Vacation

I'm sure glad this week is over. It took 6 trips to the visa office to get our tourist visa extended. It wasn't "automatic," as they told us in the U.S. that it would be.

Anyway that's over with. And I hope I'm done with unscrupulous taxi drivers. They'll charge you an arm and a leg if they can get away with it. And lie to you.

I need a break from Ulpan, too. It went reasonably well for a while, and I got 100% on my last test, which many thought was difficult. But then everything started to slide. I spent quite some time today reviewing the things I was supposed to have learned but didn't. It's starting to come clear again, but I want to get ahead a little before class starts up again.

The weather is cold again.

This dark red rose was so fragrant I could smell it from several feet away.

This is me. Or it would have been, except I was the one holding the camera. Nice backdrop, though, wouldn't you say?

This is a poppy.

And these are poppy anemone. They don't take a very good picture. They look like red blobs. Maybe I need different lighting.

One solution is...

Where to park your car

One obvious solution is...on the sidewalk. This one's been here for so long it turned to stone. Really! It is solid stone! Any guesses as to what kind of car it is?

I like the stones behind it too. First the natural stone, and then the ones put above it. I don't know what the thing is that looks like a window--whether it had some purpose or whether someone was being funny. Pretty funny, either way.

Snapdragons
Hollyhocks

Wisteria

At the day care center next door

A blooming tree trunk

A Snail, a Bee, and a Judas Tree

Flowers bloomed all winter, but now that it's spring there are more flowers.

The Judas Tree is like our redbud. The legend is that the tree blushed with shame after Judas hanged himself on it.

Farmer Story

I got up at 5:30. Or was it 5. Maybe I should say I woke up at 5:30. I may have been up before that. I left the house at 6:30. What did I do for an hour? I remember eating a quick breakfast and having worship. But that didn't take long. And I tried on 2 pairs of socks because the first pair didn't feel right. I noticed the light on the washing machine, reminding me of the clothes I meant to hang out, but it turned cold and damp, so there they sit. I'll probably have to re-wash them. We caught an early bus, which was nice because it wasn't crowded. Al dropped me off at a coffee shop near Milah at 7. So I have to kill time for 2 hours. The coffee didn't set too well. I don't NEED coffee this time of day. By ten o'clock I will. So I get into the building as soon as they unlock it, but I'm not really supposed to be here. It looks like there's been an earthquake. In the front hall is a tipped-over cabinet, some boards, an upside-down paint bucket, piles of broken cement and plaster dust, scattered junk mail, and what looks like a large A-frame doghouse. The cleaning lady tells me they're not open yet, and I think she's implying I should leave, but I don't because it's cold out.If she comes by again I'll ask her to hold the door open so I can get this wheelchair out. (I got in ok because I was motivated--it's cold and windy out there!) As I get warm sleepiness comes upon me. Maybe I'll finish the coffee after all. Getting up at 5:30 doesn't bother me, provided I do it every day. I'm afraid that today will be one of those days when I am tired all day, but going on adrenalin, which feels good in a way, but I won't be able to relax at all and I'll get tireder and tireder. (Yes, I know, tireder isn't a word...but it is now.) I'll lose my focus (did I ever have any?) my ability to make decisions (I had SOME, didn't I?) and my efficiency (don't say "what efficiency?"). I've heard surgeons and airplane pilots do that a lot. Fortunately, in my case, no lives are at stake.
I know lots of words in Hebrew, but a simple word like "the" slips my mind. I'll have to practice saying the chair, the table, this chair, this bed. "The" has no gender, but "this" does. Different languages have different genders for the same thing. House is feminine in Spanish and masculine in Hebrew. The development of language would be fascinating to delve into, if it were possible to trace how it happened. Why in some languages did they get in the habit of speaking in the front of their mouth, others in the back. Some keep their tongue close to the top of their mouth, and some widen it out. Does that reflect personality in some way? In other ways many languages have things in common--even languages that we consider unrelated. Like, (pretend I didn't say like) how many languages use "mama" and "papa," or something similar. And the words for "six" and "seven" always start with "s," at least in Russian, Hebrew, Hindi, and several Latin-based languages.
Al is at the university. I'll have to take good notes, because this will be the second day of missed class for him (although he knows most of this stuff anyway). (Yesterday we were renewing our visas.) A couple students have dropped out, and a few more have dropped in. After taking a test, which wasn't too hard, I have time to kill. I suppose I could stretch out on a bench and go to sleep. I have seen others do that--but I am not quite that bold. There is always the possibility someone will come along and ask "Are you all right?" which is extreemullly embarrassing--why shouldn't I be? May because I am old. Relatively. (I said, relatively.) Maybe it's the position that makes the difference. If I curl up and pull my coat over my face I will look miserable. If I lie on my back with my arms folded I will look like I'm intentionally taking a nap. (Maybe?)
Anyway I decide to kill time with a library book. This is the first book I have successfully read in Hebrew. It's about 17 short pages long. (Short pages, not-so-long book). It's about two farmers who are brothers. Or should I say two brothers who are farmers. Anyway one brother has a wife and three children, and the other has no wife or children. They do all their work together. At harvest time they divide the wheat into two equal piles. During the night, one brother starts thinking, "My brother has a wife and children to provide for. It isn't right for me to have so much just for myself, so I'll give him some of mine." So he gets up and takes some of his wheat and adds it to his brother's pile. Meanwhile the other brother can't sleep. He starts thinking, "My brother has no one to take care of him when he's old. I should give him some of my wheat." So he gets up and adds some of his wheat to his brother's pile. In the morning each brother notices that his pile is exactly the same size as it was before, but neither says anything. That night they do the same thing again, and the next morning the piles are still the same size. The third night...they meet each other!!! According to the story, God blesses the place where they met and Solomon built the temple there.
Al gets back from taking a 3-hour test in Hebrew at the university. On the way home I see a little boy gathering large sticks and making a large-size tepee in an overgrown park. We stop at the market for vegetables. I'm still wide awake from this morning's coffee. So why did I just drink some more coffee. Oh well, it's daytime. I'll be able to sleep as soon as it's dark.

Canyoureadthis?

Her I tl u bout mday n how z to red ebru. Iz dfclt bcz they writ w lts vconsnts n not mne vowls, nbcz they rn sm wrds togethr.
I gtp tsvn. I et tost ndrnk cfe. I tk bs tcls. Thcls hrd bt ntrstng. Ncls we stdi ebru. We red ebru, we rit ebru, nwe spk ebru. We hv fn nebru. Thtchr no lt spk nglsh or talyn or spnsh or rushn.
We hv fn nebru. Sm of thstdnts no thngs I no no. I no smthngs thy no no. We wrk togthr. We hlp chother.
We cm hom, we do hmwrk. We lrn vrbs, nns, ajtvs. We slp, we drm nebru. We gtp ndo t all ovr gn.
I fel lik hre hre hre, mst lrn ebru zfstz I can. I tird all thtim, bt I njoi mslf. NFrid n nSatd I do bt houswrk.

Like My New Dog?

I think he's great. Only he's not mine. Mercy, tell me what breed you think he is.

Days of Purim

For several days I have been noticing a few people here and there with costumes on. It's part of the celebration of Purim. In class the teacher told briefly the story of Esther, and then told us how Purim is celebrated today. First of all there is, among the stricter Jews, a fast day. Then there is giving of gifts and giving to the poor. Then there is partying. Whenever the story of Esther is read, and the name of Haman is mentioned, they rattle these little noisemakers that look like clowns and boo loudly.
The wind howled all night last night and all day today. It's cold. But spring is coming, it really is.

An Ordinary Day

Another ordinary day. Got up at seven, which was really too late, hung out the clothes that I washed last night, left the house at 8:00, caught the bus to Ulpan, endured three hours of trying to stir up the old brain. Class is often a bit noisy, which makes it really hard to concentrate. The class is taught entirely in Hebrew, and not everyone gets all of it all the time, so different ones add their own explanations to their neighbors, in whatever language they have in common. On the way home we stopped at the corner market, as we often do, for a few vegetables. Then Al ran down a few blocks to make a doctor's appointment for himself and a chiropractor appointment for me, which didn't work out, but later the chiropractor called back, but he spoke only Hebrew and Russian, so there was a communication problem, but he had someone else call back who spoke English. That was a rambly sentence, oh well. Then nap and homework for both of us. Then I fixed supper, which was chicken and vegetables (onions, squash, mushrooms, red peppers, green peppers, garlic). Now I've got to wind down and go to bed on time for a change, which is hard to do when the going's good, and just as hard to do when it isn't and there's no sense of accomplishment. As soon as I get a chance I want to run over to the vacant lot next door and get a picture of a very red poppy that doesn't bloom when it's cloudy, which it has been a lot lately.

Wordy Post

After reading Sharon's comment about wordy posts, I am tempted to write a very wordy post, all about words, though I'm sure lists of words is not what she meant.
When the kids were little I kept track of their first words. I still have some of those lists somewhere. Some of Sharon's first words were book, bug, ball, baby, bottle, banana, bologna, and thank you. Caleb invented his own words, such as Howky, which was a sore or a bandaid, and Onna, which was a light.
My first sight words that I can read in Hebrew are I, you, he, they, yes, no, because, good, only, this, name, you, there, or, all, too, with, of, who, what. All other words I sound out slowly, if at all. One day I was struggling to figure out RVQH, and finally realized it was my own name. I still am not completely past the stage of turning a piece of paper around twice, trying to figure out which way is right side up. I must know hundreds of words by now, but it doesn't seem to do me much good. I suppose they are like seeds planted in the earth, that will eventually sprout up into usefulness.
Here are the words that I have overheard here and there and understood -- all, bus, direction, electricity, and-a-half, excuse me, how are you, help, want, hear, here, feel, hello, I, moment, no, of, good, simple, so-so, see-you-later, seven, thank you, tired, understand, good morning, what's new, goodbye.
Well, that's the best I can do in making a "wordy" post. Rather digital, I suppose. Odd that you can think without words, but you can't communicate very well without words.