Black Friday

Wow, I've been gone from Blogger for a few days and things have gotten a lot more interesting! For example, now I can upload video directly to my blogger template from my desktop. Fortunately, I accidentally took a 4 second movie while on top of the London Eye. In case you're wondering what I'm shooting, there was a Star Wars exhibition near the London Eye this past Sunday and my husband spotted the 4 storm troopers from all the way up in the sky and told me to take a picture. Here's the video - those white things in the background are the storm troopers and yes, I'm married to a Sci Fi lover :)

I love Black Friday and am extremely jealous of all the folks shopping right now. Buggy and I have to get some shopping going ourselves for the big family Chanukah in a few days. Buggy had an interesting suggestion on how we can save money on gifts this year, and I'm against it but we're still negotiating. So, our friends and family were very generous for us during our wedding and we have a lot of gifts in our home that we can't really use. Either it's just not our taste or it was just impracticle. At this point, it's just adding to the clutter and I have no clue what to do. So, Buggy suggested that we actually regift them to the family - but TELL THEM that that's what we're doing so no one wonders. I think that's a little umm, rude, so I think we're going to have to go pick up presents but my husband keeps working on me and trying to convince me. We'll see (aren't you happy you're not exchanging gifts with us this year hehe!)

London was wonderful! I took some pictures with my Nikon Coolpix on Sunday, which was the coldest, darkest, rainiest day of our entire trip. We spent the day sightseeing, and took the kids to the London Eye and Covent Gardens. It was so cold that we had to stop at a Starbucks on our way to Covent Gardens.

But, before we get to the end of our trip, let's start at the beginning. We got to the airport 2 hours before our flight and Buggy and I zoomed past everything. Security took the most time and then, since the line to get through border control wasn't that long, I decided to to the hand recognition card. What that means is that, next time I go in and out of the country, I bypass that HUGE line of tourists and citizens waiting for their passports to be stamped and I go to the machines on the side, swipe my hand dandy card, and put my palm on the machine. Within seconds, my fingerprints are read and the machine spits out a form that says I can enter (or exit) the country. It literally saves us 15-30 minutes depending on how many flights are taking off/landing. Unfortunately, only citizens of Israel can do this, but I'm hopeful that soon anyone can do this!

We raced to duty free to buy Buggy's brother some whiskey, and to get us a couple of bottles too, and then decided that we needed a video camera for this trip. I've been the video camera champion for a while, so I insisted that we go get one, and Buggy was in agreement. We ended up with a great Canon that took both video and stills, and we managed to board the plane with 20 minutes until takeoff. The flight was uneventful and I was shocked when we got to Heathrow. It's a crappy airport folks! I was actually missing Ben Gurion while we waited around the dilapidated baggage claim for our stuff. Buggy helped a nun off with her bags and then our stuff came around and we met Buggy's brother for the trip to Golders Green to their house.

So, impressions of Golders Green/Hendon was not so great. It's literally the Jewish ghetto of London and everyone is one top of one another. It's extremely claustrophobic, with the houses shoved in next to one another on each block. I was exhausted so we passed out and slept very well. The kids woke us up early the next morning and I took some cute video. Buggy's nephew cried when he had to go to school because he wanted to stay with us, and then Buggy and I got a move on into the City to do some touristy things.

First of all, last Thursday in London was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and it was crisp cold but it was very comfortable because we were prepared and dressed appropriately. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards. We were coming through the Park as the band marched past and we raced to the gates to get a good shot. Unfortunately, there were a ton of tourists - many of them were Hassidim! - and I couldn't get such good pictures. I managed to get some video of the procession though, and of course the horses, you can't miss the horses. It bored me a bit so Buggy and I decided to do the bus tour around the city. It was fantastic! I counted at least 15 Starbucks and 25 Pret a Manger's and I told Buggy that I wasn't leaving the Country without some Starbucks! We practically saw everything I wanted to see from the bus, and then we ended up back at Leicster Square at this great vegetarian Indian restaurant called Woodlands. The food was terrific and we were starving, so we really enjoyed ourselves. We decided to walk off our eats by heading up to Piccadilly Circus to the HMV and then down Piccadilly where we went window shopping.

Sorry to stop mid-trip but I just realized it's an hour until Shabbos and I still have to get ready. Enjoy the video and more pictures and updates to come!

Taking Control

Friday night dinner was a really big success. We had a nice group of folks, including El Jeffe (my turkey expert), Gayle, Merav from school, Rabbi Avi, and Buggy's friend Josh. I warned everyone that it was a Thanksgiving dry run, and encouraged honest feedback. To their credit, everyone was really, really honest with what they liked - and what they didn't like. Gayle thought the cranberry crunch was too sweet, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. Buggy wasn't a fan of the marshmallow's on the sweet potatos, but I think the kids on Thanksgiving will love it. I hated my botched pecan/chocolate chip pie and sent the leftovers home with Josh, who seemed to like it. I also gave him a doggy bag including all the cakes from the house, the cookies, and the rest of the corn bread muffins. Since Buggy and I will be away for most of the week, I didn't want that food to go to waste. Plus, we both don't need it.

What shocked me this afternoon was the lack of leftovers. Oh, we have PLENTY of white meat turkey left over as most of our guests either ate the dark meat or enjoyed the side dishes. But, we have no more bread pudding - that went over real well - and no more string beans and shallots. There was a little cranberry crunch left so Buggy and I had that for dessert today, but our guests polished off all of the salad. Normally, I have a ton of left over salad so I was surprised at how much food was consumed. Now I'm worried that I won't have enough food on Thanksgiving, and so I'm trying to rethink my plan.

Meanwhile, I had a slight meltdown on Buggy on Friday afternoon, right before I had to run into the shower. With 2 hours until candle lighting, I had an unhappy epiphany. So, I told Buggy that I was upset and needed a few minutes to figure out why, and then I went outside to the back porch and smoked a cigarette. I'm not happy that I'm smoking again, but it's an indication of things overall being a little rocky for me. Halfway through, I realized what was wrong with me, stubbed out the cigarette and went inside to talk things through.

I'm basically bored. I told Buggy that I went from managing Fortune 500 companies to obsessing over Thanksgiving? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy entertaining and am looking forward to having a nice Thanksgiving, but even I read my blog and want to click over to someone elses. It's boring! Do you really care about our turkey or my Thanksgiving dry run? I don't! What upset me most is that I realized, I would never be happy being a stay at home Mom, and I'm worried that because I need to have a career in order to feel fulfilled that I will be a bad wife and mother. Buggy reassured me that he doesn't think I'm a bad wife, but sometimes I feel like I should be enjoying the domestic aspects of married life more than I am. I love Buggy, I love being married to Buggy, I still wake up singing because I'm happy being married and that I found my soulmate. But, when all I have in front of me each and every day is housework and cooking, I'm just not happy. I try to make it more interesting, scouring the web for new menu items and ideas, or trying a new cleaning product on our floor/toilet/bathtub, etc. But folks, it's just not doing it for me.

And, the more I'm unhappy, the more weight I put on and I am embarressed to say that this evening I had to put on my fat jeans. A week before the wedding, not even 3 months ago, I was down a size and almost down another half. I was so happy, I bought 2 pairs of jeans in the new size, but today these jeans feel like they're gonna split when I bend over. Now that's just depressing! Meanwhile, I threw all of my energy into Buggy's diet and he's down almost 4 pounds since last month. I'm so happy and proud of him, he worked really hard at watching his weight. On the flipside, I put on all the weight he's lost and in my attempt to put him first, I forgot about myself.

Tonight, Buggy had to go to the office to work on his homework project. Since we're going to London in a few days, he really has to cram all his work in before we go so he's not behind the eight ball when he gets back. I get it. Intellectually, I am completely on board with it. And, I totally support him and all that he needs to do. But, that didn't stop me from eating the following in the 45 minutes since he left: about 40 grapes, the leftover string beans and bread pudding, a cup of tea, a handful of toasted almonds and 2 glasses of water. I had Top Gun on TV on mute, and I was just mindlessly eating because I was bored. Since I didn't nap this afternoon while Buggy slumbered, I did all of my Shabbos clean up well - on Shabbos. I washed the dishes I normally leave until after Shabbos and tidied up a bit - things I would have done tonight. But, shortly after Buggy made Havdala, I did the last minute clean up and then realized the expanse of time this evening where I have nothing to do. And so, I ate. I ate out of boredom, and loneliness.

Anyone who says that being married automatically means you're not lonely is a fool. You can be living with someone, married to them, see them every single day, love all the time you spend together, and still be really lonely.

But, I'm tired of feeling this way. I'm tired of feeling depressed and bored and lonely. I'm tired of eating mindlessly because I have nothing better to do. Yes, my reality is different. I am in a foreign country where I don't speak the language. I moved to a new City where I have no friends. We joined a gym but because I have no car, I cannot go by myself and therefore have to go only when Buggy can take me (I also have no valid Israeli license so I couldn't drive even if I wanted to). And, my entire family is living in the States so I can't spend time with them even if I wanted to. Plus, Bar Ilan is on strike and Merav told me that the head of our department told her they will make the strike worse because no one is paying attention. I'll be lucky if we have school in December!

So yes, it might seem a bit bleak, but I am taking control of my life. After polishing off the last morsel of bread pudding I looked down at my bloated stomach in disgust and got my ass off the couch. I got out of the PJ's I was wearing all day and put on clothing, brushed my hair, and put up the wash. I made the bed and put away the clothes that were piling up on both of our chairs. I then dug through the box of books in the third bedroom and unearthed all of my Weight Watchers materials. Tonight, after I finish updating the blog, I'm going to sit down and write out a food plan. And, I'm going to stick to it with the same determination as I stick to maintaining this blog, or helping Buggy with his own diet.

I also told Buggy that I need a routine, and STAT. And, as soon as we get back from London, I'm going to create one that works with our lifestyle. That means, every day including Saturday and Sunday, I wake up at the same time. And I get up. And I do something besides making lunches, thinking about dinner, washing dishes, washing toilets or thinking about sponga my floors. I'm going to call the headhunters, whose names we got from a friend who is working in a very good job in high tech, and I'm going to figure out what my future career options are. I'm also going to continue sending out my resumes and looking for projects in the States, so that I can fill my day with opportunities that will earn us money. And, when Buggy gets out of the house to go to school, so do I. Whether that means I strap on my iPod and take a walk around Jerusalem, or I go to a local coffee shop with my laptop and work on my thesis, or even if it means that I take a ride with him to school and then head over to the shuk or into town just to see what's new in the country. I just need to get out. I'm also looking into taking Ulpan, and there's apparently a very good one in Baka, so I'm going to try to get enrolled in their next semester.

Hopefully, my resolve won't wane and I'll be able to yank myself out of this funk and make a life for myself in Israel. It's also not productive that I keep imagining what my life would be like if Buggy and I lived in New York. I fantasize about being married and living in on my old studio apartment on 74th and Columbus. We would get up at the same time each morning, he would go to work at some amazing architecture firm and I would walk him to the subway on 72nd and CPW, give him a kiss and his brown bag lunch and a Starbucks coffee, and then go to the gym. After my workout, I would go home, shower and start my own day. I would work from home the way I always did, leaving my apartment occassionally to do the laundry or to pick up groceries at Fairway on 72nd and Broadway, maybe meet a client or friend or reporter for lunch in the neighborhood, or for fun run down to the Mac or Kiehl's stores and stock up on some new products. Around quitting time, I would put up a nutritious dinner and relax until Buggy came home. We'd have a nice, relaxing dinner, and then either walk down to the Lowe's on 68th and Columbus to catch a flick, meet some friends for a drink at Dive 75, have dinner out with my brother, or just cuddle and watch some Must See TV and get ready for the next day.

Is that kind of thinking pathetic? I miss New York, but what I find so difficult even in Jerusalem is the lack of options. I just don't feel comfortable leaving our apartment alone at night, walking through the quiet Baka neighborhood, until I get to the semi-crowded Emek Refaim. It's not like living in Manhattan, where there's life teeming on every street corner and no matter where you're situated, you're never alone. Is it pathetic that I felt safer in Manhattan than I do in Jerusalem? I'm afraid to leave my apartment at night by myself, I just don't like our neighborhood. And yet, in Tel Aviv, I would walk around by myself at all hours of the night. Living on Arlozorov, right off of Ben Yehuda and a block away from Dizingoff, there was always people around. I was never afraid of leaving the apartment, of walking by myself on the beach at night, of walking to friends apartments on Emile Zola, Bogroshov, Aronovitch Streets, etc. I walked to Dizingoff Center by myself all the time, and I would even walk alone from the bus stations on Arlozorov street to my apartment a mile away, in the dark, with my iPod on, without thinking twice. So what is it about Jerusalem that scares me so much that I feel like I'm trapped in the apartment?

Buggy doesn't really understand, although in all fairness I never told him that I'm scared of our neighborhood. But, he was born and raised in Jerusalem, so he's so comfortable here that I'm afraid he would find my tentativeness as irrational behavior. I bet I'd be happier if I wasn't so afraid of where we live. Any ideas on how to get over that?

It's funny, but it makes me think about the years I was afraid to walk by myself in Queens. I was 12 or 13, not really sure the age, and my parents finally told me that it was time for me to start doing errands and getting around the neighborhood by myself. I was absolutely petrified. I remember trying to bribe my Dad to take me to a friend's house on Shabbos afternoon but telling him it was good exercise, just so I didn't have to walk alone. One Shabbos afternoon, my parents were asleep and I was invited to Terri's house. Now, I really, really wanted to hang out with Terri, and so I had no choice but to walk alone. I tried to get my older sister to walk me, but she was going to a friend in the opposite direction and didn't want to take me. I was almost in tears by the time I got to Terri's house - when I was on the block behind the gas station on Main Street I actually starting running until I cleared past the library because I was so scared - and the nerves from walking the 10 blocks alone had really eaten away at me by the time I arrived. But, I did it and nothing happened. A couple more times walking around the neighborhood myself, and I had not only conquered my fears but absolutely LOVED walking alone. I loved walking alone, no matter what time of day, and I felt so free. So you can understand why, all of a sudden, I'm so unhappy that I'm afraid of my neighborhood. It's as if my freedom has been taken away from me, and I'm trapped inside as soon as the sun goes down. Hopefully, it's another fear that one day (hopefully very soon) I'll be able to conquer.

Well, Buggy just called to let me know that he finished work for the night and is on his way. We're going to take a walk to Emek Refaim and see what's open, just so I can get out of the house today and Buggy can get something to eat. I'm actually not hungry, so I'll probably just keep him company while he has dinner.

No Product of the Day today, but check back in tomorrow, I'm bound to have found something in the interim.

Have a great week!

Tomer, the Israeli Turkey

Meet Tomer, the Israeli turkey. This morning, Tomer weighed in at an IMPRESSIVE 12.4 pouds (I used our bathroom scale) and
that was while he was still wearing the three plastic bags we wrapped him in when we brought him home from Falcon yesterday.


Here's Tomer after his paprika, black pepper and garlic powder bath...


Here's Tomer sunning himself in the kitchen before his 4 hours in the oven...


Can ANYONE tell me what I'm supposed to do with Tomer's tusch? That was certainly unexpected..


Getting into stuffed position!


BOOOOOOOOO!

I put Tomer into the oven at 9:05 a.m. and the house smells wonderful! I'm so excited about tonight, I just hope I don't somehow mess up the turkey. We're 8 all together and, fortunately, majority of our guests have eaten here before so I'm not that concerned. Yesterday though, I worked so hard that I literally passed out by the time my head hit the pillow. I did almost all of the side dish cooking, cooked 2 turkey legs, AND vacumned and washed our floors. I also managed to do a load of laundry and we went to the mall to pick up gifts for Buggy's brother and his kids. The last thing I made last night was baked sweet potatos, which I'm going to be serving with white marshmallows. Yum! Fortunately, Buggy chipped in and cleaned the toilets. I can never say he doesn't help out because he really, really was helpful.

Buggy is going to spend the day today working and out of the house. Meanwhile, I'm actually on a conference call with him right now because HOT, our telephone/internet and TV provider somehow managed to give away our new home phone. I kid you not! Two days ago, I used the phone to call a friend in London and then this morning, when Buggy was in the car on his way to an appointment he called the house phone and someone else's wife answered. He thought he dialed wrong, and so he dialed again, and the same woman answered. We're on this conference call with HOT because they're trying to figure out what happened. For a minute there, they didn't believe us when we said we even had a HOT phone in the house. I just hope they stop wasting my time and send someone to check it out and give me BACK my new phone number.

So much to do today before our guests arrive this evening! I still have to make the bed, set the table, put together the salad, make the dressing, set up the hot plate, heat up the soup, toast the almonds, and dust. Hehehe, the tables a little dusty for my taste so I'm gonna have to do some pledging.

And so, I have to cut this blog short because the day is even shorter with Shabbos coming in around 4:10! Will try to upload "after" photos of Tomer once I take him out of the oven!

Product of the Day

Empire and their fantastic frozen turkeys are my pick for today. And, even though some US agency only ranked them 23rd in terms of turkey integrity (what that heck does that even mean?), I would give anything for a frozen turkey than the fresh one we picked up yesterday. Seriously, the guy at Falcon looked like he was holding a baby when he brought Tomer out from the back. It made me a little queasy. The beauty of a frozen turkey is that, someone else already did all the hard stuff for you. Someone ELSE stuck their hands up the turkey's behind and scooped out the junk inside. And someone ELSE picked out all the feathers from the skin. Lord knows how much turkey I'll even eat again, it was a bit traumatizing when I had to clean the tusch area this morning. But hey, it's a Thanksgiving dry run , and I guess this is what I need to do to get it right!

Got Celery?

My friend Eta sent me an e-mail foward with "inspirational artwork" and this was one of them. I love it, so I thought I'd share with everyone.

I cannot find American celery in this country and it's so unbelievably frustrating. At this point, I think we're having 6 people for Friday night dinner, and I want to make my Aunt's bread pudding and I need celery for that. Worse comes to worse, I'll just buy a lot more of the "regular" celery and use that, but I'd really prefer the American kind. See, the difference in celery is as follows:



I'm used to big, beautiful, robust celery. The ones you can fill with peanut butter and chomp on as a good, nutritious snack. Where one stalk of celery is enough for most onion/celery stir frys.

But, here in Israel, what they sell is this: celery root



And I can't fill this with peanut butter! Plus, I have to buy at least 2 of these to equal 1 cup of finely chopped celery for my onion/celery stir fry. Now, it's not the end of the world to do it this way, it's just more annoying. Especially when it comes to making chicken soup. A lot of Israelis put the celery leaves into the chicken soup, in addition to the stalks. But, I miss having a nice piece of cooked celery in my chicken soup sometimes, so I always ask my fruit and vegetable store if they carry the American kind.

I called them yesterday and walked over two days ago to see if they had any, and of course they were out. Since I want to do a lot of my cooking for Shabbos today and tomorrow, it seems like I'm going to have to suck it up and just use what they sell here in this country. It shouldn't be too bad - hopefully.

It was stinkin hot the past two days and I was so happy to wake up this morning to an 8 degree drop in temperature. It's gloriously crisp and cool outside today and, once I get myself out of bed, I'm going to make me some diet hot chocolate that I brought from New York. I went looking for some more in Jerusalem the other day, and I hit the Moshava on Emek Refaim and all I could find was Hershey's hot chocolate. It had more than 400 calories a package. I put it back on the shelf and walked away, it was hard, but I walked away.

Buggy is B"H much, much better than the other day. He stayed home from school yesterday because his back was a bit stiff and he wanted to do a lot of his work from home, which was good. He got a lot accomplished, as did I. I decided to do some of the things I've been putting off for a while now. I made my appointment with the American Consulate in East Jerusalem to change my name on my passport and then I printed out all the forms that I need to bring with me. Fortunately, we're going to go to the appointment after we get back from London, so hopefully all will work out and I won't be without my American passport for too long.

Since yesterday was election day in the USA, I also registered online as an official overseas voter. Woohoo! Now, they will be sending me the ballot in the big election - which I predict will be between Rudy and Hillary. And if I could, I would start a group of Jerusalem Anglos for Rudy! I sincerely hope Big Rudy will be the next President of the United States of America.

I guess y'all know who I'm voting for next year :)

All I have to do now is mail in the forms to the election office in Queens, New York, and I should be good to go.

I also found 2 more thank you notes that I missed and so I quickly wrote those out, filled in the addresses and dropped them off at the post office. I then made my way to Falcon, the Supermarket on Derech Beit Lechem that has a really great meat and poultry counter, and proceeded to have the funniest conversation in broken Hebrew and English with the man behind the counter.

Me: I need to order three turkeys. I know that my Mother in law already called to give you the heads up that I was going to be ordering them, so I need one turkey for Thursday and another 2 for November 21st.
Mr. Falcon: OK, you need turkey for mama?
Me: Ummm, sure. It can be in my mother in law's name, no problem. But I need the other two to be big enough to feed 24 people. ok?
Mr. Falcon: OK, no problem. You tell me name and I write down.
Me: Sure. My name is HolylandHipster Buggy and we need 2 turkeys for November 21st
Mr. Falcon: OK no problem.
Me: Are you sure 2 turkeys will be enough for 24 people?
Mr. Falcon: Oh yeah, yeah. It will be good. We call those that you want Nekayvah (which is Hebrew for female). No problem. All good. All good. No problem.

Some lady is standing by and smirking as we banter. I thank Mr. Falcon and continue shopping. 5 Minutes later, Mr. Falcon starts calling my name.
Mr. Falcon: Holylandhipster, when does your Mama want her turkey? November 21st - right?
Me: No, no, my mama wants her turkey on Thursday. This Thurdsay
Mr. Falcon: Oh, okay
Me: And the other two turkeys are for November 21st
Mr. Falcon: ok, ok, now I understand.

At this point, I am seriously concerned that I'll be going to Falcon on Thursday (at 10:00, which is when he said it would be ready for pick up) and there won't be any turkey for me. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to make chicken if that happens. Next time, I bring Buggy and he speaks to everyone in Hebrew. Much, much simpler.

I did some work for a client yesterday morning, and then I spent the rest of the day just thinking about Thanksgiving. I called Aunt Amy and she gave me some great tips on how to make the dinner, and she told me a some funny stories about her own first Thanksgiving. And how, that first year as a married woman, she went out and bought a completely cooked turkey and served it to her guests as if she made it herself. People, if I could find a completely cooked turkey in this country - on Thanksgiving day no less - believe me, I would probably do the same.

I also spoke to Cousin Neil last night, who caught me up on some UWS gossip, which was fun but extremely lacking in information. Cousin Neil, I've discovered, is not exactly the person to talk to when I need some UWS gossip. I know who to call and I'm thinking I'll give her a buzz in a few hours just to catch up. Hehehe, I know, I know, I'm a bad Jew - but this girl needs some gossip.

Today is going to be very quiet. Buggy was up early and went to school for his 9:40 a.m. meeting with his final project advisor. I got up with him to make him some breakfast and then left all of the dishes in the sink and crawled back to bed before he could even get out the door. I'm tired, so I like trying to catch up on some sleep when the bed is empty. It's not easy being a light sleeper married to a snorer. That, and the kids downstairs wake up screaming every single morning at 5:30 a.m. and I feel like they're in the room with us. They are that loud. I can't wait until my family comes to visit - they too will be up at 5:30 a.m. with our neighbors!

Today, I'm going to make the bread pudding and the pecan pie for Shabbos. Buggy promised to take me to the supermarket so I can do my big Thanksgiving shopping, which I really want to do before we leave for London. Since we get back from London really early on Monday morning, I want all the stuff in the house so I can cook from Monday evening straight until Thursday before our guests arrive! I also have to go to my green grocer to see about that American celery, for the bread pudding, and then I'm hoping to do some writing on my thesis project.

I'm finally ready to get back to my thesis project and I've been doing a lot of thinking about my stories. I really think I have a good handle on what I'm writing for my third story in the collection, while I also have to continue editing my previous two stories. I have 2 written, 1 in the works, and at least 8 to go. Wish me luck people! Oh, and happy writing!
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Product of the Day




My apartment is pretty nasty and, since we're hoping to have company for Friday night dinner, I need to get moving on cleaning this place up. I don't bother washing my kitchen floor until after I finish cooking, but everything else could use a good scrub. I'm seriously missing Windex and wish the folks over at SC Johnson would start importing some to this Country. For a year now, I've been using the Israeli brand of glass cleaner and its been leaving streaks all over the place. I don't like that at all. Plus, I have a really hard time getting off the toothpaste splatters from our bathroom mirror, and that just grosses me out a bit, so I went searching the other day for stronger glass cleaner. I actually found 409 glass and surface cleaner at Falcon and I was jubilant with the find. It's not my beloved Windex, but at least it's a step up from the Israeli brand. Today, I'm going to clean all of our glass tables, windows and mirrors with the 409. Here's hoping it won't be streaky!