Skywatch Friday - Sunrise!

Generally, I have a hard time dragging myself out of bed before 6:30. But last week, for some strange reasons that I won't bore you with here, I had to get up *very* early, and found myself baking chala at 5:00 AM. There I was, engrossed in kneading and braiding, when I happened to turn around. I hadn't realized that I'd be in for such a good show! It started out impressive, and kept getting better and better...

It was unreal! I have to start waking up earlier on a regular basis :)


Naturally, I'm posting this to Skywatch Friday, that weekly meme that showcases beautiful skies from all over the world. Go check it out - you won't regret it!


Have a great weekend, everyone!

Some tiny rubies, for Tuesday

Looking out the window at my office, I saw this innocent looking bush. 

But then something reddish caught my eye. I went outside for a closer look - check this out!

And elsewhere on the same bush, I found this

and this!

So to sum up, I'd say that this plant is lovely, but seemingly a little confused :)

Naturally I'm posting this to Ruby Tuesday, graciously hosted by Mary at Work of the Poet. Go there now to see more red photography from all over the world! Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Skywatch Friday - Winter is on its way!

Look at this gorgeous almost-sunset I found yesterday as I was leaving work! Ah, didn't we all miss those wintry clouds?

Naturally, I'm posting this to Skywatch Friday, that weekly meme that displays beautiful sky-oriented images from all over the world. Go check it out!
For those of you fasting tomorrow on Yom Kipur - have an easy and productive fast!
And to all of us - have a wonderful weekend, and a sweet New Year!

Happy New Year!

Well, after a long summer hiatus, I am back! We had a great time this summer, but it was pretty hectic. Now that we're settling back into our regular lives, I'm happy to re-embrace my blogging self!
And there's no better way to do that than with some weekly memes. Lucky for me, we just celebrated Rosh HaShana, when we eat some pretty colorful food. Among other new things, I made some round chala:

Then, to ensure a sweet new year, I added chocolate chips to some of them :)

And of course, Rosh HaShana wouldn't be the same without - pomegranates! My son seeded ours for me this year again, for which I am very grateful - it's a tedious and often messy project:

That's it for now! I think those chalot are just right for Mellow Yellow Monday 

and the pomegranate seeds for Mary's Ruby Tuesday 



Check them both out this week, you'll be happy you did!
Here's wishing all of you a happy, sweet new year, full of everything your hearts desire! See you back here soon!

Ruby Tuesday - Here I Am!!

Yes, I've been busy, and yes, I'm still busy! But I truly haven't forgotten you all, my good online friends, and so I just want to take three seconds to post this photo, exactly in time for Ruby Tuesday! Here you go - my big comeback!

It's the bougainvillea that I (very) briefly owned, a few weeks ago. I somehow convinced myself that bougainvillea wouldn't be completely miserable in a pot, on my balcony. And it seemed true, for just over a week, until... it became completely miserable, and I brought it to a coworker of mine who has a garden and was happy to adopt it! It sure was beautiful, though - maybe I'll go visit sometime :)


For more reddish photography, go to Mary's blog, Work of the Poet, where she faithfully hosts Ruby Tuesday each week. You'll be glad that you went! Have a great week, everyone!

The most exciting thing on our window

Ever!
It started out like this:

You may recall that we had a similar situation last year. But back then, our feathered friend just disappeared one day, leaving one egg behind (which my kids later brought to the Science Corner at school). So imagine our surprise, when we found this:

 and then, this!

(Feel free to click on those, if you'd like a closer view!)
Now, just so you all understand, this happened at just the same time that we adopted a new rabbit to befriend Caramel, and happen to be dogsitting for my father in law. And so now, over the past week and a half, the head count in our house has gone from 
two adults, three kids and one rabbit 
to 
two adults, three kids, two rabbits, a dog and three birds! 
We really should start charging an entrance fee :)


Naturally, I'm posting this window action to Mary's meme, Window Views... and Doors, Too! Go there if you'd like to see some more cool photography from all over the world. Have a great week, everyone!

A few shadows

Once again - it's been awhile. But I haven't forgotten you, my faithful readers! And just to prove it, I'm going to share some cool photos that I managed to catch on my way home from work, a couple of weeks ago:

I really am so happy to have found all of these funky shadows - none of which I would have seen if I were traveling by car!


Naturally, I'm posting this to my favorite meme - Shadow Shot Sunday! It's beautifully hosted at Hey Harriet - go check it out right now! And - have a great week, everyone!

Rubies in the shuk, Take II

You may recall the shuk, Jerusalem's huge open market. Well, Dave and I happened to be there again this past week, and I found - cherries! Check these out - have you seen a better candidate for Ruby Tuesday?

Those both look even better close up - feel free to click on the photos to get a better view!


Naturally, I'm posting these to Ruby Tuesday, Mary's ever popular weekly meme. Go there right now to see more reddish photography from all over the world. Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Catching up on a shadow

A few weeks ago, we celebrated Yom HaAtsma'ut - Israel's Independence Day. A popular custom on Yom HaAtsma'ut is to go hiking, and explore this tiny but wonderful country that we live in. This year we went wandering around a place called Motsa with friends, and it was beautiful! Actually, we first stumbled upon a 9/11 memorial, which was a real surprise. I didn't know that Israel even had a 9/11 memorial!

It (a bit shockingly) contains an actual beam from Ground Zero.

(feel free to click on that one, if it's hard to read and you'd like a better look)

Anyway, we then moved on to being impressed by more natural beauty:

And at the very end, my friend Dena even found a shadow for me, making it that much more perfect :)

That's all, folks! Naturally, I'm posting this to Shadow Shot Sunday, that always cool meme hosted at Hey Harriet. Go check it out, for more cool, shadowy photography from all over the world. 


And - Happy 63rd, Israel!

A Nighttime Skywatch

My little point and shoot camera is great for a lot of things, but I have to be honest - it doesn't do too well at night. One day I'll probably give in and buy myself a "real" camera. In the meantime, I've pretty much come to terms with the fact that I have a great camera that I love, that works really well for around twelve hours a day :)


And yet, when I found myself passing under that controversial bridge in Jerusalem last night, I was so taken that I decided I just had to try to capture it. I had never been so close to it at night before, and somehow, it seemed to actually glow! The effect of the white cables against the dark sky was really cool, and I was pretty excited. And so, although this photo doesn't do justice, I'm posting it - it's the best I've got (for now):

I guess you had to be there :)


Anyway, I'm posting this to Skywatch Friday. Go there right now if you'd like to see lots more sky photography from all over the world. Have a great weekend, all of you!

A Blue and White Skywatch!

It makes me a bit sad that I haven't had time for blogging recently. I hope to soon have more time to spend on it! But in the meantime, I'm taking three minutes to post this almost-sunset shot to Skywatch Friday:

I really enjoy the little cloud flecks here! Go to Skywatch now to see more cool sky-oriented photography!


And while I have your attention, do pay a visit to Ilana-Davita, who recently hosted JPix, the Jewish Photo Bloggers’ Blog Carnival. Thanks, Ilana-Davita, for posting the two photos that I submitted, and for doing such a beautiful job!


That's all for now, folks - have a great weekend!

A Black and White Photo

Well, this week's theme on Fifty-Two Frames (that Facebook meme that I was telling you about) was Black and White. So intriguing! But, unfortunately for me, my camera doesn't seem to have a b&w setting. So for the first time ever, I adjusted a photo into something new with Windows Picture Manager. I've really never done anything with black and white before - it's a whole new art form for me. And it was especially tricky, since I couldn't see what the photos would look like until I got them onto my computer. I had a feeling that something with some interesting shading and texture would be interesting... anyway, here's the photo that I chose to post - both before and after:

It's not fantastic, but it's definitely the best of the options that I had. Also, like most things I post here, it looks better close up, so feel free to click on the photo to get a better view! And please feel free to offer comments and suggestions - I'm really interested in black and white tips!


Also, on the off chance that this qualifies for my favorite meme, Shadow Shot Sunday, I'm going to post this there as well, at Hey Harriet. Go check it out now - you'll be glad you did!


Have a great week, everyone!

A door for Wednesday!

Well, I'm still trying to walk to work as often as possible, which is truly giving me a whole new perspective on my little town. I get to see a lot more things this way, now that I'm not just driving by with my eyes fixed on the asphalt ahead! And that's how I came across this very inviting front door. Isn't it charming?

I like it! And I'm posting it to Mary's meme: Window Views... and Doors, Too! Go there right now, if you'd like to see more architecture from all around the world. Have a great Wednesday, everyone!

My meme choice for this week...

is Today's Flowers! I've wanted to show you all these cool planters that my very best friend kindly gave me for my birthday - they are totally funky, and just right for my 3-balcony apartment. I filled them each with white geraniums and salsalei kesef, which the internet tells me are also known as Lobularia maritima. Here's a look at them day after I filled them up:

and here's a look at them just a few weeks later!

These make me happy each time I look out my kitchen window - how could I not share them with you, my online friends :)


And of course, I'm posting this to Today's Flowers. Go there now if you'd like to see beautiful, botanical photography from all over the world! Have a great week, everyone! And a very happy Passover!

Abstract views - and a Ruby for Tuesday

Well, as I mentioned last week, I've had to cut back (significantly) on blogging recently. If everything goes as planned, it shouldn't have to be for too long - hopefully not more than a month. I'm still going to try and post here once a week, though. Here's hoping that it's better than nothing!

And on that note, I finally found a ruby! I've mentioned before that I never seem to find a lot of red items in my day to day life, so I was quite pleased to find this sign a couple of days ago. And I thought it was pretty ironic that it says "yellow" after all of my red excitement :)

So I'm definitely posting this to Ruby Tuesday, Mary's always cool meme. She hosts it with dedication, week after week, at her blog, Work of the Poet. Go check it out, if you'd like to see more reddish photography from all over the world!


But that's not all! While I have you here, I wanted to share one more thing. I've also been participating in a weekly Facebook meme called "Fifty-Two Frames." Each week has a different theme, and we, the participants, each post to that week's album. This week's theme was "abstract," and I had absolutely no idea what to do! So I walked around outside my office on my lunch break yesterday, taking photos of anything that looked at all like it could be interpreted as abstract art. For the Fifty-Two Frames album, I had to pick just one, but this is my blog, so I've decided to show you the other options that I was deliberating with! I'd love to hear what you think! Did I choose the right one?


Here are the photos:

Here's the one that I almost posted:

And here's the one I chose in the end:

(Feel free to click on any of the photos, if you'd like a closer view. Personally, I think they're all a lot cooler looking close up!)
Anyway, that's all, folks! Comments are welcome! Have a great week, everyone!