criplomats

So this was Week One without John here – we’ve talked daily except for Tuesday when my Vonage connections went kapoot. Luckily I still had an internet connection, so I emailed John photographs of all of the mysterious modems and other boxes with cables going in and out! He was able to review the photos and email me back with a solution – whew!

For this first week, at least, I’ve sort of enjoyed just staying home. I’m trying to hit the gym every morning to walk on the treadmill, and I’ve signed up for an on-line yoga class. Keep your fingers crossed that I will keep it up!

Yesterday morning I went for breakfast with Petit and Howie – we dodged the rain and walked up to Benedict’s where we had a leisurely breakfast. So many folks like Petit and Howie are checking in on me to be sure everything is ok – it’s nice.

Neighbors Bill and Diane went to Petra this weekend, so I was able to steal the kitten and bring her down to visit – she’s just so darn cute (although loud!).

Those of you who have known me for a long time know my good friend Mike who lives in San Antonio. He and his partner Wayne have been together for 27 years (how is that possible? We’re not that old, are we???), and on December 28,  they were able to legally tie the knot during their annual trip to NYC for the holidays. I’m so thrilled for them and my only regret is that I wasn’t there to celebrate with them. But I’m celebrating from Tel Aviv – here’s a toast to two beautiful people who I am glad to have in my life and happy to call friends! Read more about it on Mike’s blog.

MIke and Wayne on their wedding day

Friday was a very sad day for John and me – he left Tel Aviv to go back to the States for training, then he will go on to Pakistan from there. We made it a normal work day, had dinner one last time together at Whitehall, then he set off to the airport. Here’s John with our two favorite waitresses, Liat and Joanna.

Our favorite waitresses, Liat and Joanna

He made it to DC just fine and is settled into his apartment in Crystal City. Class starts Monday.

While we do not like being apart, it is exciting to think that our new adventure is beginning.

And, while saying goodbye is not fun, we have had so many kind gestures made on our behalf the last few weeks.

Thursday night was our last book club, and we were surprised when our core group presented John with a nice bottle of wine, flowers and a card signed by everyone – so sweet! Perhaps the best thing about book club is knowing that one of the members is taking it over so that John’s hard work can continue!

Last book club in Tel Aviv

Also, we were very happy and honored this week when the Deputy Chief of Mission and his wife had us over for a dinner party to say goodbye to John. We thought we were going for a casual dinner with them, but we had a lovely dinner for ten instead! John and Tom, the DCM, have worked together very well and sometimes eerily know the same obscure references to books. Tom’s wife Eden has made us feel welcome since we arrived – they are just a great couple, and we feel lucky to get to serve with them.

Last Monday, we took advantage of the holiday and drove to the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. It was a dreary, rainy day, and while the museum is not exactly uplifting, it was well-done and we were glad that we went. On the way out of town, we stopped to say ‘bye to Dave.

This morning I took Flavie back to the vet – for several months now, she has been losing hair, poor girl. We ran blood tests back in October and then again today – the vet suspects hyperthyroidism. We’ll know more when the results come back – if that is the case, there are some treatments available for it, thank goodness.

Photo from photography class

Like Christmas, New Year’s Eve is sort of a non-event here since Jews celebrate the Jewish new year in September. It was a low-key night for us; our friend Dave came from Jerusalem and we went with him to a small gathering of Jerusalem folks for a little while upstairs in our building.

I also had a nice long conversation with Mary back in Little Rock yesterday – great to hear her voice and get caught up.

The big news of the week was our pack-out. We spent last Monday getting organized for the movers to come on Thursday. We pretty much sent everything in the apartment except for my clothes, a couple of rugs and linens for the guest room. The Embassy brought us a “welcome kit,” which has very basic dishes, pans, linens, iron, TV, etc. – I’ll live with these things until I leave. The strangest part is not having any art on the wall. It will be weird, but it’s also kind of fun – at least for now. I’m sure it will grow old after a few weeks!

Friday was admin day in ACS, so we didn’t see clients. It’s a great day for getting caught up on those things you don’t normally have time to do. ACS also has a great tradition of having breakfast together on admin days – they bring salads, baked eggs, hummus, bourekas (stuffed phyllo dough pastries) and all kinds of yummy things to eat. Baked eggs taste and look like boiled eggs, but they are put in the oven and the oven is turned on low heat before Shabbat begins; they cook all night and are taken out of the oven the next morning – all of this can be accomplished without violating the rules about turning on electricity. (In our building, we have a Shabbat elevator. On Shabbat, it goes on auto-pilot and stops on each floor, so our Jewish neighbors don’t have to push the button.)

Here’s some of the ACS gang taken during our outreach trip a few weeks ago: Gaby, Johnny, Marjatta, Juan, Efraim our warden, and Nadia.

ACS Crew during outreach to Bet Shemesh

We were sad to lose our second kitty yesterday – her parents returned from their vacation, so we had to give her back. What a cutie – she really made us laugh with her kitten antics. Even Flavie put up with her – aside from a few hissing matches, Flavie ran from her or tried to ignore her. Luckily, Bill and Diane have granted us visitation rights to see her!

Fizzgig, our temporary cat

Christmas morning Sea of Galilee

Merry Christmas, everyone! It’s such an odd feeling since Israel by nature doesn’t celebrate Christmas. The weather is still pretty warm, people are still playing in the ocean and walking on the beach and the sun is shining – hard to believe that family and friends are bundled up back home!

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning in the Galil – we stayed at our favorite Vered Hagalil cabin overlooking the Sea of Galilee. We had lunch at Doris, our favorite steak house in Rosh Pina, then checked in the hotel. We enjoyed our newest Christmas tradition – watching “Love Actually,” just a great holiday movie.

We really enjoyed the thunderstorm that crossed Israel last night – it was such a treat to wake  up to hear rain pouring down on the rooftop of our cabin. Here’s another shot of the Sea of Galilee – the light was beautiful and changed repeatedly due to the rain.

Sea of Galilee

The week leading up to the holiday was fun. Last Sunday, my photography class did a walk-about around Rothschild Avenue, photographing historic buildings and other goodies, like this cute puppy sitting outside at a cafe.

Puppy -n- boots

Work was pretty low-key, and we got off early on Friday. We had our annual “stairwell party” at the Embassy, where each floor hosts goodies in the stairwell.

And again, we’ve been enjoying having the kitten down to visit us this week – she is such a doll! Here she is helping John read!

John and Tikka

With Tikka

Dome of the Rock

John and I were very lucky to go on a tour inside the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Muslim quarter of the Old City, something that most non-Muslims don’t get to do. They are both very ornate and beautiful. After the tour, we walked through the Old City with a couple of friends and stopped to have lunch at a well-known little diner – we were squeezed into one of the four tables in the tiny space, and really enjoyed our hummus and pita bread. Click to see more photos.

On the way back from Tel Aviv, we stopped in Abu Ghosh for lunch at Rama’s Kitchen, a place that our Jerusalem friends rave about. It was delicious and a very pleasant environment. It’s basically an outdoor restaurant out in the country on a hilltop with a gravel floor, winterized with space heaters and temporary walls. Neighborhood dogs mingled with guests’ dogs under the table, and yummy dishes were scooped out of the open oven.

On Wednesday, the American Citizen Services group took a road trip to Bet Shemesh for a passport outreach. There’s a large American community there (almost 5000 people), and they were so happy for us to be there. It was a good trip and nice to get out of the office.

While we were on the road, the Embassy held its semi-annual awards ceremony, and I am happy to report that John got a Meritorious Honor Award for his outstanding work as the Ambassador’s staff aide! I was especially proud because he has only been in that role for five months, and already has improved the constant and complicated workflow of information for the Ambassador. Good job! We went out to dinner to celebrate.

Thursday night we went to the Ambassador’s holiday party at the Residence – John and I volunteered to tend bar again this year. The house was brimming with people; when we arrived, there were kids running all over the place, then the party transitioned into an adult’s cocktail party after the kids went to bed. The Ambassador and his family do an excellent job of making folks feel very welcome in their home, and this party was no exception.

This week has been a lot of fun because we have been helping to cat sit our neighbor’s kitten. She  is so cute and playful, and just makes us laugh with her tumbling and running. I’ve been bringing her to our house in the evenings and on the weekends – she is just a hoot. (Flavia is not so thrilled and appears to be intimidated by her – she pretty much runs to hide when she sees the kitten.) Here she is in a quieter moment:

Tikka in a quiet moment