More work

Sunrise at Palm Plaza

 Just when my room looked as if the ceiling was done and the painting of the walls was complete, another problem arose. 36 tiles on the floor were either broken or dislodged. Since all the furniture are already moved out, the workers said it's best to repair the tiles as well. So now it'll take another 5 days of work and my stay in the sisters' convent is extended ... rather reluctantly. Nevertheless since it's only the flooring that's being repaired, I started cleaning my bookshelves that were not removed during the ceiling repairs. The dust and chunks of cement were in every shelf and inside every book. I had to clean them one by one, so it took me 3 hours just to do 4 rows of shelves. And since I can't use the toilet in my room to get water, I have to draw water in a pail from the terrace every few minutes because the water got dirty very quickly.

The muezzin sings the call to prayer at 5am now instead of 3.30am which means we're in autumn. Soon it'll be the Mooncake festival and jewish Sukkot .... both marking mid-Autumn. That's in 2 weeks' time. And before we know it, 2022 will be over. Daylight is shorter and the nights are getting longer.

I just read that the Gaza military executed 5 gazans, 2 allegedly for spying for Israel. It is such a dastardly move to scare the people into submission, for it knows the people are dissatisfied and disillusioned with the enclave's administration.

One good news is that new Covid infections have fallen to below 100 per day. Still I'm not about to stop using my mask. I know I'm high risk so I have to responsible for my own health.

Weekend

Bedouin hawkers in
the morning

 Though the heatwave has now lowered to a constant 33 degrees during the day, it feels stifling hot ... so hot that I cannot wear the mask when out in the streets. I simply cannot breathe. So despite the widespread covid infection and large crowds on Fridays in the Old City, I walk home in the sweltering heat without a mask. And it scares me. Just 3 weeks ago an employee in our financial department was positive with covid ... and I'm there everyday to settle transfer payments of the numerous books that the libraries order weekly.

Hawkers that throng Damascus Gate plying their trade on the huge muslim and jewish crowds visiting the Old City start to move into the shade or simply stop working by noon as the sun is too relentless. Their vegetables and fruit from the villages wilt and spoil, and they make a huge loss.

There were clashes in Hebron and a soldier was stabbed. Israel stepped up air strikes into Syria and Russia has told Iran to leave those sites ... which is a big shift in policy. In fact Aleppo airport was struck too ... considerable damage as it's suspected of trafficking arms. Tension all around.

Back to school ... as the teachers' strike was narrowly avoided when the govt agreed to increase wages. So kids returned to school today. A good start for a new academic year.

School starts

Antar our watch-cat

 The past 3 days saw the heatwave reducing to 33 degrees at daytime. Nevertheless the heat is overpowering. I've stayed mostly in my room for the past days, also because of the renovation works. I needed to check on the work in progress. However the dust and heat were simply too much. And my temporary room in the sisters' convent doesn't have good wifi reception. That's why I couldn't update my blog regularly.

Up in the northern border we hear of Israel bombing Syria twice. Raids in Palestine by Israeli soldiers have also resulted in riots and deaths. This summer has seen unrest in pockets of areas but didn't upset the rest of the summer spirit.

Rockefeller Park

And ... the summer holidays are over. Today Sept.1st all schools resume. Suddenly the streets are packed with cars and kids walking to school at 6am. My daily walk to the Ivrea convent to celebrate Mass is a lovely half hour walk. The air is fresh and crisp and a cool wind blows. Rockefeller Park which is along the way to the convent is always a lovely walk, with the smell of the ancient olive trees wafting through the cool air. But today the streets were noisy with school kids. Another school year begins .... 

Heatwave

 The heatwave is hammering down on us relentlessly. Another 40 degree day. The heat accumulates in the stones and during the night, the stones emit this heat causing the rooms to be like an oven. It's unbearable. But outside in the night, it's very cool ... a  strange opposite of daytime. This heatwave will continue all week. 

Flowers in the heat

I've watered the plants in the morning so they can survive the heat at noon. They seem to be doing well.

And some schools have started today in the middle of the heatwave. Other schools will begin at midweek or Friday. But teachers are going on strike because for 2 years now they've not had a raise and the cost of living is very high. Same time immigrant workers are going on strike because the govt is stopping them from working in israeli places such as restaurants who need cleaners and cooks. Well the heatwave is not helping much in the midst of these discontent.

Repairs

My room

 It's the turn of my room to be renovated. There are cracks on the ceiling. As all the rooms are in a state of unlivability I had to move all my stuff to a room in the sisters' convent. Harrowing experience. 3 workers had to help me move my stuff. When the room was empty, the workers immediately started removing the plaster from the ceiling. Tomorrow they start applying the fibreglass paste on it ... there'll be 5 layers so that'll take 2 days. I gave them 3 days to complete it. After that the walls need to be painted and the broken tiles on the floor need to be repaired. All that will take 8 days ... but realistically I'm prepared for 14 days. 

The dust from the renovations is terrible. All 10 rooms are being repaired. I have to wear the mask all the time. It's an asthmatic's nightmare.

Life in the new room is traumatic for JJ. He's refused to eat or drink or sleep. He just sits on my shoulder and screams. He even sleeps on my chest at night. Today the 3rd day he began eating and drinking. And he slept several hour in his cage in the day as well. 

We're experiencing a heatwave this week starting today. It's 40 degrees now. The Ministry of Health is warning everyone to stay indoors. I'll try to stay in my temporary room ... but it's so hot it's impossible to sleep. JJ enjoys a shower to stay cool. 

In this heat, tempers rise easily. This morning an arab shopkeeper attacked an american tourist for complaining about the price of his ice cream. Well the shopkeepers always fleece tourists and seldom are challenged. And they get aggressive. Hope the shopkeeper is caught by the police. A security camera captured the entire assault on video.

Renovations

Yesterday saw rain in the north .... heavy showers. It's utterly unexpected as it never rains in summer here. Videos circulating in social media show heavy showers battering parts of the north as far south as Jenin in Palestine. Incredible sight. Let's hope this winter we'll have alot of rain.

Renovations

The ceiling renovations in our house is driving me crazy .... all noise, dust and no end in sight. Workers trudging in and out. My room will be the last to be done ... so while it lasts, I'll have to suffer the incredible amount of dust. Luckily with the masks and lots of medication, I've not had a severe attack yet. They say it'll take another 3 weeks but I'll tell you it'll take 3 months. Lived here long enough to understand the local lingo.

 While there is general calm, tensions in certain hotspots still are flaring. Israeli raids into Palestine, and palestinian resistance to these raids. The northern border with Lebanon is jittery from verbal threats. Scars from the last Gaza war 2 weeks back are still fresh. The summer freedom carries a shadow of possible violence. Still everyone wants to live as normally as they can. That means without dusty renovations as well.

IBS

Shadow of a cat

 I've been reading up on IBS after the doc's diagnosis that my gut problem is the main cause of the allergies and other problems. If I solve the gut problem, then all the rest will resolve themselves. So I've been learning things like polyols, FODMAP foods, biome, all kinds of terminologies. I'm both IBS C and IBS D so there's a crazy balance of food intake that I need to be aware as it swings from D to C or vice versa. Constantly switching diets. What I can't eat today, I may need to eat tomorrow.

There's a whole series of things I can't eat or should eat depending on the IBS being D or C. Long story short, I should be eating fermented food like kimchi and miso. No gluten, apples/pears, milk products etc. I barely able to find anything I can eat. Fish and chicken are ok but veggies depend on my IBS state. Each day my mind boggles in deciding what I can eat and what not .... day by day it changes. But after 4 days now, my bloating and abdominal pains are cut down. My asthma is also reduced. But I still get dizzy not because of sugar levels fluctuating but out of hunger.

I hope that by 2 months things get more stable in my gut. I'm taking probiotics as well to help quicken the stabilising process. Fingers crossed.