Afternoon with the bubbula

The little darling spent the whole afternoon at my place today and she is getting more and more at home here.  The only time she cried was when they wanted to leave.  Mind you, at this stage in her life it is just bottle and schluf, so not much participation.  Well that will come soon enough.   I have been promised lots of visiting time next week as my daughter is going to be on her own a lot so dad can pop around and heat the milk and chat.  Oy, there are worse ways to spend my free moments.

Our visitors have returned today on our blog page and we have new traffic from twitter where we actually got some 'mentions'.

Have a nice evening and a great week.

Solly

Solly amazed as Mikey works his magic

After Shul last night I mentioned to cousin Dov that my blog wasn't popping up on Google when I searched for 'Zayde' but we have lots of listings for 'thefleecedzayde'.  So how will other Zaydes find us - an oasis for 'zaydehood'.  So, bright and early today young Mikey popped around and made some adjustments to the blog - he 'edited the html tags' whatever that is.  Feh! Tags? Smags?   So now we have lots of useful keywords like 'zayde', 'Jewish grandfather' etc for the nice google charity to locate easily.   Mikey went off whistling with the obligatory fiver in his wallet.   He said helping mishpuka on a Shabbat didnt count as work in the eyes of the almighty.  Is there no end to my world of blog discovery?

Lovely day in the park

Had a wonderful day in the park pushing the Bugaboo - this is what being a zayde is all about.  Autumn leaves floating around us - what a lovely time to come into the world.  It has been a very quiet few days for visitors to my blog, I do hope you return - I like sharing my thoughts. 

Oh my yiddishe mama..

My daughter just phoned with the splendid news that the darling angel's weight has soared and she has gained 150 grams. This is the ghost of my yiddishe mama forcing extra food down her throat. She never put on weight herself she unselfishly packed it on those she loved. I have been promised a walk in the park complete with shiny bugaboo this weekend.

A free paper, a bargain lunch and good news on toys

Someone thrust a free copy of the new paper - I - as I passed oxford circus this morning. There was a very interesting news item of value to zaydes everywhere - Xmas/Chanukah toys are better value this year and you can get away with a measly £100 ($140 for our many American followers). Without being political that is the basic state pension for a British zayde.

I popped into cousin Dov's office and his yiddishe team of office staff read and enjoy my blog. It's always reassuring when people say nice things about my ramblings.

Rounded off my morning in town with the best value lunch in london - the Kerala Indian on Gt Castle St - amazing buffet for a tenner! I lost at poker last night so I was feeling more parsimonious than usual.

Mikey is very impressed with the nice following we are getting here and on twitter. Solly's fan club has even acquired a couple members.

Chicken soup and poker night

Not at my best this week, bit worried that flu is on its way.  Had a good chicken soup, not homemade but almost as good as my auntie Esther used to make.  It did the trick and I felt refreshed.  Tonight is poker night with the boys and one of the crew - a youngster - is leaving to work in New York so it is a farewell evening.  I won't see my little angel now until the weekend, the other grandparents are visiting and i don't want to crowd them out.  I will have her to myself next week so i can indulge.  If the weather is fine I can wheel the Bugaboo.  Isn't that dandy!

A surprising addition to my cast list.

My daily intake of traif in the form of a pork chop has entered my system and I'm relaxing in to a coffee when my phone rings - it's my accountant..oy at 10pm it's trouble ahead. But no, she has just viewed my blog and thinks it great fun. Is she Jewish? No she's Chinese but I inherited her from a Jewish accountant whose practise went wonky. Does she have a yiddishe soul? Absolutely - a full yiddishe kopf! Anyway she likes Solly's musings And thought the pics of the angel granddaughter were wonderful. She tells me to ditch 'Quick Books pro and switch to Sage and hangs up.

It keeps happening, each time I type 'traif' it autocorrects to 'tariff'

A head of steam

Well, we have had over 200 page views so far. Mikey says it's pretty good and it will increase exponentially. Only problem is that lots of zaydes are not 'silver surfers' so my words of wisdom will pass them by. Maybe their grandchildren will show them the way?

Secondhand Rose already..

Feeling a bit down in the mouth today - weather rainy, flat chilly after my trip, accountant chiding me "Solly you should be more careful on your VAT".  Phoned my lovely jewish daughter to see how the darling baby was.  I had a whole bunch of stuff for her including some lovely winter ebay bargains new (with tags) and used but absolutely perfect.  The 'new with tags' got a murmur of acceptance but no real enthusiasm for my bargain buys.  She mentioned she already had some 'hand me downs' from a friend so Solly's smutters will go to Oxfam.  Pity, my shikse girlfriend says things are better for a baby's skin when they have been washed once or twice - it clears the chemical residues. Personally I haven't bought much in the way of brand new clothes for myself in ages - I've got a chum who runs a super recycled men's clothes store in Kensington (Hornets) where I get kitted out as and when.  My shikse is the European authority on charity/thrift stores and always looks a million dollars. I hate waste in in clothes and new baby's outfits last for just moments.  I guess I will have to accept a degree of 'fleecing' when spoiling the angel.

Airport retail therapy

Away from the watchful eye of my girlfriend at an airport departure lounge I easily find an impulse gift for my angel - just a small fluffy white rabbit with long ears. I'm certain it will be a favourite for her - it felt just perfect. How can a zayde return from a trip empty handed? Wouldn't be right would it?

Solly exerts self control on Ebay

I was browsing Ebay this morning (baby girls 0-3 months) under the watchful eye of my girlfriend. I would have bought toys, socks and almost new Boden jackets if she hadn't closed down my laptop until I got my retail lust under control.  I am sure she is right.  I am not the only doting adult buying baby smutters for the little one.  if we all let our enthusiasms run freely you won't get thru the door for outfits.  I will see the little angel tomorrow - I wonder how she has changed since last week.  Can't wait.

Boot sale bargains

Spent a pleasant morning at big car boot sale checking out bargains for my little angel. I bought half a dozen small cuddly toys that I can drip feed when I pass by to see her. At this stage she seems to have a pretty full wardrobe and admirers are still turning up with romper suits like belated magi who lost track of the new shining star. Anyway I should have 3 eBay snowsuits turning up this week so I will be ahead of the crowd for providing her winter wardrobe.

Solly enjoys tweeting

This 'tweeting' thing is very addictive. Mikey had downloaded Twitter onto my blackberry so can pop in thoughts as they drift into ageing brain. This is good since my short term memory is not what is was and I would probably forget my pearls of wisdom if I had to wait until I got home to record them. Some people are already following me so perhaps they will visit my blog too. 'zaydehood' is a force to be reckoned with as we live longer yet I do not find any other websites/blogs dedicated to the cause.

Solly, Dov and Mystic Myra go to the movies

Mikey was right, 'Social Network' is a good film and it really put our little enterprise into context.  I now see myself as part of this huge worldwide net helping Zaydes and Bubbes communicate and share their joy and maybe frustrations with eachother.  A joy shared is a joy doubled.  I don't actually fantasise about being in a huge loft-style office in Malibu with a team of sexy Eurasian boys and girls applauding every new zayde who joins our cause of 'united zaydehood' but it would be nice if we get a few hundred linking up with us.

Spent a lot of yesterday afternoon staring adoringly at the little darling as she slept, she is so tired form screaming all night.  She will have a smile on her face next week though, when she sees the 3 snowsuits I grabbed for her from Ebay ( One new with tags and two hardly used) - £15.00 the lot - bravo Ebay!   Unfortunately I won't see her for a few days as I'm off on a trip with the shikse girlfriend but I will still blog my thoughts and idea from wherever I am.  Young Mikey says that it is important to blog regularly and he seems to know about these things.

Solly's travel plans bring disappointment

I am travelling this weekend - flight booked, case packed - and I was just driving in west London and what do I see at Earls Court exhibition? The 'baby' show! Oy, this is synchronicity all over again. I spend the rest of my journey thinking about what I'll be missing - a whole weekend of baby retail therapy! My credit card lets out a deep sigh of relief...

Quick update

It works!!! I blogged and tweeted simultaneously!  And someone is actually following me!!!! Her name is Marlene and she likes following 'cool people'.  True - I'm the coolest zayde in North London ;-)

Solly learns to tweet

Better and better.  Dov's son Mikey popped round this morning. "Hi uncle Solly" he said "It's time to tweet!" 
"Mikey bubbalah, do I look like a bird?"
"No, uncle Solly, tweeting is the easy new way to promote 'Zaydehood, I'll set it up for you in 5 minutes "
So Mikey powered up my Dell and went to twitter and created an ID for me - Solly Cohen@thefleecedzayde and showed me how to search for intersting things people are saying about babies and zaydes and bubbes and how I can keep track of their ramblings by clicking 'follow'.  Mikey then linked my blog to my twitter and so now whenever I talk about my thoughts they are sent out on the twitter network too.

I gave Mikey a fiver for setting it up and helping me write this post so that it made sense. This is so much fun.  Tonight I will go and see thhe film 'Social Network' with Dov and Myra - Mikey says it is a 'must see' for all of us.

Who builds all these new baby shops??

It's happening again!  Shops selling baby gear are popping up everywhere.  I often walk along Marylebone High St and I had never noticed a huge White Company Baby shop.  It wasnt there 2 weeks ago!?!.  So, curiosity overcame me and I entered - OMG! Baby heaven.  I wandered around imagining my little darling in elephant sweaters and roll-top pixie boots (I hadnt mentioned before but she has pixie ears) and Teddy-ears hooded towels.  A quick mental calcultation of £150.00 plus snapped me out of my Zayde reverie.  This is a shop for zaydes to be seduced and fleeced.  When the darling is a bit older I'll come back and check more.  She seems to have lots of gear to get her through her first 3 months and Chanukah/Xmas is looming ahead.  Back  to ebay...by the way my earlier ebay bargain has yet to arrive, I'll chase it up.

Solly admires the lovely Bugaboo

It stood proudly in the hall, bright, happy orange and subdued sand colours; majestic and chic all at once.  I can hardly wait to be seen with it, it will upgrade my image in the area.  This is a purchase that was worth doing, I'm sure my gorgeous baby darling will enjoy it - it seems very comfy and well sprung. 

My daughter is a little bit concerned that the baby isn't gaining weight quite as quickly as we would like.  I'm sure we will fatten her up given time and a traditional Yiddishe diet.  My mum would have got those grams on her by just reading her recipes to her.  For the moment though we just have to up the milk intake and hope all goes well. I popped out to get milk supplies and I hadnt realised that now you can get formula milk ready to drink, no mixing and measuring - very handy.

My cuddle quota was good and I had more than hour rocking the darling gently whilst watching some rubbish daytime TV.  I hope my test ebay purchase turns up soon, its such fun to have someone new to spoil and think about.

Solly reads the Dail Mail and rethinks synchronicty

Well, well, I just stopped into Starbucks for a quick grande macchiato stupendo and glanced at a copy of the Daily Mail someone had left lying around on the table.  After a quick glance to the back pages to make sure my wonderful  Spurs were still doing well and that the loutish goy 'wazza' will be leaving Man Utd - please don't let him near North London - my eye was drawn to a headline that said 'A grandchilchild will cost £50000!'.  My first thought was 'why? - is someone selling one???'   Then I realised that it was saying that Zaydes like myself will be putting their hands in their pockets like  veritable yo-yos and going into penury for the little angels.  This synchronicty stuff that Myra spouts out seems to have some grain of truth to it.  Anyway, if you readers keep clicking on the google ads next to my ramblings the charity that is Google will keep the coffers flowing.

The Bugaboo arrives and Solly glows in his generosity

The Bugaboo was delivered yesterday, bravo Lullabys.co.uk , I will pass by later today and have a good look at something that costs like a small car.  But it was this very purchase that inspired this blog and the facebook fan club so I am sure it was all for the good.

Certainly I will get huge 'cuddle rights' for some time to come and I will be able to parade all around Golders Green in some style.  My long-suffering Shikse girlfriend commented that I will have all the yummy mummies checking me and my Bugaboo whilst I am out strutting my stuff.  Oy! I'm a new Zayde, my hormones are all in nuturing rather than flirting mode.  That being said I'm sure I'll cut a dapper pose with an orange 'super buggy'.

My cousin Dov's flakey wife Myra talks about 'synchronicity' which means things happening together in a 'spooky' way.  Well whilst reading 'citywire' this morning there was an article about grandparents who had not planned on leaving their hard earned dosh to their kids take one look at the grandchild and 'boof!' somewhere to leave the keys to the car and the flat!  Made more sense to me today than 10 days ago.

Thank you to the last visitor

You were the 100th person to visit my zayde blog.  I only know maybe 12 people I've told about it so who are the rest of you? Zaydes? Bubbes?  I hope you will keep coming back and reading my story.  Even more exciting is I've started to 'monetize' - 5 of you have clicked to learn more about adverts the nice charitable people at Google have placed on my blog.  I haven't earned any money yet but it won't be long before  the gelt comes rushing in ;-)  This is such a fun experience, one of my friends said to me - "Solly you are a silver surfer" how nice is that!

Solly discovers facebook

True to his word, Dov sent Mikey round tonight to help me set up a facebook fan club to let more zaydes know about our blog.  It was surprisingly easy to set up but then Mikey does this stuff a lot, he makes his pocket money helping people with their computers.  I used to make my pocket money washing cars but different times call for different skills.  Our zayde fan club page is still quite basic but Mikey says he will come by later in the week to finish it off.  I havent't learnt so many new things in years, my zaydehood is turning into quite an adventure!  Mikey put a facebook advert at the bottom of this blog page so you can click through to it.  Amazing, google give me a free blog and want to give me money and facebook want me to have a fan club for free.  And these companies make so much money - oy, something smart going on here.

My sleeping beauty

I spent the whole afternoon cuddling her as she slept - bliss!  Her first visit to my place and I could see she was at home immediately.  I gave her father (TGB) a good talking to about the workings of Ebay , he's never used it, so i guess he will be searching the listings along with me.  My daughter spent her time uploading mother/daughter photos onto facebook.  This is how a sunday afternoon should be.  I will blog more vigorously tomorrow.

Solly remembers his own zayde

This afternoon I went to the schvitz.  Not the authentic east end steam bath but the steam room at my local gym - all glass and steel.  It has been my habit for many years to steam on a Saturday.  Today it was very hot - you could have cooked gifilte fish in that steam!  My own Zayde had always gone to a schvitz in the east end near Brick Lane.  It was only near the end of his life that he took regular baths at home.  He was the cleanest man I ever knew.  He had a shock of pure white hair, bright like early snow and pink skin that positively glowed.  He was around until just after my Bahmitzvah - he spoke very little english and had a strange dialect that mixed Yiddish and Litvak that not even my father (his son) actually understood. So in zayde tradition I go to the schvitz.

Tommorrow when I see my little newbie darling she will be cuddled by a steam-fresh zayde and she will probably smell of baby and talc - a winning combination!

Solly and Dov plan to go global

This morning after shul me and my cousin Dov went for coffee to Starbucks. Judy from the shul choir was also there with her husband Benny. We passed the usual pleasantries whilst the barrista frothed the milk and sprinkled the chocolate. I am a sucker for the vanilla cheesecake and I can get away with it when I not under the watchful eye of my yoga-fit shikse of a girlfriend. She's all for moderation in noshing - Yom Kippur would hardly phase her if she needed to fast which of course she doesn't.

So Dov and I settle down to our 'Grande Lattes' (who dreams these names up?) and I ask him what he thinks of my blog which I sent him. Dov must be one of the 53 hits my blog has registered this week along with Esther, Barry, Lionel and Monty. Who else has visited is a mystery, I just hope they liked it. "I really like it" says Dov. "it resonates". This is the sort of nonsense word dov's wife Myra uses after listening to endless new age claptrap tapes she buys in covent garden near her dress shop. "resonates?" I query. "that's good, right?". "Solly it touches the very essence of 'zaydehood' - I love it and I am sure other zaydes and bubbes will feel the same. I showed it to Mikey (his teenage son) and he says you must find 'fans'".

"fans?? - this a tribute blog for my granddaughter and zaydes everywhere not the X-Factor! What is mikey thinking about?"

"Solly, Solly, Mikey says you must make a Facebook fan page - he can help you, he does this stuff all the time for pocket money he won't charge much we're mishpucha!"

Solly sees how to make some profit from posting

So here I am writing about my Zayde adventure, pure of soul and heart just enjoying expressing my thoughts.  Then I notice on my blog screen the enticing word 'Monetize'.  This is Manna from heaven, someone wants to give me money!?!  Is this why everyone loves Google?  They give money to Zayde's???  A charity??? So I click with curiosity ... Monetize?  Yes, all I have to do is let these Google people put ads on my blog page.  Well, that sounds ok.  So I click - 'Yes let me make money' and suddenly (oy this is magic) there is an advert from Mothercare on my page.  Makes sense, surely lots of new Zayde's want to know about Mothercare.  I already knew about them from when MWD (my wonderful daughter in case you forgot) was a little bubbala.  The nice people from Lullabys should pop an ad on my page - maybe they will?  I click where it says revenue but it says 'zero' well, early days...   I am sure that I will end up a web --rich zayde and just from my original purity of intention.  Whatever money I 'monetize' will go straight to MTJG (my totally jewish grandaughter).  This is a 'win-win if ever I heard one.

A setback for Solly :-(

I was pre-outbid on ebay - MTJG will not get that nice snowsuit, I am unhappy beyond misery itself.  That is the downside of ebay, you are dealing with strangers (in this case someone in Blackpool).  So no snow suit for me for a fiver - feh! I must sharpen my ebay techniques, obviously the competition out there is hot! No time to kvetch - pick myself up, dust myself down etc...

Solly hits ebay with exciting results

I love ebay and use it regularly for buying vinyl recordings of My Yiddishe Papa and Danny Kaye rare tracks from the 50's.  I also get my video games (Shul Wars, Hendon Vice 2 etc) and random items of clothing.  Now I have a whole new ebay category to browse - baby - which subdivides elegantly in into baby girl 0-3 months. I do a quick test run on a Next dress for £1.99 ending in 2 mins - yubbadubba bagged that!  Feeling calmer I fire up auctionstealer which is a great sniping tool for nabbing bargains in the final 3 seconds of the auction.  Now I hope to grab a brand new snow suit for £3.00.  This is one Zayde who doesnt plan on being fleeced if he can help it.  I'll let you know on my bargains.

By the way my John Lewis stuff hit the spot and got me 2 full hours of cuddling rights.  If I play ebay carefully the little angel will be permanently in Zayde's arms lol lol!

Solly investigates the mysterious 4th floor at John lewis

Today I staked out the new 4th floor that John Lewis have installed this week and artfully filled with baby gear. I know it is a new floor since it definitely didn't exist the last time i was there. I remember the furniture floor and the high-tech floor but to my best recollection there was no meaningful structure between the two. John Lewis must have worked like crazy to get this open and staffed for my first visit. For the novice zayde this was a disorienting experience. Rack after rack of fashion items helpfully divided by age and sex. So, for me it 0-3months girl's section. A very nice sales woman steered me towards packs of sleep suits - pinafore dresses can wait - and I chose a very nifty organic 'swaddle' gro-bag'. It sounded a bit like the sort of thing you buy at garden centres to encourage the marrows to flourish. Packaging was very 'organic' and a snip at a tenner!

I then drifted through to the 'baby transport' dept and was delighted that I had made a good choice buying the bugaboo online from the nice people at lullabys ( I give them a plug for their helpful communications). In fact they get a 'solly star of excellence'. I think I have saved myself 100 quid over the John Lewis price as lullabies throw in a 'cabrilo' which is a car seat but sounds like a 'cabriolet' car (clever that). So off to see MTJG...

Who's who? The cast members

I have decided this blog should be anonymous - I'm a shy sort of zayde - so I will use acronyms to refer to active cast members. My daughter, for example is MWD which of course means 'my wonderful daughter' well you guessed tha one didn't you? The baby is MTJG which means 'my totally Jewish granddaughter' I need to express it this way because of TGB 'the goyishe boyfriend'. No prejudice meant or intended after all my OH (other half) is a blonde shikse. He is a lovely goy boyfriend and even claimed to be 1/8th jewish (don't they all). I explained to him just how lucky he was to get a 'Jewish' daughter at no extra cost. I mean, after all who can afford to be 'Jewish' these days?

The journey of the wise Zayde

Francinsense, Myrhh, gold - nope!  These days any Zayde worth his salt arrives with a Bugaboo.  Oy, is this a marketing exercise or not?  You don't even need a Primrose Hill address or go partying with Saint Gwyneth to be saddled with a designer buggy.  In my days it was a Maclaren, it got my daughter around just fine but for my grandaughter it's 800 quid's worth of PR spin. Don't get me wrong, nothing is too good for my daughter or my grandaughter - bless - but i get the feeling that it is going to be an expensive road ahead.  Ok, the newcomer is gorgeous, no bias here.  This is true, I looked at a couple of other newbies on the ward and they looked pretty ordinary in comparison to the amazing creature my daughter had just produced.  It was down to refinement, babies don't all look alike; ours was already showing that classiness that would set her aside from her peers. 


So the journey commences, a designer buggy and a designer babygrow with convict stripes and the words ' I've been inside for 9 months' emblazoned on it and 1000 quid approaches rapidly.   My credit cards are beginning to wake up after a moment of peace and quiet.   I'll let you know how it all goes on...