Cool Again

it is 6:30 p.m. in the holy city of zefat. the unbearable heat wave broke last night. i am sitting in my blog room with the window open. i am enjoying the breeze. last week i couldn't be in my blog room at all. there was no air. it was the hottest room in the house. it was a sauna. the entire house was like a sauna. i don't know why i didn't turn on the a.c, as they call it here. it was nearly 104 degrees in the shade.

i would go to work, come home, and pass out on my couch. i couldn't move, once i got home. the house was a wreck. i was a wreck, too. i didn't maintain contact with anyone. i was simply, too hot to speak. i would see people bopping around in the heat, while i was literally, dragging my body to and from the bus stop. i fell ill last week. i don't know if it was a virus or dehydration, but i felt vile.

i had both grandchildren with me at home, and i couldn't cope. i picked up my grandson from daycare by cab. it was too hot to try and schlepp him to the bus stop. shortly after, my son dropped off the baby. he didn't bother to bring the stroller. i had the pleasure of holding the baby on my lap for hours. she was very crabby and i was even more crabby. i couldn't get her to take a nap because she's used to falling asleep in her stroller.

she spit up all kinds of vile hot liquids on me. i smelled like rotten cheese. i was nauseated by the virus bug and had terible stomach cramps. i wanted to sleep. i called my son, who was at home napping, and begged him to come and pick us up. i knew at his home, i could put both kids down in their own beds and then rest a bit. my son finally came to get us and i was able to get the baby off to sleep. my grandson was a different story. he was up for about another 2 1/2 hours in his bed. he kept on jumping out of his bed, while i was pasing out on the rug in his room. finally, he fell asleep and i did too, on the floor next to his bed.

my son came home around 10:30 p.m. and found me on the floor. i was too sick to walk home. my son drove me home. i don't know how i made it to work the next day. i felt awful. i couldn't get any fluids down. i couldn't eat a thing. i managed to swallow a hard peach, of all things. i did manage to cook for the yeshiva. i even made fried turkey cutlets. i don't know how i did it, when the smell of food was making my stomach turn.

i am feeling better. i finally ate some solid food on shabbat. i basically, drank yogurt shakes all week long. i couldn't get the yogurt down with a spoon, so i added milk. what a week! i never got to say farewell to my niece. they left on tuesday for india. i tried calling but no one there answered. it was a hard farewell for the family. i really feel for my sister. i couldn't take it.

the kids came for shabbat meals. i went shopping on my way home from work on thursday. i got up at 6:00 a.m. on friday and walked the dogs. there were tons of cows coming down from the valley. i got back and began to throw tons of bleachy
water all over the floors. the house was filthy. there was wads of dog hair everywhere. i turned on the air conditioner. i worked for 6 hours straight. and then i took a break and called a friend. i lost my momentum. i was tired. my son called to ask if i could watch my grandson all day while his wife cleaned her apartment. i actually, declined. score one for zelda!

i spent another four hours making the meals. i prepared too much. i threw together a quick chocolate cake but it turned out raw on the bottom. oh well! the kids commented that it looked like i made an effort to make a nice dinner for them. what did i use to serve, garbage? anyway, they were pleased. they ate and left right away. that suited me. i was afraid that my grandson would want to sleep over, but he went home with his parents, very willingly.

the next morning, i couldn't stand up. i couldn't make it to services, either. my body was kaput. my bad eye was half shut from all the bleach that i had used. i managed to get the dogs out and came in and laid down. i read the secular newspaper about the recent terrorist attack in bulgaria. my niece was planning on joining her friends there last week. my sister vetoed the trip. she had a bad feeling about it. the kids had a quick lunch and left with the baby. i was given the pleasure of watching my grandson. i managed to put my grandson to sleep on the couch next to me. we had a momentary blackout and the a.c. turned off.

my grandson slept for a few hours while i reads psalms. i also nodded out for a bit. when he got up, we took the dogs for a walk. he loves holding on to the leash. we got home from our 'nature' walk, had some juice, and i took him back to his home. the kids were going to friends for the third meal and i have an on going class at 7:00 p.m. i carried my grandson all the way home. i am his slave. i then literally, dragged my body to the class. it took a bit longer than a half an hour.

today, i got to work at around 9:15 a.m. i got up at 6:00 a.m. and cleaned up from shabbat. i washed the remaining dishes and pots and i washed the floor with a wet mop. i took my leftover challah with me to make the guys french toast for breafast. i was completely shocked to see what was doing in the kitchen. all the dirty plates and cutlerly and left over food was still on the counter. all of the left over salads plus the empty plastic containers were also left on the work table. there were two large pots full of leftover food. i couldn't ascertain what they were. both garbage cans were overflowing and flooded with flies. there were ants crawling all over my work space. i was totally livid.

i thought about screaming at the guy in charge of the kitchen. i tried calling the head of the yeshiva. i thought about going home. i decided to clean it all up and screw the guys. they could have plain boiled eggs and salad for breakfast. i manically, dumped out all the left over food stuff into the garbage and sink. i quickly washed up all of the pots and dishes. i banged things around. i made a lot of noise. i slammed the plastic dishes around, too. it took a good half an hour until i washed down the counters. i made about 25 boiled eggs. i ended up making some oatmeal, too. i wanted to let them know that they were missing out on some great french toast. i wanted to warn them that if this happens again, they won't get to eat my food. i toasted a package of frozen whole grain bread and i cut up a salad. i was steaming. there were only a few guys around. they are on vacation this week. too bad, no one let me know.

the rabbi came in to let me know that it's 'busy as usual' for me. i am to cook for the guys, as usual. i made a barley veggie soup without mushrooms. the shabbat cook used 'my' mushrooms for some dish that i ended up tossing out. i got all aggravated again. i made a bunch of potatoes. i cooked rice and i cooked up beans and chick peas. i couldn't decide what i was going to serve for lunch. i took out hake fish fillets to thaw out. i thought about making fried fish. i looked at the clock and there was no time to play around with fish. i had little time to get lunch on the table. there were a lot more guys now to feed. the vegan was actually going to eat today, so i wanted to serve something filling.

i ended up using the left over boiled eggs from breakfst to make a tuna salad with pickles and mayonnaise. the anti-mayonnaise guy was out of town. when the cat's away, the mice play with mayo. i also served a platter of oven roasted potatoes, a shredded cabbage salad, and a pot of barley veggie soup. while the guys ate, i ran downstairs to the supermarket and bought a can of crushed tomatoes. i diced up some carrots and onions and added canned corn. i then added a lot of different spices and chili flakes and turned the beans and chick peas into a vegetarian chili. voila!

i didn't leave work until 4:30 p.m. that's another 7 hour day. but who's keeping track? i am!