Monday, January 30, 2012

Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors! #9

I found some magic behind a door! I'm a big fan of architecture, big and small, and I think that I may have found my favorite building, in a very unexpected place. Here's a little bit of background: the local bus company here (which provides school buses to our kids, among many other things) advertised that they have an extensive lost and found collection, and are planning to donate all unclaimed items to charity soon. We're lost a couple of things over the years, and so I thought it would be wise to go and see if anything turned up. I had never been there, so I called for directions, and ended up in front of a relatively plain looking building, with a couple of olive trees planted outside. But the magic was just beginning. Here's the front door:
Pretty ordinary, right? But look in there carefully, what do you see? It's actually breathtaking:

It's a whole little greenhouse and office building, built into one! Beautiful! Wouldn't you like to work here?
I'm telling you, it's a bus company... wow. I was really blown away.

Oh, and the lost and found room is also beautifully organized, all the clothing hung neatly and arranged by color (brilliant!) and shelves full of cameras, pairs of eyeglasses, and all sorts of other valuables. I didn't find anything of ours, but I had a great time going to check!

Please join our new-ish weekly meme, Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors! All you have to do is post a photo of a window, door, or anything architectural sometime this week, link here in your post (and feel free to grab the button - it's there, all the way at the bottom), and then link to your post in the widget below. I can't wait to see what you've found this week. Thanks for coming, everyone!




Thursday, January 26, 2012

A Foggy Skywatch!

The weather this week has been downright wacky - we went from cold and rainy, to practically snowing, to summery short sleeves weather, and now it's getting cold and rainy again. Did I mention that this was all in one week? Ah, winter in Israel :)

Anyway, I happened to be in Jerusalem this week, taking a safety course for work. More photos of the beautiful hotel where the course was hosted are scheduled to be posted soon... but in the meantime, check out this crazy fog that I found out the window of the hotel, this Wednesday!
Hmm, it looked much more impressive in person...
That thing poking through the fog on the left is the Herodion, or apparently Herodium, according to Wikipedia. It's around 2000 years old, which qualifies as somewhat old in Israel :)

Anyway, for more sky-oriented photography from all over the world, go check out Skywatch Friday right now! It's well worth the click - have fun! And have a great weekend, everyone!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors! #8

Thanks for coming back to our newest architectural meme! My youngest daughter and I were walking up a stairway in our neighborhood last week, when we happened to notice this door hiding below. Even though you can't see the whole thing, I just love the look of it. It reminds me of something from a children's book - maybe it's The Secret Garden? What do you think?


To participate in Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors, just post a photo of a window, door, or anything architectural, link here, and post a link back to your photo in the widget below. Don't forget to refresh the page to make sure your that your link worked! Have a wonderful week, everyone - thanks for coming by!


Shadow Shot Sunday - with a celebrity!

We were lucky enough to hear Shuli Natan tonight, in a local concert. She's pretty famous in Israeli circles, primarily for singing the song Yerushalayim shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold). I found this video of her singing it back in 1967 - it gets cut off a couple of minutes in, but you certainly get the idea.

Anyway, about halfway through the concert, I noticed that there were some wacky shadows going on behind her, and decided to try and capture them for you:

She looks awfully young for someone born in 1947, don't you think? And wowee, what a beautiful voice!
 
Way to go, Shuli!
And thanks so much to my dear daughter who was sitting behind me and helped me get these shots :)
For more shadowy photography, go right now to Shadow Shot Sunday 2. You'll be glad that you did! Happy Sunday, everyone!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Marbled Skies - Skywatch!

I had to go out to work early a few mornings ago, and as I rounded a curve in the road, I was greeted by this lovely sunrise. I just love these kinds of swirly clouds - aren't they pretty?
I wish I could have stayed and admired it longer... but alas, work was waiting. On the other hand, I'm glad that I was able to capture this little bit of it, so that now I can look back whenever I like :)

For more sky-oriented photography from all over the world, go right now to Skywatch Friday. You'll be glad that you did! Have a great weekend, everybody!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors! #7

We have arrived at lucky number seven of our new little meme! Welcome to Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors, where you can check out nifty architectural items from across the globe. We have a small but steady group of participants from truly all over - and perhaps with time we'll get even more - but meanwhile, I really enjoy sharing the interesting architecture that I see here in Israel with you, and seeing what you share from wherever you are. It's amazing to see just how similar, and just how very different it all can be!

Well, enough with the intro, let's move on to the photos! My husband and I happened to be very nearby Kibbutz Ein Tzurim a couple of weeks ago, and we couldn't resist stopping by to visit the school that used to be there, Yeshivat HaKibbutz HaDati. It unfortunately closed down a couple of years ago, but the building still stands. It seems a bit lonely, but is still very impressive, unique, and beautiful! Here is the door to the main study hall:
 Hmm, there's a little bit of glare from the sun. Hang on, I'll step over here to the side.
 That's better. Isn't it pretty? Hang on, I'll get in a little closer so you can see the detail:
 The amazing thing is, it doesn't just look beautiful, it feels beautiful. Anyone opening that door gets to touch the beaten metal, and it's a really nice sensation:
That's as close as I got :) Feel free to click on any of the photos, though, if you'd like an even closer view!
And now: please join me! To participate in Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors, just post your photo of a window, door, or anything architectural, and link to it in the widget below. Even if you haven't posted your own photo, please visit those who have posted - I hope you enjoy the beauty and variety as much as I do! Have a great week, everyone!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Skywatch - clouds!

Here some are impressive clouds that I found this afternoon. I am such a sucker for clouds :)
For more interesting sky photography from all over the world, go right now to Skywatch Friday! You'll be glad that you did, it's a lot of fun! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors! #6

Well, the votes are in (as to which day of the week our little meme should be), and it seems that some of us prefer Mondays, none of us prefer Wednesdays, and most of us don't mind either way. So I hereby announce that Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors will now begin on Mondays! However, the sign-up link stays open for the whole week, so if you'd prefer to come back and post on Wednesday, that's fine too. Truthfully, as long as you come sometime, I'm happy to have you join along - the more, the merrier!

Here are some funky windows that I came across this past week. My son is finishing 8th grade this year, and we've been looking around at various high schools for him. We went to visit one this past week, and while we were waiting for the orientation meeting to begin, I saw these cool as anything windows from afar:



Interesting, right? Little did I know that a couple of hours later, we'd find ourselves on the inside of those very windows:

True, it wasn't sunny by then, but still, I found it a nice ending to a good meeting :)

To participate in Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors, just post a photo of a window, door, or anything architectural, link here, and post a link back to your photo in the widget below. Don't forget to refresh the page to make sure your that your link worked!

Have a wonderful week, everyone - thanks for stopping by!


Sunday, January 8, 2012

Some shadowy macros

Well, I had time to take a short walk around on an overcast day last week, and spontaneously started snapping close-up shots of some everyday things. Can you see them for what they are?
 (The side of a trash can)

(Something growing on the side of a tree)

(The plastered exterior of a building)

(Some Jerusalem stone on a low wall nearby)

Well, I liked these, and thought they'd be good for both Shadow Shot Sunday and for Macro Monday. Please do go check out both of those weekly memes, you'll be so glad you did!
Oh, and it looks like we're moving Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors! to Mondays, so I look forward to seeing you back here for that!  
Have a great week, everyone!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Skywatch - A Stark Tree

It was very overcast this past week! Although we're still officially in drought status, it seems to be a much rainier winter than last year - here's hoping!
This past week I was wandering around outside in some on again off again drizzle, and I found this tree. Isn't it lovely?
Dunno, I liked it :) 
It's even nicer close up - feel free to click on it to get a better view!
For more sky-oriented photography from all over the world, go right now to check out Skywatch Friday, that great weekly meme. You'll be glad you went - have a great time!
And have a great weekend, everyone!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors! #5 and a question for you

Here we are, already here at week #5 of my happy new architectural meme, Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors! I'm very pleased to have you all aboard! 

Before we begin, here's my question: Someone suggested to me that we move WWDD to Mondays, since there are already *so* many other Wednesday memes. I don't mind either way - I like keeping Sundays open for Shadow Shot Sunday, Tuesdays open for Ruby Tuesday (no longer hosted by Mary - we'll miss you!), and Thursdays open for Skywatch Friday, but Mondays and Wednesdays are really both open for me. So my question for you is: Which would you prefer, Monday or Wednesday? Please let me know in the comments below - we'll tally up the results by Saturday night, and whatever we decide will be implemented next week! Thanks for your input!

And now, back to business: Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors!





 
Here's a nice set of windows that I found this past week, while briefly walking around in Hod HaSharon. This is classic Israel! 

Minimalistic and clean. Isn't that refreshing?

Please do participate with me in this week's edition of Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors! I do so enjoy seeing the things that you all post - our views are all so varied and unique! Just post a photo of a window, door, or anything architectural, link back here, and then post a link back to your photo in the widget below. Don't forget to refresh the page to make sure your that your link worked! Have a fantastic week, everyone!