In The Meantime... Wartime Haikus #6

I still write a haiku almost every morning, except Shabbat and Jewish Holidays. This has been going on for years. It's truly amazing how much can be communicated in just seventeen 17 syllables, 5, 7, 5. Have you tried writing them? You can think of me as "addicted." #morningcoffeehaiku 

Here are some; enjoy. I'm interested in your reactions and opinions, thanks.

Jewish Birthday YES!

thanking Gd for everyday

enjoy to the hilt🎂

Israel's enemies

don't care about history

facts get in their way

strange unsettling time

How will history report?

depends who's writing...

war will resume soon

much worse than ever for sure

deals don't make real peace

finally summer?

forecast for hot days...

dreaming of the pool....

shining sun comforts

Gd's light brings many blessings

thank Him every day...

optimistic sky

message from Gd that He's here

never give up hope

praying for good week

life's very complicated

sun's shining, good sign

despite war, life's great

sounds really impossible

Israel's miracle

barely slept last night

I guess my body didn't need sleep

things just can't control

looking for sunshine

in very difficult times

we must do Gd's will...

uncertainty reigns

true peace definitely far

VICTORY's needed

ceasefire's not true peace

every second's more danger

our enemies laugh

our Independence

must be more than just a word

don't fear to WIN war

remembering friends

more killed by our enemies

true... we're still not safe

busy yesterday

funeral for friend's mother

many said goodbye

being busy's great

I'm thankful to fill my days

friends, travel, study

Life Unplanned-- VICTORY Prayer Haikus #5

I've been writing haikus on Facebook every morning for years and have posted a variety on both my blogs, Shiloh Musings and this one. I label my haikus Morning Coffee Haikus, and you can use that title for searching. 

IMHO haikus are a fantastic writing medium, because of its restricting the writer to express a thought in just seventeen 17 syllables. Enjoy my haikus and try writing your own. Which is your favorite? Please let me know in the comments, thanks.

Passover countdown

adds to pressure during war

trying to stay sane

strange... seasons confused

raindrops greeted me at door

blessings, Gd willing

rainy dark morning

strange, cold pre-Pesach weather

still rain prayers, OK

Gd only saves us

when we follow His commands

We're not just puppets

can't lie, yes, worried

no peace without victory

next battles much worse

optimistic dawn

but sans VICTORY no peace

deals don't bring true PEACE

evil enemies

must be totally destroyed

deals total farces

war's far from over

Iran's a lot better armed

last spring we were conned

can't fall back to sleep

Iran bombed long before dawn

but thank Gd unharmed

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Haikus About War, Weather and Life

It's amazing how much can be expressed in seventeen 17 syllables... Yes, I've posted many of my haikus over the years, and I think we're due for a new haiku post. I write a haiku, posting it on Facebook, every morning besides Shabbat and Jewish Holidays when writing and posting are forbidden. Sometimes I wonder if I'm being repetitive, considering that I write hundreds each year... Wow! Even I'm impressed 🤣 Following is a variety, as promised in the title. Enjoy, and please let me know in the comments which you like and why. Thanks.

long busy day planned

thankful to Gd for my health

each day a true gift

cold, grey winter morn'

exhausted from yesterday

but was lots of fun

suddenly sunshine

see weather changing quickly

winter in Israel

Gd created earth

but man's bad judgements cause war

VICTORY NOW, please

Holy Shabbat soon

trying to clear mind's worries

Gd willing, please help

new week, pray for change

weak leader endangers us

I can't ignore it

freezing cold today

glad my plans changed to stay home

will Zoom and walk here

Thursday so quickly

week sped by and didn't do

all that I had planned

never ending war

people, nations hate us Jews

comes from them, not us

I'm a nobody

my opinion doesn't count

but I'm not quiet

I never follow

popular fads, opinions

have mind of my own...

woke much too early

too frustrating forcing sleep

that refused to come

Thank Gd for Shabbat

just another few hours

special holy day...

pray for better week

may Gd gift leaders with wisdom

so far disaster

don't be fooled by words...

don't trust fancy promises

I don't see true peace...

Israel's enemies

want to believe all those lies

truth ruins their story

Haikus, So Much Said in 3 Lines, 17 Syllables

I've been writing haikus every morning for years and have a facebook group where I post them. Since the war against Israel began, many of my haikus are political, but some just deal with ordinary life. I'll include some of them here.

Honestly, I recommend writing haikus to learn how to express yourself with a minimum of syllables and lines. As I said in the title here, just three lines, five syllables, seven syllables and finish with another five syllables.

Mulling over map

while drinking friend's strong coffee

in Jerusalem

figuring out new route

to Matan* while roads dug up

in Jerusalem

despite worries slept

thanking Gd for energy

long busy day planned

coffee energy

when sleep won't cooperate

life's complicated

Gd willing Shabbat

will herald true peace, please pray

Gd is our True King

*Matan is where I study Tanach/Bible

Haiku With Morning Coffee on Facebook

Many of you may know that I've been writing morning haikus as I drink my coffee every "weekday" on facebook for quite awhile. The facebook page I started never took off, so I opened a facebook group called Morningcoffeehaiku Group. It's growing. Anyone interested can request to join it, but I don't accept those recommended "second hand." That's because I hate being added to a group without my permission.

I illustrate my haikus with photographs.

Haikus are simple minimalistic poems of three lines 5, 7, 5 syllables. Theme wise you can take liberties. There are those who say that even the syllable count can be flexible. Following are a couple of haikus I've written.

woke to pouring rain
winter is still here with us
warmed by hot coffee
#morningcoffeehaiku

won football last night
coffee, shabbat too much food
bright early sunrise
#morningcoffeehaiku

As you can see, it's a daily diary of sorts. Join us.

#morningcoffeehaiku Into The New Decade

Whether home or away, I still begin most days with a #morningcoffeehaiku posted on facebook. I find the simplicity of the 5, 7, 5 syllable structure of haikus just perfect to galvanize my brain as I wake up and drink my morning coffee, after water, usually with slices of lemon and ginger.

I must admit that after many years of writing these haikus, I may get repetitive in the phrases and even complete lines included in these mini-poems. Please forgive me. And there's also a limit as to what I can photograph, the dawn, darkness, coffee mugs and various coffeemaking apparatus.

Following is a selection of recent #morningcoffeehaikus. For more, search on Facebook, where I've made both a page and a group titled #morningcoffeehaiku. You're invited to join and follow.

dark cold early morn'
saved by great strong hot coffee
starting week grateful

tired, not enough sleep
post-Shabbat syndrome, plus pool
coffee must kick in

got up too early
sun's oversleeping, not me
love drinking coffee

exquisite sunrise
though dark winter clouds invade
while I drink coffee

Need good hot coffee
Winter in Jerusalem's
not for the wimpy

dull, grey cloudy morn'
looking forward to sunshine
cheered by good coffee

Instantly COFFEE
Perfectly hot on cold day
In Jerusalem

sparkling ice raindrops
drinking hot coffee to warm
very winter day

woke up to bad news
but sun still shines so brightly
need sweeter coffee

Hot coffee "still life"
In Holy Jerusalem
Need caffeine to wake

exhausted this morn'
Rosh Chodesh before Shabbat
last night my team won

desp'rate for coffee
fun, friends and beer aren't sleep
sun's still shining bright

much too early but...
coffee preceding sunrise
soon Shabbat plus more

pastel colored dawn
I need strong coffee today
Where's the orange sun?

pretty new kettle
spectacular orange dawn
great start to new week

Chodesh Tov, New Month
Joyful Ladies' Holiday
drink coffee and smile😍

New Health Food Store in Ariel Grinds Coffee

When I went to Ariel yesterday for a "lunch date" in BIGA in the new mall across from Ariel University, I spotted a nice big, clean, orderly attractive Health Food Store. Of course I walked in to check it out. I bagged some raw nuts, good prices, and then I spotted... 

coffee beans, priced less than I've seen in Jerusalem

"Do you grind the coffee beans?" I asked the staff.
"Yes, of course," she answered.

I took a look at the selection, about four different kinds of beans. I chose the strongest flavor they had. They weighed the beans, subtracted the weight of the plastic containers*, asked me how fine or coarse I needed the coffee and then went to their coffee grinder to grind for me.

There are a lot of products, and I hope people shop there. For me it's a great location, since I can get to and from that part of Ariel very easily. The owner and staff were nice and helpful, too. And the nuts, which I bought, taste nice and fresh.

Here are photos to give you an idea. The Health Food Store is on the lower level of the shopping center. There are elevators in the building.

*Actually, I had to request it, explaining that it was the normal procedure, and when they saw how much the two containers weighed, they understood.

Beer and Coffee Beef, Perfectly Delicious and Easy to Make

You may remember that I wasn't happy with the Malka "Stout" beer I had bought and even wrote that I saw it as the perfect addition to beef. Davka, that morning I had perked my coffee, and had some leftover, since the percolator is larger than even I need for my morning fix. So, I decided to google "beer, beef, coffee" to see if there were recipes or suggestions. Don't get me wrong. I wasn't going to actually follow a recipe; I just wanted to know if people cook their beef in those two delicious liquids. Apparently there is a whole genre of beef cooked in beer and coffee, so I got cooking!

Ingredients:
beef, one of the least expensive cuts from the freezer section
onion
fresh garlic
carrots
vegetable oil
stout beer* (any strong black beer would do)
strong coffee*

Directions:

1. soak beef in water for at least half hour, and then spill it in the sink
2. add vegetable oil to beef in pan
3. place on high flame to sear
4. turn over to sear all over
5. add cut onion and garlic
6. turn to expose garlic to hot oil
7. cut carrots, large-not small, and add to pot
8. pour in coffee and beer
9. add water** if liquid doesn't reach at least half way up
10. cover, cook on high flame until it reaches a boil, then lower flame to simmer.
11. Check periodically to see that there still is liquid. Add if necessary. 
12. Cook for at least an hour and a half, usually better if more. 

That's it. Beer and Coffee Beef is very easy to make. Don't be afraid to be creative. Potatoes or other long-cooking vegetables can be added to the carrots. Enjoy!

Tell me in the comments about how yours comes out or if you've ever made any beef dish that is similar.

*At least a half a cup of each, though even less would be ok; you can add water if there doesn't seem to be enough liquid.
**Most of the recipes I saw on google included tomato paste, so if you're afraid there won't be enough flavor/liquid from the beer and coffee you can add that or even tomato juice.