Package Pickup

We were excited to receive another package slip in the mail a few days ago. So, this afternoon, Eve and I walked to the post office to pick up the package and I was thrilled when the automated package pickup system gave me the same box of contact lenses that I took back to the post office that weren't mine a few weeks ago!

I left the package in the package pickup device so I'm sure I'll get a nasty letter from the post office soon.

I Can Read!

I love this flyer! I love it because I actually understand it (even without vowels) and because it's funny to see this in Hebrew; it says, "Do you want to make a lot of money?" I love it!

The Non-Sukkah Sukkah

Our apparently secular Israeli neighbor has given into pressure from the kids. Here's what the dialogue must've been (but in Hebrew, of course)...

KIDS: We want a sukkah!

PARENTS: We're not religious - we're not building a sukkah.

KIDS: But, all our friends have sukkot, why can't we have a sukkah like the other kids?!

PARENTS: No!

KIDS: We don't go to school during Sukkot because it's a holiday. All our friends eat and sleep in their sukkot with their families so it must be important and so we should have one too!

PARENTS: But we're different from your friends families - they're religious and we're not!

KIDS: C'mon!

PARENTS: No!

KIDS: Pleeeeeesssseeee! (in Hebrew - B'vaaaaaakkkkkaaaaa-sh-sh-sh-sh-aaaaaa!)

PARENTS: Fine, fine, enough already! We'll get you a sukkah and you can sleep in your tent in the sukkah!

KIDS: Yay!


The result is a non-sukkah sukkah (notice that there's nothing on top and it's not really a sukkah if you sleep in a tent inside the sukkah)...

History in a Nutshell

This fantastic animated map of the Middle East shows thousands of years of history. You have to see it!

Worst Product Ever!

I've discovered that there are many products in Israel that are better than those in the U.S. and there are also many that are worse than U.S. products. However, I think I have found the very worst product I have come across in my entire lifetime.

It all started when I needed to do some ironing. Our landlady left us a very nice ironing board except for the fact that it has no cover on it. Thus, if I were to iron directly on the board, the grid pattern of the board itself makes its way onto my garments.

To prevent this, I have been using a towel, but that has become tedious. I wanted to buy an official ironing board cover. My mission seemed simple and uncomplicated. Oh how I was wrong!

Friends and I went shopping at the big mall (a fabulous place!) and meandered into the home store there. They had a selection of ironing board covers so I picked the one that had the least ugly design (pretty much what I would also do in the States) and thought I was done with the matter.

The next day, I tried to use the ironing board cover. It was crazy! The packaging made so many promises...



Elastic...hmph! There wasn't a stitch of elastic on the whole thing. It was a flat, thin piece of fabric that draped over the board. Not much better than my current make-shift towel cover, I was thinking.

Anyway, I thought I would try it. As soon as the iron got near the "ironing board cover" it disintegrated! No kidding! A big patch melted right onto my iron, creating a huge gooey mess!

What kind of ironing board cover can't be ironed upon?!?

Summer Time is Over, Here

Sunday morning at 3 a.m., summer time (i.e. Daylight Saving Time) in Israel ended and we "fell back" an hour. This occurred four weeks before the United States ends DST. Thus, for four weeks, we're nine hours ahead of California, instead of ten hours ahead. Once DST ends in the U.S., we'll be back to being 10 hours ahead. Meanwhile, it's temporarily confusing.

The time traditionally changes in Israel between the new year, Rosh Hashana, and Yom Kippur. It helps to make the fast a bit more bearable because it "seems" to end a tad earlier since one is not yet used to the time change.

Nonetheless, starting our fast yesterday at 4:49 p.m. seemed exceptionally early but, then again, nightfall is now at 6 p.m. so we're more appropriately tied to the time that our longitude should be at (as we're close in time to the September equinox and on the equinox, sunrise should be at 6 a.m. and sunset should be at 6 p.m.).

But, there's one clock, our oven clock, that we can't figure out how to change the time on so it's already frustrating. I guess we're going to have to email our landlord and ask.