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| I think they should have closed the schools! |
Whether the weather be hot,
Or whether the weather be not,
We'll weather the weather,
Whatever the weather.
Whether we like it or not.
Reasons 2B Cheerful for this week are almost all weather related. I'm joining the R2BC linky over at Becky's Lakes Single Mum.
1. It's my Eight Year Blogiversary. 19/1/2011 was the first the blog post. That's it really, who knew that eight years later I'd still be at it.
2. On Wednesday night we had snow. If the snow sticks and is still visible at 7 am, even the tiniest bit which we all know will be gone by 08.30, school is cancelled. They were expecting it and all schools closed at 3 pm on Wednesday afternoon. (Thanks for nothing - most Primary schools finish at 3 or even 2.30. Remember that we start at 8 am.) DD's class were in a frenzy of whatsapping on Wednesday evening. Reports coming in from all the surrounding areas about whether it was real snow or just hail. We live half way up the valley so we didn't quite believe that there was actually snow. By Thursday morning the storm had passed and the the ground was wet but clear. All over Jerusalem pupils and teachers dragged themselves out into the cold, wet, grey morning. Their hopes of a snow day at home dashed. Apparently there was snow on the higher grounds and I saw some of it malingering on my way to my school. Seriously, I think that patch warranted a day at home but no one asked me.
3. So on Wednesday evening, DD and I settled down on the sofa, under blankets, and binge watched Heartland on Netflix. We saw about five episodes. Yes that's five hours of TV but it was punctuated by rushing to the window every few minutes to see the lightning and count until the thunder to find out how near the storm was. And we had to assess the snow/hail/sleet/graupel situation in order to contribute to the whatsapping. It's very sweet that this group has rules that the kids are very strict about. A previous class group got silly and sometimes nasty so they set up this new official group. One of the rules is no messaging after 8 pm. So at the height of excitement about the weather, at 8 pm it suddenly went quiet. I was very proud of them.
4. On Monday is Tu B'Shvat (the 15th of the Jewish month of Shvat) which is the New Year for Trees. I think it's supposed to be the official start of spring. The traditional song is all about the sun shining, almond blossom appearing and the birds singing from the rooftops. Seems a bit ridiculous for the middle of January but every festival has been early this year. (It's a leap year in the Jewish calendar which means we have an extra month next month so while Tu B'Shvat was early, Purim and Passover will be late.) Still, the sun is shining, we are forecast temperatures in the teens all next week, and it feels like the end of the winter might possibly be nigh.
Happy New Year dear trees! I'm not planning to go out and plant a tree, which is one of the Tu B'Shvat customs, but I'll definitely give one or two of them a hug.
Fixed your link! Can't believe you've more snow than us!! Happy blogversary xx
ReplyDeleteThank you, I've fixed it and removed the original botched one.
DeleteOh Rachel - I know the snow isn't normal for you but you do need to allow me a bit of a chuckle!. When I left for church this morning it was Minus -15C and with the windchill factor it felt more like Minus -30C! It started snowing yesterday morning and was still snowing when I left - it's stopped now. Between 5 & 10CM fell. And to add insult to injury - the subway system decided to shut down a whole downtown section for repairs so I had to get off a stop early and walk down!
ReplyDeleteWe were down about 1/4 on attendance but they are a hardy bunch so more than I thought made it! It's going down to Minus -38C tonight - and school will be open tomorrow! The only concession to the bitter cold is that recess will be indoors.
I did a Robbie Burns theme for Fellowship Hour today and served Neeps & Tatties (mashed turnip/rutabaga & potatoes) along with Haggis. People were very brave and at least tried it - in fact - it was pretty much all gone! We'll do a Lunar New Year theme in a couple of weeks time, followed by a Carnival Lunch just before Lent! A friend tells me all her church offers after service is coffee & tea so I have set the bar high! Do synagogues offer anything after services? We do it as a time for people to socialize and get to meet each other and I'm happy to say that many of my ESL students have started coming (it's a good way to improve their listening skills) - they practice their English and now many of them have started volunteering for our "Out of the Cold" program as well. It's a busy place!
Chuckle away Margie, even we think it's a bit ridiculous how the whole city shuts down for even 1 mm of snow. Otoh, we're not prepared for it. Drivers don't know how to drive in the snow, People (especially kids) don't have coats, shoes and gloves to protect them from very cold weather (they have coats but not necessarily warm enough coats) and when they arrive at where they're going it's not always heated adequately. The buildings here are designed to keep out the heat in the summer. My school has classrooms with doors to the outside - you have to go outside to get from room to room. In the winter I sometimes wear my coat from 7.30 am until I arrives home at 4 pm.
DeleteYour themed after church socials sound wonderful. Synagogues have a 'kiddush' after services. It can be as simple as a small glass of schnapps and a bit of cake or as elaborate as a whole meal with soup. meat, or fish. It's exactly the same idea of giving everyone the chance to socialize before going home for lunch (or no lunch if it was a big fancy kiddush). There has been known to be competition over what you serve at the kiddush. Lol.
Oh yes, there can be a bit of competition here as well - when members come to me to do something special. Our next themed one will be Lunar New Year and already I've got people asking to decorate the room and letting me know what their special dish is and how much they will bring! I actually find it a bit amusing. :-) People really aren't all that different are they?
DeleteThe weather is such a strange thing - we've had no snow in Dublin at all and yet there was snow in Jerusalem: it really is a crazy world we live in.. Hope you have a great week and that the weather really does improve for you xxx
ReplyDeleteThank you, it was warm and sunny today, with blue cloudless skies.
DeleteI had no idea that you guys, Jerusalem, would get snow! Shows that I am an ignorant American LOL!! We get lots of snow here in Colorado! LOL!
ReplyDeleteWe get snow on average once every 3 - 4 years. It's nothing like the snow in Colorado, believe me!
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