I'm grateful for: more acceptance regarding TH; S2 doing VERY well in basic training, with a long leave; a good night's sleep. Wednesday afternoon. So much has gone on. It is hard to believe how busy I have been. I ache all over. I had things I wanted to write about Monday (but I fell asleep) and yesterday (ditto), and I don't know how much uninterrupted time I have now. It's really daring to try to write anything in the middle of the afternoon around here.

I can't remember Sunday at all, other than I know that S2 and TH left the house before the crack of dawn so he could catch the special soldier's bus from Petakh Tikvah. Unfortunately, the soldier's bus got in late and S2 and a whole bus full of other soldiers were late (and presumably got in some sort of trouble).

Really can't remember Sunday at all. Monday I got up, and drove D3 to Petakh Tikvah (our lives revolve around that place), to catch a bus to go visit a friend of hers who lives in the Shtochim. That would be in this case the Shomron, which some people refer to as the 'West Bank.' Silly. Can't see or smell the river from there. West bank of what exactly? But anyway...

Oh, sorry, I forgot for most of you the Shomron is called Samaria. I forgot for a moment.

In any event, the friend lives in a yeshuv that can be reached by bus from Ariel, the largest city in the Shtochim. That 'ch' is a gutteral, like the German 'ach' and short 'i' is pronounced 'ee.' For anyone who cares. But anyway...

I'm having a wee bit of trouble with focus here. Bear with me.

Drove D3 to Petakh Tikvah. Dropped her at the bus stop and went to do some shopping, Fielded multiple calls from D3 and TH when the bus hadn't shown up, called D2 who told me the bus is often as much as twenty minutes late. Called TH to tell him to pass it on to D3, by which time she was on the bus. *sigh*

Shopping completed (and I should've bought more tapuchips - that's potato chips, or crisps), I phoned D2 again and arranged to go pick her up at her apartment, which I was able to drive to all by myself for the first time. For some reason I cannot fix in my head how to get to her apartment, and it is all one-way streets in the area. Picked up D2 and we went to the kenyone(mall). I wanted to go to the shuk, which I have actually never managed to get to in P.T.(Petakh Tikvah) before. But D2 needed shoes, badly. So to the kenyone where we scored two pair of sport shoes, one for her and one for me(!!!), and a pair of nice, semi-dressy sandals for when she needs to look nice.

I call them semi-dressy because in the U.S. or England (or other parts of western civilization) they would never qualify as dressy, certainly not dressy enough for a wedding or other major event. But in Israel... standards are different. I like it mostly,, but sometimes my early cultural programming has a bit of trouble. So, nice-ish sandals you can wear to the office in the U.S. (at least in New England or the Midwest), are dressy in Israel.

Then we went to lunch. It turns out there is an oriental/Chinese restaurant in P.T. (I hadn't known) so I drove there and D2 ended up treating because my getting the money out would have added too much time to it all. It say it is an 'Asian' restaurant, which is silly because we are IN Asia here, but the menu is primarily Chinese (don't ask me which region, I'm not that up on it), with sushi and a couple of specialties from other countries as well. Nothing Thai, though. It was very good. I had sweet and sour chicken (a mainstay at all oriental restaurants I've been to in Israel) and rice with vegetables, very good but they could've done with more veggies. D2 ate two eggrolls, which she pronounced quite good - high praise from her. They gave me so much food that I brought half, or more than half of it home, and S1, S3 and TH all had some and it was my supper also. I'll go there again. :-)

D2 and I took the food home to her apartment and ate it there. Her apartment is only a little bigger than the dressing room TH and I had in our first apartment. It was a proper type dressing room, so you couldn't call it just a closet. But, it wasn't that big. Still, it's cozy, and somehow manages to avoid feeling claustrophobic. or cramped.

Finally I left and drove like mad for home. I'd been tired all day (still haven't caught up on my sleep), tired enough it was laborious making conversation with D2 over the meal. Driving home on kviesh shesh (highway six), I had a great deal of trouble keeping my eyes open. When I got to the end of kviesh shesh I pulled into a rest area to use the toilet and fell asleep before I could get out of the car. No, really. I don't know how long I slept, long enough to have missed the Pope protest. So that means about twenty minutes at least. When I woke, very strange dreams I might add, I phoned TH to let him know what had happened, finally got up to use the toilet, and came home.

The Pope protest, btw, is that everyone (who wanted to protest the Pope, or at least his visit, or his going to Yad Vashem but NOT going in the museum (and what was the point of that?!?)) was to honk their horn at 6p.m., the time that he was supposed to begin speaking from Outside at Yad Vashem. So either no one at the rest area protested (I don't know how unlikely, it's possible) or I slept through the honking. I'm sorry I didn't hear how loud (or not) the protest was in Jerusalem. Surely not loud enough to drown him out.

Home again, I finished the nap I started in the car. I was simply too tired to do anything, at that was what *I* was doing on Lag b'Omer.

S3 was invited to the horribly woman's house to make bows and have a bonfire. I asked S1 to go along with, since I don't trust the horrible woman to do anything safely. S3 of course wanted to go because he has two friends there, and since we weren't doing anything for the holiday... So S1 went along and made sure no one had an eye put out, and managed to get the bonfire started and S3 home in a somewhat decent time, and got yelled and cried at by the horrible woman for his pains. I'm glad he was there. And sorry he had to put up with that.

Tuesday we all got up early in order to drive S3 to Superland, an amusement park in or near Holon. S3 had been invited to go along with one of his friends, whose family was being treated to a free day at the park. We got everyone ready, 'everyone' consisting of TH, S1, S3, me and Kitten. We managed to get lost but found Superland in reasonable time. It is a fact that maps here often do not correspond to the actual roads. Worst in Jerusalem, but definitely a problem where we were going, a bit of our necessary route fell off the edge of the map. *sigh*

S3 joined up with his friend and the rest of us drove to Modi'in and spent the day visiting with the family of S1's I'm-not-allowed-to-call-her-girlfriend. I haven't another word, since they aren't engaged - yet. But I WON'T refer to anyone as an 'intended.' I played boggle and chatted with the mom, TH distracted the dad, and S1 and possible-future-dil spent the day entirely in each other's faces. Talking. They were either in a bedroom with one or another of the girl's siblings present, or out on the mirpesset. That's how it works here with religious families. Mirpesset is balcony. I'm trying to remember to define my terms.

There wasn't a front room or sitting room or salon they could sit in because the family has birds. Birds. BIRDS. I don't know how many, I couldn't count them with the cages all set next to and on top of each other. Not parakeets, big birds, I can't remember what they are called. I mean besides parrots, but I do know some of the names when my brain can fish the information up. Some talked, one whistled, and basically there was no room in the apartment for a couple to sit and talk. At least if they wanted to avoid the dad. Dad had to be avoided at all costs.

I don't understand how some families manage to do it. This man is so utterly selfish and self-absorbed it is amazing to me that he manages to co-exist with any other people at all. His conversation is entirely about himself. He rants about everyone and everything that isn't right according to his definition of 'right.' He doesn't like how anything is done in Israel, for a start. He doesn't like it that he was fired (politely let go, with a severance package) for blowing the whistle on the entire company for fraud, and that at his age (over 40) he can't get another job - in Israel because he's known for not 'playing ball,' and elsewhere because he is just too old to be starting over. He blames everyone and everything but himself and is planning on dragging the whole family with him when he leaves (he IS planning on leaving) because he can't have the kind of spread they had in Oklahoma or Montana or wherever they come from, with horses and so on. No conversation can go on in the same room as him unless it is about himself or some topic he has picked. And this is from one brief encounter. The family accepts him as a fact of life, like hurricanes, and seem to accept that their wants, and even needs, simply won't be met. I really don't get it. This isn't the first family run along similar lines that I've met, but it is the first Jewish family like this. Outside of some truly insane black hat types.

Still, so far as it works for them, it is not for me to complain. As long as I don't have to deal with the dad. I took an almost instant dislike to him - not because of his selfishness, or his ranting, or really anything at all except his intention to leave Israel. After working and sacrificing and fighting for years to get here, and working and fighting to make it here, he is now going to pack up his marbles and go home because they don't play fair?!? How old IS he? So, yeah, I don't like him.

If I visit again, I will simply have to make sure TH comes along. TH can deal with him, we talked about it in the car coming home. We WILL have to deal with these people again because S1 is, as he told us in the car coming home, quite serious about the girl. The only question is if she is as serious about him. I hope so for his sake, but I worry about a lot of things I won't write here right now. It's not just the family background it is many other things. But, again, not for today.

I had quite a nice visit with the mom, and actually look forward to seeing her again, after a somewhat rocky start initially. She loves Kitten and does fiber crafts. We talk easily and seem to share many ideas and perspectives. I don't agree with her on some important things, but they shouldn't actually affect me very much. Hashem is in charge... That's all.

We left and headed off to pick up S3 from Superland, no getting lost this time, and we headed home in good time. TH and I were both falling over tired, S3 would be as soon as he stopped being so excited. Everyone crashed hard last night. This morning TH headed off for P.T., to work and to pick up S2, who is getting a long weekend from base. He comes home today and doesn't have to be back until Sunday. I got his bed cleared off of all the things he wanted packed up, and D3 (who came home all by herself and that is another tale) made the bed, so we're all set. :-)

Just quickly, D3 took a bus from the little yeshuv to Jerusalem where she met up with FB. He did the proper uncle thing (that was his words, according to D3) and took her out to lunch. He wanted to show her some places in Jerusalem, but due to the Pope's visit, the city was completely unnavigable. Seriously. Walking was the only way you could get anywhere. So they visited a bit, and FB put her on the sherut (a sort of group taxi) with presents for her, and S3, and me. She managed to tremp (hitchhike, get a ride) from the end of the moshav road, and was home before we got here, to milk the goats, and let the dogs in and out. It was her first time getting around the country by herself.

I have laundry to do (always) and need to spend some time with Kitten, who I have barely seen today. I slept well, and very late, waking after 1p.m. I think. The only problem with that is I might have a hard time falling asleep tonight, but it is SO good to not be falling over tired the whole day! Full days planned for tomorrow and Friday, and life is good.

I'm listening to Fun With Dick and Jane (the original, with Jane Fonda) that D3 is watching in the family room.

:: 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