Really?

Tr:  Be'emet?

We're into March so our Need to Know Challenge is a wrap.  Fun stuff.  Thanks, MM and KC.  This is Saturday night, so our weekend is coming to an end.  We had some fun.  Drove to Rosh Pina, a beautiful historic town in the Galilee. We took a hike to see the wildflowers blooming.  The almond trees were no longer in full bloom, but still had some white blossoms. Lovely.

 There were cows on the trail, doing their best and forgetting the rest. One poor cow appears to have lost a leg and we're still curious about that.

On the way home we saw a sign that said, "Mt. of Beatitudes."  We pulled off and walked around a monastery garden and church that were built on the site where Jesus gave his famous sermon on the mount.  Great view of the Sea of Galilee.

Today we went to the Haifa Science Museum and checked out a great exhibit about Leonardo DaVinci.  He was a true Renaissance Man. Ended our day with Anchorman 2. which I think I may even like better than Anchorman 1.  Lots of fun silliness, so see it if you feel like it.
           So, the weekend's over.  Blessed be those who are starting the work week, for they shall inherit inspiration and productivity.

  

Impressive.

Tr:  Marshim.

Looking for Thursday Creativity Share?  You're in the right spot.

I quite enjoyed this creative collaboration of Canadian artist Aganetha Dyck and some bees in this exhibit called Honeybee Alterations.  I found it on the creativity web site My Modern Met.

LOVE these sketchbook diary entries by Gemma Correll and you will as well.  I'd love to have future students fool around with sketchbook diaries. Maybe they could create them for a literature response about a character in a book?  The wheels are spinning when I see cool creative stuff like this.  Going back to the classroom next year, so I can force my creative will on others.  Yeeha!

Check out Keri Smith's beautiful web page.  You can draw a little on the home page web site, as I did.  I drew a picture of an Advil bottle. I especially like her Image of the Day messages.

These jazz musicians are phenomenal.  #1 Son doesn't play on the first song, but he plays on all the rest and he's jazzy as can be.  Well done, #1!

I want to read this new book by Yoko Ono.  It's called Acorn.  I have her book Grapefruit, so why wouldn't I get this book too?

Thursday Creativity Share is a wrap.  Go forth and create or just do what I do, which is appreciate the creations of others.

Have Fun.

Tr:  Bilui Na'im.
Early this very morning I learned about the new monument to Denmark Vesey erected in South Carolina.  I learned that Denmark Vesey was a slave who won some money and bought his freedom.  Then he became a carpenter.  He made a good living and wanted to purchase his wife and kids, but could not. Over the course of ten years, Denmark Vesey planned a slave rebellion that would free thousands of slaves.  Sadly, some of his friends ratted out the plan and Denmark was killed by hanging along with 34 others.  There are people who are not happy about the new monument to Denmark, but I think it's important and overdue and helps us better understand our complex history.  It's high time to pass the word about Denmark Vesey, a free man who fought to free others.

I don't have time to talk right now.

Ilana Noor Museum

Tr:  Ein li zman ledaber achshav.

Today I chatted on facebook with 20 Something. First I wrote: The day begins anew. I'm v. jealous because I saw on facebook a link to this gal's blog that went viral this week because she wrote a funny entry about Victoria Secret swim suits. Why can't my camel story go viral? I think it's very funny.

20 Something replied: You're viral to me!

That was a kind and thoughtful response, and it calmed me down considerably. I guess going viral on the internets isn't all it's cracked up to be because the blog author wrote that some people were a little mean to her in their comments and called her some fairly rude names. Not sure I could handle that right now. I'm in a good place and I don't want anything messing it up.

Look and listen.

Tr: Tir'e ve tishma.

Huddle up Peeps, It's time for the Monday Writing Report (MWR).  I know this isn't the most exciting day of the week for you beautiful blog readers, but you're definitely helping me out with my accountability and focus, so it's all worth it.

Today was a productive day.  Why, you ask?  Let's break it down.

1.  I worked on campus.  It's a little easier to focus when I'm not working right next to my bed and kitchen.
2.  Morning pages are really helping me get into the groove. Morning pages are 15 minutes of stream of consciousness writing that I type each day, super fast.  I instantly delete them when I'm done. It's very freeing and a great way to let go of worries and woes. Julia Cameron's Artist's Way series is the inspiration for this valuable writing tool. Kudos, Julia!
3.  I've decided to be okay about the reality that when I get home this summer, I will still be working on this project.  So remember when you see me this summer to say stuff like, "How awesome that you didn't finish your project and you can still spend time with it now that you're home?"
4.  After 3 or 4 slow draggy days, the 5th day is when stuff usually gets a little easier.  Not a lot, just a little.  And that's good to remember.  I plan to let my students waste time for 3 to 4 days before kicking it into gear next year during writer's workshop.  We've got to trust the process. Everyone needs to know this.

It's funny.

Ze matskhik.

I saw a Reality TV show called HandyMan the other day.  The handymen had a challenge to take a bunch of chairs and turn them into tables.  They used their special handyman tools and they made some fun little tables.  That's something I wish I could do. I would like to make a table out of just regular supplies.  When I return stateside, I'm probably going to apprentice myself to a carpenter or some type of table artist.  My tables will be one of a kind.

I saw a good movie today.

Raiti seret tov hayom.  (Inside Llewyn Davis.  See it if you feel like it).

Another great thing about Be'erotayim is the lack of light pollution out there in the desert, so the stars were in splendid display.  I lounged in our hammock and stared up at them for quite some time.

And another great thing about that place is that there's a plethora of birds about. Yesterday morning we got up at the crack of dawn and went off to find the famous houbara bustard. The houbara does a nerdy little mating dance this time of year.  I saw it with my own eyes.  We consider ourselves novice birders so it was kind of neat to be with College Chum and her crew of serious birders. If you want to be a serious birder, this is what you need to know. You should eventually invest in a high power telescope.  Also, always remember to offer views through your telescope to the others who haven't yet bought their telescopes. The birders on our trip did this and it was extremely fun to see clear close up views of shrikes, little grebes and arabian babblers.  Lastly, if you offer the birds food, most of them will come and eat from your hands. So pack some grubs next time you head out on an early morning bird trip.

I love Be'erotayim.

Tr:  Ani ohevet Be'erotayim.

Be'erotayim is the place where we stayed last night.  It's called a khan, which is an Arab word for "inn." Be'erotayim is in the Negev Desert.  They have camels.  We went there with College Chum and it was a blast from beginning to end.  In this blog post, I'll focus on our one hour camel tour and everything you need to know about riding a camel.

This is our friendly second camel.  We were on our FirstCamel when FirstCamel tried to bite College Chum's foot off while she was sitting on her camel.  Our wonderful guide had told us to hold on to the saddle handles and never to scream or startle the camels.  So when FirstCamel was poised to bite off CC's foot, I said in a super calm voice, "He's going to bite you.  He's going to bite you.  He's going to bite you."  When CC raised up her legs away from First Camel's grasp, FirstCamel started biting her camel.  Turns out these two camels don't get along, so Wonder Guide had us get off First Camel.  Easier said than done. By the way, we never learned the name of FirstCamel.  

We got on Second Camel.  Her name is Samira and she is 15 years old.  She was a delight. For the first 10 minutes or so I felt like I was probably going to fall off Samira, but I figured it was only about a 7 foot fall and I would not be seriously injured.  Then I figured out how to center my body on the saddle and that calmed me down. This is a photo I took of our shadow while riding Samira. 

We headed out into the desert.  In the distance is the border with Egypt.  We learned a lot about camels, the border, and the plants of the desert.  At one point, Wonder Guide asked if we'd like to get off the camels to check out the plants.  I said no thank you because it's a real hassle getting on and off a camel.  So Wonder Guide got off and picked some edible flowers for us and we ate them.  Our camels ate them too. 

The desert was stunning, but most of the time I just looked down at Samira's head. I'm a huge Samira fan.

Photo credit Husbandman.

At the end of a camel ride, it's nice to come sit by the fire and drink some tea or coffee.  

We have everything.

Tr: Yesh lanu hakol.

Cool art by Vered Gersztenkorn

We're heading into the Negev desert tomorrow.  We're going to meet up with college chum to see some birds, ride some camels (maybe) and look at the stars.  Today was a delightful day.  February 19th will forever more be the day of international friendship and cheer. You need to forever more celebrate this day in a manner to your liking.  

Don't talk during the movie.

Tr: Lo ledaber bizman ha'seret.

This very day I read a book review about a memoir written by a guy who took Lariam, which is an anti-malaria medication and lariam caused him to have amnesia.  He was in India and totally forgot who he was.  It took him a long time to get back to himself.  You need to know that lariam might save you from malaria, but it can also wipe out your identity.

Later this very day I read another review about another person who wrote a book about her amnesia that happened when a fan fell from the wall and hit her head.  She never recovered her memories and had to start life over from scratch.  You need to make sure heavy objects are fastened securely around the home site.

Both amnesiacs wrote books that sound interesting to me.  I wish I could make my book on teaching writing seem a bit more dramatic.  Amnesia's out, but there has to be something wrong with me that could snazz this story up a bit.

That's it.

Tr:  Zeyu Ze.

Huddle up peeps, it's time for the Monday Writing Report (MWR).  In anticipation of writing this report, I applied myself today and tried to work to my potential.  I'm done with the rough draft of the outline for the book proposal.  Tomorrow I'll start the final draft.  

While we're on the subject of writing, I bought a new notebook this week as well as some excellent pens and pencils. I suggest you do the same, as soon as possible.