Rooted and Restless

Yesterday my husband and I closed the deal on a new window set for our living room and two sliding glass doors for our kitchen and study. While feeling trepidation about the cost (windows are expensive) we knew the work needed to be done. I awoke this morning thinking about the new windows and the cost.

My back deck and backyard a week ago after a big snowstorm.

My Facebook and Instagram feeds this morning were full of exciting and beautiful pictures. One friend is currently on a pilgrimage in India. My cousin shared a witty anecdote about backpacks and the differing personalities between she and her husband as they navigate life in Sri Lanka. Another friend who currently lives in Prague was visiting Dubai with her husband and shared beautiful pictures of the skyline there. As I looked at those pictures, I felt deeply envious. I know the rush that comes from trying to figure out a challenge in a foreign country. I know the awe one feels when encountering ancient and exquisite architecture. I know how alive I feel when living in a new country and how fascinating it is to learn about that new country and culture.

A view of Caeaserea in Israel from the amphitheater. This was one of the most interesting places I have ever visited.

Suddenly my window purchase felt boring, mundane, and settled. For what we just promised to pay, we could have easily made the trip to Sweden that we have been longing to take for several years. The conflicting parts of my personality raged up and clashed. We bought our home three and a half years ago after years of dreaming and hoping about home ownership. I get a happy little kick in my heart when I pull up my driveway and park. I have spent hours outside mowing the lawn, raking leaves, weeding flower beds, and tending to our vegetable garden with varying degrees of success. We are trying to set down roots in our community through volunteer projects, school involvement, and meeting new people. My kids are settled in their schools. At the moment, we plan to stay for at least a few more years yet.

My hydrangea bush/tree was out of control with incredible blossoms last summer. The butterflies and bees loved it. It was absolutely magical. 

But there is another part of me anxious and bored, longing for adventure and excitement abroad. It is the part of me that is only partially appeased with trips to the city to explore a museum or a trip upstate. It is the part of me that complains that I haven't gone anywhere or done anything-despite two trips to Wyoming, two trips to Kentucky, a trip to Albany, a few trips up to the Adirondacks,a fun weekend in Cleveland, and a cool little trip to Philadelphia last year. I am traveling plenty. It doesn't help that ten years ago we were living in Israel and five years ago we were in Riyadh. So putting in new windows in comparison with exploring ancient cultures seems kind of lame.

Enjoying the pool in Riyadh. 

I know the antidote to all of this is gratitude, but I want to indulge in a little envious dreaming of foreign climes. I really hope that we get another opportunity to travel and live overseas again.

Do you ever feel torn between two very different lives? How do you negotiate that?

Travel Tuesday: Israel Flashbacks, Pt. 5

This is a series of blog posts recounting a family trip to Israel in 2007.  You can find Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 in the archives. 

The Western Wall

After pizza in the Jewish Quarter, we went to the Western Wall.

The Western wall is one of the holiest places for the Jews. 

Originally, it was not really a part of the Second Temple that Herod built. It was one of the walls that supported the Temple Mount Podium. The Romans destroyed the temple in 70 A.D. but the wall survived.

During the Post-crusader era, the Wall became a more important place. Now it is a sacred site for Jewish worshippers to come and pray and write little hopes and prayers on paper and then push the papers into the cracks.

The right side of the wall is for women and the left side (which is quite a bit larger than the women’s side) is reserved for the men. There are fountains of water to wash before you go to the wall. I did not wash because I am not Jewish. But I saw those who did. I went alone to the women’s side of the wall (I did carry Brooke). Several women asked for donations for the poor and were handing out prayer cards. I was touched by the sincerity of devotion of the women as they prayed. Some were reading their scriptures and praying. To me, it was a sacred place as people went there to feel close to God and to ask for His help with their lives.

I did not take pictures of women going to the wall as it didn’t feel right to do so.

I saw many Ultra-orthodox men taking their children to the wall. I thought was very special to see families going together.

 I have read that some people hold Bar Mitzvahs at the wall. That must be quite a sight!

© 2007-2016 TIFFANY WACASER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Travel Tuesday: Israel Flashbacks Pt. 4

This is a series of blog posts recounting a family trip to Israel in 2007.  You can find Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 in the archives. 

Pizza in the Jewish Quarter

Our sightseeing list was long and time short so we decided on pizza for lunch. Josh knew a great place in the Jewish Quarter.

But we had to take a detour to the Jewish quarter because there were roadblocks up. Josh said this is fairly common on Friday. It generally is a higher security day. I’m not sure why. It happens to be the Muslim holy day. And Friday sundown marks the beginning of the Jewish Shabbat. But seeing the roadblock and the scores of policemen and policewoman signalled to me that this is a country that has its challenges. I’ve been living in this wonderful, peaceful bubble. I don’t even read or hear the news. So it was a bit sobering to see the roadblock and remember that Israel isn’t a country that is entirely peaceful.

(But before you get nervous, please remember that the U.S. has a lot of crime. The problems in Israel make the national news, but think about how many murders are committed in various cities and small towns around the U.S.)

Back to the story. So we had to take a detour route. Our guide drove back to the Mount of Olives and then took a paved switchback path on the narrowest and steepest street I have ever seen. I kept wondering if we were going to scrape one of the walls on the side. But we made it. Luckily, no cars came up the other way. Otherwise, we would have been toast!

Finally, we arrived at the Jewish Quarter–or the outskirts. As far as I know, you can’t really drive in the Jewish Quarter. There is apparently a road that allows delivery of supplies or perhaps emergency vehicles. Otherwise, you walk and walk and walk to get to the Quarter. First, we had to walk up a hill and then we climbed several flights of stairs, passing a few vendors on the way selling jewelry with the Star of David and some Jewish clothing and accessories.

It’s really hard to describe the feeling you get as you climb up all those flights of stairs. As you climb, you start to feel the city grow around you. Below, at the entrance of the quarter, lies the Western wall and archealogical excavations. And above and around you are all of these amazing buildings.

When you finally get to the top, the streets are busy and crowded with people walking and talking. Cafes, pizza shops, falafel stands, ice cream freezers are packed with people eating. The smell of food–good food–fills the air. Young men brush past you carrying large boxes of bread. Small shops are crowded with souvenirs. The sounds of classical music mix with the talking. I never saw a pianist or piano or violinist, but the music was everywhere. It sounded like it was live, but it could have been played on a cd player or radio.

I heard and saw scores of American tourists–with Jersey accents walking around. From their appearances, many of them were Jews returning to the ancient homeland. That gave me a really nice feeling. I understand the need to go and find your roots. I also felt this this sense of rightness that after all the centuries of being exiled from their homeland, that the Jews are returning home.

Josh led us through what looked and felt like a maze to get to the pizza parlor. I honestly doubt I could find my way back.

We had delicious kosher pizza (no meat with the dairy). It was fun to just take in the sights and sounds.

Then we walked back to the Western Wall.

© 2007-2016 TIFFANY WACASER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Scrapbook Saturday: Digital and Paper

This week has been a busy one where I have spent much of my creative time working on other responsibilities. I didn't scrap with physical product as much as I wanted to. This is why I love the Project Life app so much because when time and energy are short, I can still make pages I am happy to look at.

Here are a few of my projects this week.

Paper Projects

First, I made this page of my adorable niece, Baby V, who lives too far away from me. I got some really sweet pictures of her when I visited my sister in Kentucky in March. I thought these pictures showed Baby V's softness and cuddliness. The papers and embellishments came from Simple Stories' Baby Collection.

(BABY V)

I haven't been able to get out the image of Do Ho Suh's thread art canvas out of my head. He sewed an image of a person with several selves superimposed upon the one. I relate to this idea so much as I feel that I am SO many people. I tried to convey my many layers and selves with a list.

(I AM SIMPLY ME)

 This is one of my favorite photos of my daughter in her pinafore and standing by one of our forsythia bushes. I love the pop of the pink and yellow and wanted to accent that with matching embellishments. Again, I kept the patterns soft and gentle so the photo would stand out.

(OH SO LOVELY)

This last page showcases a funny and favorite picture I took of my children a couple of weeks ago when we visited a Buddhist monastery near our home. I really couldn't say more than the title did so I left it at that. Again, I kept the patterns and colors soft.

(I AM GRATEFUL TO HAVE THESE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE)

Project Life App Everyday Life Pages 

I made quite a few fun everyday life pages using the Project Life App. They came together quickly and helped me document some of the little moments that happen on a daily basis. 

(STONECROP GARDENS PART 1)

(STONECROP GARDENS PART 2)

I love the pictures in this layout because of the light and the movement and energy of my children as they play together at dusk.

(FUN IS MESSY) 

This last page is a favorite because it shares a story from a unique perspective about my oldest son, who doesn't like me to take his picture.

(@ 16)

JOURNEY TO ISRAEL PROJECT LIFE PAGES

It has taken me nine years to finally tackle my Israel scrapbook, mostly because I really didn't know how to incorporate the large amounts of text from my blog post into a scrapbook in an organic way. I will probably print these out into 8x8 pages. I think the smaller size is a good fit for this project. It will probably cover two volumes. 

I don't particularly love the card kits I have on my app for this project. I just haven't found the one that makes my heart sing. So sometimes I experiment with different cards. This is one layout I made two times with different cards. 

On a side note, after getting prints from the app, I have decided I don't really care for the large 12x12 size. I prefer the 8x8 size. It frustrates me because finding the binders and page protectors for the smaller size is a challenge and will cost me more money. Maybe if I just make the commitment and purchase as I can, it will all work out. The prints themselves, do cost less and if there is a sale on Persnickety, I can get more pages for my money. 

Pic Collage

This is a really fun app I downloaded while working the polls a couple of weeks ago. The app has some really cute templates for thank you cards. The collages have more of a scrappy feel.

This layout is of my newest little nephew, who was just born in San Francisco. His mama sends me pictures that just melt my heart.

© 2007-2016 TIFFANY WACASER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Throwback Thursday: Israel Flashbacks, Pt. 3

This is the third part in a series of posts recounting our family's adventures living in Israel in 2007. 

You can find Part 1 and Part 2 on my blog. 

The BYU Jerusalem Center

Our second stop of the day was just over the next mountain on Mount Scopus to go to BYU Jerusalem Center. We enjoyed our informal tour. It’s so nice when the guides understand and tailor the tour to the needs of small, active boys.

The Jerusalem Center is beautiful. I shall not go into great detail because many of you have seen pictures, visited it or heard of it. Basically it is an 8-floor building that is built into the mountain. Five of the floors are for the students who live and study there.

We enjoyed the organ recital from the missionary: Elder Michael Moody. (Carol, I think you may know him.) He played three pieces and we looked out on the amazing view of the Old City while he played. My heart was really touched by the stirring and powerful strains of Come, Come Ye Saints. And then he played Prelude on Deliverance, a piece I had learned while studying organ with Carol. I was so excited and mentioned that I had learned the piece. Then Elder and Sister Moody asked if I would like to play the organ. Of course I did. So with a little help with the stops, I played a beautiful and peaceful rendition of Jesus, Once of Humble Birth.

I’m having trouble uploading my pictures, but we did take pictures of me playing the organ. It was really an experience.

After the brief organ recital, we went outside and viewed the city. They had different models of how the city appeared at different periods. That was really helpful for understanding the layout of the city. Then we toured the biblical garden, saw plants from biblical times, learned how an olive press worked and saw a few different types of olive presses, learned how wine was made, (well, I don’t think our guide ever used the word wine, but that’s what it would have been made into eventually after everyone squashed the grapes with their feet) and finally learned about the 1000- year- old (I think) olive tree that was transplanted from Galilee. It unfortunately, didn’t survive the transplant very well, but it has many new shoots that are coming from its branches. Yes, there are all sorts of Biblical allusions there and I’ll leave that to you to ponder.

© 2007-2016 TIFFANY WACASER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Travel Tuesday: Israel Flashbacks, pt. 1

In 2007, my husband was invited to collaborate on a scientific project with some scientists at the Weissman Institute in Rehovot, Israel. We flew to Israel in January with our four children and lived there for six weeks. Our children were 7,5,3, and 4 months. It was a magnificent adventure. At the time, we had very limited internet connection and I was unable to upload our photos. I never attached photos to my blog posts. I'm working on an Israel scrapbook and need to coordinate the blog posts with pictures I took. I am going to copy and paste some of those entries for my Travel Tuesday series.

Traveling to Jerusalem

Friday began early for us. We finished packing for the weekend and then ate breakfast. By 9:00 we met Josh, our guide for the day. Josh has lived in Israel for a year and a half and has been to Jerusalem many times. I was glad to have him as a guide because, by the end of the day, we realized there is no way we could have found and seen all the sights we saw in such a short period of time.

I realize that many of you will never have an opportunity to go, so I’ll try and describe what it looks like. First, we live near Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv is a fairly new city–built in the late 1800’s and looks much like any modern city. There are high rises all over with businesses, apartment buildings, etc.

We live southeast of Tel Aviv. Rehovot was founded by farmers and is still known for its orchards. When I think of Israel, I typically think of dry, desert, barren land. But neither Tel Aviv nor Rehovot is that barren. Rehovot has palm trees and orange trees all over. Even the road dividers have orange trees. The Weizmann institute campus is positively lush, abounding with trees, flowers, grass, bushes, etc. So I’ve had to revise my original picture of Israel. I realize that when you go east of Jerusalem and south, you are truly in wilderness and desert area. But the part of Israel that has become somewhat familiar to me really has a lot of green.

So we drove east of Rehovot to Jerusalem on the freeway. I was surprised by all the trees I saw. As we came closer to Jerusalem, it became more and more hilly and rocky. We drove through a canyon.  We started to see villages and small towns built on the hills. And quite often, we saw roadside stands. I hear the strawberries are delicious this time of year. At various intersections and bus stops, we saw hitchhikers thumbing their ways to various places. There were quite a few young orthodox men thumbing rides. If you were stopped at a light, you were bound to see these young men walking down the line of cars, asking for a ride.

From what I’ve read in guidebooks, this is common on Fridays as everyone is trying to get home for the weekend before Shabbot begins.

And then we drove into Jerusalem. It is so hard to describe. But from what we saw, Jerusalem is literally built on a mountain or tall hill. And the city is built up from the valley to the top. I know many of you have seen pictures of the beigish-whitish limestone city. And all I can really say is that it really does look like that.

It just really hit me hard that Jerusalem is a city that is 3000 years old. You can feel it and see it as you look at ancient, old, and modern buildings.

Jerusalem is a holy city-sacred to three major religions: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Everywhere there are churches built by the Christians from multiple denominations. The Dome of the Rock is very prominent. And then the fact that the city was conquered and established as the city of King David–himself a Jew–just permeates the whole feeling of the city.

I better stop there and start a new post so I don’t overwhelm you.

© 2007-2016 TIFFANY WACASER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED