Hello Blog (and friends and fam)
I thought I would write the blog on my computer and then send the pics from phone (I usually do all blog posts from phone - and should be doing them nightly - as I forget so much ... But most nights I fall asleep with Azi and ZaZ ..and during the day - Azi does not let me do anything but be with her.
Friday night we went to our first Shabbat dinner at the Rabbi and Rebbetzin. A really dynamic couple. The have just moved into their new house, four kids and she is pregnant. A gorgeous old Maltese house, with beautiful tiled floors and high high ceilings. She made the most delicious meal - about 5 different salads (which I thought was the meal - so ate a lot) ... This delicious spicy bringal/eggplant salad, celeriac salad, crunchy greek salad ... THEN came out baked salmon in a chilli sauce ... THEN chicken soup, THEN chicken, different baked vegetable dishes THEN yummy coconut biscuits and chocolate chip biscuits ... EVERYTHING was homemade and everything kosher they have to import from Europe. We all chatted and had a great, warm, comfortable evening! (Complete with Azi collapsing asleep on Phils shoulder). Their kids all do an online homeschool programme where they enter into a virtual school with kids from Chabbad from all over the world and a real 'live' teacher -amazing
Saturday we hired a car, spent our Saturday morning trying to find the shops (the GPS takes you all over the show here - and no 2 roads are parallel) ... then we dashed home to tidy and clean the house, as we were having our first guests over. A mom that I became friends with on FB in Sydney and helped me a lot, and Zaria and her daughter in Grade 1 have 'clicked' and are spending most of second break/lunch break playing together (there are positives and negatives to that - I suppose) ... They came over for dinner, we made cashew chicken, chicken legs in a puttanesca sauce, salad etc ... The kids played so nicely, Azi felt like one of the gang and loved playing 'picturique' and 'dobble' (thanks linds for the game) with them!!! ... And they bought Toblerone icrecream cake for dessert! Everyone CRASHED after that!
Sunday - we went to our first 'Chaddah' class. I really admire the Rebbetzin, Mushka. She has about 3 - 5 different levels of kids, most Israeli kids. I stayed with Azi, she had booklets and songs and games, crafts - all related to the letter being learnt. ZaZ did a booklet ... I'm looking into ways to keep her Hebrew and Jewish Studies level up-to Emanuels level ..
Then we had Phil's work colleague and his girlfriend over for a nice, long, lazy Sunday lunch .. Sunday night was lunches etc etc
Monday was FREEEZINGGG!!! Seriously!!! My Australian jackets, boots etc - were not doing the job! PLUS - Azi refuses to wear Winter clothes! Which results in a 45 minute struggle every morning ... and her going put in her black metallic dress (Zarias old dress) and a Beanie!!! Seriously? Its 9 degrees outside?
Anyway - we went to meet a person I had met in a health shop - we met them at 1 of the 4 healthy eating places! Had a great chat and raw juice (and a very average wrap - but did meet a nice Australian/Sydney girl working there - who totally understood when I said, "It's hard to find Sydney food here' ) ...
Then my 'new' friend dropped us at Azi's first swimming lesson (which she was SOOO excited about - and was the way I got her dressed that morning) - But Az had fallen asleep in the car!
So I went shopping for sunglasses - as I had stepped on mine the week before :(
ZaZ started after school extra murals on Monday - she did Drama class - which was really nice, As we left school - it started POURING with rain - there we were all cuddled together under the bus stop and the rain lashing in!
Tuesday was BEAUTIFUL and SUNNY again ... As we all set off for school in the morning (We have now ditched the walking to school - too cold in the mornings to wake up early ... and house is dark dark - and we have discovered that if we leave the house at 8:20 and take the bus which hopefully arrives at 8:30 - we are at school by 8:35 - and school starts at 8:45 - HUGE bonus)
Azi and I met this amazing 'friend' - who I met through another FB friend .. (FB is amazing) ... She is Japanese, has lived in America, Italy and France - married an Italian guy, and last year spent the year sailing around the Med with her husband and 4 year old son (who speaks English, Italian, French and Japanese!! ... They make their money by selling those 'calorie free' konjac noodles - but the dehydrated ones, not the ones in the water, We chatted and coffee'ed and Azi chatted.
Then Az and I went in search of WARM clothes for her, There are Massive 50% and more percent discounts on ALL Winter stuff! (Sales in the middle of Winter), Azi got long socks (As she likes to pull them up and pretend she is Pippi Longstocking - THANKS Din's and Ash) and a WARM beanie ... I got a great warm, waterproof pair of boots from Geox. Bus, get ZaZ from afternoon activity - this time was a musical theatre class, and they learning a dance routine to 'it's a hard knock life' ... (Cards - brings back so many memories from our childhood!!! Especially that year at Betar camp when we sang the songs from Annie day and night - but as I said to ZAZ, we didn't have karaoke on the computer to teach us the words - so I'm sure half our words were wrong - creative licence :)
My BEST time of day is when we get home, the sun os streaming in our flat - the kids (and me) have 30 mins screen time (me- FB time, Azi - loves watching Barbie on the 'BIG iPad' and then surfs and finds those stupid videos of kids playing toys .. and after her telling me tonight, 'You are wrecking my vibe' - Barbie and Youtube are being removed from her big iPad' ... and ZaZ plays on the little iPad etc ... BUT My BEST time is when the screens are switched off and ZaZ and Azi do dances, or make up songs, or pretend they are ice skating around the house in their socks, or we all play hide-and-seek and Azi giggles hysterically ... This week we made Banana bread and crunchy seed things ... (I don't know if I was more proud about making the Banana bread or the fact that after going to about 5 different Health stores in 5 different locations - I managed to source all the ingredients any a good price) ...
Wednesday saw Azi and I going to a kids class and Azi falling asleep on me on the bus (BLISSS!!!) ... We did wait for the bus for an hour to arrive before the sleep on bus ...
Wednesday night I went to a BEAUTIFUL Rosh Chodesh group at the Rebbetzins house (I miss my beautiful Rosh Chodesh Women in CT - especially Nic and Karen!!!) ... Mushka had baked up a storm ... THREE different types of bread (one spiral thing on a skewer with olives in between - I took home for the kids, they loved it) ... These little fruit salad and creams, biscuits, veggies and dips. All the other 7/8 women were Isreali (Plus a 3 week old baby ... Karen - your kids attended RC at 3 weeks) .. So there was a lot of chatting in Hebrew ,, but Mushka did a great 2 hour workshop on T'shabuv and the prayers ... She had everything perfectly organised, the craft activity, the practising of the prayers, discussion ... really wonderful!
Thursday Azi and I were treated to breakfast at the Hilton hotel - by Phil ... Azi's eyes grew as she was allowed to eat waffles and choc sauce .. The breakfast reminded me so much of the Sun city buffet! ... The we spent the day chilling ... Took Azi on a long bus ride (thinking she would sleep) - she didn't ... Landed up in Valetta (the 'old city') with Azi DETERMINED to get a new dress!!! With the Marks and Spencers sales on ... she got a skirt and WARM jacket (to wear over her Summer clothes) - marked from E70 - E20!!! Bargain!!!
I got a 'raw' mintcake from my this new tiny tiny place in Valetta - not as good as Earth to Table - but yum!
Dashed on bus to get Zaz (we always dash on bus - As the buses have no fixed schedule - so it's a worry if we get to school on time)
Friday - Az and I had a coffee date with a friend ... Found Mejoodle dates (so exciting) ... played in the park, played ... Invited another South African (who has been here for 12 years ... but the last 5 years he got married, 2 kids and pregnant wife in job and he sounds 2 weeks here and 2 weeks in job) for Shabbat dinner - but he told us his vegetarian ... So quick dash to shop, quick dash home to tidy house ... Had a beautiful Friday night dinner and lots of chat ... and lots of mentioning of missing Woolworths packaged lettuce!!! (he did bring ghost pops, peppermint crisps and chomp!)
Saturday - ZaZ went to her first musical theatre camp - an hour of dance, hour of singing, hour of drama ... She did not know anyone and was quite nervous to go and came home in a great mood as she LOVED it! Made friends and they are working on the Musical 'Rats' (Never heard of it before - but great songs - and based around story of Pied Piper) ...
Phil, I and Azi dashed to the big Supermarket (as much as I love the small little supermarkets on 4 different levels - there is nothing better than a huge Hypermarket / Coles supermarket shop) .. Then a dash to find the Butcher and question them about their 'grass fed grass finished meat' ... Fetch ZaZ, home for lunch ... Met my new Japanese friend and hubby and son at a new park (which happens to be walking distance to our apartment) and has a BIGGG Sydney style Jungle Gymn )(Like Queens park one but 4 times bigger) ... ZaZ and Azi had a ball ...
BUT we had to dash off - as the shops don't open on a Sunday .. and Phil desperately needed Jeans (as he left his in Sydney ... that is what happens when you spend 5 minutes the night before leaving, packing) ... and I needed sunglasses (after stepping on mine the first week here) ... So we schlepped the kids to a million and 1 shops - while Phil tried on jeans - eventually getting from Marks and Spencer ... And I went to 2 sunglasses shops ... and have not chosen a pair yet ...
Please let me know if you are open to me sending you pics and helping me decide!
Home at 7pm .. supped, bath, bed ... Midnight now! Must go to bed! Will send pics related to blog post tomorrow!
Hope you enjoyed reading ALL this details (which I blog more for myself ... So don't feel bad if you don't read every word) - I probably will only read this in 30 years PG
Miss you all
G
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