Laura, ~ma for your brother.

Nilly and Shir, I hold you in my heart. I wish for peace and safety for civilians on all sides. I wish for an end to antisemitism, and other forms of racism and hatred. I wish for an increase in justice and a way to offer shelter, healing, nourishment to all who do not have it.

I'm weeping for this world.

Do you think there is a real solution? Things will absolutely change but I wonder if there is any common ground where everyone gets a chance at a semi-peaceful life?

Yes, but again, not until at least one government is replaced. There are several suggestions and all require true leadership and courage, that we currently lack. Do you know the solution to the prisoner's dilemma in which every side loses something, but they're gaining cooperation/freedom? That's the main road that won't involve more crimes against humanity, and in which we have fair chance of living together/side by side, semi peacefully.

Peace with Egypt happened after a terrible war and with two courageous leaders. Peace with Jordan happened when I was a kid, after an intifada. There is no reason to believe that we can't reach an agreement with PA over Gaza (with tons of international aid), once we have a leadership that cares more about the people and their lives and not it's own power and survival. Especially when we know what the price is.

(editing to add that one of the jokes here is that if the Israeli government truly wants to eliminate Hamas it should consider sending some ministers there to govern over Gaza, for they're doing an outstanding job weakening Israel).

Have they learned to make the pancakes themselves, yet?

Yes! Both of them can already read a recipe on their own, gather the ingredients, mix in order, know how to break eggs properly (and even seperate the yolk from the - um, is there another word for the "white" part of the egg? Other than "white when cooked and kind of goo-y when not yet cooked"?), and even how to gently fold (is that how you say this in English as well?) flour and the like and not just mix them.

PiGirl is still only allowed to turn the oven or the stove with a grownup present, but PiBoy is already allowed to do it on his own, so we were treated once or twice to a pleasant surprise of "I decided to make these out of a recipe I found online, wanna taste them?"

Oh, and we're still working on the "cleaning afterwards is part of the baking process" part (I take pity on them and wash the - um, OK, here's where my English is failing me again, it's like I need a special cooking-and-baking dictionary - the part of the electric mixer that is shaped like a ball, made of curving wires, which you use in order to make cream into whipped cream and the-eggs-whites-and-sugar into a white (really white, this time) foam? Well, it's difficult to clean that part, so I take pity on them and always wash it for them, even after I ask them to do it themselves.

Is that what you put on pancakes? Can't imagine you've got maple trees.

We defenitely don't have maple trees here, but there is imported maple syrup that can be bought, despite that, don't worry!

And not only cause I won't be going to Zooms about it anymore

erika, forgive my skipping, if you've written about it before, but what are these zooms that you have to attend?

Do you think there is a real solution? Things will absolutely change but I wonder if there is any common ground where everyone gets a chance at a semi-peaceful life?

Sadly enough, I have to admit I'm less optimistic than Shir.

(I've had a long rant about Israeli politicians, but I've deleted it, because, oh, well, what's the point. Sigh.)

Happy Monday! Why do I say such a thing you may ask? Because today we celebrate the birth of amych! Wishes sent for the happiest of days and the best year ever to come.

Sadly enough, I have to admit I'm less optimistic than Shir.

Huh. I don't even think I'm optimistic. I just keep reminding myself that there were a lot of events in the past 120 years on this piece of land that not many predicted. Oct. 7th was one of them. And clearly something will happen in the near future - I just can't predict what it will be. Yes, it can be for better or worse, but things will change because things change. I just have to keep hoping that it will be for the better - and my idea of better is less death and destruction and mass evacuations.

(I've had a long rant about Israeli politicians, but I've deleted it, because, oh, well, what's the point. Sigh.)

Please do. It's an important practice to remind ourselves that we should expect and demand so much better from them.

the part of the electric mixer that is shaped like a ball, made of curving wires, which you use in order to make cream into whipped cream and the-eggs-whites-and-sugar into a white (really white, this time) foam?

Whisk

Now I want pancakes.

And oh, amych! Happy birthday!

You can call it/them a whisk, but you can also call them beaters (since that is what they do, right?)

And, in the cooking subject, I recently got an air fryer ... cleared a space for it, did the initial test run. Now what do I do with it? I keep hearing that you can cook almost anything in one, but the instructions say to use glass or metal and a lot of my cookware is ceramic, which the instructions said NOT to use. A recipe for buffalo wings came with the thing, but I'm semi-vegetarian at this point, so that's no help.

is there another word for the "white" part of the egg

Nope.

the part of the electric mixer that is shaped like a ball, made of curving wires

Mixer attachments have many different shapes, and many different names.

E. g. whisks, whips, blades, beaters, hooks

Wow, all very violent terms. If you want to "gently fold" something in the kitchen, you have to do it by hand.

I love sweet potatoes in the air fryer. I get the little ones and just put them right in the basket. Coat with olive oil and poke them with a fork a bunch of times. Yum. I don't think I ever used a glass or metal container, just dropped the contents in the basket.