My Parrot

Having a 2 year old who likes to parrot you, really helps magnify your strengths and weaknesses. I always new my potty mouth was destined to bite me in the bum with her...Maya now says "oh shit" in context all of the time...when she falls, when she spills something, when I spill something....and on it goes. We are now BOTH reprogramming to say "no big deal" instead! Someone once told me it does not matter if your children listen to what you say, the important thing is that they are watching everything that you do. In this case, Maya is doing both!

Tahina Cookies

Maya and Safta made Tahina cookies this week. They are easy AND delicious. Here is the recipe:



1c tahina
1c oil or margarine
1c sugar
1c dried shredded coconut
2- 2 1/2 c flour
2 packets vanilla sugar (but I bet you could use vanilla instead...I'll have to experiment for quantity)
1/2 c raw almonds

Pre-heat oven to 175 F. Thoroughly mix all ingredients but almonds. Start with 2 c flour, but add more as needed to get the appropriate dough consistency. The texture should not be sticky and should be slightly crumbly, but not fall apart when forming. Form into small, round balls, and place slightly flattened onto baking sheets lined with parchment. Each ball should use slightly less than 1 soup spoon of dough. Place one almond on the top of each cookie and put into oven for 10-20 minutes, until smelling delicious and very lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool before storing in container, these will keep at least a week or 2....if you let them last this long.

This slightly savory cookie is GREAT with coffee or a sweet cup of mint tea.

Spoiling or Negligent...maybe both?

So according to most people we seem to talk to Haim and I are both spoiling Maya and negligent towards her at the same time! Clearly we’re spoiling her by meeting all of her needs…we let her sleep when she’s tired, wake up when she’s rested, eat when she’s hungry, skip a meal when she’s not…she’s still nursing and we held her A LOT when she was an infant….oh the horror! To make matters worse, when we’re not spoiling her in the above mentioned fashions, we’re negligently letting her learn how to feed herself with a sharp fork, climb to the top of a jungle gym, or play with other children without directing the play…how is this child to survive with us as parents? Add all of this to the fact that our 2 year old will only be left with select people (the people that she selects that is) and you clearly have a recipe for disaster! This toddler, who, as typical of this age cannot wipe her own bottom yet, will NEVER learn independence if we do not ensure that we leave her with whom ever, when ever, regardless of whether she is comfortable in the situation.

Has anyone REALLY ever heard of an independent 2 year old ??? Or a child ruined by knowing that her parents love her enough to at least try and meet all of her needs???

Big fuss, little member...

Last week we joyously welcomed a new member to the family. Omer Mayan was born last Wednesday morning to happy (and a fairly overwhelmed) parents Heftzi and Erad. Born barely weighing 5 pounds, he was a tiny little bird…you always forget how delicate a new born is until you see them! The hospital was a predictable cluster f*&k in the way that hospitals tend to be…his billyrubin levels were slightly elevated, so rather than treat him with light therapy or the ever so easy sunlight they simply “monitored” it for 3 days…taking blood and urine 2-3 times daily and watching the levels slowly rise…when his levels were then at a point of concern, they decided to treat him…They sent his mom home from the hospital, and kept him for 24 hours of treatment…once treatment began he was fine….wouldn’t a bit of sunlight been a little easier?

Finally home with his parents, it was time for the real fun to begin….the Brit Milah. That joyous time in every Jewish baby boy’s life when ritual circumcision and family chaos are the name of the game….who will be the god father….why him, why not me….where to have it, when, what to wear, who holds the baby, ect, ect….After several days of strife leading up to the event, the event managed to take place calmly and nicely…with a really good mohel, who kept little Omer relaxed and calm. None the less, please god…only girls for me!

3 Continents in 4 Days

Last week we scuttled our plans for a ferry to Italy in favor of returning from Morocco via Spain, leaving our car in Cambrils, and heading to Israel by plane. Thus, we spent several pleasurable days in Casablanca tying up loose ends, and then drove to Tanger for our ferry. Leaving Morocco was a bit intense for Haim, we mis-read and accidentally overstayed his visa, so there was a bit of "drama" at the border...in the end however they left the visit to the courts as an idle threat, and settled instead for a signed document stating that the over-stay was a mistake not to be repeated. Haim was quite relieved to be back on Spanish soil.

After driving about 1000 km in 24 hours, we arrived to Cambrils where we quickly regrouped for a flight to Israel. Our new nephew was born on Wednesday morning and we arrived to Israel early on Friday. Our arrival was a joyous surprise to most everyone....we especially liked ringing Ayala's (Haim's sister) doorbell and leaving Maya out front! We have been "camping" at Haim'saccommodations tomorrow.

Maya has really enjoyed visiting all of her cousins, running around with the older ones, and watching the new baby nurse...which she is totally fascinated by...she's seen lots of kids her age nurse, but never a small baby.

Not sure what our plans are after the next week or 2, but for now we are really enjoying some family time, and some well needed rest! parents for a couple of days, but will move to more private

Breakfast in Bed

Today Haim snuck out of bed at 7am to bring me piping hot Sfinge and mint tea. What a delicious surprise to wake up to!

Monkey Fight!

Yesterday we went to visit the Barbary Apes (really monkeys, but they're called "Barbary Apes....go figure) again, at Maya's request. She brought it up when we were about 3 hours drive from them, but we had plenty of day left and it was in the general direction so we figured why not! We headed to the general area, driving the small road which remained covered with about 12 inches of undriven snow. Reaching the monkey habitat, we decided to turn the car around before enjoying the monkeys and the sunset.After about 10 nerve racking minutes, with the monkeys probably laughing at us all the while, we succeed in unsticking the car from the roadside, and were ready to enjoy our outing!

We had brought tangerines and green peas to share with our animal friends....I know this is a big no-no in terms of ecology, not allowing animals to become to close to humans, ect...but it was snowing, I felt bad for the monkeys, and even if we did not share our for, the 100 people who came after us would....
in any case, we were tossing tangerine bits, much to Maya's delight (she remained in the car) and one particularly aggressive Alpha male came at me, so I growled at him to try to shoo him away...after several exchanges I was feeling VERY threatened and called to Haim, who happily pointed out that the monkey probably thought I was picking a fight...I ran away and he won! Thankfully none of this is on video...it would probably be very enjoyable for Haim to show, and embarrassing for me to see....although I am pretty sure that he does have some short videos of me grunting at the monkeys!

We said goodbye to the monkeys, and made out way down the mountain as the sun was setting. On the side of the road a man was offering horse rides, which Maya displayed an interest in, so we took a short ride through the valley, while Haim stayed back in the car and Skype'd a friend.

With frozen hands and feet, it was time to find a place to sleep for the night; we settled in a sparse room with a wood burning stove. Very simple, but great for our needs, and passed a very enjoyable night feeding the fire and making tea (on top of the stove). The evening did have some excitement when I went outside to wash my hands in the snow and returned to realize that my rings were missing (...which it took a couple of minutes to notice, as I could not feel my hands for a bit). Haim and I rushed outside, and after a couple of minutes of searching (a thankfully small area) I found my engagement ring, and then Haim spotted my wedding band. A bit TOO much excitement in my opinion, but luckily the rings were found!

Today we woke up and re-evaluated our planned trip to Israel via Italy...Haim was feeling that maybe given the current political situation, and some developments with his business, that shipping the car to Israel is not a good idea. Thus, it is better to leave it in Spain with Zvuloun and Estelle. We are now heading to Casablanca, to try and cancel our ferry ticket...which, strangely, can only be done where it was purchased, and not in Tanger, and then we will head to Tanger to head back through Spain. We are hoping to be in Israel by the end of next week!

New Record!

The Mayan Family has set a new "personal best"...we were out of the hotel and on the road, after a hot breakfast, by 9:30am. This is quite remarkable for us as we usually do not even get out of bed until then....and we weren't even trying to leave particularly early; it just so happened that all 3 of us (Maya in particular) happened to be up around 7:30 this morning. This is a day for the record books!

The Desert

This evening we returned from several days and nights in the desert. We all had a wonderful time and really felt at ease, though each for their own reason. Maya loved watching the camels and playing in the dunes, I really enjoyed knowing that she could play without much supervision and at very little risk...good for her and me...and Haim is just a desert boy at heart, and feels very at ease in the environs.

We left Zagora, on our first morning of the adventure, heading for a piste that would take us through the mountainous early desert and towards the dunes of Erg Chebi near Merzouga. We knew that it would be a long day of driving, and in the desolate area our car would be the best sleeping option available if we failed to reach our destination, so we set out early (for us...9am).

Driving through, we were more than surprised by how populated the area really was. There was not much in the way of settlements, but whenever we stopped the car for a beak, children would come running from the mountains or flat pains...clearly, there were well disguised nomadic families in the area. About hours into the morning we car across a well marked Berber tent, advertising tea, which we happily stopped for, more for the novelty than the thirst...but it was a nice break, and a good reassurance of the correct direction given the unmarked piste we were driving. Several hours later, we had most certainly lost our way (though luckily we didn't know it, so we were blissfully traveling along and enjoying the scenery) when we stopped to photograph a camel herd and its young herder. As we were ready to depart another SUV drove up behind us; we delayed our departure in order to confirm our direction....and learned that we were only several kilometers from the Algerian border....a "closed" border and a problem if crossed. The Moroccan driver, guide to 2 vacationing German families, offered us to follow them for a lunch stop and then on to an evening stop...in the correct direction....where we could choose to spend the night, or press on towards our destination. We happily accepted the offer after a delicious lunch and several exciting hours of driving we pulled into a wonderful desert auberge at dusk. That night we enjoyed the best mattresses and pillows of our entire stay in Morocco!

Needless to say it was an auspicious beginning to several wonderful days spent with these 2 families. One of the pleasures of travel is the people whom you meet along the way, and that certainly holds true in this situation. Maya was as taken with the children as we were with the adults and all passed the time very enjoyably. We spent the first night with them in the Kasbah Ouzina, and then continued on for another 2 days and nights of adventures together.

Our second morning was spent visiting some musicians performing music typical of the region, and then after a short drive, we reached Erg Chebi. Arriving at Auberge du Sud we were immediately settled in to a table on the sand and welcomed by one of the ever present hosts with a pot of tea. This auberge has the art of hosting down to a science. Never pushy or intrusive, there is always someone there to make you comfortable, offer some company or an observation, and make sure that you are enjoying your stay (particularly if you are an unaccompanied female....all of the hosts are VERY good looking)...Everyone around constantly doted over Maya, offered her visits to camels, and tried to ply her favor with candies. She had a particularly wonderful time!

After a relaxing afternoon at the auberge, and a sunset hike with Haim, Maya, and Leon (one of our German travel buddies) we had a delicious dinner by a roaring fire and had an early night, though the other guests enjoyed drums and music. The next morning Haim and I ventured to town for gas and some other supplies, before heading back for a sunset camel ride into the dunes, where we spent the night in tents (though quite civilized with a shared hot water shower and flush toilet). The ride started off quite exciting, with several panic attacks and subsequent dismounts, and then finally a camel bucking! Gurt, however, bravely remounted and as dusk descended over the dunes we enjoyed a quiet ride into the camp.

This morning was quiet early for us, an exited Maya awakening at 7am to ask if the camels were still sleeping...we took her for a camel visit, had a quick breakfast, and rode (with Maya nursing on camel back)to the auberge where we said our goodbyes to the Germans, enjoyed a shower, reorganized the car, and enjoyed some final tea, hospitality, and recommendations from the staff, which brings us to tonight, comfortably settled in our hotel on the edge of the Tinghir palmary near Todra Gorge. After an early evening and a delicious dinner prepared be the hotel, we are looking forward to a bit of exploring tomorrow before making our way back into the Atlas.

Into 2009 and the Sahara

After a wonderfully busy, chaotic and fun-filled last week in Marrakesh with Haim's parents, we were very ready for the relative calm of the mountains. After many false starts on the 31st, we finally celebrated Anael's first birthday with sandwiches, cake, and champagne in the hotel lobby before leaving around dusk for a short drive into the mountains of Imlil...a trail head for many mountain climbers, but simply a convenient point for us to enjoy a night. We drove mostly in the dark, but the drive took only about 2 hours, we went quite slow on the winding mountain roads, and rarely encountered another car...on the way we stopped several times for basic supplies....oranges and bananas, yogurt, ect...the basic stuff that keeps me from turning into a monster! We also stopped for what we though was some mint tea at a road side stall, but ended up with a delicious chai instead...lots of ginger, pepper, and of course sugar...quite a pleasant treat, though we have not found it since!

We arrived to Imlil in complete darkness, and quickly located a hotel and some yummy tagine. Around 10:30 we settled in for a movie in bed, and about a minute before midnight thought to look at the clock and wish each other and (sleeping) Maya a happy new year.

The sun broke beautifully over the mountains and 2009. When we awoke, the town was a bustle of activity, with people organizing mule trains and guides to head into the mountains. We met one older Spanish couple who were getting ready for a week long mule trek, heading into the mountains on mule and skiing into base camps each evening!

We've passed rather rapidly though towns on our way to Merzouga, doing easy drives with plenty of stops during the day, but not delaying very long in towns. Maya is really beginning to enjoy our stops and nature walks, always stopping to investigate an ant trail or find a ladybug...

We've now crossed through the mountains and down into the beginning of the desert oases...tonight we should arrive to the dunes. We are looking forward to our drive today and hopefully a camel trek in the next several days!