FIVE MINUTES OF FUN AND ASTONISHMENT

http://vkontakte.ru/video_ext.php?oid=17289985&id=159542625&hash=7972d49cdaf886fd

Enjoy and have a great time!

Thank you Aiva!

BAG MAKING THOUGHTS

Hello - how are you all?

In my neck of the woods :-) every thing is fine. The day is cloudy and it is cold - yes for our local conditions it is cold, 10+ for us is chilly! :-) I know some of you will laugh at me!

I was down at my workroom all morning sewing, with the radiator on, warming my hands and feet. Now I went up for a coffee and a little posting. I started another bag yesterday. Some time ago I got leather remnants from a friend - she in turn has an acquaintance who owns a little bag factory and gave her the scraps. The really small pieces I sent to another friend, and the slightly bigger ones I kept. I never made a whole bag from leather, I had used it only for straps and embellishments. I was reluctant to try it out for weeks. 

Yesterday I got brave and started to think how I can patch the pieces so they will fit a simple tote bag pattern. I own a leather foot and I have leather sewing needles, without that it is nearly  impossible to sew leather on a household sewing machine. Most of the remnants are soft leather (some are not and I still will have to figure out what to do with them) and so far the sewing went good and easy.

Needles to hold the pieces together cannot be inserted in leather, so I glued some of the seams and let them dry before sewing, others I clamped. Mistakes can not be ripped out, because the holes of the sewing stitches will stay in the leather and can be seen after ripping, so accurate planning is necessary. 

The front and back pieces are ready and I stabilized the lining and cut it out. After I finish my coffee I'll go back down and start on the handles, I wish to patch them with checkerboard leather squares from the leftovers. I made some design failures, I appliqued too near to the opening of the bag and I have still no idea about the closure, there is no place for even a small flap with a magnetic snap. Okay, think think think! I plan to make a zippered pocket for the lining and of course the bag gets a key swivel and a cell phone pocket.  AND it will be embellished with a very pretty wooden button that I got as a gift from a beloved friend! :-)

M a y b e  I can finish it today. Sometimes when I try something completely new to me I have to talk to Lady Creativity and meditate with her and myself to get over the fear (will it be good, no it won't, yes it could, naaaa, yes, no, maybe...) and the procrastination. Mostly she listens to me and it works. I hope this time it does too!

BAT CHEN

Those flowers have a lovely name in Hebrew, they are called "Bat Chen" בת חן, which means "Daughter of Grace".

Bat Chen is also a female name. This little girl surely is a daughter of grace, but her name is Yasmin.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

THE BEAUTY OF HERBS AND THEIR CURING PROPERTIES

A little while ago my friend Dawn of LaTouchables recommended a herb book in her blog. It appealed to me very much so I bought it, and I did not regret it for a moment. Dawn plans to present us with a post about it some day near. The book is truly wonderful, it describes many herbs and their significance for our health and appetite, as well how and when to pick them, to preserve them, to use them.

The one that struck me immediately is rosemary. Did you know that rosemary is an all cure herb? I did not know that! The treatment includes ailments of the heart, high blood pressure, headaches, gastritis and many more. A brew can be made from it to help with hair loss, and it can be put externally on wounds, sores, stings and insect bites. And rosemary tea is a healthy bedtime drink! I use rosemary only to flavor potatoes, bread and tomatoes. It never dawned on me to make tea from it. A cup of tea, made from a spoonful of rosemary needles, sweetened with honey - that sounds good doesn't it? One cup in the evening! That is so easy and we will benefit from it greatly.

Look what we have in our garden! The big rosemary bush is blooming right now and bustling with bees - it is not only a powerful herb, it is also a very beautiful plant! 

We have many herbs in our garden and this morning I picked a bunch of them for the vase. Ahhhh, the smell is wonderful...

There is geranium, lavender, lemon grass, curry plant, sage, rosemary, parsley, thyme - wait a moment - WOW - isn't there a song? Of course! Simon and Garfunkel! That beautiful song

"Are you going to scarborough fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine"

Here it is, enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwldn3ET53E 

A VISIT TO NAZARETH

We had a nice Shabatt outing with my daughters family yesterday to the town of Nazareth in the Galilee. About a third of its citizens are Christians. We passed several shops selling Christmas decorations, which can quite compete in quantity and quality with those in Christian countries.

But first we drove up to the Mount of Precipice, the so called "Leaping Mountain". There is a sign explaining the significance of the place in English. Ignoring the spelling mistakes you will get the information.

The hill, about 400 m high, is a beautiful piece of nature with a stunning panorama all around on the Ysreel valley - provided a sunny and clear day. Yesterday is was foggy and wet and it was not possible to take pictures of the view. In a month or so the peak will be covered with cyclamen and we enjoyed their beginnings - the white ones are rare and raindrops made them look even more special. The mountain is a beloved target for family picnics, hiking and biking, but yesterday we had the paths almost for ourselves - it was a bit cold and windy, but we were dressed warm and enjoyed our walk.

The city was bustling with people, open shops, business, traffic and places to eat. We noticed busloads of Christian tourists who came from all over the world to visit the Basilica of Annunciation. This church is beautiful, designed by an Italian architect, the influence of style can be clearly seen.

The bazaar in the vicinity of the church is roofed which protected us from the slight trickle of the rain. It is a typical middle east shuk with all the usual trinkets and things you need and don't need. I NEEDED some little blue ceramic hands against the evil eye, of course! The part of the market near the church sells Christmas ornaments. There I found lovely hearts made from olive tree trunks, polished to a shine to bring out the pretty texture of the wood.

We finished our visit off with taboon bread sprinkled with kezach and za'atar and labane - a real treat!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone! Foremost I wish health to all - and satisfaction and some pink clouds here and there! :-)

Photos by my husband Uri Eshkar.