The week before Passover is very special but it could easily turn into a hectic one. For years I have been trying to keep it cool and stay out of the mass pressure. It gets better as years go by, simply because age gives some perspective. One learns what things really bring joy into one’s life and what really matters. ​Pre Passover days made me reflect and be thankful for life and for the little things. Like the growth of an avocado seed in a cup of candle that I was given last winter by a very loved knitter in my groups circles.the week before passover

I have been teaching/ hosting two knitting and crochet groups this week: The Monday’s club and a Knit Night on Tuesday evening. Both were a pure joy as always. Really it’s so hard to explain in words but we have created here together the most loveliest knitting groups. the week before passoverIt’s like a knitting and crochet salon / spa. I am so grateful for that. It lightened up our weeks. If by chance I have to cancel one of my weeklies they will write to me on our WhatApp group massages like: please don’t take the candy out of my week. God, am I thankful up to the sky? YES!

On Tuesday morning I had a hairdresser appointment in Tel Aviv. Ever since I started my YouTube channel I get to see myself ‘from a distance’ like from the outside. It’s not always a pleasure. Let’s talk about my Grey White hair for a second. I got this gift from my father, who got it from his father (my grandpa). White hair started to show when I was about seven yo. At the age of 14 I had a few of them and when I got older I had a full White stripe at the front side of my head. I’m not just used to it but I also love it and feel good with it. It’s me.

During the years I learned how to handle it and make the most out of it. But recently it got almost all white. Bright White, especially in the front side of the head. So after consulting with my close circles, who usually tell me DON’T, I decided to go to a hairdresser that specialises in Grey White hair styling.grey hair I had an appointment the week before Passover and was so looking forward to it. And here’s the final look. She did such a great job. I LOVE the result SO much. She just added a few Grey stripes into the White. It’s so soft and gentle, I really appreciate the way she did it. And I also got a new Spring haircut just on time for Passover. What do you think? Do you like it? Have you seen my latest video? wasn’t it too White?

It’s very usual here that people are busy cleaning for Passover. As a non religious person/ family we don’t get into this pre Passover deep cleaning madness. But I like to keep a few little routines to reflect back to my grandma and mom’s pre Passover traditions. Usually it means decluttering a few drawers in the kitchen for the sake of symbolism and also because I somehow feel this wave of spring cleaning in me anyway. Not to mention it is important for me to pass this tradition to our kids.the week before passoverIf you are not new here you already know, that I’m always up to some cleaning, tidying up and decluttering. Nesting if you like. So there’s not much that needs to be done but still there are always a few places, which I get to clean only once or twice a year. And the week before Passover sounds like a good opportunity.

This week I went a little deeper into a few corners in our kitchen, such as this ‘Tea and Memories’ unit. It holds a lot of memories, mainly from family trips we had during the years. It’s the home of many kinds of teas and tea related items. But it is also the home of my box collection that has been telling the story of our adventures and places we visited. Well, I like to bring boxes back with me from places I visit and my family likes to use them when we are back. However, they can give me a hard time when I stop them and make them wait for me just because I saw some nice box that I think I would like. It provided a great joy for me to go through all of them, get them cleaned, enjoy the memories and put them back on a squeaky clean shelf. Nesting if you like.

I went through a few drawers and cabinets in our kitchen and decluttered thinking of my mom and grandma and felt lucky in so many levels. For the memories I hold, the traditions I got from them,  the house we have, the way we treat it, the beautiful boxes but mostly for our life in general. The week before Passover has its special vibes whatsoever and it’s for sure stronger than me.

the week before PassoverWhile I was busy handling my week, our two boys came back happy, tired and hungry from a few days of scouts trips. Each on a different day. So I had a lot more laundry to take care of. But a special laundry with a lot of surprises from mother nature in the shoes, in the clothes, in the slipping bags. We are blessed that all of our three kids are very much into scout activities. Our youngest (12) posted on his IG account a few beautiful pictures, when he was back. He wrote: the best trip of my life. Made me laugh out loud. Yesterday morning he and his older bro decluttered their ‘memories shelves’ In honor of the upcoming spring holiday. And because mom asked them to.

While I’m writing this blog, a beef bone broth gets cooked on the stove (for more than 24 hours). My mini pot holder helps me to check on it from time to time. the week before passoverWe will have the Seder (Passover dinner) at E’s brother’s with the family and my mother in law. We will cook a main course using this bone broth as the base, which will create a much deeper and richer taste. Maya, our eldest, prepares a kosher dessert as I write this blog. Wheat is not allowed for the Passover week so she picked up a non flour recipe.

spring knittingI made some progress on my spring knitting cable raglan and had to rip a lot because of calculations mistakes. But yesterday I separated body and sleeves with my morning coffee. The best time of the day.clean eatingOn Wednesday I had a ‘green juice only’ day. The physical body side for the Spring cleaning if you like. I tried to keep it slow and not to over do my usual productivity. I’ve been spending hours next to my computer, uploading more patterns into my new Ravelry shop. So now my patterns are finally available also on Ravelry.

Etsy

In February Etsy announced that they will update their fees from 5% to 6.5% which made more than 14 thousands shop owners go on strike and close their Etsy stores. For me closing the shop wasn’t an option or else we cannot pay our bills or eat. But on the other hand I am very happy to have a Ravelry shop as well, so that I would be less dependent on one shop and you have the opportunity to find my patterns out of Etsy if you wish.

It was a long long chat today. Life, knitting, Spring cleaning, gratefulness, Passover preps, motherhood and livelihood. We had it all covered today. Hope you enjoyed carried away with me. Thank you for reading it all. If I miss blogging next week it’s because E took some days off and he would probably push us to go out and about. Please be sure you are always on my mind, Happy holidays xxMo

Edit to add

cosy weekend socksRemember this pair of Cosy Weekend socked that I knitted with Baby Yak medium? A few days ago mYak fibers added kits to their shop so you can also knit them up with this dreamy yarn. Shop yarn here. Shop pattern here.