My NS25 "Dinner"

The other night, I walked a lot, and I also had too much time and not enough money for a proper dinner.  I finally came in from the cold...

...for a...

... Yes for this sandwich.

I had this tuna-bagel sandwich at Cup 'O' Joe.  The simple tuna was with black olives and sun-dried tomatoes.  It cost me NS25 including the tip.  I read and relaxed.  It was comfortable there.  If the budget had allowed I would have happily had a "proper" meal.  I knew that I'd be able to have coffee at Matan, so it didn't pay to buy any.

And yes, even though I don't eat carbohydrates, like the bagel, there are times when it's best.  I walked a lot that night.  We must be flexible, but we shouldn't look for exuses to break the diet.

ps the sandwich was tasty, though it could have used some lettuce or cucumbers.

Pill Case Confusion

I was walking (or was it up) down Jerusalem's Rechov Strauss (Street) and noticed this pill case for those who need medications four times a day.  When my very elderly father was living with us, my daughter set up weekly medication boxes for him.  There were morning ones and after dinner ones.  When he needed at other times of the day, they were kept in other containers/bags or I'd have to remember which to pick out of the box.  Once I left the "pre-breakfast pills" in a bag in the kitchen and caught him eating one:

"This candy tastes awful."

Yes, he thought it was a bag of sweets.  So, the next morning I didn't give one to him.  He survived that, and I stayed calm knowing very well that there were many more medication foul-ups when he was living with my mother.  Some days he took twice and others not at all, and she would vary which meds to take for herself, too.  One of the basic services we (my sister and I) felt most necessary for them in the old age home was that they receive their meds.  The deal is that the "home" does the ordering and gives each the correct medicine and dosage at the right time.

Now, have you found what I consider very peculiar about the pill box?  Look carefully at the labels.  Nu...?

Jerusalem Bus Revolution

Nu?  Revolution it is, isn't it?  No more buses on most of Jerusalem's Rechov Yaffo, Jaffa Street.  Now they go behind the Jerusalem Municipality, then on Rechov Neviim, then up to Agrippas then .....

... to the bus station.  Yes, you can still find buses on that end of Rechov Yaffo.

For old-timers like me, it's funny, because we remember the hysteria when buses, cars, trucks, taxis etc were banned from Ben Yehuda Street.  This new change will make life very difficult for those who have problems walking, because there are long distances from stop to stop and no stops near the Zion Square part of downtown.  No doubt that it will just make more and more people shop in the malls and large shopping areas in other parts of Jerusalem.

... And I Walked...

Walking is the least expensive and probably the most convenient way of exercising. 

Yesterday I did an early shift at Yafiz and then went to Jerusalem.  I caught a bus at Sha'ar Binyamin, got off at the Shmuel Hanavi/Ramat Eshkol stop and walked to town.  It's really not far, no different from walking from the Central Bus Station, maybe a mile or even less.  If anyone has an accurate read on it, please let me know.

I was exhausted, so I popped over to HaGov and rested while the boss and workers got it ready to open for the night.  Then, since none of my kids were available to have dinner with me, I began walking to Matan.  There was another of our monthly Bible classes as part of Al HaPerek.  On the way I stopped off at the "Cup of Joe's" on the corner of Jabotinsky.  I ordered a tuna bagel sandwich.  Yes, I know that all that bread/carbohydrates isn't good for my weight, but the price was relatively good, and I had been walking...  I took my time and read while I ate, which one can do when dining alone.  Then I continued walking to Matan, which is a nice walk, much more than a mile or a couple of kilometers.

Once I got there, I sat in the Beit Medrash, library with a couple of friends and we prepared for the class/lecture.  Shani Taragin gave a fantastic summary plus of the first eight chapters in Shoftim, Judges.  It took me a few minutes to get used to her rapid-fire delivery.  What Shani said in an hour would have taken anyone else at least an hour and a half.  The shiur (class) was in Hebrew.  Previously I had only heard her in English.  I really enjoyed it.  Those who weren't there really missed a fantastic experience.

Afterwards I rushed to catch the #18 to the bus station.  Due to all the mess and reported delays I decided to wait on Sderot Eshkol (Blvd.) instead of braving the winding new route via behind the Jerusalem Municipality Complex, Neviim (Prophets) Street, Agrippas etc.  which easily doubles the trip.  So I got off someplace on Neviim, walked to Strauss and pretty much reversed my earlier route.  I ended up with over a half hour to wait for the 10:30pm bus home.  If I had been in a rush, I could have taken a bus on Strauss, but I knew I had time and felt like walking. And of course once I got to Shiloh, I had to walk all the way up the hill, another almost kilometer home.

ps I hope I burned all the bagel calories plus!

HH's Jack Saved The Day

Apparently Frume Sarah wasn't well enough to host this week's Havel Havelim, and Jack graciously hosted instead.  A weekly blog carnival doesn't offer too much posting flexibility.  If you're a couple of days late, you end up too close to the next one.

Check in and read all the posts Jack included.  Thanks Jack

Photobucket Woes

On the whole, I'm very pleased with photobucket as a free online photo-storing/sharing etc service.  But recently it sometimes, like this morning, keeps on fouling up the "big e," explorer, and I have to restart and then re-sign into everything all over again, a major annoying time-waster.

I can't use picasa anymore, since they demand money, claiming that I've blogged/stored/shared their maximum for the free deal.  I used to use flickr, but stopped for the same reason.  They had a ridiculously low maximum, and I haven't returned.

I understand that there are many more companies to try.  If I spend, it must be for one that has great deals for printing photobooks.  The time has probably come to start with those books instead of printing photos and then putting them in albums.  I'm sure my parents would enjoy cute albums rather than the photos.

Please send me (via comments) your recommendations, especially those which ship internationally for very reasonable fees, or even free.  My parents are in AZ, USA, and we're here in Israel.  I have absolutely no idea how these things  work, but since I've learned to blog, before most, I guess I can learn almost anything.

Thanks!!

Where Was Everybody? Maybe I Got the Time Wrong...

We had a guest for Shabbat, another stranger we had never met before.  It eneded up being a nice Shabbat; I hope she agrees.

Our regional council provides a free bus to Jerusalem about an hour after Shabbat is over.  That seemed to be the best way for our guest to travel from Shiloh.  So I walked her down the hill.  I've done this before and I always find the bus stop full.  This time it was totally empty.  No sign of anybody.  In our weekly newsletter it was written that the time had changed from 6:30pm to 7pm.  Where was everyone.  I was starting to panic.  OK, there is an Egged bus a bit later, but we had walked the more than half kilometer, at least a quarter of the mile down.  Did she want to walk up and then down again?

Suddenly, she called to me:

"Look!"

I turned around and saw a couple a dozen people, men, women and children trudging down the hill to the bus stop.  There were cars letting people off and suddenly there were people coming from where I had just been facing.

Yes, I guess we were early.  Better than late!

Maybe She Looked Better in Person. Michelle Obama is No Jackie Kennedy

A friend of mine was very upset with the outfit she got for one of her kid's weddings.

"The fabric was too shiny, so the pictures of me look awful."

That's what I though of when I saw that picture of Michelle Obama in her highly praised red dress.

Photographed, she looks monstrous.  I don't understand all the praise.  So maybe she looked better in person.  I don't think it's  a fabric that photographs well, especially with all the flounce and details.  She looks like a red and black Jackson Pollock canvas on which extra paint spilled.

There are other fabrics which can be problematic.  I once ran into a photographer friend who was in a panic.  Pictures from a wedding he had just photographed were shocking. The mother of the bride or groom wore an outfit from a fabric that became sheer when photographed with a flash.  You could see more than she would ever want to show.

Jackie Kennedy knew how to choose elegant clothes that photographed well.  What a difference...

Housework Routine Getting Harder

Routine is the keyword here.  I have no routine.  Each week I'll probably work on different days, different shifts.  The good news about this is the flexibility.  I no longer have to miss weddings etc because of work.  Teachers may have "long vacations," but we can't take them at our convenienc.  I found that very difficult at times.  When I took the job at Yafiz, because its a large store with many workers, I was told that I could have a different work schedule each week.  That is as long as it suits the store's needs.

The difficulty is that I no longer have a housework schedule.  I can't always cook the same day and time for Shabbat.  I can't count on doing laundry the same days of the week and know when I'll be home.  There will even be weeks when I have to work on a Friday.  I don't know how I'll manage, but I'll have to.  I'll pretend that I'm watching my son in a football final. 

And work isn't the only thing that varies from week to week.  We're invited to various events, and we have kids and grandkids and friends etc.  So I can get pretty busy and suddenly discover, like this week, that I should have done a few washes.  I'm low on some clothes etc.  We also have too much food leftover from this last week.  Some of that can be eaten today or "recycled."

Most important, I ought to admit to you that I've always hated housework.  I'm just not much of a baleboosteh.  Cooking's OK, creative, but the cleaning part is a drag.

I Can't Eat "Just One."

I was really good this year about TU B'Shvat fruit.  I really tried hard to avoid it.  I love all those dried fruit and nuts.  It doesn't matter that most really have nothing to do with TU b"Shvat.  Once I start eating them I can't stop.

Yesterday, my husband gave me a few dates from the staff party.  They filled me up and were so good, but that was it.  I didn't go to the party, nor did I have access to the serving dishes.

But then he brought home the "holiday gift," a glass jar filled with all sorts of dried fruit, nuts and sugared dried fruit, including that sugary sharp ginger.  I've already eaten much too much and I want more.  I shouldn't be hungry.  I had enough dinner and even had some pecans for dessert.

I didn't even take a walk today...  ....tomorrow...

All The Children Married...

Last night we were at a wedding, a beautiful joyous wedding, B"H, bli eyin haraa.  Within a few short months, all of my friend's children got married.  Nowadays, more and more of my friends are reaching that amazing (for me) milestone.  All of their children are married.  Some even have grandchildren from all of their kids.

Not everyone is so blessed.  Pray and help, if you can.

Thanks...

Haunted Simcha (Joyous Event)

This past Shabbat, as usual, I was the first one in the Ezrat Nashim, Ladies Section of our synagogue.  There was to be a Bar Mitzvah that morning.  I felt the Bar Mitzvah boy's mother there with me, looking happy and healthy, the way I remember her from the days we'd swim and take long walks together.

She died just over a year ago.  The Bar Mitzvah boy is her youngest child.

She stayed with me until her sisters came in; then I no longer felt her with me.  She had been waiting to sit with them and her daughters, who came in a bit later.  They sat in the front row, where my seat is.  The custom is to leave the front row for those celebrating special events.  After the prayers, I asked them to put my siddur (prayer book) in my box.  They apologized for taking my seat.  I insisted that I was happy to give it, because that way I felt like I had been part of the simcha.

L'ilui nishmata

May her soul be elevated

Fenced In Playgrounds for All Ages

There are two new playgrounds in the neighborhood, and they're both getting fences.  The adult exercise one, which is like going to Curves, one of the "circuit" workout places, is much more private than before.  I got there a couple of times this week.

And a new playground is being put up between my house and the local shul (synagogue.)  Kids were having a good time on Shabbat, even though it's not yet complete.

Anything that promotes, facilitates healthy outdoor activities is good.

TU B'Shvat, Not This Year

I decided not to go to the big TU B'Shvat seder.  Too tired and wanted to avoid all the fruit, wine and calories.  I hope to avoid all that stuff.  I love fruit.

What have you done to celebrate?

Trying To Keep The Weight Off

This low carbohydrate food pyramid is very similar to the way I've been eating the past two plus years.  The only real difference is that I don't eat cheese.  I have milk with my coffee in the morning, and I don't eat any other dairy.  I even stopped eating goats yogurt a couple of months ago.  Sometimes I snack on a few nuts instead for extra protein energy.

I also eat about three portions of fruit per day, possibly more than illustrated here.  By eating enough fats in your protein, shun the 0% and skimmed dairy products if you eat dairy-but don't eat yellow cheese often or at all, you'll feel satisfied and less susceptible to food cravings and subsequent binges.  They're caused by incorrect, unbalanced eating.

Yes, once you find the best balance of vegetables, protein and fruit for your individual needs, you won't be tempted by all the forbidden foods, and if you take a bite, they won't even taste all that good.  Any food, even well-known as healthy like brown rice and multi-whole grain breads, which you can't stop eating, should never be eaten.  I can't eat just one slice of bread, but I'm perfectly satisfied when I don't eat even a crumb of bread.  Yes, those meals are better for me than if I ate one of those standard "balanced" one slice diets.

I find cooked vegetables most filling and satisfying.  Yesterday the lunch I took to work (in a good plastic container) was a generous portion of cooked (in a bit of oil, covered frying pan) onion, carrot and squash.  On top of that was a generous spoon of sesame paste and some fresh salad.  That kept me going all afternoon.  I made it the night before.  Yes, it does take longer to prepare than my husband's sandwiches, but if I ate his sandwiches I'd gain weight.  He's losing weight by eating limited sandwiches, a yogurt and fruit at work.  No more cake and cookies for him.

Good luck if you're trying to lose weight!

Another Food Experiment.

Our intrepid Shabbat guest arrived after all the food had been cooked, so he had no idea what was on the table to eat.  Cooked, this looked like Passover food, carrots and potatoes.  Actually, what I made is good for Passover, but there are no potatoes in it, making it a great low-carbohydrate, dietetic side-dish.

I cooked up some onion, carrots and celeriac, the root of those strong-flavored celery stalks.  My husband likes the green in his soup, but then we're left with the roots, which make a great veggie treat, especially if you want to reduce calories and carbohydrates.  Great for diabetics.  And healthy for everyone.

Any "Only In Israel" Picture: Caption This X2

The place to snap pictures yesterday in Jerusalem was at the String Bridge with the high flying, climbing demonstration.

Weather, Nothing to Do About It

Today I hung out the wash to dry in the sun, and then I went to Jerusalem,
Yes, thank G-d it rained.  So it rained on the laundry.  We need rain.  When I came home I hung it in the livingroom.

Now the electricity keeps going off, so I'll make this quick.

Can't complain, we need rain.

Keep smiling

The Fun of Living Here in Israel, A Jewish Country

On Shabbat I got a real kick out of reading JJ Gross's Jerusalem Post opinion piece.  Although we're supposed to keep the daily mundane, out of Shabbat, I just knew that I'd have to blog about it.  It's not all that חול chole mundane, because it does praise life in the Land/State of Israel.

Gross, still an עולה חדש oleh chadash, new immigrant, enjoys seeing so many obviously religious Jews in the arts, playing in symphonies etc here in Israel.  He compares it to the American Jewish world he just recently left in which such a thing is unknown.  The financial pressures of living a Jewish life in America make it necessary to choose safe and high income professions.

We're in Israel over forty years already.  When we first came, we'd see the 1960's-'70's style Bnai Akiva type of Israeli religious guy wearing a middle-sized hand-crocheted kippah and droopy needs a trim mustache driving a bus and think, "only in Israel."  Today the "kippah-tichel ceiling" has been seriously cracked and opened.  Today's religious bus driver frequently sports a full beard and black cloth kippah, looking more chareidi than Bnai Akiva.  Gross is right about religious Jews, with all the trimmings Jews, male and female, in the arts, music, media etc.

You'll see religious married women wearing hats, scarves and wigs in the highest courts of the land, not just as secretaries, but as lawyers and judges.  And you'll also find religiously dressed women as high-ranking IDF officers, yes in skirts and hats as part of their uniforms.

It's easy to find gorgeous designer clothes which are perfectly tziniyusik modest here in Israel.  Maybe not every branch of Dorin Frankfurt, Hagara, Isha Isha, Ronit Takko etc. shows them, but they're included in the designs and they can add fabric where necessary.

I really enjoy seeing the temporary beards for religious reasons on men in politics, media etc.  It's totally acceptable here in Israel.

Please, I agree that things are far from perfect here, but there is constant improvement.  There's more confidence among the Torah-observant in publically following mitzvot, and yes it sometimes makes the non- (or anti-) observant nervous.  Demographically, we're reproducing (having more kids) in greater numbers which can easily be seen in the school registration statistics.

Let's start this week looking at the good that is happening here, and if I get soaked in the rain, I'll have to smile, too. 

Shavua Tov u'Mevorach

Have a Good and Blessed Week

I Do Prefer F2F, Do You?

Granted that I spend a ridiculous amount of time here on the computer, but in my ideal world I'd see more people in person.  I don't use the email/internet option on my cellphone.  I rarely text, since if I'm using my cellphone, I'd rather talk.

I may be in the minority, or maybe it's just my age.  Lot's of people are more dependent on their technology, communication tools than I am.

Shabbat is so wonderful.  Just f2f, no phones, computers, tv etc.    I see people, talk to them etc.  I also go to synagogue and pray with a congregation, instead of at home or all sorts of strange places.  The strange places is because I've taken on the Mincha, afternoon prayer, and I frequently find myself praying in the bus, or at a park bench or some strange corner, trying not to look too peculiar.  Actually in Israel, in Jerusalem many people will easily understand what I'm doing.

On Shabbat I see my friends at a class.  This class, the "shiur nashim," women's Torah lesson, is the longest running Torah Class in Shiloh, 29 years.  Two of us have been from the beginning.  Others are much newer and we're always hoping for more participants.

So, back to the topic.  Any chance we can f2f?