I'm in the midst of the city, and it's surprising how busy everything can be around me and yet I feel my life is really static and I'm totally separate from it all.
We have a funny neighbor who comes home once in a while in a good mood and clowns around singing opera style. He really has a terrific voice (and loud) and I would love to hear him singing seriously.
In the next apartment building (which runs parallel to ours) I have occasionally heard someone playing Chopin on an old piano.
On hot days I hear the happy sounds of small children splashing in a small pool, with their mothers nearby.
On Friday evening and Saturday everything is quiet and you can stroll down the street and hear the clanking of dishes and sounds of people gathering for Sabbath meals. (All windows are open, no air-conditioners.)
I like the sound of work being done. Next door there was a lot of drilling for a while, with big thuds and bumps and sounds of tools being dropped on the floor
Down the street were some big trucks and I kept hearing their motors rumbling and now and then men's voices shouting "Whoa-whoa-whoa!!"
Someone somewhere has what sounds like a huge ferocious dog, but I have never seen it.
Every week someone shoots off a bunch of firecrackers for about five minutes.
But I rarely see anyone. I sometimes wish I were the one doing all the interesting things--fireworks, remodeling, playing with children, playing Chopin.
July 23, 2010
July 21, 2010
Alvin, Texas Wildlife Park II
Elijah, Anna, Anna, Jesh and Matthew, Jesh and Shona
deer, egret, peacock before, peacock after, swans, water buffalo, deer
deer, egret, peacock before, peacock after, swans, water buffalo, deer
Alvin, Texas Wildlife Park
A little late, but here they are:
zebra, (white reindeer?), waterbuck, wallaby, rhino
pig, llama, horns, giraffe,emu
alligator, bison, blackbuck, camel, eland
zebra, (white reindeer?), waterbuck, wallaby, rhino
pig, llama, horns, giraffe,emu
alligator, bison, blackbuck, camel, eland
July 13, 2010
People List
I was a little bit sick this morning, so I couldn't decide whether to go to class or not. I finally did, but about an hour and a half late. As I feared, I missed an important lesson. After class I walked part way to the bus stop and stopped to rest. There is a little circular cement area with a tree in the middle with aspen-like leaves. There is a semi-circle bench that holds about 10 people, only there are usually 0-2 people there. I looked around to see what sort of landscaping there was. The usual. Some fairly nice plants but randomly placed. Some pittosporum, a few evergreens, some fuzzy-purple-clustered flowers, and some weedy elm branches poking through. Someone started to cut out the elm but left the branches in a pile. There are some beautiful hollyhocks, about 10 feet tall. Well, they used to be beautiful but they're past their peak. I was thinking they need to be cut down but maybe they are letting them reseed. Just then a lady walking by plucked off a few seed pods and put them in her purse.
Another opportunity to make a list. I just look at all the people going by.
A lady wearing a pink dress with a white shirt over it, a straw hat, sunglasses and sandals.
A man wearing a rusty orange short-sleeved shirt and beige pants.
A very tall man in a black suit and hat. The hat looks like it is too small and sits too high on the head, which makes him look even taller, but that's the way some of them purposely wear them.
A nearly bald man with a dark red kippa. I wonder what holds it on.
Two older men and a teenage boy. The boy is carrying what looks like a large painting in a purple bag.
A man and a woman sipping cappucinos (or something as delicious).
A man wearing white shirt and pants and a black kippa talking on a cell phone.
An old woman in a mismatched outfit with striped socks and sandals. Rules of matching-ness are quite loose here anyway, which takes a lot of the stress out of finding clothes, and if you don't match you don't feel you have committed a great sin.
A nicely dressed man in a blue bike helmet pedalling steadily uphill.
A woman in a nice spring-colored outfit wearing white moccasins that are coming apart at the seams.
A man with a notebook under one arm and a cell phone in each hand--talking on one and pushing buttons on the other, which is ringing.
Three school boys carrying schoolbags. I thought school was supposed to be out this month.
A woman with a little white poodle on a 20-foot leash. The poodle walks straight ahead without stopping to sniff and investigate like many dogs do (if their owners let them).
Two boys walking briskly along, one with a Canaan dog. A couple minutes later they go by again from the other direction.
Haridi girls with babies in strollers.
Teenage girls in jeans and tennis shoes, carrying huge purses/bags. You should see all the bags here. I have deliberately refused to look at very many of them. Who needs more than one or two anyway. But it's tempting...
A pale old man walking slowly.
A weathered old woman walking faster.
Finally I proceed to the bus stop. While waiting for my bus (which was about the 14th one) I overhear a woman saying (in Hebrew) "eight hundred million shekels!" and a man on a cell phone saying (in English) "Open the aircondition! Open the aircondition!"
Finally I am on the way home and I notice that the trash cans (at least one in every block) are very full to over-flowing and the recycling bins (about one per block) have been recently emptied. They collect plastic bottles in bins about 5' by 6' x 8'. A big truck comes by and sucks them all up with a huge vacuum machine.
Now I'm home so I'd better start studying future tense. You can't, as in English, just add "will" to the verb. And unlike Spanish, you can't just add certain endings to the infinitive (with a few variations). You have to add a letter to the beginning or maybe the end or maybe both and sometimes leave out a vowel and I-don't-know-what-else. Learning Hebrew is lots of fun, but lately I've lost the feeling of making any progress. I feel like I know less than when I started. But that makes me more determined.
I love the weather here, and the fact that there aren't noisy air-conditioners everywhere. If you lived in Tel-Aviv you'd want an air-conditioner. Jerusalem can be hot, but it's generally pleasant.
Another opportunity to make a list. I just look at all the people going by.
A lady wearing a pink dress with a white shirt over it, a straw hat, sunglasses and sandals.
A man wearing a rusty orange short-sleeved shirt and beige pants.
A very tall man in a black suit and hat. The hat looks like it is too small and sits too high on the head, which makes him look even taller, but that's the way some of them purposely wear them.
A nearly bald man with a dark red kippa. I wonder what holds it on.
Two older men and a teenage boy. The boy is carrying what looks like a large painting in a purple bag.
A man and a woman sipping cappucinos (or something as delicious).
A man wearing white shirt and pants and a black kippa talking on a cell phone.
An old woman in a mismatched outfit with striped socks and sandals. Rules of matching-ness are quite loose here anyway, which takes a lot of the stress out of finding clothes, and if you don't match you don't feel you have committed a great sin.
A nicely dressed man in a blue bike helmet pedalling steadily uphill.
A woman in a nice spring-colored outfit wearing white moccasins that are coming apart at the seams.
A man with a notebook under one arm and a cell phone in each hand--talking on one and pushing buttons on the other, which is ringing.
Three school boys carrying schoolbags. I thought school was supposed to be out this month.
A woman with a little white poodle on a 20-foot leash. The poodle walks straight ahead without stopping to sniff and investigate like many dogs do (if their owners let them).
Two boys walking briskly along, one with a Canaan dog. A couple minutes later they go by again from the other direction.
Haridi girls with babies in strollers.
Teenage girls in jeans and tennis shoes, carrying huge purses/bags. You should see all the bags here. I have deliberately refused to look at very many of them. Who needs more than one or two anyway. But it's tempting...
A pale old man walking slowly.
A weathered old woman walking faster.
Finally I proceed to the bus stop. While waiting for my bus (which was about the 14th one) I overhear a woman saying (in Hebrew) "eight hundred million shekels!" and a man on a cell phone saying (in English) "Open the aircondition! Open the aircondition!"
Finally I am on the way home and I notice that the trash cans (at least one in every block) are very full to over-flowing and the recycling bins (about one per block) have been recently emptied. They collect plastic bottles in bins about 5' by 6' x 8'. A big truck comes by and sucks them all up with a huge vacuum machine.
Now I'm home so I'd better start studying future tense. You can't, as in English, just add "will" to the verb. And unlike Spanish, you can't just add certain endings to the infinitive (with a few variations). You have to add a letter to the beginning or maybe the end or maybe both and sometimes leave out a vowel and I-don't-know-what-else. Learning Hebrew is lots of fun, but lately I've lost the feeling of making any progress. I feel like I know less than when I started. But that makes me more determined.
I love the weather here, and the fact that there aren't noisy air-conditioners everywhere. If you lived in Tel-Aviv you'd want an air-conditioner. Jerusalem can be hot, but it's generally pleasant.
July 12, 2010
Another Wordy Post
Sorry, I can't help myself. If you're not a word person, please skip this post.
How many things you can do with a word:
You can hit the target, or you can hit bottom.
You can pull a wagon, or you can pull strings.
You can cut hair or corners.
You can spread butter or rumors.
You can skip stones or class.
You can bury a bone or a grudge.
You can set a table, a clock, or a record.
You can mark time or the correct answer.
You can borrow time, money, or trouble.
You can mix paint or metaphors.
You can grow corn or tired.
You can hold up a sign or traffic.
You can gain the advantage or weight.
You can direct your attention or an orchestra.
You can stop a leak or you can stop snoring.
And of course,
You can hit the road, but don't strike the pavement.
Do you serve your guests, or do you serve the food?
We walk on a walkway, so why do we park on a driveway and drive on a parkway?
I'll quit now.
No I won't.
If you play the drums you're a drummer. A drummer drums.
If you play the trumpet you're a trumpeter. A trumpeter trumpets.
If you play the harp you're a harpist. A harpist... harps?
If you play the piano you're a pianist and you... play the piano!
If you play the violin you're a violinist and you--well, er, fiddle?
I won't get into guitars and banjos.
If you play the flute you're a flutist. A flutist flutes--no that's what a baker does to a pie crust.
If you can only play the radio you're a radiator? radiologist? And that means you...radiate?
I really do need to stop. Some days all I do is think about words. And if I ever get to a breathing space in Hebrew I will work on Russian and Romanian. But no, I'd better stay focused. There aren't enough lifetimes to do all I want to do. And it isn't how much you do, but whether you are doing what you are supposed to do, regardless of whether or not you feel suited to it, get any applause, or leave your "footprints on the sands of time."
Rough quote from somebody: "At any given moment there is only one best thing to be doing."
How many things you can do with a word:
You can hit the target, or you can hit bottom.
You can pull a wagon, or you can pull strings.
You can cut hair or corners.
You can spread butter or rumors.
You can skip stones or class.
You can bury a bone or a grudge.
You can set a table, a clock, or a record.
You can mark time or the correct answer.
You can borrow time, money, or trouble.
You can mix paint or metaphors.
You can grow corn or tired.
You can hold up a sign or traffic.
You can gain the advantage or weight.
You can direct your attention or an orchestra.
You can stop a leak or you can stop snoring.
And of course,
You can hit the road, but don't strike the pavement.
Do you serve your guests, or do you serve the food?
We walk on a walkway, so why do we park on a driveway and drive on a parkway?
I'll quit now.
No I won't.
If you play the drums you're a drummer. A drummer drums.
If you play the trumpet you're a trumpeter. A trumpeter trumpets.
If you play the harp you're a harpist. A harpist... harps?
If you play the piano you're a pianist and you... play the piano!
If you play the violin you're a violinist and you--well, er, fiddle?
I won't get into guitars and banjos.
If you play the flute you're a flutist. A flutist flutes--no that's what a baker does to a pie crust.
If you can only play the radio you're a radiator? radiologist? And that means you...radiate?
I really do need to stop. Some days all I do is think about words. And if I ever get to a breathing space in Hebrew I will work on Russian and Romanian. But no, I'd better stay focused. There aren't enough lifetimes to do all I want to do. And it isn't how much you do, but whether you are doing what you are supposed to do, regardless of whether or not you feel suited to it, get any applause, or leave your "footprints on the sands of time."
Rough quote from somebody: "At any given moment there is only one best thing to be doing."
July 8, 2010
Seaweed and Cheerios
Mark and Mercy
Matthew
Elijah and Noah
Imagine the winner of a wrestling match with a pacifier in his mouth.
Elijah and Matthew
Texas memories
A few pictures from my short visit to Texas in May-June.
The vacant lot across from our house, with curly dock and sensitive plant in the foreground.
Coneflowers and coneflowers.
Canals by the rice fields.
Sensitive plant up close.
A magnolia near our house.
The best and most neglected dog on earth.
Mark
Sharon
Terry and Olivia
Ernie
Ben.
Ben up close.
Leah and Shona. Plus Elijah.
Caleb
Jesh, Olivia and Shona (and Mercy)
The vacant lot across from our house, with curly dock and sensitive plant in the foreground.
Coneflowers and coneflowers.
Canals by the rice fields.
Sensitive plant up close.
A magnolia near our house.
The best and most neglected dog on earth.
Mark
Sharon
Terry and Olivia
Ernie
Ben.
Ben up close.
Leah and Shona. Plus Elijah.
Caleb
Jesh, Olivia and Shona (and Mercy)
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