Saturday, July 15, 2006

All Quiet in Haifa

Friday morning I went to meet Harmony at my favorite local cafe. The cafes on the way were nearly empty but Sylva's was packed. I had to take a seat outside, nudging the table a bit into the shade. We sat from 9:30 until almost noon, catching up over sesame bagel toast sandwiches.
There was the usual Friday morning traffic, it seemed business as usual. I went home and slept all afternoon which is also business as usual for me now.

Saturday Adi gave me permission to go for a swim. I called the Sportan to make sure they were open. "k'ragil, k'ragil" - business as usual the gruff voice told me. Sure enough, the pool was full. I had a lane more or less to myself though and it felt great to swim. I had to take a pp break half way through, but I did my full 20 pools as planned. Actually maybe more because I got confused and lost count.

I was so exhausted afterwards though that the gym showering (usually my favorite part of working out, always makes me feel like a super jock) seemed like a huge, huge effort. I was worried I might fall asleep on the way home. I stopped for gas (seems like a good idea to have a full tank now, just in case...) and bought an icecream for sustinance. I asked the cashier girl if today was slower than usual.

"Too quiet," she said. "Not like Thursday. When the rocket hit Haifa, it filled up here right away, with people on their way south."

Rested at home, ate some more then threw up. Yup, still throwing up almost every day. Usually in the afternoon or evening. It's not fun but much better than the nausea AND vomiting of the 1st trimester. Now it's just a few moments of unease followed by an efficient if body wrenching BARF. Then I get hungry again.

Jeremie and Elah came to us to celebrate their 2nd wedding anniversary. Cautiously, we walked a few blocks away to a newish restaurant called "Christian". I assume the owners are Chrisitan Arabs. It has a very elegant, European-style decor and a real restaurant menu. Deciding we felt best sitting in their side garden, we settled in. What are the considerations? Well, first, we made sure they had an alert guard at the door who really checked bags. Next, we stayed clear of glass windows. Also, we considered where would be the most smoke free. I don't usually care too much about smokers one way or the other but since pregnancy, I'm REALLY sensitive to smoke. I can tell when the downstairs neighbors are smoking. Anyway, it was a very pleasant meal.

No comments: