With Cathy at Tzora Winery
All good things must come to an end: we took Cathy to the airport last night. From here she is headed to DC for a class before returning to Burundi. We really enjoyed having her here in Israel!
Last Monday, while Cathy was touring in Jerusalem, John and I went to the Ambassador’s residence after work for an “Art in Embassies” reception. The program director was in Israel and she spoke to us about the program, and a local artist also spoke. The Ambassador and his wife worked with the program to pick art for the residence; they chose the theme “Couples,” and chose art from couples who are both artists. It was interesting to see the difference in styles between the members of a pair.
Thursday night, Cathy, John and I had dinner on the beach – the weather has been perfect this week, so it was nice to sit outside.
Friday I took the day off so that Cathy and I could go shopping. We started with a wonderful breakfast at Benedicts, then spent the day wandering around the shops in Neve Tzedek, as well as the Friday crafts fair at Carmel market.
This weekend is Purim, a Jewish holiday that is celebrated with costumes and celebration (i.e., lots of drinking). It was fun to see all of the costumes Friday and Saturday – from kids to young folks to the very old – everyone seemed to get in the spirit.
This past weekend marked the one-year anniversary of the death of my friend and co-worker Lesley in Ciudad Juarez, along with her husband and the husband of another Consulate worker. While several gang members have been arrested for the murders, there still doesn’t seem to be a clear motive.
Click to see more photos from our trip to the Judean Hills from last week.
Click to see more photos from our trip to the Golan and Galilee with Cathy, including a photo of the original Mt. Tabor – my mom was born in Mt. Tabor, Arkansas.