Shabbat: A Day to Crash

First of all, Go Israel! for changing the clocks tonight, making our Yom Kippur fast one hour shorter. I found out that every year they change the clocks on Shabbat Shuva, so that YK is always shorter. (You'd think I would have known that already, since I did spend a year and a half in Israel, including 2 YKs. Never mind that. The important thing is I know now.) I like how Israel uses the whole Daylight Savings thing and subverts it for its own purposes. Heh heh.


Breakfast update: On Friday, Yaakov had gan, so Donny and I continued making the breakfast rounds to the little cafes in Modi'in. We went to one that came highly recommended by a fellow Dimri-ite. It's in this creepy little shopping center nearby. I cannot tell you why it's creepy. It just is. It gives me the willies every time I go in there. We sat outside, where the willies were a trifle better, but the restaurant did not impress us, overall. We will have to put our breakfasts on hold for October, because Yaakov does not have gan on Friday again till the last week in October. And going out for breakfast with Yaakov is kind of like eating at Kosher Bite - sounds like fun, but you end up regretting it.


Shabbat In Heels: Shabbat has become a time for serious resting. I am so wiped by the time Friday night comes, I can barely make it through the meal. On Friday night the kids played with dress-up clothes while Donny was at shul. Ariella looked fetching in her yellow princess strapless top, pink princess skirt, rings that could rival P. Diddy's (yes, you can borrow them, Dadz), a blue high-heeled shoe, and a green high-heeled shoe. And lest he be left out, Yaakov, too, was a vision in his green and blue high-heeled shoes. He was very happy to be clomping around in them. Later, he got yelled at and taken for a time out. I have to say that there is little funnier than a 2-year old boy being bodily removed from the room by his father, kicking and screaming, with heels dangling from his feet.


Shabbos morning we actually got to sleep late - 7:45! Now that Yaakov (aka The Boy) is in a bed, the two of them get up in the morning and entertain themselves in the living room. Donny continued shul-hopping, and we did not attempt to go out and find him today. He was home by 11:00. We ate lunch, and Donny and I again locked the doors (so they couldn't escape the apartment), and then decided to take a nap and let the kids have their way with things. When I woke up later, I peeked in their room and saw they had both fallen asleep in their beds! After Shabbos party, we walked to friends in Kaiser, who had also made aliyah this summer, and had seudah shlishit. It was nice to spend time with other people, and all the kids (they have an almost 5 year old girl and an almost 2 year old boy) really got along well. They carefully followed the prescription for meeting new kids: Stare at new child. Refuse to speak directly to child. Ignore child for 2/3 of the visit. Suddenly become best friends and cry when it's time to leave.


Other items up for discussion:

The Last of Our Lift Food: We (illegally, I believe) brought in a box of food from America on our lift. When we packed up our kitchen in June, we figured we were going to Long Island, so it made sense to take our spices, ketchup, soy milk, noodles, beans, (and some muffin cups - ha!) etc. And it has come in handy. But we are quickly using up our supplies. This Thursday night, when I made the cholent I finished up the packages of Stop & Shop beans and barley. There was something sort of sad about it, not because I love my American food so much and now I'll have to buy Israeli food, boo hoo, but because there was something comforting about the familiar labels and ingredients. I had a very long-standing relationship with Stop & Shop food and it is now coming to an end. I love Supersol (aka "Shufersal"), but we're just not as close yet. However I know that it is now time to let go of Stop & Shop and move on, time to forge new bonds with new supermarkets. It is the Year of Supersol, where the carts always list to the side and they let you taste as much cheese as you want from the counter.


Vonage: Our entire internet set up is tenuously tethered to reality. I'm not sure that makes sense, but what I'm saying is that it's kind of like Humpty Dumpty - at any second the entire thing can come crashing down and we are left without phone or internet and it is very difficult to piece it back together. For some reason (well, I know the reason, but I don't want to embarrass Donny), our internet/Vonage went kaput on Friday. Donny spent most of Erev Shabbos trying to resurrect it. By Shabbos, we had internet, but our Vonage was very floopy. It is now motzash and Donny has been on the phone with the Helpful Vonage Lady for a while now. The last time it was floopy they were able to change some settings and fix it. For some reason our Helpful Vonage Lady is being less than Helpful and asking random questions like, "Well, are there lights on in your apartment now? Maybe that's why it's not working now." Of course, it sounds like "Well, **%*&*%%$&UHJUG^R now? Maybe that's &%#%$^%%#EYTGF&^^(*U*IH&." I am hopeful that Donny and HVL will be able to fix it before tomorrow, since Sunday is when people from America actually have time to speak with us.