Lovely Dairy Meal in Kfar Etzion

My friend and I had a lovely lunch at החממה Hachamama, The Greenhouse in Kfar Etzion, Gush Etzion, a pleasant and short ride south of Jerusalem. We usually look for bargain meat restaurants and thought about checking out the food/meal kiosks in nearby Rami Levy, because I figured that they would be similar to the ones in Sha'ar Binyamin, where I've gotten a nice simple meat and salad meal for just ns15-16.

But we were tired and needed to sit and did have the time for a leisurely meal, so we went to Hachamama which had been recommended by one of the shoe store workers. It's just around the corner; we didn't even have to move the car.

Their business lunch was very reasonable, a full two course meal with coffee for ns48 if I remember correctly. The salmon salad and another item were ns58, ns10 more. We ended up having their "antipasti" roasted vegetables with a nice minty yogurt dip as first course and the Halumi Salad for the main course.

Both were very tasty as was the coffee. We preferred eating indoors, though most other customers were outdoors. There are very interesting decorations, mostly old-fashioned kitchen items which were very familiar to us. Here and there were a few more modern cooking gadgets, but on the whole it was a very clever display. The menu was a lot more modern.

We didn't have any dessert, nor did we eat their bread which looked very tempting. Here's the information as copied from the gush etzion tourism site:

Opening time:9:00-21:00 ראשון עד רביעי sun to wed
9:00-22:00 חמישי thur
8:30-13:00 שישי wed sic (with all the English speakers in Gush Etzion...)phone number:02-623-0465

Portrait a la Diane Arbus for 52Frames

For this week for 52Frames, we were supposed to copy the style of a famous photographer.

"Coffee and a Cigarette"This black and white portrait was inspired by those of Richard Avedon, but since I did not have the studio conditions he would use, it's much more like the portraits taken by Diane Arbus. She photographed interesting looking people in their natural settings. This attractive woman agreed to pose during her break when I told her that I, davka, wanted her to be smoking.

I planned the shot pretty well, the most important part being the model. She had just the look I wanted. Both Arbus and Avedon shot very interesting looking people, but the big difference was in the settings. You can see the Rami Levy supermarket stuff in the background.  From the photos I've saen, Avedon prefered the studio sanitized in a way, but Arbus photographed her subjects in their home turf. This week I'm very satisfied with my photo. I know it's not as sharp as those professionals could do, but I have a simple, inexpensive camera.

The photograph was originally shot in color, and afterwards I removed the color so it would be black and white.

No Bargains

For years I had been wanting to shop for quality Israeli shoes at the Teva Na'ot טבע נאות"outlet in Kfar Etzion, Gush Etzion just out of Jerusalem. The other day, my friend and I finally went there. We were prepared to buy and we were looking forward to buying. But as you can see from this title, we were disappointed. There weren't any bargains among shoes were could wear. Prices really were much higher than we had expected. And even though we were still willing to buy and tried on dozens of pairs of shoes, none felt comfortable enough for our tired middle-aged feet. We are both very particular about the shoes we wear, because we like to walk and be active.

The store is large and has other departments, besides the shoes, including housewares. The sales staff was not particularly helpful besides clarifying prices when we asked. There wasn't much order in how the shoes were arranged, although we had been told that they were set by size. I work in a shoe store, and I couldn't figure out any system there.

By the time we gave up I was limping and glad to get back into my comfortable pink sneakers. At least I got this yearning to go to the store out of my system.

Tomorrow's Rosh Chodesh Marcheshvan!!

Yoohoo ladies!! I hope you can join us at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh, the Site of Ancient Biblical Shiloh for our Rosh Chodesh Prayers!!

Women's Prayers at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan

Tuesday October 13, 2015

30th of Tishrei, 5776, 8:30am

Hallel and Musaf for Rosh Chodesh

Tour of Tel Shiloh

Dvar Torah, Short Torah Lesson

Please come and invite family, friends and neighbors

תפילת נשים ראש חודש חשון בשילה הקדומה, תל שילה

יום ג' 13-10  ל' תשרי, תשע"ו 8:30

הלל ומוסף לראש חודש

יהיה דבר תורה קצר וסיור בתל

כדאי לבוא ולהזמין חברות, משפחה ושכנות

Please pray with us and let others know. Join our facebook group for more updates. And remember that there are many other things to do at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh. It's open to visitors six days a week. For more information call  02-994-4019. And during Succot Chol Hamoed there will be lots of special activities for the entire family. Guided tours can be arranged through the Shiloh HaKeduma, Ancient Shiloh office. Email visit@telshilo.org.il or phone 02-994-4019.

Traditionally Rosh Chodesh is the Women's Holiday, so take advantage and celebrate with us! Also the Jewish Laws on Prayer are derived from how the Biblical Chana prayed, davka, in Shiloh at the Tabernacle, which was the location of Jewish Prayer for close to four hundred 400 years.

Our custom is to pray as individuals except for Hallel which we sing together outloud.

The Sound of Music in Her Mind- 52Frames

Only the young dancer heard the sound of the music.

This week's 52Frames theme/challenge was Sound. As usual, I ended up taking the picture at work, Yafiz, Sha'ar Binyamin.

"The Sound of Music in Her Mind"I was mesmerized by this adorable little girl dancing around the store twirling a long supermarket receipt. The "Sound of Music" was obviously in her mind making the dance even more beautiful.
This photo qualifies for the "Extra Credit" challenge: "No Musical Instrument"

What's More Embarrassing...?

Haven't we all had a wardrobe malfunction? I know that I've had them, probably more than I can count. And I've always been grateful for those who had the guts to let me know about it, whether strangers or friends.

Not long ago I noticed that a good friend, a very modest and well-dressed woman had a skirt on that seemed surprisingly sheer. She was about ten feet, three meters from me or more and I could easily make out her underpants. It didn't take me long to decide, and I was quickly next to her and whispered:

"Your skirt's too sheer."
"Mine?"
"Yes."

Within seconds she was gone and returned later with a different one on. She was very grateful and explained that in the rush to get out she hadn't realized which she was wearing.

Most men have stories like that concerning their zippers, which may be open or with the shirt stuck. Buttons sometimes have a life of their own and open up. And of course we may not be aware of rips and stains. Sometimes wardrobe malfunctions are easy to repair, and sometimes they aren't at all.

One thing for sure. I've decided not to be shy about informing people who are most probably unaware of the malfunction. I'm certainly happy when people tell me. It may be embarrassing to hear it, but to think that I've been walking around like that is certainly worse.

Dancing Up a Storm-MAZAL TOV!

I've been to so many weddings, dozens, probably hundreds over my lifetime. My very first memory is the wedding of an aunt and uncle when I was just over two years old.

And every wedding is different, has something unique about it. Even the most  ordinary and conventional weddings are memorable, because each couple and the families and friends are different.

Last night we were at a very special family wedding at the Jaffa Port, not a location I'm familiar with at all. This couple actually made sure to tailor their wedding according to their requirements, but it still had all of the elements of a Jewish Wedding, the chuppah (wedding canopy,) blessings, ketuba, food, dancing, great joy etc.

And the dancing was to their favorite sort of music, which isn't the music I usually hear at weddings, but my kids and I danced together on the sidelines.

When I see how beautifully my kids dance, I consider that my late mother is with us, since she loved to dance! I guess we inherited those genes from her.

Simple TNT Cold Cures

I had one of those annoying season change colds this week. It started with a scratchy sore throat and escalated into a frightening cough. Thank Gd it didn't keep me in bed, but the cough did disturb my sleep and frighten my workmates and customers.

My favorite cure is drinking lots of water with freshly squeezed lemon juice. The water is simple tap water, not hot at all. Hot water kills the vitamin C in the leomon and makes it useless. That is easy when I'm home, but almost impossible at work. Luckily I only work part-time and managed to drink lots of my lemon juice water. And as you can see, I keep the lemon in the water to make it even more potent.

Yesterday, I was worried that the cold wouldn't go away in time for an important/significant family wedding tonight (no, not one of my kids, but almost) so I thought I'd get some Vitamin C in the nearby pharmacy. But when I saw the price (vitamins are expensive in Israel) I changed my mind and ran to the healthfood store at the other end of Sha'ar Binyamin.

There I bought myself some low sugar dried cranberries and flax seeds. The cranberries have a bit of Vitamin C plus antioxidants which is supposed to be good for our health and fight disease. I decided on the flax, because decades ago, it was considered a good food addition to clear the respiratory system of phlegm. Children with repeated/repeating bronchitis and ear infections despite taking conventional medicine were given ground flax seeds sprinkled over their foods with very good results. So I hope that the flax seeds will make my cough go away more quickly, Gd willing. I sprinkled some on the dinner I had brought from home. And then I had more with oatmeal after work. I make the oatmeal with water and cinamon only, no milk nor sugar added at all.

Last night I did sleep much better than the past few nights, thank Gd. And today I was up bright and early before my alarms went off.

Last Sweet Taste of Summer

For weeks it has looked like our grapes were finished, but yesterday when I was hanging wash I saw a tempting bunch and took a picture and a taste.

Yes, they were sweet, the perfect end of summer treat.

Down with The Succah and Up with The Laundry!

I try not to do laundry during the "intermediate days" aka Chol Hamoed of the Succot and Passover Holidays.  Gd willing I'll have a few batches of clean and dry laundry by the time I leave for work.

We planned the house with this merpeset balcony/terrace that has four clotheslines which can hold a couple of loads of wash or more, depending on the type of wash of course.

And Now for The First Time in Months...

The fan is silent. I turned it off right after Simchat Torah ended. It's suddenly chilly outside. We don't have an airconditioner, and fans take ages to cool the room, the large open-plan L shaped livingroom-diningroom kitchen. So, I turned it on rather early in the summer and haven't turned it off, not even when we've gone away for Shabbat.

Our house was planned and built to keep in the heat during the winter, so it can get awfully hot in the summer. I keep the shades down and windows, which face east, as open as I can considering the badly planned "double windows" we have.

We didn't even have the fan and shades in the early years we were in the house, when the kids were little and lived at home. I don't know how we survived, but in those days nobody had airconditioning, so I guess we were used to the heat.

I guess we really ought to get airconditioning, which also will provide a more efficient way to heat in the winter. Any recommendations?

Next is Olive Season

As I've written before, we, that's my husband and I, are the world's worst gardeners, but even our garden has two types of food-bearing plants/trees/vines native to this part of the world. Both are used for various religious ceremonial and food purposes. And both of them require little or no care. I've written a lot about our grapes, but less about the olives.

The olive tree was planted by the Shiloh "town planners" before we chose this spot for our house. It was planted on the side of the path which goes from the street to the top of the hill, where later on, after we had already built and moved into our house the neighborhood shul was built.

Olives are a strange tree; the fruit/olives come out every fall, but there's a two year pattern. One year there's a rich crop, and the other year a lesser crop.  This year looks pretty good:

And in case you're asking, the answer is no. We don't do anything with our olives. Usually neighbors ask if they can take some for olive oil, and we say "yes, especially if you bring us some." This crop has the holiness of the shemitta year.

The Grandkids Visited

OK, I must apologize for not posting a picture that shows how gorgeous my grandchildren are. I'm not supposed to, so here's a picture that shows some of them sort of. Even this shot shows them to be adorable, right?

One thing for sure is that they love the playgrounds near my house!!

Succot All Over

One of the great beauties of the Succot Holiday in Israel is that there are public succot all over for those who want to observe the holiday by eating in a succah. At least in Jerusalem it's very easy to find restaurants with succot for their customers' use.

Here are some photos I took this week:

At the Kotel

At the Kotel

Jerusalem Municipality 

At the Ammunition Hill Light Rail stop

Rami Levy, Sha'ar Binyamin

The Working Poor, Me!

Israeli income tax isn't done like American. I grew up with an accountant (later CPA) father whose annual calendar/schedule revolved around April 15, the official deadline for submitting tax forms. He was a one-man business most of the year. The only time he hired anyone to help was before that deadline during "tax season." While two of my mother's nephews were in college, they were trusted and hired as my father's assistants, and one of them even became an accountant, too.

In Israel, if you're an employee with just one job, you don't have to fill out any forms besides the once a year one in which you submit to the authorities via the employer saying that you have only one source of income. Taxes are calculated at source by the employer.

A few years ago, I discovered that by filling out a simple form in the Post Office, I, as a part-time minimum wage worker could get a bit of extra money. It's known as the "negative income tax." The first time I read the letter from the tax authorities I thought it was a trick, but my daughter told me to take care of it. It's no joke. So now I make a point of going into the post office with my Teudat Zehut, Identity Card and checkbook. Yes, that's it. The clerk fills out the form. Once, in the Ofra post office, he insulted me by saying that I do not look like the picture in my I.D. But after an unpleasant delay, he realized who I am and said he knows my daughter and did his job.

Pisgat Ze'ev Post Office, while waiting on line

This year, actually two days ago, right before the deadline, I finally took care of it. This time there was a complication with my bank account, because the branch we had been using for years had closed. That meant that although my checks (from the old one) are still good for paying, the bank computer didn't recognize the old branch and account numbers which the clerk had copied from the checks. Luckily my husband was home and after going through all sorts of papers found the new numbers. The clerk was extremely nice, patient and tolerant of the situation.

Between waiting my turn and the mess with the numbers, I spent a full hour in the post office. Gd willing within a few weeks I'll get my usual letter saying that I'm eligible for a sum of money which will be deposited in my account by the tax authorities. It will certainly come in handy.

Succot at the Kotel

Yesterday, as I wrote last night, A Promise is a Promise!, I went to the Kotel. Here are a few of the photos I took. One thing I must say is that the atmosphere in the large ladies section was very nice and peaceful and polite. I'm not a "fan" of the Kotel. I feel much more connected to Gd when at Tel Shiloh, and I plan on going up to Har HaBayit again, Gd willing in the future. But due to the outrageous ban on Jewish Prayer there, it isn't all that fulfilling to go up. 

On Succot I always get sentimental when I see the Kotel's succah, because we used to take the kids for a succah "picnic" every year when they were young. I was sorry to see that there is no longer one giant succah. There are now two in a different location.

I walked my usual route down to the Kotel from Jaffa Gate. It's the way I've been walking since I was a student at Machon Greenberg in 1969.