Shabbat in Jerusalem

This is the coolest museum piece EVER (puts the two-headed calf to shame)

Rosa in front of the only open section of the Israel Museum:
the Ruth Youth Wing

"Ahavah" ("Love" for those who do not recognize this configuration and/or were not yet alive in the 70's)

Lots of kippah- and tzitzit-garbed American boys fighting over football rules

My attempt to depict litter-strewn park grounds

Blew off Shabbat services altogether. Political reasons? Theological grounds? No.
Too lazy to get up.
(Note to self: come up with better reason and go back and edit blog posting)

Rosa and Dan and I took the short stroll to the Israel Museum through Sachar Park, carefully avoiding junk food wrappers, water bottles, coke cans, assorted plastic bags, garbage cans into which a few Israelis actually inserted their trash, little running chasids, children on mini-ATV's, Asians on tricycles (okay - there was only one of those), Orthodox boys playing (American) football, Israelis playing (American) football, hippy neo-Chasids playing (American) football, and Israelis playing actual football (soccer).

Most of the Israel Museum is closed for some huge renovation which made Rosa a very happy girl. She enjoyed interacting with the large art pieces on the grounds (which included a couple of concrete blocks -- each, I think, named, "block"). There was one exhibit on indoor display: "Bizarre Perfection." I cannot even describe how cool this exhibit was so you need to get on a plane as soon as you can to check it out. One piece was an entire kitchen with every square millimeter covered in shiny beads -- there was a table and cereal boxes and a sink full of water and dishes and an open oven with pies and an open cookbook and windows with curtains and every single thing was beaded. Worth the plane ticket. (I just found an online photo which I've inserted above)

There was a large blanket/quilt on the wall but when you came close you saw it was actually flattened metal bottle tops held together with tiny wires. There was a bale of hay that, when you walked up, turned out to be made out of toothpicks. The weirdest was probably the profile of Pope John Paul that, when viewed from up close, was actually an aerial photograph of Middle Eastern men -- the shirtless ones were his face and the white-shirted ones were his hair. Whoa.

Gotta go and bring up our little laundry drying rack from the downstairs courtyard - you can tell we're not in Boise anymore. It takes 4 days for towels to dry (not kidding) and my bra is still dripping from last night. Isn't this supposed to be the desert?