We're home. yay. We had a wonderful time.
Need to watch women college basketball tonight (Tenn vs N. Carolina and then UCONN vs Duke), and am too tired to share all the good times, but I will.
Took TONS of pics and will have them posted soon, too.
Wow... it's nice to be home and I can't wait to sleep in my own bed.
Linda & I went with my brother David to rent a van in Jerusalem this morning. It's about a half hour drive thru the Isreali countryside where he pointed out various religious sites which signified certain historical events. I have to admit that as much as he writes about this stuff on his blog, it's very different being here and seeing things first hand.
Like being at an intersection in the outskirts of Jerusalem and seeing a herd of sheep being led down a normal 2 lane road with traffic lights and many cars. I'm not kidding. And the cars drive by ignoring them and the sheep and the shephard ignore the cars driving by. I wish I'd had my camera.
We left the car rental place sporting a 7 passsenger Kia van (beige) - - oh yes, we were 'stylin', yes we were!
Went back to the homestead and picked up everyone except Ari, Cheryl & Yonah. And back to Jerusalem we went, first hitting a nice cafe for lunch called Cafe Hillel. It was crowded but being the huge tourist crowd that we are, we had them moving patrons around so we could put 3 tables together for us to sit together! Great sandwiches, yogurts and salads were had by all. This was in the German area, which we may head back into for lunch again tomorrow.
From there, we got back into the car and van accordingly and headed to the "Old City" - the really holy area of Jerusalam. I have to say that I'd been really looking forward to seeing this. David offered a lot of information as we entered and explained all the different areas that are there (i.e. Muslim, Christian and Jewish). There were many shops (called Shukkas - know this is probably spelled wrong, but too lazy to look it up!) that sell everything from tools, to shoes, to clothes, to baseball hats, to anything that you can think of) We passed thru as we planned on shopping on the way out.
At the other end of the path thru all the shops, we finally came into a huge clearing and we were up many levels of stairs (stairs here are a way of life as we go up and down them all over the place... our calves are killing us!) so we could see down below us on this huge area of space all kinds of people milling around, talking, sitting, getting married (we saw at least 2 brides there in full gowns!) and at the far side of the open space was... the Wall. It was just breathtaking.
The security was set up very similar to the airport to get into this are once you got down the stairs to the ground level. We had to take cameras and cell phones off and walk thru a metal detector and if you had any bags with you, they had to go thru the x-ray machine on a conveyer belt. We all passed - even my Dad who had to take his pocket knife out of his pocket and they gave it back to him after he passed thru the metal detector! (I guess that wasn't threatening!!!) We gathered all of our belongings and headed out towards the Wall.
The great Western Wall (Wailing Wall) was in front of us. It was a very spiritual place to me. I was awestruck looking at it. Then David, Gilad & Jesse (my sisters' husband) all went to the guys side and us women folk headed for the women side.
Anyway, Linda, my sister and I were all in shorts. My Mom was in capris. Sophie had a long skirt and a t-shirt on, and Maisie had shorts and a t-shirt on and Noa had a dress on. We approached the 'women's side of the Wailing Wall and were greeted by a woman waving scarves at us and black skirts to put on. My Mom took Sophie & Noa up to the wall since they were all dressed appropriately. My sister didn't want to approach the wall. She said she could see it just fine.
I took some pictures, but I really wanted to go to the wall and touch it. So after realizing that the crazy women waving scarves and skirts weren't selling them, but rather loaning them to the people, I bit the bullet and had them put a long black wrap-around skirt on me to cover my cargo dyke shorts and they put one on Linda, too! Then, we took Sophie & Maisie up to the wall with us and got some pictures of us touching the wall. There were pieces of paper in the crackes of the wall, where people had written their prayers down and put them in the wall, hoping that this sacred place would enhance their chances of being heard or answered. It was a moving experience for me - more than I would have expected, but then again, not. Kind of hard to explain.
I would have been very disappointed if I hadn't gone up to the wall, so I'm very glad that I got that chance.
We then headed back, going thru the shops, buying sandals, dresses for the kids, scarves for the kids, etc... We also took a quick stroll thru the Christian area just to see how different it was from the Jewish area. (There weren't many stores and there seemed to be a lot of Italian or dark looking men.)
We then got back in the car and van and headed back to David's. We had pizza for dinner and planned the next day, which will have the visiting Bogner sisters and their families heading to the German section of Jersualem for lunch and roaming around. Cheryl & David and the kids have things to do for the Bat Mitzvah (happening on Sat night) and my parents are gonna hang out here and rest after running all around since they got here.
Someone asked me the date today and I had no idea. What a great feeling. I have never felt this far away from my real life EVER! It's quite surreal. I like it!
We plan on going to the Dead Sea and Massada on Monday. I'm not sure what we're doing on Sunday, but since the Bat Mitvah is running til midnight on Saturday night, I can't see us being up very early, so it'll probably be something close to home!
Having a great time... still!
Well, it's Tuesday night. Not quite Wednesday.
Security at JFK was top notch. The interrogation from the El Al Security went something like this:
Woman Security: What is the connection of the 3 of you?
Me: The child is my daughter and this (putting my arm around Linda) is my partner.
WS: Why are you going to Israel?
Me: Visiting my brother.
WS: Where?
Me: Efrat
WS: Where do you live?
Me: Fairfield
WS: What synagogue do you belong to?
WS: (to Linda) Where do you live and do you belong to the same Temple?
WS: What holidays do you celebrate?
(This went on for about 5 minutes. Then she says she'll be right back and goes to huddle with 2 Security guys. Then she comes back with Security guy.)
Linda & I are having heart palpitations and are wondering if we'll be approved to board the plane!
He says: This is not to embarrass you, but I need to ask you some very personal questioins.)
Male Security: You two are partners and she is your daughter?
Me: yes.
MS: You live together?
Me: No.
MS: Why not?
A long pause, as I try to come up with an answer and then I'm thinking to myself, 'this is SO none of his business' and then I say lamely: "we will be later this year".
MS: How often do you see each other?
Me: every day
MS: How far apart do you live?
and on and on for another 5-10 minutes.
So after some more questiions similar to the woman I boldly ask if there is a problem and will be able to get on this flight, he says that everything is fine and that they just need to do this as part of their job.
We had to then sweat thru the luggage going thru the x-ray machines... that passed with no issues (except that they asked us to open Sophie's suitcuase - the only one that wasnt smuggling in wine and BJ's stuff that we were bringing over with us!)
(Apparently I was not aware that the latest terrorist 'profile' that needs to be on the lookout for was the 2 lesbians and a child! Who knew?!!!)
The flight went well. We didn't take off until 12:30am Sat night, but the minute we were up in the air, the 3 of us were sleeping. Sophie was wide awake and in a great mood until the second her eyes closed!
We slept for most of the flight, so only had to deal with about 3 hours in the air awake. Sophie learned to play the card game War. Very fun.
We landed a 1/2 hour late only due to the late takeoff (some woman was sick and wasn't sure she'd make the flight or not) and headed to the entry point. I was pleased to see that the gay family was not anything to be blinked at and we were treated the same as everyone else. After gettting all of our luggage (4 suitcases and 1 garment bag), we headed thru customs and out to where I instantly saw my brother. (The poor guy had been waiting for 1.5 hours for us to come thru!)
Then off for the hour ride to his home. We didn't get to see too much as it was already dark out.
It was nice finally getting to a place to settle in. Seeing the kids was great.
My sister and family arrived the next morning at 7am, so my brother went and picked them up and had them back to the house by 10. Their kids did NOT sleep any of the flight, so they were all in good moods, but exhausted. After a bite to eat, the 4 of them went to the place they rented up the street and napped for a few hours.
While we waiting for my sister to arrive, I scanned the local paper and saw a nice commentary piece on "Gay Marriage". Seems that the gay issue is about the same as back home. Though they already offer a lot of benefits to same-sex couples without calling it marriage, so that's still something they're working towards. My brother said that they're even some lesbian couples with kids living here in Efrat. Linda & I are on the lookout for them!
So today we just hung out at the house. Then the girls hung out at the playground nearby and had a great time.
The weather here is beautiful... high 50's but really windy. Sweatshirt weather. The buildings make you feel like you're in a Florida/California suburb. There is a lot of English spoken here.
Today, we all slept in late (Sophie even slept til 10!). Then went to have pizza and home made ice cream at a strip mall up the road. The pizza was excellent - and I have a new favorite topping - GREEN olives! AWESOME! My nephew was doing all the talking to the guy making the pizza (name of the place was Philly Pizza) and after all the Hebrew mumbo jumbo, the pizza guys says, "OK, that'll be 1 pizza with 1/2 olives and onions" said with a NY accent!!!! We laughed our butts off! (When we spoke with my brother later on, he said that both pizza places here in town are owned by Americans and they don't speak much Hebrew)
We all had dinner together tonight and my parents arrive tomorrow night.
We've arranged a driver to come and take the 7 of us into Jerusalem tomorrow afternoon to see the Zoo and maybe look around a bit. I'm looking forward to it. On Thursday, my brother and Cheryl are taking the day off and keeping the kids out of school and we're going somewhere 'beachy' though I'm not sure what body of water we're going to. Have been taking plenty of pics, but didn't bring the cord to be able to upload them, but will post some when we return next week. Should be nice to see some sights outside of Efrat.
As I type this, my eldest niece Ariella (the 12 yr old who's Bat Mitzvah we're here for) is giving Linda a crash course in Hebrew! Linda has wanted to learn it and they do offer a course at our Temple at home. We may sign up for a course to learn it for the next trip to Israel (3 yrs from now, when my nephew Gilad gets Bar Mitzvah'd). We'll see.
Well, that's about it... 10:30 Tuesday night. So I'm gonna sign off. Will post something later in the week.
Good news.. not one thought about work! :)
What a beautiful morning. It's cold (28 degrees), but sunny and crisp. Just the way I like it.
We packed and cleaned last night. My place looks neat and organized. The completed packed suitcases (2) are lined up by the door. Another is on the floor in the bedroom and one is open on the couch. Toiletries will be thrown in later today.
Linda will get her hair cut this morning and then go up to tend to her cat one last time. (she has a pet sitter coming to check on her 'girls' while she's away so the cat and the hamster will be well taken care of!)
I have a few items to pick up while she's out. Then we're meeting back here for a somewhat relaxed afternoon. I'm picking up Sophie from Gail's at 5. I spoke with Sophie this morning and she's very excited to be going on the plane and seeing her family over in Israel.
At services last night, the Rabbi said a 'travel blessing' for us and wished us a happy and safe journey. Other congregants offered nice wishes, as well.
I can't believe we're FINALLY going to be leaving! Today. I'll be in Israel tomorrow night seeing my brother and his family for the first time in 19 months! I haven't seen his youngest son (Yonah) since he was 9 months old.... Linda will be finally meeting the only sibling that she's not met yet.
We're gonna have a lot of fun... and having 6 of the 8 grandchildren together will be great - ranging in age from 12 to 2.
I may post while over there, but I'm not sure of pc availability. So we'll be arriving back in the States on Tuesday March 28th.
I'll be back... Have fun while I'm gone.
Last minute packing.
Stockings. (yeah, I know. You're probably asking yourself right now, for whom?!) For me and Linda. JUST in case a skirt should happen to make an appearance on us for some reason, we'll be prepared.
Rewind a bit... Linda has been worried that she's put on weight lately and no matter what I say, she still thinks what she thinks.
In the present... off I go to Stop & Shop on my lunch hour yesterday. One of the items was stockings for us. A learning experience that was a bonus for me was that I never knew that there WAS a size A (!!), but there it was and that's Linda's size.
Me? I had no problem finding my size - "mucho-grando-exceedbeyondbelief-o-tall" - and tossed that in the cart!
Now to find 2 pair for Linda. 1 in black and 1 in beige. Now, logically, a size A person should be relatively small. right? Not just in height, but in build or frame, right? So what was the only type size A that I could find in ANY color? right. Control Top. I searched and searched. Still, nothing but a sea of control top size A packages.
I knew that when I handed these to her that her interpretation would NOT be, "oh, thanks, hon, for getting me my stockings.", but rather, "Huh, I see that someone thinks that I need control top stockings."!!!
So I called her from the parking lot as I was heading back to work and said that I needed to ensure that what I had bought for her was in no way, shape or form to imply anything negatively about her weight or shape. She braced herself. She laughed when she heard my sad stocking tale. Fortunately she appreciated that at least I offered up an explanation AHEAD of time, leaving nothing to be assumed and therefore avoided any unpleasant/hurt feelings. Sometimes I amaze myself how sensitive I can be. (But somehow it doesn't seem to make up for all the times that I inadvertently do/say something that makes me an insensitive wife!) But, hey, I'm trying.
And it's my last day at work - can I hear a halleluja and an amen, my sistahs and brothahs?!!!!
We're off to see the Isreali's just doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?!!!
Shabbat Shalom.
When planning a trip, the basics are simple. You figure out the clothes you need and pack them. Figure out how you're getting to the airport - book the reservations. Plan on what you're gonna read on the plane and while you're waiting. Put them in the backpack that you're bringing on board. Simple, no?
yep.
Then you realize that aside from your lovely wife, there is another, LARGER presence to be accounted for and rather more importantly, amused. A 5 yr old. Who will be awake and waiting to board a plane that will be leaving 4 hours past her normal bedtime. We knew it'd be a challenge when the tickets were booked. The reality has been hitting me this week.
We'll be leaving for the airport at 6:30pm on Saturday (for a midnight flight), arriving around 8:30 at JFK. After the excitement (tedium) of checking in is over, we should have at least 2.5 hours of waiting in a rather boring airport to deal with. sigh.
So, with airport and airplane time to fill with things to do, we have picked up a little magnetic checkers set and a computerized Connect Four game for Sophie to play with. The Connect Four game should be a HUGE hit, as this is currently a favorite of hers to play with her cronies in the after school program she goes to. This one looks like a "Game-Boy" and you play against the computer or another person. (and blessedly, the noise CAN be turned off!)
Aside from these games, we have purchased "word search" books and coloring books to have in her 'bag of tricks' that will be on board with her. I think she'll be all set. And therefore the strategy will be successful.
Now if my work days today and tomorrow would just SPEED by so I can be out and about actually packing and pacing, I'd be a little happier! Did I mention that I am REALLY EXCITED about this trip????!!!!
Ok... It's been 11 weeks since I quit.
Some of you didn't even know that I had started again.
Smoking.
When I got laid off back in May, 2003 and had some time on my hands and was hanging out with a local buddy in the 'hood (who happened to smoke), I just kind of picked up the habit again. I had my boundaries. I didn't smoke in the house, in the car or in front of the kids. I really never smoked more than a 1/2 pack a day. But I was smoking.
Since I had quit before (from July 1990 to May 2003), I knew I'd be able to do it again, but it was just a matter of when.
So, I picked January 2nd, 2006 as the day. Linda is a non-smoker and patiently waited for me to come to my own terms regarding this decision, but she's very happy that the day finally came.
Yes, I've put on a few pounds. But I'm glad I quit. I still have the cravings at times and I know I'll be able to be a 'social smoker' (meaning that if I am out having drinks with people and someone is smoking, I will join them, but I won't be waking up the next morning and lighting up).
So there. My little secret is out.
Ok.. it's almost that point in the pre-trip planning.
Yes, of course, I've made my lists. Yes, of course, I've done the shopping. Not just for me and mine. But also for the folks we're going to visit (oy vay, the things that had to be bought!).
I know we can each bring 2 suitcases (6 for those math challenged) per the airline guidelines, but I hadn't planned on lugging 6 with us! We just might have to!
Aside from our clothes and necessities, we are lugging a BJ's run of stuff and some bottles of wine that my brother made and wants in Israel. Creative packing is going to be me!
That is, once Linda brings down her suitcases from her place tomorrow, so we can see just how much storage we actually have.
And all the stuff at work to do before I leave. Documenting things for my boss and cleaning up as much I can. I'm trying to not think of the mess I'm going to come back to.
This is the part of the traveling that, quite frankly, makes me anxious. Once I'm on my way, I'm fine. New situations and shlepping - - no problem. Seeing family and just having fun - - I'm all for it.
It's gonna be a fun time. Hard to believe that Sunday night I'll be landing in Tel-Aviv, Israel. wow. And I'll be missing the beginning of "March Madness"!
But for today, I'm looking forward to having dinner tonight with my parents and my daughter and discussing the logistics of the wine!
The dinner with Weese was all that I expected and more. We met them at a nice Sushi place in Monroe (who knew?!). We arrived a few minutes early to hit the bank before dinner and as we walked across the parking lot towards the bank, Weese was driving thru the parking lot and pulled up beside us commending on us being early! (I knew of her punctuality and knew that it would be one of the many things we'd have in common!)
From the minute we all sat down together, it was comfortable. Despite most of the conversation being about getting to know each other (a sort of alternating host type of talk show format, at times!), it somehow felt like 4 old friends just hanging out together.
There were similarities noted between us and lots of kid stories relayed. We laughed at ourselves and at each other but all in fun, while enjoying some really good sushi. Weese & I monopolized most of the conversation, but I was pleased that both of our wives were fairly chatty, too.
We were so into our conversation, we failed to notice that the place had emptied and though our check had been put on the table, we ignored it. This prompted our very nice and attentive waiter to bring a complimentary offering of hot sake for us. (I'd never had it before and am not sure I will again, but it was something nice to sip on while continuing our conversation)
We finally parted ways about 10:30 and said that we would have to do it again. I hope that the experience was as positive for Weese and her wife as it was for me & mine.
Tonight, Linda & I are meeting Weese and her lovely wife for a sushi dinner. With both of our busy schedules, these plans were made back in January! We saw them out last weekend at the local gay dance in Stratford, where we firmed up a time and place for tonight. But tonight, we'll really get a chance to talk and get to know each other a bit more.
It should be a nice evening, as I find Weese entertaining on her blog, so therefore, how could she not be, in person?!
This weekend marks the 'last chance' for picking up items for our trip (we leave for Israel on the 18th!) and for doing our check lists. (Picture if you will, 2 lesbians with their Palms, frantically clicking away noting all the things we have to remember to bring!!!)
Sunday night, we're having dinner with Linda's parents to help them celebrate their 37th wedding anniversary... makes sense, as Linda will be turning 36 in April! ;)
Last night I attended Kim's concert at the High School. It was weird to see her and her buddies Andrew & Frankie (whom she's been friends with since 5th grade) in the back row of the orchestra playing their tubas, looking pretty much the same as they did all those years ago, except they're all taller now. (oh and the fact that in 5th grade, Andrew & Kim played the flute and Frankie played the clarinet!)
Sophie enjoyed the concert and my ex taped it on the video camera to send to the grandparents in Florida. It seems that wherever we go now, FOS (Friends of Sophie) are there. Last night was no different. 2 rows in front of us, was her friend Olivia from the before school program, so Sophie went to sit with her and her Mom for the first part of the concert. Then the girls came back and sat with me and my ex and danced their hearts out (the Jazz band was playing some pretty lively music!) It was a nice concert - only 1 more to go. I wonder what instrument Sophie will be playing. She's stated that she wants to play an instrument that 'sits in the back' -- (How shy is she???). Guess we'll just see what happens.
That's it for me - I basically wrote as it came to my mind (scary, huh?!!)... glad it's Friday.
Shabbat Sholom.
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