Trapped Inside

it is 8:00 a.m. in the holy city of zefat.   we are recovering from a major snow storm.  i can't get out of my courtyard.  i have a 3 foot hardened snow drift and can't open my gate.  the kids have been climbing over the wall.   as, i am still suffering from hip and leg pain, i can't put much pressure on my leg or endure the snow.  it is very depressing.

the town is still not functioning.  the roads have been plowed but the streets are still covered in snow.   the local supermarket is open but the schools are closed.  i did sit in the sun yesterday and it felt great.  the house is beyond cold in spite of the couple of heaters going 24/7.    i am eating anything in sight.   i finally got a hot shower yesterday.   coming out wet and having to dress in front of a space heater in a freezing room, isn't that much fun.

the dogs won't go out.  they pee and defecate in the hallway.  i am constantly washing the floor.   i can't get comfortable in bed.   i toss and turn for hours.   i just put on a heat patch that i had bought several years ago for my mom.  i can't really feel the heat.  the pain is constant and nagging.   i know it could be worse.  we lost all power on friday afternoon and spent the entire shabbat in the cold and dark.

i made shabbat food because the kids were not able to get to the clan for shabbat.   i went out on thursday morning to stock up and buy what we needed  for shabbat.    when i got back from the store, i could hardly walk.  the pain was worse than ever.  i  stopped off at the doctor to get a referral for a blood test.   he reviewed my records and then he told me that his brother had also had a brain tumor and survived surgery.  he then told me a horror story of how the poor guy developed phlebitis and caught a blood clot to the brain.  i didn't understand the end of the story.  i think the guy is a veggie now.  the doctor's cheery message was if this doesn't get you something else will.

as the snow proceeded to come down on friday morning, i went into action.   i baked a cake and made a pot of soup.  i filled two thermoses with hot water because i was sure we would lose electricity.   i took out some frozen chop meat but realized it would never defrost in this weather.  we did lose power for a few hours. when it came back on i made some fish, rice and lentils and a pot of chicken , potatoes and barley.   at the last minute i cooked up some franks.  we lost  power for good at 5:00 p.m.

i had just put all the food on the electric platter when the power went off.   i lit a few tea lamps and made makeshift hot plates.  i put candles all over the house.  i made sure to put one in the bathrooms.  we had hot food for supper.  the house was freezing and dark.  it was so bizarre.  we all went off to sleep at around 7:00 p.m.   my grandson slept with me in one of the freezing bedrooms.  he actually, gave off a lot of body heat. we got up at 7:00 a.m. and had to start the day in the freezing house.  i made luke warm hot chocolate with the water from the thermos.

i opened the door to see that the meter high snow drift was covering the stairs and courtyard.  it was already about a foot from the front door.  i started feeling panicky.  i felt trapped.  as the huge amounts of snow fell from the roof it made enormous pounding sounds.  it sounded reminiscent of katushas.  the kids went out to play in the snow.  it was actually pleasant outside.  it was hard to remember that it was the shabbat.  my son jumped the gate and went off to shul..  he was looking forward to having some whiskey or something 'warm'.

my daughter-in-law took the kids to the neighbors.   they had a wood burning furnace and lots of hot water.  i couldn't think about making it through the snow.  i was barely hobbling about as it was.  she came back for the pathetic cold pot of chicken cholent and returned hours later with hot food.  we ate the hot food and all went to sleep at 2:00 p.m.  the power came back on at 3:00 p.m.  i was too cold to get out of bed.  we finally all resurfaced at around 5:00 p.m.

it is going to take a lot more time for all the icy snow to melt.  it is much to hard to try and shovel now.  the kids waited too long to deal with it.  one neighbor actually had a shovel and everyone waited turns to use it. we are not really equipped for snow storms here in the holy land.   the major roads are now open so trucks can bring in supplies as usual.   i can truly say that my love affair with snow is way over.  i don't care if i ever see any again.  pix to be blogged soon.