New Page------New Day

My iPad computer is so smart that it talks to me. It's polite. I have to talk first and then it respectfully answers. I have to know that right question, but it helps me out sometimes and asks me "do you mean...?" I wanted to find a gizzmo for my new camera, so I asked my computer where I could find it. It told me, I ordered it and I got conformation from the company that it was on the way. Now that is smart. And it took three minutes to do. But the story isn't finished. The company that I ordered from, one that I do a lot of on line business with, said that my password wasn't my password. They are wrong. I went to my desk computer and put in the same information and it went through. So I guess my iPad is only partly smart. That's OK. I had an extra minute to go to my desk computer. I watched "60 Minutes" last night and now I am trying to be in the present, just like the reporter. This is really hard when technology lets you talk ,then let's you order from a company ,who knows where, a product made ,probably in Indonesia, charges your account, mails the product in a nano second, while sitting in Florida. This is the time of, not aquarious, but of warped speed. It's never too late to get dizzy within this present movement of being in the moment. My moment just got carried away. 

I have a new piece of jewelry. It is a caretakers bracelet. It's not particularly pretty,but it is a necessary item , right now. In fact, you would have to cut it off of me,to get it off. I have never seen a clasp like the one on this one. It is on for life. It tells EMT's that I am a caretaker and that my caree, has a list of medical information available and he lives at a certain address. It's amazing that so much info is available on such a small space. And, it's good any where in the world. So I am now ready for any possible event. I can be air lifted from anyplace, thanks to a policy that I bought through Hadassah and I am ID'd through another policy. I am set. Only seven more weeks until our advenure. I just realized that I have an important insurance policy that I have to pay during the time that we are away. Citizens. Just the name is scary. They don't do automatic payment, so I better remember to pay them before we leave. God forbid that a great wind will come and destroy Bird Bay.

This week we are having dinner with some people who just returned from Israel. I can't wait to hear their stories. It's becoming more real and less of a faraway dream. It's never too late and you can't go too often to get that special feeling that you belong there. I want Bob to experience how it feels to get off of the plane and feel that electricity that envelopes you when you stand on Jewish soil. You really do feel it. I promise you.

The six people from our Congregation , who went to Israel , are back. They are aglow with their trip. Their enthusiasm should be contagious. They sure make me want to go, even sooner than the 7 weeks that are left before I leave. They left here slightly apprehensive about their safety and came back without an incident. Thank God for that. I was told by one of the group that they were expecting to see everyone carrying a gun. I think that he was slightly disappointed when he only saw some soldiers, in Jerusalem, with rifles slung over their shoulder. It was a good trip and that makes me happy because now we have six more ambassadors for Israel. It's never too late to get as many people on board as we can. Israel needs all of the support that it can get. Count me in.

I cashed in my mental health day coupon and yesterday, I took the day off. It reminded me that I am suppossed to slow down ,if I feel like it. And I did. The pressure was off, with the exception of being hacked and not able to use my yahoo email, and I had no meetings, no one for dinner and it was a beautiful day. So I did what normal people do. I went grocery shopping, I went to Best Buy to see if they could fix my yahoo,(they could of for a heafty price. My guru is coming today.) And I went to my violin lesson. I had a great lesson and that makes me feel so good. It was a good day. It should have been Shabbat because I did all of the things that I find make me happy.That's how I determine what my Shabbat will be . If I like doing it, if it has special meaning for me, I consider that is what makes the day special for me. Now that Shabbat is coming up, I will just be lucky enough to have had two this week. Not bad for a mental health day, or two. It's never too late to just stop the world some days and know that you can jump right back in. It's rejuvenating. I recommend it.

I feel very important. I was hacked. The positive thing that happened is that so many people called me to tell me this. I don't know if it was my whole contact list that was told I need money for a trip to the Phillipines, or just some of my list, but I got to talk to people that I haven't been in touch with for a very long time. The negative is that I can't get into Yahoo. That is frustrating.Especially since I have little patience with things that go belly up. I have an email in to my guru guy, but I can't send it. I will have to use my least favorite method of communication, the phone. I don't know why I have an aversion to phones. It must be my Mother's fault.Email was made for me.

Without access to my server, that is what my computer is saying, what will I do while I am waiting to have my computer serviced? If this had happened yesterday, before I went to Best Buy to pick out my birthday present, I could have brought my iPad into the Geeks and they would have helped me. I may still do this. Treasure Island is right across the street from them and I can do my food shopping while I am in the neighborhood. See , it isn't all bad. It can be a positive. It's never too late to find something in each act of frustration, even if it is a simple as  making a shopping list for the grocery store. I say this with clenched teeth.

Some days , my NBN group emails are more interesting then others. I've learned so much. Like where to find Crisco. I don't use it, but I guess this might be useful some day. And where to find a used wedding dress. I don't think I will need that either, but good to know. Come to think of it, I did not like my original wedding dress. My Mother picked it out and I do not have great memories about how beautiful I felt as a bride. There is a TV show about wedding dresses and I some times think that I will remarry Bob and choose one of those beautiful dresses. The bride to be on TV has a larger budget than I do,so maybe I will put this down on the bucket list and save it for another time. Right now, I have more pressing business. I can not decide on what to buy me for my birthday. I am down to a camera.I did go smart phone shopping and I still don't get it. I will stick to my simple cell phone, my mini iPad, my desk computer and my land line. This should hold me for a while.  But my birthday is very special to me, so I had better make a decision soon. Maybe I will buy a cook book. I seem to be able to make quick decisions when it comes to cook books. I never quaver or second guess my choices. Cook books agree with me. They make me happy. They make me gain weight just reading them. Maybe they aren't such a great self gift. I will give this more thought. It's never too late to give myself more than one birthday present. Now this is a thought that I can live with.

It's an early morning for us tomarrow, so I am writing now. We leave the house at 4 :45 to take our youngest to the airport. He did all of our "honey do's", I cooked favorite meals and brownies are baking as I write this. Maybe he won't want to leave, And as a bonus, we bought him new underwear.That's what parents do, I guess.

We did go smart phone shopping. After an email conference with a savy son in law, we went to a carrier store. I just can't get excited about paying more for a cell phone. There are so many plans and so many functions, that I think I will stick to what I have. My stupid phone that I am beginning to like. I feel sorry for it. It is a minoriety electronic device.

It's never too late to have something that you really want, but don't have, yet. It gives me something to ask Santa for.

Eight weeks. That is very managable. I got a new app that shows me where all of things of interest are at JFK Airport. Bathrooms, Mc Donald's, Baggage check. I really want to be prepared .Modern technology is so smart. It knows everything except how to tie shoe laces and we have velcro, so even that is taken care of. I am trying to be confident about this trip. The news isn't any worse then usual, I know it will rain,I ordered a wheel chair to get through the terminal, I ordered some shekels to have ready for our driver,what have I forgotten. Once a week, I allow myself to go through the inventory of what if's.The worse scenario, I skip over. If you think it, it will happen, so I won't think it. 

Did I tell that we found the best Book Store in Florida? In St. Pete. I will make a road trip there to buy a book for each of us before we leave. It's that kind of a book store. The last time that I was in a book store this good was in Seattle, Washington. Powell's.The one in St,Pete, called Haslem's, is even better. Why didn't anyone tell me before this. I now have a new Cook Book in my collection. I will not buy a cook book for the plane. I am saying this in public, so I can be accountable. It's never too late to relax about this trip. I'm committed now and it will be good.

Today is December 7th and every year since 1941 , I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. I was 7 years old. That is a long time to keep such a vivid memory. I don't know why I thought ,at that time, that this was serious. I was with my sister . We were walking to Katz and Bestoff,  known as K&B's , a drug store with a soda fountain. My sister was told, by my parents, that if she weighed 100 lbs., she could smoke. So every day ,we went to the drug store for a milk shake or a malt. Maybe this is is why I am not a fan of ice cream. I never thought about this before. My parents, in some way, contributed to her death. She died of a broken heart after Katrina destroyed her life and emphsema. A double whammy. But back to Pearl Harbor. There were news boys then and they were harking their  newspapers. Now I can't remember if we kept going to K&B's for that ice cream or if we went right home. Being with a teen aged sister, I suspect we went on to get the ice cream.

There are other days etched in my memory,usually days relating to death. Martin Luther King, John Kennedy, Bobbie Kennedy. I remember the day I met Bob. I remember the day I walked into what was to be our home for over 30 years. I wish that I held on to a lot more memories. Some have left me, but that is because I have to make room for new memories. I have a lot to do yet and I want to remember all of it. It's never too late to keep adding memories. But they need to be good ones. That's my new rule.

My cup is almost running over. I have our son here for a very short visit. Some of our kids are higher maintenance than others, and this one is low maintenance. Always was. I'm surprised we never left him home alone when we were gathering all 6 of us to go some place. As easy going as he is, he is everyones go to person. He is also the child that told us, when he was very young, that he was the Messiah. We didn't dispute it. Who knows. This trip, we heard all about his sailing on a yacht from Washington state to Hawaii.His traveling companions all sound like characters in a bad movie.

Today and for the next few days, I will have my short list of "honey does" for him to fix for us. That's a perk that I am taking full advantage of. I don't know where he got this skill to fix things. Must have skipped a generation.I can't even put air in the tires without letting all of the air escape. It's never too late to appreciate all of our kids for what they bring to the table. Having them all in the same room, under happy circumstances, would make my cup overflow.When's the next wedding?

We are in a good place right now. The weather is fine, there are no medical emergencies, our Social Security checks are in the bank. What's not to be happy about. The world news isn't great, but that seems to be out of my control. Even my iPad is behaving. Right now, it likes me. I don't want to get too comfortable and become used to this moment of calmness. I've been around long enough to know that the other shoe will drop and I will once again be anxious, uncomfortable,angry,out of sorts, emotionally drained and blah. But until that happens, I am going to celebrate feeling good, being healthy, having friends, making plans for the future,and being in the moment.  When you get to be my age, the expression "life is too short",becomes a truism. So be happy .It's never too late to just be happy to be here.

I am not sure how this has happened, but the last two weeks have been so busy that I need to just stop and sit a bit and reflect.

I am thinking that it is a good thing that I am Jewish and don't celebrate Christmas, because I don't know how I would fit it in. I have been non stop busy since Thanksgiving, and one of the reasons that I like Thanksgiving is that no presents are exchanged. How could I fit in Christmas gift giving when so much other "stuff" is going on around me. I tried to start a diet just around this time. That is a great idea and it lasts for two meals. Breakfast and lunch. After that, how can I refuse that beef tenderloin and mashed potatoes and many more items too numerous to mention. And cookie exchanges that many groups have at this time of year. It would be impolite to refuse to share (or eat ) cookies. This is a problem I love having, but the diet may have to wait until next year. When I say "next year in Jerusalem", it will have extra meaning now.

It's never too late to be more careful about my time. There are only 24 hours available for me and between sleep, TV, Cricket and eating, I have a full plate.Bring it on, this is what living is all about and I'm in for the ride.(and the food).

I had lunch yesterday with a once a month friend. This means that we go to lunch once a month and do not talk or see each other for the rest of the month. It's a wonderful relationship. We are committed once a month to spending several hours laughing, talking,complaining,agreeing and lamenting the state of the world. I am a great listener and she is a wonderful story teller. A perfect friendship. I come away happy and I know that she does too. Our back grounds are very different, which makes it even more fun. We have a few things in common. Enough things that we understand where the other is coming from. She is the kind of person who you can disagree with and she doesn't take offense. I on the other hand, get even more adament, the wrong-er I am. I will  work on this.

It was refreshing to go to lunch. We only go where there are white tablecloths. It started as a joke, but now it has become a challenge . It's never too late to keep looking for white tablecloth restuarants, especially ones that let you sit for several hours . We have a short list.  

Nine weeks. I was almost too busy to count the weeks,and now that I did,I am really getting excited. While we are in Jerusalem, there will be an "Ice Festival". It sounds cold, but a sculpter from China will be there and I guess he will sculpt ice. I've seen pictures of such exhibits, so that might be a good adventure for us to visit. Then I understand it will be Tu B'Shvat, where to celebrate spring,trees are planted. Because this will be a 7 year cycle for planting, and traditionally fields rest for this growing season, trees won't be planted, but the spring flowers will be in bloom. And migration of many of the birds that we see around here in Florida. Should be a learning experience. So much to do, only a month to do it in. I'm having lunch today with an Israeli friend. She is not too helpful about what to do in Jerusalem. She doesn't go to visit museums, but to visit family, so she only knows what they are up to. I don't understand the politics, so I don't follow her when she talks about parties. I'll have to be more in tuned to politics. Israeli are passionate about politics.I have so much to learn. I'll start tomarrow.It's Never too late to keep making plans, that big day when we board El Al airlines is not that far away.

I was thinking of the difference between my mother and Bob's mother. My mother, never to be called Mom, only mother, wore a house coat most of the day. She slept late and didn't check to see if I ate breakfast or how I looked when I went to school. Bob's mother, called, Mom, sent up orange juice to the four kids before they left their bedrooms to come down to breakfast. My mother did not drive, so her world was considerably smaller. Once she came from Russia, she didn't travel until my father died. He was never Dad, but father or Daddy. Bob's Dad was Dad. My mother blossomed after my sister and I grew up. She went to work in a large department store in the Designer Shop. She was their best sales person. She was meant to sell. Maybe that is where I got my love of retail business. One Christmas season I decided to work at Crate and barrell. I loved it. I never brought home a pay check because I spent it all in that store. I still have most of the things, too.

I had these thoughts because I was thinking how practical a house coat is. That thought led to another .It's never too late to think about buying a house coat, but I will keep my driver's license. It's good for another few years.