Thank G-d, My Plans May Be Ruined

G-d has been good to us, and it started raining last night.  He even arranged things to encourage me to exercise by stopping the rain just long enough for me to "do" my two neighborhood circuits.

It's funny; I wasn't the only one pounding the pavement in the name of fitness.  There was a guy getting his body ready for the army and a few young kids running.  And there were a couple of heavier than they should be guys on a regular fitness walk.  I see them frequently when I'm walking at night.

Today, if G-d wants me to and takes a break from the rain at the time I plan on leaving, I hope to go to Neve Yaakov to the swimming pool.  Even on our rainiest days, there are periodic breaks.  My bag is packed, just in case.  I also got up early enough.  If I can't go to the pool, I'll try some other way of exercising.

The rain is the most important thing.  It's a blessing, a much needed blessing.

Jack's HH

Jack, the Havel Havelim "owner" is hosting this week's edition.  There's plenty to read, and some of the posts look so interesting that I started "clicking" to take a peek before writing this reminder post.  I don't think that ever happened before.

I can't believe that I volunteered to host the one which scheduled four weeks from now, if my math is right.  Asking the date is one of the first things the neurologists do to see how "with it" the patients are.  Now that I'm home taking care of my father and not teaching, I rarely know the date.  I wouldn't be surprised to forget and suddenly become inundated with posts automatically sent by blog carnival.

And talking about that, please don't forget to send in posts about kosher food for the Kosher Cooking Carnival, which I'm hosting pretty soon.  It's not just a recipe carnival, because kosher food isn't just about eating.  And if you'd like to host one, please let me know.

Hard To Label

I've always loved taking pictures. 

On my father's side there are lots of artists and art talent.  It was always a great disappointment that my attempts at drawing and painting were disastrous.  The finished product was always far from what my mind had pictured.

When I was a kid I wasn't praised or complimented on my photos, I was threatened for wasting money.  But today when I look at those old black and whites, I see excellent composition, and of course in those days you just took one shot of something.  Every print and developing process was a lot of money.  Even now, when digital photography is so cheap you can delete the bad ones and print nothing, it's rare for me to take more than two or three of the same scene, and frequently the first is the best.

This photo, taken in Jerusalem, is just one.  The photos before and after are totally different.  It was photographed in Jerusalem, most probably Jaffa Street, either while walking or on  a bus.  Because of the time factor between pressing the button and the actual shot, I'm never quite sure how a picture will look.

Contrary to my former attempts at art, drawing and painting, I'm more than satisfied with the results of my photography.  I think that the picture is perfect, but I don't know what title it should get.  This is a real Jerusalem street scene. 

If you have any suggestions, yes, please caption this.  Send in your idea for a title via the comment option.

Thanks

Is It Kosher?

The Israeli branch of the big traif McDonald's chain has been "negotiating" with the Jerusalem Kashrut body to get a "hechsher," certification for its branch in the Central Bus Station.  I took this picture of the "newly decorated" and certified kosher branch. 



The claim is that it no longer looks "McDonald's," so people won't get confused and think that all McDonald's are kosher.  Sorry, but it sure looks McDonald's to me.  That may be davka because of my unfamiliarity with the chain, and I presume that many others who only eat kosher food are in the same boat.  We see the arches and that clown, and that's McDonald's.  The colors just don't register, as far as I'm concerned.

McDonald's is a business and like all businesses, it's out to make money.  No doubt that it will, and it will probably open more kosher branches in Jerusalem.

Yahoo Spam Magnet-Trap

I've had to rescue all the blog carnival submissions for the next Kosher Cooking Carnival from the spam box of my yahoo account.  For that reason, if anyone is hosting a blog carnival, it would be a wise decision to make sure you haven't lost any to the spam trap.  Many (most) email services think they're doing you a favor when they imprison suspect mail.  My very own yahoo emails are trapped there, too, as are all the comments to my blog posts.

Technology doesn't know everything.  We always need the human factor to fix it.  Anyway, who invented computers? 

Casting A Shadow

"Casting a Shadow" influencing, changing the dynamics of our family...

My bringing my father to live with us wasn't planned or thought of, at least by me.  I didn't grow up with grandparents to care for.  My father's mother lived with my aunt and her family. 

For a very short period of time, when I was three years old, my mother's father stayed with us, for days or weeks, I doubt if anyone remembers how long.  At that time my grandmother was already dead.  My brother was a tiny infant and I remember that my grandfather stayed in my room.  I remember his talking to me, but I have no idea of the topics.  Sometimes I wonder if he, the most religiously observant of all of my grandparents, had spoken to me of Judaism.  Maybe he planted the seeds which contributed to my becoming religious.  My mother, fearing for his health, insisted that the walk to the local shul (synagogue) would be too far.  Forbidden attending shul and being with other religious Jews, he wouldn't stay with us.

My grandchildren are now growing up knowing their "grandpa," which is what they call their great-grandfather.  I no longer am able to help care for them once or twice a week as I did ever since the eldest was born.  That's a loss for all of us.

But at least they're being raised knowing that taking care of an elderly parent or grandparent is part of the cycle of life.

A continuation in the saga of taking care of my elderly father...

Feeling Dumb... More in the Saga of taking care of my elderly father...

I must admit that I'm the one who felt dumb.  There's news on TV about the earthquake in Haiti.  Now, I remember learning about Haiti.  I remember learning that it had, when I was a school kid at least, the lowest per capita income in America or the world, I'm not quite sure, but people there were poor.  And they probably still are.


Yes, Haiti is some island sort of near Florida, or is it near Texas.  Well, it's in the water somewhere.  OK, no-brainer, that's where islands are.


Then my father, who's supposed to be the demented one, began complaining:

"I can't remember where Haiti is.  I used to know the entire map."
"Uhhmm isn't it near Mexico."
"No, I don't think so.  Maybe near Florida."

So I took out the World Book Atlas.  And I found Haiti's page.  Oh, my.  I didn't realize that Cuba was so big.

And I had no idea that it was so close to Florida.  You can't see it, but Puerto Rico is to the east of the Dominican Republic.  I had no idea it was so far from the mainland.  I don't think I ever took a good look at a map of this area before.

Oh, my, I ought to improve my mind.

So "Green" is My Neighborhood!

I don't know what they're growing inside of this little "hot house," but it's obviously through the roof.  Quite a number of my Shiloh neighbors have set up store-bought prefabricated plastic hot houses to grow their own vegetables, but this one has its own unique personality.

Will Appease (Peace sic) Now go after a structure like this?

You Don't Have to Be Jewish to Eat Kosher Food!

Millions and millions of consumers all over the world have discovered that there are some great advantages to certified kosher food.

If kosher food manufacturers had only religiously observant Jews to rely on, it wouldn't be financially wise or feasible to produce strictly kosher food.  The fact that anyone can eat kosher food increases the customer base.

During the 1960's the OU Kashrut Division worked hard promoting the idea that kosher is good business.  Because of that, you can find strictly kosher food products all over the states.  Canned products, pretzels, breakfast cereals etc.  I'm not talking about gefilte fish.

Those lactose intolerant and allergic to milk find the kosher certification very helpful.  Celiacs love many of the Passover foods, since they can't have wheat.

It's important to know what you're eating, which is one of the characteristics of kosher eating.

"Cheap Date"

One of those "simple luxuries" I have trouble giving up or limiting is "lunching out with a friend."  I have a cadre of friends I take turns meeting for lunch in various Jerusalem restaurants.  It's a real treat, and honestly I can't afford it, but... one has to eat, nu?

Yesterday I had a date with a friend.  We met downtown Jerusalem, near the "Hamashbir," large department store.  She has learned how to conserve money.  Her lunch was in her bag.  I ran down to the supermarket in the Hamashbir basement and bought myself a banana and bag of shelled walnuts.  We sat on one of those street benches which has been screwed into the sidewalk by the Jerusalem Municipality.

We talked and ate.  I just had a few of the nuts and all of the one tiny ripe banana they had for sale.  The rest of the nuts were put in the freezer to be eaten at another time.  In my pre-diet days, I would have bought myself an inexpensive sandwich.  You can get a yummy one for about NS12, ($3.50,) but I really shouldn't eat the starch.  Carbohydrates put the weight on me.  And considering that I sampled quite a few of the hotel desserts on Shabbat in Tel Aviv, I already had my diet splurge for the week and the week to come.

When you think about it, both dieting (keeping excess weight off) and living within a limited income require planning.  Usually I take food along with me, but my friend and I hadn't communicated well about it.  Next time, I'll know. 

A "Must Read" on Leora's Blog

Yes, I hope this color gets your attention.

Leora wrote about abuse of children, sexual abuse, based on a lecture she heard by Mutty Weiss.  Her post is a "must read."

I Just Couldn't Resist Shooting This One

How about a caption?

That Time of The Year, Again

The Jewish Month of Shvat is approaching.  That means that we have barely two and a half months before Pesach, the Passover Holiday.   With today's larger freezers, many of us have a lot of chametz (food forbidden on Passover) to finish off.  So, now's the time to do that inventory and "shop in your freezer" instead of buying food you already have.

Years ago, before our nest emptied, when our freezer was a fraction of today's size, I didn't have to start the drill until Purim.  But now things are different, and it's a shame to throw out food.

And while I'm mentioning how to manage the Jewish kitchen, I'd like to remind you that it's always time to send in links to blog posts for the Kosher Cooking Carnival.  A blog carnival is like a floating internet magazine. There are many of them on all different topics.  The Kosher Cooking Carnival contains posts/articles about all aspects of kosher food, Halacha (Jewish Law,) customs, restaurant and book reviews and recipes, too.  If you'd like to host an edition, please let me know.

I'll be hosting the next one, the 50th edition of KCC.  And with that Yovel milestone, we're making a very important change.  We'll be scheduling according to the Jewish Calendar, so #50 will be the Shvat edition, G-d willing.

The Gantseh Megillah's Back!

Yes, it's time to read the latest edition of the Jewish internet magazine, The Gantseh Megillah!

Enjoy!!

Apple Green, The Truth And Probably The Last Post About It

The secret is out about my nail polish, the apple green nail polish.  Were you wondering why I call the color apple green?

As you can see here in this bowl of complimentary fruit in Tel Aviv's Carlton Hotel, that apples are this shade of green!

Can you imagine, the Carlton Hotel intentionally decorated the hotel with conveniently placed bowls of fruit just to match my nail polish!!

And I Had Thought I Was Being So Clever...

Yes, more in the saga of taking care of my elderly father...

Before my son-in-law came to pick up my father, so we could go away, I figured it would be a good idea to take preventative measures and change the batteries in my father's hearing aids.  She didn't know how, and he would be there on Shabbat, so what could be better than fresh new hearing aids before spending a day and a half with the great-grandkids?

I took out the batteries which had been brought from the states, since the ones I had bought here were already finished.  Now, I have no problems changing them.

So I figured that was taken care of.  I forgot to mention it to my daughter before Shabbat.  No big deal, since he had fresh batteries.


After Shabbat when I checked in with her, I was surprised (but you probably aren't) to hear:

"Grandpa couldn't hear anything; his hearing aids didn't work."
"That's impossible.  I just changed the batteries to new ones before he left the house."

Well,apparently, the American ones were old, past their prime.  When he got back I put the old ones back in, since they had been working when I changed them.  I hadn't thrown them out.  So today I bought some in the super-grocery store here.  I had noticed a few weeks ago that there were hearing aid batteries.


The moral of the story is:
It doesn't pay to think you're so smart.  At least I had saved the batteries, or it would have been more complicated, and yes, I checked all the batteries on that card.  All dead.

The Mazal Tov HH at the Bima Ima's

The Bima Ima has posted an early bird Havel Havelim wishing mazal tov to some great bloggers.

I hope that makes you curious enough to visit her and check out all the links.  Shavua Tov and have a great week!

Great Room, Though Not For The Superstitious

Yes, we spent Shabbat in Tel Aviv at the Carlton Hotel.  Our room had a gevaltic view of the Mediterranean Sea.  Some people would have freaked out at the room because of its number.  Do you want to guess the number? 

OK, would you believe 911?  At least it was easy to remember!  I'm sure that some people would refuse to stay there!  Not us.  We didn't mind.

It was a very "domestic" set up, with iron and ironing board in the closet, as you can see. 

The lobby of the hotel was totally changed since our last time there.

Enjoy some of the pictures I took from our room.

Tel Aviv does have its beauty.  Nice to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. 

Yes, Green-Nailed, I Was In Tel Aviv

photo by my husband

If anyone saw that green creature wandering around Tel Aviv Friday before Shabbat, I admit that it was me.  We were guests of a dear friend  and were put up in the Carlton Hotel.  My married daughter had my father over.  I sent a ton of food for them all.

We had a great time, and I'll blog more about it after I burn the pictures on a CD.  Nu, you do want an illustrated post, don't you?

Apple Green

I'm not quite sure that's the name used for it, but it seems to be a big color of late.  My NY daughter carries around a gorgeous leather bag of that color.  And somehow I bought (when last in NY) a shimmery nail polish which I actually wear a lot.

I like it much better than red or pink.  I should have gotten a whiskey-champagne color, which is more neutral.

I was surprised when a neighbor exhibited surprise/revulsion at the color.  It had never occurred to me that she was so staid and conservative about these things.  Of course, most of my neighbors would never wear any nail polish that you could notice.  I used to hate my hands, but I can bear them when I have the right nail polish.

I hope it looks OK with what I've planned for Shabbat, a brown herring-bone vintage suit for tonight and black with a fancy cherry red cardigan for Shabbat day.