Christmas Theme: Pic #4

At Christmas family gatherings we can always count on my dad to make friends with the littles, if they aren't already best buddies with him. Here he is pretending to be distressed by playful face squeezes from his Jewel of a granddaughter.  

Christmas Theme: Pic #3

At least every other year, our Christmas season involves a trip out to Wisconsin to visit my family. This year we spent a few days at a Lodge on the shores of Lake Couderay (Englishified version of Lac Courte Oreilles) in the Hayward area where I grew up. I still think it's pretty hard to beat the crisp and clear Northern beauty that abounds there in winter. I took this pic during a very chilly walk-at-dusk with my mom, a daughter, a sis and a niece.

Christmas Theme: Pic #2

Attending school programs is always a highlight during the Christmas season. After the students give their songs and recitations, the friends and relatives are invited to meander through the classrooms to see the artwork displayed there. This year, the manger scenes in the Grade 4 classroom took my eye. Each student had designed his or her own nativity set using whatever media struck their fancy. How to portray the wonder the nativity characters must have felt when they gazed at the newborn King? I think using googly eyes is just quite appropriate! 😊

Week #44 Theme: Christmas

I know it isn't the most important part of Christmas and I realize it can be overdone, but I really do enjoy Christmas decorations. This centerpiece comes from a variety of sources. Some friends made the wooden candle holder from old corncrib boards, the glass tea light holders are jam jars from my fruit cellar, the cranberries are from the grocery store and the pine sprigs and cones were nabbed from local evergreens on the farm. Oh, and the "runner" is actually a turban cloth that Ken purchased from a street vendor in Jericho. (The guy had it all arranged on Ken's head before he knew what was happening, so then Ken had to buy it, right?) Yes, the pulled-together creativity of Christmas decorations is what I like. 

Found in Egypt Theme: Pic #7

The last evening in Cairo we enjoyed some balmy-weather sailing in a felucca on the Nile. What a perfect way to end the Israel Trip!

Found in Egypt Theme: Pic #6

When you visit the pyramids in Egypt and there are people around who are eager to set you up in unique poses...this is the result. 
That day was a memorable part of our Egypt experience.  To see the pyramids up close, and learn about their history was pretty amazing. We got to go inside The Great Pyramid. I kept thinking how incredible it was to actually be there in Giza and see the real thing, after only reading about the pyramids and seeing pictures of them all these years.

Found in Egypt Theme: Pic #5

Here is a sample of the goodies we had on the dessert buffet at our hotel in Cairo. 
Today is another day of many delectable options along the food line. While the food of the season is noteworthy, this day especially I want to focus my attention on the Bread of Life sent to nourish our souls forever. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Found in Egypt Theme: Pic #4

We visited one of the carpet schools in Cairo, where the children attending get an education and much hands-on training in carpet-making. Some of the students follow a printed pattern to acheive the design on the finished rug, but others just work off of a picture they have only in their creative minds - both with amazing results. When we paused by their looms, the carpet makers glanced at us with ready smiles, pausing briefly in their rapid rhythms of pulling, tying and snipping threads.

Found in Egypt Theme: Pic #3

The area on either side of the Nile River is green and lush with trees and crops. This Egyptian farmer was using his mule to haul a load of turnips in from the field.

Found in Egypt Theme: Pic #2

If the members of our tour group didn't purchase anything in the Egyptian Cotton store, it wasn't because the items didn't have enough color and variety!

Week #43 Theme: Found in Egypt

This is the last week in the "Found in..." series from our Israel Trip. I plan to post seven pics that offer a peek into our Egypt experiences. Today's photo shows two of the people we met in Cairo. The fellow on the left was our guide, named Moses. One of his favorite sayings, when he wanted our group to gather in closely so we could see and hear his explanations better, was "Let my people come!" The cheerful chap on the right demonstrated papyrus paper-making while we were in The Papyrus Institute. That grassy-topped "tree" between the two men is a papyrus plant, the stalk of which was used in the demonstration.

Found in Jordan Theme: Pic #7

Ken and his camel (and probably more of mine) are supposed to be on this pic, too, but there are reasons they're not. We had just come back from a very adventurous segment of our journey, the last part of which was a camel meander, and our guide showed up just in time to help us dismount and take our money and a photo. He was juggling the two camel ropes and Ken's phone while trying to get us two lined up in front of The Treasury (that beautiful, famous façade carved into the Petra rock) when Ken's camel decided it had had enough. It snorted in disgust and promptly knelt down frontward. Ken had no choice but to disembark. So that is how this rather slanted pic of just me and the top half of my camel in front of the Treasury at Petra came to be.

Found in Jordan Theme: Pic #6

This group of mules and their owners were a typical sight on our Petra trek, as far as men and their beasts go. I imagined that this scene was very similar to what we could have encountered in Petra back when it was a prosperous, thriving trading center and community several thousand years ago.

Found in Jordan Theme: Pic #5

Also during our exciting day at Petra, we rode camels. (as well as mules up and down a mountain and in chariots pulled by horses urged and raced by Jehu-like drivers, I might add) We did NOT pull any shenanigans such as this camel rider did, though! 

Found in Jordan Theme: Pic #4

Our day at Petra, Jordan, was a definite highlight of the trip. There were so many amazing natural rock formations to awe us, besides the magnificent man-made carvings in the mountains. At this particular spot on the trail, we stood at the side of this "shaped" rock and our guide told us to find the fish. Then we moved ahead a bit, and the rock fish turned into an elephant!

Found in Jordan Theme: Pic #3

Madaba, Jordan, is known as "The City of Mosaics." The famous Madaba Mosaic Map was found here and is preserved in the floor of a Greek Orthodox Church. With two million tiny pieces of colored stone, the map depicts the Middle East in the 6th century AD. We were fascinated to see this old work of art as well as to watch workers create new works of art in a mosaic factory in Madaba.

Found in Jordan Theme: Pic #2

This statue we saw on Mt. Nebo in Jordan depicts both the bronze serpent Moses put up in the wilderness and Jesus lifted up on the Cross as described in John 3:14. Both point to the provision of a deliverer for needy and dying people. 

Week #42 Theme: Found in Jordan

Nuts and dried fruit were a common sight in all three countries we visited, on buffets and in the markets. These wares were on display at a little shop in downtown Madaba, Jordan. We bought some of the pistachios and while they were good, they were extremely salty. At another store on our trip, we purchased some dried dates which are the moistest and tastiest we've ever had.

Found in Israel 3 Theme: Pic #7

Another mountaintop experience with Ken in Israel - this time, at Masada (which means fortress in Hebrew). We crammed into a cable car with 80 other tourists to ride to the top of the mesa instead of climbing up via the Snake Trail on foot. In the photo, we are standing at the top in front of some ruins of Herod the Great's get-away palace/fortress, with the Dead Sea in the background. We definitely have the tourist look, what with those "whisper sets" hanging around our necks and plugged into our ears. They were invaluable though, for hearing our guide clearly in spite of having a large tour group and often being spread out over a considerable distance on our treks. 

                                                                    (Photo Credit: one of the relatives, probably)

Found in Israel 3 Theme: Pic #6

We saw this cemetery beside the path as we walked down the Mount of Olives just outside Jerusalem. Instead of placing flowers at the burial sites of their loved ones, the Jewish people put stones on top of the graves. This is a sign that they have visited. I don't think the stone "bouquets" are as pretty as flowers, but they seem to serve the same purpose.

Found in Israel 3 Theme: Pic #5

The statue of Peter's Denial at the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu (cockcrow, in Latin) was a solemn reminder of how quickly we can go back on our declarations of love to the Master. Non novi illum means "I do not know Him." Also in this place was the reminder that Jesus forgives all kinds of ills, in all kinds of repentant people. 

Found in Israel 3 Theme: Pic #4

No, this is not several limestone chimneys with smoke coming out of the stacks; it is the palace ruins of Herod the Great in his city called Caesarea Maritima (by the Sea) in honor of Caesar Augustus. Three well-known men, whose  names begin with "P", are associated with this place: Peter, Paul and Pontius Pilate. The day we visited, the Mediterranean Sea was a lovely and wind-whipped wild. 

Found in Israel 3 Theme: Pic #3

It seems like this photo depicts both the ancient and modern. People gather at the Western Wall, aka the Wailing Wall, in Jerusalem to pray because it is the surviving remnant of the Temple Mount, and that's as close as they can get to what was the Holy of Holies in the Temple. The papers that are stuffed into the crevices of the old wall contain requests, confessions, and heart cries. I stood by the wall and tucked an invisible note into a crevice of my heart: "Thank You, Jesus, for Your nearness; for making my relationship with God possible and that I can come to You with anything, anywhere, anytime." 

Found in Israel 3 Theme: Pic #2

In Jerusalem, we visited the Church of the Pater Noster (Our Father), adjacent to a cave which is the traditional site of Jesus teaching the disciples The Lord's Prayer. Lining the walls of both the basilica ruins and the present-day church are beautiful mottoes of The Lord's Prayer. Each of these 140-some colorful ceramic plaques is the Prayer in a different language.

Week #41 Theme: Found in Israel 3

I spy with my little eye...a creature that is trying to blend in with its surroundings. This googly-eyed green chameleon was spotted (not by me) in a tree (are those bay leaves?) near the Sea of Galilee. (I almost got a poem going there in that last sentence) I also spy with my little eye...one more week of Israel pics before moving on to things found in two other countries.

Found in Israel 2 Theme: Pic #7

A very fun part of the trip was spending time with the tour members; getting reacquainted in some cases and getting to know others for the very first time. This quintet of young Driedger ladies from Alberta was a fun-loving sisterly/cousinly bunch and added a lot of spice to our experiences. We're grateful to add them to our list of friends!

Found in Israel 2 Theme: Pic #6

Seen on display in a shop near the Via Dolorosa, an ancient street in Old City Jerusalem: yarmulkes, like so many coverings for sale in a Mennonite store in Lancaster, PA.

Found in Israel 2 Theme: Pic #5

Here we are at Qumran, the area of the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery. The Essenes (a strict sect of Jews) lived in this region, and it is thought that they recorded and preserved the scrolls. Some Bible scholars believe that John the Baptist frequented their area, and may have even been an Essene himself. In our Sunday School class yesterday, the talk about John reminded me of this day on our Israel Trip.

                                                             (Photo credit: a fellow traveller) 

Found in Israel 2 Theme: Pic #4

We met "Hannah" at the Nazareth Village, where she was spinning wool into yarn. The village interpreter explained the dyeing process for the colored balls of yarn in the basket in the lower left-hand corner. Common items such as onion skins and pomegranate peels were used to achieve some of the cheaper colors. The royal colors of blue and purple made the most expensive yarns. 

Found in Israel 2 Theme: Pic #3

We explored the beautiful grounds at the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee one of the first days we were in Israel. This is the site believed to have been where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. Near this array of greenery and color was an octagonal building - The Church of the Beatitudes - designed with eight sides for eight beatitudes.

Found in Israel 2 Theme: pic #2

For lunch on our Nazareth day, our guide Amer ordered falafel and shawarma pockets from one of those hole-in-the-wall places that you'd never guess would put out such authentic and delicious food. The local "chefs" there were delighted to have an order for 48 meals, just like that. And our group was delighted to have a taste of Israel, just like that.