Full Moon

Full moon at Damascus Gate

 It's the full moon tonight.  The sky is bright and lots of people are in the streets to enjoy the weekend. Lots of activities in the streets. At the nearby plaza is the weekly tango dance where lots of couples come to dance. Rabbi Lifshitz came to see me today and he said he and his wife are going first to another plaza for waltz before coming to dance the tango. Mind you he's 11 years older than I but he's a lot fitter. 

Rains are predicted for the whole of next week. We're very happy. Let's hope the weather forecasters are not wrong. Everyone's looking forward for a weeklong heavy shower. 

I had suffered a slip disc last week and went to hospital. More medicines and injections. 3 days in bed. Now I'm able to walk and sit again. But slowly. Doc told me the medicines I'm taking after my bypass have some side-effects that include muscular dystrophy. This would account for my weaker muscles and propensity to fall, twisting ankles and joints and getting slip discs. I must be very careful not to fall. Missing a step is my greatest fear. A fractured bone or hip will force me to be in bed, and that will start the mental deterioration. 

Autumn

Friday Bazaar before the rain

The rains have come. It didn't last very long each time ... but it made up for it with intensity. Heavy showers and strong winds lashing out for a couple of hours. Storm clouds blocking the sun for most of the day. The plants and trees in public areas enjoyed the soak down into their roots, and their leaves washed from the dust of a dry summer. And the air is a lot cleaner too. 

And not just cleaner but colder as well. Autumn is upon us. The muezzin starts his first call to prayer at 5.25am instead of 3.40am. The night air is humid and cool enough that people wear hoodies and sweaters. 

The Jewish month of holidays is over and school is back to routine. Buses and trains are full of students in the mornings and afternoons. Thursday and Fridays people crowd the supermarkets, suks (open air markets) and bazaars to shop for the next week before Sabbath starts. And tourists are returning by the busloads. While not like before, the momentum is picking up and the largest number of visitors are from central and latin America. 

And of course coming back to autumn, some trees have began to change the colour of its leaves. Less green, more brown and yellow ... the feeling that Advent is round the corner.

Feast

True to biblical prophecy, the rains have come after Sukkot ended on Sunday. It was a short burst of heavy shower but it left the ground very wet and the air very clean and cool. Now let's hope more rain will come.

St. Francis altar

We read from the news that many countries are facing floods and hailstorms. The El Niño effect is turning our lives upside down. Although a bit of flooding and hail won't hurt us. We've had a drought year and we really need rain to fill up the Sea of Galilee. We need rain!!!

Sunday was the feast of St. Francis. 800 years after this death. There were major major celebrations all around the world, especially in Assisi itself. We had our own little celebration ... 3 communities coming together for lunch. A simple fraternal moment that we all appreciated. 800 years may have passed, but the dream is still alive and the adventure continues with the next generation.

 I have not updated my blog for over a week and yesterday there were 7000 views. I'm being stalked ... or the algorithm is totally messed up. 

Quiet day

The Day of Atonement ended yesterday evening. It was as usual a very quiet day. Everything stops for 24 hours. Those who are not fasting and praying in the synagogues, do the customary thing that Israelis do .... ride bicycles on the highways. That's the only day of the year where no vehicles are on the highways and families cycle freely on all the roads. Others play at major crossroads, sit or chat where other days would be impossible for the traffic. It's that one time when citizens claim ownership of the roads and streets.

Konkani Mass was
standing space only

Because the New Year and Atonement and Tabernacles all fall on 3 consecutive weekends, we have to reschedule our weekend Masses so people could have transport to come and return home. So on Fridays and Saturday mornings, all our churches and Mass centres were packed with Masses in different languages. Literally standing places only. 

As school begins, many parents are asking for help to pay school fees, uniforms and books for their children. We've been trying to sponsor as many as we can. 

 Yesterday I had 9000+ views, today 7000+ views on my blog. Either the algorithm has gone haywire or I'm being stalked.

Pomegranates

Pomegranates

 The autumn harvest has begun. Olives and dates are ready for picking. Pomegranates signal the New Year which begins this coming Sunday. Other autumn fruit are also being sold in the markets. It would be very festive if not for the rising prices of these fruit. The drought and the halt of the desalination plants meant that water usage was greatly reduced, thus affecting the ripening fruit in the orchards. Water prices have gone up and this is passed on to the consumer.

After Sukkot in 3 weeks' time, we hope and pray for rain. We cannot bear another year of drought. Storms and flood will be inconvenient but a necessary evil. The need for water is essential.

I had a bad scare on Sunday when my hands and feet were very swollen, and I was disoriented and confused. Luckily two deacons were serving me the whole weekend and they had to guide me along the liturgies and walking to and from the mass centres. Everyone was afraid. On Sunday afternoon I realised I had forgotten to take all my medicines for 36 hours. That was the cause of my problem. They made me take every pill required in 24 hours and sent me to bed. My left hand and left foot are still swollen but not as much as Saturday. Now the seminarians are writing to me in the morning reminding me to take my medicines. The first lot of pills at 4am. After half an hour I need to eat something like a biscuit ... followed by a second lot of medicine an hour later. All that causes an acid reflux in the morning ... nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea every morning.

Vailankani feast

Shakespeare in the park

It's the High Holiday season. In 2 days the Jewish New Year begins, a week later it's Yom Kippur followed by Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) that lasts for 8 days. Public transport and businesses will be closed several times. 

For us Chinese it'll be the Mid-autumn festival which falls on the 1st day of Sukkot. The Indians are celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Vailankani this weekend. It should be September 8th but our Catholic workers have a day off only during the weekends so the feast is transferred to this Saturday. I'll attend the Mass as I owe my bypass operation tp O.L of Vailankani. Our Indian sisters brought oil from the shrine and anointed me before my surgery. It's been a year since. 

As summer ends, a long standing tradition was revived for me ... attending the Shakespeare in the Park performance. It was stopped for several years due to Covid, then to the war. This year it performed The Tempest. Very enjoyable. But with my swollen hands and feet, it made standing for one and a half hours very trying and tiring. And there was the constant fear of vomiting and diarrhoea. Anyway I survived it ... and enjoyed the show.

Ice Cream

Last ice cream
before winter

 School has started for all regions. Public places are much quieter as students stay in school for more than half a day. But after school, buses and trams are packed. So to avoid crushing crowds, it's best to time oneself for traveling in public transport.

As summer slips by and cooler autumn weather is creeping in, everyone is getting a final taste office cream before the shops stop selling it during the winter season. It's rather iconic. Summer isn't summer if you haven't had ice cream.

I stopped taking my aluminium/magnesium medication as it's not helping me stop the vomiting and diarrhea. It's back to the hospital soon to check up what's wrong. 

Autumn

Supermarket

The feel of autumn is in the air. Cooler nights, shorter daylight, heavy morning dew ... and the roses are throwing out their last blooms before we start pruning them for winter. I just hope this winter brings a lot of rain. We really need it as this year was very dry except for the one day of heavy showers. 

Climate change is affecting us ... El Niño warming of the seas has caused algae blooms along our coast; resulting in blockage of the desalination plants. Six of them have closed down and we're facing a water shortage. If everyone is more careful of using water, we'd be ok. This is the time when community effort and goodwill is needed to avert a crisis. It's something we can control. Be that as it may, prices of foodstuffs are still high. Lifestyles have changed to adapt to this economic situation. But what worries me is the price of medicines. While insurance covers most of my medications, the most expensive ones are not covered. That's a struggle we'll have to work on. 

Surprise rain

175th anniversary poster

 What a surprise we had yesterday! Woke up to rain falling ... in August! We had expected this unusual weather because a huge storm had struck Cyprus, bringing hail, rain, lower temperatures and strong winds. It did hit us ... but only after 36 hours. A rather slow-moving storm. It was a pleasant surprise as the air was cleansed and the heat wave was broken. But the humidity increased so the laundry on the rack could not dry. 

The old French hospital celebrated 175 years since its foundation. Built over the remains of the Lazarium - a hospital for lepers in the 11th century manned by the Hospitaller Knights - the modern French hospital serves as the only palliative care hospital in the city. Runned by the Sosters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, the Irish and Maltese nuns are now very old and replaced by younger Indian and Burmese nuns. On the festive posters, they have a lovely saying "We may not be able to add days to their lives, but we can add life to their days." That's the spirit of palliative care.

My blog just recorded 9740 views yesterday. The algorithm must have gone haywire ... or I'm being cyber-stalked.

Winter soon

Making communion
hosts

Sunrise is later now. I'm trying to get used to 5am in the dark. In the past months, the sun rose at 4am and the muezzin could be heard as early as 3.30am. Now it's still dark at 5am and the creeping feeling that winter would suddenly pounce on us.

Nights are not only getting longer, the humidity is also intense and lots of dew fall during the night. In the morning, the ground is always wet. It looks like it had rained all night. Hanging clothes out to dry overnight is no longer possible! The plants are liking it though.

Meantime I had to visit the Spanish convent in the Old City. It's been some time since I was last there. Sr. Pelagia was making communion hosts on the new machine, and it was fascinating to watch how the large wafers are cut into smaller rounded wafers. The mixing of flour and water was also interesting as it must follow certain rules in order to qualify as unleavened bread. Learning something new everyday. 

Summer almost over

Summer shade

The summer solstice passed and the days are growing shorter. Thank goodness for that because the heat and humidity is severe. At least the nights are a little cooler, with a breeze blowing over the city. 

My nausea and diarrhea is a little more controlled now that the hospital prescribed magnesium and aluminum peroxide. It's a foul combination that makes me sick even as I open the bottle .... but at least I won't wake up in the night vomiting. People are commenting that I'm being kept alive only by all these medicines. Sad reality.

The Jewish High Holidays are also earlier this year. Rosh haShana falls on Sept. 11 and Yom Kippur falls on Sept. 20. Sukkot falls on Sept. 25 to Oct. 2. Hopefully it will pass uneventful with no incidents. Too much has happened in the past 3 years .... we're all tired and want only some peace and quiet, and let everyone enjoy their feasts.

Rainstorm in midsummer

August 15 ... feast of the Assumption ... the weirdest thing happened. A tremendous rainstorm struck the central high country .... torrents and waves unseen in 150 years. Right in the middle of  August .... midsummer.

On one hand it helped cool the stifling heatwave hitting the region, on the other hand it helped a little in water rationing as we're in a drought year. Still it was an unexpected surprise. Even forecasters were caught off guard.

Processions for the feast day in and around the Tomb of Mary in the Kidron Valley were disrupted by the storm. The rain also washed down Bethlehem .... clearing the dry dusty air. 

Despite the suddenness and inconveniences of the storm, everyone was happy. A midsummer night's dream of sorts. We prayed for rain all winter ... and we got it in midsummer.

Flood in the Kidron Valley
(photo from internet - Global Times)

In memoriam

 Missing mum. It's been a year.

Clover

Pink clover growing in park

The heatwave in Europe is hitting us hard. Though temperatures are not soaring high, you can feel the heat beating hard on your skin. Luckily we're not having those forest fires that Europe of plagued with.

Then again weirdly other parts of Europe are inundated with rain, floods and hail. The weather is apocalyptic, to say the least. We could do with the rain and hail. The grain harvest is over and the fruit on trees are just appearing. They need water to mature. So why not rain on our side of the world?

One thing I noticed with joy ... the pink clover that I secretly sowed in the park outside Damascus Gate have grown and blossomed. The flowers are not as big but they are numerous so from far they look like a pink carpet. And alongside them are the wild white clover. These park greenery has daily watering so they're flourishing well. That's a little plus in an otherwise hot and humid summer.

Heat

Amazing bougainvillea 

 Yesterday we received reports that several cities have opened their bomb shelters, as the country prepares for war again. People are rattled. But no panic. We've been there before. No mad rush to stock up. Everything is calm. Everyone hopes of course for the best that nothing will happen.

War or not, summer continues. The heat is stifling and so is the humidity.  School children continue with their excursions. Groups of pilgrims have returned. And while the rest of the plants wither in the heat ... the amazing bougainvillea is blooming like crazy all over the country. It thrives on unforgiving heat and sunlight. Even little twigs of bougainvillea have broken out in colour which are very intense. Such is the mystery of life.

Boom

Few people at Damascus Gate
market

 Two enormous explosions shook our house ... and the entire city just now. Doors and windows rattled ... I think glass were damaged ... it was very shocking. The birds were screaming and flying all around the room. I never experienced such a profound explosion. 

My first thought ... and still is ... is that it's sonic boom from an aircraft. It has to be. There were no missile sirens or warnings so it was nothing threatening. But being so loud and physical, it frightened many people and also animals.

Well that was probably the highlight of the day. It's still very stiflingly hot and humid. I tried to do some work but diarrhoea ruined my whole morning. The doctor gave me aluminum peroxide and magnesium peroxide to stop my nausea and vomiting. I wonder if that triggered my diarrhoea. I'm not sure what's worse for me today ... the sonic booms or the medicines.

Hot

Cloudless skies

 The weather continues to soar in the high 20s and low 30s. The sky is cloudless and the sun is relentless. The ground is so hot you can feel the heat waves rising from the paving stones. I'm sure the gum from the soles of your shoes will melt if you stay too long under the sun. In fact wearing shoes is bad advice. Your feet will cook in your shoes in this heat. I see many ... most ... people wearing sandals or slippers instead.

Weekends are very busy in our house. Everyone is travelling everywhere in the country to provide Masses in various languages.  One had to travel 3 hours to the northern border to celebrate Mass! Their dedication to the migrant communities is fantastic.

My swollen hand and foot have reduced but not entirely. The fingers and toes are stiff and difficult to bend. But it's better. Hospital has warned that I must not be stressed as it will definitely affect my heart and result in heart dysfunction. The heat isn't helping.

Sick

Kitten at the Gate

 It's been a year since my open heart triple bypass. Things should be improving except it isn't. Acid reflux due to the numerous medications I take every day is suffocating me 24 hrs a day. From nausea to vomiting and severe diarrhoea ... I've been to the doctor twice. Two days back Dr Thaer put me on two strong antacid medication. The night medication is working ... I could finally sleep last night after a very long time. No choking sensation, no nausea.

However the day before, I had a dull pain radiating down my left head to shoulder and arm. The left hand is quite swollen. So is the left foot. Doc examined me and said I'm not yet totally healed.  The heart still has problems and the nervous system is still bit short-circuited. Doc changed the dosage of 3 medications and hopefully the swelling will go down. For the past month I was also under observation for prostate problems. My PSA had shot up so high Doc sent me to a urologist who then orders an ultrasound and one month medication before a second PSA test. That was done last week and yesterday Doc said it went down by one point. Not terribly optimistic but at least it went down a notch. 

The truth is: I'm not feeling my best.

Heat

Iconic umbrellas

 With summer vacation underway, working parents are searching for activities that can occupy their kids while the parents are at work. But of course such activities that double as daycare will cost quite a sum of money. Remember meals are included. As mentioned in previous blogs, agencies and schools prefer to organize day excursions as it costs less, is more educational and students get to choose which days to participate, and which days not. With almost two years of war, cancellation of outdoor activities and restriction of movement, students are frustrated feeling cramped physically and psychologically. Excursions compensate for this.

Temp rise between 32 - 36 degrees every day. It's stiflingly hot. And the iconic umbrellas are strung on many streets to provide shade, colour and a holiday vibe. A few of us are sick because of dehydration and exhaustion. With many priests on vacation, the few of us remaining must substitute them. That means traveling to other cities often with difficulties because Sabbat does not allow public transport. Without a private car, you're hostage to the taxis that work on Sabbat, and the prices go up triple.

The heat is giving me a headache right now. I'll have to rest more. July 1st is another medical examination and possibly an MRI.

Vacation and visits

Our Patriarch is welcomed
by the children

 The summer holidays have begun. Although there's no uniform date for all the schools in the region, as schools can decide on their own end-of-semester dates, most occur within a fortnight from each other. And with the rising expenses of everything, summer camps are a rarity as most families no longer can afford sending their children there. Instead there're lots of one day excursions. They cost less and are a lot more educational, I think. Excursions bring students to other cities, to visit other cultures, religions, and even the physical geography that differ from where they live. 

Our patriarch with the Greek Orthodox patriarch entered Gaza yesterday with an entourage. It was to check on the welfare of the christians remaining in the enclave. It's heartwarming to see the solidarity and compassion in the small community of christians, numbering no more than 500 people. 

Visiting the Anglican hospital

A small clinic was established to care for the children. It was jointly blessed by our Latin Patriarch as well as the Greek Patriarch. Later our Patriarch also visited the Anglican hospital that is recovering from previous damage.  There is optimism and hope. And the faith is strengthened by the adversity.

Let's hope for the best during this ceasefire. Not just for our Christians in the enclave but also for those living in the West Bank that's under siege.