Drought-Damaged Flowers

When my friends and I were at Tel Shiloh for Rosh Chodesh Adar 2 Women's Prayers, we noticed a new sort of flower.

It's a pink kalanit. We had never seen it in that color before.  But this isn't a good news flower, its unusual color is a defect caused by the hot dry weather at the wrong time.

I consider this almost albino kalanit as symbolic of the warm, sunny winter days mistakenly called "gorgeous."  During our Israeli winters, the truly gorgeous days are the rainy ones.  Strong sun and bright blue skies belong in the summer.  Israel basically has two seasons, dry and wet, summer and winter.  If we don't have enough rain we'll be in danger, not only of fire like the massive destructive one which devastated the Carmel a few months ago.

We must pray for rain, in its time, G-d willing.

So Sadly, I'll Let King David Speak...

You may have already heard the awful news.  Five members of a family in Itamar were murdered by one or more Arab terrorists Leil Shabbat, Sabbath Eve.

In Shiloh a number of us have divided up the entire book of T'hillim, Psalms, those special prayers written by King David.  I say numbers 94-99.  Considering my mood, I'll just post King David's words:

Psalms Chapter 94 תְּהִלִּים

א אֵל-נְקָמוֹת יְהוָה; אֵל נְקָמוֹת הוֹפִיעַ. 1 O LORD, Thou God to whom vengeance belongeth, Thou God to whom vengeance belongeth, shine forth.

ב הִנָּשֵׂא, שֹׁפֵט הָאָרֶץ; הָשֵׁב גְּמוּל, עַל-גֵּאִים. 2 Lift up Thyself, Thou Judge of the earth; render to the proud their recompense.

ג עַד-מָתַי רְשָׁעִים יְהוָה: עַד-מָתַי, רְשָׁעִים יַעֲלֹזוּ. 3 LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?

ד יַבִּיעוּ יְדַבְּרוּ עָתָק; יִתְאַמְּרוּ, כָּל-פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן. 4 They gush out, they speak arrogancy; all the workers of iniquity bear themselves loftily.

ה עַמְּךָ יְהוָה יְדַכְּאוּ; וְנַחֲלָתְךָ יְעַנּוּ. 5 They crush Thy people, O LORD, and afflict Thy heritage.

ו אַלְמָנָה וְגֵר יַהֲרֹגוּ; וִיתוֹמִים יְרַצֵּחוּ. 6 They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.

ז וַיֹּאמְרוּ, לֹא יִרְאֶה-יָּהּ; וְלֹא-יָבִין, אֱלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב. 7 And they say: 'The LORD will not see, neither will the God of Jacob give heed.'

ח בִּינוּ, בֹּעֲרִים בָּעָם; וּכְסִילִים, מָתַי תַּשְׂכִּילוּ. 8 Consider, ye brutish among the people; and ye fools, when will ye understand?

ט הֲנֹטַע אֹזֶן, הֲלֹא יִשְׁמָע; אִם-יֹצֵר עַיִן, הֲלֹא יַבִּיט. 9 He that planted the ear, shall He not hear? He that formed the eye, shall He not see?

י הֲיֹסֵר גּוֹיִם, הֲלֹא יוֹכִיחַ: הַמְלַמֵּד אָדָם דָּעַת. 10 He that instructeth nations, shall not He correct? even He that teacheth man knowledge?

יא יְהוָה--יֹדֵעַ, מַחְשְׁבוֹת אָדָם: כִּי-הֵמָּה הָבֶל. 11 The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.

יב אַשְׁרֵי, הַגֶּבֶר אֲשֶׁר-תְּיַסְּרֶנּוּ יָּהּ; וּמִתּוֹרָתְךָ תְלַמְּדֶנּוּ. 12 Happy is the man whom Thou instructest, O LORD, and teachest out of Thy law;

יג לְהַשְׁקִיט לוֹ, מִימֵי רָע-- עַד יִכָּרֶה לָרָשָׁע שָׁחַת. 13 That Thou mayest give him rest from the days of evil, until the pit be digged for the wicked.

יד כִּי, לֹא-יִטֹּשׁ יְהוָה עַמּוֹ; וְנַחֲלָתוֹ, לֹא יַעֲזֹב. 14 For the LORD will not cast off His people, neither will He forsake His inheritance.

טו כִּי-עַד-צֶדֶק, יָשׁוּב מִשְׁפָּט; וְאַחֲרָיו, כָּל-יִשְׁרֵי-לֵב. 15 For right shall return unto justice, and all the upright in heart shall follow it.

טז מִי-יָקוּם לִי, עִם-מְרֵעִים; מִי-יִתְיַצֵּב לִי, עִם-פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן. 16 Who will rise up for me against the evil-doers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?

יז לוּלֵי יְהוָה, עֶזְרָתָה לִּי-- כִּמְעַט, שָׁכְנָה דוּמָה נַפְשִׁי. 17 Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had soon dwelt in silence.

יח אִם-אָמַרְתִּי, מָטָה רַגְלִי; חַסְדְּךָ יְהוָה, יִסְעָדֵנִי. 18 If I say: 'My foot slippeth', Thy mercy, O LORD, holdeth me up.

יט בְּרֹב שַׂרְעַפַּי בְּקִרְבִּי-- תַּנְחוּמֶיךָ, יְשַׁעַשְׁעוּ נַפְשִׁי. 19 When my cares are many within me, Thy comforts delight my soul.

כ הַיְחָבְרְךָ, כִּסֵּא הַוּוֹת; יֹצֵר עָמָל עֲלֵי-חֹק. 20 Shall the seat of wickedness have fellowship with Thee, which frameth mischief by statute?

כא יָגוֹדּוּ, עַל-נֶפֶשׁ צַדִּיק; וְדָם נָקִי יַרְשִׁיעוּ. 21 They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn innocent blood.

כב וַיְהִי יְהוָה לִי לְמִשְׂגָּב; וֵאלֹהַי, לְצוּר מַחְסִי. 22 But the LORD hath been my high tower, and my God the rock of my refuge.

כג וַיָּשֶׁב עֲלֵיהֶם, אֶת אוֹנָם-- וּבְרָעָתָם יַצְמִיתֵם;
יַצְמִיתֵם, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ. 23 And He hath brought upon them their own iniquity, and will cut them off in their own evil; {N}
the LORD our God will cut them off. {P}

Another Video To Get Into the Purim Mood

Thanks to Marvin Schotten who sent me this great version of Raise Your Mask Purim by The Fountainheads in the comments of the previous post.



It's hard to believe that Purim is in a week. Yes, this year it's a bit complicated. The Fast of Ester will be next Thursday, and then instead of going straight into Purim, we observe Shabbat, and then after Shabbat we celebrate Purim. And in Shiloh, we have a double Purim, with two feasts, four Megillat Ester readings and two days of costumes and Mishloach Manot.

And contrary to previous years, my freezer is still much too full. I did pull out a meatloaf to serve on Shabbat and encouraged the invited guests to come Friday night when I'll be serving my version of Buffalo Wings and not the from who knows when meatloaf.

Get in The Mood for Purim With The Maccabeats!

There are great New York scenes in the background.

Davka, this coming Shabbat --yikes! in two days! I'm giving our neighbrorhood  Shiur Nashim, women's Torah class.  It's based on what Atara Snowbell has been teaching us in Matan.

Cheering the Team

Tomorrow night the Jerusalem Lions "Big Blue"  Football team will be fighting for 3rd place.

Time to cheer them on at Kraft Stadium!

Drink Your Coffee and Eliminate the Guilt

Please excuse me if I seem repetitive.  I'm pretty sure I've blogged this message more than once, but there's nothing more pleasant for me than seeing an article especially on a healthy food site that tells us how healthy coffee is for us.

Over the decades, coffee has gotten a lot of bad press, and it doesn't deserve it.  A few (1-3 or even a bit more, depending on which expert advice you read) cups of coffee is better for your health than none.  Of course, if you hate the flavor or have some other problem with it, don't drink it.  I say the same for all sorts of healthy foods.  Ban the clean plate club, because nobody should be forced to eat or drink anything.  We each have different nutritional needs, and if you raise kids without emotional food baggage, they will naturally develop good food instincts.

We, adults, have to learn how to eat what's best for our individual needs.  I'm glad that I no longer have to feel guilty about my love of coffee.  With rare exceptions, I only drink it in the morning, early in the morning.  That's best for me.

Guest Post: The Healthiest Hamantaschen

The Healthiest Hamantaschen

by Hadassa DeYoung, K'far Darom/Elon Moreh

I usually call them oznei Haman, but this alliterated nicely.

Instead of using a cookie dough base, use your favorite roll (as in small yeast bread) recipe for the base of the oznei Haman. I recommend using a whole wheat dough with olive oil and za'atar.
For the filling, chop in a food processor whole garlic, green olives and black olives in whichever proportion suits you. Onions may also be used, but I prefer garlic, which also isn't as hard to check for bugs. Add a bit of olive oil if the mixture seems dry. It should be as moist as any filling for oznei Haman.

Form the oznei Haman in the traditional way:

• 1) Roll dough to a thickness of 0.6 cm-¼ inch
• 2) Using a glass or large round cookie cutter cut circles of dough about 6.3-7.6 cm-2 ½ - 3 inches in diameter
• 3) Place filling in the center of a circle of dough. Do not overfill. Leaky oznei Haman are unattractive. Eat your prototypes and give the perfectly shaped ones.
• 4) Fold the edges of the circle towards the center so that the resulting shape is an equilateral triangle with rounded corners.

Or:
Google for more complete shaping instructions including pictures.
Baking time will vary depending on the bread recipe. Check frequently as oznei Haman are relatively thin and therefore bake more quickly than most rolls.
Be sure to put in your holiday greeting note a mention that the oznei Haman are bread, not cookies.

The Starbucks Kashrut Guide

When I visit the states, I'm frequently without easy to find kosher food, and I'm almost always suffering jetlag.  I find that a large cup of strong coffee helps me receive some relief from the jetlag, but being a foreigner in America (OK, expat,) I don't know the ins and outs, the permitted and forbidden re:coffee, kashrut-wise.  I've been told that plain (unflavored) coffee of the brands sold in the supermarket with a hechshar  supervision (or any of the flavored that are sold with a hechshar in the supermarket) may be drunk in disposable cups.

It's not that I like the Starbucks flavor, but it is easier to find a Starbucks than any other coffee bar, so I'm grateful to the kvetchingeditor* for posting this link to a Starbucks Kashrut Guide from  the Chicago Rabbinical Council on facebook.

*Apparently, she's not happy with it.  But for my visits, I guess it makes Hagen Daz ice cream even more attractive.

On The Move in Jerusalem

Now that the lightrail is "in training," you never know when you'll see it in action.  Last Thursday night, on my way from Jerusalem Central Bus Station to Kraft Stadium for the IFL football game (our team, the Jerusalem Lions, lost to the Gush Etzion Rebels) I got to film the train in action as it began to go up the bridge.



And then we went to the game.  There was a carnival atmosphere during half-time.



After the game, we got a ride to the Hizme checkpoint from some other parent/fans.  Within a very short time we squeezed in the backseat of a car going to Ofra.  If we hadn't lost weight, we never would have fit in with a very full-sized neighbor of ours.  Then at Ofra we all got another ride and again the three of us squeezed oursleves in.  Please don't ask about seatbelts....

Quick and Easy Vegetable Soup

Yesterday I decided to make myself a vegetable soup, but I didn't have all that much time. 

• I put some water up to boil
• I took some dried split peas, cleaned and rinsed them
• I added the peas to water in a big pot and kept up the boiling
• I got an onion, carrots, parsley roots and squash ready for the food processor
• I shredded all the vegetables and added them, along with some oil, to the boiling peas
• and I kept adding more boiling water to the cooking soup
• then I added some salt, pepper and dehydrated parsley
• it continued simmering for a half hour

And yes, I ended up with a nice big pot of soup.  Later on when it cooled, I put some in small containers for the freezer and the rest is waiting for me in the fridge.

A Yummy KCC at Miriyummy!

Yes, yummy this Adar Bet Kosher Cooking Carnival certainly is!  Miri sure made a yummy KCC, so check it out, please and serve the link to others.  And of course check out the kosher food posts she has featured.

Next month, Nissan, the Bima Ima will host KCC.  To send your posts, just click here for the blog carnival page.  And if you'd like to host an edition of the Kosher Cooking Carnival, please contact me.

Now it's time to empty the pantry and freezer for Passover.  Use what you can for Purim.  Enjoy and Chodesh Tov!

Ladies, Let's Party!

It's tradition in Judaism for women to have a special holiday.  That's Rosh Chodesh, the first day of the month, and even though the solar calendar recognizes twelve months, the Jewish one which blends the solar and lunar sometimes has thirteen, like this year.  And besides that there are months with a two day Rosh Chodesh, meaning that there are quite often about fifteen days of Rosh Chodesh in the Jewish Calendar, meaning fifteen days a year for us to party.

I like to celebrate Rosh Chodesh by visiting and praying at Tel Shiloh, about a mile from my house.  It's the perfect place to be on a Women's Holiday, because it's the location of the source of Jewish Prayer.

ט וַתָּקָם חַנָּה, אַחֲרֵי אָכְלָה בְשִׁלֹה וְאַחֲרֵי שָׁתֹה; וְעֵלִי הַכֹּהֵן, יֹשֵׁב עַל-הַכִּסֵּא, עַל-מְזוּזַת, הֵיכַל יְהוָה. 9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk--now Eli the priest sat upon his seat by the door-post of the temple of the LORD;
י וְהִיא, מָרַת נָפֶשׁ; וַתִּתְפַּלֵּל עַל-יְהוָה, וּבָכֹה תִבְכֶּה. 10 and she was in bitterness of soul--and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
יא וַתִּדֹּר נֶדֶר וַתֹּאמַר, יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת אִם-רָאֹה תִרְאֶה בָּעֳנִי אֲמָתֶךָ וּזְכַרְתַּנִי וְלֹא-תִשְׁכַּח אֶת-אֲמָתֶךָ, וְנָתַתָּה לַאֲמָתְךָ, זֶרַע אֲנָשִׁים--וּנְתַתִּיו לַיהוָה כָּל-יְמֵי חַיָּיו, וּמוֹרָה לֹא-יַעֲלֶה עַל-רֹאשׁוֹ. 11 And she vowed a vow, and said: 'O LORD of hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of Thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget Thy handmaid, but wilt give unto Thy handmaid a man-child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.'

Yes, it's the very same place where Biblical Chana prayed for a son, the son who would rescue the Jewish People from the sins of the time of Judges:

כה בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם, אֵין מֶלֶךְ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל: אִישׁ הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו, יַעֲשֶׂה. {ש} 25 In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes. {P}

In Shiloh, the Jewish People united after the horrendous civil war:

טו וְהָעָם נִחָם, לְבִנְיָמִן: כִּי-עָשָׂה יְהוָה פֶּרֶץ, בְּשִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. 15 And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
טז וַיֹּאמְרוּ זִקְנֵי הָעֵדָה, מַה-נַּעֲשֶׂה לַנּוֹתָרִים לְנָשִׁים: כִּי-נִשְׁמְדָה מִבִּנְיָמִן, אִשָּׁה. 16 Then the elders of the congregation said: 'How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?'
יז וַיֹּאמְרוּ, יְרֻשַּׁת פְּלֵיטָה לְבִנְיָמִן; וְלֹא-יִמָּחֶה שֵׁבֶט, מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל. 17 And they said: 'They that are escaped must be as an inheritance for Benjamin, that a tribe be not blotted out from Israel.
יח וַאֲנַחְנוּ, לֹא נוּכַל לָתֵת-לָהֶם נָשִׁים--מִבְּנוֹתֵינוּ: כִּי-נִשְׁבְּעוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, לֵאמֹר, אָרוּר, נֹתֵן אִשָּׁה לְבִנְיָמִן. {ס} 18 Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters.' For the children of Israel had sworn, saying: 'Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.' {S}
יט וַיֹּאמְרוּ הִנֵּה חַג-יְהוָה בְּשִׁלוֹ מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה, אֲשֶׁר מִצְּפוֹנָה לְבֵית-אֵל מִזְרְחָה הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, לִמְסִלָּה, הָעֹלָה מִבֵּית-אֵל שְׁכֶמָה--וּמִנֶּגֶב, לִלְבוֹנָה. 19 And they said: 'Behold, there is the feast of the LORD from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.'
כ ויצו (וַיְצַוּוּ), אֶת-בְּנֵי בִנְיָמִן לֵאמֹר: לְכוּ, וַאֲרַבְתֶּם בַּכְּרָמִים. 20 And they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying: 'Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
כא וּרְאִיתֶם, וְהִנֵּה אִם-יֵצְאוּ בְנוֹת-שִׁילוֹ לָחוּל בַּמְּחֹלוֹת, וִיצָאתֶם מִן-הַכְּרָמִים, וַחֲטַפְתֶּם לָכֶם אִישׁ אִשְׁתּוֹ מִבְּנוֹת שִׁילוֹ; וַהֲלַכְתֶּם, אֶרֶץ בִּנְיָמִן. 21 and see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
כב וְהָיָה כִּי-יָבֹאוּ אֲבוֹתָם אוֹ אֲחֵיהֶם לרוב (לָרִיב) אֵלֵינוּ, וְאָמַרְנוּ אֲלֵיהֶם חָנּוּנוּ אוֹתָם--כִּי לֹא לָקַחְנוּ אִישׁ אִשְׁתּוֹ, בַּמִּלְחָמָה: כִּי לֹא אַתֶּם נְתַתֶּם לָהֶם, כָּעֵת תֶּאְשָׁמוּ. {ס} 22 And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come to strive with us, that we will say unto them: Grant them graciously unto us; because we took not for each man of them his wife in battle; neither did ye give them unto them, that ye should now be guilty.' {S}
כג וַיַּעֲשׂוּ-כֵן, בְּנֵי בִנְיָמִן, וַיִּשְׂאוּ נָשִׁים לְמִסְפָּרָם, מִן-הַמְּחֹלְלוֹת אֲשֶׁר גָּזָלוּ; וַיֵּלְכוּ, וַיָּשׁוּבוּ אֶל-נַחֲלָתָם, וַיִּבְנוּ אֶת-הֶעָרִים, וַיֵּשְׁבוּ בָּהֶם. 23 And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they carried off; and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and built the cities, and dwelt in them.

The dancing was in this valley, the Valley of Shiloh, which I photographed as it was covered by a Brigadoon mist.

In all honesty I feel so blessed living in Shiloh.  It's almost thirty years since we moved here, and I think that living in Shiloh has changed me in so many ways for the better.

Chodesh Tov!

The Blog Across the Street

A few weeks ago, a neighbor called me asking if I'd help her start a blog.  So I walked over, as far as directly across the street, and sat with her by her computer.  We opened an account for her on blogger, which she likes, since it's a great deal considering the cost, zero.  We chose a simple template, added the title, picture etc.  This week I went over again to help get her started.

She was very lucky that It's All From Hashem hadn't been taken.  Yes, that's the name.  You can click it to read what she has posted.  She's an experienced, published writer who writes about her life here and her past.

I'm one of the more veteran bloggers, and I'm so grateful to all those who have helped me over the years.  Total strangers, who knew me only from my blog spent time trying to explain all sorts of blogger lingo and technical stuff.  My blog banners were done by Sarah.  Years ago, Akiva fixed my old templates, making them look and function better.  Others who have helped me are Risa, Leora and many more including some who no longer blog.  So, yes, it's a great pleasure to pass on to a good neighbor some of the skills and expertise I've picked up over the years.

There's a Jewish saying when you're thanking someone for helping you:

"Tizke/i l'mitzvot."
"May you be rewarded with mitzvot."

You can spin this to mean that when you do the same mitzvah to another, the reward is shared with the one who helped you.  It's like a glorious pyramid, where mitzvot "credits" keep increasing as everyone you've helped help others.  The mitzvah pyramid gets larger and larger as we pass on the help, the good deeds.  Yes, that's how I wish to thank those who have helped me, those I've named and those I haven't.  I thank all of you.

Chodesh Tov, 

May the month of Adar reverse all bad and make it all good.

Mothers See Things Differently

Last night my son's IFL football team, the Jerusalem Lions lost the game.  They won't be playing in the finals.  It was a pretty good game.  Both teams made good plays and bad.  This will be the first finals they don't play in. 

Following is what I posted a few minutes ago on facebook.  Facebook limits the amount you can put in a simple status posting, not as restricted as twitter, but one must watch one's words.

Jerusalem Lions lost the game last night, won't be in the finals. We were ahead and then at the last minute lost. Afterwards another player's mother and I were talking. "At least nobody was carted off badly injured." Her son said: "I'd rather have been taken off in a ambulance and won." Mothers see things differently.

Honestly, I don't go to these games to watch football.  I can do without watching games, all sports games.  I go to them for one reason and one reason only.  That's to watch my son, not as much as to watch his sports prowess, but to watch over him, try to protect him with my prayers.  I want him safe, and I want him happy, but if I had to choose between a sports victory and his health....  Of course I want him healthy, physically and mentally healthy.

It was just a game.  We all have to deal with disappointment at times.  It's not easy, not pleasant, but that's life.  And the quality of our lives depend on how we deal with disappointment, tragedy etc.

I went to the game after attending an Azkara, Memorial Ceremony at our local Shiloh Cemetery.  And our community and seven others are commemorating the Yartzeit of Yonatan Eldar, HaYa"D, who was murdered by an Arab terrorist three years ago at Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva, Jerusalem.  That was a tragedy, not the loss of a football game.

One Of Those Big "If's..."

I love being in Shiloh.  I think that making that move to Shiloh almost thirty years ago was one of the best things we ever did.  It feels like the right place.  There's a mishna (please don't ask me for identifying name, rank, serial # etc) that says that there a "hidden magnet" in us leading us to the tribal portion of the Land of Israel we're supposed to be part of.  That seemed so true after volunteering a few years on our Va'adat Klita, Absorption committee.

But when we first looked for a yishuv in Judea and Samaria, we checked out Judea, not Samaria.  Actually, the very first place we almost moved to was Kiryat Arba.  We were almost among the very first and had even been assigned an apartment in stage one.  The Shabbatot and Jewish Holidays we had spent in the Hebron Memshal among the original post-1967 Jewish community there were great.  But then my husband got a good job in Jerusalem and it just seemed too much for a very young family to live so far away.  And we had bought our Bayit V'Gan apartment, having moved in after the birth of our eldest.  We had been so sure that we were going to live in Kiryat Arba that we didn't even fully furnish it, figuring that we'd wait.  Then we checked out Tekoa and Efrat, in both we would have been in the original group or close to it.  Tekoa would have had been great fun for me and my husband, but there were no kids for our daughters.  And the first stage of housing in Efrat did not attract us. They couldn't give a price but wanted a deposit, and one of the plans had all internal toilets, no windows, which seemed much too dumb.

Then friends, with daughters the same ages as ours looked into Shiloh and we all moved here the same year.  There's only one thing that gives me regrets, OK, make it two.  Raise Your Spirits Theater and Dames of the Dance.  I write for Sharon Katz's Voices Magazine from Shiloh, so that's taken care of.  But the stage calls me...

They Look So Comfortable, Don't They?

I almost always have my camera strapped belted to my waist.  That's except for Shabbat, of course.  That's why I take such peculiar, you must have a handy camera pictures.  The funniest is that the dog and cat in these shots seem to be posing.

More Work, More Energy and Harder to Sleep

Recently, I've found it harder to fall asleep, even after a long exhausting day.  I feel too "wired," not relaxed.  My mind is spinning out of control.  I should have been tired yesterday and thought I was.  I need sleep.

Yesterday, I was up my usual early 5am, had my water, coffee, etc, made lunch to take for work, got dressed, dovened etc again.  Then, since someone from work had offered to pick me up, I walked all the way to the "gate," about a mile from my house.  Then I worked hard for six hours at Yafiz, walking all over the Rami Levi-Yafiz complex in Sha'ar Binyamin.  Then I tremped to Ofra to visit the grandkids, finally got home, made dinner, ate, read my Al HaPerek chapters, translated the Honenu news updates, a bunch of household chores and went to bed.  But I couldn't fall asleep.  It took me quite a while to unwind.  So for sure I didn't get enough sleep last night.

I hope this means my metabolism is speeding up!

I'm finishing this/posting it not home, since Explorer flew the coop/computer when I was typing at home.

Remember, Laughing is Healthy

Especially, since I have a lot to do tonight, yesterday and the day before, which I haven't gotten done, I'll give you something very humorous to watch, so maybe you'll forgive me.

Hat tip, Shy Guy

Mike Tyson The President's Speech, from the Chris Rock Show

I Love These Hats!!

Have you been noticing how wearable the designer clothes are getting?  Except for the middle skirt, which can be easily stitched, these outfits, if you could afford them, would be acceptable in shuls, Torah-observant, tzniyus-demanding synagogues, right?  Elegance is fashionable and true elegance is modest.  And those hats....

Jerusalem Sites/Sights

I haven't been to Jerusalem this week, but last week I took a couple of fun pictures.  I absolutely adore my "reflecting" photos, like this bus, which looks like a montage, but it isn't.

The next isn't quite clear enough, because until I pulled out my camera and caught the kid in my sights, he was pretty far down the tracks.  No, not the new lightrail tracks, the old Jerusalem train tracks in Katamon, which used to take the train and passengers to Tel Aviv and Haifa.

I haven't walked the tracks this year to Matan, but maybe one day when I have more time...