hodayot [thanksgivings] for today
no time, no strength

Today was also outstanding because of a technical accomplishment of "mine"...:

Efrat had bought an inflatable little plastic pool for Mika
- with an inflatable slide attached to it.
She told, that Immanuel wasn't pleased with her purchase,
"it will be used once, and then discarded, like the one last year at Shoham".
"But there on the veranda there was no possibility to drain the water."
She now wanted Immanuel and Tomer to inflate it,
and after an enormous effort - since they didn't have an effective air-pump -
the pool was ready to be filled with water from the garden-hose.

While Mika had a gorgeous time - partly with Elah, partly with me or her parents -
(what a pity I could not photograph this according to my decision..)
the question came up where the pool would be stored.
After all it was out of the question to deflate and inflate it every time.
"the animals will cause havoc to it!"
Animals: cats and even a hedgehog, which enter under the fence in the evening,
and of course Nella, and not only herself, because if the wobbly gate to the road is not closed properly, Nella will attract other dogs and run wild with them).

It was then, that I heard myself making a megalomanic proposal:
"If I had a proper string, I could make a kind of net to be hung up here,
and Efrat could store the pool there herself and also take it down herself."
When Immanuel didn't react, I heard myself provoke him:
"Or don't you trust me, that I can do this?"
Again - he didn't react, but Efrat said: "I davka (for all that) do trust you."
Now there was no way back .
I simply couldn't believe that I was so stupid to promise such an invention.
Behind it was a strong desire:
that the pool issue shouldn't burden the relationship between Immanuel & Efrat!

Immanuel didn't give much attention to my crazy idea, but gave me some string.
Alon was the only one on the veranda, busy with trying and frying 'Malauakh"
in an electrical frying pan, once a gift to Immanuel which he had never used so far.
I tried to encourage Alon to help me with the seemingly unsurmountable problem
of throwing the string beyond the concrete horizontal pillar above the veranda,
which I had chosen for hanging on it the "net".
I went to Efrat and asked: "Is there a ladder around?"
And strangely enough: the prior tenants, who had not left anything at all ,
not even the Mezuzot at the doors - a spiteful behavior against the landlady...-
had left a ladder! Except that it wasn't very high!
Alon threw the cord once and succeeded and tied it, but then gave up:
"You should let Abba do this!"
I explalined to him, that my purpose was to take the pool-issue off his mind,
and not add more work to his already superhuman toil.

It was then, that I turned to Ezriel,
my "angel" for providing equipment and solutions for technical problems.
And there "he" was - within half an hour "I" had found the kind of solution,
which I had neither imagined nor planned nor the skill to carry it out.

First I tried to place the ladder between two of the heavy wooden chairs,
which belong to a set of a huge wooden table and 14 chairs,
- most probabably also a gift from "Ezriel".
It is a set exactly fitting for the "veranda", i.e. the roofed place outside,
between house and lawn,
and its size and material are creating an atmosphere of togetherness
not only for the Foursome which will now live in this house,
but hopefully, sometimes, for my entire family of 17 members:
my 3 children, my 3 children-in-love, my 10 grandchildren and me.
Even though the ladder miraculously fitted into the two chairs,
it was risky to stand on it and I joked with Alon,
that soon he would have real work at hand.
[He has just finished a course for the Red Star of David
and today arrived dressed proudly in the shirt of the organization.
To his regret so far he hadn't be called to any accident to prove and train his skills.
(That's an example of how the calamity of one person is the satisfaction of another)
"At least come here and stem your body against one of the chairs!."
He sat on that chair with his back to me and savored his fried 'malauakh'.
I'm very bad at throwing a "lasso", but after several failures I succeeded.
The string was long enough only for four slings,
the last sling "I was advised" to throw over the horizontal pillar
which was constructed against the first one at an angle of 90 degrees.
The very last end of the string was just enough to be tied together
around the vertical pillar which carried the first horizontal structure.
With the help of the plastic piece, on which the string was wound,
I deviced the knot in a way, that it could easily be undone.
To take the pool down, the opened end of the string needs to move up
so the double string, which holds the slide of the pool, can move down
and the pool can be taken out.
I am amazed at this simple solution
and how the ladder was there and the string long enough.etc. etc.
Tomer helped me to spill the water (we didn't see that it had a draining hole),
and then I - all on my own - placed the pond into the two middle slings.
When I tried it the first time, I was sure, it could never succeed,
but already the second attempt was perfect ,
perfect in relation to the result, not in relation to the plan,
for there was no plan!
After I had tied the end of the string,
and the pool was hanging savely - even in case of a strong wind -
in the corner of the veranda with the least sun,
I felt exhilarated and deeply grate-full,
as if on sea - I had rescued a load of people about to drown ....

Finetuning to my Present

Friday, August 1, was "designated" to be remembered as the day of a huge trigger.
And Shabbat, August 2, gave me a chance to heal at least its immediate effect .
I'll postpone the reporting and further healing to the peace and quiet at Arad.

"Dark are the forests and the sky is blue,
only the stars shine brightly
and my young heart is heavy
of thoughts which are in the distance.

"Others I don't tell about my sorrow,
I carry my heart's grief in silence,
the dark forest, the bright sky
are the only ones to know my sorrow.