Shabbat

When I woke up, I was thinking about Kol Emeth. I miss being a participating member of an observant, egalitarian shul.

An hour of exercise, housekeeping, texting with Yossi in Columbia, news, a chapter of The PTSD Workbook, feeding cats, and havdallah.

His siddur and a virtual minyan have been keeping Yossi sane. He and I are going to re-read Dune together. Just this evening, he learned that he can catch tomorrow's emergency flight out of Bogata. He'll meet his father in Florida and they will self quarantine together. A colleague of his will take care of his kitten.

Boudica's left eye has swollen shut, her nose is still scabbed over, and the wounds all over her face are not healing. She is moving better than she used to, and doesn't have as much trouble finding the food, but I really think she needs a vet. I wonder if Gray Tom is very old. Neither his ear nor his pompoms have been snipped. 

Both of them let me come very close to give them food and they don't mind that I sit near them or get up to give the other cats dry food, but they won't let me pet them.

The big, white, healthy cat that I call Levannah's Cousin is very polite. She eats the dry and only thinks about stealing the wet food from the two sick kitties.

Today is twenty-four days, which is three weeks and three days of the Omer.

The more you celebrate the good, the more good you discover that is worthy of celebration.

Beltain

An hour of exercises. Very motivated. Ultimately, they should be my warm-ups for the day. For the next week or so, they'll be my whole exercise routine.

I borrowed a broom and sponga pole (a squeegie on a broom stick) from Sophie and thoroughly cleaned house.

Colored my eyebrows and put some aloe on my skin. After a shower, I had an Israeli salad and rice with tehina, followed by a pudding cup, while watching the end of a movie. (Last night, I'd watched most of a really terrible movie, Roman J Israel, Esq, but today I found myself wondering how it ended. It could have been a much better movie. At least it ended on a positive note.

It was a breezy, bright day, so I took a walk. I studied a little Hebrew and watched two Hebrew videos from Ulpan La-Inyan and a TED Talk.

I lit candles at 6:59, then went down to feed the cats. Arlan came all the way up while Boudica was eating from her can. He had seen Gray Tom at the next "stop." Arlan waited patiently until she finished. Then he waited patiently again while Gray Tom ate half of his can. I took the remainder of his can up to the fridge. Then Arlan and I went to the park to chat and admire the Imposter Louie and the real Louie.

An acquaintance called from the UK to wish me a good Shabbos. He showed me his yard and the wonderful meal he was making.

I ate an apple and honey for a treat and boiled rice for a meal. Kiddush will be recited over beer.

Today is twenty-three days, which is three weeks and two days of the Omer.

For each of us God has a task. Discerning that task,
hearing God’s call, is what gives a life meaning and purpose.