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Cooking MORE Cholent

No, no. As soon as I wrote that title I realized you might get the wrong idea. So let me dispel rumors right now. I’m not pregnant again. Yet. Not that I’d tell you right away if I were.

I thought to call this entry “Cookin’ Cholent II: Electric Boogaloo” because I love calling things “X II: Electric Boogaloo”. But that wouldn’t be accurate either. Because unlike the classic film, Breakin' 2 - Electric Boogaloo it’s not a totally new version that has utterly no relationship to the original. Rather, I want to give new meaning to the old blog. Why? Because it is here that I did my best writing for a while. Or at least, I did writing. And as my brother says, “DONE IS BETTER THAN GOOD”. I had readers. I had all my passwords and options set up. And I had fun.

To take an example from the high-tech world in which I work, the baby code-named “Cholent” has been delivered, released as you will, as a fully functioning product. You may know her as Ahuva Yonit. But the metaphor of “Cooking Cholent” still works nicely as a title for a blog full of ruminations on a little of this, a little of that. On the bits and pieces and influential spices that make up dish of my life. And oh yeah, it’s about cooking too.

A visiting friend I hadn’t seen in a while asked me if I was still cooking as much as when I was pregnant. I was surprised. I cook almost every day for my family. I spend an incredible amount of physical and psychic energy planning, shopping for, preparing, and cleaning up meals. What’s changed is that I no longer had any time to write about it.

 

Actually, everything’s changed.

I have a walking, talking toddler now instead of a mysterious creature in my belly. I have a newish job and newish apartment in an old\new city. I have new friends and new relationships with old ones. I have a new nephew. Two new nephews, in fact.

New pressures and new rewards.

 

War is not good for anything. But it was rather good for writing. It gave me a sense of urgency as well as an outlet for fears and confusions.  Still, it’s better not to live in a war. I always say that I have zero interest in extreme sports because real life is exciting enough. Well, let me put that to the test.

 

Welcome back, blog fans!

 

Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day.

— Anonymous quote

 

 

Time to blog again?

Since I got back from Seattle last week, there's a new world order in our house. Adi initiated it. Instead of me doing the bath -> bed routine that by necessity immediately follows dinner, we're alternating nights. So every other night I get to do a little more work, read some emails, make a phone call, take a shower BY MYSELF or even (dare I dream it): sit on the couch and read. It seems like a tiny thing, to gain an hour or two every other night (depending on how long it takes to clean up the post-dinner mess which can be considerable). But it's life changing.
More than ever I now look forward to my turn to play in the bath, read a book, snuggle and sing until twisting, turning and sometimes crying gives way to slumber.

Last night I put two capfuls of Elmo Wild Watermelon bubble bath in the bath with us. Ahuva gave that raised eye-brow look of awe that I love and softly, reverently, said "buh-boul". She was a little disturbed when rubber ducky disappeared within the foam and relieved to see him reappear. She played with her pirate toys, asked for more and more and more baby toothpaste on her brush. And something new: she rubbed her little hands on the giant bar of soap and instead of cleaning and re-cleaning her bulging little tummy she leaned over and said "Mama" and washed my collar bones. We were both very pleased.