It lives! The blog lives!

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Shalom again friends! The blog and I are back! We missed you!
I am in heaven again after a "week from hell."
No, not really; I didn't let my mood get that bad.

But it was disconcerting to see the screen (above) saying, "You are not the author of any blogs."
And elsewhere to see Blogger using ominous language like "This blog has been deleted."
And "Google has detected unusual activity on your account."

I imagined the worst -- hackers, connectivity issues, being locked out forever in blog exile. . .
I wrote to Google via their online support form and today, a week later, still no reply.
So I got down to work on it and with friends' patient help, regained my blog this afternoon!

Thanks, old friend Kay in Hawaii, who today published my e-mail to her about my blog problem.
Her "Musings" blog post is getting helpful comments.

Thanks to Israeli friend Robin of "Around the Island" blog for encouraging me and for accepting and forwarding my Verification Code from Google today. It was as easy as asking for this code to be sent in an SMS in order to get back in to my blog.
It is not easy, me not having a cell phone and having my home telephone out of order for weeks, plus having the Internet connection unreliable right now.

Thanks to blog-friends who got worried and e-mailed to ask.

Thanks to God who tested me and taught me lessons through this week's trial.
I never panicked but lived in hope; I did not slander Google/Blogger or Bezeq phone company or "curse them in my heart."
I kept the faith, knowing my labor of love of four years for the Holy City Jerusalem should not disappear.
I prayed for help.
God rewarded this attitude.

I am grateful for all of you!
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A hermit at heart

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Impossible to get through. grrr . . .
For a whole week I felt like this puppy. I couldn't get through to the Internet.
And no telephone either.

Finally the Bezeq phone line repairman came yesterday, climbed a ladder to my neighbors' roof, and put my wires into a new DRY box.
The wonders of technology came to life. But by evening, they were dead again.
Then mid-morning today the phone and Internet began working. But for how long?
Tomorrow I will sit home again and wait for the technician to return.

It was so strange not being able to blog or to read your blogs.
I missed the Skype calls from the grandkids in Los Angeles and Australia.

On the other hand, no one could catch me on the phone; I didn't need to answer emails; I was spared the frantic hours of newscasts on Israeli Internet TV.
I got a lot of deep housecleaning and yard work done.
All my books got dusted and put in order on the bookcase; I even read some.
I could go to bed as early or as late as I wanted.

Days did not race by, they took their sweet time.

It was so quiet.
It was splendid isolation.
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Jerusalem Hills reflected in a notebook

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While housesitting this month for my neighbor-friends' old (as in, 12th C) house, I took my laptop out on the terrace to see if the wireless signal would come through the thick stone wall.
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It didn't.
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But as a compensation, the screen gave a nice reflection of the mountain across the valley.
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It's to share with James' Weekend Reflections.
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My notebook computer is getting old and is showing signs of approaching death. This may be the last time you see it. It has served me well.

Shabbat shalom.
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Reflections in a laptop

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Three generations together at one computer!
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Daughter Naomi, back in Israel for a short visit, had just signed off from a Skype video call with her husband and two sons back home in Australia. (Hence the big smile.)
For a second she and my granddaughter Libby were reflected on the blank screen.

I snapped a picture of them for James' Weekend Reflections.
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"Tolerance and good vibes"

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In A Bunch of Benches VP posted a different view of the benches in a new sitting place in Jerusalem's old and cramped neighborhood of Nachlaot.

This is the other end of the little park.
I thought the shadows of the still-empty pergola would be fun for Hey Harriet's Shadows on Sunday.
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Sitting in the shade with your laptop might be more pleasant than inside some of the old little houses.

Interesting how the long and narrow square is higher than the sidewalks on either side.

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Nachlaot has been undergoing gentrification and is getting to be a popular (and more expensive) neighborhood. Their website, http://www.nachlaot.com/, says that "tolerance and good vibes" would best describe the population mixture.

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Wherever you are sitting or walking today, have a nice weekend.

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Luminous laptop

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Across the miles, from my computer to yours, HAPPY CHANUKA !

Chanuka, the Festival of Lights, began yesterday, with the just one candle being lit by the shamash helper candle.

One more candle is added each evening.

Next Friday the chanukiya will be full, with maximum brightness and cheer, as in this picture (which is extra nice when enlarged).

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Happy holiday and happy "Weekend Reflections," the nice meme hosted by James in Pennsylvania.

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Washing the floor

Shalom dear friends. I have been away (far away) on a dig for six days, without my laptop. And now, coming home for the weekend, I find my modem is not working. So, a few minutes on the neighbors' wireless now is all that is possible.
Hopefully, after another week of archaeology in Tiberias, I'll come home next Friday and the telephone company will have fixed the ADSL connection. Missing you!
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Digging is not all pickaxe, turia, trowel, and brush. Sometimes, if you are lucky, it is also washing a mosaic floor with wet rags!
This one is probably 6th or 7th century.
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The dig is fun. Nice group of young staff and many volunteers from abroad. Tiberias is very hot, in the 90s F.
Lots more pics next week. Thanks for waiting. Shalom to you all!
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Nazareth midnight mass on Internet, live

Midnight mass in Nazareth will be broadcast live in half an hour on Israel TV and on the Internet. You can go to http://iba.org.il/media/ and click on "Christmas Mass" at 11:55 pm Israel time. We are GMT +2 hours.
I imagine a video of it will be available there afterwards, on Christmas Day.

Happy Chanuka from my computer to yours!

It's really only the 4th day, so tonight we lit 4 + 1 candles.

Right after watching midnight mass on my little notebook computer, I am going to pack it up and together we will head to Ben-Gurion Airport. Saturday morning, God willing, I'll be in Australia!

So goodbye for a few days. Merry Christmas or happy Chanuka to all you friends out there!
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Computer bug!

Oh, gross! I returned from a walk in nature in the cool of evening only to discover a myriad of winged ants dancing frenetically on my warm notebook computer and mouse.
Talk about computer bugs!
I even shot a video of their rapid movement but I will spare you. The photo is bad enough!

Please go enjoy some bigger and prettier animals over at our Sunday meme at http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/.