The Shuk

Machane Yehuda is the big fantastic market in West Jerusalem. There is an outdoor part, an indoor covered part, and nooks and crannies and alleyways to get lost in for hours. There
is everything. They have every kind of fabulous fruit, vegetable, middle eastern spices, breads, olives, cheeses, sweets, meat, fish... along with pots and pans, plastics, clothing, hardware, coffee and felafel places, and even a teeny tiny synagogue. And now new chic kinds of little stalls and shops of designer clothes and upscale looking cafes have moved in (which the old timers are none too fond of). I can not get enough of the place.

Olives, pickles...

...more pickled things

Traditional Middle Eastern Sweets

...and not so traditional

In the Neighborhood, Part 2

An über-
patriotic neighbor hangs—
count them—
47 flags in celebration of Independence Day.

Nice door and patio...

Drying the Coffee Mugs

hmm...

When the Place to Put the Grocery Carts is Full...

just heave-ho and toss yours on top of them all... isn't that what any of us would do?
sheesh.

Six-word Biographies

So my friend Holly tells me about people writing 6-word autobiographies. There is a book that's been published with a bunch of them. She writes one for me. I decide to try my hand and write ones for Daniel and Zach. It was a lot of fun.

The one Holly wrote of/for me:
Designer. Jew. Cheesehead. Begat Scrabble champ.

Daniel's:
Big heart... for better and worse.

Zach's:
Chevraman. Cub fan. Hungry mind. Kind.

*Fyi...
Chevra: Hebrew for fellowship, society, group. Chevraman: someone who loves the company of people, friendships, relationships

Zach. Oberlin.

A quickie update on Zach
and what he's up to.

1. After much consideration and contemplation Zach
   has decided that he will go to Oberlin. We (his parents) are very happy for him and are looking forward to his making it a great experience.
2. Scrabble. He continues to play weekly at the club as well as casually with friends from the club in between. As a result of his tournament play in March, he is ranked 20th in the country. Ah, to live in a small country...
3. Volleyball. He has figured out that if we (his parents) write a letter to the principal of his old school here, stating that we would like him to be enrolled, he can register and play in the big end of year national beach volleyball tournament. Needless to say he is now 'enrolled' in school and has been practicing with 2 buddies with whom he will play in the tournament.
4. Studying. He found himself an interesting place to study 2 days x week. It is
   a year-long residential program, but he was able to arrange to commute and participate part-time. It is just outside of Jerusalem on the edge of the desert.
   He takes 2 buses to get there and then has a bit of a walk, if he doesn't get a ride.
   It is aimed at religious and non-religious Israelis who have just completed their army service and are taking a year before they begin university studies. They study traditional Jewish texts along with modern secular subjects and more. The classes Zach is sitting in on include: Religion and religiosity, history and politics, Hazal (traditional Rabbinic texts), yoga, and some more I'm sure I'm forgetting...
   It seems like he's finding it interesting.
5. Tutoring. He has been tutoring a couple of 10th graders in English at his old school. It's fun and a reason to go to the school and hang out with some friends there too.

More soon on other topics. Love to everyone. xox