In the northwestern tip of Israel right at the border to Lebanon are some tall cliffs called Rosh Hanikra. We visited there early this summer. The photo is looking south from the cliffs at the Mediterranean sea. I hope to write more soon about Rosh Hanikra and about a ghost story associated with these beautiful high cliffs.
It’s nice to have a cheery photo at the top of my blog. This is a flower from the kibbutz we stayed at in the north of Israel, Kfar Blum. An expert in the comments (see below) has declared this a nerium oleander.
Some of you enjoyed seeing my portrait posted, so here’s another one. If you’ll click on the photo, you’ll see the boy that I’m missing. I dropped him off yesterday so he could head off to camp for a month. He’s sure he’ll love it (Camp Stone), but I’m sure I’ll miss him. He’s my creative youngster, the one who was in the local teen film festival (shh, he’s only 11). On an aside, Michelle Reasso is back part-time at the Highland Park Public Library, so hopefully, there will be a new teen film festival this winter.
The photo was taken in the mirrored elevators of the King’s Hotel in Jerusalem. At some point, I will do a post on their “swimming pool” (they don’t really have one, it’s not the ritziest place in town), but it will be a fun post about an interesting city element with a Paris connection.
While I was driving my son from Highland Park, New Jersey to Teaneck, New Jersey, I asked my boy to take a few photos. Not because there is great scenery on the New Jersey Turnpike. It’s more like a nightmarish view, what gives New Jersey a bad name. I haven’t even looked at the photos yet; they are still in my camera, but maybe I’ll get up the guts to post a few, and submit something to Sky Watch Friday? As a contrast to all the beautiful sky photos from around the world one can find there.
Lion of Zion said he posted for a year about his trip to Israel, so I feel better about doing so here. Stay tuned for more postings about food in Israel, as Lion of Zion raised the topic of restaurants.
And just to add yet one more topic to this eclectic post, if anyone has any good thoughts on alternative energy research, would love to hear.
Another one. I read it first on Muqata. Now it’s on the Jerusalem Post.
Above is a photo taken by Middle Son of me enjoying the cool wading pool at Tel Dan. This was supposed to be a post called: “Easy Hikes in Tel Dan.” Tel Dan offers both natural wonders and archaeological finds. However, due to the fire last week in the Tel Dan Nature Reserves, I bring you this conversation between two of my children (it’s not their exact words, but the dialogue as I remember it):
Middle Son: Why would anyone do something like that?
Eldest Son: Why would anyone blow up a bus or a cafe?
Middle Son: But they could enjoy the nature.
Eldest Son: They could enjoy the bus, too.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the nature reserves will re-open this week; however, as one-third of the forest was destroyed, it will take many years for those parts to grow back.
Kosher Cooking Carnival #32: the the look but you better not eat edition is up over at Soccer Dad’s (It was a fast day yesterday, but now that’s over, so eat, kinderlach, eat).
I will be hosting in August, so please post recipes, thoughts on food, restaurant reviews, anything food-related as long as it’s kosher.
For more details, read Batya’s post, who coordinates the Kosher Cooking Carnival.
I posted the answer to the Cookie Contest in the comments to that post.
And because I love showing off photos, here’s more Kfar Blum breakfast, the kibbutz hotel we stayed out in the north of Israel. For the salad lovers, we had:
And for the all-American kids like my son (and their mothers who had to taste and decided these were the best pancakes she had ever eaten):
I was excited to capture this photo when we visited Rosh HaNikra, Israel. At first I declared: a scorpion! However, my son corrected me and said it was merely a crab. Good to have smart kids to set you straight.
Other animals have been posted around the world this weekend: visit at Camera-Critters.
Over 2000 years ago, Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian forces breached the walls of Jerusalem after many years of siege. So today observant Jews around the world fast, a fast called the 17th of Tammuz. It is hard for me to be sad on this day; my family greatly enjoyed visiting Jerusalem recently, and I had the opportunity to photograph ruins such as this one. But I can be contemplative. Yes, contemplative, that is a good word for today.
Jameel has more bad stuff that happened today. And hope for redemption.
I did the bottom one first. See all my Project Black posts. The top flowers are from a photo at Latrun, a military museum in Israel. The bottom flowers are from my friends’ backyard in Hashmonaim, Israel. The flowers are their neighbors and are draping over the wall in their backyard.
A similar theme in watercolor, no black at all.
What’s Project Black? Visit Anna’s blog.
What kind of cookie is this?
Buried in my brown rice post, I asked if you could guess the kind of cookie in the photo. Since no one guessed, I’m re-asking the question in its own post.
So, nu, what kind of cookie is that?
