Shabbat, 28 February 2015

I felt very tired this morning and got up late even though I had gone to bed early and slept quite well. I went for my 45-minute walk AFTER breakfast.

I spent much of the day at the hospital with David. I was a little surprised to see him awake and sitting up in a chair when I got there mid-morning, since recently at home he has almost always slept all morning.

The doctor came by on rounds shortly after I got there, so I was glad I hadn't come later. I remember this doctor from David's previous hospitalizations, and he's very nice. He spoke to us in fluent English. After briefly talking with David, he told him that he was next going to talk to his spouse, referring to me. I'm telling you again, people here in Israel "get it" in spades, and this is just one more example. He confirmed what the nurse had told me earlier, that they believe David had a seizure, not a stroke. He also said that David has HIV dementia, which was a bit of a relief to hear, because his cognitive ability has been clearly declining steadily for some time now. However, it's also sobering, reminding us that even very-long-term survivors (like David is) are not free from the effects of the disease.

After the doctor's visit, David go back in the bed and fell very sound asleep, so much so that I wasn't able to wake him at all, not even to eat lunch. Finally, about an hour and a half after the food arrived, I ate it all myself rather than see it go to waste. It was delicious, by the way. :-)

I helped David get to the bathroom twice today, but the second time he almost didn't make it back to his bed. They're planning to send him home tomorrow, but if he isn't any stronger than this, there are going to be serious problems. The doctor said we can talk to the social worker there about getting more help for him at home. However, he also warned that it would take several weeks to get it set up. So, I'm a little worried. I definitely plan to address this issue with the social worker when we meet her tomorrow.

Both of the other patients in David's room are very old men whose children were there with them quite a bit today. In one case, his son was there during most of the day, and part of the time they were working a Hebrew crossword puzzle together. Later, his daughter and her grown daughter were there, and one of them was also working on the puzzle with him.

In the afternoon, while David was very sound asleep, the Chabad contingent came by, singing (very off-key) and offering misheberachs (prays for healing). When they asked me (in Hebrew) how I was connected to David, I told them I am his "ben zug", the Hebrew term for a male long-term partner, including even husbands. They were completely unfazed and very nice. I don't agree with their theology, but I can't fault their sincerity and good-heartedness one bit!

In the evening, David woke up a bit and managed to eat a fair amount of his supper. I ate most of the rest, except, of course, for the horrible white bread! Why do people even eat that stuff?!?

Friday, 27 February 2015

I got up a bit late this morning and so didn't do a morning walk other than the usual quick Friday morning trip to recycle cardboard and buy challah. It was so nice out, though, that I wore only a t-shirt, jeans, and flip-flops and felt very comfortable (at 7:00 a.m.!).

I taught 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-9:45, 11:15-12:00, and 12:00-1:30.

I went over to the hospital 3 times today. The first time was after my first class, but David was so sleepy that he barely knew I was there. Then I went over again after my last class and stayed for a while, until he was again quite sound asleep. After lighting Shabbat candles, sipping wine, and eating a bit of challah to welcome Shabbat, I went over for the 3rd time and stayed quite a while. He was quite distressed because he wanted to get out of bed and go to the bathroom. But the nurses had told me earlier that, when he tried to stand in the morning, he hadn't been able to. So I knew it would be downright dangerous for him to try to get out of bed at all. It was hard for him to understand, and he was beginning to have quite a bit of pain in his belly, either from gas or from constipation. The nurse promised to call the doctor about meds they could give him to help. At least, by the time I left, he seemed much less distressed, even though they hadn't yet given him anything.

בואי בשלום, עטרת בעלה, גם בשמחה ובצהלה

תוך אמוני עם סגלה. בואי כלה! בואי כלה

bo'i v'shalom, ateret ba'ala, gam b'simkha uvtzahala

tokh emune am s'gula. bo'i khalah! bo'i khalah

Come in peace, oh crown of your husband, also with gladness and joy,

Among the faithful of a people of virtue. Come, oh bride! Come, oh bride!

[the 9th, and final, stanza of L'cha Dodi, the traditional poem to welcome Shabbat]

Thursday, 26 February 2015

Of course, I got to bed quite late last night and thus didn't get up at all early this morning. I did my walk after breakfast instead of early today.

I got a call mid-morning from the intensive care unit asking to bring in David's meds as soon as I could, and so I did that right away. I was allowed to speak briefly with him, but then they sent me on my way. Of course, I returned at 12:00, the visiting hour.

David is doing MUCH better today. Although he's still a bit confused, it's no more than has been normal for him for quite some time now. In general, though, he is reasonably alert and coherent. By the time I came back in the evening, they had moved him from intensive care to the regular ward. I fed him supper, and he ate quite well.

I had been scheduled to teach 3 units of Berlitz lessons today (4:00-4:45 and 6:30-8:00), but I asked them to find another teacher for the evening class, which they did, so I only taught 1 unit.

I watched another math lecture video in Hebrew today, more about the concept of the derivative of a function.

Wednesday, 25 February 2015

I got up too late to walk this morning before breakfast, but I did take a nice walk before lunch.

I was scheduled to teach 5 units of Berlitz lessons today, but I ended up teaching only 3.

We had lunch at Rachel Café.

I taught my full morning class, 9:00-10:30. I was also scheduled to teach 3:00-4:30 and 4:30-5:15, but when I went on break at about 3:40, David had gotten up from bed and was sitting behind me in my office. He said he didn't feel good and was worried about his blood sugar. He also couldn't stand up at all. I quickly got the meter and tested, and his blood was a little high but okay. However, after that he stopped responding to me at all and began to drool. I called Berlitz immediately to let then know I had a med emergency with David and wouldn't be able to come back to my class. Then I called the Maccabi 24-hour nurse advisor. After a short time on the phone with her and still no response from David, she called an ambulance.

The paramedics had to literally drag David from my office to the living room, where they worked on him for quite a while, including helping him breathe (which was perhaps at least partly because he had vomited). The only sign of consciousness came when they injected something into some kind of port below his knee, and it was clear that it caused him severe pain.

Finally, of course, they ended up taking him to the ER. After some time there, he was admitted to the intensive care unit. Before I left him, he was clearly aware that I was there I was able to respond by moving his head, but he couldn't speak (maybe at least partly due to all the tubes, of course).

The visiting hours there are ONLY for family (which certainly includes me), and are only 12:00-1:00 and 6:00-7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, 24 February 2015

I got up early this morning but didn't go out for a walk. I had thought to walk later in the day, but somehow I didn't manage that, either.

I did a short presentation on Death Valley for the English speakers' meeting at WIZO this morning. In particular, I showed some nice pics that I took there 10 years ago the morning after it had rained, forming a sizable lake (albeit only a few inches deep!) near the lowest point which reflected the show-clad mountains quite nicely. Such pictures are actually quite rare, since there's normally no lake there at all.

I taught only 1 units of Berlitz today: 4:30-5:15.

I watched another lecture in Hebrew on math today, this one introducing the basic concept behind differential calculus.

Monday, 23 February 2015

I got up early this morning but didn't go out for a walk until after my first class. Then, I walked for at least 45 minutes.

I taught 9 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30, 12:00-12:45, 3:00-4:30, 5:00-6:30, and 6:30-8:00.

For lunch, I brought home food from Rachel Café.

I watched another lecture video in Hebrew on complex numbers today.

Sunday, 22 February 2015

I woke up fairly early and went out for a walk. I shortened it a little, though (to about 35 minutes), because I felt more tired than usual.

I bought more food for the cats and did the weekly grocery shopping today.

For lunch, I brought home food from Rachel Café.

I enjoyed several really interesting lecture videos in Hebrew today about trigonometry and complex numbers. I also did another Hebrew lesson from Hebrew Pod Casts.

Shabbat, 21 February 2015

I got up early this morning, but I didn't go out for a walk today at all due to the uncertain weather.

I watched quite a few lecture videos from the Coursera class הזמנה למתמטיקה (Invitation to Mathematics) from Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It's fascinating to see how these professors present Pythagorean concepts, the Cartesian plane, trigonometry, and complex numbers, all in Hebrew, almost all of which I understand with no problem at all. I am, of course, learning quite a bit of mathematical terminology in Hebrew.

For lunch, we went to Barbis today and both had soyaburgers. While we we eating, it sprinkled a bit outside, but it was all over, and the sidewalk was already beginning to dry by the time we finished.

Friday, 20 February 2015

I woke up early this morning but didn't go out for a walk at all today (except for the usual short trip to recycle cardboard and buy challah before breakfast) because of the iffy weather. Even on my short walk, I wore a nice warm jacket with a hood.

I had only 3 units of Berlitz lessons today, but the first class (1 unit) turned out to be a no-show: 9:00-9:45 and 12:00-1:30.

We went to Il Pentolino and had our usual favorite dishes for lunch today. On our way back, it was sprinkling a little but not enough to get us seriously wet between the car and the building. It DID produce a nice rainbow, though!

I watched several of the videos of lectures about math in Hebrew today, and I am really enjoying them. The professor (from Hebrew University in Jerusalem) is really a good lecturer on math, and he also speaks slowly and distinctly, so his Hebrew is quite easy for me to understand.

Just before the light of the sun left our lovely valley today, we lit candles, sipped wine, and ate a bit of challah to welcome the Shabbat queen.

ימין ושמאל תפרוצי, ואת-יי תעריצי

על-יד איש בן פרצי, ונשמחה ונגילה

yamin usmol tifrotzi, v'et Adonai ta'aritzi

al-yad ish ben partzi, v'nism'kha v'nagila

Right and left you will burst forth, and you will admire Adonai

By the hand of a man of my breach, and we will be glad and rejoice

[8th stanza of L'cha Dodi, the traditional poem welcoming Shabbat]

Thursday, 19 February 2015

I felt tired this morning and so got up late. I didn't go for an early-morning walk, but I DID go after my first class, in the middle of the day, for a walk of about 40 minutes. I was comfortable walking in a mix of sunshine and shade, wearing just a t-shirt, jeans, and socks and shoes. Before returning home, I stopped by the local Shufersal and bought some more packets of instant soup.

I was scheduled to teach 7 units of Berlitz lessons today, but things didn't quite work out that way. My first lesson, from 10:00-11:30, turned out to be a no-show, so I was able to leave the classroom at 11:00 (and then go for the above-mentioned walk).

For lunch, I went to Rachel Café and brought us home quiches and salads.

After lunch (a little after 2:00 p.m.), I discovered that my internet connection was again down. This caused me to lose 3 units of lessons: 4:00-4:45 and 5:00-6:30. The technician arrived and fixed the problem quickly a little after 5:00. He assured me that it won't happen again, and I sure hope he's right. This is getting expensive! The outages yesterday and today have cost me more than 200 shekels in lost income due to lost lessons.

Luckily, I was able to call Berlitz before they also gave my 7:00-8:30 lesson to another teacher, and so I still have that.

Wednesday, 18 February 2015

I was a bit tired this morning and so got up late and didn't go out for a walk.

The rest of today went almost completely NOT according to plan! When I tried to go into my 9:00-10:30 lesson, I found that I wasn't connected to the internet. Usually, a quick re-start of the router fixes the problem, but this time it didn't. Luckily, I had started early so I had time to call Berlitz and let them know, and they got someone else to do the lesson. Of course, I then had to call HOT, my internet service provider. They have a new feature that allows us to hang up and get a call when it's our turn, so that we don't have to just sit there listening to music and waiting. But I still couldn't really get anything done because I had to stay at home in order to be ready when they called and, of course, I couldn't do anything on the internet, which is where I do just about EVERYthing nowadays!

Finally, I received the call, but the guy decided his English wasn't good enough (nor was my Hebrew), so he offered to transfer me to a fluent English speaker. What he DIDN'T tell me, though, was that I'd have to wait (and this time there was no "call me" option!). Finally, the fluent English speaker did answer, and he determined that they'd have to send a technician out. A different department, though, actually arranges that, so next I had to wait for THEIR call. At least I didn't have to wait on hold.

Finally, it was getting close enough to 12:00 that I knew I needed to call Berlitz and give up yet another 2-unit lesson. I got their voice mail and left a message, but when it got even closer to noon, I figured I'd better call to make SURE that they knew I wouldn't be teaching the lesson (scheduled for 12:00-1:00). It's a good thing I did, too, because they had NOT gotten the message. But, while I was on the line with them, apparently HOT called. Luckily, I was able to get back to them fairly quickly and found that a technician was scheduled to come between 1:00 and 3:00.

For lunch, I ordered pizza delivered (one of the few things that we did that we had actually PLANNED to do!).

David had an EEG scheduled for 3:00 (for which I had already had to give up 3 units of lessons). But he got sick and threw up almost immediately after breakfast, so I had to cancel that appointment. Actually, it was just as well, because the HOT technician didn't get here until about 3:00.

Apparently the problem was that someone had connected our cable to the wrong company's service. How that happened I have no idea! And it had to have been this morning, because I was able to go on the internet just fine before breakfast and even right after. Very strange, indeed! Whoever did it cost me 4 units of work.

This is one of the things I really do NOT like about Berlitz. They have managed to shift a large amount of their business risk onto us employees. If their salesmen don't sell enough, or if students cancel or reschedule lessons, or if I have internet connection problems, I am the one who loses, and Berlitz suffers almost no loss. It really doesn't seem fair.

So, all of this left me with just 2 units: 6:00-7:30. This student, in fact, turned out to be a no-show (for which I do get paid, but, then, so does Berlitz).

Tuesday, 17 February 2015

I got up early and so got in a nice 45-minute walk this morning.

I enjoyed the weekly English speakers' meeting at WIZO today.

For lunch, I drove to Togarashi at Mercaz Big and brought pad thai, soup, salad, and edamame home for us to eat.

I taught 4 units of Berlitz lessons today (although one 2-unit student turned out to be a no-show): 4:30-5:15, 6:00-7:30 (the no-show), and 7:30-8:15.

Monday, 16 February 2015

I woke up fairly early this morning but felt tired and so didn't get up until some time later, too late to go out for a walk.

I taught 10 units of Berlitz lesson today: 9:00-10:30, 10:30-12:00, 12:00-1:30, 3:00-4:30, and 7:00-8:30.

We went to Rachel Café for lunch today and both had onion quiches.

Sunday, 15 February 2015

I had more trouble with heartburn last night and so didn't sleep very well in the first part of the night. I also woke up and got up quite late this morning and so didn't go out for a walk.

I did the weekly shopping at Shufersal today.

We had leftovers we had brought home from a couple of different restaurants for lunch today.

I went on the monthly trip to the pharmacy to get all our regular prescriptions filled this afternoon.

I watched a couple of videos in Hebrew about the Pythagorean Theorem and proving that the square root of 2 is NOT a rational number. I found that I could understand most of what the professor was saying. Of course, the fact that I know the topic very well definitely helped, but I think I still did get most of the Hebrew words. I'm going to continue watching these videos (there are plenty more!), because I think it does improve my Hebrew.

David had his first appointment with the physical therapist this afternoon. Her name is Hannah, and she's very good. She spent most of the time asking questions in order to better understand his needs, but she did manage to give him a good exercise that should help him improve his posture and lessen his neck and back pains.

Shabbat, 14 February 2015

I got up late this morning and didn't go for a walk. But I did go out a walk for more than 45 minutes in the late afternoon, wearing only a t-shirt, jeans, and socks and shoes. It was very nice out!

I decided today to drop my R Programming class. The materials are just not organized enough to be really helpful, and I don't have the motivation to dig around that much to do relatively simple things. This means I will also not be doing the rest of the Data Science specialization, but I've come to realize that data science involves quite a bit more statistics than I want to be involved in. Although I'm a mathematician, I have NEVER really liked statistics very much.

I ordered food delivered from Barbis for lunch at home today.

I decided to enroll in a Coursera (online) course on programming and algorithms for biology, mostly (if not totally) related to studying and sequencing DNA. I think it will be interesting, but if it proves not to be, or to require more time than I have, I can always drop it. It will start on Monday.

Friday, 13 February 2015

I didn't go out for a walk before breakfast this morning except for the regular short one to recycle cardboard, get a few things at the local Shufersal, and buy challah for Shabbat at the bakery. I did, however, go for a 45-minute walk between my first and second classes.

I taught 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-9:45, 11:15-12:00, and 12:00-1:30.

David didn't feel like going out, so I ordered our usual favorites delivered from Il Pentolino.

I completed this week's quiz in R Programming quickly and got 100% on my first try, too.

As the sunlight was beginning to fade from our valley (it was beautiful and clear today, a nice relief from the dusty haze we'd had for days), I lit candles to welcome Shabbat. Later, before going to bed, we'll sip wine and eat a bit of challah to sanctify the day.

והיו למשסה שאסיך, ורחקו כל-מבלעיך

ישיש עליך אלהיך, כמשוש חתן על-כלה

v'hayu limshisa shosayikh, v'rakhaku kol-m'valayikh

yasis alayikh elohayikh, kim sos khatan al kala

Those who set upon you are being set upon, and your devourers are far away

Your G-d rejoices in you, as a bridegroom rejoices in the bride

[7th stanza of L'cha Dodi, the traditional Shabbat piyut]

Thursday, 12 February 2015

I woke up and got up early this morning but didn't go out for a walk because there was still a lot of dust in the air and I figured it might not be so good to exercise in it.

I finished watching the videos for this week in my R Programming class. Now I have to do the quiz and the programming project.

I was scheduled to teach 7 units of Berlitz lessons today (10:00-11:30, 11:30-1:00, 4:00-4:45, and 5:00-6:30), but there were some complications. No one showed up for the first lesson, and, for the last lesson, the student came in more than 20 minutes late, and then I couldn't hear him and he didn't respond to written messages. Of course, I contacted tech support, but the guy there couldn't contact him by phone (only voice mail) or e-mail. The student left a few minutes later and never returned.

We went to Rachel Café for lunch today. David had a nice sandwich, and I had onion quiche.

Wednesday, 11 February 2015

We had terrible winds here last night, and they kept me from sleeping until quite late. So then, of course, I also got up very late. The winds also brought LOTS of dust in the air, and it continued all day today, as well. It's quite unpleasant, in fact, and it's irritating my throat and esophagus.

I taught 9 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30, 12:00-1:30, 3:00-4:30, 4:30-5:15, and 6:00-7:30.

For lunch, I went to Greg Café and brought home fries and an omelet sandwich.

Tuesday, 10 February 2015

I got up quite early this morning and walked for a little over 35 minutes, I think.

I was the presenter this morning at the weekly English speakers' meeting at WIZO. I talked about snakes: general info, genetics, and breeding. I showed them some pictures to illustrate the simplest corn snake genetics, and I showed them Goldfinger at the end, something that some were not expecting. Overall, though, people seemed to really enjoy my short talk.

We ate lunch at Rachel Café today. David has penne with their nice rosé sauce, and I had a burekas sandwich.

When we got back home, our elevator wasn't working, so we took a short drive up the Arava and back, and, by then, it had been fixed.

I taught only 1 units of Berlitz today: 4:30-5:15.

I started watching the lectures for my R Programming class for this week. So far, it is REALLY simple.

Monday, 9 February 2015

I got up very early this morning and enjoyed a nice walk for a little more than 45 minutes.

I taught 11 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30, 10:30-12:00, 12:00-12:45, 3:00-4:30, 5:00-6:30, and 7:00-8:30.

We went to Chooka at Ice Park for lunch today.

Sunday, 8 February 2015

I got up early enough to get in a nice walk this morning.

After breakfast, I had some errands to run: the bank, the pet store, and Shufersal (for the weekly grocery shopping).

I took the quiz for this week in my R Programming class. I got 19 out of 20 on each of the first 2 tries, both due to stupid errors. I finally got 20 on the third try (we are only allowed 3 tries!).

We went to Buddha Burgers for lunch today. David had stuffed artichokes with mashed potatoes, onions, and celery, and I had seitan balls with rice and a nice tomato sauce.

I'm going to present a talk about snakes at next Tuesday's English speakers' meeting at WIZO, so I took some time to finish preparing for that today. In particular, I printed pictures of the most important morphs of corn snakes and of corn snakes pipping (making the first break in the egg shell and sticking their heads out a little).

Somehow we had failed to change David's address with our bank, but now that his card has expired, we need to do that. So I composed a letter to the bank (the Tsfat branch, where are accounts remain) in Hebrew for him to sign.

Shabbat, 7 February 2015

I got up very late this morning (almost 7:00) and so didn't go out for an early-morning walk. I did go out in the late afternoon and walk for more than 40 minutes. I wore a t-shirt, jeans, and socks and shoes, but I SHOULD have worn a tank top and shorts. I was a little warm even though I walked mostly in the shade.

I did a LOT of work on my R Programming class today, spending most of the day on it. I finished watching all the lecture videos and I did the "swirl" tutorials on R. All that remains to be done tomorrow is the week's quiz. I'm quite impressed with the power and ease of analyzing data using R.

We had leftover pizza for lunch at home today.

Friday, 6 February 2015

I didn't get up early and go for a walk this morning, but I did walk for more than 45 minutes later in the morning.

Before breakfast, I walked down to recycle the cardboard, buy soup and candy at the local Shufersal, and buy challah at the bakery for Shabbat.

I was scheduled to teach only one 1-unit class today (9:00-9:45), but no one showed up for it.

We went to Il Pentolino for lunch today. David had penne with funghi (mushroom cream) sauce, and I had my usual whole-wheat spaghetti with Palermo sauce.

As the light of the sun was about to disappear for the day, we lit candles, sipped wine, and ate a bit of challah to welcome Shabbat.

לא תבשי ולא תכלמי; מה תשתוחחי, ומה תהמי

בך יחסו עניי עמי, ונבנתה עיר על-תלה

Lo tevoshi v'lo tikalmi; ma tishtokhakhi, uma tehemi

bakh y'khesu ani'e ami, v'nivneta ir al tila

Be not embarrassed nor ashamed; what sorrow, what groaning?

In you the poor among My people will find respite, and the city will be built on its ancient ruins

[stanza 6 of L'cha Dodi]

Thursday, 5 February 2015

I had trouble getting up this morning and so again didn't go out for a walk.

I was scheduled for 7 units of teaching today, but one 2-unit lesson was a late cancellation that I was notified about last yesterday afternoon: 9:00-10:30, 4:15-5:00, 5:00-6:30 (the cancellation), and 7:00-8:30.

I did another Hebrew lesson today.

I ordered pizza for us to eat at home for lunch since that's what David wanted.

Wednesday, 4 February 2015

I slept well last night but was awakened a bit early by David having low blood sugar. Then I slept in and got up late.

I taught only 5 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30, 3:00-4:30, and 4:30-5:15.

I did another Hebrew lesson today.

We went to Greg Café at Mercaz Big today for lunch and split an omelet sandwich and French fries.

In the early evening, we went down to Ice Park and had frozen yogurt.

Tuesday, 3 February 2015

I slept rather weirdly last night. It seemed like I could never quite get comfortable and relaxed, but I don't know why. I felt achy, but NOT like the flu -- more like sore muscles from exercising, especially in my shoulders. I have been swinging my arms a bit and working my shoulders, but only for very brief amounts of time, and not in any extreme ways at all. In any case, I slept in somewhat short segments and got up late, so I didn't go out for a walk.

I enjoyed the WIZO meeting this morning. A woman told us the story of her grandfather's founding of what was at one time the 3rd largest chain of movie theaters in the UK.

We went to Rachel Café for lunch today. David had penne with tomato sauce, and I had a toasted sandwich.

I taught only one student for 2 units today: 3:30-5:00.

I enrolled and got started on the 2nd course in the Data Scientist specialization that I'm doing on Coursera. This one is all about programming in the R language, and it should be quite fun, though not very difficult.

Monday, 2 February 2015

I got up early enough this morning to get in a 45-minute walk.

I taught 12 units (9 full hours!) of Berlitz lesson today: 9:00-10:30, 10:30-12:00, 12:00-1:30, 3:00-4:30, 5:00-6:30, and 7:00-8:30.

We had beans and weenies (vegetarian, of course) for lunch at home today.

Sunday, 1 February 2015

I didn't sleep as well as I would have liked last night. At one point, when I was already half-awake, I heard some banging around and got up quickly, thinking that David might have fallen. But after I had put on my glasses (I ALWAYS do that, even when getting up in the night!) and stood up, I saw that David was lying there peacefully in bed. So then I knew it had to be the cats. One of them (about 99% chance that it was Pascal) had been trying to open the cupboard door under the stove top but hadn't succeeded because it was blocked by the dishwasher being slightly open. Oh well. A little later I heard more noise, including glass sounds. I again went out to the kitchen to see that my water glass had been knocked over, but it had fallen off the counter and so wasn't broken. Not so surprisingly, I got up very late this morning and didn't go out for a walk.

I made 2 more appointments for David this morning, again managing pretty well in Hebrew.

I did the weekly grocery shopping this morning at the big Shufersal on the north side of town (where I always do it), preceded by a short stop at Breishit (the health foods store).

We went to Rachel Café for lunch. David had an onion quiche, and I had a stuffed burekas with a small salad. There was one ingredient that I didn't know about, so I asked. It's called s'khoog. The waiter told me it was spicy hot, so I asked them to put in on the side. When my meal came, I tried a VERY small dot of it, and that was enough to warm up my whole mouth! Boy was I glad they hadn't put that in the burekas itself; I wouldn't have been able to eat it, I'm afraid.

In the evening, David asked for some soup, which I made for both of us. But it served to remind me that our supplies were low and that I had forgotten to replenish them this morning. A quick walk down to the new small Shufersal (just 3 blocks from us) remedied that situation, and the whole trip only took me 20 minutes on foot. How nice to have a quite well stocked market so close!