New Page----New day

Little Cricket isn't well. I don't know why, but she has a visit scheduled with her Vet. She is listless, isn't eating and even worse, won't go for a walk. That concerns me.

I always had a intuition that Charlie, our last dog, wouldn't live as long as our pets usually did. I don't know why I carried that heavy feeling about him. He had a healthy life up until the end and then it was decision time for us. With Cricket, I expect her to be around for at least 15 years and I get worried when she acts the way she is now.

I am probably getting over concerned about her. A $300.00 visit to the vet should make everything OK. I hope.

The vet told me, when I called for an appointment, that I shouldn't feed her. I don't think he knows that I am Jewish, that I am a Mother and put these words together, I can't not offer her something to eat. I scrambled an egg. I had to do it. Cricket won't tell and unless she vomits in his office, I'm not telling.

I am probably making too much of her not feeling good. She has a right to have a few sick days. She's never taken them before.

It's never too late to be just as concerned about your four legged child as about your four, two legged kids. The two legged ones, please call your Mother.

Can you imagine a whole country coming to a halt and remaining silent for two minutes? Israel does just that in observence of the Holocaust. Cars and trucks completely stop where ever they are and the drivers get out of their cars and stand in silence. I can hear the silence here. 

I've been places where there is a moment of silence , but that it but a moment and as soon as that minute is up, there is usually a cheer of "play ball". It's not the same impact.

I want to be in Israel to observe holidays, just to get a feel for what it would be like to live in a Jewish state.But the observence of Yom Hashoah would be bitter sweet.

We say Never Again and they live it.

It's never too late to never forget and I won't. 

I have certain phrases that when I hear them, I cringe. One in particular is"it was for the best". No, really, unless you have won the lottery, I can't think of a situation when that expression is used that is for the best.

Then the expression,"been there and done that". Usually I hear this when a person is asked to do something. I've been and done too, but why limit yourself . Do it again, only better. You go to concerts more than once,or read a book more than once.

"A lot of people ",is a good one ,too. This is supposed to support your arguement. This is just my short list. I think that I will work on a short list of happy phrases. I love to hear"want to join us for dinner". Or "I'll do it". These are happy phrases. It's early, I'll think of some more as I take Cricket for her walk. How about "have a good one" 

It's never too late for that.

Did you ever wake up and say that you will never eat again. That's this morning. Yesterday I made a few bad choices in eating and I am still full. Lunch out , followed by an early dinner is not a good thing. Then, I did what I should not have done. I ordered a dish that should only be made in New Orleans. Another bad choice. They tried, but you just can't do that in Paradise. It's the same for my friends who come from Maryland. They can not order Crab Cakes. It just doesn't work for them.

I am wondering if I should write a note to the restuarant and tell them that they are not doing themselves a service by declaring that they have a New Orleans Po Boy on the menu. They have a Sarasota Hoagie on their menu. Do they want to know? I would hate to have someone who is planning a trip to N.O. thinks that a fried oyster Po Boy served in Sarasota is anything like the sandwich they will get in N.O. My mouth waters at the thought of that sandwich and I am not even hungry, yet.

I think that I won't tell them. I know better now. They don't really want to know. I went to one place here in Paradise that advertised themself as authentic N.O. I told them the truth. They did'nt appreciate it. I've never been back and they are probably glad.

It's never too late to go local and not try to recreate your special foods . It's not fare to the restuarant.They'll never live up to your memory.

I read my Nefesh B'Nefesh email the other day and I just have to share this one. Mostly the mailings are about packing up to move to Israel, what to bring, what to leave . Banking , which health insurance to sign up for. Practical questions that those who have made Aliyah are quick to share with the rest of us. 

With Passover, the question became how to "tevell" your small electrical appliances. That means that the appliance is immersed in boiling water . No way. But yes way. It seems that if you let the toaster or what ever sit for several days,it dries out and it is Kosher for Passover. No way ,yes way.

What about that disclaimer on the packaging that tells you not to do this. Then to make the reading more interesting, someone wrote in that they "tevell" their gun. I hope they were kidding, because I think you only tevell things that come in contact with food. I don't want to know about this gun and where it has been.

It's never too late to learn something new about how people practice their religion. I eat motza for 8 days. Dayaneau.

Well,it was a cruel joke on me. I answered the ad on Craig's list about someone finding a wedding ring at a gas station that I go to, in the same period of time that I lost the ring. After several atttempts to reach the person, via email and phone calls that were not returned, I feel deflated. So close and now, never to know if it was my ring. I shouldn't have gotten so excited.

Back to reality . Nothing has changed. I still don't have a ring. Maybe someone does and they will get 60 years of wear on it. I still have the one who put it on my finger, so it's all good.

It's never too late to look for some meaning in all of this ,be optimistic about people returning calls and just get on with it.

I have a friend who, every week ,says she is starting a diet on Monday. I think that this Monday, I will join her. How can a week of Passover be so destructive to my stomach and to the scale. Matzo with so many toppings, matzo balls,gefilte fish,flourless chocolate cake.So good for a few days,but destructive for a week of meals. There is nothing written that says you throw away your good choices of food on Passover, but I get a mind set that calories and schmaltz don't count on Passover. Who uses chicken fat any other time.? Monday is in a few days and I am already planning to be more careful in my eating choices.

Some where I heard that exercise is a necessary component for weight loss. Walking Cricket twice a day won't qualify. She sometimes won't walk past the driveway. My bike has flat tires and I can't run anymore. Maybe the scale will motivate me to race walk . I like competition. I will challenge myself to start a diet Monday and exercise. Oy Vey, what have I done. Now it is public, so I have to. 

It's never too late to just get up, get out and cut the fat off of the brisket.

Things must be getting normal again in my life because I am back to reading the Nefesh B'Nefesh emails. Now that passover is over, the emailers can go back to the real problems of adjusting to life in Israel. It's back to the telephone and banking. I never realized that so many words can be spent on just these subjects. It's now between Vonage  and Magic Jack. I don't know who is winning. I really would like to participate in the cell phone conversation,but since I have my no frills , stupid phone, I am at a disadvantage. I get jealous when I see all that these smart phones do. I don't know why I am so stuck on not having one. Maybe because no one calls me. I have my cell phone turned off,maybe that's it. I can't even remember my number. My grandson wrote the number on the back of the phone, just so I would have it. I also wrote the number of my Master combination lock on the back of the lock. I don't use it enough to remember the combination.It must be true--use it or lose ,applies to numbers, too, I guess. 

Its never too late to have such a normal period in your life that thinking about cell phones is at the top of your priorities.

My day is starting off very hopefully. A dear person,who is also a special person,sent me a link to Craig's list, where someone says that they found a wedding ring . Would that be so special if it were. I have put off replacing my ring because I just know that I will find it. It's like waiting for Elijah. Hopeful . My finger feels naked, but I hesitate to put another ring on it. I have the indentations of my ring on that finger. It's as if the finger adapted to the shape of the ring. How could I replace it with a substitute. 

I did put the ring from my right hand onto the left hand, but I had to switch it back. It didn't feel right. If this is my ring,how do I reward the findee. And the person who spotted the ad on Craig's list. It's never too late to plan for a miracle.

If Passover is supposed to help you remember, it works. I was remembering how I would bring hunks of Kosher Salami and a Matzo to school for lunch. Boy, was that good. We would buy the whole Salami roll and just cut off a  one inch hunk or more ,wrap it in wax paper and go. The matzo must have crumbled on the walk to school and then being thrown in a school locker, but I don't remember that part. The Jewish kids sat at the same table every lunch period and maybe I am blocking, but I don't remember any overt action from any other students. I do remember that I couldn't eat any of those wonderful looking chocolate Easter Bunnies because they weren't Kosher for Passover. As if an Easter bunny could ever be Kosher !

Back then the Coke Cola tasted better too. They were produced with sugar cane not corn syrup, as they are today. Coke tastes better to me when it has the Kosher for Paseach label on it. That is something that I don't see here in my end of Paradise. I bet they sell it in Maimi, though.

I've been remembering Passovers past and the memories are sweet. Hard boiled eggs, hunks of salami, matzo crumbs, certain lunch room table with my high school friends. It's never too late to look back ,but not to be stuck there. I wouldn't eat that Salami now anyway

I decided to watch Saturday Night Live last night. It wasn't funny. I switched over to House Hunters. I felt more comfortable here. I could relate to the House seekers, even though I felt that they wanted an awful lot.

When we walked into our first and only house, the vibes were good. I stood in the foyer and the feeling was there. No open concept kitchen, no en suite in the master bedroom. Just a house with room to spill over into , a yard and a mulberry bush that made our yard smell like a brewery every August. It was love at first sight. Now that we are not there, I hope the present owners have the same good vibes.

I watch these programs and wonder if the people on the show are still in those perfect houses. Did they loose their high paying jobs when everything came tumbling down. Did the bank forclose on their dream house. Not everyones dream house can be the first house that they buy. For us it was, but then ,I accepted the vibes over decorating. It's never too late to know that we made the right choice the first time.