Not just talking the talk

When Jay and I found ourselves unexpectedly kid-free yesterday we jumped on the opportunity to escape from the demands of the week (Maya's party was a big success by the way, but exhausting) and run down to Beersheva, about an hour south of us, for an all-day folk music festival organized by a friend of ours at Ashan Hazman, a very cool little bookstore/coffeeshop on a quiet little street on the outskirts of this desert city. (Jeez, she doesn't blog for a week and then she squeezes an entire post into one sentence...) It was a really nice day, full of great music, good friends and fresh air.

Ashan Hazman (literally, The Smoke of Time. I'm guessing this is like the English expression "the sands of time". Any Israelis out there want to confirm?)

Right next door to Ashan Hazman something else really interesting is going on too - a group of local residents with a passion for saving the planet one neighborhood at a time have created the "Center for Neighborhood Existence" with a community garden, recycling bins for all kinds of different materials,shared composting facilities (sorted by type of refuse, signs in both Hebrew and Russian, no meat please and be sure to cover your contribution with dried leaves) and even a monthly free flea market.

Walking around looking at everything they're creating you just can't help but smile and feel that there is some hope yet for humanity. Not only could I not resist grabbing my camera, I was even invited to share the photos I took on their Facebook page (Hebrew only, or I'd share it with you).

Here, have a look so you can smile too.

See what I mean?

Let's call this one Ruby Tuesday too, this back to work thing is really wreaking havoc on my blogging! I'm working flat out on a project at the moment - going in to the office and everything, I miss my days of working from home terribly!
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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

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If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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You know you've been a folkie* a long time when...

Folkie = someone who listens to / plays folk music. This guy was the "mascot" of the Prescott Park Folk Festival in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It was a riot, they kept moving him around all day long, positioning him in all sorts of different places doing different things. I love a festival organizer with a sense of humor, don't you?

More flashes of red can be seen over at Work of the Poet, where it's Ruby Tuesday time again.

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

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If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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A wildflower bouquet

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Israel is in its glory in winter and spring as the winter rains bring forth a riot of color from formerly brown dry fields. Hard to imagine that this field on a moshav not far from me was ever brown and dry, isn't it?
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Looking at this kaleidoscope of nature's bounty I couldn't help but want to take it home, a wildflower bouquet* of my own.

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Look here for more Ruby Tuesday shots from around the world.

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* Listen to track 8. And then go listen to all the rest of them too. Better yet, download the whole album to have for your very own.

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My photography is now available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

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If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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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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And that's a wrap

Another year, another festival. This one though was one of the best we've had in years. The music was fantastic, the addition of a whole extra day made the entire festival feel more relaxed and less rushed, the kids were wonderful, the weather was perfect, literally dozens of dear friends were there, the pool was cool and refreshing (and Itai even remembered how to swim), even the camping went off without a hitch. Better than just without a hitch actually. It went so well that Maya and I will be joining the boys (Jay, Itai and a few other fathers and sons) for a Lag B'Omer campout on the beach this Thursday night after all.

Have I mentioned that the kids were terrific? Itai is now old enough to wander around freely with his friends (something only possible at a closed, extraordinarily safe and family-friendly festival like this one - I know that must sound appalling to some of you out there, but trust me, Jacob's Ladder is truly a land unto itself. I'd never let him wander alone at any other event.) Itai also had his first celebrity crush on a group of young bluegrass musicians. He bought their cd with his own money and came home clutching not one but two different autographed photos. Maya is still a bit young to sit still for the more formal indoor performances, so we mainly stuck to the outdoor stages (where most of the music is anyway) and she alternated between sitting on the side blowing bubbles and playing quietly at our feet. (The addition of a well-timed ice cream or two didn't hurt either.) For the first time in years Jay and I actually came away feeling like we'd heard a lot of music rather than that we'd spent most of our time kid-wrangling.

Times like this are what make it all worthwhile. They make the stresses of daily life (and we've got some whoppers right now) fade away for a few days and give us the chance to just be. To do what we love with people with love.

Who could ask for more?

No TT for me this week - we're off to the festival!

We're leaving this afternoon (Thursday) for our annual pilgrimage to the Jacob's Ladder Folk Festival and to top it off thanks to the overwhelming greed of the onsite hotel now that our kids are old enough we're back to camping this year.

Two nights and two days of great music, friends, fun in the sun, and loads more great music, capped off by two nights in a tent. Wish us luck, we haven't camped at the festival since before we had kids! In fact, we've only camped one night since, when Maya was only 1.5, and it, umm, didn't go well. Now that she's 3 years older it should be a different story. We hope...

Be back Saturday night. Have a great weekend everyone.

Why do we hate?

I don't understand it. How is it that so many millions, billions, of people in this world honestly feel it is better to hate and to fear than to extend a hand in friendship? How can anyone raise their children to hate, to fear, even to murder those who are different? Are we really so different from each other? What would happen if we all chose to enact a change, to let that change begin right here, right now. To let go of hate and fear and learn to celebrate our differences.

Can't we all unite in condemning cowardly acts of terror, both those aimed at us and those perpetrated in our name as vengeance or some twisted form of justice? How do young children, innocent of the ways of hatred, turn into monsters, into killing machines, if not at the hands of those charged with raising and educating them, those they should be able to trust the most? When did a piece of land, any piece of land, become more important than life itself? They want it, we want it, no one is willing to share, no one is willing to budge or to compromise. In the end, we are only hurting ourselves. Beliefs on each side are equally strong, no one will bend, and thus, we both lose. How much more could we achieve together?
I've been to the homes of people on both sides of the conflict that is destroying our region. Shared their bread. Drank their wine. Laughed together. Cried together. Both are filled with people who love their children, who work hard to provide for them, who want a better future for them. Isn't it time to say "stop" to the extremists on BOTH sides who would throw all that away in their misguided need to win at all costs?

Take a moment to read these lyrics, to really read them, and then to listen, and then tell me we can't do better.

There Were Roses
(Tommy Sands)

My song for you this evening, it's not to make you sad
Nor for adding to the sorrows of this troubled northern land,
But lately I've been thinking and it just won't leave my mind
I'll tell you of two friends one time who were both good friends of mine.

Allan Bell from Banagh, he lived just across the fields,
A great man for the music and the dancing and the reels.
O'Malley came from South Armagh to court young Alice fair,
And we'd often meet on the Ryan Road and the laughter filled the air.

There were roses, roses
There were roses
And the tears of the people
Ran together

Though Allan, he was Protestant, and Sean was Catholic born,
It never made a difference for the friends, it was strong.
And sometimes in the evening when we heard the sound of drums
We said, "It won't divide us. We always will be one."

For the ground our fathers plowed in, the soil, it is the same,
And the places where we say our prayers have just got different names.
We talked about the friends who died, and we hoped there'd be no more.
It's little then we realized the tragedy in store.

It was on a Sunday morning when the awful news came round.
Another killing has been done just outside Newry Town.
We knew that Allan danced up there, we knew he liked the band.
When we heard that he was dead we just could not understand.

We gathered at the graveside on that cold and rainy day,
And the minster he closed his eyes and prayed for no revenge.
All all of us who knew him from along the Ryan Road,
We bowed our heads and said a prayer for the resting of his soul.

Now fear, it filled the countryside.There was fear in every home
When a car of death came prowling round the lonely Ryan Road.
A Catholic would be killed tonight to even up the score.
"Oh, Christ! It's young O'Malley that they've taken from the door.''

"Allan was my friend,'' he cried. He begged them with his fear,
But centuries of hatred have ears that cannot hear.
An eye for an eye was all that filled their minds
And another eye for another eye till everyone is blind.

So my song for you this evening, it's not to make you sad
Nor for adding to the sorrows of our troubled northern land,
But lately I've been thinking and it just won't leave my mind.
I'll tell you of two friends one time who were both good friends of mine.

I don't know where the moral is or where this song should end,
But I wondered just how many wars are fought between good friends.
And those who give the orders are not the ones to die.
It's Bell and O'Malley and the likes of you and I.

There were roses, roses
There were roses

Take a few minutes to listen to Tommy sing this beautiful, haunting song, made all the more terrible for its telling of a true story. There Were Roses was written about Ireland, but its message speaks to all regions in conflict.



It's been thousands of years. An eye for an eye isn't working, we're all going blind.

We can do better. We need to do better. We MUST do better. Start here. Start now. Start today. Preach peace.


The Sunday Scribblings prompt for this week was "I don't get it."

It's a kind of magic

I've been thinking about this prompt for two days but I just can't get past that lyric. Every time I try Freddy Mercury's voice fills my head and Christopher Lambert's sad eyes smile before me. Every. Single. Time. I finally decided that I do not in fact need the universe to hit me over the head with an actual sledgehammer before getting the message, so I am caving to the inevitable and writing about the magic that is music.

At its best, music can transform your very soul. It can raise you up, or cast you down. It can set your feet to tapping and your eyes to dancing. Music can unite, and it can divide. It can be as fleeting as a one-hit wonder, or it can endure for centuries. Did you know that the Animals' song The House of The Rising Sun has roots over 400 years old? It began its life in the 1600's as a song called The Rising Sun, and has grown and changed over the years, until the ubiquitiousness of modern technology caused the Animals' version to implant in all of our brains. As a long-time folkie with a particular affinity for the folk process and the more academic musicology side of the genre (I used to have a recording of 17 different versions of The Unfortunate Rake, probably more familiar to many of you as either the St. James Infirmary Blues or The Streets of Laredo), the way these songs reach out to us through the ages, their staying power, is something that defies rational thought and instead touches something indescribable deep inside of us.

Now you tell me.

Isn't that a kind of magic?

Thursday Thirteen #14 - Jacob's Ladder

We're leaving tonight for one of my very favorite events of the year - the annual Jacob's Ladder Folk Festival. This wonderful outdoor festival has been going strong for 31 years now. Jay and I started attending sometime back in the early 90's, first on our own and later with one and now two kids in tow. It's a great music festival, made all the more fun by being incredibly family-friendly. It's a central event of the Anglo (English speaking) Israeli community - a real slice of "back home" on the shores of the Sea of Galilee (whether that home is the States, England, Australia, Canada, or any other English-speaking country, or even if it's just your ancestral home).

Many families will be pitching their tents. We've given that up temporarily and have taken a hotel room (on-site) for two nights so that we can relax and enjoy the pool and beach on Friday before we start rushing around from stage to stage later in the day. The whole hotel/inn/grounds complex is taken over by the festival, which really contributes to the unique atmosphere. The rooms on either side of ours will house our good friends, and we made sure to request ground floor rooms so that the kids can easily play together on the lawn.
By the time most of you read this, I'll be on my way. See you Saturday night!

Before I go, I'll leave you with this:

13 things that make Jacob's Ladder so special:

1. The setting

2. The music - the full range of Anglo folk - everything from Irish to bluegrass to 60's protest songs to homegrown singer-songwriters to Renaissance guitar performances, and a whole lot more

3. The company - we'll be with literally hundreds of friends, some of whom we only see at the festival

4. The main stages are all outdoors and everyone sits on blankets and beach chairs to watch the shows

5. The informality of it all - this is a real t-shirt and sandals kind of event, even better if it's a vintage tye-dye or a batik sundress - just my style

6. Lots of great kids' activities

7. My son can move from activity to activity on his own or with friends and I can rest easy that he's safe and happy (this is the only place in the world that he gets that degree of freedom). (And in a few more years my daughter will be able to join him - what will mom and dad do with all that freedom?)

8. The pool - JL is usually our first dip of the season

9. The weather - hot and sunny all day, cool at night. The festival used to be held the first weekend in July, which was unbearably hot in the Jordan Valley. This early May date is MUCH nicer.

10. The way my kids will (eventually) just fall asleep on the blankets during the concert, leaving us free to enjoy the music until the wee hours

11. Amazing jam sessions that go on until 4 or even 5 in the morning

12. The fact that we're not camping this year - which means I don't have to pack loads of food or take time away from having fun to cook!

13. That wonderful "coming home" feeling - of slipping back into something as comfortable as a soft fuzzy slipper.

What are your plans for this lovely spring weekend?

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(Ugh, my son is now sick. He'll be spending the day in bed and we'll hope for the best. It's looking like he'll may have to spend some time lying around in the hotel room watching tv while we take turns staying with him. Hopefully he'll feel up to at least resting on the grass a bit so we can catch some music... Any and all "get healthy quick" vibes you can send his way would be appreciated. Wait a minute, hold on, he just slept until 10:30 and woke up happy and fever-free! Keep your fingers crossed everyone!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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TT #6 - 13 Israeli (English Language) Singer-Songwriters and Musicians

Since it's already after midnight here in Israel and so in fact Thursday already, and since I just got back from hearing my good friend Shelly Ellen play in Tel Aviv...



Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

All of the folks listed below are well known on the local music scene. Some are native-born Israelis, many others are immigrants from English-speaking countries, most are personal friends. They all live in Israel, performing original and other material in English to a variety of audiences. Since I'm a long-time folkie with my own musical roots in folk, classic rock and The Grateful Dead, I've chosen 13 performers from the folk/blues/traditional end of the scale. All are extremely talented, and all have music that can be purchased in the US as well. So come on, check out the links and have a listen for yourselves and see what we get up to musically over here in Israel.

1. Ray Scudero - a true shining star that we were privileged to have among us for much too short a time

2. Joanna Katzen - Ray's wife, a collaborator on this album, and an excellent singer-songwriter herself

3. Jill Rogoff - originals and traditional Celtic, stunning voice

4. Sandy Cash - amazing voice, original songs ranging from hysterically funny (think Christine Lavin) to incredibly poignant

5. Shelly Ellen - folk rolk with forays into blues and country

6. Dov Hammer - blues and more blues

7. Diane & Ada - Folk and world music with lovely harmonies

8. Black Velvet - homegrown Irish, with Celtic, Israeli and Central European influences

9. Lynn and Judy Lewis - bluegrass, and hosts of a popular local folk club

10. Marc Miller - humorous originals

11. The Goldoolins - English folk and "Renaissance Pop", with some 60's thrown in, great acoustic vocals

12. Ofer Golani - eclectic, peace-oriented

13. The Taverners - bawdy fun, definitely not for kids

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants