Winter has come

The joys of winter in the desert. It went from being REALLY hot to pouring rain on Friday, causing a lightening storm and a blackout. I love the rain, and was said that I was so sick and couldn't appreciate it. Turns out I had an infection in my lungs. (On the mend now, hopefully the last time Ill be sick for a while, B"H).

Today I got out of the house for the first time since Friday. I walked from my house to my in-laws house... and it was an experience. It is not very cold here, but the wind is harsh... and since we live in a desert, this wind tends to blow sand everywhere. When i was in Israel back in 2005, we had a real sandstorm, with dust so thick it was like walking through the split pea soup fog that I grew up with. I have to say though, when it comes down to it- sand is way worse than fog.

Sand manages to get into any open space, no matter how small- in your eyes, your mouth, your ears... and it makes you just want to hide behind anything you can. Unfortunately, sand seems to be pretty smart too, and manages to twist its way around poles and buildings and whatever else you might try to use to shield yourself. By the time I got to my in-laws I felt as if I had lost a fight... I collapsed on the couch with a welcome cup of tea and vowed to wait until Yehi was done with work to go home (with a car!). Now that I am inside its nice listening to the wind and feeling like its actually "winter" (fall? what is this season really?). Heres hoping for lots more rain to help our water shortage.

Once again...

For the third time since making Aliyah I have been hit hard by sickness. This time its some sort of flu/cold. The last 24 have been horrible, and while I still sound pretty bad, at least I am out of bed and semi-coherent. Being sick with a baby is one of the worst things, but it helps to have a willing husband around. Hes been letting me sleep, just to wake me up to feed her and help her go to sleep when he cant do it. I am getting pretty frustrated by this whole being sick constantly thing, and I hope that my body gets up to speed soon enough. I am also praying that Maya doesnt get too sick.

In good news, yesterday it rained! We are in the midst of a major drought here in Israel, and while there is no way that it will rain enough to help us out of that, every little bit counts. Its still been feeling like summer (in the high 80s during the day) so its also nice to have a little of that fall feeling. Last night we also had a pretty major thunder storm. As a kid I remember being so scared of thunder and lightening... but last night I barely even noticed it. Well thats not true... after the first big flash of light (What was that!!!!) and then realizing it was only lightening, I ignored it.

The one thing I miss about living in the states (besides my family) is the fall season. It was always my favorite time of year, bundling up against the little cold that California offers... even that seems frigid compared to the weather we have had so far this year. Heres to more rain and better (real) fall weather