Too Darn Hot Corona 2020

it is 5:00 p.m. in the holy city of safed.  it is unbearably hot outside.  the house has warmed up, too.  i have been sleeping for most of the day.  i cannot function in this heat.  i took the dogs out at 6:00 a.m. and i just took them out again, now.  we didn't go far.  they couldn't deal with the heat, either.  i pretty much ate way too much yesterday.  i started my nightly fast at 5:00 p.m.  i haven't had too much to eat today because of the heat.  i have been drinking water throughout the day.

i wanted to do a supermarket run but i am not going back out in this heat until late tonight.  the Sephardi parents are spending Shabbat in the hospital.  the grandpa had another 'episode' and is under observation in the neurological department.  the adult kids will have to fend for themselves.  one of the married sisters will be cooking for them.  they will have to buy challah tomorrow.  she might just bake a cake for them.  they have the option to stay downstairs if they like. it might be cooler than their home.

i am feeling pretty dreadful.  i do not fare well in the heat.  wearing a mask is torturous.  i have had a slight headache all day.  my dental problem is less dire but i still need to see a dentist.  i am just finishing up two rounds of antibiotics.  it is still sore; but not throbbing badly.  i haven't blogged in days.  i have been too tired.

i went over to my friends on Tuesday.  it was a festival of sorts.  there usually is a pilgrimage to meron and an all night event.   hundreds of thousands of people travel from all over the country to pray at the grave of Rabbi shimon bar yochai.  they light fires all over the country and play music.  this year the festival was cancelled and the roads were blocked.  we usually have an overflow of visitors during this time.

we decided to do a modest barbecue.  i brought wings and hot dogs and they had chicken and hamburgers.  my friend's husband doesn't know the first thing about barbecuing.  he did manage to build a good enough fire but i ended up cooking everything.  my friend played music on her Yamaha key board and we drank some wine.  later on; a motorcade parade led by chabad; drove through the neighborhood.  for years; the children marched through the streets chanting psalms.  they always ended up at the local high school for a magic show and raffle.  i took my grandkids on this march with me for a few years.

at night they always had the motorcade, and a show and raffle at the local outside basketball court.  they always ended the night with a giant fire.  this year fires were banned.  it didn't stop the masses of radical ultra orthodox in Jerusalem and bnai brak.  i think some kids lit fires up the street from me.  i stayed inside.  for years i went to watch these fires and i went to meron.  those days are gone for me.  i stopped doing crowds way before the rona.

my kids were hoping to come up to safed for Shabbat but decided to wait until the Sephardi grandfather is back home.  i was excited about seeing the children but i am very relieved that i don't have to clean the house.  it is pretty neat but the floors need a good scrubbing.  the less i have to move, the better.