Sirens in Tel Aviv

Well it's been rather intense over here the past week.  Hearing the low wail of the incoming rocket warning sirens, running to a shelter, and hearing missiles exploding, are not things I thought I would experience here!  I can only imagine how horrible life must be for all the people living in southern Israel who have been dealing with living within rocket range for years, and only have a minute or less to find shelter (we have almost 2 minutes).  Or for the innocents in Gaza who have no warning system and no Iron Dome defence system.  I mean, hearing a siren once a day (twice today!) is not ideal, but it's not as scary when you know that a missile defence system, with a fairly good track record, is protecting you.  So far they have intercepted the 7 missiles shot at Tel Aviv (or at least the dangerous ones; if it's going out to sea or into a field they don't try).  When I think of all the suffering on both sides it's so horrible.  Even though the news makes a big deal out of Tel Aviv being targeted, it's nothing compared to the devastation and death in the south (both Israel and Gaza).  Hopefully a truce will be reached before more innocent people die.

For some levity - here is a hilariously accurate comic of what it is like when the sirens sound here (and an example of why I think Tel Aviv is still in a bubble when it comes to this stuff).  Or maybe the joking is just something everyone does to try and be distracted from the reality of the situation which we have no control over.

Winter Fruit!

It's pomegranate and dragon fruit season again!

They are so nice and cheap here (compared to Canada anyway)

This is my fail at trying to get the seeds out.  Zach did a much better job.  The best way is to just take a wooden spoon and hit the outside of the pomegranate over a bowl and the seeds just fall out.  But when I tried, somehow it broke apart and flew all over the kitchen sending bright red juice everywhere...
Still tasty though :)  My next adventure will be to try making pomegranate martinis - the juice is sooo good (and very healthy).  I realize that a martini is not "very healthy", but with some pomegranate juice I think I could convince myself that it is.

My first dragon fruit!  It looks so much cooler than it tastes.  Sort of like a bland kiwi.  But maybe it wasn't fully ripe or something.  I'll have to try it again.  Easily wins for most awesome looking fruit.

One year in Israel

As of yesterday we have lived in Israel for a year now.  Just under one left to go! (or that's the plan for now...we all know how these things go...)  In hindsight, this year did pass pretty quickly, and I imagine the next one will as well.  Although as we get closer to the actual leave date I think that I will start to realize how much I am going to miss our walks to the sea, swimming in November, and just having easy access to sites that seem so inaccessible back home.

I remember reading some piece when I was young, probably in National Geographic, about how the Dead Sea was drying up and could disappear.  I remember the panic I felt that I might not ever get to swim in it and how it seemed totally impossible that I would ever visit Israel before I was super old and all the cool stuff would be gone! hah, oh the things that you stress about when you're little. So in some ways it's a little surreal still that we have been able to see and do all sorts of things out here, and I know that I'll cherish that once we go back.

From our family's visit last February, floating in the Dead Sea

Oh, and in case you are as neurotic as me, don't worry about the Dead Sea - environmentalism is just as big over here and there is now a joint project between Israel and Jordan to preserve sea levels.  Although if you ask me, the motivation is tourism, not the environment.  But hey, whatever works. :)