Orchid

Not only is it not at all dead, it has FOUR, count 'em FOUR flowers this year! Yay me!

Lupine Hill

Israel's lupines are in full bloom right now, and they are glorious.

View this image in my Etsy shop

Election Day 2013, Tel Aviv Style

Vote in the morning, then hit the beach. (No, it wasn't really warm enough to swim, though that didn't stop the rest of the family from going in for a bit. Their far more sensible mother was wearing long pants and a sweatshirt. Still, not too shabby for January...) (and yes, I'm that far behind in my blogging. Life, and an epic case of the flu which knocked us all over like a bunch of feverish dominoes, happened.)

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.

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 ;).

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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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.

Spring Meadow

We don't have them here in Israel but doesn't this seem like the perfect spot for an Easter egg hunt? Or maybe just the perfect spot for a Cadbury egg?

Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what other people aren't saying this week, and Wordful Wednesday to see what they are.

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Purim, Tel Aviv Style

Last Saturday we took advantage of the beautiful weather to go for a walk along the beach in Tel Aviv. The water was filled with kite surfers zipping back and forth, and sometimes straight up -

And of course it was Purim weekend, a time when you need to expect the unexpected, so...

You didn't know that Superman was a kite surfer, did you?

Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what other people aren't saying this week, and Wordful Wednesday to see what they are. Oh, and with a quick albeit belated backtrack to Ruby Tuesday 2 as well. Better late than never. At least it's red.

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