I Almost Ended Up Spending The Night On The Bus

I am really exhausted even though I set my alarm for two hours later than usual.

Yesterday started "regular," though I had gotten to sleep later than normal the night before. I spent less than an hour at the pool and then puttered around the house.

Then I was off to a wedding. Getting there was easier than originally expected. It took awhile to make the arrangements, but they went well, bus to Jerusalem, got off at Ammunition Hill (Ramat Eshkol/French Hill junction), bus to town to another couple going to the wedding and then to Kibbutz Tzor'a by cab. Beautiful wedding. G-d willing, I'll post some pictures.

Going home got complicated when I realized that the friends who had said they'd take me to Jerusalem never arrived. Then a friend from way back when started helping out. There were very few guests from Jerusalem and none from my neck of the woods. But, B"H, a ride was found, a great ride at that, and I made it with time to spare to the bus station.

The bus ride was comfortable, too comfortable, and the driver woke me with:

"Lady, where did you say you wanted to get off?"

It's a good thing he remembered that I needed Shiloh!

Nu, So I Finally Twit

I opened a Twitter Account. I don't know what the point is, but when I registered and read the program of the The Second International Jewish Bloggers Convention, I realized that I had to "march with the times." Maybe it's blog with the times...

I have my facebook, youtube, wejew etc. And I also use a digital camera and obviously a computer.

Call me a thoroughly modern Grannie!

Respecting The Blues Brothers

I've wasted a lot of time looking for a video of Aretha Franklin singing "Respect" in the movie, The Blues Brothers. It's past my bedtime, so I gave up.

Tonight our Movie Club saw the Blues Brothers. Most of us loved it, but one didn't. He didn't see the satire, the parody.

I Guess I Ought To Just Ask

Yesterday a much admired, famous photographer was here, yes, in my house. Although, I wasn't prepared, hadn't dressed for it, no make up and didn't even have all my earring holes filled with earrings, I was photographed. (And I didn't protest it, acting modest, shy nor temperamental. I was very aware of each click of the camera.)

Deciding not to be totally shy about it, I requested that some be sent to me. Nothing was promised, because the lighting was bad, and we're talking about a professional who can't lower standards, of course.

This morning I found that two photos were sent. I forwarded them to family members... and a couple of friends, just a couple. But no, I haven't blogged them. There must be copyright issues when it comes to somebody famous, I presume.

I already sent the photographer thank you's, so I don't want to nudge too soon with more emails. I'll ask about using them more publicly later.

No, they're not flattering in the cheery youthful sense. I think that I look my age, though not decrepit.

Hesh's HH and...

The Tisha B'Av Hevel Havelim is sadly at Frum Satire... oops, that doesn't sound too good. Poor choice of words. Sorry Hesh. OK, let's start again, sort of It's not sad and it's not saitire. It's just a very chock full of great posts, or links to what must be great posts, on one of the great, though young, megablogs, ok, mega-j-blogs.

Most of the mega-jbloggers ignore the rest of us, those who consider 1,000 hits a week, impressive. So I really appreciate the fact that Hesh is introducing all us jbloggers to his fans. Thanks, Hesh, you're still invited over here to Shiloh sometime when you're in Israel. I'll even make some waffles in the waffle machine you handed my husnband last summer. And if you don't like waffles, just check out the recipes on me-ander.

And one minor correction, Leora is in charge of JPIX, not me, but I'm hosting the next one. That's part of the "and" in the title. I've volunteered for two September jblog carnivals, besides the Kosher Cooking Carnival, which doesn't have a host, and...

Did you hear the news? I've been asked to get back in the saddle and teach again, just subbing for a few months. Let's see how the "Super Savta" handles all this...

Nu, maybe you're interested in hosting a KCC?

A Bissel Culture

Last night was "motzei Shabbat Nachamu," a traditional time to attend musical events, after the first Shabbat after the Three Weeks. So I didn't blog and I skipped seeing C.S.I. I went off with some young neighbors for a cultural adventure.

First stop was the nearby city of Ariel, the Moscow of the the Shomron. How could I resist the chance to hear the "Beatles" so close to my home town Shiloh? OK, "Beatles music," but even that was stretching it.


Unfortunately, I have a very good audial memory, and the Israeli band's version of the Beatles was far from the sounds and arrangements permanently burned in my brain. It wasn't even the lead singer's atrocious Hebrew accent which totally damaged the lyrics, the drummer's drum set was inadequate to even give him a chance to reproduce Ringo Starr. Probably the most blame could be humped on the guy controlling the sound. The mix was totally out of whack and proportion. We couldn't hear one of the singers. It may have helped if he had lowered his mic so his mouth, rather than eyes would reach. The guitars, at least one, was much too loud.

For someone of my generation, who remembers vividly when those songs were new, when they were released, it was especially difficult to call this performance acceptable.

We heard lots of Russian around us and some Hebrew. Ages were mixed. I think that I was the only one of my age and background, so maybe others enjoyed it more than I did.

One thing for sure is that the park in Ariel, where it took place, is gorgeous. Mayor Ron Nachman certainly knows how to build.

Next we went off tho Tapuach, which advertises Saturday Night Concerts and promised a spectacular one for last night. Apparently the plan was to "concert" all night and according to Yekutiel Ben Ya'akov drive out first thing in the morning to Har HaBayit, the Temple Mount.

We left after midnight, during the performance of their first "star." I'm not sure of his name, but he was more professional than the faux Beatles. There wasn't much of a crowd, at least in the "Women's Section." Things seemed to be livelier on the men's side.

I got a peek at the rebuilt synagogue in the hilltop neigborhood of Tapuach where it took place.

It seemed like most people were prepared to stay much later than we were.

There were books, t shirts and nosherei for sale, too.

I know that I sound terribly critical, but I did have a good time away from the computer. If one doesn't experience life, what's there to blog about?

Avoiding...

Yes, I know there may be problems with the videos I put up. They will be fixed, so keep checking. They seem to work on firefox but not explorer.
Sorry

It's Friday morning, and I have a lot to do. I did laundry, finally, after the nine days we had to avoid it. Actually, laundry is my favorite of the housework chores.

I still have to cook for Shabbat and clean. No, I don't clean like this guy.










I try not to waste water. Shabbat is approaching. It's really time to sing.

Organizing My Way To Success

G-d willing, I should add. And I mustn't forget to thank yahoo and its calendar.

I set up a couple of daily reminders which appear at the top of my inbox every morning. One is to send an update to Yehudit, my Life Coach. I've been doing this for a couple of months, and it's very helpful.

As I've blogged before, I start my day at the computer, drinking water and then coffee and then "eliminating." I get up very early, so that I can do all this without pressure. Once I read that you must "eliminate" old food before adding new each day. It makes sense. Constipation is a cause of all sorts of medical problems. People who are too busy and too rushed slow down their biological systems and clog their bodies with toxic poisons.

This gives me relaxed computer time for emails and blogging.

Over the past few years, like many closet/amateur/would-be writers, I've begun quite a few books and never finished any. One got close, but then a computer virus eradicated it.

Recently, with the encouragement of my coach, I prioritized and decided which book should get the focus. But I still had trouble forcing myself to write. Procrastination is my middle name!

Then it hit, I just need to set up another daily reminder. So now, I try to follow it and write a few lines, barely a page, sometimes more and sometimes less, but I write. As soon as I finish my daily lines/chapter, I email it to my gmail account, which automatically goes to my yahoo, too. That way it's stored and saved.

Strange Dreams

It wasn't just being spooked by the 9th of Av, the serious 25 hour Jewish fast day.

I decided to sleep later than usual, and due to the heat, I transferred to the couch. One peculiar dream was about a dog, that had attached itself to me. I kept trying to signal people to get the dog away, since I'm quietly phobic, but the dog was somehow under me. Maybe I felt the leather couch.

Another dream had something to do with going back to teaching. Yes, it seems like I am, at least for a few weeks as a substitute. I got a call from one of the largest girls high schools in the country. It's conveniently nearby. And they need someone to take a few classes. At first they asked for two, and then they wanted four. I declined, because four are too many. I'm game for three, but now we're negotiating about which three.

I need the money, and I'm sure that my lack of energy is a result of the fact that I'm bored and have nothing much to do. Energy generally expands with need... up to a point, like a balloon. There's a limit. So, we'll see what happens. As I said, it's just for a few months. And the traveling conditions are much easier and the school is tops. A friend reminded me that in my previous school the fact that the kids didn't work was draining. When kids work, it's more stimulating.

I still want to continue with the diet coaching.

Today's Pre and Post Fast Super Vegetable Soup

Nutrition experts say that it's best to eat lots of carbohydrates before fasting, and since the toughest fast of the Jewish year in the Northern Hemisphere starts tonight, I decided to change my "diet" and eat in accordance.

Tonight is the 9th of Av, and yes, it's a 25 hour fast. It starts before dusk and ends the next night in darkness.

I've been varying my vegetable soups recently. I made a pasta-less Minestrone three weeks ago. My classic vegetable soup is based on split peas, but honestly, it doesn't matter what exactly is put in it, it's always delicious and fantastically easy to make.

You don't need an exact recipe.

Today's soup is with light brown lentils. There's a brand pre-cleaned (bugless and stoneless) so I didn't have to spend time checking. The lentils cook up very quickly.

In one covered pot I put the lentils will boiling water and had them cook for awhile. When they began to soften I turned off the flame. Then I cut some onions and carrots and sauteed them in oil in another, larger pot. When they began to soften, I added the lentils, liquid, more boiling water, some sweet potato and a couple of stalks of celery. I also added some tomato paste for extra flavor, and then some salt and pepper.

After about 40 minutes I turned it off.

That's it!

Why Blame The Cabby?

Every few weeks, or months, especially in the summer there are reports here in Israel of horrendous tragedies, children, babies dying or becoming brain-damaged after being left for hours, forgotten, in their parents' car. On occasion, it's a van (school bus) driver, but generally the story is of parents, each thought that the other had brought the sleeping baby in the house and put him/her in the bed.

Years ago, in the days when either there wasn't car airconditioning or windows were still left open, people would hear the child crying, or if the kid was asleep, the car air was safer. Also, years ago you didn't have a carseat for every kid up to school age.

There's news now of a Boston cabby who drove a family home from the airport in one of those large bus-like vans. He checked as well as he could from the outside and trusted the family to take all their valuables. Yep! They left a sleeping baby. He's in legal hot water, and the parents aren't.

I'm sure that they counted their suitcases...

Could It Be The Coffee?

Every morning, about this time, as I sit in the den at the computer, I begin to feel hotter and sweatier than when in the steam room. Could It Be The Coffee?

I drink two very giant mugs of coffee every morning as I type/blog/answer email etc. This is good coffee, made in one of those electric filter coffeemakers. I use good Turkish (Israeli) coffee. Then I add some milk and just a bit of sugar.

Then sometime after starting mug #2, there's a heatwave.

During the day I don't drink coffee, just water, so it's not like I'm a total/true coffee addict. On Shabbat I drink a large mug of instant coffee.

Even though my hair is pretty short, I feel like I've just been shampooed, all wet. And even when I walk too much during the day, I don't feel this sweated up, f'shvit'd.

Tagged: "Seven Things I Love "

They got me! Snoopy the Goon, that is. And now I have to play the Seven Things I Love game. And after I reveal those seven truths, I have to tag seven other bloggers.



Let's start:

1. I love my kids and grandkids, and if I was in the mood to cheat, I'd just list their names, and I've have more than a total of seven. But though that may be OK on a technicality, since most people do mention their family, I understand that we're supposed to list "things" and not people...


2. I love it when people tell me that I've lost weight, which I have. I really get a kick out the those who tell me: "Enough is enough." My normal weight used to be much less than I weigh now, and I was considered fat. OK, overweight then.


3. Let's stick with the ego stuff, just a bissel more. I love it when people claim that they don't believe I'm as old as I am. But the bus drivers haven't refused me the senior ticket yet, so maybe I do look my age. (Women start the discount younger than men.)


4. This is getting harder. Maybe I should have just listed my children and grandchildren... OK, more ego stuff. I love it when people tell me that they read my blog.


5. Why am I writing such selfish stuff? I love exercising in the water. The Nine Days are tough. It's the middle of the summer and the pool is closed!


6. I love it that there's a pool very close to my house. It's open only three months a year, but that's better than not at all and having to travel all year long.


7. I love living in Shiloh and feeling the Holiness here and I also love my neighbors. B"H, I'm blessed.

Now, for the seven lucky bloggers, who I hope will forgive me, please!!

Here in HP, Ilana-Davita, Esser Agaroth, Seraphic Secret, Isramom, Beneath the Wings and The Rebbetzin's Husband.

Of course, anyone else who'd like to do this is invited!

F'Shvitz'd!

My Yiddish isn't all that good, but anyone who knows even a minimal amount of Yiddish, and you don't have to be Jewish, will understand the meaning.

Today's hot, and even if it's not a scorcher, I shouldn't have done so much walking. Three, too long to call them strolls, walks in Jerusalem.

And of course I haven't been drinking enough, nor eating enough. I can feel my body protesting. Even my knees, which have been enjoying the lighter load, 30 pounds (13 kilo) less, aren't happy.

And in 24 hours we start the 25 hour Tisha B'Av fast. I had better start rehydrating pronto!

Is It Just My Computer?

Yahoo mail is acting peculiar. Sometimes I send a letter and end up with an empty page, rather than the sent notice. Or the clicks just don't react.

Tired and...

I'm really tired today. Yesterday was busier and fuller than usual. I couldn't eat and drink at my usual frequencies. I'm probably a bit dehydrated, too.

My body needs major refill, and it's just a day before Tisha B'Av starts. One must be very well hydrated before a twenty-five (25) hour fast.

I have to buy a slew of gifts for the many weddings we're invited to in the next couple of weeks.

I was offered a temporary job... It won't be easy, but I need the money. It doesn't start yet.

I've been facebooking more than previously. My computer doesn't have the strength/memory whatever to keep so many programs open all the time.

On with the day...

The Waiting Bug

Veteran readers know how much I hate waiting. I've used the wasted time to take some great pictures. Today we went to the Knesset. I couldn't use my camera inside, but I love the shots from the outside.

It's late and I'm tired, so please just click here to see them on Shiloh Musings.

Good night!

Strangely Slanted

My political blog, Shiloh Musings, is suddenly all italicized. I have no idea how or why. I haven't played with the template, and only I have template/editing/owner rights.

Help!

School Debut, HH #227

Check out Jewschool's Debut Havel Havelim! They certainly passed the test!

Now that's one "degree." There are two more for a PhD in Jblogging, the Kosher Cooking Carnival and JPIX. Hosting all three is the elite of jblogging. Give it a try!

Starting The Week With A Bissel Visiting

I haven't done this sort of post for a long, long time. It's a round up of links to other blogs. Please visit and send my regards.

Veteran jbloggers must remember the great jblogging couple, the bagelblogger and his baleboosteh. Well, they have news. They began JPIX, after I mused how it would be nice to have a jpblog picture carnival. Consider this a reminder to send in your posts. I'm, G-d willing, hosting the next one.

A new jblogger on the block, the creative Jewish mom shows us how she celebrated her daughter's 7th birthday. Mazal Tov!

Leora blogs about famous farewells. It's not about Rhett Butler. Read the comments.

RivkA prefers shaving it off, rather than "extreme thinning." Refuah shleimah RivkA bat Tzirrel, and while you're praying, please add another few names, Tinok ben Liba Faiga, Neomi Rivka bat Bluma, Pnina bat Sofia Zlata. AMEN!

Irina's in Solitary Confinement studying for the Bar. Good luck!

Jacob Da Jew wonders if he should censor his kids' music.

Aussie Dave posts Reel Life in Gaza, not your usual Gaza story. It reminds me of a fact few people remember or know. Until the time of the Hebron riots/massacre in 1929, there was a Jewish community in Gaza. Gaza's history includes Jews; it wasn't a totally Arab city until very recently.

Harry Potter fans should enjoy Ya'aqov's post.

I prefer real life, like in Baka Diary.

This proposal to supplement the budget of a home for the severely retarded in Israel is worth reading.

Although this isn't Seraphic Secret's most recent post, it leads into one I really like.

Ricki's Mom is also a "A “Real” Grandmother," a fact she rarely blogs about.

Last week was pretty busy in Shiloh. We had a very special guest, and I had a nice group for Rosh Chodesh Prayers at Tel Shiloh.

Shavua Tov

Have a Great Week