They're IN the House!!

Shew! They made it! They moved in. These two just can't help it, they so bloody cute and adorable, no matter WHAT they do!. Agree?

Cats ON a House

So, I bought my cats a little house yesterday. It's made of fabric, and built like a little igloo. I bought the slightly more expensive one, with a well sized door and enough space inside so that they can snuggle together. I lined it with a special crocheted blanket, hand made by my very own mother (I think...?), cos she was not inclined to knitting or crochetting in the slightest and either she made this one under the careful coaching of her friend Esther Klugman, or Esther made it herself and I remembered wrong, but in any event, (excuse the long sentence) it's a very precious blanket and one befitting of our Royal felines.

So far, Ed walked in, took a look around and walked off disinterestedly. Scaff tried to chew her way through the entrance, perhaps she wanted a more regal doorway, I'm not sure. I placed it next to the couch, on the couch, facing the tv, away from the tv, on the floor of my bedroom and even ontop of my bed. To no avail. They just not interested.

So this morning I threw it on the floor and walked away. Later I came back and found that the two of them had moved in on the top floor.

Oh Well! They look happy enough. What can I say. Some people just like to sleep on the roof of their house.

i

Family in Israel

WoW!!!

On the first Sunday evening of being in Israel, Gabi, (2nd from Rt) organised a fantastic evening of extended family get-to-gether. Unfortunately quite a few couldn't make it. But these did. Sitting on the floor, from left, Itamar, Ray, Mel, Tony, Eric.

One level up, on chairs, from left, Danny, Lesley, Ugo, Ayla (with Chananya on her lap), Shifra, Susan, Shiffi (?), Lami, Stan (with Naama on his lap), Gabi and Warren. Frank is behind them, and right at the back standing is Gita with Allen and Tehila next to him. I think I got that all right?

Missing were, Noa (at the jazz fest in Eilat), Archie and Edi, Marlen and Micky and family, and most sad of all, Safta, whose lift didn't pitch.

As I said, WoW!

Quite a gathering

Mel in Israel

Visiting Israel was an experience on many levels for me. I can hardly put it all together myself yet. I'll try sharing some of it through the photographs I have. Here is the very first view I ever had of Jerusalem. If you click on the pic to enlarge it, you can see the very famous "Dome of the Rock", the golded dome in the old city, next to the Ancient Wall (Kottel). This was probably the most moving moment I had in terms of really cognisising that I was there, in the Holy Land, the Promised Land, the holy city of Jerusalem. I loved that moment. As did I love the moment of sharing it with my brother. The pic of us together was taken by my cousin Allen who took us on a tour of Jerusalem that day. It was an interesting way to visit for the first time as Allen is ultra-orthodox religious and therefore put the slant on from that perspective. I later returned to Jerusalem with Luc, and experienced it quite differently. But in this first moment of seeing the old city, from this vantage point, I was really honoured and grateful to finally get to see this. Note, I especially wore a long sleeved top, although the heat was scorching, as a mark of respect for the ultra orthodox, who find the sight of a womans bare arms extremely disturbing. My brother on the other hand wore long sleeves cos he's scared of the sun. Perhaps an even better reason for covering up.

Mel & the Fur Kids

It was a bit chilly tonight, you can see by the blankets on us. I think the cats know I'm going away soon cos they both wanted to get as close as possible. Iwas not complaining. Ed got on first, and then Scaff followed. It was delicious. Oh, and can you see I went to the hairdresser today?

Caroline's Necklace

Caroline's birthday was on Weds, 15 August. I finished her necklace the night before and presented it to her on the day. We drank red Cappaccino's and the very very best chocolate cake I've had in millions. She was really thrilled with the necklace and I must say it looks great on her. I think this is the 3rd necklace I've ever made with 100% of my own hand made glass beads. There is pure silver inside the beads, and all the metal in the piece is also pure silver.

I'm busy working on two pieces for presents for Israeli kids. Coming soon.

Reborn Table

This little table used to belong to my mom. I never rrreally liked it. But it was very convenient, and I couldn't bring myself to throw it out. So....it lived with us. Once the new couch arrived, I absolutely could not live with the table as it was anymore. So....., I gave it a coating of black paint and mosiaced it. And voila!!

Naturally, I wanted it to relate to the living room, so I based it on the Indian cloth hanging which is above the couch. I include a pic of the reborn table, in front of the couch with it's new cushions and of course the hanging.

I used only stained glass and mirror of exactly the same thickness and although I worked 'direct method', which I always do anyway, the result is flat and smooth, befitting a table that holds our dinner and cups of tea on a daily basis.

What do you think?