Rubies from my back yard

Growing up, I always wished for a house with a garden. I was born and raised in a city and lived most of my life in apartments. So when finally we managed to buy a house with a backyard just a few years ago, it was for me a childhood dream come true.

It is a very small piece of land I admit but it's mine. (Well, almost. Half of it belongs to the Bank). One of the first things my husband and I planted was a pomegranate tree along with an olive tree and a vine. The area where we live is mentioned in many biblical stories so it is very rich in relics and reminders of Jewish history. We felt here a strong connection to past generations of Jewish settlers and wanted to keep the tradition of growing olives, vines and pomegranates.

The tree in my backyard

I love my pomegranates. I am so pleased the tree is thriving in my back yard and gives fruits we eat and use. I don't need to go to the supermarket for pomegranates anymore. In addition I find this fruit to be so beautiful. The red seeds look like gems, like giant rubies. I can understand why throughout history so much symbolism and tales evolved around the pomegranate.

 Organic pomegranate juice 

In Jewish tradition for example the pomegranate is used as a metaphor for wisdom and good deeds because it is full of juicy seeds. The book of Torah is decorated with silver pomegranates. In many ancient Jewish settlements pomegranates motives were used for decoration. Even the current Israeli coin for two Shekels uses the pomegranate motif from coins used during the Roman Empire. I feel a part of very old agriculture tradition. Pomegranates are common in other cultures as well; in Greek mythology for example it symbolizes life and fertility.

A two Shekel coin from my purse

Come autumn followed by Jewish New Year and the holidays, we find ourselves gathering produce almost every day, the tree is bursting with fruit. Since our tree is organic (no pesticides or herbicides) we use the fruits mainly for juice. According to recent scientific researches, pomegranate juice is really good for you. They're full of antioxidants, anti-cancerous agents; it lowers blood pressure and cholesterol levels and can boost the immune system. It is also very tasty.

It is traditional to eat pomegranates  in Jewish New Year ceremonial dinner (you can read more about it in this post: http://www.sarahmelamed.com/2011/09/symbolic-foods-of-rosh-hashanah/). It symbolizes hope for a year full of good deeds like the fruits' seeds. 

So later tonight we're bringing with us a bag full of pomegranates to the feast and we'll celebrate the coming of a new and hopefully good year.

Shana Tova!

Pomegranate blossom in the spring

The first weekend of 2011

The past couple of weeks and weekends were spent in a similar way to the one I've already described a year ago, when I reflected about getting myself a tattoo of a washing machine. 

This last weekend was a really pretty one. The sky was grey and rain drizzled from time to time and finally we were all feeling well.  We decided that no kind of weather will deter us and we'll get out of the house. Our plans for some grand hike were cancelled when we discussed the issue with some friends of ours who wanted all of us to spend the Saturday together. We went instead to the big city Tel-Aviv. Actually it was closer to Jaffa because we went to wonder around the old train station that led from Jaffa to Jerusalem.

The place was recently renovated and reconstructed and now it's a yuppie shopping center with some nice cafes, but it still holds a nostalgic charm. 

  

We mostly run around the old tracks with the kids and admired the architecture because of our  friend Shiri who is an architect. 

Shiri's favourite: old wood shutters holders in shapes of human heads.

There were lovely shops that we liked looking at but they were quite expensive. I liked the interior design though

A pretty store for utensils

Even inside the shops they tried to keep the old decoration.

After a short burst of rain the sun came out and we decided that we must go down to the sea. The children wondered what is the sense in that but Shiri explained it to them by declaring that "the sea in winter is not the sea in the summer", which I found to be a very Zen saying. So we went down to the board walk to watch some crazy surfers. It was quite beautiful.

Sea in winter

One crazy surfer

We ended the lovely tour back home with a great diner of steaks and fries. 

A wonderful start for a new year.

The only Christmas I ever saw

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Tropical orchids in the Singapore Botanical Gardens

-          Is this snow?

-          Where?

-          Over there, at the entrance to the Tanglin Mall.

-          It can't be snow, its 27c degrees outside.

-          But look! It's all white!

-          I think it's only a foam making machine.

-          Oh. Well it does seem weird to have a white Christmas in Singapore….

This bizarre dialogue was carried out between my husband and me while riding our car from our home to Orchard Road, the center of Singapore. It was December 2002 and we had already lived in Singapore for 6 months and it was Christmas time. Up till then I've never seen Christmas celebration anywhere. As a born and bred Israeli Jew who never lived anywhere else, Christmas was only something I saw in movies and sappy TV shows.  Living in Singapore was my first and only experience as an ex-pat, and it was quite an extraordinary one.  

One of the major sports in Singapore is shopping. The island is shoppers' heaven. No matter what you like: electronics, gadgets, high fashion, bags, shoes, toys, and cosmetics, you name it they have it and on sale. I've never seen so many malls and shopping centers as in Singapore. Orchard road for example is a long street compiled from one huge shopping centre after another: The Tanglin Mall followed by The Forum followed by The Paragon followed by the shrine of shoppers The Takashimaya.  Come December we were amazed to see the amount of effort invested in decorating and adorning the entire Island. Orchard road and all the malls became fantasy land of light and sparkle. We were awe struck by the size of the tree that was put in the entrance to the Takashimaya center, and were quite amused by the snow machine at the entrance to the Tanglin. My then 3 year old child thought it was an amazing sight.

The Singapore river on New-Year Eve 2003

I think that in Singapore the main meaning of Christmas are more sales and having free time to do more shopping because the majority of the population is not Christian. There was defiantly a surreal quality to reindeer images, and huge fir trees in a tropical island sitting near the equator.  We were amused by the scenery. The only Christmassy gesture we performed was exchanging presents with our Austrian-Nigerian neighbours before they went to their skiing vacation in Europe.

We on the other hand celebrated Hanukkah with Israeli friends and our family that came to visit from far away.  We got some great stuff in huge discounts, it was on sale!

The year after that, we were back in Israel and Christmas was again only another date in the calendar that is mentioned in TV specials from abroad.

 

Happy New Year to us all! May 2011 will be a wonderful year.