your tech report

 The Blogmaid gifted me with this wonderful Apple watch maybe three or four years ago? It is a workhorse and I wear it every day. In the dental chair the other day I was fiddling with it and man, it can do way more than I knew. (As usual with all my devices.) Recently a green light has appeared on the back and this morning I asked Co-Pilot what was going on. Her/his reply:

The green light on the back of your Apple Watch is part of its heart‑rate sensor—it uses green LEDs to measure your pulse through a method called photoplethysmography. These lights turn on automatically whenever your watch is checking your heart rate, whether during workouts, background readings, or certain health features.

life in Israel now

 You already know that I hate everything about this war. Trump and Hegseth are such liars and so unconcerned about the loss of human life. I was relieved to hear from my friend Joseph Zitt who now lives in Israel He is a great writer and a very special human being.

Sunday, March 1, 12:11 AM

Update: I'm back upstairs in my apartment after yet another alarm, some sixteen hours later. We've had about twenty. I lost count when, somewhere around number seventeen, we had several in such close succession that I wasn't sure whether to count them as one or more.

The next to last one had the biggest booms that I've heard during the wars so far. A building in Tel Aviv took a direct hit. Media are showing an utterly destroyed building burning. Of course, they aren't saying exactly where it was.

I headed down the stairs to the shelter from my third-floor apartment the first few times, until my knees informed me that they weren't in a mood to do that again. I've been taking the elevator since then.

People in the shelters are tired, but in a generally upbeat mood. We've all been through this before, enough times that we can get down there quickly.

The shelter also serves the neighborhood. There are several new dogs coming in with their families. Each growls when others enter. One young girl repeatedly swings a sort of mermaid Barbie doll around by its hair, lets it fly in an unpredictable direction, then crawls across the floor to retrieve it. Her brother slithers between the legs of chairs as if going through a tunnel.

We've been ordered to stay in the shelters each time until we hear the All Clear announcements. Those rarely happen. People gradually wander out. Most, but not all, of the time, we have time to get back to our apartments before the next alarm sounds.

It's just past midnight now. I hope to get some sleep tonight, but I'll be ready to head downstairs again if needed.

—

Monday, March 2, 12:01 AM

The sirens continue, just about once every two hours, between 8 PM and 2 PM. Residents and neighbors tromp down to the shelter each time. While, in theory, anyone can sit anywhere, people keep landing in the same seats. I choose a white chair directly across from the entrance.

At around 11 PM, I hear the biggest booms ever. Later, I hear that an apartment block in Tel Aviv was hit.

one lovely movie

 Sentimental Value was on my Oscar must-see list and yesterday I rented it on Prime for a very rewarding afternoon with popcorn and complete absorption. I do recommend this film featuring Stellan Skarsgard and Renate Rinse ~ it's in Norwegian, Swedish and English, but with subtitles it is easy to follow. I loved the story line and and sister dynamics. Sweet.

out! at night!

 I met John and Mary (of Ashland fame) down on The Embarcadero for a lively presentation at The Commonwealth Club featuring Dan Hoyle, a local performer and story teller. Then dinner at Perry's and lots of good catch-up conversation. They took the ferry to/fro Oakland and we admired the Bay Bridge which is being re-lit this month. So beautiful! One forgets how nice it is to be out after dark...

and some grand noodles

 Samantha and Harlow dropped by yesterday afternoon and she taught me how to make Cup Noodles which are really quite tasty. Oh, she brought some of her homemade sour dough bread too and that is really excellent. Harlow was pooped after a beach run. Sam and Luke will be moving to Florida after he graduates this summer and I am trying to be a good sport and accept this. Tampa to be exact, we looked at a map ~ it is very far away. Sigh.

a grand dinner

 Granddaughter Samantha, her husband Luke and I had a fine dinner down at Precita Social last night. Luke graduates from Stanford Law School this summer and his career will be taking off. A very exciting time for these two wonderful people. Such good fortune that they landed here for three happy years.

the return of the manicurist

 Our next door neighbor, Cristina, was in Italy for two months and we depend on her to clip the nails of Annabelle. Yesterday they relaxed in the warm (!) sunshine and we were all relieved to have short cat nails again. Yes indeed, we love our neighborhood.