Study of a doorway as avoidance mechanism

.
Yes, there is a war on. No, my family is not in range. Yes, it's stressful anyway as I worry about those I know, and all those I don't, within rocket range or wearing a uniform and wonder how close the rockets will eventually come. I figure blogging and compulsive photoshopping is as good a way of any to not obsess about the war any more than necessary to stay informed and to avoid thinking about the fact that we the people of the world have apparently learned nothing in the past year (why should we, we haven't any other year?) and are going to screw things up just as badly in 2009 as we did in 2008. So much for the hope of a bright new year.

.

So here. Look. Pictures.

.
First, here's the straight out of the camera shot. Nice subject, but not spectacular. It's got character though, so let's see what it can do.

.

.

This one really highlights the door's old and falling apart antique feel. Nice, but it still doesn't really do it for me. A lot of the story of this facade is told in its fading colors, I feel you lose too much of that by omitting them.

.
.

Back to my lonely writer's photographer's garret (bonus points if you can identify the quote; hint: it's from a 1970's song) for another attempt.

.

Bingo!

.
.

This one I like. It's got grit. It's got color. It's got texture. And, it's still got that old and forlorn feel to it. Pay dirt.

.

Which one gets your vote?

.
My very best wishes to all of you for a happy, healthy, and above all PEACEFUL new year.
.
Visit Sepia Scenes to see what's on everyone else's minds this week, photographically speaking.
.

Lion Fountain

.

Taken last week in Rosh Pina and mucked around with a bit by me this afternoon.

.

(click to enlarge)

.

Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what other people aren't saying.

.

War in Gaza

Hannah says it better than I can.

For those who have been e-mailing to ask whether my family is alright, I thank you for your concern and want to reassure you that we are fine. I live in the center of the country, about 15 minutes from Hannah and safely out of range of Hamas' deadly rocket barrage. My thoughts go out to all those in the south though, who live, and have lived for eight long, frightening years, under constant threat of attack as rockets landed on their homes, their schools, and their playgrounds, and who are now hoping against hope that a way will be found to stop the terror so they can once again live in peace.

Festival of Lights

.

The 8th and final Hannukah candle was lit Sunday night, filling the final spot on the menorah, called a Hanukiyah here in Israel. To conclude the holiday in his own inimitable style my son, who is all red all the time, had hoarded all the red candles in the box - bringing them out for a final definitive statement of his loyalties, as if there were ever any question.

.
I hope all of your holidays were as full of love and light, shining brightly from this year on into the next.
.
Visit Mary at Work of the Poet for more ruby red photos.
.

A big thank you to Pak Naks

.

.

I'd hoped to get this post up before the holidays because these Pak Naks would make GREAT Hannukah or stocking stuffer gifts but with my parents in town for an extended visit things got away from me a bit. Now that the holidays are behind us though they're still just as cute as ever and would be a fun way for your kids to spend a little of that Hannukah gelt they got.

.

So what are Pak Naks? Easy. They're adorable little texturized rubber decorations for things like backpacks and jackets. They attach easily with heavy duty velcro and come in over 40 different designs ranging from flowers to sports to animals to science to pretty much whatever you can think of, so you know your child will find one they like. Each one is named and comes with a cute little back story too, great for firing up the imagination.

.

I won a set of six Pak Naks in a giveaway over at Sandier Pastures and I think my kids had almost as much fun choosing their Naks as they did getting them! Can you tell by looking at the photos of their backpacks that I have one sports-obsessed boy and a real girlie-girl? Both kids were avidly stalking the mailbox waiting for the package and when it arrived (much more promptly than this post I have to add) they couldn't put them on fast enough. I did try to suggest that they could put just one or two and then rotate them but neither child was interested. If one is good more is better. My daughter especially made sure to show them off to everyone she came in contact with the next day, including total strangers in the elevator!

.

They've been on for a few weeks now and still look brand new. No fading or wear and tear and the velcro that holds them on is still going strong. At just $4 a Nak (on the website) they're easily affordable, and better yet Pak Naks is a mom-run business, too.

.

My kids and I give them six thumbs up.

.

Getting back to business

.
My parents left this morning after a really good two week visit. We all enjoyed each other tremendously (well, there was that one evening when a few tensions surfaced, but nothing that wasn't quickly resolved). Seriously, we had a great time together and are eagerly awaiting their next visit just three months from now. It was wonderful seeing my kids and my parents beaming at each other and working hard to make up for lost time. My parents were especially amazed at the changes in Maya since last August. She was incredibly involved and interactive, much more enthusiastic about new ideas and a lot more tolerant of upsets to her routine. Watching them play together really warmed my heart, and theirs. While we've definitely seen the progress she's made this year it's sometimes hard to really appreciate how very much progress she's made when you see it develop in incremental steps. Hearing my parents excited about how much of a difference there was really drove home how very far Maya has come in the past four months. If just four months can make such a difference, I can only imagine where she will be at the end of the year, or next year, or the year after... What a joy to see the future stretching out brightly in front of us.

.

While they were here my parents got to see Maya's school Hannukah party,

.
.
and visit a local winery, where we may have had just a wee bit too much to drink. Luckily they had a great lawn out back complete with picnic blankets.

.

.

and light Hannukah candles on our hotel room's miniscule balcony

.
.

and teach Itai to skateboard (yes, his arm is completely healed now and I suspect he is playing soccer at (Hannukah) camp this very moment)

.

.

and Maya to rollerskate (thanks to my dad, who had to make special arrangements to meet the UPS guy in a supermarket parking lot the day they left to get the skates we'd ordered - who'd have guessed that Maya's heart's desire, pink rollerskates, would be so hard to find here in Israel). Here she is collapsed on the ground after her first time out - turns out she was a bit sick that day and learning to skate pretty much did her in. She found out the hard way that it's a lot tougher than it looks. She'd gotten the hang of it by the next time though. (Don't mind the makeup - an older girl at camp did it. Really brings out her sickly pall, doesn't it?)

.

.

And give Maya a dollhouse that my mother painted and decorated herself to look just like their own house, complete with the jacuzzi in the backyard - the perfect thing for playing "going to Grandma's house".

.

All in all, a great visit. We were sad to see them leave, and are eagerly awaiting their return this April. In the meantime, Hannukah vacation is nearly over and it's back to business, and blogging, as usual.

.

Fall, North of Israel, Late December

.

Taken last weekend in Rosh Pina. This is about as good as fall colors get around here, and even this is a bit of an oddity. Of course "fall" was followed by winter, or at least our cold rainy version of it, just a day or two later.

.

Watery tulip in Baron Park, Rosh Pina

.

Click to enlarge.

.

Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what other people aren't saying.

.

Happy holidays to all who are celebrating. More about our Hannukah trip to Rosh Pina can be found in yesterday's post.

.

Rosh Pina

.
Here's a sneak preview of our quick little getaway up to Rosh Pina. We stayed in a fabulously quirky little inn which was just crying out to be featured in a Ruby Tuesday post. I'll be posting loads more pictures and a bunch of perfect-for-blog stories in the coming days, but for now enjoy this quick peek. All of the photos in this post were taken on the grounds of the inn. You can tell the innkeepers like their bright reds and blues.
.

.

.

.

.

Yes, that last one was also taken at the hotel - it was cold and damp outside but they heat the pool to a toasty 88F (30C) in the winter. It was utterly delightful, and when we got a bit chilled there despite the warm water we just hopped across to the jacuzzi a few feet away. Hard life, isn't it? Too bad vacations always end so quickly...

.

Have a wonderful holiday week everyone, however you're celebrating.

.

Heading out for a few days

Just as the weather turns from nice and warm with gorgeous sunny skies to coldier and overcast, but nevermind, we'll have fun anyway, and the hotel pool is heated high enough for winter swimming.

Back in a few.

Water with lemon

.

I'm continuing with the selective colorization theme again this week (which is way too much fun to play with and therefore is probably either illegal or else fattening). I see that Mary's done something similar with her photo this week but has taken it in a completely different and very cool direction. Three cheers for the creative process and all it's twists and turns.

.

My own photo this time is (obviously) a carafe of water with lemon sections - picked from our very own lemon tree on our very own roof! (Finally, something that didn't curl up and die when it saw us coming!) Instead of going with straight sepia I gave the background an old paper effect which I am really loving and just bumped up the levels on the lemons a bit.

.

Enjoy, and check out this week's Sepia Scenes for loads more old-timey flavored goodness.

.

PS I think I've figured out the clickable photo issue - if I'm right and you click on this one you should be able to see the full-size photo. If not, let me know and I'll keep trying.

.

Detail of Hannukah Decorations

.

Some red Hannukah decorations for this week's combined Ruby Tuesday / Wordless Wednesday offering (since I'm an idiot and didn't realize I'd set Tuesday's post to publish on Wednesday, might as well get some extra mileage out of it since I linked up to RT a day late).

.

How cool is this! (great timewaster)

What a fun new time sink. Because of course we all have so much extra time this time of year. Come on, you know you can't help yourself.

(Original photo of Maya is mine, the photoshopping is from the application - I'm not that good LOL.)

.

Checking in quickly

We're having a great visit, full of togetherness and fairy tea parties, stories and pro soccer games (Hapoel Tel Aviv of course). The warmth of their welcome from my children as they exited the terminal had both of my parents feeling like visiting royalty. (The children had been standing at the barrier stalking watching for my parents and the very second they saw them come out they flew under the bar and literally tackled them both. It was quite exuberant, to say the least.)

I'm preserving our memories with lots of pictures (a favorite is one of my father with a fuzzy pink purse - on his head). I haven't uploaded them yet but hopefully there are a few gems in there. (I'd check now but all my usb cables are in the closet in the room where my parents are currently sound asleep. Later.)

I'll have to cut this off now, it's time to go make like a grownup and work for a living.

PS I finally found a pair of sensible old lady shoes shoes with removable orthotics that I actually like - and better yet they're comfortable and don't make my feet hurt. They're Clarks, and look quite a lot like these, just with a leather criss-cross strap with a velcro closure instead of the cord. Oh, and they didn't have black in my size, so for the first time in probably twenty years I've got a chocolate brown shoe. It looks great and it's dark enough to hold me over for a bit though, so all's well in Shoeville. I'm just happy they don't make me look ninety years old!

Update: Found 'em! Mine are these. Not your grandmother's sensible shoes, eh?

Moving into stealth mode

My parents arrive in about 2.5 hours. No, the house still isn't entirely clean, yes, I'm rushing around like a crazy person. More importantly, they don't know I have a blog, so things will be going a bit circumspect around here for the next two weeks. I'll still be posting but my online time will be somewhat limited so I may not get around to as many of your blogs as I normally would.

There should be lots of good photo ops coming up though ;-).

After the rain, revisited (edited to add new image - scroll down)

.

.

Same raindrop, different composition and different processing. I still think I like the color version better, but the sepia has its own form of charm. I'd like the composition better if it were less top heavy (too bad that just flipping it would lead to a drop of water strangely floating upwards, because it would definitely improve the rest of the picture), but it's already nearly 1:30 and I'm too tired to see straight. I just got back from hearing my friend's band play at a Tel Aviv brewpub. Fun evening, but a late one. Photographic inspiration will have to wait until I'm more coherent. I haven't done much shooting recently but my parents arrive for a visit on Friday so that's about to change. In the meantime, you get sepia tinted raindrops. That's the thing about this blog, you just never know quite what you'll get, do you? No? Me either. What can I say, I'm scatterbrained eclectic. And apparently more than a little punch drunk from lack of sleep, and utterly unable to put together a reasonable blog post. Should have just stuck the photo up and been done with it, quit while I was (at least partially) ahead. Oh well, nevermind. I'm off to bed now, and it seems not a moment too soon.

.

Visit Sepia Scenes for, you guessed it, more sepia photos.

.

Ok, now I'm really and truly going to bed.

.

Goodnight.

.

Ok, you asked and I answered. Here's a sepia version with a full color raindrop. Definitely interesting. Thoughts?

.

.

Future Blogger?

Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what other people aren't saying.

Making the mundane beautiful

.
Ooh, ooh, when you're done here scroll down to the bottom to hear some big news!
.

.
Today's Ruby Tuesday post continues the utility cabinet theme I started yesterday - this one is my favorite one of all. I love the vibrant colors and the tropical hideaway feel it gives to something as mundane as a big metal box. Just think how awful that metal monstrosity must have looked before getting its makeover, and now look at it. It puts a smile on my face every time I drive by.
.
What puts a smile on your face in your neighborhood?
.
Newsflash:
The inaugural issue of the new poetry and art journal Ouroboros Review is now out in its online version. Jo Hemmant and Christine Swint have done a wonderful job, the new magazine is a real treasure, and one I'm very excited to be a part of - two of my own images were chosen for inclusion (see pages 31 and 36), which thrills me immensely as I see the company I'm in. Here, come see for yourselves. Careful though, you won't be able to put it down again very easily.
.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
.

It's a wonder what a little paint can do

.
A delightful thing has been happening in our area for the last few years (perhaps even all over Israel, can any of my Israeli readers fill me in?). Those ugly gray utility cabinets you (used to!) see all over town have been getting facelifts by local artists and high school art students, and what a change it has made. Instead of seeing something ugly and utilitarian we get to see these instead:
.

.
(Names of the town, local school and artist have been removed or fuzzed out - I apologize for not giving credit, but I don't feel right about putting that much identifying information out there.).
.

This one is a favorite of mine. I love the quote on the right-hand side: The Modern Age began the day that Nature became Scenery. (The left side says "The Wheels of Time in the Streets of the Galaxy".)

.
.
I've got one more really stunning one, but I'm saving that one for Ruby Tuesday - be sure to come by tomorrow to see it.
.

Of serendipity and remembering

.

It's been quite a while since I've done any real writing. I blog all the time, but lately photography seems to be occupying all of the spaces labeled "creative expression" in my brain. Where once words and ideas swam freely images now travel - rising to the surface almost of their own volition, often preferring to stand on their own, unsullied by explanation.

.

Once in a while it is possible to combine the two.

.

Last night a group of my dearest friends gathered (as we often do) to share a meal, friendship, and a few bottles of wine. We dedicated our gathering to the memory of my friend's father, who just passed away after a long and difficult illness. To celebrate Frank's life, we made food that he, or others' fathers, liked best, looked at the beautiful photographs he'd taken and talked about his incredible eye for composition, and shared stories of fathers and families. It was a wonderful, loving tribute to a life well lived. At my friend's request, I brought my camera along so that she could share a piece of the evening with her brother and sister back in the United States. I took a number of photos of those gathered, including a beautiful one of my friend and her mother, who had joined us for the evening.

.

Eventually the food was eaten, the wine consumed, the dishes cleared away, and the stories concluded. It was time to go home. I walked out with another friend. As we stood chatting on the porch for a moment she noticed a tree covered in the most delightful looking powder puff blooms. I noticed one in particular, set slightly apart and almost seeming to glow in the warm light of the streetlamp, a beacon of color shining out in the black night sky. I looked wistfully at the bloom, saying what a beautiful photo it would make if only I had my camera, when it occurred to me that I DID in fact have my camera slung right over my shoulder at that very moment.

.

It was well after midnight when I set my things down in my car and returned with my camera to capture the bloom which had so enchanted me.

.

I think Frank would have approved.

.

.

This week's Writers Island prompt was "if only".

.

Seen and Unseen

.

Pulling one from the archives this week, since it works so well for both Sepia Scenes and Thematic Photographic's "shadow" theme. Photographing shadows has always been a keen interest of mine, I'm intrigued by the interplay between the seen and the unseen. (I think) this one is a potted lemon tree, or perhaps it's the clementine. I'm too tired cold lazy to go upstairs and take a look. Here are some several related shots taken a few months earlier as well.

.

Self Portrait in an Elevator Mirror

.
.

Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what other people aren't saying.

.

Fading flower, with a twist (run for your lives - she's going all artsy-fartsy on us!)

.
.

I thought I'd experiment with something a bit different for this week's Ruby Tuesday. The original shot wasn't very interesting, just a fading flower's last gasp. I like it better this way, it seems to have more to say.

.

What do you think? Clever twist, or ugly (not to mention pretentious) trash?

.

Not with a bang but with a whimper

So here it is, November 30th. The last day of NaBloPoMo. I made it - 30 posts in 30 days. It's been quite a month - the presidential election, our mayoral election too, broken bones, photographs (lots of those), various deep thoughts, the horrific news that seems to be coming at us from all sides, Thanksgiving, time spent with family and friends, and so much more.

With all that to choose from, I should probably be able to come up with something profound and meaningful to sum up the month.

You know what though? I've still got laryngitis (I've at least returned from "frog" back towards "sexy truck driver", so I guess that's an improvement), my head feels stuffed full of cotton wool this morning, and I seem to have developed some kind of asthma-like hacking cough that drove my husband to the couch at 3am to go along with the rest of it. On top of that real life is definitely intruding - I need to get Itai to the dentist at noon, take Maya for passport photos this afternoon, fill out all the myriad forms the US government in its infinite wisdom now requires for passport renewals, and fold several loads of laundry. Oh, and squeeze in a few hours of work, too, since the rest of this week is looking just as crazy.

Profundity just doesn't seem to be on this list right now. Drivel I can do. I'm good at drivel. Meaningful prose? Not so much. Not today.

Like I said, an ending not with a bang but with a whimper. A whimper and a smile though. There is that.

Till next year.

Giving thanks, especially today

Today we celebrated Thanksgiving with a number of our nearest and dearest friends. As I looked around at the other 22 guests as they sat (at tables in our friends' backyard - god how I love November in Israel) eating, drinking and generally enjoying each others company I had to take a few minutes to reflect on how very lucky we were to be able to do that - to sit together, in a beautiful, peaceful place, and celebrate, when outside so much of the world has gone mad - horrific attacks in Mumbai, a store employee trampled to death by crazed shoppers who have clearly lost sight of what gift giving is supposed to be all about on Long Island, foreign workers persecuted in Tel Aviv for the crime of wanting to scrub the toilets of the wealthy to feed their families. So much tragedy, so much hatred, so much need.

We often take what we have for granted. The simple gift of being able to sit together with friends and share a meal. The safety to let our children play outside. Having food for our family and clothing for our back.

So many are without, and so many others would try to take away even what little their own neighbors do have to promote their own evil agenda. Where will it all end? Haven't we learned the futility of hatred and violence by now? Where will it all end?

Sometimes, all you can do is grieve for those lost or in pain, and be thankful that you were spared.

And maybe, just maybe, look around for some small thing that you can do to make someone's life just a little bit better.

Sweet Somethings

.

In an effort to lift some of the sadness and gloom that has been blanketing a great deal of the world recently Carmi has selected "sweet" as this week's Thematic Photographic entry.

.

I took my camera along as I walked over to pick my daughter up from school this afternoon . Here are some of the sweet things we encountered around the neighborhood.

.

There was this old school bus. I don't think it runs anymore, but how sweet is that. What fun it must have been to ride the Winnie the Pooh bus.

.

.

Then there was this sweet little stencilled mural on a nearby wall.

.

.

And this rose growing alone and almost wild outside an apartment building (would a rose by any other name, etc...)

.

.

And of course this one, the sweetest sight of all.

.

.

Happy Thanksgiving

.
.

A virtual lift of the glass from me to you.

.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating.

.

Coffee by Candlelight

Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what other people aren't saying.

Crazy about Hapoel Tel Aviv

.

You might say that my son is a teeny bit obsessed with soccer. That would be an understatement. It's all Hapoel Tel Aviv, all the time. My mom made him the shirt last year (and since then I doubt a week has gone by that he hasn't worn it at least once), the scarf (standard gear for Israeli soccer fans) he bought himself at a game.

.

Poses are his, no prompting from me. And for my regular readers, yes, these were taken before he broke his arm.

.

Visit Work of the Poet to see where else red has been spotted this week.

.

Hold that thought

Sorry, real life, in the form of a boatload of work, is intruding today. I'll be back later. I got talked into a free facial this afternoon from a consultant who is going to come to my home and hard sell me into buying a whole bunch of products I don't need/can't afford/make me break out provide the magic answer my rapidly aging skin is desperate for.

What can I say, hope springs eternal.

Wish me luck.

More about me-me-me

.

Yup, it's a meme. Sunshine tagged me for this one a while back and since we're getting down to the NaBloPoMo homestretch it was high time to pull it out. Sunshine's always fun to read, and she's got fabulous taste in music ;-). The meme even comes with its own nifty award, which will go beautifully with the lovely one that Dawn from Weldable Cookies passed my way. I love reading Dawn's blog. Her life and experiences are so very different from mine that it really underscores how underneath it all people are so much more alike than they are different. She's got a heart of gold and apparently golden hands too, I'd wish I could get her over here to tackle a bunch of projects around my house too!

Now without further ado...

First the meme, and then The Granting Of The Awards (can you hear the drumroll?):

.

1. Where is your cell phone? Either in my bag or in a basket on a side table. Not sure.

.

2. Where is your significant other? Work

.

3. Your hair colour? Auburn with wayyyyy too many dark and gray roots showing (MUST get to the hairdresser this week!)

.

4. Your mother? At home in New England, I'd imagine

.

5. Your father? Same

.

6. Your favourite thing? My family and friends

.

7. Your dream last night? Something very odd involving the characters from Grey's Anatomy. I don't remember the details, but we've finally just gotten caught up to the current episode and I've obviously been watching way too many in a row in our quest to catch up to the current episode (finally made it last night - and while we're on the subject, Izzie is really sleeping with a ghost? Come on! Jumping the shark anyone?)

.

8. Your dream/goal? to see my children grow up to be happy, healthy adults, successful in whatever path they choose

.

9. The room you're in? living/dining room (open plan)

.

10. Your hobby? blogging and photography

.

11. Your fear? I've got some heavy duty ones, but how about we just go with bugs for now, okay?

.

12. Where do you want to be in six years? Right here.

.

13. Where were you last night? Home, recuperating from an afternoon of company

.

14. What you're not? Drinking coffee. Need to fix that.

.

15. One of your wish list items? an updated version of PSE - should be getting that in just a few weeks, and it should be a LOT easier to work with!

.

16. Where you grew up? Suburban NY

.

17. The last thing you did? Ate some leftover tortilla chips

.

18. What are you wearing? jeans and a tank top

.

19. Your TV? off

.

20. Your pet? the last fish finally died, so none. We're thinking about getting an aquarium though.

.

21. Your computer? piece of crap provided by my company

.

22. Your mood? not bad

.

23. Missing someone? Yes. Since I finally joined Facebook I've been feeling very nostalgic and missing a bunch of old friends.

.

24. Your car? nothing special

.

25. Something you're not wearing? socks and shoes

.

26. Favourite store? The gourmet place down the road, and Target, where I can get hundreds of dollars worth of stuff I never knew I needed in the first place LOL. (It becomes a bit of a pilgrimage when you don't have regular access to one.)

.

27. Your summer? Long, hot, dry and wonderful

.

28. Love someone? three someones :-)

.

29. Your favourite colour? changes from day to day

.

30. Last time you cried? Last week

.

31. When is the last time you laughed? Maya cracked me up this morning

.

Now for the bling :-)

.

From Sunshine - this one goes with the meme, so snag it for yourself if you grab the meme. I'll award it to anyone who needs a little extra help with blog fodder this month:

.

.

And this lovely one came from Dawn, who made my head swell with her kind words about my blog and my photography. I'm going to pass it along to Stacey from Is There Any Mommy Out There? whose writing can make me keel over with laughter or well up with tears, AND, she's just packed up three young children and taken them to live on Saipan for three months, to Leora from Here in HP, whose blog runs the gamut from deep thoughts about religion to recipes to lovely photos and original artwork, and to Elizabeth from Planet Nomad and Grace at Sandier Pastures for sharing glimpses into their lives in far away places so different from my own. Grace has just received a new camera, too, and is becoming quite the shutterbug.
.
Happy reading :-).
.

.

PS I know someone else tagged me for a meme about two weeks ago, but for the life of me I can't remember who it was. Speak up and remind me, would you? I'm not ignoring you on purpose.

The Coolest Thing Ever

.

Tell me this isn't the coolest thing ever - I took this picture out my kitchen window, looking up at the outside wall of my patio.
.

.
I've seen these guys around for the past few years but I've never been able to get a picture before. I have no idea where they come from, whether they're just wintering here or here all year round. I do know that parrots are definitely not native to Israel. They may be former pets that someone decided to release, or perhaps they wandered off course (do parrots even migrate?), but either way, what fun to look out the window and find three parrots sitting right there on your balcony.

.

PS For those wondering, you have my husband's inability to keep his grubby paws off of my keyboard to thank for the title of the permalink.

Broken

.
Boy oh boy do we have an appropriate picture for Thematic Photographic's "broken" theme this week.

.

Wednesday afternoon I got a call that Itai had taken a bad fall and "it didn't look good". They were right, he'd broken his arm in two places. Luckily it was a clean "green stick" break and he should be good as new when they take the cast off in three weeks. Even luckier (or not, depending on your perspective) my husband has quite a bit of experience with broken bones and remembered immediately that on Wednesday evenings there is an orthopedist in our health fund's office in the next town, with an x-ray clinic conveniently located down the hall. He called ahead and we were shown right in as soon as we arrived and the whole process from arrival to cast took under an hour. Much, much faster than the emergency room would have been, that's for sure.

.

Itai is feeling a lot better today and was quite willing to star in this week's TP post when he heard the theme, so I got out my camera and started taking pictures. Unfortunately I let my imagination run wildly ahead of my skill level and ended up with a bunch of oddly composed photos, none of which really worked. Hmm, I said. Now that I finally have Photoshop Elements maybe I can do something about this. (Famous last words.) I've been playing around and a photographer friend has been showing me a bit , but I still know only just enough to be dangerous.

.

I started out with this:

.

.

Itai looked nice enough, cheery even for someone who's got a cast on his arm, but I didn't like the skewed angle, and it just didn't have that certain spark. I wonder, I thought to myself, would this be any better without the rocking chair? Hmmm...

.

And from there the madness started, until I ended up with this:

.

Umm.

In hindsight, I probably should have just left well enough alone and stuck with this:

.

On the bright side, I did at least learn how to do a frame around a photo without resorting to importing it into Power Point...

So there you have it. "Broken".

Poor kid. Not only does he have to deal with a broken arm, he's got to put up with the having the mamarazzi hot on his trail too.

.

Sepia Scenes - Walking Path

Walking path, approaching sunset

More sepia scenes can be found here.

Nature, interrupted

.
.

Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what other people aren't saying.

.

The Neighborhood Greengrocer

.
.

One of the things I love about Israel, and about my town in particular, is that it still boasts little family-run businesses right there in the neighborhood. These businesses are an integral part of the community. Yes, we have big huge American-style supermarkets, I even do some of my weekly shopping in one, yes we have malls, yes we chain stores, fast food chains, all those western "conveniences", and they are convenient, and there is something to be said for large selections and uniform quality, but for some things bigger just isn't better.

.

Like greengrocers. This photo was taken at my local neighborhood greengrocer (one of probaby five different ones within reasonable walking distance). It doesn't look like much, but don't let appearances fool you. These guys have far and away the best produce in the area (and the prices to match sadly, I could save a fortune if I'd just settle for "average" quality). Their selection is excellent, everything is as fresh as can be, and if their prices are high(er) at least I know I'm paying for quality, not for overhead and a fancy store. (The prices you see written on the cardboard are shekels per kilo. One US dollar is about 3.88 shekels right now, and a kilo is 2.2 pounds. Sorry, you'll have to do the math yourself.)

.

They're dependable too, 99% of the time I know that unless it's completely out of season (and then even sometimes) I WILL find what I'm looking for. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to save money or time by dashing into a smaller, cheaper store, or even the supermarket itself, only to discover that they don't have this key ingredient or that one or the quality is too poor and I'll have to get over to "my guy" after all!

.

They stock everything from these red grapefruits (yes, I realize I'm pushing the Ruby Tuesday envelop just a tad - work with me here) and farm-fresh eggs (both organic and not) to four different kinds of fresh mushrooms, fresh roasted cashews and imported parmesan cheese. Yes, I can buy fresh roasted cashews slightly cheaper from the bulk nuts and spices section of the big supermarket down the road, but they never taste as good or as fresh, important if you and your family are in the habit of snacking on them straight from the container.

.

Oh, and did I mention that they have kurtos kalacs on Fridays?

.

Highs and Lows, or rather Lows and Mediums

This is a bit incoherent, but so are my thoughts right now.

From this morning:

I've just spent the past hour reading Maya's sensory evaluation (short version - her issues most likely do not stem from sensory processing difficulties, but may very well be a sensory integration issue, in any case the cause is most likely emotional/psychological, not neurological).

However, and this is a big however, the report is full of factual errors and flaws that I will have to have corrected. I'm upset and angry too, because most of the errors make Jay and I out to be utter morons, and if the O/T heard things this way then she obviously thinks we're capable of it. Not to mention that these factual mistakes cloud the ultimate evaluation. Things like "Maya is neophobic. She is very limited in what she is willing to eat.... Maya insists on a set number of bottles of chocolate milk before bed."

WTF?

First off, Maya no longer gets bottles.

Second, I have never in my entire life put anything other than breast milk or later cow's milk in a bottle, certainly not chocolate milk.

Third, she only gets about 1/2 a very small glass of chocolate milk in the morning, and none at all in the evening.

Fourth, even when she was still getting her "two bottle of milks" (milk! plain milk!) before bed, each one only contained about half an ounce! Yes, she had two because it was her comfort item and very important to her and the psychologist felt we shouldn't try to take them away until she was ready, but it's not like she was guzzling down gallons of milk - she hasn't done that in over three years! I'm not an idiot - obviously she wouldn't be interested in eating a lot if she were being given huge quantities of sugary chocolate milk, which is how the report makes it sound.

The report also goes on and on about "cognitive difficulties". Maya has been through a huge amount of testing over the past two years, and the one thing all the professionals have agreed on is that her difficulties are NOT cognitive!!! Yes, she has a lot of challenges and no, it's not been an easy path, but the one consistent encouragement we've gotten is that Maya has extremely high cognitive abilities which will be a tremendous help to her as she works to overcome these challenges. The overall O/T report was also a lot more negative about her future compared to all the other professional evaluations (psych, speech, Child Dev Agency, etc.) that have been carried out.

Obviously I will insist on having the report corrected and the findings reevaluated accordingly, but I'm so angry and frustrated and am definitely calling the skills of the O/T into serious question. I feel like we've contributed a great deal to this effort, both in terms of time and money, and we got back crap in return. Oh, and the icing on the rotten cake of my morning?An hour from now I have to go meet with Maya's preschool teacher to receive her official IEP (personal plan) for this year. It will hopefully be pragmatic and not have any major surprises, but still. It will, yet again, lay all of her "deficiencies" and "problems" right out there in black and white. Again.

This is not shaping up to be a good day so far...

Then from this afternoon:

All the other reports we've received over the years have been much more accurate, including the IEP I just got from her teacher - this one was spot on. It identified all the same strengths and areas needing work that we have, set appropriate goals and targets, and is utilizing appropriate means to work towards them...

The O/T report is just simply a piece of crap put together by a woman who is either unforgivably sloppy or else utterly incompetant. I spoke to a (geriatric) OT friend of mine a few minutes ago who strongly suspects that this woman is not qualified to carry out this evaluation and bets that she is not certified for it, since apparently very few O/T's in Israel are. (Money-grubbing much?) For the cognitive problems, she suspects that she has mixed up (!!!) "cognition" with (sensory) "perception", which is an area where Maya does struggle. She (Maya) certainly does NOT struggle with cognition, a fact which was just confirmed AGAIN in black and white in the school report, and by the teacher's discussion of providing her with advanced work in various areas to best meet her capabilities.

At least the school meeting went well and left me feeling positive and empowered again. I knew all along that Maya was in the right place getting the right supports, and this just emphasized that I was right.

Now to go take something for this headache and then to pick up my gorgeous and very unique daughter.

They don't go away when Veterans Day ends

*putting on my American hat today*

One and a half million sons, daughters, husbands, wives, mothers and fathers, neighbors, and friends.

One and a half million US service members have put their lives and families on hold to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some believe in the cause, others don't, but they all believe in their duty to serve and protect, and have made tremendous personal sacrifices to do so.

Over thirty thousand service members have been physically wounded, but many more have experienced less visible but no less traumatic psychological wounds. Numerous veterans are returning home suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, with all that that entails, including increasing rates of suicide, alcohol and drug abuse, homelessness, and domestic violence.

These traumatic affects of conflict, left unaddressed, could have far-reaching negative consequences for the individuals affected, their families, their communities, and our entire country.

I've spoken to you before of Survivor Corps’ work among those affected by war around the world. They are working just as hard to help the less obvious victims of war in our own backyard - our veterans.

YOU CAN HELP!

Operation Survivor
Survivor Corps has shown time and again that community reintegration is a key factor in victims' overcoming this trauma. Survivor Corps is building peer support programs at the community level. These programs bring service members and veterans together for mutual support and encourage both individual responsibility and collective action to help others in need. Survivor Corps' alternative “treatment” can be made readily available in all communities, even those beyond the reach of traditional military or government centers of support.

Click Here to read more about Operation Survivor and to see what you can do to help.

We failed them after Vietnam. We owe it to those who suffered then, who continue to suffer now, to learn from their legacy of pain and isolation and do better for those who struggle now.
.

Ahh, November

. .

.

November in Israel. There's just nothing like it.

.

Park Darom - just ten minutes from home.

.

We spent the morning doing brunch in the park with friends, complete with freshly-made omelettes and coffee, not to mention an obscene amount of side dishes. The company was great, the weather was positively glorious, there were birds to feed, waterskiiers to watch... Yes, I said waterskiiers. Look carefully at the pictures, though. Notice anything strange? Like the lack of some basic equipment, like, say, a boat??? Yes folks, this is cable waterskiing. Has to be seen to be believed. I tried it twenty years ago and was amazed to see that other than a proliferation of wake boarders and a few trick ramps not much has changed.

.

Tel Aviv. From the sublime straight through to the ridiculous. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

.

.

.

This guy wiped out about three seconds after I shot this

.

Notice the cables?

.

.

Why do I live here? Days like this are why.

.