happy passover

Every year at my grandparents' house for Seder I sculpt the chopped liver into a Passover-themed display. In the past I've done a sphynx, King Tut, a pyramid, baby Moses in a basket, the tablets with ten commandments, and a few others. It's getting harder and harder each year to come up with a cool idea. This year's chopped liver was the Torah.
And while I was on my computer I figured I'd pull out a picture of last year's tree of life. My cousin Sam started apprenticing with me last year, and my uncle Jeff carved us a bird for the branches, so it was a bit more of a team effort.
Happy Passover!

parque del retiro, madrid

as great as the art museums are in madrid, it's never been one of my favorite cities. it's always felt just a bit too big, loud, and dirty, but today i discovered el parque del retiro, which has softened my heart towards the city. it's huge, unlike most other city parks, with a pond where you can rent boats, a duck pond, a rose garden, a little library stand, cafes, a botanical garden, exercise areas, playgrounds, and plenty of green!

one of my favorite areas was the duckpond with weeping willows that reminded me of being back home, and these quaint little bridges.


lots of beautiful shady green areas

and it finally felt like spring, with the trees in bloom and flowers all around

the few early roses in the rose garden


i'm not entirely sure what this is, but it's cool looking.


here's where you could rent boats. i was tempted, but there was so much else to do and see in the park!

salamanca

i went back to salamanca this weekend for the first time in the two and a half years since i studied there. it was neat to see it again, especially after having seen much more of spain. it's kind of an interesting mix of opposites, dominated by the large historical university, and the religious focus there (two cathedrals, and at least one monastery and convent), with lots of young people and lots of old, but not much in between.

the plaza mayor is one of the best (if not THE best) in spain:and it's even nicer by night!
just another cathedral in spain...
and one more church

boston -- a tourist in my own city

with the excuse of bringing a fellow childrens book lover on a tour around boston, i got to make a trip to see the make way for ducklings statue that i haven't seen in years (and read the book again).
i also got to take a closer look at some of the beautiful old graves in the historical parts of the city, from almost 400 years ago. the first thing i said when i saw how intricate the designs were was, "i should come here and do grave rubbings." but apparently someone else already had that idea before, and it is forbidden to keep them from wearing down faster. oh well.

mt monadnock

the view from mt monadnock in nh.
the blue sky was nice, but can we have some leaves on the trees please?
the little bit of snow left on the ground had a layer of lacy ice on the top of it

but there was enough snow to make a snowman!

my friend cindy hiking back down, not too frozen...