At last - a window

Finally, I got access to my old photos! And so, now I can begin to present you with all of those windows and doors that I had waiting in the wings! Let's start with a local one - I found this on a kibbutz near my home town. You just don't see this kind of thing nowadays, even on a kibbutz. Or at least I don't :)

I thought it was a good candidate for Mary's Wednesday meme: Window Views... and Doors, too! Go to her blog right now to see more fun architectural shots. Happy Wednesday, everyone!

A Happy Birthday Surprise!

My birthday was about a week and a half ago, and I was pleasantly surprised to receive this little card from a coworker of mine. My first thought was, "where on earth did she find a carnation today?!" Until I looked closer, and saw that it was made of tissue paper! Wow.

Here's the card. It says: Sweet Toby - Congratulations - Happy Birthday! Health, Blessings and Happiness. Who could ask for anything more, right?

Oh, I know - I could ask how to make these amazing flowers! Which I did, of course, and now my kids and I have been filling our house with tissue blossoms :)

For more photography with reddish tints, go check out Ruby Tuesday, loyally hosted by Mary at Work of the Poet. Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Strange shadows

I found that the sleeve of my sweater was creating some interesting images when the sun shone directly on it. Maybe I need to use my time better... but I still think that these are kind of cool :)

I like the last one the best! Feel free to click on any of them if you'd like to get a better look.


To see more shadowy photography, check out that ever-cool meme, Shadow Shot Sunday, hosted over at Hey Harriet. And for more close-up photography, go see Macro Monday, at Lisa's Chaos. Have a great week, everyone! And Happy Holidays!

Skywatch - Angelic Clouds

It's amazing to me that the sunsets around here are prettier on Thursdays, on a regular basis. Do the people in charge of the Skywatch Friday weekly meme have some pull in the heavens? Here's what I found this afternoon - I really liked these wispy, angelic clouds:

Nice one, right? The one on the bottom left reminds me of an origami crane :)


For more interesting sky photography, go check out Skywatch Friday. Have a great weekend, everyone!

A window from overseas

So like I said, our household computer isn't working, and that's where I keep the photos that I've downloaded from my camera. And I have so many photos of windows (and doors!) that are just waiting to be posted! But alas, they're stuck for now.


However, my husband just reminded me that he has copies of the photos that we took on vacation a couple of months ago! Thanks, Dave! After quickly looking through his collection, I found this cool shot that I had planned to post:

That's my nephew, Eli, on a staircase at the Children's Museum in Boston. That sure is a fun place! I was especially grateful that Eli stood still for a minute to let me get this shot - here we have an especially nice selection of windows, both inside and out. Feel free to click on the photo, if you'd like a closer look!


And do go check out Mary's fun architectural meme, Window Views... and Doors, Too! It's a lot of fun, I know I'm going there right now. Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Sorry I've been away - here's a ruby!

Well, our household computer is on the fritz, and so I haven't had much chance to post anything. I missed posting to some of my favorite memes! And yet it worked out a bit tonight, and so I'm taking this opportunity to post something that thankfully wasn't yet downloaded from my camera :)


Here's a friend from my office parking lot, that land of red bounty. I wouldn't call one tree a full-fledged Autumn, but it was lovely nonetheless:

You too, can participate in Ruby Tuesday, Mary's ever-interesting meme! Just post a photo of something red, and link to her blog, Work of the Poet. Then go there, and sign up. Have a great Tuesday, everyone - hope to see you here again soon!

Ruby Tuesday, Post-Chanuka

Well, I'm on a lunch break here at work, but I wanted to quickly share these Chanuka rubies with you. Of all the photos I took while we lit Chanuka candles last week, I think that this one is the reddest:

And here's what that same menora looked like after the holiday, just before we cleaned it off. I really like looking at all of those stalagmites and stalactites!

And here's the pile of leftover wax that my kids salvaged from all four of our menoras:

You too, can participate in Ruby Tuesday, Mary's ever-interesting meme! Just post a photo of something red, and link to her blog, Work of the Poet. Then go there, and sign up. Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

Skywatch: Morning and Night

I went in to work a little earlier than usual today, and found these neat-o clouds:

Lovely, right? But when I turned the corner and could see behind the buildings, I realized that the clouds were just a part of a bigger picture - the sun was still rising!

I was pretty pleased with myself for having caught it all. But imagine my surprise when I found a matching sky on my way home, just before sunset:

Right? Maybe it's just me, but I found it quite cool that they seemed so similar. And beautiful, naturally - feel free to click on any of them, if you'd like to enlarge them and get a better view!


For more sky-oriented photography, go check out Skywatch Friday, right now! You'll be glad you did!


Have a great weekend, everyone!

Some local windows, for Wednesday

It's very common for people to have pretty ironwork around here, in front of their homes, on windows and on doors. Maybe it's a Mediterranean thing, I don't know... Still, you see a lot of standard patterns, making ones like these really stand out. I like them a lot!

Lovely, right? Feel free to click on either photo, if you'd like a closer look.

I figure all the windows in these shots qualify this post for Mary's neat meme, Window Views... and Doors, too! Go check it out right now, to see more interesting photography from all over the world. Happy Wednesday, everyone!

A shadow - just in the nick of time

I really liked the interesting mat under the flowers in Cindi's house. The photo of that didn't come out so well, but look at the cool shadows that I accidentally caught while trying!

For more intriguing shadows, go check out Shadow Shot Sunday, that always-excellent meme, hosted over at Hey Harriet. Happy Sunday, everyone!

A short, squat ruby

Here's another one from Sharon, Mass. I found this one to be absolutely adorable!

Do you get it? I thought perhaps it was hailing a taxi, but it turns out that this fire hydrant's little flag is so that it can be found in the snow. How innovative! I grew up in Chicago, which gets plenty of snow, but I don't recall ever seeing any of these cuties.


For more reddish images, go check out Ruby Tuesday, graciously hosted by Mary at Work of the Poet. Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Sunset, this afternoon!

Check out the sunset I caught this afternoon as I was leaving work! It was really unbelievable - I'm glad I had my camera so that I could prove it to myself later :)

For more cool sky photography from all over the world, check out Skywatch Friday, that cool-as-anything weekly meme. Happy Skywatching, everyone!

A ruby - I didn't forget!

I found these in Sharon, Massachusetts, a little way into October. Can't you just feel the brisk air? I really have always loved autumn!

As always, feel free to click on either photo, for a closer view. And to see more reddish photography, go check out Ruby Tuesday, graciously hosted by Mary at Work of the Poet. Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Shadows - here's hoping for a bloggy week!

Well, I didn't post much last week. Life is just busy, what can I say? But I'm hoping that this week will be a little livelier. Let's start it off right, with a nice shadow.


I found these fire escapes in Chicago. Suddenly realizing that my kids had never seen anything like them here in the Jerusalem area, I decided to take a photo. And then I noticed the awesome shadows that they were creating, and I took one more :)

I like them a lot!


For more cool shadow photography, go check out Shadow Shot Sunday, hosted at Hey Harriet. You won't be sorry!


Happy shadow hunting, everyone! And have a great week!

Skywatch - this afternoon

Well, I've started working longer days at work. I used to come in from 8-4, and now I'm supposed to come from 8-5. But alas: the sun sets around 4:30, and I keep missing it! So I've been trying *very* hard to come in early, around 7, with the intention of getting out by 4. Needless to say, easier said than done...


And so, today, I was sitting at my desk around 4:20. Suddenly, I got a call from my friend Dena. "I just wanted to tell you," she said, "that there's some crazy sky stuff going on. I thought you'd want to know."


I grabbed my camera and ran out to the parking lot. The view isn't as unobscured as the one from my balcony at home, but still, not bad:

Wow, right? Click on the photo to get an even better view.


What can I say? Thank you, Dena! It's good to have friends, and especially ones who look up :) Here's hoping that I'll get better at scheduling my time, and won't need to employ spies...


For more sky-oriented photography from all over the world, check out Skywatch Friday! There are some amazingly talented photographers who post there - you won't regret the click. 


Happy Skywatching, everyone! Have a great weekend!

European Shadows

On our trip last month, we stopped over in France. We were pretty tired, to say the least, and had just enough time and energy to be bored in the airport, but not quite enough time or energy to go see anything interesting in Paris...


I did find some intriguing shadows while wandering in the walkways between terminals. So here's one of my impressions of France :)

(Do click on the photo to get a better look - it's more impressive that way!)


So all in all, it wasn't a total loss! And let's hear it for France's Charles de Gaulle airport, which is very friendly about giving 10 free minutes of wifi!


I'm posting this to that wonderful meme, Shadow Shot Sunday, graciously hosted at Hey Harriet. I highly recommend you go there right now, to check out lots more interesting shadows from all over! Happy Sunday, everyone!

Autumn Thursday and Skywatch Friday, all in one

There's a meme called Thursday Challenge that is interesting - its theme varies from week to week. My only problem with it is that I never remember to check what the theme is ahead of time. I signed up to get a reminder, but it never worked, and so I haven't participated much over the past year :(


However, last week and this week, I was pleased and surprised to find a reminder email in my inbox! Something apparently clicked behind the scenes, and now I'm in the loop. And wouldn't you know it - this week's theme is Autumn! I've been waiting to post a foliage pic from our trip to the US - what could be a better excuse?

There you have it, folks: Autumn. Isn't it lovely? And since I think that the bright blue sky makes those Autumn colors stand out even more impressively, I'm posting this to Skywatch Friday, too. Go check out both memes, to see what other fun things have been posted! And have a great weekend, all of you!

Ruby Tuesday - some local rubies

Here is the view that greets me each morning, about three minutes into my morning commute. I've been trying to get in to work a little earlier, in order to leave before dark (and not miss any lovely sunsets) and the morning light on these trees is just enchanting.

When you get close up to these intriguing trees, you see that what makes them red is seemingly thousands of tiny Chinese lanterns. They're really lovely!

For more ruby red photography of the week, go check out Ruby Tuesday, graciously hosted by Mary at Work of the Poet. Happy Tuesday, all!

Shadow Shot Sunday - at last

Well, I've been trying to get back into the swing of posting a photo every day or two, and it hasn't been easy. I have lots of photos, just no time to sit still and post them, you understand :)

Anyway, when I caught this out of the corner of my eye at work the other day, I said "Toby, that is the best shadow ever! You are just going to have to make some time for it." And apparently it worked, since here I am:

 This little guy was crawling on the screen on my office window. I am truly honored that he sat still while I fumbled around for my camera. Thanks, guy!

For more cool shadow photography, go right now to Shadow Shot Sunday, that excellent meme hosted at Hey Harriet. Happy Sunday, everyone!

Skywatch from October - here you go!

It's time once again for that always-appropriate meme, Skywatch Friday! 
Looking through my photos from last month, I came across these lovely sunset shots. We were getting ready for our trip at the time I took them, and I truly, completely forgot about them until this moment. I'm so glad I thought to browse through!

Nice, right? They look even better close up - click on them and see for yourselves.


And for more sky-oriented photography, go check out Skywatch Friday, where you'll find great shots from all over the world. Happy Skywatching, everyone!

Goodbye, RivkA

Well, I've been in kind of a slump. We were shocked and saddened to hear this past Friday that our friend from so long ago, RivkA Matitya, had left this world. We used to know RivkA back when we hung out in the Bnei Akiva building in Jerusalem in the early 90's - she was always there in the Yavne Olami office, where she spent so much of her time. She was always a burst of smiles and energy, and we were happy to talk with her, again and again!


Then we lost contact, and when I first heard about the Coffee and Chemo blog, I was sad to realize that it was written by that same sweet friend of ours from way back. Until I started actually reading her blog, and saw that RivkA wasn't in any kind of a slump herself - she was still all smiles and energy, but using it now to live her more adult life with her husband and kids. She was seemingly a whirlwind of energy, running from event to event, loving her family, teaching swimming classes (!) and more. We did get to actually reconnect in person a couple of times, at various happy occasions and at the JBloggers picnic that she organized in Jerusalem, just a little over a year ago. Here's the photo that I have from then - you can see her beaming (as she always has) in the middle:

To give you a small understanding of what she was like, here's part of one of her blog posts from 2007:
~~~
Okay, so here is the deal: I don't want people to look at me with sad, "droopy" eyes.

I don't want people to think of me and feel sad.

I don't want people to see me and feel sorry.

I don't want to be the cause of worry and concern.

I know that when you first hear the news, it's a bit of a shock. So it's okay to be sad in the beginning (I was too). But don't stay there!

You can ask me anything.

I'm totally open.

I don't mind talking about the cancer or what's going on.

Chemo certainly affects the day-to-day of my life, so there's no ignoring it.

But I really don't intend to hang out in some dark, depressing emotional pit.

So here's what I want:

When you think of me, be happy.

When you see me, smile.

Read more: http://coffeeandchemo.blogspot.com/2007/08/no-droopy-eyes-please.html#ixzz14BB0gdA7
~~~


Anyway, it didn't work - we were sad on Friday, and I know I've never cried as much at anyone's funeral as much as I did at hers, on Saturday night. Then Sunday morning came around, and I found this sun rising on the way to work - and somehow couldn't help but think that RivkA had gone from lighting up our world to lighting up the heavens:

And I started to realize that I was doing just the opposite of what she would have done - we're meant to be happy, and take advantage of every good thing that life gives us! If we can all start acting the way she did, the world will quickly become a far better place. So I'm going to try, and I hope you all will too!


In that spirit, here's a fast, funny sign that we found in Sharon, MA just a few weeks ago. I know, those of you from Massachusetts may not find this funny. But some of the rest of us do!

(By the way, as a humorous aside to our Boston trip: my Israeli coworkers are shocked that I [or anyone] can pronounce "Massachusetts." They claim that saying it aloud must be part of the U.S. naturalization test.)


May RivkA's family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem! Shiva information can be found on her blog, Coffee and Chemo.


Please daven (or send happy thoughts) for the memory of RivkA bat Yishaya.

A ruby by any other name...

There we were, shopping with my mom in the Lincolnwood Town Center. Dave wandered off, and when he came back, he said he had found something for my blog. I wasn't sure if it was a funny sign (for my other, funnier blog) or something lovely, for this one. Turns out, both my guesses were wrong - and yet, he was totally right. How could I possibly resist this?

As you may have guessed by now, I'm posting this for Mary's Ruby Tuesday meme. To participate, just post a photo with some red in it, and link to her blog, Work of the Poet. Then go there yourself to sign up, and of course to see what other interesting reddish photography has been posted!
Happy Tuesday, everyone!

I'm back! Just in time for Skywatch

Well, we've returned from our vacation, and mostly recovered from jet lag. We had a wonderful time visiting with our family and friends. And yet, it's also wonderful to be home!

I will soon start posting all sorts of cool photography from our trip - but first - I happened to look up this afternoon as I was leaving work, and look what I found!

Lovely, right? I was quite pleased to have come across it. And on a Thursday afternoon - it was just the sign that I needed to get me back in the blogging mood :)

For more sky-oriented photography from all over the world, go right now and check out Skywatch Friday, that ever-popular meme. Have a great weekend, everyone! And happy Skywatching!

Ah, Autumn

Well, you may not all know this, but even as I type, Dave and I are on a fun-filled vacation in the States! We've been in Boston since Thursday afternoon, and are headed out to Chicago tomorrow night, where we'll be through Sunday. If you're in either of those locations, we would love to see you!

Anyway, needless to say, I haven't been doing much blogging recently. Who has time? But I didn't want to leave you all waiting around... plus, we're here in beautiful New England, where Autumn foliage is all around us. I've been trying to get a bunch of photos, especially since my Israeli kids have never seen Autumn foliage :)


Anyway, here's just one of the many gorgeous views that we've been exposed to over the past few days:

It's true, Autumn hasn't entirely settled in, and I'm sure in a month or so this will be even more majestic. But I think it's gorgeous, and I just couldn't resist posting it! Feel free to click on the photo, to get an even closer view.


And I do believe that the little it of red on the left qualifies this for that always-fun meme, Ruby Tuesday! Go check out lots of red photography there, where it's graciously hosted by Mary. Happy Tuesday, Ruby fans!


And take care, everyone! I hope to be back to posting regularly soon!

Skywatch - Return of the Sunset

Winter is quick approaching - we've felt some drops over the past few weeks, and the clouds are getting to be much more interesting! I really did miss dramatic sunsets - this isn't a full-fledged one, but I do quite like the sunbeams shining through:

How exciting! Feel free to click on the photo, if you'd like a closer look. Here's hoping that this winter is rainy enough to take us officially out of our drought!
For more sky photography from all over the world, go check out Skywatch Friday. Happy Skywatching, everyone!

A fast window - Tsfat #3

I found a minute to post this window - the next entry in my Tsfat collection. I like the simplicity and monochromatic look - do you?

For more Window Views... and Doors, Too! go to Mary's blog of that same name. Happy Wednesday, everyone!

A macro flowery succulent

Remember those succulents that I'm so fond of? Well, I brought a little one to a friend of mine at work, and we're enjoying watching it grow. He watered it a couple of days ago, and asked me to come over and check out how cool it looked. Naturally, I came over and took a photo:

I know it's not a flower, but it's flower shaped, right?

:)

Feel free to click on the photo to get an even closer shot!
For more of Today's Flowers, go check out that meme of the same name, right here. And for more macro photography, check out Macro Monday, hosted at Lisa's Chaos. Have a great week, everyone!

Doors in Tsfat: #2

Here's the next installment of funky doors and windows that we found when walking around Tsfat a few weeks ago. Well, specifically, here's a set of two windows, and a door. Enjoy!

Here we start to move away from the turquoise, but certainly not toward anything more subtle :)
For more Window Views... and Doors, too! go to Mary's meme of the same name. Happy Wednesday, everyone!