New Page=====New Day

When I go to Jerusalem, to the Kotel, I am going to dress colorfully. That's so my friends , here in the United States, can see me when they watch the webcam of the wall. Every day ,I focus on the wall with my iPad. It is so cool to see both the woman and men's side and see people actually praying at the wall. I noticed that most of the picture is of people wearing white shirts and dark bottoms or Khaki colored clothing . If I wear a bright color, I can be seen around the world.
I usually say the Shema when I am walking Cricket, but now I will say the Shema when I turn on the webcam of the Kotel. It never occurred to me to do this before today. I just used the webcam to observe. Now I will pray. For a lasting Peace.
I learned something else today. I am subscribed to an Ulpon site that gives me a word to learn every day and tells how it was translated and what it means. The words United States translates"Lands of the Covenant" . Let's pray that this covenant includes Israel and theUnited States.
Its never to late to be friends.

I have decided to put my training on hold until the humidity and heat index goes down. I get dressed for my running every morning, and then I walk Cricket. By the time we get home from her walk, I can already feel the effect of the heat. Cricket throws herself , spread eagle, on the tile floor. I don't feel comfortable doing that, so I stand where the AC can blow on me. Cricket refuses to go out again until evening. She is smart enough to have me learn from her. Motivation goes out the window when it gets that hot. Then there is the thunder that I hear in the back ground that deters me, too. I have heard that several people have been struct by lightening and that scares me.
I have enough time to train when the weather gets a bit cooler. I like hot weather, It helps to keep my joints functioning. If you have ever run in the cold and snow of a Mid Western winter, this heat feels good. I use to love going out on a cold,cold day to run along Lake Michigan. I loved having my eye lashes have ice crystals form on them. I felt so tough. I don't know which is the worse.The cold of Chicago or the heat of Florida.I vote for the cold being worse.
Now that I am more sensible,I will wait for the temperature to at least go to 80 before I go running again.
It's never too late to practice moderation. Cricket agrees with me.

I am doing a one on one conversational Hebrew dialog with a friend. She is much better than I, but that does not stop my enthusiasm. We take a long time to break down words, sounding out, looking up the translation, trying out the sounds. Babies learn sounds, we applaud their attempts. That's where I am right now in my language development. This still does not stop me. I am determined to at least be able to say more than "I want one beer". Ani rozah echad beera. This isn't much of a conversation starter.
I took Spanish in High School because it was easier than French. I should have taken Latin. I bet I could spell better if I had.
I am very good at conjugating verbs. My teacher had been a Nun. She was very rote structured. New Orleans had a number of ExNun teachers. I guess they , for some reason, no longer wanted to or were not encouraged to remain Nuns. They were very mysterious to me.
My study buddy and I are watching movies in Hebrew. We are up to ,maybe,20 words that we understand. "No "is one of them. We can catch "yes" sometimes.
Maybe we should watch cartoons. The dialog might be simpler.
It's never too late to keep plugging away at my Hebrew. Eventually, something will take and I will be able to carry on a conversation... with a four year old. I don't know any, but I hear they are pretty smart now a days.

Someone told me that when you see a rainbow. it is for a purpose. You might not know what the purpose is, but you are meant to see that rainbow. Well, I think I figured it out. I met a person , later that day, who I haven't seen in a few years , and I think that I was meant to revisit with her. At least that is my story and I will stick with it.
This person just came back from Israel. How perfect was my timing in seeing her again. She could tell me exactly what she saw and felt. this will take more than a random meeting in a public place, but I am so happy to have seen her again.
I also had a fright yesterday. A rainbow could really be useful in this case. I could not get onto my web site. That really upset me. I have been meaning to download all of my entries, but laziness just keep me from doing it. Truthfully, I don't know what downloading means , except I think that means that you save your stuff, somewhere. I think you use those little stick things to do it. Now I really have to get on it and save my musings. I'll ask my Grandson. They will roll their eyes, but they will help me out. I still don't know how they know these things.
A rainbow is not going to help me here. Rainbows are not high tech. I'll continue to look for meanings in my rainbow sightings, but combine that with magic of the computer.
It's never too late to be in both realms.They both speak to me.

I saw a rainbow this morning. I feel as if this was a special rainbow for me onIy. I was walking Cricket at my favorite time of the day..morning. It was Shabbat. The sky was blue, with cloud formations that are typical here in Florida at this time of the year. I was singing , practicing Hatikvah. I sing every morning, I say the Shema many times, in various rhythms . I practice Hebrew prayers. This is background to explain what happened. I was looking at Cricket, because I am a responsible dog owner and I needed to keep an eye on her activities. When I looked up and just as I got to the last word in Hatikvah, which is Jerusalem,I saw this partial rainbow. It was not there 30 seconds before. It happened just as I looked and sang the word Jerusalem, the
last word in the National Anthem of Israel. How awesome was that for me.

It's never too late to be awestruck by nature and put my own spin on it. A rainbow is special and I still believe in covenents. 

There are cuts of meat that I use to like. I was thinking about how taste changes and so does what we have learned about what is good for us. I like organ meats. I hear they are not good for me. I use to really like beef tongue. I have some good recipes that I use to use. I use to love sweet breads, and if I see them on a menu, I still order them. Then I loved calf liver. Do they still make calves liver. I think these are now special order items from the butcher. I know that my kids would refuse to eat any of these food items. My grandchildren would gag if I served them these.
Then there are "pupics." Gizzards. I never knew them as gizzard. We called them pupics in my home. I usually get one per whole chicken. I put them in the pot when I make chicken soup. Then I sneak it out for myself. Don't tell. A turkey pupic is even better because it is larger.
Chicken livers are good too. They have to be cooked just right, slightly undercooked for my taste buds.
What happened to these organ meats. Do they put them in dog food? Is this what is meant by by products when you read the dog food label? If they did, I think Cricket would be more inclined to eat her food and I wouldn't have to cook scrambled eggs for her when she doesn't eat for 2 days.
It's never too late to reminisce , and I hear that this is probably better for my health. Pass the tofu,please.

This week just flew by. It was Monday and now it is Friday. They say that time goes quickly when you are having a good time. I hope that I am. I had an OK time this week, not that special that the time would fly so quickly.
My weeks are filled with the same things that many of my friends are also doing. Except I have a few confessions. I am addicted to solitaire on my iPad. I use to play on my desk computer, but this is much more fun. I always win, mostly. When I am not cooking, eating, reading, walking Cricket, running, returning calls, sending emails, doing laundry, food shopping, or going out to eat, reading my Nefesh B nefesh group emails, I am playing Solitaire.
Also we seem to go to the grocery store a lot. I'm not sure that my friends go as often as we do. I look on the grocery store as a field trip for Bob. He pushes the cart and I point to food items for him to put in the cart. He can reach the higher items . He does't take direction well, so we sometimes have a stand off over pulp in our orange juice, less pulp or most pulp. I like a lot of pulp. We compromise. There are two reasons for going to the grocery store. We are out of bananas or out of dog food. Both are serious outages. Depending on how many legs that you have, I guess.
I guess our week does fly by, even when our activities are rather humdrum. I like it this way. It's never too late to strive for fast weeks, normal routines and same old, same old.

I decided that it is time to figure out how many miles I get to the gallon in our new , used car. I wrote down the mileage and the amount of gas I put in. I can't wait to fill up again, so that I can do the math. I've never actually done this. I think that the idea is to divide one into the other. Hopefully, it goes the way that I want.
I had a friend, who happened to be a chemical engineer. I think engineers are born to be anal. She wrote down every expense of her car. I think she also wrote down every penny that she made, and how it went out. When she was deciding what her major should be in college, she asked her advisor to tell her which profession, at that time, made the most money. It was chemical engineering and that's what she got her degree in.The end of this story is that after working in that field for many years, she went back to school and became a CPA. Figures.
Anyway, I admired her keeping that little note book with her figures. I always meant to do that. I started today.
It's never too late to be a little anal. I promise not to get carried away.

I was thinking seriously about age the other day. I will soon be 80 years old. I can't believe this figure. I am not an old lady. How do old ladies act? I don't think that I know any old ladies.
When my Mother was my age ,she stayed in her house coat most of the day, and drank coffee while watching TV. If she didn't go down to her mailbox everyday and turn a little tab around, someone would come and check on her. My sister was literally at her beck and call. And my Mother becked and called often.
I had this on my mind this morning while I was speed walking the Legacy Trail.
Bob's Dad played doubles tennis into his 80's. We have people in our community that play golf and tennis ,hike and fish. Is it this Paradise that we live in that makes us so happy to be here that we celebrate by doing the things we love. That must be it. Maybe it's our water. Maybe the new 60 is 80.
I don't think I will figure this out on my walking agenda, but it does give me something to think about as I put in my miles.
It's never too late to have a distraction, even if you love what you are doing.

I constantly day dream about going to Israel. I wonder who will cry with me at the airport. (The list of characters changes. )
What ever is going on right now doesn't play into my plans. I really don't quite understand why I am so set on making this journey. I've made a number of journeys in my life. I moved from my parents home to one of my own. I moved from that home to another adventure in a downtown high rise. The next journey took me to retirement in Florida. If I don't take this Israeli journey now, I may run out of time.
I can be Jewish anywhere, but to be surrounded by many,many Jews, is a staggering thought. I want to be surrounded by Jews. I like to see all the little kids running around with their tzeet,tzeet(spelling) hanging out of their shirts. I like to see the men in their kipahs. I like to see the contrast between the secular Jew and the religious Jew. And history. I can have a field trip a day and not run out of ancient history that is a thread from then to me, now.
I am proud to be American, and there are no buts. However , to be Jewish in a Jewish Nation, would make me so proud.
How can this not be part of my journey. How can I not make this journey. And soon.
It's never too late for me to keep the dream alive, even if it is only a day dream right now.

I found my waffle iron ! How did I forget about it. Waffles make a perfect Sunday dinner. I even have maple syrup. I didn't grow up with maple syrup. We used Log Cabin Syrup. When I read the label now, It is nothing like maple syrup. I thought it was great. Now that I know what maple syrup tastes like ,I'll never go back to Log Cabin Syrup.
Another thing that I used to like was Bosco Chocolate syrup.I looked on the grocery shelf the other day and it is still being made. It doesn't have a top shelf priority. It is on the lowest shelf.
I even occasionally had Spam. It wasn't so bad. I wonder what it tastes like to me,now. This was after Grandma died,of course. That's when the ham products came into the house.
I even used dry potato flakes to make mashed potatoes. They were pretty good.In the refrigerator case of the grocery store they sell potatoes ,mashed, buttered and creamy. These are pretty good ,too. But I only buy them when I am bringing food to someone.
We didn't have a waffle iron when I was growing up. This was something we went out to eat. The Toddle House was the place to go and be seen on a Sunday evening .I do like waffles. Much better than pancakes. I always pour the syrup in each little square.
It's never too late to have just one more thought that would make these waffles a notch above. Bacon !

The news is not good. I think that I have said that a number of times when it pertains to Israel . This is worse. I watch the Kotel, the Western Wall on a webcam. It is especially crowded on Shabbat. I can make out soldiers with their guns slung over their shoulders, backs to me, with their forehead pressed to the wall. You can only imagine what their prayer is. I don't have to imagine what their parents prayer is. I know.
That is my prayer, too.
It's never too late to pray. Let there be Peace.
Amen.

I just finished a book that I found hard to put down. It is by Anna Quinlin. I have not read any of her other books. I just know her thorough her EdOp work for the NYT. The book is "Still Life with Bread Crumbs".
I wondered why I found it so compelling. It is a love story, but more. It is a story of personal survival.It is the story of change. It is the story of relationships. It's the story of fresh ideas , letting go and coming to understand who you are.
Did I see some of me in the tale. Is it a story that I can picture me in. It is the story of family loyalty. It is a story of someone who has lost the trail because of overwhelming circumstances, but preservers. Maybe I am reading more into it than the author intends. But if I am, how pleased Anna must be. And for what it is worth, there is a dog in it.
It's so good to find a book that speaks to you. I will look for other of her writings.It's never too late to share a good read with a friend.

I had a pretty exciting few days. My credit card was "compromised". Someone used my card to buy $600 worth of supplies from Home Depot in Orlando,Florida. The same someone used my card to buy $200 worth of pharmacies from Canada. Then more spent at that same pharmacy in Canada. The credit card company was wonderful. They noticed that there were charges that were not usual for my account. I am impressed. I will always be a loyal charge card user to this company. It's already the first out of my wallet.
Then for more excitement, I had a call on my answering machine saying that the caller was the IRS and that a warrant was out for my arrest and that I will be going to jail if I don't call them. Red flag. I knew this wasn't true, but it was still a little scary. I called the non emergency number of our local police. They came out in a squad car to hear the answering machine message.(It took less than five minutes for a neighbor to call me and ask what was going on.) The officer who came was pretty tough looking and to my embarrassment, Cricket wouldn't stop barking at her.
As long as I didn't call back or if I did, not leave any information, such as credit card number or social security number, there was no problem. There seems to be a flood of scams going on . Florida Power and Light company and the IRS are favorites right now.. and some people are falling for the rouse. Dumb, dumb. So be warned. The bad people are out there. It's never too late for us good guys to not fall for these scams. Be smart and cautious. Don't share numbers.

I am wondering what to wear to my Grandson's wedding. It will be held at a working farm,that isn't worked any more . The wedding will be in a field. I hope that there is a tent and a porta john. I happen to like porta johns. When I ran in events, it was always smart to use one when you first got to the event.They were clean and had TP at that time. The newer ones have a washing station in them. That's a new addition to porta johns. I am an expert on porta johns.
I thought that I would do my wedding shopping with my first stop being a shoe store. This is the most efficient thing to do. Fields are uneven and I don't want to twist or break anything.
I am expecting sunny, hot, hot weather for the wedding. Hopefully it doesn't rain. Somewhere I read that it is good luck to rain at your wedding. I also think that the person who made this up was just trying to make the family of the bride and groom feel better about it raining on such a special day. It did rain before my wedding. Then clear up and turned more humid than was expected. But this was New Orleans and also before AC was every where.
It also rained on our daughters wedding and she has been married to the same guy for 25 years. So it might be true.
This thinking about what to wear for a farm destination wedding is making me nervous. Are there bugs? Are there cows.? I am afraid of cows. Not so crazy about bugs either.
It's never too late to remember to pack bug spray and an umbrella in with my new shoes. I want this marriage to last as long as mine.

I was reading my Nefesh B Nefesh group emails this morning and there is a different concern with people living and working in Israel. Many businesses are either closed or not fully staffed. If you are an employee, do you try to go to work or do you stay home with your family during this stressful time. If you are a single parent, and schools are closed and day camp is closed, where do you bring your children. If your place of work has no safe ,secure rooms, do you go to work and put yourself in danger of a bomb. Is your boss supposed to pay you if you can't work.
Since life goes on even in war time, there are bills to pay and food to buy.
According to NBN, there is a procedure for this . You have to ,of course, fill out a form .It may take awhile , but you should get paid,eventually.
I hadn't given any thought to this potential problem. No one has made mention of this before, at least to me. I hope to never experience this situation.
It's never too late to just be made aware of everything that goes on in a country defending herself. From how to find shelter in 30 seconds to how to apply for wages when you couldn't work. You have to be strong to live in Israel. I am strong. I can do this.