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.

Shakespeare, Not For The Sedentary

Officially, it's called Theater in the Rough. The audience follows the actors around the park. Each scene is acted in a different location.

Measure for Measure was the second play I saw from this amazing theater group. Last summer I watched/followed their Hamlet around Bloomfield Park, behind the King David Hotel, Jerusalem.

Theater in the Rough puts on one of Shakespeare's plays each summer. They begin their productions late afternoon, and by the time the last act begins, it's already dark.

Young and old, tourists, Israelis, sabras, olim chadashim and vatikim make up the audience. Some viewers carry chairs, others sit on the ground, stand or climb onto the "props." You may notice some of the children who are almost part of the scenery.

I must admit that I was sometimes distracted by the "little dramas" by "extras" that unintentionally added to the show. Bloomfield is a public park, and it isn't closed to the public during Shakespeare.


My friends and I attended the last performance of the season, and we could see that there was nothing tired or jaded about it. The actors seemed to be having a blast. They didn't seem tired; neither did the audience.

Production crew was very impressive. Many of the actors were playing multiple roles and had to change costumes constantly.

It's important to remember that the actors are amateurs. Not only that, but technically entrance is free. This year the recommended contribution/donation was NS35. They also sold T-shirts with the names of the plays Theater in The Rough have presented.

Theater in the Rough have a facebook page here click. If you'd like to get involved, email info@theaterintherough.co.il.

I have no idea which play will be next year. They'll make the announcement early summer and will open for auditions. Whether you hope to be part of the production or just in the audience, you're bound to have a wonderful time.

See you next summer.

Beach Day, First Time in Decades

Yes, that's me in the water

The other day a couple of friends and I went off for a very short beach day. The last time I may have gotten fully wet in the ocean at a beach was well over forty years ago. I don't remember much about the water, since I was busy taking care of my three daughters who were pretty small at the time. My strongest memory of that day was the awful sunburn I got on my back. It was probably the worst sunburn I've ever suffered. As a child, being the "dark one" in the family, I was never considered sensitive to the sun, so it was a real shock when I found myself burnt.

This week's adventure was different. First of all, it's part of my:

• Why not? Let's do it.
• If not now, when?
• Take advantage of every opportunity.
• Live it up...
• Pleasures of retirement. 
• Etcetera...

We had a full day together starting with our weekly Tanach, Bible studies, then lunch in IKEA, my first visit there. For ages, I've been calling myself: 

"Probably The Only Person Who Has Never Been To IKEA." 

Now my husband is the sole holder of that title. And since he doesn't like shopping, he may hold it even longer than Queen Elizabeth has held hers.

IKEA was chosen as the lunch venue, since not only is it strictly kosher, but it also charges relatively little for a meal. If you're wondering if I bought anything in IKEA, just a little thing to prop up my phone and some paper napkins. I wasn't even tempted by anything else.

Since we had guessed that the beaches would be empty, and we wore modest bathing suits, we went to Palmachim Beach. It was a good choice. The end of summer vacation meant that few people were there. It's also a lovely beach, clean and with all the facilities we needed.

We took turns falling, but I had no problem getting up.

As an extra treat, we had some ice cream. I must admit that I ended up tasting some of the beach water, which was saltier than I had remembered. One thing that surprised me was the oily feel of the water. I don't remember ocean water as oily. Please don't tell me that it's pollution. Since we sat on folding chairs, the same ones we had taken to Shakespeare last week, oops I still have to blog about that, we didn't get full of sand. I must admit that I didn't shower off before leaving. The natural ocean water was a pleasure after three months of pool chlorine.

The trip back to Jerusalem was without delays, and miraculously I made it in time for a Shiloh bus. Again Gd was good to me, since Yermiyahu Street was clear, and the ride home was relatively fast and uneventful.

"Joys of Retirement" for sure. We must do it again.

Astounding Growth, Shiloh's Elementary Schools

September 1, 2019, first day of school

Thirty-eight years ago, September 1, 1981, the Shiloh Elementary School, Ohel Shiloh, opened its doors, yes doors since each class was in a separate small building, for the first time. There were eighteen students in three classes, 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades.

In 1981, Shiloh was a small, rather isolated community which was trying to grow and expand. It had been decided that in order to attract more families, make life easier, more attractive and provide employment opportunities, they would open a school.

A local school was one of the factors that helped us decide to move to Shiloh, even though our eldest daughter would have to travel to Ofra. There weren't enough "older children" to have more than three classes. For the first school year, the classes were in new prefabricated homes that Arik Sharon, as Minister of Housing, had brought to Shiloh. Even though the summer of 1981 brought a record-breaking number of new families to Shiloh, most of the houses were empty. It was good to have the school using three of them.

The following year, the school moved down to the neighborhood near the Tel Shiloh, and more prefabricated buildings were brought in for the growing school. A few years later a proper school building was built in the "Middle" of Shiloh, between Tel Shiloh and our neighborhood over a mile up the hill. Preschools and the Infant Day Care Center were also built in the area. More buildings had to be added to the elementary school, as it reached eight grades plus separate classes for boys and girls. As the school continued to grow, especially since students came from nearby Eli, Maale Levona, Shevut Rachel, Shiloh Valley hilltop communities, Southern Shomron and  Jordan Valley, two separate schools were set up, one for the boys and one for the girls.

My youngest child graduated 8th grade over twenty years ago when the school was still relatively small and hadn't yet been divided. I've had little reason to enter it, more accurately the schools, besides Election Day, for many years. And the voting booths/stations are set up in the building cloest to the entrance to the schools' campus. Since there's now a maze of buildings, I can't even point out the original one, where I had been the girls gym teacher for many years. Davka, this week my I accompanied a friend in one of the buildings in the middle of the campus. She had to bring something to one of her children. If I hadn't been with her, I'd still be trying to find my way out.

Here are a few pictures of Ohel Shiloh Elementary Schools circa 2019, 5779-80 on the Jewish Calendar.

One of The Bonuses of Walking

Like most walkers, I walk to keep fit, lose weight etc. And besides having to periodically buy comfortable walking shoes, which should be worn even if you don't walk much, it's free. Yes, unlike most other sports, fitness methods, classes, pool memberships etc, walking doesn't require an expense.

OK, maybe you'll need a sunhat and sunscreen, but many sedentary people have those for lying the sun and floating on rafts, cruising etc.

So, besides the frugality of walking, there's an added bonus, views, sunsets, sunrises etc. Last night I scheduled a walk with a friend, so I'd see the golden sunset. All it cost was a few calories, and I wanted to lose/spend those anyhow.