Storm

My golden spider lilies

The rains that eluded us for the past 3 days ... arrived last night. Massive. At midnight thunder and lightning announced the coming storm. Then the winds reached top speed and the rain pelted down like spears, It was awesome and awful. Our windows were shaking from the battering of wind and rain. Rain leaked from under our terrace door into our corridor. And we loved it. The dry parched ground for the past 11 months was finally saturated with life-giving water. I expect every crack in the pavements and any patch of soil along the roads will be sprouting green leaves and little flowers soon.

And the temp. dropped as well. 17 degrees last night. Bulbs need this sudden shock of cold weather to start their sprouting. Some need very little encouragement. My golden spider lilies are blooming gloriously in this weather. I just hope the storm did not kill my seedlings as they're very fragile.

Much as we wanted the rain, it also spells danger for some of us oldies: wet slippery pavements. There's a constant fear of slipping, falling and breaking a pelvis or leg. I have an umbrella-walking stick to help me keep my balance. Better safe than sorry.

Rainbow

Rainbow over the sea

Temperatures have dropped and will continue to drop to 16 degrees next week. Rain was forecast but so far we haven't seen any. It's very humid, and you can smell the dampness in the air. The ground in the evenings are wet ... but there is no rain like we want.

Nevertheless we had a very nice full rainbow this morning. It rained out in the open sea and the rainbow appeared when the morning sun shone through it. 

November has begun, and soon Advent will begin too. Some shops are already selling Christmas accessories. Amazing how commercial Christmas has become even in a non-christian country. Well with what we've been experiencing the past years, a little Christmas cheer with presents and panettone is a nice break. And what a surprise ... there's a video of an Italian Jewish bakery making panettone and selling them ... kosher version. And the chef ... probably an Italian ... was wishing people "Buon Natalie" (Merry Christmas) to a Jewish audience. Awkward.

Chill

Quiccio our cat

 Daylight saving ended a week ago. As usual some people didn't catch on, and hilarious things happen. For example, a priest was expecting his congregation to come for Mass but kept complaining that nobody is showing up. I told him it's only 7.30am and he thought it was 8.30am. He was mightily surprised and we had a long laugh.

It's chilly and damp every morning. The central hill country had a lot of rain ... severe showers that flooded the desert. We're hoping it'll continue for several more weeks. 

The chilly weather is forcing bulbs to sprout. Summer plants are dying back and trees are losing their leaves. Quiccio our cat is growing his winter coat. He looks very fat as a result. Somehow he's been very upset these past days ... crying a lot and refusing to answer to our calls. It's probably the cold that he's upset with. We've seen him hiding in the laundry basket or below furniture covers as if for warmth.

Been back to hospital. My fingers are cramping almost every day. Doc said it's probably lack of magnesium resulting from some of my medications. So he's put me on magnesium tablets ... I think. Muscle atrophy is another thing setting on that the hospital is warning me as a side-effect of the medications. 

New frontier

Damascus Gate

It's the last week of October. Time is flying by fast. In 2 months, 2026 will be over. We've past a quarter of the 21st century. It's the AI generation. Something we didn't even dream was possible in our childhood. There's a lot of discussion what education would be like in the next 10 years. No more teacher-student type education as we knew it but a different dynamic all together. It's a new frontier that we born in the last century will not live to see to its fullness, but fortunate to witness its birth.

My memory has been devastating and people were laughing at me for things that I forget. I can't remember what they were about but the past weekend I was sport for their jokes. AI might be the next generation of intelligence ... but it's doing nothing for mine.

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.