I guess I'll start with pre-Simchat Torah preparations.
Yom Tov was rapidly approaching and I had spent the entire day cooking, preparing, moving furniture and cleaning. With Buggy at work all day long, I had work extra hard because I was by myself. So, I got things going by moving around the furniture. With two heavy couches, a glass dining table, about 9 chairs and two coffee tables, it was no easy feat. But, I managed just fine and was able to clean this huge space in the center of the room. I hit the two coffee tables underneath Buggy's foosball table and the dining room table, and then got to work on the floor.
Check out my handywork:
Nemesis #1: Sponga
I am NOT a fan of the sponga stick. I find it clumsily and sloppy to use. Constantly wringing out this rag (called blatot) that is filthy because its been on the floor, in a bucket and then trying to wipe the floor with it is extremely uncomfortable for me. But, I made such a mess of the kitchen floor that it was necessary. Fortunately, I was dressed well for the occassion and managed to get the house in presentable shape for our company. I've been praying for a good ol's sponge mop ever since erev Chag. Buggy said it's impossible to find one, so I'm on a new mission.
Moving on...
I cut and prepared the three salads, and decided at the last minute to make a mandarin orange salad as opposed to the terra chip salad, and mainly because I don't remember how to make the latter's dressing so it was just easier for me to do. Good thing I did the switch - but more on that later.
Anyway, by the time Buggy got home, I was knee deep in dessert preparations and the house and tables were all set for our guests. We had little time to get showered and dressed, and Rachel and Oren will still on their way from Tel Aviv, so we stepped things up and really got moving. I was dressed and ready to go, with my wig firmly in place, when Buggy called Oren to find out how far away they were. We wanted to take a cab before Yom Tov to Buggy's parents in Talbieh so we could say goodbye to their Succah (a Buggy family tradition that includes copious amounts of good quality scotch) and then walk down the block to Chovevei for Mincha and Hakafot. But, El Jeffe was driving Oren and Rachel and soon I had no choice but to light candles as they still hadn't arrived. Needless to say, I was unhappy that we had to do the walk for three reasons:
1) Buggy had to go by himself ahead to shul so he wouldn't miss Mincha and we were hoping to usher in the Chag together.
2) I had been on my feet the entire day, and they were serious hurting me from all that moving and standing, that the 25 minute walk UPHILL was going to really get my dogs barking
3) I baked 4 tins of brownies for my MIL's big Simchat Torah open house kiddush and to do the walk AND shlept that much baked goods was going to be heavy
Well, when Oren and Rachel got here I basically blew up at them but NOT at them. All I asked was "whose fault was it that they were late, so I can blame the right person". Fortunately, it was someone else in the car and neither my guests not El Jeffe who was the cause for their lateness. I don't like him ANYWAY, so that made me feel much better and I channeled all my energy elsewhere.
The walk up to Talbieh was sweaty and I was cursing myself for wearing a heavy shirt. I dropped Oren and Rachel off at Ohel Nechama, told them what time dinner was, and made my way to my in-laws. Fortunately, my MIL was getting ready for the Kiddush so I was able to drop off the brownies and mop off some of the sweat before going down the block to shul.
And, wouldn't you know it, but as I got closer to shul I ran into someone I haven't seen since graduation from High School. I could pick this girl out of the Darkness plague - as long as she's speaking. She has one of those unmistakeable voices. In hindsight, I should have just walked on by but I decided to stop and say something. And the following 5 minutes I will never be able to get back in my life, as we had the dumbess conversation on earth.
She said: "OMG, I didn't recognize you at all. Did you have, like, curly hair in high school"
Me: "Umm, some days I did. I guess it must be the wig"
She said: "Umm, yeah, must be. I also, like, haven't seen you since high school."
PAUSE
Me: "OK"
She said: "Do you live here?"
Me: "Yeah, near by"
She said: "Nice. We're here for the holiday. These are my kids"
Proceeds to point out her children by name. Goes over my head.
Me: "Nice. Well, ok. Good to see you. Enjoy"
She said: "Oh yeah, you too, see ya!"
I didn't really like her in High School, so I guess this conversation wasn't surprising. She had the flattest stomach - after 3 children - that I've ever seen. Bitch.
So, Hakafot were typically for a woman. I.e., absolutely boring. I found some of our dinner guests and caught up with them, then went into shul to catch Buggy with his hakafah and to say hello to some of his family members, and then it was back to Baka for dinner. We ran into Hannah and Shana, which was great, as they were sure to get lost getting to our apartment.
And dinner was GREAT! It was so fantastic, I am really happy with how everything went and it made my filthy floor worthwhile. We had 14 in the end as my friend Lana couldn't make it and Buggy's cousin Gideon bailed last minute. It was a nice group, 3 friends from America, El Jeffe and his amazingly sweet, nice brother who just made Aliyah, Rachel and Oren, Nechama and Julia and Dani Shai (Buggy's friend from childhood) from Tel Aviv, Sean and Ricky from Jerusalem (also Buggy's friends). The group really interacted well, everyone mingled and what began as pockets of people eating scattered throughout the apartment ended with everyone in a big circle for dessert. That was the best part - everyone just naturally evolved into the big circle at the end. It made me feel good that everyone enjoyed themselves and, I will admit, the cooking compliments were great. When everyone left to hit the Jerusalem Simchat Torah parties, Buggy and I cleaned up as best we could and then I left the dishes to soak in the sink and we passed out.
The following morning, when Oren got up I was washing dishes at the sink. I got Buggy up for the 7:15 minyan and he made it there in record time. We had given Oren the keys since him and Rachel went out to visit friends in the neighborhood after dinner and he told us that he had a really hard time trying to open the gate. So much so, that he ended up just scaling the fence and opening the door from the inside.
Talk about crack pot security. Buggy and I will need to discuss another security measure with my folks after they finish their 3 day holiday.
So, Oren left to go to shul and Rachel and I took our time getting ready. My in-law's open house wasn't going to start until after Noon so we didn't leave here until 11:30. We got to the house right before Buggy and Oren were finished, so we went down the block to pick them up from shul. And boy, when my in-law's warned that it was a HUGE kiddish they weren't kidding. We estimated at least 250-275 people came in and out of the house. We couldn't find places to sit and at one point, we lost Rachel and Oren.
Buggy told me to go wash and so we both went into the house and washed, only to discover that there really wasn't any bread. Except, the caterers had made these smoked salmon sandwhiches, so Buggy and I went towards the table laden with food and surrounded by people 3 rows deep and tried to get a sandwhich to make Hamotzei.
Just as we got to the front of the table, this woman scooped up the last 4 sandwhiches and left us with NOTHING! Fortunately, a piece of bread was the garnish for the sandwhiches and we were able to make Hamotzei. Buggy was not pleased though, and was apalled at how rude this woman was especially since there were other people at the meal. Nevertheless, there were plenty of sandwhiches inside the house so Buggy was able to get his fill and since I don't like smoked salmon anyway, I was content with the bread garnish.
Meanwhile, there were TONS of Tel Avivians who came to the kiddish. Since it was an open house, I won't say that they crashed, but I can tell you that they certainly weren't invited. There was one girl there that Buggy went on a date with and, had she known that it was his parents house, I assure you she wouldn't have come to the Kiddish. Let's just say it wasn't the best date he went on and she didn't treat him nicely.
Buggy was enjoying the anonymity of some of the people at the Kiddish, and he got plenty of Mazal Tov's from all of his parent's friends. A lot of the family members - including extended folks from the States who were in town for chag - were at the kiddish and it was very nice to see everyone. I think everyone had a great time and the food was good. People also really liked my brownies, which was nice to hear.
Nemesis #2: petit-four mini lemon meringue pie
OMG, the caterer made these mini lemon meringue pies that were INCREDIBLE! You'll understand why these were my nemesis in a minute. Well, I ended up not eating much food. I'm not such a fan of crowded kiddush eats but since I wasn't making lunch, I had to chow down. Anyway, I had a spoonfull of chickpea chulent and 1 piece of potato kugel before I hit the petit-fours. I could go days eating nothing but baked goods, and I've got the hips to prove it too! Needless to say, as soon as I got my lips around these lemon meringue pies I was in absolute heaven! And then, after downing about 3, I couldn't find anymore. Fortunately, I knew the hosts and was able to sneak into the kitchen to find the reserves. I brought back 1 for Rachel to taste (she didn't like it! Can you believe it????) and then scarfed down a few more. I rationalized that we did a lot of uphill walking so it was ok to indulge.
As the crowd thinned, we helped clean up a bit and then Oren, Rachel, me and Buggy met up with El Jeffe and walked back towards Baka. We walked a new way and ended up on Yael street right by the shul that Buggy calls the "comfy chair shul". Fortunately, they had some of the rows of comfy chairs outside the locked shul and we all took a load off. Buggy was right, the chairs ARE amazing and so we're thinking about going to that shul tonight for davening.
We got home, took something to drink, and then slept the Chag away. After Rachel and Oren left, Buggy settled in for some work and I got the sponga bucket back out. With Buggy hard at work, I set to undo what I had done erev chag and tried to put everything back into place. It was hard but little by little, I got everything done. And, I spongaed the floors again in almost every room and so now everything gleams. Just as I was about to sponga the succah, a band started playing and it was LOUD!
Buggy immediately got on the phone with his friend Chanan, who manages all of the community centers in Baka and Talbieh, and his wife told us that the community center next door to our apartment will have an outdoor live band for second Hakafot for 2 hours. He was not happy but I was thrilled! I was able to clean to some great Hebrew music. Although, to be honest, the Arctic Monkeys would have been my first choice. But, I was so excited that they did this next door to the apartment, that I called my parents house in the States (they aren away for the Chag) and left them a message that they would be able to come to Israel for Chag and have 2nd Hakafot right next door! It was exciting, and made me a little homesick, but working always helps with the hurt.
Anyway, I was so wiped by the time I finished cleaning and doing two loads of sheet and tablecloth laundry, that I collapsed on the couch. I was feeling really sick so Buggy helped me to bed and we were out in seconds.
Today, I am doing absolutely nothing. I might take off the Succah decorations so Buggy can dismantle the Succah over the weekend. But, we have so much leftovers that I am not cooking a thing! Instead, I am going to divide and warm up and we're going to just make it on leftovers.
We both weighed ourselves this morning and I gained 2 pounds in 1 day! Buggy's numbers were similar and so I packed up ALL of the desserts we have left over from Chag and I sent them off to Buggy's office. Let them all pig out on chocolate cake and chocolate chip cookie bars. The holidays are over and folks, we are on diets!
Shabbat Shalom to all!
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