Stromata

Eating matza at work

There's been some tensions in the Al Aqsa compound these days when jews celebrating Pesach enter the area. Muslims get upset and yell abuse ... but so far no stones thrown, no shots fired. Still the City is filled with riot police and soldiers.

Yesterday my jewish security friends shared matza with me ... it's unleavened baked "bread" actually  being square crackers. Jews eat this as part of the 8 day Feast of Unleaven Bread. No one likes it ... it's dry, tasteless and sticks to your stomach as one gluey mass which is hard to digest. But it's compulsory eating for observant jews ... or you can always eat meat and fish with veggies - just no rice, bread, eggs or milk products that can ferment. That also means no soy sauce and noodles and sushi. Most restaurants are closed for 8 days. Supermarket shelves selling these products are cleared off or covered by plastic bags.

Mother finch protecting
her 3 babies inside the nest

My Mortan's neuroma has been mostly resolved after physical manipulation of the bones on the nerves. But now I've developed another problem on my left foot which looks like plantar fasciitis. It makes walking very painful until after a while when the foot is more flexed, the pain is reduced. And my asthma has returned ... severely. I've noticed this happens whenever my steroid Prednesone treatment ends. Looks like I'm dependent on Prednesone to survive now ... but this steroid will eventually kill me as well as it affects the liver and kidneys. No win situation.

Meantime the finches have been breeding lots of babies. Time to sell them away as there's no more space left in the cage. The canaries have now been separated into their breeding cages as well. A couple have already nested. Let's see how well they'll do this year.