Thursday, May 31, 2007

THAT'LL TEACH ME

Old gimps CAN learn new tricks. I usually got to sleep with the TV on either Fox News or Reshet Bet, but last night, just before settling in to sleep Fox ran a piece about Anti Israel Week at a California university that really pissed me off. I decided to turn the TV off, and finally fell asleep only to wake up to a 'dead' digibox. After unplugging, then plugging it back in, it sprang to life and the first thing I heard was about yet another British boycott of Israeli academics. Just what I needed, they are taking us on on both sides of the ocean.
The invaluable lesson that I learned from that is that I can sleep better with the TV off. For a change I didn't wake up in the middle of the night. I think I'll try again tonight!
My bank is taking it's own sweet time getting that loan organized. It was supposed to be done yesterday, but they said we'd do it today. One day isn't a big deal, but I really need it done today so I can get on with things.
I'm actually feeling quite good that the whole mess is just about over.
Right, time to bring Peg in, get dressed, go to the bank, grocery shopping, and whatever else strikes my fancy. Then I can come home and post a lovely long rant at the other blog!

Monday, May 28, 2007

ANOTHER DAY

I've been having so much fun over at the Town Hall blogs that I've ignored my own blogs. Not that much has been happening recently, but that's news too. The bank 'clean up' is moving forward as planned. I discovered that I actually have a credit card they missed. It's maxed out now, but it should be pretty much paid off in two or so months and that will be the best thing.
As expected, the payment on the loan the Suzuki is security for was late again this month. Shmaryah finally got the money together and I took to the bank, but the bank was closed. Striar was with me, so I took him home, and I got stuck in a monster traffic jam due to road works.Ok so, off I went early this morning all by myself. Going alone means that I can't get into the bank myself and as there's no such thing as drive in banks here, I called out to a guy who was coming out of the bank and asked him to get them to send someone out to me. So, the payment got made and I set out for home. The bank is about half an hour from Kiryat Shmonah. No traffic jam today but a driver in a Nissan pick up provided entertainment by driving South on the Northbound side of the new highway. Driving in Israel is always an adventure! After arriving home and finding my parking space empty for a change, I grabbed my cap, hopped on to Harley Two and headed for town. I went to my clinic to find out if they reimburse for horse riding therapy. They don't. Then to my bank to verify a few last minute details, to Lavana, then to Sari to see if she had the refund for me. (she did!), then back to Lavana. Being in a fairly good mood, I decided to break my one gimp boycott against the new supermarket and see if they had any M&Ms. They didn't, but I did find some Ben and Jerry's. No Cherry Garcia, but I found one I do like, picked up a package of whole wheat rolls and went to the check out. Talk about de ja vue all over again. I was in the shortest line, with only one lady who had 4 items in front of me. A manager came up to me and suggested that I go through a different check out with him. I said "No thanks, I'm fine here" He said it again, so I asked him if I was not speaking clearly. While he was distracting me some jerk with a full cart pushed in front of me. That was it. I sped off and threw B&J's finest back and the rolls, and left. That's pretty much what happened the first time I went into that store except that time I just tossed the stuff on the floor, and ran over the manager's foot on my way out. It'll be a boring day at TH before I go back there!

Monday, May 21, 2007

ANOTHER CHILDHOOD LEGEND PASSES

I got a mail from Alice yesterday saying that her father died Saturday night. He was 92, so it's not quite as sad as some of the other recent deaths.
Now, Alice and I became best friends way way back in elementary school pretty much in spite of our parents. My parents were not pleased because her father had gone to prison for tax evasion, and was a well known antisemite,among other things. I didn't care what her father was. I liked Alice. End of story. Our friendship started when I lent her a book just before her dad was sent to Danbury and her mom took her and her younger sister out of town until he got out. One of the very first things she did when they got back was to return the book.(yes, I still have it) That clinched it for me. No one, but no one would ever get in the way of our friendship. Then, we moved to the same road they lived at the very end of. I was at her house more than mine and vice versa. After my brother and I got our little Boston Whaler, Alice and I could often be found out on the bay. One year we started our own home made bagel business in my kitchen. Those were some good bagels. Alice was and still is the best bread maker I have ever known. That girl can cook. In fact, there's not much she can't do. She's a Maine Guide after all.
In spite of the great distance between us, the connection is still there. In fact, it's because of her that I got my first computer! It's also a tradition that I call her at her parent's house every Christmas morning. I've done that every single year since I've been here. When I was living there, I just went to their house.
Over the years her father got over her best friend being Jewish, and kept what he called a Kosher ham in the fridge for me. To his credit he never once said any thing Anti Jewish to me, maybe because he knew it wouldn't make any difference. I was there to stay. One day he did try to take the shot gun to me. My mother was the world's worst driver and it was usual that if she went down there to pick me up, I'd meet her at the end of their driveway. If she had tried to drive up it there was a good chance she would have driven right into their kitchen. On that particular day he decided that she was insulting him by not driving up and came out with the shot gun. I looked straight into the double barrels and told him why she wouldn't drive up, walked down to car, drove it up and parked by the door. Mom got out and had a drink with Alice's parents and that was the end of that.
I can't remember if that was before or after the great over night scandal. I was supposed to stay over night there and he objected to it very strongly. Her mom actually stood up to him that time, and told him that I was staying, that Alice had very few friends because of him, and he wasn't chasing me off too. Yup, I stayed. And now that he's gone, I can't just hop on a plane to be there with her.
Alice, who jumped in her car and drove up from Boston both times I went into labor, Alice who was a bridesmaid, Alice who was there when my mother died, Alice who went to my ex's funeral because I couldn't. Alice, my best friend in the whole wide world. Alice. My heart aches that I can't be there.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

MY BED IS MY CASTLE

I love my bed. It took years to get it just the way I like it. Several years ago I bought a very expensive mattress, then added an anti pressure sore air mattress to it. A friend gave me a beautiful purple terry cloth sheet that I just love. I still have the very worn and patched purple quilt given to me at my wedding shower back in 1972, and several other sheets from that era that are still in use. I have a pile of books on the far side and a collection of cell phone chargers and their cell phones too. There are bottles of water, salt, Eucerin, paper towels, a phone, and a few other bits and bobs on the headboard. Everything I need is close to hand. I even have a turret of pillows so I can sit up almost comfortably to read or watch TV. I don't move much while asleep, but sometimes I do end up on my back and wake up to find a cell phone charger stuck in my butt. It annoys me that the damn charger gives the phones enough juice to work for several days but does nothing but cause a bit of discomfort. I do wish it would give me a jolt of energy rather than a jolt of pain. Never mind the fork that stabbed me the other night. On the whole my bed is just about perfect. The only real problem is the body that lives/sleeps in it. Getting up in the morning is getting harder by the day. It takes ages to get the various parts moving without pain. By the time I get Peg out, my coffee, and myself settled at the computer, things are better. Yes, I do love my bed. Actually, I love my little purple Gimp House. It suits me just fine.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

A DIRTY PICTURE OF MY BELOVED'S PRIVATE PARTS

Sitting in a garage in 90+ degrees does strange things to the mind. I was supervising the draining of various and assorted oils and the caption just popped into my head, so there was nothing else to do other than roll over there and take the picture.
The next picture earned me a 10% discount! In Hebrew the same word is used for the rear end of a car and a person. While the mechanics went on their lunch break, I waited in the air conditioned waiting room. When they came back this other Discovery was parked next to mine and I said rather loudly, "At last, my backside looks better than someone else's! Now, guess which one is mine! The whole garage cracked up and the manager said, "Yeah, and yours is younger too. I quite enjoyed it, but now, I'm achy and hungry, so I think I'll go eat something, watch the 1700 news show and rest. It was a fun day!!
Oh, and the very best part was when one of the mechanics drove a military jeep off a lift and smashed a Renault's front end. For once I didn't do it!!






Monday, May 07, 2007

SORTING THINGS

The bank wants to wait a few days before taking the final step in the gimp extrication plan. That's just fine with me. After the bank I went to my favorite grocery store to get a few things I forgot last time. They are in the middle of changing everything around there, so now, long time customers can't find anything.
After I paid I asked the owners wife when they are going to hand out maps? What should have taken me 10 minutes top turned into a much longer search and seizure exercise. Oh well, no one knew where anything was they opened and went there for the first time. We'll get used to this soon enough. I called Orna to ask her what else I'd forgotten and she reminded me about canola oil. So I charged back to where it used be, only to find that they'd moved to right where I was when I called her. Typical!
My computer geek guy is coming over later to haul this one off for a few tweaks. He was supposed to come yesterday but had to help out a friend whose kid fell into a tributary of the Jordan River and died. I have a hard time feeling sympathy for parents who don't keep a closer eye on their kids. The Hatzbani is a very fast moving stream and adults who are good swimmers often get into trouble there.
You see kids standing up in the back seat right between the front seats all the time. Yes, there is a law, but so what? The prevailing attitude is pretty much,"I'll talk on my cell phone while driving with my kid standing between the seats". That's a recipe for a dead kid if ever there was one.
My left shoulder is really painful today, so I think I'll take it off for a rest. Tomorrow we have to be at garage by 0930 (middle of the night) and I can't be late. Aches and pains are no excuse, so rest it is!

Sunday, May 06, 2007

OUCH AND OWIE

I just never learn. As threatened I got my hair cut this morning, came home, hopped in the jeep and stopped at the garage to get the oil checked and make an appointment to have the urgent work done. They also got the a/c working and I headed off to Nazareth. We decided to go down to Afula for lunch, and had a lovely time at my favorite place there. On the way back we stopped at Dotan's to see the new sign and improvements he's made to the entrance.
The drive home was a nightmare. Because of Lag B'omer, traffic was backed up from Golani junction to Kadarim junction, bumper to bumper all the way. By the time I'd gotten half way along that stretch of road my right leg was in revolt and my left shoulder was screaming bloody murder. I don't know why I didn't just give that road a miss and cut through Tiberius. By the time I got home I was in dire need of the loo but my legs hurt too much to even think of walking that far. Orna wasn't home to help me, so shut down the jeep slowly and rested for a while, then walked in very slowly. It was like walking through an open pizza oven. By the time I could make it over to the computer, the little temperature thing said it was 104 degrees F outside. It's cooled down to 95 now. And tomorrow is going to be just as bad. And of course, just to make even worse, the house got hot inside all of a sudden. But a miracle happened! I got the a/c over to summer operation all by myself just now!
Yaacov is looking much than he was the last time I saw him. He's walking more steadily too. Next week I'll take a whole day and we'll go visit Etty's parents and Yaacov's mother. I haven't been there in 17 years so it really is about time. I'm so knackered now, that I think it might be time for a nice long rest.

Saturday, May 05, 2007

POWER OUTAGES ETC.

Things were going along nice and easy today, when all of a sudden the electrickery went off. No biggie. It just means no interweb, no fan, no TV, no nothing. And of course no phones and my cell was just about out of juice. There was just enough left to call Orna to find out if it was just me, or everyone. It was everyone, and she told me they were working on it and the power would be back in an hour and a half or so. It was back within a half hour. The electrickery company will never know how lucky they were that the power wasn't cut at the local stadium! It was only off in the two neighborhoods next to it. Yeah, they can play football without power, but what about the scoreboard and press? Yup, damn lucky.
Tomorrow I'm off to see Etty and Yaacov at last. But first I have to get my hair cut. There's a tradition that during the 7 weeks between Passover and Shavuot we don't cut our nails and hair. Men don't shave. Except for on Lag 'b Omer which is tonight and tomorrow. Google it if you want to know what it is! There have been so many years that I forgot to chop of my nails that I was chuffed to have remembered this year. I did however forget to get my hair cut and I hate it when it blows in my face while driving. It's not quite long enough for anything other than a cap to keep it back and driving with a cap is just another annoyance. I've decided to leave the back alone and just get the top chopped.
I've already hacked my nails back to my elbow, so that's out of the way.
After the great hair chop, I'll hop in the jeep and stop at the garage to have the oil checked and make an appointment to have it's 40 thousand kilometer work done. Then, straight to Nazareth.
BBC Prime is confused. I set the TIVO to record one of my house programs but instead a Top Gear episode turned up. That's just fine as Jeremy Clarckson is my hero.
And that reminds me; there's a new Disco in town with a snorkel. Humph! Where did he come from? No winch, no projector, no tow hook, just a snorkel. Copy cat. And he's white, not silver. Humph! And I bet he doesn't have a DVD with a camera too. Humph. Copy cat. And worst of all, it's a new one. Not a proper Series II. Humph!
Oh, Lord, are those football nutters ever going to stop honking and go home to let us have some peace and quiet? Not that it will bother me much, after all I'm the one who sleeps through katyusha attacks! What's a little honking? Let the children have their fun.

Friday, May 04, 2007

GOOD DECISION

I'm very glad I decided to stay home yesterday. It really was too hot to go anywhere. So far the house is still cool in spite of it being the upper 80s yet again today. I've now got stuff pretty much sorted at the bank and my new credit card came today, so the new plan is to go to Nazareth on Sunday to see Etty and Yaacov. I am so thankful that those tendons I pulled falling out of the jeep are almost all better. It will be interesting to see if they hurt on the drive.
Physically I'm not tired, but I sure am mentally. Too much thinking and deciding for this old gimp. It's time to over to the local weekend papers.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

SUMMER IS HERE WITH A VENGEANCE

I just rolled in from a quick swing through town, and it's damn hot out there already. And yes, I did wear a sleeveless sun dress!
Incompetent nincompoop is the word that best describes me and Shmaryah. The inventory we did for the end of the end of year has disappeared and it looks like we'll have to do it again unless he finds it. I climbed the 4 steps to look for it myself but it was no where to be found. Why do I suspect him of hiding it, only to produce at the last minutes while claiming it was mixed in with some of my stuff. It wouldn't be the first time he's done that.
I've decided not to go to the demonstration in Tel Aviv, but am still considering going to see Etty and Yaacov. I'm still far from up to doing the stairs, but, maybe we could go down to Dotan's nursery. Problem with that is that if it's 91 degrees here, it must be close to 100 down in that valley. The smart thing would be to stay at home, save petrol, the A/C and rest, and go there next week.
We are having a nice thunder storm right now and I'm missing it by sitting here in computer alley.
As it's still a bit chilly in the house, I think I'll just put something with sleeves on, and dig out Jerusalem Poker for it's annual reread!

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

DECLARATION OF SUMMER

I might have made a little mistake on Saturday. I declared that summer is officially here. I might just have been a bit quick with that this year. Orna changed my bedding over to summer stuff, which has always announced summer. I also tuned the propeller on low. Word spreads quickly in this neighborhood. We had a couple of days in the high 70s, low 80s and a few warm nights when my duvet was too much. Now that everything is nicely changed over, it's gone cool me. Ok, so I missed by a week or so, big deal. It's not like I started wearing sleeveless sun dresses or anything. (ok, so I did today, but with a jacket!)
I just came in from a few more errands dealing with my leaving the door store. It's now official. I am no longer involved with Shmaryah's adultery. I also took back the cripple card that was in his car because it's legally mine. Now he can't park in wheely spaces any more.
I'm feeling really good that it's just about over. Next to go will be the flower shop. Much as I'd like to get out of that right away, I'm going to wait a while, mostly because I promised her. At least I'm not into it for anything. All I have is a bank account for that shop, no credit limit or anything. I did her to look for someone to take it over.
I hope she finds someone soon. I'm not going to carry it forever.
There's going to be a huge demonstration on Thursday against Olmert and I'm thinking of going. Haven't been to a good demonstration for years. The guy has to go, but, more of that at the other blog. Other than the usual aches and pains, I'm feeling great because I am out of the mess that had me committing adultery by proxy. Enabling it is the same as doing it myself to me.