Passover!

Sorry I haven't posted as often as usual - we've been busy, busy, busy! getting ready for Passover (Pesach, in Hebrew). And tonight is the big night! Here are a few photos that I managed to grab in the midst of the madness.

First, my scrubbed, shiny stovetop:

Next up, my clean countertop:

And finally, today, I opened our pack of matza! I was quite pleased to see that they all looked intact...

That's all, folks! Happy Pesach!

(In case any of these close-ups count as macros, I'll link to that great meme - Macro Monday. Check it out, over at Lisa's Chaos. It's a lot of fun!)

Skywatch - a guest post

by my friends Dena and Micha! They found this interesting trail in the sky last week - isn't it cool?

I can't decide which one I like best. Thanks for thinking of me, guys!

Do go and check out more sky-oriented photography, at Skywatch Friday. Have a great weekend, everyone!

A very friendly door

This is an easy choice for the Window Views... and doors too meme. Don't you agree? I can't recall having ever seen a more adorable door:

It's still making me grin, just like this :)

Do check out more window and door photography at Window Views... and doors too. Happy Wednesday, everyone!

A slimy ruby

As I mentioned here and here, my family and I just returned from a fun vacation in Eilat. As my kids were approaching this... what should we call it? this thing, I nudged my oldest and said, "look! Ruby Tuesday!"

Well, what do you think? Was I right?

Feel free to click on the photo, if you'd like a closer view. And do check out more Ruby Red photographer at Ruby Tuesday, hosted by Mary over at Work of the Poet. Happy Tuesday, all!

Mellow Yellow Monday - Under the Sea

A standard tourist stop in Eilat is its Underwater Observatory. They've done something really amazing and planted a small lookout just above some beautiful coral reef, and for a reasonable price, you can go down there and see the sea. This place is impressive! And I even found this big yellow guy:

 He looks pretty mellow, right?

Feel free to click on the photo to get a better look. And do check out more yellowish photography at Mellow Yellow Monday. Happy Monday, everyone!

I'm back!

Sorry for the absence, everyone - I hope you weren't worried. My family and I just returned from vacationing in Eilat. I had been thinking that I'd have a chance to blog while I was there, but the vacation part got the best of me :) At any rate, I'm back now, and I have this great shadow that kind of sums up our trip, so I decided it was appropriate for today's Shadow Shot Sunday. It starts with these guys, who I found frolicking in the pool at our hotel:

They do seem happy. And they made me pretty happy too, when I found that they had created this fun image: 

Do check out more shadowy photography, at Hey Harriet's Shadow Shot Sunday. Have a great week, everyone!

Shadow Shot Sunday - a well worn leaf

I happened to find this shadowy floor on a balcony, a few days ago, and a sad old leaf, sitting right in the middle of it. The shadows are coming from a metal divider between this balcony and that of the neighbors. I really like the effect here!

Cool, right? Click on either photo to get a better view.
And for more intriguing shadows, check out Shadow Shot Sunday, over at Hey Harriet. Have a great Sunday, everyone!

Skywatch - yet another winter sunset

Here's another great sunset from this week. I just can't get enough of these! It's true, I do enjoy summer, but I'm really going to miss this wintry cloud action! Well, I'll just do my best to enjoy it while I can. Here, help yourself to a bite:

For more great sky photography from all over the world, do go visit Skywatch Friday. Happy Skywatching, all!

12 Kuvaa - Sharav!

Well, it was cold, and then it was cold and rainy. And now, naturally, we're having a heat wave. But not any heat wave - this is Sharav! Sharav is the Hebrew term for hot, dusty winds, which are generally followed by a dirty bit of rain. This happens, generally, just after we Israelis have begun to clean our homes for Passover, and would prefer not to have everything covered in dust and mud :)

Anyway, Passover is only a few weeks away, and here we are, in the middle of our dusty wind. And so I decided to take a photo for 12 Kuvaa, that cool as anything meme in which we take a photo of the same scene, at the same time of day, once a month. Just to refresh your memories, here are the entries from the previous months (we started in September). The view is of the park across the street from our apartment:

 September

October

November

December

January

February

And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for, taken at 4:30 this afternoon, in the middle of our cloud... March!

Not impressed, eh? Not dusty enough for you? Well, to give you an idea, here's what the sun looked like at the same time:

Anyway :)

Do check out more cool 12 Kuvaa photos, from all over the world! Catch you again next month!

Ruby Tuesday - can you guess it?

Here's a shiny ruby that I found this afternoon, on a hunt for red items. First one to correctly guess what it is gets a virtual high five from me!

 

Don't forget: On Tuesdays, just post any photo you like (it must be one of your own) that contains the color RED and then link to this blog. 

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Cole Slaw - Macro Monday

Last week, my kids were making us a batch of cole slaw. (Thanks, guys!) At one point, I glanced over at the counter, and was so impressed that I asked them to stop for a second. Here's why:
 

 

 

Isn't that pretty? Feel free to click on either or both, if you'd like to enlarge them.

And do go to Lisa's Chaos, to check out more Macro photography, since it's Macro Monday! Happy Monday, everyone!

Almond Trees - Today's Flowers

Well, these trees are blooming all over Israel, and I finally found three seconds to stop and photograph one! Here you go - enjoy!

 

As always, feel free to enlarge it and get a better view. And go check out more botanical photography, at Today's Flowers. Have a great week, everyone!

Skywatch Friday - this evening!

I was out shopping with my son earlier this evening, just before sundown. We found some lovely trees, and couldn't resist trying to capture them:

 

 

We liked them :)

Feel free to click on the photos to enlarge them and get a better view. And do check out Skywatch Friday, for more sky-oriented photography. Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

Woo Hoo Wednesday!

This is an exciting photo for me - it's the first that I've had put up online by someone other than myself. I forwarded it to the Israel Meteorogical Service website this morning, and they apparently liked it enough to put it on their main page (on both the English and Hebrew pages), and credit me! Yea! So I'm totally excited. Thanks, Mira at IMS!

Here's the photo - it's of one of many currently flooded vineyards at the bottom of the valley below my home town of Efrat. I was passing by it yesterday, and just couldn't resist pulling over to take this shot!

Cool, right? Suffice it to say that our valley does not generally sport a seaside view. This is crazy! In my opinion, once it has waves, it's a lake :)

Feel free to click on the photo to get an even better look. Have a great day, everyone!

A ruby red mosaic

We have a great little library here in Efrat. Everyone in our family of five can easily find lots of things that they enjoy reading there. We've lived in Efrat for over nine years, now, and yet I'm always in such a rush that I honestly don't remember noticing this mosaic outside its front door until just last week:

 

Isn't that pretty? I looked up the passage, and its taken from 2 Chronicles, 17:9 - They taught throughout Judea, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord. Considering that Efrat is located right here in the hills of Judea, it's a very well chosen passage for a library, I think :) And it's got enough red to qualify for Ruby Tuesday, so enjoy!

As always, feel free to click on the photo to get a better view. And do go to Mary's blog, Work of the Poet, for more red Ruby Tuesday entries. Happy Tuesday, everyone!