Holy Week Flashback to Israel 2008



Last Sunday was Palm Sunday, and as we were standing in church listening to the reading about Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, I had a flashback to when I was in Jerusalem in July of 2008. I was there for two and a half weeks, volunteering on an archaeological dig with a group of other Lutherans, and I blogged about it EXTENSIVELY. :)

This was our Sunday - the baptism of our godson, Levi!
(Photo courtesy of his Auntie Teresa!)

It was a defining 'moment' in my life, and even though that was almost five years ago now, I can still close my eyes and see it and hear it and smell it and taste it. I want to go back again with a passion that's actually a bit scary if I think about it too much. When I first got back, I thought about it every day. Now I only think about it every month or so, but my memories are just as vivid. I might go back and re-read my own blog posts though, starting here, because while the sensory details are clear, some of the adventures have gotten a bit blurred.

Anyway, I give you just a few of the hundreds of pictures I took. And in look back through my albums just now, I judge the photos I decided to take for being too detailed, with not enough panorama, and I didn't take pictures of things that in hindsight I wish I had, not because I'm forgetting them, but because I want to share them. Next time I go, whenever that will be...

If anyone knows of an archaeology dig looking for a copyeditor, please let me know!!! :)

 

Looking down the slope of the Mount of Olives, at the Kidron Valley. Some of these olive trees are so old that they would have been around when Jesus was there.

 

Praying at the Western Wall - one of the most profound moments in a journey that was jam-packed with them!

 

Sunset over the Sea of Galilee

 

Blue-green waters of the Sea during the afternoon - see the waves? It gets as choppy as the ocean there when the wind picks up. We went swimming every afternoon, but there would come a point where the water was too rough for it to be very enjoyable. Not so much walking where Jesus walked...but swimming where Jesus walked! :)

 

Capernaum, at the very northern tip of the Sea, looking south towards Jerusalem

 

This wander down memory lane has probably done more for me than you, but remembering my time in Israel, and what it means to me makes my heart happy! Tomorrow night as we celebrate the Passover Feast and remember the Garden of Gethsemane, and Friday morning as we remember the crucifixion, and Sunday as we celebrate the resurrection, I'll be remembering my time in Israel and the encouragement it was to my faith.

(And I might say thank-you to my really great husband who stayed home and worked while I went gallivanting all over the Holy Land... :)

 

A haircut is on the horizon!

It's been almost a year since my original post on this topic, and my hair is finally long enough to cut off! I've booked a date with my hairdresser: May 18. It's far away, but I have exams and papers between now and then, so I'm leaving it till after the semester is over, and then I can celebrate being deadline- and hair-free all at once. Plus, my steampunk hat for Comic Expo will require lots of hair to anchor it... :)

It didn't take as long to grow out as I thought it would - I have a 13-inch ponytail already! The minimum is 8 inches, and there's no maximum, so I'll probably do 10 inches, although we'll see how much it grows between now and May before I make a final decision about how much to send.

I have a fundraising endeavour for the Canadian Cancer Society - you can check out my page, a geeky photo of me, and make a donation to the charity! The donations don't benefit me in anyway, it's just my way of trying to make my aggravating hair-growing as beneficial as possible to people dealing with cancer. :)

...And it has been literally a pain in the neck...if I don't blow-dry it, it's so heavy it gives me a headache! And being winter in Alberta, half the time if I went out with wet hair anyway, it would literally freeze to my head. :P I will definitely be glad to put this ponytail in the mail.

Here's a photo of the last time I had my hair cut really short - this was for my staff Christmas party in late November of 1999!

And if you want to see what it looks like now, go look at my fundraising page... :)

Seriously though, cancer is something that has touched nearly everyone I know, one way or another. Please consider making a donation to the Canadian Cancer Society! And if you're from the USA, consider donating to your local cancer society!


And in other news, SEASON 3 OF BBC SHERLOCK IS FILMING NOW! AHHHH! That is all.

Upcoming Post

I have no news today (and I do have a lot of homework)! But next week I'll have an update on my hair-growing situation, so watch for that! :)

Jack the Giant Slayer

So, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hank 'Beast' McCoy climb a giant beanstalk to rescue Princess Isabelle, King Blackbeard's daughter, from Davy Jones. They think Caesar Flickerman is on their side, but he turns out to have a hidden agenda, and chaos and shenanigans ensue.

Except for the annoying lady next to me who wouldn't stop talking, and for a couple of violent moments I could have done without, I quite enjoyed Jack. It was a good example of a lot of things I enjoy about movies; a fantasy setting, a less than prim and proper princess who has great armor, a charming love story, a wisecracking knight, a noble quest, great one-liners...and a Star Wars reference from McGregor. Classic!

It does, however, require quite a bit of willing suspension of disbelief! Like all fairy tales, there are a few plot holes. And like all fairy tales, you think you know how it's going to end, but when it got to the end, I was totally taken by surprise, and all I could think was "Moriarty!". If you do go see it, let me know if you get that reference. :)

I would not recommend taking small children...there were two particular scenes that were so icky I had to look away, plus the giants snack on people like we snack on baby carrots, so that was a bit icky as well.

I hope there's a sequel, featuring Elmont!

 

 

And in totally unrelated news, the cast of Hell on Wheels is beginning to arrive in Calgary, with season 3 scripts in hand. Eeeeeee! Filming doesn't start until April 24, but I guess they wanted to catch our snowy weather!

(Sorry, it looks like you have to click on the little links to view the photos...I'm just figuring out how to use Storify!)