Shana Tova! 2014

it is 11:00 p.m. in the holy city of zefat.  i am completely exhausted.  my grandson climbed into bed with me this morning at 6:00 a.m.  this boy does not like to sleep.  after a while of his playing with my neck and back, i finally got up and let the dogs out.  i also put the t.v. on for him in another room and tried to go back to sleep.  pretty soon after, the girl came up for chocolate milk.

i decided that it was time to start cooking the sheep head.  it was really easy and not nasty at all.  it was pretty clean.  it didn't really have much meat on it.  i cooked it for about 6 hours but i don't think it really needed that long.  i quickly plumped up some dried apricots and apples for a garnish.  i saved the broth for a future meal.  it wasn't fatty.  i might throw it into the cholent sometime soon.

i baked a small dairy chocolate cake.  it was my sister's rendition of my grandma's cake. i wanted to make a sour cream icing but i didn't have enough powdered sugar on hand. i ended up doing a 'pesach' number on my large bedroom.  it was really ripe. my granddaughter had pished on the porch as well as several of the dogs.  by the time i finished cleaning and changing the bedding, it was time to pick up the kids from gan.

at the corner gan, the cleaning lady was trying to get a small kitten out of the gan with her sponger stick.  my grandson carried it outside.  i thought it belonged to my neighbor's cat.  we carried it back to the house but i instructed my grandson to leave it in front of the nieghbors' house.  it followed us home and got hit by a car right in front of my house. my grandson saw the entire thing.  i tried to retrieve it but my dogs followed me out of the house and i was afraid they'd drag it away so i left it.  i finally scooped it up into a plastic bag while it was still alive. i placed it near my neighbor's steps.  by the time i came out again it was dead.

the little kids wanted to see the dead cat.  i had placed it in a plastic bag and put in it the garbage can.  i thought to myself that it was a kappara for my life. i took advantage of my granddaughter taking a nap.  i made a small tsimis with sweet potatoes, carrots, canned pineapple and dried apricots and apples.  it was the first time that i placed it in the oven.  i usually cook it in a pot on the stove until it is a darkish mush.  i didn't buy prunes this year.  i decided to stick with apricots.  i read online about adding apples to the tsimis.  i guess there is a first time for everything.

while the girl slept, i cooked.  i made a chicken stir fry and added store bought plum sauce. i usually use the sweet chili sauce but i decided to keep it sweet for rosh hashana.  it was a bit too sweet so i added some powdered garlic.  i had pondered the idea of adding pineapple but i decided not to in the end.  i have the kids with me tomorrow all day long. gan is on vacation.  i washed the floors this evening.  my granddaughter the not yet 3 year old clean maven, told me that i did a good job.

i put the kids to sleep under duress.  the girl couldn't find her pacifier and had a huge meltdown. my grandson told me his head hurt from all her screams.  i was upstairs searching every where for that darn pacifier.  she wanted to go to sleep by the television so her older brother also wanted too. he accused me of not being there for him.  she always says that i am for her brother and not her. he passed out in the middle of a story and she nearly passed out in my arms but woke up a moment later.  thank goodness her father, my only child, came home and found the pacifier.

before he left for a torah class, i found my dog on the stairs annihilating a live pigeon. i quickly retrieved it and disposed of it in my garbage can in the kitchen.  i better throw out the garbage the first thing in the morning.  so tomorrow, i have to make the following things: beets, leeks,string beans, fish, pumpkin and a quince.  i buy one every year and no one except me tastes it.  i have to open the pomegranate,which is a messy job.  i have to defrost the barley chicken soup, turkey meatballs, 2 types of chicken, and reheat the sweet kugel.  i have to make some rice and possibly some couscous.  i have an easy day tomorrow.

shana tova!