I Used To Rule The World

it is 9:30 a.m. in the holy city of Zefat.  i am trying to get out today.  i collected some money for a widow for purim and i need to get down town to get it to her.  i started having leg pain again and i guess, i should get back to the homeopath.  in the meantime, i am getting ready for a purim party at my home.

i went over to a friend yesterday in the neighborhood to 'rehearse' a skit for the purim party.  i found a skit on line about a meeting with bush and rice to discuss the chief of the communist party in china, Hu Jintao.  it is basically a take on the famous abbot and costello shtick, "who's on first". at least, i am trying to get into the spirit of purim.  i take purim very seriously.  i don't think i'll fit into a costume this year but i will paint up my face.

i may go to my great nephew's bris tomorrow.  that depends if there is a place for me in the car that my sister rents.  i have put on a great deal of weight lately, and i don't know what i can wear to the bris.  i am also pretty broke at this point.  i have an enormous electric bill to pay and the kids are also tapped out.  my daughter-in-law got fired without receiving her paycheck last month.  it's always something here in the middle east.  last year i spent purim in the oncological ward so it's onwards and upwards from here for me.

i am supposed to be making a purim seudah on sunday and i still don't have a clue as to how many people are coming.  hosting a party on saturday night doesn't make things any easier.  i cannot for the life of me, figure out what to serve at the party.  remember money is a concern.  i also haven't figured out my purim seudah menu which makes me queasy.  i  think i should just go with munchies and forget about healthy alternatives and salads.  i can always cut up some carrots and celery.  maybe even serve some cherry tomatoes.  i can always buy some mini barekas.  you only go around once, right.

we have a shabbat to get through first.  i probably will need to cook for that.  when am i supposed to make the purim seudah?  i can make a few things in advance.  i'm thinking of doing a couple of pitchers of sangrias on friday afternoon.  i plan on making one white and one red.  i read that it can be prepared up til 48 hours before.  if  i use only lemons and oranges, hopefully, it won't be too soggy.  i don't like to make kugels to far in advance, either,  so i'll probably skip them.  maybe ill make a rice and lentil dish.  it probably won't go down well, bit i'm desperate.

the kids have been non committal about purim.  i don't know if the clan is planning on coming over too.  i wanted to serve pigs in a blanket.  i  couldn't find any prepared ones.  the pastry dough is a bit expensive and i don't like to rely on anyone else to help.  the problem is that in the past, no matter what i prepared, the members of the clan preferred their matriarch's food to mine.  she does everything last minute which makes me nuts.  heaven forbid that i buy the pitas in advance and freeze them.  and then there's the time thing.  no matter when i call the meal for, it doesn't happen until hours later.  i am trying very hard here to be as 'laid back' as zelda can be.

i invited a few of my own friends to the seudah so i need to have something ready when they come.  i have tons of ground chicken and ground turkey in the freezer.  perhaps, i'll make two different types of meatballs.  i can definitely, do that in advance.  i plan on doing sweet and spicy chicken wings.  it's best to do them on the same day.  the clan doesn't eat chicken wings.  i learned that the hard way one year.  as i had a million wings left over from the seudah, i invited some of them for shabbat.  no one would touch them. the cholent i prepared was nearly raw, too.  it was a disaster.

i am really struggling about what to serve for the party .  i would normally make a vegetarian chili with cornbread but being after shabbat, when everyone probably ate cholent with beans for lunch, it doesn't seem like a good idea.  i don't feel like preparing lasagna, either.  i want to stick to party foods.  i have a few dip ideas and need to buy some crackers, and rice cakes.  money is definitely, tight right now. nuts are quite expensive, too.  i don't want to start playing around with hamentashen.  i also want to keep the foods traditional.  two years ago, i made a non gluten seudah to break the fast.  this year there is no fast before the party.  it's more like a long feast before the party and the night before the festive feast.

i started spackling the walls yesterday.  i filled in the holes in different parts of the house.  i am all over the place.  i can't get concentrated on anything.  i need to get some paint now and cover over the white spackle.
i hope the living room will be large enough for the party.  i don't have the energy to clean up the pigeon poo on the third floor and get the studio apartment up and running for a party.  i guess we will manage.  i need to take out a bit of furniture from the living room to accommodate chairs.

my friend wants to do a disco/rock dance set on her Yamaha organ.  i actually, requested dance music.  she really gets into it.  she can play for hours at a time, oblivious to what's going on around her.  she is a talented musician but everything sounds like muzak to me.  i asked my son to make a party dance mix for me.  we had a blow out about a similar request a few years ago.  even if we only have the live organ music it may be fun anyway as an element of vegas or the catskills.  i'm hoping the sangria will warm everyones' hearts.  anyway, that's what it is.

we also 'chopped' a song parody off  the net for the party.  it is to the tune of the cold play song, 'viva la vida'.  it is about haman but has a lot of the song's original words.  it's pretty clever.  we rehearsed it yesterday for hours.  i think it's more fun when you flub it a bit but my friend is a perfectionist.  she is sick right now and needs to see the lung specialist this morning.  i am hoping that she will be right for the party.  they say she has bronchitis and want her to undergo a ct scan.  i am feeling a bit nervous right now.  in spite of her illness, she sang and played for about  4 hours yesterday. go know.

on one hand, i fear that we will have a poor turnout and on the other hand, i'm afraid we won't fit comfortably.  it's not like me to be so unsure of everything.  i am feeling very tired.  my eye burns and my leg hurts.  i am very anxious about purim.. and then of course, we have to get the house ready for pesach.  my blog room is totally upside down with props and costumes all over the place.  i also spackled in here.  there was a dank smell coming from behind the book shelf.  the wall was very wet and i had to chip away a lot of the paint.  if i had the money i would bring in help.  i do the best i can.  this room could really use a paint job.  oh well.....