Alone at last

Sorry I've been MIA for a while, but we had two weeks worth of family visitors and I haven't had a chance to update the blog. Unfortunately, my folks left late last night and I've been feeling a little down since they've gone. I'm in bed, listening to pidgeon snore ever so gently this morning, and waiting for the Dud to heat up my water for a much needed hot shower. It's weird to have the apartment to ourselves again, and the visit was so quick, it was much shorter than I would have preferred.

But, here are some fascinating highlights of the trip:

• We ate out anywhere and everywhere - breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks - for almost 2 weeks straight. Pidgeon and I put on a lot of weight in that period of time, but it was well worth it. Yesterday, pidgeon's brother taunted me for passing on a piece of cheesecake. I just smiled and told him I ate steak for dinner - 4 nights in a row last week - and he was pretty speechless. Steak trumps cheesecake, anytime, any day. We also tried the new restaurant down on Emek called Buffalo's Steakhouse and it was surprisingly good. My steak was pretty tasty and the bread was amazing. My parents liked it so much that they decided to eat there again before their flight last night. They raved about the bread too. We got breakfast each morning from Bagel Bites and I actually have another plain bagel with American tuna in the fridge should I want it this morning. But, I think the biggest hit with the folks and the Dude this trip was Neeman Bakery on Emek. My brother, as you recall, picked up a chocolate mousse cake for our lunch meal two weeks back and my father was in heaven! He bought loafs of marble cake, chocolate chip cake, rugelach, danishes and my Mom and I surprised him with some tiramisu cake. Which, I finished straight from the container using a fork, after they left last night. What can I say? I'm an emotional eater and since I've given up the smoking (1 month and counting!) all I got is my TV, a fork and some dessert. 
• You Ate All That! - Last Tuesday night, pidgeon and I slept at his parents because the apartment was full and there was no room for us as well. We decided to celebrate some alone time by going out to eat at this new sushi restaurant at the bottom of Emek called Tamago. Personally, I have a huge preferance for Sushi Rechavia because their fish is fresher and their rolls are a lot more interesting, but pidgeon wanted to try this new place so I acquiesced. We were starving, having missed lunch and since it was close to 9:00 p.m., we ordered appetizers and a main. I had the tempura and pidgeon had the soup. I ordered the vegetable platter (which was 3 rolls of sushi) and pidgeon had the sushi/sashimi platter. We got jasmine green tea for the table, and I got a nestea and pidgeon got a juice. All together, the bill was 252 shekel. What happened next was just appalling. The manager came over to present us with our bill and he proclaimed: My goodness, I can't believe you ate all that food! I mean, I checked the bill and looked at your empty plates, and I see that you did finish everything! Needless to say, I was not happy with his comment. And, were I a bit more on the ball, would probably ask him if that was a fat comment. But, we left and vowed never to eat there again (besides, it pales in comparison to Sushi Rechavia and the rice was hard). We then decided to really stick it to him and helped ourselves to dessert at Aldo's next door.
• How do you know you've made an impression on your mother-in-law? I'll tell you. When she sends you an e-mail forward about a neighborhood woman selling plus sized clothing from her home. American sizes 18-24 no less! Now, I haven't been a size 18 in YEARS! I actually will admit that I wore a size 22 suit to my cousin's wedding a number of years ago, but I'm a healthy size 14 today (and trying to get to my dream size 10). Which means, B"H, I can shop in stores throughout the Globe! Any store carries a size 14, except perhaps the uber-designers and Zara, but I've been a member of the mainstream shopping society for 4 years now. And proud of it. Not really sure where that leaves me with my MIL. Am still obsessing over that e-mail, believe me, obsession.

My parents had a really great time on their trip and we did a lot of shopping, meetings and planning. Starting Wednesday, this apartment will once again undergo a transformation, and that means I am now looking at 2 weeks of hell. We discovered a tremendous amount of mold growing in the Mamad, which is unusual since the Mamad is now obviously ineffective against outside agents. So, the contractor is coming to do some construction in the room, and will also do some work in the master bathroom. We are switching ALL of the light fixtures in the apartment because they are much too weak and the lighting is really lousy. My Mother couldn't even read her book because, with all the lights on in the living room, she still couldn't see the words. Meanwhile, the toilet in the master bathroom went on us and we're going to need a new one of those. And, we ordered an entire wall unit for the living room, so pidgeon and I can get some of our stuff out of boxes. I'm thrilled with all of the renovations, but it will mean the following:

early morning wake up, stranger work men flitting in and out of the apartment every day, tremendous noise, tons of dirt, plaster and paint, smells that I could do without, etc.

The plus side is that, when everything is finished, this place is going to look great. 

The electrician wanted to come early this morning and I begged off, telling them that I needed one morning to sleep in. With the family in town, we were up and out by 8:00 a.m. which is really too early for me. The irony of it all is that I woke up, on my own at 8:00 a.m. 

I'm meeting the contractor this afternoon in town to finalize the light fixtures my parents ordered, have a Dr.'s appointment later, and will spend the rest of my day just taking care of all the linen and towel washings I need to do. After that, I have to move the entire contents of our wall-to-wall closet into one room so they can work in the Mamad. 

It's gonna be hell people but hey, I guess that's just the reality of Israeli construction. Wish me luck!