Yay for no winter?

I can't help thinking that this snowless winter is a gift, a present to me so my ankle can heal without having to slog outside and shovel, without the need to walk cautiously through ice and slush. Summer won't be much fun, probably so dry we can't have campfires, but hey, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it!

Snow Business Like Snow Busyness

Lots and lots of lovely white flakes. One sick daughter offers to help shovel, one well daughter does help, one well daughter is always cold. sigh. i NEED the exercise, and it is rather fun and good for the heart. Hard on the back and the body parts i fall on, however.

lil' heros

so many of my students suffer from the poverty in their lives, but they possess an amazing amount of resiliency. One little boy drew and wrote about the family's recent trip to another state for Thanksgiving. Dad, mom, nursing baby sister, little sister, and my little 8 yr. old friend took a taxi "out of the city" (probably to a nearby truckstop). There they caught another "taxie" (depicted with 18 wheels) to the river bordering the two states, where they camped in the tent and sleeping bags they's brought along. They apparently got up at 1 a.m. and walked three miles (mom was frowning because it was not easy to walk and feed the baby) where they caught another "taxie" and went on to the grandparents. I'm glad I read Steinbeck.

Jerusalem!

An amazing city, amazing people, amazing country. I love the ancient stones, the slick rock streets, street vendors, musicians, and the food....lovely food: Bright vegetables, chewy bread, sweet cookies, tangy fruit, and savory meats.

israel

I want to remember every moment i was there; it seems important somehow. The plane came in over the Mediterranean, out of clouds, then suddenly I could see water in the dawn and city lights on the golden land. The landing was smooth, entry easy-there were so few of us on the plane, landing on shabat. I stumbled thru customs, a row of ugly green wooden booths with bullet-proof plastic windows staggered in a row. Conveyor belt hallways, I was so tired, luggage, more officials, then Sapir! She looked wonderful and it made my heart sing to see her. We found a shayruk and entered it. A few non-English speaking folks were already there, more came. An Israeli cop stuck her head in and demanded to know how much we were paying to travel to Jerusalem. She repeated her question, everyone just staring at her. Finally Sapir said, "It costs 50 shek" and the offiicer said "Fine. Don't pay him any more than that," and ducked out. We rocketed down the center of the highway/freeway toward the city of my dreams, thru the greening dawn. I saw palms, cypress, cedars, lots of shrubs I couldn't identify, rolling rocky hills, distant towns, signs in three languages. And my sapito.

Home, but i wish i wasn't....

London was a precursor to Jerusalem: Coventry Garden, Picadilly Circus, the area down toward the palace, southbank. Street performers: a sad and dirty old Donald Duck weakly waving for change. I shook my head and said, "You're not quacking." Next time I walked by he squeaked at me. Saw a giant chair w/ a hidden figure under dress clothes, a pair of spectacles above the neck for his "invisible" head, top hat above that; an excellent ball-and-cups man, a 2 metre unicyclist, tumbler, musicians. The streets were narrow and crowded, crazy drivers, helpful citizens, small shops specializing in expensive merchandise. The sky was bright blue, the air clean and crisp amazingly enough! A waxing 3/4+ moon appeared over ancient stone and brick buildings. I wandered little narrow alleyways, under overhanging rooms or through tunnels, finally found Rock and Sole Plaice, est. 1871. Fin CSer Niko found me checking out the basement tables ("right thru the kitchen, love, down the stairs") , we were joined by Wanderer Girl from Malaysia and Adventurer7 from Trinidad/London. Excellent but pricey Rock and Chips. We wandered thru the market, around Covent Gardens, Picadilly Square, down toward Trafalgar Square and all the famous buildings. We chatted w/ a man in a dress, stepped into pubs and shops, wandered w/ a Guiness in hand. Fountains, Freemasons, Hercule Poirot in person, 50 pence coffee, double decker buses, red phone booths, statues, lights, more lights, cheerful friendly folks. A taxi driver appeared to be buying the entire lot of peanuts from a vendor on the bridge: he was actually a copper busting the man for illegal peanut sales. Anthony knows where every bathroom in the area is. the South bank is colorful, with the Eye, lights changing colors on the museums, a shuk with mostly toys and sweets, a carousel, wide paths, sculptures, free music, bridges over the reflecting Thames. Truly a beautiful city.

curious...

a movie I didn't care to watch the other night drove me to playing around on CL. I started looking at M4W around the globe. A few were straight-forward requests, but it seems some odd people post. One man was "tired of the games Am. girls play" but posted a pic of his bare torso. One wanted a family and wife to take care of it. One poor guy posted in multiple countries (Hello! I've always wanted a Croatian/Greek/? bride!). Several posted pics of themselves w/ a woman (!) It struck me as humorous surely, but sad overall.