The Hilton Head Chihuahua Adventure

Trip to Cayman Brac

2011-06-20T04:16:00.000-07:00

It has been almost a year since we have been Diving. We had a wonderful week at Cayman Brac!

Sammy has blown his ACL

2011-05-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend Sam stopped using his back right leg.

This is the same knee he had surgery on about 6 years ago.

This time it is his ACL. We have decided to use conservative therapy before jumping to surgery.

Sammy is limited on his walking and running. He has range of motion exercises and will do hydrotherapy twice a week. (see video below)

Another random event log

2010-12-06T12:23:00.000-08:00

Since my last post was in August, there is a lot to catch up on

in no particular order. . .

We drove to Montreal for a few days and saw a couple friends. .

We have had guest from Atlanta for some great weather!

Our annual Hanukkah Party was Dec 1st this year

70 people plus at least 10 children!! it was the best yet

When to NYC to spend a weekend with friends.

We are losing beach much faster than the permit committees want to re-nourish.

A few trips to DC

Sukkot was great. Dinner parties every night went very well

Bill is teaching courses at OLLI held at UBSC

in the modern history of Israel.

Great feed back and a big class >100 people attended each lecture.

Another random visit to NJ

Not so random visit to my brothers house, also in NJ, for Harris's 6th b-day party

Photo taken in Ann Arbor, MI

We also had a wedding since August!!

Did I mention, a trip to Israel?

Saw family and friends while we spent a very nice, quite week.

Some Chihuahua!!!

Yes, Eli and Emily are now, husband and wife!!

Yeah!

I would hope to add more photos for each event but life is just moving too fast.

I have been having some health issues that seem to be resolving well with a new treatment and hope to be back to myself, totally by the new year.

This month has had a great start!!

San Francisco

2010-08-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

We are in San Francisco at a Medical Conference.

(it's a bit cooler here than HH)

We drove up to Napa yesterday and had a wonderfully relaxing day

This year being in Napa when there are actually grapes

It was super cool!

We took a sunset cruise under the Golden Gate

Sam is a great traveler.

He likes martinis too

(just kidding)

Random thoughts

2010-07-14T07:14:00.000-07:00

We had some friends from Atlanta come visit for a weekend.

Tom and Robin

This is Ashira, my Step-son's baby

That makes me ~what?

May 5th we had an Israel Independence day celebration in Hilton Head

We had State and Federal Representatives and The Deputy Consul of Israel

It turned out Awesome!! This was created by a very small group of

people that included Bill and I.

This is Haia and Asher. They are becoming super great friends of ours here on the island.

Haia is giving me Hebrew lessons once a week!!

We have advertised out home as "Pet friendly".

As you can see, we are, even when Sam is smaller than the pets head.

(Sam [yes, another Sam, it was very confusing] and Maya)

Did I mention Bill took kite surfing lessons?

(ask us, we can elaborate)

We have had friends from Australia visit.

Melanie and Serge

Nice days are plentiful here.

We took a trip to Bonaire in March and had a wonderful time diving.

Teaser

2010-07-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

I hope to write a nice blog with lots of photos soon

May Road Trip

2010-05-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

In no particular order:

We visited friends on new Hampshire and and went on a boat ride around their lake.

We visited with Raffi, Chana and Ashira twice, once up and once back. (to Montreal)

We played in the park and ate cherrios

And played in the park some more. . .

More park playing!!

May 15th 1926

2010-05-17T13:18:00.000-07:00

I have been slow to update and hope to tell you more about the past 2-3 months

Saturday May 15th we were invited to a party

1920s party and who would have guessed it would be so successful

All the guests REALLY enjoyed getting dressed up and the band was great.

I only spent $2.99 on this costume.

Everything, except the yard of sequence I used for the headband and garter, was in my closets.

Friends of ours that live both here and Atlanta and they also goto the same synagogues and us, both here and Atlanta.

The costumes were really fun

Purim Time

2010-02-23T17:17:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again.

So far, 17 dozen Hamantaschen.

Just 10 or so more dozen to go

I'm having a great time delivering them!!!

quick weekend trip

2010-02-14T17:03:00.000-08:00

Wednesday we decided to drive down to Miami to see Eli/Emily and friends.

although we could have the top down, it wasn't Miami weather.

We took a boat ride around to look at all the expensive houses and boats (it was the boat show)

We went to a comedy show with Harry and Ellen (Malka) at the Hard Rock

We miss having them close so much!

Morris and Natasha were down visiting Morris's father (from Montreal)

So we got to see them. As you can see, not exactly warm weather.

I hope it improves for them this week.

Emily made us a Valentines day chocolate "lava type" cake!

It was super delicious!!

Why wear socks?

2010-02-07T15:01:00.000-08:00

Since we moved to Hilton Head we have found out that our closets contents are pretty much unnecessary. Bill says he doesn't even need socks any more.

This week some friends of ours asked us to join them at a Charity Ball for the Red Cross.

What a great opportunity to wear socks!!

Up in the air

2010-02-02T07:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday our friend took us up in his helicopter.

I had never been in a helicopter before and we had a great time.

I will I could have gotten a few more photos of the house but I did my best.

CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO ENLARGE

If you can see the orange square roof, our house is the grey roof just to the right.

This is taken going the other way, again, just look for the orange roof for our neighbor.

It's not super easy to fly like it seems in the movies.

Also, it seems much smaller close up.

one of the better photos

Talk about a Heavenly Valley

2010-01-08T19:48:00.000-08:00

We are heading home first thing in the morning.

This photo can not show how cool it is to ski above the clouds. (but it tries)

We all had a wonderful time and made it with no injuries!!

Skiing at Heavenly

2010-01-04T15:32:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Heavenly December 30th and spent New Years with Uri and Deb!

We played games and had steak on the grill.

As you can see Eli and Emily joined us on the 2nd.

Yesterday was Emily's Birthday!!

Great shot of the lake! Weather is PERFECT!!

Tonight we will have goose for dinner.

Uri's prepared goose

Miss you Deb!!

Eight days of Hanukkah!!!

2009-12-18T00:10:00.000-08:00

I cannot tell you how excited I am about last nights turn out!

The only thing that was missing was Eli to help peel potatoes!

I think there was about 60 people and everyone seemed to have a good time.

We had "hot doughnuts NOW" filled with jelly and dark Chocolate!

We had THREE Rabbi's join us! How cool is that?

Our guest mostly came from Hilton Head but

some came from as far as Savannah and Sun city.

I actually made too many Lakes!! That is a lot of Lakes!

The best thing was the singing with guitar accompaniment.!

Thank you Rabbi Leitner.

(push play)

Washington DC

2009-12-15T15:29:00.000-08:00

I am pulling an Emily. I have decided to blog in the mist of Hanukkah decorating and cooking for the party. There are dreidels every where and piles of half used boxes of candles. It's the PERFECT time to tell you about DC.

Uri's new hat from Deb. I think it looks great on him.

First night at Uri and Deb's

Uri working on fixing up Abba's computer

At the museum of Air and Space they had a satellite we could play with.

Here we found Hilton Head

We actually went to the top of the Washington Monument

The city was setting up for Hanukkah TOO!

My new Snuggie!!

Yes, Sam came with. Here he is thinking I will leave him behind if he doesn't "pack himself" in a Publix bag. This is where I pack his puppy pads and food. Is that smart of him or stupid?

December 10th

2009-12-10T05:56:00.000-08:00

There are lots of things to share.

We spent 2 weeks in Israel and I plan on posting photos today.

We are presently driving to DC to spend the weekend with Uri and Deb.

Verizon has allowed us to connect while driving, how cool!!

Trip to Vegas

2009-11-09T19:50:00.000-08:00

Vegas

We met up with our friends Morris and Natasha from Montreal and had a Wonderful time.

Click here to see----->>http://gallery.me.com/nursejeni18#100156

visit from Dad and Marilyn

2009-10-16T12:15:00.000-07:00

This week my Dad and Marilyn came for a few days.

The weather always says, cloudy and raining.

Don't ever believe the forecast here on the island

The guys had lots of sea food.

We took a tour of the Gullah heritage, it was very interesting.

A time to rest

2009-10-10T07:50:00.000-07:00

I am still having trouble with posting the way I want, see half way down for introduction to this post.

Our reading room being used for reading!!

We went biking, any guesses where we found Eli?

Yes, Sam is in the basket, sorry he got cut out of the photo.

This is a comfortable living room.

As some of you have found out, the only time BIll and I "relax and enjoy" our home and beach is when we have over night guests. It's kinda hard to explain, but when it's just the two of us we feel like we should be, cleaning, unpacking, exercising, volunteering, etc. When people come, we sit, swim and sun.

Last weekend, Eli, Emily and her parents, Ann and John came to visit.

We sat at the pool.

We ate at the crazy crab for lunch.

making sandwiches

coloring for sukkot

Do you want to guess what we are doing? Yes, we are all trying to catch a fish, they were jumping so high we were determined to catch one in our bare hands

Gotta get some yoga in

Sukkot 2009

2009-10-04T17:26:00.000-07:00

The New Year has begun with a bang. I really have barely read my emails.

The next few post will kinda be out of order but I hope you are all just happy I post.

We put up our Sukkah on Tuesday and decorated it Wednesday.

This year we are able to have it on the deck instead of the grass where all the bugs live.

It makes it much or comfortable, not to mention it's 3 steps from the kitchen.

Today, Sunday, October 4th was the Beth Yam 2nd annual Sukkah Hopping.

This year we had about 20 "hoppers" up from last year's 6.

Shaking of the Lulav.

There are many more photos, but you get the idea.

Visitors

2009-09-27T09:12:00.000-07:00

Last week Miri and Alex Tabori visited us from Montreal.

Miri's friend Lucianna came also.

Breakfast on the balcony.

We went biking within the plantation. This is some of our history, an old steam gun.

Another very high tide had "fenced us in".

Nothing a chain saw cannot fix though.

September 21st

2009-09-21T05:09:00.001-07:00

The last post was so long ago I wonder if anyone is still watching.

I will let you know about my trip to North Dakota.

I went by myself October 10th-13th.

I saw Grandma and Grandpa in New Salem.

I drove Grandpa's truck around on my own and had a great time.

We went up to the eagle with Aunt Kathy.

For those of you who know what the farm was like, 10 years ago(Bryce), check out below, it has not changed much on the outside.

There are so many things in the house "packed away"

Grandpa's Stetson.

My cousin's

Right to left

Chad, me, Jason, Jesse and his wife Kerry.

Labor day

2009-09-07T11:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry I can never get the photos in the correct order.

David and beth came down from Atlanta for the weekend.

Sunday we had a BBQ and some of the neighbors over.

Have I mentioned I love to see people eat at my house?

All the pics are pretty self explanatory.

Every morning the sunrise is wonderful,

photo taken from Master bedroom balcony.

As the house settles in

2009-09-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

The days are very long trying to unpack things and put them where I want them to be

FOREVER.

I think what I like the most is that there are only a couple new items,

everything else is from the Atlanta house and fits right in.

This painting loks so good from downstairs, it used to be over the fireplace in Atl.

Guest suite, photos on wall also from Atl living room along with chair and all the same bedroom furniture.

I really love the way the stairs look and feel

"Alcove"

I am pretty sure I have not shown any photos of "the car wash" aka master shower

The master bedroom

View from the deck off the master

Kitchen, fridge on left

Lots of turtles all over the house, this is the pantry door.

Back splash.

One of my favorite pieces of art.

Slowly moving in

2009-08-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

This past week has been really tiring.

Here are a few photos of the house once some of the furniture was moved in

Our favorite "personal touch"

Sam has already found his "spot" where he can supervise everything

This is the beginnings of "Sam's sanctuary"

There will be a doggie door to this area and the plants are plastic

so he can pee on them all he wants.

When I get to do something "fun for myself" I will be working on this area.

Friday and Saturday in AA

2009-08-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

On Friday after we arrived we had lunch at Emily's parents place.

Friday evening we at out at Pacific Rim.

Saturday morning we went to the farmer's market for fruits and veggies.

Sam and Bill always get the most attention.

Then we spent the afternoon at Emily's grandparents lake house.

I even learned how to sail with Uncle Joe.

A Post for Grace

2009-08-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend, Bill, Sam and I took a trip to Ann Arbor Michigan.

Eli and Emily are now engaged and we had a small party for them at Emily's parents house.

We all really loved Ann Arbor. It is very quaint and alive.

First we took a very long walk though the arboretum.

We ran across the Fairy woods.

You can see a couple of the stick houses that Michigan Fairies live in.

That night we went in to town on main street for dinner.

If you are looking closely to will find fairy doors.

I am assuming that Ann Arbor must be a very happy place to live for fairies since they have so many communities here.

I could not get the photos in the right order but you can see this fairy home is actually inside a coffee shop (photo taken further back is last on this blog)

This fairy door was much higher off the ground. I am not sure what that means, do you?

My first guess is that this way she hovers while she is unlocking the door instead of standing where she could be stepped on by humans.

This fairy picked a toy store for her home, I think that was smart so she can play with a lot of children.

This is that coffee shop door I mentioned above.

I have lots more photos of the weekend but wanted to share my fairy weekend with Grace.

I did not actually see any fairies. I wonder if you have to be under a certain age to see them?

Nature Turtles

2009-08-09T07:23:00.000-07:00

I was going to put up photos of the house but this is MUCH more interesting.

Yesterday we went to an "inventory" for the discovery museum.

3 Days after a nest of sea turtles hatch, they dig it up by hand and see how successful the nest was. This nest was very successful.

There were only 3 strays left, already hatched.

No unhatched shells!

The holes are VERY deep and there is a perfect pocket at the bottom of this hole

Once we finished emptying the nest we released them on the beach and let them crawl back into the ocean.

Push play to see them crawling.

Last day in Miami

2009-08-06T17:06:00.000-07:00

Wednesday afternoon Eli, Bill and I went to the beach.

This is the beach Eli and Emily usually frequent, nice huh?

Sunset after dinner

These photos were before Raffi and family left for Israel Wednesday morning.

Ashira has learned how to stand on her own.

"LOOK, NO HANDS!!"

"Lick my foot Sam, lick, lick!!"

No Hands!!

Children's Museum in Miami

2009-08-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

We listen to music in the shell

We put magnets up on the wall

Ashira liked the Chihuahua toy better than the "big dog"

We dressed up like a fireman

We saw lots of Ashiras

We painted

We played instruments

miami time

2009-08-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

We walked to dinner

Eli and Emily have a mango tree.

We all tried to get to the high mangos

Ashira and Sabba took a nap

Sammy is tired too

More activies

2009-08-04T06:36:00.000-07:00

First we ate treats

Then we set up Badminton.

Baby rides

Don't ask

Time for a nap with uncle Elli

Road Trip

2009-08-03T06:32:00.000-07:00

Sunday we drove to Miami to see Eli's new house.

We stopped in St. Augustine, the oldest town in the nation.

Raffi and family are visiting also.

Sammy loves it when Ashira is around, lots of treats!!

lots of progress

2009-07-30T18:33:00.000-07:00

The landscaping is wonderful.

I cannot believe how different it will look.

The railings are going up

the weeks fly by

2009-07-24T14:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been a really long time.

Last weekend we hung out by the pool even in the cinder blocks and

construction piles.

Beau really loves to swim too

The house is moving along, we spend most of our days

making phone calls and trying to get everything

fixed that was order wrong, etc

This is the view from the guest suite.

Underdeck area is actually turning out really nice

We are looking at starting to move in in three weeks.

Monday should be a big push, landscaping, handrails, painting complete.

We shall see. . . . . . . . .

2009-07-12T17:24:00.000-07:00

Too much fun in less than 48 hours

We saw birds and turtles in the lagoon.

We rode bikes out to the old steam gun site

Ashira took long morning walks with Sabba, Jeni and Sam.

We swam in the ocean and the pool.

We made smoores!

We ate breakfast.

Turtle tracks

2009-07-08T17:43:00.000-07:00

This is what turtle tracks look like.

A sea turtle crawled up to the dunes right here,

laid her eggs and crawled back to sea last night.

The granite was delivered and installed today!

Kitchen

Master bath

Guest suite

Our very own Michael Angelo finishing our ceiling.

July 5th

2009-07-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

The crowded beach after a holiday.

This is Sunday evening.

Last bit of work for the trim carpenters is the ceiling in the living room.

This is the "reading room" The view today really made me smile.

They poured the rest of the concrete.

The pool is now available for adult swim.

4th of July weekend

2009-07-05T13:17:00.000-07:00

Nature always makes me happy.

Sy and Judy from Atlanta came for the weekend.

We sat on the beach the whole day Friday.

Bill and I have not sat on the beach even once in the past 3-4 months.

It was REALLY nice to relax

We had a 4th BBQ at the rental.

William and Barbara Byrd joined us

We ate a late dinner at Charley's Crab on Skull Creek

the same place we did last years 4th for fireworks.

Father's day

2009-06-24T11:31:00.000-07:00

We spent father's day in NYC with all three boys.

There was lots of "sitting on Abba's lap" and other rough-housing.

Boys will be boys and I am so happy for that.

All the fathers. We are at Uri's in-laws place.

Me and Ashira!!

House update

2009-06-24T10:59:00.001-07:00

I am happy to say that things seem to be progressing.

All of the interior tile and cabinets are in

Templates have been taken for the granite and should be in within two weeks.

We have water in the pool again but it's not swimmable quite yet

All the interior rails are in

Too much fun

2009-06-15T17:46:00.000-07:00

We have had a really great trip and we are home safe an sound.

Sorry I was too busy to blog the past few days.

Here is the ending of of VBT part of the trip

John plays guitar and brought it and we had such a GREAT fair-well

It was one ladies 50th birthday and she was there with all 3 adult children and her husband

it was so cool to see them be together

Then we drove to San fran for friday and Saturday

We rode the cable cars a lot

we even drove down Lombard street. The crookiest street in the states.

A short video of our "concert".

Wednesday

2009-06-10T17:36:00.000-07:00

We did not bike a lot today

we visited an olive oil making place that was WONDERFUL

a chocolate maker

and then guess what. . ..a winery

We got to the Madrona Manor by van

It's really cool

stay tuned

so many good photos

2009-06-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

I'm glad they limit photos on this site.

We took so many good ones, you all would have to look at 30 photos a day.

Dinner in Yountville

The hill to Hess. Very steep, good Barbara!

A porche!

wonderful riding today!

More photos from Saturday-Monday

2009-06-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

The vineyards are so beautiful.

William and Barbara Byrd in tram up to Sterling Vineyards

Mumm Napa. Look at the different color of sparking wine.

William and JB

VBT

2009-06-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

We are in Napa Valley for a Bike trip.

Barbara and William Byrd came with us.

This is our first tasting.

We saw Old Faithful of California.

We had a Fantastic Lunch.

We all got "fitted" for our bikes.

update

2009-06-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

The basement walls are being put in.

and the hydrostatic vents for the ocean to pass under the house

Our master bath flooring

This bedroom/bathroom we label "Raffi's" room

2009-06-02T17:27:00.000-07:00

This is super cool.

The glue dried and then. . . . .

Look at this beautiful railing!

We are getting walls in the basement

We were having trouble with the numbered rooms.

The cabinets guys were calling it bedroom 3 while the tile guys called it bedroom 1

(mistake in the plans)

So we named the rooms to make it easier.

Tile is almost done in all the main area.

house update

2009-06-01T18:14:00.000-07:00

We said "good bye" to Cashiers

Most of the front is stuccoed.

Most of the back

It's really cool how they make the hand rails.

This is 13 pieced of wood glued together and

bent to match the curve of the the stairs.

stay tuned for what happens next.

The weekend continued

2009-06-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

We hiked a few miles and Sam never asked to be picked up.

He learned about streams and became fearless.

This water fall was VERY VERY COLD.

Bill said it was like melted snow

Sam and Jake did "crash" afterward, but so did I

I slept for 2 hours in David's Hammock.

3 post weekend

2009-06-01T12:30:00.001-07:00

This weekend we drove to Cashiers, NC

to spend some time with Beth and David Jacobson at their place

The view

Main room ceiling

Sunset

Sam found his place

house progress

2009-05-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

First I have to put a photo of Sam, just because I do.

Here is our front door without the glass.

The sidelights will open with screens.

This is our tile in the Great room.

Out stairs, I love the smell when he cuts the oak.

Just general stucco stuff done to make accents.

2009-05-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

As you can see, Sam helped me with the laundry today

We went for a bike ride and found part of our beach walk about

300 yards away from our place

This is what the end of our beach walk looks like now

You can see our flag

This is the beach walk a year ago and 5 sections longer

More Beach gone

2009-05-24T14:41:00.001-07:00

Today we walked in the Plantation because the ocean is so unfriendly

We have completely lost the two sections you saw on the last blog.

This is Fred. You can see him and his turtle friends across our street

More Beach gone

2009-05-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

What a rough week.

2009-05-21T14:05:00.000-07:00

With every day there is always something.

Look at this ocean.

We have effective lost this portion of the dock.

It's not touching the ground at all.

I thought this would interest Dad.

They are making the molding for the stair case.

What a cutie! (both of them)

Happy Birthday to Ashira!!!

They are in New Jersey.

Sorry I'm not up to date

2009-05-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

The pass few days have been yucky.

Rain and cold. Lots of beach erosion.

Sam has not had any beach walks in 3 days.

You can see new details being added

corbels

they have added an extra drain to the spa and are placing the tile

The base coat for the stucco is almost all done, all the way around

If it would stop raining, they could stucco it

Walls

2009-05-14T09:33:00.001-07:00

I am not sure how good these pictures are if you don't know what you are looking at.

This is taken from the living room up

Kitchen.

Living room

Nook for art

One of the up stair bed rooms

A great day in Toronto

2009-05-13T16:20:00.000-07:00

Black Creek Pioneer Village

Bill and I visited this attraction for the day Tuesday.

It was a beautiful day and we walked around the complete village

Everything was original for 1840-1860.

My favorite part was the children. (hard to believe huh?)

not the kids that were touring but the kids that were dressed up in period

clothing. We spoke with the teacher (also dressed in 1860 styles)

The school she teaches at does a week on the everything in the village.

They learn about blacksmiths and grain being ground, etc.

Part of the project is to dress for the field trip. They spent the last week preparing for this experience. They had to make or help make things that were from that time period.

Anyway, I thought it a great way to teach.

After the tour we met up with one of Bill's friends Sharon Wolfe.

We took a great long walk though a beautiful park near her home and

had a great dinner catching up on the past 10 years.

Toronto Family time

2009-05-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

We are now in Toronto for the Bar Mitzvah of Sharona and Joe's oldest son.

Uri and Deb also came.

I had a wonderful time. Sharona had her daughter 4 days ago.

This is my kind of baby!

For those of you who don't know this side of the family, Sharona has 5 boys.

It was great to see one of her babies in pink!

This is Sharona hosting the Bar Mitzvah of her son 4 days

after giving birth to her first girl!

Uri and Ze'ev

The Bienenstocks

I love the garden

2009-05-09T22:42:00.000-07:00

Just water making this arch

Besides the fact that the employees are MUCH more pleasant

at the Bellagio than other hotels in Vegas,

The Garden is my second favorite thing about this Hotel.

Vegas

2009-05-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have not been in the room as much as in Mammoth.

We drove to Vegas on thursday and we are staying at the Bellagio

We met up with the Jacobson's and we are having a great time.

Wonderful desserts

We went on a tour of Red Rocks.

We have also Seen two Cirque Du Soleil's shows which were WONDERFUL.

2009-05-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

We had a GREAT ski week at Mammoth!

Today we had perfect weather all day.

We did 5 hours with no lines.

I actually walked to the Inn barefoot from the rental shop.

It was REALLY warm. 57 degrees or so

Great ski day

2009-05-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

We can see the top of the lift this morning.

Grooming away

First in line on a BEAUTIFUL morning

We even got into one of the bowls on the back! Wow it was super.

This is with 50SPF sunscreen.

Back to Black

2009-05-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken from inside the dining room out.

Pretty cool snow cave.

It snowed 16 inches yesterday.

Today we skied. We actually had a really great time.

I feel like I am really getting my ski legs.

I did do some black diamonds.

The afternoon was a little wetter.

. . but if you go 5 minutes down the road by car, this is what you get.

One of Bill's top ten craziest things

2009-05-02T06:48:00.000-07:00

We started out Friday morning from Hilton Head airport on a 7:30am flight EST.

We flew into Atlanta which was dark and yucky looking.

Once we got to Las Vegas it was hot and sunny.

We rented a car and drove 300 miles, 5 hours, during which we did not see one gas station and we only saw about 20 cars.

At one point the road became one lane (for both directions)

We had no water, no phone service and 6 jelly bellies.

Everything went well though and we made it safely.

The views were so incredible.

We did not see any snow for the whole time.

When the GPS said we were 4 miles away I kept anticipating

at each corner we would have snow.

We arrived at the hotel and it started to snow, a real blizzard, ALL night.

Still blowing this morning (we may not ski today)

They are setting off avalanche charges as we speak.

Bill says I need to stop asking for snow.

Rough-in Inspection

2009-04-29T16:46:00.000-07:00

Tuesday we passed rough-in inspection.

Today we started actual stucco.

here you see the rough coat on the round part and the smooth coat on the right.

The chimneys have the actual colored coat on them already.

The basement is being insulated with closed cell foam.

(the attic and rest of the house has open cell foam)

Another busy day

2009-04-27T16:12:00.000-07:00

Bill, Sam and I had to run errands today.

We did this on bike.

Here you see us reviewing our insurance.

As you can see, Sam is very focused.

After 4 stops we decided to stop for lunch.

House update

All the back windows are in.

They are working on getting the pool up and running in 3 weeks.

They started the scratch coat on the chimneys.

Sea Food Festival

2009-04-25T16:57:00.000-07:00

Bill, Sam and I biked to the seafood festival.

There was good food and great music.

Sam got A LOT of attention!

Two beers

Grouper anyone?

The pretzel lady let Sam and Bill use her shade.

It was HOT today, at least 85.

This is a friend we meet on the beach every morning, she told us about the festival.

her and her husband always volunteer.

The sign seems appropriate although

it did not pose them there intentionally.

The chick magnet.

This guy has a chihuahua at home, and very proud of it.

We don't have to pay for college for ours!

Random child who met Sam and Bill and thought they were worth

of a walk.

Another random person who thought Bill and Sam would make good dance partners.

Friday, another week gone

2009-04-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

Sam's birthday is coming up May 1st.

I promised him his own beach chair and he seems to like it very much.

The back windows came in today and it's time to set them.

I am told they weight hundreds of pounds.

They are for made for hurricanes.

Not quite halfway done.

Sam after a bath. We had to get the salt water off since

he did some swimming today with mom in the ocean.

The water is GREAT!!

More classes!!

2009-04-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

I REALLY love it here.

Today I took a pasta class.

As I walk in, I know half the people already!

WE MADE CREAM PUFFS FOR DESSERT.

I'M INSPIRED!

Boring pics

2009-04-21T16:29:00.000-07:00

Today Bill and I went to Charleston for an interview.

In order for Bill to obtain his permanent SC license, this was his last step.

The drive was great because of the weather and we just went in and out for

the interview. Of course, they loved him and were happy to approve him.

I'm not sure this isn't totally boring but this is the colors for the master bed/bath.

Here is what the foyer floor will look like.

They are boxing all the ducts in the basement.

All the rough-ins should be done in the next day or two.

Drywall is next, that will make some big changes.

The big back windows are due in on the 24th.

Yom HaShoah

2009-04-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is

Holocaust Memorial day

PGA

2009-04-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the PGA tournament.

We are not golf people but it was nice to see what it

is all about.

We also went to a Doggie cocktail party.

Sam was the only dog invited. Everyone else were dog

people but the house was not equip for 10 dogs.

I'll have photos soon.

House update

2009-04-17T13:57:00.000-07:00

This week the stucco guys have been here putting

up the trim around the windows and

then the mesh that the stucco sticks to.

Chimneys are ready for stucco

Front entrance is now all arched

All new pipes for the pool.

It will be a saline pool instead of chorine.

What kind of mom would I be without

including Sam going grocery shopping on the bikes.

I'm excited now

2009-04-14T14:42:00.000-07:00

We have started the important stuff.

Bill and I want the pool to be ready ASAP now that the sun is back

so we can at least enjoy that part.

Also, it is another great amenity for our guests (hint hint)

All the old tile is being removed and they will resurface and put new tile.

They also put some "shape" on the front entry.

windows & stuff

2009-04-13T05:21:00.000-07:00

The right front of the house has a really pretty look with the

oval window in the tower.

I really love the dining room. All the corners are curved.

It also has the potential to expand out into the living room for larger dinners.

Here is some HVAC stuff in the basement.

The front tower from the inside.

Upstairs HVAC stuff.

Summer is here

2009-04-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

Sam spent the last two weeks right at home on the beach.

He is a bit spoiled but worth it.

I promised dad some house photos.

I guess I have only taken these two since we returned.

I will take some inside ones soon.

Almost all the windows are in except the big ones on the back.

They have been doing the rough-ins.

HVAC, electrical and plumbing.

On the other hand, the rental is surrounded by flowers

Last photos to share from Israel

2009-04-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

Ashira getting ready for the Seder

Chana's Beautiful Seder table

All dressed for the event

The Bileks

A blessing on your head from Saba

Campylobacter

2009-04-11T05:28:00.000-07:00

Campylobacter

Well, we will see. Bill and I are being treated with two different antibiotics.

This is what the G.I. Doc thinks it is.

I will post new house pics soon

Happy Passover

and Happy Easter

to everyone

No more Israel

2009-04-10T14:02:00.000-07:00

I am blogging from Hilton Head. Bill and I both fell ill and decided to

come home for care.

It's basically a GI bug and we are both on several antibiotics.

All should be back to normal soon but we had to leave 3 days early.

The Western wall

Burning of Chometz

We had coffee with Oren and Niki, they used to live in Atlanta as the

Assistant Counsel General for Israel. Now they are back in Israel.

We got to see some of the Bienenstocks.

Never enough photos of Ashira and Saba.

More of Israel

2009-04-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

We took Raffi and Chana out for their Anniversary.

Ashira and Saba

Monday night we had dinner with Esther

We went to Safad.

Hi everyone!! Am I cute or what?

Mini Israel

2009-04-05T07:41:00.000-07:00

Today is Sunday.

We will go to Mini Israel and wear our hats.

Ashira

"When I pull Saba's ear, he makes a funny noise"

Next we rode in a horse drawn carriage that came from Quebec.

Ashira loved watching the horses and bouncing in the carriage.

Preparing for Shabbat

2009-04-03T13:08:00.000-07:00

Here is the Shabbat table at Raffi and Chana's Apartment

Ashria prepares by getting ready for a walk with JB and Saba.

Cool view

The weather is very nice and Ashira does great on her first

walk in her new "pack".

The Bilek's

The Old City

2009-04-03T06:49:00.000-07:00

This is taken at the Israel Museum.

Behind us is the model of the biblical Jerusalem.

A lemon tree grows in Jerusalem just for Emily.

A different view of the Dome of the Rock from

the Ramparts of the walls around Jerusalem.

Delta 152

2009-04-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

After a 12 hour delay, 8 of which was on the tarmac, 2 planes and 3 flight crews later, we did make it to Israel this morning at 5am

We went food shopping.

We took Ashira on a walk

We went of for a NICE dinner

And now we are going to sleep, I am not sure when you will hear from us again

I feel like I could sleep for a month.

Heading to the airport

2009-03-30T08:41:00.000-07:00

We are headed to Israel, I hope to be able to blog from there.

If not, see you all in two weeks

Happy Passover!!

First place

2009-03-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

Today was a sisterhood bake off at the synagogue.

My kugel took first prize!!

Happy Anniversary. . . . .

2009-03-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

One year ago today,

we started this unforeseen trip.

We did have Shabbat dinner on OUR deck last night.

We have been really happy at the progress this week.

They have started foaming the attic.

We are not allow to use our "grey-water" to flush the toilets yet but

with foam and low-e windows, we should help with saving energy.

Finally an update!!!!

2009-03-25T17:34:00.000-07:00

This week we have seen SOOO much progress!!

The back deck has been completed.

This is Bill as happy as Sam.

Our front and back bluestone steps arrived today!!

This is the Under Deck. There will be a fireplace on the left.

Both fireplaces inside have been placed.

This is the two sided fireplace in our bedroom/study.

No Internet!!!

2009-03-22T17:57:00.000-07:00

I did not forget about the blog this past week.

We actually did not have an internet connection in the condo for our ski trip.

It was probably just as well, the weather was too nice for staying inside to blog.

SOOOO

Turn on your volume and click here

for a short 5 minute update from the past week.

There's a time to ski

2009-03-13T12:00:00.001-07:00

We head off to Colorado in the morning to meet Uri, Deb, Eli and Emily to ski for a week.

We rented a townhouse and plan on having a GREAT time.

Sorry no pictures yet.

I will tell you the best thing so far.

We met a lady who is going to stay in our house with Sam while we are gone.

Sam seems to like her and I know he is much happier not going to the kennel.

We took him last week for a "trial visit" and he was so scared he pee'd on the floor.

I am MUCH happier knowing he will be at home, running on the beach.

I'll post some updated house pictures later on tonight

Done in ATL

2009-03-11T17:58:00.000-07:00

First of all, Sam's tongue is always photogenic.

This is what the family looks like traveling.

Monday and Tuesday we packed up the Atlanta house and moved it out.

With times being uncertain, we are trying everything

our realtor is suggesting to make it

more attractive to home buyers.

Right now, that is to make it "move in ready"

We will keep you posted.

Anyone want to buy a house?

Purim

2009-03-05T23:13:00.000-08:00

Time to bake again!

Purim is Monday night so I got busy this week and put together 22 baskets.

Hamentaschen.

This year I made the filling myself instead of buying it in a can.

Prune and Apricot

Click here for more info

It was truly a joy to deliver the baskets. People really to appreciate tradition.

Update

2009-03-05T14:12:00.001-08:00

Things are SLOWLY progressing.

Tuesday, by 8:30 only two men were here and they had one hammer.

We had it and called the builder. Within 30 minutes there were 17 workers.

Funny, you would think with unemployment the way it is, people would WANT to work.

We are starting to get outside walls and they look cool being they are round.

The front entry

Impromptu Brunch

2009-03-01T13:10:00.001-08:00

Thursday I decided to invite some people for Sunday crepes.

I made 6 calls and everyone said "Yes"

The stairs are in!!

2009-02-28T17:01:00.000-08:00

We are really happy with how the inside stairs are looking

The openings at the top will be windows.

The wide spot in the actual stair well will have small oval window

New concrete for the under deck patio area!! yeah

Today I filleted my first fish. He was a yellow tail snapper.

We each made three fish dishes. This was my Tuna carpaccio.

Who wants to come over to eat?

new walls

2009-02-24T15:53:00.000-08:00

This is my latest find at 'Sams Club'.

Sam has a ball choosing his treat when he is good.

This week should be exciting, this is the beginning of the stairwell.

A whole new wall looks really cool.

The first floor will be the dinning room with curved walls and upstairs is

one of the bedrooms that is for guests (i.e. YOU)

I wish I had more news

2009-02-23T18:55:00.000-08:00

I want to let everyone know how happy I am about blogging. I, personally, have not had much to share this week that I thought would excite you, but I am enjoying Anna and Emily's Blog very much. Please keep it up.

This past weekend we had two couples over for Shabbat dinner, and plans with friends both Saturday and Sunday nights. Life here in Hilton Head is so much more social. There is always something to do and someone to do it with. It is a very nice change.

Bill and I started a gym last week. Today was our 3rd session with KIM. We actually exercised for 2 hours today! I can also say that we did not enjoy any of it so I guess she is doing her job.

The house is moving along but I don't feel like anything is really picture worthy. Bill and I are having real trouble visualizing spaces and so we are just more frustrated more than anything.

I guess that's all for now folks.