Thursday Morning

it is 7:00 a.m. in the holy city of zefat.  it is freezing once again.  i was woken up at 6:00 a.m. by a little visitor with ice cold feet.  yes, my grandson came into my bed/t.v couch to cuddle.  i really needed more sleep. yesterday i did the outside windows.  wow, we can see the kinneret again.  soon we will have little birds crashing into the clean, clear windows and cloey dog will be bringing them into the house.  i wish i could       just drink a cup of coffee.  the smell still nauseates me.

oh how i need a caffeine rush.  i have a 9:00 a.m appointment with the doctor this morning.  i'm feeling fine.  i just need paper work done for next month's radiologist, gynecologist, neurologist and MRI visits at tel hashomer. i actually stopped by yesterday to see him but he was officially not working and kind of freaked out when he saw me.  i was just one other person without an appointment.  he probably had another fifty like me.
 
i forgot to buy matzoh yesterday at the supermarket.  i did a bigger shopping than i had planned.  i ended up filling up the freezer with chicken and meat.  i thought that i wasn't going to do that this year.  i hope the check clears.  last year i only bought a chicken, a box of matzoh and a bottle of grape juice.  my pantry closet is filled with pesach cakes, cookies, grape juice and sweets. pesach is only one week and i bought enough fo a month.  never mind, we do have shavuot coming in after pesach and i did get some good buys.  i was able to buy inexpensive cuts of meat.

i'll have to find a store that takes a head check and buy my potatoes and veggies next week.  i still owe the electric company big time.  i am drowning in bills and debts.  i seriously wonder if i'll ever catch up.  i can't really dwell on this now.  i am taking the day off today.  no more cleaning.  my body is spent.  i need to do a few errands.  i need to go to the health carrier and complain about not getting reimbursed for the last few trips to the hospital.  i could sell the chometz in town at the rabbinut and try to buy matzah in town at the chabad house.  they would take a head check.

the kids are, once again, in for shabbat and i have to cook.  i officially put an end to cholent last week but i wouldn't mind making one tomorrow.  it's so easy and fast.  i don't know what to make for lunch.  i have leftover meatballs for dinner and i will make instant couscous. we had homemade couscous at the haircut dinner on tuesday but i've run out of rice and pasta and have nothing else to serve.  i'll probably make a small kugel for lunch.  i didn't buy a lot of potatoes.  i have one package of chicken bones left that i'd love to finish off already so i guess chicken soup is in the making.

 i can't afford to buy a gas balloon so i will have to make pesach on a one burner electric stove.  i do have a brand new toaster oven so i can make a kugel and bake some beets or else it will have to be a one pot dinner.  to save time, i can stew some chicken and beef in one pot with onions and sweet wine.  i can also throw in carrots and potatoes at the same time.  who needs chicken soup?  who says that it's a law to have soup on pesach anyway?  my son won't eat chicken soup without chili peppers and i don't see myself buying any for pesach.

i used to make orange braised chicken.  that was back in the days before my orange tree got destroyed by the snow.  i can always buy a few.  it's definitely not the same as using my own.  i bought a ton of cheap sweet wine.  i don't know what i was thinking.  i can always make glazed pears.  i also bought a ton of pesach cake.  i doubt the kids will be here all week and who wants to eat pesach cake after the holiday?  i guess we'll be having some pesach cake on shabbat.

i was tempted to bake a cake and use up the last of my flour.  i also want some more corn muffins but i think my dairy toaster oven is still dead.  if i keep the new toaster oven pareve it can become my new dairy oven.  i can't really use my standard oven to make a kugel.  it was blasted with oven cleaner.  i didn't really get it all off so i don't really think it's a good idea to bake anything this week.  mashed potatoes is an idea.  i just need to get more potatoes.  why am i making it all so complicated.  i'll throw a chicken in a pot with a couple of potatoes and carrots and that will be lunch.  wait, isn't that cholent????