A Weekend Getaway

You know that extra snow day I was hoping for? Well, it happened - thank you, Jesus! Three days off in a row and then back for a half-day on Saturday - hurray! I didn't know how much I needed the rest. I spent much of the day Thursday getting reacquainted with cross-stitching. Erin and I have a Palestinian needlework book and we've started some small projects. I'm working on some cute little coasters (actually, I'm still on the first one), but I had forgotten how time consuming it is. But, it's the rainy season here and going out isn't very appealing these days, so I should have more down time to do needlework. I hope to have a couple of sets of coasters when school is finished; we shall see. The only unpleasant thing about this day was that our pipes were frozen and we didn't have any water. Thankfully, our neighbors across the hall had water and let us take a few bucketfuls for bathroom purposes.
One of our thoughtful friends back home blessed Wilma by paying for a rental car for her this weekend. Friday was Tommy's birthday (Tommy is Wilma's late husband), and this was a special gift so that Wilma could have some fun and enjoy the weekend. So, on Friday Wilma, Erin, and I went to Tel Aviv and stopped at IKEA on the way. It turned out to be pretty much pointless, but it was a little bit of an adventure. We went in the wrong direction, starting with the checkout section. It was packed and so we had to squeeze our way through only to be there for 10 minutes and then get escorted out as the store was closing. It's best that we left when we did though, because it was a truly gorgeous day & it would have been a shame to waste time in a line. So, we headed for the beach and tried to find a place that a friend of ours had recommended. We never found it and we got a little lost, but we did get to see the Mediterranean for a bit. The waves were nice and big and there were several people body surfing.
We then headed to Cinema City in Herzilyya to watch a movie and got really lost on the way there. It took a while, but we made it and bought tickets to "The Bucket List" and then we ate at Black Bar 'n' Burger. I tried a veggie burger which unfortunately turned out to be disgusting.  It wasn't a total loss though, because I got a couple of pics in the restaurant that Sarah A. and Allison P. will appreciate. The movie was good and I'm thinking that I may make a list of my own, not necessarily a "bucket list," but something along those lines. It seems like a good thing to do.

Elvis got a little too friendly with me in Cinema City.

 Saturday we went back to school and afterwards Wilma and I decided to go on a road trip and stay somewhere for the night. We ended up staying at a bed & breakfast about 10 minutes from downtown Tiberias. It was such a lovely place and we met some great people. There was a woman there that we had met before who works at Christ Church in the Old City. She's Slovakian & I have a Slovakian friend that she reminded me of; I liked her very much. We're planning on going to see her again. There were also some other Europeans there, some New Zealanders, and a couple of Americans; all that combined with the way the center was run and the duties of the staff was almost like being back in the U.K. at one of the Ellel centers I worked at. It brought back so many fond memories & I was reminded again of how much I loved working with Ellel and being in Europe. Hmmm.

After breakfast and devotion, in which I was unexpectedly asked to give my testimony, we headed out and took the scenic route to Mt. Tabor - the Mount of Transfiguration. I've wanted to go there for so long and, oh, it was truly beautiful. We didn't get to stay very long because they were closing (there seems to be a theme here), but it was worth it just to spend a little time there. It's very high up and the view is breathtaking - I must go there again soon. On the way up, we came upon a very peculiar sight: we saw a cow eating on the side of a cliff. It was right in front of us and so we stopped and got a couple of pics. How random! Is there such a thing as a mountain cow? I would have to say yes to that.

The Mountain Cow  

Caesarea was our next destination, but the drive itself provided a special treat. Wilma brought Chicago's Best Hits for our listening pleasure & I made an amazing discovery: I know every word to almost every Chicago song, and to celebrate this happy realization, I sang as loudly and dramatically as I could. Power love ballads must be sung with as much passion and intensity as possible, and so I put forth my best effort. Wilma endured it well.
When we arrived at Caesarea, we walked around a bit on the shore and then had lunch outside overlooking the sea. There we were enjoying the gentle sea breeze and a nice, relaxing meal, soaking up the sunshine and having a lovely time, when suddenly I was startled by a loud thud next to my chair. I looked over to see what had happened and was appalled at what I saw. A huge and disgusting fish head had fallen from the sky and had landed about two feet away from me. Horrified, I looked up and saw that a big bird had dropped this grotesque thing, apparently his intended meal which was a bit too heavy to carry. It took me a couple of minutes to get over the thought of how close that fish head had come to hitting me, and I kept running my hands over my hair and clothes just to make sure there weren't any pieces of dead fish on me. Birds started congregating over us and the coveted fish head, making me wonder if I was really going to get out of this unspoiled. I've had a bird poop experience before that I

The Fish Head  (It was actually much bigger than it looks in this picture)

wish never to be repeated, and I was beginning to think that it might be. It didn't happen - thank God. We were laughing hysterically and several Asian people came over to see what had fallen from the sky. Finally, one of the staff came over with a tissue and tossed the head over the railing, starting a bird fight over the fish head. What fun! Then one of the Asian men asked me to take his picture as he looked thoughtfully out at the horizon. It just doesn't get much better than that.

We sped home to get the car back in time, returned the car, and then made the final stage of the journey back home. The whole trip was delightful and surprising; so much so that we decided to take a roadtrip once a month. Erin will be joining us in our future ventures - we missed having her with us on this one. Now we have something fun to look forward to, which makes the frustrations that come with school much easier to bear. This trip was truly a gift from God, and my thanks goes to Him for such a sweet blessing. Wilma got to have a great retreat instead of being sad and I got to enjoy it with her. How wonderful it is to have a Father Who knows all of our needs and takes care of us. I am blessed to be His.