Hello Mrs. Pumpkin!

Look for the bright spot in life - it turned up on my doorstep today. My new 22" suitcase to replace the one that busted on the day we left for Israel - this will be hard to miss! 6.5# and 22 inches high should be perfect for any length of trip. I'm thinking "Mrs. Pumpkin" might be a good name.

Not fully organized yet but in less than a week I'm ready to hit the road again. I'm trying to organize, delete and label my 500 pictures from Israel/Jordan (digital camera you know) - I found this one of my favorite dessert of the trip - Hazelnut Chocolate Mousse - it was mmmmmm good.

So when I do a My Picture search for #1437 (the dessert) this one also pops up - has same picture number from my old camera - it's Alex on 3/6/06 at about 10 months old and playing the piano. Time flies so fast as now we cannot even spell words anymore as he can recognize them -

My foot in the Dead Sea of Jordan - I am so anxious to wear flipflops again - hoping to do just that next week in Phoenix and in a few more weeks in Seal Beach CA for our family trip.
I read through my last travel journal all the way from the first day when the pilot said so nicely "If Tel Aviv is not your destination, I strongly suggest you deplane". Upon arrival in Tel Aviv a flight attendant said "I couldn't sleep - too bumpy".
Our first guide in Tel Aviv Orr was great - since military service is mandatory for 3 years from 17-21 and then reserves a month annually up to age 40 he was chosen for sniper training - guess where? Fort Benning Georgia - right here in the old USA.
more later - my new read is "The Madonnas of Leningrad" - about the people who saved the art and precious things in Russian museums when they were about to be taken over by the Nazis. We heard about this is St. Petersburg Russia Hermitage Museum - St. Petersburg was formerly known as Leningrad!
Still collecting my thoughts for further posts on Israel/Jordan. Greatest trip ever!