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...



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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

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Works for Me Wednesday - Easy Birthday Cake

I decided to participate in Shannon's (Rocks In My Dryer) Works For Me Wednesday post this week. Check it out - there are loads of great ideas there.

Here's a foolproof super-easy idea for a birthday cake - great for when you don't have time to fuss.


Photo Frame Cake


(This one stayed in the pan so that it would be easier for me to bring to my son's school. It looks better if you take it out.)







You need:

Photograph of the birthday kid
1 square cake
frosting
loads of colored candies, whatever kind the child likes

Take a photo (preferably cropped square) of the birthday kid. (Laminate or seal in a ziploc bag if you want to keep the picture safe.

Bake your favorite cake in a square pan. Frost. Lay the photo in the middle. Cover the rest of the cake (sides too if you wish, but that's optional) with the candy to form a picture frame. Presto, a fun cake sure to impress all your young party guests.

Note: I've found that M&M type candies work really well to cover the cake. Unfortunately, they were off limits this time since they aren't dairy-free (cake had to be kosher pareve) and I was stuck with whatever dairy-free candies I could find. A full face brightly colored photo also works best, but Itai really wanted the picture of him blowing out the candles on his wizard's hat cake (scroll down for pic) from his "friends" party. I did like the juxtaposition of a cake with a kid blowing out candles while he blows out his candles though. Sort of a Hall of Mirrors type thing LOL.

When you look at it this way...

... I have an awful lot of traveling still to do.

And I can't wait. There's a whole big world out there and I want to see all of it.



create your own visited countries map

Purim 2007 Wrapup

Another Purim has now come and gone. For those who don't know, Purim is a Jewish holiday celebrating the Jews' escape from destruction at the hands of the evil Haman, advisor to King Ahaseurus of Persia. It is a joyous holiday, whose main duty is to eat, drink, be merry and wear silly costumes. The children look forward to it for months, it's like the Israeli child's version of Halloween. They dress up in costumes and exchange Mishloach Manot - gift packages containing traditional hamentaschen cookies, various candies, and of course noisemakers (to blot out the sound of Haman's name). It's all a bit of a three-ring circus at times.

We managed to keep our holiday fairly low-key this year. Both children had class parties on Friday, which they attended with great glee (Itai as the High King Peter from the Narnia Chronicles and Maya as "something cute that Maya will be willing to wear", and yes, she does always wear her crown backwards on her head) and from which they returned loaded higher than a kite on sugar. We then spent a glorious spring Saturday walking (us), rollerblading (Itai) and tricycle riding (Maya) on the Tel Aviv boardwalk, followed by lunch in a favorite seaside pub and a quick stint at playing in the sand until it got too cold. Sunday both children were off for the holiday. I avoided the huge "happenings" (chasing Maya around them is still no fun) and we opted to meet up with all our playgroup buddies instead, a rarity these days with all the children's ridiculously complicated schedules. Today Itai had a big party at "camp". Maya was off so she and I enjoyed a rare Mom and Maya day. I took her to the kiddie salon for a haircut and then out to lunch, which we followed with an oh so glamorous trip to the supermarket. The supermarket was actually fairly painless, thanks to the Milkie (chocolate pudding) that she clutched in her hand the entire time, just waiting for the moment she could get home and dive into it's chocolately whipped creamy goodness. (It's amazing what a small bribe incentive can do...)

Oh, and Itai left the house this morning dressed in an Indian costume (no pictures unfortunately, Jay forgot to take any). This is how he came home. I'd say he had fun...

Wow did I nearly f*ck up!

Jay and I had a fabulous little getaway here - good for the body and definitely good for the soul. So good in fact that we're already plotting our return and wondering whether it would be worth it to join their membership program. We came back in time to get the kids from school and were gratifed to hear how well they'd done. I'm not entirely sure they noticed we were gone, and if they did they were having too much fun to care. In fact, 20 minutes after we got home Maya was asking for a video and Itai informed us that he had a friend coming over shortly, that it had all been arranged. So much for zen-like afterglow...

Anyway, to explain the "how I nearly really truly and utterly f*cked up" part...

Tonight we're celebrating Jay's birthday at a really wonderful Tel Aviv restaurant with a whole host of our nearest and dearest. Everyone's invited (and nearly all are coming), the restaurant is booked, the table for 15 has been confirmed... Then Jay looks at me and asks, just out of curiosity, who's watching the kids tonight? Oh shit!!! Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit. Completely forgot to get a sitter. Oh shit oh shit oh shit. Friday nights are TOUGH around here for sitters - most of our sitters are high school seniors and they're all friends, so one good party and they're all out of commission, which is exactly what happened last night. Thank god I finally tracked down our one older sitter who is both out of high school and available tonight and we're set, otherwise I'd be stuck home missing my own husband's birthday party and feeling VERY angry with myself! It would have taken me YEARS to live that one down!

Now if I only had something decent to wear...

Thursday Thirteen #5 - Back Again

Thanks to the efforts of Beth and Carol, the TT is back, without missing even a beat.

I've been away the past few days with no computer access *gasp*, so here's an easy one for me this week. On the plus side though, I've finally figured out how to do the Mr. Linky thingie to make life easier for all of you. And, I'll update you all on where I was soon.

Happy TT!

This is a list of 13 European countries I've been to so far, with an observation or two from each. Still on my "someday" list are Ireland, Spain, Croatia and several others. The list is in no particular order. (Oh, and remember, I live in Israel, so it isn't that far for me to get to Europe, especially as a stopover between Israel and a trip back to the States.)

1. Portugal - NO ONE (other than 2 young girls visiting their grandparents) goes to the Algarve in the winter!

2. Czech Republic - beautiful architecture, great beer

3. Greece - gorgeous, but a difficult place to do business

4. England - The Pub on the Puddle, my former home away from home when working in Surrey, and home to assorted friends and a relative or two

5. France - bliss, what more needs to be said

6. Italy - oh, the food, and beautiful Cinque Terre

7. Holland - Space Cakes are not worth the hype

8. Sweden - Gamla Stan, Scandinavian design

9. Denmark - The Little Mermaid statue

10. Norway - simply breathtaking, home to a very dear friend in the computer that I desperately hope to meet someday, and the home of Hell (from which yes, you can send postcards)

11. Malta - looks a lot like some parts of Israel

12. The Vatican - Swiss Guards in funky striped tights

13. Scotland - castles and more castles, and a few wee drinks

So what's on your list? What did you love? What did you not? Where would you go if someone dropped the tickets in your lap?