Amazing Grapes...how sweet the taste

Looking for Sam Hain

I know that lime season is over but there are still a few to be picked if you know of someone with a tree. I have zested and juiced the ones I bought and in true Hints from Heloise fashion, made lime juice ice cubes for cooking throughout the year. Thai food, here I come.

OneWord

I visited Tania's blog and chose to do this. These are my instructions: Link back to the person who gave you this award. (me) Nominate at least 7 other blogs. Put links to those blogs on your blog. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you've nominated. You can only answer in one word.
1. Where is your cell phone? Somewhere.
2. Where is your significant other? "Office."
3. Your hair color? Many.
4. Your mother? Working.
5. Your father? Helpful.
6. Your favorite thing? Amaretto.
7. Your dream last night? Weird.
8. Your dream/goal? Books.
9. The room you're in? Living.
10. Your hobby? Crafts.
11. Your fear? Childless.
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happier.
13. Where were you last night? Out.
14. What you're not? Angry.
15. One of your wish-list items? Apartment.
16. Where you grew up? Cranford.
17. The last thing you did? Painted.
18. What are you wearing? Sweats.
19. Your TV? Computer.
20. Your pet? None.
21. Your computer? Tool.
22. Your mood? Hungry.
23. Missing someone? Mom.
24. Your car? Toyota
25. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
26. Favorite store? Kohls.
27. Your summer? Anticipation.
28. Love someone? YES!
29. Your favorite color? All.
30. When is the last time you laughed? Tonight.
31. Last time you cried? Unsure.

Here are my tags: Undine, Josh, Sabraheart, Superstarks

A Sleep

I think I am mostly over my jet lag but tonight is the true test. The night before last, falling asleep was like staring at an autostereogram. Once I was "in", my mind took notice and I woke up. Then it was the loud people in the alley and later an owl (or bat) in the night.
Lilah tov.

On My Way Home

On my flight home from London, my earphones didn't work and neither did my light. It is almost as though someone was trying to tell me to take a nap. Too bad I didn't feel tired.

:)

There was a Shkedi Marak* smiley face on my soup spoon.

* literally soup almonds, but actually little crunchy yellow squares (and rectangles) that are used as croûtons in one's soup or just to snack on.

Baker's Dozen

Pray for the little blobs of dough, that they may grow.
and hope they are wondrous as cake, we hope to bake.

Milk Does a Body Phlegm

So for those who are lactose-intolerant, vegan, or otherwise not liking the cow juice, there have been alternatives on the market for some time. Over the years, the products have even become better tasting, much like Passover treats. And now that I find myself adapting to a limited food list so that I can balance my yin and yang, I feel drawn to almond milk. Soy is not recommended for my particular imbalance but even if it were, rice milk would be a better option.
Today on the shelves of the health food store behold oat milk and spelt, bringing a whole new understanding to crying over the white/beige puddle on the floor.

On a Quest

Online gaming is one of my favorite things to do.

Here are a few really fun adventure ones:

Questionaut Quest for the Rest

Quest 1 and Quest 2

Enjoy!

Hueful Moments

Today on the bus I saw a gal with aqua hair and a mostly black outfit with a red belt of a skirt.

Brown has been the new black for some time now which has made my black shoe search that much more difficult. Even though I have been wearing lots of colors lately and my brown sandals from the Old City work with it all just fine, I still want/need black. Maybe this upcoming vacation will prove fruitful.

I tried to sell some jewelry today. Some was real gold and some was just chintz. But if it looks good, why is the price people pay so darn important?

Instrumental in Every Way

Like Ed Thompson and unlike Stacy Hedger, I hope to have a successful musical career after tomorrow's event. If you have no idea what I am talking about, and this goes for all of my blog entries, I will be happy to explain the nuances and wordplay. Just drop me an email or give a call.

Cheesecake

I really wanted rice pudding but they didn't have any. And even though I am mostly avoiding dairy and wheat, it was time to indulge in creamy cheesecake with crumbs.

Try Try Again

Not sure why but my lemon squares have not been coming out well; they are more like lemon omelettes. I will have to work on this now that I have another citrus contribution from a tree in the North.

Universal Represents

I had a delightfully delicious day with a friend. One in which purple presented itself in so many shades. At the Tel Aviv port.

Can't Believe I Missed April

This is the first time a month has passed without me writing something, anything. And it is not like I had nothing to say. Today I had a lot of colorful words that I wanted to say but couldn't. Let's just say that if I did write them here, they would be in yellow, brown, and various shades of skin.

Snow Peas

Snow peas bring me back to Grandpa's garden. And so do tomatoes. There are pictures of me just eating away at the contents of a large bowl of tomatoes of all sizes, cherry, plum, and regular. Just a memory lane type of day.

Post 101

My favorite cluster flower is Lantana. It perfectly fits into this blog as it is multi-colored. There is the Texas Lantana. And others. But there are some varieties that are invasive and the green berries are poisonous and if you crush the flowers, the scent is described as unpleasant, so I will enjoy the flowers from afar.

Hazardous Chemicals

Oh how I long for the day when I shouldn't color my hair.
For now it barely pacifies.

About Last Night

Yesterday evening, during another profile's (still me) go at Subway Scramble, a game devoted to colors, the laptop turned off. I had very little warning. Luckily 'twas only the power supply and we know someone who will graciously offer theirs before we leave for our vacation.

Snow Days

Watching Will & Grace episodes, The Illusionist, and most of The Twelve Chairs, making (and eating) pancakes, eggs with cheese, and maybe wholewheat pasta with sauce, checking email-work and personal, playing games including Scrabulous and Oregon Trail... perfect snow days spent with friends.

Ready for Beginnings

Since the last few days have been gray both inside and out I hope to be colorful today and decorate the etrog boxes with yellow and gold and blue and green. Maybe I will even play the Joseph soundtrack for inspiration.

When Everything Hurts for No Good Reason

Blah.

Too Much or Too Many?

Today I had the good fortune of coming up with an example of how to differentiate between many and much. I asked, "Am I wearing too many browns?" To which someone replied, "Yes." Then they went on to say that I was not wearing any other color which meant they understood the question as ...too much brown. Clad in five brown articles of clothing, the answer was probably yes in both instances but I look good in brown so 's okay.

Blustery Day

A warm frothy mocha beverage topped with whipped cream on a blustery winter day is pure YUM!

Secondary but not Second Place

It is not every day that you see someone clad in all 3 pigment scale secondary colors. In this case they were practically tertiary or even beyond but they were complementary. A teal green fuzzy coat framing a purple backpack under a shock of red orange fiery hair. For a color junkie like me - this was a great sight.

I had apologized for the lack of color in this post. Until my place of employment joins the Firefox revolution...I will be unable to color my words. Fixed.

613+

This past weekend I did the unthinkable. I had to know how many seeds were in my pomegranate. There were 904! So we ate them.

Color Everywhere

This is where the fairy lights grow.

An etrog box I made as a gift.

Shoes in autumn colors.

Sad Plastic Wrap

Being realistic only makes the truth minimally easier to bare. Barely.

White n Brass

Perhaps I have mentioned before how I really enjoy the fact that there is no rule in effect for wearing white after Labor Day. I have a few white items of clothing and in a week I intend to wear a new white skirt (with aqua trim).

And what is it with the 5 agurot piece?!? Why will the supermarkets not give me the correct change? At least at the shuk, I don't know that they have rounded to the nearest 10 but with the computer screen I can see that you not only rounded up but you took an extra .05 NIS! So watch out cause I am taking some 5ers with me.

H'apple'y New Year!

Yo Man.

Today is the day when I can start using my new day planner! The new year blows in next week and brings us many jubilant events. I will not mention them now because it may be better to say "we celebrated" than "we will celebrate"...who knows what the future holds.

Just Call me Rosa

Today I went to the mall. I don't usually enjoy the mall and today did not disappoint. I rolled my weekend bag through the crowds and did not find what I was looking for in the stores. However, I did find fun Sabbath gifts in the supermarket and also lucked out with a short line but the mobs of people made it all rather unpleasant.
Then I boarded the bus to the Gush.

My orange skirt with aqua flowers and my indigo top went very well with the bus interior and by default I coordinated well with the other passengers who wore just black and white. I obediently sat in the back of the bus and arrived at my destination soon after. I chatted with my hostess and ate yummy bean salad and took a nap. I hope there will be a few more of those this weekend.

Missing my Ramah family group and the wake-up calls and the free endless buffets and the back of the bus antics and the deep conversations but not the heat exhaustion!

Shabbat Shalom.

Always a Bridesmaid

This is my 4th job filling in for someone on maternity leave. Yay!

Blog Takes a Turn

Yesterday was a strange day. People looked odd. Everyone seemed to have a layer of grime on them. I sat at the bus stop and thought about who I perceived to be a chauvinist to my left and his 2 less-than-gorgeous sons and a wrinkled older man with a cane to my right who waited for the #31. I thought about how in LA, "normal people" never take the bus. Here, each week, it becomes incrementally difficult to drive into the center of town with a car. City planning. Judgment. Self-awareness.

With my new job comes education, understanding, and of course politics. And for me; food issues, identity, and politics*.

* see 1a and 6

Sugar vs. Lettuce

The lettuce is flowering and the violets have not in many months. I have been subsisting on Oreos, lemon wafers, ginger snaps, and Trix for the past half a week all because the lettuce has bolted (gone to flower/seed) and therefore is more bitter than normal. But it sure is purdy!

Another Web

Not having internet helped me re-discover the thrills and chills of Spider Solitaire. So of course even after the HOT (eh) guy installed a new modem, I had to win a game before I could shut down the laptop.

Some Lettuce for Some Fruit

The little old man is back where he should be, working his beverage stand on Emek Refaim. I buy freshly squeezed orange juice from him and the price can't be beat at 8 shekels for a large cup. I appreciate his return and am secretly glad that he is not selling candy too so I will not feel compelled to buy it.

Blueberries and raspberries are available at the gourmet grocery stores at their steal of a price - $.18 a berry. I will have to remember to stock up when I visit the family in NJ by eating them daily.

And lime season is almost upon us again. No idea if they will raise the price again, even so, it will be worth it.

The romaine is doing nicely as is the marjoram with full sun for at least half the day and water every other evening.

Distant Relative

Been thinking a lot about writing. Not only the blog but the children's books that are swimming in my head, and emails to long ago friends, and the beyond technicolor dreams I have almost every night. Thought about weaving a short entry about the plants that grow in our porch side flower boxes which would have been followed by a sarcastic remark about how the flower box was not code for anything and it was the only fruitful thing around.

Now I have the time for projects and walking to town and back. I have both the interest and the opportunity to see friends during the day. Time is a distant relative and I don't know if re-connecting and catching up are possible or what I desire. I think that trust and faith, patience and calm, peace and happiness, are worth staying in contact.

Here is a beautiful article...I shed a few tears. I loved that show and now the reality of the man behind it.

Food Fiesta

How to link all those Food meme people? Is it merely a cut 'n' paste?

Well here is a smattering direct from the last 3 weeks in no particular order:

Maui Taco at EWR. I like the paia burrito which is dairy vegetarian. I added pineapple salsa and cilantro to the delightfully filling meal.

Mom Ann's kitchen. While not an official restaurant and an invitation is needed to partake of the fare, one should definitely try to go when in the Detroit area. Her chicken marbella or honey mustard salmon are yum-my!

City Diner in NYC. Harvest waffle with fruit and nuts and a cheese omelet. 'nuf said.

Udupi Village in Montclair, NJ. The lunch buffet is the right price and the kosher vegetarian status sweetens my gulab jamun.

Sharing Chinese fare with my Mom upon arriving to Jersey. Steamed veggie dumplings and mixed stir-fry with garlic sauce. Good eats and great company.

Back to sleep to dream of sugar plums...

Little Dull Empty

At first it seemed like a reunion trip straight out of Grosse Pointe Blank only I wasn't a professional hitman, I had already married my love, and there was no actual reunion. I looked through some photos of times gone by (I don't think there are any of the future), and experienced short flashbacks of the drug-free variety - the paper route, the "round" bank that has been replaced by two monstrosity buildings, and how to get to Route 22 if Martine Ave. is traffic jammed.

It is disorienting to be "home".
It is humbling to go back "home".
It is difficult to take pieces of "home" back home with you when you are limited to 50 lbs. a suitcase.

...

Tasty Planet

Sometimes you come across an online game that speaks to you. It suits your mood and you get the humor; it simply works. That is Tasty Planet.
You are a bathroom cleaner globule and well, you just don't stop after the dust and dirt are all gone; you go for lice, dice, mice and more.
Don't hold the mustard!

Hoping for Another Shade, But Okay for Now

You are Ocean Blue

You're both warm and practical. You're very driven, but you're also very well rounded. You tend to see both sides to every issue, and people consider you a natural diplomat.

What Color Blue Are You?

Two Red Shoes

My red vinyl shoes are no longer part of my collection. They developed holes in impossible-to-fix places. And thus they were given the boot.
I have become a clearinghouse for clothing, shoes, and other stuff that people no longer want or need. I pass it on. It leaves our apartment. Then it goes on to new adventures. As will I.

Nature

Nature is really fascinating. In Japan...
In Israel we have black and gray plumed crows and while I haven't witnessed them cracking open walnuts, I have seen one pick up a small rock with its beak and today I saw one with one leg up on an olive tree as though it were tying its shoe!

At the intersection of Keren HaYesod, King David, and Jabotinsky Streets, the pansy flowers spell out Yerushalayim - in Hebrew of course.

Tower of Babel

I love reunion stories. Here is one.
I cry for joy when they are reunited.
However, I look quizzically at the author's name.
I love culture and language but this one is a bit much.
The tower of Babel is alive and well.

Art Switch

Yesterday morning felt more like the Groundhog Day movie script than Friday. I left the house without an umbrella and thus was soaked the minute I stepped out of the apartment entranceway. I crossed rivers to get to the makolet (quickie mart) and when trying to cross the railroad tracks while simultaneously avoiding speeding cars who were oblivious to the puddle/lakes that they were driving through, I realized my socks were wet. I went back to the apartment for dry clothes.
The second time down the stairs, I noticed that the "art" on the wall had been switched in the short time I had been away. The cartoon-like cats were now to the right of the clockface. I think that whoever is responsible for the cats and clocks may feel as though they are on Sesame Street featuring the letter "C". There are also chintzy ceramics but Maria Montessori would not approve of that as it is not phonetically apropos.
It was just another Manic Sunday.

The Prophetic Shadow

Tomorrow is one of my favorite holidays primarily due to the movie of the same name - Groundhog Day. Today should not go unnoticed. I bring you a bit of Crayola history.
Have a colorful day.

If Idaho, I'd plant 'em myself

Baking potatoes are here!
I don't know where you can buy them in the raw but baked and ready to eat - go to HOT POTATO!
It is located in the alley between Leonidas Belgian chocolates (and Village Green) and Sbarro.
They have the strange Israeli favorites such as corn, olives (both kinds), and tuna to top off your tater. I suggested sour cream and chives and told the owner that both things exist here. For 20 NIS you can get all those toppings and more.
Delicious.

Time for Planting

My flowerboxes now have marjoram and romaine lettuce seeds in their soil. I bought seeds and trays to catch the water overflow, and my mom-in-law bought more earth as the latest rains claimed the dirt. No, 'tis not an allegory for anything else.

Perhaps the new year that I have longed for is the New Year for Trees.

Top 5 Reasons Why the Flu...

is better than a kick in the pants:

5. You lose your appetite and save on grocery bills.
4. The heat is on and you have a valid excuse.
3. There is more than enough time for recreational reading.
2. Looking the way you feel is okay.
1. I fit into those curve defining boot-cut plum trousers again!

Cold December Rain

I would rather walk home in the winter rain than take the wet, odorous bus. The only major thing to watch out for, other than cars that can't brake in time, deep puddles, mud, and dropping your gloves when you reach into your pocket for a tissue, is walking too close to the curb. The image will forever stay etched in my mind - my close friend (who now lives in Smogville) was waiting for the green man to light up before the green bus passed and sent a tidal wave in her direction. It was a smiling happy waving friend closely followed by the classic "Home Alone"/Edvard Munch's "Scream".
Happy Winter!

What's the Rush?

I have some of my most profound thoughts while waiting for the green walking man.
Before I left the US to come on aliyah, I made it a point to not get annoyed with traffic and chose not to read newspapers. I felt that there must have been a reason for the delay and getting road rage was not going to solve it. The papers generally featured old bad news so I didn't put it on my reading list. Now I avoid jaywalking, especially when the brightly-vested are around, and scan the articles in order to move on to the puzzles page.
Happy Torch Lighting by firetruck or crane.

Nightscapes and Dreammares

Wild and crazy dreams. That's what happens when you sleep in a room with the heat turned up. It sets the stage for a fever-like evening of vivid sleep journeys. Then when you wake, you travel to the beaucratic land of 'mares: the income tax office. Did you know that there are 3 branches in Jerusalem and they have assigned themselves numbers. What they forgot to do was tell the public. And so we went to one branch and since the one we needed was not so far away; we walked it. After a bit of finding-the-right-floor, we obediently took a number (as though we were at the deli counter back in Jersey). At a certain point the red LCD went BACKWARDS. That my friend is how you know that you are in the right place.
All in all it was a worthwhile visit because the amount we owed, was in fact their error. In 2 weeks we should be rather wealthy or at least break even.

Factoid: The guy who discovered/invented X-Rays was named Roentgen. Doesn't your whole world just fall into place?

A Season

This time of year, when the real grass smells green and the fake grass needs no water; visit the circle at Hizkiyahu HaMelech for the latter. Autumn leaves have fallen yet no New England foliage preceded this event. There is the well-known PC desktop picture of Autumn, bright orange dressed trees lining a road. It makes me think of Unami Park and the swings that helped you fly into the treetops, if you pumped your legs hard enough. And when I learned to ride a bike, small, low to the ground and yellow and black. And while we are on the subject of glorious colors, check out this site, a bit of color synesthesia for you?

Stream of Consciousness

What happened to Wednesday? Was the weather cancelled? Or postponed? Was it forecast and then cast away? MrHawaiianShirt and I watch Heroes, an interesting series brought to us by the world of television downloads. There is bending of space and time, alter egos, brain-hungry bad guys, and those gifted with speedy cell regeneration. There is a book of scientific theories, an ethnic mix of cultural references, mind-reading, and 2 interracial couples. Why mention the latter? Click.

Looking for the Little Rainbows

One should be grateful for the little things. Like technological advancement, medicinal experts and just merely being alive...being able to afford to buy a turkey that is twice the size of my adorable nephew Lev, roast it in the oven without taping the door shut, and sharing it with friends over just one of the celebratory 25 hour weekly holidays...sharing life with a talented, most patient, and loving man.
The apartment is still on the market and I think I will have to turn it over to a real estate agent.
Just knowing that there are little rainbows, like the one colorfully bouncing on the newspaper display at the makolet this morning, soothes me.

Just a Bisele*

Happy Day of the Dead!

My Crocs bit me. I walked home from work and the nasty cuts that resulted were quite painful. Those "shoes" have not been worn since.

Our plaster turtle used to bite, which prompted us to call him the Snapping Turtle. Now he's tame. He stays obediently across from the door so as to greet guests. Everyone should have a Watchturtle.

I use the term, bite, in daily speech rather freely. When an insect, almost always a mosquito, takes a nip, I used to say, "somebody bit me." Then I realized it's best not to confuse the things with the people we love to be bitten by.

Which then brings me to the recent incident with the dirty old guy tourist who feigned fear of the photographer "snapping" his picture.
"Will it hurt?"
"No, he doesn't bite."
"Will you?"
"No."
"Please."
"No."

* Have you seen Yiddish with George and Laura?

Welcome?

Every Friday (or Thursday), our neighbor cleans the stairs by the waterfall method. She picks up everyone’s doormats and places them on the railing. After the squeegee part is done, the mats are put back in front of their respective apartments. Ours was a gift from Mom and it actually reads: “WELCOME”. Every Friday morning however, it returns to its spot upside down so that when one leaves the apartment, they are “welcomed” into the world out there.

I have been exposed to a lot more Hebrew lately with my new job in an over half Hebrew speaking environment. This is wonderful for me but there is one noticeable problem so far-how do I know when I am asked a question? It seems that most languages have clues such as inflection. I know that in Asian dialects, inflection is everything. While my command of the Hebrew language is less than perfect, I infer the meanings of the words that I don’t understand. But when someone asks me a question using words that fly by and I miss the question mark, I just nod. Give me my cue please.

Gulindo Bistro Bar

Oh what a treat! Today I had canneloni with salsa rosa.
Their yogurt soup is also divine.
Great background tunes.
A must eat there!

Shamai 17.

Picture this.

Picture this. Teenage girl dressed in no-longer-fashionable (according to Sunday’s Cathy comic) low-rise jeans on her way to the bus stop with a low hanging pale pink O’Neill backpack. Graffiti in black marker litters the stereotypical feminine rose canvas. The phrase “F--- the World” appearing at least twice, a few Anarchy A’s, and the swastika. At first I was incensed – how could this teenage girl not care about the people around her who undoubtedly have been affected by the Holocaust in some way. Then I wanted to go to City Hall and yell at whoever was in charge, for not educating Israeli youth about the last impetus for founding this State. Then I thought maybe I was merely angered at the injustice of having lived through the gory details described to me in Hebrew school at the age of 10. Maybe a small part of me wanted to regain that sense of innocence (or lest I say ignorance) of a time when my mind wasn’t filled with the horrific scientific experiments performed on pregnant women during the war. But then I took a closer look.

Upon further examination, I saw that there was an attempt at correcting one of the symbols that must have been facing the wrong way. While I only dabble in Robert Langdon’s field, I found that the clockwise and the counterclockwise versions have been interchangeable around the globe and throughout time - until 1920. The ones displayed in bold thick lines, were like those associated with Nazism, at least in the last 85 years. Symbols are strange like that.

My mom went to a PTA meeting when I was in high school on the topic, “Cults and Your Teenager.” At least I think that was the title. What I do know is that my mother returned home with a hefty 30+ page document of symbols that a parent may find in the doodled margins of their teen’s class notes (if they took any at all); each one interpreted to have satanic meanings. I could wax environmental and lament on how many trees were destroyed for the sake of distributing this one-sided drivel but I won’t. So I perused this ‘manual’ and found all types of symbols including the Star of David and the sign most commonly associated with PEACE. It stated that within the circle was a person with broken arms and thus a sign indicating devil worship. Whatever spawned this hysteria must have been pretty bad.
Back to the bag - there’s a bit more.

On the bulging pocket was a small pin of the flag of Israel. Next to it was an Israeli police silver badge. And so as not to confuse, a small pristine white toy duck served as a zipper extension of her schoolbag. So I concluded (?), by the way that is a question mark, that either someone vandalized her bag or she was just plain confused. Then I felt a bit of pity, and then I felt the irony of it all. What was written may be a cry for attention. Or maybe just maybe it was nothing at all.

Let the River Run...

No joke, the Archimedes' screw is working again. The fountain in Kikar Safra is bringing water from the depths through the aqua tiled runoffs to a pool across from the Old City. Let the river run!

Treats

Like Sahlab is the stuff that warms you up in the winter, a Passiflora/Vanilla Barad cools you down, at least for a little while. Sahlab used to really contain powdered orchid, now it is made from cornstarch, the stuff that pudds the pudding. It is a custardy drink that you can top with peanuts, cinnamon, shredded coconut, and raisins and then eat with a spoon. The Barad (hail) is more slush than a ball of ice. And as I hail (pi) from a place that had both, I can tell the difference. Today I had Pina Colada and Passionfruit and it did the trick.

Yippee!

Lime season! Remember to scratch and sniff to be sure you are not buying green lemons.

Check out this totally hip napkin I bought near the shuk.Nothing goes to waste.

Happy 29+ Birthday to Grandma!

What is it Good For? Absolutely Nothing.

As a teenager growing up in the US, people would sometimes ask you, "Who died?" when the expression on your face appeared sad or distant. Maybe you were having a bad day or maybe nothing of significance happened and you just didn't feel like smiling. Whatever the case...what an insensitive question. Teenagers have it rough; growing pains, arguments with parents, and getting grounded for no apparent reason. But then again, it really doesn't matter what age you may be, these are trying times. There is a war going on. Maybe there are several wars going on but only one seems to make the headlines. I try to distance myself from the news because it is rare that good news make the broadcast. Now with a new job in PR, the news will reach me one way or another. Fortunately, it is good news that I will distribute, good news that I will write about, and good news that will be read by others.
Today I feel overtaken by sad news.
No longer a teenager and just barely an adult, I find that endings are no longer happy and no longer sweet as they were at Friendly’s restaurant with a 2-scoop dessert sundae for $2.19. They are endings full of never-ending tears it seems, with bittersweet chocolate gratitude swirled in; gratitude to one (and all) who risked their life and lost it for the sake of a country, a people, a nation’s survival.
In 9th grade I asked the teacher “Why is there war?” only to be mocked by a fellow classmate who thought the USA was always right in every situation. This Amerikakit saw heroism and blind nationalism. I saw anger and hate. He touched medals and tasted respect. I smelled burning and heard screaming. It was not a competition of who sensed war best; it was a hopeful question which may have led to an answer that might have helped end war completely. I don’t think the teacher ever answered me adequately if he answered me at all.

Mazal tov! Mazal tov!

This country doles out its fair share of unsolicited advice: from the gray-haired shuk shopper ("only buy red cabbage, red peppers and purple grapes, the others are not healthy enough") to the hairdresser who gave me "natural highlights" after I specifically requested purple, ending with the cab driver who followed my not yet having children comment with ("you have to work [at it]...in bed") Well I bought the bright green anavim because they are seedless and I have yet to take down the "For Rent" sign (see previous post)


Last night I became an insect. There could be many puns here because my realtor's last name is Kafka but instead I will have to pronounce things Britishly to be understood. I call the new addition "Burrito" because that is how he was swaddled AND he looks so delicious. Mazal tov! Mazal tov!

Postscript: There has been some confusion regarding this post so to clarify insect=ant (Aunt). He is no longer called Burrito. See his Super family blog for more details.

Is Blogthings Psychic?

You Are The Empress

You represent the ideal female figure: beauty and nurturing. You bring security and harmony to many. At times, you are also a very sensual person. You are characterized by love, pleasure, and desire. Your fortune: You need to take some time to think about the role of commitment in your life. It's possible you need to commit more to others, or deal with how others have treated you. It is very important for you to support your friends and family right now, difficult as it may be. You may need to look at your relationship with your mother, or your relationships as a mother.

What Tarot Card Are You?

Lights, Camera, Action

Today was the photo shoot. There is prime real estate for whoever is interested in taking up temporary residency. Best suited for those who like to have the curtains drawn (and I do not mean in the Amelia Bedelia sense.) Graffiti will NOT be tolerated.

Studio apartment is fully insulated, partially furnished with a waterbed and well-stocked fridge and landlady is super nice (if not a wee bit neurotic.)

Growth

There are window boxes outside on the grate of our porch/bedroom shutters. When Mom was visiting we bought 2 of them, filled them with dirt and she planted the seeds. My green pinky toe is no match to her green thumb. Yesterday amidst the varying shades of green, I saw pink! One of the clinging plants has a bright pink flower. Very exciting. Thanks Mom.

The middle box is successfully sprouting greenery of all types. It was a going away gift from a friend and was pre-filled with a flowering succulent. Now it has small leafy plants that I cannot identify because I have no idea if I planted them or a bird brought them. There is one plant that I do recognize—a blade of grass. Mr. Hawaiian Shirt suggests that we call him “Blade” for short.

Blue and White

We celebrated 58 years young with the rest of the nation. As I looked up from the courtyard BBQ to the neighboring apartment buildings I saw many flags; small ones and large ones. Six-sided stars with a point at the top and one on its side. And the laundry that the families had on the line to dry…2 were blue loads and 2 were white.

Our colors.

Pure

Beethoven wrote in a letter, "Whoever tells a lie cannot be pure in heart - and only the pure in heart can make a good soup." So I got worried. Because around the same time that I read and internalized this quote, my soups were decidedly untasty. Today however, the tides have turned.

Today's chicken soup is: Chicken boiled in 8 qt. pot, frothy stuff removed. Added celery leaves, 2 parsnips (or parsley root?) and the parsley greens on top, 2 carrots, 6 cloves garlic sliced, 1 small leek sliced. Boil boil, no toil and no trouble. Yum.

Lighter

Well that last one WAS a little heavy I will admit.

All I have to say today is know a little; gain a bit of knowledge before you take the Dr.'s word; read up on it online; join a message group; emote because it is your God-given right; eat Fruity Pebbles or Oreos or lemon wafers but then stop because sugar can be evil.

Untitled

Disclaimer: I thought of this earlier, I cried, I ranted, but I still want to put it out there-

Four Letter Words:

IDEA
BLOB
GLOP
FEAR
GROW
TUBE
HOPE
CAN’T
MAKE
WOMB
LOVE

Labels

Usually the little things don't bother me, rather they pique my interest. I don't care what you wear after Labor Day. (You should have seen the ultragreen outfit I wore on Shabbat) The patterns that the elderly women mix, well it is just a matter of personal taste. Not mine, but someone's. But those pesky white labels on the soles of new shoes. Please oh please take them off!

Horizontal

After 2 full weeks of back pain and the theories on why it ails me: financial worries, holding on to something in the past, slept in a draft, and the advice: spend money and get better furniture, take painkillers, wrap a scarf around yourself to keep the area warm, I chuckle at some of the irony but then I quickly stop because that too causes me pain. I actually have a bit of cash in ye olde bank (mostly because I cannot get up and out to spend it) but a good office chair is not where I would like to invest my funds. I reflect on 2006 and think about letting go of those somethings of the "past" 3 months and then realize that "loss" doesn't necessarily mean gone.
I moved us to the warmer living room to avoid leaky windows, I sampled many painkillers (aspirin won), mentholated my sore back, and then wrapped it in a towel. My back is still out...with the jury.

And do you know what those U-shaped toilet mats are for? I thought they were to protect my feet from the cold tiled floor.

Bzzzz

Poppies and Hyssop and Savyonim and Thomasim!

It has been a glorious midday of wildflowers and buzzing things. I was glad to come out from under my rock to be with Nature and most importantly Friends.

The past 2 months have been challenging in so many ways I don't know where to begin. Suffice it to say the Healing is in full swing. And maybe capitalizing important words assists others' Understanding and Compassion.

Happy Groundhog Day and The MEME of 4

Four jobs I've had in my life:
1. Montessori facilitator
2. Rutgers University Catering/Beit Hillel waitress
3. Bodyworker (not an auto mechanic, rather healing arts)
4. Bartender

Four movies I could watch over and over:
1. Gigi
2. 50 First Dates
3. Groundhog Day
4. Groundhog Day

Four places I've lived:
1. Jerusalem
2. Cranford, NJ
3. New Brunswick, NJ
4. Yehud, Israel

Four TV Shows I Love to watch:
1. Numb3rs
2. Weeds
3. My name is Earl
4. Will and Grace

Four places I've been on vacation:
1. Bermuda and assorted Caribbean islands
2. France, Switzerland, Italy (same trip)
3. La Paz, Baja California
4. Latvia and Estonia

Four websites I visit daily:
1. www.i-am-bored.com
2. www.livnot.com
3. www.google.com
4. www.answers.com

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Indian food – especially the desserts
2. Pasta dish with Salsa Rosa
3. Whitefish salad and the fixin’s on an everything bagel
4. Peanut butter and Strawberry Jam on toast

Four places you'd rather be:
1. next to Mr. Hawaiian Shirt
2. in the kitchen preparing something yummy
3. with Mom sorting through the various items we have both acquired
4. occasionally watching TV, not at home of course, we don’t have one

Four books I'll read over and over again:
1. The Boxcar Children
2. Da Vinci Code
3. Ender’s Game
4. works by Peter Sis for the illustrations

I'd like to tag whomever wants to take on this MEME.

Reflections of WE

We had not planned ahead for the last few months of turbulence and trauma, but then, how can one plan?
We find that we revisit the details because the devil is there... but so is G-d.
We is one of the most important words I will ever know.
I love you, EW.

It must’ve been a boy…

who had wanted to be an astronaut, because it was lost in space and forgot to ask for directions. Truth is I feel grateful for the whole experience. I discovered so much about myself; body and soul.
Over the course of the last 5 days: I watched “free” cable TV albeit without a remote. I broke a 26 hour fast with a cup of hot sweet tea that tasted like nectar of the gods. I cried while listening to my soulful journey MP3 with shuffle option. I originally burned the 187 song compilation for my September trip to the US but at the time of its creation I had no idea of just how valuable the mix would be a few months later. I pondered. I sobbed. I prayed. I dreamt. Hallucinations, meditations, revelations…
But most importantly, I learned more Hebrew in those 5 days than in my 5 years of living here. And that is only a slight exaggeration.

Thank you Devra, for being my sister.

Thank you Abba and Mom Wanetik, for understanding the gravity of the situation and then giving up quality Ezra time.
Thank you Mom, for being available at any and all times of the day and night to talk, share, and ask me if you could call me back so I would save money on the long distance.
Thank you to the ‘patient’ ones on the outside, who called and offered support and allowed the story to unfold in its own time.
Thank you Shira, for your inquisitive mind, your cheery disposition and your bubbly laughter.
Thank you Tina and Sarah, for your lyrics and melodies that could not have been more appropriate.

Thank you Judy Brodt, for giving me Aliza’s number.
Thank you Geula, for calling me back and then checking in again later that night.
Thank you Lisa and Alex, for allowing me to have a normal evening at home in the middle of a most surreal week.

Thank you Purple Parrot, for your cuddles, our momentary SMS misunderstanding and at the moment of clarity, dropping everything and coming to visit.
Thank you Len, for providing me with valuable information on pharmaceuticals.
Thank you Yonah, for asking minimal questions and trusting me when I said that the work will all get done.
Thank you Dad, for your practicality and optimism.
Thank you J.R., for being Joe.
Thank you Grandma, for passing on your quick recovery genes.

Thank you Erica, for the markers (that btw all work beautifully) and the designs for me to color.
Thank you Ari, for the pudding.
Thank you Shalom Leib, for reclaiming your most prized material possession out of our living room.
Thank you Gestetner family, for preparing and cooking yummy Shabbat food for Ezra and me.

Thank you Liz, for being the spiritual healer that you are.
Thank you Alys and Jeremy, for getting married in NJ so that I can recuperate with cable on a comfortable couch in T.A. with Bernard.

Thank you Rebecca, for listening to all the details by phone.
Thank you to the doctors, surgeons, nurses and all other staff at Maccabi and Bikur Cholim hospital.
Thank you Sharon W., for making us an orange welcome home soup and garlic bread.

And of course thank you Ezra, for knowing from my first smile that I would be his wife.

Thank you all for your prayers, your friendship, and your love.
It takes a village to raise a child and a community to help send a spirit back to its source with peace, love and light.

Don't Mess with my Toos-toos

toos-toos - moped, scooter, generally for intracity use only

Those who drive on mopeds seem to think that they own the road; but then again, everyone here thinks that.
The toos-toos drivers are known to weave in and out of traffic, ride on the dividing line, and generally not follow any of the safety rules. Yesterday I saw one "go through a red light," by way of the islands, crossing 4 lanes of traffic, just before the light turned green. We, who drive defensively, have had 2 run-ins with mopeds; both of which were them running into us!

Anew

A new start.

We are moving at the end of the week, down two floors across the hall. There will not be as much sunlight or the spectacular view of the sun setting but we will be okay. There will not be fourth-floor weather reports in which I see snow flurries outside the window, knowing that by the time they descend 2 floors they will have become rain. This too is okay. There will not be intense negative energy or the smell of sewage from an exposed pipe or a "skylight" that is really a crack in the wall of the enclosed porch. Those details will not be missed.

I look forward to new beginnings and hope that my readership will visit us soon in #33.

Music MEME

The rules:

1. Turn on your mp3 player.
2. Hit shuffle.
3. Put the first fifteen songs that come up in a post. No matter how embarassing. No cheating!

I made an mp3 for my recent trip to the US entitled Rachel's journey. Here are the MEME results:

1. You Learn -Alanis Morissette
2. Once in a Lifetime - from the World Music Mix
3. Sweet Jane - Velvet Underground
4. Relaxation Spa Treatment- from the Wired CD (Wired Magazine)
5. Rain - Corrs
6. Your Song - Elton John
7. Right Through You - Alanis Morissette
8. The Memory of Trees - Enya
9. not the same- Ben Folds Five
10. Boadicea - Enya
11. Corner of the Sky (Pippin) - Jackson 5
12. fred jones Part 2 -Ben Folds Five
13. Into the Great Wide Open - Tom Petty and the HB
14. Im Ze Ha Sof - David Broza
15. One's Man Dream - Yanni

She is NOT Daisy

I found some not so helpful hints on 18Tricks2TeachUrBody, (whose link is now MIA, but that may be for the best.) It said that if I have to use the bathroom really badly, I should think about sex to alleviate the pressure. More specifically they recommended I think about Jessica Simpson. Now, not only do I have to urge to micturate, I also feel like throwing up.

Classic Moments in Shoedom Part 1

This morning on the bus the driver was playing a classical music CD. What a refreshing change from news I only generally understand and the same music "hits" played over and over again.

On the way home on the bus I thought of shoes I have owned. The painting bolted to the outer walls of the construction site on King George and the women who crossed the street wearing the skater sneakers inspired this stream of consciousness. I remember shopping for shoes with my Grandma at Buster Brown for each new school year. I recall giving away sturdy brown shoes to my friend Karen because I simply did not like them. Having owned many pairs over the past 25+ years (there were shoeless years too!), I feel grateful.

The MEME

7 Things I Can Do:
Procrastinate.
Cartweels.
Make challah (traditional Sabbath bread) and other breads/dough/pasta from scratch.
Mid-week crossword puzzles from the NYTimes.
Be efficient in my work, both time and production.
Spell.
Trouser Friendly Kisses.

7 Things I Can't Do (Can't is a strong contraction, don't or won't is preferred):
Don't :
Brush my hair.
Mop the floors.
Sing the traditional Ashkenazi Shalom Aleichem and Eishet Chayil on Friday nights. (The Wanetik Way pamphlet will be available soon)
Won't:
Take ANY medications unless I absolutely have to.
Throw trash on the ground especially when there is a garbage container 2 steps away!
Can't:
Drive a stick shift car.
Believe I should be shopping at the market now and instead find myself sitting here writing this MEME!

7 Things I Constantly Say:
I love you.
Sure/Okay.
No problem.
I love you.
When's Maariv? (Summer of 2003)
No Mom, I have a good calling plan and there is no need to call me back.
I love you.


7 Things I'd like to do in my Lifetime:
Have children.
Get my p'tor (exemption) from Hebrew and thus my MA in Religious Studies.
Buy a living space- apartment, house, etc.
Have a successful Healing Practice.
Write a few children's books and earn some money at it.
Make an artistic photo wedding album of our wedding!
Sew a T-Shirt Quilt.

Passing it on...

The Guinea Fowl and the Skirt

You may have heard that we were in South Africa for the wedding of friends. 'Twas true. We have returned.
and now a few words about international trade and how one never needs to leave home...

I bought a bordeaux (bordo) skirt in Capetown only to discover that it was manufactured in Bat Yam.
I bought a small model of a guinea fowl (the national bird and NOT Jerusalem Revealed's favorite) from a native artist only to find the same one decorating the window display of the bead store on the main street.

Though I have not yet conducted price comparisons, the skirt is probably cheaper over there and the same for the speckled fowl.

Stop by for your sample nougat and rooibos tea while supplies last.

The Nose Knows

This country has an obsession with bubble gum. Its scent is used for bathroom cleaner, hand soap, play dough and of all things, bubble gum! The fact that those items range from poisonous to edible is what throws me.
Ah, whatever. Just keep your tongue out of the W.C.

What's Ur Name?

Well, we have come full circle, haven't we? Not a reference to the holidays rather to email accounts. So many of us are jumping on the Gmail bandwagon and lo and behold we are using our own names in our addresses. First we were just numbers on Compuserve. Then, we came up with multiple creative screen names that revealed our secret selves to faceless internet buddies and hid our really secret selves behind other email identities. Some of us personalized our domains and put our real names on the internet map. And now we are being true...using our first and last names, and even middle initials on our own account. (PI)
So three cheers for you being you!
Unless of course you stole someone else's identity making it virtually impossible to forgive yourself, cuz who are you, really?

Berries and Summer Showers

As the case often is, when someone moves to a new place, they are asked what they miss from the old place. Well, I miss fresh berries (that are less expensive than 25 cents each), autumn leaves, and late summer thunderstorms. It is too early for foliage in NJ but 2 out of 3 ain't bad. My cleansing journey has been productive. So far I have sold some old costume jewelry for $30, rid my collection of hardly played CDs, and recycled 5 boxes (!) of old papers. I found 1 out of 4 yearbooks, my sticker collection from the early years, and 2 blue knit sweaters that will become part of my winter wardrobe. I have had some heart-to-hearts with family members and good friends. Next week I hope to continue the quest for some belongings. But no matter what gets sold, recycled, or packed in the suitcase - when I board the plane I will take the Bacon Bros. advice and I won't look back.

People I See

There are these people that you see all the time. For me it is 2 specific older women. I do not think they know each other or realize that I notice them all of the time - on the bus, walking on the main street, sitting on a park bench. One of the women has curly gray hair, the other a potentially chic cut of salt and pepper. Both are abit eccentric on the outside and since I feel a bit eccentric on the inside at times...the reflection makes perfect sense.

Smokin'

Robin William's character in Dead Again, said. "You are either a smoker or not. Find out which one you are and be that."
Today I saw a "smoker" and she so wasn't. I had a sense I should tell her. I didn't. I mean how would that pan out.
"Excuse me, you are not a smoker."
"&$@! off!"
I am not a smoker. But I can tell if someone is. I think this "gift" started after I saw the movie. Whatever.

Da Moon

Sometimes the moon really does look like it is smiling. I could be projecting but today I think it looks shocked. Its mouth is open and its eyes are astonished. The moon is not yet full; two and a half days until that monthly event. But what will the full moon bring? What will come to fruition by the shining moment of 3 stars on Saturday night? I hope it will be peace. Not of the worldly variety and more expansive than the inner kind, but peace nonetheless.

Torn

I used to work as a bartendress. At a certain point during that venture, I encountered a wedding guest who had brought his own G&T mug to the event. After maybe the 5th drink I realized I was in the wrong business. Why was I, a Pisces, employed in a job that supported addictions? We all have our vices. Mine are mostly food-related but I think they are under control. Either way I now find myself in a similar predicament.
I have a creative writing gig in which I must boost the ratings of internet sites that promote another popular addiction for some, a mere pastime for others.

Both last night’s repeat episode of CSI and a brief advertisement on Fashion TV (AKA the boob channel) are making me rethink my role in this field. On the other hand, creativity is what is driving me and maybe these stories will inspire me to write children’s books.

A class I took over 5 years ago, spoke of animal symbolism. When you see a certain animal/insect/bird/dare I say person, you should think about their qualities and why the universe allowed this interaction at this time. The spider has often made itself present at specific times in my life where my creativity was not being fully realized. The beautiful creature from yesterday met an unfortunate end; squashed inadvertently in the bathroom. She was not quite as large as Aragog but very much as dead. Do I read into this course of events as a sign that this brand of creativity should also be squashed? Or am I merely in the desert where spiders abound and TV has temporarily overrun my mind?

And why is a man narrating a tampon commercial?

The desert

Here we are at Mashabei-Sadeh enjoying the desert heat. I of course find myself inside the air-conditioned guest room (not quite like the hotel room of the US) watching TV on 50 channels in oh so many languages, creatively writing my short works (ask me offline and I will send you my best story yet) and calling Turkey of all places to interview someone for the August Livnot program. VH1 has by far been the most entertaining with 80's hits all the time. Why the TV obsession you ask? Because at home, we don't have a TV. In this country, there is something known as the TV tax. To a North American it is a completely ridiculous concept; paying the government for television in addition to cable fees??? That tax was just one of the reasons.
So now I have it on until the sun sets when yes, it's true, I will begin to read the infamous Book #6. A favorite joke of ours is of course a pun of sorts so I will close with it here in a slightly modified form...Why has it taken me so long to begin reading the book? Well, it is about patience. I wasn't rushing to read it, I'm Lithuanian.

nOWS yOUR cHANCE

oK. nOWS yOUR cHANCE. Please comment here on any or all of the blog posts. I know someone is reading them...

Thank you.

Grammar

Jew is not a verb. I resolve to take "gyp" out of my lexicon because it too is not a verb.
May we all emerge as non-judgmental butterflies...

Berries of blue

Fresh blueberries are here in Jerusalem! This is the first summer I have seen them for sale. For each berry, only 50 agurot (12 cents) What a deal! :(

Ribbons- Symbolic Representation

I have often considered myself apolitical at best, and some have called me ignorant (to my face) at worst. I do not participate in protests or parades that may have an explicit agenda (note: unless you think Memorial Day in the U.S. has an agenda.) However, this does not mean that I do not possess opinions. I merely (and merrily) choose not to choose sides. I will admit that I prefer to avoid conflict, but not at ALL costs.
The news is old by the time I read it and by that time, there is nothing I can do about it. I choose to focus on the comedy rather than the tragedy, on the wonderment rather than the dread, and life rather than death.
But here is a most interesting connection.
Ribbons are used to represent causes, both for and against (though not at the same time) :)
Living in a world where RISKTM is not just a game but a lifestyle, I find the original ribbon presentation http://www.generousgems.com/lg_whtribbon.jpg to be most appropriate for the cause.
Why? Because this runic symbol http://www.runemaker.com/futhark/othila.shtml means “Odal” or “Land”.
And the ribbon I wear proudly is :





I support chocolate.

Oh, the humidity!

Thursday afternoon, with assorted pitzuchim of the nutty variety, we drove up to Park Achziv for my cousin's wedding. I power-rolled my window down and said the title, in just that tone. There was a gusty wind though which made it all bearable.
The site as you can see was stunning. The cove as I will now describe it was surreal. The wedding as you could not possibly know otherwise was traif. We did not partake. And the whole experience impacted me in such a way that I dreamt I was eating fruits de la mer in Brazil nutshells and then fed them to my lover. Together in dreamland, we realized a most fitting verb for my actions - "eve-ing".

Quiet Girl

I was into gaming and now I am into quizzes...not really though. So what if this one is true.


Quiet Girl


What kind of little girl were YOU?
brought to you by Quizilla

א.ד.מ

I woke up this morning at 4 AM because I told myself I would.

The vamps at the lab wanted a piece of me. (Now makes sense... wait, …no it doesn't.)

For the first time in a long time, the vein was painlessly pierced, by a Transylvanian no less (though I can't prove it.)
Whilst wearing festive red in honor of the occasion, I carried on with the color scheme buying duvdvanim (only 10 NIS/kilo) at the open air market even though I had intended to buy tapuchim adumim. The crimson circle was almost complete when an uninvited pest-ette attempted to slurp vermillion energy out of my arm.

Red, the life force rooted in earth and humanity. ?

Beliefs

I believe in science. I believe in faith. I believe that humans have gifts, independent of time and space, in which the Divine is communicated. I believe there are true healers and that the energy is universally accessible through the proper channels. But one man's decree of the fate of someone's future is too extreme for my way of thinking. To rely on one person's prayer, one healer's touch or one shaman's craft is too limiting. And when that one person passes on to the next world, whatever that may be, all is not lost. Opportunities are everywhere. And a bit of faith & a bit of science oughta make it happen.

As an aside, my African violet is in bloom again!