Tremendous Tuesday

 

Wow! What a day! It went so well, I thought it was Thursday!

    Even though broken, I managed to have sufficient sleep last night, waking up for the final time at 8am this morning.

    Blessings, coffee and prayer lead me into the daily aliyah, which always offers interesting nuggets - and this morning was no exception.

    This led to my morning classes, followed by a walk to the shop for daily needs, then Torah study followed closely by Mincha prayers. Shortly thereafter it was time for some final English revision for one of my students, followed hot on the heels by Afrikaans with another student and lastly Afrikaans with my one and only Scottish winemaker.

    After video calling the beloved grandson and cementing our Thursday revision for his Afrikaans exam, I got a message to say that my 8pm learning appointment had been cancelled. I asked the LORD what He would like me to do with the evening and after eating and saying Birkat HaMazon, watching a short teaching on the Torah portion and part of an interview with our Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein - who I admire greatly - here's the link to the interview: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSY8-2Nfm2w

- I decided a Blog would be in order - I don't think I've written one for quite some time - not that there is nothing to write about, but rather that I need longer days!

    After my morning classes, I got a phone call from a friend to say that a believing community in Europe had been hacked and we should please pray for the safety of everyone. Then I received another call from a friend in the UK to say that some strange, uninvited person had arrived in her Zoom room during morning prayers and made his/her presence known by performing various hand gestures. I am no IT person, as my son Yehonathan will tell you, but I suddenly found myself playing the role of Computer Consultant. We clicked our way around and discovered a couple of safety tools we could use and applied them, only for me to discover that I had inadvertently locked a friend out of the prayer meeting!

    What an exciting time!

    But not so exciting for the believers in Europe who plan to attend the international conference there soon. After today's threatening hack, people are feeling apprehensive about going, wondering if they are putting their lives in danger by simply gathering with other believers. Militant Islam is a danger wherever it is found.

    I was so hungry before my last class, so - having a full three minutes to spare - I tore off a piece of the bran & fruit loaf I baked yesterday and threw it down my throat. After the class, I grilled some sliced Irish Soda Bread with banana and cheese - Ooh, was it nice!

    I'm currently finishing off my venison & veg stew. There will be enough to freeze some after a meal, perhaps it'll work out to enough for three or four meals. Smells so nice!

    I'm quite tired and could easily go to bed now, but if I do, I know I shall wake up at 2 or 3am and not be able to go back to sleep. So I'll find something to occupy myself with for another few hours before heading off to dreamland.

    My beloved mother turned 84 yesterday and one of my old school friends saw my status and contacted me. God willing, we are meeting up next weekend - for the first time in about forty years or so - to have coffee and a catch-up chat.

    Tomorrow is a less demanding day with a busier evening, so I hope to get into the garden a bit to sort some things out. Never a dull moment at my house in the trees. Two mornings ago when I opened my one lounge window, I saw something fall. Looking down onto the driveway I saw a long, green snake! It hung around until much later I believe, as the gardener saw it later in the day! I got down my canister of snake repellent and sprayed as much as I could around the perimeter of my abode, but the stuff was almost finished. I hope it's enough to keep the snakes away!

    There are so many things that I'm grateful for - little and large - with which HaShem blesses me every single day. I am so blessed to have the friends I do - even though most of them are online and live all over the world, far away from me - who are prayer partners and sisters in our living faith.

    Time is really flying. Can scarce believe it's Rosh Chodesh again on Thursday night! One of my favourite months - I love Hanukkah! God willing, my grandson will be here with me this year for at least part of the time. When he was a few years younger, he coudn't understand why I insisted on giving him gifts every day for 8 days.

    "Why can't you just give them all to me now, Granny?" he said with a frown. He is so adorable and I love him to the moon and back. So, yes, I gave them all to him right then and there!

    I've just switched the stew off - or is it soup? A soupy stew? A stewy soup? - We shall see what kind of consistency it turns out to have. Either way, it will be delicious.

    One might ask: Where does this woman get venison from? Aaah, I have a venison angel! Just like I once had a Zoom angel. God sends angels to us in many different guises.

(Oh my gosh! I hope you can laugh with me at the AI definitions of the above two types of angels I refer to!)

    At the end of this day, I feel satisfied that I have accomplished - with the help of the heavens - at least some good. May all my days count for the kingdom.

Layla Tov!