Finally back at home

Leaving the rig stored in Colorado is tough but saying good byes to our son and his family in Toronto is MUCH harder,but it was time to get back home to see the rest of the family ,meet our friends,get into our “winter” mood and plan our next trip….

In just a few days we managed to organize the house,bring the garden to look like a garden again,buy a car (we sold ours before the trip) and meet our family.

It is still Summer here and around 28-30 Celsius which means (for the benefit of my American friends) 85 –86F,it is hot and humid ,the beach is full of people and shorts,sandals and T shirts are still worn.

Yesterday we celebrated Sukot

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Ingathering" redirects here. For the Ingathering of the Exiles (Kibbutz Galuyot), see Gathering of Israel.

Sukkot

From left to right, lulav, etrog carrier, and etrog used on Sukkot

Official name
Hebrew: סוכות‎ or סֻכּוֹת ("Booths, Tabernacles")

Observed by
Jews, Hebrews, Israelites andMessianic Jews

Significance
One of the three pilgrim festivals

Observances
Eating in sukkah, taking the Four Species, hakafot in Synagogue.

Sukkot, Succot or Sukkos (Hebrew: סוכות‎ or סֻכּוֹת sukkōt or sukkos, Feast of Booths, Feast of Tabernacles) is a biblical Jewish holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei (varies from late September to late October). It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals (shalosh regalim) on which the Israelites would make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.

The holiday lasts seven days in Israel and eight in the diaspora. The first day (and second day in the diaspora) is aShabbat-like holiday when work is forbidden, followed by intermediate days called Chol Hamoed. The festival is closed with another Shabbat-like holiday called Shemini Atzeret (two days in the diaspora, where the second day is called Simchat Torah).

The Hebrew word sukkōt is the plural of sukkah, "booth" or "tabernacle", which is a walled structure covered withs'chach (plant material such as overgrowth or palm leaves). The sukkah is intended as a reminiscence of the type of fragile dwellings in which, according to the Torah, the Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. Throughout the holiday, meals are eaten inside the sukkah and many people sleep there as well. A sukkah is also for the temporary dwelling in which agricultural workers would live during harvesting.

 

Building a sukkah[edit]

The sukkah walls can be constructed of any material (wood, canvas, aluminum siding, sheets). The walls can be free-standing or include the sides of a building or porch. The roof must be of organic material, known as s'chach, such as leafy tree overgrowth, schach mats or palm fronds. It is customary to decorate the interior of the sukkah with hanging decorations, the four species.^[3]

So here is our son’s Sukah and our Holiday dinner,the kids had double fun and stayed late before hitting the sack ….and got presents as usual from us after we return from our RV trip.

We celebrated Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) with our youngest son& his family in Canada and Sukot with the rest of our family in Israel…..

Best of all and see you on the road next summer.

Our young Champion.

While some of you are having fun RVing  because you are full-timers or early birds we have to wait for the Spring before we start our travels ,and this is due to 2 main reasons:

One – A staying permit for non residents is only for 6 months , we are RVing since 2002  every year for 4-5 months and   chose to RV in the summers leaving the “hot” States till we decide to switch seasons.

Two- We have family back home that we like to see and spend time with.

The winters in Israel are mild  so the out door activities include hiking,going to the beach ,picnicking ,planning the next RV trip, spending time with the family and attending kids / grand kids events.

I am sure you all enjoy taking a part of your family member on his/her special event like graduation,prom,wedding or any other big or small celebrations,it is specially important because some times we have to chose between being away on a RV trip or making it to the event,it is even more difficult when the family members are scattered around and we can not make it to each and every event.

Saying all that ,we try to attend EVERY event of our family member during our stay in Israel, yesterday was such an event, our 10 year old grand daughter attended an athletics  competition in her area and out of 4 schools (120 girls) she won 2 gold medals and one bronze.

 

                                                                                                          

   

                                                                                     

It was amazing to see all these kids do their drills,how serious they take it and how supportive they are ,things we  see rarely when it comes to grown ups….

We were very happy for her to get this award that come after years of training,but we would be equally happy if she would do her best and not be on the podium…

Way to go Zohar (In Hebrew-“Bright light in the sky “) 

Proud,happy and thrilled, your loving

Grandpa & Grandma

Family Picnic

Since 2002 we found our “balance” ,every summer we travel 5 months with our 5W in North America while from September till the end of May we spend time at home with family and friends.

Actually it was an easy decision as no foreigner can stay more than 6 months in the US except on special occasions such as student visa which we do not have…

During the summers we RV always to new to us destinations storing the rig at the end of each trip and picking it up from there in the Springs to discover new places,in our 12 years we always traveled to places we did not yet visit,we like to get to the mountain and then to see what is beyond it,…

During the winters we hike if the weather permits,visit the grandkids and plan the next summer trip,in some winters we take a short trip abroad to ski or just visit the place.

Last Saturday we gathered the kids and the grandkids for a picnic in the the woods,the weather was reasonable and we all had fun.

Food ,games,recreation and a camp fire kept the grandkids busy and happy even without their smartphones…

We had a special guest ,our eldest Grand Daughter (16) brought her first boy friend to meet the gang, and it went very well.

At around 4PM when the sun beams were getting weak it was the sign for us to pack the things,clean the area and head home just before the traffic picks up at the end of the day .

So just before we left here is the whole gang…the boyfriend is behind the camera.

This is winter in my country,no extreme weather except one week in December when it was snowing in Jerusalem and around it.

Celebrating Hanukkah at home

What is Hanukkah?

Hanukkah, Chanukah or the Festival of Lights is a Jewish holiday celebrated for eight days around late November to late December. The name is derived from a Hebrew word meaning "to dedicate," and during Hanukkah, the Jewish people commemorate the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem and the "Miracle of The Oil."

The Talmud says that after the Temple had been liberated by the Maccabees from Antiochus IV, only a day’s worth of consecrated olive oil was left to to fuel the eternal flame. Miraculously, it remained burning for eight days, which was just enough time to make more of the oil.

                                                                                                                         

As usual we celebrated the Festival Of Lights in our house with our children and grandkids,the traditional food is prepared ,candles are lit,songs are sang and prayers are prayed.

The grandkids love to help and stay late to play around.

              Zohar showing off her gymnastic skills.

            Grandkids helping Grandma in the kitchen

                   Lightening the candles & giving traditional presents.

                    The feast,it takes hours to prepare but it disappears in no time.

                                    The Grandkids having fun.

     The tradition is passed from one generation to another and it is always nice to see how the Grandkids are looking forward to these Holidays.

     Happy Hanukkah.

Tradition

In our faith when a boy reaches 13 (Barmizva) and a girl 12 (Batmizva) they become responsible for their actions as they are transferred from childhood to adults,it is an emotional and  special event in the kids life.

When our eldest Granddaughter turned 12 we asked her what would she want for her Batmizva ,we assumed she would ask for a laptop  a tablet or an advanced cell phone that does everything including scrambled eggs… but surprisingly she said “I want to join you for a month on your summer RV trip” …..Wow we were happy and touched  that she would like to be with Grandpa and Grandma for a whole month away from friends and family.

So to make the long story short we had a great RV trip in Ontario covering Niagara area and Bruce Peninsula ,it can be seen HERE.

Only Grandparents that traveled with their grandkids can really understand the fantastic experience we all had,the month pasted like a fast tornado and with mixed feelings (she missed the family but loved the trip) we put her on a direct flight back home .

From her return all our 5 grandkids are looking forward for the TRIP and can not stop talking about it what means that we did GOOD.

Now we are celebrating her brother’s Barmizva and as his sister he will be joining us for a month starting from June 2013 at the end of his school year.

                                                                                                            

Here are some pictures from his class party.

We are looking forward to have him onboard One on One with us and we will do everything to make him enjoy it as his sister did.

Hanuka 2011

Hanuka is a holiday that symbols LIGHT , you can read all about it here http://danyshula.blogspot.com/search/label/HANUKA

Time passes the kids and the grand kids get older and we get wiser  ….it is always overwhelming to have this traditional Holidays together,singing the songs , praying and  having the tradition pass from one generation to another.

There is Happiness and a sense of achievement together with a regular concern of the unknown .

  

THE FIVE ANGELS…..

We want to wish you and you families Happy Holidays where ever you are combined with Health,Happiness and a lot of laughter.

Automn in New England

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New England in October

Some times leaving the best part of the meal to the end makes the whole meal much better.

We love to RV, meet people from different places, make a fire, hike and feel the freedom but as summer ends and the cold weather is getting to our bones we store the rig and would usually fly home to Israel, but as I wrote before we have two kids in North America, one in Toronto and one in Boston with his family.

So maybe the summer RV season is over but NOT the entire trip.

This year we had a great time traveling with our young son from Toronto to Barrie, a small town next to a lake just an hour drive north to the city.

It was a bright cool day as should during this season, actually the weather was better than we sometimes had during the summer in Newfoundland, amassing..

After spending time in Toronto and the area we flew to Boston and had a fantastic week with our middle son, his wife and their daughter that had her 2^nd birthday celebrated with us.

She grew a lot since we saw her 5 months ago and now she mixes English with Hebrew in one sentence what makes it funny but sweet.

In the weekend we took a drive to Salem, Rock port, Concord and had a great time.

The weather was just cold enough to remind us that we are way after the summer but still before the really cold days, the sky was clear blue and the Autumn colors were everywhere a real celebration of red and yellow leaves on trees and on the ground , the ones on the ground looked some times as big great color carpets.

I took a few shots hoping to grasp the atmosphere of this time and place-enjoy.

Boston

We are on the way to our home in Israel after our summer RV trip but there are always 2 stops on the way,one in Toronto where our young son lives and one in Boston where our middle son and his family are stationed.
It usually takes us a while to arrive in Israel from the time we store the rig, it is a lot of fun and we take the time to enjoy and cherish this beautiful time with our family.
After 2 weeks in Toronto we finally made it to Boston not before being bounced from AA first flight
of the day due to overbooking,but we made the second one after 4 hours and it is fair enough as we are traveling on S/B bases.
Meeting our family after 5 months it is always a joy and especially Rony that turns 2 this month, we could see a huge change ,she speaks now Hebrew and a little of English and some times it all gets mixed up in a very funny nice way.
The parents of our daughter in law are here to visit so we are going to celebrate Rony's birthday all together and give her the best feeling possible as she misses her "home" atmosphere.