Adar

and often it is earned by noticing some self-ignorance.

I’ve been fighting with a local office of the VA on behalf of an elderly friend (who fought for us in WWII). It’s been frustrating. My kid is doing some tough growing up, and listening supportively has been very frustrating (sometimes I wish I could just tell him what to do—but oh, wait, I’m not him! Sigh.) Then my feet began kicking up the chronic pain…. THAT again.

I am one of those folks who gets her kicks being helpful to others. That’s fine until the demand outstrips supply, and suddenly Ms. Helpful turns into Ms. Angry Overwhelmed. Not so helpful!

And I indeed snapped. Not a big deal, just one cross sentence said too loudly, and I have already apologized to my adult son for losing it. No permanent damage done.

So it appears I haven’t made it to sainthood yet. (heh) The need for real vacation is showing, and I have already scheduled it.

For my next trip, I will schedule the real, actual, not-going-away-to-help-others vacation BEFORE I yell at anyone. You read it first here!

Wishing you and your family a lovely day today, and a beautiful year ahead!

Ah, the joys of a good historical whodunit! I stumbled upon the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters (pen name of Egyptologist Barbara Mertz) when I was looking for books about Hatshepsut. I’m several books in at this point, and it’s mostly silly fun but written by someone who knows her stuff about archaeologists and their work. Our heroine, Amelia, is an Edwardian lady archaeologist married to an Indiana Jones-like character and they have Adventures. Her motto seems to be “never leave home without your gun and your parasol.” As I said, silly fun.

I love a book that takes to a world I can’t visit myself!

This is the Saul Alinsky classic from 1971 that conservatives hate so much. I just read about him in an article in Jewish Currents; I was pretty ignorant about him other than as a name that the Right likes to throw around as the Bogey Man.

Sounds like my kind of guy. Haven’t read it yet, will do so this week.

Ever since I left school 4 years ago, I’ve read books like a maniac. It’s just so much fun to be able to choose them and read them!

I realize, though, that except for the list on my nook (which is not nearly all I’ve read) that I don’t keep track of it anywhere. So I’m going to start doing that here.

but I’ve had the goal, I’ve blogged about it, preached about it, cheered about it…. and now I’m going to release this goal to the universe.

It’s really hard to get people who don’t donate to donate.

Specifically, I hit a little depressive trough, triggered by a rather disappointing series of exchanges with a colleague, and until I got myself back on an even keel, the most glaring evidence that I was out of whack was my diet: fast food! diet soda! AUGH!

Now I’m back on track. It lasted about a week, and I didn’t die of it. But I am happy to be myself again.

Son’s apartment was burgled. I’ve been sick and/or hurt more than not. Other son is in an uncommunicative phase, which is perfectly OK but my mother reflexes are twitchy (my problem not his.) Work has been really really heavy in ways I can’t talk about here.

And it hit me this afternoon that I am pretty much depleted. Just too much.

Good news is that I’m taking a few days off to visit with a dear “daughter” (not biologically, but that’s how I feel about her.) Some of those days will be with her, snd some will be spent blissfully ALONE.

Here’s to good sleep, good exercise, good food, and more sleep….also to the recharging that can come with some silence. Also to the sauna that is known as the state of Alabama.

Gonna be gone for a few days. Be well, y’all.

Oh: if the Boogie Man is reading this and decides to burgle me, so be it. Just please take EVERYTHING away, so I can quit feeling guilty about my housekeeping!

it turned out that the Olympian effort this month was to survive two back injuries, one case of the stomach flu, and several very real crises that are not for public consumption.

The apartment still looks like a bomb went off. On the other hand, I’m still alive and kicking.

and I have accomplished the following:

1. I can read most Pharoah’s names, and I know the difference between the five different names most of them have.

2. I can read many standard funerary inscriptions.

Am just now dipping my toe into grammar, but after next Sunday, it’s over. Time to get back to work on my real work. But this has sure been fun!

I came down with the stomach flu, gastroenteritis, or whatever you want to call it.

I think my Olympic effort this month is just to get through July!

class tonight, since there was NO parking within walking distance for me. BOO!

I’ve spent the first half of the month injured, first from lifting too much stuff (my bad) and second from an exercise accident. Just now getting to where I can do more than the bare minimum.

So I guess I will redouble my Olympic effort at housekeeping!

Today was an exercise adventure. I was working out with the trainer, bouncing on an exercise ball (great cardio workout, especially if you use your arms, too) and when I came down there was a BANG! and I landed on the floor on my butt. I busted the ball!

She was soooo apologetic – I think it scared her worse than it did me. I was mostly just shocked. As I told her, it’s the best padded portion of my anatomy. However, tonight it’s sore. So I am sitting on ice, and hoping that tomorrow will be OK.

But hey—I HAVE KEPT UP AN EXERCISE PROGRAM FOR TWO YEARS! I have actually managed to wear out TWO pieces of equipment. (Well, sort of. The other was my first exercise ball, which when I got off it last winter rolled into the heater and melted. Still, I was using it just before it died, so I’m counting it.)

Never, ever in my life have I been this consistent with a program. Moreover, I got up off that floor, and for the rest of the hour we did gentle stretches and upper body work. It honestly didn’t occur to me to quit.

Thinking about it, I realize that I have really managed to bring about a genuine change in my lifestyle. I can’t imagine living without exercise now, even though I was a confirmed couch potato for my whole life before. Not a day goes by that I don’t do SOMETHING, even if the sciatica is cutting up or something else is going on: I just work what will work. It is a source of JOY.

Change is possible!!!

drank a diet soda…

ate some less-than-ideal meals….

all of that is OK, unless they become habits.

So here’s to renewed resolution (toasting with a glass of fizzy kefir!)

stairs are definitely a problem, even a couple of them. I’m still down with the sciatica, will go see the chiro on Monday, I guess.

This is definitely depressing.

Very frustrated with this right now. We gave a July 4 BBQ and by the time guests arrived I was gimpy, and by sundown I was a complete mess. Couldn’t sleep from the pain. Today I did all the right stuff and feel better but DARNIT this is annoying.

I will keep on doing what works, and may have learned a few bits about what doesn’t from details of party prep. Stairs really do appear to aggravate the heck out of it, even just a couple of them. Sigh.

I like the kefir a LOT. I had been warned that it was much sourer than commercial kefir, but I like it better.

I am trying something new tonight: I saved a couple of days worth of kefir in the fridge, and have now cut up a big juicy organic meyer lemon and put it in the kefir, set out to go through a secondary ferment. I read that this makes a milder, flavored drink and I thought, that sounds interesting!

Meanwhile my hardworking grains are busy fermenting more kefir. They are like a weird little pet: every night I drain off the kefir, and feed them new milk. They do their thing and the next night, more kefir!

We had the pickled veggies with friends today and the verdict is mixed. The pickled okra was the best – it was really good! The cucumber pickles were OK but not great. The kraut needed longer in the crock.

All useful info. This weekend I’ll go to the farmer’s market and get some veg’s for the next round.

because I found a good source for kombucha that was inexpensive enough that it wasn’t worth having yet another jar of mystery stuff in the kitchen (also, I think if my honey sees another SCOBY, she’s going to throw me out WITH the various “experiments.”)

Three Stone Hearth in Berkeley, CA has very nice kombucha at reasonable prices.