Fairy Dust

BSM was sitting on the bottom step, as he is wont to do, when he looked up and saw what was dancing in the sunbeam. "Stars!!!" BSM shouted joyfully, as he leapt up and tried to catch them.

Hamentaschen

I made a double batch of hamentaschen dough, and managed to shape them all in one day. Naturally, Bubby's prune filling made the best hamentaschen, and I also bought a jar of poppy seed filling, which made hamentaschen that Husbinator enjoyed considerably more than I did. Coming only in second to prune was Maimon's pareve hazelnut spread that I bought (and, if I'm being fully honest, nostalgia may be the only thing keeping these nutella-taschen in second).

The other new type of hamentaschen this batch were Husbinator's TinyTaschen. When made properly, they're just larger than my thumbnail, and they are adorable! We didn't have many, because they're a right pain in the tush to make, but someone should definitely market these. Husbinator suggests they could be used as a breakfast cereal.

We just may have a rabbi at last

Before their chavrusa one day, Husbinator mentioned to Rabbi Gold that the only thing we feel we're really missing on the Yishuv is having a rabbi. We need someone to ask halachik questions to, and we'd like to ask in person. (I.e., when we have questions, we don't want to have to call the former/current rabbi who visits once a month: he's really great, but he's not here.)

Surprised, Rabbi Gold told Husbinator that we can just ask Rabbi Barzilai most things, and for the questions that he doesn't answer, we can go to our neighbor who gives the ladies' shiur on Shabbos. Oh. I did not know that. I am so absolutely relieved to have a rabbi, again.

After I got over my initial relief, I started to wonder if Binyamin and Ram are really who I want "as my rabbi(s)." And I realized that they know their stuff, they live here, and I like them. It seems those are, in fact, the only requirements I have for a rabbi. Shouldn't it be more complicated? Nah.

Friends!

We've had a meal or two with Dov and Chava, a married couple around our age who live a few blocks away. This Shabbos we finally invited them over for a meal so we could get in some extended meeting and greeting. I knew from meeting them before that we'd get along, but now I know that we really like Dov and Chava: lunch naturally went from 11 until around 3, at which point we all just had to go take naps.

Snow Disappointment

For the third time this year, snow was predicted to fall in our Yishuv... and this time it actually did! When we woke up Friday morning, there was between 1-2 inches of snow on the ground (depending on drifting).

(photo taken by someone who lives at the other end of the Yishuv)

I was really excited to take out BSM for some serious fun. I found his snow pants, and boots, and hat and coat and mittens. I did not force him to wear a scarf, because it seemed to freak him out. I also did not manage to get a photo of him all dolled up, because he moves faster than the shutter of my camera.

But we did get outside well before the rising temperature and steady rain did too much damage, and I was ready to party. BSM on the other hand is... is... is... afraid of the snow. Argh! (He walked around for about 10 seconds, then asked to be picked up. Every time I tried to put him down in the snow after that, he clung to me unhappily. And yes, he totally let me put him down on bare patches. He also freaked out when I sat in the snow with him on my lap.)

I'm disappointed :(

Bigheaded

I saw the phrase "ראש גדול" in a few job ads, so I gave in and looked it up. Turns out that in Hebrew, having a "big head" means being driven and motivated.

What Not To Do

Order a gas cylinder the day before snow is scheduled. That's what not to do.

Waited all day, missed any chance to go grocery shopping, couldn't even be mad at the guy since he literally ran back and forth with the cylinders gasping something about how rushed he was as he dashed off in the cold rain. Urgh.

Olives

For a long time now, I've been wondering what I'm supposed to do with the upcoming olive harvest.

I met a lady in the park a few weeks ago, and she said we gave them olives last year. Feeling despondent about how utterly gross my olives still were the last time I tried them, I asked how hers turned out. Looking somewhat startled, she told me that they never taste theirs until Purim! That gave me hope, verily.

Last week, Ema II asked what the deal was with the zillions of olives in my fridge, and I told her. Bravely, she ventured forth and tried one. Some of the olives aren't quite ready yet, but most of them are actually good! The shock! The thrill! The relief that I didn't waste something like 30 hours picking and pickling those bad boys!

At the same time, that made me give serious consideration to next year: what will I do with those Shmita-sanctified olives? I looked it up in my handy-dandy Shmita book, but it didn't mention the topic. The issue, you see, is that an individual may only pick as much Shmita produce as his/her family will use in the next few days. So we'll pick the pomegranates in our yard twice a week or so, and hang a sign encouraging the neighbors to do the same. But olives... Well, it takes a couple of months before olives are edible, so I can't really pick them for "immediate consumption." And if last year is any indication, my neighbors have zero to little interest in keeping the olives from rotting (other than encouraging us to pick them, of course).

Hopefully, by the time next year rolls around we'll have a rabbi already, but meanwhile I'm curious. So I did some Googling, and ended up at The Institute for Torah and the Land of Israel. They have a Q&A section, so I copied and pasted a similar question that someone asked, tweaked it for my purposes, and submitted it. Shockingly, I got an answer that very same day! I'm pretty excited by that. (And it seems that the Rambam holds one may pick and prepare as many Shmita olives as one's family will use until the next olive harvest, so that's nice.)

An Evening Out

Late this afternoon, I just needed to get out. Usually, when I feel like that, I pop over to Rami Levy, but the only thing we need today is tomatoes. Husbinator wisely suggested I go to the Pisgat Ze'ev mall with BSM: dinky as it is, it beats tomato shopping for excitement.

Thinking of the mall as I got us into the car, I thought of Home Center, which reminded me that I bought engine oil there not long ago, so I checked my fluid levels before I left. And boy oh boy, am I glad I did. Not that I needed more oil; I had plenty of fluids in my engine... and a kitten. I repeat: I opened the hood of my car and a kitten ran out. And once more: there was a cat in my engine!

***

The mall itself was nice: for 10ILS, someone else cooked dinner for BSM, though sitting in a mall for 45 minutes while he eats half of his grilled chicken sandwich is...interesting. After that, we just walked around. I saw a bodega that sold balloons, and after that we walked around with a balloon that had stars on it (double the excitement). It was nice.

And Home Center had winter blankets on clearance, so I got some more. I know, I know: when we left the US, everyone was sure we owned a lifetime supply of blankets. It turns out that when you have an unheated home and want to have sleepover guests, a lifetime supply of blankets is just barely sufficient.

***

And in case you forgot, on the way to the mall, what did I find? That's right: there was a cat in the engine of my car. It's going to be a loooong time before I turn on my car without thumping on the hood, first.

Notice

Well, daily updates for a year were fun, though these past few months have been more like itemized weekly updates.

At this point, I plan to only post as events warrant. Maybe daily, maybe weekly, maybe multiple times a day (haha). When there's a story, in other words. Not just when I went to Rami Levy and stuff. Because that's not new and exciting, anymore. As it shouldn't be.

Day 366 (anniversary)

Much less exciting celebration of our actual aliyah-anniversary. I did a bunch of Thursday things: shopped and cooked and some laundry.

I also got an email from Nefesh B'Nefesh, as well as a letter from the appropritate Agency, that I have new paperwork to take care of. It seems 2-5 years after aliyah, all immigrants are eligible for a rent subsidy. Since we've changed branches of our bank, we need to let someone know where to put the money. Yay.

Day 365 (!)

Three hundred and sixty five. That's a solar year, folks.

I had a reasonably exciting celebration of this full year, too: I went into Yerushalayim to visit a friend of mine from seminary. After I met with her, I walked over to the Old City to meet up with Husbinator and Ema II (and BSM), and saw the Kotel for the first time in a while. Good stuff, though next time anyone says there is any chance of rain, I must remember to wear shoes with actual grips if I plan to go to the Old City. Those wet stones are heart-stopping in worn-down Crocs.

Day 364 (sandstorm)

I happened to check the weather today, and the odd haze that started two nights ago and has gotten worse since is now explained: we are experiencing a sandstorm. This also explains the oddly beautiful wave of dust I saw blowing down the road yesterday.

Day 363 (radiator silliness)

I happened to be in Pisgat Ze'ev this morning, so I stopped by Home Center and asked what on earth is going on with my radiator that they've been repairing for a month and a half already. After a tiny bit of back and forth with the lady at customer service (with lots of unsolicited input from a more experienced cashier), I left my name and phone number in exchange for a phone call later today.

Surprisingly enough, later today I actually get a phone call. Moreover, the very same day I came in and made a tiny little stink over how long this is taking, my radiator magically is back in the store. So this afternoon, I went to pick it up. Magic, indeed. Unfortunately, it didn't actually get all that hot when I turned it on tonight, so I don't think this story is over yet...

Day 362 (Rami Levy again)

As I often do, I took BSM grocery shopping with me today. And as so often happens, it started out fine and didn't end anywhere near disaster, but neither BSM nor I were having fun by the time we were leaving the store. Thankfully, my favorite Rami Levy employee was on receipt-checking duty. I'm telling you, this guy always cheers us up. I first noticed him when he asked me for a ride home after his shift (it didn't work out, because I wasn't going in his direction). Every interaction since then has been me not enjoying BSM as much as I should, and this older man non-judgmentally playing with BSM and making him giggle, while telling me how great my son is. I love this guy.

Day 361 (life lesson)

Husbinator delivered true wisdom today when I told him about BSM's latest silliness. I had asked BSM if he wanted each individual component of salad, salad as a whole, and even showed him the container of salad. BSM, the healthy little toddler that he is, responded with a vehement, "NO!" to it all. As soon as I took off the lid of the salad container and held it where he could easily peer inside, though, he grabbed a handful of salad, put it in his bowl, and munched away. "Silly kiddo," said I. "Wisdom," said Husbinator.

More specifically, Husbinator pointed out that while BSM is very, very verbal, it behooves us to remember that he is still one-and-a-half: just because he is talking doesn't necessarily mean that he is expressing himself verbally. Often, but not always.

Day 360 (Shabboton)

This week, there was an Anglo Shabbaton on my Yishuv. Basically, on the Yishuv there is "up the hill" and "down the hill" and it's very easy not to know people who live on the other side. Even if they are from one of the 17 English-speaking families here. (We counted over Shabbos, just to see.)

To remedy that, on Friday night everyone davened and ate "up the hill" and on Shabbos day we davened and ate "down the hill." It was great, we met new people, and I know we're going to be friends. The social whirl (dinner, oneg Shabbos, kiddush, lunch) was a little taxing, though. I do best with some time to recuperate between bouts of fun.

Day 359 (Erev Shabbos)

Due to the confluence of sponja and BSM's nap and meals, I was forced to stop and sit outside with BSM for half an hour while he ate... lunch? Snack? The point is that suddenly I found myself sitting quietly with my son, enjoying the sun and the breeze, even though it was less than an hour before candle lighting. It was serenely surreal.

Day 358 (Erev Erev Shabbos)

Somehow, the oil bottle that I painted in the USA didn't make it on our lift, so I painted another one. I like painting splotches of color.

Day 357 (peeking back into the job market)

I applied for a job or three today: well done! After I applied, I channeled Husbinator and asked a bunch of employees of one of the companies to connect with me. When they accepted my invitation (the shock!), Husbinator strong-armed me into emailing them my CV and asking who to contact directly about open positions. Again, I was blown away when people responded to these emails with further information and helpful email addresses.

And tonight... Well, tonight Mrs. Smith called me back!!!!!!! We chatted for 10-15 minutes or so, but she had a student come in, so we'll have to talk more later. But, oh! It was so much fun talking to her!

Day 356 (spring weather)

Since today was so gorgeous, I decided to bring BSM's diaper bag and some snacks with me so we could go straight to the park from daycare. Since we were going straight to the park from daycare, I realized I had no reason to hurry him home by carrying him, so I let BSM walk the whole way by himself. BSM had a great time, and I realized why I usually end up carrying him, even if we don't have anything scheduled for the afternoon: taking 45 minutes to walk half a mile is a bit much for me.

The spring weather was very seasonally appropriate, too: tonight started Tu B'Shvat. I helped set up for the shul's Tu B'Shvat event, which I knew would start later than the advertised 5:30. What I didn't think through was that since it was called for 5:30 and things always start late in our shul, it started poink at BSM's bedtime. That was OK, though: as much as I would have loved to go to my first real Tu B'Shvat Seder, I was also pretty peopled-out after two hours of frantic setting up.

Today's truly big excitement, though, was hearing from Aunt L80 that HARPER LEE IS PUBLISHING ANOTHER BOOK. Oh me, oh me, oh wow. Not knowing what else to do, I called Mrs. Smith, a teacher I had from 3-6 grade who reads To Kill a Mockingbird with her 5th-6th graders every year. That's right, I was so blown away that I went on whitepages.com and called a woman I haven't been in touch with for years. Hearing her voice on her machine did not help me calm down, either.

Day 355 (who's a social butterfly?)

When I spoke with Aunt Ruby and Uncle Ari at Leah's engagement party, I invited them to come for Shabbat sometime. Today I sat down to invite them for a concrete date. Oh. My. Gosh. I don't know how our calendar got this booked, but in the 10 upcoming weeks we have one available Shabbat. One. This is getting out of hand. Granted, four of those weeks are out of commission due to Pesach/Pesach Preparations, but still. (I gave them an option of three weeks: I will cancel my plans if I have to, because having to wait two and a half months to have Aunt Ruby and Uncle Ari and co. over for a Shabbat is absolutely ridiculous.)

Day 354 (on shirts and visiting)

This morning, as he lets me know on so many mornings, BSM did not want to put on his shirt. This morning, however, unlike so many other mornings, I had a real inspiration. I didn't just wait a minute for him to forget how much he didn't want to wear a shirt; I brought out the big guns. "Do you want to go to Dikla's?" I asked. "Keh!" nodded BSM with a huge smile. (We're working on it, we're working on it. But as of now the child still says כן instead of yes.) "Well then," I logicked mightily at him, "You need to put on a shirt. All of the children at Dikla's need to wear shirts." So he let me put on his shirt. I love that he's so happy where he is. I really, really do.

Other niceness today included visiting with Ema II (in person) and Ema, Abba, and The Caped Avenger (via Skype). Good stuff.

Day 353 (Shabbos)

You know how Parshas B'Shalach opens with Hashem not taking the Jews from Egypt to Israel via Plishti-territory because that way is the short way? Well, I actually pulled out a Biblical Atlas and traced the route the Jews took out of Egypt. My friends, the Torah is not kidding: we went the long way around, and by that I mean that we were heading away from Israel for most of that trip. Technically speaking, we weren't travelling to Israel at all: we were travelling to Sinai, which is south of both Goshen and Israel. Here is the map I used, taken from Atlas Daat Mikra.

(Assuming you can't make out the teeny tiny writing on the picture above, I am providing the following list: the red triangle is Egypt, the orange ellipse is Goshen, the blue thingy is Southern Israel, the green smudge is Sinai, the roughly vertical yellow scribble is pretty much where the Jews went this week, and the roughly horizontal yellow scribble is a particular route the Jews did not take. According to the Hebrew key, the purplish lines are "international paths;" I think I'd call those "trade routes." If you are one of those wonderful people who care about such things, the scale bar is in kilometers.)

After Shabbos, I drove to Pisgat Ze'ev and took the train to the Old City to go to a L'Chaim for Leah Schwartz (Aunt Ruby's niece and the sister of my best friend growing up). First of all mazel tov, mazel tov on Leah's engagement, but my Gosh, I think I was just as excited to see these Schwartzes and Aunt Ruby, Uncle Ari, and family!

I wanted to go to the Kotel after the L'Chaim, but I also very much didn't want to rip the pretty sweater that I was wearing. (I asked Uncle Ari about that, and he refused to tell me that I would have to rip it, but he also made it clear that he couldn't think of a reason that I wouldn't have to.) Nu, nu. I really will go back and see the Kotel one of these days, soon.

Instead of going to the Kotel, I walked a few train stops in the wrong direction, so I could feel like a lady about town. I really, really, really like living in a quiet place with open spaces and gorgeous views. But once in a while it is nice to be part of the maddening crowds and see the chustle and the bustle. And an added advantage to walking toward the Center of Town was that I accidentally walked to Ema II's bus stop, so we could get on the train together. (Yes, she's visiting Israel, and now it's our turn to play with her for a little.)

Day 352 (Erev Shabbos)

In keeping with the theme of unending excitement, I got ready for Shabbos today. One of my guests offered to help, and I actually took him up on it, so he swept and cut a salad and entertained BSM for me. This, by the way, is the clerk that I met in a bookstore a week or two ago.

Oh, and as we discussed, he brought a friend with him. I vaguely recognized this friend. "Hey," I said proudly, "You know my husband, right?" Yes... yes he does. Because he's slept at my house before. Twice. And the second time was two weeks ago. Ah.

Day 351 (shopping)

Unlike the past few weeks, I went grocery shopping on Thursday instead of Wednesday. I know, I know, this is thrillingly exciting news. What can I say? My life is a constant whirl of excitement.

Day 350 (Frame)

I finally did it: I got a frame for the painting I bought in Tzfat. Here it is as-purchased:

Very pretty, but not ready to hang. So I did a quick Google search to find a framer (I vaguely remembered seeing a store in Pisgat Ze'ev), and went over there today. The experience was soooo Israeli. First of all, even though I went when the store was supposed to be open, the door was locked. It was cool, though: the guy left his cell phone number taped to the door. So I called him, and we agreed to meet in half an hour.

In the past, I've gotten a few things framed at Michael's. There, the clerk is happy to let me take as long as I want, and is completely sympathetic to and validating of my musings, while simultaneously trying to upsell me. Here, the guy had zero patience for existential musings. He does this for a living and knows what's perfect for this picture, while I don't seem to know exactly what I want and am working by odd hunches: what was with me? He was perfectly nice about it; he just seemed genuinely confused by my entire approach.

We settled on a frame reasonably quickly (not the first one he had picked out, but one very, very similar) and then he convinced me to do what no Michael's employee ever has: I ordered the matte glass instead of the regular glass. Tip to Michael's: I will buy the clearly superior but more expensive product as long as my finished order is still a reasonable price. Tip to Israeli framers: if you want your customers to think that your prices are reasonable, have them frame a thing or two at Michael's, first. With a 65% off coupon.

Then the guy asked me when I wanted it, and I got my second huge shock. He just framed it while I waited. We chatted about this and that: how awesome it is that I made aliyah, how my family should also make aliyah (HINT, HINT), where are good neighborhoods to live, how Israelis rely almost entirely on word-of-mouth ("מפה לאוזן" in Hebrew, "from mouth to ear"), how good it is that my little boy is in a Hebrew-speaking playgroup, how I should never trust any Israeli who is trying to sell me anything (I totally couldn't work up the guts to tell the guy he should maybe stop and think about what he's telling me right now), how the picture is now framed and it's now perfectly clear the guy was right when he said to go with dark green, have a great day.

When I got home, I did something truly shocking: I actually hung the newly-framed picture, without waiting to procrastinate. While I was at it, I hung two other pictures I've been putting off hanging, including The Caped Avenger's awesome giraffe. Husbinator admired the finished product and reacted perfectly when I told him I sprang for the fancier glass. He looked at the picture and asked in honest confusion, "What glass?"

Day 349 (at last!)

While I was on kibbutz, I started sewing a black Shabbos skirt, because that is a useful thing to own. Today, I finally finished the thing. Now I can start sewing a weekday skirt. I feel that owning three weekday skirts will be easier than owning two. And since I dislike clothing shopping and my favorite style of skirt (wraparound) lacks any measure of complexity, sewing seems the logical choice. It just takes me a while to actually do it. (The other disadvantage of sewing my own skirts is that I wear them well past the time I should have thrown them out. "But I put so much time into it!" I wail, "How can I just throw it out?")

I saw an amusing video of hipsters tasting Israeli snacks, today. My favorite moment was when one guy perfectly nailed how I feel about Bamba: "I hate them but I want more of them." 

Day 348 (friends)

Mrs. Orna called me this morning, just to chat (I win the friendship lottery! Yes!!!), but since we both have Golan cell service and we're both in Adam, our conversation didn't stand a chance. The first time our phones cut us off, I decided to take my destiny in my own hands. "You shall not dictate my fate today, Golan!" I declared, and I popped in my car and drove up the hill and knocked on Mrs. Orna's door. Good stuff.

Later today, Mrs. Kornbluth convinced me to come to the monthly "ladies night" at her house. I am so glad she did: the "activity" was a lecture from a wise and wonderful lady, and she really helped me get my head back in order.

I've recently come to the terrifying realization that I don't know what I want anymore. You see, I spent the last eight years or so with exactly one overarching goal: I wanted to move to Israel. I can honestly say that every major decision I made was made in the light of how it would affect getting back home. And now I'm here, and that's great, but it just occurred to me that, well, now what? What do I want now? I mean, I'd kind of like to find a job, and I'd really like to own a house one day, but these seem like piddling little puddle-jumper goals compared to "Moving to Israel at Last."

Something in the lecture tonight (I don't know what) jiggled the contents of me just so, and I realized that the answer is ridiculously simple: I just want to be happy. I can't be fully happy if I'm not living in Israel, so I moved to Israel. Now that I'm here, I don't need to find something completely new to want. It's just that now I get to arrange the littler pieces. I want to have a good relationship with people and G-d. (Yeah, I just called that "little pieces.") I would like to own a house at some point. And I either want to find a job or declare myself a housewife: this looking and not finding sucks. I should just look more actively, but... Anyway. That's details. At least I'm not drifting anymore.

Day 347 (Fantasia)

BSM and I finished watching Fantasia today: we've been watching it in bits and spurts for a week or two, now. I must say, Fantasia makes so much more sense as an adult than it did as a child. Though BSM very much enjoyed conducting the orchestra.

Day 346 (Shabbos)

As we so often do, BSM and I went to shul on Friday night. And as he so often does, BSM made a beeline straight for Husbinator as soon as we got there. While not a problem, it was a little more exciting than it is every other week: Husbinator was the chazzan for Kabbalas Shabbos this week. So he led davening while BSM snuggled down on his shoulder... at least until BSM fell asleep and got all floppy. Then I got him back :)

My big excitement on Shabbos day was that the Barzilai family is back! They haven't been here for the past few Shabbosim, and I've missed his shiur during kiddush. The other excitement on Shabbos day was discovering that my guests were perfectly happy to sit in the living room reading books all afternoon. These Michlala girls are really my kind of people.