HANUKA LIGHTS

SEASON OF LIGHTS

Happy Holidays to everyone! 
May you celebrate in peace and with joy!

THE TRUE SPIRIT OF GIVING

Christmas is approaching and there is talk about gift giving and the searching for presents everywhere. I was reminded of the true spirit of giving - which is giving from the heart and out of love - by the wonderful story "The gift of the Magi" by O.Henry. I would like to present the whole narration here, but I don't know if I may do this due to copy rights, and it also would be too long for a blog post anyway. But I will retell it in a short version, I think this I may do.

It is about Della and James, a young couple, living in poverty but happily. Della had saved some little money, penny after penny which had been very hard to do. The day before Christmas she counted one dollar and eighty seven cents. Crying and sniffling she realized that amount would not buy a nice present for her Jim as she had planned, something worthy, something special. 

Della and James Dillingham Young had two things in their possession which were of great value for them. It was a gold watch Jim inherited from his father, and the other one was Della's beautiful long wavy hair, which fell down over her waist to her knees. Now, looking out the window and seeing her reflection in it, she knew in a wink what to do. 

Madame Sofronie from "Hair Goods of all Kinds" gave her twenty dollars for the cut off brown cascade. Oh and Della was clear on what to buy for her Jim, she was so sure of it: A chain for The Watch she wanted - to replace the old leather strap from which it hung.

At seven o'clock sharp, like every evening, she heard him coming up the stairs. Jim stepped inside and closed the door. He froze in his tracks - "You have cut off your hair?" His look was puzzled - shocked...

"Oh it will grow back quick - I sold it - it is Christmas Eve, I wanted to give you a Christmas present - I'm still me without my hair!"

Out of his pocket he brought a package and threw it on the table. With uttermost excitement she opened it - a scream of joy - and then... before her she saw the beautiful tortoise shell combs she had admired for so long at the store window - and what they meant to embellish was gone now! "My hair will grow back fast Jim" - and then she held out her present to him, the pretty chain worthy The Watch. "Isn't it swell Jim? I searched all over town to find it - give me your watch - let's see how it looks!"

"Oh Dell", he said, "I sold the watch to buy you the combs!" He smiled... 

(A smile of love, I am sure!)  - - - -

This is the "art of giving Christmas presents" invented by the magi, the "wise men, wonderfully wise men"...

(The book: "41 Stories by O. Henry" would be a wonderful present in itself.)

TO MY PRECIOUS TWIN GRANDDAUGHTERS

Today is my birthday - I lived for 65 years now. Since you were old enough to read and write I got birthday letters and birthday notes from you, every year! They always had a lot of colorful sweet embellishments with hearts and flowers drawn on them, and contained loving wishes and greetings. I cherish them - I have them all - I save them in a special box.

Today I decided to write YOU a letter. Don't worry it won't be long and I will not preach to you. I just wish to tell you how much I love and enjoy you, how grateful I am to have you, how proud I am of you, how pleasant it was to see you grow up and blossom into the wonderful teenagers you are today. And I wish to give you some thoughts on your way and tiny bits of advice.

You started your life a little bit too early, sixteen years ago, on the same day. I remember seeing you for the first time in the hospitals baby ward, tiny little butterflies tucked into incubators with quite a few tubes sticking out from you. With your own strength and the endless caring love of your parents you got over the difficulties of the first weeks. Once at home you started to thrive and never stopped! 

You brought us only joy - and on this day I happily remember it all, every detail of your growing, each sweet moment. The most wonderful thing is to know, that your baskets are not empty, and love and dearness and hugs will come out of it continuously, gifted to whom ever will be open  for it, to family - foremost your parents, your brother and your little sister - and to friends - and surely I too will profit from it forever!

So I wish to tell you to please take very good and conscious care of yourself - always. Love your pretty bodies and care for them and their health. Cherish your soul and keep it true and free of clutter. Continue your education and seek out a proper profession, so you will be able to provide for your own needs. That is so important!

It is wise not to let things just happen in your life, plan them,  know what you want and in which direction you like to go.

Recognize the presents life has in store, how it provides wonders from nature and treasures from kind people. That will lift you up! Being thankful for each day can give your spirit joy. There are always ups and downs in life - in each life - but I know you can manage - I know! May your good days predominate, with hugs, with smiles and laughter. Yes, remember - a little humor goes a long way! Keep your heads up, strive for the sun!

And remember - my love for you will never cease... :-)

HOUSE CATS

Painted on a house wall in the pedestrian zone of a little town on the Carmel Mountain (Sichron Yaakov)

OLD MARKET JERUSALEM

Photo by my husband Uri Eshkar

IRIS - CROCUS - DAFFODIL

It started to get green here. It is that time of the year. Mysterious things are going on underneath the surface. There is some stirring in the ground. And then the earth breaks up and beauty emerges and colors spill upward. Sun is always present here. But now the clouds added rain - and then the magic happens again...

Ahhhhhhhhh....

Photographs by Uri Eshkar.

FABRIC BOXES

Have you seen my handmade fabric boxes in my Holiday Shop? Who would not be happy to receive such a lovely gift? Created from scratch with cardboard and mostly self died fabric, with pretty butterfly and fish appliques on the lid. They are truly beautiful and unique! (11.12.2011 The shop is closed now - till next year!)

 Open the above shop link for details and prices.