New year eve

Cloudy morning

It's the eve of the jewish new year ... no work is allowed and all offices and shops will be closed. The newspapers all publish the state of the jewish people ... it's up to 9 million people living in this country on the eve of the new year. However there is an impasse in forming a govt since last week's election so the 9 million citizens are left with no govt for the new year.

One sure sign of the jewish new year is the abundance of fruit. In Palm Plaza, the pats are heavy with dates. Pomegranates, apricots and peaches are sold everywhere. Grapes too are abundant and they are the symbol of Sukkoth which is celebrated 15 days from now. We also have foreign fruit grown locally at this time of year: incredible mangoes and guavas. It's a great time to be a vegetarian.

Lots of dates

I was up at 4am this morning to buy fresh bread for the community ... barley and whole meal loaves. Everyone loves it here, especially those with diabetes. I bought them cheap ... 4 shekels each instead of 5. It pays to know the bakery people. At 4am the sky was very cloudy and humidity caused dew to form everywhere. It was 13 degrees and chilly. I managed to water all the plants as well ... from the courtyard behind the sacristy to the sisters' courtyard 2 floors up to the my rooftop garden. Quite a chore but I managed to get it all done by 6am.

Then it was Mass at the Armenian Catholic church. A group of Indian pilgrims came to join in as they had no priest and it was Sunday. There were in all some 60 people for Mass. What a crowd. The rest of the day was spent slowly cleaning my room. I have no desire to go out because police presences stepped up considerably because of the jewish new year. I don't need more drama in my life.