Corn and Red Onion Relish

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I haven't posted a recipe in ages, but this one was so quick and easy and such a big hit that I figured I had to share it. This chili-flavored relish is almost more of a salsa and goes really well with Mexican food - I served it with make your own soft tacos last night, but it would also be great with burritos, nachos or even fajitas.

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The recipe comes from a favorite cookbook of mine - Angela Spenceley's A Taste of the Caribbean. I bought it years ago as a souvenir of a sailing trip to the British Virgin Islands and every recipe I've tried has been great, especially when cold winter days leave you longing for the warm sun of the tropics.

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Enjoy!

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Corn and Red Onion Relish

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2 cups corn kernels, fresh or thawed frozen

1 large red onion, minced

1 sweet red pepper, minced

1/4 cup jalapeno peppers, chopped (I used Israeli hot peppers)

1 cup fresh ripe tomato, chopped

1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

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Place all ingredients in a heavy pot and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes until the corn kernels are soft.

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Remove from heat and cool. Pour into sterilized jars and refrigerate. (I just put it into a plastic container, but I knew it would be used up within a day or two.)

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This relish does not keep long so use within the week.

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PakNaks Giveaway Winners!

After typing all of your entries into excel, which numbered them 1 to 111 (how's that for symmetry?) and communing with the powers that be over at Random.org, which picked numbers 19, 21 and 59, I'm delighted to announce that the winners of the three PakNak sets are:

*drumroll please*

1. Moma4Faith - your profile isn't enabled, please contact me within 4 days to collect your prize
2. Phyllis Sommer
3. mom2anutball

Congratulations to all three of you. I'll be forwarding each of your e-mail addresses to the lovely folks over at PakNaks, who will be in touch with you directly to arrange shipping of the four PakNaks of your choice.

Thanks everyone for participating, and for those that didn't win remember that all Around the Island readers are eligible for a 15% discount on PakNak orders by entering the code LUV15 at checkout.

PakNaks Giveaway - bling your backpacks

This is a sticky post. Scroll down for my regular daily postings.

Here's your kids' chance to express their personalities right there on the backpacks, or their lunchboxes, or their notebooks, or even their bedposts (ask mom first!).



What are Pak Naks? Easy. They're super-cute 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 Pak Naks in a giveaway over at Sandier Pastures a few months ago 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 (quite promptly I might 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 months now and still look brand new. No fading or wear and tear and the velcro that holds them on is still going strong. Best of all Pak Naks is a mom-run business, so you know they stand behind their product.


My kids and I loved them so much that I actually wrote to Anne from PakNaks to see if she'd be interested having me host my own PakNaks giveaway here on my blog for the latest Bloggy Giveaways carnival. As you can see she thought it was a great idea and I'm delighted to be able to offer each of THREE WINNERS a chance to win FOUR PAKNAKS OF THEIR OWN CHOOSING.


They're adorable, fun to wear and fun to share, and sure to put a smile on your child's face. They'd make great party favors, too.


For your chance to win, just leave a comment here on this post.

For an extra entry, visit the PakNaks website and tell me which is your favorite Nak. For a third entry, subscribe to my blog and leave me an extra comment telling me you've done so. Easy peasy.

Winners will be selected by random drawing on Friday, January 30th. Be sure to leave a blog address or a valid e-mail so I can reach you if you win.

This giveaway is international and open to everyone.


And, for those who don't win, PakNaks is offering Around the Island readers a 15% discount - just enter the code LUV15 at checkout.

Sunset over the Mediterranean

Taken last Friday in Tel Aviv after an afternoon at a beachside pub.

Not a bad life if you can get it.

Visit Skywatch Friday for other skies from around the world.

Old-time Kitchen

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I pulled one out of the archives for this week's Sepia Scenes, since what could be more appropriate for sepia than an old-time kitchen. This one is a model from a musuem about 40 minutes out of Victoria, BC in Canada. During a family trip to the Pacific Northwest (one of my favorite parts of the world) about two years ago Jay and I were lucky to be able to sneak off for a weekend in Victoria while my parents watched the kids. While we were there, we spent an afternoon hiking near the town of Sooke, and then stopped by this really great little museum, the Sooke Region Museum, which was full of models and diaramas and full-scale mockups which really made the history of the area come alive.

I love the way they've left a load of unfolded laundry in a basket on the counter - a timeless touch if ever there was one.

Dreaming of Italy

Florence - River Arno from the Ponte Vecchio, November 2007

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

Red Chopsticks

(Have you entered my PakNaks giveaway yet? It's open to everyone, regardless of where you live!)

Since it's Chinese New Year, here's a splash of red lacquer for this week's Ruby Tuesday. I don't remember where these chopsticks came from, I've had them for years. I like their elegant look, but the truth is they're round and so slick that they're actually a bit more challenging to use than the plain wooden ones. They do look great on the table though.

Turkish Mirror

Click to enlarge

In the Turkish culture, mirrors were traditionally turned towards the wall when not in use. I've heard several reasons for this custom - I was told by friends during my time in Turkey that this was to avoid even the appearance of praying to graven images, though the Turkish culture website I just googled says the custom arose to discourage vanity. Since the mirrors were back to the wall over time they began to decorate the reverse side, and then that developed into a tradition all its own, with many families displaying collections of three, four, even five different mirrors in a grouping on the wall. Once the storeowner reassured me that they were shellaqued and would never need polishing, I even bought the one you see above as this week's Monochrome Monday offering to display in my own home.

And nope, even eight years later it's still never needed a polishing.

The new normal

Writing this post is going to set me up for some kind of gigantic cosmic kick in the ass. I know this with great certainty, it happens every time I post about how things with Maya are going well. I've tried in the past to get by with hints and whispers and insinuations, but that's not really fair to Maya, or me, or to those of you out there reading who are in the midst of a parenting journey more challenging than most and looking for hope wherever you can find it. So I'll give you that hope and then I'll duck quickly in an attempt to avoid the cosmic lightning bolt that will inevitably follow.

Over the years I've shared some of our journey, the low points as well as the bright ones, and the deliberations along the way, so it seems only fair not to leave you hanging now.

Okay, I'm just going to come right out and say it.

*checks around for stray lightning bolts*

Maya is doing incredibly well.

There. I said it.

*looks around, ducks again*

It's true. Maya is doing so well I feel like my heart is going to burst with joy just from looking at her. She's made so many leaps forward these past few months that I don't even know where to begin. She's seeking out other children to play with, she's telling us about her day - actual stories of actual events, not just the scripted "How was your day? Fun. What did you do? Played. What did you play with? Toys." that we always saw in the past. Heck, she's even tattling on other children! (Not that we're encouraging that particular behavior, but it's so age and developmentally appropriate that we can't help but smile.) She's drawing families and flower gardens and jellyfish - the girl who refused to do more than scribble as recently as August. She's writing - in both Hebrew and English. Not just her name or the names of her family, but entire birthday cards ("Happy birthday Gali, Best Wishes, Maya" - I help her spell but the writing is all hers). She dances along (with moves that would put Britney Spears to shame, god help us when she becomes a teenager) to the soundtrack of this year's children's extravaganza (Festigal), announcing the names of each of the pop stars as they begin to sing, and naming her favorites. She has fairy parties with her friends, where they dress up in costumes and pretend to do their hair and makeup, and she makes up fairy stories which she pretends to "read" from a pretend book (this from the child they were worried might never achieve symbolic play). She reacts to a younger child scribbling on her drawing by coming to the other room to tell me, in a reasonably calm voice, what happened and asking me to make him stop, instead of screaming and flipping over furniture. Someone asked me recently if her tantrums had gotten any better (what does that mean, anyway, that she's better at throwing them?) and you know, I couldn't remember the last real tantrum she'd thrown. (That last one is going to bring down the wrath of the gods for sure, hubris thy name is Robin. Well, if it does, remind me that it will pass, eventually, and that it was all in the name of truth and honest disclosure. And then make me a really strong drink. With an umbrella in it.)

On that note, I'd better quit while I'm still (hopefully) ahead of the game and go off to bed, but before I go I'll leave you with this, and I dare you not to smile back.

That's more like it

(If you're reading this in a feed reader you should click through for this one, there have been a few changes around the old island.)

First and foremost, a HUGE thank you to Sara Bonds from Subjective Beauty for doing such a fantastic job on the redesign! Sara was a pleasure to work with - she's got a great eye, terrific ideas, she's prompt and very responsive, and has the patience of a saint to work with me through the myriad nitpicky little changes I kept requesting. She's just decided to put her 15 years of graphic design experience to good use and has opened a web design business that I'm sure is going to be a tremendous success. If you're in the market for a new you head over there and take a look.

Next order of business - blogrolls. I've finally moved over to one of those funky (no longer so) new smart blogrolls that display not only your link but also your most recent post. Since that extra line makes the blogroll a lot longer I've done a bit of pruning - you don't need me to tell you how to find Dooce. I had to import all the links from the old blogroll manually, so if I've missed yours out please let me know so that I can add it back in. Also, the new list only shows the 25 most recent posts, so if you're someone *cough* Mel *cough* who hasn't been posting lately you'll have to click on "see all" to find your link - or better yet, post more often!

Anything else I've missed? No? Then welcome to the new and improved Around the Island. Kick off your shoes, grab a chair, and make yourself at home.

Watch this space

There should be something exciting happening around here later today!

Painted Tile

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I tried for a while to think of a more lyrical title for this post. Painted tile is so utilitarian. It may be completely true, but it's boring, uncreative. Someone out there somewhere got creative and decided that to make their metal gate more interesting by the addition of this hand-painted tile, you'd think I could at least think of a more interesting title.

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Truly I should have insisted to myself on a more lyrical title because tonight my soul is filled to the brim with music, my spirit enriched by an evening spent listening to dear friends weave wonderful harmonies (some in four parts!) in and out of the delicate chords of acoustic guitars, a mandolin, and even a dulcimer. It just doesn't get any better than an evening like this - songs ranging from traditional ballads to tearjerkers from the 60's and 70's to gospel and blues classics to newly-written lyrics and a capella vocals which practically reach out and force your mouth to smile and your body to sway with the rhythm. I am in awe of the gift these people possess, the ability to call down the sounds of the angels and share them with us. Since I am sadly unpossessed of this gift myself, I can only wish that with my camera I can one day reach out to a spot in someone else's soul that seeks the nurturing touch of art and brighten a passing moment in their own lives as music has tonight brightened mine.

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Olive Branch in Wind

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Because the world doesn't need any more war.

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Click to enlarge, then visit Wordless Wednesday to see what other people aren't saying.

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A day to remember forever

Yes we did.

Yes we can.

Yes we will.

Congratulations President Obama, lead us well. Make us proud.

Red is the Rose

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By happy coincidence, I actually have a macro shot (or nearly one anyway) as Mary suggested for this week's Ruby Tuesday post. I shot this one a few weeks ago. Just another purely average flower shot, pretty enough but definitely nothing to write home about. I didn't delete it though, because that little voice inside my head kept saying don't look back you can never look back hang on, you're not done with this one yet.

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I kept it in my file, glancing at it once in a while, still hearing that voice but having absolutely no idea what this little guy's destiny might be. Finally as a way to avoid work yesterday in a fit of creativity I clicked on that little button in Picasa that says focal black and white, and the rest is history. A few minor tweaks in Photoshop and here we are, ready to pop. I don't even know why I clicked on that button. I haven't been doing my processing in Picasa since I got PSE, and even when I did I didn't usually like the results of that focal b&w function. Since it's not a "smart" effect it doesn't usually select only what I want it to and winds up making a very arbitrary distinction between color and black and white, and never where I'd like. Yesterday however the stars must have aligned because one little click got me just what I needed, even before I realized that that was in fact exactly what I'd been looking for.

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It's not going to win me any awards, but still not bad for 10 minutes of random button pushing.

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PS There are two different song references here. Anyone find them?

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Tree in Winter

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Click to enlarge

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With a little bit of imagination this looks almost like a scene from my childhood. The pale branches remind me of the white birch trees which filled my front yard as a child, and the white background of snow.
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In reality, the branches are those of my small and somewhat hard-done-by fig tree (we accidentally turned the water off for a week during one of the hottest week's of the summer and nearly sent it to its doom), the pointy tips of the branches the green of new growth, and the white in the background is simply the white stucco wall of my rooftop patio. Disappointing for a moment perhaps, until I look up at the clear blue sky and remember that I'm actually standing outside on January 18th in nothing more than jeans and a long-sleeved shirt and suddenly it all feels right again.
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Visit Monochrome Monday for more of this week's visions in black and white.
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Flattery will get you everywhere

You guys sure know how to make a girl feel loved - not one, not two, but THREE different people sent some bloggy love in my direction in the comments on one single post. Wow. If I look in the mirror I can see my head swelling before my very eyes.

Cheryl from Adventures of a Somewhat Crunchy Mama sent the Butterfly award my way, which almost makes me feel better about the fact that she's an entire decade younger than me. Almost. (Just kidding Cheryl, I think you're wonderful.) Go check out her blogs, she's got a great take on things and really great dreams for her future.

I'm going to pass this one on to Dawn from Weldable Cookies for being so incredibly cool and for never being afraid to tell it like it is. Dawn describes herself as a cranky, middle-aged lesbian building contractor, though she doesn't strike me as all that cranky ;-), but I definitely dispute the middle aged bit - she's only a few years older than me! (Warning, some of her content is not family-friendly. Choose your moment wisely).

and to our own Ima on the Bima, Phyllis, for being such a force for good in blogosphere.

And then before I could turn around both Jjientje and Libby, two of our little corner of the blogosphere's loveliest and most generous of spirit bloggers, were sending the Honest Scrap award my way. This one comes with a catch though, you have to list ten honest facts about yourself. (Thankfully Dawn skipped me for this one, I don't think I could manage to keep up with her level of honesty LOL.)

Ten things? I'm pretty open here so you guys already know an awful lot about me. Let's see...

1. My number one escapist fantasy destination is Tahiti. When life gets rough I always fantasize about running away to Tahiti. Someday I may even get there.

2. I learned to ski when I was five.

3. I haven't skied in about ten years, but in all honesty I don't miss it that much. I've gotten too used to being warm!

4. I'm a dyed in the wool folkie, i.e. I love love love (English language) folk music. No, not just the Sixties Revival stuff, the really old stuff too - like ballads that have been handed down orally for five hundred years.

5. Neither of my children have middle names. They aren't common here in Israel and my own tends to really confuse things, so we didn't bother giving them one.

6. I used to speak fluent French, even writing college papers (in French of course) on medieval French literature, but when I moved to Israel and learned Hebrew it drove my French straight out of my head. Now it's all I can do to order dinner.

7. I've never been to South America.

8. My utter lack of willpower in the face of a good cream sauce is legendary, and apparently also not my fault - it's those Hungarian genes!

9. My dining rooms chairs are getting a bit worn and I keep getting poked in the butt by upholstery nails - and those suckers are sharp!

10. I'm finally seeing an allergist tomorrow to hopefully figure out why every mild cold that comes through lands in my lungs and leaves me with a miserable asthmatic upper respiratory infection.

There, that's ten. Now to pick my victims recipients...

I'm going to go with:

Susan (or perhaps Trevor) - the coolest rocker/writer chick around

Lea - an amazing beautiful soul, and an artist and labyrinth designer too!

Janet - a fantastic photographer and blog-turned-in real life friend

Nancy over at Marie Millard - for always putting a smile on my face

Thank you all - for the awards, for reading this blog, for commenting, and for making this little corner of cyberspace the warm wonderful place that it is.

Old and in the Way

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Click to enlarge

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The theme for this week's Thematic Photographic is aged. I like this one. My eye has always been drawn to the old and decrepit, I love the character of these old and half-forgotten objects.
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I took this one last month at a nearby moshav. It's a closeup of an old rusted out piece of farming equipment (don't ask me which one, I'm a city kid). I assume it had a long and productive life in some field somewhere before it landed in a rock garden as part of the landscaping, or at least I hope it did.
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(Anyone out there get the music reference? Shelly? Sunshine?)
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Rosh Pina Alley

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Back to Rosh Pina again for this week's image. I can't help myself, the old town's stone buildings and alleyways are just perfect for sepia, don't you think? For this one I used optikVerve Lab's Virtual Photographer plugin in Photoshop Elements to turn the image into sepia, tweaked it a bit here and there, and then did some selective burning to increase the contrast. I'm nearly out of "bronzable" photos from that trip though, I'm afraid I'm either going to have to go away again (I wish) or find myself a new gimmick soon.

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Impromptu Math Lesson

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(The background and lighting are horrible but I was afraid that interrupting or moving them would spoil the moment.)

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

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When compassion and common sense collide (updated at end)

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I wasn't going to post a Ruby Tuesday shot today. I've got a shot, a good one I think, but my heart and mind are not on photography today.

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Even for those of us living in the safety of the center of the country the war has a way of intruding into the smallest most unexpected of places.

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Today it intruded into my life in one of those unforeseeable ways.

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My friend's husband died Sunday night. He was ill, though a sad loss it was not entirely unexpected. Even in wartime people still get sick, and sometimes die. This particular couple though lived in Ashdod, a coastal city in the South of Israel, a city where the bombs have been falling. This is the friend whose neighbor's home was hit. The funeral is today. And it is in Ashdod, as it should be for a family that has long since made this city their home.

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And I need to go there.

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This is a couple I care about. One I've known for many years. I need to be there to support my friend in her time of loss.

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And yet.

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And yet...

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I spent most of yesterday weighing the pros and cons. I'm not going to repeat them here, you can fill in the blanks yourselves. At the end of the day though, I feel I have to go. Many of my friends will be there too, I won't be alone. I won't even have to drive there alone, something that really frightened me (what if there's a siren and I'm lost in Ashdod and don't know where to go?). It's been quiet there the past two days, relatively speaking. Schools in the south are gradually reopening (they've been closed since Hannukah), at least the ones with bomb shelters and fortified rooms to use as classrooms. (So different from the Hamas who are storing their weapons in schools. We're using ours to shelter our children.)

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I thought of going instead to her home later in the week for the shiva (mourning period), but I decided that seeing that bombed out building right across the street would be too immediate a reminder for me, more than I was ready to handle.

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So I'm going today. We're going to go in, attend the funeral (held at graveside here in Israel), and get out again. The overwhelming likelihood is that nothing will happen and it will all be just fine.

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But still. I can't help but be afraid. Afraid to go in, and at the same time guilty that I have the luxury of making that decision. My own home is not under attack. I can leave any time. So many others, on both sides, cannot.

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So yes, the war has a way of intruding, even where you least expect it.

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While I'm gone this afternoon I will leave you with this reminder of a happier, quieter time - this detail of a pillow cover I had made from fabric I brought back from Thailand years ago. I believe it was meant to be a skirt, though I used it as a table runner for many years before having it made into two pillow covers.

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Update: I'm back home. It was a beautiful, quiet afternoon in Ashdod, and indeed my friend received great comfort from the large numbers of people who turned out to bid her husband farewell.
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I nearly forgot - Delurking Day 2009

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So who all's out there? Enquiring minds want to know. And so do I. Come on, you KNOW you want to, and if not on International Delurking Day then when?

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Seriously folks, I'd love to know who's out there reading and what you like/don't like, what you'd like to see more of, how you found me, whatever you'd like to share. You gotta be in it to win it and all that.

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(Hmm... I wonder how many 1970's cliches I can throw into a six sentence post without sending you all running for the hills LOL.)

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The artist deep in thought

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I think today's dark and cloudy weather is getting to me. This started out as a happy sunny full color photo (from the same picnic series I posted yesterday) and wound up as this much more moody black and white image instead.

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As long as it has though, and conveniently on a nearly-Monday at that, I figured it was a great opportunity to jump on the Monochrome Monday bandwagon.

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*Boing* (that was me jumping) Good that this is virtual space, I suspect that any real life jumping would involve a lot more "oofs" and "thuds" and "owws!" than boings...

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Go fly a kite

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We took advantage of some beautiful warm weather today to throw the bikes, rollerskates and other assorted crap very important gear into the back of the car and headed for a new park just across town for a picnic with friends. (You've never seen over the top until you've seen Israelis pack for a picnic, complete with table, chairs, and the kitchen sink.) When we realized that we had the park to ourselves (it's a new one and somewhat hidden) I dashed home for the kids' new kites which were sitting in a closet waiting for their chance to soar.

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Can you tell that the theme for this week's Thematic Photographic is "new"?

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My thoughts go out to all those on both sides of this terrible conflict who just want to be able to enjoy simple pleasures like a day in the park with their children without fear. Please join me in hoping for a speedy and just end to this conflict, one that above all ensures the safety of ALL of our children.

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Tequila Sunset

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Click to enlarge

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More pictures from last week's spectacular sunset for this Skywatch Friday. Doesn't it remind you of a Tequila Sunrise Sunset?

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None of these images have been photoshopped - they didn't need it, nature did a more than adequate job by itself. The only processing done was the addition of the black frame.

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It's good that beauty can still be found even in such difficult times.

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North Church

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In a stunning display of ostrichship (yes, I fully accept that there is an awfully slim chance that that is a real word, but roll with me here) I'm taking a timeout from thinking about the war and posting a photo taken on a beautiful summer day clear across the other side of the world for this week's Sepia Scenes.

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The photo you see above was taken in Portsmouth's Market Square during our trip to New Hampshire last summer. The North Church congregation was founded in 1671 and resided in several building around the square during it's long history. The building you see in the photo was built in 1855 and its steeple quickly became one of Portsmouth's most recognizable symbols.

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Doorway with Chimes

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Rosh Pina, late December 2008

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

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The Day the War Started

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The day the war started was the final day of my parents' visit. We'd taken them down south to visit the Joe Alon Center, a living history museum celebrating the culture of the region's Bedouin tribes. On the way there we noticed quite a few planes flying in formation overhead. That's odd for a Saturday, I thought to myself. I wonder what's going on.
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Turns out we arrived at the museum just about the very moment that Israel began its bombardment of Gaza. Blissfully unaware, we had a lovely time visiting the museum and learning a bit more about Bedouin culture.

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The kids particularly enjoyed the miniature Bedouin tent. Maya spent quite a long time pretending to be the mommy and serving typical Bedouin food to her "children". I bet you didn't know that Bedouin eat spaghetti - with chopsticks!

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Mom (the real one) particularly liked the fact that they had a kids' play area set up right in the middle of the museum, with miniature Bedouin tent, puzzles made from photographs of typically Bedouin scenes, and even this strangely incongruous (but ruby red!) ride-on moose.

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It wasn't until we left the museum and headed to a nearby restaurant for lunch that we learned what was going on. So much for our lovely, peaceful visit. Reality returned with a vengeance.

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What's the code of behavior for blogging a war?

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It's a strange thing, figuring out how to act when your country is at war, when your friends and fellow citizens are being fired on, but your own life is going on business as usual.

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Do you blog only about the war? Not talk about it at all? Try to put "something" into every post so that people remember that the Hamas has been firing deadly rockets into Israeli towns for eight years, so people see that Israelis are not war-mongering while casually going on with their lives while Gaza burns?

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The south of the country is a living dichotomy. People trying to keep some semblance of normal while rockets rain down (27 so far today, and it's only three in the afternoon). Here in the center, life goes on. Yesterday I took my children to a much looked forward to children's holiday show, today it's board meetings and jujitsu and parent teacher conferences, except that one of the women at the board meeting has had rockets fall next to her kibbutz, and others had to stay away because of the war, and still others are worrying about children or friends in the army.

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It's not quite life as usual.

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So what is the etiquette for blogging during wartime for those of us who've chosen not to live-blog the war? Do you obsess about the war? Hard enough not to do in real life, will doing it on the blog make it even worse? Do I reassure all you readers that I'm fine, and present my life as some degree of normal so that you don't worry, or do I present the situation as it exists in other areas of the country to present an alternative to the international press you tell me is showing only one side of the story?

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Damned if I know.
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Here, have a photo instead.

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And in the midst of it all

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How quickly things can change. While I was writing this post they announced that Israel has finally begun the long-awaited and equally dreaded ground invasion of Gaza. Israel held off as long as it possibly could, and tried every other method possible, but the moment has come. There is no alternative. All my thoughts and whatever prayers I know how to offer are with our soldiers and those in the South as we begin this new and infinitely more difficult phase.
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Send whatever good thoughts you've got our way. We're going to need them in the days to come.
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Taken from my rooftop balcony this evening. These are straight out of the camera, the only thing I did to them is add the frame. Incredible, isn't it?

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I can only hope that those in the south had a chance to see this incredible beauty this evening, instead of seeing terror raining down from the skies, to remember that there is good in the world, and beauty, and the hope of peaceful days to come.

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(I should probably have saved these for Skywatch Friday, but they were too good to wait. Maybe I'll post more then - I took nearly forty. )

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Too close for comfort

We're still out of range, but that eight-story apartment building in Ashdod that got a direct hit yesterday?

My friend lives in the building next door.

Gaza War - Putting things into perspective

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Please watch this short (2.33 min) video, and if you comment here, please keep it respectful.
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Thank you.
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