Blog/June 2016/Jun 24th

June 24th (See this week's devar torah)

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Where shall I begin? In summary: Sarah’s in the USA. My mom is trying to outdo Evel Knievel. The heat is getting to us. We’re moving forward.

In more detail, now:

Sarah’s planned to visit her grandma and uncle in Seattle, and her sister and brother-in-law in New York. This Monday we sent her off to the Pacific Northwest, and she arrived safely, B”H. And it’s a good thing she went, as we’ll tell you presently. Anyway, she did have plans more or less, but she’s getting better at “rolling with the punches”, so whatever she ends up doing will be a good thing, we’re sure.

Her grandma, my mother, will soon be celebrating her 90th (which is why I’ll be going to the USA shortly as well). In preparation for that august occasion, mom decided she needed to step up her game a few notches. So she tested whether her knees were harder than the concrete barrier at the grocery store, two weeks ago. The concrete won by acclamation.

Not satisfied with that, mom did a rematch between her elbow and the tiles on her kitchen floor. The tiles won by knock-out.

So now my mother is quite banged-up, with a cast on her dominant arm and unable to walk without a lot of pain. This is not an auspicious beginning to the 90th b-day celebrations. I’ve told her she has to wait until after I visit before she takes on any more hard objects. Hopefully, she’ll obey my directive. Fortunately, there are drugs to help manage the pain, and the elbow and legs will heal with time. They will, that is, if she doesn’t decide to jump Snake River Canyon. Kids, these days!

Fortunately, our kid, Sarah, is with her grandma and is helping her out with whatever is needed. Not, perhaps, what she had really planned on doing, but she’s happy to be of use. But once she leaves, grandma will have to rely solely on my brother, who — though also happy to help — is also on the disabled-list. What to do?

Various and sundry:

• In late-breaking news: The UK votes to leave the EU after a long campaign for “Brexit” (British exit). Rule, Britannia! — I’m surprised the Brits still had it in them. Hopefully, other members of the EU will follow suit.
• Ideologues make poor politicians. And dangerous ones, to boot.
• CIA Director pretends foreign cryptography doesn’t exist. Gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling.
• A Japanese anti-Trump commercial. Just bizarre.

Moving forward we are. We are moving forward. Forward, that is, with our e8th project. We received the prototype hardware late this week, and so far have managed to verify that it works as expected insofar as we are able to test it. This being an entirely new area for me, it’s both interesting and frustrating — since I need to learn a new set of skills. Fortunately, I’m an autodidact.

The heat has been oppressive this week. Hot during the day (35-39C here) and almost hot at night (25-28C). Fortunately, the Creator in His wisdom inspired mankind to invent air-conditioning. The forecast calls for a cooling trend Monday night and onward, but still above average for this time of year. Summer is here, baby!

This shabbat Esther and I will be joined by my nephew Chaim and his lovely wife Ariele. On the menu:
pot roast with potatoes, roasted green beans, roasted vegetables, schnitzel, veggie moussaka, salatim, banana cake, and fruit.

Until next time,
shabbat shalom!

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