Celebrating My 50th Birthday in the Middle of a Pandemic

So, whilst we have all be sheltering at home and keeping a low profile, I celebrated a big birthday. This week I turned 50! Believe me, this was not the 50th birthday I had planned. For the last few years I had been telling Mister Handmade in Israel that I wanted to visit Prague as a birthday treat. Everyone tells me that I will love it there. I would have liked to celebrate with friends and perhaps danced the night away (I love dancing!). But it wasn't to be. My 50th birthday fell right in the middle of a worldwide pandemic but Mister Handmade in Israel made it as special as it could be and I had a lovely day!
I was treated to this amazing cake made by the very talented Ella Bakes and received a beautiful balloon decoration made by Designed by Ruti. Breakfast was brought in from a local cafe that is still closed but does deliveries. Dinner was the same. I received a wonderful book filled with greetings from family and friends the world over, a voucher to treat myself to something from Etsy and another for Israeli breakfast when things open up again.
I'm a lucky girl!

As a family we have very much stuck to the rules and have stayed at home except for the necessary food shopping. But things are beginning to slowly open up again here in Israel as the numbers improve. Last week I heard that the national parks were opening again and that a limited number of people would be allowed in each day, as long as you pre-book. I knew that I wasn't going to Prague or dancing on my birthday, but thought that a day trip to Ein Gedi, an oasis and a nature reserve located west of the Dead Sea, might be nice. Then a heatwave hit and there was no way we could go there either! In the end Mister Handmade in Israel indulged me and we went out in the horrible heat to Castel National Park to see flowers and explore.

The Castel fortress is located at the entrance to Jerusalem, overlooking the main road into the city. We were last there back in 2012. The Castel hill is the highest point in the surrounding area and is an interesting place to explore and admire the beautiful landscapes.
The Romans first established their Castellum or fort and following them the Crusaders settled here. Later when the Arab village Al-Qastal was established here, the mukhtar's home took pride of place on the hilltop fortress ruins.
Castel's most significant historical events occurred in April 1948 during Israel's War of Independence. Jerusalem was under siege and running out of food and water supplies, so armed trucks made the treacherous drive along Highway 1 where they were prime targets for the enemy in Al-Qastal. To solve this problem Operation Nachshon was launched by the Palmach who entered the Arab village. Fierce battles that claimed many lives took place there as Arabs and Jews fought for control of the site, but ultimately the Palmach took the hill for the final time and soon a convoy of vehicles packed with supplies ascended safely to Jerusalem. Castel National Park is now a memorial site to the lives lost in this pivotal battle.

Mister Handmade in Israel and I explored the underground bunkers and communication trenches at the site. These were prepared in the early sixties by the Israeli army as a preventive measure, for until the Six-Day War in 1967 the Jordanian border was only a few kilometres away. We climbed up to the ruins of the Crusader fortress. Several walls, arched windows and doorways of the mukhtar's home remain. The ruins are now a spectacular lookout point and memorial site where the names of the fallen in the battles over the Castel are carved on a rock.

From the mukhtar's house, a scenic trail descends through lush, uncultivated vegetation back to the car park. A nice variety of shrubs and bushes such as Spiny Broom, Shrubby Jerusalem Sage and Sage-leaved Rock Rose can be seen in the area. I spotted Syrian Cornflower-thistle and Red Everlasting. In winter and spring, anemones and cyclamen flower here, though they were long gone by the time of our visit.

Then it was back home for a quick shower (did I mention how hot it was?) before a Zoom call with family and a delicious sushi supper. Mister Handmade in Israel was quite exhausted by this point! He had worked hard to make my 50th birthday special and I truly had had a wonderful day!

* This post has been shared on Little Things Thursday, My Corner of the World, Thinking Out Loud Thursday, Nature Notes, All Seasons, Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Our World Tuesday, Pictorial Tuesday, Sharon's Souvenirs, Tuesday's Treasures and Travel Tuesday.

18+18+21

These two young ladies both celebrated their 18th birthday on the same date, albeit on different sides of the world! Both of their Mums asked me to create a special birthday card for their big day. For the first card, Ella's, her Mum told me that their dogs Benjie and Rolo are at the are top of her list of interests and simply had to feature on the card. Her other interests include cake baking and decorating (I have seen some of her cakes and they are fab!), the English Premier League football club West Ham United, Facebook, and frogs. Ella is also passionate about the IDF (Israel Defence Forces), so I added their emblem to the card too, along with a big red number 18.

"Ella was thrilled with her card." Mum told me. "Her eyes nearly popped out of her head when she  saw her[self] with Benjie and Rolo."

Tali is very interested in Buddhism, so a little Golden Buddha was added to her card. She loves Brandy Melville and Top Shop clothing, and wears lots of jewellery, especially necklaces and rings. She enjoys photography and filmmaking, has a blue Fiat car, loves sushi, oh and the family has a tabby cat too.
I added a big gold 18 to her card, which showed wavy-haired Tali wearing lots of jewellery, surrounded by all of her favourite things in life. Her Mum wrote on my Facebook page that Tali loved her card.

Finally, Galia was turning 21. Her Mum requested a card with a huge 21 in the middle. She also wanted it to be birthday themed, so a big cake, balloons, and a wine glass fitted the bill.

Benjamin and Gilad

Look at this photo! Isn't it great? It makes me so happy to see this little boy holding up his birthday card, obviously so happy to have received it. I want to see lots more photos of people receiving their Handmade in Israel birthday cards please!

Benjamin turned 3 in October. His Mum told me that he likes wearing a grey cap, and that his favourite things include his cuddly Winnie the Pooh, which is almost the same size as him, and that he's really good at puzzles. 

Gilad is slightly younger. He recently marked his first birthday and my customer, who requested this card last year, decided that he should have one of my cards every year. Although he is only little, his Mum says that he already has his favourite things. He loves playing with balls, and of course has a much loved blankie and dummy. He may well become a bookworm too. Apparently he loves listening to Dr. Seuss' Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?

80, 90, 100!

Birthday cards are most certainly not just for the youngsters.

First I was asked for a card for an 80th birthday.

Then a customer had a friend who was turning 90... and another who was soon to reach 100!

I've only made a few of these very special cards before.

I hope Shirley received her congratulatory message from The Queen.

A Birthday Surprise

Remember my first real attempt at papercutting? Well, I went straight from that to this! Talk about taking the bull by the horns!

Mister Handmade in Israel is very supportive of the work that I do. I'm really not complaining. However, he often tells me that I should work on some "real art", alongside the cards and albums that I create for other people. Well, that is a discussion for another time, but his comments lead me to finding the perfect present for his recent special birthday. A piece of art handmade by me!

To be honest, other than my arm aching for a day or two after cutting this piece - I think I need to work with some lighter weight paper - this may look complicated but it actually came together relatively easily. I knew that I wanted to mark his special birthday on the piece and also that some of his favourite things should be included there too. A little time spent checking out some talented papercutters blogs helped me decided how to put the piece together, of course being careful to keep to my very own style. I hope you can see a little "Handmade in Israel" in there. It does rather make a change from my usual line of work.

Mister Handmade in Israel's name and birth date feature prominently on the piece, along with the names of the rest of our family. I also added the Arsenal cannon, top right, taken from his favourite team's club crest. Priorities, priorities! A football was placed there too, along with the flag of England. Do you get the impression that he quite likes football? Finally, I added a Magen David, or Star of David, to represent his faith and the role that the Jewish religion plays in our lives. On top of the star perches a little bird. Just because.

Let's Hear It for the Boys

Yonatan celebrated his 10th birthday last month. His Mum told me that he is into anything computerised and asked me to include some of the big computer company names and their logos on his card. She was, however, a little bit afraid that the birthday boy would think that he was getting an iPhone or laptop of his own for his birthday but in the end I don't think that there was any great confusion! I suggested adding some balloons and cake to the card to give it a birthday theme, and made to sure to match his cool hairstyle from the photo supplied by the young man himself.

Jack was turning 14. His Auntie requested a card showing a football goalkeeper wearing a dark blue kit and white boots. I put the young man in front of the football net, preventing the opposing team from scoring a goal. I hope he managed it!

Finally, birthday cards are not just for 14 year old football fans or 10 year old computer whizzes. This 'young man' was turning 80 and his daughter felt that he should have a special card on the day too. He likes doing crosswords, drinking red wine and watching rugby, and can often be seen out and about wearing his Panama hat. It all went on the card. I hope he had a wonderful day.

Counting Down

I don't make many of these! Well actually, to be more accurate, I've never made one of these before. What an age! I have made a few 100 cards over time, and I made a 101 card for "Auntie Rae" last year. I was delighted when her niece called to ask me for a card with the numbers 102 on it. Ad meah viesrim (until 120).

This customer asked me for "something pretty" for Mum and Grandma. Balloons, cake and flowers always fit the bill. Grandma was 70, not 3, but I couldn't quite fit 70 candles on one slice of cake.

This 50th birthday card was for a special sister who seems to be very sporty. She competes in triathlon events in the US, so her sister asked me to illustrate the three typical components of triathlon: swimming, cycling, and running. The birthday girl can be seen swimming at the top of the card. Her training shoes are below, and a delicately cut bike is on the left of the card. 'becca also loves cats, so I popped a couple of her feline friends in there too. I'm exhausted simply by the thought of the triathlon!