With a little help from my friends...

Thanks to Bagel Blogger for the "golden" graphics!
And thanks to Akiva for sprucing up Shiloh Musings.


Best
Designed Blog: GOLD

Now let's see if I can put it up on my sidebar!!

by the Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
What would you think if I sang out of tune,
Would you stand up and walk out on me ?
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song
And I'll try not to sing out of key.

Visiting the jblog neighborhood

I'm feeling friendly, so let's do some jblog awareness visiting, before I hit the sack!

First around my Shiloh neighborhood. I love the way the sun shines so differently at different times of the day. The house sprouting across the street always looks so different. It's sort of like performance art.

In a sense, blogging's the same. At different times of the day or week, we'll find different sorts of posts when we visit.

So now, I'll pop over and visit a few. If you find the time, please meander over and tell them I sent you.

I never thought of Texas and snow in the same sentence, but look at Stacey's pictures! Please don't laugh at me; remember, I'm originally from New York!

Lamed has the link to the guide for adding the Hebrew vowels to you text.

Here's some music on Life of Rubin.

Look at this spectacular post-rain picture by Fred.

Isreallycool tells us a golden oldie duck joke.

And acharon, acharon chaviv, meaning, saving the best for last:
Baleboosteh tells us about her finding Judaism, why she and her family want to convert.

That's it for tonight. Pop in again when I'm up again. I was going to stop in a few places, but somehow the engine wasn't working well enough.

Good night little girls
thank the lord you are well
now go to sleep said ...

Double Winner!

I kid you not!
I guess I'll be cross-posting this. How could I not? Of course I'd like to know how to get it on my sidebar. I don't have a code for it.

Shiloh Musings got the bronze in Best Designed Blog, and me-ander got... hold onto your hats! I'm still in shock!!!! The Gold Prize for Best Designed Blog. Of course, all the credit goes to ~Sarah~ and Akiva.

What? You don't believe me???
Read the results for yourself!!

jblog awareness

OK, don't call me a party-pooper, please. I'll be more jblog aware if you insist. I've just done something daring.

Yes, even at my advanced age--I think that I'm the oldest female Jblogger around--by peeking in on jrant I chose a couple of totally new to me jblogs and added them to my blogroll. No clapping, thunder, lightening nor earthquakes. What a disappointment; or "oy," as Porat would say.

So, when I do my "visiting," I'll have some new places to visit.

And while I'm being so community-minded, I have an idea--
Wouldn't it be nice if someone initiates a new jblog carnival, focusing on fotos! (I know the spelling's wrong, but it's correct in Spanish, I think, and anyway, it makes good ad copy.) And while I'm at it, you can include this post, since it includes:

Self-Portrait in Shadows by me, who else?!

And next month is Adar

We've entered the Jewish month of Shvat, the last month of winter here in Eretz Yisrael. In Shiloh, it's "anniversary month." The Jewish City of Shiloh was re-established in Shvat 29 years ago, thousands of years since its destruction.

This month's general Jewish holiday is TU B'Shvat, known as the Holiday of the Trees.

Next month is Adar, which is a joyous month, because of the Purim Holiday. Yes, Purim is one of those eating holidays, and in places like Shiloh, which were walled and then deserted, we celebrate two days, but that's another story.

One of the mitzvot, commandments, of Purim is to give out food packages, Mishloach Manot, to friends, neighbors, the poor etc. Many people just give lots of candy, but you're really supposed to give food which can be eaten (without any preparation,) and the Festive Meal, or meals as we have here.

That will be the theme for the 15th Kosher Cooking Carnival. Not only recipes and Mishloach Manot ideas, but I'd like any Halachik discussions on the topic, too. Of course, funny stories, anecdotes, cookbook and restaurant reviews, etc and recipes for anything, as long as they're kosher! The deadline will be Saturday night, Israel time, so before Shabbat for those in the Americas, Feb. 17, and I hope, bli neder, to post it by Rosh Chodesh Adar, Feb. 19. Please send them to shilohmuse at yahoo dot com or via blog carnival.

If you see any suitable post, I'd appreciate if you'd send me the link. And if you're interested in hosting a future edition, please let me know.

Great Day!

Today, after teaching, I went with my good friends, a famous baker and his wife, a former dancing partner of mine, to a small "reunion dinner." There we saw more old friends, including another former dancer.

Before dessert, they reminded me that my bus was soon, so we sped out. Just to be safe, I took a cab to the "trempiada," where I could catch to bus, or a ride. When we got to French Hill, I looked out the window at a bus; it was a 148. I told the driver:

Do you see that bus? That's the one I have to catch!

And I did... by a hair, that close. After giving my "cartisiya," multi-trip ticket to the driver, I got ready to look for a seat, and then I heard:

Weren't you my English teacher?

I took a look and discovered one of my very first students. So we sat together and had a nice talk. He thanked me for the lessons. He loved them, and also told me that my Hebrew had improved greatly since then.

Then I got off in Shiloh, not looking forward to the long walk up the hill. And suddenly I saw a car approaching, a ride home!!

And then once I got home, late as it is, I turned on the computer and saw an email from Elisheva announcing:

The 14th Kosher Cooking Carnival!!!

Great job, Elisheva! Thank you so much!!!!

15 is next, any takers? Please let me know and/or send in your posts, anything kosher, of course. It's more than a recipe carnival. shilohmuse at yahoo dot com or via blog carnival.

and if that weren't enough, like how can you think of dessert after so much food? But when I consider how much we ate last Shabbat...

Here's the 102nd Havel Havelim! Wow! I could never do such a job.

Enjoy the riches!

Faith

Sunrise!


No, I haven't changed my camera settings. And there isn't anything wrong with the camera. It's the same hour and earth-sun angle I've taken some awesome pictures dominated by that sunrise-orange, which I've always loved.

Someplace else in our time zone, people are mesmerized and comforted by the warm glow, but here it's raining. The sky is wet and grey. It's uncomfortable and inconvenient.

But without water, we'd all die.

That's why I can see the beauty of the sunrise this morning, no less than on a dry, clear and richly colorful day.

Thank G-d

Have a wonderful week

jblog wars?

That's how it looks out here!
There was just a, relatively small, 3rd JIB awards, this time hosted by JBlogCentral. It seems like not everyone in the jblogsphere liked how it was done. So now they want to make their own version of the competition.
Why bother?
It's a lot of work to promote ego trips.
The world of Jewish blogging is enormous and varied, no surprise considering how many Jews are in writing, journalism, show-biz etc.
Only a small clique who know how to manipulate the votes will really vote. And the other votes will be from fans of specific blogs, so the higher the hits, the more votes. The more mega the blog, the better they'll do. Most bloggers can't be bothered reading a whole bunch of blogs to see what's "best." Most of us don't have time to visit all the links in HH, and not everyone even feels guilty about it.

Also if you have some happy winners, you'll have plenty more alienated losers.

So let's just blog, link, "visit" and host HH and KCC and find other ways of working together. And if these "idle" bloggers really declare another competition, don't complain about the work getting in the way of the rest of your life.

Shavua Tov

Cough control and boredom

I found myself coughing too much this morning in shul (synagogue,) so I left after a few minutes. It was disappointing. I didn't even go to the shiur, class, I usually attend, since I knew I'd have to walk out. People really don't like to be near coughers. In the afternoon I didn't cough, which was good. And I took a walk, didn't cough the whole time. So I figured it was safe to visit a friend, but I began coughing there and had to leave.

The weather has changed; it's almost stormy. Rain was predicted, but how much??

Yes I'm bored.

Following are pictures I've taken while waiting around:

in a friend's apartment


At the bus stop in Malcha, by the mall. This is what's reflected in the picture here


And in Tel Aviv, the hotel from a very different angle.

just a bissel visiting

As if I have nothing else to do...

At least you won't catch my cold this way.

Sarah calls herself "Squiggle Sarah" now.

Marallyn posts a test. Hint!! Senility helps, oops!

Art Buchwald is dead, May he laugh in peace.

Smooth links the article which had me shocked. I couldn't believe that Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem wasn't using the internet to search for Nazis.

Cosmic X gives us a nice round up about the truth in Hebron. And Soccer Dad writes about last summer's war.

Dry Bones reminds us about the "French Connection."

I just now wanted to post a picture and
beta kept coming up and I'm not beta, so I couldn't post the
picture!!!

Ezzie writes about JBlog Awareness Month. I wish someone would tell me what's going on!

It seems like some sort of "war" against JBlog Central.

Gevalt, what a way to greet Shabbat.

Shabbat Shalom

Is it the flu?

Whatever I have now makes my voice sound like the 60 year old Marianne Faithful on a bad day.

Luckily, I had a very easy teaching day. I think that I feel better than I sound. That's not saying much of course, since I sound ill, very ill. My coughs are no pleasure to hear either.

But I'm not any more tired than usual, and unusual exhaustion's usually a sign of illness with me.

My daughter and family decided to keep their germs at home for Shabbat, but I'll be sending food. I'm sure they prefer it without my germs.

I ought to get a hold of some books to read if I'm stuck in the house on Shabbat. G-d willing I'll be better by then. I've been drinking my freshly squeezed lemon juice in water and already had one cup of miso mixed with boiling water. It's like a plain soup. It usually gets me back on track, much better than honey and booze.

Good night!

"...who knew not Yosef..." re-writing history

Last week's Parshat Shavua, Torah/Bible Portion of the Week, was Sh'mot, Names, or Exodus, the first of that book.

ח וַיָּקָם מֶלֶךְ-חָדָשׁ, עַל-מִצְרָיִם, אֲשֶׁר
לֹא-יָדַע, אֶת-יוֹסֵף.
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not
Joseph.

This crucial verse brings up a lot of questions.

How could it be that so soon after Joseph saved Egypt from famine, he was already forgotten?

It's nothing new.

ט מַה-שֶּׁהָיָה, הוּא שֶׁיִּהְיֶה, וּמַה-שֶּׁנַּעֲשָׂה, הוּא שֶׁיֵּעָשֶׂה; וְאֵין כָּל-חָדָשׁ, תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ.
9 That which hath been is that which shall be, and that which hath been done is that which shall be done; and there is nothing new under the sun.

Yes, King Solomon said it well.

Today it's called "re-writing history," and it's amazing how cooperative the public is in believing new versions of everything.

In the story behind Purim, Haman miscalculated when King Achashverosh read the "unedited" history. He then asked Haman for advice on how to honor a man whom the king wanted to reward. Haman was certain that it was the revised version, which praised him and therefore took for granted that he would be honored, not Mordechai.

There's a more recent example, one we're suffering from right now.

After the State of Israel was established, the "government/political powers" wrote Jewish and Zionist History as if the only important historical Jewish Land was that within the "internationally approved" green line. That is why the resulting rewards from the 1967 Six Days War were not received joyfully. Ever since the war ended, the Labor Party and similar ideologists have been trying to unload the riches, our Biblical Homeland, onto the undeserving Arab terrorists.

Appreciation

I wasted a ridiculous amount of time trying to figure out the most suitable title for this post. It's nuts how we obsess over things that others don't appreciate or notice. When I subscribed to fly lady, I kept hearing how "perfectionism" shackles us, preventing us from doing things. It goes hand and hand with procrastination, which was one of the topics in a reading comprehension on the English bagrut this week.

But back to my purposes for this post.

One, it's to tell you that there's voting over in jblogcentral for the best blogs in a number of topics. Both this blog, me-ander and my Shiloh Musings have been nominated, so, if you wouldn't mind, please vote for me, as much as possible. It's allowed, encouraged and really pretty easy. Just keep clicking 5's until they tell you to stop.

Two, there's a great new edition of the Carnival of Education. So take a look please!
Enjoy!

f2f --a guest from Canada

Today at the Begin Center, originally uploaded by shilohmuse.

Yes, we had a guest today.
Some of you may know him.
Anyone who reads the "talkbacks," comments and letters to the Jerusalem Post and other Israeli internet publications have read his writing.
Of course, until today, we've only emailed.
And today we f2f'ed.
I took him to the Menachem Begin Heritage Center to see the view and meet my husband.
And then I went off to Kever Rachel, but I'll tell you more on Shiloh Musings.

Oh, and, if you want to guess who he is...

yes, today

B"H, a bit better, so I'll try the pool.
and have lunch out--will blog about it later
and then to Kever Rachel
and then home and then
start getting ready for Shabbat.

It's all because of you!

Don't worry. That was the "thank you;" I wasn't being cursed or criticized.

One of my students actually thanked me after he did well in today's English tests. If, a year ago, you had told me that this class would be so good and work so hard, I'd have thought you nuts.

The year isn't over yet, and there's still more to teach, but it's nice that they felt good after doing today's bagrut Israeli national high school test. Of course the grades aren't in yet, but those who were tested orally know what they got, and they're happy.

I used to bring homemade cakes to the tests for everyone, but since I no longer have car service, I can't schlepp cakes. I bought them some candies and gave them bags before each test. It's the "little things" that make them feel good.

It was also nice having a "day off" from my regular teaching. I needed it, since I have a cold and there was no way I could have taught my longest day. I probably would have taken sick leave, since I need to be at full-strength to teach my other classes.

The next round of testing is in the spring.

Visiting time

There's all sorts of "visiting," in person and via the internet. Last week I visited a good friend, who has rather unique decorations, as you can see. And at the end of this, you'll see a picture I took in the kosher restaurant we found in Tel Aviv.

I'll start with a bissel rant. I don't like the pressure from blogger and yahoo about going beta. I don't see how it will be better. If anyone can enlighten me, please do. Thanks

Things have been rather busy here, and I haven't done any "visiting." I've hardly done any blogging either. But that's fine, since blogging is supposed to be a "pressure release," not a compulsion.

Trust moze to introduce you to "crembos," the traditional Israeli, sticky, gooy winter treat. It's one of those things you either love or feel repulsed by it.

Read about Wendy's adventures in Hawaii, their new home, at least for the time being.

Dry Bones asks a good question...

Sarah has an amazing picture up, tempts me to make sure that my next cell phone has a camera.

Mazal tov to emah s's pal bec, who has a new baby.

My crocheting is so "boring;" I wonder if I could ever do anything like these.

Bagel Blogger tells of a saga, which they had little patience for, considering the stress of Amber's recent surgery.

SWFM--no, it's not a radio station! lets us know what's new.

Akiva tells us what his young son has learned about Shemot.

NYC Educator has a real David vs Goliath picture.

Baleboosteh writes about Australian anti-Semitism.

Refuah shleimah to Marallyn!

A reminder from Elisheva to get your links to her for the 14th Kosher Cooking Carnival!!

Look at this snowed-in car from the northernmost Jew.

and more about the buses

That email group I'm on is still talking about the super-separated buses. One person explained how traumatic it is for some men to see women, since they live in such all-male environments.

I just couldn't resist replying. Here's what I wrote:

Seems to me, that all this separation just makes it so that the slightest glimpse of even the most covered up woman just makes them think of sex, which is the opposite of what they're supposed to be doing. L'havdil, it's like all those people eating their 0% milk fat foods (you can't imagine how disgusting it tastes, all I wanted in NY was my usual 3% yogurt) and their cholesterol just keeps going on up. That's because if you undereat what your body needs in cholesterol, your body will over-produce it!

I should be asleep, but...

...obviously I'm not!

I had a date with a handsome young man tonight, and by the time I came home I was awake. Who's the handsome young man? My son, of course. This is what we loving mothers have to do when our kids move out and don't visit much. We make dates.

Since I'm up, I figured I'd check my mail and call the two kids in the states.

There was something strange, not the first time I noticed it. I mail out some of my better blogposts, the entire post, with the link of course. I guess my mailing list doesn't relate to the link, since I got tons of comment-letters about it, but almost nothing on the blog itself.

I wonder if it's because I send out the articles. But I began sending out my "musings" before even knowing what a blog is. I guess I'll just have to make peace with it all.

And about blogs, the latest Havel Havelim is posted at Soccer Dad who's the founding father of HH. He wrote the rules and does a great job.

Guess where we were!

Yes, we went away for Shabbat, and I'll be blogging all about it. Some of the posts on Shiloh Musings. It wasn't that far away. Obviously, since we're home already. We could have stayed another night, but it would have been too complicated for me tomorrow morning, since I didn't take the things I need for work.

So, nu?
Where were we?