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.
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