Social Roses

We had a very social Shabbat - company on Friday night and we went out to lunch. Phew! We better hibernate the next few days to make up for all of this socializing and friendliness. While walking to our company for lunch, we had to walk through the Path of Death. It is the shortest route to the neighborhood our hosts lived in, but it involved climbing up rocks and pushing our way through weeds. Plus, it is hot as you-know-where, because there's no shade or breeze. As Ariella so succinctly puts it, "Israel is hot." I was looking at the New York Times website and saw that it was in the upper sixties in New York. I've almost forgotten what that feels like. It is still mightily hot here. The truth is, it is starting to cool down a bit, and in the shade and at night it is really pleasant. But the sun is so strong, it feels like a different climate when you walk from the shade into the sun. That's another thing about Israel - I have never lived in a place where the weather is the same. All. The. Time. I used to be obsessed with the weather, figuring out what to wear and how to dress my kids. Here, no worry. Forecast today: Sunny and hot. Tomorrow: Hot, and also sunny. The next day: Sun, with much heat. The day after that: Oooh - variation - sunny, hot, with a few clouds! A couple Fridays ago, when we went into Jerusalem, it rained for a total of ten, maybe twelve minutes. In New York, we would have said, "Huh." Here, it made the papers. Everyone was talking about "the rain on Friday." Obviously, this is a country which does not have an abundance of water so every drop counts. I'm just not used to a ten-minute shower being the topic of conversation.
Anyway, upon our return from lunch, it was still early, so we tried our tactic of locking the front door, giving the kids Bisli and water and going to sleep. When I woke up, Ariella was fast asleep in her bed, and Yaakov was fast asleep on the living room floor, wedged between a pillow and the couch. Unfortunately, due to his little siesta, he was not tired at bedtime and ran around biting Ariella. So he earned himself another night of detention in his crib. He didn't seem particularly upset about that, though. We may have to rethink our strategy. My fear is that the strategy is going to involve me not sleeping on Shabbat afternoon. This makes me sad.