Bad news and snow

I started making calls immediately after hanging a bit with my cousins and their kids. Friends, Family, and calls related to the new installations. There's always one problem or another. H. gave it to me straight. It turns out that although we had written approval for both sites, one of them was not actually approved. The Beit Anan site was okay, but the site in Silwad, a school for handicaped children, was apparently still under review for "security." [I wish I had a dollar for every time I have to hear or read that word around here.]

In the meantime, storage costs at the port were piling up and we had to act quick and find another site that we knew would get quick approval. My first thought was to call my dear friend Dr Rev. Mitri Raheb. He's actually everyone's dear friend, but since this is my blog, I reserve the liberty to accentuate and exaggerate. The Rev and I go way back in the hood!

Mitri had a perfect spot for it in Bethlehem, so we submitted Dar al Kalima as the alternate site instead of Maysoon's kids School, the original recipient, and waited.

Snow fell and life came to a quiet standstill. It was cold. And in such a climate, my bones creak and body generally does not function properly. So, I stayed put with the rest of humanity here, sat by the heater, ate bizzir and all the good food that Laila made for me, and made a bunch of calls to map out the coming days when the whole half inch of snow melted.

The next day, H. called to let me know that we got approval for Mitri's new playground. It will be one week before we get it to the site. I decided I'd at least get the ground digging under way.