Snowblind, the Aftermath

Nice Boots

Jerusalem continues to dig out of the snowstorm and we do the same at 1 Rashbag. Michelle, Susan and the kids got into the act and bailed out the front porch area with the bucket, the dust pans and added a new tool, a cooking pot, to the fray. Schools were closed for four days and opened late (10 am) on the fifth and sixth days. Which is fine with me because the roads can freeze up over night and frankly, the way people drive around here, the morning rush hour is challenging enough without adding icy streets to the mix.  Michelle has missed so much of her Ulpan that she arranged to meet some friends from her class for coffee on Monday, so they could practice. (She is taking her Hebrew very seriously - she hardly talks to me at night because she is so busy studying her flash cards.)

Fun in the Snow

Toby and Gabriella, on the other hand, enjoyed their snow break and were happy to be out of school.  They are both funny though, vacillating between counting the days until they are home and the next minute talking about how boring it will be when they are back. We are all at that stage where the end is clearly in sight and we are anticipating the return and feeling sad about leaving, at the same time. We have all made connections and friends here, in our separate spheres, and it will be hard to leave. And we still have a bit of uncertainty about where we are spending our last 4 days in Israel.  We have to vacate the Rashbag house on 12/25 but we don't leave Israel until 12/29 (a communication lapse on dates with our house swappers).  We are debating between staying in Jerusalem (so Michelle and the kids can stay in school until the very end) and heading to Tel Aviv.  My vote is Tel Aviv, just because we haven't spent that much time there, we can see a few final sites and be closer to the airport for the final departure.  Plus it will be warmer - the girls are spending each evening wrapped in blankets, clutching hot water bottles and shivering from the 'bone chilling' (40 degree) weather. It's really not that cold, it's just that space heaters don't cut it and the house is very damp.  (These California girls just don't have a clue about cold weather, although Susan did grow up in Chicago, but that was long time ago). I keep talking (ad nauseum, I'm afraid) about my college winters in upstate New York, but it falls on deaf ears - I get a lot of  'yeah Dad, whatever...'. But still, I love them just the same.

Local Park

YMCA Courtyard