Mishloach manot

 This Purim, have s'more fun on us.  Love Jason, Rachel and Channah.

Our mishloach manot.  Crackers, marshmallows, chocolate, and of course, the candle and stick. 

In case you have been wondering where we have been..

So, our router from bezeq is having issues. The wireless works great, but the ports seem to be dead- which would not be a problem except for the fact that our voip line is wired into it. No wireless.

When we bought our modem from Bezeq, we were told we get it for free if we sign for a 2 year contract. Silly us, we thought the modem was expected to last the length of the contract. No.

So we called bezeq. After an hour and a half they told us we could exchange the modem, all we needed was an okay from the tech department. Ooops, they closed five minutes ago. Call back after the weekend.

So we did.

Nope, it is out of warenty. Lovely. 129 shekel to replace it (plus shlepping into Jerusalem to get it as there is no shop here), or 12 shekel a month or a year, plus 40 shekel in shipping if we want to take out a customer service contract. Oh, and we are signing on to bezeq internet for another year if we go that route.

So we decided to see what our other options were.

We asked o nthe list locally to see if anyoen had one used. A computer place contacted us and said they had. So we asked their hours. Jason called before he went over just to be sure they were open. He got there. They weren't. They suggested he wait around for 45 minutes until they got back. Keep in mind he had called them 10 minutes earlier and told them he was coming right over.

So he went back today. Explained what he needed. Double checked they were selling him the right part. It was 75 shekel more than it was from bezeq, but was supposedly a better product with a 2 year warenty.

Got it home. Opened the sealed box. Wrong part.

Called them and they told him they would "do him a favour and take it back- and no they do not sell the part we actually need.

He got over there (again!!) and the first thing the guy did was apologize. Ok, mistakes happen. Then he told him they have one used (part we need) in stock. He would sell it to us for the same price as the (wrong part) that was new. No warenty! But trust, him it would work now (no guarentee about tomorrow though!)- he would lose money on it if he needed to fix it. So, 75 shekel more than bezeq, used, no warenty. Um no.

Then he went into a little speach about how people who use him do so for customer service not for his prices.

Ok, buddy. I pride myself on my customer service and use the line about quality of price a lot. This ain't it.

If anyone is considering a local computer place and is concerned it might be this, I would be happy to answer direct questions.

For now, still no working voip line

Trying on Purim Customes

This year she is a pink aurora fairy.  She started off as princess aurora (sleeping beauty) in a lovely gown from my sister.  She then decided she needed a wand.  But princess' don't carry wands, so she needed to be a magic princess.  Then she decided she needs wings cause they are cool.  But not even magic princess' have wings, so she must be a fairy princess.  So we bought the wings and they came with antenna.  They wiggle and are much more comfortable than her crown.  So now she is a pink fairy aurora princess.  She will also be wearing her pink sparkly shoes from safta Myra.

Ballet Recital

Corny

When you move half-way around the world, you know there are going to be things you need to give up.  At first, the reality of your new life fills your world and you do not really have any time to think about them.  Over time they occasionally slip into your subconscious, and eventually conscious thought.  Given long enough, and even the smallest things you left behind will have a way of popping into your head when you least expect it.

Over the last few weeks Jason and I have come to realize that there are a select few things that we miss from "the old country".   Reasonably priced shoes.  Fresh broccoli that does not cost a month's salary.  Customer service.  You know.  Little things.  For the most part they are very little things that, in the grand scheme of things, are really not particularly important, but once in a while you think about them and realize that they are, in fact, just not available over here.

It dawned on both of us that the one thing both of us missed most (I mean, outside of friends and family) is corn on the cob.

You can get frozen corn kernels here that, once re-hydrated and heated up are a pretty close facsimile to the taste of reasonably okay corn.  You can get canned stuff that canned stuff that might as well be sludge is yellow water.  You can even buy what, to the untrained eye looks like very expensive plasic, play-food corn on the cob- mostly husked and wrapped in Styrofoam and plastic wrap.  The first is our standard form of corn.   The second is an option if it happens to be on sale and going into something cooked like shepherds pie or onto pizza.  The last option was something that we we had not yet brought ourselves to try.

Recently we mentioned that it was something we missed to someone, he mentioned having it regularly.  He buys option C from above and that it was pretty good.  So today while I was grocery shopping I noticed it on sale for a reasonably good price (7 shekel a kilo!) and bought a package of 5 ears.  I picked the nicest looking plastic pod of the bunch and went on my merry way.

We made it for dinner tonight.  I looked mostly like corn on the cob.  It even smelled vaguely of yellow!  You ate it like corn on the cob- pretending to be an old style typewriter.  But when push came to shove it was just a uber-starchy, mostly-tasteless, yellow edible stick (Channah has named it corn on a stick and she has no idea what a cob is).

I really, really missed Simson's corn (hamayvin ya'avin)

Channah's Birthday- Part 1

Package from Mom

I am Israel (Video)

Juggeling- sort of, part 2

Playing outside

My little helper

Channah has come to understand that everyone needs to help out around the house. She is normally really good about not arguing when she needs to do her jobs- we think they are appropriate to her age and stage. She needs to put all shoes on the shoe rack, make sure her things are where they are supposed to be, and to help sort the laundry. She is also responsible for making sure clothing she would like cleaned makes its way into the laundry- including her ballet stuff.

Also any random things we ask her to do.

But Fridays is her time to really shine. She LOVES sweeping and sponga-ing- and can do a pretty decent job of it. She also is more than willing to do some dishes (mostly a pot or something I need that has already been used) and she is meticulous.

But my favourite new helping activity is far and away her ability to set the table. I need to get things out of the closet for her, but other than that she is good to go. I can cook/ clean/whatever, and know that the dining room table will be taken care of and ready to go when we are ready to light candles.

She can even do the table cloth by herself! She is becoming such a big girl! The picture below is the very first time she did it all by herself.