Several Times in the Past Decade - and it happened today

I woke this morning and looked out at the patio before heading out the door to Tel Aviv Medical Center for my allergy shots.  It was overcast, which is in itself unusual.  But wow!  It was wet!  Uncle Igor would have been very unhappy if he had put his old TV in storage on his patio this summer instead of last!

In the year that I have been here, Israeli's say I have seen the hottest summer on record (last year), the strongest winter storm in 25 years (last December), the most pleasant spring in a very long time, and now rain in August!  Interested in why?  Check out the book I am currently reading, "Changing Planet, Changing Health," by Paul Epstein and Dan Ferber. 

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Rain falls in central Israel in surprise summer shower

Light drizzle falls in Tel Aviv, Rishon Letzion, near Ben-Gurion Airport, in a few other central cities.

Published 10:03 14.08.11Latest update 10:03 14.08.11
By Haaretz

Rain fell in central Israel Saturday night and Sunday morning, an anomaly for the usually arid month of August.  A light drizzle was reported in Tel Aviv, Rishon Letzion, near Ben-Gurion Airport and in a few other central cities. The precipitation may spread to north Israel on Sunday afternoon.         
It rarely rains in Israel in August, but this is not as unheard of as one would think. Although it does not happen every summer, rain has fallen in August several times in the past decade.   
 

 

Project #2

This ring took me three classes to make.  It involved calculating the size, sawing the metal, saudering, using sanding, polishing and texturing tools, and finally stone setting. 

It's the 1960's in Tel Aviv

The tents have not disappeared. They have multiplied. And the movement has too. Last night hundreds of thousands of Israeli's peacefully gathered to speak out for a more balanced dispersal of country resources. It seems Israeli's have caught the Arab spring fever. 

We have been out to see the tents, but have not attended a rally. We have heard from our cousin that the rallys have been inspiring and motivational gatherings. And they have captured the nation's attention.

Much of what the Israeli's are looking for from their government can be broadly translated to the needs of the American people right now. Some of the particular issues are different (the USA would benefit from a national healthcare plan, while Israel could benefit from a reset in housing pricing). But the general concept of a government that serves the people, not just the rich and the corporations, resonates. What would it take to get Americans out in protest like this?

National upheaval: More than 300,000 protestors hit streets - Israel News, Ynetnews

Israeli concerns about the U.S. debt crisis

I follow a discussion board here in Israel called Digital Eve, which exists to support professional women.  It's a networking resource.  The U.S. economy made the list of topics this week.  I found this post and reply particularly interesting, as it is a discussion on what Israeli's should do with their retirement savings. 

INITIAL POST:  "A question for the independents on the list: Have you or are you going to move your money to a safer fund(s) in the next couple of days? A fund or funds not linked to the US economy
For the people who are employees: I'm 90% certain that according to the law, you're allowed to request that your individual money be moved wherever you wish.
I was listening to the CNN financial commentators and of course, they couldn't determine which way the stock market will go when the debt crisis is finally voted on."

RESPONSE POST:  "I follow the global economy and stock markets very closely. Even though the US will probably pass the debt ceiling, it won't help with the economy, just avoid a big crash in the markets and be followed by a temporary spike. Its difficult to know what will happen in the markets because the US and other governments are directly intervening in order to keep the markets up. And subsequently its difficult to know where to invest your money.   After the stock markets (and my funds) had recovered,  I moved my Kranot Hishtalmut [retirement funds] to very stable funds.  Again, they haven't performed nearly as well as stock market based funds in the past year. But that's because the American government has been pumping hundreds of billions of dollars through Quantitative Easing to keep the stock market up. If they can keep it up is anybody's guess."

Why we need A/C here...

Because when it is off, it's hot enough to melt candles in our apartment.

Fruits of my labor

Peak flowering season has come and gone - months ago.  My nasturtiums and sweet peas were already going to seed by the first of May.  (Back in Michigan I couldn't even plant them outside until then, as there was still a risk of frost).
Our fruit trees are showing mixed success.  The lime doesn't seem to be developing any limes.  I think that is because it flowered back in winter while the storms were still ripping through town.  Interestingly, the large citrus trees downstairs at the front of our building don't appear to be producing much this year either.  My pomellos finally made a comeback, so I guess they needed the hotter weather to finally revive.  I tossed the dy chezic, a casualty of the winter storms, and replaced it with a plum.  The jury is out on whether that was a good idea or not.  There is new growth, but also brown leaves.  Of the trees, the olive tree is the most impressive, now doubled in size, but with only 5 olives on it this year.  Pictured here is my fig tree which has produced over a dozen figs this summer.  The taste is almost as sweet as dried figs.  What a treat! 

I have so many cherry tomatoes that I have been slicing them open and drying them on the patio table.  It's working!  I cooked my first batch up in a white wine, sun-dried tomato, mushroom, artichoke, chicken pasta last week. 

Now I need to start using my lemongrass, which has tripled in size in 2 months - want to join us for dinner?

Tent City, Tel Aviv

This month the college students of Tel Aviv decided to stage a sit-in on the ritziest street in the city - Rothchild.  They have taken over the boulevard median (some of the larger streets here have a tree-lined median with walking/biking paths, benches and sometimes small playgrounds.)  They pitched rows of tents, labeled them with symbolic addresses, and claim to be protesting the high rent prices here.  The idea is generating plenty of media and awareness, and even comment from the Knesset about legislation, but only time will tell exactly what might result, if anything.  The students have not made any demands that would lead to their dispersal, but rather seem to be enjoying their summer break via this camp-out.