Sunday, October 29, 2006
Pictures from my trip
Anyone who'd like to see pictures of my trip can find them at http://sdksandy.shutterfly.com -- it does it all in a slideshow, and they're marked so you can pretty well tell where they were taken. The birthday party is at BD's nursery school.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Succos in Israel 2006, Part 3
The next day Sharon, the little boys, and I headed off on a bus trip. First stop was a moshav complete with animals to view, camels and donkeys to ride, hands-on lessons in making (and eating) pita, and lots more. After lunch, we headed off to "the big dune." (I'm sure it has a name, but I didn't catch it.) On the way, we spotted an Israeli rarity – two trains passing side by side. The dune was indeed huge, and as I plodded through the deep sand in the heat it seemed to recede before me as I remembered that I didn't particularly care for walking in sand. Suddenly there appeared a large tree (someone said it might be of the sycamore family), with a horizontal branch just at seating level. "See you later," I said to Sharon, settling in the shade and breeze with the book I just happened to have in my purse. What a delightful (and quiet) interlude before heading home.
Our next trip was to Bet Shemesh, home of some friends of Sharon and Howie. Three couples and their families meet there annually during Succos for a pot luck meal, more singing, and lots and lots of great conversation. Our return home proved a bit of an adventure, though. We'd gone about a mile when a warning light came on. After a longish wait, a mechanic friend of our host came by and discovered that the fan belt had broken and dropped off. Sharon and I and the children managed to flag down a passing intercity van (there are lots of them in Israel), which returned for us after dropping off its passengers. Since we filled the van all by ourselves, the driver was willing to deposit us right at our door instead of at the usual central spot in Jerusalem. Poor Howie waited for that tow truck and waited for the tow truck and finally got home about 3 a.m. The car made it back, all repaired, the next day.
There was much, much more, or course. As usual, the house and Succahs were full for BD's birthday, and my long trudge up the hill on Simchas Torah was rewarded by hours of watching delighted men and boys dancing with the Torahs. I got to see the apartment Shoshana and Dovy will be renting for their first year as a married couple, a charming little doll's house with a lovely piece of land out front, complete with a view of some of the hills surrounding Jerusalem and of the highway as well! The house is about a ten minute bus ride from Sharon's in Har Nof, so it will be easy to keep in touch.
As usual, the best part of the trip was the minutes and hours and I spent with Sharon and Howie and the children, chatting, joking, making music, making plans. And of course, looking forward to the wedding in December. But more about that after that!
Israel, Succos 2006, Part 2
Friday night was also the start of Succos, with lots of delicious food in the Succah, and Saturday gave me a good chance to rest and talk with the children. The quiet ended with sundown and a rousing concert in the Succah. Howie and Yosef played guitars, Nechama, the oboe, Yehuda, the clarinet, Binyomin Dovid the drums, all to the accompaniment of Moshe on his electronic piano. The less musical chimed in with tambourines and a variety of simpler instruments.
During the intermediate days of the holiday, lots of Israelis go on various trips, and we were no exception. First, we went down to Tifrach, in the Negev, where Shoshana's fiance Dovy and his family live on a moshav. They're not farmers – they rent out their land to those who are –but unlike Jerusalem, there's lots and lots of space down there. Dovy's family is warm and welcoming, and it was clear their intention was to merge the two families, and the matching ages of many of their children with my daughter's children made that much easier.
After lunch we all changed shoes and set off for the Dead Sea. While I'd swum in its strange waters before, this trip introduced me to something new: walking, sometimes up to my knees, in the streams that feed the sea. The cool water felt delicious on such a hot day as I splashed along, chatting first with this and then with that member of Dovy's family. We left only when it started to get dark, and drove to a rest area, waiting for the moon to rise. At last it did, and our little caravan set off climbing up into the canyons at the side of the Dead Sea.
We'd originally intended to visit some caves, but they'd collapsed, so instead we walked up the canyon by moonlight, the sand white beneath our feet, the rocks rising high above us. We were interrupted only once, by a group of bicyclists riding along, also without lights, wishing us a good holiday as they flew past. At last we reached our destination, a natural amphitheater carved out of the rock. We climbed to the top (well, the little ones kept sliding down and climbing up again, just for fun), broke out the guitars, and had a wonderful songfest, complete with harmony, solos (even BD had one), and much laughter. Finally we clambered down, walked a bit more down the canyon, chatting in twos and threes, and then, realizing how late it was, turned back to the cars and headed for home, arrived in time for a midnight dinner.
During the intermediate days of the holiday, lots of Israelis go on various trips, and we were no exception. First, we went down to Tifrach, in the Negev, where Shoshana's fiance Dovy and his family live on a moshav. They're not farmers – they rent out their land to those who are –but unlike Jerusalem, there's lots and lots of space down there. Dovy's family is warm and welcoming, and it was clear their intention was to merge the two families, and the matching ages of many of their children with my daughter's children made that much easier.
After lunch we all changed shoes and set off for the Dead Sea. While I'd swum in its strange waters before, this trip introduced me to something new: walking, sometimes up to my knees, in the streams that feed the sea. The cool water felt delicious on such a hot day as I splashed along, chatting first with this and then with that member of Dovy's family. We left only when it started to get dark, and drove to a rest area, waiting for the moon to rise. At last it did, and our little caravan set off climbing up into the canyons at the side of the Dead Sea.
We'd originally intended to visit some caves, but they'd collapsed, so instead we walked up the canyon by moonlight, the sand white beneath our feet, the rocks rising high above us. We were interrupted only once, by a group of bicyclists riding along, also without lights, wishing us a good holiday as they flew past. At last we reached our destination, a natural amphitheater carved out of the rock. We climbed to the top (well, the little ones kept sliding down and climbing up again, just for fun), broke out the guitars, and had a wonderful songfest, complete with harmony, solos (even BD had one), and much laughter. Finally we clambered down, walked a bit more down the canyon, chatting in twos and threes, and then, realizing how late it was, turned back to the cars and headed for home, arrived in time for a midnight dinner.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
My 2006 Succos Trip to Israel -- Part 1
Where to begin?
With the El Al security guard who asked if I spoke Hebrew? When I responded "I know how to ask for coffee and a ladies' room, but not much more," pronouncing the two words, if badly. He grinned and came right back with "Well, you drink one and then go to the other." A security guard with a sense of humor. Wow!
The flight was full as usual, and also as usual my bags, loaded for bear and grandkids, were among the last to pop up, but finally I made my way out into the early morning to find Howie and the small boys in the van, and it was off to Jerusalem.
Settling in was very easy – the couple across the hall from the Tavins often go to America for Succos, and I move in to a lovely apartment. Unpacking and spending a few minutes took most of the morning, and after a quick round of hugs and kisses and more hugs and kisses with all the grandkids, it was off to get Shoshana her engagement present.
Back in the dark ages, before color television, as my grandkids say, a friend of my mother's bought me my pots as a present. The best part of the gift was lunch with her and her advice, letting me choose what I liked but steering me away from those then-fashionable copper bottoms (I'd never have kept them clean) and advising me to get things I wouldn't have thought of (that heavy cast iron skillet). I still have almost all of those pots! I've cherished the memory of that day all these years, and decided that would make a great engagement present for my granddaughter, the first of my grands to marry.
Luckily, a new housewares-and-gift store had just opened a short bus ride away, and we spent hours selecting pots, debating over size (I believe in large pots, which cut down the stove spatter if you cook in the bottom few inches and are available for the big stuff, too), and wandering with glee through the gadgets. I'm a gadget addict, and I fear I've lured Shoshana into the obsession, too. Yet another store for a few more gadgets (one can never have enough, right?), and then the jet lag started to kick in, so it was home to dinner and a relatively early bed.
The next day was Friday, always a flurry of cooking and cleaning, and I quickly dropped into my accustomed role as laundry folder, , a task easy to accomplish while amusing small children. As usual when I'm near the kitchen pre-holiday, I chop and fry mounds and mounds of onions, ready to add to various dishes all week long.
Friday night we had the first of many meals in the Tavin Succah, or should I say one of them. The major Succah covers the entranceway to their house, and with the board walls up and decorated and the bamboo roof, open to starlight in places, more or less firmly in place, it made an elegant dining room, if a rather crowded one. Howie's designed it to perfection, with a door that latches and even its own little sink, rigged up to the garden hose. Cold water only! At night, the table comes down, the mattresses come out, and the smaller boys have a bedroom in the Succah.
Yosef's room, formerly a sort of porch, has a roof that slides out and can be replaced with the bamboo rods they use as Succah roofs. That became an auxiliary Succah, where the older boys slept. During the day, the younger ones used it as a snack center, since it was closer to the kitchen.
Outside, but close by, was yet a third Succah which Howie had gotten by a complicated series of events. It was quite small, really just a square tent with a bamboo roof, but was very useful as a bedroom Succah for Sharon and Howie.
With the El Al security guard who asked if I spoke Hebrew? When I responded "I know how to ask for coffee and a ladies' room, but not much more," pronouncing the two words, if badly. He grinned and came right back with "Well, you drink one and then go to the other." A security guard with a sense of humor. Wow!
The flight was full as usual, and also as usual my bags, loaded for bear and grandkids, were among the last to pop up, but finally I made my way out into the early morning to find Howie and the small boys in the van, and it was off to Jerusalem.
Settling in was very easy – the couple across the hall from the Tavins often go to America for Succos, and I move in to a lovely apartment. Unpacking and spending a few minutes took most of the morning, and after a quick round of hugs and kisses and more hugs and kisses with all the grandkids, it was off to get Shoshana her engagement present.
Back in the dark ages, before color television, as my grandkids say, a friend of my mother's bought me my pots as a present. The best part of the gift was lunch with her and her advice, letting me choose what I liked but steering me away from those then-fashionable copper bottoms (I'd never have kept them clean) and advising me to get things I wouldn't have thought of (that heavy cast iron skillet). I still have almost all of those pots! I've cherished the memory of that day all these years, and decided that would make a great engagement present for my granddaughter, the first of my grands to marry.
Luckily, a new housewares-and-gift store had just opened a short bus ride away, and we spent hours selecting pots, debating over size (I believe in large pots, which cut down the stove spatter if you cook in the bottom few inches and are available for the big stuff, too), and wandering with glee through the gadgets. I'm a gadget addict, and I fear I've lured Shoshana into the obsession, too. Yet another store for a few more gadgets (one can never have enough, right?), and then the jet lag started to kick in, so it was home to dinner and a relatively early bed.
The next day was Friday, always a flurry of cooking and cleaning, and I quickly dropped into my accustomed role as laundry folder, , a task easy to accomplish while amusing small children. As usual when I'm near the kitchen pre-holiday, I chop and fry mounds and mounds of onions, ready to add to various dishes all week long.
Friday night we had the first of many meals in the Tavin Succah, or should I say one of them. The major Succah covers the entranceway to their house, and with the board walls up and decorated and the bamboo roof, open to starlight in places, more or less firmly in place, it made an elegant dining room, if a rather crowded one. Howie's designed it to perfection, with a door that latches and even its own little sink, rigged up to the garden hose. Cold water only! At night, the table comes down, the mattresses come out, and the smaller boys have a bedroom in the Succah.
Yosef's room, formerly a sort of porch, has a roof that slides out and can be replaced with the bamboo rods they use as Succah roofs. That became an auxiliary Succah, where the older boys slept. During the day, the younger ones used it as a snack center, since it was closer to the kitchen.
Outside, but close by, was yet a third Succah which Howie had gotten by a complicated series of events. It was quite small, really just a square tent with a bamboo roof, but was very useful as a bedroom Succah for Sharon and Howie.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
