We went back to Pisgat Ze'ev again, and I got my ATM card. The PIN for the new card will arrive in about a week, hopefully. Husbinator asked the teller if she could order both a new card and a new PIN. It turns out she can, just not on the same day, or else the new PIN will be ordered for the old card. Seriously.
Throughout the day, I put in the two shelves that we bought ages ago for two of our bookcases. The problem is that neither bookcase/shelf pair can take normal brackets, so it was actually a Project to install the shelves. Well, now they're in! Next step is shifting some of the stuff scattered about onto said shelves.
BSM and I finished watching Babe today. I enjoyed the movie, and he enjoyed saying, "Meh," to the piggy. And to the dog. And the duck, cow, and horse. Though during the end credits, he danced along to the music rather than baaing at it.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Day 320 (productive AND baby cuddles)
I tried to chop wood this morning, thinking that the chisel attachment of our hammer-drill would work. Well, it didn't not work, but I didn't get a whole lot cut, either. And Husbinator had to finish some with the axe. So nice try, but no cigar.
I did manage to make some actual progress on my official to-do list: I made BSM an appointment for his 18-month well-visit. Not officially on the list was sewing new clasps onto my cloak: the old one snapped and I forgot about it until I tried to wear it on Shabbos. Perhaps that was Hashem trying to keep me from making a fool of myself, but perhaps not. New clasps it is!
You know, when I write all that down, it doesn't sound like it should have taken as long as it did. Maybe that's why I had time to take BSM to the park--where he frolicked for a full hour--and then rock with him on my lap for another hour, allowing him both to nap and still get to bed at a reasonable hour.
I did manage to make some actual progress on my official to-do list: I made BSM an appointment for his 18-month well-visit. Not officially on the list was sewing new clasps onto my cloak: the old one snapped and I forgot about it until I tried to wear it on Shabbos. Perhaps that was Hashem trying to keep me from making a fool of myself, but perhaps not. New clasps it is!
You know, when I write all that down, it doesn't sound like it should have taken as long as it did. Maybe that's why I had time to take BSM to the park--where he frolicked for a full hour--and then rock with him on my lap for another hour, allowing him both to nap and still get to bed at a reasonable hour.
Monday, December 29, 2014
Day 319 (things we've been putting off)
We started in on the things we've been putting off until after our trip. Therefore, we went into Pisgat Ze'ev to tell Home Center that BSM's radiator no longer gets all that hot. It's under warranty, so I was expecting a bit of a tussle (because this is Israel, so I always expect a fight: oy, that sounds much darker than it should, haha), but I also expected to leave the store with a new radiator. Well, there was no tussle whatsoever, but also no new radiator. Under the terms of the warranty, Home Center is happy to send my radiator out for repair, and I should receive a call within the next month with an update. Super. In the meantime, we bought a little fan-heater-thing and a humidifier: El Blanket-Kicker-Offer can't really spend the next month sleeping in an unheated room.
As long as we were in the mall, I swung by the bank to pick up the new ATM card I had ordered. Unfortunately, the bank is closed on Sunday. Ironically, about three minutes after learning that little fact from their front door, I got a text from the bank letting me know that my new ATM card is waiting for me at the Pisgat Ze'ev branch. Oh, aren't they witty.
On our way home, we stopped by the other clinic on our Yishuv, hoping to see if it's worth switching insurances. It turns out that the clinic, too, was closed. In fact, it's only open when Husbinator is either sleeping or working. Sadly, as unhelpful as that sounds, it still sounds potentially more helpful than our current insurance, under which we get to see the World's Least Helpful Family Doctor.
I also laid our first truly successfully fire in our wood-burning stove. By that I mean that we used no lighter fluid and actually heated the room in which the stove resides. The heat comes, I learned, when you replenish wood for the second or third time. It's fun and satisfying, and takes tons and tons of time, especially since we don't have any bitsies of wood small enough to fit into the stove. This wood-burning stove business makes one feel all economical and old-timey and all, but it is a right pain in the tush.
As long as we were in the mall, I swung by the bank to pick up the new ATM card I had ordered. Unfortunately, the bank is closed on Sunday. Ironically, about three minutes after learning that little fact from their front door, I got a text from the bank letting me know that my new ATM card is waiting for me at the Pisgat Ze'ev branch. Oh, aren't they witty.
On our way home, we stopped by the other clinic on our Yishuv, hoping to see if it's worth switching insurances. It turns out that the clinic, too, was closed. In fact, it's only open when Husbinator is either sleeping or working. Sadly, as unhelpful as that sounds, it still sounds potentially more helpful than our current insurance, under which we get to see the World's Least Helpful Family Doctor.
I also laid our first truly successfully fire in our wood-burning stove. By that I mean that we used no lighter fluid and actually heated the room in which the stove resides. The heat comes, I learned, when you replenish wood for the second or third time. It's fun and satisfying, and takes tons and tons of time, especially since we don't have any bitsies of wood small enough to fit into the stove. This wood-burning stove business makes one feel all economical and old-timey and all, but it is a right pain in the tush.
Day 318 (Shabbos, Shabbos Yom Menucha)
Well, I thought I had pretty much escaped jet-lag, but I had over 12 hours of sleep on Friday night (and I mean at night!), but I was stiiiiiiiiill tired.
Nevertheless, we went to the Gordon's in the afternoon and played a really nifty game called Dixit. It was cool, but it reminded me of the uncomfortable truth that even though I've become all socialized and everything, my brain still works exceedingly differently than the Gordons', and presumably, most other people's. (In the game, you get points for guessing which picture another player would have chosen to describe with a certain word or phrase. More than not being able to guess which picture other people put out, no one else could figure out which picture I had in mind with my little phrases. i am unique!
Nevertheless, we went to the Gordon's in the afternoon and played a really nifty game called Dixit. It was cool, but it reminded me of the uncomfortable truth that even though I've become all socialized and everything, my brain still works exceedingly differently than the Gordons', and presumably, most other people's. (In the game, you get points for guessing which picture another player would have chosen to describe with a certain word or phrase. More than not being able to guess which picture other people put out, no one else could figure out which picture I had in mind with my little phrases. i am unique!
Day 317 (Erev Shabbos, so soon)
Somehow, it got to be Erev Shabbos again. It was a cooking day more than a cleaning day, since we bet on jet-lag and therefore turned down invitations to the other side of the Yishuv.
However, we conquered jet-lag enough that BSM went back to daycare today. Although he cried when I dropped him off, he did remember some of the kids' names and had a good time once I left.
However, we conquered jet-lag enough that BSM went back to daycare today. Although he cried when I dropped him off, he did remember some of the kids' names and had a good time once I left.
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Day 316 (We're back, baby)
We didn't quite unpack, but Husbinator brought the suitcases upstairs, which is the biggest step in that endeavor.
In normal routine news, I went to Rami Levy and bought All of the Things, and then proceeded to make Yerushalmi kugel for the shul's kiddush.
In normal routine news, I went to Rami Levy and bought All of the Things, and then proceeded to make Yerushalmi kugel for the shul's kiddush.
Day 315 (part II of what must be two days)
At some point, Tuesday ended and Wednesday began. I have reasoned it out, and concluded that must have happened while we were in the air.
Thank G-d (praise Him with great praise!), the flight back was much, much better than the flight out. This may have to do with the fact that I fell asleep at 2am ET, regardless of the fact that I was supposed to be helping Husbinator... something... with BSM? I faded in and out enough that Husbinator got me to put BSM on a little nest of pillows that Husbinator had made on the floor between us (we booked the end-seats of a 3-seat row, and the middle seat went blessedly untaken), and then we all slept blissfully for the next six hours or so. At least I and BSM did, I'm still foggy about Husbinator's sleep or lack thereof.
It was good to see family, but it's SUCH A RELIEF TO BE BACK. What's funny is that as soon as we got through customs, I stopped obsessing over how great it was to be back. Being here just fits.
It was also really great to see our house again. I seem to have missed that, too. Granted, he may have been channeling my excitement, but BSM said, "Yay," as we looked over our house.
Speaking of things that are totally smushy, a few hours after we got back, the Kornbluths brought us a bag of milk (milk comes in bags here) and a warm cake. We have such awesome neighbors. Oh. My. Gosh!
Thank G-d (praise Him with great praise!), the flight back was much, much better than the flight out. This may have to do with the fact that I fell asleep at 2am ET, regardless of the fact that I was supposed to be helping Husbinator... something... with BSM? I faded in and out enough that Husbinator got me to put BSM on a little nest of pillows that Husbinator had made on the floor between us (we booked the end-seats of a 3-seat row, and the middle seat went blessedly untaken), and then we all slept blissfully for the next six hours or so. At least I and BSM did, I'm still foggy about Husbinator's sleep or lack thereof.
It was good to see family, but it's SUCH A RELIEF TO BE BACK. What's funny is that as soon as we got through customs, I stopped obsessing over how great it was to be back. Being here just fits.
It was also really great to see our house again. I seem to have missed that, too. Granted, he may have been channeling my excitement, but BSM said, "Yay," as we looked over our house.
Speaking of things that are totally smushy, a few hours after we got back, the Kornbluths brought us a bag of milk (milk comes in bags here) and a warm cake. We have such awesome neighbors. Oh. My. Gosh!
Day 314 (no idea how many days)
Husbinator and I successfully finished our errands today. In the future, we should keep in mind that many pharmacies don't keep three-month supplies of random medications on-hand. Also in the future, we'll hopefully be fully integrated into the Israeli health-care system, but one thing at a time.
Before our errands, though, I drove Ema to work and got to see my math teacher, my melachim teacher/carpool partner from when I was in pre-school (a very chashuv lady; I'm still not exactly sure where in the scheme of things she fit into my pre-school carpool), and my AP history teacher. Very good times :)
We left for the airport a bit later than we had hoped, but we still arrived at the gate before it was opened. We'd been wondering, since we were flying United from the US, if there would be the extra layer of security we've come to expect when Israel is involved in our flying plans. It turns out that there was indeed an extra layer of security (to get into the gate area), but it wasn't run by Israelis. Interesting.
Before our errands, though, I drove Ema to work and got to see my math teacher, my melachim teacher/carpool partner from when I was in pre-school (a very chashuv lady; I'm still not exactly sure where in the scheme of things she fit into my pre-school carpool), and my AP history teacher. Very good times :)
We left for the airport a bit later than we had hoped, but we still arrived at the gate before it was opened. We'd been wondering, since we were flying United from the US, if there would be the extra layer of security we've come to expect when Israel is involved in our flying plans. It turns out that there was indeed an extra layer of security (to get into the gate area), but it wasn't run by Israelis. Interesting.
Day 313 (time to do errands)
Because we're leaving tomorrow night. So Husbinator and I buckled down and did a bunch of shopping, which we both felt took much longer than it actually did. We checked off most of our to-do list, though!
Day 312 (party)
I actually made it to the clan's Chanukah party this year. I don't know how long it's been since that happened. Nothing too crazy, just a whooole lot of planning (at which I've cleverly proven myself inept, so there's no expectation that I have to lift a finger there) then a bunch of people hanging out and eating brunch. This is my kind of party.
Day 311 (Shabbos)
BSM continued to have a really great time with Sister's kids. He doesn't do much with them, but he goes over and watches them play, and every so often does a little playing himself. He just needs to be around little people, and that's that. One thing I've really noticed this trip is that BSM is not nearly as clingy as he is at home. As long as there are at least three or four people around, he is happy to play or read or just watch what's going on, and he doesn't need me to do it with him.
Friday, December 26, 2014
Day 310 (Erev Shabbos)
I cooked the turkey today. Following advice of some of Husbinator's favorite food sites, I cut the turkey in half before I cooked it. (We didn't have a big enough pan to butterfly the turkey as was actually recommended, but I figured cutting it in half was close enough.) I kid you not, the bird was done in just over an hour. And it was no small turkey. This is pretty much the method I used, though I neither brined the turkey nor cooked it directly on the oven rack (shudder).
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Day 309 (more people!)
Abba II and BIL (brother-in-law) came. Also, Husbinator came home. Wait... that makes no sense. I know that Abba II and BIL came the night before Husbinator did. Whatever, so my notes are lousy.
Day 308 (outing)
After years, I finally remembered to ask Abba to record Shema for me when both he, I, and a recording device were at home for more than 5 more minutes. I now have a recording of my Abba leining Shema. This makes me happier than I can tell you. Suffice it to say that it slows my breath and warms my heart and sounds like bedtime when I was little.
Ema took me and BSM to the park this afternoon. It is a really, really cool playground, with three separate areas targeting three different age groups. This is a Good Idea and Lots of Fun.
Naturally, we started out in the toddler area, which cured me of my tiny sadness that the park near my house doesn't have bucket swings. BSM likes the bucket swings, but he can only actually pump in the regular swings. And make no mistake, he can actually pump when he's on the regular swings.
Interestingly, the parents at this park stand near their kids. The parents at my park sit on the benches, occasionally yelling advice to their kids. Interesting. I can see where the term "helicopter parenting" came from.
Ema took me and BSM to the park this afternoon. It is a really, really cool playground, with three separate areas targeting three different age groups. This is a Good Idea and Lots of Fun.
Naturally, we started out in the toddler area, which cured me of my tiny sadness that the park near my house doesn't have bucket swings. BSM likes the bucket swings, but he can only actually pump in the regular swings. And make no mistake, he can actually pump when he's on the regular swings.
Interestingly, the parents at this park stand near their kids. The parents at my park sit on the benches, occasionally yelling advice to their kids. Interesting. I can see where the term "helicopter parenting" came from.
Day 307 (baking)
I got a bunch of baking done today.
I think we picked a very good amount of time to be away/visit. Before I left, I thought that 2 1/2 weeks was way too long to be away from Israel. While I'm here, 2 1/2 weeks doesn't feel like long enough to visit as much as I want and do all of my errands.
Readjusting to the US went much faster than I thought it would. At the same time, when people ask me how aliyah is, I invariably confuse them by say "It's such a relief to be back," because my body language says how happy I am to have made aliyah, but the words that keep popping out of my mouth don't really support that statement. Truly, my body is hanging out in the edge of the west, but it would seem that it's more than just my heart that is still in Israel. Good.
I think we picked a very good amount of time to be away/visit. Before I left, I thought that 2 1/2 weeks was way too long to be away from Israel. While I'm here, 2 1/2 weeks doesn't feel like long enough to visit as much as I want and do all of my errands.
Readjusting to the US went much faster than I thought it would. At the same time, when people ask me how aliyah is, I invariably confuse them by say "It's such a relief to be back," because my body language says how happy I am to have made aliyah, but the words that keep popping out of my mouth don't really support that statement. Truly, my body is hanging out in the edge of the west, but it would seem that it's more than just my heart that is still in Israel. Good.
Day 306 (the parade continues)
Aunt Neenee came today, continuing this very nice trend of (a) people coming to see me and (b) people coming to see us singly. This means better quality visits for me, and less overwhelmation for BSM.
In the evening, I went with Ema to Shoprite both to spend time with her and to mitigate my grocery-shopping-withdrawal. I am very glad I went, because I discovered why I am so slow at bagging groceries in Israel. In America, you see, the plastic bags are placed on little dispensers that are designed to allow the bag to be filled whilst on the dispenser. In Israel, you have to take the bag off of the dispenser and then load it. Mystery solved! (This was really driving me nuts because loading groceries is/was one of the only physical things I was actually fast at.)
In the evening, I went with Ema to Shoprite both to spend time with her and to mitigate my grocery-shopping-withdrawal. I am very glad I went, because I discovered why I am so slow at bagging groceries in Israel. In America, you see, the plastic bags are placed on little dispensers that are designed to allow the bag to be filled whilst on the dispenser. In Israel, you have to take the bag off of the dispenser and then load it. Mystery solved! (This was really driving me nuts because loading groceries is/was one of the only physical things I was actually fast at.)
Day 305 (Sunday)
Aunt L80 and Uncle Red came, bringing with them pressure-free family time and oodles and oodles of board books.
Day 304 (Shabbos)
Being the oldest child home, I got the first bracha on Friday night! I thought this was a first ever, but Sister tells me it probably happened reasonably often when I was in college and she and Mooshub were married. At the time, though, I thought it was a first, and I made sure to lord it over my siblings Moste Mightily.
R2, B2, and Piano Toes all visited in my honor (well, technically, Piano Toes came for B2, since he, PT, was coming home next Shabbos, anyway), and it was glorious.
Husbinator and I prepped BSM that Husbinator would be leaving for a few days again, but I don't think BSM really understood what we were saying at all.
R2, B2, and Piano Toes all visited in my honor (well, technically, Piano Toes came for B2, since he, PT, was coming home next Shabbos, anyway), and it was glorious.
Husbinator and I prepped BSM that Husbinator would be leaving for a few days again, but I don't think BSM really understood what we were saying at all.
Day 303 (Erev Shabbos)
To celebrate Husbinator's return, we went to that bastion of American Consumerism, Walmart. And BSM freaked out a tiny bit every time Husbinator left his immediate line of vision.
Day 302 (people)
Elaine, as I shall henceforth call Abba's sister, came to visit me at Ema and Abba's today. It was absolutely perfect: BSM and I were able to give her the attention she deserves, instead of trying to keep track of who is where in a huge crowd.
Also Husbinator came back tonight! I was, of course, very happy to see him, and so was BSM when he woke up in the middle of the night.
Also Husbinator came back tonight! I was, of course, very happy to see him, and so was BSM when he woke up in the middle of the night.
Friday, December 12, 2014
Day 301 (Da Boibs)
We visited Grandma and my old high school today. Good times. Grandma gave BSM a toy airplane (metal, about the size of two matchbox cars), and he is in love. "Airplane! Airplane!"
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Day 300 (satisfying)
I got to make challah today, which was nice.
Also good was finding an FAQ for Israeli elections. Aside from the fact that I never particularly enjoy election season, I really don't understand how the Israeli political system works. My biggest point of contention is this seemingly haphazard way of determining when elections take place. "Well, what if the government doesn't fall apart, whatever that means?" I ranted. "Can we go decades without elections?" Which, when you think of it, is a funny main complaint for someone who insists that she hates elections. The FAQ makes me calmer by clearing up many things, including the fact that, yes, elections are to be held every four years, assuming four years magically go by without the government dissolving, first.
The capstone to this satisfying day was going over some Algebra II with The Caped Avenger. When I manage to trick someone into asking, of their own free will, if they can do another math problem... Well, teaching doesn't get much more satisfying than that :-)
Also good was finding an FAQ for Israeli elections. Aside from the fact that I never particularly enjoy election season, I really don't understand how the Israeli political system works. My biggest point of contention is this seemingly haphazard way of determining when elections take place. "Well, what if the government doesn't fall apart, whatever that means?" I ranted. "Can we go decades without elections?" Which, when you think of it, is a funny main complaint for someone who insists that she hates elections. The FAQ makes me calmer by clearing up many things, including the fact that, yes, elections are to be held every four years, assuming four years magically go by without the government dissolving, first.
The capstone to this satisfying day was going over some Algebra II with The Caped Avenger. When I manage to trick someone into asking, of their own free will, if they can do another math problem... Well, teaching doesn't get much more satisfying than that :-)
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Day 299 (or is it?)
Does it count as day 299 if I'm not in Israel? Tell you what: it's too confusing if the answer is no, so I'll stick with my current numbering system for now.
I spent the day mostly figuring out if I was sleeping or awake, and watching BSM failing to figure out the same for the most part.
I'd forgotten that one of the things I actively dislike about the US is "the holiday shopping season." In the past, I'd always told myself quite firmly that if I don't like Xmas-themed shopping, I could move my little tush over to Israel. Well, I've finally done that, and then I accidentally came back at just the wrong time of year. Woops. Whatcha gonna do.
I spent the day mostly figuring out if I was sleeping or awake, and watching BSM failing to figure out the same for the most part.
I'd forgotten that one of the things I actively dislike about the US is "the holiday shopping season." In the past, I'd always told myself quite firmly that if I don't like Xmas-themed shopping, I could move my little tush over to Israel. Well, I've finally done that, and then I accidentally came back at just the wrong time of year. Woops. Whatcha gonna do.
Monday, December 8, 2014
Day 298 (A 31-hour day, roughly)
We left our Yishuv at 6 am and arrived in America 19 hours later at 6 pm. The flight was not nearly the nightmare I was afraid it would be, but I still did not enjoy it.
Upon reaching immigration and customs, I was utterly floored to find that the officials manning the lines were... friendly. They were friendly. They made jokes. They seemed genuinely happy to see people coming into the US and wanted to make our experience a pleasant one. I wonder if they broke into that room and had the real officials tied up in a closet somewhere. It was nice, though, this first contact with America not being serious and slightly accusatory.
Upon reaching immigration and customs, I was utterly floored to find that the officials manning the lines were... friendly. They were friendly. They made jokes. They seemed genuinely happy to see people coming into the US and wanted to make our experience a pleasant one. I wonder if they broke into that room and had the real officials tied up in a closet somewhere. It was nice, though, this first contact with America not being serious and slightly accusatory.
Day 297 (Shabbos)
We ate out both meals this Shabbos, handily avoiding cleaning up and dealing with leftovers the night before our flight.
I will admit to being a little disappointed this week upon reading the parsha: I've been keeping track since Parshas Bereishis, and this is the first week that the word "water" does not appear.
In very exciting news, though, Husbinator bought me a set of Rav Hirsch's commentary on chumash, and he addresses the question that's been bugging me for ages! Briefly, I wanted to know why part of Chava's curse ("And your desire will be for your husband, and he shall rule you") was quoted almost exactly in Kayin's warning ("Sin crouches at the door; its desire is for you, and you shall rule it.") Less briefly, here's Rav Hirsch's discussion of this bit of Kayin's verse:
I have looked in many, many places, and Rav Hirsch is the first commentator I've seen who even acknowledges that the two pesukim sound awfully similar. Ahhh!
I will admit to being a little disappointed this week upon reading the parsha: I've been keeping track since Parshas Bereishis, and this is the first week that the word "water" does not appear.
In very exciting news, though, Husbinator bought me a set of Rav Hirsch's commentary on chumash, and he addresses the question that's been bugging me for ages! Briefly, I wanted to know why part of Chava's curse ("And your desire will be for your husband, and he shall rule you") was quoted almost exactly in Kayin's warning ("Sin crouches at the door; its desire is for you, and you shall rule it.") Less briefly, here's Rav Hirsch's discussion of this bit of Kayin's verse:
And for the sake of completeness, here's his discussion of the parallel portion of Chava's curse.
I have looked in many, many places, and Rav Hirsch is the first commentator I've seen who even acknowledges that the two pesukim sound awfully similar. Ahhh!
Day 296 (Erev Shabbos)
As is my habit, I did not wait until the last full weekday before my trip to pay the parking ticket I got months ago. Nope, I didn't wait until today to finally call the Jerusalem municipality to have them tell me that they can't process foreign credit cards, and so I didn't need to run out to the mall's post office on an Erev Shabbos to pay in cash.
Okay, that's not entirely true. I did actually have to run into Pisgat Ze'ev this morning to pay my parking ticket. It worked out well, though, because that meant I also bought gas in Pisgat Ze'ev instead of at the gas station near Rami Levy. And it turns out that Pisgat Ze'ev's gas station, like the Jerusalem municipality, is prejudiced against foreign credit cards. This meant I had to get full-serve gas instead of the cheaper self-serve gas. Like I said, though, it worked out well: the guy not only filled my car with gas (big woop), he also checked my antifreeze and oil levels, which is something I don't recall doing since moving to the Yishuv. Practically speaking, this means that I left the gas station with considerably more gas, antifreeze, and oil than I came in with. Oh, dear.
Okay, that's not entirely true. I did actually have to run into Pisgat Ze'ev this morning to pay my parking ticket. It worked out well, though, because that meant I also bought gas in Pisgat Ze'ev instead of at the gas station near Rami Levy. And it turns out that Pisgat Ze'ev's gas station, like the Jerusalem municipality, is prejudiced against foreign credit cards. This meant I had to get full-serve gas instead of the cheaper self-serve gas. Like I said, though, it worked out well: the guy not only filled my car with gas (big woop), he also checked my antifreeze and oil levels, which is something I don't recall doing since moving to the Yishuv. Practically speaking, this means that I left the gas station with considerably more gas, antifreeze, and oil than I came in with. Oh, dear.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Day 295 (a different sort of schedule)
So BSM decided to wake up at 5:15 and again at 5:40 and again at 5:55 this morning. I know that him sleeping until 7 is a luxury, but it is a luxury that I have come to expect.
So I dropped him off at daycare a little earlier than usual, and went back to bed.
When I woke up, I threw together a Yerushalmi kugel and went to get BSM. On the way home, we stopped at the playground and he had a glorious time on the swings. Unfortunately, our park does not have bucket swings, so I generally park him over near the slide. Today, though, he gravitated toward the swings, and he even said "Nadned" in baby talk. A nadnedah is a seesaw or a swing in Hebrew, and there is a classic childrend's song with the refrain, "Na-adned, na-adned," and BSM's garbled word caught the exact meter of that little tune. So I put him on a regular swing, and held onto his hips as I pushed him back and forth, singing the nadned song. At least that's what I did until BSM insisted that I stop, and I just hovered behind him as he happily swung back and forth, back and forth all by himself.
So I dropped him off at daycare a little earlier than usual, and went back to bed.
When I woke up, I threw together a Yerushalmi kugel and went to get BSM. On the way home, we stopped at the playground and he had a glorious time on the swings. Unfortunately, our park does not have bucket swings, so I generally park him over near the slide. Today, though, he gravitated toward the swings, and he even said "Nadned" in baby talk. A nadnedah is a seesaw or a swing in Hebrew, and there is a classic childrend's song with the refrain, "Na-adned, na-adned," and BSM's garbled word caught the exact meter of that little tune. So I put him on a regular swing, and held onto his hips as I pushed him back and forth, singing the nadned song. At least that's what I did until BSM insisted that I stop, and I just hovered behind him as he happily swung back and forth, back and forth all by himself.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Day 294 (Wednesday???)
Dikla noticed that BSM had on new clothing this morning, which was cool. With all that work to restock his dresser with 2T stuff, it's nice to know that someone other than Husbinator will notice.
I did lots of packing today, even before I knew that it was Wednesday. I'm still not entirely convinced that today isn't Tuesday. I mean, tomorrow can't be Thursday! Yoish. This is what happens when we start our week late due to an extended weekend, and then keep BSM home the next day to recover.
I did lots of packing today, even before I knew that it was Wednesday. I'm still not entirely convinced that today isn't Tuesday. I mean, tomorrow can't be Thursday! Yoish. This is what happens when we start our week late due to an extended weekend, and then keep BSM home the next day to recover.
Day 293 (clothing swap)
In honor of BSM nearly outgrowing his 18 month stuff along with our upcoming trip to the US, I switched his clothing over to the 2T stuff. We have so much of it. Thank G-d. Really, hugely abundant amounts of 2T clothing. I'm not quite sure how it happened, though I think the Kornbluths gave us about a third of what we have. I'm slightly overwhelmed, but this is a wonderful problem to have.
While we were in Tzfat, we had reason to check the USD-ILS exchange rate, and it is a good deal higher than last time we checked. (3.8 versus 3.5.) Since then, I've been saying that we need to change money, so I finally checked out some trends today. I must say, Bloomberg has a very intelligent way of presenting currency prices. I was hoping for a graph, but their tables make it pretty clear what's going on. And as high as the exchange rate is right now, it really looks like it will continue to climb. So we'll hold off on this changing money business, though I must say that I do not love this currency speculation game. Very stressful, it is.
Oh, and I read BSM some board books again. I just really needed a break yesterday, but now I'm back in the game. I am looking forward to taking some different board books out of the library when we get to America, though.
While we were in Tzfat, we had reason to check the USD-ILS exchange rate, and it is a good deal higher than last time we checked. (3.8 versus 3.5.) Since then, I've been saying that we need to change money, so I finally checked out some trends today. I must say, Bloomberg has a very intelligent way of presenting currency prices. I was hoping for a graph, but their tables make it pretty clear what's going on. And as high as the exchange rate is right now, it really looks like it will continue to climb. So we'll hold off on this changing money business, though I must say that I do not love this currency speculation game. Very stressful, it is.
Oh, and I read BSM some board books again. I just really needed a break yesterday, but now I'm back in the game. I am looking forward to taking some different board books out of the library when we get to America, though.
Day 292 (The Lists)
Because BSM was still getting over his fever-cold, I kept him home today. I also did lots of laundry and made packing lists for the two of us.
And let the record show that today is the day that I reached the end of my rope. Our lift came just after Rosh HaShana, and it is now the beginning of Kislev, and today was the day that I could no longer read another one of our board books. So. Sick. Of. Them. So I had a grand old time reading BSM some books with paper pages.
And let the record show that today is the day that I reached the end of my rope. Our lift came just after Rosh HaShana, and it is now the beginning of Kislev, and today was the day that I could no longer read another one of our board books. So. Sick. Of. Them. So I had a grand old time reading BSM some books with paper pages.
Day 291 (back home)
This morning, I did something I haven't done since we moved off of the kibbutz: I laid down next to BSM and snuggled him until he fell asleep. Poor kid was sick and tired and neither of us had the energy for a fight over napping in his pack-n-play.
We had an uneventful drive back, and a wonderful surprise when we got home: our travel papers had arrived today! To all, I offer you the unsung advantage--a huge advantage--of living in Yehudah V'Shomron: dealing with the Ministry of the Interior is not the nightmare it can be elsewhere. We applied for our interim passports on Tuesday, got a call on Wednesday that there was a mismatch with Husbinator's name (he changed his legal name to his Hebrew name when we made aliyah), and our passports showed up in the mail on Sunday. Wow!!!
We had an uneventful drive back, and a wonderful surprise when we got home: our travel papers had arrived today! To all, I offer you the unsung advantage--a huge advantage--of living in Yehudah V'Shomron: dealing with the Ministry of the Interior is not the nightmare it can be elsewhere. We applied for our interim passports on Tuesday, got a call on Wednesday that there was a mismatch with Husbinator's name (he changed his legal name to his Hebrew name when we made aliyah), and our passports showed up in the mail on Sunday. Wow!!!
Day 290 (Shabbos)
Husbinator shul-hopped, and the Tzfat stereotype seems to be holding up. There are an eclectic group of people at each shul, and they are warm and friendly and welcoming. In fact, the shul where Husbinator davened on Friday night actually had a full meal for guests, in addition to asking everyone as they left if they had a place to stay. Very sweet.
We went to a House of Love and Prayer for havdala, and again, the stereotypes of Carlebach shuls held up: the people were very, very welcoming and open, havdala featured two guitars, a mandolin, and some dancing. Still, it didn't feel very schleppy, which was nice.
We went to a House of Love and Prayer for havdala, and again, the stereotypes of Carlebach shuls held up: the people were very, very welcoming and open, havdala featured two guitars, a mandolin, and some dancing. Still, it didn't feel very schleppy, which was nice.
Day 289 (a different sort of Erev Shabbos)
We finished buying food for Shabbos (we bought most of what we needed last night), including a disposable pot for hot water. I totally blew Husbinator's mind with that one: he's never seen a foil pot before. It's a different sensation, knowing something useful that he doesn't.
Day 288 (a full day in Tzfat)
We had a nice time this morning walking around and looking at art. I am still shocked by the sheer number of galleries with open doors and no one in them. In most cases, the owner wandered in while we were there, but there was more than one gallery where we walked in, looked around, and left with seeing nary a soul. And no, these aren't the sort of galleries with extensive back rooms where someone might have been hiding.
My boys napped in the afternoon, and I wandered around myself, which I enjoyed mightily. Furthermore, for the first time in my life, I bought Art. (As you may recall, The Caped Avenger foolishly and generously just gave his stuff away. Haha on him. But now I really need to pay him.) As happened so often in the morning, the art gallery I really wanted to see (watercolors and glassblowing) had no one in it. The sign on the door said OPEN, though, so I moved the rock from in front of the door and wandered inside. (In retrospect, if there's a rock in front of the door, it means no one's inside... hello...) I looked around, and found something I liked, so I called the cell number on the business cards near the front, and asked if she was around. No, the artist told me, she was actually on her way to parent-teacher conferences, but she'd send someone over. She did, and now I have a canvas print of a woman dancing with her daughter!
I've also wanted a silk painting since I saw one when I was in seminary. I knew I wanted bright, warm colors, but I never though I'd get a picture of Ema's irises. But I did! (I also learned not to be shy in bargaining: the painting was about 30% more than I was prepared to fork over, so I was really torn. When the artist asked me how much I was looking to spend, I told her: and she said fine, with no arguing! Whoops, I should have quoted an even lower price, it seems.)
For dinner, we had a real "חוויה." (Literally "experience:" That's the word we used in seminary when we were doing something out of our comfort zone and we weren't sure that we were enjoying ourselves. "Well," we would say, "This sure is a chavaya, anyway!) After wandering up and down the main road, we went into an unassuming fleishig place. The owner showed us into the warm eating area and gave us our menus, which were composed of nice, normal menu covers containing one sheet of lined paper with a handwritten list of food and prices. The prices were a bit steep, but by then we weren't sure how to back out of eating there.
The menu only listed the main dishes, so Husbinator asked what was included, and the proprietor said, "Everything." The other useful hint he gave us was when we asked him what the "splenectomy" (טחול) was, he told us, "Not for you." Well, that's what we wanted to know! So we ordered, and while he cooked our food, he brought out some pita and dips. A lot of pita and dips. One might, in fact, describe that course with the word, "Everything." BSM was especially thrilled: one of the dips was purple cole slaw, which is something that he loves and I give him only rarely. Purple cabbage is not kind to that with which in comes into contact.
As we were finishing up our dips course, mine host brings out our HUGE portions of steak/chicken/mini burgers, plus a nice salad, plus fries. Oh man oh man oh man. Yeah, it cost about 1.5x what we had expected, but we also got about 1.5x what we expected. And the food was absolutely delicious. And since we failed to garner any meal invitations through Shabbat.com, we packed up the leftovers for Shabbos. This was a good חוויה.
My boys napped in the afternoon, and I wandered around myself, which I enjoyed mightily. Furthermore, for the first time in my life, I bought Art. (As you may recall, The Caped Avenger foolishly and generously just gave his stuff away. Haha on him. But now I really need to pay him.) As happened so often in the morning, the art gallery I really wanted to see (watercolors and glassblowing) had no one in it. The sign on the door said OPEN, though, so I moved the rock from in front of the door and wandered inside. (In retrospect, if there's a rock in front of the door, it means no one's inside... hello...) I looked around, and found something I liked, so I called the cell number on the business cards near the front, and asked if she was around. No, the artist told me, she was actually on her way to parent-teacher conferences, but she'd send someone over. She did, and now I have a canvas print of a woman dancing with her daughter!
I've also wanted a silk painting since I saw one when I was in seminary. I knew I wanted bright, warm colors, but I never though I'd get a picture of Ema's irises. But I did! (I also learned not to be shy in bargaining: the painting was about 30% more than I was prepared to fork over, so I was really torn. When the artist asked me how much I was looking to spend, I told her: and she said fine, with no arguing! Whoops, I should have quoted an even lower price, it seems.)
For dinner, we had a real "חוויה." (Literally "experience:" That's the word we used in seminary when we were doing something out of our comfort zone and we weren't sure that we were enjoying ourselves. "Well," we would say, "This sure is a chavaya, anyway!) After wandering up and down the main road, we went into an unassuming fleishig place. The owner showed us into the warm eating area and gave us our menus, which were composed of nice, normal menu covers containing one sheet of lined paper with a handwritten list of food and prices. The prices were a bit steep, but by then we weren't sure how to back out of eating there.
The menu only listed the main dishes, so Husbinator asked what was included, and the proprietor said, "Everything." The other useful hint he gave us was when we asked him what the "splenectomy" (טחול) was, he told us, "Not for you." Well, that's what we wanted to know! So we ordered, and while he cooked our food, he brought out some pita and dips. A lot of pita and dips. One might, in fact, describe that course with the word, "Everything." BSM was especially thrilled: one of the dips was purple cole slaw, which is something that he loves and I give him only rarely. Purple cabbage is not kind to that with which in comes into contact.
As we were finishing up our dips course, mine host brings out our HUGE portions of steak/chicken/mini burgers, plus a nice salad, plus fries. Oh man oh man oh man. Yeah, it cost about 1.5x what we had expected, but we also got about 1.5x what we expected. And the food was absolutely delicious. And since we failed to garner any meal invitations through Shabbat.com, we packed up the leftovers for Shabbos. This was a good חוויה.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Day 287 (travelling to Tzfat)
It's a good thing I got to experience the full glory of Highway 1 yesterday. We drove to Tzfat today via the 1 and the 6 (which is even nicer than the 1, though I might just tell myself that because it's a toll road), and I had to drive really slowly due to heavy rain. (The rain, Abba, is also the reason we took the 1 and the 6 rather than the 90. Route 90 may be faster, but it is a leetle too prone to flooding for my taste.)
We stopped about halfway to get more gas (the downside of driving down the 1 yesterday) and eat lunch. I will admit it: I was kind of disappointed that the fast food joint at the rest stop didn't have a hechsher. In America, I take it for granted that I can't eat out, but here there was a chance! It was okay, though: the gas-station mini-mart had pre-packaged sandwiches with hechsher that were surprisingly yummy.
We got to Tzfat later than we had hoped, due to our leaving the house later than we had hoped. Next time we go on a trip, I need to remember to bring BSM to daycare and just pick him up early, rather than blithely assuming we'll leave an hour after I would have dropped him off, so why bother? I'll tell you why bother: there ain't no way to get ready to leave in an hour when BSM wants stuff during that hour. Just saying.
We did get to Tzfat in time to run our Main Errand, though. Husbinator's boss (and friend) has been wanting to buy some pieces from a particular gallery in Tzfat for years, but he has been completely unable to get in touch with them. Since his company is purely internet and phone based, and he works with internet companies, I think his mind was a tiny bit blown that it was literally impossible to get what he wanted using the internet and phones. (In fairness, I'm a bit surprised, too.)
So immediately after unpacking, we set out to find this elusive gallery. Another gallery owner (who was closing up) directed us to the Kaszemacher gallery (not a pseudonym), and we found it! It was one of the last galleries still open, and Husbinator Skyped his boss-friend, and he and his wife picked out four pieces.
Incidentally, Boss-Friend later told Husbinator that he never felt so American in his life. It turns out we called him in the middle of his move from his nice current house to his new gorgeous custom-built house. "So there I was," said Boss-Friend, "Directing all of these people where to put all of my stuff, and suddenly I say, 'Sorry, I can't tell you where to put all of my Things right now. I need to buy Art.' And then I spend about half an hour telling a guy, 'No, I don't like this life work of yours... No, I don't like this life work of yours... Well, maybe that life work of yours is okay...'"
We stopped about halfway to get more gas (the downside of driving down the 1 yesterday) and eat lunch. I will admit it: I was kind of disappointed that the fast food joint at the rest stop didn't have a hechsher. In America, I take it for granted that I can't eat out, but here there was a chance! It was okay, though: the gas-station mini-mart had pre-packaged sandwiches with hechsher that were surprisingly yummy.
We got to Tzfat later than we had hoped, due to our leaving the house later than we had hoped. Next time we go on a trip, I need to remember to bring BSM to daycare and just pick him up early, rather than blithely assuming we'll leave an hour after I would have dropped him off, so why bother? I'll tell you why bother: there ain't no way to get ready to leave in an hour when BSM wants stuff during that hour. Just saying.
We did get to Tzfat in time to run our Main Errand, though. Husbinator's boss (and friend) has been wanting to buy some pieces from a particular gallery in Tzfat for years, but he has been completely unable to get in touch with them. Since his company is purely internet and phone based, and he works with internet companies, I think his mind was a tiny bit blown that it was literally impossible to get what he wanted using the internet and phones. (In fairness, I'm a bit surprised, too.)
So immediately after unpacking, we set out to find this elusive gallery. Another gallery owner (who was closing up) directed us to the Kaszemacher gallery (not a pseudonym), and we found it! It was one of the last galleries still open, and Husbinator Skyped his boss-friend, and he and his wife picked out four pieces.
Incidentally, Boss-Friend later told Husbinator that he never felt so American in his life. It turns out we called him in the middle of his move from his nice current house to his new gorgeous custom-built house. "So there I was," said Boss-Friend, "Directing all of these people where to put all of my stuff, and suddenly I say, 'Sorry, I can't tell you where to put all of my Things right now. I need to buy Art.' And then I spend about half an hour telling a guy, 'No, I don't like this life work of yours... No, I don't like this life work of yours... Well, maybe that life work of yours is okay...'"
Day 286 (conference)
Bit behind in the blogging, are we? That's because the busier I am, the less time I put aside for El Blogo. I just jot down notes and save it as a draft, and as Aunt L80 can't actually tell you, because she hasn't received either of the two emails I started, my drafts tend to sit around for a quite a while.
So on Day 286, which was, I believe a Tuesday... Yes! It was a Tuesday: I remember because our local "branch" of the Ministry of the Interior is only open on Tuesdays. ANYWAY.
This morning, Husbinator, Babinator, and I made our way at long at last to the Ministry of the Interior representative to apply for interim Israeli Passports. We're only leaving for the US in just over a week-and-a-half, and at last we had everything we needed to apply. (It's a short list: government ID, completed 1-page form, passport photos, cash. It took so long to assemble due to cognitive dissonance, I suppose.) So we got that done.
Afterward, I dropped El Babo at daycare and Husbinator at home, and I drove to Airport City for a semiconductor conference. Who decided that casual mixing is a good way for engineers to network? Huh? Huh? I spoke to a few people at booths, and sat at a table with other people for the presentations, and that was the extent of my networking. Oh, well. I did learn something, though: virtually all manufacturing and physical tests of semiconductor devices happen outside of Israel. Israelis design, but it is far cheaper to outsource the actual product. I already knew that, but it wasn't fun actually having someone choke off a surprised laugh when I asked her if her company did any of the physical work in Israel.
Still, it was good to feel professional again, and good to hear Indian and Asian accents again, and good to see slideshows with graphs and thermal maps and SEM images again.
It was also good to actually drive over 60mph again. I looooove highway 1. It is wide and flat and straight and has a speed limit of 70mph. (And since the speed limit is posted as 110kph, it feels even faster.) I like driving on good highways that aren't congested. Ahhhhhh.
So on Day 286, which was, I believe a Tuesday... Yes! It was a Tuesday: I remember because our local "branch" of the Ministry of the Interior is only open on Tuesdays. ANYWAY.
This morning, Husbinator, Babinator, and I made our way at long at last to the Ministry of the Interior representative to apply for interim Israeli Passports. We're only leaving for the US in just over a week-and-a-half, and at last we had everything we needed to apply. (It's a short list: government ID, completed 1-page form, passport photos, cash. It took so long to assemble due to cognitive dissonance, I suppose.) So we got that done.
Afterward, I dropped El Babo at daycare and Husbinator at home, and I drove to Airport City for a semiconductor conference. Who decided that casual mixing is a good way for engineers to network? Huh? Huh? I spoke to a few people at booths, and sat at a table with other people for the presentations, and that was the extent of my networking. Oh, well. I did learn something, though: virtually all manufacturing and physical tests of semiconductor devices happen outside of Israel. Israelis design, but it is far cheaper to outsource the actual product. I already knew that, but it wasn't fun actually having someone choke off a surprised laugh when I asked her if her company did any of the physical work in Israel.
Still, it was good to feel professional again, and good to hear Indian and Asian accents again, and good to see slideshows with graphs and thermal maps and SEM images again.
It was also good to actually drive over 60mph again. I looooove highway 1. It is wide and flat and straight and has a speed limit of 70mph. (And since the speed limit is posted as 110kph, it feels even faster.) I like driving on good highways that aren't congested. Ahhhhhh.
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