The cement igloo

The great thing about being constantly cold is that you are happy to find a warm spot and just stay there.... indefinitely. That is what I am doing these days. Hot water bottle on my lap, fluffy blanket on my shoulders, and a mismatched conglomeration of sweats (that I am threatening to stay in until the weather comes around to my liking).

When I do get up the energy to move from my happy place, it is usually to get a cup of tea. I don't drink the tea; I just cup it in my hands and let the warmth run through me. And when I am really desperate, I hold the cup between my legs, just above the crease in my knees, for optimum warming power.

Israel (maybe excluding Jerusalem) was not built for the cold. Yes, winter is not new here, but this year I feel like I might as well have made Aliyah to the Arctic.

Winter came early in 2013. December, on the plains of Israel, is supposed to feel Fall like. A little rain, a little damp, and many cool crisp days that are sunny. My double-paned windows should have been enough to keep December weather away. Most people don't even have double-paned windows here because the perceived need for them is non-existent. (This year, I keep hearing Eminem in my head "that's why they call it window pain"). We have double-paned windows are a residual preference from our old lives.

Also, houses are not insulated in Israel. The whole idea of insulation never arrived here -- it is not part of the building process. You know the kind of insulation I mean, the pink toxic stuff that they build into your walls in North America? Between the outer layer of house and the drywall? Which brings us to the Ah-ha moment: drywall here is used for creating niches and little design effects like hiding the huge tubing that your AC goes through. They are better equipped to cover the guts of the AC than to keep people warm.

Here, houses are built of cement blocks. Period.

I can't help wonder how all the ancient Israelites stayed warm. At least I have the benefit on my cement igloo. They had tents. Did everyone move to Eilat or the Dead Sea come winter? Heaven knows they were much more portable in those days -- load up the donkeys and pull down the tents and off they went to the shores of the Red or the Dead seas.

And you can't say "they died much younger then" because .... they didn't. Methusaleh went through 969 winters and according to the records, died six days before the Great Flood. Probably couldn't handle the thought of yet more torrential rain, so rather than continue towards his goal of living to 1000, he just threw in the towel and called it a life.

If he had a proper raincoat and some boots, he might have reconsidered. So, in his honour, I am now going to put on my new Canadian Mountain Co-op winter jacket and go outside and catch a few winter rays in the Middle East. Did I mention that it is warmer outside than inside?