Monday, February 16, 2015

Snow. What else?

Today Annabelle and I arrived at the train station at 9 for our 9:19 train to NYC. The board said DELAYED. And DELAYED it was. We boarded at 1:30! And arrived at apartment at 6, exhausted. I told her we could have gone to Rome in all that time, to which she replied, "I'd rather be in Rome!" That makes two of us. Snow over the weekend. More snow expected today. And again Saturday. We have something like five feet at home, and now below zero temperatures. But as I reminded myself the other day, it's winter. 

Thankfully I am so deep into writing my novel that all I want to do is stay inside and write anyway. On the home stretch. I can feel it. I love the rush of the ending, seeing it so close, racing toward it. One of my favorite parts of writing novels is when it finally comes together, the pieces falling into place. 

And a weekend of cooking (pasta Amatracini, braised short ribs, pineapple chicken stir fry; toad in a hole, waffles, corn muffins), writing, and knitting is my favorite kind of weekend. 

Look what I finished:

Now on to finishing Annabelle's blanket! And, that novel. 

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Jerusalem Book Fair

If you happen to be in Jerusalem, or no anyone here, come to my talk today (Wednesday) at 11:30 at Cinematheque!

The Book Fair has been wonderful. It's held in the old train station and an adjacent tent. I loved hearing yesterday about someone's grandfather taking the train from Jerusalem to Egypt back in the 1930s. 

Honestly, you can't walk a foot here without stumbling over history. It's magical, and humbling. 

Tomorrow I head home, having hardly scratched the surface of this amazing city and glimpsed only a tiny bit of the country. 

But highlights include yesterday's trip to Bethlehem, which is behind the separation wall. Seeing the manger--touching it--had a spiritual effect on me. 

The Garden of Gethsemene, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Western Wall, Masada, floating in the Dead Sea, Sea of Galilee...

And the hummus!