We had the pleasure of going on a business trip to Whistler, BC. It was business in that an insurance company paid, but the trip was all about fun and relaxing We left LA just as a horrible heatwave hit. I only packed ‘winter’ clothes.
Those grey skies means green.
Or white, we were supposed to hike on a glacier, so we took the gondola up to the top of the mountain where we found a lot of snow.
The chairlifts are being swallowed by the clouds
We were given snow boots, but some people were comfortable in shorts.
I brought wool knitwear and have been wearing some of it every day, even when not standing in the snow.
To me this looks like winter.
After hiking the snow, I got very hot.. One gal was wearing a tank top.
Here is the glacier, we never set foot on it. You see the dark areas? While it rained on us, it dropped a lot of fresh powder on the mountain, those are avalanches. No way of knowing if they have more run in them. So we admired from afar.
Instead we hopped on the Peak to Peak tram which is quite the engineering marvel. Four towers hold these massive cables and up to 28 large cable cars. It connects Whistler mountain to Blackcomb and was finished before the 2010 Olympics.
The view. That ‘small’ hydroelectric plant supplies the power to both mountains, so the whole ski resort has its own power source.
I need sunshine and warmth but I understand why these kind of surroundings appeal to so many people
The quilt is home. My friends were amazed, never have received a hostess gift like this one! Here is it on their couch.
I immediately put it to good use.
It’s final destination is on their bed. They love it so much, I even got a phone call once I got home with another round of thanks. And this is why many of us create things by hand and give them to people we love. 
Sorry the image is fuzzy, I also delivered the wedding dress for their daughters wedding. JCrew for the win. It fits her perfectly! I must say they have great dresses at great prices. This little one in under $400 and is made out of a very good quality silk chiffon. We won’t be going back to this wedding in June, but I am so happy I did my little part.
Back to miscellaneous out in Jerusalem. This installation, decor, I don’t know what you’d call it is at the Cinema City center in Jerusalem. Just enjoying the creativity of it.
This pictures sums up Jerusalem today. This is the old street, Nachlat Sheevah. An old Courtyard nieghborhood in the center of town, today it houses high end creative shops, bars and a few restaurants. The colorful balloons are new to me, I’m guessing they light up at night. The crane is the most ubiquitous sight in the city these days, new construction is going on everywhere.
I snapped this picture from the bus, hence the Streetlamp post right in the middle. I don’t recall seeing this wonderful turret and this building used to be on my daily route. It also used to be part of Bikur Cholim Hospital which is no more. It is now part of another hospital. I think this whole section used to be enclosed and is now reopened and spruced up. Btw, my Armenian neighbor was born right here, she married and moved to Lebanon in 1967, the year my family moved to Israel. In the 1980’s when the troubles started in Lebanon, her family moved to California. Today we are neighbors in Studio City. What a world.
This Falafel stand has been here for 49 years, Falafel Maoz. It opened the same year I moved to Israel. I used to eat here as a child and today the parents who opened it have passed on. The brothers who run it today are my age and their children are also in the business. It is very good falafel, even if it weren’t the best, nostalgia demands I go there. Joel remembers it as well from his stays in the city. He also remembers Richies Pizza which opened next door in the late 1970’s but that is sadly no more.
Another piece of history. Emek Refaim is the main street of the neighborhood known as the German Colony. Last trip I shared pictures from the Christian cemetery that is right on that busy street. This time the gate to the German cemetery was open. I popped in and met a descendant of these Germans who had come from Australia to put a tombstone on her great great grandfathers tomb. If you are interested go to 
Many of the tombstones are new, put up by the descendants but they still use the old Germanic script that I have to concentrate on to read.
And then there is Jerusalem at night. Go read this article about the artist and his 
Some of the murals are of famous people, others are at the request of the stall owner. All of these are painted with permission and a lot of the paint has been donated. No one is getting paid for this project.
I wonder if this is a special request, a butcher, who sells mostly chicken (notice the image on the upper left corner). Here we see eagles and other birds becoming airplanes.
Then there is another kind of art, also on the metal doors of the shops. I saw a number done in this style, much more robotic or techno. They all had a play on words. In this case these are tomatoes, the saying is Tomato or not to be. In Hebrew tomato rhymes with the words To Be. So it’s a play on Shakespeare’s famous saying To Be or Not to Be.
Springtime is the most beautiful time in Jerusalem, everything is blooming. In another month the city will be hot, dusty and browner.
So I revel in the color wherever I see it.
Come on, who doesn’t love a bright pink hollyhock?
Or a beautiful painted wagon full of flowers?
Ten years ago there was one small miserable yarn store in the basement of a building, and Jerusalem doesn’t have many basements, so this was a rare place indeed. Basically sold very cheap yarn. But now, like the flowers there are a number of nice airy stores that sell yarn. There was nice cotton, good acrylic but no wool. In Jerusalem in the winter wool is a very good thing. Who knows maybe in a few more years they’ll have wool.
It is customary to buy some yarn on vacation, souvenir yarn is a wonderful way to remember a trip. I didn’t, I simply didn’t find any yarn that was worth buying. I have such great selection at my local LYS, 
I have to thank Chris Burden for 
One can’t talk about Jerusalem without mentioning the cats. A large population of stray cats is probably better than rats. They don’t carry as much disease and they do keep the rodent population down. Although this fellow just appears to be enjoying the good life.
This one is more up to the task, he looks leaner and meaner.
This one is just hunkering down for the night, hoping to just get through the night.
Not all cats are strays, this fellow enjoys the comfort of the Armenian tile store.
And of course there has to be a dog. What a collection of stuff around him, a Seder plate for Passover, a bag with Disney characters and a necklace that I wouldn’t mind owning myself.
According to the label these are based on old Jewish coins from the Roman period. Some were silver some were bronze. I like the idea of the QR code, but I haven’t used my code reader on my phone in so long, I’m not sure I even have it installed. Not to mention that without my knowledge data use must have used up all my Israeli phone number minutes. I didn’t make any calls and yet I ran out quickly.
One thing I noticed is that Israeli mosaics are made mostly from tile, unlike Italian mosaics that are often made of glass. Of course these are in the sidewalk so of course tile makes much more sense. The artist hand cut the circles, they are irregular which I find wonderful. Pity most people just walk over these without paying them any attention at all.
This one is probably the first to be installed. It is the simplest image, the label is mostly worn off from the foot traffic. The QR code on the other hand looks just fine. So why didn’t they use the same printing method on the label?
Unlike the debate about who to put on the $20 bill, these ancient coins do not have any human image on them. Of course had they been Roman, they would have had the head of the emperor. These are Jewish coins, no graven image means no image of a person. A tree, a cup, a date palm or palm frond are perfectly acceptable.
This store sign has been here for a very long time, good thing the beauty salon is still in business. For all I know it’s a different business than the original one that installed the mosaic. They never put the name, just a wonderful barbar pole with a pair of scissors.
This isn’t exactly a mosaic. Just a small section of Hamsas on the wall of an incredible restaurant, 
Handpainted Armenian tiles have been a fixture in Jerusalem forever. This is a very upscale store where one of the artists was sitting inside painting. The work here is really exquisite.
This piece isn’t for sale, it’s embedded in the exterior wall. It says: You are peace, your home is peace and all you own is peace. It’s not a saying I’m familiar with, I’m wondering if it is translated from Armenian.
Once again an unitentional selfie, along side that gorgeous tile.
There are now 12 plaques honoring the tribes Starting with Reuven who symbol on his standard was the mandrake flower. 
Simon, who’s symbol is the city of Shechm, Nablus.
Levi, with the jeweled breastplate, representing the tribes.
Judah, with the lion of Judea.
The scales of justice. 
Natalie, the deer 
Gad, military camps.
Asher, the olive tree.
Issachar, sun and moon.
Zebulan, a boat on the sea.
Joseph, his symbol is the ram.
Benjamin, the wolf.
The river was running very high, we are standing on the levee in Algiers Point and I’m pretty sure those trees aren’t normally in the river. Since I haven’t heard of flooding, I’m hoping that by now the river has receded.
On our walk we came across an Art Deco movie theater from the 1940s. I think I have mentioned that Art Deco architecture is really an American phenomenon, both North America and South. So even in a city with a rich history of much older Architecture, Art Deco found a foot hold. Movie theaters in the 1930s and 1940s all over the country were built in this style.
Of course it hasn’t been a theater for years, but luckily was saved from demolition and today is the 
I love how they utilized the actual theater section for the ovens and the glory holes.
And kept a few theater seats for visitors to sit on and watch the action. I could have watched for hours, Joel, not so much.
To me there is something fascinating about taking sand, silica, fire and gravity and creating one of a kind glass pieces.
This woman was busy making ornaments. The man was making bases for wine goblets.
Back in the front, what used to be the lobby and today is the shop, there are beautiful terrazzo floors. Another Art Deco building element. 
Of course I love the bright colors of hand blown glass.
Especially when it interacts with light.
I did buy myself a memento, a 
I’m not a fan of the Arizona dessert. It also was very cold, mid 50s. I brought my winter gear and was fine, but it certainly didn’t feel like an escape.
Water fountains take on a much bigger significance in the dessert.
The flora doesn’t excite me, although nice barrel cactii are fun. Looks like a few more weeks and these guys will bloom.
The one cactus that is really unique to this area is the mighty Saguaro. Though sometimes they do need help to stay upright. The one on the right has an interesting anomaly.
This crested fan is due to fascination. Look it up on Wikipedia. It is some form of disease that doesn’t harm the plant but results in the unique shape.
I went with a friend to the adorable town of Carefree. A small town built in the 1950s. The developers clearly had a good sense of humor.
Whats not to love about Ho Hum Road?
The antique shops are fun, my friend inherited this exact Singer sewing machine from her grandmother, although it sounds like hers is in better shape.
They don’t make them like this anymore. I love that these machines were not only functional tools, but made to be as beautiful as possible. 
Any current textile designers out there? Please knock off this cute print! Looks like a 1950s design to me.
The cat isn’t for sale, I just love his attitude!
A nice touch, making the relatively new buildings look old.
Of course I’m drawn to tiles – as kitchy as they may be.
Cactii, rusted metal art and Marilyn – as good as it gets.
We literally stumbled upon an adorable tea shop. 
I love the creativity of using the chipped and broken tea pots and tea cups. This was a delightful way to finish out an lovely day.
Who doesn’t like a friendly cat?
How about a menacing one?
A duck decoy works well on the fountain.
Don’t know how to describe this bird, is he always on the porch? does he sing and dance?
Only in NOLA can you have a gargoyle on your railing and it appears to be a natural part of the decor.
A fish out of water. In front the the Aquarium of course, I like how it stands out in front of the hotels as well
Staying in the same color family, an old sign on an old gas station. It was turned into a pizza joint and today is abandoned.
What to do with the old claw foot tub? Put it out on the side walk of course. This uneven sidewalk is very common.
Which is why people have signs like this.
At least the city isn’t responsible for the fence, that is on private property. Looks to me like the tree is trying to eat the rosebuds/skulls.
I come from a city that has a lot of public stairs so this intrigues me. NOLA is flat, very very flat, in order to prevent flooding they built levees. this one surrounds Algiers Point and is only 11 steps, but it qualifies as a public staircase.
I was quite surprised to see the bust of Abraham Lincoln looking out at me from a shop window on Royal St. There he his, there is even a sign in the window saying pictures are fine but please don’t touch. The wonders here never stop.