HOME SWEET...

For the past two days, I have been running from early in the morning until late at night. For example. yesterday I ran to the mall at nine a.m. to meet Dani, my friend from Pardess Channah who makes the most incredible amulets. Woohoo...powerful stuff. We have been friends for donkey's years and he wanted me to come talk to a store owner about selling his stuff.

Almost two hours later and one cup of thick Turkish coffee each, the deal was made. Then we went for coffee to discuss other things and I ran into the city to meet Bubbie Channah for lunch.

After lunch, I ran to the Clal Building to meet another Dani...Dani my student. He is partially sited and the Clal Building downtown is halfway between our two homes. It is also the place where my school was for the last seven years. Sigh.

After teaching Dani, I met an old friend for coffee and then finally I went out with Rena to Poyo Loco for chicken wings. Yahooooooooooo I can now chew...well sort of...well, not a pretty sight, but who cares? Chicken wings!!!

By the time I got home it was after nine at night. But I had a great day and loved being with the people I met.

Today I get to stay home. It was almost a 'stay in your pajamas day' but my youngest has invited two of his friends from law school to study for a final tomorrow. And they get to sleep over too.

So, I had to get dressed...run to the corner store and pick up munchies. Of course I did. Kids who are studying need munchies. Then I made a big pot of spagetti...cuz kids love spagetti and now the rest of the day is mine.

As he made up the bed in the spare room, which used to be his room, it took me back 20 years. Ah the good old days.

Actually, I wouldn't go back there for anything. Not even if you promised me I could make a couple of changes.

Wait! WAIT! OK, if I could make a couple of changes I guess I would go through all that again. But they better be humdinger of a great change or two. Thick hair and skinny thighs are not good enough. Sigh.

I died my hair this morning with a new hair dye. You know how they take the old stuff off the market and bring you a 'new improved' version that costs twice as much? I mean if it ain't broken, then why fix it?

I liked my old hair dye. Finally I had a colour that a real person could have been born with. Not pink or orange or that interesting shade of purple that my beautician made me once by mistake. Actually, I kind of liked it, but Bubbie Channah wouldn't let me keep it.

So I put the dye on and it was bright yellow! I mean daisy yellow. With a little orange. Pretty for a few flowers in a crystal vase, but on a real person's head...well, don't ask. For about thirty minutes I was a bit nervous until I realized that the difference between a bad haircut and a great one is two weeks. And I live up the street from the Malcha Mall where they have umpteen boxes of different coloured hair dye.

But, guess what? It came out great! It's my new favourite colour. Israeli Blond number 7.3

OK, godda run. Want to get some writing done before Joe College and his two friends take over the living room.

Have a great day...stay safe...and thanks for dropping in.

AND THE GOOD NEWS IS...

It wasn't a root canal problem...yahooooooooooooo. Yesterday Bubbie Channah and I went to see Cousin Sheldon, the best dentist in the universe and he took another x-ray and it wasn't a root canal problem!!!

When I asked him what it was, he said it could have been a gum infection or anything.

He couldn't tell now cuz the antibiotics made it alllllllllll go away. Yahoooo.

That reminded me of the time my left eye got so infected that it was nearly shut. I had two little ones at the time and I kept trying to get to an eye doctor but you needed an appointment and all they had was for three weeks in the future.

How come eye doctors are so busy?

Am I Bubbie Channah's daughter, or what? I just put the kids in their nursery schools, hopped a bus and went to the nearest eye doctor's office.

When I told the secretary that I didn't have an appointment and all the other patients looked at me with fear that maybe I was infectious, they insisted that I be squeezed in to see the doctor.

He did take me. And he did check me. And he did prescribe drops and a cream.

But...when I asked him what I had here is what he told me (honest, I kid you not):
"Whatever it was you looked at, don't look at it again!"

And for that he has a diploma hanging on the wall???

Bubbie Channah always said, "Never mind that they have a degree...ask them where they graduated in class!"

Don't mess with Bubbie Channah!

Have a great day...stay safe...and thanks for dropping in.

I PICK DOOR NUMBER ONE

I guess it's all in the way you look at things. See, I figure that we have a choice...either get old...or die. I pick door number one.

Now don't get me wrong. Aging is not easy. And as Bubbie Channah often says, it's not for sissies. And it ain't the golden years...it's the rusty years.

But wow. They are great years. When I turned 40 I found life was better than in the 30's. The same for the 50's and now I'm in my 60's. (I will tell you my age...don't ask how much I weigh...sigh).

So, this aches, and that isn't working so good. I now wear glasses all the time. I'm fighting to keep my teeth from being in a glass at night. My hair isn't as thick as it used to be. My thighs are thicker.

But, who cares? I can still tie my shoes by myself and have the energy to play with my babies, enjoy my kids and have fun with my friends. My cup runneth over.

Yesterday I received an email with the list below. Hell! I'm a spring chicken!


Ursula Andress is now 70

Julie Andrews is now 71

Carroll Baker is now 75

Brigette Bardot is now 72

Leslie Caron is now 75

Julie Christie is now 65

Joan Collins is now 73

Doris Day is now 82

Barbara Eden is now 72

Annette Funicello is now 64

Kathryn Grayson is now 84

Lena Horne is now 89

Deborah Kerr is now 95

Gina Lollobrigida is now 79

Sophia Loren is now 72

Rita Moreno is now 75

Julie Newmar is now 73

Kim Novak is now 73

Debra Padget is now 73

Patti Page is now 79

Jane Powell is now 77

Debbie Reynolds is now 74

Jane Russell is now 85

Jean Simmons is now 77

Elke Sommer is now 66

Kay Starr is now 84

Stella Stevens is now 69

Gale Storm is now 84

Jill St. John is now 66

Shirley Temple is now 78

Mamie Van Doren is now 75

Rachel Welch is now 67

Esther Williams is now 83

Come along with me and we'll all pick door number one.

Have a great day...stay safe...and thanks for dropping in.

I NEVER THOUGHT I'D SAY THESE WORDS

I'm tired of eating carbs! Can you believe it? Moi? Well, after four weeks of mushy calorific foods which helped turn me into a meatball, I am finally back to chewing. A little cucumber here...a little chicken there.

And the best part is that my dentist, Cousin Sheldon, the best dentist in the universe, is back! He and his wife went to the States to visit their children and grandchildren for a couple of weeks. They're entitled, no?

I mean, how was he to know that the day after he put his tush in that plane my tooth would attack me? It wasn't in the x-ray. It wasn't part of the game plan.

Ahhhh. But I forgot. Life is what happens when you're busy making plans.

The good news is that the antibiotics worked and I am a happy camper once again. Ptew!

Back to Cousin Sheldon, the dentist. In my time...not with the dinosaurs exactly, but when I moved to Israel, I left my parents behind. Interesting that Cousin Sheldon and his wife have made the move and two out of their three children are still back Stateside.

I meet more and more people my age here who did exactly the same thing. Their kids were busy in jobs they loved and wanted to keep and weren't ready to make the big move. But, they decided 'what the hell am I waiting for?' and packed and became new immigrants.

Now, I don't know about you, but it sure isn't easy packing up and picking up and moving to another world. Leaving Florida for Jerusalem isn't the same as moving from California to Colorado, if you know what I mean.

And that brings me to Bubbie Channah. My hero! She was 75 when she moved here and let me tell you she is doing great. Her apartment is right next to Hamashbir, the big Department Store and is at the crossroads between King George and Ben Yehudah Streets. Of course, that is also the terrorists favourite place to blow themselves up. Ye mach she mahm (may their names be erased).

So, I guess it doesn't matter how old or young you are, Jerusalem will be happy to welcome you. Me? I'm thrilled that Cousin Sheldon is here. And my teeth are even more thrilled. Sigh.

Shavuah tov...a good week.

Have a great day...stay safe...and thanks for dropping in.

MY MAN FLOYD

FOOD. No, not me and eating this time...sigh. We got a new channel on cable TV. The Food Channel. Yahoooooo.

Now when I can't find anything to watch and my monkeys from Monkey World on Animal Planet aren't on, I can watch the food channel.

And folks, I have fallen in love. My new man is Floyd. Keith Floyd. Floyd in Africa; Floyd in anywhere...the man is all over the world cooking and pretending he can't wait to get his hands on the booze.

The man is brilliant. And the more I watch his show the more I am captivated by the bloke. Now, I can't tell you how good a cook or chef he is...I think he must be pretty good, but he is one hell of a good sport and the funniest standup on TV. He's out there on a junk in China trying not to burn himself and on an elephant someplace in Borneo trying to figure out what the natives want to eat. And he is hysterical.

If you sit back and just listen to him, you'll have a half hour of the best entertainment.

So, if it's late at night and you don't have anything to watch on the 472,000 stations on your telly, go see if you can find Floyd. You won't be sorry.

OK, godda run. Now it's Bargain Hunt and maybe, just maybe someone will walk away with a couple of quid.

Ah the Brits. Love'em.

Have a great day...stay safe...and thanks for dropping in.

AND A GREAT TIME WAS HAD BY ALL

Home at last! Sigh. After three days and two nights with my babies all I can tell you is that I really feel blessed. First that I have them and second that they really love me. How good is that?

Now, I don't know how I would have fared had they been home all day instead of going to nursery school, but I bet I would have managed.

The bottom line is that I am really glad to be home, but I miss them. Little fingers and toes and smiles and stories. Lovely to hear what little folk think of.

We played, we ate potato chips, we watched TV, we ate chocolate, we talked, we ate pizza, we rested, we ate popsicles. PERFECT!

I had a really busy day yesterday. After dropping the kids off in the morning I ran home to find my youngest achey-miserable and running a fever. Since I was off to meet an old friend in the Mall, I told him I'd get him some acamol ( paracetamol) and some fancy tea and honey candies. Met my friend and surprise her daughter was in town from a kibbutz up north. So we hugged and kissed and hugged some more and sat around catching up for an hour.

Then I ran back home with the stuff for my son. Kept the taxi waiting downstairs and continued on to the city to meet Bubbie Channah. We had a soft lunch ( my teeth only accept soft and mushy food...you know...carbos which have turned me in the past four weeks into a meatball...sigh). We shared a lunch at Mervad HaKsammim...the Magic Carpet...my favorite Yeminite restaurant downtown and had hummus and roast beef and rice. See, easy, soft and not one vegetable in sight. Wait! Wait! We also had beets. Well, that counts as a veggie, no?

Sigh!

Then I taught a student for almost three hours; met my old boss for coffee; and ran to my writing class. They made brilliant comments on my chapter and David our mentor suggested that I scatter the information from that chapter into various other ones...BRILLIANT. So, if I have a few minutes this morning before I go off to the city again, I'll start working on the changes.

This morning my son feels better and I think the fever has broken. I told him he just got sick because he missed his Mommy :).

I spoke to my brother Dovidle in Colorado and can't wait till he comes to visit in December. I made chicken burgers. Found a book I want to give my friend M. when I meet her later this afternoon. And here we are.

I miss my babies. There is nothing in the entire universe like a hug from a little one. Nothing. It's kind of addicting. You know that place on your chest over your heart? That's where I ache to hold them. And every second is important because in a week or so they will be all grown up and when I want to hug and kiss them they'll say something like, 'Bubbie! Please! Not here.' and look around to see if any of their friends saw.

Yup. You can't get enough hugs and kisses from the babies. Maybe I'll stop off on my way back home from downtown to get a fix to tide me over for the weekend.

Have a great day...stay safe...and thanks for dropping in.
ps. thanks for your emails and comments asking me not to stop blogging...i meant it...thanks.

WELL WE MADE IT

Boker tov...good morning. I decided to come back home and do some writing and stuff before I go back and get the babies at four from their nursery school.

Yesterday was amazing. Sweetsie Tootsie is now five and a big boy. Sweetsie Girl is two and a half and making up for all the time she didn't know how to talk.

I got the kids at four yesterday, but first I went to the local grocery store. Of course I did. And I bought chocolates, and potato chips, and popsicles, and fresh rolls...snacks until we ordered in pizza at night. Of course I did.

See, I'm the Bubbie...not the Mommy, and I get to do anything I want and no one can say anything. What a great thing that is!!!

The kids were really excited about seeing me and know that I will be spending two nights with them while their parents are on vacation. They were actually excited and happy about it. Me too. The oldest asked if I could stay forever. Sigh!!!

We played until nearly eight. My grandson, the genius, :) , decided to turn his little couch into a taxi and with the help of a frizby for a steering wheel he decided that his sister was my daughter and we were going to Tel Aviv.

I said, 'OK'. Then the fun began. He started haggling with me over the price. He wanted a hundred shekels for the round trip and I told him I only had eighty. He settled.

When we finished eating the potato chips and the chocolate...the popsicles were busy getting frozen in the freezer it was time for a bath. Bubbles...of course. While they were playing I ordered the pizza...half plain and half with corn. And a Diet Coke. I know, I know, but I'm addicted to it.

After eating and watching TV...we found a real program vs kiddie shows where they were showing motorcycle races on a dirt track. They loved it. Especially when the drivers flew into the air and landed with a bump.

Around 9:30 it was time for bed. They wanted to sleep all together in their parents bed. I understood their need for being together and said sure. He fell asleep immediately. I think I was next and she was last. But before I fell asleep, she turned to me and kissing me said, 'I love you, Bubbie!' Sigh again.

This morning I woke up first, then he got up and ran to give me a hug and finally she woke up and we hugged too. I had coffee; they had hot chocolate; and we got ready for nursery school.

So now I'm back home; showered and ready to go; and rested enough to handle part two this afternoon.

My kids called and couldn't believe how happy we all were without them...well you know what I mean. And then they called again this morning and couldn't believe how...well you know what I mean. But it is a far cry from when my grandson was two and I babysat and he got so lonely and scared that he threw up all over me. Don't ask. When my kids came home and asked what that smell was I had to say 'ME'.

Still smiling and can't wait to go back and get them for another round of Bubbie the Babysitter!

Have a great day...stay safe...and thanks for dropping in.

BUBBIE THE BABYSITTER

Last week my oldest son phoned and asked if I would be able to babysit the kids for a couple of days. I said 'Sure!'. At first they wanted to go to Italy for a long weekend but since that didn't work out they are leaving this morning for Yam Ha Melach...the Dead Sea.

So, I get to be Good Mommy/Good Bubbie/Bubbie the Babysitter!

I have slept over before but not for two nights and three days. I can't wait. The kids are finally old enough (5 and 2 1/2) to understand what is going on and love me enough to want to spend time with me.

Now isn't that wonderful???

And, they are still in nursery school till 4:00, so how easy can that be?

Tonight we get to order in pizza. My poor diet. Between my teeth and the idea of pizza I don't have a chance in you-know-where to get into a salad and soup regime for a couple more days yet.

An update on the teeth: the antibiotics are working and I haven't had to take a pain killer in days. There is still a little sensitivity to hot and cold but not nearly like it was. My earache is almost completely gone. And Cousin Sheldon, my wonderful dentist will be back from the States tomorrow. So, I think we are in the home stretch. I'll let you know.

Back to the babies. I haven't decided whether or not to take my laptop to their place and simply not come home until Tuesday. They live ten minutes from here and it would be nice to simply change scenery for a couple of days. But, they don't have internet. So, if you don't hear from me until Tuesday, figure I decided to camp out at the kids' place.

Shavuah tov...a good week.

Have a great day...stay safe...and thanks for dropping in.

DON'T ASK

I am so sorry to have disappeared on you all. The truth is that the days have simply flown by in a haze.

Have you ever noticed that the day after your dentist has left for two weeks to go visit his children in America, your teeth begin to mutiny? YOU TOO?

I would laugh but it hurts too much. See, it all started with an ear ache. I don't get ear aches, I thought. But there it was. So, I went to my wonderful family doctor. No, not the ear but the teeth.

Now why am I not surprised? My teeth and I have been waging war since I was five. And when I was five, the dentist didn't have those wonderful speed drills that make no noise and go fast and shoot water while they drill.

Oh, no! In my day they were more like those things that muscular men use to make holes in the streets...you know, those guys that Ayn Rand fell for. Sigh.

To make a long story short, I am now on antibiotics and pain killers. And thank you God, they are working. Still can't eat hot or cold or chew.

So what does that leave? You guessed it...a dieter's delight....spagetti...soft sandwiches with anything inside...cream of wheat...mashed potatoes.

After almost a month of dental work and now close to two weeks without a dentist I am beginning to look like a meatball...I remember meatballs...sigh.

But the good news is that my wonderful dentist will be home on Monday. The medication is working. I am getting sick (I never thought I would say this) of carbos...and the weekend is here. YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Sunday and Monday I get to be Bubbie the Babysitter while my kids go away for a couple of days. I'll be staying at their house and they don't have internet connection. So don't worry. I will be taking my laptop and while the kids are in nursery school, I hope to sit and write. How lovely.

Thanks for writing and caring. I thought of stopping this blog and then you all wrote to tell me that you missed the blog. What a great thing!!!

Shabbat shalom. I'm back...almost toothless in Jerusalem. Not a pretty sight. But I'm still as cute as ever!

Have a great day...stay safe...and thanks for dropping in.

A NEW LIST

Found this...liked it...thought I would share...ok your turn
Colors: black, red, purple
Scents: Bill Blass perfume...chocolate
Flowers: Lily of the Valley
Board Games: Trivial Pursuit...Perquackey
Online Games: Solitaire...Scrabble...Jigsaw Puzzles
Sports to Play: You are kidding right?
Sports Teams: Maccabi Tel Aviv...Beitar Jerusalem
Outdoor Activities: Walking
TV Shows: Survivor...Desperate Housewives...American Idol...Cooking Shows
Movies: the last movie I saw was Harry Potter
Music: All types but jazz
Magazines: Not big here in Israel
Books/Authors: Harry Potter...De Silva...Nora Robbers (I know, I know)...DeMille...Lescroart...and on and on
Cereals: Cream of Wheat
Fruits: peaches...watermellon...bananas
Snack Foods: pop corn...potato chips...chocolate!!!
Cookies: chocolate chips
Candy Bars: Snickers
Alcoholic Drinks: a little wine at Pessach
Non-Alcoholic: Diet Coke

Have a great day...stay safe...and thanks for dropping in

READ ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY?

Dontcha just love reading? Books. I love them. Always have. Always will. Bubbie Channah taught me about them when I was very young. To this day we swap books. Isn't that wonderful?

I don't know about you, but I can't seem to get excited about reading online. I need the feel and smell and sound of pages turning.

I need to have a library of books waiting to be read. (I also need tapestries and wool waiting for a moment of inspiration.)

I read all kinds of books: adventure, fantasy/fiction,whodunits,Harry Potter,biographies,fiction. And I read big, fat, heavy books that take more than two days to read. You know. The kind that makes you feel like a member of the family as you work your way through the story.

My writing group laughs when I remind them that I could never write short stories. I need twenty pages just to say 'HI'.

Well, get this! My good friend John left our writing group nearly a year ago to go take care of family business in America. And three months ago he Skyped me (isn't this a wonderful world we live in?) and told me that he bought me some books and sent them off.

He paid a lottttttttt of money on postage and for the past couple of months we have been waiting for the books to arrive. Yahoooooooooo, they showed up Friday. Thirty-eight books! Lucky me!!!!!!!

Thank you John, soooooooooooo much. I can't wait to settle down and start reading. Isn't it fun when your friends gift you with a book? But 38?!? Yahoooooo. Some are titles I have heard of and others are brand new. What an adventure. Lucky, lucky me!

So, tell me. Read any good books lately?

Shavuah tov.

Have a great day...stay safe...and thanks for dropping in.

FOR A MINUTE I THOUGHT I WAS DEAF

Nearly six years ago, Israel hosted her first 'A Star is Born'...our version of American Idol. The winner was a nineteen year old girl named Ninet Tayib. She was in the army at the time and they let her out to compete. She was wonderful and she won.

Something about her touched me and I have been following her career ever since. Five years on the Israeli soap 'Our Song'...don't ask. You watch it once you are stuck till the end. Don't know how they got me but they did. Year after year.

In the meantime Ninet fell in love. And then she fell in love again (the second time was sorta sticky as the girlfriend of the second fellow was a member of the cast and well never mind...the tongues of the gossipers are still wagging).

When Rena and I went to the Ma'abada (Labratory) to see Shalom Hanoch two weeks ago there was a poster on the wall saying Ninet was coming in two weeks. NINET? MY Ninet? In Jerusalem? Singing?

Boy can she sing. My oh my can she sing. So, I asked Rena if she would come with me and, being the sport that she is, she said 'Sure'.

We got tickets and Thursday night we went. Let me put it to you this way. Of the hundreds of people who showed up, maybe ten were our age. The rest were all in their teens.

We waited in line till they opened the doors and then ran to get a good seat. The teenagers ran to stand near the stage. We were happy to be sitting. Sigh.

The show was supposed to start at ten, but from the Hanoch concert we knew that was wishful thinking. At about ten-thirty they started. A drummer, a 'cellist, a guitarist, a man with a double set of piano keys, and NINET.

She is some singer. They are some players. And the rest I don't remember because it was so loud. No, make that LOUD!!!

The amps were pounding, the mikes were throbbing, the lights were flashing. I was afraid someone would have a heart attack and Rena feared that with all the flashing lights someone would have a seizure!!!

I can't blame Ninet. She was wonderful. But it just wasn't my kinda music any more. Oh sure I gew up with kids in the house and listened to MTV...loud. But there is something about being in a small theatre, in the dark, with lots of big music that you can't adjust by turning a dial.

So, good luck Ninet. I still love you. But from now on it will have to be from afar.

Have a great day...stay safe...and thanks for dropping in.