Less Is More

it is 11:30 a.m. in the holy city of safed.  i got up at 6:00 a.m. and took the dogs out.  i broke my nightly fast of 12 hours and had some salmon.  i then had a banana, peach and strawberry shake.  i just had some peanut butter.  i hope that it will hold me for awhile.  it is still hot outside and very uncomfortable inside my home.  it is a real sauna.

i went downstairs to the first floor apartment.  it is lovely and cool.  some of it is underground.  my place is just miserable.  i took a short walk last night with my friend at around 7:00 p.m.  there was a cool breeze.  it didn't last that long.  i sat on a bench near the synagogue talking with the Sephardi grandma.  she had tons of things to do that night.  i called a friend and schmoozed.  i later took the dogs out around 11:00 p.m. and it was nice and airy.  i watched television until i passed out.

the Sephardi family is going to hadera today for their grandson's first birthday.  i was invited and had a ride.  i declined.  it wasn't because of the virus.  it was the heat.  i couldn't deal with being gone all day and being confined in one place with so many people.  hadera is usually hotter than safed and more himid.  my kids will be going there, for sure.  that's family, Sephardi style.  i admire it from a distance. 

the whole clan may be descending on my home on Shavuot.  i am expecting a crowd.  the Sephardi mom will prepare all the food for a 3 day holiday/Shabbat.  i will buy some fruit and cheese and possibly, a couple of packages of ravioli.  i might join the crowd in the evenings but i will stay up here for the day meals.  i usually prepare lasagna but the Sephardi grandma made one to take for the birthday party.  Shavuot is less than two weeks away.  no one needs another lasagna.  i was planning on using ricotta and mozzarella rather than the Israeli cottage and yellow semi hard cheese.  whatever....

i will make a tiramisu and a cheesecake.  i'm thinking about getting some Philadelphia cream cheese and lox.  i cannot cope with cooking anymore.  i have a water leak from one of the pipes outside.  i recently had the new part put in by a plumber.  i can't remember when he was last here.  i just called him and he remembered coming here.  who knows how long this has been going on?  my water bill will be huge.  it's always something.  he said he might come later today.  who knows what he will charge?  it isn't a major project.

i have been pulling torah books from my shelves since after pesach.  i am constantly thinking about downsizing.  i, honestly; do not read most of these books anymore.  i read a lot of things online.  i decided to donate them to a local English bookstore.  when i was working, i would taxi over to the store.  i started fantasizing about relocating to Jerusalem and started getting rid of things last year. it was a pleasure knowing that other people would enjoy reading these books.  i have a rule of thumb about clothes hanging in my closets.  if i haven't worn something in over 2 years, i discard it.  so i started to apply the same rule to my bookshelves.

i saw an Englishman on ophrah a few years ago; saying that you can lose pounds off your behind by simply,weeding out things from your closet.  it works.  so does the intermittent fasting; although from what i recently read; i am doing it all wrong.  i eat way too many carbs and not enough fat and protein.  i have very few summer weight clothes and have been schlepping around in the same jumper all week long.  i need to wash it.

i pulled down a set of torah portion commentaries, that i haven't used in ages;  and it started me going for more this morning.  i had megillahs that i don't use and non fiction jewish themed books; that i don't read and many more books.  i was waiting for the heat wave to end to go to town tand bring the books to the store.  i didn't even know if the store had reopened recently.  i got a brainstorm.  why not call the lady from the bookstore to come to me and pick them up?  i found the phone number and left a message.  she just happened to be in the neighborhood and was here in about twenty minutes.  wow!  i feel freer.  i feel lighter..  less is definitely more these days.

i think i'll slip downstairs to do some wash while the family is out of town.  i do very little during this heat wave.  i get up early and fall asleep for hours.  i feel like an old lady.  i am only turning 69 soon.  my mom was super active until her mid 80's.. she made Aliyah then and slowly started going downhill.  she also had serious health issues.  what will be with me???