ilana's granola bars

how many hundred years has it been

since i posted a recipe?

this is what i haven't been able

to keep my hands out of lately.

ilana's granola bars

(taken straight from ilana, alex's relative

who lives on a kibbutz in israel)

2 cups oats

3/4 cups sugar

1 cup flour

2 T honey

2/3 cup butter

1/2 t soda

melt butter and honey together

then combine with remaining ingredients.

spread in glass baking dish

and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 min until browned.

cut while still warm.

we did ending up adding one egg

for the right consistency--

which will probably depend on your oats

and your butter choice.

but they were delicious either way--

and super easy.

mid-week date

i know not everyone

gets into valentines day,

but i love any excuse

for alex to take me out

right in the middle of the week.

even if it means he couldn't get off soon enough

and there was the notorious v-day traffic

which nearly shuts down the city

and i had to stand and wait for him in the cold

when we met by arbat.

and because of that

we had to go to the concert a bit hungry

and save our dining for afterwards.

he took me to see the puppini sisters

at the estrada theatre on the river--

those sassy retro british girls

who dance, play violins & accordians

and sing with lovely voices.

and after that

we walked through the snowy night

down the river a bit

to the strelka bar

and met dasha & misha for a late dinner

with virgin mojitos and the pecan maple tart for dessert--

all well worth the growling stomach

during the concert.

v day

happy happy

st. valentine's day!

i stayed up late on sunday

to pull together a little something

for my girls

which i have been meaning to do for a long time

but needed a deadline for,

if you know what i mean.

they loved finding the little necklaces

and valentines with their names on them

at the breakfast table this morning.

and i loved that school was finally cancelled

for milla because of the cold--

in fact she was home sick yesterday anyway

and we have been laying low at home,

reminiscing about the days

we were all home together all the time!

we turned up zaz

to accompany our lazy breakfast

and then spent time crafting, playing games,

music, reading books together etc.

and tonight,

alex promises a lineup of festivities--

and in fact he just called

and i'm off to get dressed!

finally

and now,

if you'll recall with me,

nearly two years ago

we were having a new bed made.

and how, you may ask,

did that "long month" turn into two years?

(where does the time go?)

well let's just say. . .

we ended up choosing france that summer

over a new bed.

and since then, it's been a long road back.

first there was the move,

then there was the first hurdle

which was to purchase a new mattress

we desperately needed.

how long we slept on that old squeaky bed

which woke both of us,

every time somebody would turn over.

and then after finally getting a new mattress

we got rid of the bed--

preferring the floor

to that old squeaky thing.

though by that point, the end was in sight.

in december we finally pulled everything together again,

got the old drawings out--

picked the paint, the finish, the fabric. . .

and finally, finally!

she was delivered this week

and graces our bedroom.

girls night out

last night

was girls' night out:

mom, grandma and the girls

froze ourselves to the newly renovated

moscow conservatory

for works by

rimsky-korsakov, taneyev, and tchaikovsky.

we landed ourselves front row seats

and found ourselves right under

the cello section.

it made it all the more interesting

for the young viewers--

of which i really have to be proud of--

sometimes i'm amazed they sit through

two hours so well

(and won't leave when given the choice

during the intermission).

i love to answer their random questions

all through the concert--

to get a glimpse of what's going through their minds

during those two hours.

i myself was thoroughly fascinated

watching the conductor,

yuri simonov,

who was artistically masterful

and must be an actor during the day.

and my own little actress

kept us warm by having us play choo-choo train

all the way back to the car afterwards.

brrrrrr!!!

little swimmers

there's definitely something

about making your children

into something you are not--on purpose

(i.e. making sure they don't end up like you).

i guess i never really learned how to swim

because we didn't ever swim much

when i was a kid.

no pool in the backyard, no neighborhood pool--

so i was never into it.

my husband is a great swimmer.

and we put the girls in their first swim lessons

when they were two and four.

but now this year we've had them going

twice a week

and the progress is amazing.

in fact,

i was telling alex just the other day,

it's becoming scary for me.

i used to be able to sit and watch them

be scared or reserved--

sympathetic when they didn't want to put their heads in.

but now instead

i watch them play in the deep end of the pool

for as long as i will let them,

while i hold my own breath--

milla diving to the bottom for six rings at a time,

avi doing crazy jumps,

flat on her stomach, or onto somebody else--

she's not afraid.

i marvel at how they have adapted.

how easily they can do something i can't.

how brave they are.

how moldable, how teachable.

на вы!

one time when i experienced

-40 degrees

i took a picture of it.

and it was almost like you could see the air

completely frozen in place,

zinging and stinging every thing it touched.

back then

i wasn't even properly outfitted for such weather,

i wore what i had

(i was a humble missionary!)--

oh wait, i take that back,

i did have a fur hat.

i wish i had a picture to show you.

and now,

beyond my wildest imaginations

i live in almost as harsh a climate

as i did in those days.

after a mild holiday season

which hovered around freezing,

temps have dropped to zero and have stayed.

this year is the first year i've had a fur coat.

the second year i've had uggs.

hats are not fashion accessories but necessities--

nobody is without.

you take out your hand to make a 30-second phone call,

and you can't move it by the end of the conversation.

scarves are also not optional.

there are little clouds of steam

floating in front of everyone's nose

everywhere they go,

and your nose hairs freeze with every inhale.

i must admit,

it's during these short, dark and unrelenting days of winter

that i am forced to ask myself,

how did i end up here?

my husband has always told me,

с природой на вы!

desert country

oh yes,

the safety question.

let's just say, that i was prepared for much worse.

and in fact,

i see a whole lot more security around here

than i did there.

never once did we feel

even a little bit uneasy--

not even crossing the borders into the west bank

(where a wave of the passport

was all that was needed),

and not even in jericho at night.

security was a non-issue.

and so the last part of our trip

was spent traveling south from jerusalem,

which found us in desert terrain--

which offered some stunning views.

especially those from masada,

king herod's desert fortress

perched at the top of a mountain.

we also had a picnic

and took a little hike

at the ein gedi nature reserve

where the kids entertained themselves

by spotting ibex ("mom, i see an iback!")

and hyrax--

those little mammals you see in the tree.

and from there

it was finally on to the dead sea--

something that milla had been begging us

to move up in the itinerary from the day we arrived.

she wasn't even afraid of the mud.

we got there at the end of the day

when all the crowds had cleared out

and we had the whole beach to ourselves.

and while we didn't have a whole day to float around

(an incredible experience),

it had been worth the anticipation.

and after that we gradually made our way

back to tel aviv

and back home to moscow's zero degrees,

with fond memories in our pockets!

O Jerusalem

jerusalem.

what a place.

nowhere else in the world

can claim to even be similar.

one of the most memorable,

awe-inspiring, intense, and впечатляющее

places i've ever stepped foot into.

we stayed in the old city.

arrived at night

and saw the western wall from above

almost first thing,

which remained one of the most

captivating places during our whole stay there.

we got our own chance

to put our own little prayers in--

as tradition bade.

the church of the holy sepulchre,

and the church that stands

at the garden of gethsemane

which stands and looks over a spot

so holy

my camera felt a sacrilege

but i had to have my own image

to help me remember

the feeling that i felt there--

pondering what these very trees witnessed

2000 years ago.

a quick afternoon trip

to bethlehem

took us to the church of the nativity

where the kids lit their own candles

where we paid homage

to the place where the Holy One was born.

and also to the tomb

where perhaps the Savior was buried

to rise again.

unforgettable.

sacred.

perfectly indescribable. 

northern israel

in the north

we drove through haifa,

and saw the bala'i shrine

at dusk--

with it's amazing view over the city

and the ports.

then we spent a day in akko--

visiting the old city,

the citadel,

the turkish baths,

the mosque of jezzar pasha,

of course the old market,

and ended with dinner on the pier at sunset

and a little carriage ride

for the kiddies.

from there we drove east to the kinneret (galilee) area.

we stayed in a little bed and breakfast,

and from here visited all the sites.

we spent a day and a half in nazareth,

which gave us clouds and a bit of rain--

but allowed us to see

the church of the annunciation

as well as make a visit

to nazareth village--

the village designed to demonstrate

what life was like during the time of Christ.

it turned out to be one of the highlights

of the area.

we spent a little time in tiberias,

running around on the pier,

and sipping lemonade,

as we did in every restaurant

because those israelis really get the lemonade thing.

and of course "pitahummus"--

as the kids devoured anywhere they could.

at the mount of beatitudes,

we found the monastery closed.

and so we were relegated to stopping on the side of the road

and making our own way onto the mount,

in the peace and quiet of our own company.

and to be honest--

we, as i'm sure many do,

often found it much easier to feel the soul

of these holy places

when we were not thrust into the crowds and lines

and churches and shrines built on them,

but instead left to ourselves

to ponder,

as we did climbing here

and looking out onto the sea of galilee

as others once did

at the feet of the Savior.

the temple relics at capernaum

also lacked the crowds late in the day

and allowed us the peace

to be in a place He was 2000 years ago.

and from here

we headed south!

but that i'll have to save for another day.