Whether Weather? Which is Right?

I'm a bit of a nutcase. I'm super-highly sensitive to the weather. I'm horrendously phobic about housework and cleaning. I need just the right light and weather to clean my house. The sky must be clear and blue. I need the bright cheery weather to cheer me on.

Last week, when I checked the forecast app on my phone, I saw predictions of perfect pre-Pesach (pre-Passover) cleaning weather, even for my nutty standards. But this morning, when I looked at the sky, at what photographers call "Blue Hour," all I saw was a yellowy grey. I got gypped.

Could this be some temporary aberration?

Sitting at the computer, the view was even worse, and it wasn't just the dirty window panes.

So I checked the phone's weather app again.

IMHO that's a forecast for almost ideal weather.

There's another weather site on my computer, which is also calibrated to Shiloh, so I checked that one.

It predicts a different scenario. Which weather forecast is the correct one?

Adding to my mounting panic is that yellowy tinge I see in the sky. It's a clear sign of desert dust storms. That's a weather phenomenon we never experienced on Long Island.

During our first spring in Israel I learned about dust storms and sandstorms, when the clean wet laundry morphed into awful, sandy yellow dirty laundry after hanging outside on dry but yellow days. Days like today.

If I'm forecasting correctly, from the color of the sky, this may be a very difficult and challenging week to clean the house. Spring cleaning must be done when I can safely open up the windows and hang out lots of laundry. True Passover, Pesach cleaning can still be done. I don't need the outdoors all that much to clean the refrigerator, just good music.

So, now I must motivate myself, recalibrate to plan my pre-Pesach cleaning differently. And that also means that non-kitchen, non-chametz cleaning must be after Passover, when the skies are clear and dust-free.

Shelves Cleared, Books Out, Almost Gone

When we had our house built and kitchen planned thirty-five years ago, cookbooks, diet books, childcare books etcetera were very important to me and read a lot. In recent years I haven't opened a single one of them. So, even though in the new kitchen, that wall of closets where the shelves are will remain, the books are going. The shelves will be used for my coffee accessories, the French Presses, mugs, whatever fits.

A few months ago when I first advertized that I had cookbooks and others for the taking, some neighbors took some. But now I'm still stuck, so I took them all down, put them in a box and advertised that they're near my door.

 Now, barely twelve hours later, the box is emptier.

Gd willing more books will find customers/readers. Whatever doesn't will be taken to be placed next to the paper recycling box in the neighborhood. 

Nowadays, when I need a recipe, which is rare, I just look on the internet. Even my recipes can be found on the internet, on this blog!

Another Simple Cleaning Tip

When I'm stuck with a difficult cleaning job, like getting burnt stuff out of a good pot, I take out one of the oldest and least expensive cleaners, "bleach."

after just a couple of hours

For good and for bad, I've seen common bleach dissolve all sorts of things from burnt food to fabric. One of the big advantages in using bleach is its price. It cost much less than all the modern, fancy well-marketed cleaners.

For cleaning pots, I pour it straight in, but for most cleaning, like on the tiles with a scrub brush, I dilute it with water. And never pour bleach directly on fabrics, or you may find that the fabric disappears along with the stain. If you're really desperate to sanitize a load of laundry with some bleach, then pour a small amount in the prewash soap compartment along with detergent. That way it won't land directly on the fabric and will be rinsed out early in the wash cycle.

If you read washing instructions, most items tell you never to use bleach. It can easily change the color of the clothes besides weaken or destroy/damage the fabric. But I must admit that I've used bleach many times. Remember that I'm of the generation that laundered cotton diapers for all of my kids. And over the years I've had to sanitize many things and get rid of moldy smells etc.

Of course there is always a danger to the fabrics and various surfaces, especially synthetics, when you use bleach. But if it's between throwing the item out or adding some bleach, I'd try a small amount of bleach first. Cotton seems to do best with bleach, white of course. Again, I repeat that you need to prewash and not let the bleach directly touch the fabric.

Here in Israel, if you have the old floor tiles you can clean/sanitize with bleach, especially diluted and/or adding a tiny bit to the floor cleaner.

I also find that only bleach will get grime out of the sink and tub. Open your windows and use gloves, of course.

I've also had good results pouring bleach down a slow-moving drain. Unlike with the commercial drain-cleaners and acids on sale, I know what I'm using.

No government health and safety department has gone over or approved this. Use at your own risk.

Pre-Passover: Eaks!!! It's Inventory Time!!!! #4

I can't believe I have just over a week to get my house in Passover mode. The freezer is emptying if you're keeping track with me. 

When I first started this year's series in Eaks!!! It's Inventory Time!!!! my freezer looked like this:

Now, this is how it looks:

I have made some progress in emptying things out and cleaning. But I must be honest, pre-Pesach cleaning just isn't "my thing." Actually cleaning isn't my specialty. But there are things we must do, and I will just do my best. There isn't anything else I can say.

Why isn't there some simple abracadabra we can say/do to get it all done?

Ye Olde Computer Fading

Yes, those are tweezers and emery boards here for those times when I'm waiting for the slow computer to activate. 

Bli eyin haraa, to prevent the "evil eye," I must say that the computer PC I use is quite a few years old. I don't really remember when we got it, but some parts are much older than the tower which is the newest part. And I think we got that about six years ago. The mouse and keyboard are much, much older if I'm not mistaken, and a friend brought us this old boxy screen that had been dumped by someone who had bought a "fancy" screen, also at least about six years ago when our previous one needed to be replaced, or something like that.

I know that it looks disgusting, but the equipment wouldn't survive a soaping.

B"H, it seems that I'm pretty gentle with appliances, machinery and stuff lasts longer than for many others. I like to credit it to the fact that I don't clean them much. Cleaning, soap, water etc damage stuff. I don't take apart anything that is more complicated than my percolator or French Press. When cleaning for Passover, if a shelf doesn't easily slip out, it stays in. I don't need a screwdriver for cleaning. I don't use the screws as plates or forks.

But nothing lasts forever, and I keep getting these nasty notices on the screen, when it's working, that I don't have enough memory in my computer. Yes, for the modern world my computer is a sprightly dinosaur. What I've been doing is to go through the pictures and delete what seems unnecessary to save. That placates it for a bit until the nudge nudges again.

All of the keys on the keyboard are whole, bli eyin haraa, though the more frequently used ones, lie "e" and "t" are low like someone shrunk and short from osteoporosis.

For the past few weeks, or months already, the screen begins to convulse, like some minor epileptic fit. Even worse, periodically the screen goes black. I finally discovered that some well-placed taps or slaps can wake it up, but no doubt pretty soon it will just die and need to be replaced.

I guess the time has come to contact the neighbor who set this one up. He hasn't had to make a house call all the years since we've had it, so I should be happy, and I am. For many years we had a very nice computer maven named Bram, but he passed away and we were forced to find someone new. Nobody and nothing can live forever and that includes computers and the experts who care for them.

The really big problem as I remember is that the minute you replace one thing with even a slightly upgraded one, you suddenly have to upgrade, that means buy and replace lots of other parts to the computer. So, we're not talking just one small purchase/change. It's as if by doing a hip transplant you find your elbows, knees etc being switched, too.

PS I didn't plan this post as a "Baile Rochel," but it has the same rhythm, so I guess it is one.

And What Did You Find While Cleaning for Passover?

That's the bonus of all this cleaning. We find things including things either we didn't know were missing or figured we'd never see again.

When I moved the TV cabinet, which now hosts the Shabbat candlesticks I saw something small and shiny.



Yes, this small gold earring. I hadn't seen it for years. I do have one which I wear quite a bit, but I hadn't seen its partner for a long time. Now, I have it and am totally amazed.

I guess I shouldn't make fun of spring cleaning.

Street Cleaning

Real life in Shiloh...

About a week ago, a strange message came on the phone requesting that people move their cars from one side of the street.  I couldn't quite figure out what the word was coming.  Whatever the word was, it wasn't based on Hebrew.  It reminded me of the most difficult word in Chapter 1 of the popular (at least in the 1960's) Hebrew textbook אלף מילים Eleph Milim, One Thousand Words.  Most people I know who studied basic Hebrew from that book got stuck on the same word, אוטובוס autobus, which means "bus."   It didn't really matter what it was, because we don't have a car.

It ended up being a street-cleaner vehicle, which I shot while walking.

Street cleaning is one of the things our local council Mateh Binyamin takes care of a few times a year, before the Jewish Holidays.

Nothing Better Than A Long-Handled Brush!

I'm taking a break from cleaning. Actually, I did things I usually don't do well. Well, I did them better than I usually do. Really,

I was never really taught/trained/mentored into thorough Pesach cleaning. Cleaning was punishment, torture ad nauseum etc. When I finish cleaning for Passover, my house isn't as clean as most are all year.

One thing I'm very strict, even obsessive about are the dishes and cutlery. I have no desire for a house so clean "you can eat off the floor." But if I see anything that could be unwashed, missed dirt on a fork or plate... back to the sink it goes. No, we don't have a dishwasher.

For lots of other cleaning jobs, from the toilets, to the molding or to the tiles on the wall, I make use of brushes. Sprays are forbidden, and rubber gloves are the "fashion look" for cleaning.

There's lots more to do...

The best way to clean...

The best way to clean is just to throw things out!

Clutter is the problem. That's what I learned from Fly Lady; too bad I don't follow the rules and throw out clutter at least every week. OK, the rule is everyday, but even every week would be a major improvement.

How can there be a place for everything and everything in its place if there's too much clutter?

For a while I was throwing things out if I wanted to buy something new, but now there's no room, I've just been buying.

The children in Israel sing:

שמחה רבה
שמחה רבה
אביב הגיעה
פסח בא
Simchah rabbah
Simchah rabbah
Aviv higui'ah
Pesach Ba
Great joy
Great joy
Spring has arrived
Pesach is coming

That's what the kids say. For people with my sort of "disability," it's the nightmare season! Maybe I should return to Fly Lady!

Teach 'em Young!

My two pre-school granddaughters are learning how to cook. My daughter is a firm believer in teaching them young, whether it's cooking, cleaning or washing the dishes. She didn't learn it from me, unfortunately.

She's right. The theory is that too many of us stop/ped the kids from doing potentially helpful things, because the child is "too young" or making a mess. Then by the time the kid is "old enough," he or she couldn't be bothered.

My granddaughters are pictured here getting the rice ready, after checking for bugs, stones etc.

And while we're talking about cooking, please don't forget to send me links for the next Kosher Cooking Carnival!

Either send to shilohmuse at gmail dot com or to blog carnival. Thanks!!!