Friday, April 3, 2020

A Live Concert - R2BC

In a week of much loss, there are still some Reasons 2B Cheerful. If you want to read more cheerful posts, you can find them on Becky's Lakes Single Mum, the home of the R2BC linky. 

1
Neighbours That Pray Together
I wrote last week that we prayed from our balconies to allow one neighbour to say the mourners' Kaddish prayer in a minyan (a quorum of 10 men). Then on Shabbat we heard that another neighbour's father had died. Instead of only Shabbat services from our balconies, the neighbours arranged for services three times a day for the shiva period of mourning seven days after the funeral.

2
A Concert
This morning a lorry with a stage parked itself right opposite our building and a half hour concert was performed. We all stood on our balconies and danced and clapped. Some people from other buildings came and stood in the street and the police patrolled to make sure that family groups kept 2 metres apart. It was half an hour of pure fun. Jumping up and down in the sunshine didn't hurt either.

The lorry moved on to another street corner and two hours later I can still hear the music getting fainter each half hour as they work their way around Jerusalem neighbourhoods.

3
Vegetables From The Kibbutz
I've ordered a box of fruit and vegetables. My friends' agricultural kibbutz are stuck with a load of fruit and vegetables that they can't export as usual. Thus they've set up a box delivery service to your door. They're delivering fruit and vegetables that you order online, to different parts of the country each day. Jerusalem is on Monday.

4
Meals
There've been loads of jokes and cartoons about how we're all getting fat from being stuck at home all day with nothing to do but eat. It's funny but it's not funny. We were grazing between meals, losing track of how many meals we'd eaten, unsure about what to classify as a snack and what to call a meal, etc... I was putting on weight and I could see that DD was also beginning to.

We had a serious talk about health, food and finances. DD's annoyed that we have no more snacks left but she also understands that we have enough proper food to last us until Tuesday, after the fruit and vegetables arrive on Monday. She is also coming to terms with the fact that I may make dishes that she'd not normally eat (like fried rice with egg and vegetables - I don't mean escargot or eels) and that she has to eat it or go hungry.

My big adjustment was letting go of the things I have in the freezer. Having filled the freezer to help us through this time of limited shopping, I was reluctant to use any of the frozen food. There's a certain reassurance in having a full freezer and it can be alarming to see the stocks run down. However, if you don't eat the food you've only fed the freezer and not yourselves.

My discomfort in eating out of the freezer was more than balanced by my pleasure in spending much less on food this week.

I wish you a safe and healthy week with many Reasons 2B Cheerful. 


8 comments:

  1. That's wonderful how all the neighbours were able to come together for the prayers - it must have helped the families so much.
    The concert sounds like such fun - isn't it strange how much we now appreciate such small gestures.
    I really have to cut back on the snacking - I got properly dressed for an online meeting this morning and my trousers felt a bit snugger than they should have! I picked up a bunch of fresh fruit & veg on Monday so I've been eating more salads and should have enough to get to next Wednesday. I am trying to get into more of a routine so that I'm doing something besides cooking and eating all day long!
    I'm also experiencing some anxiety over having enough food - despite the pantry, fridge & freezer being packed! And I'm not the only one - other friends have expressed the same feelings. I think seeing those empty shelves really shocked a lot of us!
    Stay well.

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    1. For me it's concern about not having enough food to feed DD. I could easily go on a water fast for a month and still have enough energy from ketosis. Yes, I think routine is key, I'm just not very good at sticking to one.

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  2. Well done to the band for their mobile live concert. Great way to lift the spirits.

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    1. It certainly was. We loved it even though it wasn't my type of music.

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  3. I love the street party! We too are getting fruit and veg delivered so both at least eating that. We are rather grazing though...

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    1. We were grazing but I had to put to stop to it. You don't want to know how much weight I gained in the first two weeks of lockdown.

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  4. A good round-up of reasons. I'm so glad that you're all able to come onto your balconies and pray together, to follow the rituals that are part of your faith for the mourning of lost ones. It's so sad there are so many loses of life though. Mich x

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    1. I know, and the Jewish community in North London has been particularly hard hit. (Many of my friends here are from London.) The prayers on the balconies are comforting. xx

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