Baqdunes

So the State elections are on Tuesday ... 3 days to go. Polls show that the the gap between the center-right and the center-left are closing ... with only 6 seats difference between them. That makes the minor coalition parties very powerful as they'll ultimately decide who becomes king. Be that as it may ... everyone is sure Netanyahu will be back as PM.

Parsley in a vase

The Bedouin women at Damascus Gate are selling herbs of the season - lots of shallots, sage, fennel, mint and parsley. Very fresh. I thought I'd make some parsley tea to settle my usual stomach cramps but I know if I asked the women, the price would rise. So my arab friend bought it for me - 10 shekels for 3 bunches. If I had bought, it would have cost 5 shekels for 1 bunch. So anyway I ended up with more parsley than I need. Put it in 3 glass containers for decoration. Parsley in arabic is "baqdunes". It's a nickname my local friends call me - baqdunes: small, insignificant but goes well with everything.

By the way, world famous agony aunt "Dear Abby" has died at the age of 94. The author is jewish immigrant Pauline Friedman Phillips, whose twin sister also ran a competing column for a rival paper.

So with "Dear Abby" gone, the angst of the coming elections will have no agony aunt to soothe the nerves and talk some sense. Maybe a bunch of baqdunes might help.