It is officially not-summer in Israel. It has rained a couple times, and more rain is expected. Sycamore trees are starting to lose their leaves. When I walk down the sidewalk, I deliberately crunch all the fallen leaves.
Which reminds me of a sheep we once had named May. She got really sick and I found her in the woods by herself, too weak to stand. As she started to get better I brought her things to eat. But she wouldn't eat much hay, and she wouldn't even touch red clover. She liked white clover, but I couldn't find enough of it. Then I brought her some dry, brown sycamore leaves and she loved them!
The internet is useful for all kinds of things. It is good for answering questions like, "What is the difference between..." Or "Can dogs, wolves, and coyotes interbreed?" (Yes.) What about jackals and hyenas? (Jackals are related to dogs, but hyenas are related to mongooses.) What is the plural of mongoose? (Mongooses) And changing dollars to shekels, or finding an on-line guitar tuner, or automatic chord-naming, how to respond to rude comments, and more. Twice I saved myself a trip to the doctor by finding simple explanations of odd health issues. And of course it's good for finding recipes, how to unclog your sink, origins of words, language study --Duolingo is really good, the weather, e-mail, etc. etc.
Recently I have read quite a bit of the news, but I decided I won't do it any more. It is impossible to find a sensible news source. Most are extremely biased one way or another, and international situations are so complicated that it takes a lot of research to find the truth, and when I do, it isn't relevant to what I have to do every day anyway.
Psalm 11:3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
Daniel: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
Isaiah: In
the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as
the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and
all nations will stream to it.
October 24, 2015
October 15, 2015
Old Electric
As it turned out, the "oil truck" was a fire truck parked nearby. The smell of heavy oil was actually due to a fire at a nearby grocery store. Odd though is the fact that the grocery store on the opposite corner had an electrical fire a couple years ago. Both of the fires were in old buildings. Not much wood is in these buildings, so they don't fall down. Steel and concrete withstand a fair amount of heat.
Old buildings here often stand empty for a long time. You can't tear them down because they are classified as buildings to be preserved, and renovating them is an expensive process. Sometimes they take the building down, block by block, with all the blocks numbered, and then they reassemble the blocks, adding mortar and more support from behind. This sounds like a fun thing to do. But I wonder if it would be easier, and not any more expensive, to just build a new building in the old style.
Old buildings here often stand empty for a long time. You can't tear them down because they are classified as buildings to be preserved, and renovating them is an expensive process. Sometimes they take the building down, block by block, with all the blocks numbered, and then they reassemble the blocks, adding mortar and more support from behind. This sounds like a fun thing to do. But I wonder if it would be easier, and not any more expensive, to just build a new building in the old style.
October 6, 2015
City Life
A big oil truck parked outside my window for several hours last night, with its motor rumbling. The smell was terrible. Well, actually, it was a nice, rich oil smell, which is not a bad smell in itself, but not nice when it's filling your bedroom. I kept dreaming about old, leaky oil heaters.
And then the cleaning crew left their mark in the hallway--not a nice clean, fresh smell, but one that smells exactly like a cat litter box. I'll have to live with it for a couple days till it subsides. They rotate their air fresheners, so some weeks it's a decent smell, and other weeks it's catbox odor. I keep my door shut tight, but I can still smell it. There's no way to get rid of it and I can't think of any way to cover it up except by cooking cabbage, which would be only a slight improvement.
Maybe some berry pie? But I don't have any berries. Boil some Kool-aid? Don't have Kool-aid. Burn candles? Don't have any. Sprinkle laundry detergent on the floor? Put a bag over my head? Go for a long, long walk? Buy a disposable barbecue and burn it in my living room?
And then the cleaning crew left their mark in the hallway--not a nice clean, fresh smell, but one that smells exactly like a cat litter box. I'll have to live with it for a couple days till it subsides. They rotate their air fresheners, so some weeks it's a decent smell, and other weeks it's catbox odor. I keep my door shut tight, but I can still smell it. There's no way to get rid of it and I can't think of any way to cover it up except by cooking cabbage, which would be only a slight improvement.
Maybe some berry pie? But I don't have any berries. Boil some Kool-aid? Don't have Kool-aid. Burn candles? Don't have any. Sprinkle laundry detergent on the floor? Put a bag over my head? Go for a long, long walk? Buy a disposable barbecue and burn it in my living room?
October 5, 2015
September Holiday
Most of September is a holiday or observance of some kind. Rosh HaShana, Gedaliah's Fast, Yom Kippur, Succot.
Today, October 5, was Simchat Torah. That is all the holidays till December 7, which is Hanukkah.
Psalm 98:
Today, October 5, was Simchat Torah. That is all the holidays till December 7, which is Hanukkah.
Psalm 98:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4H79WfGAWY |
September 8, 2015
Haze
A weird haze has settled over Jerusalem today. It's not humid enough to call it a mist. It looks a little like smoke, but I don't smell anything. I keep thinking my glasses are dirty, or my eyes are drier than usual, or my cataracts are getting worse. But it's just haze. Not gray enough to be smog, and not brown and gritty like a sandstorm.
Days like today I get an urge to do something different. I get tired of staying at home all the time, but I can't think of anything different to do. I guess I'll just have to do the ordinary stuff. So I guess that means I need to start washing dishes. That's pretty different, actually, since I haven't done any for 24 hours.
How can you take something extremely boring and ordinary and make something interesting about it? Sometimes by having something more interesting to look forward to doing later.
Let's see, I could look forward to eating that last piece of chocolate. But I eat chocolate almost every day anyway, so that's not really much different.
The only thing I can come up with is just to do the ordinary stuff as fast as possible, and eventually it will get interesting, or something will happen, or something.
Days like today I get an urge to do something different. I get tired of staying at home all the time, but I can't think of anything different to do. I guess I'll just have to do the ordinary stuff. So I guess that means I need to start washing dishes. That's pretty different, actually, since I haven't done any for 24 hours.
How can you take something extremely boring and ordinary and make something interesting about it? Sometimes by having something more interesting to look forward to doing later.
Let's see, I could look forward to eating that last piece of chocolate. But I eat chocolate almost every day anyway, so that's not really much different.
The only thing I can come up with is just to do the ordinary stuff as fast as possible, and eventually it will get interesting, or something will happen, or something.
August 28, 2015
Nothing to See
Since moving into a nicer apartment, I continually miss the old one. There's nothing new to see here. Since I can't walk very far, I can't see much besides buildings and same-o same-o.
The previous neighborhood had much more variety. I wish I could find a way to go back there and check out all the things that used to make life more interesting. There was a gorgeous white hollyhock that bloomed some years. There was a nice jade plant. Behind our apartment were some purple daisies. On one of the walls was a dense mat of pink flowers, and next to it some blue ones. By another wall at the edge of the sidewalk was some nice fumaria. There were roses of all kinds. I am not actually crazy about flowers, and especially roses, but when that's all there is, you appreciate them. I could show you where the prettiest pink-streaked roses are. And the single roses. And the two-tone roses. And the giant roses. And best of all, the most bestest-smelling rose. And white flowers with pink eyes trailing over a wooden fence. And the hugest cactus plant I have ever seen. And anchusa. And four-o-clocks. And the tame gray cat. And the fat yellow tame cat. And there were two parks within walking distance. One had a community garden where parents would bring kids and give them nature lessons. The other had a roundabout I could sit on and lazily coast around on it. And the great thing was that I could simply walk out my front door and be there. Here I have to go down the elevator, and not much to motivate me to do even that.
Here I have so far found an interesting redroot pigweed, only with better flowers then the wild weedy ones I've seen in the States. Not much else.
Lots of traffic. Late at night is when a few big trucks go through. And once in a while someone in a loud sportscar. I feel like telling him, "It takes that much noise to go just two blocks?" And lots of honking horns. I'm sure that if a tree fell across the road, everyone would sit there honking at it.
I am not actually complaining about the noise, though. At least it drowns out the ringing in my ears. It's just that there's nothing to balance out all the city stuff. Nothing soft, cozy, green, friendly. No pets, no lazy boy chair, or curtains, or carpet. No visitors. Nor is there a decent amount of junk mail. That's quite a handicap when you're trying to make a scrapbook and you don't have so much as a Wal-Mart ad.
And there are no thunderstorms, not much grass, no wind in the trees, no snakes, no rabbits. There's just a lot of nothing, everywhere you look.
Well that's enough of that. Next post I'll try to think of something more positive.
The previous neighborhood had much more variety. I wish I could find a way to go back there and check out all the things that used to make life more interesting. There was a gorgeous white hollyhock that bloomed some years. There was a nice jade plant. Behind our apartment were some purple daisies. On one of the walls was a dense mat of pink flowers, and next to it some blue ones. By another wall at the edge of the sidewalk was some nice fumaria. There were roses of all kinds. I am not actually crazy about flowers, and especially roses, but when that's all there is, you appreciate them. I could show you where the prettiest pink-streaked roses are. And the single roses. And the two-tone roses. And the giant roses. And best of all, the most bestest-smelling rose. And white flowers with pink eyes trailing over a wooden fence. And the hugest cactus plant I have ever seen. And anchusa. And four-o-clocks. And the tame gray cat. And the fat yellow tame cat. And there were two parks within walking distance. One had a community garden where parents would bring kids and give them nature lessons. The other had a roundabout I could sit on and lazily coast around on it. And the great thing was that I could simply walk out my front door and be there. Here I have to go down the elevator, and not much to motivate me to do even that.
Here I have so far found an interesting redroot pigweed, only with better flowers then the wild weedy ones I've seen in the States. Not much else.
Lots of traffic. Late at night is when a few big trucks go through. And once in a while someone in a loud sportscar. I feel like telling him, "It takes that much noise to go just two blocks?" And lots of honking horns. I'm sure that if a tree fell across the road, everyone would sit there honking at it.
I am not actually complaining about the noise, though. At least it drowns out the ringing in my ears. It's just that there's nothing to balance out all the city stuff. Nothing soft, cozy, green, friendly. No pets, no lazy boy chair, or curtains, or carpet. No visitors. Nor is there a decent amount of junk mail. That's quite a handicap when you're trying to make a scrapbook and you don't have so much as a Wal-Mart ad.
And there are no thunderstorms, not much grass, no wind in the trees, no snakes, no rabbits. There's just a lot of nothing, everywhere you look.
Well that's enough of that. Next post I'll try to think of something more positive.
August 25, 2015
Bugs
I think most monkeys and some insects are ugly. But even so, I hate watching them die. And I don't smash cockroaches. Sometimes I spray them, but I prefer to let them die on their own, out of sight. They never live more than three days anyway. Same with flies. Mosquitoes, on the other hand, I don't mind killing. But preferably I get a repeller (new word) that you plug in the wall and it disorients them so that they can't find you to bite you.
I was sleeping on a mattress on the floor once when a large cockroach crawled across my face. I must have been just awake enough to know that a large cockroach had crawled across my face. After that I was wide awake. I'm glad I don't sleep with my mouth open.
Once I sprayed a large cockroach that flew in my window. He/she immediately flew back out the window. Then I felt sad that I had poisoned him. It wasn't his fault that a building got in his flight path.
Come to think of it, we're on the third floor. Didn't realize cockroaches could fly so high.
I rarely see bees and butterflies here. Probably because it's a city. Whoever invented cities, anyway. But once I saw a dozen butterflies fluttering around a flowering bush. That gave me an idea--maybe I could fill my balcony with plants that attract butterflies. Or maybe I could see if I could attract birds with a bird feeder.
But my plants always die. And I never get out to buy anything.
Spiders vary in comeliness. Some are pretty nice, and some are fairly ugly. But you have to give them some credit for their handiwork. I was pretty disappointed to read Bunyan's comments about spiders. He makes them out all to be evil and poisonous. I prefer Gill's comments at http://biblehub.com/proverbs/30-28.htm and also the ones at http://www.onlythebible.com/Bible-Gems/Wisdom-of-the-Spider.html.
Some think the spider mentioned in Proverbs is a lizard and say it is easy to catch with your hands. Crazy. I've never come within two feet of catching one. Whether spider or lizard, you can make analogies to both good and bad. They are not always poisonous/venomous. Some lizards are poisonous, and many spiders are venomous but not dangerous. I wonder what spider soup tastes like. They say you have to use the right spices for each kind of spider.
Uh-oh. I just noticed a grammatical problem in that paragraph. "Whether spider or lizard, you...."
Which means that if you are a spider, and also if you are a lizard, you can make these analogies. I'm too lazy to try to fix that sentence.
I was sleeping on a mattress on the floor once when a large cockroach crawled across my face. I must have been just awake enough to know that a large cockroach had crawled across my face. After that I was wide awake. I'm glad I don't sleep with my mouth open.
Once I sprayed a large cockroach that flew in my window. He/she immediately flew back out the window. Then I felt sad that I had poisoned him. It wasn't his fault that a building got in his flight path.
Come to think of it, we're on the third floor. Didn't realize cockroaches could fly so high.
I rarely see bees and butterflies here. Probably because it's a city. Whoever invented cities, anyway. But once I saw a dozen butterflies fluttering around a flowering bush. That gave me an idea--maybe I could fill my balcony with plants that attract butterflies. Or maybe I could see if I could attract birds with a bird feeder.
But my plants always die. And I never get out to buy anything.
Spiders vary in comeliness. Some are pretty nice, and some are fairly ugly. But you have to give them some credit for their handiwork. I was pretty disappointed to read Bunyan's comments about spiders. He makes them out all to be evil and poisonous. I prefer Gill's comments at http://biblehub.com/proverbs/30-28.htm and also the ones at http://www.onlythebible.com/Bible-Gems/Wisdom-of-the-Spider.html.
Some think the spider mentioned in Proverbs is a lizard and say it is easy to catch with your hands. Crazy. I've never come within two feet of catching one. Whether spider or lizard, you can make analogies to both good and bad. They are not always poisonous/venomous. Some lizards are poisonous, and many spiders are venomous but not dangerous. I wonder what spider soup tastes like. They say you have to use the right spices for each kind of spider.
Uh-oh. I just noticed a grammatical problem in that paragraph. "Whether spider or lizard, you...."
Which means that if you are a spider, and also if you are a lizard, you can make these analogies. I'm too lazy to try to fix that sentence.
Helpful Books
Other books I have read that I consider to have been helpful are the Little House books. Regarded by some as "fiction," they are actually closely related to actual events, and the values taught in these books are endless. I especially enjoyed reading in "Farmer Boy" about Almanzo's efforts to train animals and the great patience it required. In "The First Four Years" you see how long you might have to persevere before a venture is successful. Each book takes place in a different location, each one supposedly better in some way than the previous. But whenever you move, you leave something behind, including some things that you will never find again. You hope that you are making some gain each time, but really it's no gain, it's just different, and what is required of you at the time.
A very helpful sermon is "A Memorial of the Deliverance of Essex County" by John Owen. The title is unfortunate. I would simple call it "Songs on Shigionoth." The first few pages are the best. I don't know if I ever got as far as Observation XXI, but I've read the first part several times. To read the whole thing in one or two sittings would be too much, but it's all good.
Just the other day I got considerable help from the second part of Pilgrim's Progress. I have never really cared for that book, but this time I found some applicable portions. When I first read the book, when I was quite young, I was completely confused by the fact that some of the characters that Pilgrim met, who traveled on the same road with him, seemed not to be Christians at all. Since they were on the same road, I assumed that they had come through the wicket gate, but I missed the fact that some of them had climbed over the wall. I should probably re-read it sometime and see if I can get it all straight this time, but it's hard to get interested. I do better just to read it in bits and pieces.
A very helpful sermon is "A Memorial of the Deliverance of Essex County" by John Owen. The title is unfortunate. I would simple call it "Songs on Shigionoth." The first few pages are the best. I don't know if I ever got as far as Observation XXI, but I've read the first part several times. To read the whole thing in one or two sittings would be too much, but it's all good.
Just the other day I got considerable help from the second part of Pilgrim's Progress. I have never really cared for that book, but this time I found some applicable portions. When I first read the book, when I was quite young, I was completely confused by the fact that some of the characters that Pilgrim met, who traveled on the same road with him, seemed not to be Christians at all. Since they were on the same road, I assumed that they had come through the wicket gate, but I missed the fact that some of them had climbed over the wall. I should probably re-read it sometime and see if I can get it all straight this time, but it's hard to get interested. I do better just to read it in bits and pieces.
Peeves
One of my pet peeves -- no, let's don't call it a pet, because I'd like to kick him out the door -- but anyway it's when people are so sure they know what you think that they don't listen to what you say. And sometimes, even if they are listening, they think you said what they thought you thought, even if it is totally opposite.
Invitation to readers -- what are your pet peeves?
Invitation to readers -- what are your pet peeves?
Clouds -- Not Boring
Clouds in Jersualem. In August. Clouds! In August!
I never know how much I like clouds until I have to do without them for a long time.
I remember when we moved to Dallas and there was blue sky every day for many days in a row. At first it was nice--Indiana had too many gray days. But one day I looked at the clear blue sky and said, "Blue sky. How boring."
In Israel, too, blue sky can be boring. Relief could be found by going outdoors at night to look at the moon. But in the city you don't so often get a good look at the moon. What a pity.
Now after a phrase such as "how nice!" or "how awful!" you normally put an exclamation point. "How boring" is the same type of sentence, grammatically speaking, but somehow it doesn't seem right to put an exclamation point after the word BORING. Boredom just isn't that exciting.
A saying from German, "If you're not a socialist at age 20, you don't have a heart. If you're a socialist at age 40, you don't have a brain."
I never know how much I like clouds until I have to do without them for a long time.
I remember when we moved to Dallas and there was blue sky every day for many days in a row. At first it was nice--Indiana had too many gray days. But one day I looked at the clear blue sky and said, "Blue sky. How boring."
In Israel, too, blue sky can be boring. Relief could be found by going outdoors at night to look at the moon. But in the city you don't so often get a good look at the moon. What a pity.
Now after a phrase such as "how nice!" or "how awful!" you normally put an exclamation point. "How boring" is the same type of sentence, grammatically speaking, but somehow it doesn't seem right to put an exclamation point after the word BORING. Boredom just isn't that exciting.
A saying from German, "If you're not a socialist at age 20, you don't have a heart. If you're a socialist at age 40, you don't have a brain."
June 18, 2015
Helpful Books
Among other helpful books I have read are:
John Bunyan - The Holy War
Calvin's Institutes
A very helpful sermon that I think everyone should read is:
How to bring your heart to bear reproofs - John Owen.
John Bunyan - The Holy War
Calvin's Institutes
A very helpful sermon that I think everyone should read is:
How to bring your heart to bear reproofs - John Owen.
June 16, 2015
Morning
It's called morning when the sky begins to lighten. So it's not exactly morning. But I couldn't sleep so I got up.
Or it's called morning if you're Al and you're getting up to go to school, even though it's not yet 5 a.m.
Why do I feel like blogging when I have absolutely nothing to say? Why have I nothing to say? Is it because nothing ever happens and I never do anything? How do people stay on their phones and on Facebook so much, as if they have a wonderful group of friends to keep up with? Or do you just get on Facebook and say, Look at me, and people do if you're clever, informative, or entertaining.
Life is so hum-drum. I think of myself as total failure. Or at least not very useful. I dabble in many things but I have nothing to show for it. Yesterday I failed again in another worse way. How tiresome it is to be me. Always spinning my wheels. People ask me, what do you do? and I can't really say.
Yesterday I had a rare moment of being useful. Or maybe I should say, feeling useful. I made pizza. It was a fairly good pizza. Maybe I'll have another useful moment this year.
Come to think of it, I wrote another tune, so that was useful. But I have had to withdraw some of my earlier ones because they weren't very good.
We moved to a new apartment not far from our old one. It is much better in many ways, but it has some drawbacks. Like the terribly noisy traffic that starts at six a.m. and goes till midnight. I dream of insulating my bedroom with sponge-type wall-paper. Then I'd have to somehow fix the window, which is where most of the sound comes in. Or I could keep a candle burning to drive away sound. Oh, whoops, candles don't drive away sound.
A giant cockroach crawled across the floor. He is a very useful creature. He gave me the opportunity not to smash him, and I took it.
Or it's called morning if you're Al and you're getting up to go to school, even though it's not yet 5 a.m.
Why do I feel like blogging when I have absolutely nothing to say? Why have I nothing to say? Is it because nothing ever happens and I never do anything? How do people stay on their phones and on Facebook so much, as if they have a wonderful group of friends to keep up with? Or do you just get on Facebook and say, Look at me, and people do if you're clever, informative, or entertaining.
Life is so hum-drum. I think of myself as total failure. Or at least not very useful. I dabble in many things but I have nothing to show for it. Yesterday I failed again in another worse way. How tiresome it is to be me. Always spinning my wheels. People ask me, what do you do? and I can't really say.
Yesterday I had a rare moment of being useful. Or maybe I should say, feeling useful. I made pizza. It was a fairly good pizza. Maybe I'll have another useful moment this year.
Come to think of it, I wrote another tune, so that was useful. But I have had to withdraw some of my earlier ones because they weren't very good.
We moved to a new apartment not far from our old one. It is much better in many ways, but it has some drawbacks. Like the terribly noisy traffic that starts at six a.m. and goes till midnight. I dream of insulating my bedroom with sponge-type wall-paper. Then I'd have to somehow fix the window, which is where most of the sound comes in. Or I could keep a candle burning to drive away sound. Oh, whoops, candles don't drive away sound.
A giant cockroach crawled across the floor. He is a very useful creature. He gave me the opportunity not to smash him, and I took it.
May 13, 2015
Books
What books have you read that you have found helpful in your Christian walk?
I'll start with these:
Hinds Feet on High Places -- Hannah Hurnard
Saving Faith - Arthur Pink
I'll start with these:
Hinds Feet on High Places -- Hannah Hurnard
Saving Faith - Arthur Pink
May 12, 2015
Holidays
There are many holidays in Israel. Too many. And they're not evenly spread. In April there were Passover, Holocaust Memorial Day, Memorial Day, and Independence Day (known as Disaster Day in some circles).
Along a street near us is a stone wall, (actually most streets are lined with stone walls, because of the terrain) and in that wall is built a placque to a fallen soldier. I noticed around Independence Day that someone had placed a wreath by it, and there were some candles burning by it. A nice thing to do. I was thinking of buying some of those little candles once, because I like candles. But then I noticed that some of these candles say "Soul Candle," and I realized and remembered that some people actually pray for the dead here.
They also say that if you say prayers by the grave of a Righteous One your prayers will have more merit.
"There is one God and one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus."
In May there will be Shavuot, or the Feast of Weeks.
Along a street near us is a stone wall, (actually most streets are lined with stone walls, because of the terrain) and in that wall is built a placque to a fallen soldier. I noticed around Independence Day that someone had placed a wreath by it, and there were some candles burning by it. A nice thing to do. I was thinking of buying some of those little candles once, because I like candles. But then I noticed that some of these candles say "Soul Candle," and I realized and remembered that some people actually pray for the dead here.
They also say that if you say prayers by the grave of a Righteous One your prayers will have more merit.
"There is one God and one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus."
In May there will be Shavuot, or the Feast of Weeks.
May
Then there's May. If it hasn't rained for three weeks, you can look back and say, "Summer began three weeks ago." Unless it rains today. Then summer begins tomorrow. Because surely that was the last rain of the winter. But the only way you know it was the last one is by waiting for the next one, and as long as the next one doesn't come, then it's summer.
April
Generally you don't think of Israel as having four seasons. It's just winter or summer. But you could say that April in Israel must be what's considered spring in some parts of the world. You feel like summer's coming, and you get your hopes up, but then there's more cold rain, and some hail, and you realize it isn't quite summer. But there are a few warm days interspersed, and certain flowers and trees bloom, and you know summer does have to come eventually.
January 16, 2015
Get Charged
In Israel a battery charger (charges 4 double A's) costs $30. No, actually they cost $60. First you buy one, lose it, spend three days looking for it, buy another one, then find the first one.
Where did this whole dreary day go, anyway. Oh, I remember. I was researching language programs. I was trying to decide whether to study Rocket German or Transparent Russian. I wasn't impressed with either, but then beginning lessons are always pretty dull. So for the time being I guess I will study neither.
There are an average of 12 rain days in Jerusalem during January and February. After that it tapers off to zero rain days in May, June, July, and August. Today it rained off an on, but the sun came out for a few minutes.
January 15, 2015
Not a Chemist Nor a Cook
Mixing several small bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel didn't produce any strange gases. I assume they're all pretty much the same thing.
Mixing several strange Indian spices to make some tasty snacks didn't produce anything either. Because I don't have any of those spices. Nor do I know where to find them in Israel. And besides, looking at recipes makes me sleepy, too sleepy to cook.
This week's winding down. Surely there has to be more to life than this. If I can't think of anything more interesting to do tomorrow, I will....uh....
play computer games -- NOT
sleep -- not much
clean house -- not much
write dismal poetry -- Possibly
do all my usual studies -- Maybe
cook -- NOT
work a puzzle -- NOT
get depressed -- well, of course
exercise -- YES
write music -- ONLY if I can get organized
get organized -- NOT
dry clothes one at a time on the heater -- YES
check my e-mail 15 times -- maybe twice
go somewhere -- Impossible
wait for something to happen
and wait
and wait
and wait
Mixing several strange Indian spices to make some tasty snacks didn't produce anything either. Because I don't have any of those spices. Nor do I know where to find them in Israel. And besides, looking at recipes makes me sleepy, too sleepy to cook.
This week's winding down. Surely there has to be more to life than this. If I can't think of anything more interesting to do tomorrow, I will....uh....
play computer games -- NOT
sleep -- not much
clean house -- not much
write dismal poetry -- Possibly
do all my usual studies -- Maybe
cook -- NOT
work a puzzle -- NOT
get depressed -- well, of course
exercise -- YES
write music -- ONLY if I can get organized
get organized -- NOT
dry clothes one at a time on the heater -- YES
check my e-mail 15 times -- maybe twice
go somewhere -- Impossible
wait for something to happen
and wait
and wait
and wait
January 14, 2015
Saul, Son of a Year
1 Samuel 13 KJV "Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,"
The note in my Bible says "one year in his reigning."
You can read many translations that change "one" to "thirty" or "forty," and some translations leave a blank. Some change "two" to "forty-two." If you go to Bible Hub and read several commentaries, you can find several explanations for this, including some really bad ones, such as "errors in the original manuscripts," so they start speculating on what numbers really belong there. Or they'll say that "son of a year" means he was like a child, while others say it means he was an adult. (?!)
But you really don't have to go to great lengths to understand this verse. You can simply read David Kimchi. Or if you don't read Hebrew, you can trust the Authorized Version. The language in Hebrew is very simple -- "son of a year in his reigning." Either he was one year old, OR, as is obviously the case here, he had reigned one year. The expression is commonly used today to say a person has been in office or in a position for one year. A good commentary gives good explanations as to why these first two years are listed separately from his total reign.
So I got curious and checked several other translations to see which ones changed "one" to "thirty" or "forty." The New American Standard, Revised Standard, NIV, ESV, French, Portuguese, Romanian, and Hungarian Bibles and many others say "thirty" (sometimes in italics), or "forty" or leave a blank.
The Reina-Valera, Statenvertaling, Authorized Version, Geneva, Young's Literal, New King James, Russian Synodal and Ukrainian Bibles have it correct.
The note in my Bible says "one year in his reigning."
You can read many translations that change "one" to "thirty" or "forty," and some translations leave a blank. Some change "two" to "forty-two." If you go to Bible Hub and read several commentaries, you can find several explanations for this, including some really bad ones, such as "errors in the original manuscripts," so they start speculating on what numbers really belong there. Or they'll say that "son of a year" means he was like a child, while others say it means he was an adult. (?!)
But you really don't have to go to great lengths to understand this verse. You can simply read David Kimchi. Or if you don't read Hebrew, you can trust the Authorized Version. The language in Hebrew is very simple -- "son of a year in his reigning." Either he was one year old, OR, as is obviously the case here, he had reigned one year. The expression is commonly used today to say a person has been in office or in a position for one year. A good commentary gives good explanations as to why these first two years are listed separately from his total reign.
So I got curious and checked several other translations to see which ones changed "one" to "thirty" or "forty." The New American Standard, Revised Standard, NIV, ESV, French, Portuguese, Romanian, and Hungarian Bibles and many others say "thirty" (sometimes in italics), or "forty" or leave a blank.
The Reina-Valera, Statenvertaling, Authorized Version, Geneva, Young's Literal, New King James, Russian Synodal and Ukrainian Bibles have it correct.
January 13, 2015
The Sabbath, the Lord's Day
There is really only one Sabbath Day per week, but in a world where hardly anyone anywhere keeps any kind of Sabbath, you appreciate it when Christians keep any Sabbath, including Saturday, as is done in Israel. But there is one fold, one Shepherd, and no middle wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles. So how can there be two Sabbath days?
But I am not actually interested in debate over which is the correct day. I would just like to find any kind of information on why and how to keep the Sabbath day. I have rarely ever read any good articles on the Sabbath. There is one book, Market Day of the Soul, Dennison.
"Keeping" the Sabbath is immediately labeled as legalism by some. In fact, there are those who say you are a legalist every time you use the word "should." You "should" get some rest for your body every night, but that doesn't make you a legalist if you do. I would say I "should not" stay up past midnight if I want to be healthy, and I "should not" tell lies, and I "should" get my Bible out and read it, and often when I don't really feel like doing it, but I am not a legalist. I might even make a few rules for myself, or have certain methods, for the sake of order and productivity, but that doesn't make me a legalist or a methodist.
But I am not actually interested in debate over which is the correct day. I would just like to find any kind of information on why and how to keep the Sabbath day. I have rarely ever read any good articles on the Sabbath. There is one book, Market Day of the Soul, Dennison.
"Keeping" the Sabbath is immediately labeled as legalism by some. In fact, there are those who say you are a legalist every time you use the word "should." You "should" get some rest for your body every night, but that doesn't make you a legalist if you do. I would say I "should not" stay up past midnight if I want to be healthy, and I "should not" tell lies, and I "should" get my Bible out and read it, and often when I don't really feel like doing it, but I am not a legalist. I might even make a few rules for myself, or have certain methods, for the sake of order and productivity, but that doesn't make me a legalist or a methodist.
January 12, 2015
Getting Things Done
After a couple days of rain, the sun comes out for a bit. The water heater is fixed--well, mostly--it does produce hot water now. But the control mechanism is still hanging out of the wall, partially held in place with tape.
My computer has its ups and downs. Sometimes it starts up and then stalls. To unstall it, you can unplug the printer and then restart, or you can unscrew the plug from the monitor, or you can just jiggle the box. One day the keyboard quit working, and the solution was the same, unplug something and restart. I guess I better get busy on backing up in case something worse happens.
I read Dave Allen's book on getting things done, and it seemed okay as far as it went, but I still don't know how to get things done. I think the problem is deciding on relative importance. There should be both minimums and maximums for various projects. It's easy enough to stay busy. But how to get lots of little distractions out of the way to free up time for a big project, that is the question. I spend most of my time trying to get organized or to get ready for the big project I really want to do. But the littler ones can't be eliminated entirely, and there are a lot of them.
And after all is said and done, more is said than done.
My computer has its ups and downs. Sometimes it starts up and then stalls. To unstall it, you can unplug the printer and then restart, or you can unscrew the plug from the monitor, or you can just jiggle the box. One day the keyboard quit working, and the solution was the same, unplug something and restart. I guess I better get busy on backing up in case something worse happens.
I read Dave Allen's book on getting things done, and it seemed okay as far as it went, but I still don't know how to get things done. I think the problem is deciding on relative importance. There should be both minimums and maximums for various projects. It's easy enough to stay busy. But how to get lots of little distractions out of the way to free up time for a big project, that is the question. I spend most of my time trying to get organized or to get ready for the big project I really want to do. But the littler ones can't be eliminated entirely, and there are a lot of them.
And after all is said and done, more is said than done.
January 9, 2015
Snow At Last
Maybe an inch. But it looks so nice that it's almost worth getting cold and wet for a minute or two just to look at it. Everything shuts down. Most roads leading in and out of the city are closed. Meetings are canceled. Someone said there are several bags of salt at the corner, but since it's Shabbat, they're just going to sit there.
It really isn't an emergency, one inch of snow. But why not just sit back and take it easy?
Actually not quite as easy as it could be. Can't take a warm shower when the water heater isn't working. And there's no popcorn. But there is a chocolate bar in the fridge. Just in case I get too stressed.
It really isn't an emergency, one inch of snow. But why not just sit back and take it easy?
Actually not quite as easy as it could be. Can't take a warm shower when the water heater isn't working. And there's no popcorn. But there is a chocolate bar in the fridge. Just in case I get too stressed.
January 7, 2015
No Popcorn
It's here, whatever it is. Not a snowstorm. High winds for two days, cold air, a couple crashes of thunder, rain/snow (nothing accumulating), and misery.
Who would ever go out on a day like this?
And who could stay home without being miserable.
At the beginning of a storm you appreciate your nice warm house. But soon you fall into gloom. What can you do? Pop popcorn? If I ever get a chance I'll have to get some, to be prepared for the next gloomy day.
It's only 6:40 p.m. and it feels like it's been 9:30 p.m. all day.
Who would ever go out on a day like this?
And who could stay home without being miserable.
At the beginning of a storm you appreciate your nice warm house. But soon you fall into gloom. What can you do? Pop popcorn? If I ever get a chance I'll have to get some, to be prepared for the next gloomy day.
It's only 6:40 p.m. and it feels like it's been 9:30 p.m. all day.
January 6, 2015
Big Snowstorm
Everybody's getting ready just in case. But it may never happen. We have enough groceries, matches and candles. Not much else you can do.
Just discovered that the bedroom windows are in backwards. No wonder Al has been complaining about the room being drafty. That must have happened several months ago when we took the windows out to clean them. Once they are put into the correct slots, there is a latch that helps seal them off.
It's hard to believe it will really snow. But if it does, it will take a way a tiny bit of the monotony.
January 5, 2015
Food in Israel
And, by the way, the hamburger doesn't smell very beefy while it's cooking. Instead, it slightly resembles chicken. But I'm going to smother it with tomato sauce and add spices, so it doesn't really matter.
Cashews -- $12 a pound. But that's at an average corner store. At a good market you could probably get them for much less. I don't know because I don't get out much.
Lima beans -- I haven't seen any here. They have broad beans and some others, but not limas. And when the menu in a restaurant says green beans, you get red beans. I don't know if they even know what green beans are. But I have tasted some really, really good green (red) bean soup.
Blackened olives -- that's what they're called. So are they black olives? Yes, but no. They look black, but taste green. And not a very good green.
Pickles -- you can get them in salt or in vinegar. Only the vinegar kind tastes right to me.
A quick way to figure prices is to divide by eight. So if it says 20 shekels per kilo, that's $2.50 per pound. I have no clue about pounds or euros.
Tortillas and taco shells. I keep forgetting to look for them. I have never noticed any, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. Maybe they're hiding behind the pita bread.
But you know what the main problem is with food in Israel? There aren't any of my family here to eat it with.
Cashews -- $12 a pound. But that's at an average corner store. At a good market you could probably get them for much less. I don't know because I don't get out much.
Lima beans -- I haven't seen any here. They have broad beans and some others, but not limas. And when the menu in a restaurant says green beans, you get red beans. I don't know if they even know what green beans are. But I have tasted some really, really good green (red) bean soup.
Blackened olives -- that's what they're called. So are they black olives? Yes, but no. They look black, but taste green. And not a very good green.
Pickles -- you can get them in salt or in vinegar. Only the vinegar kind tastes right to me.
A quick way to figure prices is to divide by eight. So if it says 20 shekels per kilo, that's $2.50 per pound. I have no clue about pounds or euros.
Tortillas and taco shells. I keep forgetting to look for them. I have never noticed any, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. Maybe they're hiding behind the pita bread.
But you know what the main problem is with food in Israel? There aren't any of my family here to eat it with.
Home Again
Back to Israeli eggs, e.g., STALE. Guess I'll eat them scrambled from now on.
Back to Israeli meat prices. Eight dollars a pound for hamburger.
But anyway, I'm home, which is good.
January 3, 2015
No Jet Lag
I just realized that I stayed awake for 32 hours straight!! Well, except a half dozen catnaps of 15 minutes or less. I can't remember what I did all that time. Mostly squirm in my seat with pains in one leg and twitches in the other. I took two drinks every time they offered them; but even so, you can get pretty dehydrated on a plane. I heard pieces of a conversation in Spanish, including words like Cuba, Castro, millionaires, billionaires, London, Greece, family, invest, married, earn, learn Spanish, one morning, many times, excuses, Socrates, Hippocrates, students, and "dya know what I mean?" Apparently "dya- know-what-I-mean" is a Spanish word.
I caught glimpses of other passengers' movies, (from a distance with no sound) which got me analyzing camera techniques and stupid plots, and the unrealness of super-heroes, and the non-glory of being one.
I tried to watch an informational video or two, but even there, the camera-work was annoying. If I hadn't been raised on books and developed a longer span of attention, I'm sure my brain would never have developed. I don't get a thrill out of many short close-ups. I always want to see the larger picture, and how everything fits together. Or I need time to examine what I'm looking at, so as to find what I am interested in, rather than receive impressions forced on me in flashes. The only thing I remember from it all is a close-up of water running in a stream, and wondering where the stream came from, where it went, how the rocks in the stream affected the water flow, what kinds of plants grew along the banks, etc. But they don't want you to look closely or think or analyze.
I don't get jet lag. I find it too complicated. So when it's dark I lie in bed in the dark, tossing and turning and maybe sleeping. When it's daylight, if I happen to wake up, I try to keep my eyes open as much as possible, never minding if I feel a little sick, taking short naps if necessary. After all, the sun rules. Body clocks can reset themselves. I'm not in the habit of looking at the clock anyway.
First thing I notice when I walk in the house is the mold smell. It will have to be aired as soon as possible. Next is that the living room light has no shade on it. Al didn't know what happened to it. I remember now--just before I left it melted and cracked and I threw it away. So now there are no shades on any of the lights in the house. They tend to melt or make the bulbs burn out faster. Next thing I notice is that my plants have nearly died, but maybe they'll revive. They're the slow kind--slow to grow, slow to die, so months go by before they change much.
Fortunately my suitcase that got left in Frankfurt arrived today. There is plenty to do. Just ordinary housekeeping-type stuff, but it's my own place, which can make it interesting or satisfying.
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