Almost Shabbat

it is 3:30 p.m. in the holy city of safed.  i went to the pool this morning.  it opens at 10:00 a.m.  usually the seniors are doing their laps at that time.  i don't swim.  i doggie paddle.  it isn't comfortable and i can't do more than 20 laps.  that takes hours to accomplish.  i like to cool off and be at the pool when it ivery hot and quiet there.  i can't stand when the teenagers come. they jump, they splash, they scream and they interrupt the seniors doing their laps.  they usually do not stay in the water that long.  they sun bathe, and eat and then come back in. ny then i am done.

i got to the pool at 10:30 a.m.  the pool was nearly empty .  my gal pals were already doing their laps.  it was hot and the water wasn't cold so i didn't need to get acclimated to the water.  i was doing my laps when the sky turned black.  one of my friends got out of the pool. it looked like it was going to start raining.  i stayed in.  a moment later i heard the thunder so i got out. we saw the lightning and decided to get going.  we live a couple of blocks from the pool.  i walked home in the downpour.  i was already wet from the pool so i didn't really care.

i got home and quickly rinsed out my pool clothes. i swim in a leotard and exercise tights and a turban.  i took a hot shower and went into the kitchen to grab some lunch.  i had baked a huge sweet potato for this evening's shabbat meal but it was still hot and i couldn't resist.  afterwards; i helped myself to a turkey wing and a leek; also prepared for shabbat.  i added the rest of the buckwheat groats i had cooked earlier in the week.  i had thought about eating it tonight.

i am uncomfortably stuffed now.  i made a couple of salmon filets in the toaster oven.  i can not use my oven now that i have plugged in my new hoover top loader washing machine to the same outlet.  after i finished eating everything; i found an extension cord and connected the oven to another outlet.  problem solved.  however, the extenson cord hangs over the dogs' food bowls and it makes me a tad nervous.  i will have to venture out on sunday and buy a couple of suction hooks so i can hang up the extension cord on the wall.  

i did tons of laundry yesterday in my new washing machine.  i have been washing everything in the bathtub for the past three years.  what a difference!  i feel like a queen.  i cooked most of the shabat food yesterday, after i did the laundry.  i made a small cholent of meat, potatoes and black beans and  i have bones for the dogs to enjoy.  i also made a few turkey wings with leeks and carrots.  i baked banana,blueberry and walnut muffins.  i used chick pea flour, almond milk and a bit of coconut oil.  this is a made up recipe. it is not rocket science.  sometimes i get a baker's dozen and sometimes i get less.  yesterday, i got 9.  i baked them in individual cups because i couldn't fit the muffin tin in my tiny toaster oven.

i usually indulge in a muffin or two on shabbat.  my baking relies on bananas for its sweetness.  i do not use sugar, honey,  maple and agave syrups or stevia.  i do occassionally; but really; hardly ever; drizzle a bit of honey on something.  sometimes, i add a bit of almond flour to the chick pea batter.  yesterday i did not.  they slid out of the aluminum muffin tins, easily.  they were kind of flat. i like them dense.  i don't like fluffy bread or muffins. i do not serve my baked goods to my friends.  these are reserved for me. likewise; i   do not partake of my friends' baked goods.  they are much too sweet for me.

i cleaned and mopped the floors yesterday while i was doing laundry.  so, i am done and ready for shabbat.  the house is clean, i am showered and the food is done.  i might make a salad for later.  i just baked a couple of beets to serve sliced.  i am a lady of leisure.  i honestly, am too tired to move right now. my back aches from the dog paddling and i am too tired to take my daily walk.  maybe i will go out later this evening.  who knows?   wishing you all a shabbat shalom!