Friday, 30 September 2016

I got to bed late last night and got up late this morning, but I still went out for a shorter walk, since my lesson didn't start until 10:00. I took several pictures, including today's pic of the day, a view of the beautiful Nakhal Shakhamon and the Eilat Mountains from Haggai Road:

Of course, I stopped by the bakery on my way back home to buy challah for Shabbat.

I taught only 2 units of Berlitz today: 10:00-11:30.

Before lunch, I took a short nap in my chair. Then I had a salad and shnitzel.

After lunch, I completed the weekly household chores. I also started work on editing my symphony, bringing it in and trying it out with the Synful Orchestra. I wrote only the first movement when I was in college, in the early 1970s. Sometime in the 1990s, I had entered it into a MIDI file. Now my task will be to edit it and probably refine it somewhat. I also intend to write 3 more movements to finally finish it.

As the sun disappeared behind the mountains, I lit candles, drank a little sweet red wine, and ate some challah to welcome Shabbat. Then I headed out for a nice evening walk around the big loop, including petting 3 of my feline friends who were all happy to see me. I was also pleased to see, for the first time, the new synagogue along Harim Road finally being used.

I walked a total of 8.7 kilometers today.

In memory of Shimon Peres and his dreams of peace, I leave you with this prayer for peace:

עושה שלום במרומייו הוא יעשה שלום עלינו ועל כל ישראל, ואימרו אמן

May the One who makes peace above send peace on us and on all Israel, and let us say, "Amen!"

Thursday, 29 September 2016

It took me more than 2 hours lying in bed last night to get to sleep. I really don't know why. In any case, I also got up a bit late. However, I still went out for a walk for about half an hour.

I taught only 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:15-11:30 and 2:45-3:30.

For lunch, I had a cucumber; 2 tomatoes sliced and put in a pita with cheese, mustard, and mayonnaise; and corn on the cob.

In the late afternoon, I walked over to the cemetery to visit David's grave (a custom in Elul, the month before the High Holy Days of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur). Along the way, I took several pictures, including today's pic of the day:

I walked a total of 7.4 kilometers today.

Wednesday, 28 September 2016

Having gotten to bed quite late last night, I naturally woke up and got up late this morning. But at least I slept well.

I was scheduled to teach 7 units of Berlitz lessons today but was notified that the last 2-unit lesson would be a late cancellation (for which I still get paid): 9:15-10:00, 10:00-11:30, 3:30-5:00, and 6:00-7:30.

Last week, I helped a young American guy find an apartment, so today he took me out to lunch at Café Café as a thank you. I road the bus down to Ice Mall and back, and it was very enjoyable. Before leaving Ice Mall, I paused to take a few pictures, including today's pic of the day, the view of the Eilat Mountains from there:

In the evening, I took a walk and worked out a little at the outdoor gym. I was out for about 35 minutes.

I walked a total of 3.2 kilometers today.

Tuesday, 27 September 2016

I got up early this morning, despite having gone to bed late last night, and took a nice walk around the big loop. I petted 4 different cats along the way, including one that I don't think I'd seen before. I didn't take any pics, though.

I walked over to WIZO this morning, and I also walked back. The weather is definitely cooling off now. I took today's pic of the day on my way over. This bougainvillea was poking through a bamboo fence:

The meeting was interesting, with a guest speaker talking about natural health and homeopathy. Most of what she said made sense, but I still wasn't buying the homeopathic remedy theory.

I had a salad, shnitzel in a pita, and corn on the cob for lunch.

I taught only 3 units of Berlitz lessons today: 2:45-3:30 and 4:30-6:00.

In the evening, I walked downtown to appear on an internet radio show (Radio Hof Eilat) that my friend, Billie Ben Asher, hosts. She interviewed me about my music, especially my new album, HaTikva, of orchestral music.

I walked a total of 12 kilometers today.

Monday, 26 September 2016

I slept well last night but felt tired when I woke up, so I didn't get up right away. I did eventually get up and go out walking for about an hour, though. I went up my street (Argaman) to Harim and walked to the first break in the sidewalk (well into Shakhamon), then turned around and came back the exact same way. I took 2 pictures across the valley from Harim near Haggai, more than half an hour apart, and they are today's twin pics of the day:

I was scheduled to teach 8 units of Berlitz lessons today, but one 3-unit lesson turned out to be a late cancellation: 9:00-9:45, 10:00-11:30, 4:30-6:45 (the cancellation), and 7:00-8:30.

I had quesadillas, a salad, and a couple of crackers for lunch.

Because of the cancellation, I had some extra time, so I went for an evening walk for about half an hour.

I walked a total of 5.5 kilometers today.

Sunday, 25 September 2016

Not so surprisingly and my record walking distance yesterday, I slept soundly last night but got up a bit late. I still went out and walked for about 35 minutes before breakfast, though. I was lucky to get an interesting shot of the sun rising just 2 or 3 minutes before I got home, today's pic of the day:

After breakfast, I walked into town to buy one thing at the pharmacy and to get a mouse for Goldfinger and more food for Pascal. Then I took a bus back home, buying a day pass.

I had a salad and vegetarian shnitzel for lunch at home.

In the afternoon, I went to the Elimelech Supermarket and did a little grocery shopping.

Later, I took the bus to Ice Mall, where I walked around quite a bit and treated myself to a frozen yogurt. Then I took the bus most of the way home, getting off at the Shufersal near WIZO to buy a few more items. From there, I walked the rest of the way home.

I walked a total of 9.8 kilometers today.

Shabbat, 24 September 2016

I got up early this morning and took a very nice walk around the big loop, even extending it a little. The breeze was great! I took a number of pictures, including today's pic of the day, a view of Aqaba long before sunrise, showing just a glimmer of light in the east:

Later in the morning, I walked down to visit a friend for a while and then walked back up home. It was a little hot in the sun but still pleasant in the shade.

After taking a short nap in my chair, I prepared my usual Shabbat lunch: eggs and rice, with added seeds and garlic powder, all cooked in olive oil. I also had a nice salad and a lot of grapes.

I was then lazy most of the afternoon, but I took another quite long walk in the evening, taking still more pictures. The breeze was again wonderful!

I walked a total of 17.38 kilometers today. I think that's more than I've ever done in one day since my phone began recording such things more than a year ago.

Friday, 23 September 2016

I got to bed late last night and got up late this morning, but I still took a walk about half as long as the big loop, buying challah at the bakery on my way back. I took several nice pics, including today's pic of the day, a view of the beautiful Eilat Mountains in the early-morning light:

I got all the weekly chores done before my class: taking out the trash and recyclables, doing the dishes, dusting, and sweeping.

I taught only 2 units of Berlitz lessons today: 11:30-1:00.

I had a salad and weenies wrapped in tortillas for lunch.

After lunch, I helped a young American-Israeli who is looking for an apartment. He didn't feel confident enough in his Hebrew to use Yad2, so I had him come over and we looked together. He wrote down some telephone numbers and already has appointments to see a couple of places on Sunday. More importantly, I think he'll be able to use the website himself if he needs to.

As the day came to a close, I lit candles, drank a little sweet red wine, and ate some challah to welcome the Shabbat Bride.

I walked a total of 3.58 kilometers today.

As the Jewish New Year fast approaches, I share with you the refrain of BaShana HaBa'a:

עוד תראה עוד תראה כמה טוב יהיה בשנה בשנה הבאה

You will yet see, you will yet see, how good it will be in the year, in the coming year.

Thursday, 22 September 2016

I got up very early this morning and easily went for a nice walk around the big loop. I think I set a new record this morning -- I petted no less than SIX different cats! I took only one picture, though, at almost the end of the walk: the paving machinery parked up near the top end of the street (today's pic of the day):

I taught 9 units (7 hours and 45 minutes) of Berlitz lessons today: 9:15-11:30, 2:45-3:30, 4:30-6:45, and 7:00-8:30. The last student was particularly interesting. This was, in fact, her last lesson. She's a neonatologist, originally from Brazil, who is now working at the WHO (World Health Organization) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. She told me in detail about a couple of studies regarding the care of premature and underweight babies in the developing world that she is involved in planning. She was able to describe them accurately, fluently, and in a way I could understand. She actually speaks with a U.S. accent even though she has never even visited the States. Quite amazing!

I did a little grocery shopping at the Elimelech Supermarket before lunch.

I had a salad (with added tomato, cucumber, and seeds), rice wrapped in grape leaves, and 3 crackers for lunch at home.

I walked a total of 7.52 kilometers today.

Wednesday, 21 September 2016

I got up early enough this morning to take a nice long walk all the way around the big loop. I took a few pictures near the end, after it was lighter out.

I taught only 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:15-10:00, 10:00-10:45, and 12:00-1:30.

I had a cucumber, half of a large bell pepper, corn on the cob, and a vegetarian shnitzel for lunch at home today.

Today, they were re-paving the street by my place. In the afternoon, I went out and took some pictures, including today's pic of the day:

Other than that, I was pretty much lazy all afternoon and evening and even took a nap in my chair.

I walked a total of 8.81 kilometers today.

Tuesday, 20 September 2016

I woke up a little tired this morning and got out of bed a little late, but I still walked for about 40 minutes. I took several pictures, including another sunrise shot, this time from the very top of Argaman, the street I live on. It's today's pic of the day:

I walked to WIZO this morning for the first time since before the hot summer weather. It was quite cool in the shade, and there was a good breeze.

After some lively conversation at WIZO, including with a new oleh (immigrant to Israel) from the States, we enjoyed an interesting presentation on sleep and dreams.

Following the WIZO meeting, I walked down to the bank to withdraw some money from my U.S. credit union and deposit it in my Israeli account. Isobel walked down with me because she had to do some money stuff there, too, and then she graciously offered to let me ride back with her in a taxi, saving me a bus fare (since I wouldn't have walked all the way back uphill that far in the middle of the day). She lives very near me.

I had a cucumber, a tomato, beans and weenies, and a couple of crackers for lunch.

I taught only 3 units of Berlitz lessons today: 2:45-3:30 and 4:30-6:00.

I walked a total of 5.2 kilometers today.

Monday, 19 September 2016

I slept well last night, got up early, and went for a nice walk around the big loop. I took a few pictures, including a couple of sunrise pictures and today's pic of the day, the machine getting ready to tear up our street in preparation for repaving:

I was scheduled to teach 11 units (8.25 hours!) of Berlitz lessons today, but one 2-unit lesson turned out to be a no-show: 9:00-9:45, 10:00-11:30, 11:30-1:00, 3:00-4:30 (the no-show), 4:30-6:00, and 7:00-8:30.

Before lunch, I made a quick trip to the Elimelech Supermarket to buy a few things. Then, I had a cucumber, a red bell pepper, a tomato, a vegetarian schnitzel, and a few crackers for lunch at home.

I walked a total of 6.69 kilometers today.

Sunday, 18 September 2016

I went to bed late last night but slept very well. I also got up too late to go for a walk before breakfast.

After breakfast, though, I walked over to my appointment with my family doctor in Shakhamon (about 2.3 km). He's was running quite late, so I had to wait a bit, but I really wasn't in any particular hurry. He gave me the referral I need to get the process on track for my surgery. While I waited a few minutes at the bus stop after finishing at the doctor's, I snapped today's pic of the day, a beautiful yellow flower on the median:

I took the bus into town to the Maccabi office there to get the approval process for my next trip to the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv started. It's not yet clear whether I'll have to see the urologist again before seeing the surgeon and the anesthesiologist or not.

After that, I walked down to buy Goldfinger's weekly mouse and then, of course, took the bus home.

Goldfinger was so excited he actually got my finger first, but it hardly hurt (as is usual with such things). A little alcohol, followed by a little pressure, and the bleeding stopped (despite the blood thinner I'm now on).

I had cheese and tomato sandwiches and a beet for lunch at home.

I called the Ichilov Hospital to make an appointment, but I was number 10 in line, so I opted to have them call me back, which they still haven't done. They'll probably call in the middle of a lesson tomorrow. If I haven't heard from them by Tuesday, I'll call again.

This afternoon, I took time to listen fairly carefully to Brahms' 2nd symphony, which I hadn't done in a long time. It really is a masterwork, and I think I enjoyed it even more than the 1st (which I had listened to yesterday).

In the late afternoon, I took a bus to Ice Mall, walked around a bit there, window-shopping, and treated myself to a frozen yogurt (with strawberries, banana, and sugar-coated pecans).

Next, I took another bus (the all-day pass is great!) over to the industrial area and checked out the brand new Rami Levi supermarket that just opened there this week. I walked all around the store, just noticing what they had. I only bought some cashews, since my supply is getting a little low and I figured their price was probably a little better. Luckily, they had an express line because all the regular lines were long, filled with people buying LOTS of things.

Then I took yet another bus back home, listening to most of Shostakovich's 5th symphony on the way. It's interesting, but I can't quite put it on a level with Brahms.

I walked a total of 7.13 kilometers today.

Shabbat, 17 September 2016

I slept well at first last night but then was awake for quite some time in the wee hours and unable to get back to sleep. Of course, when it was almost time to get up and go walking, I was suddenly tired and sleepy, so I slept a little more. Then, I only went out for a walk for about 15 minutes. I did take a couple of nice pictures, though.

I spent most of the day being quite lazy and relaxing. I even took a couple of short naps in my chair.

I had my usual eggs and rice, with added garlic powder and seeds for lunch. I also had a nice salad.

In the late afternoon, I talked with David's sister and her husband in Ohio.

I really enjoyed listening to Brahms' first symphony this evening, a piece I had not listened to in some time. I also paid a bit more attention than in the past, I think, and was amazed at the masterful way he weaves the various themes and instruments together. This is truly a masterpiece!

In the evening, a little after the sun had disappeared, I went out for a walk for about 50 minutes. I met a couple of cats near the corner of Sheshet HaYamim and Yotam who are my friends. I think the bigger one, who is really quite a beautiful and unusual light-colored cat, is the mother, and the small one, a nice tabby, is her baby. Today's pictures is of the mother:

I walked a total of 4.22 kilometers (that's 1/10 of a marathon, LOL) today.

Friday, 16 September 2016

I had trouble getting to sleep last night; I just didn't feel sleepy. Finally, I even got out of bed for a few minutes, but I didn't turn on any lights. Then I went back to bed and got to sleep fairly quickly, albeit quite late. I got up late this morning but still managed to go for a walk for about 45 minutes, including a stop at the bakery to buy challah. I took 2 pictures, one of which is today's pic of the day:

I was scheduled to teach 5 unites of Berlitz lessons today, but the last 2-unit lesson was a late cancellation: 9:00-9:45, 9:45-11:15, and 11:30-1:00.

I easily did the weekly household chores before lunch due to the cancellation. Then I had a tomato, a cucumber, corn on the cob, and vegetarian shnitzel.

I took a short nap in the early afternoon.

I uploaded the tracks of my album of orchestral music, HaTikva, to a private Soundcloud playlist so that I can share it with anyone I chose. I don't want to share it generally since the music is, after all, for sale.

As the day came to an end, I lit candles, drank a little sweet red wine, and ate some challah to welcome the Shabbat Queen.

I walked a total of 3.4 kilometers today.

Today, I'll close with something different, a short monologue in Hebrew, without translation:

בחודשים האחרונים אני במצב טוב במייוחד. אף-על-פי הקושי שעברתי בשנה שעברה, עכשיו יש לי הרגשה חזקה שאני נמצא בדיוק במקום שבו אני צריך להיות, ואני מרוצה מאוד מהחיי הטובים. אני אוהב את הדירה שלי, את השבונה שלי, ואת ההזדמנות לגור בעיר כל-כך מצויינת. אני מאחל לכולם שבת שלום וכל טוב

Thursday, 15 September 2016

I slept quite well last night and even woke up fairly early, but I just didn't quite feel up to getting up for some time, and so I didn't go out for a walk at all.

I taught 8 units of Berlitz lesson today: 9:15-11:30, 2:45-3:30, 4:30-6:00, and 7:00-8:30.

Before lunch, I did a little grocery shopping at the Elimelech Supermarket.

I had cheese, tomato, cucumber, and bell pepper for lunch, as you can see in today's pic of the day:

I walked only 0.66 kilometers (660 meters) today.

Wednesday, 14 September 2016

I slept well last night but got up quite late and so didn't go out for a walk this morning at all.

I was scheduled to teach 7 units of Berlitz lessons today, but the last student (2 units) came in just long enough to tell me that he was out of the office and didn't have a headphone, so he couldn't do the lesson, making it a late cancellation: 9:15-10:00, 10:30-12:00, 3:30-5:00, and 6:00-7:30 (the cancellation).

I forgot to mention it yesterday, but I finished my online class, Classification and Retrieval, with an overall score of 98.5%. There's one more regular class in the Machine Learning Specialization, plus the capstone project at the very end. However, the next course doesn't begin until November.

Today, I got word that my album of orchestral music is all ready and for sale on CD Baby. I'm not selling CDs this time, only digital downloads, but you can buy either the whole album or just the tracks you like. For MUCH more info, check out this link.

I had a salad (with a diced beet added) and weenies wrapped in tortillas for lunch.

Since my last lesson was cancelled, I decided to go out for an evening walk. It was warm but not too hot, and there was quite a bit of wind to keep me cool. I went for a slightly shortened version of the big loop and was out for about an hour and 20 minutes. I took a couple of pictures, one of which is today's pic of the day, a view down a nice walkway from the corner of Dvora HaNviah and Rut HaMo'aviah to Sheshet HaYamim:

I walked a total of 5.34 kilometers today.

Tuesday, 13 September 2016

I slept well last night and woke up early, so I went for a nice long walk around the big loop. When I was almost home, I paused for a few seconds on the median just across from my gate, trying to decide whether to take a picture or not. Just then, the sun started coming up, so naturally I shot it, today's pic of the day:

We again had a fairly small group at the WIZO English speakers' meeting, but it was very enjoyable. In particular, we all were fascinated by the stories Gladys, one of our oldest members, told us about her life.

I had a salad and veggie burger and cheese sandwiches, plus a Moroccan cookie, for lunch.

I taught only 3 units of Berlitz lessons today: 2:45-3:30 and 7:00-8:30.

In the afternoon, I made another trip into town (buses both directions) to take care of a couple of things.

I walked a total of 9.22 kilometers today.

Monday, 12 September 2016

I slept well last night but got up a little late. Nevertheless, I went out walking for about 45 minutes and took a couple of nice photos.

After breakfast, I also walked down to Maccabi in town for my appointment with the cardiologist. He says I should go back on the Coumadin (blood thinner) until 4 days before the surgery, which, apparently, can now be scheduled. He also sent me back to my family doctor, with whom I have scheduled an appointment on Wednesday. Then I'll see about scheduling new appointments with the surgeon and anesthesiologist at Ichilov, and hopefully we'll be able to get the surgery done fairly soon.

I just missed the number 2 bus to come back home, so I had to wait about 20 minutes for the next one. In the mean time, I enjoyed petting a cat who "owns" the Roded/Arnon bus stops and LOVES to be petted. Here he is for today's pic of the day:

I was scheduled to teach 8 units of Berlitz lessons today, but one 2-unit student turned out to be a no-show: 11:30-1:00, 3:00-4:30 (the no-show), 4:30-6:00, and 6:30-8:00.

I had a salad, 2 beets, and beans and weenies for lunch at home.

I walked a total of 5.97 kilometers today.

Sunday, 11 September 2016

I slept a little weirdly last night but still got up fairly early and went for a long walk only a little shorter than the big loop (but a different route). I took several pictures along the way, including today's pic of the day, the moment of sunrise, from Harim Road over Nakhal Shakhamon:

I attended the monthly Berlitz "brown bag" meeting online this morning. After that, a friend visited me for a little while, and then I caught a bus into town. I stopped first at the optician's to get the screws tightened on my glasses. Then walked down to buy a mouse for Goldfinger.

When I got back home, Goldfinger was a little TOO ready for the mouse. He started striking at the glass walls when he saw me approaching. In the end, he grabbed the mouse just outside his terrarium (his body was mostly still inside) as soon as I opened the sliding door. He managed to eat it hanging out and then pulled back in so I could close the door. Pascal was sitting over on the floor by the bed watching with great interest. So, I guess the secret of Goldfinger's eating is out now! LOL

I had tomato sandwiches and cheese for lunch.

After lunch, I began watching the videos for week 6 (the last week) of my online class, Classification and Retrieval. They did an extensive review of the whole course and introduced one extra topic having to do with dealing with time-related data. The next task will be to do the programming work and watch the wrap-up videos. Then, it will be time to start the next one in the sequence.

I took an afternoon nap in my chair and then did some shopping at the Einat Market.

Later in the evening, I took a bus (I had bought an all-day pass) to Ice Mall, where I walked around for a while, window-shopping, and treated myself to a frozen yogurt. Then I caught another bus back home.

I walked a total of 11.03 kilometers today.

Shabbat, 10 September 2016

I got up a little late this morning, but I still went for a walk around the big loop. It was lovely out, and I took several pictures, including today's pic of the day, a view just after the sunrise, with the sun hidden behind a sign:

I spent all morning working on the programming assignment for week 5 of my online class. It was actually quite enjoyable. I took the quiz 3 times and got 83%, which is enough to pass, but I wanted to get the last 2 questions right also, so I continued to try to try to figure out what I was doing wrong. I though I had gotten it, but I had to wait until evening to take the quiz again. Sure enough, I finished the week with 100% on the last quiz!

I had my traditional Shabbat lunch of salad and eggs with rice. This time, I also added milk, garlic powder, salt, and sunflower seeds. It was delicious!

I took a short nap in my comfortable IKEA chair in the afternoon before talking with David's sister in Ohio.

I walked a total of 6.04 kilometers today.

Friday, 9 September 2016

I got up a little later this morning, but I still went out walking for nearly an hour and a quarter, buying challah on my way back. I took 3 pictures, 2 of which are today's pics of the day. They were taken from the same spot but about 45 minutes apart:

I taught 5 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-9:15, 10:00-11:30, and 11:30-1:00.

I had a salad and beans and weenies for lunch.

I did the weekly chores today, including taking out the trash and recycling, dusting, sweeping, and doing the dishes.

I forgot to mention yesterday that I managed to solve the problems and finally finish week 4 of my online class, Clustering and Retrieval, including getting 100% on the quiz based on the programming. Today, I started week 5 and successfully watched all the videos and completed the first 2 quizzes. All that remains now is the programming assignment. I sure hope it goes better than last week's!

As the day came to an end, I lit candles, drank a little sweet red wine, and ate some challah to welcome another Shabbat.

I walked a total of 5.21 kilometers today.

For the end of this first week of Elul, I leave you with the refrain of בשנה הבאה ("In the Coming Year") as we contemplate the soon arrival of ראש השנה and the beginning of a new year:

עוד תראה כמה טוב יהיה בשנה הבאה

You will yet see how good it will be in the coming year.

Thursday, 8 September 2016

I got up very early this morning and went for a nice walk around the big loop. I petted 3 different cats on this walk, the first 2 (mother and son, I think) on Sheshet HaYamim near Derekh Yotam and the other on Harim Road near Ein Netafim. There's another guy whom I often see also petting that last one. We've exchanged a few words several times, and today we talked a little more. I found out that his name is Michel, and he's from Argentina. He works with meat and fish, he lives near there with his wife, and he's waiting for his ride to work. In fact, there are several people, other walkers, that I see very frequently, mostly on Harim Road, and we say "Good morning!" (well, actually, "Boker tov!") to each other and, occasionally, a few other words.

I took 2 pictures this morning, the second from the median in front of my gate, is today's pic of the day:

I taught 8 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:15-11:30, 11:30-1:00, 2:45-3:30, and 4:30-6:00.

I microwaved a vegetarian schnitzel and then cut it up into small pieces to add to my salad for lunch.

I walked a total of 6.03 kilometers today.

Wednesday, 7 September 2016

I got up a little late this morning but still went for a short walk and even took a couple of pictures.

After eating breakfast early, I walked down to Maccabi to return my halter. Then I walked back home in plenty of time for my first lesson (and even stopped at the Mega Supermarket on the way). I also took a couple more pictures, including today's pic of the day, white bougainvillea with just a tiny bit of pink in them:

I taught 7 units of Berlitz lesson today: 9:15-10:00, 10:00-11:30, 3:30-5:00, and 6:00-7:30.

I finally got a message from the people running the class about the problem I was having with THEIR code in my online class, only to encounter ANOTHER problem with THEIR code a couple of cells later. I then managed to solve that problem on my own, but then encountered yet ANOTHER one just a little later. Oh well.

I had weenies wrapped in tortillas and corn on the cob for lunch at home.

I walked a total of 6.2 kilometers today.

Tuesday, 6 September 2016

I got up fairly early this morning but went for a shorter walk since I needed to eat early and get down to Maccabi.

I also walked to Maccabi in town (after breakfast), where they put a "halter" on me to monitor my heart for 24 hours. It's actually much simpler than the name makes it sound -- just a small device that clips on my pants with 3 leads attached, one up just below the top of my sternum (upper center of the chest and one on each side near my lower ribs.

After I was finished getting the halter, I walked down to my bank to withdraw money to pay my rent (my money from Berlitz comes in on the 5th of each month). I hung around there for a while, and then walked up to WIZO for our weekly English speakers' meeting. I took today's pic of the day, a selfie, taken in Fradkin Park during this walk (you can see the top lead on my chest):

We had no program at WIZO today, and several regular attendees are away for various reasons, so we had probably the smallest attendance I've ever seen there. Still, we all had a good time.

After that, I walked up to Shufersal to buy some things, although I actually only ended up buying one item (some walnuts). I just missed the bus, so I decided to walk home, since the weather is not as hot as it had been, and there's a lot of shade along the way, even in the middle of the day. In fact, I made brief stops at a couple of other markets along to way, to cool off and see if they had any items that I wanted. I only bought one more thing, though (some cashews).

I had a salad and quesadillas (cheese in tortillas) for lunch at home today.

I taught 5 units of Berlitz lessons: 2:45-3:30, 4:30-6:00, and 7:00-8:30.

I walked a total of 9.12 kilometers today.

Monday, 5 September 2016

I woke up fairly early this morning but felt quite tired and so didn't get up for quite a while. Then I didn't go out for a walk at all. Since I didn't take any photos at all today, the pic of the day is a shot I took inside the bus yesterday on my way to Ice Mall:

I taught 7 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-9:45, 10:00-11:30, 11:30-1:00, and 7:00-8:30.

I had a salad and vegetarian schnitzel for lunch at home today.

I took a short nap in my chair after lunch. Later, I did a little grocery shopping at the Einat Center (the 2nd closest market).

I walked only 0.65 kilometers (650 meters) today.

Sunday, 4 September 2016

I got to bed early last night, but woke up around midnight and didn't get back to sleep for about 3 hours. I don't know why. In any case, it caused me to get up late and tired and not go out for a morning walk.

I was lucky to be able to attend the WIZO English speakers' breakfast this morning at the Soleil Boutique Hotel as a guest of a friend (thanks, Fonda!). It's generally held once monthly and had previously always been on Monday, and so I wasn't able to attend. Anyway, I really enjoyed it, as you can perhaps see from today's pic of the day, taken with my iPhone by my friend, Isobel:

Before returning home, I went to the Maccabi Pharmacy to pick up my monthly prescriptions. Then I walked down and bought a mouse from the pet store for Goldfinger.

I took a little afternoon nap in my chair, and then ate a salad around 4:00.

Later still, I took advantage of the fact that I had bought an all-day bus ticket and rode down to Ice Mall. I got a frozen yogurt and walked around a little there before returning back home by bus (as it so happened, with the same bus and driver, though on a different route, going the opposite direction). There is a football (soccer) field near the Ice Mall, so a group of 7 and 8 pre-teen boys got on the bus with me. Two of them were literally swinging from the overhead handrails and just having fun. They weren't damaging anything or annoying anyone, and it was just nice to see boys being boys. They all got off the bus, the last ones a couple of stops before mine.

I walked a total of 3.87 kilometers today.

Shabbat, 3 September 2016

I got up early this morning and went for a walk around the big loop with a couple of extensions. I took 2 pictures well before sunrise, the first of which is today's pic of the day:

I spent almost all the rest of the day working on my album of orchestral music. I finalized track names, entered data about them into CD Baby, wrote a short blurb about the album, wrote extensive album notes, uploaded the music itself, and created and uploaded the album cover artwork, one of my own recent photos of upper Nakhal Shakhamon, with the album title ("HaTikva") and the name of the orchestra ("The Virtual Orchestra of Eilat") added. I've now submitted it to CD Baby, who will review it and complete the process. I've scheduled it to be released on 14 September (which would have been my mom's 99th birthday), so that's when it will first be available, unless there are problems or CD Baby takes longer than that to complete their processing. In any case, it will only be available for digital downloading (either individual tracks or the entire album), no physical CD.

I had a salad and my traditional eggs and rice for lunch at home today.

I walked a total of 7.72 kilometers today.

Friday, 2 September 2016

I again felt a little tired and didn't get up very early (partly because of going to bed a little late last night). I still went out for a pretty good walk, though, and took some nice pictures, including today's pic of the day, a nice view of the sun rising:

Of course, I stopped at the bakery on my way back from my walk to buy challah.

I taught 3 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-9:45 and 11:30-1:00.

Between my lessons, I got the weekly household chores done.

I had a salad and beans and weenies for lunch today.

In the afternoon, I tried to work on my second programming assignment for my online class. I've run into a problem, though. The code they provided seems to be hung at the 7th cell, and I can't continue until it finishes. I've already posted about it in the class forum.

In the evening, I lit candles, drank some sweet red wine, and ate a little challah to welcome Shabbat.

I walked a total of 4.24 kilometers today.

In honor of the month of Elul, which begins tomorrow evening as Shabbat goes out, I leave you with this verse from Psalm 27 (a psalm traditionally read during Elul):

אחת שאלתי מאת-יי אותה אבקש

שבתי בבית-יי כל-יהי חיי

לחזות בנעם-יי ולבקר בהיכלו

One thing have I asked of the Eternal, this I will seek:

To dwell in the House of the Eternal all the days of my life

To envision the pleasantness of the Eternal and to visit the divine temple.

Thursday, 1 September 2016

I woke up early this morning but didn't quite feel like actually getting up until later. I still went out for a walk, but it was a little shorter. I did take some very nice pictures, though, including today's pic of the day, the sunrise:

I taught 6 units of Berlitz lesson today: 10:00-11:30, 4:30-6:00, and 7:00-8:30.

I had a salad and veggie burger and cheese sandwiches for lunch at home today.

I finished "recording" all the tracks for my album of orchestral. The next steps are uploading them to CD Baby, writing about the album and about the individual tracks, and entering other information needed. So, the release date should be quite soon now.

I walked a total of 4.65 kilometers today.