Ramblings of a mad woman in Israel

Had a mixed day Friday, for once we had nothing planned and i need a new bag so out came the sewing machine and I made a quilted tote bag with zipped compartments, VERY bright and cheerful! It came out ok but took much longer than it should!

Picked up Hannah from gan and took her to see her new cousin. On the way stopped at traffic lights and RIGHT next to the car a young cat was hit. It was thrashing around in agony which thankfully didnt last too long but the image stayed with me. There was nothing I could do and it was all over in like, five seconds but it was a terrible sight. Hannah thankfully didnt see it.

Went to see the baby who is very cute, it still has vampire syndrome (asleep all day, awake all night) and Illanit, although it was a normal delivery, is complaining of pain a lot. Came home, went to Shimons parents and the synagogue. Cat still in my mind though.

Saturday Hannah went to the beach with her little friend from upstairs and came back without the sun cream, towel, toys and with sunburn. Hmmmm.

Today I am planning my own beach excursion if work isnt too busy, cant wait to get there sans kids and sans hubby, just me and the waves! Bring it on!

at work all day - the other draftsman has a hernia and needs an operation and so I am on my own and of course, the long period with no files has come to an end but thankfully we arent snowed under yet!

Tonight going to see Angels and Demons, I briefly thought of cancelling and working. Briefly

Ho hum - back to the grindstone!

OK the news is as follows: Last night Shimons sister in law had a baby girl! How great is that? Her third baby and Shimons parents 12 grandchild ranging in age from 30 to 12 hours - aaaaaaw!

Then one of the people I work with has a hernia which is so painful he is off to the emergency room even as I type which might mean he has the operation soon. He is really suffering and he only had one operation when he was a child and he is scared to death about it all. My boss and I having had c-sections and various other encounters with the scalpel are pretty blase about it all but showing sympathy. Just :-)

Now sadder news, someone I felt attached to has died. She died 1p.m. USA time. I never met her or talked to her but she was someone I met on the internet who touched me and her death is no easier to face because we never met. In fact its harder in a way because its not only the end of a friendship but the end of so much that never had time to develop. Rest in peace dear friend, she was such a special person that a lot of tears and prayers are being shed and said by her many many cyberfriends. I was ok about it all (I am at work after all) until I read the post that someone posted congratulating her on getting her wings and gills. How Cherly would have loved that idea. So swim with the angels Friend :-)

Hubby rang earlier to say that there was an email going about asking for someone with a rare blood group to come forward and donate for a three year old, and its my blood group so he is going to contact this woman so I might be dashing off up North today to give blood, what a privelege that I can help someone in such a fashion! Fingers crossed that I donate and it makes a difference for them ....

and again - no work for me at work. Starting to think its getting close to the time when I might need to jobhunt again

Shabbat was quiet - I finally got round to cleaning out the fishtank. It was dark and dare I say it - green. I needed a strong man about but made do with hubby, I needed to change the background which meant lifting off the heavy solid wood hood. Cleaned it (and Oh Boy did it need cleaning!) changed the pottery to clean, it took ages but it looks stunning now, I might even put a piccie of it on here later!

Then cleaned out the craft drawers. I need a system to keep all my beads in one place, might go and have an investigation in the DIY store later

Chatted to Chris, he went out somewhere important and hugs and thoughts went in his direction but I didnt really wheedle too much info out of him last night, will give him more grilling on Skype later!

Now crafts! This week I want to make a bag, I have designed it and want to get it done, six heatproof mats for the in-laws and a bread cover if I get time. Two murals outside our building to brighten it up and of course, more work on Sleeping Beauty and I want to start a new painting but apart from that, nothing really ....

THAT was fuun! Hundreds of bonfires along the beach, we went to the beach at 1900, had suasages in rolls and just wandered about looking at the fires, Hannah totally loved it!



Got home and bed! Thankfully no gan the next day!

Busy on different projects, some top secret .....

Its a huge one and will have a huge impact on lots of people that I love but its a secret and no, its for certain that I am not pregnant!

Nu so whats new? Well, I am still working on that picture but Hannah aged 6 is now allowed to stay up later in the evning, she actually doesnt have a bedtime but we tend to shift her into her bed about 1945, but of course as all parents know, there is an hour of getting her there what with baths and  hair and teeth and stories and then the negotiations ..... so I dont get to stitch until later

I am on the ever lasting diet, decided to stop dyeing my hair and got new glasses. Other than that nothing has changed ....

OK so I have been slacking in the blog department

Dad came. And went. The missiles came. And went ( thought neither of them is planning never to return)

I finished a HUMUMNGOUS picture in cross stitch and will post piccies later and I am seriously thinking about the Surrendered Wife (you can Google it if you want to find out more)

Have fun - will seriously try and update this a bit more regulary - no really!

Quiet day so settled down in the evening to watch the Stand by Stehen King (GREAT film!) just towards the end of the second part the sirens go off, this was about 2215 hours. Shimon gets Hannah (asleep and wrapped in a blanket) and I lock up the dogs and we meet all the neighbours again on the stairs.

The sirens stop and we wait in silence, this is the worse part and ...

BOOM!!!! All the lights go off and its clearly a close one. We wait in case there is a second one and at least the emergency generator kicks in so we have lights and the lift is working. There are no lights in the apartment though and there is screaming and shouting outside and the smell of burning. I find candles and turn off the fish equipment in case water has syphoned somewhere and there is a problem when it comes back on. Having settled Hannah on the sofa (she is too rattled to go back to bed and there are no lights) I go down to see whats happened. There are literally hundreds of people heading down towards the shop and I dont get too close but it seems its in the road and there was a bus damaged. Its so noisy with sirens, ambulances and people shouting and over it all is this smoke lit by the orange street lights. I can hear people saying its hit the road (next to a power sub station hence no electricity). I dont see a bus though.

Once I decide I had seen enough and wanted to go home I find I REALLY want to go home and end up running most of the way back. Hannah was Ok (watching a DVD player off the battery) and after an hour (and a bottle of wine) the electricity comes back on. That was a CLOSE one!

Next day I walked down and you could see where the road was repaired and there are shrapnel marks in the wall of the school facing the road and holes in the metal railings where the shrapnel has gone through like it was butter - scary

Monday was pretty quiet until there was an explosion - its about a kilometer away and a qassam hit between two houses - and there was no siren

Tuesday was just me feeling ill, there is a ceasfire! One rocket was set off by accident on Monday, eight on Tuesday but they are from central Gaza and dont make it to the fence (wonder if anyone was hurt and how Israel will get blamed for that?)

Wednesday we have finished withdrawing from Gaza, Hannah is back at nursery and I have this niggle. You remember those eight rockets? Well, now they can get back to the fence, I wonder how long it will be before it all starts again? I think most people here are expecting it to begin again, its just a question of time

and talking of quiet - its been much quieter here as well! We had three on Thursday but none yesterday and so far today though I admit its early ....

Now on Wednesday there I was happily tapping away at work related stuff when Southern Counties radio asked for a slogan to get people to sweep their chimneys (I hope the one thought up by the Fire Brigade didnt cost them too much) and I came up with 'A blazing fire without the foam, a chimney sweep can save your home!' Rang the radio station and well ... its all here (to save you listening to all the program fascinating though it is its about 02:13)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p001xyqp/Sussex_Breakfast_15_01_2009

I have had two real and deep shocks lately caused firstly by making home DVDs for my mum and secondly by the interview - I am fat and sound horrendous :-(

Other news, dad is coming to Israel in February! Now we are of the consensus here that peace will come to Israel at about the same time as Obama hits the White House and its not a co-incidence so hoping it will all be over by then but dad assures me if not, he survived the blitz and is cool about dashing (or in his case with his gammy knee, hobbling) to the stairwell and I want him to come so much the war is a minor consideration but its about four weeks which means we have a lot of DIY jobs to get done, including painting the swinging bench which is in pieces all over the spare room

Today I am restless which means hubby will shortly be coming up with any excuse to get out of the house/out of range but seriously considering a drastic haircut, the kind where people say 'Sue, you'd get millions' so chat later ...

Last night I dreamed that there were two missiles coming RIGHT AT ME and I woke up terrified but it turned out I hadnt woken up at all and spent the rest of the night in terrified dashes to bomb shelters which is bizarre as yesterday we didn't have a single siren! Yay!

I bought with my divorce settlement an apartment on the other side of the city which I rent out, well its nearly doubled in value and seeing political stormclouds on the horizon we decided to sell it now, before anything happened. Saturday there was a siren followed by a frantic call from the tenant, the building our apartment was in had been hit by a grad missile. Now, this isnt brilliant timing as in 12 days it would not be our apartment, the buyers would have moved in but no-one was hurt thankfully and that is the important thing. However, the windows are damaged, the shutters need replacing and there is a crack in the wall. I suspect the most expensive repair was caused by the army kicking in the door to check no-one was in there or trapped.

The next day the government decends in force to evaluate the repairs and they say it will take two weeks. The tenant has found somewhere to move to and the buyers should be going in as planned - I was gobsmacked! Visions of refunding the buyer were going through my head and Shimon, the least flappable of men, didnt sleep at all one night with the worry of it all!

There was a siren this morning which was scary as I was alone in the office but thankfully it landed on open ground so nothing to worry about - will be glad when its all over

I have forgiven Hamas for the schools and gans being shut and not being able to go outside, for Hannahs dancing classes being cancelled, for being unable to work as at home with Hannah, for the shuk being shut but my dad is now not coming in February which means I wont get my Hagrids Hut by Polly Pocket and THATS REALLY HARSH!!!!

Its no good, I know I only have 45 seconds to turn off the gas, lock up the dogs and get to safety so its a bit nerve wracking but .. I need a shower. So we have a siren this morning and I dash into the shower the second we get home again. Talk about a fast one! I was sooo relieved when I got out and dressed.

Today so far we have had three which is the worse day yet. Everytime we get one my friend Libby phones and this time, its RIGHT outside her apartment so she is a bit squeaky and breathless but considering she has been in Israel only a short while and her hubby is in the UK and she has a two year old she was really brave!

Its really weird, everywhere is deserted, the supermarket is full of bored women picking their nails waitig for someone to use their checkout, and the roads are also quiet. Yesterday my boss was driving in and the sirens went off so she jumped out of the car. The instructions say to crouch down next to your car, it will protect you from the debris and shrapnel but it neglects to say which side so the highway was full of people playing some bizarre form of musical chairs, running around the cars trying to decide. Eventually it gets to 30 seconds and you have to make a decision so someone drops to the floor and everyone thinks THEY know something they dont and follow suite! Its pure chance and not a nice game of Citroen Roulette!

Tired and no sense of humour - its been five days and we are all living on our nerves, cooped up and getting on everyone elses nerves as well

Here are two paintings I did, I think they both have homes (at least the elephant definitely does!) They are only 5cm square each and were fun to do but did need a steady hand and granny glasses! I would love to make more of them



This is my first andf possibly only quilt made from scratch. It came out well but a bit bright! The pattern was meant to get darker towards the opposing corners but in the end was purely diagonal. I love using it though and it does brighten a rather stark Israeli bedroom!



My dad's Christmas present, this was his beloved Staff Cleo who sadly died a couple of years ago and he had one really dreadful photo of her so I painted him a painting in oils of her - loved doing  it but it was hard as she is quite dark so had to try and introduce colours in the background. It had a lovely heavy frame and dad was very pleased with it



This was for my twin (oh yeah - there are two of me mwahahahah) done in the very loose style of Doug Hyde, he got an MBE, so mum 'commissioned' me to paint this, there was another one of his wife abseiling but the photo didnt come out! The medal was a challenge though - it was all done in acrylics

and that is actually how it feels.

Yesterday it was quiet, nothing happened at all. I had a good friend round for dinner who was on her own and then Shimon walked the dogs. He gets to the lobby and the sirens go off so he hauls them back onto the lift (the spaniel whimpering with her back legs crossed, Bless!) and comes back to find me on the stairs with the other residents and Hannah asleep on my lap wrapped in a blanket.

All my fears about the neighbours were founded, we are, being overly organised, in matching tracksuits with mobile phones in hand. Most of what the neighbours wore was see-thru and more Ann Summers than M&S - it was nearly as scary as the sirens going off!

Came back and watched the news, it was about 2km away and a woman, a 39 year old mother of four died and her sister was badly injured. It seems she was driving and heard the siren so stopped the car and got out just as the Grad missile hit nearby and she was killed by shrapnel. So sad.

Just got into bed and the sirens go off again so another dash into the tracksuits and grab Hannah and back out onto the stairs. This one was a miss. By now I am well rattled and we go to bed in tracksuit bottoms - its hard to dress fast when you HAVE TO, you turn into all fingers and thumbs and zips are impossible

Quiet night but no school this morning but look on the bright side, the have opened up all the children's TV channels and cheese is half price - go figure!

We made it through a quiet night and got up to find out we are preparing to send in tanks ... TANKS??? I went to bed thinking it was an airstrike, few sirens might go off and we might miss the dialogue of a few DVDs due to planes roaring noisily overhead and I wake up to TANKS?

However, one thing about all this is very refreshing - Israel is not being slated for being nasty irresponsible bullies, I especially liked the British comment of 'Please have humanitarian ideals and try not to hit too many civilians' - WHAT a change from the usual comndemnation and then this morning '"I remember the British government crossing half the globe to protect British citizens that were attacked," he said. In a message tailored to the British public, the defense minister said "The British government would also not tolerate incessant attacks against its civilian population." (Ynet Israeli online Newspaper) To this I have but two comments 1) Its not half the globe, its 2230 miles to London and 2) I am here!!! So are Libby and Emily, both true dyed Blue British Citizens and mine is the balcony with the St. George flag on!!!

How can you tell Christians from Jews in December? Well, Christians put stockings at the end of the bed, Jews put three neat piles of track suits ready to scramble into should the sirens go off in the middle of the night. What troubles me though is that I doubt all my neighbours will show the same public spirit, I suspect a 0200 siren will force us to learn things about our immediate neighbours I would rather had stayed a secret. With the exception of course of number 32 who will undoubtedly be fully made up in 4" stilettos even if it means going to bed dressed like it.

However, I am more relaxed about it - the qassams (great word for Scrabble BTW - Q and no U) punch a big hole in the wall and would cause nasty injuries if you were in that room but if you make it to the stairwell, it has to get through several walls which it seems, unless the building is really ancient or badly built, it can't do. So as long as Hammas plays cricket and sticks to qassams and I am in the building and not out shopping or dog-walking, I have less to worry about than I initially thought. A small grain of comfort ....

Hannah went to her best friends house and I can see clouds over the sea and hear thunder. Loud, persistent thunder. Then I realise its not thunder and its coming from Gaza. Planes and more planes go over so I said to Shimon I think we are hammering Gaza!

He goes to get Hannah to go to his parents and her best friend's parents have the TV on and I was right - 115 dead and all Hell has broken loose. Again on the radio in the car and of course, when we get to his parents its the sole topic of conversation. Then more of his family pitch up and just after they arrived - the sirens go off

We went with I thought minimal panic to the middle of the house which is the strongest place to be (I did resist snatching the bottle of wine off the table as I went past) and after what seems like seconds everyone wanders off. The sirens are a 45 second warning, if it gets to a minute and you aren't standing in front of someone with wings and a halo - you don't need to worry.

So I have heard my first 'this really means you could die' siren - and at the time I was fine but afterwards when I rang mum and said I was fine I was strangely choked by it all - I mean that's a bit wet considering I have more chance of being run over than I do being blown up but there is no doubt things are getting stickier this end. I feel like I dont want to say No to Hannah in case .... or row with Shimon, in fact I think its getting close to rounding up all my certificates and jewellery and stuff and putting them somewhere I can grap.

Right now I can hear drilling and work from the bomb shelter in the basement, so it seems I am not the only one who is thinking this is getting serious .....

More tomorrow. I hope ....

Now I have stated my non-Political postition before being firmly in the camp of the thick but idly reading Ynet has been a bit scary. It seems its snowing Qassams and mortars into Israel and up until now, nothing was being done about it. We gave Gaza away and all it gained us was a regular import of missiles or am I wrong? Now we are going to get sirens in Ashdod and eventually the snow is coming this way. not a comforting thought when you live on the eighth floor and can see Ashkelon from the local beach - ho hum

On a brighter note, Shimon is home, I have met another English ex-pat, another member of the shoe gang (we all have shoes - Suffering Husbands Of English Speakers) and its Christmas Day (ignore the date on the Blog - its 25th here in Israel and as this is where the event was supposed to have taken place, I announce its officially Christmas - tra la la la la - la la la la)

Its also Thursday which is kind of our Friday as its the last working day of the week and it would be good to have some work, lately work is REALLY quiet and I am getting worried as I was last through the door and I am not sure my official role of tea girl, cat de-ticker and cleaner is enough to guarantee me indefinite employment. Mind you,  the cat isnt a job to take on lightly. He takes de-ticking very personally and has transformed in nine short months from Disney kitten to Lion King, with the claws to prove it

and what a week its been - Hannah has been poorly and there have been some minor problems in the UK .... so although I miss him I wasnt bored! He came home yesterday - just as I got back from the emergency doctor with Hannah and her suspected appendix. One minute she was green, moaning on the sofa and unable to stand, as soon as we got to the doctors she was roaring about climbing on the seats so predictably - the doctor wasn't that concerned. And now my mother-in-law has me chalked up as an hysterical mother who can't cope when her husband goes away - knickers

Hannukah! We light the first candles on Sunday!



The hangings, Hannah has one and Shimon's brother liked the idea so much that three years ago we made two for his kids, oh and then his other brother so now I have five children hangings to do each year and Shimons .... but the children REALLY love them! One for each night of Hannukah after the candles are lit .... the writing is Happy Hannukah! It has turned out to be the biggest single expense and every year I parrot 'We must start buying the presents earlier!' but no .......

This is my Hannukiah, its filled with olive oil and has floating wicks when its alight, it looks so lovely and more importantly - whilst its alight the Mummys are not allowed to do any work and they stay alight for hours! Yippee!



Anyhoooo ... to more important things, it seems the peace treaty is over which means we are expecting to get Qassam missiles in Israel. Which I guess is different from when we had the peace treaty and we got Qassam missiles in Israel, answers on a postcard please if you can tell the difference. I am not commenting politically because I am too intellectually lazy to follow politics, all I can say is, I guess it means it might snow here in Israel but not white fluffy snow, hope I am wrong!

I have started my bucket list and another - things I want from the UK

Febreeze
marmite
Dettol
Marmite
Cider (ok so its heavy to post)
Marmite

Oh well I can wish ......

Still quiet at work but have got some corrections to do but thats not the main thing today

Hubby is away. In Jerusalem. All week

Now this is a very rare occurance so worth noting, and I already miss him :-(

Friday went to a cafe for a real Israeli breakfast. Now I am a good English girl at heart (and stomach) and think on the whole salad isn't food, its what food eats and definitely you need to start the day as you intend to go on - as a carnivore. But today I broke my golden rule and had a true Israeli breakfast



And no - although I was on the edge of starvation I didnt manage half of it and don't you like the nipple effect of putting a cherry tomato in the cream cheese?

Saturday was quiet but it rained! Yay! still in jeans and t-shirt though so it wasnt that cold and I managhed to get some more stitching done on the Passion Flower Fairy which has been hanging about for ..... er ..... four years?

Right better get working, have fun everyone!

and I am really worried, we havent had new files in for a week now and things are deadly quiet - I am worried that the last in will be the first out, and I love this job!

It might rain today, its generally about the 28 degrees which means when I put washing out on the balcony its too hot to be comfortable, and t-shirts are fine during the day but a little chilly in the evening!

Finished all my Christmas shopping, now just need to sort out the Hannukah stuff which isnt very much, its not like its the huge blow out at Christmas. Basically its eight days and you dont get time off for it, you light one candle the first night, two the second and so on and whilst the candles are alight, Mummy doesnt do any work! Yay! The standard food is either Latkes or doughnuts with jam and sugar and kids get presents or money on the first night. As in, one or two presents, not a heap.

No cards, no huge meal, no stockings and no massive eat or drinking exercise!

Now, I have made more of a deal of mine, we have tinsel and fairy lights and I have stitched a picture with an Hannukiah on it. Hannah and her cousins have wall hangings which we do each year with a little (and I mean little) present on for each night of Hannukah. I have made an Hannukiah for myself and one for Hannah and of course, Shimon has the 'official' family one to light. Basically its like Christmas but without the expense and work, no cards, presents for everyone, shopping, stockings, advent calendars, parties (although we do have a quiet get together with Shimons family each year) - its sooo much more relaxing!

And hows the crafting going? Well, I am back to stitching, its still tiring but I am beginning to enjoy it again and think what project is next. I have cleared all the things I wanted to get done (stockings, cushions, bags, our quilt and all the paintings I needed to get finished apart from one iris painting) so I can get the Passion Flower fairy finished which has been hanging about for four years, maybe this time I will plug on until its finished!

Just had toooons of visitors and been really busy. Also had some very worrying eye problems which meant nasty strong glasses and no stitching whatsoever, would you believe after 22 years, I cant see the blasted holes? Yes, went to the opticians, hence the new glasses and no doubt they work on the painting and writing side of life and I can now at least get splinters out (I have to paint though with my nose almost touching the bloomin' canvas!) and it seems I just need to get used to them. I spend most of the evening wandering about the apartment looking for my distance glasses (to watch TV) or the new ones to write or draw which means if I peer granny-like over them to watch the TV - its blurred.

Not complaining but life gotten complicated with it all

So I started to think about what happens if it does get worse? I am now painting all the pictures I wanted to paint, so I havent got any outstanding and have started quilting as well as something I wanted to do but never got round to. Its HUMUNGOUS! 230 cm square and very bright! Sadly sewing machine needed service and after hubby tried to take it apart to service it and dropped some screws in it, it now also needs repair but its coming home tomorrow! Then back to finishing the quilt!

Now I will try very hard to keep up with the blog now the summer is over although it doesnt feel like it as its still warm here, as in t-shirts and jeans but no air-conditioning