The End of the Harvest

Well, it's (as usual) been a while since my last post. But this time I have a good excuse. During the week between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur I was asked to come back to the winery the day after Yom Kippur. I did. I have been working in the wine-making area.

Basically, the wine-makers tell us what to do and we, the workers, do it. It's very interesting. My main job was to take care of the pump-overs. This is a very important part of the red-wine process. I have also learned much about making wine, and I've gotten into great shape. If I thought the warehouse was hard work, this is much harder.

We have to carry equipment all around the area: pumps, hoses, clamps, pipes, etc. And it's all outside. We work rain or shine. Also, we are constantly climbing up and down to acces the tops of the really bid tanks. thedre are ladders and stairs.

The view froom up there is awesome. On a clear day you can see the kinenet and a lot of the Golan.

The other day, as I was leaving for work (we have a van that picks us up and takes us home), Odeliya was in my bed driving a car of Yitzchak. Ayelet moved him out of the way. As I left I heard Odeliya say, "Hey! I was using the baby!" Which I thought was a funny and disturbing thing to say.

But I digress. My job at the winery is through the harvest. The harvest ended today. The last grapes came to us for crushing and making into wine. Per the manager I have 2-3 weeks left until my job here is terminated. This gives me some time to find the next thing. I just wish God would show me the next step.


Okay, it's a few days since I wrote that. Since I haven't posted, I'll add to it. I have been told that there is more work for me and they'd like me to hang around. I asked one of the managers about transferring to a different department after th epost-harvest work is done. I said that I have other skills that I could use. He said they were thinking of that because they want to upgrade their computer system. So we'll see where this goes. But either way next week I get to work fewer hours. It drops from a 12 hour shift to 9 and a half hours.

Meanwhile, back on the ranch...

Ok, so it's not a ranch yet. But Ayelet has embraced homemaker/mommyhood-ness. She has Odeliya almost toilet-trained, has been baking all of our bread, and has started making pickles and "milk" drinks (almond, soy, etc.) So I need to give her credit for doing an amazing job, especially with me being out of the house so much. Tonight, when I finish this post I will be resuming the job of cleaning for Shabbat. It's a big job this week.

We are expecting company for Shabbat. Ayelet's brother and sister, with their spouses, are coming. It should be lots of fun. Ayelet is discussing the menu with her brother now. It should be lots of fun.

We are also looking into farming. It was one of the dreams we shared before we made Aliyah. We are researching learning farming and different crops. I'll keep you posted

I need to point out that among the sounds heard in Katzrin we have the booms of tank practice, machine gun fire (also from drills, thanks God), jackals, and other animals. I kind of like it.

Ok, not to prepare for Shabbat. I even bought silver polish to polish Ayelet's candlesticks.

Shabbat Shalom.