I'm grateful for: Stress being lifted; feeling really happy; getting out and a good movie.

I really should be going right to sleep, but there's been a lot of excitement about and I wanted to write something about it here first.

Yes, I'm still sick. Better, a bit, but still quite sick. Whoopie! I'm SO ready for this to be over.

Also, Zechy has developed quite a hacking cough, which worries me a bit. Everyone else seems to be well along the road to recovery. I hope.

We had some real excitement around Neil's move. Without spending an unreasonable amount of time on a blow-by-blow - he is not moving into the place he thought he was. Didn't work out. Unfortunately he and John found out it didn't work out after driving a van full of Neil's stuff all the way to Jerusalem. Um. John says: 'Neil was being Neil' which seems to be John-speak for Neil was a complete dickhead. It might sound nicer when John says it, but since one has absolutely no idea what he means when he says something like that, it's rather pointless, really.

Anyway, John had to drive all the way back home with the van full of Neil's stuff. Neil stayed on in Jerusalem and (thank goodness) did find another place to rent. And he has the key, and John is driving him back at the crack of dawn tomorrow. Especially exciting is that I told Neil we thought 500 shekels was quite a reasonable rate for the trip to Jerusalem today and he didn't argue. It was quite hard for me to say that to him, but I will be da**ed before I allow him to take gross advantage of me again. If he'd hired a mover and then had to have the stuff brought back home he could easily have paid four times that amount. So, really, he is getting off easy.

The guiding principle in all my dealings with Neil these days is that I will not feel taken advantage of. It doesn't matter if he does or does not take advantage, it matters if I FEEL taken advantage of. I won't allow that to happen again. So, rather than have to deal with trying to collect the 500 shekel from Neil, I told him we would deduct it from the John Hancock loan we had been paying back. At this rate we will be free and clear. He's got at least two more trips of stuff to take into the city.

Actually, I had no intention of charging him for getting his stuff the heck out of here. I want it out of here, and am willing to be inconvenienced and take time from other things in order to make it happen. But after we were all put to great inconvenience, and John did so much - loading the van, driving about six hours total and so on - for nothing, and he can't even be decent about it (like saying 'thanks' and/or 'I'm sorry'). Well. He can bloody well pay us for the service, if you know what I mean. We do not exist to serve Neil. I suspect it is partly my fault that he acts/seems to feel that way. But not entirely. Definitely not entirely.

Okay, no more Neil. For now.

I can't remember yesterday. Havva went to some *thing* the IDF has for soldiers returning to civilian life. She talked to some people from university and got some useful information, so it was worth it. Today was more memorable. I let Balta go out back without a lead as an experiment, and while she did not come when called, she also didn't take off, allowing Hans to bring her back into the house. So, a partial success.

I collected mail and was able to balance my Mizrachi bank statement with the delightful discovery that we have quite a bit more money available to us than we thought we had. It's not really our money, it's an allowed overdraft, but it could still be extremely useful when the kids are heading off to the U.S. in about a month. !!!! Oh, my, goodness. I am not ready for that.

John got home from Jerusalem early enough in the afternoon to rest and recover a bit and then we went out.

Oh, I forgot to mention it turns out we have headlice in the house. In Israel this is almost commonplace - people don't get hysterical about it here the way they do in the States. It's also not a huge deal. I'm not sure why they have so much weird stuff, like prescription shampoos and so forth, to go with all the hysterics. I guess it's a good money-maker for someone. But anyway, having discovered a louse, we spent some time going through everyone's hair with a nit comb. Which is, other than the lice, rather a nice thing to do. It's an intimate one-on-one moment with some family member that you otherwise might never think to have.

I'm not saying it's good to have the buggers, I'm just saying that I've learned to look at it differently. I well remember the hysterics that were had in our old home town when some louse or other was discovered in the schools (besides the principal, I mean). You would have thought we were under a concentrated attack using biological warfare. And the instruction sheets sent home by the schools, and the trips to the doctors, and the pharmacy must've seen a huge boost in their profits that month.

When we first ran into headlice here, we were still in the merkaz klitah in Karmiel. I guess that there are parts of the population in which headlice are a constant, and so it happens that everyone will get them from time to time. And we deal with it by simply combing out the hair with the nit comb. It is a fancy-schmancy stainless steel nit comb with easy grab handles and can be immersed in boiling water. But, I mean, that's all. I did clean all the pillowcases and take the stuffed animals that the kids have used as pillows outside for a few days just as a precaution.

Why did I waste so much time and space on the stupid head lice? I guess I'm just so tired I start on something and just keep going on automatic pilot.

Last night, I didn't sleep at all. I don't know why. I actually went to bed at a reasonable hour. And lay awake, until I gave up lying here in the dark. At about 6am I just got up already. So, I've been struggling with a bit more tired than usual, I think.

Anyway, as I said above, John and I went out. We went to Be'er Sheva, and checked out a new-to-us supermarket - no, it's really just a grocery store. That sells everything. And we bought lots of stuff we needed at very good prices. We'll be going back there for sure. And then after that we went to find the movie theatre and -- found them. Yippee!

We watched Blood Diamonds. That was good! I was WAY surprized. I really could not believe that man could act. But he can, and he was Good! I have to say it is not a movie I would ordinarily have chosen to see. And I'm not entirely sure I'm glad I saw it. Other than finding out that Leonard DiC. can act. Which blew me away. I should say us, John was as amazed as I was. It was very well made, the acting was superb (not just his), the photography made me happy, and the good guys win in the end. Sort of. It's one of those moralizing pictures, not that I don't think some moralizing on the topic isn't called for. Still, it's not the same as pure entertainment. I would recommend it if that sort of thing is your cup of tea.

I'm falling asleep as I type. *sigh* It was so good to get out of the house. I was bundled up as for a night in the frozen north, and it really wasn't that cold, but I still got chilled in the theatre. If I suffer a relapse tomorrow, I'll know why. But I am counting on the emotional lift from the whole night out to counteract any extra strain on the body. I just felt, and feel, so happy I can hardly write about it. Nothing I can put my finger on for causes. Just feeling really, really happy. It has been quite a while. I could go for some more of this.

Neil moving out is a huge help. Finding more money is great. Getting out and enjoying an evening with my husband is almost incredible. Havva's unwinding from the army, slowly, the stress level in the house is dropping almost every second, and even the dogs can sense that things are different. Better.

Oh, and Havva spent the whole day filling out financial aid applications and so forth. Yuck. She should just go to school in Israel. Really.

AND - because there are too many things, and I keep thinking of just one more - Simcha got a package from her Grandpa John! For her birthday (which was in November). Happy, happy Simcha. And all of us since she shared the chocolate bars around. We still kind of miss American chocolate.

Well, it is time I stop falling asleep over the computer and just get to sleep. Tomorrow is another, hopefully better rested, day.

I'm listening to something whirring, I can't tell what. Maybe the refrigerator? That's what it sounds like, anyway.

:: Yesterdays : Tomorrows ::

~~~Last Five Entries~~~
Hi and goodbye - 2010-10-15
I'll be moving on - 2010-10-10
Gold membership and stuff - 2010-10-10
Decisions, decisions - 2010-10-07
Days to go - 2010-10-06