Botticelli me thumbnail
- Profile -+- Notes -+-Archives-+- E-Mail -+-Diaryland-+- Fotolog -+- Latest -

Honey is Sweet

Still chugging along - 2009-09-18

I'm grateful for: Coping better in general; a loudly purring Kitten; getting to sleep earlier, even if by 'earlier' I mean before 4am.

Two entries in a row. I'm really too busy, and too tired. It's after 2:30am and I really *should* try to go to sleep. Oh, well.

I was woken up before 9am this morning by S2. I can't even remember what he phoned about. I was barely conscious on four hours' sleep. He talked for what felt like close to an hour. I have no idea how long it really was. I managed to doze a bit, but then D2 phoned.

Now I had turned my phone off after S2's call, because I *really* needed sleep, but D2 phoned on the house phone when she couldn't reach me, and after crying to S3 and TH, and possibly D3 (I don't remember), she was passed on to me. It was really necessary, but, ... I needed sleep!

Her boyfriend, N., had apparently been talking to her about his difficulties making up his mind about marriage. D2 suggested that he should maybe make up a list of pros and cons, to help organize his thoughts and make it easier to figure out just what he ought to do. D2 is far to smart to get involved in this decision - if N. doesn't want to marry her enough to make the decision himself that's too much of a mess to step in. It's worth noting that she has already told him that she would like it if they were to get married, so it's not fear of what her answer would be.

So, what happened that had D2 phoning in tears - N. had brought over his list - which turned out to be a list of pros and cons about HER. And he told her it. D2 has a good head on her shoulders, and was pretty clear that far more important than whatever he said were cons about her was the fact that he had actually done this thing. Inconsiderate, clueless, cruel or just selfish? She had already written him an email and just needed a shoulder and a chance to ask over and over 'what is WRONG with him?' and 'would I even want to have anything to do with someone so clueless?'

It was a long and emotional call. As I have no idea myself what could have been going on in his head (if anything) all I could really do is listen and sympathize. I couldn't even offer reassurance.

After being on the phone with D2 for well over an hour, S2 phoned again. Since I was a bit distracted (not to mention exhausted) after the D2 phonecall, I told S2 we had a bit of bother here. I also assured him it was nothing he had to worry about, and then managed to actively listen to him for at least twenty minutes...

Eventually we (TH, S3, D3 and I) got out of the house, dropped S3 at the home of some friends in Netivot, and did the grocery shopping. I ended up charging over 1000shekel of groceries. What are you going to do? We have to eat. There were some good sales, and we had a surprize bit of help, one of our regular grocery stores was pushing us to apply for a credit card so I did. That LAST thing that I need is another credit card, but because of applying we got a bunch of extra sales discounts and a 'gift' of 40shekel. Every little thing helps at this point.

While checking out at the second store (we were able to get everything on our list at two stores), D2 phoned again. I told her I would call her back, but instead got caught on the phone with S2. He was a bit freaked out about needing to talk to his mefaked.

One of the things he needed to talk to the mefaked about was that - when S2 had been talking to me earlier his mefaked had seen him get off the phone looking worried (S2 was worried at that point about needing to talk to the Rav). The mefaked questioned S2 about it, and S2 told him (the mefaked) that I'd said there was a problem at home and that S2 didn't need to worry about it. S2 knows me well enough to believe me, when I tell him he doesn't need to worry - he doesn't. The mefaked, who has never really met me, put a different interpretation on it and assumed there must be something *really* bad at him. So part of what S2 was going to have to do was try to explain to the mefaked that he'd got it wrong. Not an easy thing to do...

So I did phone D2 back, but got her voice mail as she was at work. I read a story from Marrying Off Mother and other stories by Gerald Durrell for a good part of the drive (very funny, btw). At home, D2 phoned back and told me she'd gotten a text from N. saying he would call her later. She was torn between being glad she was at work, since she couldn't fret TOO much when she was working on giving someone a massage, and being fretted because it's awfully hard to give a good massage while something like this is hanging fire. Again, I listened, and sympathized. What else could I do?

S2 has gotten his toefess (my best transliteration) for the eye glasses, so the next time he comes up north (he says possibly Tuesday) he can go order his new glasses. Hashem willing. We'll still have to pay some for them, but hopefully it won't be too ridiculously expensive... yeah, right.

D2 phoned again later, N. phoned her after work and they agreed they needed to talk and not on the phone. The good thing - he said he owed her apologies. So, somewhere he got a clue. I told her to phone me after the talk if she needed, and she hasn't. I take that as a good sign.

Other stuff - I got to watch S1 milking a goat today on our way out the door. It was really great to watch. The goat was so calm and easy for him, and he was so relaxed, as the milk splashed into the bucket in a steady rhythm. I wanted to taste some of it warm right from the goat, but we needed to be going. I'll have the chance for fresh goat's milk almost every afternoon, not a lost opportunity, just postponed.

S3 had a terrific time with his friends, and was so exhausted he just fell into bed and was out like a light.

D3 is really suffering in pain. She's just had her braces tightened (Katherine: you are not alone), and periodically had to just stop and hold her hand in front of her mouth - all she could do. The orthodontist has stopped tightening the braces on the upper teeth, so this is just the lower teeth and it's causing her that much pain. It hurts me to see her hurting that badly.

For eating in these hard times we have ramen noodles, yogurt, soup, and assorted treats. If it doesn't dissolve in the mouth she can't eat it. Fortunately much chocolate dissolves in the mouth.

She also has this horrible reaction she gets on her hands in the summer (D2 does also), which has been particularly bad this summer. And some sort of bone thing on the base of the middle finger in each palm - we have an appointment with an orthoped (I've forgotten how you end the word, that's how Israeli's say it) for that. Orthopedist? Orthopod?

So, not good to be D3 these days. She is doing an incredible job of keeping her spirits up. Online comics are helping. So does Kitten.

TH and I are seemingly doing still better in our relationship. Something happened tonight which I am hoping will bear fruit sometime soon. It would be a really good thing, maybe even a turning point, but it hasn't happened yet. I'm trying not to jinx it or myself. With this kind of thing it's three steps forward, two steps back - except when it's three steps back...

I'm really angry at the guy I see for acupuncture. So angry I am considering not going to him for a while. I'll have to see how it plays out - much prayer and turning it over, I haven't another appointment for two weeks from today (yesterday - Thursday). He's the best health care professional I've ever seen - really knows what to do with the needles - but I am sure that Hashem was for me some way of getting better without submitting to disrespect and insult. It's not today's problem, like I said I have 'til my next appointment before anything has to be said/done. But there it is.

I suck at telling little homely anecdotes, although my life is full of them. TH and I had a conversation about where to put the caravan that will be where we have our makolet (small grocery) that would bear repeating if only I could. Also we are apparently getting a larger car - a M@zda 5 - and trying to find out if there is room behind the back row of seats for a wheelchair was/is an odyssey and we haven't yet seen the end of it. For some reason *crooked grin* the M@zda website doesn't bother to have that bit of information available. Neither do any of the car reviewers we checked. Even if it has a roof rack (all of the 5's we've seen so far have had one) we'd still like to know. We need to find a non-moving one, hopefully with the owner/driver nearby so we can ask permission and check out the inside. Or, if we had only the faintest idea where one might be we might be able to check it out at a dealer... I wonder if there is a dealer in the whole Negev? Oh, I suppose there must be one in Be'er Sheva somewhere.

The money thing is beyond stressful. I am only not hysterical about it because I've been in equally bad situations in the past. *sigh* I'm still pretty close to hysteria some moments. Things would have been tight anyway, but we ended up spending money we otherwise wouldn't have because of trying to get the place ready for RS - who, of course, is now not arriving until next month, and maybe not even then.

I have no way of knowing, now, if things still wouldn't have gotten so completely unmanageable. I just know that they are, and that we spent a lot of money on work that we now know could have waited another month, or maybe even two. Or more. With RS, who knows?

So the money thing sucks. Otherwise, D3's pains aside, life is pretty good. I am going to really miss S2 over the holiday - as I mentioned before, he's spending it on base. We have plans for cooking some yummy stuff tomorrow, although it looks as if maybe we won't be having manicotti, which we had originally planned for. I hope I'm wrong about that, I really love manicotti, more'n any other pasta dish.

I expect I'll get back here sometime over the weekend, but in case I don't L'Shana Tova, v'Chag Sameach. Which is a rather shortened 'may you be inscribed for a good year, and happy holiday' for those of you who share these hols with me.

I'm listening to Metropolitan Klezmer: Unter Di Khurves Fun Poyln (Under the Ruins of Poland)

0 bleats so far

:: 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