Just Another Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Today was just another beautiful day.

It rained a little yesterday - just as we began praying for rain in our daily prayers.  Perfect. So the air is fresh and clean today with most of the lingering dust from summer washed out of it.  Temperatures in the 70's, about 40% humidity.

I slept in a little bit this morning, lingering in bed until around 7:45, unfortunately missing out on my time with my morning learning partner.  The coffee was on.  I admired the new put-it-together-yourself microwave cabinet that I bought and constructed yesterday.  I dovened, had a leisurely breakfast of Cheerios and bananas, and spent the morning learning, until Tova (my daughter) arrived with my grand-daughter Raqueli.

Tova is our Personal Trainer.  She drives from Modi'in every Monday and Wednesday to "train" us.  I worked out while Marietta (my wife) fed Raqueli lunch.  Then I took Raqueli for a walk in the stroller while Marietta took her turn training.  And, most exciting event of the day, I identified for the first time a Pied Wagtail !!  I saw one yesterday at Kfar Etzion where Marietta and I went out to lunch for our 32nd anniversary, but I saw one again today in Efrat and looked it up in my field guide.
A first:

Everything is progressing in a sensible and relaxing manner.  Good weather, beautiful scenery, family, friends.  I learned some Torah with my friend Aryeh in the afternoon.  I walked in thinking I understood something, and left realizing I don't.  Also typical.  We're learning a very difficult sefer (book), so it's to be expected.

After dinner, Marietta and I played Scrabble.  I used up all my letters making the first word of the game - "toadied".  Now it's time to relax with a nice glass of locally produced Gewurztraminer (Gush Etzion Winery 2014).

Nothing really unexpected happened today.

An Arab attempted to run over a Policeman in the Shomron; another stabbed a female soldier in Binyamin; four people were injured in a stone throwing, attempted homicide by automobile attack near Hebron.  And the UN decided that the Tomb of the Patriarchs (Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yaakov), and the Tomb of Rachel, are Muslim shrines. Ho Hum. Nothing unusual in the news.

It's a beautiful life, but it helps to be crazy.

Or is it just me?