We're living in a winter wonderland! Snow, snow, everywhere is snow. And it's still coming down!

What's so special about snow you may be asking? Because it's not a usual occurrence around these here parts. The weather forecasters here are much more accurate than in the states - the country's been preparing for this since Sunday and it really happened!

Yesterday (Tuesday) it poured all day, but more than that, the winds were unbelievable. By the middle of the afternoon the rain had slowed down to just drizzles here and there (badly needed in this country), but by 4:30 they started again. Thank G-d David got home from work about 5:30 p.m. According to the news, the snow started in Yerushalayim at about 9, but here in Kochav Yaakov the first flakes started around 10:30. Our electricity went out several times last night, so I did some reading by candle-light, and we had flashlights by our sides. When David's alarm went off this morning, I told him it had started snowing before he went to bed, so he just turned off the alarm and stayed in bed. There isn't any way to get off the hill where our yishuv is located - no way are any salt trucks coming around here; we're pretty much off the beaten track. I'm just wondering if the yishuv has some sort of truck to clear off the streets here in the yishuv.

It's supposed to continue snowing today AND tomorrow, which doesn't bode well for us going to Beit Shemesh for Shabbat. My friend, Peggy, is coming from Connecticut (landing today!) with her husband, Avi, for Avi's son's wedding. This weekend is the aufruf. Emma is staying here with Penina's family, and we're staying with a friend's parents in Beit Shemesh - if we can get there!

Last night I was reading my 10th grade diary by candle-light and reading some things out loud to David. It was so funny! For instance, I was so excited one night when I made $3.75 babysitting; I thought I was rich! I said such (secular) teen-aged things. Here's what I wrote for September 29, 1971:

Howdy. No school today - it's Yom Kippur. I fasted all day and all last night. I even lost two pounds! (But I probably gained it back at dinner.) It was hot today. Didn't seem like the end of September. We got up at 8:45 this morning and went to 10:00 services. We didn't get home till 12:30. The services were okay but I just didn't feel like atoning for my sins. I don't like "institutionalized religion." Religion means something different to everyone and I don't think everyone should pray from one prayerbook. I didn't agree with 3/4 of the stuff in the book. Bye!

My, how my outlook has changed! Or maybe I just didn't buy into the Reform outlook of Yiddishkeit even back then. Somewhere inside me I must have known that there was so much more to what our religion has to offer. Baruch Hashem I'm much more agreeable to atoning for my sins these days!