Pre-Lockdown Escape to Sha'ar Binyamin

I've really been a good girl, staying close to home and not inviting people over. It gets embarrassing at times, since some of my neighbors really need the invitations to socialize. I try to keep inviting friends to walk with me, but...

Sometimes even I need an escape. So a friend and I went to Sha'ar Binyamin a nearby shopping area, which can be easily reached by bus. We went two days before the latest lockdown began. She needed to take care of and get a few things. I just needed an escape.

Stop number one was the Hapisga dry cleaners, where my friend dropped something off. It was two minutes' walk from the bus stop.

Then we wandered around the smallish "Baba Mall" and bought some disposable items. I got a size of storage containers which I needed.

In the chumus place, we had something to drink. I decided to go for a beer, since it was a celebration of sorts. Even now, two weeks later, I haven't a clue when I'll be able to travel again.

My friend bought a few accessories in a nice clothing shop. We also peeked into the phone store and lots of other places.

Afterwards we walked up to the other stores in Sha'ar Binyamin. I was hoping to buy more jersey yarn, but the selection was awful. 

Instead of walking up and down the streets of Shiloh, it was great to walk someplace else.

Then before getting on the bus home, we went to the Shifon Bakery which had just moved to new premises, directly across from the bus stops. I bought my husband a honey cake, but in the end just a couple of hours before lockdown, one of our sons came with his family for a quick pre-lockdown visit. They gave us a cake baked by our talented daughter-in-law which tasted much better than the store-bought one.

Yes, trying to survive corona COVID in more ways than one.

Pishers' Guide to Ariel #1, Good Deal in "Supersol Deal"

This is a continuation of my public service posts, which review public toilets. Originally I titled the page "Pishers' Guide to Jerusalem," but now the ongoing series is called "Pishers' Guide to Jerusalem & Beyond."

Last week I had some time to spare in the new Ariel mall, which is across the road from the Ariel University. And I've already blogged about the dangerous situation due to the lack of a proper sidewalk. Besides that, there's a lovely health food store and a branch of the BIGA dairy restaurant chain.

The Ariel Mall is also very close to the various bus stops and hitchhiking posts in all directions, Tel Aviv, Shomron, Binyamin, Petach Tikvah and more, so convenient public toilets are extremely necessary. I wandered around the multistory shopping complex -it's an "open Mall," more like a modern version of a shopping center/strip mall. Usually I'm pretty good at finding public toilets, but besides at the not fully open gas station, I found nothing.

In my experience clinics and supermarkets always have public toilets. Since there was no clinic, I went to the "Super Sol Deal" and cased the "periphery." The WC won't be in the middle of the store, right? Success!

clean and equipped

This "Super Sol Deal" loo is nicer than most I've seen in restaurants.

I was also very impressed by the supermarket, layout, prices etc. No doubt that it's competing with Rami Levi, which is at the other end of Ariel.  For those of us in northern Binyamin, this is very good news. Ariel University and the mall are a lot closer than Sha'ar Binyamin. Besides the two malls in Ariel, there's an old "industrial zone" with lots of stores and other shopping areas. The Ariel malls have many of Israel's popular chains, which aren't yet in Sha'ar Binyamin. One needs to travel to Pisgat Zeev for them.

For those of us in Shiloh, there are two supermarkets to shop in, so if that's all you're looking for, there's no need to travel.

In terms of public toilets, this one in Ariel is the nicest.

Finally, The New Back Door

After a few month's wait, the new back door arrived and was installed yesterday. The back door goes to our merpeset, balcony/terrace where we have the clotheslines and set up the succah. It's also large enough for children to play or to just sit outside. Since that door faces south, which is the direction that here gets the most sun, wind and rain, we needed a door suitable to the challenge. Top notch insulation is a requirement for us, and this door is made from the best materials.

I had ordered it in the summer when we were redoing/renovating our kitchen. It's state of the art, and the insulation is top notch. I went to the factory/workshop in nearby Sha'ar Binyamin to Hi-Tech Windows and spoke to Chaim and his staff. They are multilingual, Hebrew, English, German, Russian. Phone 02-6565575.



Once I realized that the old door had to go, even though I knew that I wanted their quality, I checked other places. One thing they offered, which I didn't see anyplace else in the area, is the internal blinds, between the two thermal glass windows. I don't need an additional curtain or blinds. It's controlled by magnetic knobs.

And immediately, once it was installed the house felt more comfortable. No drafts, and we can control the sun's on a hot day. We also got a screen door from them, so we'll be able to keep the door open without allowing in the flies and stray cats.

The staff that came to install the door was very experienced, professional and polite.

old door

blinds half down and closed from inside the house

new door from the outside

Where was The Police?

Yesterday afternoon we got stuck in a humongous mess of a traffic jam at the junction of Sha'ar Binyamin. Apparently, a car had seriously stalled between Sha'ar Binyamin and Adam, and by the time our bus was ready to rejoin traffic on Route 60, the traffic was already backed up a kilometer to the north.

There was total bedlam as cars, vans and trucks cut and U-turned wherever they dared. Traffic on the dirt security road was heavy.

There's a police station in Sha'ar Binyamin, and a fit policeman could have walked over in about five minutes, even faster by car. There should have been a police crew directing traffic. It's a total miracle that we didn't get totally tangled up for hours. That was my fear, since we were in a rush to make it to Jerusalem on time for Israel's Place Among the Nations, in the Menachem Begin Heritage Center.

I sent an email to the police at the time and don't know if they actually sent anyone, since the bus driver managed to join the slow-moving traffic on Route 60 to Jerusalem. We crawled for a couple of miles and by then the stalled car must have been towed. Thank Gd we got to Jerusalem and the Begin Center on time, no thanks to the local police.

They Haven't Forgotten Me

It has been well over a year since I stopped working in Yafiz, Sha'ar Binyamin. I had worked there for just under six years. Besides my two main teaching jobs, that's the longest I've worked anyplace. I'm always meeting people who say I seem familiar, and the reason is that they had first met me or seen me  at Yafiz during those six years.

I can understand why many of my neighbors still think I'm working their. I don't know where they are working either. But the other day when I was paying after my my biweekly shopping trip to Rami Levy, the cashier asked:

"Aren't you working today?"
"No, I haven't worked at Yafiz for over a year." I replied.
"Rally?" She seemed surprised.

I guess I made quite an impression if I haven't been forgotten even by the supermarket staff. They and the customers were more appreciative of my work than the chain's bosses, who don't miss me at all.

Saying Goodbye to Yafiz, Yes, I Quit!

It's hard to believe, but I left my job at Yafiz. I had worked there for almost six years. You can see that in the photo on the right, I am wearing two pairs of glasses. It was during the time when I needed both distance and reading, but I hadn't yet started using multifocals. Now, I can't imagine living without my multifocals. They are a brilliant invention, and I'm among the blessed who didn't suffer any difficulties adjusting to them.

The photos below are of me working in the shoe store, Yafiz's Shoe Department, which is in a small building in the Rami Levy section of Sha'ar Binyamin. I really had fun there. When I wasn't busy with customers, I'd sit by the entrance, which is just across from the Rami Levi exit and say hello to friends, former students and the many, many people I know who shop there. And quite often people who just wanted to say "hello" to me would stop in and end up buying something.

I have a different job now, which will remain unnamed for the time being. Honestly, it deserves a blog post on its own

Low Calorie/Carb Eating Out- Just Ask for a Plate!

One of the big problems for us weight-watchers, dieters, diabetics etc. is that so many restaurant and fast food places have bread as an integral part of the meal. I have a friend who is determined and disciplined enough to just eat what's inside the pita or bread and not touch anything else. But most of us are made of weaker stuff.

That's why I was so happy to discover that in the little "food court," kiosk by the Sha'ar Binyamin Rami Levy, you can ask for your "chicken breast," mixed grill or whatever on a plate.

You get the same reasonably portioned, personally prepared (I always insist on no added salt) meat accompanied by salad and whatever dressings you want on a small plate, no bread, carbohydrates etc.

And did I tell you it only cost me ns15?

Succot All Over

One of the great beauties of the Succot Holiday in Israel is that there are public succot all over for those who want to observe the holiday by eating in a succah. At least in Jerusalem it's very easy to find restaurants with succot for their customers' use.

Here are some photos I took this week:

At the Kotel

At the Kotel

Jerusalem Municipality 

At the Ammunition Hill Light Rail stop

Rami Levy, Sha'ar Binyamin

Breaking Rules for 52Frames!

This week's theme for 52Frames, that photography group I've been in for about two years, was "Breaking Rules." In art, it's quite often the unconventional, unexpected and superficially unacceptable according to the "rules" that ends up the most gorgeous and riveting. So this time they told us to throw all of the conventional wisdom away and just shoot something that breaks the rules.

At first I took a nice series of shots of the nighttime sky and view of Migron from Sha'ar Binyamin, purposely moving the camera to get swirls. Here are the two best after cropping:

I do like them, but I was convinced that "everyone" would take this easy way out. That's why I chose this shot of the pre-Succot  Arba Minim, Four Species Market, also taken in Sha'ar Binyamin. I shot the picture into the strong, pre-dusk sunlight, because I was attracted to the way that the sun lit up those green flags making them look like precious stones.

52Frames Week 39: Break the Rules

What do you think? Did I chose correctly?

Wabi Sabi, Imperfectly Perfect, 52 Frames

This week's 52 Frames  theme/challenge was a strange one. I had never heard of the term before, but once I understood that it was to make us photograph the beauty of imperfection, I decided to photograph an old, well-lived face.

The first person I asked was an elderly man who works at Rami Levy, Sha'ar Binyamin. I think he's the only one working there older than I am! He thought I was crazy, but he agreed to be photographed.

I took a few photos, each with different lighting. Contrary to my usual custom of of not using (cancelling) the flash, I saw that he needed it on between the place he sat and his hat which put his upper face into a shadow. And once I chose the photo I cropped it. Yes, I've learned a lot by taking on the 52 Frames challenges.

Opticians give Good Service

A couple of years ago my cousin and I spent close to an hour waiting for our glasses to be repaired at an optician in a Tempe, Arizona mall. Neither of us had bought our glasses there nor live in the area, but we received full and excellent service for free. I also remember my parents getting their glasses repaired in Jerusalem for the same zero charge.

There's an optician in the Sha'ar Binyamin Industrial Zone/Shopping Center which also gives wonderful service, and from what I hear from others does a great job with making glasses. A few months ago, I got to Sha'ar Binyamin to work at Yafiz and realized that my lenses were just too dirty to give me decent vision. I walked in, explained the problem and was given the necessary equipment to clean them. A few weeks after that I went into the Halpern's in Center 1 with the same request, and the clerk cleaned just the outer side of the lens which didn't do me much good.

After Shabbat when I went on the computer I discovered that the screw in my relatively new computer glasses was out, so I brought the broken glasses to the Sha'ar Binyamin optician when at work yesterday. Within a minute the lovely worker had them repaired, no charge.

They have a nice selection of frames and is a very convenient option for those in the area who need prescription glasses or good sunglasses. And there's also an optician in Shiloh which is highly praised and recommended. It's good to know that nowadays one doesn't have to go the nearby cities for things like glasses.