I bet you think I've forgotten all about this blog, don't you? Well, okay - you may be right. Or partially. I've been THINKING about writing in here, quite a bit actually, but I never seem to think about it when it's easy to sit down and do it. So here I am, finally.

Let's see. What's happened this past month? Life kind of caught up with me here in the Holy Land. Getting ready for Pesach and then Pesach - our first as Israeli citizens! Kind of wierd only having one seder; with all the preparation beforehand, it was almost anti-climatic. But the three of us (Emma included) went to stay with our friends in Kochav Yaakov for Yom Tov and we had a wonderful time. Their 7 year old, Hudi, stayed up for the whole seder (we ended about 2:30 in the morning) and contributed quite a bit to the discussions. I was very impressed. The last time we stayed there for Pesach (three years ago), we made the decision to make aliyah. And now we're looking seriously at moving to Kochav Yaakov.

Tomorrow I'm going with a friend of mine (well, I'm actually going with her; she has a car) to look at some houses there. There's nothing to rent so we might have to buy something. I'm so sad to be leaving Ramat Beit Shemesh but it's just too hard for David. We had found a great 5 bedroom apartment with a huge yard here in RBS close to the shopping area with reasonable rent, but David just doesn't want the commute. Kochav Yaakov is about 20 minutes away from where he works by bus as opposed to over an hour from here. The majority of people who live on the the yishuv are French, but there are about 45-50 Anglo families there now. We shall see how tomorrow goes.

If you looked out your window in the middle of the afternoon and everything looked kind of grey and fuzzy, you'd probably just shrug and think, "Hmm. It's a little foggy out." Right? But what if the fog got thicker and thicker until you couldn't see across the street? And it was really warm out and the wind was blowing? Maybe you would you think, "Hmm. A storm must be coming." But what if your eyes started to burn and your nose would start running and the furniture you just dusted suddenly was covered with dust again and when you walked across the floor you could hear grit squishing under your shoes? Well, if you lived where I live, you'd think, "Hmm. Sand storm! Close the windows and the shutters and turn on the ac!" 'Cause that's what I did today in the worst sand storm we've had since we moved here. I REALLY hate running the air conditioning in April, but, combined with my terrible allergies which haven't been bad in years until this spring, this sand storm is a doozy. It's just after 9 PM and David just came in from walking Emma. He said it's still 26 degrees out (that's Celcius - about 80 degrees Farhenheit) and the wind is really blowing. I'd better brush the sand off Emma.

I'm so worried about a dog we've befriended. He's the most beautiful, gentle, blonde furry dog with golden eyes like Anton (our dog in the states we had to put to sleep). Someone told me that they saw someone drive by and shove him out the door on our corner some weeks back. Wht is wrong with people?! He followed Emma and I on our walk about a week ago, and I saw he had no collar and his hair was all matted, so we stayed away from him. But yesterday he saw us and came into the park in front of our apartment building and I cautiously let Emma off her leash (because if I hadn't she would have pulled my arm off...). She ran in maniacal circles around him for about 15 minutes, and he just laid down and watched her. When she finally got up the courage to go sniff him, he just rolled over so she could check him out. He's about 5 times her size, but he was so gentle with her! When I finally brought Emma in, I went back outside with a bowl of water and he drank it all without stopping. My heart really went out to him, but we just can't take another dog; especially now that we're moving.

This morning I took Emma out early because I had to catch an early bus into Yerushalayim for a doctor's appointment, and the dog showed up again. This time he just wanted me to pet him. After I brought Emma in I went back out with water and dog food, but he was gone. I hope he found some shelter today from all this sand in the air. David saw him this morning and agreed he looked like Anton. If we end up getting a house with a yard, we may have to think about taking him with us ... but I'm afraid in two months' time he'll be hardened by living outside. And I don't know how he'd do with someone (me) giving him a bath. I just have to stop worrying about him.

My baby turned 25 yesterday. Am I really old enough to have sons in their twenties - now mid to late twenties?! How did all this time pass? And the real question is - where was I when it was happening?

So I'm working now, from home. At last count I've typed up seven transcripts - for a grand total of about $150. Whew - the money's really rolling in now! All they've sent me so far are short court proceedings, like anywhere from 7 minutes to 27 minutes. One was actually close to two hours. I'm kind of glad, though. If I have to start packing everything up again, I'm going to need some time. But just finding us a place to live is going to take time also. And if we have to buy, it means navigating the Israeli system when we don't know the language so it's going to cost to get a good attorney. Which means I should be working more. But then I don't have time to do the legwork. Kind of makes me feel like I'm on a teeter-totter.

My mahj group is really upset we're leaving. What kind of a rotten scum am I to break up two perfectly good mah jongg groups? All I can say is - there's better be 3 eager mah jongg players wherever we move to...

After my doctor visit this morning, I took the #2 bus to the kotel. For some reason, I've only been there 3 or 4 times since we moved here. When I saw it, it was almost startling. I pulled a chair as close as I could (considering there were a whole lot of other ladies davening there) and before I started reading my tehillim and saying all my personal prayers for my family and friends, I just sat there and looked up at this Wall. Every once in awhile I have these moments of, "Hey, I live here! I can hop on a bus and walk through the security and sit down right in front of this Wall where so many of my ancestors over the last however many thousand years (I should know how many, right?) stood and communed with Hakodesh Boruch Hu." After 9 months of living here, I, sadly, don't have so many moments of that sudden Awe any more. But today it just hit me square in the face.

The next war with Lebanon is going to be happening soon. It kind of scares me to be moving in the middle of the summer when everything will most likely be happening. But life has to go on, without worrying about the "what if's." I just told that to a friend recently, so I guess I have to practice what I preach.

I could go on and on and on (as you may know), but I think I'll stop here. By the way -- oh wait. I'm really going to stop now. That's it.