2013 So Far So Good

I've neglected the blog somewhat over the past few weeks as real life got in the way and things have been rather hectic. The exciting news is that I've been blogging for Mineralium Dead Sea Skincare (fyi only of course). It's a lot of fun but it does make you a bit schizophrenic being online with two personas. I keep forgetting who I am on twitter and suddenly Liska (@NewMumOnline and @ConsciousMum) will get a tweet from Mineralium wishing her son better, or Jane (@ExmoorJane) will suddenly find herself chatting with Mineralium not knowing who it is (I told her). You may *ahem* have seen it popping up retweeted by me.

The flip-side of this is that I'm only online as me half the time and have missed loads since the beginning of January, including reading and commenting on many posts I would otherwise have enjoyed. Sorry about that. I need to be more organised. 

Then last week everything imploded. It was Wednesday evening and I was behind with everything as Jerusalem closed down at midday due to the expected snow storm. It didn't actually arrive until the middle of the night so we wasted half a day because of some strong winds and a chill in the air. DD was finally in bed and it was announced that all schools were cancelled for the next day, Thursday, as well. Great.

I was on facebook, for a change although I can't remember who as (as whom?), when I got a message from an old friend in England: Are we seeing you at the Barmitzva this weekend in Tel Aviv?

Me: What do you mean this weekend? It's next weekend, the 19th.

Friend (newly promoted to BFF): Well we're flying out from England for it this weekend....

Thank God she messaged me or we would not have turned up to a full weekend in Tel Aviv (Friday afternoon till Saturday night) for the Barmitzva of the son of very good friends. I was sure it was the next weekend. 

The clothes I wanted to wear were in the laundry basket. A storm was raging outside. I have no dryer. I hadn't yet bought the present. DD was going to be home with me all day Thursday (and Friday it turned out). I had loads of work to do. I was supposed to be teaching on Friday morning (luckily my student cancelled). We were probably going to be snowed in as well.

The clothes were quickly washed and spent the next 36 hours on a clotheshorse in the spudy with the heater on. Thursday's snowstorm you can read about here. We went out to buy the present on Friday morning and then straight to the Jerusalem Central Bus Station for a bus to Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv was another country. The weather was positively balmy. We spent Friday afternoon collecting shells on the beach - no coats or nuffink!

On Friday night DD took a liking to BFF and her husband who promptly adopted her for the weekend. Added to that, my brother in law had also come for the Barmitva and was wonderful with DD. And....can you believe there's more?....there were about 20 other children to play with! DD was in heaven. I was in heaven. I only saw her for about five minutes before she went to sleep and the time it took to get her dressed in the morning in order to go find her new friends.

The cherry on the icing on the cake (because the whole weekend was icing on the cake and couldn't have been more fun) was when we shared a taxi back to the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv with BFF and her husband in order to get a bus to Jerusalem and then, sometime after midnight, another taxi home. As we piled in they asked: Do you mind if we take this taxi all the way to Jerusalem (meaning right to our doors)? We're paying. 

Is there a higher accolade than BFF?

So this week has been catch up week. I have tried to call the Barmitzva family to thank them but the time keeps escaping me (and there was no answer today - honestly). Thank you, thank you, thank you - we loved it! 

And thank you Uncle Charles for all the attention (for DD not me). 

And BFF - you saved my life, I owe you big time!

*I forgot my camera when we went to Tel Aviv but here are the shells drying on a towel.

*BFF - Best Friends Forever.