A Week of Progress and a New Year

This week, I took one step forward in reclaiming my daily life; my life, that is, from before the medical mishap that cost me most of July with violent dizziness. For a while there, I could neither stand nor walk. Friday for the first time since early July, I was able to do some personal laundry. I tried two weeks ago and fell into the washing machine and Woody had to help me out. Now I can do it. I can work in the garden, of course cook, but I managed most of that by the third week of dizziness lessening. There have been many milestones, one more remaining. Being able to take a bath without help. Old age is full of humiliations.

The paste tomatoes in my garden died and were pulled. I planted arugula, Jerico lettuce, dill, cilantro. When it cools a little more, “I’ll plant six kinds of lettuce, escarole and endive in two of my raised beds. My Arapaho peppers are little works of art – actually not that little, up to 7 inches long. They are a brilliant scarlet and beautiful. One day, I picked 22 of them all at once.  I froze 3 packages of 3 peppers each, which should be sufficient for the year as I use only small amounts at a time. They are quite hot. I have given a bunch away. Friends seem glad to get them.

We are making good progress on my new poetry book. I have titled the sections. We thinned each to make them reasonable in size but high in quality. Tuesday, when Nina comes back to work, we’ll count pages in each section and see what we still have to cut to reach optimum length. I keep adding and subtracting poems as we go.  Still writing a couple each week.

Labor Day is a special holiday for many of us year-rounders on the Cape as it’s when many second home owners go back where they came from and most tourists leave.  It has already thinned out some with people who have school age children and college students returning to their education. It’s now possible to park in town and buy a loaf of bread in the local market without spending a half hour on the checkout line.

I am getting ready for Rosh HaShannah that occurs this coming Friday.  We’ll have seven at table. Last year, I was so depressed and disgusted by Netanyahu’s’ wars it was difficult to celebrate. Now I feel more distance. I want to emphasize the cycle of the year and our shared Jewish identity based in compassion and justice.  And, of course, there’s the meal. Woody is making his ‘famous’ cherry kugel (as he insists on calling it) and Chayim is baking a big round Challah. I am getting pressure from Woody to make a traditional brisket, but we’ll see.

September is usually a good, warm but sometimes too hot month. It’s also the time everyone gets to the appointments they’ve been putting off since June and the traffic is impossible. We’ve got dental visits, vet visits, check-ups, etc. lined up. Woody says Labor Day is not the end of summer but the return to normal.