View source for Blog/September 2008/Sep 26th

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Hi again!

Last week I mentioned we got a new table -- here's my report:  The table is fantastic!  It's big enough to seat guests comfortably, it's rock-solid, and it even looks nice.  Thanks for asking!  Only two noticeable flaws: first, there is a decorative "band" around the table made of applied stone 'tiles'.  One of the tiles is broken.  One of the chairs has legs not of the same length, so it wobbles.  However, the chairs are (at least for now) extremely sturdy, and far more comfortable than the folding metal chairs we were using before.  The one design flaw in the table is that the top slides open (to extend it), but there is no latch to keep it from sliding.  So today b"n I'll attach a latch to the underside of the table to keep it from sliding when someone leans on it.

Esther's mother arrived yesterday, and will be staying for a bit over a month.  She had a long flight in from Buenos Aires, and arrived safely and in good shape.  Since this is her first time in Israel, we'll have to give her "the tour" like we did for my mother.  Can't play favorites...

The weather here is starting to cool down.  The sky is overcast and we might even get some rain sometime over the next couple days.

We are trying to brine our olives (from our trees).  The olives we put in to "soak" for the past two weeks have changed colors, and we're hoping they are ok and don't have worms.  We have to do a bit more research on the whole olive-brining process, I think.

This coming week is Rosh Hashanah -- so shopping for last-minute shabbat supplies was a bit like contact-sports.  Especially at the fishmonger.  One woman was yelling at the fishmonger -- screaming, actually -- that she's was waiting for an hour, and why didn't he have her order ready yet?  I was going to mention to her that the forty other people in line may be the reason her order was taking time ...  And speaking of 'contact sports', my doctor told me I should avoid contact sports for the near term.  I didn't have the heart to tell him I've been avoiding contact sports since high-school!

In Israeli news: the [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1221745564761&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull people have spoken].  Well, actually, less than half a percent of the people have spoken -- and chose Tzippy Livni as the head of the "Kadima" party (Olmert's party).  I'm not sure it's an improvement over Olmert, but at least it's a change.  We'll see if she's able to pull together a governing coalition.

Until next week,<br>
Shabbat shalom and Shanah Tovah!

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