225

Wednesday

Ziggy and I / had been waiting / for the semester vacation / to get together. / Originally we had something different in mind / but the wintry weather / changed our plans / and we went to Lachmanina / a nearby cozy / warm / and tasty café. / Time flew / as it always does / when you're enjoying yourself. /

226

Tuesday

The best way to make lunch: / I went with my children to Ha'shovach / a restaurant nearby. /

227

Monday

The inadequacy of the Israeli education system / is a cause close to my heart. / It is in fact / almost an obsession. / I volunteered for 10 years / at my children's elementary school / teaching various subjects / art / culture / story time / the way I think they aught to be taught. / It's so simple / and yet the system manages to depress and kill / curiosity / imagination / and creativity / focusing only on academic achievement. / I never miss an opportunity / to watch a documentary on this subject. / Today / Neta and I watched / "Education in Finland is the Best" / I was so envious!! / It said exactly what I've been saying all these years. / At least my son is in a school where curiosity is encouraged / as are democracy / equality / and love of humanity. /

228

Sunday

I promised my daughter / after repeated requests / that today would be an IKEA day / and we'd get the finishing touches for her room / before she enlists. / My baby is rebelling against vibrant colors / in favor of a more romantic palette. / As for myself / I was delighted to find / the Edholm & Ullenius tray / I'd seen it at friend's houses / and had wanted so badly / was back in stock. /

229

Saturday

So / this is how things are... / Yesterday I woke up not feeling very well. / I decided to ignore it / and went to my pilates session. / Then I went to visit my parents / from there to visit a friend / family dinner / finally / I crashed / and had a restless night. / This morning / since it's Shabbat / I'm staying in bed. / I took "Persepolis 2" / with me. / As with "Persepolis" / Marjarne Satrapi / succeeds in conveying / her Iranian experience / with her poignant illustration. /

230

Friday

After repeated attempts / Enav and I / finally managed to get together / this afternoon. / It was a complicated task considering we live within 50 meters of each other. /

231

Thursday

When I'm down / I can always find encouragement in one of my books. / Today it was Sophie Calle's work / "Take Care of Yourself" / a book format that's a world unto itself. / I watched a CD / from one of the book's envelopes / in which many women artists read / perform / dance / sing… / the breakup email / Sophie Calle received. / Each artist giving it her own interpretation. / I'm not the groupie type / I never had idols / but what I feel about Calle's work is probably quite close. /

232

Wednesday

Perfect weather for a perfect day with my mother / mamoushka / just the two of us / mother and daughter. / We started the day at Jaffa's flea market / and the Russian market / then designer boutiques / a lunch break at "Pua" / and finally a sunbath by the sea. / ♥ ♥ ♥ /

233

Tuesday

A clearer view / after the storm . /

234

Monday

What's to eat? / I am always being asked / I wonder why… / Today / it's pasta gratin / and a green salad. /

235

Sunday

On my way back home / from running errands / I felt / it was just the right kind of weather / for going to my studio / and doing some dry felting. / I remembered I hadn't yet tried the needle felting mat I bought. / A small piece of crafted fabric / which will probably become / as previous pieces I've made / a hold-all wallet. /

236

Saturday

There is no electricity!" / I woke up / and called down from the top floor to Roni who was downstairs. / "I know" / he replied / "a busbar burned out / I phoned the Electric Company / they're on their way". / Thankfully / although it's Shabbat / they arrived quickly and fixed the problem. / I'm sure my neighbors / weren't as happy as we were / as when our problem was being fixed / their electricity was temporarily cut off. /  

237

Friday

It's winter outside / and raining. / Indoors / my son tests his virtual tennis skills. /

238

Thursday

My father designed / as only he can / our perfect / much loved / house. / Eleven years ago / he added two stories / which redefined the ground floor. / The downstairs toilet / for example / used to be storage space. / We'd intended tiling it with tiles from the 70s / but couldn't find enough of them. / Going from shop to shop / we did however find / an eclectic selection of tiles / which I painstakingly arranged in a random pattern. / And the question is: / Which of the 440 tiles / appears only once? /

This post is dedicated to Laura  

239

Wednesday

It's the semester vacation / and this morning I just felt like going out. / Immediately my friend Annicka came to mind / she was available / it must be my lucky day. / We went to the Azrieli Center / dropped off the mending at Albert's / picked up Japanese takeaway lunch for the children at Shinto / had a quick coffee at Aroma / aaannnd / we shopped / I feel better already. /

240

Tuesday

This evening / the four of us went to / "Fuerza Bruta" / at the Maxi Dome. / The show was very dynamic / but unfortunately wasn't / comparable with "De La Guarda" / as advertised. / Maybe / because I am not feeling entirely well / and not in the best of moods / I'm not doing it justice. /

241

Monday
I was almost home / and suddenly / out of nowhere / came this unbridled craving for falafel / and it's not like I'm a huge falafel fan. / So I stopped at Ma'abari's / our neighborhood falafel stand / and got falafel to go / even though street food is best when eaten in its authentic setting. /

242

Sunday

This morning my GP confirmed that I do indeed have flu / and said I should continue doing precisely what I'd been doing. / I decided to add another healing component / a movie. / From our stack of / never have time to see movies / I selected Almodovar's / "Hable con ella" (Talk to Her). /

243

Saturday

Today I did / what I always tell everyone else to do when they are sick / something I don't really like doing myself / I took a bath. / I'd woken up after a long sleep / shivering / and achy / so I filled the tub with hot water / poured in bath salts from countless gifts / and waited. / I remembered / when I was 17 / I had a boyfriend / who made himself a special bath rack / with a cup holder and a bookstand. /

244

Friday

After months of sinus issues / my daughter's vocal cords / are almost back to normal. / And I was "allowed" to attend the rehearsal / she and Ben Danzig / her accompanist / held for her upcoming concert. /

245

Thursday

A quick glance at the morning news confirmed / the strike continues / meaning no trains. / So once again / I find myself waiting for the bus to Herzliya. / The bus is overcrowded / the crush of people / and abundance of stickers instructing what to do and not to do on the bus / was reminiscent of scenes from Third World films / the only difference was the driver's repeatedly instructing in Hebrew: / Move away from the door! / Move away from the door! /

246

Wednesday

Twenty two years ago today / I said / I do. / I'm married to my best friend. / Together / we built a home / raised a family / share moments of / happiness and sorrow / success and disappointment / I am so very fortunate. / ♥ ♥ ♥ /

A necessary addition...  

This evening Roni came home with flowers for the garden / and the kids brought splendid cupcakes. /

247

Tuesday

I awoke to the morning / that my daughter / my baby / turns nineteen. / Watching her grow / and become a young woman / fills me with happiness / and makes my heart sing. / She is / wise / generous / talented / conscientiousness / diligent / beloved / the best of friends / a wonderful daughter and sister / funny / beautiful / if I could ask for one thing more / it would be / that time slow down a bit please. /♥ ♥ ♥  /

248

Monday

I love watches. / For my eighth birthday / my uncle gave me my first watch / it was a "Kelton" / a non-waterproof disposable watch. / My grandmother brought me / a Mickey Mouse alarm clock / back from Japan / which woke me up throughout my childhood. / I love watches. / I evidently place great importance on time / and to how make the best of it. / Which is probably why I got so angry this morning / when I arrived at work at 8:20 am for a scheduled meeting with the college accountant / who didn't bother to show up / or call / till 9:30. /

249

Sunday

I spent the morning deciphering our cell phone bill. / I'd contacted the company a week ago about billing errors. / As they hadn't responded / I took a deep breath / dialed / navigated their impossible answering service / pressed this and that number / my ID number / account number... / and finally got a live agent. / I just managed to elucidate my grievance / and the line went dead!!! / I called again ... / got a different agent / who promised to have the first agent call me back. / A few hours later / the first agent called / her response was unsatisfactory / so I asked to speak to a supervisor. / I was put on hold / and then told / that the supervisor would get back to me within 24 hours… /

250

Saturday

I have very particular taste in / movies / books / music / dance / and in art exhibits. / For over a month I've been meaning to go and see the "Decode Digital Design Sensations" exhibit at the Design Museum Holon / and for one reason or another it never worked out. / Today it finally happened. / Tali and I had an exhilarating experience / which continued in an intensely satisfying conversation about life in general. /

251

Friday

Today I took my son / who'd been experiencing minor learning difficulties for some time / to be professionally diagnosed. / In the institute's waiting room / there was a magazine with an article about Oscar Pistorius / describing his efforts and ambitions to become an Olympic runner in spite of his handicap. / And I thought about my son / undergoing a six hour test / and the long distance run he had ahead. /

252

Thursday

This morning my daughter's new wardrobe arrived / and she joyfully organized her things in it. / One more item she can cross off her list of things to get done before she's enlisted. / As for me / maybe I'll get a little peace / till her next project J  /

253

Wednesday

Once again / at the end of the day / I'm standing in line at the pharmacy. / My daughter's follow up ENT appointment was moved forward / and the invasive test she underwent reassured us: / her vocal cords are fine. / Rainy outside / rainy inside / just one of those days. /