Unwelcome Guest

I was working late in our home office the other night when I heard a noise on the patio.  The office is in the basement, but there is a lower level patio cut out about 12 feet under ground level -- it's great because it gives the basement lots of natural light.  Anyway, I called up to Sweetie to see if he had thrown something down into the patio or something like that.  He hadn't.  He instructed me to close the shutters and we'd see what was out there.  So, I closed the shutters and turned on the patio lights.  He looked down from the upstairs and said, "It's a cat."  

A cat.  A small, very mangy, nasty-looking cat.  It had apparently jumped, or fallen, into the basement patio and now couldn't get back out.  We watched as it got up on the patio table and did a spread-eagled leap into the air toward the wall of the patio, falling to the ground like a ton of bricks.  Yeah.  He hadn't quite mastered the whole jumping thing.  

It is cases like this where my 7th and 8th-grade gifted students class ("Project Challenge," which my classsmates and I affectionately called "Project Reject") proves its worth.  I start brainstorming 101 ways to get a yucky cat out of a basement patio WITHOUT bringing it into the house and tracking fleas all over the place.

My first idea was to put our tall ladder on one of the patio chairs so that the cat could climb out and make the short leap to ground level.  So, Sweetie did that.  For the longest time, the cat wasn't getting it and kept leaping off the table fruitlessly.  

So, I put Plan B into action.  I put a bunch of canned tuna into an empty tea bag and tied a roll of string around it.  Then, I lowered the string down into the patio from outside, resting it near that chair with the ladder on it.  However, the cat didn't appear.  In fact, I couldn't see the cat anywhere on the patio.  Sweetie came to investigate and noticed that the ladder had moved.  The cat was gone.  Hooray.   And it was waaaay past our bedtime.

The Hunt

The Hunt for Irises
I have been reading about the legendary "black irises" which apparently can be found in Netanya (a city north of here), Mt. Gilboa (a mountain north of here and very close to the West Bank), and also in the Negev (the south of Israel).  The problem, however, is that newspapers and magazines in Israel are never specific about WHERE exactly things are located.  For example: WHERE  in Netanya, on Gilboa, in the Negev, can I find the irises??  No idea.  Anyway, I wanted to see the irises and decided that Mt. Gilboa was the best bet because there is only one road on it, so surely the irises would be along that road.

So, on Monday, Sweetie and I booked lunch at one of our favorite restaurants (called Herb Farm, located on Mt. Gilboa), and left a bit early so we could do iris viewing on the mountain.

We drove up the mountain and initially stopped off at the spot where I encountered Mr. Lizard last month.  But, everything was parched and the flowers were gone, so we didn't linger.  Sweetie took over driving at that point, because I was not well (the smog/sand that has been around for a week finally did me in) and though I didn't tell Sweetie, I had been feeling like I would pass out during the previous 1+ hour of driving.

We ventured on, with me going cross-eyed as I scanned the roadside for the elusive irises.  We eventually decided to give up and turn around in a parking lot labelled "The Irus Way."  Fortunately, Sweetie is not blonde like I am and he figured out that this was where the irises (with an "i") were.  So, we disembarked and wondered along the path.  We managed to find about four irises (or "iruses," whichever you prefer) and couldn't help but wonder if people had walked off with the rest (a la that Finn recently who knocked an ear off a Moai statue on Easter Island).  

Anyway, I felt a great sense of accomplishment that we found the irises!

Sweltering (and Coughing) in March

We're experiencing a "sharav" here in Israel this weekend.  It's basically a massive influx of hot air and dust from the desert areas east.  Usually, I'm not too bothered by it, but this one seriously has me coughing, much along the lines of the "Cairo cough" that plagued me in Egypt.  Today, I spent much of the day inside (some of the time wearing a surgical mask), while Sweetie was out basking in the sun.

Veggies
I finally remembered to take a picture of my organic veggie box this week before putting everything away.  Doesn't it all look yummy?  I've really been enjoying having a nice, fresh salad every day.  Did you know that if you wash lettuce, break it into pieces, and put it in a tupperware container with some water in the bottom, that it will keep really well for about a week?  

I do have to be very careful washing the veggies though.  They are really fresh and not at all prewashed.  So, there are lots of spiders, caterpillars and other assorted guests in
with my veggies.  Today I actually had to throw away much of my broccoli because it had some bugs on it that I couldn't get off, even after soaking in vinegar-water and boiling!  Oh well....  That's the exception, though.  And I'd rather deal with some bugs than pesticides!

Technical Difficulties

These are the fresias blooming on our patio and making the whole garden smell wonderful!

Photography Stuff
In the past three days, to support my new-found photography habit, I have acquired a 70-200mm Canon f/2.8L telephoto zoom lens, a 1.4 Canon extender, a Kata Digital Rucksack, a very expensive B+W circular polarizer, and a 250 GB portable external hard drive.  Ayeye.  I've also downloaded a trial version of Adope Photoshop Elements, which is so confusing to me that I am really glad I don't have enough money to buy the full Photoshop software right now.  

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L telephoto zoom lens
Big thanks to MOM who contributed a big chunk toward this fabulous purchase!  It's a very serious-looking lens and I am so proud!  

For camera freaks out there, you might notice that this is NOT the IS version.  Of couse, I wanted the IS version, but right now, I don't exactly have an unlimited supply of money, and I read reviews for this lens (written by poor folks like myself, who only have $1200 to spend on a lens and not $1600) and those who have it are VERY satisfied with its performance.  With the caveat that if they had an extra $500 lying around, the would have gone for the IS version.

Canon 1.4x II extender
Again, the poor man's version (in a sense).  I didn't want to have to pay for a stronger telephoto, so I got this extender instead.  I opted for the 1.4 instead of the 2.0 because the 2.0 apparently degrades image quality noticeably and this is not what I wanted.  Also, it significantly multiples your minimum focal length, which is not good for me because I have the non-IS lens.  I need to maintain wide aperatures so I can keep the shutter speed up to account for any shake.  

B+W Circular Polarizer
This was basically the most expensive polarizer I could find.  But, it got great reviews, so knowing virtually nothing about polarizers, I decided to give it a try.  

Kata Digital Rucksack DR-467
Haven't tried to fit my new acquisitions into this bag yet (ironically, made here in Israel!), but am looking forward to it!

Technical Problem
I got a wonderful TINY external hard drive to support my photo habit, but it is totally slowing down my computer.  I think I made progress today toward getting things back in order (honestly, I think Photoshop was the problem).  Fingers crossed.

Anyway, my Easter weekend will be spent playing with my new toys.  The above photo was taken with the old lens (in full manual mode, and in RAW format -- hurray for me).  However, to upload it, I had to shrink the file size considerably, so it's not as good as the original.  Handy excuse:-)

Photo for Today

It has become clear to me that I need to get a macro lens for my camera.  I am taking lots of flower photos.  Unfortunately, this purchase will have to wait, as I have just shelled out lots of money that I shouldn't really be spending (the past year of unemployment has nearly decimated my savings, but it has been FUN!!) for a telephoto lens, a backpack that can hold my oversized media-verson laptop with my camera equipment, and an extender for my telephoto lens, none of which I have actually received yet, as the shipment is apparently being held in customs at Ben Gurion airport awaiting confirmation (from me, presumably) of what is inside.  Of course, no one has actually tried to contact me about the shipment, so I am just waiting.....

My Passport

Yesterday I made a long-awaited trek to the US Embassy for an appointment to get additional pages added to my passport.  Yes, my passport is nearly full, with four more years to go before it expires.  This is even considering the fact that I used my diplomatic passport for much of my travel (prior to last March).  So, I guess I've spent a lot of time on planes!  Anyway, I followed the directions on the embassy website and left ALL personal belongings in my car, with the exception of my passport, my application form, and my car keys.  As I arrived at the embassy, they swiped my hands for bomb residue and then I got to wait behind several dual-citizen families who had clearly paid no attention whatsoever to the embassy regulations and were trying to bring in electronic 
dictionaries, telephones, hair picks, etc.  I was less than pleased, as this was all delaying my progress in the line.  

And I must say that I was slightly dismayed that all the instruction were being given to me in Hebrew, despite the fact that I was waiting in line for American Citizen Services.  Anyway, I eventually made my way into the Embassy and waited about an hour until my name was called.  When I got to the window, the guy told me that I need not have made an appointment!  I waited four months for this appointment!!   Anyway, they did take care of it and I had my passport pages within the next hour, for which I was very grateful.

Anyway, I just checked the embassy's website, and indeed, it does state there that an appointment is REQUIRED.  So, I am completely perplexed.  

Note to any US citizens living in Israel: try to take care of all passport issues and other official business when you are back in the US visiting.

A Taste of Israeli Wine; My Favorite Show

Israeli Wine
Ever since I heard about it, I've been wanting to visit the Jerusalem Hills area and check out some of the vineyards there. On Sunday, Sweetie and I visited Tzora Vineyards in Bet Shemesh. I had previously tasted a Tzora bottle, and I have to admit it wasn't my favorite (to be fair - it was a bottle of their "Judean Hills" which is intended simply for everyday consumption - ie: it's nothing special), but Tzora was the only place I called that welcomed us for tasting that day, so off we went.

It was very easy to find and Shula who assisted us was really kind and helpful. She explained where the grapes are grown (at three different locations near Jerusalem) and the history behind the vineyard and its founder (who sadly just passed away a few weeks ago). I tasted a Merlot that I really liked, but Sweetie preferred the Cabernet. In the end, I decided to buy a bottle of their dessert wine called "Or" ("light" in Hebrew), which apparently received a tasting score in the low 90s from a renowned wine expert. They don't provide tastings of the Or due to its limited quantity, but I decided to take a chance. I'll let you know how it is. Sweetie picked up a few bottles of the Cabernet. Neither were cheap -- my dessert wine was 119 NIS (over $30). But hopefully the taste will be worth it!

We ate a picnic lunch on the tables outside of Tzora. There was a "sharav" that day -- a weather phenomenon that entails unseasonably hot, sandy weather. So, the views weren't that great. But, we were the only ones there and it was shaded and pleasant.

My Favorite TV Show
I have to confess that I LOVE watching American Idol. This drives Sweetie absolutely insane. He just barely tolerates it when, on Friday nights at 1930, I sequester myself in the bedroom to watch American Idol (while he goes to the basement to watch anything else). But, I LOVE music and I really love the show. This year, I am soooo impressed with the men on the show, and I have to say that at this point, there is not a single one who I think should be eliminated. They are all excellent. Of course, one of my favorites is David Archuleta -- he's just a perfect singer. But I am afraid he might be one who would not be able to sing hits. And ultimately, that's
what the show is/should be looking for.

I've been much less impressed with the women. That said, I did download Brooke White's version of "Love Is a Battlefield" from iTunes. Totally worth a listen if you have iTunes. It's a ready-made hit.