Sunday, 30 April 2017

I slept very well last night and got up quite lot. After breakfast, I walked down to Maccabi for my weekly blood test. There were a lot of other people there as well, but I was in no particular hurry, so I didn't mind waiting. After that, I walked down and bought a mouse for Goldfinger and then headed home with it. I took several pictures on this walk, of course, including today's pic of the day, a delicate white flower with a beautiful visitor:

I had a salad made from 2 tomatoes, a yellow bell pepper, and a cucumber, with 1000-island dressing, plus a shnitzel for lunch.

After lunch, I walked over to the Elimelech Supermarket to buy some groceries.

In the late afternoon, I joined my friend, Bassia, to visit a WIZO friend of ours who is in Ba'it B'Lev, the local Maccabi rehab facility. I started to walk home, but it was still quite warm, and I felt tired, so I stopped at the bus stop across from Rachel Café and waited for the number 6 bus to take me the rest of the way home.

At 8:00 p.m., as I was writing this entry, a siren sounded for a minute as it does every year to mark the beginning of the solemn Yom HaZikaron, when we remember all the soldiers and victims of terrorism who gave their lives to make this wonderful country a reality of us today. Places of entertainment are closed this evening and all day tomorrow, and the only programs on TV are those related directly to the memory of these fallen ones. Many channels have no programming at all. Tomorrow night, it all comes to an end with a huge ceremony on Har Herzl in Jerusalem that helps us make the transition from this solemn day to the most joyous day of the year, Yom HaAtzma'ut, Israel's Independence Day.

I walked a total of 8.3 kilometers today.

Shabbat, 29 April 2017

I slept well, got up early, and went for a lovely walk around the big loop before breakfast. I even took some time to work out a little at one of the outdoor gyms on my route, and I also extended the route somewhat in a few places. I took a number of pictures, including today's pic of the day, a group of orange-yellow flowers with a welcome visitor:

After breakfast, I enjoyed a nice phone chat with David in Tel Aviv. We always both enjoy talking to each other.

I did a load of laundry this morning. It's still hanging out in the corridor. Although it may already be dry, I think I'll wait until morning to fold and put everything away.

I had my traditional eggs and rice, plus a nice salad for lunch.

The rest of the day, I mostly relaxed and watched sitcoms, with the exceptions of an afternoon visit with my friends and a Skype chat with Joyce in Ohio, who, unfortunately, is back in the hospital.

I walked a total of 8.9 kilometers today.

Friday, 28 April 2017

I slept well and got up fairly early but didn't go out for a walk.

After breakfast, I took out the trash and recycling (2 weeks' worth), and then I walked up to the bakery and bought challah.

The rest of the day, I just relaxed. Strangely enough, we still haven't received any e-mail from the billionaire's Moscow office, so I didn't do any work on that today.

I had a salad and quesadillas for lunch today.

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

I walked a total of 2/3 of a kilometer.

Thursday, 27 April 2017

I slept very well last night and got up late this morning, with more snuggling with Pascal.

After breakfast, I walked over to Bassia & David's house and enjoyed a nice visit with them. On the way back, I stopped at a market near their place to buy some more peanut butter. I also picked up some bananas. I also took several pictures during that walk, including today's pic of the day, a lovely blue flower that I almost missed seeing:

The rest of the day, I mostly relaxed, playing games, watching YouTube videos, and enjoying American sitcoms on TV. I was expecting to have to go down to David Furman's to work, but the billionaire's office in Russia sent no e-mail whatsoever, so there's really nothing to do but wait for them to respond. In any case, I had a pretty relaxing vacation day.

I had a shnitzel and salad for lunch today.

I walked a total of 2.7 kilometers.

Wednesday, 26 April 2017

I slept long and well and lay in bed quite a while in the morning snuggling with and petting Pascal before finally getting up.

I spent a lazy morning and part of the afternoon doing not much of anything except playing games and watching sitcoms.

I had a salad and quesadillas for lunch.

In the mid-afternoon, David Furman called me, and I walked down to his place to help him more with the billionaire project. Today, we were mostly trying to get the invoices all in order and finalized.

On my walk back home, I took today's pic of the day, showing the קדורגל "kaduregel" (Br: football; Am: soccer) field:

I walked a total of 4.1 kilometers today.

Tuesday, 25 April 2017

I slept long and well last night and got up fairly late.

In the morning, I took the box of date cookies that the head chef at the Kempinski had given me and shared them with my friends at WIZO. I also enjoyed lots of chatting and, especially, Terry's saxophone recital at WIZO.

After that, I walked down into town to do some banking, and then ate lunch at the falafel stand near the bank. Along the way, I took today's pic of the day, a beautiful yellow flower:

Then I walked over to David Furman's house to help him with more e-mails in the process of finalizing all the payments for the billionaire's canceled trip.

When I had finished there, I walked back home and made a quick trip to the local supermarket to restock my supplies.

I walked a total of 7.6 kilometers today.

Monday, 24 April 2017

I got to bed fairly early last night and slept well. I was awake for a while before morning, but then I went back to sleep and ended up getting a full night's sleep.

I got up in the morning, did my usual personal routine (using the computer in the business center because it's quite a bit faster that way than on my phone). Then I went down to the Ishtar Building for breakfast because the breakfast there offers more variety than the one in the main building.

After breakfast, I went back to my room, did my morning after-breakfast routine, took a shower, and got everything packed. I also took one last picture of the view from my balcony before leaving, which is today's pic of the day:

Then we all gathered in the lobby to wait for our transportation back to the border near Eilat. This time, all 5 of us were traveling together, so there were 2 vehicles, a Ford Expedition and Mercedes E-250. I chose the Mercedes and rode in the front seat. I had a nice chat with the driver (probably in his early 30s) during most of the trip. We talked about all kinds of things, including Israel, Jordan, Eilat, and family stories. Our 2 chefs sat in the back seat and mostly chatted about chef things and food. It was a very enjoyable trip.

We made it across the border in about half an hour, which is quite fast considering that we had to stop at several offices and checks on both sides. There was basically no one else crossing, so that's what made it so quick this time.

On the Israeli side, the head chef (Dalia Renault) and I took one taxi home, and the other guys took another. I was very glad to be back home, and Pascal was just about beside himself.

After unpacking and relaxing a bit, I ate a shnitzel and some of the date-filled cookies that the head chef had given me (and each of the other team members) as a going-away gift.

Then I relaxed a little more before taking a walk around the big loop.

I walked a total of 7.5 kilometers today.

Sunday, 23 April 2017

I again got to sleep late last night due to the engagement party happening on the terrace right above my room, and so I got up quite late this morning.

After breakfast, I took a walk down all the way to the sea, taking various pictures along the way. I decided not to even step into the sea, however, because I didn't want to deal with getting my feet dry again. One of the pictures I took is a nice view of the Royal Villa where our billionaire client was scheduled to stay from Monday until Thursday (yesterday, however, the whole trip was canceled):

As I was making my way back up, the boss called and asked me to meet him up in the lobby. We spent the rest of the day compiling invoices and generally tying things up. We also socialized a bit with several of the hotel people we've been working with. Our head chef, Ms. Dalia Renault, prepared a marvelous old French-style apple tart for all of us, including several top people and chefs from the hotel. We sat together in the hotel lobby, enjoying the tart and chatting.

By the time we had finished everything, it was already well after sunset, and so I declined the boss's invitation for a late dinner at the Italian restaurant. Tomorrow, we plan to leave the hotel at 10:00 a.m.

I walked a total of 4.5 kilometers today.

Shabbat, 22 April 2017

I got to sleep quite late last night because of a huge wedding that was going on out on the hotel grounds. The music was very Arabic music, which was actually really nice, but it did keep me from going to sleep. Tonight, there are 2 more wedding (or, actually, I've been told that one of them is an engagement party), so I probably won't get to sleep early tonight, either. But it's okay.

After much work organizing information today, I finally got a lot of things in better order. After lunch, I just lay down and relaxed.

I took some more pictures today, including some nice ones of the sunset over the Dead Sea. One of them, taken from my balcony, is today's pic of the day:

Shortly after sunset, we got a bombshell from the Russian office: the trip has been cancelled! They did not say why, and, of course, the reason is none of our business. Those of us working will still get paid, though we might not get the full amount. The hotel gets to keep 75% of the total cost as a late cancellation fee. We expect to return to Israel on Monday. Tomorrow, we'll be finalizing all the billing and any other loose ends that need to be tied up.

This evening, the boss invited the whole team to eat together at one of the restaurants, our choice. The two chefs had no preference, but Vitaly preferred the Italian restaurant, so we went there. It was actually quite nice. We just relaxed.

I think our boss is not very happy about this, but the chefs may be the most disappointed. For them, it's like a musician who practices hard for a concert, and then the concert is cancelled, so he never really gets to enjoy sharing the fruits of all his hard work.

As for me, I'm rather relieved because this work has been a little stressful at times. I'll be a little sorry to leave the hotel early, though, since I've really been enjoying the atmosphere, the grounds, the people, and the food. I'm just very glad that I got to have such a great experience.

I walked a total of 4.3 kilometers today.

Friday, 21 April 2017

I had trouble getting to sleep last night, but I still got up rather early this morning. After breakfast, I was quite busy almost all day and didn't even eat again until after 8:00 p.m.

At 2:00 p.m. our whole team (our boss, the guy who will be our personal assistant to the billionaire, our 2 chefs, and myself) had a meeting with the assistant manager of the hotel (a really nice young German guy who speaks nearly flawless English) and another guy from the hotel management. I think it was really useful and important.

When I finally got around to eating, I went to the Asian restaurant on the terrace (one floor above my room) and had a salad, a sweet and sour vegetarian dish made specially for me (not on the menu), rice, and battered, deep fried banana slices served with caramel sauce. And I even treated myself to a piña colada. Today's pic of the day was taken from where I sat and ate dinner at the edge of the terrace. The bright lights and moving searchlights mark the spot below on the hotel grounds where a big (and obviously very expensive) wedding was taking place, one of THREE weddings that the hotel is hosting this weekend:

I walked a total of 4.3 kilometers today.

Thursday, 20 April 2017

I got up early today and ate breakfast right away. Then I made sure everything was packed and walked down to David's house. The 2 chefs also came there, and then the 4 of us with all our luggage (including a couple of bags of ingredients not available in Jordan) headed in 2 taxis to the border crossing.

After passing through all the necessary checks on both sides, we piled into the minivan that had been sent from the hotel to pick us up. After paying a $30 fee that no one seemed to know was necessary, we were on our way up the Arava on the Jordanian side. I sat in the front next to the driver, and we chatted from time to time. He speaks quite good English and is very nice. We passed by Lot's cave (where Lot and his daughters escaped the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah) and continued along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea until we arrived at the Kempinski Ishtar Dead Sea Hotel.

We will be here until the 28th. The purpose of our visit is to prepare for the vacation of our client, a Russian oligarch and his family (and another couple and 2 security guards), from the 24th to the 27th.

The client and his family will be staying in the Royal Villa, a palatial 2-story house with its own private beach. I have my own room, as does David, my boss. Apparently, it's one of the cheapest rooms in the hotel, but it still is larger than my entire apartment, has a bed twice as big as mine, has a private furnished balcony, and provides a sweeping view of most of the hotel grounds, the Dead Sea, and the mountains of Judea on the other side. Today's pic of the day is a view of the sunset from my balcony:

This evening I also got to travel up to Amman. Picture this: an Israeli, a Russian, and an American (all of us Israeli citizens) walk into an upscale mall in Amman, Jordan, and what do we see? A Tesla Model S and a Tesla Model X, the first Teslas I've ever seen. Teslas, for any of you who don't know, are the amazing all-electric cars that are made in California.

I walked a total of 10.2 kilometers today.

Wednesday, 19 April 2017

I slept very well last night, but, having gotten to bed very late, I didn't get up very early.

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

After my first lesson, I took a short nap in my chair and then ate 2 tomatoes, a cucumber, corn on the cob, mini-weenies (vegetarian, of course), and matza with sweet spread for lunch.

In the afternoon, I began packing and making sure everything was in order for my trip to Jordan.

I didn't walk at all today.

Tuesday, 18 April 2017

I got up somewhat late this morning. Then I went down to Maccabi for my blood test before breakfast. I took several pictures along the way, including today's pic of the day, some lovely pinkish white oleander blossoms:

Since I ate a late breakfast, I also ate lunch very late after a lot of relaxing and watching sitcoms. I had a tomato, a red bell pepper, a shnitzel, and a matza with some sweet spread.

In the evening, I walked down to David's house to do more work on the billionaire's vacation project. Things are really shaping up now, and, of course, there's lots of work to do.

After we had finished, I enjoyed a lovely walk back home in the very pleasantly cool desert night air. What a treat to live in Eilat!

I walked a total of 10.6 kilometers today.

Monday, 17 April 2017

I slept really well last night and got up reasonably early this morning.

After a relaxing morning, I had cheese, beets, and matza for lunch (while I was watching sitcoms on TV).

In the afternoon, I was a little less lazy and got a couple of other things done. I printed out and completed the application form for long-term care insurance (all in Hebrew, of course). Then I scanned it back in and submitted it via e-mail. I also scanned a couple of plays by Jean Giraudoux for our play-reading group.

In the late afternoon, I set out for a walk around the big loop, with some variations. Along the way, I took quite a few pictures, including today's pic of the day, a bougainvillea blossom directly backlit by the sun:

Shortly after returning, I got a call from David (the guy I'm working for to prepare the billionaire's vacation in Jordan). His other worker had already gone home, but he was receiving a number of urgent e-mails that needed to be answered today. So I agreed to help him. He came and picked me up, and afterwards he also brought me back home (both in his car). I was glad that I was able to help.

I walked a total of 6 kilometers today.

Sunday, 16 April 2017

I slept well last night and got up early this morning.

After a somewhat early breakfast, I headed down to see if the Maccabi lab would be open today for my weekly blood test. I was not too surprised, though, that it was not, since this is the day before a holiday, which generally makes places run on their Friday schedule (and the lab is not open on Fridays). It didn't really matter much, though -- I can just go on Tuesday instead.

I then headed over to MaccabiPharm to pick up a couple of prescriptions, then to the key maker to get another key to my apartment made, and the on down to buy cat litter and a mouse. After that, I took a more circuitous route back home. I took a number of pictures along the way, including today's pic of the day, a pleasant view in the park in the middle of the Ganim A neighborhood:

I had the cat litter delivered, of course (it's MUCH too heavy to carry any distance at all). After it arrived, I did a little grocery shopping. Then I had 4 slices of cheese melted in the microwave between two matzot and 3 beets, a tomato, and a cucumber.

In the afternoon, I was lazy and watched sitcoms on TV. But before 6:00 p.m. I headed out on another long walk. It was initially just around the big loop, but when I got to the top of the Nakhal Garuf Promenade (at the end of Harim Road), I decided on a whim to walk up by the oil tanks of Ramat Yotam and back down into town on highway 12. On this walk, I took a LOT of pictures, including a whole set of the kikar just above the hospital and another cluster of pictures of the Shakhamon towers as seen at dusk when coming down highway 12.

I walked a total of 12.7 kilometers today.

Shabbat, 15 April 2017

I slept well last night, woke up, and got up leisurely.

I spent some time this morning rearranging how the address list files, which I use for sending out the WIZO weekly emails, are organized. My goal was to set things up so that I could do the entire process on my iPhone. Normally, I'll continue to do it on my Mac, as I have been until now, but next week (and probably the following, as well), I'll be in Jordan with my iPhone but without my computers, so I want to be able to do it all from there (using WiFi, of course). I succeeded, and it's all set up now. It's actually more organized than before, as well.

I had my traditional rice and eggs for lunch today, plus a salad and a couple of Pesakh cookies for dessert.

I was quite lazy in the afternoon, but I did talk to Joyce on Skype as I usually do on Shabbat afternoons.

In the evening, after talking with Joyce, I walked over to the cemetery before dark, and then walked back by a more circuitous route through the city. I took quite a few pictures along the way, including this lovely one showing David's grave in the last sunlight of the day, with the Red Sea, Aqaba, and the Jordanian mountains in the background:

I walked a total of 4.7 kilometers today.

Friday, 14 April 2017

I woke up in the night last night and then had trouble getting back to sleep. Eventually, I did, but I woke up and got up early, so I really didn't get enough sleep. Nevertheless, I didn't feel particularly tired.

I ate breakfast fairly early, too. Then I took out the trash and the recycling, and I started out on my walk after bringing the recycling bag back into the apartment.

I walked into town by a rather circuitous route because I wasn't in any hurry. I took plenty of pictures along the way. I had planned to visit the weekly open air "market" along HaTmarim since I had no lessons booked today, but it didn't happen this week, probably because we're in Khol HaMo'ed (the interim non-holiday days) of the the Pesakh holiday. Anyway, I didn't mind because I was more out for a walk than anything. It was overcast today, but the sun did manage to shine through somewhat. The air was pleasantly cool but not cold, with some breeze. In short, a GREAT day for walking.

I continued all the way down HaTmarim to the airport, and from there I went on to the sea. Along the beach by the mall, there are several walkways that go out over the water for a few meters, with stairs going down into the sea at the end of each. I walked out one of them, took off my flip-flops, and soaked my feet a little in the cool, refreshing seawater. Today's pic of the day shows my feet soaking in the water (and looking rather weird because of the distortion of the light as it passes through the rippling water):

After sitting a while longer with my feet out of the water so they could dry, I slipped my flip-flops back on and continued southward. I stopped and bought a glass bottle of PepsiMax at a small supermarket near there and then went on along the highway by the naval base to the little beach just south of it. I had finished my drink by then, so I put the bottle in the trash there, hoping that someone will pull it out and recycle it (I didn't want to carry it all the way to a glass recycling container, although there IS one near my place).

That little beach is also the place where Nakhal Shakhamon flows into the sea (on the rare occasion that it flows at all!), so I had decided to return home by walking up the nakhal all the way to Harim Road. It was a great day for such a hike. I took more pictures of beautiful flowers and of the views up and down the nakhal at various points.

After walking under two bridges (Khativat HaNegev and Sheshet HaYamim) and going through one of the 12 pipes under Harim Road, I walked home via Harim (stopping to work out a bit at the outdoor gym) and Argaman. I took even more flower pictures in that segment of my walk.

I rested a while after arriving home, and then I had a salad and an egg on matza for lunch. I put the matza on a large plate, broke the egg onto the matza, and broke the yolk. Then I carefully put the whole thing into the microwave and cooked it for a total of 80 seconds. The egg was still runny, somewhat like a soft-boiled egg. I actually let it sit in the microwave for quite some time, while I ate my salad, before eating it. With a little added salt, it was delicious!

After lunch, I did the rest of the weekly household chores: washing dishes, dusting, and sweeping the floor. Then I relaxed in my chair and even napped for a while.

In the evening, I lit candles, drank a little sweet red wine, and ate matza (no challah -- it's still Pesakh!), giving some of the latter to Pascal, to welcome this Shabbat during Pesakh.

I walked a total of 8.7 kilometers today.

Thursday, 13 April 2017

I slept very well last night and got up late this morning even though I had gone to bed quite early.

I was scheduled to teach 6 units of Berlitz lessons today, but the last 2-unit one turned out to be a no-show: 9:00-10:30, 5:00-6:30, and 7:00-8:30.

I started to go out for a walk after my first class, but I turned around and came back after going only a short distance because it began to rain a little. It was only a few scattered drops, but I was worried that it might get much stronger and soak me. Remember, the Wicked Witch of the West melts in water! LOL Anyway, I did snap one picture, today's pic of the day, of some pretty flowers on the median of the road. They seemed a little larger than star jasmine but had a similar lovely fragrance:

I was pretty much lazy for most of the rest of the day. I had a salad and cheese slightly melted on matza for lunch. Later, I had another matza with butter on it.

I walked only 0.32 kilometers (320 meters) today.

Wednesday, 12 April 2017

I slept well last night and got up early this morning. I then went for a lovely walk around the big loop, somewhat extended. I took lots of pictures, including today's twin pics of the day, some stunning flowers, same type but slightly different shades, that I usually can't get because they are on long stems they move too much, even in a very gentle breeze:

After breakfast I made a couple of important phone calls. First, I called to request the form to apply for long-term care insurance. They e-mailed it to me. I have to print it, fill it out, and return it. Then I called David in Tel Aviv and had a nice long conversation with him.

Later in the morning, I did some grocery shopping at the nearest local market.

For lunch, I had a salad and matza brei, which I made based on what I could find about it briefly on the internet. I don't think I've ever even eaten it before, much less made it, but I think it turned out well. I broke 2 matzas up into small pieces and soaked them in enough milk to get them good and wet. I put olive oil, salt, and garlic powder in the frying pan, added 2 eggs, and mixed them up fairly vigorously. Then I added the matza mix, stirred in in thoroughly, and cooked it all on fairly low heat.

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

I walked a total of 6.6 kilometers today.

Tuesday, 11 April 2017

Since I got home and went to bed so late last night, I also got up VERY late this morning.

I also delayed breakfast even further, so that it was nearly noon by the time I finally ate. Then I really didn't eat any lunch at all.

I was pretty much lazy all afternoon (hey, it was a holiday!). In the early evening, I walked over to Bassia & David's place to pick up a book of plays to scan for our play-reading group. Of course, I also stayed a chatted for quite some time, as well. On the way over, I took a few pics, including today's pic of the day, an interesting bug (some kind of wasp, maybe?):

I walked a total of 2.8 kilometers today.

Monday, 10 April 2017

I slept well last night and got up early this morning.

I taught only one 2-unit Berlitz lesson today: 9:00-10:30.

I had a large cucumber, a tomato, half of a yellow bell pepper, and cheese for lunch.

The rest of the day, until I left to go to the seder, I was pretty much lazy. I even took a short nap. I did, however, very much enjoy a conversation with my friend, Jeff, who is visiting in Israel and called me from Modi'in.

I walked down to a seder in Amdar Village where I had been invited. This was thanks to an organization called "Keep Olim", which makes connections between people who are willing to host and olim who would like a place to go for the holidays, such as Rosh HaShana and Pesach. We started the seder with only 4 people, all women except for me. But 2 more women came by a little later, so for most of it we had 6 people. Then, at the very end, the teenage boyfriend (I think) of the teenage daughter arrived, just for "Who Knows One?" and "Had Gadya". It was a very enjoyable evening!

I walked a total of 4.2 kilometers today.

Sunday, 9 April 2017

I had a little trouble getting to sleep last night, but I slept well. However, I got up quite late. I ate breakfast right away.

After breakfast, I walked down to Maccabi for my weekly blood test. Then I walked over to the pharmacy to pick up some prescriptions. Next, I returned to the Maccabi office to ask about long-term care insurance. I learned that I don't currently have it and that it would cost me 100 additional shekels a month. The clerk gave me a number to call to see if I'm eligible for it and to sign up. I think it's important to do this while I'm still healthy so that, if I need it, I'll be better taken care of.

My next stop was the pet store, where I bought a mouse for my snake and cat food for my cat. I brought the mouse back with me, of course, but I had the cat food delivered later in the day.

I walked home via a rather circuitous route in order to get some exercise. Along the way, I also stopped at the Mega supermarket near the hospital to buy a few items.

I had a salad of cucumber, yellow bell pepper, and tomato for lunch, plus two vegan shnitzels.

The rest of the day, I mostly relaxed. Something is wrong, though, with the remote for my TV. I assumed it was the batteries, so I went and bought some new ones, but it didn't fix the problem. I guess I'll have to talk to my landlord about it, but I think they're away.

In the evening, I decided to take another walk. I went up through Canada Gardens, worked out for a while at the outdoor gym, and walked home by a longer route. I took a number of pictures throughout the day today. Today's pic of the day is a beautiful yellow flower that I saw on this walk:

I walked a total of 8.5 kilometers today.

Shabbat, 8 April 2017

I slept well last night and got up late this morning, but I still went out for a walk around the big loop before breakfast. I wore flip-flops, short pants, and a t-shirt and felt quite comfortable. It was a little cool in the shade and a little warm in the sun, and I had a good mix of both. I took several pictures along the way, including today's pic of the day, some pretty flowers along the Nakhal Garuf Promenade:

The rest of the day, I was mostly lazy. I talked with David in Tel Aviv for quite some time, and I had my usual eggs and rice for lunch. I watched quite a few sitcoms, and I talked with Joyce in Ohio.

I walked a total of 6 kilometers today.

Friday, 7 April 2017

I slept well last night and got up a little too early this morning.

After breakfast, I took out the trash and the recycling, and I then went up and bought challah (actually, I had to get rolls of the same kind of bread since they didn't have my whole-wheat challah at all this week).

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

Between lessons I got the rest of the weekly household chores done, which I actually hadn't done for several weeks.

I had a salad, corn on the cob, and slices of cheese for lunch at home today.

I was just lazy for the whole afternoon, mostly watching sitcoms on TV. The only picture I took today was this one, of Pascal relaxing on my office chair:

As the light began to fade, I lit candles, drank a little sweet red wine, and ate some challah to welcome Shabbat.

I walked a total of 0.65 kilometers (650 meters) today.

Thursday, 6 April 2017

I went to bed rather late last night and slept well, but I got up pretty late this morning.

I was scheduled to teach 7 units of Berlitz lessons today, but the last lesson (2 units) turned out to be a no-show: 9:30-11:45, 4:00-5:30 (although the student had to leave suddenly a half-hour early), and 7:00-8:30.

I also did some work for David today (on the billionaire's trip project), but I couldn't do much since I was working from home because he was traveling to the hotel to do some preliminary preparations there.

In the early evening, I did a little grocery shopping.

Other than that, I just relaxed today.

I walked a total of only 0.63 kilometers (630 meters) today.

Wednesday, 5 April 2017

I slept well last night and got up quite late this morning.

I taught 6 units of Berlitz lesson today: 9:30-11:00, 5:30-7:00, and 7:00-8:30.

After my first lesson, I walked down to David's house to write another email with him. The client has mostly accepted his terms, so he WILL be doing the trip. David has gotten another person to work full-time for him between now and the trip (beginning Friday), but I may still be helping out some, even during that time. I will keep up-to-date on the details and will still be going to Jordan with him to be there before, during, and after the billionaire's visit there. After we had finished, David gave me a ride home, which was much appreciated since the weather was quite hot today. We're basically having a sharav (hot, dry weather with little wind, quite a bit of dusty haze, and an oppressive feeling in the air) today and tomorrow.

During my walk down to David's house, I took a couple of pictures of flowers, including today's pic of the day, white bougainvillea backlit by the sun:

I walked a total of 2.2 kilometers today.

Tuesday, 4 April 2017

I slept well last night and got up early this morning.

At our WIZO English speakers' meeting this morning, Sharona presented a program of YouTube videos featuring the music of The Beatles and Chuck Berry. Everyone really enjoyed it, I think.

After that, I walked over to David's house, and we composed a very long email together laying out his terms and conditions for planning the billionaire's Dead Sea trip, and explaining in detail the reasons for them. The oligarch's rep in Moscow will NOT be happy to receive it. We'll just have to wait and see how she responds. David thinks they'll accept our terms; I have my doubts.

At about 4:30, I started out walking back home, taking some nice pics along the way, including today's pic of the day, backlit bougainvillea:

I taught only 2 units of Berlitz today: 5:30-7:00.

I walked a total of 6.1 kilometers today.

Monday, 3 April 2017

I slept well last night and got up very early this morning. I also ate breakfast somewhat early and did a little grocery shopping before my class.

I taught 3 units of Berlitz today: 9:30-11:45.

I ate lunch early (weenie sandwiches and a salad) and then headed over to Bassia's, where I shared a taxi with her over to the Camel Ranch.

Bassia had received a birthday present (for her birthday, which was way back in December) of money for a camel trek, a total of 4 hours. Her husband wasn't interested in it, but I was, so I joined her, and we had a great time. The weather was really perfect today, with fairly hot sunshine, but not excessive, and a cool breeze.

We started the adventure with our guide, Or, telling a bit about camels and how to handle them. Although the Camel Ranch does have males, only females are used for the public to ride. Then we headed up Nakhal Shlomo and, a short distance up, turned left into a tributary nakhal. There were four of us besides the guide -- the other two were a young couple from Mexico City. We each controlled our own camel (or at least tried to), but, basically, the camels knew the way. The guide had told us not to let them eat the wild vegetation (that was there due to the amount of rain we had had during the winter), but, of course, if a 700-kg (1540-lb) animal is determined to do something, there's not too much you can do to prevent it. My camel (named "Adi"), in particular, was quite intent on sampling the luscious greens along the way.

After winding around and up and up for quite some distance, we finally reached the top of a hill on the south side of Nakhal Shlomo with a great view. The camels all sat down (the choreography of which is quite amazing), and we all got off and took a break and many pictures. Today's pic of the day is one of them, a selfie of me and my camel, Adi:

When it was time to go, we returned via a different route. The first part of the trail down was quite steep, so, instead of riding the camels (which could have been quite uncomfortable for us), we led them (and learned how to do that, as well). When we got to a more level area, we again got back on and rode, but this time the camels were all linked together, and our guide walked along, leading the first camel. This was because we were about to enter Nakhal Shlomo, where there could be vehicles, other people, and animals.

Before we got back to the Camel Ranch, we stopped near a fire pit and once again got off our camels. We took blankets that we had been sitting on on the camels and put them on the ground around the fire pit, where our guide built a nice fire. When it was going well, he put a pot of tea on it (or more like IN it!) to heat while he made bedouin pita (rather like Druze bread) for us. While we drank the delicious tea, he put a dome of metal over the fire and cooked the pita on it. Then he spread labane (a soft white cheese made from yogurt) on the pita, folded it somewhat like a burrito, and served it to us.

After we had finished eating, our guide packed all the utensils etc. back on his camel, we mounted our camels one by one, and we all returned rather quickly to the Camel Ranch.

It was a MOST enjoyable experience, and I highly recommend it to anyone!

Bassia and I took a taxi back to her place, and, after a short visit there, I walked back home.

My phone thinks I walked a total of 10.2 kilometers today, but I think most of that was actually the CAMEL walking!

Sunday, 2 April 2017

I went to sleep quickly last night and slept well.

I ate an early light breakfast, just to hold me over until the big WIZO breakfast later.

At around 8:00 a.m. I started off walking down to Maccabi for my weekly blood tests. Of course I took pictures along the way, some of flowers and quite a few of the sun peaking in and out of the clouds.

After finishing there, I walked downtown but was too early for the breakfast, so I hung around the North Beach area a bit. They were building a large temporary stage there, obviously for some type of show, but I have no idea what. I had seen a plane heading south for its big turnaround over the Red Sea, so I was waiting for its return, and I took today's video of the day of it coming in for a landing:

Then I walked on over to the Soleil Boutique Hotel for the monthly WIZO breakfast (really more of a brunch) at 9:45. I really enjoyed it all: the food, the company, the conversation, and the champagne. Today was the birthday of one woman who was there, so we also celebrated that.

Next, I walked all the way over to Breishit, a health food store in the industrial area. I stopped several times along the way to rest. I also walked around 2 or 3 stores along the way that I had never been in before, just to see what they had. At one point, when I was nearly there, I even lay down on a bench for a while. I was happy to find, though, when I got there that they had what I wanted to buy: plenty of carob-peanut spread, which I find incredibly delicious.

From there, I headed back to Maccabi, weaving through old neighborhoods and narrow alleys. The only reason I went to Maccabi was to use the bathroom and relax a bit more. Then I walked down the street to the pet store where I bought a mouse for Goldfinger. I felt too tired by that time to walk back home, so I walked a little further down the street and took the first bus home.

After all that walking, I just spent the afternoon and evening relaxing at home.

I walked a total of 8.5 kilometers today.

Shabbat, 1 April 2017

I slept well again last night and also got up quite early this morning.

I had agreed to meet with David at 10:00 so that we could respond to the letter we received late yesterday from the rep of the Russian billionaire. I got out early enough to walk a more circuitous route to get there. I took a number of pictures along the way. There were clouds moving across the sky that created interesting, constantly changing patterns of light and dark on the nearby mountains, so several of my pictures were of that. One of the best ones is today's pic of the day:

When I arrived at David's, he basically had already decided that he probably would not be able to organize the oligarch's vacation because of the highly restricted terms his rep was insisting on. So, we sat down together, and he responded, with my help, to the issues that she had raised and, essentially, told her to do it herself. It's quite unlikely now that he'll be doing the trip, and I think that's the smartest decision for him because it was becoming quite clear that he would LOSE money rather than make it with the conditions she was insisting on.

By a little after noon, I started my walk back home, again going by a roundabout route, though less so than on the way down.

I had my usual eggs and rice for lunch. I also had a salad consisting of a tomato, a cucumber, and half of a large yellow bell pepper, with 1000-island dressing.

I was then lazy for much of the afternoon, watching sitcoms on TV. In the evening, I went to Fay's book exchange, which was an enjoyable occasion, as always.

I walked a total of 5.3 kilometers today.