  wishing you all a Shabbat shalom!