Homsa

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:41:10 GMT

There is a program about Arthur Big Boy Crudup on the radio. I didn't never heard about him before. Amazing stuff.

Today's dish was yami.

Leftover potatoes, Frozen green peas and chik peas.
Put them all in a pan and stir fry.

Prepare a cup of misu soup - put a large spoon of misu paste into a cup of boiling water. I also added Arame seaweed. Boil the soup for five minutes while stearing.

Add the misu soup to the pan with vegetables. Add some more water and put in rice noodles. All the stuff should be kept on a small flame until the noodles are ready.

Very very yami!

мой маленький спиногрыз

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 07:49:24 GMT

Не помню писала ли я о нем. Наверно писала когда то давно. И вот он вернулся.
Мой маленький то ли друг то ли враг.
Тот что сидит в душе и напоминает мне о моих детских мечтах.
И он же мне говорит что не нравится мне заниматься наукой.
Читать про всякие крутые научные открытия, вот это другое дело. Это замечательно.
А день за днем нудно грызть гранит, вот это мне совсем не нравится.
А нравится мне рисовать. И еще мне нравится расказывать ребятам про всякое интерестное.

И что же мне делать с ним? Вот уже два года, с тех пор как он проснулся, он мне постояно названивает и напоминает о себе.

seven months later

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:35:49 GMT

Amazing.

My last entry was on the last day of the previous year.

It is a new year and a new life, and a very very hot and humid summer. It feels even more so considering the big round belly I carry around these days.

I think I might come back here and right again.

I hope I'll get readers. It feels lonely without them.

А раз так, то можно расказать про нашу утрению встречу с дуллой по имени Натали. Дулла, это женщина котороая сопровождает роженицу во время родов, и помогает ей.

Натали нам очень понравилась. И мне и Слонику. Я думаю мы возьмем ее услуги.

А теперь можно и вздремнуть.

Juno

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:35:50 GMT

After a brief ruffle with the password monster, I'm back on air.

Read this review, by my beloved Roger Bert.

Then watch the movie.

Wonderful, warm and tender movie, that was just the right thing at the right time.

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 21:06:54 GMT

So we have a new cat. It looks identical to the old one, except for its eyes. It has none. So we call it Zhmurkin. Now the both of them are circling each other, trying to figure out who bites harder. I already know Zhmurkin has the sharper claws. The son of a bitch scratched me pretty badly a week ago. This is going to take ages to heal. I'm afraid he might be too nervous for our hectic little home, but we are giving him one more chance. For now, Shuher is guarding the door so as not to let the young one get out of his room, and seems to be doing well.

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:17:11 GMT

A moment before I go out for tai-chi practice, I'm eating a well earned eclaire with delicious cream.

University was closed today for protest, so I staid home to practice on the talk I'm about to give the coming Sunday. Finally managed to squeeze it into 10 minutes. Got depressed again about my work. Went out to buy coffee in my favorite coffee/ice-cream/second-hand-children-books shop, only to find it closed. The nice guy that owns and runs it probably went on vacation. He is so unpredictable in opening his shop, that I fear for his future. So I got my fix at the nearby pattiserie, where I bought me the lovely eclair resting now calmly in my tummy.

While I was drinking my coffee I browsed through a paper that happened to be on the table. It was a story about a guy who got rich, and about the book he wrote about "the secret to success", originally called the Secret. You know, one of those. He had a very good point about positive thinking and always keeping your dreams in mind though. So from now on, I'm going to think positive.

I'm going to do a great job on my PhD.
I'm going to find away to have art in my life.
I'm going to be happy about wherever life takes me.
And I'm going to run to tai-chi this very minute.

The eclaire is a vital part of the plan.

cheers and goodbye

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 06:14:21 GMT

Found it and loved it in Judaism section on ynet.

תלמוד בבלי, מסכת יבמות, דף ס"ב, עמוד ב - ס"ג עמוד א

אמר רבי תנחום אמר רבי חנילאי:

כל אדם שאין לו אישה, שרוי בלא שמחה, בלא ברכה, בלא טובה, בלא שמחה,

במערבא אומרים: בלא תורה, בלא חומה.

רבא בר עולא אמר: בלא שלום.

אמר רבי אלעזר: כל אדם שאין לו אישה אינו אדם, שנאמר (בראשית ה' 1): "זכר ונקבה בראם, ויקרא את שמם אדם

Сказал Раби Танхум, сказал Раби Ханилай:
Человек у которого нет жены, живет без радости, без блаженства, без добродетели, без радости
на западе (in Israel) говорят: без Тора, без преграды (в оригинале стена - я понимаю это как переносное значение защиты)
Раби Бар Ола сказал: без мира
Сказал Раби Эльазар:
Человек без жены не человек (адам), так как сказано:
"Он создал их мужчиной и женщиной, и дал им имя адам."

Из вавилонского Талмуда. Перевод мой, поэтому очень не точный

new beginings

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:11:25 GMT

В Субботу мы смотрели безглазого котенка. Он любопытный и доброжелательный. Сам он к нам не подходил, но внимательно за нами следил. А потом подпустил и позволил с ним познакомиться. Думаю он будет хорошим товарищем Шухеру. И выглядят они одинаково - два мусорных балбеса. в ближайшие дни мы навестим его снова.

Я опять на крыше, теперь уже на своем месте, с своим столом. Притащила все что нужно для хорошего кофе:

Макинетy - Слоник подарил,
Молотый кофе - аромат распространяется на всю комнату,
Походную газовую комфортку - ораньжевого цвета,
В раковине две кофейные чашечки, которые подарила мне bevit

Класcная погода - самое время вытащить кресло на крышу и заварить кофейку.

Нет спичек.

בשבת הלכנו לראות חתול ללא עיניים. הוא סקרן וידידותי. הוא לא ניגש אלינו בעצמו, אבל עקב אחרינו כל הזמן, ממש כאילו היו לו עיניים. מעט מאוחר יותר הוא איפשר לי להתקרב אליו ולעשות הכרות איתו. פרוותו רכה ונעימה. נראה לי שהוא יהיה חבר טוב עבור שוחר שלנו. הם גם נראים אותו דבר - שני חתולי זבל. בימים הקרובים נבקרו שוב.

שוב אני על הגג, עכשיו כבר במקום משלי, עם שולחן משלי. אירגנתי כל מה שצריך בשביל לעשות קפה טוב:

מקינטה, שנתן לי סלוניק במתנה,
קפה טחון מאילנ'ס, ריחו מתפשט בכל החדר,
גזיה, בצבע כתום בוהק,
bevit בכיור שני ספלי קפה שנתנה לי

מזג האוייר נהדר, זה הזמן להוציא כורסא לגג ולבשל קפה.

אין לי גפרורים

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 12:51:06 GMT

From a never ending page.

http://unlimited.orange.co.uk/?module=db949112650e4fdd8ac1baed8afea610

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 07:14:43 GMT

This wonderful stain was created by our computer screen after I spilled tea all over it.

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 12:09:02 GMT

Leonard Cohen sings to me while I paint the apartment doors white, and get high on oil colors.

happiness and bliss

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 00:05:38 GMT

This exciting present is from alisa_ivanovna.

My little sister joined the community as xquenda .
There is an interesting story concerning her nick I hope she will share.

I spent most of this day with my cousin Polina who just came from the states, and is going to live hear for the upcoming year. I showed her some bits and pieces of Tel Aviv. We had pomegranate juice, bought some rags in the Underground, had coffee and bruscheta in the Little Prince coffee and book shop, and all in all had a good time. A pretty good day

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 23:46:04 GMT

I was panicking today.

Then I took my blue back-pack and put a camera inside.
I walked down the streets of Givataim, past the bridge over the freeway, into the streets of Tel-Aviv. The buildings in Tel-Aviv may be as ugly as are those in Givataim, but I love them none the less, because they are Tel Aviv. I took some photos of the wonderful Ficus trees I met on the way.

A kind lady with a dog said there were mushrooms at the foot of the tree. They were some indeed, very sickly looking. Tree mushrooms.

Then I went past Rabin square to Noa and David. They live in a beautiful apartment on Chen boulevard, one of the loveliest and coziest streets in Tel-Aviv. We had some lemon verbena and sage tea and a talk. They made me feel better.

When they left I went to Dizengoff Centre. This is the only mall in the whole world I am happy to hang out in. It is built as a maze in the very heart of the city. It has an assortment of the most amazing and surprising shops and corners. To name but a few, there is a poetry shop, a couple of stores with handmade toys, a comics store and another with comics toys, a large store filled with fairies (the winged ones) and I could go on and on. There is also the shop were we got our wedding rings

This is also the best place to find souvenirs if you're visiting

This mall is not just an agregation of shops, it has a life of it's own. On the ground floor there's a space where young fashion designers have a chance to sell their clothes twice a week. Today they weren't there. There were kids practicing break-dance instead. Some of them were pretty good. This is the kind of place you feel comfortable with doing whatever you like. I found a pieace of empty floor and practiced my form. People stopped and looked with interest, a groupe of giggly girls tried to join me. And I didn't mind one bit.

The reason I went there were the two cinemas that show quality movies. I chose to see "Ensamble, c'est tout". If you haven't read the book by Anna Gavalda, you should. It is a good hearted story, the kind I was needing to hear. I left the cinema crying (it was Audrey's smile), and had a chance to take some pictures of the almost empty mall

I also had a shot of the people leaving the other cinema

I came home, were my slonik was waiting for me with a smile.
Life is good.

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:09:39 GMT

Я и кот в нашем новеньком читальном уголке

organ donation

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 23:11:37 GMT

Before I retire.

A good thing has been going on on the hebrew new internet lately, specifically ynet.

They keep posting stories about organ donations on their "front page", so to speak. I've just seen a story they posted about a man who died while waiting for a heart donor. Well this is terrible, but the good part is that it is at the top of the news. Such stories, as well as stories about people saved by donations and their donors are being posted on a daily basis. The idea is to get into the thick and stubborn heads of Israelis how important organ donation is. The thing is, that it is very rare that families agree to donate organs of their deceased loved ones. This is often because of religious beliefs and misconceptions, while there are several major rabbis who declared that organ donation is in fact ok with halacha, and is moreover a mitzvah.

When my mother died, her organs weren't fit for donation anymore. I wish her body would have lived on in someone else.

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 22:36:27 GMT

Our internet connection is a bit strange these days. In order for it to work, the phone has to be off the hook. Which means our phone is off the hook ALWAYS. Andrey developed a personal relationship with the entire technical support team of our internet provider. They are going to get married any day now. Looks like the phone is going to be of the hook for some time still. Happy little phone.

I'm writing more or less coherently for the first time since, well it feels like ever, but it's been almost two months. This was a very confusing period, and it isn't over yet. But this is a sign I'm doing some progress. I hope.

It's a new year, and next week is my birthday. I'm not turning 30 yet.

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 22:12:36 GMT

А я гадала сегодня по картам Таро.

Сначала получился политик из серии облаков, которая связана с разумом. То есть разум есть политик, и ему не стоит доверять. В некоторых вопросах. Эту карту я вытащила после того как долго долго мешала, а потом мне надоело и я потащила первую попавшуюся. Она мне не понравилась.

Потом появился шут. Эта карта из главной серии, но что это значит я не знаю. Шут неисправимо наивен и доверчив. Им ведут его наивность и доверчивость, а не скептицизм и опыт. А еще он связан с интуицией, которой стоит довериться и бесшабашно броситься вперед в приключения. Эта карта понравилась мне больше. Я ее достала размышляя о том что мне делать.

Третьей и последней была карта внутреннего голоса, тоже из главной серии. Из написанного про нее меня привлекло следующее. Бывает что слишком много голосов тянут нас в разные стороны. Во время такой смуты нужно искать внутреннюю тишину и равновесие. Тогда будет слышна самая правда. Эту карту я тянула думав о том как мне понять кто из всех чертей сидящих в моей голове говорит голосом интуиции. Кстати, внутренний голос говорит без слов.

Три карты в данном случае это все что надо. Мне кажется так. Первая - это то что у меня творится в голове - великая смута. Вторая, это то что стоит делать - довериться интуиции. Третья это то как это сделать - не суетиться и не дергаться в разные стороны. Попробовать навести порядок. Надо бы начать с нашей квартиры. Вобщем ничего нового.

Ну что-ж, ответ таков - сама разбирайся в своих чертях, сама решай.

А вообще-то карты врут.

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 13:58:36 GMT

יום הכפורים כמעט התחיל. יום של שקט.

Yom Hakipurim has almost started. It's becoming more quite, and in an hour or so there will be no more cars in the streets. The traffic's noise will be substituted with the screeches and laughter of kids riding bikes and other things with wheels. I guess some of them can be found on the roads already.

We're going to our friends for the meal. I'm looking forward for this day. I can do with some quite without and within. Within will be harder to achieve, but I'll try.

May we all be written down in the book of the living.

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 21:52:23 GMT

Can't sleep again. Nervous and afraid, again.

I thought I made my decision, but now I'm not at all sure again.

Don't feel like writing more clearly than this.

I can't sleep. Again.

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 20:31:43 GMT

chin chin

my Fridays

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 20:17:05 GMT

I've been meaning to write this post for some time now.

I've been having wonderful Fridays the past months. As we are moving out of Tel-Aviv this week, I will not have them anymore, and the ones I will have will be different. Hopefully I will find a way to restore them in time.

I wake up early, curled up with my Slonik. Get out of bed, get dressed, take my little bag on wheels and go to the market. From where I live, I get there by a short bus ride. The closest market to home, and so far my favorite is Shuk Ha-Carmel. It has everything a great market should have. Loud shopkeepers, smelly puddles around the fish stalls, mangy cats, heaps of colourful fruit, hot sun, funny little ladies checking very carefully the carrots, and fat big mamas haggling with the shop-keepers, and old grandpas that aren't really sure what they were supposed to buy, and hot gay men shopping for the best vegetables and spices.
There is a spices shop run by the Amrani family, where you can find all sorts of spice and nut and dry fruit, and tahini, and herbal tea in huge bags, and lots of other stuff. And there is a burekas shop run by Sami, that has the best Turkish eiran (it's a kind of yogurt). And there's a stoll that has all kinds of peppers, and another one that has the best eggplants. There are marvelous greens' stalls, with all sort of fresh herbs and leaves, that has mingled smells of fresh parsley and rotten lettuce (trodden over on the ground) . One day I intend to take pictures, but till then, here are some I found.

Then I take my heavy trolley back home. I should add a few words about the neighborhood around the Carmel. It consists of one and two story old houses. Some of them are very neglected, some are renovated. It is partly deserted, but the glimpses of life I did see there are fascinating. If the town council will have enough sense not to demolish this lovely village in the city, this area will turn into a wonderful place one day.

I take my shopping back home, adding some fish from our local fish monger on the way. I deposit my booty in the fridge, do some cooking or cleaning or reading or relaxing, until 13:00. Around this hour, I put on my tai-chi T-shirt, and my black tai-chi pants and a pair of brightly coloured socks and my wonderful tai-chi shoes. I take my stick and a bottle of watter and head to the park. My school gives free lessons every Friday near the wooden pedestrian bridge in the Yarkon park. We are not the only ones there. Lot's of people come to that place to practice all sorts of martial arts. To name just a few, there is a small group of Aiki-Jui-Jitsu that do marvelous sword work, samurai style, and a group of Crane Kung-Fu, they have a huge dog with a walrus-like bark. And once I glimpsed a guy practicing some scary looking instrument that was made of three stuffs put together by chains. Another time several aikido people came buy. They brought shovels to clean up their clearing of fallen leaves before they practice.

We don't clean up. We just practice on what is given. Before the lesson starts the advanced students practice some of their stuff, which is fun to watch. And me and the other guys practice our Xhing-I. At 14:00 we start. By and by people come. Most are regular, but every once in a while some passer buy joins in. After worm up, the instructor leads the form. The group follows him, and whenever one of the beginners reaches a movement they didn't learn they step back, and are helped by one of the assistants. Lately I've been asked to assist. That's a very interesting experience. We finish our lesson with some pushing hands or other pair work.
Here are some pictures taken by Yael

Then it is evening, and we do something fun with Slonik.

I loved my Fridays that way. I hope I will be able to build a similar routine in our new place.

happy birthday grandma

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 09:27:15 GMT

My babushka had her birthday yesterday.

This is her picture in happier days, she is second on the left, surrounded by the people she loves.

snippets from the institute

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 11:10:38 GMT

What if you have a large active dog named Pushkin?

You get to call

"Пушкин, ко мне!"

while stroling along Weizmann's alleys.

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 13:07:52 GMT

Todays seminar started with thanks.

"Thank you for inviting me here, it is such an honour. This institute is an island of sanity in this world. Where else would people converge on sunday to talk about two-dimensional electron gas for two hours, and then again, on monday to talk about two-dimensional electron gas for who knows how long. An island of sanity."

During the last few talks I remained depressingly ignorant about anything that was said. I heard the words, I saw the pictures and the equations. And I couldn't understand one little thing. This state of things was alright at the beginning of my masters. At this stage, it is absolutely depressing.

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 17:10:07 GMT

The seniors' club next door are having their usual Sunday party.

This means I either suffocate with the windows closed, or endure the yelps of the gargoyle they brought in for singing.
I'm choosing the third - a sweaty tai-chi practice in the near by park.
There is something really special about sweating during a tai-chi practice, liberating and cleansing.

so I'm off.