Stormy day

Storm clouds over the Mt. of Olives

And it was a huge storm ... repeating what I said yesterday ... meteorologists say there were 828 lightning strikes yesterday. The rain was all over the country and the desert was flooded. Never have we ever had a storm like this in May. But the weather stations say the summer months will be just the opposite .... very hot and dry. And news reports are hawking the headlines that the virus will die off surfaces in the coming heat. That's actually not my worry. My ... and many experts too ... greatest worry is the asymptomatic carriers of the virus. That'll be the cause of the 2nd wave of epidemic ... and ministers are calling for more financing in health care to prepare for it.

Sunset in the storm

Well this morning occasional rain and drizzle continued ... and the temp dropped quite low. Woollen clothes and sweaters were out again. I was able to go out to the stationary shop late in the morning when the rains stopped but the drizzle still continued. I need files and plastic folders urgently for the library so I went out in the drizzle to get them. On the way the grocery next to the muslim cemetery was selling papayas. I bought a couple and gave one to our sisters in the kitchen. They loved it ... the papaya was very sweet and fragrant ... and locally grown near Gaza.

I stopped by also at the small pastry shop to see if my friend there was ok. I try to buy a little something each time to help him out. He's got a couple of very young children and the family depends on his shop for a living. Anyway he does some very good pastries so I usually buy  something for our sisters and my workers in the library.

Meantime there's a little storm in a teacup ... the broadcasting authorities granted a 7 year license to a protestant TV station to broadcast christian programmes in hebrew. Now a backlash has brewed when rabbis and religious jews accuse it of proselytising ... which is illegal in Israel. We'll see how this will develop.