fall/winter, birds, plants, starving, r's

When to blog?

When you have something interesting to say or show.

When you are bored and have nothing else to do.

When you are making a transition.

That's what today is. It's a transition from summer into fall/winter. No, it's actually too late to get ready for winter. It's here and I'm not ready. I knew this would happen, and I kept trying to put it out of my mind. But today I have to go downtown in the cold and it will probably rain and I don't know where my winter sweater is. And I'm not in the mood for tackling cold weather.

I feel rather like cleaning house. The kind of house cleaning where it gets worse before it gets better. The first day you take everything that's not in the right place and put it in the middle of the room. Then you clean everything that you have room to clean, and gradually you start sorting and putting things back, but that usually takes another day or two. As time goes on, your enthusiasm starts to wane, but you excuse yourself by saying, "It's x% better than it was. And that leaves only x% to do, which isn't much." Although actually the last 15% is harder than the first 85%, and at least half of that will never get done.

Fall/winter shows itself in not-terribly-obvious ways. The sycamore trees are shades of yellow, green and brown. Lots of other trees are their usual dull-green color. The neighbors' pomegranate tree is gold. The other neighbors' bougainvillea continues to bloom, as it almost always does, without any regard for other plants around it that would like to grow if given the chance. Bougainvilleas are like large furry dogs. They're quite lovable if kept in line. But if they aren't, they can be annoying. Licking you in the face, smacking you with their wagging tail. Doghair is nice on the dog, but not on the furniture. Magenta-colored bougainvillea blossoms aren't so nice when they're swallowing up apple trees and other useful plants.

In between the colorful or not-so-colorful trees are all the nice or not-so-nice apartment buildings. How can you get excited about an apartment building? The apartment buildings around here are well-designed and, for apartment buildings, nice to look at. The buildings are all similar enough to go well together, but there is some variety in shape, windows, balconies, and trim color. But still, a building is a building, and an apartment building gives you no indication as to the character or personality of the people that live in it. Maybe that's just as well, who knows.

Watching birds. A dozen or so birds fly to the sidewalk from the low branches of a sycamore tree. One second later a dozen fly from the sidewalk to the tree. This happens over and over again. I wish I could get close enough to see what they're doing.

A white-spectacled, yellow-vented Bulbul comes to my balcony now and then. He pecks the leaves off my Solanum. So far it hasn't hurt the Solanum too much. I need to plant more so as to maybe get more birds.

I have three different types of Haworthia. One for a long time was dark, nearly black and hardly growing. I brought it in from the sun for a day or two, as I often have to do with the other Haworthias, but it didn't recover. Finally I brought it in for about two weeks, and now it's starting to turn a little bit green.

There is no Thanksgiving-Christmas here. Which means there are no family gatherings. This seems wrong somehow. I was tempted to buy some toothpicks and some styrofoam balls and make a little Christmas tree, just for old times' sake. Really old, like more than 50 years. Yet I am not really interested in Christmas or Christmas trees. It's just the association of this particular craft with family and good times. When I was a little girl my father bought me some toothpicks and styrofoam and I made my first tree. The next year I/we did the same thing, with some improvements. Each year my tree got better. Toothpicks and styrofoam balls don't interest me now, but I remember doing crafts often, and it was fun to have my father interested in my crafts.

There is a little craft store near where I am going today, and I like to look at the little kits that are fun to do when you are a kid. I really crave something like that now, but I haven't seen anything I really want, and it seems kind of a waste of time. Painting something would be nice, but I don't know how to paint pictures, just walls. And I don't think I'm up to painting walls, especially since our ceilings are a bit high and I don't care to stand on a ladder. Using a long-handled roller would be a bit strenuous for me now, and you still have to get on a ladder to do a neat edge.

I think I am about starved for something creative. Do I dare start laying out scraps for a quilt? I have five quilts back in the U.S. I would like to bring over and finish. But meanwhile I am Starved. Starved. Starved. And Starved.

I guess I'll have to console myself by rolling my r's. This is my latest accomplishment. You never get too old to learn something new. The ability to roll r's is NOT HEREDITARY. I looked at a number of You-Tube videos and tried all kinds of things, and finally I found something that works. Brrrr is a bit difficult, but Drrrr works pretty well. I can even roll my r's while doing my do-mi-so exercise!!! So there!

Song of the Grasses

As usual, I can't decide which I like best, so here are two versions. This is not a New Year song, it's just a nice song. I can appreciate grass and shepherds, since we once raised sheep. There is no grass where we live now. We live in an apartment in a city in a very stony country. Will I ever find anything as nice as grass in this hard country?

The first, tenor voice, Hezy Levy, slow, with good guitar accompaniment.

The second, deeper voice, with piano and other instruments, nice grass pictures.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ycmxzrHoooE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-6m6CKOdC4

"The Song of the Grasses" by Naomi Shemer

Know that each and every shepherd has his own tune.
Know that each and every grass has its own song.
And from the song of the grasses the tune of the shepherd is made.

How beautiful, how beautiful and pleasant to hear their song.
It's very good to pray among them and to serve Hashem in joy
And from the song of the grasses the heart is filled and yearns.

And when the the heart is filled by the song and yearns for the Land of Israel
A great light is drawn forth and goes from the Land's holiness unto it.
And from the song of the grasses the tune of the heart is made.

We Are Your People - Ki Anu Amecha

Another song for the upcoming season.
Translation is included.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K05npNxa8lg

I love maps

You can search images online for "Peters map projection"and find a map of the world with countries sized according to land area. Even this map is a little misleading, though, because Russia and Canada are stretched out into narrow shapes that make them appear smaller than they are.

Another cool map is one that shows countries sized according to their population. Over a third of the word's people live in China and India. This one is from businessinsider.com

Another kind of map I can imagine making is a map of the world that preserved both shapes and sizes of countries by dividing up the oceans. You could make it out of some sort of cloth with pile, with higher or denser pile for the denser population areas. You could provide a blank globe and you could practice putting the pieces on in the right place (would need some way to make them stick).

Some old maps were not meant to be accurate, but were works of art. Like this one with Jerusalem as the center of the world.

 

 

And while we're on the subject of making maps to play with, how about a flat map with countries the right size, and some kind of tokens to put on each one to show population. The most densely populated country would have to have just enough space for the tokens.



 

Ben Adam Ma Lecha Nirdam

Another song for the season.

group singing, no instruments

http://web.nli.org.il/sites/nlis/he/Song/Pages/song.aspx?songid=296#1,13,480,11

Rough translation:

Son of man, why do you slumber? Come and present words of petition.
Pour out conversation, seek forgiveness, from the Lord of lords.
Wash and purify yourself, do not tarry, for the days will soon pass
And quickly run for help, before the One who dwells on high.
And from sin and evil flee, and fear those who may ensnare you.
Please listen to those who know Your name, Israel, your faithful.
For thine, O God, is the justice, and ours is shame of face.

Stand like a man, be valiant to confess your sins.
Seek the Lord God, with a bowed head, to atone for transgressions
Since forever, wonders will not cease from before our eyes-
And any word which may be uttered, before Him will be read
The Merciful one will have mercy, as a father has mercy on his children.
For thine, O God, is the justice, and ours is shame of face.

Adon haSelichot

Another song sung at this time of year.

This is an anacrostic piyut.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GfsXUt-3Ns
With pictures and translation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0C8fb8eFDc
Simple

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4wg1xFUopg
Interesting music style.

Very rough translation:
א Lord of forgiveness,
ב Examiner of hearts,  
ג Who unveils the depths,
ד Speaker of justice,
We have sinned before you, have mercy on us.
ה Glorious in wonders,
ו Great in consolations,
ז Remembering the covenant made with the forefathers,
ח Searching the reins,
We have sinned before you, have mercy on us.
ט Good and kind to all the created,
י Knower of all that is hidden,
כ Conquering iniquity,
ל Clothed in righteousness,
We have sinned before you, have mercy on us.
מ Full of merit,
נ Fearful in praises,
ס Forgiving iniquity,
ע Hearing in the time of trouble,
We have sinned before you, have mercy on us.
פ Working out salvations,
צ Seeing into the future,
ק Calling the generations,
ר Riding on the clouds,
ש Hearing prayers,
ת Perfect in knowledge,
We have sinned before you, have mercy on us.

Avinu Malkeinu

There are two songs by this name. This is the short and simple one. It is often sung around Rosh HaShana, which is Oct 3 and 4 this year. I couldn't decide which version I like best, so I'm listing all three.

One with organ and choir.

One as sung in a synagogue.

A lighter version, with the Hebrew words, Spanish transliteration, and Spanish translation, with accordion accompaniment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8y3jPuzV8c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqNJgL3fle0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NMzYJMEiEE

Avinu Malkenu
Chanenu va'anenu
Avinu malkenu
Chanenu va'anenu
Ki ein banu ma'asim
Asseh imanu tsedaka vechesed
Asseh imanu tsedaka vechesed vehoshienu

Our father our king
Be gracious unto us and answer us
Our father our king
Be gracious unto us and answer us
For we have no good deeds of our own
Deal with us in justice and in kindness
Deal with us in justice and in kindness
And save us.