Willow Tree

Grab your Ice Skates!!!

And head off to Mars.

Another one of Rachel Ann's expensive vacation trips. hey, this one is within our solar system!

Missing Child Alert

17 year old Cheryl Ann Magner has been missing since the begining of June. Please go to Christmas Ghost, take a look at her picture, read the post, and follow through if you have seen her.

via Outside the Blogway

So What's Been Going On

When you are gone 12hrs of the day it really seems as if you get left behind in the world. Anyway, I'm going to saunter over to some friends blog-homes and see what they are up to...

Hmmmmmmmm:

Well, my friend (and neighbor, see the comments in the post below) from House of Joy tells what she has done in the past 2yrs and asks what you have been up to.

And Esther tells you why you should have renters insurance. It is a good why. I'd take her advice.

Meira writes about how Souter might have lost his abode but a commentator points out why that isn't going to happen. It should, but it won't. Expected something different maybe?

And you all have to send RP unpacking (and finding the stuff you need so you can do stuff like brush your teeth) vibes.

I'm not going to tell you what Jim (Snooze Button Dreams) is posting about. I'm must shaking my head.

And Linda of Auterific is telling us about the types of films she loves.

Moze of Mozeman's Blues talks about the loss of Dov and Rachel Kol and the truly horrific reporting on the case by Haaratz.

I've Got A Job!!!

At least it seems that way. In the grand ole' field of

DISHWASHING!!!!

Yeah, I know, the position I've really aspired to.

BUT, it is money. And the boss is a fantastic lady and my co-workers are great. Big draw back is the hour or so commute. But I can handle that. I've got books!!!!

And it pays the bills. And it just might get us this house.

So here's to wrinkled fingers and tired legs!!!!

(and I'm not reading many people today because I got started late and got home late. Tomorrow begins at the bleary-eyed hour of five because most days I'll need to catch the 6:15. )

Soooooooooooo

Do I help a friend move into her new place tomorrow or do I go clean windows for 35 shek an hour tomorrow. I'd really rather help a friend. I don't like doing windows. No matter what you do you always find a streak somewhere and you end up washing the same bleepeddy bleep window for 20 minutes trying to find all the dingaling streaks. (sorry, don't want to displease the Agent with my language. He lives in this house you see.) I do not think they would want to pay me for washing the same set of windows for an hour, but they would probably be displeased to find streaks....still that is a potential of about 70 shek (because that is about how long they want me to stay.)

I guess I could do both, but frankly, I don't think I would have the energy for it....
argh. I hate dilemmas. (Okay, I just spell checked dilemmas and it was right but it looks so wrong. Argh. Hate that too.)

Well if You Can't Tell

I'm feeling a bit depressed and unwanted lately. The job hunt is still on which of course means no one wants me in that way. I'm feeling older by the minute. No one is reading me anymore, probably because I"ve become so onesided and dull and meandering and depressed and it has seeped through into all my posts.

I'm just an angry, blue, broad lately and they are not fun people to be around.

If I could just get a job, get my house in order, lose those last bleeped bleep pounds, figure out what the heck my kids want from me, write something that people will want to read!

I'm stuck in a rut and can't get my car(cass) moving.

blech.

The Open Hand

What are our obligations to other people? How far must we extend ourselves on another's behalf? At what point have we given enough of ourselves to the world at large to say; my giving quota is filled for the day/week/month/year?

Financially, according to Jewish law, charity stops at about 10% of one's income, if one is not wealthy, 20% if one is wealthy. This is the money owed to charity. There isn't, to the best of my knowledge, any set criterion as to where that charity goes to; but 10 or 20% minimum is it. (One is also not to impoverish oneself to help another.)

But there are many other ways are giving and, again, to the best of my knowledge, there is no minimun, or maximum for that matter. Reading a letter to an elderly grandmother, helping a friend solve a problem, directing a visitor to the museum they want to see. The only limit to this kind of giving that I can see is the wear an tear on the person emotionally, and the need to balance the giving
away from home with the giving within.

I don't know that I have ever struck the right balance. I never feel as if I'm doing it right anywhere. I go from wanting to do more to wanting to crawl into a deep dark tunnel where no one but the wind can find me.

The world is such an overwhelming place sometimes I can't seem to find a breathing place. There is so much wrong with the world, so many needs that must be atteneded too, that I always feel guilty for not having done more, and at
the same time feel bereft of me time.

What has one given enough? How can one ever decide? The world is like a hungry bird, always needing to be fed by someone. How does a person decide his/her turn is up?

More Victims of Hate

My husband's cousin has been in Israel for three weeks now on a learning vacation. She has been too busy with her studies until today for us to get together. It is a fast day, and normally I would have just stayed home, but it has been over two years since we have seen this branch of our family and a little thing like a bit of hunger and thirst wasn't going to keep us away.

So we met in a museum and then went to their hotel, enjoying the breezes by the pool for a little while before heading off to their room to see the beautiful view of the old city beyond their hotel window. What a wonderful sight to see on a Shabbat morning I opined.

We talked about so many little things; politics and family, how the move effected our children and ourselves. A nice quiet family visit, and then my husband headed off to work and I herded the Monkey, the only child to come with us, home.

By this time I was a bit tired and washed out, so I flopped onto the couch and flipped through the television listing, finally settling on the news.

Grandparents Killed in a Roadside Attack.
A couple heading home after Shabbat, who had been on a visit like the one I had just had, a nice Shabbat visit with family. They get back in their car and never make it home.

And Sharon threatens to get tough. Again.

More Dead

It was Shabbat so I didn't hear the news about the bombings in Egypt till just now.

My heart goes out to all those who are suffering.

The war on terror must complete eliminate the terrorists and that mode of thinking. The world can not continued to be held hostage to fear.

You Know What's Fun?

Spoiling your son who is home for the weekend from the army.

Heart Divided

My friends are here, my oldest son, the Wit is here, and my heart is between the two of them. My son is guarding one gate. He states the protestors inside are peaceful---for which I'm thankful. Despite all the yelling by the left that the protestors were seeking a civil war, the fact is the vast majority are peaceful citizens. They are not looking to cause trouble. They want this government to be aware that they will not allow this tragedy to occur without action, but they will also not allow themselves to be driven to violence.

And for that I am glad, because I am first and foremost a mom. And nobody better mess with my son.

I wish I were there with the protestors, but I suppose in the end it is better that I am not. It would be too cruel to my son if I were inside, so I will remain outside and continue to pray for everyone.

An added prayer for my son, because he asked for it in a way that will satisfy both our needs, my desire and need for this march to go on, and my son's desire to be someplace other than in the desert for hours over Shabbat in the midst of summer:

Please G-d allow something to happen that endangers no one, and does not disrupt the protest, but allows my son to return home this Shabbat safe and sound.

Okay, so I'm a foolish mom and I'm crying now. But I've been truly blessed. I've the five greatest kids in the world. I don't know how I got so lucky.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The police have opened up a gate and the march is preceeding!!!!

My friend heard wrong. The gates weren't open but they are massing at the gates.

Please pray for everyone's saftey.

I'm bouncing back and forth between the attic where we keep our comptuer, and the t.v. downstairs, and my stomach is just going nuts. I'm really worried for my boy.

PleaseG-d make everything right.

THANK YOU G-D!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!

Now send my son home. I want to give him a big hug.

Way To Go Marchers!!!!

Thank you for all your efforts on behalf of all Israel!!!!

Solidarity Worldwide!

There are anti-disengagement rallies taking place world-wide today. To find out what your coutnry/area is doing go here and scroll down to the second section.

Your country isn't listed? There are still things you can do. Pray, make your own banners, wear orange anything.

Still not convinced that the disengagement is a foolish idea? Here's an clip from an on articlethe site called INTERNAL ISRAELI VIOLENCE; DISENGAGEMENT CLAIMS DISPROVEN (you'll need to scroll down to see it)

DISENGAGEMENT" CLAIMS DISPROVED

The following main claims made in behalf of Sharon's abandonment plan are false:

1. "Just as the withdrawal from southern Lebanon was successful, so too will be the withdrawal from Gaza and Northern Samaria."

Over 100 missile attacks have taken place on Israel's northern border since Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon - attacks that have resulted in the deaths of at least 28 Israeli citizens.

2. "There is less incitement against Israel from the Palestinian Authority since Abu Mazen took over as PLO Chairman." "...the governmental committee that was supposed to report on it is not operating at all. General (res.) Yaakov Amidror, assigned to coordinate the incitement committee, says he is not receiving much information from intelligence sources in the Defense Ministry, and therefore cannot operate.

3. "Abu Mazen is a peace-seeking leader."

Abu Mazen has emphatically told the PA media that he does not intend to dismantle the terror organizations or disarm them. Israeli governmental ... and military sources gloss over this fact.

4. "Financial aid given towards PA education is a positive development."

The Israeli government contributes towards PA education, despite reports from the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace ("www.edume.org") showing that the PA's educational system is heavily involved in continuing the war against the "Zionist State." Official representatives of Belgium, which helps fund the PA's textbooks, said that the State of Israel has requested that such funding be held back.

5. "The United States promised to recognize settlement blocs."

Ariel Sharon has made this claim repeatedly - but the American Embassy informed Bedein that the U.S. State Department completely denies any such promise of recognition of settlements.

6. PM Sharon's office has stated, and Israeli papers have reported, that the US will provide financial aid to pay for various aspects of the highly-expensive disengagement and re-settlement.

US Aid has never been approached for such funding, and its spokesmen said it would never consider funding such an endeavor. Nor is there any indication that the Congress would approve aid for Israel in this connection.

7. "Jerusalem is not up for negotiations."

US Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice has stated clearly that the US opposes any settlement activity beyond the '67 borders. Bedein writes, "When I asked the US Embassy spokesman whether reconstruction of the famous 'Hurva' synagogue, located in the Jewish Quarter of Old City of Jerusalem and destroyed by the Jordanians in 1948, was considered to be 'illegal settlement activity,' the answer was 'yes.'"

8. "Improvement of Security"

Many warnings that the pullout will actually lead to a deterioration in security and a flare-up of the terrorist onslaught have been issued. Among the indications of the accuracy of these warnings, Bedein notes, is the short distance between the front porches of Elei Sinai in northern Gaza and the major power station in Ashkelon. "Is it not quite evident," Bedein asks, "that after Israel's pullout from such an important strategic region, Ashkelon's power station will be threatened by PA security forces and all the terror organizations that populate the Gaza Strip?"

9. "The Western Negev will be strengthened."

Sharon repeatedly claims that the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip will lead to the blossoming of the Negev. Jewish Agency guides have recently reported, however, that they had received guidelines not to encourage organized groups to sleep over in the facilities of the Western Negev region, because of security concerns from Gaza." (Arutz-7, 6/20, all quoted from David Bedein.)

Posted by Rachel Ann at 05:09 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Dull and Duller

It isn't so much that my mind is a blank it is that I'm in a bleh place right now. I wish I were with the marchers, but I couldn't go because of other pressing obligations. I wish I were in a tent, as are friends of ours, in Shirat Hayam.

I feel guilty, I feel there must be something, there should be something else that I can do, should do, for my fellow Jews. I'm left with prayer.

And maybe that is the lesson here. Prayer. Our first and last stop on the way to anything.

So here it is: I pray for the safety of those who are marching and those who are lliving in the Gush or who have gone there to protect their brethern. I pray that the disengagement will not go through. I pray that a real peace can be found between Israel and the rest of the world, and most of all I pray as the Artist did, with the sincerity of the young and the purity of the heart of the innocnet, that the Moshiach will come, and come now.

G-d, we need the Moshiach. Whether we are ready or not, please, let the times of peace and knowledge of You come.

Kol HaKavod

And so the march begins.
I couldn't go. But I and others who also could not join the marchers will join together to pray and protest in other ways.

G-d willing this evil decree against our brothers and sisters will not go through.

Yeshar Koach

Wish I were with you!

Pearls of Wisdom.

Concise and elegant.

I Do Hate It

When people do a much better job about saying what I wanted to say.

Thank you Lynn B for your eloquence.

Why?

Thomas L. Friedman writes, in a NYT editorial today:

One of the London bombers was married, with a young child and another on the way. I can understand, but never accept, suicide bombing in Iraq or Israel as part of a nationalist struggle. But when a British Muslim citizen, nurtured by that society, just indiscriminately blows up his neighbors and leaves behind a baby and pregnant wife, to me he has to be in the grip of a dangerous cult or preacher - dangerous to his faith community and to the world.

For the most part I found the editorial fairly good. However, I take issue with the above statement. The war against Israel has never been about Nationalism, it has been about hatred of Jthe other, including other Muslims who actually wish peace, rather than just mouth the words. Were it really about Nationalism the Palestinians (for example) would have waged war against the Egyptians (Gaza strip) and Jordanins (East Jerusalem. That is what must be understood.

Israel was the merely the start. The acceptance by the world that this was a battle of two nations has allowed this disease of the soul to become stronger. The solution is to stop pandering to the terrorist and to eliminate the disease.

That way everyone, Jew, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, atheist, can go about their lives with peace.

The Time Has Passed

My sons love video games, as do, I suppose most boys who are around their age. They love them, and I love to watch. And they play and die and play and die endlessly until finally they conquer the game.

This woman had one life. These women and this soldier had one life. They can not begin the game again, and neither can their families. Their families must go on without their loved ones; a parent, a sibling, a child.

The IF has passed Prime Minister Sharon. The Palestinian have had ample time to reign in terror. They have had years of time to find a different path, a way of behaving that diddn't involve blowing up children and grandmothers. (see here for more evidence of Palestinian peace.)

I have one son who will begin his service in August, another son who has just finished training. Most likely my oldest son will end up in Gaza, and and the IDF chief is not sanguine about the expulsion, fearing it will come under fire. I only have two sons and I do not want them hurt. I wish them to grow old, to roll their eyes and sigh at what they see as my foolishness, to do better than I have done as a parent and a human being.

But I am not a liar about life, nor a fool. I do not want my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren to fear what I fear.

I want the terrorism ended. I want my children's children to look back at this time with sad wonder and confusion as to how it could have been like this. I want my children to know peace. Real peace.

The Palestinians have no real motive to reign in their murders of innocents; they are treated like game players, as if they have endless chances to get it right. What do they care for the blustering of the world if the world ends by damning Israel for protecting herself and urging Israel to give up more?

If has passed. If passed a long time ago. Abbas is either unwilling or unable to stop the terrorism. If has passed. Stop these murders from their evil. That is why you are a leader and I am just a mother who worries and cries for her children.

Sun Lovers!

Have I got a vacation spot for you.

It is rather a lengthy journey, so in addition to all that sunscreen you'll need you might want to bring along some books and your favorite CDs.

Right Hand Man

Do you know why there was a tsunami? Why London was bombed (besides, it was terrorist dummy.) Why a volcano will erupt somewhere in the next ten years on this planet?

I do. It was because...

It happened.

Me, I believe it was ultimately because G-d willed it; that there is a reason for everything, and that reason is beyond my ken.

There are however numerous people in this world who know exactly why G-d willed something to happen. A flood hits because of a recent ruling in favor of abortion. A tornado? Blame those who allowed Terri Schiavo to die. A bombing? Gay rights parade.

I do talk to G-d, and I believe I can get answers, just not the way these people are getting answers. I guess these folks must sit next to G-d and hear all His plans. Maybe they even give advice. At least to hear them talk one would think that is what is happening.

And you know what I think? I think they have a hell of a lot of nerve (excuse the language Agent) which is why I'm not linking to them. Why give them more coveage?

But, there is something I want to tell them:
Pardon me folks but you aren't in heaven yet, so you don't know the whys and the wherefores other than what science and sense can show.

The tsunami? Ask a meteorologist what happened. A volcanic eruption? Volcanologist. Terrorism? That isn't so hard to figure; hate is the fuel and the realization that scaring people can sometimes work to procure one whatever it is one desires. Why do people rob? Generally it is not because they are have nots but because they are greedy gimmmes who think everyone should have a diamond ring or new car.

Is G-d behind it all? Yes, I believe G-d is but I don't pretend to even half understand G-d's mind. I deeply feel that there is a message and the message is to improve oneself but the emphasis is ONESELF. I want to make the world better, I have to improve me.

That doesn't mean I have to silently accept what I think are moral wrongs, nor never act to stop those wrongs. Nor does it mean that I don't have an opinion as to why certain events enfold, or how X event releates and is the eventual causal factor of Y.
But to releate a particular moral wrong to a particular catastrophere where the cause/effect isn't direct and uncontestable (one person murders another) is nothing short of hubris.

Which to me, is also a moral wrong.

Personally I think it best to just ignore those who presume to speak for G-d. Answering them back is part of their enjoyment; they love a debate and the attention it brings. Why bother?

Carnival 3 for Life and Liberty and Property!

Eric's hosting Carnival #3 of Life, Liberty and Property.
If you've got something to say, why not head out his way?
Rant or wave or inbetween, it's a great way for your post to be seen!

Again

Another suicide bombing. This time in Sharon mall; two killed, 20 injured.

Update as of this morning (I posted this last night)

3 killed, 90, some critically, injured.

Yet Sharon wants to keep going with his disengagement plan.
Sounds smart. Give them more land, closer to the heart of Israel, from which they can launch their attacks.

That Nose is Growing

So this item was found on the sink of the third floor men's restroom in the Jerusalem Central Bus station with a note opposed to the disengagement. Obviously those in power would like you to believe that this was left by a disengagement protestor.

Excuse me but who are they kidding?

There is just no way that an item that large and that bulky could have been slipped by the guards posted at every entryway to the central bus station. There are not only human guards with those but security gates that you must walk through and X-ray machines on which to place your packages and bags. And that isn't just one guard per area; there are several guards at each entrance, plus the people behind the X-ray machines for the packages.

Every bag is examined by the machines or the guards. Every person must pass through the machines. The lines are tightly controlled. Both those who enter the building as pedestrians and those who come in as passengers on buses are examined, one by one, as they enter. Folks, even my girls walk through one at a time.

No way, no how could anyone slip that by. If security was that insecure there wouldn't be a bus station in the center of Jerusalem anymore, believe me folks. This took collusion, and not by just one guard, by many people. Because it had to get by not only the guards but the people in the station, the passengers and shoppers, who are aware of these things. This was not something carried in someone's backpack or suitcase.

This was not disengagement proponents.
We aren't that dumb and I hope the rest of the world is not that stupid either.

UPDATES (should have done this yesterday:

COSMIC X and SOCCER DAD also are talking about this issue. (Soccer Dad is discussing a variety of issues as well. Good stuff from both blog masters.)

Silence

The proponents of the disengagement will state that the reason for this action against a large segment of its own population is that it will lead to a safer, more secure Israel, with boundaries that are accepted by the world over. Or they'll tell you that it will thus give Israel the right to wage war against an advesary that has been waging a war against Israel for the last 40 or so years if in fact peace is not maintained. That Sharon is doing it to secure the larger settlement blocks.

Respect, saftey, security. The uprooting of thousands of Jews from the homes they have built, the farms they have developed, the buisnesses created is just weeks away. This is a move that has created tension among the counry, will, if enacted, cause great pain to not only those who are being uprooted but thousands more, who will live with the fear that "they are next" or who will have family members who will need to begin, through no fault or choice of their own, again. Living in caravans, planting land, trying to find a job that will take them at 40 or 50 or 60 years of age. All this pain.

And no guarrantee of gain, no rewards given for this painful action. None whatsover. The converse is in fact true.

Blair points his finger at Israel as the cause of the terrorist attacks in Israel: the old and tired cry of "If it weren't for Israel this wouldn't have happened. Bush contradicts claims Abbas as his new best bud and condemns Israel for normal growth within the settlements. The world raises it voice against Israel demanding further and further concessions, unwilling to even allow for a time of healing before more skin is ripped from our bodies. Stop we are told. Don't grow. Don't develop. We will cut you in half. We will give up more and more and more. Rumors fly, tension is magnified. Sharon lies.

This is not a moral action. They are not being fairly compensated for the loss of their homes and their businesses. They are not being shown how this loss will ensure or at least most likely bring about peace for the nation as a whole. They are being given nothing, without even the right to protest.

But we are told to trust. Don't protest, it just causes problems, it will lead to a civil war. Trust us. It will work out. And if not...what? What right are we given but the right to die? Preferably as peacefully and with as little fuss as we can.

"Go quietly" Sharon pleads. "Die quietly" is the message I get from much of the world.

The Disengagement

I do believe I linked to this site before, but in case I haven't here is a timeline showing from the Jewish Zionist Education who lived in Gaza and when. This information bears repeating and undetstanding.

Via: Diesngagement.org

You Don't Want this Gold

Gold is nice to have around when it is the pretty metal kind that you can use to purchase such things as food and shelter. But watch out for gold bacteria(did you know that bacteria had color?) apparently it may glitter but it isn't good.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Gold-colored bacteria that cause more disease than colorless strains do so because they carry antioxidants to protect themselves against immune system attack, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

Their findings, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggest a potential new way to treat some serious infections, the researchers said.

Gold-colored strains of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, which get their color from antioxidant compounds called carotenoids, tend to cause more disease than colorless strains.

Carotenoids also give carrots their color and include the vitamin A precursor beta-carotene.

Victor Nizet of the University of California San Diego and colleagues found that the carotenoids help defend Staph aureus bacteria from the toxic molecules made by immune system cells called neutrophils.

When they removed the carotenoids from the bacteria, they were easier to kill.

Drugs that interfere with the bacteria's ability to make carotenoids might help in fighting antibiotic-resistant staph infections, which are on the rise globally, Nizet said.

I think I'm going to go have a carrot. I figure what's good for the bacteria is good for my body as well.

Laundry Help

Okay, so I'm folding CLEAN laundry here. Fresh from the wash and dryer, and I hold up my dh's white shirt. There is all this %$@& inside the seams lining the pockets, button holes and buttons. Yargh!! I hate to get the lint out, but I turn everything as inside out as possible and make his shirt white again.

Comeon, someone else must have tackled this problem before and found a better solution!

Meanwhile, back at the sick bed. Monkey has had diarreha all day and night, woke me about three times to come with her to the bathroom, curled up all hot and sweaty beside me in my bed, and then this morning threw up in my bed. Yes I'm keeping her hydrated, offering as much liquids and liquidy foods (some soup, ice pops etc.) as I can. Poor thing she has really got it bad.

And me? I had almost zippo sleep last night and already I've done a load of wash, folded the wash, cleaned the toilet, sink and tub and walked the dog.

Someone pat me on the back! Send me a gold star! Send me in my application for mother of the day! Something!

The Terrorism in London

Blair's wrong. Meryl's got it right.

The problem is the world has acquiesced to terrorism attacks by forcing Israel to reward the bombers. There should be one standard, world wide: terrorist lose.

Words Of Wisdom

Scene: Living room couch, in front of the t.v. snuggling a sick Monkey (stomach virus. Glad it missed vacation). We've just watched the Lion King Video and we are into the commercials. The Aristrocats theme song (Everybody Wants to Be a Cat) plays.

Monkey: Everybody doesn't want to be a cat.
Me: Oh?
Monkey: If you are a cat you have to eat mice and mice taste like mud.

Anyone who wants to verify the truth of the statement can go right ahead. Me, I'm accepting it as the truth. Hey, maybe she was a cat in a previous life.

Okay, this is Just TOO Freaky

Almost 1,500 sheep in Istanbul, Turkey became lemmings and jumped off a cliff, costing 450 of them their lives--- and costing many farmers their livelihood.

What could cause sheep to do this? Has anyone heard of this type of behaviour from sheep before? Any shepherds out there that can give me some intelligent explanation?

The article is quoted below. For a picture of te pile of sheep you need to follow the link.

450 Sheep Jump to Their Deaths in Turkey

Fri Jul 8, 9:59 PM ET

ISTANBUL, Turkey - First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported.

In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile, the Aksam newspaper said. Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher and the fall more cushioned, Aksam reported.

"There's nothing we can do. They're all wasted," Nevzat Bayhan, a member of one of 26 families whose sheep were grazing together in the herd, was quoted as saying by Aksam.

The estimated loss to families in the town of Gevas, located in Van province in eastern Turkey, tops $100,000, a significant amount of money in a country where average
GDP per head is around $2,700.

"Every family had an average of 20 sheep," Aksam quoted another villager, Abdullah Hazar as saying. "But now only a few families have sheep left. It's going to be hard for us."

What is Going On?

Is it my imagination or is the world undergoing more than the usual horrible stuff, both nature and man-made lately. The hurricane, the train wreck in Israel (the second one) the terrror attacks in Britain. It is too much. What is happening to the world?

I added prayers for the vicitims of the train wreck here in Israel and for the terrorist attacks in London to my blog. It is all so disheartening.

Strange things are happening. I pray for everyone, that joyous times are just around the corner and that a time of peace will soon be here. I know the Artist left at least one such prayer in a little note stuck into the walls of the Kotel. We need peace G-d, we really do.

Home Again Home Again

Well, besides my daughters engagement....here's a quick rundown on the 9 days tour.

1. Dan Panaroma...what a spread for breakfast every morning!!! Enough food for three meals. The first night of the tour my brother's kids remained on USA time, and were awake at about 3 or so, so guess who was in the room beside them and was also awake? Poor bro and sil. I felt so bad for them. They had absolutely no sleep that night. None of us did really. My brother and his family, my sister and her family all took a 6am walk and went to the park. My father, who was also up, was looking at the window and saw us walking away from the motel and decided we looked familiar! HEY it's the KIDS!! He told my mom. (no one was sleeping well that night.)

2. My cousin's daughter had her Bat Mitzvah at the Plaza near the Kotel (western wall) Since it was a Conservative style Bat Mitzvah we couldn't have it at the wall...mixed males/females is a no-no at the Kotel itself. It was a lovely ceremony. She had a second ceremony done at Masada the following week. This was new to me, but apparently it is part of the Bat Mitzvah tour, and even though we weren't on a Bat Mitzvah tour it was done anyway. I've never heard of it before... so don't ask me why it was done that way. Just don't know.

Then we took in the dead sea. Well, other's did. We don't go mixed swimming. I stayed in the pool area and soaked in the sulfer bath for a few minutes though. Now I look 20. Really. YES I DO!!!

3. Friday afternoon we had a quick ceremony for my parents for their 50th. It was at their dinnner that night that my daughter was engaged.

Mostly we hung about that day. But for Shalosh Seudot, the third meal of the day, we went to an old friend of the family for lunch. That was a very nice treat!!!

4. Favorite part of the tour: an archeological dig. We had a terrific guide; he spoke both English and Hebrew as if he were a native; he had American parents but was born in Israel. It really is unusual even in such a situation for that to occur. Most children, at least that I've had contact with, who are raised by English speakers in Israel, speak one or the other with greater ease. This guy was the tops. He kept us moving and laughing. The brave of those among us (and that include me! toured an unexcavated cave. We had to crawl a bit and there were one place with only a tiny opening and another with a hole in the ground that you dropped through, guided by the hands of the guide, but it really wasn't all that risky or scary. Lots of fun though! The other's toured and excavated cave that was a former olive oil factory.

5. The Tunnel tour. Do go on the tunnel tour. I've been three or four times now and I could go ten times more. There is always something new.

6. I could have stayed a week in Safad. Okay, a month. Okay, a year. The rooms were gorgeous and the view from Rimon-Ruth was breathtaking. Unfortunately we only had a few hours in the evening and next morning, my shopping cut short by my daughters who were exhausted and my son who became ill. We did get to see someone throw a pot, from start to finish. (Not the baking and decorating part) which my kids thought was cool, and the woman teaching whoever it was to learn to throw a pot for the first time (lucky him to have three gawkers) thought it cool that my kids thought it cool.

7. Tel Aviv was next, really only for a goodbye dinner and for some a walk on the beach. But. oh that hotel!!! It was the Sheraton and we got a room with a toilet/sink and a bath in a separate room! Yes, I'm immature enough to find that utterly wonderful.

We also met a long lost cousin. He is my father's mother's brother's son. He is also well known in his field, especially since he is the only one doing it! He does the subtitles for movies! and makes the marquees and such. It is fascinating work really, as not only must he know how to trransalate such phrases as "beats me!" and not make it sound like a line about physical abuse, but he must also talk to professionals in a lot of different fields to understand the argot of that particular profession. Anyway, my dad didn't even know this guy existed until this year! Talk about lost!

My daughter and her fiancee left early in the morning; at something like 3 am. We talked for hours, then they packed and took power naps, woke us up to say goodbye. We slept till 5am then we headed off first to the Airport saying goodbye to everyone and then, luggage in tow to Latrun where my sons basic training in tanks came to an end. We were there from about 8 am till 1pm. The boys ran in after a 17 kilometer hike all sweaty and tired to our cheers and then there was this ceremony in the amphitheater. Is my nose sunburned? A long bus ride to the central bus station where we had a quick lunch, and then a second bus home.

8. I took the leftover soap/shampoo/lotion from our room. Yes, I'm that cheesy. but they were only going to throw out the little bottles so why not?

9. I finished two horror stories and have started a third. That means I'm 1/3+ the way through the stash of books my daughter brought me from the USA.

10. All around, a lot of fun was had by all.

and MY DAUGHTER'S GETTING MARRIED!!!!! wow.

Guess What?

My oldest child, my PR is ENGAGED!!!!!!!
I'm going to be a mother-in-law (okay, okay, hit me with some jokes!!!!)
Her fiance popped the question at my parents 50th wedding anniversary party.

Mom (that's me) is thrilled. Daughter is thrilled.
He is a wonderful guy. I absolutely adore him. He is such a good soul... I am so glad he is joining our family and she is joining his family. I can't wait to meet everyone else.

WOW!!!!!

A mother-in-law.

This is too cool!