Wow!

Occasionally, I see something that just makes me say "WOW!" This is one of those things.


Solar towers in Spain, providing electricity to the city of Seville. Each tower is surrounded by hundreds of mirrors called heliostats. They reflect the sun's light up to a point on the tower. This heats water which runs a turbine.


The heliostats are controlled by computer, so that they adjust the mirrors to catch the sun's rays as the angle changes.


The Spanish government dedicated a large amount of funding to create this solar power system.


When I first saw a picture of this, I thought it looked like science fiction. I guess I'm fascinated by things that look "larger than life". Not only that, but I think it makes great sense to harness natural energy rather than use up all the non-renewable fuel in the world.

More of "Our Gang"

Not much happening here, so I keep busy taking pictures of cats. The semi-feral cats that live outside are more willing to pose for me than our indoor pets, so here are some more photos of our "gang". These are some of the regulars, hanging out on the bench. From left to right: Mama-Mama, Spot, Little Black Kitty.


Spot, up close and personal:


Mama-Mama, up close and personal:


Little Black Kitty, up close and personal:


Little Sister, on one of the chairs:


Sometimes Mama-Mama likes to sit on the roof of the igloo:

Mid-Winter Quiet

Not much is happening around here... not much to write about. We had a nice Valentine's Day. Went out to dinner Saturday with my sister and brother-in-law at our new favorite place... Otto's in Covington, KY:


My iphone died again... third time in the last two months! This causes me non-stop frustration. I hear from everyone I know how much they LOVE their iphone, but I have to wonder. There are numerous sites on the web, explaining how to restore a frozen iphone, so there must be plenty of others having problems!


So now I have an appointment tomorrow to go to the Genius Bar at the Apple store. I don't know if they can help; they replaced all the software about a month ago and it still conked out! I haven't decided what to do: maybe I should get a whole different kind of phone. I loved the iphone when it worked, but it's not very reliable if you ask me!

Happy Valentines Day, My Friends

Putting Things Into Perspective

I have been having a difficult time with getting older. Through my 40s and 50s I was always aware that I was aging, but now I feel like I am truly getting old. In July I will reach an important milestone that makes me truly a "senior citizen".

I feel exactly like this:


It's so true! What happened to the old me? Where did she go? I look at photos of myself when I was younger and wonder why I don't look like that person anymore.

It's so much easier to gain weight now, and so much more difficult to lose it;
My chin is getting soft, and my neck is getting crepey;
My hair used to be flirty and flippy, now it's thinning and lifeless;
I used to work all day in four-inch heels. Now my shoes are chosen to for comfort, so I can walk with my arthritic toe.

Well, now I have had an
EPIPHANY!


(that's the epiphany happening)

and this is my new role model!


Just embrace my age and have fun! Don't worry about how I used to look... make the best of how I look now!

And always remember this:

I Wish I Hadn't Looked

We are planning to get away to a warm, beachy place. A welcome break from cold, snowy winter, right? Of course it is, but when you are going to a beach you have to wear a swimsuit. So, yesterday I tried one on and looked in the mirror. This was my reaction:


This this will work?

Things I Discovered in Israel

In Eilat:


Eilat (tiny red dot at the bottom of the map) is a beach resort on the Red Sea, at the southernmost tip of Israel, very close to both Egypt and Jordan. To arrive there, you travel all the way through the Negev desert and there it is... the sea! .


It's a beautiful place! And it's hot. We had an earthquake when we were there.



Another cool experience was flying north from Eilat to Tel Aviv. We checked in at this airport; it was a small plane and a short flight, so we flew very low all the way across the Negev desert. It was fascinating.





On the Golan Heights:


In one direction, you can see Syria:


In another direction, you can see the Sea of Galilee:


You can go skiiing on Mount Hermon:


And visit the Golan Heights Winery (very popular wine for Passover):




In Jerusalem:


The Dome of the Rock actually has a big rock inside. It is said to be the very rock to which Abraham took Isaac to be sacrificed.


Ben Yehuda Street is a party at night:






In Tel Aviv:


The beach scene:


For a country as tiny as it is, Israel is amazingly diverse... snow, desert, agriculture, nightlife, history, new culture, ancient culture. Many beautiful places, and fascinating.