Autumn D-Day

First soup of the season. 

I hesitated to call today Duvet Day as that label has been used before to mean a day that you stay at home under the duvet. Today was not such a day. Today was D-Day in the sense that we finally put the duvets back in the covers after the long hot summer.

It coulda, shoulda, woulda been done a few weeks ago but we came back from London when it was still quite hot, then we were up and down the country visiting family over the festivals, and then I went back to work and was exhausted for the first week while I got used to early mornings and full days again. And, if I'm honest, changing the duvet covers is the job I hate doing the most. Even more than cleaning the toilets.

So we put blankets over the empty duvet covers, then we shut the windows, then we switch to winter pyjamas. Finally, when the clocks have gone back and I find myself searching for my fleece in the middle of the night, I know I can't put it off any longer. And DD told me she was cold last night so not getting out the duvets might be classed as child abuse.

The beds look nice and puffy again with added blankets on the end, just for show until the real winter starts.

Along with putting the duvets in the covers, I put the table-top fan from the living room away in a top cupboard (recently vacated by two duvets) and put an extra lamp in its place. Then I put my fitflops (which I've not worn for about a week) into the cupboard.

It's too early to get out the heaters. All the windows are wide open still and we're not even wearing coats outside. The days are pleasantly sunny. The mornings and evenings are cool and the nights are cold. (N.B. This is only in the mountain regions. Tel Aviv, the coast and the Negev are still hot. - which is why I live in Jerusalem.)

I'm not quite ready for it to be winter but I am looking forward to climbing under the duvet for the first time tonight.

  

R2BC - 1K!

From L-R, a pretty plant, rosemary, marva
(sage in English. If you put it in your tea it's supposed to be curative.) 

Here are my Reasons 2B Cheerful for this week. The linky is still with Becky on Lakes Single Mum as it's still October.

1
1K!
This is my 1,000th post on this blog. But blnk and you'll miss it because I'm going to go back and edit out some of the posts from years ago. I love some of the things I've written but some posts weren't so good, and some were out right embarrassing. So that's a job for this coming week. Minimalism goes digital.

2
The First Rains
We even have a word for it here - The Yoreh. there was one heavy shower in  middle of the night earlier this week. Apparently that didn't count as The Yoreh because it only lasted about 10 minutes. Then there was some light rain yesterday around lunch time, so I'm told, but I missed that one. Finally, last night, there was the biggest storm - wind and rain. Fantastic. We have The Yoreh!

3
Swimming Lessons
In the summer DD's partner for swimming lessons broke his arm and had to miss half the lessons. We paid the difference between joint lessons and private lessons for those sessions and finished the course. Now our friend is going back to use his credit and invited DD to join him for another course of five lessons. I'm always happy to pay for swimming lesson if it's convenient. Five lessons will take us through the autumn and finish just before the really cold weather sets in. We do not swim in the winter.

4
Shopping
The cooler weather and rain took us by surprise and I'd forgotten that DD didn't have a coat for the winter. She needed some supplies for the art class. And there is a pyjama party on Monday night for which her over-a-year-old pyjamas just won't do. I went to the shops while she was at school this morning and got everything. On my way home I went to the big supermarket and did a delivery. I was home by 11.

I have never, well for the past few years anyway, been able to buy clothes for DD without her with me. Either the size is wrong or she doesn't like what I buy. Usually both. This time I hit the jackpot. Everything was a perfect fit and she loved it all. Woohoo.

5
The School Greenhouse
Most of my summer plants have died. I sort of gave up on watering them during the past few weeks as they kept promising rain. Instead we had heat in the 80s. So I wandered into the school greenhouse this week to see what was growing. "What happens to all these plants in the end?" I asked. I was going to offer to pay for some to save me trip to the plant nursery. Not only was I given some plants for free, I also got a lesson in how to take cuttings. I sort of knew that but my cuttings hardly ever take. Must try harder.

All in all, a good week. 

R2BC - Autumn

Basil by the kitchen window. In touch with my inner earth-mother.

1
Autumn
It's still reaching the mid 20s during the day. We're still wearing sandals. DD still went to school in shorts and a tee-shirt today. But it feels like autumn and after a long hot summer, that's a great reason 2B cheerful this week.

2
Minimalism
It keeps on going. I had to go through my college papers to prepare lessons for the start of the semester and I found exam papers from up to eight years ago. I kept the most recent as we should keep them for a year or so after the exam, but the rest went out. Whilst looking for a grammar exercise, I flipped though a book that I know I won't use again as I already have better grammar books covering the same topics. So out that went too. We're talking, all in all, a whole big IKEA storage bin on wheels. I also threw out my cooking apron which has hung on the side of the fridge of over a decade and never gets used. Oh, and two old hair brushes. And still not done.

3
Art Class
Turns out that DD can do the Art Class after all. Hooray! She starts this coming week although the day hasn't been finalised yet.

That's it for this week. Short and sweet. The Reasons 2B cheerful is over at Becky's Lakes Single Mum for the month of October. 

September 2018 - R2BC

The obligatory back to school photo.
Begrudgingly allowed because it's the law. 

It's the Jewish New Year this week, it was the academic new year last week, also my birthday, the weather got cooler, as if by magic, and autumn is definitely in the air. The End.

Just kidding. September has always been my favourtie month for all the above reasons.

1
Rosh Hashana
A chance to repent, renew, recharge and reinvent. This year I finally stopped pretending that I would be going to traditional synagogue services and have arranged to meet with a  few friends on the first morning of Rosh Hashana (it's a 2-day festival) for some meaningful start to the year. I'm not sure exactly what will happen as although we have a  rough agenda, this is the first time we're doing this. But I'm very much looking forward to it.

At home DD and I will do all our own Rosh Hashana traditions - blowing away our sins and bad habits, and eating our menus with the Rosh Hashana Symbols. And some of the meals we're eating out with friends.

2
School
It was back to school for both DD and me this week. DD has always hated having her photo taken so on the first day of 1st Grade I told her it was the law. She's now in 5th Grade and she still thinks it's the law. Hilarious.

3
My Birthday.
Me and Ingrid Bergman reduced to tears as we marched, singing This Old Man, into a Chinese village in North Wales. You had to be there.

4
The Weather
It's overcast. Seriously, there's grey in them there clouds. We are praying for a wet winter in Israel. Turns out that desalination isn't enough and we're once again facing a water shortage. However, the heat of the summer is behind us and hopefully the universe will be kind.

The Reasons 2B Cheerful linky is with Michelle on Mummy From the Heart this week and for the whole of September.

Wishing everyone a SHANA TOVA UMETUKA (A Good and Sweet Year). 

Ode To Autumn In A Hot Country

It's like a cool shower after a day toiling in the fields. Like a comfortable bed after a camping holiday. Like flicking off your party shoes after a night of dancing. In a word - relief.

I'm talking about the Autumn after a Summer that's been sizzling hot since May. I know that September doesn't automatically mean instantly cooler weather but there is a subtle psychology that says it does feel cooler. The nights are noticeably so and the days are drawing in. There are clouds in the sky (although no rain as yet) and gentle breezes. Sleeveless top and dresses are not quite enough in the mornings and late afternoons. There is change in the air.

Schools go back and, therefore, parents go back to work properly. Routine is restored and bedtimes enforced once again. Proper clothes are beginning to emerge, with even a layer or two. Shoes instead of sandals. School uniforms instead of shorts. A general smartening up occurs.

There's an energy. Personal energy as it becomes comfortable to walk more without the incessant heat that was June, July and August. Even cleaning your house is easier and more worthwhile as it seems to stay tidier for longer when the holidays end. There is work to do and schedules to stick to so no time for constantly stopping by the fridge for something to nosh.

I colour my hair and pluck my eyebrows - when was the last time I did that? It feels good and I get into the grooming groove. How about a facial scrub, a deep cleanse, some toner, and a bit of makeup now that the tan is beginning to fade? All these lotions and potions are somewhere in the back of the bathroom cabinet from before the Summer surrender to sweat, sand and frizzy hair.

I look at the parched (that means dead) flowers and plants on my balcony that were neglected in the heat and think about planting anew for the next season. I have seeds and sprouting potatoes ready. I start googling about growing vegetables on a small balcony. I'm thinking about soups and stews all of a sudden. And suppers that warm and fill rather than grabbing a yogurt and some grapes. Now that spending time in the kitchen is bearable again, my culinary ideas are getting more ambitious.

It's a natural build up to Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year). Invitations are given and menus planned. There is a desire for everything to be physically clean as well as spiritually prepared. It's a new beginning, a new start, a new leaf, a breath of fresh air, expectation, hope, ambition, inspiration, and motivation. It's Autumn.

The Chinese Bamboo, a story of inspiration and motivation.