No time for illness

Still not feeling well, although 10 days of amoxycillin brought my white blood count and absolute neutrophils back where they ought to be. So then my doctor sent me for a chest x-ray, and a "questionable expansion" of the front side of the second right rib was found. So then I went back for a rib x-ray series (yesterday) and tracked down a chest x-ray I took over a year ago (will pick it up tomorrow) for comparison's sake. But what bothers me most is that I can't stand how my glands so frequently hurt me, my throat is sore (my culture came back okay too), and I feel faint/weak. It was like this all weekend long, and then not yesterday or today, but it started again an hour or two ago. Annoying.

And given that I have a lot of work to do right now--a proposal which is due this week and I have to have it back in the U.K. office's hands before they go to work in the morning--it looks like another late night. (Of course, spending my time blogging does not help!) I know I need sleep, but can't invent hours that don't exist!

And at the same time, I'm trying to move ahead with Bar Mitzvah preparations for my middle son (1st weekend in May). He's doing great--already knows his Haftorah and several of he Torah readings. He's now reviewing/learning more of Shacharit (the morning prayers). If he feels comfortable enough with that, he'll be able to lead those as well. SiddurAudio.com has been a great resource for him (and for anyone who wants to become more familiar with prayers, I suggest it strongly). And this week we received the tallit (prayer shawl) that we ordered for him through the synagogue's gift shop. It, along with a tallit bag and tallis clip, are a meaningful gift from my parents. And he loved picking them out himself.

As for me, I'm designing invitations, making all kinds of favors and centerpieces (I'll share ideas in another entry, I promise!), planning menus for multiple meals, and trying to track down an inexpensive kippah supplier. I wanted to use the same man, Ezra, that I used for my oldest son's Bar Mitzvah. He owns a store called Ot in the Cardo in the Old City of Jerusalem and charges 8 shekels (around $2) for a knitted kippah. But we spoke several times, and he'd said he would email pictures of kippot, and still hasn't done it...after numerous conversations and messages.

So I looked online and found another inexpensive one, David Kippot; his knitted ones were $2.50 (more than I wanted to spend), so I was considered his jeans or brocade kippot (I really liked the camouflage, but my husband vetoed that). He's located in China and his website quoted $2 for samples, but via email he told me he wants $25 to ship them (express -- he won't wait in line at the post office to send them cheaper). Scratch that. So, I googled in Hebrew (boy, did I feel clever doing that!), and found another. Like Ezra, Kipot Levin is located in Israel. His website shows $1.47 each for knitted kippot. Wow! But via email, he told me to ship 80-90 would cost $40-$50! So I wrote back, asking if he could stick them in a padded envelope and send them by sea to cut down the cost. He didn't answer. I wrote back to him three times after that, and still no reply. I want to give him the business, as I did Ezra. But neither seem awfully interested in receiving it! I may have to go to the very big and oft-used kippas.com and order suede ($1.95 each), but I really wanted knitted for $2 each or less and would've loved to give the business to an Israel-based company. Very frustrating!!!!

Okay, must get back to work!