tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90567902012-01-10T20:48:19.344+02:00Some kind of memoir by an American-IsraeliSavtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.comBlogger5501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-41623666784897421342012-01-07T20:21:00.001+02:002012-01-07T20:24:47.885+02:00

I can't believe over six months have passed since my last post. I guess facebook has replaced blogger as my habitual journal tool, but sometimes it's nice to stretch out and write some more rambling thoughts. Littlest granddaughter ("The Doodle") is now 13 months old and has stolen my heart. My time in Florida this year (well, actually last year, but let's not quibble) has been spent doing lots

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-54249061869960496862011-07-03T11:27:00.002+03:002011-07-03T11:37:54.097+03:00

Movie clip was recorded by my father in 1938, of his mother pushing me in my carriage, on Palm Street in Lindenhurst, Long Island. Dad's camera was 16mm. I transcribed the film to VHS cassette several years ago and then to DVD last year. Finally, yesterday, I got it into iMovie. Subtitles and music to come...stay tuned.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-24463222661670037072011-04-17T10:28:00.014+03:002011-04-17T11:04:59.440+03:00

Owning two homes is not an indicator of wealth: it's an indicator of having beloved family in North America and having a life in Tel Aviv. To finance this dilemma, I plan to rent out whichever home I'm not in. So far, the plan is to be based in Israel for seven months, Florida for the remaining five. The Florida home is in a resort town, and the "high season" starts in January, so that's when

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-35152557326525226672011-03-05T14:48:00.002+02:002011-03-05T14:53:50.961+02:00

I love going to evening art class so I can see this scene each week at twilight. My art teacher's studio is just beyond the archway, and is so rich with Old City atmosphere that I immediately go into a different place in my head when I enter. All stress, strife, conflict, tension, and worries evaporate. Aaaaah.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-1665750711084225682011-02-02T20:12:00.013+02:002011-02-19T13:13:55.235+02:00

Back home in Tel Aviv, having established my Florida base and played an appropriate grandmotherly role in the birth of my third granddaughter. The stay was neatly divided into two parts: Part 1 - furnishing the condo (thank you Beverly S., Anne L., Lois & Harold R., Goodwill, Craig's List, Target, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and Sur La Table). Part 2 - babysitting and cooking. There were also a Part

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-91314555228947564812010-11-09T03:23:00.003+02:002010-11-09T03:25:56.449+02:00

Born Saturday, November 6, 2010 at 11:40AM Mother, daughter, father, big sister, and grandparents all doing well.It doesn't get better than this!

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-68260195593680142462010-08-12T23:29:00.006+03:002010-09-24T19:41:34.456+02:00

The long-awaited family reunion is now over. It was everything I wanted: centrally-located temporary home, mild weather, plenty of sights to see, both granddaughters and their parents in the same place at the same time. My heart is full :-)

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-4880121075816745472010-07-30T15:51:00.001+03:002010-07-30T15:52:53.364+03:00

A very important and serious read, on the most important subject ever.Hospice medical care for dying patients: newyorker.com

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-31485942465399116862010-07-23T12:33:00.013+03:002010-07-23T13:00:55.700+03:00

Here it is, three months later, and not a word from me! How did you manage, dear reader (in this case, I fear the singular is literal)? For now, no news is indeed good news: I've been mostly lazy, sometimes dreamy, and sometimes euphoric over the expectation of another grandchild who kindly agreed to arrive in Florida during my stay there this Fall.Art worksClick on the picture to see what else

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-11232585260076011472010-04-23T15:47:00.013+03:002010-05-07T12:12:21.261+03:00

I have bought an apartment in Florida very near my son and his family.My granddaughters made me do it, although they don't know it. Not having had a grandparent as I grew up, I had no idea what grandparenting - or should I say grandchilding? - involved, but living in the intensely familial atmosphere of Israel for 22 years has demonstrated its many benefits at one remove. These little girls are

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-78510891226066607222010-03-22T09:26:00.002+02:002010-03-22T09:35:57.869+02:00

Two whole months without posting? To readers who don't communicate with me in any other way, no I'm not dead! I've just been pretty much preoccupied with the impending purchase of a small second home base, in FLORIDA (West Coast)! I don't want to publish details until the deal is done, which, if things go according to schedule, will be one month from today. What you need to know now is: there

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-18494586516222902642010-01-19T12:59:00.005+02:002010-01-19T14:43:10.103+02:00

Hello everyone! (all 12 of you)I returned last night from week in Florida, visiting Little Bear and her parents. The inconvenience and expense of air travel should not be undertaken lightly - one needs strong motivation, especially when it is not a business trip. I think I went through 9 or 10 security checks altogether, and one pat-down (at London's Heathrow airport), and many weather delays.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-5260472667766357092009-12-19T14:04:00.007+02:002009-12-19T20:01:21.068+02:00

Savlanut means "patience" in hebrew. It is one of the first words I learned, and also one of the first words I taught Mermaid Girl.When you grow up in a young country like the USA (compared to those of Europe, which were my only other frame of reference for the first half of my life), you don't learn much about patience. The time horizon of four years (based on the Presidential election cycle) is

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-87471384967035998882009-12-03T17:36:00.005+02:002009-12-04T11:25:56.521+02:00

The whole month of November flew by without a post by me, while other bloggers were posting away, sometimes daily. Why was I so negligent, you ask? (Assuming there are any of you still out there.) Well here's what was going on:1. My fifth blogaversary. If that does not explain why I didn't post during November, you just don't know my logic. If you do know my logic, please explain it to me.**2.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-27411487848407361572009-10-29T17:45:00.003+02:002009-10-29T17:59:24.369+02:00

I didn't mention in my post about Iceland, but my Facebook friends know that I missed my original flight there from Tel Aviv via Paris, booked through Expedia. The story was so upsetting that I didn't want to revisit it en blogge for posterity, but it involved my oversleeping and forgetting some essential medicine in the fridge and having to return for it. Although we (Pippi Bluestocking, Little

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-66216343619776577812009-10-24T12:43:00.005+02:002009-10-24T12:50:04.372+02:00

...continued from version 1.0...The colors don't show up accurately in the photo, but even if they did, I think they're too muddy. However I enjoyed immensely playing with various brush strokes, and managed to channel a little Van Gogh in at least one part. Can you spot it?Next week I'll see what I can do to brighten up the colors. Slathering paint with a palette knife is really a kick.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-34961322897372418242009-10-09T12:08:00.012+02:002009-10-09T12:48:55.836+02:00

While I was in New York, I took a photo of some interesting buildings over on the West Side in the 50's. Now that I'm home, I'm getting back into my regular routine, which includes a once-a-week studio art class. My wonderful teacher encouraged me to start using oil paint, which I last used in 1953. But this time I'm learning about layering the paint, so what I've accomplished so far is just the

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-14195113878664394812009-09-23T13:40:00.001+03:002009-09-23T13:45:24.280+03:00

How strange that I spent my 21st anniversary of making aliyah in the very place I left on August 28, 1988: New York City. This trip, which I called my Farewell Tour until good friend renamed it First Farewell Tour, was accentuated by a couple of excursions to my childhood home (Forest Hills) and my children's childhood home (Teaneck, NJ). For some reason I had expected to see both places in worse

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-91333577431215049362009-09-18T08:57:00.002+03:002009-09-18T09:00:12.118+03:00

Thanks to Tzvi Fabian of the Isramac group on Yahoo for this excellent New Year's greeting. Tzvi warned, "Don't try this at home."

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-88362301442550675362009-08-23T09:31:00.003+03:002009-08-23T09:48:20.677+03:00

Here's my big granddaughter enjoying her birthday-gift trampoline. I have managed to keep cool by escaping Tel Aviv's August and visiting family and friends in cooler climes: Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Northern California. Living out of a suitcase isn't bad, but I'm getting homesick.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-22556545566282632262009-07-30T16:18:00.003+03:002009-07-31T17:39:59.554+03:00

Here are some things you probably didn't know about Iceland:1. The potatoes are delicious...much better than Israeli potatoes and also better than American potatoes2. The favorite candy is chocolate-covered licorice3. Felted wool is very IN...they even sell felt-covered soap4. Leave your shoes in the hall when you enter the house5. There are way fewer than a million people in the whole country,

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-61956965066833918212009-07-02T22:48:00.004+03:002009-07-02T23:01:19.547+03:00

Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI PartVII Part VIIIThe apartment management company called again, this time to say that the error had been found, they sent a new form to Sharon at my neighborhood branch of the bank and I needed to go sign it. I said a prayer of thanks that this new account was with a branch on my regular dog-walking itinerary, although of course that was one reason

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-71350800725790336482009-06-16T09:56:00.003+03:002009-06-16T10:05:01.874+03:00

Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI Part VIIIt's been a while since you've heard from me about the bank story, because slowly slowly the transition has been happening. Until this morning, when the management company for my apartment called to say that my payment for June was rejected. This is the first month that the payment is supposed to come from Bank Discount, not Bank Mizrahi, so

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-44870807219828383202009-05-27T11:57:00.006+03:002009-05-27T13:29:31.398+03:00

Somewhere along the line I read that Israel was supposed to give birth to a phenomenon called "The New Jew:" That is, a Jew different from the anti-semitic Western Diaspora stereotype who cringed and spent his life indoors either studying Torah or counting money. In contrast, early Zionist posters showed muscular tanned guys who were fighters for independence by day and kibbutz farmers by night.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-6435559699091483172009-05-22T13:12:00.006+03:002009-05-22T13:28:29.769+03:00

Every evening, even before Rothschild Boulevard got "upscaled" with plantings, benches, pavements, and bike lanes, people have gathered to play bolles or bocce or whatever it's called in your country, and I see them doing it on my evening dog walk (top photo). The bright lights were added as part of the "upscaling," which I think happened when Tel Aviv -The White City - became a UNESCO heritage

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-84780221687751498022009-05-17T19:52:00.003+03:002009-05-17T21:11:55.406+03:00

I didn't have my camera with me, so I can only describe what I saw this morning: a large group - at least 30 - of mostly white-haired people clustered together, walking slowly up Rothschild Blvd., as I took Shuki for her morning, walk at 2PM. Aha, I thought. A swarm of tourists.Now I got to indulge in one of my favorite games: guess what country the tourists are from, based on their appearance

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-7732036708318773832009-05-15T12:45:00.002+03:002009-05-15T23:39:46.494+03:00

Three Little Maids From SchoolOriginally uploaded by savtadotty[I miss Gilbert and Sullivan!]Well, not exactly maids, more like three grandmas...we're waiting for class to start, outside the Alma Institute in Tel Aviv. The subject was "Racism and Anti-Semitism," and I learned a lot about history. For example, anti-semitism is a particular example of racism, and racism started in the nineteenth

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-73155679995871910602009-05-10T08:21:00.002+03:002009-05-10T08:22:20.042+03:00

Doggie PornOriginally uploaded by savtadottyAs if my dog didn't have a minute's rest all week long? Well she's almost 16 years old and has finally taught me to bury her treats in blankets or under pillows for her to dig up, so she deserves a comfortable retirement. She probably thinks I'm a very slow learner and handicapped by my missing tail.Which is true.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-10833425267092432832009-05-01T15:48:00.003+03:002009-05-01T15:53:39.447+03:00

Patriotic DorothyOriginally uploaded by LisaG in Tel AvivThe annual Israel Independence Day barbecue was very successful. I achieved new heights in patriotism, and this even without the aid of beer or wine.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-8914858514647687532009-04-24T12:01:00.002+03:002009-04-24T12:16:27.227+03:00

At 10:15 this morning the phone rang. It was the gas canister delivery man. He wanted to know if I have a key to the lock that chains the two canisters together. About 10 years ago I was a pioneer victim of double gas canister theft. It was discovered on a Friday evening when I tried to make some pasta for guests, including a first-time visitor to Israel from San Francisco. Late that afternoon I

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-89958538860222509722009-04-22T11:25:00.002+03:002009-04-22T11:35:44.887+03:00

I was just watching a little bit of Ahmadinejad's rant at the Durban II conference, and thinking about myself as a racist, occupier, oppressor, and all those other bad things he said about Israel (I take things personally). It triggered a long-ago memory from a workshop I once attended at Temple Emeth in Teaneck, NJ, circa 1978. We were asked to rank the following aspects of our individual

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-6219417247694670962009-04-20T14:03:00.006+03:002009-04-21T23:57:42.125+03:00

Gas Company: I called them to order a spare gas canister, which started off the whole chain of events in the first place, and the order went through. The case will be closed when that canister arrives, "within ten days." Yeah, sure. We'll see in ten days..Bank Friday: Received in the mail a cash machine card from Bank Discount with an explanatory letter in Hebrew. Decided to take advantage of the

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-29397078108148980672009-04-18T14:33:00.003+03:002009-04-18T14:45:44.349+03:00

David Brooks goes on to add "Public culture is one long cacophony of criticism."My impression of the New York Times is that its editorial policy towards Israel has been less than sympathetic over the last several years, "several" being since the death of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. Regardless of whether or not you agree, yesterday's op-ed piece by David Brooks (I think a subscription is required to

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-28198764325252512082009-04-08T17:09:00.006+03:002009-04-08T17:15:41.710+03:00

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-21369499346346309832009-04-03T08:28:00.005+03:002009-04-03T08:43:40.409+03:00

Tomer showed up! At 8:15 there was a knock on my door. I opened it and a smiling Tomer, my now-beloved PazGaz technician, announced, "I've finished." I am now cooking with gas!(Next, they just have to deliver the spare tank I ordered over a month ago, setting this whole chain of events in motion. With any luck, what I have will last for the next few days.)

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-55835651490055495982009-04-02T16:29:00.004+03:002009-04-02T16:51:23.502+03:00

Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VII thought I would check this morning with Yelena of Bank Discount to confirm my 1PM appointment with Hagai. Imagine my surprise when the person who answered my call said, "Yelena doesn't work here any more." I recovered quickly enough to ask whether Hagai was still planning to meet me at 1PM, and the guy who answered said, "Yes."So I gathered all

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-80676857039140970262009-04-01T13:50:00.003+03:002009-04-01T14:19:23.003+03:00

The Plot Thickens...I think by this time you need to be introduced to the Cast of Characters:Judy - my customer service rep at PazGasTomer - my PazGas technician who is forbidden by law to climb a ladder higher than 4 metersMaor - the boss at the building management company, currently on vacationGili - Maor's secretary at the building management companyItzhak - my neighbor in the adjoining

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-85467437919957136432009-03-31T13:12:00.008+03:002009-03-31T14:17:30.348+03:00

Yesterday Tomer, the PazGaz technician, not the same one who came last time, arrived, a little late, but he did call first. He examined my detached pipe, determined that it was too high for his ladder. I protested. He explained: according to the law as of January 2009, gas company workers are not allowed to climb ladders higher than four meters, something the first technician neglected to mention

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-45598287124580265202009-03-30T16:24:00.007+03:002009-04-02T16:46:38.940+03:00

Part IPart IIPart IIIPart IVPart VOn Tuesday last week I took along a Hebrew-reading friend to explore a Bank Mizrahi information machine's menu tree. (This machine is different from an ATM: no cash comes out, just printouts of various reports on your account, unless the machine has run out of paper.) We searched all the menus for "Print Out Standing Orders," to no avail. I was perversely cheered

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-37947051501373916072009-03-24T14:16:00.004+02:002009-03-24T14:28:39.679+02:00

Having failed to find anyone walking around Sheinkin Street with a seven-meter ladder looking for something to do, I pondered my options when the phone rang. It was the dry cleaner, wanting to know whether he could deliver and hang my newly-cleaned curtains. Right now! I said, looking forward to completing at least one item on my to-do list. About five minutes later, Oleg arrived with my curtains

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-18306224958426341962009-03-22T16:17:00.002+02:002009-03-22T16:38:15.371+02:00

Just as an oyster needs a grain of sand to irritate it into producing a pearl, so my life presents me, The Big Oyster, with so many, many grains of sand that I could set up my own Add-A-Pearl business (anyone remember those?) Perhaps living near the beach has its disadvantages.To distract me from my Bank Miseries, sort of on the back burner, as it were, I have been suffering from low-level Gas

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-19364234731052014252009-03-22T12:40:00.002+02:002009-03-22T12:43:31.678+02:00

Just got a call from Sharon. The bank statement I provided to her is not adequate to move my standing orders. I have to supply her with an official list, obtainable only from Bank Mizrahi. Sharon claims that I can get one from any of the several Mizrahi automatic information machines sprinkled around town, but I just know the first one I pick will be out of service. I think I'll have to schedule

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-37336810019549603892009-03-19T14:00:00.004+02:002009-03-19T21:03:33.955+02:00

Encouraged and emboldened by Yelena's phone call yesterday, I strode over to the Shekel Branch this morning to see what progress, if any, had been made. There was a different security guard on duty, and he was not as kind, so I had to tie my dog up to wait outside. This was a bad omen.I went in and asked for Yelena, to the blank stares of the four clerks on duty. I explained to one of them who I

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-90126381155203068712009-03-16T19:13:00.003+02:002009-03-18T16:00:55.211+02:00

Armed with a check for umpteen dollars, on fine day I trudged over to the part of my new branch that handles foreign currency. Because this branch has two storefronts, on opposite sides of Sheinkin Street: one for shekels, and one for foreign currency. With two different security guards, of course. This one was nice in a different way: he wouldn't let me bring my dog inside, but he offered to

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-2134678282353807702009-03-15T22:29:00.007+02:002009-03-15T22:50:45.551+02:00

Having made this decision, I took myself over to the bank one morning. Banks are usually open in the mornings, although the morning may end at different times at different branches, sometimes as late as 2:30PM, unless there is a strike or a holiday. There I asked, as my neighbor recommended, for Sharon, a lovely woman young enough to be my granddaughter if I had started reproducing at 20. She was

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-35350721410064365872009-03-06T21:11:00.003+02:002009-03-07T20:16:46.890+02:00

After 20 years' of unsatisfactory service from Bank Mizrahi, I decided to move my bank account to another bank. Those of you who live outside of Israel might wonder why I waited so long? Those of you who live in Israel might wonder why I bother?You see, it's a well-known fact among us Western world immigrants that Israeli banks are not customer-service-oriented. That is, they don't do ordinary,

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-9886796467048758022009-02-25T16:01:00.006+02:002009-02-25T16:05:36.875+02:00

To myself! Made by Suzi Shenfeld.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-36019587626359238502009-02-10T09:11:00.002+02:002009-02-10T09:34:03.298+02:00

I know, I know, blogging is supposed to be informal, and everyone ha's hi's flaw, but I cannot tolerate it's/its any more! Ladie's and Gent's:IT'S = IT ISIT'S not obvious: English has ITS quirks.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-27591064064385385442009-02-06T21:04:00.004+02:002009-02-06T22:36:27.496+02:00

1. Lunches prepared for 2 or more people: 52. Dinners (including reheated leftovers) prepared for 2 or more people: 43. Midmorning snacks prepared for two different tastes: 74. Food bowls filled for 3 indoor cats: 95. Food bowl filled for an unknown number of outdoor cats: 86. Laundry loads done: 37. Sinks full of dishes washed (by hand...no dishwasher!): 128. Trips to grocery stores: 59. Trips

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-87620547466878812532009-01-30T11:26:00.004+02:002009-01-30T11:51:59.314+02:00

...I would have written the letter below, with one revision as shown. I read it on Yaeli's blog, and she got it from Zahava. I don't read the Hebrew newspaper Maariv, so I can't verify that was actually first published there, or whether it was actually written by a soldier or by a creative reporter, but it expresses what I want to say to the people of Gaza. Note to George Mitchell: Please think

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-54927753610379793782009-01-19T17:10:00.003+02:002009-01-19T17:24:53.862+02:00

One soldier's hat: how I wish it wouldn't need to be used, except for ski trips or other recreational purposes.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-48375403172611884772009-01-12T16:37:00.014+02:002009-01-12T17:27:04.280+02:00

Simple [Israeli] Soldier's Hat, Two Ways There are two patterns here, one for a hat that can be knit flat on two straight needles and one for a hat that can be knit in the round on a circular needle and/or double-pointed needles. The latter method is recommended because it requires less sewing up at the end and tends to look neater. Yarn: You must use machine washable plain black worsted weight

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-2499051462305784482009-01-11T23:46:00.002+02:002009-01-11T23:51:17.388+02:00

http://drawingtelaviv.blogspot.com/2009/01/21st-world-wide-sketchcrawl-results.htmlThank you Carol Feldman for organizing and documenting a lovely Sunday sketching outing for us. After so much war stuff, about which we can only watch and worry, a few hours' break on a sunny afternoon, focusing on getting the lines, shapes, colors, proportions the way we wanted them, was just the ticket.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-78019914617122165542009-01-08T15:54:00.003+02:002009-01-08T16:09:20.875+02:00

A good part of today so far was spent obsessing and discussing the current doings in Gaza. One of my friends regrets that Israel didn't send ground troops in at the very start to rout out Hamas terrorists more quickly, another focuses on the tragedy of civilian deaths, and now Joe the Plumber is coming to Israel to report on the situation first-hand as a citizen journalist.To take a break, I had

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-50077570568080111412009-01-05T22:38:00.003+02:002009-01-05T23:10:06.134+02:00

It's easy for me to say that war is hell, from my (relatively) safe nest in the Tel Aviv "bubble," but this latest invasion into Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces can't be nice for anyone in the Middle East. Innocent people get killed, hurt, widowed, orphaned, sick with worry. If I had had the bad luck to live in Gaza with no place else to go, I would be pretty miserable and scared today. That

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-71427013857731113292008-12-20T10:00:00.001+02:002008-12-20T10:03:45.746+02:00

Purchased at Runner's World on a cold Sunday in mid-November.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-51043760794039071052008-12-09T20:25:00.014+02:002008-12-20T10:12:41.497+02:00

This is extremely embarrassing, but not the way a normal person would be embarrassed. I've just learned that I am a direct descendent, namely the/a great-great-great-granddaughter, of the Tsaddik of Polnoye! That is, the Tsaddik of Polnoye was my grandmother's grandfather.There are at least three questions you might ask (in no particular order, although your order might tell you something about

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-21914773400871696272008-12-05T00:08:00.008+02:002008-12-05T00:32:36.733+02:00

This is what I was drawing when my friend was drawing me, as we sat in a cafe this morning. She's a serious and trained artist, and knows her way around water colors, whereas I am an amateur, having fun with pen and ink in my Tree Period.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-22767696189786081332008-11-30T18:27:00.002+02:002008-11-30T18:35:42.683+02:00

This is not a new discovery, but whenever I go on a trip, I discover it all over again. The airports, the roads, the trains, the sidewalks, the shops, are so full of people: every one of them has a story to tell. And I want to hear it! What's with this curiosity? Are we all born with it, but become too busy writing our own story to have time for anyone else's? I imagine sitting around the tribal

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-82764795123074545352008-11-28T22:39:00.005+02:002008-11-28T22:48:23.623+02:00

Aside from losing, replacing, and then finding my American passport, and a lot of after-school pickups, I managed to organize a family photo session. My daughter has posted the definitive and most eloquent description of that event on her blog. Be sure to scroll down to the end of the post for the grand finale. Note: the person she refers to as "my mom" is me.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-79559809816290038942008-11-18T18:28:00.005+02:002008-11-20T22:33:14.330+02:00

*Update*I gave a good bit of thought to this year's election, as did most of you. But one thing I didn't have to think about at all was whether or not to vote. Of course it's a citizen's duty to vote, but some of my dual-citizen (American-Israeli, to be precise) opted out of voting in the US election because they felt they could only vote responsibly in Israel, because they don't live in the USA

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-69802651490867114252008-11-11T17:52:00.002+02:002008-11-11T18:01:31.106+02:00

From English Bay in Vancouver to the East River in New York City would be more accurate. I arrived in New York City this morning, just in time to avoid the closure of Fifth Avenue for the Veterans' Day Parade, but not in time to avoid heavy traffic in all directions. If I hadn't had baggage I would have taken the subway and arrived at my best friend's apartment much sooner. Never mind. From the

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-86251958004774134702008-11-02T20:43:00.010+02:002008-11-02T22:29:14.423+02:00

All of this connects my excursion to LA a few days ago with the loss of my passport a couple of weeks ago. I attended a memorial symposium at UCLA in memory of my recently deceased second-cousin, Dr. Murray Jarvik. Among the entertaining and informative talks given at the symposium by his illustrious colleagues in Neuroscience, Psychiatry, and Psychology, one - rather frighteningly entitled "

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-71609219330449658382008-10-24T01:00:00.003+02:002008-10-24T01:26:22.976+02:00

I lost my passport somewhere between the airport and my daughter's house upon arrival last week. I had been traveling for 32 hours, and although that's no excuse, it's probably the reason. I called the taxi company, whose name I had the presence of mind to note as I entered the cab, and I called the airport lost and found. Nada. I was so anxious and embarrassed that I didn't tell a soul. Monday

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-84536261346325653292008-10-11T18:32:00.003+02:002008-10-11T18:55:30.045+02:00

Source: Via YouTube viaarwen (screenplay) via elswhere (editor) and colleagues at greenspanbuxprod.Deserves an Oscar for editing, costumes, production design, sound track, sound editing, and acting. I think I'm biased, but is that any reason for me to recuse myself in this day and age?

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-2999267638668985932008-10-10T06:33:00.004+02:002008-10-10T06:40:42.850+02:00

Couldn't resist the catchy title, even though my own fast was lame!I'm having lots of fun squiring my cousin and his friend around "my" Tel Aviv, introducing them to my favorite places and people. They've each been to Israel many years ago, so I could watch them enjoying how much things have changed. I realized again how amazing Yom Kippur in Tel Aviv is: the quietness makes the place impressive,

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-26932715993064963002008-09-30T10:45:00.001+03:002008-09-30T10:51:31.521+03:00

View Larger MapI decided to look at a map of my life's journey until 1988, all the places I've lived, not including a year studying in Paris and a four-month work-stint in London. Google maps can't do New Jersey to Tel Aviv. Yet. Or show us my next destination.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-73666831437299294672008-09-28T10:29:00.004+03:002008-09-28T10:58:29.383+03:00

I have the feeling that the biggest crime in Israel at the moment is spending the holidays alone. God forbid! Everyone seems to be in a pre-holiday frenzy at least as hectic as I remember the pre-Christmas period in the old country. I am preparing a relatively small feast and reflecting a bit on the happenings of the past year. Of course I do exaggerate: there are plenty of non-Jews among us, but

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-51930882450610376632008-09-14T19:59:00.012+03:002008-09-14T22:59:27.431+03:00

Yes I know it's hard to believe that anyone was alive in 1956 and that there was a France to visit, but I have all kinds of evidence, and I'm busy albumising it with the help of the famous and talented Noorster. I was am such a pack rat that I have still, over 50 years later, a mind-boggling array of mementoes of that trip: the label from a bottle of Mumm Champagne purchased in Reims, the ticket

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-37376343804108149552008-09-08T18:49:00.005+03:002008-09-08T19:21:14.629+03:00

I am in the midst of a new knitting project, an argyle vest for one of my hosts on the recent Edinburgh jaunt, and it's making me miss television. Knitting for an adult reminds me that adults are considerably larger than children, and so there are more stitches and more rows than I've become accustomed to as a knitting grandma. Once of my Soup Salon regulars offered to lend me her 25th

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-58098072917752120742008-09-06T21:08:00.002+03:002008-09-06T21:14:45.629+03:00

In the middle of yesterday's Soup Salon I was struck by a queasy feeling and felt an overwhelming urge to lie down. Luckily my guest were in such animated conversation that my disappearance hardly caused a ripple; in fact I fell asleep and I'm told another guest arrived, stayed for soup and conversation, and everyone left without waking me up.It was truly heart-warming to know that my hospitality

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-51678100280328464872008-08-30T07:39:00.005+03:002008-08-30T08:25:29.317+03:00

This is definitely Celebration Week chez Savta! After my "alyahversary" and Mermaid Girl's birthday two days ago, today marks ten years since my daughter Elswhere and her beloved Renaissance Woman committed themselves to each other in a thrilling and moving ceremony attended by almost 100 supportive family and friends in a beautiful Pacific Northwest setting. And five years ago today they

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-22347445882643178092008-08-28T16:18:00.003+03:002008-08-28T16:29:30.869+03:00

It was twenty years ago today that I took my life in my hands and moved it to Israel. I spent that Sunday afternoon at JFK having a tense farewell with my nearest and dearest, wondering what the future would bring. Having been risk-averse but adventure-loving for most of my life, I decided to focus on the adventure. There were certainly times when the risk overtook my optimism, but I'm still

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-43747796205204280782008-08-26T22:12:00.004+03:002008-08-26T22:17:48.597+03:00

Here he was, piping away outside of our hotel to welcome me on my first visit to Scotland. Well actually he was there for a wedding, but I felt very welcomed too. I just got home, so details are merged in with the ticket stubs and transparent plastic bag of liquid items just now. At least no jet lag, but weather shock instead. Tel Aviv is just as hot as it was when I left, and the humidity has

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-18886441499214170212008-08-21T15:48:00.002+03:002008-08-21T15:59:17.554+03:00

Suddenly it's been two weeks since my last blog post here at The Spoon, and I'm wondering what on earth kept me so busy? I've decided to blame facebook: so many sound bites of information about lots of people I'm beginning to feel like a security camera. Wait a minute: a camera does visuals, not sound, and facebook does mostly text, so my whole metaphor is a tangled mess of wrongness. And then

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-50775593513154493932008-08-07T01:34:00.003+03:002008-08-07T01:38:07.159+03:00

Carmela SopranoOriginally uploaded by savtadottyWhere else can you find a pizzeria named Carmela Soprano and a bar/nightclub named Betty Ford?

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-38349580020088427852008-08-02T11:19:00.004+03:002008-08-02T12:02:24.870+03:00

But the question is, whose heart did I break?In rummaging through the piles of mementos from my European tours of duty when I was 19-24, I came across a letter on light blue Basildon Bond stationery with no stamp, no address, no date, just my name on the envelope, which means it was hand-delivered, probably to my mailbox. I was working in London between October 1961 and February 1962, and the

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-26537067809376626722008-07-30T09:03:00.007+03:002008-07-30T16:21:03.019+03:00

Few of you may know that in my adventurous youth I spent a summer in France with a French-speaking-only family and bicycled over the Pyrenees in a convoy of French and American youth, this in a time when a French-speaking American was such a rarity that I rated many a complimentary menthe à l'eau at roadside cafés en route. It was a heady experience for a 19-year-old and I vowed to return for a

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-58267976724937497522008-07-27T11:15:00.002+03:002008-07-27T11:40:15.836+03:00

14 years ago I took my doggie to obedience training. I learned to get her to Sit! Down! and Heel! on command (in English). Being a small dog, she was not especially menacing in appearance, but she did have the healthy aggressive tendencies that contributed to her survival for several months as a foundling. Over the years we have had an ongoing negotiation over whether I am her Alpha or not,

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-82418573354484967882008-07-17T17:34:00.008+03:002008-07-17T19:03:12.521+03:00

Poor Shuki! She's got a couple of medical problems now that she is approaching 15. (By the way, the old formula of 1 dog-year equals 7 human years has been modified, so she is not really 100-something years old, but I'm guess from her usual behavior closer to 70-something.) Anyhow, she had the misfortune to be bitten by a presumptuous flea last week. By the weekend she was frantically licking and

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-15629880930166148692008-07-05T11:23:00.003+03:002008-07-06T09:43:43.429+03:00

Anyone who manages to live in Israel for a period of time learns the word for patience; savlanut (pronounced sahv-la-noot). Most of the time it is used when you are already so exasperated that you're ready to upend the desk of the clerk opposite you and crave the release of flying papers, spilled cups of tea, rolling pens and telephones. Having seen this melodrama played out many times in various

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-70295134985366276942008-06-29T11:16:00.003+03:002008-06-29T12:07:51.193+03:00

The Great Purge of a lifetime's worth of pack-rat indulgence, notwithstanding an international move almost twenty years ago, has reached a milestone: the corner of my bedroom formerly occupied by piles of papers, letters, and photos, is now empty enough for me to set up an easel and start drawing again! From now on, every time I throw away a bag full of the papers hiding behind that screen (

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-69364080662269111542008-06-26T12:02:00.012+03:002008-06-26T12:57:22.717+03:00

My previous post on this subject is hereThere are two major strands to this story: my cousin Larry and my interest in Tel Aviv. Twenty-six years ago, Larry made a documentary film called "Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die." It had started as a research project into what America did to save Jews from the Holocaust, but it turned out to be about what America, and in particular American Jews, didn't

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-87637715245349777472008-06-17T23:18:00.000+03:002008-06-17T23:18:16.683+03:00

I've been thinking about how we filter our perceptions, and also wondering why. For many years I used to complain to my best friend about this or that, and she would say: "I wish I could get you some new glasses," meaning, I was focusing on the dark stuff. And then she would wisely change the subject to something mundane. Somehow or other, and I have no idea now whether I had anything to do with

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-86761327562896311452008-06-10T17:39:00.002+03:002008-06-10T17:42:46.111+03:00

This was the antipasto course at our Shavuot lunch at Pasta Mia on Wilson St. It was superb, and so was the pasta. And the cheesecake. And the chocolate mousse. And that cream thing that Danny had.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-74402521798000066662008-06-02T12:58:00.008+03:002008-06-02T20:42:23.325+03:00

My cousin posted an excerpt on his blog of an article in Vanity Fair by a college classmate of his. The author writes the story of her becoming comfortable with being a Jew in America after being raised in an assimilated environment. Food had nothing to do with it, but because food is my genetic, ethnic, and national priority, I was especially taken with this paragraph near the end of the article

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-68259140265364543022008-05-28T22:59:00.004+03:002008-05-29T07:07:08.344+03:00

IMG_0410Originally uploaded by savtadottyEnough with the sponsored penguins, bulls, and globes attracting hordes of suburbanites to my precious Rothschild Blvd! With Hebrew poetry on display, they'll probably stay away in droves. The kiosks and cafes were doing fine at about 5PM today even so. The weather was glorious.If only I were literate, I would translate the poems for you (volunteers

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-5824011344443430132008-05-21T17:15:00.008+03:002008-05-25T04:19:44.506+03:00

City Guide Tel Aviv 2008Originally uploaded by savtadottyThe past couple of weeks have been an enchanted time in Tel Aviv: fantastic balmy spring weather day after day, hordes of tourists visiting, Birthright tour buses parked all over my neighborhood, stirring birthday programming in the air, on the ground, and in the media, and, to top it off, a barrage of interesting local events. Imagine

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-37172141621992207812008-05-16T11:50:00.004+03:002008-05-16T12:26:08.330+03:00

Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm sixty-four?Well I'm way past 64 - I'm 71 to be exact - and until this year truly believed I was 26. Every year I just got to be a better and wiser 26. Oh I didn't look 26 and I didn't try to, but I felt 26. I guess I could describe it as feeling like a 26-year-old trapped in a slowly aging body.This past year several things happened and now

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-40131396657730717582008-05-11T12:34:00.003+03:002008-05-11T12:40:47.761+03:00

It's Mother's Day in North America, and my daughter wrote a post that makes me proud to be her mother and also makes me happy she's a better mother than I was at her age. I'm not fishing for compliments here, because we each do the best we can with what we have. It's just that her best is better. Hurray!

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-49371552178218927482008-05-01T01:10:00.003+03:002008-05-01T01:19:09.708+03:00

My years of working in the computer industry were not in vain. I'm now playing a game of Internet Scrabble (on Scrabulous) with three friends: one in Paris studying art, one in New York visiting family, and one in Tel Aviv enjoying the lovely Spring weather, I hope.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-72418652004938905912008-04-26T12:03:00.006+03:002008-04-26T14:13:48.715+03:00

Having spent my life looking for patterns, I'm ashamed of how long it took me to see these two. The first one hit me only yesterday. Americans (including me) will be voting for the member of a nuclear "family" they want to lead them: Dad (McCain, the protector), Mom (Hillary, the ambitious hard-worker), or Son (Obama, the futurist)?Alternatively, today it occurred to me that we're also choosing

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-79945482558052482912008-04-20T05:00:00.002+03:002008-04-20T05:02:14.146+03:00

Seder table, afterwards Originally uploaded by savtadotty We're all stuffed and full of wine.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-87699843688025729852008-04-19T14:10:00.002+03:002008-04-19T14:17:28.678+03:00

It's a work in progress, but at least all the letters in the shoebox have been transcribed, and a small selection of the many photos scanned and uploaded. It's what I've been doing instead of posting at Cousin Lucy's. How on earth did I ever manage to get to work every day and still have a life? My hat's off to you working people!OH, and Happy Passover!

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-72793312470901334182008-04-18T11:10:00.002+03:002008-04-18T11:50:04.489+03:00

My addictions were pretty bland even by contemporary standards: smoked cigarettes for a few years, quit twice, once cold-turkey, and once with the help of the SmokeEnders program. Drank coffee starting at age 20 consistently one-two cups a day. Loved chocolate, but not enough to really binge. Drank alcohol in moderation until the old-lady phenomenon of falling asleep in the middle of the first

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-17168606358009285752008-04-15T23:32:00.002+03:002008-04-15T23:35:46.012+03:00

Note from one jet-lagged savta: when you put your memory stick in the washing machine, be sure to use the "Delicate" cycle and all the files will come out with the same data you had before. Maybe a little bit cleaner, but there wasn't any porn in there to begin with.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-89569730983232433952008-04-14T05:36:00.003+03:002008-04-14T05:41:43.220+03:00

Here I am, home in Tel Aviv, reunited with my dear doggie, wide awake from jet lag in the middle of the night, playing Scrabble on Scrabulous in real time with my son and daughter-in-law in Florida. When I was staying in their house, we played on our laptops in separate rooms, but not in real time. I don't know what to make of it, but it sure has something to do with Time and Space.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-83874533832169647912008-04-11T07:10:00.003+03:002008-04-11T07:20:37.314+03:00

Florida Home Base Originally uploaded by savtadotty I can't believe I've done this, but I've rented a storage locker. In Florida. To store the stuff I couldn't bear to throw away, and didn't want to store in Israel. I shipped it in dribs and drabs from Los Angeles last week, and then I shipped myself here on Sunday. I arrived Monday morning, and the last box arrived today. It's not as

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-41914623792119575022008-04-10T06:02:00.002+03:002008-04-10T06:03:30.572+03:00

At last, a vacation day! Originally uploaded by savtadotty Everyone was at school or work, and I had no car to run around in, so I simply had to content myself with puttering around the house. The house in this case was a very tiny one-room affair nestled in a wooded glen in the back yard, and puttering didn't take very long, but was so very very tiring, y'know.

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056790.post-15650622076820624102008-04-04T09:10:00.002+03:002008-04-04T09:12:13.477+03:00

Day Three of Emptying the Storage Locker Originally uploaded by savtadotty I'm hoping to have it completely empty by tomorrow afternoon. It's slow going because the boxes stacked on the right are filled with documents, letters and buried within them are gems like a letter written by my bro in 1935 at age nine, and many, many photos.Otherwise I'd toss it all, unopened so I could be on

Savtadottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01101071675505516473noreply@blogger.com2