Heater Pick-Up (Rena) and Shabbat with Beth and David

On December 7, we had plans to go to Rena's apartment (another fellow Scrabbler) to pick up a heater she was lending us for our cold apartment back on Borochov. She lives in Talpiot and we decided to walk there from our Wendy apartment in order to get some fresh air, exercise, and to save funds. We ended up walking there in quite a roundabout way, but finally after Rafi asked some passerby for directions, we found the proper direction and were back on track. We made it to her apartment, which was beautifully decorated in art, both her own and by others, and schlepped the heater in question down to the road. Rena, Rafi, the heater, and I all packed ourselves into her car and she began the drive to our own apartment in Kiryat HaYovel. She asked us if we had been to the best viewpoint in Jerusalem yet? It is a special promenade that is built over an amazing vista. We had not had the pleasure of visiting there yet, so she took us straight to it. We enjoyed the full view of Jerusalem in the lovely weather. Rena snapped a few pictures of us while standing in front of the view and then we went on our way to the apartment once again,

Upon arriving at our apartment on Borochov, Rafi and I unloaded the heater and schlepped it upstairs once again, this time to its temporary new home. After we unloaded the heater in our place, we immediately left, not wanting to stay another second in that smelly place, and headed back to Wendy's by way of the Lightrail.

After a lovely day of relaxation and reading at Wendy's we had plans on December 9th. We were going to Beth and David's for Shabbat dinner. We were told that there would be others in attendance as well. We were excited to spend another Shabbat with friends. I made a batch of parve peanut butter, oatmeal, and chocolate chip cookies to bring along for dessert. We walked to their house and arrived early so we were able to chat before the others arrived for dinner. Beth and David are great to spend time with, whether we pop in unannounced, or have an actual invitation. Thank you Beth and David for letting us come in and bug you when we need some human contact other than our own!

The other guests that night were two girls who had attended Seattle Jewish Community School (the elementary school that Rafi attended - his mom teaches there, as does Beth), a woman our age who also graduated from UW and is friends with Beth and David's daughter Helen, Jamie Schwartz (we also know her and her family from back home in Seattle), and her friend. It was a great crowd as usual, with conversation flowing and food been passed all around. Oh how Rafi and I love these evenings with friends! They are so fun and great to have especially when we are away from home :) We walked back to our Wendy apartment that evening in a light and happy mood!