When our friends suggested we meet for lunch on saturday it seemed impossible to me.  It must be the busiest time of the week, except maybe for Friday night.  But she called back to say we would meet at “Amora Mia,”  and I thought – she is such a distinguished woman with very high standards.  how could she be choosing a place to meet that sounds like a kitschy dive? 

But it turned out to be much better than the mid-priced restaurant we ordered from last week when i finally broke down and refused to cook. 

Because I’m horribly anemic after this flu I ordered liver again and it was perfect. last week’s uncooked liver went to the cat.  And we even threw out the desserts.  This time everything was perfect, and even the noise didn’t bother us.  We reveled in a friendship of more than fifty years and the joy of being together.

As another friend said to me yesterday, Shabbat is always shabbat in Israel, no matter how you celebrate it.