Rejected!

Beta has rejected Shiloh Musings. After all of my refusals and rants, as you know I finally had to sign up this blog.

And now I'm embarrassed to admit that my fears were for nought. There's even one thing which is very different, and I love it! It's the spellcheck.

Nu? What's the problem you ask? You do, don't you?

Beta can't handle the larger blogs, those with over 1,000 posts. When they can, they'll call.

Yes, just call me muse!

A "muse" is an inspiration, so since Fred has used my photos for his works of art, that me his "muse," right? I just knew that I had chosen the right name for blogging.

I had a good time at the pool today. My neighbor called me at 6:15 to ask if I wanted to go early with her. By 7am, we were on our way. It's my day off, and I like to take it easy. A leisurely time in the pool is taking it easy for me. While talking to a fellow "granny," we were bemoaning how hard it is to lose weight at our age.

"It goes up so easily; nothing goes down." she said

"Of course things go down." I answered. "Our height goes down; we shrink from osteoporosis."

I also heard praise of the chessed, kindness here in Israel. One of her children has "special needs," and she praised the help she gets. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to cope. They moved to Jerusalem, since they found a better school than where they were before. It's nice to hear something good for a change. The political situation is so horrendous that sometimes it's hard to remember how much good there is here.

There's a nice post about caring on Nuch Epes A Chosid.

I hope you're sitting in a room that's warmer than this one is! My fingers are frozen!

and s'more visiting

I never quite finished last night...

Marallyn having one of those winter days...

NYC Educator rants about the unaffordability of housing.

Is a hotel Pesach a real Pesach? That's what the Pragmaticion is asking. There are many Jews being raised who know no other.

The Baleboosteh isn't sleeping well alone with their three precious stones when hubby is in hospital. Refuah Shleimah!

The Modern Uberdox reflects on blogging after a two week break.

Stacy found a Jew at Costco.

And I just found a "new for me jblog," jew-ish by someone in the process of becoming a Jew. Read about the thoughts in choosing a new name. Actually, the name I use is one I "chose myself." I guess I ought to blog about it sometime.

I didn't mention it, but now I will. My husband was away for two days.

Cosmic X has some bad, but expected news. Shmitta is coming, and it's going to be tougher for many of us. Gevalt.

I just got a call that I have an early ride to the pool! Must get ready!

So try visiting all these nice blogs and send my regards please. Just mention that the muse sent you!

some quick visits

I haven't done much blog-visiting recently. Let's see how much I can do before my husband finishes dinner and wants to catch up on his emails, blogging etc.

Did you know that the weather isn't always "vacation perfect" in Hawaii? Poor Wendy!

Moze marches "Shvil Yisrael" to Tel Aviv. Wow, that's strange; I thought it was a European city.

~Sarah~ also switched! Not quite as traumatic as we had thought, right? Though my Shiloh Musings is still "old."

Judeopundit writes about Canada's giving more aid to the "P.A."

Akiva reminds us that "avenge" isn't a dirty word.

A book review from SWFM on "Doesn't Anyone Blush Anymore?"

And an important note from Mrs. Bagel Blogger. Send a refuah shleimah to our favorite BB, and don't forget to send your jpix-jblog links. submit your photos

That's it for now!

PS Can't forget to post something jblog new for me. Clever words from cute kids in the Golan.

dumb moves

Talking about dumb moves, while I was waiting for these pictures to load--I'm not the type to watch the water boil--I walked out in the rain, sans jacket and umbrella, just to throw out some garbage.

The top picture was taken on one of my "walks around the neighborhood." Strange what you can see and a good reason to always be armed with a camera. Other than what you can see in the shot, I have no commentary. Provide your own, and let me know in the comments.

About the bottom picture...

You'd think I'd know better after 36 years here in Israel. Foolishly I had let the morning sun trick me into thinking that it was a perfect laundry day. I didn't even check the yahoo weather forecast. Yes, I took the picture this morning, the same morning I walked out "unprotected" in the rain. The good news is that it's a good excuse to have the heater on all day. The bad news, besides the mess, is that the laundry blocks the heat from being felt all over the room and house.

CONTEST: Extra credit for anyone who can name the movie I've been watching! Hint! That's not the main star on my screen.

Tu B'Shvat cheer and Memories

Watch that almond tree grow and bloom!
thanks to Sara Layah

When we lived in Bayit V'Gan, Jerusalem, there was a large, old almond tree in an empty lot right near our apartment. Every year between Rosh Chodesh Shvat and Tu B'Shvat the gannim, nursery schools used to walk over to see the flowers blooming. It was a "neighborhood institution."

The winter before we left they started construction in that lot. The contractor destroyed the tree. People of all ages came from all over the neighborhood to protest and even cry.

"Hashkaidiya porachat," the blooming almond tree has never seemed the same to me since then.

Black out!

Last night we suffered black outs!
It had become stormy and very windy, and suddenly very very dark, inside and out! Eventually, we got tired of seeing the computer and TV go off, and we just went to sleep a bit early.

Now, I couldn't quite say that the sun is shining, not because of the early hour, but simply, because everything's all grey and wet. It is winter in Israel, and it's supposed to rain, even if it interferes with our selfish pleasures. If it doesn't rain enough in the winter, we won't have water, not for drinking, washing, agriculture, swimming etc.

The 24 hour yarzteit candle is still burning in the bathroom.

But there are other things to blog about, like the latest Carnival of Recipes, with a great variety of winter recipes. They were nice enough to include my reminder, hint! hint! for the Kosher Cooking Carnival.

That was a good idea!

Life of Rubin put together a great Havel Havelim in... alphabetical order!
That really was a good idea!

When I was reading it I got a great jblog brainstorm! Of course, being the computer klutz I am, I can't do it myself, but I'm sure one of the brilliant html-graphics mavens can. What we need is a sidebar "doodad" listing the latest jblog carnivals, like HH and of course the Kosher Cooking Carnival and the soon to be debuted Jpix--the Carnival. It should be something like the one I have up by Blog Carnival. That means that it should also have a link for submissions and contacting the organizer.

Nu? What do you say?

I admit that...

...there's something else, besides a better spellcheck in beta...

I don't have to do word verification when I comment on my own blog, if I'm signed-in to my own blog.

Re- the labels; I wonder what good they will do.

Time now for lunch, homedone-manicure and maybe a little cleaning before going to work.

I gave in!

Just call me a wimp!

I'll tell you what happened. I just decided,

this is only a blog, it's
not worth getting all hysterical about. You know, it's not life and death,
just a bloody blog, if you'll excuse my language!

I just hope that beta has a beta spellcheck!

So far, it seems pretty similar.

You have to choose your battles wisely, and I decided not to fight this one. So, I guess when they start stopping me from oldblogging Shiloh Musings, I'll switch.

I guess resuming my walking with a friend this morning put me in a more rational state of mind.

PS The spellcheck is better in beta!

Two month countdown

full freezer, originally uploaded by shilohmuse.

Well it's two months before Pesach/Passover, and the freezer is too full for an empty nest like ours.

It's the perfect time to post about creative cooking.

Please send me the links for the KOSHER COOKING CARNIVAL. All the info is on the sidebar. Posting via flickr has its limitations. Plain text only! (I'm going to have to give in and sign up for beta if there's no improvement! Otherwise posting will be a total nightmare; though I do have a "plan b" for non-beta posting.)

While you're at it, scroll down a few posts and find the announcement about the new jblog pix carnival.

With this format, I can't do my jblog visiting. Sorry.

The KCC is more than a recipe carnival. It includes everything about Kosher Cooking and Kashrut, including:
halachik issues
restaurant and book reviews (kosher of course)
traditions
memories, funny stories, etc

Please send your links to: shilohmuse at yahoo dot com, or use the blog carnival link on the sidebar

almost finishing the roof

building, originally uploaded by shilohmuse.

My kitchen window and merpeset (terrace) have the perfect bird's eye view of the house under construction, across the street.

It used to be our view of the Valley of Shiloh, the same one mentioned in the Bible. This was the season that the valley sometimes appeared to be a lake of clouds.

As much as I'll miss the old view, I've really enjoyed watching the house sprout up right in front of me. Soon the outside will be complete, and then all that will be left will be inside "finishing" and the garden. I'm sure my neighbor will be planting a garden. We never did much with ours. Unfortunately, the garden wasn't part of our "vision." Our neighbors suffer, because we ruin the beauty of the neighborhood.

ps This posting via flickr is one of the alternate posting methods I'm using since blogger isn't letting me post on "old blogger" this morning. I guess I'll have to "cave in."

They're making me a nervous wreck!

Recently I can't be sure if I'll be able to blog. The beta forces are after me to convert! It's, le'havdil, (ok different) like during the Spanish Inquisition. I do feel persecuted.

sometimes when I sign in, they won't let me continue in "old blogger." I keep trying to return, and they send me through a dark path.

Before Shabbat I felt like I was at war.

I have two alternate ideas up my sleeve. I presume that at some time I'll give in and go beta, but it will be under duress.

Could someone please tell me what it's all about? Have they upgraded "things" and the improvement isn't compatible with the "old blogger?" So is it that they're running "parallel operations?"

If they give some sort of intelligent reason, it would be one thing, but I don't like their ad campaign. I feel like they're trying to run me over.

That car in the picture wasn't trying to run me over. It just got in the way of the pre-sunset I was photographing. It's a really big, heavy bullet-proofed car. It's so big, that four of us sat in the back seat, not on any laps, and I'm not skinny, not even slim. I saw three young women climb in and I waved them off, but the driver wouldn't go. He signaled that I should get in. I took a look, and there actually was room for me! I'll blog more of the sunset pictures another time.

I don't take the popular paths, and I don't see the point of going beta. How complicated is it? Is it an easier path than this one?

TU B'Shvat Fruit

I remember the TU B'Shvat Fruit they gave us every year in the Oakland Jewish Center Hebrew School.

We were told that it came from Israel.

In a small, brown paper bag we found some very dry raisins, a fig or two and "buksuh." Buksuh, dried carob, was was tough to eat as it sounds, very onomatopoeia. That was our kinesthetic lesson on the Land of Israel in the late 1950's.

Half a century later, I'm a long-time resident of Israel, twenty-five years of it in Shiloh.

In Israel our TU B'Shvat fruits are mostly fresh and frequently home-grown. We don't have to risk our teeth trying to bit into the hard, tough buksuh. Life here is easier and more pleasant than Hebrew School led us to believe.

Almost Pesach!

Look at the lovely etrogs!

Oops! Wrong Holiday!

Yes, those will be perfect for Succot, but they're not from my tree, so they're not for me.

Let's get back to Pesach...
OK, maybe not almost, but it's in only two months. It's time to start emptying out the freezer. Buy less and use what's left.

When the house was full, I'd start the routine around Purim, which is exactly a month before Pesach, but now it's just me and my husband. And we should be eating less, not more.

I should have started the inventory a month ago, since this fridge's freezer is larger than the old one was.

In the meantime, let's do some visiting...

First let's see the Orange Gallery; there was lots of talent in Gush Katif.

I'm not the only one taking walks; Sarah is, too.

Marallyn vents a bit. Her dream sounds nice.

Anshel's Wife writes about the effect a canceled wedding has on them and others.

Cosmic X gives Katzav a chance.

Soccer Dad writes about a football couple inducing the birth of their baby, so dad could play ball.

Jameel tells us one of those wonderful "only in Israel" stories. Yes, our people are wonderful, it's just the politicians...

And one more for tonight, schmoozED writes about the different ways we relate to the Bible. Why don't Jews value it more?

good night!

Screened

The fuzzy look is nice, I think.
The first picture is of a bird on my "instant garden," a hardy, quick-growing plant I innocently put all over my garden. I took the picture from my kitchen with both the window and screen closed. That's why it is so fuzzy. Sort of like Monet. Maybe he saw things through a dirty, screened kitchen window, like mine!

The clouds were taken from a car, I think, on my way home from Beit El. You can see the dirt on the windows. I like the effect.

We all see things through our own perspective. It's a form of self-defense. Sometimes we need walls up to protect ourselves.

One of my neighbors told about her father, a Holocaust survivor, who had functioned well for decades, never telling his children anything about his past. Just a few years ago, someone he knew went back to Europe on a "fact-finding mission" and discovered old documents including one with a picture of the old man's mother. He joyfully gave the man the picture, knowing that the man hadn't seen his mother or any image of her for sixty years.

That was it. The old man deteriorated quickly and soon died. He needed his protective wall. Confronting the past was too painful. He needed to screen it in.

There's a contradiction in the accepted therapies in dealing with or overcoming stressful situations. The popular modern way is to "talk it out," but for some such a method just further elevates damage to the psyche. When I took a "coaching course," I learned basic NLP. To put it simply, NLP teaches you how to put the bad behind you and "visually" reduce it in size until it is non-threatening.

Rose-colored glasses, or dirty screens or windows may be the best defense for some situations, but calling Arab terrorists "deprived" won't make them peace-loving!

Officer Krupke, you're really a slob.
This boy don't need a doctor, just a good honest job.
Society's played him a terrible trick,
And sociologic'ly he's sick!

The View From the Other Side

Last night I watched some neighbors mix moisturizer. Well, sort of, I was too mesmerized by the window.

The house I was in is at the other side of the neighborhood. From mine there's a nice sunrise and the sprouting house across the way, but that's about it. This other house has these large windows and you can see the view and reflected images. I could hardly concentrate on the demonstration.

As part of our "Celebrating 29 Years Back in Shiloh," we're having a series of events for women only by my very talented neighbors. Luckily I had some classes canceled yesterday, so I got home early enough.

The cream is good for the skin, anyplace, hands, face, etc. It looked and smelled like vanilla cream, but since the only "non-food" item was borax, it's not for eating.

Today I went to the pool, earlier than usual, got a ride to "Chizme," the "border" between Jerusalem and Mateh Binyamin, the Benjamin Regional Council, where Shiloh is. From there I got a ride with a neighbor who was going to shop in the big Rami Levi Discount Supermarket on the way. So I finally went there for the first time. It's a big modern supermarket, like I've seen in other places. The prices I could check were low, so I bought a few things. And then my neighbor took me home.

Yes, a nice start to the day, Baruch Hashem, thank G-d.

peculiar

PS Now it all seems to be working. There must have had been a problem with blogger.
_____

I blogged this morning about the missing Rachel's, which you can read about a couple of posts down.

Blogger kept reporting:

ERROR

I hope this works. I'll take it as a hint that whatever I wrote didn't need to be posted.

children

The latest about the missing Rachel's is that they've "disappeared themselves," meaning that they haven't been abducted. For whatever reason, they've decided to leave home. I have no idea who Babka is and certainly no idea who the families of the two girls are.

What disturbed me the most in Babka's post is:

The family isn't taking phone calls from anyone but the police. There is nothing that any of us can do but respect their privacy and pray for their daughter's return and their continued strength.
Chazal (our sages) say that their are three things we have no control over

when we're born
where we're born
who our parents are
And if you take this a step further, you can also see that we can't control our children. G-d ultimately decides if and when we have children and what their natures and talents will be. We have to work with that, but each child is a person with his or her own special uniqueness. Sometimes that means that they become everything we dreamt they should be, and sometimes they become something else.

The truth is that we can't fight it, or we destroy them or our relationship with them. At times it may be unpleasant but we must make accommodations, and then they will, too. Worrying about what the neighbors say isn't healthy in any sense.

Chazal also say that the Temple will be rebuilt when we practice unconditional love and acceptance to all Jews, instead of baseless hatred. And we must start within our own families.

GOOD NEWS! The sun has broken through the storm!

Actually, the good news isn't about the weather. It's not quite the weather we were promised. Last night they said that today would be a warm pleasant day, more like spring than winter. But instead of the winter rains we need, or a cheery warm day. We have a bright sun and strong icy winds.

But what really cheered me up was the one and only Bagel Blogger's announcement. He liked my idea of a new jblog carnival.

We already have Havel Havelim and my very own Kosher Cooking Carnival. I decided that we're ready for another one. It's time to show off the photographic talents of the jbloggers. Bagel Blogger took up the challenge...and therefore:

The Inaugural 1st Edition of J Pix the Photocarnival is coming up...!

So start the ball rolling. Be part of the debut edition, and get your photo posts in soon!

Two Rachel's

When I think of two Rachel's I think of two mothers murdered by Arab terrorists, Rachella Druk and Rachel Weiss. One just can't control those sorts of word associations. Rachella was a neighbor and a good friend of mine. Rachel Weiss was somone I never knew.

Both were loving mothers. Rachella left seven children, most of whom are now married and parents, themselves. Rachel was holding her three young children in her arms when the bus they were traveling in was firebombed.

I trust that in their safe place in Olam Haba (the Next World) they are following what's happening here in This One, and that they help those in need.

I read on A Bisele Babka that two young Rachel's are missing. G-d willing they will be found safe and sound.

ps In my "jblog awareness neder" I've pledged to try to link/visit jblogs previously unknown to me, so I wish this one was for a happier reason.

With a little help from my friends...

Thanks to Bagel Blogger for the "golden" graphics!
And thanks to Akiva for sprucing up Shiloh Musings.


Best
Designed Blog: GOLD

Now let's see if I can put it up on my sidebar!!

by the Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
What would you think if I sang out of tune,
Would you stand up and walk out on me ?
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song
And I'll try not to sing out of key.

Visiting the jblog neighborhood

I'm feeling friendly, so let's do some jblog awareness visiting, before I hit the sack!

First around my Shiloh neighborhood. I love the way the sun shines so differently at different times of the day. The house sprouting across the street always looks so different. It's sort of like performance art.

In a sense, blogging's the same. At different times of the day or week, we'll find different sorts of posts when we visit.

So now, I'll pop over and visit a few. If you find the time, please meander over and tell them I sent you.

I never thought of Texas and snow in the same sentence, but look at Stacey's pictures! Please don't laugh at me; remember, I'm originally from New York!

Lamed has the link to the guide for adding the Hebrew vowels to you text.

Here's some music on Life of Rubin.

Look at this spectacular post-rain picture by Fred.

Isreallycool tells us a golden oldie duck joke.

And acharon, acharon chaviv, meaning, saving the best for last:
Baleboosteh tells us about her finding Judaism, why she and her family want to convert.

That's it for tonight. Pop in again when I'm up again. I was going to stop in a few places, but somehow the engine wasn't working well enough.

Good night little girls
thank the lord you are well
now go to sleep said ...

Double Winner!

I kid you not!
I guess I'll be cross-posting this. How could I not? Of course I'd like to know how to get it on my sidebar. I don't have a code for it.

Shiloh Musings got the bronze in Best Designed Blog, and me-ander got... hold onto your hats! I'm still in shock!!!! The Gold Prize for Best Designed Blog. Of course, all the credit goes to ~Sarah~ and Akiva.

What? You don't believe me???
Read the results for yourself!!

jblog awareness

OK, don't call me a party-pooper, please. I'll be more jblog aware if you insist. I've just done something daring.

Yes, even at my advanced age--I think that I'm the oldest female Jblogger around--by peeking in on jrant I chose a couple of totally new to me jblogs and added them to my blogroll. No clapping, thunder, lightening nor earthquakes. What a disappointment; or "oy," as Porat would say.

So, when I do my "visiting," I'll have some new places to visit.

And while I'm being so community-minded, I have an idea--
Wouldn't it be nice if someone initiates a new jblog carnival, focusing on fotos! (I know the spelling's wrong, but it's correct in Spanish, I think, and anyway, it makes good ad copy.) And while I'm at it, you can include this post, since it includes:

Self-Portrait in Shadows by me, who else?!

And next month is Adar

We've entered the Jewish month of Shvat, the last month of winter here in Eretz Yisrael. In Shiloh, it's "anniversary month." The Jewish City of Shiloh was re-established in Shvat 29 years ago, thousands of years since its destruction.

This month's general Jewish holiday is TU B'Shvat, known as the Holiday of the Trees.

Next month is Adar, which is a joyous month, because of the Purim Holiday. Yes, Purim is one of those eating holidays, and in places like Shiloh, which were walled and then deserted, we celebrate two days, but that's another story.

One of the mitzvot, commandments, of Purim is to give out food packages, Mishloach Manot, to friends, neighbors, the poor etc. Many people just give lots of candy, but you're really supposed to give food which can be eaten (without any preparation,) and the Festive Meal, or meals as we have here.

That will be the theme for the 15th Kosher Cooking Carnival. Not only recipes and Mishloach Manot ideas, but I'd like any Halachik discussions on the topic, too. Of course, funny stories, anecdotes, cookbook and restaurant reviews, etc and recipes for anything, as long as they're kosher! The deadline will be Saturday night, Israel time, so before Shabbat for those in the Americas, Feb. 17, and I hope, bli neder, to post it by Rosh Chodesh Adar, Feb. 19. Please send them to shilohmuse at yahoo dot com or via blog carnival.

If you see any suitable post, I'd appreciate if you'd send me the link. And if you're interested in hosting a future edition, please let me know.

Great Day!

Today, after teaching, I went with my good friends, a famous baker and his wife, a former dancing partner of mine, to a small "reunion dinner." There we saw more old friends, including another former dancer.

Before dessert, they reminded me that my bus was soon, so we sped out. Just to be safe, I took a cab to the "trempiada," where I could catch to bus, or a ride. When we got to French Hill, I looked out the window at a bus; it was a 148. I told the driver:

Do you see that bus? That's the one I have to catch!

And I did... by a hair, that close. After giving my "cartisiya," multi-trip ticket to the driver, I got ready to look for a seat, and then I heard:

Weren't you my English teacher?

I took a look and discovered one of my very first students. So we sat together and had a nice talk. He thanked me for the lessons. He loved them, and also told me that my Hebrew had improved greatly since then.

Then I got off in Shiloh, not looking forward to the long walk up the hill. And suddenly I saw a car approaching, a ride home!!

And then once I got home, late as it is, I turned on the computer and saw an email from Elisheva announcing:

The 14th Kosher Cooking Carnival!!!

Great job, Elisheva! Thank you so much!!!!

15 is next, any takers? Please let me know and/or send in your posts, anything kosher, of course. It's more than a recipe carnival. shilohmuse at yahoo dot com or via blog carnival.

and if that weren't enough, like how can you think of dessert after so much food? But when I consider how much we ate last Shabbat...

Here's the 102nd Havel Havelim! Wow! I could never do such a job.

Enjoy the riches!

Faith

Sunrise!


No, I haven't changed my camera settings. And there isn't anything wrong with the camera. It's the same hour and earth-sun angle I've taken some awesome pictures dominated by that sunrise-orange, which I've always loved.

Someplace else in our time zone, people are mesmerized and comforted by the warm glow, but here it's raining. The sky is wet and grey. It's uncomfortable and inconvenient.

But without water, we'd all die.

That's why I can see the beauty of the sunrise this morning, no less than on a dry, clear and richly colorful day.

Thank G-d

Have a wonderful week

jblog wars?

That's how it looks out here!
There was just a, relatively small, 3rd JIB awards, this time hosted by JBlogCentral. It seems like not everyone in the jblogsphere liked how it was done. So now they want to make their own version of the competition.
Why bother?
It's a lot of work to promote ego trips.
The world of Jewish blogging is enormous and varied, no surprise considering how many Jews are in writing, journalism, show-biz etc.
Only a small clique who know how to manipulate the votes will really vote. And the other votes will be from fans of specific blogs, so the higher the hits, the more votes. The more mega the blog, the better they'll do. Most bloggers can't be bothered reading a whole bunch of blogs to see what's "best." Most of us don't have time to visit all the links in HH, and not everyone even feels guilty about it.

Also if you have some happy winners, you'll have plenty more alienated losers.

So let's just blog, link, "visit" and host HH and KCC and find other ways of working together. And if these "idle" bloggers really declare another competition, don't complain about the work getting in the way of the rest of your life.

Shavua Tov

Cough control and boredom

I found myself coughing too much this morning in shul (synagogue,) so I left after a few minutes. It was disappointing. I didn't even go to the shiur, class, I usually attend, since I knew I'd have to walk out. People really don't like to be near coughers. In the afternoon I didn't cough, which was good. And I took a walk, didn't cough the whole time. So I figured it was safe to visit a friend, but I began coughing there and had to leave.

The weather has changed; it's almost stormy. Rain was predicted, but how much??

Yes I'm bored.

Following are pictures I've taken while waiting around:

in a friend's apartment


At the bus stop in Malcha, by the mall. This is what's reflected in the picture here


And in Tel Aviv, the hotel from a very different angle.

just a bissel visiting

As if I have nothing else to do...

At least you won't catch my cold this way.

Sarah calls herself "Squiggle Sarah" now.

Marallyn posts a test. Hint!! Senility helps, oops!

Art Buchwald is dead, May he laugh in peace.

Smooth links the article which had me shocked. I couldn't believe that Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem wasn't using the internet to search for Nazis.

Cosmic X gives us a nice round up about the truth in Hebron. And Soccer Dad writes about last summer's war.

Dry Bones reminds us about the "French Connection."

I just now wanted to post a picture and
beta kept coming up and I'm not beta, so I couldn't post the
picture!!!

Ezzie writes about JBlog Awareness Month. I wish someone would tell me what's going on!

It seems like some sort of "war" against JBlog Central.

Gevalt, what a way to greet Shabbat.

Shabbat Shalom

Is it the flu?

Whatever I have now makes my voice sound like the 60 year old Marianne Faithful on a bad day.

Luckily, I had a very easy teaching day. I think that I feel better than I sound. That's not saying much of course, since I sound ill, very ill. My coughs are no pleasure to hear either.

But I'm not any more tired than usual, and unusual exhaustion's usually a sign of illness with me.

My daughter and family decided to keep their germs at home for Shabbat, but I'll be sending food. I'm sure they prefer it without my germs.

I ought to get a hold of some books to read if I'm stuck in the house on Shabbat. G-d willing I'll be better by then. I've been drinking my freshly squeezed lemon juice in water and already had one cup of miso mixed with boiling water. It's like a plain soup. It usually gets me back on track, much better than honey and booze.

Good night!

"...who knew not Yosef..." re-writing history

Last week's Parshat Shavua, Torah/Bible Portion of the Week, was Sh'mot, Names, or Exodus, the first of that book.

ח וַיָּקָם מֶלֶךְ-חָדָשׁ, עַל-מִצְרָיִם, אֲשֶׁר
לֹא-יָדַע, אֶת-יוֹסֵף.
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not
Joseph.

This crucial verse brings up a lot of questions.

How could it be that so soon after Joseph saved Egypt from famine, he was already forgotten?

It's nothing new.

ט מַה-שֶּׁהָיָה, הוּא שֶׁיִּהְיֶה, וּמַה-שֶּׁנַּעֲשָׂה, הוּא שֶׁיֵּעָשֶׂה; וְאֵין כָּל-חָדָשׁ, תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ.
9 That which hath been is that which shall be, and that which hath been done is that which shall be done; and there is nothing new under the sun.

Yes, King Solomon said it well.

Today it's called "re-writing history," and it's amazing how cooperative the public is in believing new versions of everything.

In the story behind Purim, Haman miscalculated when King Achashverosh read the "unedited" history. He then asked Haman for advice on how to honor a man whom the king wanted to reward. Haman was certain that it was the revised version, which praised him and therefore took for granted that he would be honored, not Mordechai.

There's a more recent example, one we're suffering from right now.

After the State of Israel was established, the "government/political powers" wrote Jewish and Zionist History as if the only important historical Jewish Land was that within the "internationally approved" green line. That is why the resulting rewards from the 1967 Six Days War were not received joyfully. Ever since the war ended, the Labor Party and similar ideologists have been trying to unload the riches, our Biblical Homeland, onto the undeserving Arab terrorists.

Appreciation

I wasted a ridiculous amount of time trying to figure out the most suitable title for this post. It's nuts how we obsess over things that others don't appreciate or notice. When I subscribed to fly lady, I kept hearing how "perfectionism" shackles us, preventing us from doing things. It goes hand and hand with procrastination, which was one of the topics in a reading comprehension on the English bagrut this week.

But back to my purposes for this post.

One, it's to tell you that there's voting over in jblogcentral for the best blogs in a number of topics. Both this blog, me-ander and my Shiloh Musings have been nominated, so, if you wouldn't mind, please vote for me, as much as possible. It's allowed, encouraged and really pretty easy. Just keep clicking 5's until they tell you to stop.

Two, there's a great new edition of the Carnival of Education. So take a look please!
Enjoy!

f2f --a guest from Canada

Today at the Begin Center, originally uploaded by shilohmuse.

Yes, we had a guest today.
Some of you may know him.
Anyone who reads the "talkbacks," comments and letters to the Jerusalem Post and other Israeli internet publications have read his writing.
Of course, until today, we've only emailed.
And today we f2f'ed.
I took him to the Menachem Begin Heritage Center to see the view and meet my husband.
And then I went off to Kever Rachel, but I'll tell you more on Shiloh Musings.

Oh, and, if you want to guess who he is...

yes, today

B"H, a bit better, so I'll try the pool.
and have lunch out--will blog about it later
and then to Kever Rachel
and then home and then
start getting ready for Shabbat.

It's all because of you!

Don't worry. That was the "thank you;" I wasn't being cursed or criticized.

One of my students actually thanked me after he did well in today's English tests. If, a year ago, you had told me that this class would be so good and work so hard, I'd have thought you nuts.

The year isn't over yet, and there's still more to teach, but it's nice that they felt good after doing today's bagrut Israeli national high school test. Of course the grades aren't in yet, but those who were tested orally know what they got, and they're happy.

I used to bring homemade cakes to the tests for everyone, but since I no longer have car service, I can't schlepp cakes. I bought them some candies and gave them bags before each test. It's the "little things" that make them feel good.

It was also nice having a "day off" from my regular teaching. I needed it, since I have a cold and there was no way I could have taught my longest day. I probably would have taken sick leave, since I need to be at full-strength to teach my other classes.

The next round of testing is in the spring.

Visiting time

There's all sorts of "visiting," in person and via the internet. Last week I visited a good friend, who has rather unique decorations, as you can see. And at the end of this, you'll see a picture I took in the kosher restaurant we found in Tel Aviv.

I'll start with a bissel rant. I don't like the pressure from blogger and yahoo about going beta. I don't see how it will be better. If anyone can enlighten me, please do. Thanks

Things have been rather busy here, and I haven't done any "visiting." I've hardly done any blogging either. But that's fine, since blogging is supposed to be a "pressure release," not a compulsion.

Trust moze to introduce you to "crembos," the traditional Israeli, sticky, gooy winter treat. It's one of those things you either love or feel repulsed by it.

Read about Wendy's adventures in Hawaii, their new home, at least for the time being.

Dry Bones asks a good question...

Sarah has an amazing picture up, tempts me to make sure that my next cell phone has a camera.

Mazal tov to emah s's pal bec, who has a new baby.

My crocheting is so "boring;" I wonder if I could ever do anything like these.

Bagel Blogger tells of a saga, which they had little patience for, considering the stress of Amber's recent surgery.

SWFM--no, it's not a radio station! lets us know what's new.

Akiva tells us what his young son has learned about Shemot.

NYC Educator has a real David vs Goliath picture.

Baleboosteh writes about Australian anti-Semitism.

Refuah shleimah to Marallyn!

A reminder from Elisheva to get your links to her for the 14th Kosher Cooking Carnival!!

Look at this snowed-in car from the northernmost Jew.

and more about the buses

That email group I'm on is still talking about the super-separated buses. One person explained how traumatic it is for some men to see women, since they live in such all-male environments.

I just couldn't resist replying. Here's what I wrote:

Seems to me, that all this separation just makes it so that the slightest glimpse of even the most covered up woman just makes them think of sex, which is the opposite of what they're supposed to be doing. L'havdil, it's like all those people eating their 0% milk fat foods (you can't imagine how disgusting it tastes, all I wanted in NY was my usual 3% yogurt) and their cholesterol just keeps going on up. That's because if you undereat what your body needs in cholesterol, your body will over-produce it!

I should be asleep, but...

...obviously I'm not!

I had a date with a handsome young man tonight, and by the time I came home I was awake. Who's the handsome young man? My son, of course. This is what we loving mothers have to do when our kids move out and don't visit much. We make dates.

Since I'm up, I figured I'd check my mail and call the two kids in the states.

There was something strange, not the first time I noticed it. I mail out some of my better blogposts, the entire post, with the link of course. I guess my mailing list doesn't relate to the link, since I got tons of comment-letters about it, but almost nothing on the blog itself.

I wonder if it's because I send out the articles. But I began sending out my "musings" before even knowing what a blog is. I guess I'll just have to make peace with it all.

And about blogs, the latest Havel Havelim is posted at Soccer Dad who's the founding father of HH. He wrote the rules and does a great job.

Guess where we were!

Yes, we went away for Shabbat, and I'll be blogging all about it. Some of the posts on Shiloh Musings. It wasn't that far away. Obviously, since we're home already. We could have stayed another night, but it would have been too complicated for me tomorrow morning, since I didn't take the things I need for work.

So, nu?
Where were we?

"You haven't changed a bit!"

Yes, that's what we told each other at the reunion tonight. We see our own fat, grey and wrinkles, but we also saw each other as we had looked when we all went to college together, Stern College.

There was no special number to celebrate; we were just celebrating friendship.

Everyone brought their memories, pictures etc, and I wore my "It takes guts to be a Stern Girl" button.

ahh, yes, and...

I did sleep last night, thank G-d. I "cheated" by taking a melatonin about an hour before hitting the sack. Actually, I fell asleep so quickly, I don't remember my head hitting the sheet, no pillow--bad for the neck.

It could just be that I was sufficiently exhausted and relaxed, but I'm grateful that today is starting after a decent night's sleep. I have a busy day, getting the house in order, going to work and then I have a reunion of my Stern College graduating class, though I'm a drop-out. My college diploma is from Empire State College over twenty years later. They used to have a branch in Jerusalem. I don't know how it is with all classes, but so many of us are still in touch, those who graduated with the class and those of us who dropped out, and a lot of us are here in Israel. So Debbie Klaff Dan put together an official reunion, and we're all invited.

Talking about education, take a look at the latest Carnival of Education! It's a great one!

And that brings us to carnivals... So here's a reminder about the next Kosher Cooking Carnival from Elisheva.

That's it for now. Time to start the day!

Where should I start?

I think that according to halacha, I must start with "hakarat hatov," acknowledging the good done to me. That means that my first responsibility and great pleasure is to thank westbankmama and BagelBlogger for nominating me in the Best Kosher Blog category of this year's Special: Jewish and Israeli Blog (JIB) Awards.

And also to thank "NewsGuy" for nominating my Shiloh Musings for Best Slice of Life in Israel.

That's it so far. I have a confession to make. I have the worst record in this competition. It brings me back to the days when I was chosen last in team sports. Two years ago, I came in dead last in every category nominated. And last year I wasn't even nominated at all. At least it saved me the embarrassment of more "dead lasts." So, since I've been nominated, I hope not to fail so badly again.

There's another week until nominations close if I understand the instructions... hint! hint!

What else was I going to blog about?

Again I made the wrong travel decision. Since it seems like everytime I go to the Central Bus Station to wait for a bus, it's late, I decided to "tremp," hitch hike home. Also, since they changed the bus schedule, routes etc, two things happened:

1. I don't know the schedule by heart any more or at all.
2. It doesn't go up the hill to the house, meaning that even after spending all that money on a ticket I have a twenty minute uphill schlepp home from the bus stop.

So I waited for a ride, and I waited, and I waited and I started getting a bit nutso and waited some more... until the bus came!!!

Yes, I am losing my sense of humor, my sense of proportion. It's time to eat dinner!

Suppertime lyrics
Artist - You're a Good Man Charlie Brown soundtrack
Album - You're a Good Man Charlie Brown

Snoopy (spoken): *growl* My stomach clock just went off. It's suppertime and Charlie Brown forgot to feed me. Here i lie, a withering hollow shell of a dog, and there sits my supper dish.. EMPTY! But that's alright. He'll remember. When no furry friend comes to greet him after school, then he'll remember, and he'll rush out here to the doghouse but it'll be too late. There will be nothing left but the dried carcass of the former friend who used to run and play so happily with him. Nothing left, but the bleach puppy bones of..

Charlie Brown (spoken): Hey Snoopy, Are you asleep or something? I've been standing here a whole minute with your supper.

Snoopy (sung):
Suppertime? Suppertime!
Behold the brimming bowl of meat and meal
Which is brought forth to ease our hunger
Behold the flowing flagon moist and sweet
Which has been sent to stake our thirst!

Charlie Brown (spoken): Okay, there's no need for a big production. Just get off that dog house and eat. (exit)

Snoopy:
Doo doo
Doo doo doo doo.
Doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo.

It's suppertime.
Yeah, it's suppertime.
Oh, it's sup-sup suppertime very best time of day.

It's suppertime.
Yeah, it's sup-per time.
And when suppertime comes can supper be far away?

Bring on the soup dish, bring on the cup,
Bring on the bacon and fill me up.
'Cause it's supper
Supper, supper, suppertime.

WHISTLES (first four measures)
da-doo-m-ba-dah
za-doo-buh ya-ba-doo-ba
suppertime

Doo doo doo doo dot doot.

Br-r-ing on the dog food, bring on the bone
Bring on the barrel and roll me home
'Cause it's supper
Supper, supper, supper
Supper
Super, pepper upper
Supper
Super duper suppertime

'Wintertime's nice with the ice and snow
Summertime's nice with a place to go
Bedtime, overtime, half-time too
But they cant hold a candle to'
My
Suppertime
Ohhh yeahhh!
'Hello home listeners.. how are ya?'

B-r-r-ring on the hamburg, bring on the bun
Pappy's little puppy loves everyone
'Cause it's supper
supper supper supper
supper
super pepper upper
supper
super duper suppertime

Gospel chorus: Snoopy (scat style):
Suppertime! Whoo!
Suppertime! Whoo! Yeah!
Suppertime! Bring on the meat!
Suppertime! It's time to eat.
Suppertime! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Suppertime! hhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Suppertime! Oh Yeah!
Suppertime! Bring on the food.
Suppertime! bring on, bring on the
hamburg
Suppertime! Bring on, bring me
some hotdogs
Suppertime! Bring on, bring on the
doctor!

Snoopy (wild riffling improvisation):
bring on bring on
gimme food gimme water gimme somethin to chew
gimme food gimme water gimme somethin to do

Charlie Brown: NOW CUT THAT OUT! Why can't you wat your meal quietly and calmy like any other dog?

Snoopy (very softly): So what's wrong with making mealtime a joyous occasion?

(boldly, broad tempo, full voice):
Supper,
Supper, supper,
Suppertime!!!