SAYING GOOD BY FOR A LITTLE WHILE

I was not around very much here lately. No telling of hikes into nature and excursions to ancient places. The reason for it is that I am not as mobile as I would like to be. For some time now I have arthritis in my left ankle. There is no cushioning cartilage anymore in my joint, and  walking with bone grinding on bone has gotten so painful that it became necessary to be taken care of. 

So tomorrow morning, the first day of the new year, I will check into hospital for surgery of total ankle replacement (ankle arthroplasty). An artificial joint will be inserted between my tibia and my talus bone and then - voila - I will have the ability to walk pain free restored! Well, after four or five months or so... :-)

I have to admit, I am quite anxious, not so much about the surgery itself, but about the long healing period after it. I was told, I may not put weight on my foot for at least six weeks. So a walker and crutches are already at home and during the last week I practiced a bit of getting along with them.
I hope everything turns out good and successful! So my dear blogger friends, please wish me luck! :-)

A good new year to all of you! Foremost health, everything else will fall in place!

FOR SOME DELIGHT AT WORK

My daughter asked me for a  case to take her laptop to work. This is what I came up with. It turned out to be quite cheerful. It is made from decorator fabric and pieces of leather, with a beautiful African batik print lining. The butterflies are appliqued, and together with the mother-of-pearl buttons and the doily scrap add some fun embellishment.

NOT THIRTYSOMETHING BUT SIXTYSIX

THIS makes me happy!

After some days of  Hanuka vacation with us, my grandson went home yesterday. This is what I found in my Facebook in the morning:

"grandma i love U and thanks for all the things you did for me i love U see U next holiday :-)"

IS PICKLING AN ARTFORM?

Hm, what do you think?

200cc water, 100cc vinegar (apple vinegar is good), 
1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons sugar. Unheated. Prepare this mixture as often as needed to fill your jar. I blanched the cauliflower and the red pepper for two minutes (cool it down in cold water, so it does not continue to "cook"). Peel the cucumber or don't peel. I added garlic cloves and some onion pieces. I did not have dill at home, otherwise I would have put in a sprig or two.  Sometimes I add pieces of carrots (blanched). Peppers in all colors are most beautiful in the jar. Ready to eat after three days. These pickles are mild and delicious. So easy and quick to prepare! Fun to use all those colors! :-)

If I prepare a jar full of those delicacies for my son-in-law I will use lemon juice instead of vinegar, my son too prefers it that way. My new daughter-in-law and I - we LOVE vinegar! :-) My husband will enjoy both kinds! My daughter uses a recipe for an Asian kind, with soy! I will share it some other time. It is very tasty too!

Filling little jars will make a lovely gift - ein Mitbringsel!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND

Oh! Do you really have to go?
No, please don't leave me
all alone! Now you are
tying me up to the post
with a rope? Please leave
it long so I can roam!
 
A whole weekend you will
be away?
The food you have left 
will only last one day!
Water in my small bowl
is not enough, a bucketful
is a must.

What if it starts to rain?
I am sure you will keep
nice and warm 
while I am left to shiver!
Don't you care? Am I
such a bother?

I don't ask for much,
except that you take
care of me before you
go away.
After all you tell me
I am man's best friend!
What I don't understand is:
Who is mine?? 

 Poem by Thelma Elizabeth Zaracostas

Have a great weekend and please do take care of your animals!

(This is Seppl - made from decorator fabric and silk, embellished with leather appliques, he is from snout to tail 23"/60cm long. He already found a lovely home!)

STARDUST - WHAT A BEAUTIFUL NAME

This is the title of a Japanese blog. It belongs to Yoko from Nara, a beautiful city in the south of Japan, a place full of very energetic ancient history, surrounded by smooth hills, full of old temples, of gardens and parks with ponds, trees, birds, flowers and deer - a place which survived in its grace from the past and keeps it - and the best cherry blossom viewing point in Japan.

Yoko's blog is a marvel and a treasure! Her photographs are all masterpieces with that so typical and impossible to copy sense of artistic creativity full of honor to the subject, to be found among the Japanese people. She has the ability to capture nature in all its glory with her lenses.

Sometimes her photos look like paintings. She covers the seasons with charm and she always compliments her pictures with the stories belonging to them.
This is her last post of the year and she is preparing with golden joy for the holidays and for the New Year!
All the best to you Yoko san - thank you for your marvelous photos, your words and your efforts! May the next year bring you again the pleasure you find in nature and life! We will welcome you back gladly!

http://stardustenglishwriting.blogspot.co.il/2012/12/stay-gold.html

Please have a look and wander around, you will be awarded! :-)

DACKEL - FOR LIEL

This is my first try - it was fun and my fingers are itching to make him some friends. His snout needs a bit reshaping, otherwise he is really fine! His name is "Waldi" - of course!

He is very photogenic! And long and short!

 Oh well, you may rename him if you wish! I might consider your suggestion! :-)

CROCUS

They are blooming now in great abundance at the Carmel mountain. Wishing all of you a happy Sunday and good new week! Zoom in and enjoy those beautiful flowers!

כרכום  photographed yesterday by my husband Uri Eshkar

BUTTERFLY POUCH

 Hand painted base cotton fabric, appliqued butterflies, one inside pocket ca. 6" x 10" x 3" (15cm x 25cm x 7cm)

IS IT OVER YET?

People come, people go - I saw it all - I am still here...

I don't hate, I don't love, I am just here. Quiet, beautiful, fruitful - and I will be here when they all are long gone...

Peace  
Definition of PEACE (n. L. pax, paco, to appease, to agree)

A state of tranquility or quiet

Freedom from civil disturbance

A state of security and order within a community provided for by law or custom 

Freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions

Harmony in personal relations

A state or period of mutual concord between governments

A pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity

The absence of war or other hostilities

An agreement or a treaty to end hostilities

Freedom from quarrels and disagreement

Public security and order

Freedom from war with a foreign nation

Public quiet

Freedom from internal commotion or civil war

Freedom from private quarrels, suits or disturbance

Freedom from agitation or disturbance by the passions, as from fear, terror, anger, anxiety or the like

THE FLOWERS DON'T CARE...

they present their beauty to everyone and in any case...

SHABATT - LATE AFTERNOON

Some light at a sky full of turmoil... Some hope?

WELCOME WITH LOVE OSS!

HE ASKED HER, SHE SAID YES! WE ARE VERY HAPPY! :-)

One more thing to be thankful for!

"SMILING HELPS A LOT"

" I look where it is good. I know about the bad, but I look at the good thing."

My friend Aiva sent me a link this morning. I am fascinated with it. I learned from it. I am listening to it real good. It contents meanings and wisdom gathered from a long life with certain great difficulties, that put my proportions in order - " it is not so terrible" - set them right, till I forget again and need another reminder to regulate them. When life acts out a bit on us and we are in danger of feeling sorrow of ourselves, of loosing our "good haze" and falling into haze of uncertainty and fear, it is always helpful to have someone to lead us back to the good things - because there are plenty of them. And even if life deals us really bad cards, this woman's experience and spiritual guidance may give us a helpful insight, a more optimistic outlook, and tools to survive.

"I learned to be thankful for everything
for not being hungry
for being in a good haze
of course of course
seeing the sun
seeing the smile of a good person
hearing a nice word of somebody
a nice word of somebody...

Everything is a present - everything - this I learned, to be thankful for everything."

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=ouC4_UKYp9o&vq=medium

Maybe this will cause you too to think matters over and after the cry arrive at a smile.

THE SKY WAS INCREDIBLY BLUE...

all day long, pleasing us during our long drive through the Negev, preserving its pretty hue till late afternoon and returning it the next  morning to the horizon. The chosen desert lodge (Chavat Nachal Boker, near Sde Boker) was waiting for us in the midday sun, its few tracks nothing but stony paths, covered with sand, surrounded by a small garden, with plants not minding the daily hot and nightly cold climate of the dry acrid region, but thriving anyway.

Our "hotel" was just a hut, a rustic cabin, built from natural material, like wood, bamboo and straw, roofed with palm fronds, integrating perfectly into the landscape, adapting, not disturbing the barren view of soft hills and shallow valleys. Very lovely and charming! Spot clean and comfortable! No TV, no telephone of course, but a porch to relax and to flow into a desert state of mind in the late afternoon and evening hours.

The breeze rushing in the few acacia trees and causing the hammock to swing gently was quietening down at night, only the lonely howling of the wilderness jackals could be heard.

Mornings in the desert are always gorgeous, the air fresh and scented. Birds awakening early.

Being more adventurous a tent could have been rented in an adjoining lodge, with shared bathroom facilities outside.

A pretty handmade set of a table and chairs waiting for a healthy breakfast being served!

Satisfied with a full belly we started out to reach our goal of Ein Saharonim (עין סהרונים), a small spring (ein) at the lowest point of the Machtesh Ramon, created from ground water, and the location of one of the most ancient Nabatean ruins, a caravansary, serving as a resting spot at the spice trade route, chosen for the water source being nearby. The road number 40 goes down from Mitzpe Ramon through the marvelous huge Ramon crater. A left turn is to be taken to the Be'erot Camp and from there a stony dirt road, passing over many dry wadis and flat water beds, arrives after several kilometers at a giant slanted stone wall.

Mount Ardon

The stone wall.
It contents red, green and yellow clay, the colors generated by different minerals in the rock, by water seeping through it, and by erosion. It is an amazing sight and worth a stop to investigate. After ten more minutes of driving the khan can be seen.

We parked the car and walked the short distance to the spring passing the caravansary on our left. 

During a visit many many (maybe twenty) years ago, we spotted onagers at the spring, the untamable wild Asian ass. I was hoping to see them again, but we had no luck. Just to show you: this one we spotted in April 2010 in the Negev, beside the trail to Borot Lotz.

The oasis of Ein Sahoranim is truly beautiful with rich desert vegetation and many puddles of water, even now at the end of the dry season. Our walk was short but full of images, the blue sky, the dark green and spiky plants, the colored rocks and many stones. The warm air was scented from the bushes and full of quiet noises, the rustle of the reeds, the gurgle of the water, the buzz of the insects...

I am happy - and I am thankful for such a wonderful weekend! It went right into my memory storage and I will dig it out whenever I want it or need it! 

Bedouine camels flanking the road on our way home.

Photos taken by my husband Uri Eshkar.