Friday afternoon, we still did not have Internet connection, but we are hopeful that this post (and the previous ones) will get out soon.  This week we plan on looking for somewhere where AT&T will work.  We hear Minnesota might be better than northern Iowa.

The day was spent at the campground, where we prepared for Shabbat.  Last minute shopping, cooking, and cleaning the RV (about 15 minutes )…it doesn’t take much in a small space.

We decided before we left Israel that the RV kitchen would be pareve/dairy.  We have a stainless steel sink, two burners, a microwave/convection oven, fridge, and freezer (all compact size) – but the kitchen area is small and storage space for utensils is at a premium.  Non-fleshig works for us, as – even back home – about 80% of our cooking is pareve.

We prepared simple meals for Shabbat: the first meal – salmon patties, rice salad, and cut vegetables; for Shabbat lunch – turkey pastrami and corned beef (from Chicago, of course) with salad, tiny carrots (a nice find) and chips – this was served with paper/plastic.  OK, so not everything is totally pareve/dairy and healthy, but who can pass up Chicago cold cuts?  Seudat shlishit was rolls with Philadelphia light cream cheese, and again more vegetables.  Fruit salad for dessert.

Shabbat starts late here (8:37 pm this week), so we ate most of our meal earlier, and made Kiddush, washed on rolls, and ate lightly after maariv.

Although we bought a good thermos that will keep water hot for 15 hours (so it says), we are still looking for a place to “tovel” it (and the bread machine pan) – the only lakes around here are dirty and the shores have pond scum; “yuk,” we will keep looking.  For Shabbat morning we prepared cold coffee to keep in the fridge (where we had the Lichtsinn service people disconnect the light – another unusual request for them, and they keep saying, “sure, no problem, whatever you want”). The cold coffee was surprisingly good and refreshing.  We may do more of this.

Working out the details of kashrut and Shabbat are the enjoyable challenges of the adventure.  Before leaving Israel we consulted with rabbanim, and implementing what we learned and dealing with the unexpected are experiences we are eager to have.  In time, we will have the Shabbat routine down pat.

As it rained again Friday night (with hail, lightning, and thunder) and somewhat on Shabbat, we spent most of the day reading and relaxing.  A walk around the campgrounds rounded out the day.  As there was no eruv we made use of a coiled key chain belt that we bought at Neve Daniel for a few shekels; it worked great as a belt and key holder in one.

Shavua Tov,

Sima and Bill