It's Hot In Here

Jerusalem is hot these days. It's too hot and sunny outside to spend too much time. Especially with young children. Also, we don't want to buy lots of sun screen because it is actually prohibitively expensive. And we have tubes and tubes of the stuff in our lift. But it's also hot inside, at least in our room. So we keep the windows open during the day and we manage. We try to go out and do stuff, and we come home and relax (or the kids relax while Ayelet and I try to get some work done). But our apt. doesn't cool down enough at night, like most of the city does. Maybe it's because we need to keep the window closed. Screen are apparently a luxury here, and our windows don't have them. So if the windows are open and the lights on at night every bug will swarm inside and bother us. It's quite icky. Anyway, we are looking forward to a house with screens.

I have decided that the cold I had last week is gone. The only symptoms left are allergy symptoms. I never had bad allergies in the U.S. so maybe the different plants here are affecting me. My case is annoying, but not really bad. I am trying honey. I've heard that local, raw honey is good for allergies becaue the pollen in the honey will give your body a good chance at building an immunity to the allergens. I hope this clear up soon.

In other news, I have officially re-launched my efficiency business. I am looking for businesses and individuals to help get more organized. I can help you stream-line procedures and find ways to be more productive. You can contact me at yoram@efficientandorganized.com or go to my website www.efficientandorganized.com.

Also, I am working on a new business with Barbara, another olah from the merkaz klitah. More details are coming soon, but we are looking to help start-ups start-up. Stay tuned for the big announcement.

Ayelet is doing well. The heat is making the pregnancy tough and it doesn't help that the baby is really active. the kids are having fun. It's tough not having them in gan, but we've developed some routine. We daven every morning and Netane's reading is getting better with practce. Odeliya has accepted the heat by refusing to wear clothes. She spent most of today in a diaper, after removing her clothes by herself. Of course she also went to the closet to pick the cloths she wasn't going to wear.

That's pretty much it for now. Lots going on faster than I can handle. But it's all positive, so it will all go well. With God's help we'll be settled and more comfortable soon.

Until next time,
Yoram

Update II

We're back in the Merkaz Klitah for now while we negotiate our lease. We need to finalize that and sign it. Then we can complete our application for the Nefesh B'Nefesh Go North Initiative (lots of perks) AND finalize taking delivery of our lift.

In the meantime, our drains are all overflowing. Well, just two of them. The shower is annoying, as the bathroom quickly becomes a bathtub. The kitchen is worse. The kitchen sink drain never worked well. We've had maintenance come several times. It only helps of a week or so, and even when they fix it, it's still slow. The one time I tried Drano it seemed to make it worse. Now we're just biding our time until we move.

Knock knock:
Netanel got into knock knock jokes back in the U.S. before we make Aliyah. I think it's cute. It's even cuter that Odeliya is not also trying to tell them. She doesn't quite get the concept. She'll say "knock knock" to which we respond "who's there?" She says someone's name, like "Wana" (this is her new aunt). When we say "Elana who?" she replies "Wanaaaa" in a funny voice, to make it a joke. I guess she'll catch on eventually.

Over the past month we have been meeting people from different places. In Katamon two Shabbatot ago I met someone living in a new Yishuv in Gush Etzion. He tried recruiting me there. We also met people from Keshet and Chispin. They all enticed us come check out their towns. The entire city of Katzrin has been working to facilitate our getting there, fromt he city council on down. I kind of like the feeling of being sought after and recruited.

This past Monday, when we went up to check out Katzrin and meet withthe vaad klitah in Yonatan, we stopped in the makolet Yonatan on our way out. We got a big welcome there. We also saw the organic peanut butter we like. We haven't seen it in Yerushalaim since Pesach. Also missing from Yerushalaim were the cheese flavored Cheeots (Ayelet's vice). We had to drive to the Golan to get these basic foods.

Here is another benefit to living in the Golan. Besides the sheer beauty and general attitude. The Golan had Mei Eden on tap. The water that people pay 6 shekel a bootle for comes out of the tap and is used for showering. It tastes really good too.

I know I'm going out of order here, but a lot has been going on and I can't think that hard. This past Shabbat I was walking with the kids from the Pinat Chai (a little zoo the city operates for the kids) to our friends for seuda shlishit. On the way Netanel walked too close to the growth next tot he road and brushed one of those plants with flowers that have big prickles. He got hurt and his immediate comment was, "Hashem shouldn't have made them." I explained that Hashem made that plant for a purpose, but I thought is was a very clever way of thinking.

Lastly, after our Monday trip to the Golan for our meeting witht e vaad klitah I got a really bad cold. I spent Wedneday in bed. Now, a week later I am still fighting the congestion and runny nose, with some of the other lingering affects. I don't usually get sick. I wonder what my block is. What am I afraid of in this whole process? Why is my sub-conscious letting me get sick when I need to be clear and focused and active? There is lots on my mind and much to sort out, but being sick doesn't help. I am so excited for the move for so many reasons. How can I get rid of these fears?

Thanks for letting me share and vent. Soon we'll have pictures of the Golan and our house to share as well.

Sending out good wishes and good vibes,
Yoram

Update

Hi. My computer is back online and I am trying to form my thoughts into paragraphs. There is a lot going on. This will be a short update with a few things that have been on my mind.

First of all, I've been wondering who reads this. So please drop a comment from time to time to let me know you're interested.

Second, we were accepted to Yonatan. We had a meeting with the vaad klitah and they like us (what's not to like). We fell in love with Yonatan on our first trip, but we are not moving to the one availalbe rental there for 2 reasons: 1. It is not so comfortable for our growing family; 2. we want to check out other Golan communities as well. We haven't seen anywhere else. To that end we have found a house in Katzrin, the city of the Golan and we are in lease negotiations. When I say city, you need to understand that it is smaller than Efrat. You can wal around it in under an hour. It has a mix of Jews from different places with different religious standards. We spent Shabbat there. There is a vibrant religious community with many young families. Netanel had a great time in shul and in the gan. Our plan is to move there and be comfortable and settled while we join the Golan community.

I am also networking for my business as an efficiency specialist. I can do this virtually over the phone, so please send me referrals.

More on the past week is coming soon, hopefully tonight. Until then, send us support and good wishes. We'll have you over in our house when we're settled.

Happy Lag Ba'Omer,
Yoram

Click, I Can Read

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Yesterday Ayelet took the kids out so I could get some work done. First they went to play with the kittens. One of the cats here at the absorption center had kittens about 2 weeks ago. Since then playing with them has been a major activity and great motivator/bribe to get the kids to do things. Here are some pictures of the cute little furballs and the kittens, err, and the kids.


After that they came back inside. Ayelet and Netanel played a computer game, one of the more educational ones. Something clicked in Netanel's head and now he is reading. We went out to merkaz ha'ir after that and he read all the Englosh words on the bus. It was amazing. Now we need to start encrypting our secret notes.

We went up North today, just Ayelet and I (thank you Barbara for watching the kids). We checked out Katzrin to see if we should move there before moving into a yishuv. We know we want a yishuv, but it's a long process. After finding a yishuv you like you need to go through the klitah (absorption) process which includes getting accepted. Most yishuvim are low on rental properties, so we would be living somewhere else while we built our home. So we decided to move to the Golan now, since this is where we want to be.

Katzrin was appealing. Our guide, Avishai, is going to gather information on more rentals to show us. There are nice houses for rent for very cheap. We are also going to check out Chispin, which hosts the schools for the Golan yishuvim.

While I'm at it I would like to give a shout-out to Michele Kaplan-Greene at Nefesh B'Nefesh. She is extremely busy, but she has been amazingly helpful to us in our quest to settle up north. Kol hakavod to her.

Now it's time for some sleep, but keep checking for more posts, and hopefully some video.