Author: Anna

An Orthodox Jewish mom and freelance writer enjoying a simple life with her family and chickens, somewhere in the north of Israel.

Humongous heat wave

For the past three days, every time I opened the door it has been like stepping into a preheated oven, day and night. Yes, that bad. Stifling, scorching, suffocating heat that is literally making us lethargic.

I try not to run the air conditioning all the time, but it’s not easy. We wake up in the middle of the night sweating. Thank goodness for AC, cold drinks, and showers (having lived with constant disruptions in running water supply for a few years, I really appreciate the last one).

So what have we been doing without our favorite pastime of nature walks, and with the heat too intense for outdoor work or baking? Well, there are always books and crafts for the kids to fall back on, for which I’m thankful.

IMG_20200517_012833_925

The mulberry tree in the nearby park has been especially bountiful. I just wonder why nobody else seems to take advantage of all this fruit. We have been making jam and also froze some for later, but there’s a great deal more than we can use up.

DSC_0659

The incubator is humming along and we are supposed to have our first chicks in a few days. The kids can’t wait.

DSC_0660

I’m making another little jute basket for storing odds and ends – it seems I’m always in need of more of those!

I hope we get to enjoy more pleasant weather soon and can get out of doors again. On the up side, I can’t imagine the coronavirus surviving too long in this heat.

Freelancing: when enough is enough

Want to captain your own career? Learn to be a successful ...

I work as a freelance editor, proofreader, and copywriter, besides authoring and publishing my own books. When I first started freelancing, I was unfamiliar with the platforms, didn’t know anybody, had no experience, and had to hunt and hustle for every project. Thankfully, I am not in that place anymore, and usually have more incoming work than I can reasonably commit to, so I have to be choosy and know when and how to say no. 

It isn’t always easy when a client asks specifically for you and you value that professional relationship, but I do have one principle to guide me: I chose to freelance and work from home, rather than opt for more traditional employment, because I wanted the freedom and flexibility to be with my children. I wanted to be there to teach them, take care of them when they are sick or need me for other reasons, and to have a flexible schedule that would enable me to set work aside for a while and just go out to enjoy the sunshine on a nice day.

The problem is, when you are an independent entrepreneur, you don’t have set hours. You don’t just punch a card and you’re done for the day. There are always new projects to check out, books to work on, clients to communicate with, emails to send, research to do… And it’s quite easy to get caught in all that, so that you get annoyed with life for getting in the way of work – which is not very reasonable.

My top tips for maintaining a healthy balance are as follows:

1. Know and accept you will never be able to do it all or to please everyone. There will always be projects and clients you miss – but the good news is, life is dynamic, and there will also be new ones.

2. Be realistic. How many hours a day can you reasonably commit to? Without overworking and compromising the quality of your work? Without snapping at your children? Without pulling half- or all-nighters?

3. Be your own boss, but as if you were the boss of someone else. I mean it this way: if you were employing someone, and that someone had no time for lunch break or recreation or adequate sleep hours, would you consider yourself a very good employer? Would you expect high productivity and quality work from a harassed, overwhelmed employee? You see my point. Treat your body and mind with kindness and respect, and you will enjoy a routine that is both more peaceful and more productive.

Exploring nature

IMG_20200510_215037_623

Today we went on another one of our hikes, and guess what we found? It’s the first one I saw since we had moved here.

DSC_0637

Little explorer.

DSC_0638

A cool moss-covered rock. We had a rainy weekend, so everything was fresh and lovely and not too hot.

DSC_0634

We all had so much fun!

DSC_0641

A breathtaking view on a lovely afternoon.

And, most importantly, we still adhere to social distancing. Our government is opening everything up way too fast to my liking – but just because something is now legal, it doesn’t mean it is recommended.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Making soap with kids

IMG_20200505_183841_962

This week, we had some fun with making soap. I used to be very wary of using lye near small children, but decided to give it a shot with very, very careful supervision. The older girls had a blast and learned loads.

Making soap is a great way to work in some math and science. We talked about the chemical reaction that heats up the water when it’s mixed with lye, and also about the process of saponification.

I used a mix of coconut and palm oil, so the soap bars were ready to unmold pretty soon and popped right out of the cute little silicone molds the kids chose.

Those who don’t feel like using lye at all: you might want to try making soap jellies. It’s quick, easy, and super fun.

DSC_0629

Recipe:

1/2 cup clear liquid soap

3/4 cup boiling water

1 packet of gelatin (about 1 tbsp)

A few drops of food coloring (optional)

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water, add soap and food coloring, and pour into molds. Allow about an hour to set. You will get squiggly jiggly bits of soap jelly that are very fun to use in bath. This activity will leave even the most stubborn bath refusers squeaky clean!

Big Bird Crochet Pillow

DSC_0625

This quick and easy project would make a perfect gift. It’s soft and cuddly and extremely satisfying to make.

Materials:

Two cakes of super thick chenille yarn of this type (200 gr total). I used black, grey and white variegated.

Odds and ends of black, white, brown, and dark brown worsted weight yarn.

Stuffing of your choice.

Start by crocheting two identical circles from the chenille yarn, using a 7mm hook.

DSC_0621

Assemble the eyes and beak. For the eyes, start making dc with the black worsted yarn from the center, using a 3.5mm hook. At the end of the round, slip stitch and join.

In the next round, use white worsted yarn and work 2dc in each dc of the previous round. Slip stitch and join.

In the third round, work sc using the dark brown yarn in the following pattern: 1 sc, 2 sc in the next stitch of the previous round, 1 sc, 2 sc, etc.

For the beak, make a triangle in sc using the light brown yarn. Instructions for making a crochet triangle can be found here.

Naturally, you can play with the colors however you like.

DSC_0623

Sew the eyes and beak onto one of the chenille circles using a tapestry needle and worsted weight yarn of the same color (light brown for the beak, dark brown for the eyes).

Join the front and back of the pillow together by slip stitching. I used black worsted weight yarn for this because I thought it would look better. The thinner yarn disappears between the threads of chenille and the join is very neat and almost completely invisible.

Once you have just a bit of the front and back left to join, stuff the pillow. I used old stockings, but you can use store-bought stuffing if you prefer.

When the pillow is stuffed enough to your liking, finish the slip stitch join, tie up the ends, and push them inside.

DSC_0625

Voila! The pillow is ready for squishing.

Just keep crafting

DSC_0620

Latest creation, just completed yesterday: a pineapple crochet top made with the help of a diagram found on Pinterest. I made it with the last batch of yarn I got in town before the pandemic hit hard (I do have more yarn in my stash, don’t worry). I haven’t saved the label but any thread yarn will work for these kinds of high-definition patterns.

Around here, the government is trying to get back to business as usual too quickly, IMHO. I think there has been a lot of pressure originated in the false sense of security due to the relatively low number of deaths in Israel (200 total, or thereabouts). Preschools and first to third grades are going to reopen part-time starting Sunday and I can’t think of a more reckless and pointless move with which to restart the economy.

Fact: young kids can’t really be trusted in matters of hygiene and social distancing.

Another fact: Because of lack of teachers (due to smaller classes and older and at-risk teachers still staying home), children won’t be in school enough hours per week to allow working parents to return to their jobs.

Conclusion: this arrangement is just enough to promote the spread of the virus but not to be of any practical help for the economy.

There is a lot of talk about how children “need” to be in a school setting, how it’s a matter of “mental health” to get them back into classrooms even part-time. This is simply the result of a rigid mindset that knows no different and doesn’t wish to think outside the box. Countless families around the globe homeschool. Their children do just fine academically and socially. I think our Ministry of Education should have considered that fact before pushing for such huge risks.

Yes, our children will be staying home anyway, but this means that we, too, are going to be at a higher risk of infection as everyone will be cross-contaminated through schools.

Change of Seasons shawl

DSC_0613

I made this shawl a while ago, but haven’t had the chance to share it yet. With its hues of green and brown, it reminds me of spring and fresh grass, so I called it Change of Seasons shawl.

Materials: one skein of Papatya Angora. I loved working with this yarn: very fine, soft and warm. The color gradient changed beautifully and there were no knots.

Pattern: Fall River Shawl by Katya Novikova (free)

I hope everyone is keeping well and safe. I had to make a trip to town today (not my choice) and it was eerie. Almost all the stores closed and everyone hurrying to do their business and go. A disturbing sight – but not nearly as disturbing as the news of our government caving in to pressure and agreeing to open businesses, preschools, and partially schools. I believe wise people will continue to shelter and minimize outside business whether the law compels them to do so or not.

Stay safe and healthy!