it is 8:00 a.m. in the holy city of safed. i just broke my 12 hour fast with banana 'pancakes'. it's 2 eggs and one banana and a splash of cinnamon. they are actually pretty filling. the dogs had their morning oatmeal and milk. i ended up sharing my pancakes with them, too. i am now enjoying a cup of my new favorite tea, Bengal, by celestial seasonings. it has a very strong cinnamon taste. i find that i need to add almond milk. i couldn't stand it at first and now I'm addicted. it's yummy.
tonight is the 11th anniversary of my mom's passing. i want to buy some treats for the guys at the yeshiva so that they can say blessings on her behalf. i thought about buying the customary fried donuts, that we eat at Chanukah time, but it will be a small fortune to buy 20. i think i'll go with nuts and dried fruits and chocolates. it is also a custom to eat dairy. i toyed with the idea of baking a cheese cake this morning, but quite frankly, I'm too tired. i am waiting to hear from the kids if i can go to them for Shabbat.
i bought tons of LOL, marvel and fortnite toys for the kids. i spent a true fortune. while i was in the hospital a month ago, i bought a fortnite monopoly set for $60. the LOL stuff was just as expensive. i can't wait to see the kids and give them their gifts. i have an out Shabbat this week from the yeshiva and i don't have to work on Thursday or Sunday. i want to get out of 'dodge' as soon as possible. we are expecting another addition to the clan soon and this might make or break my chance of seeing the grown up kids this week. i am trying to be as zen as possible and not sweat it. it is what it is.
the world as i knew it, is no longer mine. i am an alien. i am an antique. i am pushing 70 and i ain't cutting it at all. i am still able to cook at the yeshiva but i am too tired to do anything afterwards. i pulled out most of my costumes to help my friend, who is doing a play. most of them were too small and not appropriate for her. i think she was annoyed that i wasted her time. whatever she rejected, i threw away. i am tired of storing all of this crap. i did keep a few things and the kids' costumes from last year. the daughter-in-law recycles them and hands them out to her sister's kids or friends.
some of these things i used to wear when i was skinny, back in the day. i have finally lost the extra 20 pounds that i gained last year, when the kids moved away from safed. i am not aiming for being thin, again. i just want to be able to navigate without the huge stomach and behind and fit into my clothes. most of my skirts are a bit loose. i am not interested in weighing myself or checking out my dress size. in fact, the outfit i wore in the picture on my blog, was from my son's engagement party. that was nearly 11 years ago. it fits again, but i gave it to my friend. i am not really a navy blue kind of gal. i wore the skirt on Rosh Hashanah but i am not mad about it. i need to buy some new things.
Monday, December 23, 2019
Thursday, December 12, 2019
Tired In Safed
it is 8:15 p.m. in the holy city of safed. i just got back home from work. i left for work pretty late today. i was in a taxi several feet from the yeshiva when i got an s.o.s call from the manager. he sounded a bit alarmed that i wasn't there already. i didn't even shower this morning. i was that tired. i was still on the phone at 1:00 p.m. with my friend and didn't feel like moving. i quickly threw on my jeans skirt over my pajamas and called a cab. i was at work at 1:30 p.m.
i had defrosted some leftover pea soup from last week, the night before. i added water but i think i thinned it out too much. i quickly made a bunch of little tuna patties and cooked up three bags of thin spaghetti. i made an Asian dressing for the pasta. i added a vinaigrette dressing to the leftover cut veggies from breakfast and threw in a can of mushrooms and a can of chickpeas for good measure. i put out a tub of chumus and went back into the kitchen. i leave Friday's breakfast for the guys as well as a cold pasta salad for their lunch and i make the Shabbat lunch, too.
i took two pots and boiled 60 eggs. i left 30 eggs for their Friday lunch with a container of cut veggies and i made an egg salad for Shabbat day with the remaining 30 eggs. i then made the meat stew that sits on the eclectic platter all Friday night. i threw in about 20 small potatoes and about two giant sweet potatoes, a bag of barley and 3 cans of chick peas. it cooked up pretty fast and i started on the eggplant salad. i threw the eggplants into the oven as soon as i arrived at work. i had to cut up 4 packages of herring into little tiny pieces and add hot peppers and onions. that took quite awhile.
i didn't check on them and i didn't prick them first and suddenly i heard a large boom and the oven door blew open. there was exploded eggplant all over the oven. i took the ones that hadn't exploded and mashed them and added mayonnaise and garlic. i then cleaned the oven and the oven racks. i think i might just burn the yeshiva down one day. anyway, i then opened two enormous cans of tuna and added a lot of mayonnaise. i still had to make supper for tonight. i cut up a lot of sweet potatoes into chunks and roasted them. i threw the remainder of the breakfast oatmeal into two kilos of chopped turkey, added tons of spices and five eggs and made a pretty large meatloaf.
while it baked i cooked up 5 bags of macaroni to make two different pasta salads. i added mayonnaise and curry powder to one with chopped veggies and i made an Italian dressing for the second. there was macaroni all over the place. i sliced up tomatoes and onions and added seasoning for their supper. i made a cooked beet salad yesterday. i did the washing up which took about 45 minutes and i washed the floor. i put the beef stew into the fridge and i cabbed it home. i didn't go to the market. i was too tired. i didn't have dinner. i grabbed a tuna patty from lunch and a tomato and called it a night.
i will go to the supermarket in the morning. i need a few things for Shabbat. my friend is coming over again. neither one of us wants to be alone. it is supposed to rain again. we had a pretty terrific storm before i came home; lighting and thunder, the whole package. how do those weather people know that much before hand so that they can predict the exact nature of the storm.? i will take the dogs out for their nightly outing and get back into my robe. i have been sleeping on a mattress in the t.v. room under the wall heater. i haven't felt like sleeping in the master bedroom. i will have my new tea when i return. Shabbat shalom!
i had defrosted some leftover pea soup from last week, the night before. i added water but i think i thinned it out too much. i quickly made a bunch of little tuna patties and cooked up three bags of thin spaghetti. i made an Asian dressing for the pasta. i added a vinaigrette dressing to the leftover cut veggies from breakfast and threw in a can of mushrooms and a can of chickpeas for good measure. i put out a tub of chumus and went back into the kitchen. i leave Friday's breakfast for the guys as well as a cold pasta salad for their lunch and i make the Shabbat lunch, too.
i took two pots and boiled 60 eggs. i left 30 eggs for their Friday lunch with a container of cut veggies and i made an egg salad for Shabbat day with the remaining 30 eggs. i then made the meat stew that sits on the eclectic platter all Friday night. i threw in about 20 small potatoes and about two giant sweet potatoes, a bag of barley and 3 cans of chick peas. it cooked up pretty fast and i started on the eggplant salad. i threw the eggplants into the oven as soon as i arrived at work. i had to cut up 4 packages of herring into little tiny pieces and add hot peppers and onions. that took quite awhile.
i didn't check on them and i didn't prick them first and suddenly i heard a large boom and the oven door blew open. there was exploded eggplant all over the oven. i took the ones that hadn't exploded and mashed them and added mayonnaise and garlic. i then cleaned the oven and the oven racks. i think i might just burn the yeshiva down one day. anyway, i then opened two enormous cans of tuna and added a lot of mayonnaise. i still had to make supper for tonight. i cut up a lot of sweet potatoes into chunks and roasted them. i threw the remainder of the breakfast oatmeal into two kilos of chopped turkey, added tons of spices and five eggs and made a pretty large meatloaf.
while it baked i cooked up 5 bags of macaroni to make two different pasta salads. i added mayonnaise and curry powder to one with chopped veggies and i made an Italian dressing for the second. there was macaroni all over the place. i sliced up tomatoes and onions and added seasoning for their supper. i made a cooked beet salad yesterday. i did the washing up which took about 45 minutes and i washed the floor. i put the beef stew into the fridge and i cabbed it home. i didn't go to the market. i was too tired. i didn't have dinner. i grabbed a tuna patty from lunch and a tomato and called it a night.
i will go to the supermarket in the morning. i need a few things for Shabbat. my friend is coming over again. neither one of us wants to be alone. it is supposed to rain again. we had a pretty terrific storm before i came home; lighting and thunder, the whole package. how do those weather people know that much before hand so that they can predict the exact nature of the storm.? i will take the dogs out for their nightly outing and get back into my robe. i have been sleeping on a mattress in the t.v. room under the wall heater. i haven't felt like sleeping in the master bedroom. i will have my new tea when i return. Shabbat shalom!
Friday, December 6, 2019
Cooking Up A Storm
it is 11:30 a.m. in the holy city of safed. i got up at 6:00 a.m. to take the pooches out. it rained last night and tiny came home with mud. this red mud does not wash out . i threw out plenty of sheets last year after the winter. i hosed him off outside in the yard. he did not particularly , like this. oh well.... i just finished washing the floors. i used plenty of bleach. the floors were black. winter here is a wreck. my dishes and coffee cups from the whole week are still in the sink. i had to unclog the sink drain, which i use for meat dishes. it didn't take too long but it was a huge pain because i had to remove everything from underneath the sink. i went to the local market near work last night. i was exhausted and needed to get home fast. i wasn't sure if we were going to have more rain today and i didn't want to risk having to run out to the supermarket to buy food for shabbat ; in a storm.
i bought a large chicken to make soup. unfortunately, they were out of cilantro and celery and even, carrots. i bought a package of dill and a package of frozen carrots. i also bought a fennel root. it has the same crunch as celery. i think i bought a small gourd. the soup will be piping hot. that's the main idea. i wanted to buy a noodle kugel but i didn't have the strength to walk to the bakery. i left work at 7:00 p.m. and after eight hours on my feet, i was trashed. i had made the Friday breakfast as well as the Shabbat lunch for the yeshiva. and of course, i also made their supper, too. i bought eggs to make a kugel but i didn't buy noodles or any potatoes. i did buy a package of couscous. what can i say? i was tired and not all that focused.
i went down to the tel aviv area on Wednesday to do a CT of my lungs. half a year ago, after my routine pet scan, they thought they 'saw' something. my oncologist told me to do a CT. he wasn't having my doing it in safed, either. my medical insurance carrier wasn't going to let me do it in tel hashomer. afer all, they have a brand new machine, right here in safed hospital. i wasn't taking no for an answer and finally got my clearance form. i have learned how to play hardball with them over the years.
i cooked for about seven hours on Tuesday and left two meals for Wednesday. i took a taxi to a nearby town to catch an express bus to tel aviv. i got there in less than 21/2 hours but i still had a 50 minute bus ride to the hospital. it is about a 15 minute cab ride but the price is exorbitant. i got to the hospital about an hour or more early. i went to the small shopping maul to look around. they have an orthopedic shoe store that i like. sadly, they had nothing on sale in my size. i am a 9. i couldn't eat anything in the food court because i needed to be on a two hour fast before the CT. i drank a yogurt drink on the bus at noon. i had some oatmeal in the morning but i would have liked to have something more when i got there.
i was taken to the test relatively, on time, and was out by 4:00 p.m. i stopped back at the shopping maul to buy a fortnight monopoly game for my grandson. it was quite expensive but i know he will adore it. i plan to go there for the first night of chanukah. now i need to buy some LOL dolls for the granddaughter. are we having fun yet?
my friend will be coming over for Shabbat. i need to get the soup on. i defrosted the leftover cholent from last week and i have two giant pitas in the freezer waiting to be heated up. i bought prepared beets and cabbage salad. i have a couple of lettuces and i even bought alfalfa sprouts. i think i bought some chumus. we will be fine.
i bought a large chicken to make soup. unfortunately, they were out of cilantro and celery and even, carrots. i bought a package of dill and a package of frozen carrots. i also bought a fennel root. it has the same crunch as celery. i think i bought a small gourd. the soup will be piping hot. that's the main idea. i wanted to buy a noodle kugel but i didn't have the strength to walk to the bakery. i left work at 7:00 p.m. and after eight hours on my feet, i was trashed. i had made the Friday breakfast as well as the Shabbat lunch for the yeshiva. and of course, i also made their supper, too. i bought eggs to make a kugel but i didn't buy noodles or any potatoes. i did buy a package of couscous. what can i say? i was tired and not all that focused.
i went down to the tel aviv area on Wednesday to do a CT of my lungs. half a year ago, after my routine pet scan, they thought they 'saw' something. my oncologist told me to do a CT. he wasn't having my doing it in safed, either. my medical insurance carrier wasn't going to let me do it in tel hashomer. afer all, they have a brand new machine, right here in safed hospital. i wasn't taking no for an answer and finally got my clearance form. i have learned how to play hardball with them over the years.
i cooked for about seven hours on Tuesday and left two meals for Wednesday. i took a taxi to a nearby town to catch an express bus to tel aviv. i got there in less than 21/2 hours but i still had a 50 minute bus ride to the hospital. it is about a 15 minute cab ride but the price is exorbitant. i got to the hospital about an hour or more early. i went to the small shopping maul to look around. they have an orthopedic shoe store that i like. sadly, they had nothing on sale in my size. i am a 9. i couldn't eat anything in the food court because i needed to be on a two hour fast before the CT. i drank a yogurt drink on the bus at noon. i had some oatmeal in the morning but i would have liked to have something more when i got there.
i was taken to the test relatively, on time, and was out by 4:00 p.m. i stopped back at the shopping maul to buy a fortnight monopoly game for my grandson. it was quite expensive but i know he will adore it. i plan to go there for the first night of chanukah. now i need to buy some LOL dolls for the granddaughter. are we having fun yet?
my friend will be coming over for Shabbat. i need to get the soup on. i defrosted the leftover cholent from last week and i have two giant pitas in the freezer waiting to be heated up. i bought prepared beets and cabbage salad. i have a couple of lettuces and i even bought alfalfa sprouts. i think i bought some chumus. we will be fine.
Friday, November 29, 2019
Thanksgiving Every Day
it is 9:30 a.m. in the holy city of safed. i got up at 6:00 a.m. to take the dogs out. i ran to the supermarket at 7:30 a.m.to get challah, milk products, oats, almonds and frozen fruits. i need a shake. the gas technician was coming at 8:00 a.m. my grandkids are in safed and supposed to visit sometime this morning. i didn't think i would manage. i ran over to the bakery. not one challah was left.
i moved the gas switch from one end of the kitchen to the opposite wall. i thought that they were installing a slender copper wire about 1/4 inch.under the kitchen cabinets. i nearly plotzed when i saw the ugly yellow coated copper wiring they used which was an inch wide. it is pretty upsetting to me. i don't do changes well but this blew my mind. i thought the wiring wouldn't be seen. well, i thought wrong. i also didn't notice the color of the stove that i bought. they didn't have any white ones. i bought a silver colored oven. i didn't realize that the bottom was shiny blue. there is a tiny sliver of a drawer on the bottom.
i had a gas balloon in my shed and apparently, this is not allowed anymore. the kitchen is downstairs and a guest apartment, at this time. I'm glad that i don't need to look at it every day. the man said i could paint the plastic coating white. I'm thinking about painting it silver or gold; just one more thing to add to my list of projects to do sometime. my friend 'sponsored' the new stove. it is also pretty ugly. the selection was pretty limited and i didn't want to spend a lot of her money. it didn't even come with a rubber hose to insert into the gas nob. i am not a consumer. i hate to shop. i never buy online and i hate stores. i guess i could have gone to another store but i had very limited time to do this.
i am dead tired in the morning and i can't get myself together until around noon. i then go straight to work until around 6:00-7:00 p.m. i can hardly drag my tired old body to the bus. i usually take a taxi home. i get home and rush to take the dogs out. i give them leftover food from the yeshiva and i usually grab something to eat. last night i missed supper. i don't eat after 7:30 p.m. and i got home at 8:15 p.m. i wasn't really hungry. i ate a ton of scrambled eggs from the breakfast meal. i got pretty sick in the evening and didn't know if i could finish cooking.
i made falafel balls, salads, tahini and frozen fires for their lunch. i made the usual, 30 boiled eggs and cut veggies for their Friday breakfast and pasta salad for their lunch. i made eggplant salad, tahini, tuna salad, and quinoa salad for their Shabbat lunch; as well as a beef stew that stands all night on the platter. i was planning on making a ground turkey stir fry with rice for their supper last night. one of the yeshiva guys told me that they wanted to make stuffing. i guess they felt homesick for thanksgiving. it really isn't celebrated much, here.
i told the guys that i could make a stuffing. it really isn't that much harder than making a meatloaf; except for the dicing and sautéing of the onions and celery. i took a loaf of bread and slightly toasted it. i threw in a small bag of craisins. i made a broth out of the water from the bag of cholent meat, that i parboiled and added some celery leaves, parsley, onions and carrots. i didn't have any turkey spices like rosemary, thyme, or sage but the parsley worked well. i added a bit too much broth but the guys were stoked and very satiated. i made garlic roasted potatoes, sweet carrot kugel with cinnamon and corn salad and the guys had a taste of thanksgiving.
we had a water outage for a couple of hours so cleanup was very long and exhausting. when i saw that the water was merely trickling out, i ran outside to fill up several pots. i had the exact amount to finish up the cooking but nothing left to wash the pots and serving bowls and utensils. i finished working at 7:45 p.m. i caught a cab home and passed out for a few hours. i fell asleep on the very uncomfortable t.v. couch with my legs dangling over the edge. i didn't do a 10:00 p.m. dog run. i couldn't move. the dogs didn't seem to care. the little one made in the house but the big one didn't.
i am not making Shabbat food today. i will go to the in-laws for dinner and catch my friends at shul. the kids are here now and doing their own thing. i haven't eaten yet. i want to make banana almond flour muffins and a fruit shake. i bought oats and chopped blanched almonds to grind into flour. all is well.
i moved the gas switch from one end of the kitchen to the opposite wall. i thought that they were installing a slender copper wire about 1/4 inch.under the kitchen cabinets. i nearly plotzed when i saw the ugly yellow coated copper wiring they used which was an inch wide. it is pretty upsetting to me. i don't do changes well but this blew my mind. i thought the wiring wouldn't be seen. well, i thought wrong. i also didn't notice the color of the stove that i bought. they didn't have any white ones. i bought a silver colored oven. i didn't realize that the bottom was shiny blue. there is a tiny sliver of a drawer on the bottom.
i had a gas balloon in my shed and apparently, this is not allowed anymore. the kitchen is downstairs and a guest apartment, at this time. I'm glad that i don't need to look at it every day. the man said i could paint the plastic coating white. I'm thinking about painting it silver or gold; just one more thing to add to my list of projects to do sometime. my friend 'sponsored' the new stove. it is also pretty ugly. the selection was pretty limited and i didn't want to spend a lot of her money. it didn't even come with a rubber hose to insert into the gas nob. i am not a consumer. i hate to shop. i never buy online and i hate stores. i guess i could have gone to another store but i had very limited time to do this.
i am dead tired in the morning and i can't get myself together until around noon. i then go straight to work until around 6:00-7:00 p.m. i can hardly drag my tired old body to the bus. i usually take a taxi home. i get home and rush to take the dogs out. i give them leftover food from the yeshiva and i usually grab something to eat. last night i missed supper. i don't eat after 7:30 p.m. and i got home at 8:15 p.m. i wasn't really hungry. i ate a ton of scrambled eggs from the breakfast meal. i got pretty sick in the evening and didn't know if i could finish cooking.
i made falafel balls, salads, tahini and frozen fires for their lunch. i made the usual, 30 boiled eggs and cut veggies for their Friday breakfast and pasta salad for their lunch. i made eggplant salad, tahini, tuna salad, and quinoa salad for their Shabbat lunch; as well as a beef stew that stands all night on the platter. i was planning on making a ground turkey stir fry with rice for their supper last night. one of the yeshiva guys told me that they wanted to make stuffing. i guess they felt homesick for thanksgiving. it really isn't celebrated much, here.
i told the guys that i could make a stuffing. it really isn't that much harder than making a meatloaf; except for the dicing and sautéing of the onions and celery. i took a loaf of bread and slightly toasted it. i threw in a small bag of craisins. i made a broth out of the water from the bag of cholent meat, that i parboiled and added some celery leaves, parsley, onions and carrots. i didn't have any turkey spices like rosemary, thyme, or sage but the parsley worked well. i added a bit too much broth but the guys were stoked and very satiated. i made garlic roasted potatoes, sweet carrot kugel with cinnamon and corn salad and the guys had a taste of thanksgiving.
we had a water outage for a couple of hours so cleanup was very long and exhausting. when i saw that the water was merely trickling out, i ran outside to fill up several pots. i had the exact amount to finish up the cooking but nothing left to wash the pots and serving bowls and utensils. i finished working at 7:45 p.m. i caught a cab home and passed out for a few hours. i fell asleep on the very uncomfortable t.v. couch with my legs dangling over the edge. i didn't do a 10:00 p.m. dog run. i couldn't move. the dogs didn't seem to care. the little one made in the house but the big one didn't.
i am not making Shabbat food today. i will go to the in-laws for dinner and catch my friends at shul. the kids are here now and doing their own thing. i haven't eaten yet. i want to make banana almond flour muffins and a fruit shake. i bought oats and chopped blanched almonds to grind into flour. all is well.
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Still Tired In Safed
it is 7:00 a.m. in the holy city of safed. i just got back from my morning walk with the dogs. i didn't run into any other four legged creatures this morning. tiny pulls me and kicks mud on my feet and teeny cuts in front of tiny and nearly trips me every time. it is ridiculous. i look like a crazy lady walking two dogs. i go out in my track suit, which i sleep in, with a long robe over it. i am too tired to get into a skirt in the morning. they wake me up every day around 6:00 a.m. today they started nudging me at 5:00ish. i couldn't get up. i finally took them out at 5:45 a.m. we were out for a while today.
i got home from work at 7:00 p.m. last night. it is quite cold and extremely windy here. i have been taking taxi's to work and back every day. i am planning on going to Jerusalem for a few days to see the kids. i haven't seen the grandkids since Rosh Hashanah. i have a few treats and some toys to schlepp with me. i always buy a few things for each time they visit. since they cancelled twice, i have a small take on bag filled with goodies.
my house is a wreck. i ran out of floor cleaner. i still haven't bought a new shower head. the pigeons are back upstairs on the veranda and i think i have a rat in the hallway. i just haven't found the time to get to the hardware store. i am going to try this morning. who knows? i just might get it together to go to town before work. i have to do my dishes and wash the floors. i need to cook 4 meals today because I'm travelling tomorrow. i am a bit anxious. i haven't been to Jerusalem in a long while. i am not always received so well when i come for Shabbat. the kids are always pressured. of course, the grandkids can't wait to see me. this time i am needed to baby sit while the parents go out, so i will be quite the welcomed guest.
yesterday, i found a pot of cooked squash in the fridge from the night before; untouched by the students. i blended the squash and added onions and fresh tomatoes and made a huge pot of tomato soup for lunch. i added soy milk to give it a creamier texture. the squash looks here looks like zucchini but the texture is like pumpkin and the inside is quite bitter and very fibrous. it needs a lot of cooking. i have been using it for cakes and kugels. i also made some corn fritters and a challah bread pudding to go with the soup for lunch. there was plenty of cut up veggies from breakfast so i added an onion and made a light dressing. some of the guys have been skipping lunch but by dinner time the leftovers are all gone.
i made shepherd's pies for their supper and a container of very spicy beets. first, i tried to pickle them. my friend sent me the recipe. she said it took around two hours. about a half an hour before i left, they were still pretty crunchy so i boiled them for awhile. i like crunchy veggies but I'm not so sure the guys do. i also made a carrot kugel and a corn bread for today. i usually make a vegan cornbread but yesterday, i had no time to play around and so i added eggs. there are 20 students and one vegan and the vegan will be leaving soon, so I'm taking it a bit easy. actually, there is nothing easy about the job. the clean up takes about an hour and my hands are wrecked and my legs hurt.
i have a lot of cooking to do this morning. i am planning on making couscous and veggies for lunch and stuffed peppers and rice for dinner. i plan on serving the corn bread tonight. i froze it so it would be fresh for today. i will make a mushroom and barley soup for lunch tomorrow and serve the carrot kugel. i think i will make a meatloaf for Thursday's supper and make carrots and sweet potatoes for a side dish. i might also make a bit of pasta. i also need to make a cake for their afternoon moshiach class. yesterday, a student asked me to bake cookies or cakes every day for that class. i blew him off. i then compromised and told him that on Thursdays, i would serve a cake.
i won't be back on sunday evening to make their dinner so the manager can make pasta and hot dogs. i will be returning on Monday morning at noon time. i hope to get to see my friend on Friday morning for brunch. she has a root canal on sunday so i doubt that she will be up for meeting for coffee. the kids will be at school so Friday morning is the best time to meet. my son asked me to come around 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. usually, i am told not to come there before 7:00 p.m. the daughter-in-law does a frantic apartment cleaning after work and she doesn't tolerate foot prints. i do as I'm told. life is grand!
12:00 p.m. i just got off the roof fop veranda. it was a bad scene. at least 4 or 5 pigeons were roosting. i went into action immediately. i searched the house for plastic ties, the ones they tie up prisoners with. i couldn't find them or the bamboo twine that i used for sukkot. i searched everywhere for string. i finally found some elastic in my sewing kit and i spent two hours tightening the mesh around the bars. i hope this will at least slow them down until i return home on Monday. are we having fun yet? now i got to get to work.
i got home from work at 7:00 p.m. last night. it is quite cold and extremely windy here. i have been taking taxi's to work and back every day. i am planning on going to Jerusalem for a few days to see the kids. i haven't seen the grandkids since Rosh Hashanah. i have a few treats and some toys to schlepp with me. i always buy a few things for each time they visit. since they cancelled twice, i have a small take on bag filled with goodies.
my house is a wreck. i ran out of floor cleaner. i still haven't bought a new shower head. the pigeons are back upstairs on the veranda and i think i have a rat in the hallway. i just haven't found the time to get to the hardware store. i am going to try this morning. who knows? i just might get it together to go to town before work. i have to do my dishes and wash the floors. i need to cook 4 meals today because I'm travelling tomorrow. i am a bit anxious. i haven't been to Jerusalem in a long while. i am not always received so well when i come for Shabbat. the kids are always pressured. of course, the grandkids can't wait to see me. this time i am needed to baby sit while the parents go out, so i will be quite the welcomed guest.
yesterday, i found a pot of cooked squash in the fridge from the night before; untouched by the students. i blended the squash and added onions and fresh tomatoes and made a huge pot of tomato soup for lunch. i added soy milk to give it a creamier texture. the squash looks here looks like zucchini but the texture is like pumpkin and the inside is quite bitter and very fibrous. it needs a lot of cooking. i have been using it for cakes and kugels. i also made some corn fritters and a challah bread pudding to go with the soup for lunch. there was plenty of cut up veggies from breakfast so i added an onion and made a light dressing. some of the guys have been skipping lunch but by dinner time the leftovers are all gone.
i made shepherd's pies for their supper and a container of very spicy beets. first, i tried to pickle them. my friend sent me the recipe. she said it took around two hours. about a half an hour before i left, they were still pretty crunchy so i boiled them for awhile. i like crunchy veggies but I'm not so sure the guys do. i also made a carrot kugel and a corn bread for today. i usually make a vegan cornbread but yesterday, i had no time to play around and so i added eggs. there are 20 students and one vegan and the vegan will be leaving soon, so I'm taking it a bit easy. actually, there is nothing easy about the job. the clean up takes about an hour and my hands are wrecked and my legs hurt.
i have a lot of cooking to do this morning. i am planning on making couscous and veggies for lunch and stuffed peppers and rice for dinner. i plan on serving the corn bread tonight. i froze it so it would be fresh for today. i will make a mushroom and barley soup for lunch tomorrow and serve the carrot kugel. i think i will make a meatloaf for Thursday's supper and make carrots and sweet potatoes for a side dish. i might also make a bit of pasta. i also need to make a cake for their afternoon moshiach class. yesterday, a student asked me to bake cookies or cakes every day for that class. i blew him off. i then compromised and told him that on Thursdays, i would serve a cake.
i won't be back on sunday evening to make their dinner so the manager can make pasta and hot dogs. i will be returning on Monday morning at noon time. i hope to get to see my friend on Friday morning for brunch. she has a root canal on sunday so i doubt that she will be up for meeting for coffee. the kids will be at school so Friday morning is the best time to meet. my son asked me to come around 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. usually, i am told not to come there before 7:00 p.m. the daughter-in-law does a frantic apartment cleaning after work and she doesn't tolerate foot prints. i do as I'm told. life is grand!
12:00 p.m. i just got off the roof fop veranda. it was a bad scene. at least 4 or 5 pigeons were roosting. i went into action immediately. i searched the house for plastic ties, the ones they tie up prisoners with. i couldn't find them or the bamboo twine that i used for sukkot. i searched everywhere for string. i finally found some elastic in my sewing kit and i spent two hours tightening the mesh around the bars. i hope this will at least slow them down until i return home on Monday. are we having fun yet? now i got to get to work.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Alll Alone By The telephone
it is 6:30 a.m. in the holy city of safed. i just got back from walking the dogs. tiny woke me up at 5:50 a.m. he didn't wake me up yesterday because i had accidently locked him out on the bedroom veranda. it is getting harder each day to keep track of these two dogs. someone is getting locked in a room each day. the puppy, aka, teeny, ran off during our stroll. she ran into the street and nearly got hit by a car. it was a tense few minutes. i am glad to be back home. my throat hurts because i kept yelling for her to return to me. i am not good at raising dogs. they never listen to me. i give out desperate vibes to them, i guess.
i came home from work yesterday in a bad way. i had worked roughly seven hours and had not taken a break to drink, eat or even, pee. i felt like i might collapse. i borrowed money to get a taxi. i walked down the street from the yeshiva and found one. i noticed that i was not walking exactly, in a straight line. i thought that maybe, the brain tumor was kicking in. when i got home i couldn't find the fifty shekel note that i had borrowed. i felt just dreadful. i thought that i had lost it in the street. i had a vague memory of putting it in my pocketbook. i was so tired and nervous at that moment. the driver gave me his phone number and told me to pay him another time. he was such a mensch.
i got inside and searched every nook and cranny of my pocketbook. i finally found the money in the slot where you insert credit cards. i never, ever, put money there. i called the driver back and he was luckily, still in the area. i was relieved to pay him before Shabbat. fifty shekels is really not a lot of money but i earn only thirty shekels an hour. i have to stand on my feet and cook for an hour to pay for a ten minute taxi ride. some economics, heh!
i got inside and i needed to sit down. i also needed to pee and i also needed to have a cup of tea. the dogs wanted to go out but they also wanted some people food. i put on my Australian cooking contest and went to the kitchen to boil up some hot dogs and some instant mini sweet potato raviolis. i was ready to have a non gluten roll with my hot dogs but i decided to eat a few raviolis instead. i haven't really eaten any pasta in a while. i sat down on the couch and had a cup of tea. when the show ended, i took the dogs out for their nightly stroll. i felt pretty strange. my legs hurt and my right leg felt like wood. my head was tingling and my ears were ringing.
i needed to make a few phone calls but i couldn't concentrate to find the numbers in my phone book. i was zapped. i think i fell asleep on my t.v. couch. i can't remember when. i called my son somewhere in between, to check if they were coming to safed for Shabbat. i needed to buy some veggies and fruits for the Shabbat lunch. as it turns out, they aren't coming . the Sephardi grandparents and three of my daughter-in-laws siblings went down to Jerusalem for Shabbat to be with them. this is monumental. i was planning on going there next Shabbat, as i have an off Shabbat at the yeshiva and don't need to cook their Shabbat lunch. i hope i am still welcome to visit. i haven't seen the grandkids since Rosh Hashanah.
i got to work yesterday at 12:30 p.m. i immediately, threw the eggplants into the oven to make a spread for their shabbat lunch. i put up about 30 eggs to boil for their Friday lunch. i quickly started to cook a large pot of pea soup for their lunch. i also prepared about 6 pounds of sliced potatoes with turmeric for the lunch and roasted a bunch of zucchini, too. i cooked a small amount of carrots to prepare a sweet carrot kugel for their dinner. i cooked up a large pot of rice for their supper. i was planning on making turkey burgers. i also cooked up three bags of pasta to make an oriental pasta salad for their Friday lunch. i cooked up a pot of beets with vinegar and turmeric for their Shabbat lunch. i made a cucumber and onion salad to go with lunch and set out the potatoes, zucchini, pea soup and salad in the lunch room at 2:15 p.m. i had brought some leftover cake that i had frozen, for the guys. it wasn't much but they devoured it. one was a chocolate yeast cake and the other was a spelt carrot cake that i had made for sukkot. i tasted the chocolate icing. it was very tasty.
at 4:00 p.m. i checked to see if there was any leftovers from lunch. there was a small amount of soup left and i put it in the freezer. i thought that i would take it home on sunday for my dinner. i started to make the beef cholent stew for their Shabbat lunch and i cooked a package of quinoa to make a salad for their Shabbat lunch. i opened two industrial sized cans of tuna and added a bunch of mayonnaise for their Shabbat lunch and i blended the baked eggplant and made a salad. i usually add tahini and lemon juice but i didn't have the patience to open up a container and whisk up some tahini sauce. i added mayonnaise, instead. i had tons of pots and pans and bowls to wash. i looked up at the clock and it was already close to six and i hadn't made the hamburgers yet. i was feeling desperate.
i scrambled to do the washing up. i frantically washed all of the pots and serving utensils and bowls that i had used all day. i threw soapy water on the floor. i threw all of the turkey mince into a large skillet and added every spice i had and an onion and some tomato paste and sautéed it all up i then incorporated it into the rice; leaving a portion of plain rice for the vegan. and voila! i finished supper for them. i quickly washed down the counters and stove top and mopped the floor. i cut up some veggies for their Friday breakfast and put the carrot kugel and rice and turkey 'stir fry 'on the electric hot plate for their supper. i then left and caught a taxi to go home.
i need to go down to the supermarket to get a few things for my Shabbat. i need challah rolls and fruit. i haven't had a fruit shake in days. i need to lie down for a bit. i feel a bit shaky. my eyes are burning. i will probably be lone for Shabbat. i hope i get to the synagogue for services. i haven't made it out for the past two sabbats. wishing you all a Shabbat shalom!
i came home from work yesterday in a bad way. i had worked roughly seven hours and had not taken a break to drink, eat or even, pee. i felt like i might collapse. i borrowed money to get a taxi. i walked down the street from the yeshiva and found one. i noticed that i was not walking exactly, in a straight line. i thought that maybe, the brain tumor was kicking in. when i got home i couldn't find the fifty shekel note that i had borrowed. i felt just dreadful. i thought that i had lost it in the street. i had a vague memory of putting it in my pocketbook. i was so tired and nervous at that moment. the driver gave me his phone number and told me to pay him another time. he was such a mensch.
i got inside and searched every nook and cranny of my pocketbook. i finally found the money in the slot where you insert credit cards. i never, ever, put money there. i called the driver back and he was luckily, still in the area. i was relieved to pay him before Shabbat. fifty shekels is really not a lot of money but i earn only thirty shekels an hour. i have to stand on my feet and cook for an hour to pay for a ten minute taxi ride. some economics, heh!
i got inside and i needed to sit down. i also needed to pee and i also needed to have a cup of tea. the dogs wanted to go out but they also wanted some people food. i put on my Australian cooking contest and went to the kitchen to boil up some hot dogs and some instant mini sweet potato raviolis. i was ready to have a non gluten roll with my hot dogs but i decided to eat a few raviolis instead. i haven't really eaten any pasta in a while. i sat down on the couch and had a cup of tea. when the show ended, i took the dogs out for their nightly stroll. i felt pretty strange. my legs hurt and my right leg felt like wood. my head was tingling and my ears were ringing.
i needed to make a few phone calls but i couldn't concentrate to find the numbers in my phone book. i was zapped. i think i fell asleep on my t.v. couch. i can't remember when. i called my son somewhere in between, to check if they were coming to safed for Shabbat. i needed to buy some veggies and fruits for the Shabbat lunch. as it turns out, they aren't coming . the Sephardi grandparents and three of my daughter-in-laws siblings went down to Jerusalem for Shabbat to be with them. this is monumental. i was planning on going there next Shabbat, as i have an off Shabbat at the yeshiva and don't need to cook their Shabbat lunch. i hope i am still welcome to visit. i haven't seen the grandkids since Rosh Hashanah.
i got to work yesterday at 12:30 p.m. i immediately, threw the eggplants into the oven to make a spread for their shabbat lunch. i put up about 30 eggs to boil for their Friday lunch. i quickly started to cook a large pot of pea soup for their lunch. i also prepared about 6 pounds of sliced potatoes with turmeric for the lunch and roasted a bunch of zucchini, too. i cooked a small amount of carrots to prepare a sweet carrot kugel for their dinner. i cooked up a large pot of rice for their supper. i was planning on making turkey burgers. i also cooked up three bags of pasta to make an oriental pasta salad for their Friday lunch. i cooked up a pot of beets with vinegar and turmeric for their Shabbat lunch. i made a cucumber and onion salad to go with lunch and set out the potatoes, zucchini, pea soup and salad in the lunch room at 2:15 p.m. i had brought some leftover cake that i had frozen, for the guys. it wasn't much but they devoured it. one was a chocolate yeast cake and the other was a spelt carrot cake that i had made for sukkot. i tasted the chocolate icing. it was very tasty.
at 4:00 p.m. i checked to see if there was any leftovers from lunch. there was a small amount of soup left and i put it in the freezer. i thought that i would take it home on sunday for my dinner. i started to make the beef cholent stew for their Shabbat lunch and i cooked a package of quinoa to make a salad for their Shabbat lunch. i opened two industrial sized cans of tuna and added a bunch of mayonnaise for their Shabbat lunch and i blended the baked eggplant and made a salad. i usually add tahini and lemon juice but i didn't have the patience to open up a container and whisk up some tahini sauce. i added mayonnaise, instead. i had tons of pots and pans and bowls to wash. i looked up at the clock and it was already close to six and i hadn't made the hamburgers yet. i was feeling desperate.
i scrambled to do the washing up. i frantically washed all of the pots and serving utensils and bowls that i had used all day. i threw soapy water on the floor. i threw all of the turkey mince into a large skillet and added every spice i had and an onion and some tomato paste and sautéed it all up i then incorporated it into the rice; leaving a portion of plain rice for the vegan. and voila! i finished supper for them. i quickly washed down the counters and stove top and mopped the floor. i cut up some veggies for their Friday breakfast and put the carrot kugel and rice and turkey 'stir fry 'on the electric hot plate for their supper. i then left and caught a taxi to go home.
i need to go down to the supermarket to get a few things for my Shabbat. i need challah rolls and fruit. i haven't had a fruit shake in days. i need to lie down for a bit. i feel a bit shaky. my eyes are burning. i will probably be lone for Shabbat. i hope i get to the synagogue for services. i haven't made it out for the past two sabbats. wishing you all a Shabbat shalom!
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Still Getting It Together
it is 10:30 a.m. in the holy city of safed. I got the dogs walked at 6:00 a.m. right now they are lounging in the sun outside in the yard. tiny is still secured on a cable. I'm sure that they are wanting some people food but I will wait to feed them when I return from work. they can always have dog kibble if they are hungry. I started tackling a huge pile of papers on my kitchen table. I sorted out the paid bills and doctor's reports. I paid the water bill online. that was a small accomplishment. I needed to go to the family doctor last week to get the paper work done for my upcoming lung CT in December.
apparently, enemy missiles are being fired on tel aviv; as well as other southern regions. I guess I can always reschedule the CT. I will wait in the meantime to see how this plays out. I went through my medical folder and weeded out the numerous referral forms. I also chucked a folder of my parent's Aliyah papers. it was a bit difficult but they have both been gone for over ten years. I think less is more these days. I used to save all of my paid bills but I started throwing them out,too. my recent mantra is "throw it out". I found an old picture of myself in Hebrew school back in the 60's. I guess. it is amazing how I always thought that I was a chubby teen. I have always hated my 'fat' arms, too. looking at the picture, I realize, that I was quite trim and that my arms were actually, slender. so much for body imaging.
my 'cholent' remade into barley soup; turned out to be a big success. yesterday I made a couscous soup but because we didn't have any couscous on board; I blended it and called it pumpkin orange soup. I think that I was dehydrated yesterday. I felt quite awful when I finally got myself out of bed. I was feeling dizzy for a few days and after I took the dogs for their run; I collapsed back into bed. I felt fluish again. I don't know how I made it to work. I had to take the dog to the vet to check on her recovery from being neutered. I spent about $25 in taxis. I left work at 6:00 p.m. and taxied back home to get the puppy. it was cold and very windy. I couldn't deal with waiting for the busses. and of course, i wanted to catch my Australian cooking contest.
i taxied it home to pick up the puppy and went straight to the clinic. it was pretty cool outside and very windy. I was nervous about taking the puppy on a bus. she can be a handful. she started chasing cats the other day and now yipes and barks at other dogs. she still gets into the bathroom and runs off with multiple rolls of toilet paper. she loves to shred them. i am constantly retrieving half rolls. I truly adore this puppy. my 4 year old, tiny the medium sized dog, has regressed and jumps onto my lap like a puppy. the real puppy is catching on about toilet training,now.
i am still making my fruit shakes with frozen fruits and enjoying my homemade almond flour banana muffins in the morning. also, i am still doing the intermittent fasting regimen. i finish all food consumption at about 7:30 p.m. i haven't lost a lot of weight but my clothes are definitely looser. the waistbands of my skirts are also looser and my stomach no longer looks like a basketball. i don't look pregnant anymore. I am aiming to hit the hardware store this morning and buy a new shower spray. who knows? i might just achieve this. baby steps, right?
apparently, enemy missiles are being fired on tel aviv; as well as other southern regions. I guess I can always reschedule the CT. I will wait in the meantime to see how this plays out. I went through my medical folder and weeded out the numerous referral forms. I also chucked a folder of my parent's Aliyah papers. it was a bit difficult but they have both been gone for over ten years. I think less is more these days. I used to save all of my paid bills but I started throwing them out,too. my recent mantra is "throw it out". I found an old picture of myself in Hebrew school back in the 60's. I guess. it is amazing how I always thought that I was a chubby teen. I have always hated my 'fat' arms, too. looking at the picture, I realize, that I was quite trim and that my arms were actually, slender. so much for body imaging.
my 'cholent' remade into barley soup; turned out to be a big success. yesterday I made a couscous soup but because we didn't have any couscous on board; I blended it and called it pumpkin orange soup. I think that I was dehydrated yesterday. I felt quite awful when I finally got myself out of bed. I was feeling dizzy for a few days and after I took the dogs for their run; I collapsed back into bed. I felt fluish again. I don't know how I made it to work. I had to take the dog to the vet to check on her recovery from being neutered. I spent about $25 in taxis. I left work at 6:00 p.m. and taxied back home to get the puppy. it was cold and very windy. I couldn't deal with waiting for the busses. and of course, i wanted to catch my Australian cooking contest.
i taxied it home to pick up the puppy and went straight to the clinic. it was pretty cool outside and very windy. I was nervous about taking the puppy on a bus. she can be a handful. she started chasing cats the other day and now yipes and barks at other dogs. she still gets into the bathroom and runs off with multiple rolls of toilet paper. she loves to shred them. i am constantly retrieving half rolls. I truly adore this puppy. my 4 year old, tiny the medium sized dog, has regressed and jumps onto my lap like a puppy. the real puppy is catching on about toilet training,now.
i am still making my fruit shakes with frozen fruits and enjoying my homemade almond flour banana muffins in the morning. also, i am still doing the intermittent fasting regimen. i finish all food consumption at about 7:30 p.m. i haven't lost a lot of weight but my clothes are definitely looser. the waistbands of my skirts are also looser and my stomach no longer looks like a basketball. i don't look pregnant anymore. I am aiming to hit the hardware store this morning and buy a new shower spray. who knows? i might just achieve this. baby steps, right?
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