What's Going On

it is now 3:30 p.m. in the holy city of safed.  got back a little while ago from town.  i have been going out each morning with a friend to show her around safed.  she just got back to safed a couple of months ago.  i really; haven't been out that much during covid; so it was an adventure for me; as well.  today; we tackled the large hardware store in the southern end of town.  it was huge and chaotic.  after hours of looking around; i realized that i had lost my pocketbook.  we were both pretty much done in at that point.  it was torture to have to go through that entire store to find my purse.  luckily for me; someone had turned it into the cashier.

we then set out to look for a welder or auto repair store.  the metal bar and wheels of my friend's radiator got bent out of shape during the move here.  we saw a small hardware store and the man there tried to bend it back into shape with his hands.  it remains to be seen if that actually helped.  in the meanwhile; we will be on the lookout for spare parts from a radiator that has been trashed.  we then went over to a supermarket nearby.  i was hungry and kind of wanted to buy some salmon.  i also bought fresh turkey wings for shabbat.

we finished our shopping pretty fast and cabbed it back home.  we had both done a huge shopping there together; a couple of weeks ago and spent several hours getting reacquainted with the aisles.  i had completely forgotten that i had defrosted beef schnitzels in the morning; before i left.  it took about five minutes to sauté them in a skillet and make a salad and voila; i had a hot lunch waiting for me.  the dogs had some, too.  i am pretty spent.  it was quite hot this moring in town.

we ventured to the rosh pina strip maul on tuesday.  i hadn't been there since covid.  my friend had banking business and i wanted to find a comfortable walking shoe.  we went to an enormous health food store first.  by then we were both ready to call it a day.  i was hungry and a bit impatient.  i couldn't remember where the orthopedic shoe store was.  the strip maul is not all that large.  lo and behold; i looked up and saw that it was directly across the street from the health food store.  by that point; i had little patience to look for shoes.

we went in and exited a moment later.  there was another israeli brand of shoe store right across so we went in .  i immediately saw a cute pink sneaker by hush puppies.  i tried them on and they were heavenly so i bought them.  they were already more than half price and they offered me a second pair for only $20.  i am now the granny in pink and in blue sneakers; racing down the sidewalk in safed.  yesterday we stayed in waiting for the repairman.  so typical; he was a no show.

i invited another gal pal to join me for shabbat. i stopped off to buy chicken and ended up buying fresh turkey wings.  i thought about making soup and decided instead; to make a stew with barley for saturday lunch.  i found a container of frozen chicken soup in the fridge and a package of chopped turkey so i will make dumplings to go with the soup for friday night.  i want to keep it easy and breezy.

i recently went to do my annual blood test.  i was pretty upset to see that my cholesterol and sugar both went up.  i lost around 40 pounds during covid and have been doing intermittent fasting all year and hour walks.  i managed to drop the sugar and cholesterol last december so i don't know what i did wrong lately.  i haven't eaten chocolate, candy, processed foods, ice cream, cake, cookies or potato chips in over a year and a half.  and i haven't used sugar, honey, date syrup or maple syrup; either.  it is a mystery.  however; i have been indulging in lots of grapes and dates.

there were 20 items that didn't get tested so i have to return to my doctor and reorder another blood test.  nothing here gets done in a day.  i did an antibody test because i was sick during the last holiday.  i was hoping that i had had a mild case of covid and had antibodies' but no such luck.  i remain unvaxed with no antibodies.  it's okay.  i am retired and have no special interest in working, eating out, or seeing a movie.  it's enough that i can shop and get around.

What's Going On?

it is noon in the holy city of safed.  the holiday of sukkot ended on tuesday night.  i was sick on the second part of the holiday.  the kids were here.  this is the holiday where the men dance with the sefer torahs.  it is a happy time for the jews.  we no longer eat inside our sukkahs.  the kids get loaded with sweets and the men; with liquor.   the women as always, cook the festive meals.

at the end of the past saturday night; i got hit with a stomach bug.  it was awful.  i found myself trying to sleep on the bathroom floor close to the toilet.  i spent about 6 hours in and out of the bathroom.  i finally fell asleep in my bedroom at around 5:00 a.m.  thank goodness for adult diapers!  i haven't felt well since.  i have been nauseous and headachy ever since.  the weird thing is that i didn't lose my appetite.  i suffered throughout the holiday being with everyone.  the kids; pretty much; got along and there were no major meltdowns but my head was hurting the entire time.  

i managed to get to the local synagogue in the evening to watch a bit of the cerebration.  i wasn't as fortunate the next morning.  i stayed in bed for most of the day.  the kids came in and out of my house all day long.  the toddler made his way up the stairs all by himself and let himself in to visit with me and my dogs.  it did give me some joy to see him; despite my aching head.  even when a couple of the boys were playing ping pong on my dining room table; i was glad they were here but suffering from the noise.  i thought that i might have covid yesterday.  i tried calling around to find where i could get tested but i didn't have the energy to go anywhere.

as soon as the holiday ended; my son disassembled my sukkah.  it took him less than an hour.  it took me 4 hours to assemble it by myself.  i don't know how many trips up the stairs i took to bring up the rods and wood.  both sukkahs; huge and small; were put away in the shed for next year in rapid speed. it was surreal.  it felt so empty. we spent the entire week eating and sleeping in them.  i didn't sleep in mine but i did eat most of my meals in it.  the weather was lovely this year; no strong winds or heavy rains to move us out of our temporary homes.  i spent a lovely day by myself in my 2x2 meter sukkah.  it was so relaxing and quiet after the chaos of the actual holiday.  the dogs also joined me in the sukkah; lying on a blanket.

it was cool enough without the fan.  i ate and called friends on my smart phone and video chatted with the grandkids.  i even read a novel.  it was bliss.  i had a few female friends come by for meals.  it was so nice.  i did a lot of walking and enjoyed seeing all of the sukkahs on the streets.  people were out late in the night.  i went to visit a friend and hung out in her sukkah on shabbat.  i enjoyed some grapes and potato kugel and then went back home for my shabbat meal.  i was feeling no pain until saturday night.  i haven't left the house except to walk the dogs, since.  i did manage to get an hour walk in last night.  

i thought about getting a covid test this morning  but i actually felt better.  it was the first day in nearly a week; that i woke up without that headache.  i could actually focus and function. i called a friend and had an actual conversation.  the pain in my head is slowly starting up and i am feeling 'heady' once again.  i will take a dexamol tablet and start to make some food.  i want to make a big pot of chicken soup.  i already defrosted wings and thighs.  i have onions and carrots and sweet potatoes.  i couldn't find any celery last night.  i am not going to schlepp to the supermarket today.  if i continue to feel unwell on sunday; i will get the covid test.  i am hoping that a restful shabbat will help.

the holiday of the tabernacles

 it is nearly 8 p.m. in the holy city of safed.  it is nearly time for my nightly hour walk around the neighborhood.  the dogs have gotten out and run away.  i am too tired to search for them.  i know i haven't posted any writing in months.  i have been on facebook.  i spend many hours on facebook commenting on just about everything that's posted.  i communicate with old friends in australia; family and friends in the states and my chabad family in dehli. india.  it's a compulsion.  it gets me very wired and i don't sleep until 4 a.m.

i mostly read everything posted out there on covid.  i am amongst the unvaxed.  i am a traitor to my country and a disappointment to my orthodox community.  i turned 70 in july and according to the covid news; i should already be dead.  i am very tired from all the turmoil.  i spent the first year in isolation.  i went to the supermarket at 6 a.m. and took the dogs out when no one was around.  i did visit a friend or two.  i stayed away from synagogue and any place that involved people.

i went on a strict health regimen and started intermittent fasting. i gave up sugar, chocolate and processed foods. i started walking.  i lost around 45 pounds.  i spent the summer at the local neighborhood outside pool.  i turned brown.  i learned how to swim or dog paddle and get to the end of the pool.  i went to see the grandkids in jerusalem.  i bought a few new things to wear. i went to a maul once with a friend. 

i recently had some tasty pizza.  i haven't been to a restaurant yet and i don't do takeout.  i eat very simple food and don't feel comfortable eating other peoples' cooking.  i went to the gyn oncologist and the lung surgeon but i failed to do a brain MRI; nor see the neurosurgeon.  yes, i am still walking around with a huge, benign brain tumor and a microscopic cancerous tumor in my left lung.  who cares about covid.  oh the good news; is that i am still in remission.

tomorrow begins the weeklong festival of sukkot.  the sephardi family downstairs; built an immense wooden sukkah dwelling with curtains and windows and blinds.  the father of the clan lives in this wooden dwelling all week long.  he prays in it and sleeps in it and of course; eats in it.  i felt sad last year without my own little sukkah upstairs.  sukkot is definitely; a man's world and a man's holiday.  women are not obligated to eat or sleep in the sukkah.

i decided to assemble my sukkah this afternoon.  it took me about 4 hours. i have a collection of plastic vines and grapes and pomegranates and apples.  i do not have the patience to play around with this and string up these fruits this year.  i am exhausted.  i was up and down off a metal chair for hours.  my body hurts and it was hot outside.  i want the dogs to come home and i want to take my walk.  tomorrow i am cooking a holiday meal for my friend and myself.  she doesn't want to be around a lot of people so i won't be joining the sephardi family for the holiday.  i think my son and family will come for shabbat so i will be with everyone then in the huge sukkah downstairs.

i am planning on making stuffed peppers, spicy barbecued chicken wings, chopped liver, humus, tahina, green salad, tabouli salad, and buckwheat and bow tie pasta.  it is actually 2 holiday meals and the dogs have to eat, too.  nice talking to you all again.  Happy holiday to all my jewish readers.

t

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Another Holiday.

it is 9:30 p.m. in the holy city of safed.  i stopped blogging after pesach.  i was wiped out and didn't think anyone was interested in my blog anymore.  i have been on face book every day.  i spend a good hour every morning reading all the posts of friends and commenting on their posts.  i try to be charitable and say nice things.  i have gotten into heated posts with many dog owners because i commented that i don't think dogs should lie next to brand new infants in bed nor do i think we should leave dogs alone with our babies, either.  maybe; i always had small nervous, skittish dogs but my pincher bit my grandchildren more than once.

people post pix of their pets and babies on a public forum and if you comment anything besides, 'adorable', or 'great', they turn on you.  some of them are more vicious than their pit bulls and other oversized pets.  i guess i see the potential danger in many pix.  i hate when people pose with giant snakes or lions or tigers.  i am always thinking, that in one more moment they are done for.  i guess i am negative, as these bloggers always accuse me of being.  it's kind of ironic because i am always rescuing dogs and am mad for them.

tomorrow night is our holiday of shavuot.  best known for the holiday of dairy.  like, serious cheesecake, is going on in the land.  in the past, i have been known to make a pretty good lasagna and tiramisu but i prefer to leave it in the past.  with prices sky high, i could not afford to buy the makings for these two dishes.  pesach, left me in debt.  i am making one cheesecake for a dear friend, who lives in the neighborhood and i am going to make a pan of cheesecake brownies for the sephardi family, living downstairs.  my son's in-laws are still coexisting with me.  we get along just great.  the sephardi grandmother, 10 years my junior; makes all the shabbat and holiday meals.  i join them when i am up to it and i sit and eat.

i usually spend shabbat alone.  i like the quiet and i prefer eating my own food.   i don't eat late anymore and it is very hard finishing meals at 10:00 p.m.  i still fast every night.  when i am alone i eat less food and finish by 8:30 or 9:00 p.m.  i usually go to sleep right after i finish eating and taking the dogs out.  i stay up all week long till the wee hours of the morning; watching t.v.  on friday night i make up for all the lost sleep during the week.  i like to go to synagogue now.  there has been so much tragedy in israel in the last few weeks.  i find it is difficult to be alone with my thoughts so i go to hear the men chant and pray on saturday mornings.

i have recently committed to walking at least 45 minutes every day.  since we have had severe heat waves; i have taken to get out at 6:00 a.m. to do my walk.  when I haven't made it out early; i go out at night.  for several days, i didn't venture out in daylight except to take dogs out close by.  i was a bit of a vampire for awhile.  this afternoon it cooled enough for me to take a walk at 5:00 p.m.  there were tons of people out, too.  i had a touch of sciatica this morning and the walk helped a lot.  it is acting up now and so are the dogs.

i hope that my son and family make it here in safety.  there are missiles falling all over the country.  the terrorists don't like to waste their missiles in daylight when they can be detected easily.  they prefer to strike in the middle of the night while children and their parents are asleep.  you get about 15 seconds to make it to a bomb shelter in most cities so many people are just sleeping in the shelters every night. i sincerely hope that we will have a quiet and peaceful holiday.  so far, we have not been afflicted in the north but no one knows how long this will last.  a young soldier from safed is in critical condition after his jeep took a direct hit.  his 21 year old sergeant major wasn't so lucky nor was a beautiful 5 year old  boy who took a direct shrapnel hit which killed him.  his mother, who is in critical condition wasn't able to be at his burial.

so we continue our lives and get ready for our holiday.  what choice do we have???  we had a year of peace during corona.  i try to keep my dark thoughts to myself and still be positive.  it is a full time job.  i am looking forward to the holiday even though i won't be eating any cheesecake.  i pray for the jews all over the world who are being targeted by arab violence.  may we all merit to be in our own homes with our families on shavuot night.

It's Over

 it is 9:30 p.m. in the holy city of safed.  the holiday of pesach has ended.  i spent the entire holiday in bed.  i was mentally and physically exhausted.  i didn't leave my house except to take the dogs out.  it was very cold and rainy.  i overate and food binged.  i did manage to fast the minimum 12 hours every night. i was pretty miserable.  the matzah this year was my enemy.  it was fresh but very thick and hard.  i have a sore in my mouth from chewing it.  i stayed away from all sugar.  i wasn't tempted in eating chocolate or potato chips.  i did prepare some french fries one day.  it hurt my stomach.  the next day i cooked a sweet potato.  it was more agreeable.

i made all of my food from scratch and except for the oil, matzah and wine; i bought everything fresh.  i even made my own tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes and onions.  i only used salt and whole peppercorns; which i ground.  i didn't do any baking this year.  i bought cakes and cookies and potato chips and chocolates for the kids.  i missed my chai tea with almond milk dearly.  i found almond flour for pesach but it was very expensive so i passed on it.  i also found hand made oat matzah but i also passed on it for the same reason.  i spent a fortune on pesach this year.  i always do.  it seems to get more expensive every year.  i try to keep it simple but it seems to never end.  i did without steak and lamb chops and bought minced turkey and beef and inexpensive poultry.  i did buy two small pieces of beef.

the kids had a good time here being with their cousins but they were able to do the real fun things in jerusalem.  they did get to go to an indoor amusement park near safed this week before shabbat.  i stayed home.  i am still in social distancing mode.  i don't think there was a place for me in the car; anyway.  it took me a month to get the house in order for pesach and it will probably take less than a half hour to get it back to normal.  i have already put the pots away.  i will clean the sink inserts and the pesach stove tomorrow.  my back is killing me.  i was sick last night and quite dizzy all day.  i spent the morning in bed.  the kids will be going home soon.  it will be a month i guess; before i see them again.  we will have the holiday of shavuot then.  that's the holiday of dairy and cheesecake.

i am not even thinking about making any cheesecake this year.  last year's tiramisu was a disaster.  i kept to the original and only used mascarpone cheese and red wine.  if i do make one this year i will add the whipped cream and use brandy.  we have lots of time to decide.  i usually make a lasagna and ever since i started buying the ricotta and mozzarella, it has been a real winner.  i am already thinking about making blintzes.  my kids don't really go for them but i am thinking about blueberry and cheese filling.

i hope i start feeling better this week.  i intend to go on a fruit and yogurt diet for a couple of days.  i need to let my poor stomach have a break and i need to get out and start walking again.  i have been a couch potato for too long.