LT's Trip to Israel

I have a world traveling husband. Seems like this year especially has taken him some interesting places. In June, during my blogging hiatus, he took a 10-day jaunt to Germany, France and Switzerland to see some clients. I wasn't too jealous until he sent me pictures of Lucerne, Switzerland. Beautiful lake, beautiful mountains, quaint little waterfront. He did bring me a Swiss watch and t-shirt. Really nice, actually. But I would have traded them for a chance to stowaway in his suitcase. Maybe someday.

More recently, specifically this last week, LT took another business trip to Tel Aviv, Israel. It was a trip that had been "out there" as a possibility for a while, but when it actually happened, it was a last minute trip. LT decided he was leaving Friday, October 7 and actually left the next Tuesday. A whirlwind trip with almost a full day of travel time (at least 15 hours actually flying) on either end of a six day trip. After his business was through, he and a co-worker got a chance to take a private guided tour through Jerusalem. He got a local's view into some of the historical and biblical sites throughout this ancient city. They went to the Wailing Wall on a Shabbat (no pictures on this day), saw the walls of the old city, stood on the Mount of Olives. He brought back spices from the market (Saffron, and another mix of several) and slept in a hotel on the Mediterranean Sea. A little high on the "tense places in the world to be" scale, but an interesting trip none-the-less. Here's a few pictures from his trip...

Looking down on the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount

Streets in Jeruselem

A Camel

Squirrel Creature

As defined by Sugar:

Squirrel Creature - (pronounced squaall cweature). Otherwise known as a scarecrow. A happy little fall decoration adorning our yard. Has a tendency to be destroyed by the malicious, yard-decoration-shredding squirrels that inhabit our particular block. Thus, being a creature that squirrels will destroy. Thus, a squirrel creature.

(FYI -Our squirrels also have a particular taste for pumpkin and have been known to descimate those little round vegetables of fall fun into shredded little pieces all over our front porch with a matter of hours. Thus, the slightly more tacky, but significantly more durable plastic pumpkins currently on our front porch.)

Making Pizza

Last week, Sparkle's preschool class had a field trip to a local pizza place. I admit, I was skeptical to how fun a trip this would be. I tend to be pretty protective of my preschool mornings since it is often the only grown-up time that I get during the week. However, one of the preschool dads invited our class to visit his pizza place and see the inner workings of a pizza restaurant. The kids got to make their own pizza...add their own toppings and consume the end result. Plus, they made salads and pizzas for the moms who came on the trip. Needless to say, this greatly endeared the restaurant to our hearts and stomachs. The pizza was fantastic and the kids really enjoyed themselves. All in all, a great outing. A shout out to Lil' Ricci's Pizza! Thanks for a great experience and some really yummy pizza!

Pickles are Not Vegetables

What is a Pickle?

Here's a question that seems to have a straight forward answer. Most of you are probably thinking, "a salty cucumber that is good for consuming on hamburgers, as a sandwich side, or straight out of the jar." All true....but if you are around me much, you might have heard me mention, "I am meeting with one of the Pickles", or "I have to read this for the Pickles", and you might think...."I believe this gal has gone a little loony". But no, really I haven't. In my world, the Pickles are a dear group of friends that have joined together to form a wonderful book club. We started meeting almost 2 years ago and have enjoyed reading many different books, some loved, some hated and some met with a bit of indifference, but always worthy of a greatconversation and a lot of laughs, some crying, and a lot of getting to know each other. We are a group of many different opinions, generations and approaches to life. Yet, we love each other and have found that we greatly enjoy each other's company. As for the name, it comes from the first book we read together, The Persian Pickle Club, by Sandra Dallas. We loved the sense of community and commitment that the women in the novel demonstrated...something we found we all long for in a society that can tend to be isolated and removed from each other. So, someone suggested the name and it stuck. And no (if you read the book), we don't plan on "off-ing" any of each other's husbands.

Last weekend, I got to spend time with most of these wonderful women on a weekend getaway to Grand Lake, Colorado. (Missed all of you who couldn't come.) We stayed in one of my fellow Pickle's family cabin right on Shadow Mountain Lake. The fall colors were beautiful, the company was fantastic, and it was a lovely weekend away with my dear friends. We did some hiking, boating, shopping, and above all...a lot of talking! It had been over three years since I had got away for the weekend with girlfriends like that and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. There is something about good old-fashioned girl time that renews me and gets me ready to come back and tackle the routine of raising three lively and energetic kids. What a gift.