Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication

Click here to see this image in my Society6 shop.

Sea glass and shell collected on the beach in Caesaria, on Israel's Mediterranean coast.

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Where on earth...

... has Robin been?

View this image as a framed print in my Society6 shop

We took the kids and headed off to the nearby island of Cyprus for a much needed Hannukah getaway! Just a 40 minute flight away (a wow in and of itself!) the weather was pretty much identical to that of Israel - some days were gorgeous, some days it stormed all day, and once up in the high mountains we even saw snow, to the utter amazement of my Israeli kids - much less so to their American-Israeli parents who had to drive the tiny, windy, rock-strewn slippery mountain roads in it... Driving adventures aside though it was a fantastic trip. We saw quaint villages, hiked up green mountains, saw modern cities, beautiful beaches, ancient ruins, Byzantine churches and goats galore, and so much more. Far more in fact than I'd dreamed was there, even in the off-season - we're already plotting our next trip.

This particular image, conveniently offering both a quaint window and a few red roof tiles lying on the stairs (a future renovation? a past one?) was taken in the wonderfully picturesque village of Omodos, in the Troodos Mountains. Famous for lace and the oddest carob-flavored breadsticks I've ever tasted. I've heard the views from the village are also lovely but with the weather that day we didn't see much of them. Next time...

In the meantime, visit my Facebook page and Society6 shop for more images from Cyprus (with more to come shortly).

On a return to normalcy

There was a bit of a war here the other week. You might have heard something about it. What you didn't hear was anything about it on my blog. I was obsessively watching the news, checking Facebook, posting all sorts of links, articles and updates on my own Facebook page, and trying to actually get some work done with one ear half-cocked to listen for the sirens. Blogging pretty photos just didn't seem to fit into the picture.

The thing is, the war didn't exactly reach my city. Just a few miles outside of Tel Aviv, we were close enough to hear the boom of the Iron Dome anti-rocket batteries as their missiles did their job to stop the deadly Hamas rockets from getting through, but far enough away that the sirens didn't reach us. While hundreds of thousands of people in the south sat in bomb shelters, while my husband and son had to stand by the side of the road when the sirens went off in Tel Aviv (yes, they should have laid down, they didn't), life here in our little bubble went on. Kids had school, after-school activities were still on (don't mind the booms, kids, that's just the Iron Dome and it's far away, at least 8 or 10 miles from here...), I was still expected to produce respectable deliverables for my job, but at the same time it became all-consuming. The war hadn't come this close before, and it was a week of wondering if the next red alert notification on the radio would be for us. If the whine of the jet engines from the planes temporarily rerouted to the north (and straight over my house) was just that, or was it the first whine of a siren.

It's been nearly a week since it ended now, and the ceasefire appears to be holding, and life has returned to what passes for normal in this little corner of the world.

And it finally feels right to begin blogging again, adding my own little bit of normalcy back into the equation with this image of a still proudly standing Tel Aviv. Still here, still thriving, still full of life.

Pomegranates

Pomegranates for sale at Jerusalem's Machaneh Yehuda market.

See products featuring this image in my Society6 shop

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Scavenger Hunt in Jerusalem's Nachlaot Neighborhood

What fun! This past Friday I had the opportunity to join another of Jerusalem Scavenger Hunts' wonderful events - this time for a scavenger hunt in Jerusalem's fascinating Nachlaot neighborhood.

Just like the Old City scavenger hunt I participated in last year Tali and her crew had everything very well organized from start to finish so that all we had to do was relax and enjoy. (So much so that yet again we came in, ummm, not first. Right. Let's go with "not first". It was totally worth our ever so slightly more relaxed pace though - we got to see so many amazing details and learn so many things we'd have missed if we were really cranking up the speed...)  Tali even arranged for the oh so yummy Village Green restaurant to provide bowls of hot delicious soup and freshly baked rolls for us all at the finish line.

 More scenes from the neighborhood...

Two area residents discussing the issues of the day

Window turned wall

I absolutely love this mural (above and below images) by Maayan Fogel, simply amazing

 
I can't recommend Tali and Jerusalem Scavenger Hunts enough (and not just because I just found a photo of myself with Old City teammates Lisa and Myriam in their photo gallery) - having now done two of their hunts my only real question is when is she accepting participants for the new route she'll soon be opening in Jerusalem's Yemin Moshe neighborhood! (In fact, we'll be hosting a bar mitzvah in the family next winter and I'm already planning to arrange a scavenger hunt as one of our key "where to take the visiting relatives" events!)

Thanks again Tali for another terrific time!

She sells seashells

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Still life with seashells collected on the beach in Caesaria, Israel.

This image is available in a variety of formats in my Society6 shop, and free shipping throughout my shop (on everything except framed prints and canvases, and yes, that includes international shipping too) through Sunday 28 Oct makes this a great time to get a jump start on your holiday shopping.
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Glass Mosaic iPhone Case

Looking for an excuse to treat yourself or to get a jump start on your holiday shopping? Now is a great time to do it with free shipping WORLDWIDE (yes, FREE international shipping) on all the cases, greeting cards, totes, fine art prints and skins in my Society6 shop. 

Like this iPhone case featuring a closeup photograph of the glass mosaic tiles on a Jerusalem sculpture. Isn't that wild? To me, the photograph is so realistic looking that I almost feel I can see myself in the little bits of mirror...

 

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Olives for Sale

Olives on sale in Jerusalem's Machaneh Yehuda market

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In every grain of sand...

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I created this Photoverse print from a photograph I took on the beach at Israel's Caesaria National Park. It's available from Around the Island Photography as an art print, stretched canvas, iPhone case, tote bag (brand new!) and more.
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Stomach flu...

... is kicking my butt (not to mention my stomach).

Will be back soon. I hope.

The most noble and challenging of fruits

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(Grapes are) the most noble and challenging of fruits. 

 -Malcolm Dunn, Head Gardener to the 7th Viscount Powerscourt, c 1867.

Purchase this image from Around the Island Photography

The Secret Inner Life of Gladioli

Macro image of one of the beautiful gladioli our friends brought us for Rosh Hashana (chosen for their suitability as a photographic subject - they know me quite well).

My googling tells me that the gladiolus flower signifies remembrance, strength of character, honor and faithfulness. 
It also represents infatuation, telling the receiver that they have pierced the giver's heart.

Shana Tova - Happy Jewish New Year

Believe

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When was the last time you told someone, or reminded yourself, that you believe in them?

Tell them now. And if you do it before midnight PDT on September 16th, tell them with free shipping (use this link to activate the promotion) - worldwide.

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Abstract Pussy Willows

I decided to revisit an old favorite this week, giving this version a more abstract, painted feel. I'm really pleased with this new, updated look. What do you think? This one, or the more realistic original?

This image is available in a variety of formats in my Society6 shop.

Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen

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 Makes a great iPhone case too - I'm just sayin'... :)

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Butterfly Series, Monarch #3

(No, you're not imagining things, I did in fact jump from number one to number three - number two just wasn't red (okay, orangey-red, work with me here...) enough for Ruby Tuesday. It will appear on the blog one of these days.)

Click here to see this item in my etsy shop.

Monarch Butterfly on an Orange Flower

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First of a series of images from a stunning photoshoot last week - what a way to say goodbye to New England. 

Click here to purchase this image from my etsy shop.

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Fresh Fish - And Lobsters

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Spotted at a local farm stand.

We're back from the States, deep in the throes of an epic battle with jetlag (I'd be awfully happy to not see 3am, or for that matter 4am or 5am, again for quite a while). We did manage to get the kids off for their first day of school this morning, despite they're having been up half the night last night. (In fact, Maya was so excited to go back - to show her friends her new daily calendar featuring the stars of her favorite show, lest you think she was actually excited to begin academics again - that she burst into our bedroom fully dressed, backpack and shoes on, before my alarm had even gone off! Scared the daylights out of me too I might add LOL.)

I'm in image overload right now - I have so many incredible images to process and share with all of you (not to mention list in my etsy and Society6 shops) that I find myself overwhelmed and a bit mentally stuck as I try to figure out where to begin. I'm just going to have to jump in and begin or it will never get started so watch this space - there will be lots to share as I shake off my vacation mindset and get back into regular posting again.

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Mailboxes

Spotted in a lakeside town not far from where I'm spending my summer...

 

I hope you're all having as wonderful a summer as ours has been as we've traveled around New England visiting relatives and playing tourists. It's winding down now and the kids and I are heading back home to Israel in a few days, where I'll finally have a chance to go through all the hundreds of images on my hard drive and lose myself in the memories of this most glorious of seasons.

FREE SHIPPING ALL WEEK!

Society6 is running FREE SHIPPING - WORLDWIDE - on all cases, skins, prints and cards from now until Sunday, making this a great time to stock up on all occasion greeting cards or to order that new case or skin to make sure that your phone or laptop looks every bit as fabulous as you do!

Grapes

Print on Etsy

Cases, skins, cards, etc. on Society6

Thanks so much to all of you for the well wishes for my son's journey to the US last week. He arrived safe and sound, had a great couple of days with his grandparents and is now off at sleepaway camp. No photos have been posted to the camp website yet, but I've got that refresh button working overtime. (I'm not at all worried, just excited to see how much fun he's having. Not sure how much will be posted though, since they warned me ahead of time that they don't have a very dependable internet connection out there in the bloomin' woods.)

Maya and I fly out to join him in just eight days, so things around here are kicking into overdrive as I prepare (home/work/life) to be gone for a month. If I didn't get to your blog this past week rest assured it wasn't for lack of trying and I very much appreciate all of your visits to my little island on the net. (Don't get too excited burglars, my husband will still be here and we have VERY watchful neighbors ;).)

Psst... Wondering how I ended up in Israel, and why I stay? Here's your chance to find out :). 
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Leaving on a jet plane

My notatallababyanymoresuddenlyhe's11 year old is at the airport as we speak, checking in for his flight to the US. It's his first time flying alone (Jay got permission to stay with him until he's at the gate, then the airline will escort him to NY, through customs, etc. there, then on to the NY-Boston shuttle until my parents meet him in Boston), he's practically vibrating he's so excited. On the agenda are one-on-one time with the grandparents, a week at sleepaway camp, and all sorts of other adventures before Maya and I join him later this month.

Gee, do you think he's happy about the idea? It's kind of hard to tell ;)...Seriously, he is SO ready for this, and his utter joy at getting to do it does a mama's heart good, even if we're going to miss him like crazy.

Still Not Dead, July 2012 edition (aka holy moley I did it!)

If you've been reading here for a while, you'll understand what a tremendous accomplishment this is...

And yes, this really is from this year. It's blooming on my island as we speak. YAY ME! (I was tempted to photograph it with the front page of today's newspaper as proof but we never buy an actual paper anymore.)

Click here to see how stunning this looks as a framed and matted print.

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A Rose for Love

Say I love you with a rose -

Click through to my Society6 shop for greeting cards featuring this beautiful red rose.

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Don't Wait

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Free shipping WORLDWIDE through Sunday makes this is a great time to purchase this beautiful image as a print, iPhone case, or even a skin for your laptop or tablet.

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Poppy

Click here to see this image as stationary (and more) on my Society6 site. And they've just announced FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE through Sunday! Take a look and see what strikes your fancy :).

Hope everyone's having a great start to the summer. We've got four days of school left and then summertime starts in earnest. In the meantime I'm racing from one end of the year party to another all week long. It's a bit crazy, but at least their various events have all fallen out on different days. Enjoy this red poppy while I dash out to go pick Maya up early from her final art class to bring her to a double birthday party.

The Golden Hour

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 View from just outside the farm gate - Click here to see this image as a framed print in my Society6 shop.

A few weeks ago we had some friends visiting Israel for the first time. Since they landed in the middle of the night and woke up to a plumbing disaster we were looking for an easy, low-key, kid-friendly activity not too far from home for their first day. Luckily for us, we stumbled upon a woman offering tours of Chai Farm, an organic farm about 15 minutes from home. The kids (and their grownups) had an absolutely wonderful time milking goats, making what turned out to be utterly delicious goat cheese, feeding turtles, holding a tiny 3 day old goat, carding and spinning wool, and even eco-friendly arts and crafts. We had a great time, and the (very reasonable for what you get) admission fees are even used for charitable works, so doubly good reason to visit Chai Farm on Moshav Mevo Modiin if you're local. (Do call first though, their opening days are a bit unusual.)

And yes, we do realize how long his hair is getting. This was about two weeks ago. By now, all you see is a mop of hair coming around the corner ;).

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Red Flower on a Summer Morning

I revisited this image from my archives today. I knew it had potential, it just took me a while to unlock it. I must say, I'm pretty happy with the results.

Red Flower on a Summer Morning is available in a variety of forms, from print through to iPhone case, in my Society6 shop. Click over and take a look around.

Happy Ruby not-quite-Tuesday :).

Spanish Steps

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Bright blue skies and full sunlight shining down on the crowds visiting Rome's famed Spanish Steps

Window with Shutters and Teapot

(Window with shutters and TEAPOT? Huh? I'm betting you didn't notice that teapot at first glance. Now that you know it's there, go back and take another look. See it? Good. Great extra touch, isn't it? I'd love to meet whoever lives there.)

Click through to my etsy shop to embiggen.

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Stained Glass Windows, Beaune Cathedral

Stunning stained glass windows from the cathedral in Beaune, France. Click over to the image listing on etsy to see more detail you can't see here on blogger - the detail on the faces is truly superb.

This and many more items are available in my etsy shop. Click on over and have a look around.

Keyhole, Cluny Abbey

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Back in France for a moment, visually speaking.

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Cherub in Rome's Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

Click here to purchase this print (or iPhone case, or stationary, or...) from my Society6 shop.

I hope you're not getting tired of all the Rome photos because there are plenty more where these came from ;).

Roman Trattoria, Early Morning

A Roman trattoria prepares to open for the day.

No shortage of red for this week's Ruby Tuesday, is there? Ooh, and there are a few quintessentially Roman windows and doors there too!

Cycling through the Piazza del Popolo

My husband just returned from Italy (hurray!) with yet another bicycle (this time a Brompton, his second folder and 4th? bike overall - I don't really follow the details but it makes him happy and keeps us a one-car family - yes really, he's that committed to it that he sold his car years ago) so I've got both cycling and Italy on the brain.

So did this guy, who in his dress shirt and tie was obviously biking to work, right through the middle of Rome's Piazza del Popolo. Not a bad commute, is it...

We're heading off to the pool this afternoon, and tomorrow will be catching up with visiting friends and hopefully having a barbecue out by the jacuzzi, assuming yesterday's repairs did the trick. (Oh gee, another water-related major expense, how unexpected, she says sarcastically...)

What are you all up to this fine (nearly) summer weekend?
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St. Peters Square (and a very watery run-in with disaster)

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Caught this group of nuns walking through the square in front of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

In other news, in the "you can't make this stuff up" style that is my life, I'm slowly recuperating from the trauma of having not one, not two, but THREE hugely serious and expensive - and completely independent - plumbing disasters within the space of 24 hours! I'm too exhausted to share all the details - just picture me standing on the landing of my flat at 7:30 in the morning, wrench in hand, IN MY BATHROBE as the whole freaking main water pipe for the building literally came apart in my hand and started flooding me, the landing, the elevator shafts, the stairwell, and half of my neighbors who'd come running to help (note: this was NOT the part of the pipe I was attempting to close to stem the disastrous leak that was currently flooding my kitchen and living room with scalding hot water - nor was it the large somethingorother that failed later that day and sent thousands of gallons of water out into the parking lot, leaving 32 flats without water for hours, AGAIN. At that point we gave up and went out for dinner.). This was seriously beyond ridiculous, if I'd been filming a sitcom they'd have rejected the plot summary as too farfetched! (Oh and we had houseguests too, who'd just arrived at 2:30am the night before. Welcome to Israel, please grab a mop. Thankfully they're dear friends who just took it all in stride - far better than I did in fact, by episode number three I lost my mind and just sat there laughing hysterically at it all.)

Jay comes home from a business trip tomorrow, and not a moment too soon...

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Back, I think. For now anyway.

There is nothing in this world that makes me turn into a screaming raving lunatic like trying to deal with our beyond awful cable (and phone and internet) company. Seriously, I consider myself a fairly rational, calm, sane person most of the time (Miriam, stop laughing!) but there is something about the incompetence and general evilness of the cable company that sends me round the bend. I've already told Jay that if he ever comes home to find me catatonic on the floor his very first phone call should be to a lawyer to sue the cable company for the costs of my psychiatric care because there is no chance in hell that it won't be entirely their fault.

In any case, the internet is back. Slowly (because they never gave us the upgrade they were supposed to), but it's back. Only two months after the last technician claimed to have solved the problem permanently (cue maniacal laughter). Anyone care to place a bet on how long we'll last this time? I think the record is three or four months without a catastrophic failure of some kind on at least one of the three systems...

In there meantime, here, look at some oh so sparkly and shiny little things that I saw on my recent trip to Rome that I'm posting to distract myself from my aggravation (without becoming further distracted by thoughts of how many months I'd spend in traction if I ever so much as thought of wearing a pair of these!) so that I can refocus on getting back to work around here, finally.

And now it's back to work, writing about things significantly less sparkly...
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HOT Internet is CRAP! Don't use HOT!!

My internet is not functioning, AGAIN. AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. I am at my wits end dealing with the (insert LONG string of expletives) cable company.

I'll be back when this is resolved, or I have switched to the competition, a day which is not at all far off in the future at this rate.

So so so angry, forget blogging, I work from home and can't work this way at all.

#&%^#$%@#%$#%@$%%&
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Saint Peter's Square - Bernini's Saints

Or more precisely saints, popes, martyrs and evangelists, sculpted by Bernini and his students to top the colonnade with surrounds the square outside Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

Oh, and if you wondered where I've been, I was swamped with work (photo and otherwise) last week and then I snuck off to join Jay for a most wonderful weekend in Rome :).

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Medieval French Chateau, Brancion

The tiny hilltop village of Brancion in Southern Burgundy is one of the most magical, evocative places I have ever been. The entire village seems to have appeared straight out of history, a Middle Ages France version of Brigadoon, another wonder around each corner turned.

Visit my Society6 shop to bring a bit of the Brancion magic into your own home.

Click here (on Wednesday, I'm jumping the gun a bit this week) to see what other people aren't saying, and here to see what they are.

Le P'tit Paradis - Beaune, France storefront

Windows, doors, even a little red sign - this image was practically custom-made for a Monday blog post. We didn't stop into this lovely looking restaurant in Beaune, France, but I sure do love its exterior.

Click here to purchase this image from my etsy shop.

Have a great day!