Surprised Moi, Birthday Fun

I haven't been all that shy about telling friends and family that this year's birthday is to be celebrated. Hard to believe I'm seventy 70 and not seventeen 17. But somehow a bunch of my buddies, the ones in my Walking Anyone👍🏼 whatsapp group, totally surprised me yesterday morning. I really thought we were getting together for a nice morning walk.

All the "Where are we going to meet?" and "Which neighborhood will we walk in?" questions/answers made sense, were perfectly normal. Even when some of us were standing and waiting in front of Merlot, the lovely dairy restaurant across from the supermarket and mailboxes, and I saw two friends approaching, I didn't  think it more than just coincidence.

I really was surprised when they said that we were going to a surprise party for breakfast, rather than take a walk!

We all had Merlot Breakfasts, eggs, salads, spreads, whole wheat rolls and coffee. Totally delicious. Then we shared their special dessert, waffle with ice cream, whipped cream the works! All of this was flavored with friendship, the most heavenly flavoring in the world. Thank Gd, I am truly blessed.

Book Club, "City Boy"

Homemade pickles and bagels  

After a much too long summer hiatus, the local Shiloh Bloq "Book Bliss" Book Club met at my house last night. We had read City Boy by Herman Wouk quite a while ago, but due to the usual events and personal plans of summer and then Jewish Holiday seasons, it took us much too long to set a date to meet.

We always have a "potluck" dinner as part of the meeting. This time, besides the homemade pickles and bagels show above, we ate orange soup, salad, cheeses, flavored butters and totally irresistible eclairs. There was also some fantastic wine for the drinkers among us.

I feel extremely blessed to live near such a wonderful group of women. The conversation and social aspect of the group rivals the intellectual stimulation of the book discussion. Adding an early dinner to our meetings has enriched them enormously.  Some of us read the books from paper, while others use their kindles or audio versions. And sometimes for various reasons, we just can't get to or through the entire book, so cheat and google it.

Our next book is Humboldt's Gift. I must get a copy somehow.

A Bissel Traveling- Netanya!

Some friends and I met for a late lunch in Netanya. Review of restaurant will be in a different post. It's hard to remember the last time, if there was one, when I walked around that seaside city. I had forgotten completely how pleasant and compact the city is.

waiting for ride in Jerusalem

I checked out travel logistics via Ariel, which is very doable. But since I had a direct ride with a friend straight from Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem at a time, davka, two buses would arrive from Jerusalem, that's how I got there. This is not the season to be standing outside wondering when buses would come and then having to find one's way in an unfamiliar city. The added bonus was being able to spend time with a friend I don't see much.

We could sea the Mediterranean Sea, the gorgeous blue ocean, from our table in the restaurant. I had packed one of my bathingsuits hoping there would be time to go into the water, but that didn't happen... next time, Gd willing.

One of our small group lives in Netanya and another had been nearby for Shabbat. That's why we decided to go there.

After eating, we wandered around the Netanya boardwalk. I was saved from buying ice cream, since there was no mint.

Then the Jerusalemites left, and my friend took me to my neighbor's store. It was a short walk. Yes, I had a ride home straight to Shiloh. It's a good thing, since it was an exhausting day. Remember that I had spent a full morning exercising in the pool before my travel adventure. Netanya is really pretty close to Shiloh. I must go there again and soon.

Finally Found My "Best Friend!"

Less than a year ago, I wrote a blog post, Dancing Memories, in which I mentioned that I had been looking for my childhood "best friend," Margie Gruen who is standing next to me in the photo. I had already found Lisa, who is at the other end of the picture. We have met up and are in touch. I do not remember the other two girls at all. As children we had been inseparable until she had moved away from Bell Park Gardens, Bayside, NY, at the age of eleven. We saw each other a few times after that, but by the age of fourteen we had lost touch completely.

I guess it's one of the aspects of getting older when you feel the need to reconnect to your past, complete the circle, whatever, because apparently Margie had also been looking for me. Yes, she found me to be exact. Thank Gd for the internet and my busy public life. It was just after I had, davka, been to New York, where she lives. So we had to make do with emails and phone calls until last week when we finally got back f2f together for the first time in over half a century!!

We just found ourselves back with the same easy rapport as if we had always been in touch, as if those fifty-odd years had been together. I guess that in some ways we never really separated...

Too Many Strange People Trying To FB Friend Me

A few weeks ago, I decided that to promote my blogs I'd friend more people on facebook. And I began to offer friendship  to those with lots of mutual friends. it seemed pretty harmless in the beginning, but now it seems to be backfiring on me, since some of these people seem a bit weird and try to "chat" rather than just write about coffee and politics and family, the way I do.

Since then I've suddenly gotten a tsunami of "be my friend"requests. Those are harder to sort through. Now I do have more "friends," and I hope I'm not making mistakes.

Some also post things I don't want, so I've unfriended them. But some seem nice. When I can I try to check them out first, but since not everything is available to "non-friends" it's hard to check them out.

I guess it could be worse.

Getting Through Mourning, With a Little Help From My Friends

It's just over two weeks since my mother passed away.  According to Jewish Law, I'm not even half way through shloshim, the thirty days of mourning restrictions counted from burial, not death.  That is unless the mourner doesn't attend the funeral,  a situation in which the mourner begins shiva and shloshim with the announcement of the death. 

Two days after I got up from shiva, the seven days of mourning in which the mourner is supposed to be cared for to facilitate mourning, I was back at work in Yafiz, Sha'ar Binyamin.  Of course I could have delayed my return to work, but lihavdil like napping and sleeping late when suffering from jetlag, it wouldn't have done me any good.  Well, davka, on that day, when I was trying to reorient myself to the new stock, sales etc. in addition to jetlag and my mourning status, halachik (Jewish Law) and emotional, I suddenly noticed that my shirt, which has the store's logo, had a seam ripped. 

I kept hoping that it wasn't noticeable to others, but everyone saw it.  My boss told me to get another one, even two new ones, since that one was two years old.  I've been working there two and a half years.  One of the restrictions on mourners during shloshim and when mourning parents for a year is not getting new clothes.  I felt paralyzed and just couldn't go through looking for another shirt that fit in the same size and color.  My friends who work with me took over.  One found a shirt and another wore it, so it wouldn't be halachikly new.  They ironed on the store logo and told me that the shirt was ready.

Thank G-d for good friends!

Purim update, 3/4 Megilla Readings Heard, One more to go!

Purim in Shiloh, every year something new.
This year I've been going to hear the megillah by a neighbor whose existence is a miracle. A few years ago, we were all called to a special prayer meeting to pray for his health, and Baruch Hashem, he's alive... and well enough to read the megillah. Three down and one to go. It's exhausting enough listening to it; I'm sure that reading is a real strain on the body. Yes, I'm happy to be a woman. There's enough to do!

Today I ate the festive meal at neighbors. It was a sort of pot luck meal. As soon as I was invited, I offered to bring a nice big vegetable soup, which I did. The other guests brought dessert, and our hostess prepared a delicious meal. I certainly couldn't ask for more.

Good Food and Good Friends!
Aren't they the most important things in life along with Good Health!