try try again

The husband did not come to Israel with me and with job hunting, exams coming up etc etc he has been feeling really burnt out. He found a good deal and booked us into the Grand in Brighton last weekend. Being the devoted wife I am I agreed to go with him even if it meant sacrificing intensive long weekend knitting marathons.
I love 5 star hotels it is like going into the gorgeous alternative reality and the Grand has that slightly battered aged look-it is so much nicer than a plastic fantastic new hotel.
We were able to catch the end of the Brighton Festival we went to hear Markus Zusak who wrote The Book Thief speak. He was not happy with the voice of the book and ended up rewriting it twice. Would I ever reknit a garment twice to get it exactly right? Zusak is an incredibly successful author and he deserves it.

Home

I am back home-the husband and son obviously see touching a broom or a cleaning cloth as some sort of swine flu risk factor and therefore the house was a complete dust bowl on my return.
But somehow it is all ok and life flows smoothly-it is amazing how powerful time out can be.
I have resolutions-I will work much harder on my knitting design course-there is always calls to make and stuff to organise and I need to make time for this.
I am also really excited about my next project for moi moi. I have now lost 19 and half pounds and I am starting to swim in some of my clothes-I look forward to making a fitted jumper with waist shaping-I realise more and more how much nicer fitted clothes look

Magical day in Israel

I am still in Israel and it can truly be a magical place. This morning we went to Akko market, which dates back to the time of the Crusaders and has changed little in the intervening centuries.
We started our journey at the kibbutz, where my daughter is based. They have a wonderful computerised system where you can check who is leaving the kibbutz when and where to in order to get a ride. This is not England.

We managed to find someone going to Tzfat. Soldiers in uniform travel on public transport for free in Israel so daughter was in uniform, but had to change before we went to the market. It is a sad but true fact that it is not such a good idea being in a predominantly Arab market in an IDF uniform.

At the market we bought dried tea herbs, spices and various foods that all come in large sacks and big hunks of honey scented olive oil soap. The smells and the colours are other worldly, although the trays of every sort of fish and seafood, barely dead, with a sprinkling of flies is somewhat unappealing. The market looks as if it should star in a'chasing-the-baddie-through-the-market' scene in a James Bond movie. We ate in a restaurant that my daughter claims sells the best hummus in Israel. They sell three types of hummus and nothing else, and because of the speed at which the waiters have to work to keep up with the crowds, the food is essentially thrown at the customer rather than served.

We managed to catch the one bus a day that passes through Akko and eventually ends up at my daughter's kibbutz. This bus meanders through town and country, Arab village, religious settlements, mountains and valleys before arriving at the kibbutz. This 30 shekel trip gives a sense of the spectrum lifestyles in even a small part of this vibrant country.

We got back to the kibbutz just in time for the Lag B'Omer party. This was a picnic in the forest with all the kids playing bongos for all they were worth followed by the traditional Bonfire.

A magical day yes yes yes

weight loss/books and finishing things

WHY why why-I am in the process of losing weight-I want to get off medication for high blood pressure-it is going ok-18 pounds so far. Essentially it is about accepting that I have to eat differently if I want to lose weight. I am now seeing some difference in appearance but could absolutely scream-while my flabby stomach hangs in there like some sort of anarchic squatter my feet have lost half an inch in diameter-as I say why why.
I Knit has a wonderful book group that I have not been able to get to for months and months-the next meeting is Tuesday and I will be in Israel. They always choose great books-the latest is Watching the English written by an anthropologist about the idiosyncrasies of English behaviour. It is absolutely wonderful-read it if you can.
Finally I am in the process of finishing the wrap around from the first Big Girl Knits book which I abandoned 17 months ago when I realised I had put the arm hole shaping on the front instead of the side of the front pieces-such a brain dead mistake I really do not know how I managed it. But what joy actually getting the dead from the back of the cupboard projects and actually getting then finished. Try this- live the joy!