The Party's Over

it is well past midnight in the holy city of zefat. i finished up the dishes from the barbecue a little while ago. i didn't feel like buying disposable dishes this week. i wasn't trying to be ecofriendly. i was just feeling cheap. i don't like to use plastic dishes on shabbat. however, this was unusual for me to do a cookout and use real glasses,cutlery and plates. my friends cleared the tables for me so i was only left with washing the dishes.

the gentlemen finally came to see the downstairs apartment. it looked great. it was super cool despite the heatwave outside. unfortunately for me, i think the place is too big for them. it doesn't look like i got a rental. i'm 0 for 2 in the money game. i invited them to stay for the independence day barbecue but they declined. they had to get ready to travel. i invited them to my apartment for cold drinks. the 3 dogs were making a heck of a lot of noise. then the male dog engaged one of the men and started humpimg him. what a day!

my neighbors were partying hearty outside today. the music was blasting and they were feeling no pain. every year they come up with a theme. a lot of people do this for purim. they are the only ones, that i know, who do a themed independence day party. this year it was indians. not the people who live in india. you know, the ones who used to kill the cowboys. they built a giant tee pee that was the entrance way to the party. they had a killer barbecue going. the smells were making me hungry and left me lusting for meat. i wanted to dress up as a cowboy and go over to the indians and make a fuss. somehow, i didn't think they would get it.

i got up at 7:00 a.m. and walked the dogs. i had yogurt with bananas and almonds for breakfast. i splurged and drizzled some honey on to it. i had a couple of coffees and then made a bread for my friend with the food issues. i made it with only: one cup of rice flour, 2 eggs, 2 tbs of oil, 2 tbs of date honey and a package of ground chestnuts. i used a half cup of coconut milk for the liquid. it is a weird cake like bread. it is an 'acquired' taste. it is not for everyone. i didn't sample it today. i was way, happy, eating a whole wheat pita and chumus. i gave the rest of the bread to my friend.

my friend wants me to babysit her dog and the dog of her friend over shabbat. i don't think that her dog would like to be with me and my dogs. she is a bit of a scaredy cat dog. she would be lost without her owner. i cannot handle more than one doggie guest per night. her friend's dog is a mixed shephard. i don't do large dogs. i like little dogs. i do have a doggy gig in a couple of weeks, with a large dog. i intend to keep her on the upstairs balcony. that's once, upstairs sister, vacates the premises. i actually, feel sorry for sister dearest.

at 3:00 p.m. i went downstairs to fire up the grills. i bought a tiny, disposable grill for the fish. the friend with the food issues, doesn't usually eat chicken. the little grill lighted easily. the larger grill was a real hassle to start. i grilled some whole hake fish to start the meal. i served a colorabi and carrot salad, some chumus and tahina, and a large fresh green salad with red cabbage and cherry tomatoes. i even made a vinegrette dressing. we all ate bread, including me. we then had chicken wings, hot dogs, corn on the cob, watermelon, fresh oranges, and more rolls and pitas. i heated up a can of saurkraut. we never got to grill the kebobs. we were all happily stuffed. we did have room for roasted marshmallows and a bar of semi sweet chocolate. i forgot to serve the pareve icecream nuggets.

i had 2 marshmallows. it was way too sweet for me. later on, i had one icecream nugget. i had no desire to eat more of them. i needed a walk. it was getting cool but i was hot. i walked my friend back to town and then headed home. i didn't want to go home. i didn't want to enter an empty house. i must have walked for 2 hours. i couldn't stop thinking about past barbecues with the kids.

on my way home, i saw my son. he drove right past me. i think he saw me, too. we had 5 dogs at our barbecue. it was a riot. they were all making a lot of noise. we were all getting off on watching the dogs interact with each other. the music and hilarity from next store helped to drown out the noise of the dogs. and if it didn't who cares! we were all finished partying by 7:00 p.m. it wouldn't have been a good mix if the kids were here. there were just, too many dogs for their liking. all in all, it was a lovely day. i had a good time and good company. why can't i just stop torturing myself by thinking about the kids.

my guests thought that the meal was elaborate. my son would have scoffed at the lack of lamb chops and steaks. he would not have been satisfied with chicken wings and franks. he would have finagled a lot of cash out of me to buy fresh meat. why do i care now? i spent the day with friends. why does it eat me up that i wasn't with my family? i don't usually enjoy being with my family. i don't enjoy all of the scrutiny. guess what? no one scrutinized me today.

a lady was supposed to come over this evening to see the upstairs apartment. i never heard from her. so i guess, that leaves me, 0 for 3 in the money game, now. you can only hope and pray that things get better.

tomorrow is shabbat once again. i am way ahead of the game. i have leftover grilled fish, chicken wings, watermelon, rolls, chumus and colorabi salad. there were some uncooked wings left so i'll make a soup. it looks like i'll be alone again. at least, i'll eat well.