Lately the weather has been beautiful. Yes, even those couple of days of rain were beautiful. The heat of the summer is gone and it’s still warm enough to go out without a sweater. If it were only like this all year round!
As my non-stop cough finally left me (after being a part of my life for about 2 months) I realized how “down” I had been during that time. Since I am usually on the manic side, I don’t think anyone noticed, but I started feeling sunnier inside as soon as I stopped coughing my guts out.
Preparations for the trip continue. Amazing how a trip of 18 days can take weeks of preparation. I keep telling myself that next time I do this trip it will be a cinch. I remember preparing for the first trip to China. It seemed daunting as well even though the logistics were a lot easier, the company having done China trips for close to 20 years. In Vietnam, much of the logistics are still newly developing and so there are fewer “school” answers for our special food and shabbat needs- so we spend a lot of time thinking of every aspect that could be problematic and troubleshooting.
Still up in the air is what will become of our traditional family Thanksgiving dinner since I will be in Hanoi for Thanksgiving (OK, how many of you ever even thought of uttering that sentence?) One of the children has recommended advancing it a week. Hmmm.
This shabbat promises to be relaxing with the added treat of being able to watch Kinneret during shabbat morning services, something that is immensely enjoyable and enables me to really appreciate my shabbat nap.

Wow sounds like a great trip though. I hope you find some kosher places in Vietnam