31 August 2012

I again slept quite well, but David did not. I didn't get up as early as yesterday, though, but I still had plenty of time for a nice walk to the gym, a bit of a work-out, and some stretches on the way back.

I had only one class today (2 units), from 10:30 to noon.

We ate lunch at Il Pentolino today, but before doing so, I went to 3 places in the same general area to buy things we needed. First, I went to the Maccabi pharmacy to get more multivitamins (for both of us) and more magnesium for David. Then I went to a locksmith shop to get a couple more apartment keys for us. Finally, I went to the pet store and got more food for the cats.

At Il Pentolino, David had salmon ravioli and I had whole wheat spaghetti, both with their Palermo sauce (basically seasoned grilled vegetables in olive oil). Of course, they were both delicious.

I had forgotten to get challah before we went to eat, so I walked down to the bakery to get it after we came back. They were all out of the small sweet challot, so I got 2 of the kind they had left. They were okay, but not as good as the ones I usually get.

We made Shabbat again this week at home, lighting candles, drinking a little wine, and eating challah. David is exhausted (as he has now been for several days). We hope that he'll be able to sleep better tonight.

30 August 2012

I slept quite well last night, David not so much. So, just before I got up, he came back to bed to get some more sleep. I got out early, so I put on my shoes (instead of just sandals), drove the car a short distance up highway 12, parked it there, and hiked the bicycle trail over to Nakhal Shakhamon. From there, I took the trail all the way to the top of White Mountain, arriving there just a couple of minutes after the sun came up over the Jordanian mountains across the valley. I'd been up there before, and the view from there is absolutely spectacular. Virtually all of Eilat is visible from there, and, of course, Aqaba, as well. Today it was hazy, but on a clear day I'm sure Haql, Saudia Arabia, would be visible, too. Later in the year, when the weather gets cooler, I want to get up there in the late afternoon and get some great photos with the sun behind me. This walk also marks my return to hiking after turning my ankle and falling (somewhere along the same gravel road I walked on today) exactly 5 weeks ago. It felt good to be back!

I taught 2 classes today for a total of 4 units, from 9:45 to 11:15 and from 2:30 to 4:00.

David and I walked down to the local bakery for lunch today. He had pizza (although I ate a couple of pieces of it, too) and I had their burekas plate, which includes 4 burekas (I choose 2 cheese, 1 bulgarit, and 1 mushroom), olives, a hard-boiled egg, and slices of cucumber and tomato. We both enjoyed our meals. Although we walked down there together, I walked home alone, got the car, and drove down to pick David up.

This evening, we went for our regular walk in the neighborhood a little earlier than usual. We also sat for quite a while on the bench at the top of the green strip, just enjoying the evening.

29 August 2012

Both of us woke up in the middle of the night last night and had difficulty sleeping after that. In the end, I didn't get up until quite late, so I didn't go on a morning walk at all.

We ate lunch at Café Café in the mall today. I had Italian shakshuka, and David had cheese ravioli with an Alfredo mushroom sauce. Both of us had our usual ice-café. It was all delicious!

I had two lessons today, both this evening, for a total of 4 units. The second one, however, was a no-show, so I got to leave a half-hour early.

28 August 2012

We both got up early enough to walk this morning, but we only got as far as the big kikar (where highway 12 leaves town) because David was having too much pain in his legs and back. Next time, we'll remember to give him some pain medicine before we leave. Still, it was really NICE out this morning, and we did get some good exercise.

We got pastries at the Yellow station this morning for breakfast because we were so low on milk and bread at home. Usually I do the grocery shopping on Sundays, but we were gone almost all day Sunday this week, so I had planned to do the shopping Monday evening. Then I got the extra classes, so I didn't have time to get to the store. We went to the market together after breakfast this morning, so now we're all stocked up again.

We went to the Ice Park Mall for lunch again today. Before eating at Greg's we went to a small "island" shop there to get a new case for David's iPhone. We needed one that could clip onto his pants, and we found exactly what we needed at a low price. After that, we went and ate. I had an omelet sandwich, and David had a small pizza. Both were delicious, and we also both enjoyed ice-cafés.

I had only one class today, 2 units from 3:30 to 5:00. In the evening, we took another drive around the small loop, stopping for ice cream at Yotvata.

27 August 2012

I got up early this morning and got in some good exercise. David slept well and also late, which was good after his lack of sleep the night before.

Originally, I was only scheduled to teach 4 units (2 classes) today, but they called and offered a couple more classes (3 units, because one of them was only 1 unit), which I gladly accepted.

We met our friends and neighbors, Bob and Moshe, for lunch today at Barbis. David and I both had vegetarian burgers, which were delicious.

My classes filled up the evening too much for us to get a walk in today.

26 August 2012

David hardly slept at all last night, so he didn't go on the walk with me this morning. I, however, did walk over to the gym, go on a couple of machines, and walk home, stopping along the way to do my stretches.

We were out of the house and had picked up our friend, Isobel, by 9:00 this morning. Then we filled up the gas tank (with tax-free Eilat gas) and headed up to Jerusalem. We arrived there at the house where our friend, Alissa, is sitting shiva (seven days of mourning after a death in the family) a little before 2:00. Her younger sister died of breast cancer.

We left sometime around 4:00 to 4:30 to return home. We stopped and ate at a Café Café on the highway near Jericho. From there, we headed south, stopping for gas at the southern end of the Dead Sea. We were home by 9:00.

It was a long day, especially exhausting for David, but we all felt glad that we had made the trip, and it really was a beautiful drive. I met Alissa through an article on-line that she had written. I then began following her blog, and she follows mine, as well. But this was the first time we had met in person. We also got to meet her husband, Morey, for the first time in person. They're even nicer in person than online!

25 August 2012

I slept better last night, but David still woke up very early, went back to bed after being up for a while, slept a bit more, and still got up long before I did. At least we did have time for our walk, which was good.

This morning we went through the tutorial for VoiceOver on the Macintosh together. We both got a better idea of how it works, but it will still seems like it will be pretty difficult for David to use his Mac without help. I guess only time will tell for sure.

We did the small loop drive (up highway 90, over on highway 40, and then back on highway 12) around the middle of the day today. It's always a nice drive.

After that, we went over to the new mall ("Ice Park & Mall") to see what would be open on Shabbat. A few shops were open, but the only eating places open were Greg's and McDonald's. Well, THAT was an easy choice! LOL  David had paparadella (a wide pasta with a rosé sauce) and I had their "Very Breakfast" (that really doesn't quite translate, does it?). Both were delicious.

This afternoon, we did some more work on David's iPhone to make it more accessible for him. We deleted some apps that didn't seem to work very well with VoiceOver or that he won't have much use for. Then we rearranged the icons a bit to make it easier for him to find the ones he's likely to use the most.

David had a nice chat with his sister, Joyce, this afternoon. They usually try to talk every Saturday and Tuesday, but sometimes they miss for one reason or another. Occasionally, they even talk on other days.

We had a nice walk this evening, doing our usual loop over to Ein N'tafim, up to Harim, and back down our street (Ein Yahav).

Tomorrow, we're planning to drive up to Jerusalem to make a shiva call on a friend whose sister died. It will mean a LOT of driving, and I just might not manage to post here tomorrow evening.

24 August 2012

Neither of us slept really well last night, and we didn't get up so early this morning, either, so we skipped going out for a walk at all.

I talk 2 classes back-to-back this morning for a total of 4 units (from 9:00 to noon). After that, I walked down to the local bakery and bought a couple of challot for making Shabbat.

We did go back to the Ice Park Mall today, and we ate lunch at Greg's. David had tortellini with forest mushroom sauce, I had their toast salad (which I have had before in Rosh Pinna), and we both had large ice-cafés. We really enjoyed it, and we like that mall a lot, too!

We were both so tired this afternoon that we took a nap. I slept a little longer than David, and I felt even more tired when I was trying to get up from it. But I revived a bit after being up for a while.

We made Shabbat at home again this evening, and then we went for a walk on our usual route.

23 August 2012 (evening)

After being out so late (for us) last night, we, of course, did NOT get out this morning, even for a walk.

I had 3 classes today for a total of 6 units. One of them I didn't even find out about until this morning.

Before my first class, we got a call from Jackie, the wonderful social worker. She had received the forms, and so we went over there to give her the additional info to finish filling them out and to sign them. We had just enough time to do this and get back before my first class, at 9:45.

Because the longest break I had between classes near the middle of the day was only one hour, we had to eat lunch at home. I heated frozen breaded shnitzels (vegetarian, of course), and frozen baby peas with a little butter and seasoning. They were delicious!

David's blindness is really beginning to hit him now. Today was NOT a good day for him. After my last class was done, we tried to improve his mood by checking out the newly opened Ice Park Mall, which is located down in the hotel district. It's a large circle with two stories of shops and restaurants all the way around, a domed roof, and an ice-skating rink in the center. It was fun to check out all the shops, and we were especially delighted to find a Greg restaurant there (we used to LOVE to go to Greg's in Rosh Pinna when we lived in Tsfat)! We even sat down at Greg's for a few minutes and had ice-cafés. We'll probably eat lunch there tomorrow. David enjoyed getting out, and I took care to describe the place to him as best I could. But, of course, this was only a temporary boost for his mood. We talked about it this evening, and I think he has some new ideas for dealing with things. Nevertheless, the coming days and weeks are going to be something of a struggle for him, and he's likely to get impatient with the progress (or lack thereof).

We weren't able to go out this evening with Bob and Moshe, but, with everything else that's going on, it's probably just as well. We'll get together with them next week.

23 August 2012

I didn't write here yesterday because we didn't get back home until after 11:00. This was because we had gone "out on the town" with our friend, Isobel. We had a great time, and she took us to several places in the hotel district where we had never been before, including Mike's Place, next to the lagoon.

This evening, we are planning to get together with our friends and neighbors, Bob and Moshe, so I'm writing this now (just before noon) since I again may not have time in the evening.

Today, I'm scheduled to teach 3 classes, for a total of 6 units. Yesterday, I only had one (for 2 units).

21 August 2012

It was very pleasant out this morning, which was great for our walk and work-out at the gym.

We ate lunch at Il Pentolino today. We both had fettucini, mine with Palermo sauce (sautéed vegetables) and David's with a cheese sauce.

David had a nice, long Skype talk with his sister, Joyce, this afternoon. He and she have been very close since they were small children.

I was scheduled for only 1 class (2 units) today, from 10:30 to 12:00 this morning. But I was called in as a substitute this evening for a teacher who became ill about 15-20 minutes into her class. So I got 2 additional units. Luckily, it was an individual student at level 7, and she was delightful to talk with.

20 August 2012

We both made it to the gym this morning. I worked out on several machines, and David rested. Then we walked back with a stop for me to do my stretches in the usual spot.

Today, we had an appointment with the Maccabi social worker in town. Her name is Jackie, and she is WONDERFUL! She will do much of he work necessary to help David get the support he needs and is entitled to. She spoke English almost flawlessly, which was also a relief. And there was a delightful and surprising coincidence: she was born (in Algeria) on the EXACT same day that David was born (in Ohio)!

We ate at the local bakery for lunch today. I had their burekas plate, and David had pizza. Actually, I ate some of his pizza, as well.

I taught a total of 2 classes (4 units) today.

19 August 2012

I got up slightly late this morning, so we only walked as far as the big kikar, where I did my stretches, and then we walked back home.

We ate lunch today again at Café Café. I had their breakfast (omelette, various condiments and cheeses, a cut side salad, and a small loaf of bread). David had a pizza, and we both had ice-café. Another great lunch (and Nimrod, the cute young waiter is easy on the eyes, too)!

I did my weekly grocery shopping today.

This evening, we went for our regular evening walk and saw Liz and Karen again while we were sitting and resting on the bench in the green strip. It's always so nice to chat with them!

18 August 2012

This morning, David and I drove up to where highway 12 crosses Nakhal Shlomo, parked the car there, and walked up the nakhal. We had to be more careful than when we walk on pavement, but generally it's a pretty smooth walk due to the gravel floor of the nakhal. This is a nice walk because of the relative smoothness, the beauty of the area, and the fact that it's in the shade long after the sun comes up since it runs basically north and south, and Mt. Shomo towers immediately east of it. This is the first time I have put on socks and shoes and taken an off-pavement walk since I turned my ankle and fell, more than 3 weeks ago. It went very well, and we both enjoyed the walk a lot.

After breakfast, we got into the car again, stopped and filled the tank and got Pepsi Maxes, and headed out for a drive. We drove up a little past Mitzpe Ramon and then turned left on highway 171, a road we had never been on before. It goes across the rolling desert, following nakhals some of the time and hill ridges in other places. It ends at a military base just before the Egyptian border. Just before the base, 2 female soldiers with big guns were keeping people from going further. One of them walked over and greeted me but, of course, had to tell me we couldn't go any further. Of course, I hadn't planned to go further anyway, since I know that highway 10, which goes right along most of that border, is ALWAYS closed.

We returned to highway 40, drove a little further north to Avdat, and ate lunch at the Aroma restaurant there. After buying some more Pepsi Max at the adjacent Yellow gas station, we drove north just a little more and turned left on the highway that goes out to the Ramon Air Force Base. We returned to highway 40 on another road that hits it further south. From there, we returned home, stopping only to pee by the side of the road and to replenish our home date supply at Kibbutz Yotvata.

After we came home, David had a nice chat with his sister in Ohio and her granddaughter. I posted in my other 2 blogs (my political commentary and my mom's letters to her parents in the 1950s), and then David and I went for our evening walk.

17 August 2012

This morning, David joined me for my walk to the gym. I went on a few machines there, but he mostly just sat on a bench to get up steam for the return trip. On the way back, I stopped and did my stretches near the big kikar while David again rested a bit. So, we both got some good exercise at the coolest (or should I say "least hot") part of the day.

I had only one class today for 2 units (1.5 hours). This was one of my regular level 2 classes, consisting of German salesmen (3 guys, although only 2 were present today because the other one is on vacation).

We ate lunch at Café Café today again. I had an omelette sandwich with a nice salad and a few potato chips on the side. David had cheese-filled ravioli with a yam cream sauce. Both were, of course, delicious, and we also had our usual ice-café (kind of a coffee slurpy).

This afternoon, I tried to help David with learning how to use VoiceOver on his Mac and on his iPhone. It's quite a bit harder to learn to use these devices without being able to see, but at least it IS possible to do some things, though not all.

We made Shabbat this evening (lit candles and blessed wine and challah), which we hadn't done in several weeks. It felt really nice!

16 August 2012

I got out early enough this morning to work out just a bit more. The breeze was really very nice.

I had 3 units this morning but none after noon. The first 2 units were one of my regular classes, consisting of 3 guys who work for the Norwegian electric company. The 3rd unit was a phone lesson with the same woman who had already had so many no-shows this week. Today was yet another one!

David and I had lunch at Il Pentolino today. Both of us wanted fusili, but they were out of it, so we got fettucini instead. It turned out to be tri-color fettucini. David had a mushroom cream sauce, and I had a vegetable sauce, and both were very delicious.

I managed to get an appointment with the Maccabi social worker today, talking only in Hebrew. The appointment is for next Monday morning. This should start us on the process of connecting David with services and organizations for blind people.

A little while before sundown this evening, we took a short drive up into the Eilat Mountains, turning around before the security check-point. We then stopped on the side of the road a short way down, turned the car off, opened the windows, and enjoyed the great view of the gulf from way up there (over 1800 ft above sea level). Directly ahead of us (and on the other side of the sea), I'm pretty sure that we were looking at Haql, Saudi Arabia.

15 August 2012

I got up about 6:00 this morning but still had time to walk to the outdoor gym, do a little exercise there, and walk back, including a pause near the big kikar (the traffic circle where highway 12 goes up out of town) for my stretches.

I had no lessons scheduled for today, so I tried to use the time to reorganize apps on our iPhones, and to delete ones we don't need there. For David's iPhone, we were also trying to optimize it for him to use since he can't see it. Luckily, it has something called VoiceOver for blind people, which speaks the items on the screen and just generally makes it easier for a blind person to control the device. In fact, it's really quite wonderful, but it DOES require some learning because the user interface is, of necessity, somewhat different from the standard one for sighted people, which is very visual, of course. Anyway, he's making some progress. This biggest problem so far for him is mastering the art of the double-tap. Unless the 2 taps are very close together in time, the machine registers them as simply 2 taps, rather than a double-tap.

We ate today at Café Café in the mall. I had Italian shakshuka (by now, you surely know what that is!), and David had penne with a rosé sauce. Both were delicious.

In the afternoon, we went to the Maccabi pharmacy to get all our prescriptions for the month filled. It's quite a process since David has so many of them (I now only have two), but the pharmacists there work together and get it done surprisingly fast. After that, we went across the street to the pet store, where I bought more cat food, more cat litter, some new little sifting scoops for getting the poop and pee clumps out of the litter, and a couple of car hairbrushes. Because I spent so much, I got to pick 5 new little toys for the cats. I chose 4 different mice and a small ball with holes in it and a rattle inside.

This evening, David and I went for a nice walk. We went about 12 blocks. There was a lovely breeze which made it very pleasant out. We also enjoyed seeing our friends (and neighbors), Karen and Liz, who were out walking their dogs.

14 August 2012

I was scheduled for only 3 units of Berlitz lessons today. The first 2 were from 10:30 to 12:00 with one of my regular groups. That went just fine. The last unit was a phone lesson at 3:00 p.m. with the same one who missed all 3 of her phone lessons yesterday. Sure enough, she missed one with another teacher this morning, and she missed mine, too. Nobody can contact her.

David and I both had a vegetarian burger at Barbis for lunch today. They were a bit expensive, even with our Eilati discount, but they were delicious.

David is now learning how to use VoiceOver to control his iPhone, and he's enjoying it quite a bit.

13 August 2012

Now that David is out of the hospital, I need to get back into the habit of posting here daily.

He actually got out last Thursday, but on Friday we went north on a long-weekend trip we had planned a number of weeks ago. We went to prayers at Emet V'Shalom, our synagogue in Nahariya, on Friday evening and stayed with our friends, the Loberants, on Friday and Saturday nights. On Shabbat, we took a drive across the Northern Road and then visited our former neighbors, the Har-Evens, in Tsfat. On Sunday, David had an appointment at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, after which we made a short visit to the Grand Canyon (a big mall in Haifa -- the word "kanyon" in Hebrew means "shopping center" or "mall") and then headed home.

Today, I was scheduled to teach a total of 5 units. However, the last 3 of those were 3 separate lessons with the same student, to be taught by phone (Skype for me). She didn't show for any of them, but luckily I still get paid.

We ate patai (Pad Thai) at the place in the food court of the local mall today. We hadn't had that in some time now, and it was as delicious as ever.

Since David still can't see (and no one really knows why), we've started researching support for the blind, especially on our computers and phones. There's still a lot to learn, but the great thing is that there is a LOT of it for Macintosh computers and iPhones. It's actually going to be fun learning more about them and using them. David has already started listening to and enjoying the tutorial about VoiceOver on his Mac.

9 August 2012

There's good news and there's bad news. First, the good.

The multiple ophthalmologists who have examined David have not been able to see any problems with his eyes. The MRI showed no abnormalities in his brain (hey, that's more than you can say about most of us!). So, David was released from the hospital today and is now resting at home.

The bad news: he still has NO vision, and there is no explanation. For most people, such news would be devastating. But, as those of you who have known David for a long time (longer than I have) know, he has been blind before (for 7 years), and so he realizes that blindness is NOT the end of life, and he's ready to start coping with it again. Of course, it won't be easy, even for him, and I have no experience at all. But I'm already used to doing quite a bit for him, and there will be only a few additional things that I'll have to do to help him with this. So, bottom line, we'll manage.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank so MANY of our friends who have sent short messages of encouragement and thoughtfulness throughout the last week. I have been too busy to answer most of you personally, but please know that I'm am VERY thankful for your support. You are the BEST!

6 August 2012

I've missed a lot of days of posting, but I have a good excuse.

My partner, David, had been having some vision problems, but we hadn't taken them too seriously, attributing them to "sun blindness" from the bright sunshine or to his eyes adjusting to working better together after his cataract removal from the left eye last Fall.

But last Wednesday, David woke up and wasn't able to see AT ALL! That's when we got a quick appointment with an eye doctor, who examined him and sent him right to the emergency room here in the Eilat hospital.

After lots more examinations there, including multiple eye exams that showed no evidence of any serious problems there and a CT scan that showed nothing in the brain, they sent him the next day up to Be'er Sheva, to the Soroka Hospital, which is connected with the medical school at the Ben Gurion University.

Of course, they did many more examinations there but have still not found anything. And David still can't see at all. They finally did an MRI just today, but we don't have the results yet.

I have now made 3 full round trips (driving) to Be'er Sheva, which is 240 km from here. It takes two and a half to three hours one way. Luckily, I enjoy driving, and the desert scenery is really beautiful. There are several different routes I can take that are about the same length, so that adds possibilities for variety, too. I'll be going up there again tomorrow morning, and returning again tomorrow evening.