Simmons Family

The day started by saying good-byes to most of our group this morning.  The Nazarene Bus came to pick up those travelling at 11:00 AM and guess what?  The driver had Dan's camera.  Yeah!  I did not believe it would happen as Efrat (the lady in charge of the rooms) was unable to get ahold of the company yesterday.  :))  Dr. Schuler was kind enough to loan me 20 sheckles to tip the driver.  Don't worry Dr. Shuler the check is in the mail as soon as I get home. 

I made Daniel French Toast this morning after getting up around 9:30 AM....mmm.... I did a little packing and cleaning and then I joined Linda and Dr. Gimbal at the Sea.  Linda left and Dan joined us.  Then Dr. Gimbal had enough sun and it was just Daniel and I.  What a lovely float we had in the Sea for at least a half an hour.  One of those times that mom and son rarely get.  It was calm and peaceful and nice.

We got ourselves dried off and headed out for lunch at the dining hall...one last time.  I don't know if it was because there are less people to feed or because tonight is the Shabbat meal, but the lunch seemed skimpy.  We were really well fed the entire time we were working here???

After lunch, Dan and I began in earnest to get his stuff together.  Andy and Dan sure had a messy room :O  I am having trouble closing my suitcase, eventhough I sent a lot of extra stuff home with Carl.  I will have to go through it and see what can be left behind or tossed out...again. Linda is checking her bag, so maybe I'll sneek some stuff in hers.  There's no one here to use this stuff now.  We are all gone or going.

Linda scheduled a massage for 1:00 today and I am having one right after her.  I decided it might help me NOT feel like I need to kick the seat in front of me all the way to New Jersey.  I am sure the passenger in front of me will appreciate it :)).  So I will get a massage at about 2:30 and shower and just finish packing and wait for the taxi at 6:00 tonight.

Speaking of taxis, ours showed up at 6:00 AM this morning.  It was here at the same time as the bus.  There was some confusion about the time since Israelis call it 18:00.  Efrat got it straighteded out for us and they will be back. 

It has been very nice writing to you all every day.  I will miss telling you all of the owies, mishaps and adventures we have.  God's blessings to you and my prayer is for you to one day see and touch the Holy Land of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.  Peace be with you all.  Love, Tina and Dan

Today was our last day on Hippos.  Very little dirt moving happened, but we had to clean up the damage done by the tractor yesterday.  (When I say we, I mean the team, not Daniel or myself.  I think we were TOAST starting yesterday.)  I told Dr. Schuler I started feeling better around 11:00 yesterday and he said I was psycho, no not really...it might be psychological.  I'm pretty sure the ones that return year after year are psycho, but that wouldn't include me.

Anyway we swept and swept and swept some more.  We swept the rocks in the whole church so that the pictures would look nice.  Arny and Christine did surveying measurements (a lot of them).  Then we put up metal poles and wires to indicate that there would be a very big drop if someone wasn't paying attention.

Dr. Schuler called the bus earlier in the morning and had it come a half an hour early.  Even so, after the fruit break about 8 students hiked down Hippos to the Kubbitz.  They were just going in the main gate as we pulled in on the bus.  Two of the girls (Liz and Christine) broke into a run and actually beat the bus.

Even though the day was not as strenuous as previous days, it was tiring.  There was no "groove" and our schedule was upset.  One happy thing was, Liz was brushing down a wall in A- 99 I think and there was a oil lamp just sitting on a rock ledge.  I am thrilled she found something so great at the last moment (it was perfect in every way, no chips or cracks).  She also killed scorpion #8. 

The big tractor was moving lots of rock for Dr. Schuler this morning and throwing the rubble over the side into the abyss (between Hippos and the Golan Heights).  All of the younger kids were throwing boulders over the side and whatta know?  A SNAKE!  From what I heard, it was about 4 ft. long and red with black on it.  Viper?

I spent most of the afternoon packing and washing the Israeli soil from the stuff I did not want to throw away, like my new boots and gloves (we've got yard work to do!)  I am pretty much set and ready to go tomorrow night. 

Daniel on the other hand went across the way to one of the kubbitz apartments to speak with some girls that have been asking for him for the past few days.  Linda knew what they looked like and took him over.  They were here at the women's house last night at about 10:30 or later asking for Daniel.  Steph told them that Dan was asleep, because he had to get up at 4:00 AM.  They asked if he was here with his mom and if she was mean. ;)) 

Anyway, I gave him 35+ sheckles this afternoon and told him to be back at 6:00PM.  It was 3:00.  The young lady's name is Nadia and she is quite pretty.  Daniel took her to the cafe and bought her a soda (I think).  I have a feeling they will hang out tomorrow after Dan is packed.

At about 5:30 I went across the street to have dinner with the old-adults, Linda, Arny, Dr. Schuler, Nancy, Jim Applebaum, Darryl, and myself.   We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and came back just in time for 14 of us to ride on a chartered boat to the middle of the Sea of Galilee at sundown (some get sea-sick).  It was very nice.  We sang favorite hyms like Sanctuary, Amazing Grace, As a Deer Panteth, etc... It was very pleasant and a great view of Hippos.  You can really tell that it was the "city on a hill" in the Bible.

We came back and Dr. Schuler led devotions.  After that Dan and I went down to the water's edge and sat in chairs looking at the lights of Tiberas.  We said a prayer and finished our day.  We are looking forward to a peaceful and carefree day in the kubbitz tomorrow. 

Good night to all, Love Tina and Dan

Last night around 6:00 PM my tummy started hurting.  Maybe it was a shock to my system to eat at the restaurant across the street.  Steak and dessert all at once ):  I went looking for a few gifts at the Fish Restaurant and had to skip dinner (not that I expected to be hungry.  Some other theorys I have are the Midol I took to relieve the swelling in my ankles, Daniel's tummy sickness stuff from 2 weeks ago jumping over on me, or maybe there was dairy in the dessert (not eating Kosher all of a sudden). 

Today I slept until 10:30 AM.  Daniel stayed with me and asked if he would have to tend to me the same as I tended to him when he was sick.  No!  But you should have heard me whining like a baby last night.  It wasn't pretty.  I was sad, because I was going to get a look at the crypt and mosaic over in the Haifa area, but it is covered up now.  Eva was going to take me on a mini-tour.  

I met the bus when they came down at 12:25 to pick up all of the pottery buckets.  I said Dan and I would clean them and get them hung up to dry.  That way the others would get a break.  It did not turn out to be much of a break though, because there were only 2 buckets. 

I finished the 2 buckets in no time and still did not feel like eating.  Darn, it was Jewish Chinese, my favorite thing to eat in the dining hall.  Anyway I went back to the gift shop and finished picking up a few things.  I had to make it back in time for my massage at 3:00 :))  The massage was nice and I am feeling better now. 

I like it better when I have dig stuff to report.  :((  It looked like it was a long, long, hot, hot day out there when the "diggers" got off of the bus.  I heard something about the tractor getting a little off track and crushing a wall in an area no one was working.  Thank God for angels. 

Tomorrow will be the last bus ride up, the last hike up and down the hill, and maybe the last time we see Sussita / Hippos? 

It has been a wonderful journey.  If and when I return, it will be in much better shape.  Everything in Israel is uphill and "all of the steps in Jerusalem go up" as Linda Miller says.  I would suggest that everyone go as young as they can, because is a lot of physical work in sightseeing. 

Funny story...  Linda, Nancy, and I were at the Fish Restaurant and Nancy wanted a root beer float.  Linda asked for a half glass of ice cream and a soda.  The waitress gave her soda water.  Linda corrected herself and said "Coke".  Nancy asked the waitress for a root beer.  The waitress was going to give her beer with her ice cream.  She then said, "orange".  The waitress gave her orange juice.  We were laughing so hard by then, we finally got the word "Fanta" (orange soda) out and the waitress declined a taste of either one.  I'm sure she thinks Americans eat weird things.  In the end, Linda got her Coke float and Nancy got a Dreamcicle float although she wanted root beer. 

We are having an end of the season party at 7:00 tonight.  I am a bit hungry so I am going.  Daniel is already there.  We are hoping for something good to eat.  If not we have a back-up plan (sneaking across the street or going to the Fish Restaurant).  I will be helping clean up because I got extra rest today and I still feel guilty about staying back. 

God bless you all, Love, Tina and Dan  

Hi everyone!

This morning Nancy and I were sweeping and getting the mosaics ready for final photography.  She sprayed them down and then Dr. Schuler photographed them for reference.  We all got to see the beautiful colors in them before she and I covered them with a fine layer of sand.  This is to protect them from sticking to the felt-type material that comes next.  I heard on the way down the hill this afternoon, that the material is waiting for us in the Forum.  That's just down the decamanus and in the Haifa area.  After the felt comes dirt.  No one will know there is a mosaic under there and the mosaics will wait for Hippos / Sussita to become an official destination for visitors.  I feel very honored to have worked on them and to have even seen them at all.  Who knows when they will be uncovered again???

Speaking of the Haifa area, the whole forum is emptied out and that team looks like it will be done tomorrow.  We will finish digging in the last 2 open squares tomorrow and that's all the digging we will do for this year.  Before I forget, it was almost 100 degrees F today.  The bus driver told the Haifa team that he couldn't come and get us until 12:30 today.  So that gave us an extra 1/2 hour to work :O  Dr. Schuler was nice enough to give us a rest break at 10:00 (20 MIN.) 

Dan was working with Dr. Gimbal and Liz on a deep probe I think.  I helped with the mosaics and then went to a square with Chris and then Nancy.  They dug and I hauled buckets.  That Chris, he fills those buckets to the RIM.  I walk to the edge of the abyss and heave the dirt and rocks over.  I did that for about an hour to an hour and a half today and I am whipped.  I dug for about an hour, but kept running into tesserae.  We save those so every time I put the turreah to the ground, there were 5-6 little tesserae.  It really slowed the digging down. 

Dan got overheated at about 11:15, so Dr. Schuler put him on the basalt bench by mosaic #2 under the shade cloth.  He immediately went to sleep and was very difficult to wake up for the bus.  He didn't even think he could carry his back-pack. 

I skipped lunch today because I was so hot and tired I did not feel hungry.  I rested and put my legs up in the cool airconditioning of my room until 3:00.  Arnie and Linda came over and walked across the highway, just outside the kubbitz, to a restaurant.  I don't know what the restaurant is called, but it has a fantastic menu.  Daniel and I shared a filet minon kabob each and mashed potatoes.  It was about $33 US but it was worth it.  Then we each had a "designer" style dessert.  His was called a balero and mine was a blizzard.  Neither of us felt like eating at the dining hall for dinner tonight.

Dan missed pottery washing tonight.  He is fast asleep in my room on the extra bed.  He did make it to the Sea today, which is better than I did.  After digging up all of those tesserae, I had to scrub them too.  That's just not fair. 

After pottery washing today I skipped dinner and went over to the gift shop at the fish restaurant to buy some last minute things before we head home.  Shopping instead of dinner???  The tummy is still too full.

Dr. Schuler went over the schedule for the rest of the week after devotions.  Tomorrow we finish digging.  Thursday we get to clean and brush everything for final photos.  This has to be done without shade since that equipment will be returned to the Haifa team.  We return all of the large tools to a shipping container so the University of Haifa can send them back to their campus.  Then we organize all of the Concordia tools and equiptment and store them in a condemned building at the kubbitz in what was the shower stall. :()  Then we pack our personal stuff. 

A special treat on Thursday, just before sundown (Darryl's idea), is to charter a boat and go on a short cruise to the middle of the Sea of Galilee.  The "grown-ups" raised the money for that since most of the students are completely out of money.  I know that Daniel will really enjoy that part of the day. 

Please write and catch us up on what is going on in your lives.  I would like to know who is reading the Blog.  Write us at terryandtina12@aol.com

Stuff...

My sister De has won an award given by Maybelline cosmetics.  She is one of 10 women in the United States being honored in New York in September and will be featured in Self Magazine in the September issue.  She (as always) does not want to brag or gloat, but I am doing it for her.  She is being recognized for her tireless work in returning books to the children of the Mississippi Coast after Hurricane Katrina.  Way to go De!  Sorry, it's not something that you should keep quiet.  People will want to make sure to buy the magazine.  (She said,"Wait until it happens.")  "It is happening!", I told her :))  "I'm hitting the save / publish button...here goes, now everyone knows (snicker, snicker)."

Glenn went home yesterday.  He needs to get home so he can go on vacation. :)) (We missed him at the back of the line of hikers this morning)

Well 3:30 comes too quickly.  Love and kisses to all, T&D

Hi everyone!  I hear a lot of people at Faith Lutheran are reading the Blog :))  A couple of days ago when Jim Gimbal was bitten by the scorpion 3 times, I mentioned in passing that I had donated my bite cream to the first aid kit.  (He now Duct tapes the bottom of his pants every day.)  My bite is fine and has disappeared all together.  Like I said before, the Medical Center has all kinds of cream and it seems to be 12 sheckles ($4) every time.  Great deal everytime.  Anyway, remember I said they put it on his bites immediately???  That may have helped him out.

We just got great news!  We can turn in our laundry this Thursday, so we won't have to take home a whole suitcase of dirty clothes.  Yeah!  These clothes are really dirty.  They have a dry feel when you put them on because there is so much fine dirt in between the fibers.  In between the Haifa site and the Concordia site there is about 6-10 inches of the stuff and it is gray.  Linda Miller calls it moon dust.  As you step, it puffs up in the air about a foot each time you step down and our noses get clogged with it. 

I forgot to tell you yesterday, Daniel ran buckets for his crew emptying out the cistern near his original square and I ran buckets for Linda and Chris in D-3.  As the floor dropped lower and lower, I was almost lifting buckets of dirt and rock over my head onto the wall in order for them to be dumped (about 20% of the day).  The rest of the time I was taking those buckets and dumping them out into a wheelbarrow in the sun (30% of the day).  In the morning I was dabbling in the mosaic area with Nancy (about 20% of the day), and I volunteered to help set up breakfast (about 20% of the day including eating).  (French toast, YUM.)  I wonder where the last 10% of the day went??? :))

Today Dan continued to work up in his area and I worked with Linda and Chris again.  Jake stayed home after the nasty fall he took, putting ice on his sore spots.  He says he feels good enough to work tomorrow.  Just when we were slightly levelling out the floor and getting ready to move on, Chris found a curve in the floor.  It turned out to be a /tabloon/ not sure about the spelling.  It is a very large opening in the floor that was used to cook in.  It is a pit type structure (exactly circular) that is lined with clay and may or may not have a clay bottom.  The Haifa team has 2 and now Dr. Schuler is not left out!  He has one too!

Anyway, we worked on pulling out all of the dirt and "stuff" from inside.  It turned out to be about 2 meters deep, just as Dr. Schuler said it would be.  Just one tiny area turned out to be in bad shape.  After emptying it, it looks like you are standing in a gigantic clay pot.  It is about 4 ft. across.  (Sorry, no scientific, metric measurements;()  It was Chris' "lucky" day.  I was sifting most of the morning and he took over and gave me a break out of the sun and guess what?  The first bucket he sifted had a metal button in it :o  He had the magic trowl, magic broom, magic bucket, etc.... It just goes that way.  He even found a roof tile in the middle of the  /tabloon/.

There's interesting stuff going on in Daniel's area, but I have no idea what they are doing.  Glenn was sent in to uncover, discover, and generally do detail work in order to find out what type of building they have found that runs along the outside of the church behind the curved apse in the front of the church.  It is his last day here today.  He leaves around 9:00 tonight.  We will miss him at the back of the line hiking up in the morning. 

My sister, knowing how much I love coffee, asked how the coffee is here.  It's instant or Turkish coffee.  We make due.  I did try Turkish coffee in the wonderful restaurant in Amman.  It is like espresso with sugar in it.  I really don't like sweetener in my coffee, but it was drinkable.   Yes De, the instant is like swill :((  Dan missed fried eggs and I miss brewed coffee.  My Folgers coffee bags have gotten me through though.  There are a few things to look forward to when we come back home.

Love to you all.  I am showering and getting ready to go have dessert with Dan and some others. 

Dan and I worked really, really hard today.  Today was the first day that it was easy climbing that hill to get to work.  Maybe it was all of that rest yesterday:))

We are going to Nimrod's Castle with the Haifa team.  A FIELD TRIP!  Here is a web site you can see the castle in   3-D.  Love to all.  T&D

http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/ipix/index.asp#nimrod

It is the first one on the list.  Have fun, we will too:))

It was really great fun.  We stopped just outside the fortress and had a picnic courtesy of the Haifa group and Michael Eisenberg.  We had pita bread, luncheon meat, a red coleslaw, hummus, and every kind of eggplant spread they make here, and soft drinks.  There were a lot of bees there, but other than that it was cool, shady and pleasant. 

The castle / fortress was just fantastic.  Please look at the other blogs to see if they have pict's up yet.

One note about today.  Jake fell off the top of one of the walls when a large stone came loose while trying to move the shade.  This fall was about 10 feet down onto solid basalt rock.  He had his knee pads on and that probably saved his knee.  His angels were protecting him.  I really don't see any other reason he wasn't critically injured.  Thank God he is safe and just bruised a bit. 

Sabbath in the kubbitz is celebrated from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday.  We have an extra-nice dinner Friday night at the dining hall, no breakfast served on Saturday morning, lunch is served and then no dinner.  We buy food in the local mini-market to feed ourselves breakfast and dinner.  The kubbitz gives us paper money printed on a computer that is worth 60 sheckles to use (about $30 each).  It is sort of like shopping in a 7-11 or a Circle K.

Daniel was craving fried eggs.  He must have eaten 100 hard boiled eggs since we've been here...there is no other choice when it comes to eggs.  I made him some for dinner tonight.

We actually took a whole day off from walking, hiking, sightseeing, digging, mosaicing etc... and only slept, read, and swam in the Sea of Galilee for about an hour this afternoon.  Dr. Schuler wanted Dan to take it easy for one day this week, after all it was good for our God?  Really, he said, in passing, that all of the touring was taking a toll on the group.  He is and was concerned about Dan. 

Almost all of the digging is finished for this season.  Daniel asked if he could work in the cistern tomorrow and Dr. Schuler agreed.  He will be wearing a hardhat because it is so far down.  I will be finishing up on the restoration of the mosaic #2 and going back to do some edges that have broken down due to someone stepping on it on mosaic #1. 

This coming week will be all about cleaning up for final pictures and organizing for next year.  We were asked to postpone our swimming time each afternoon so we could do "odd jobs" that need to be done. 

Tomorrow starts our work week.  After work at 2:00 the Haifa team is travelling to Nimrod's Castle.  It is a Midevial castle and Dr. Schuler says it is worth seeing.  We won't get back until about 8:00, but I think Daniel and I are going.  Dinner will be included and I think we can rest on the bus ride home.  It will be exciting to see something that is from a different era than the Byzantine era. 

Here is a picture from the internet of the type of gecko on our ceiling and the one I caught in the bathroom :)  CUTE

Other stuff...

We have grown used to people with guns walking around in crowds of people???

We had an armed guard in Jordon that travelled with us on the bus and at all sites.

One dinar (Jordanian money) = about 1 1/2 dollars

One sheckel (Israeli money) = about 30 cents

All of the pottery sherds collected on Hippos except rims, handles, bases (called diagnostics) will be returned to the site and buried.

Many mornings we can hear artillilary practice at the site.

Regular flavored Pringles are put on the shelf at the mini-market and are gone that same afternoon.  I guess it reminds us of the junk food back home. 

They call the public restroom a w.c. here just like in Europe (water closet)

 Don't forget to look at Jess' and Jake's pages from yesterday...they have pict's and are great!

Wow what a day.  We got up early and were on the bus to Jerusalem at 7:30.  We were ready to go at 7:00, but the police had the road to Tiberias blocked so the driver had to take an alternate route to get to En Gev.  The bus was the nicest one we've had so far.  The only thing that could have made it better is if the driver had remembered Daniel's camera.  :(

Anyway on the way to Jerusalem we saw Jericho from afar and the wilderness where John the Baptist hung out eating locusts.  Really the wilderness looks a lot like the Mojave Desert foothills, the Little San Bernardinos.  It was quite a climb up the hill in the bus even though it was very new.  The weather was fairly pleasant, a bit warm, but less humidity.

We were dropped off at the Gaffa gate.  I am going to try to list the things we saw and did:

Dropped off Dan and Harry's bags at the Lutheran Hostel.

Walked through the suq   /sook/  through many sections (Jewish, Muslim, and Christian)  where one could buy gifts, trinkets, and goods.

Hiked the Mount of Olives.  What a climb!  It was so steep at times you could slip on the asphalt.

Saw the church commemorating the shortest verse in the Bible, "Jesus wept".  Modest dress was required and for the first time some of our group were not allowed inside.  Luckily Daniel and I were OK.

Saw the church commemorating Jesus praying on the rock.  The garden of Gethsemene (sp.)

The western wall, AKA the wailing wall.  Touched it!  Left a prayer in it.  Men and women are segregated and in separate areas. 

Ate bagels.

Saw St. Mark's church that commemorate.s the maid that left Peter at the door to go tell other disciples, when he was released from prison by an angel.

Approximated the via delarosa.  Where Jesus walked on the way to His Crucifixion.

Toured the Curch of the Holy Sepulcur.(sp) My favorite part of the whole trip.  Dans's favorite part was when he realized he was standing on Mt. Calvary. 

Went shopping, bargining in the suq for gifts to bring home.

It was an awesome day.  Most thought it was too short.  We came home in time for the Shabbat meal.  They were serving goose and I celebrated with about two ounces of red wine on such a special occasion.  We had devotions at 7:30 and then I walked over to the Fish Rest. for a soda water or two with the girls. 

On the way back to the kubbitz we saw a full moon over the Golan Heights and I took a picture for you. 

Other stuff..

Glenn was nice enough to look up the little snake I saw and we think it is an Arabian Sand Snake.

Linda, Arnie, and Nancy found a place across from the kubbitz that has hamburgers and fries and real T-bone steaks. 

Eight Canadians, Gene and myself (Carl) left the Kibbutz at around 6am in a small bus. We put our luggage in storage at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, and caught a shuttle bus which took us out to a bus stop to catch the bus to Jerusalem. Over the last two weeks we have learned not to be passive or sensitive to other's personal space. Pushy might be a little harsh for this culture's standard, but I don't think so. You guessed it, all ten of us made it on this crowded bus. We stood (with others) for about 30 minutes. As the Canadians put it " We surfed to Jerusalem".

At the bus terminal we decided to take taxis to the top of the Mount of Olives. I have not experienced such agressive behavior. After Dr. Chambers arranged for three taxis, other drivers were trying to take our business. I mean literaly physically take us out of the car to move to their's. I'm still not sure we ended up in the original cars but we all made it to the top. I understand there was a fight between drivers, but I didn't see it.

At the top, we went into the Chaple of the Ascension complete with a footprint supposedly made by Jesus's ascending into Heaven. From there we went to the church that celebrates the teaching of the Lords prayer. The prayer is displayed in 62 languages.

View image

Then it was a walk down a steep hill to the Garden of Gethsemene. Just barely made it into the church compound as all of these sites close from 11:45 to about 2. Next was a long walk to the entrance to the West Wall and the old city. On the way we passed many graveyards. Apparently, many religions/denominations belive this is where Jesus is to return, and they want to be burried close by.

At the West Wall ther was a traffic jam, to many cars and buses for such a small street. And tours happening al around. Glad we were walking. To get in we had to pass through a security check point. One for the men and one for the women. Same thing at the wall, one side for the men one for the women. It was a great experience to say a prayer at the Wall, only slightly deminished by the 'Rabi' that grabbed my hand and prayed in Hebrew then asked for money. Only paper, no coins,"I can make change". I felt like I was preyed on alright.

 We then went to the old city were we had a lunch break. I can say that I had a burger in old Jerusalem now. After lunch we walked through the shops to the road tradionally thought to be the "Via Delorosa" and on to Saint Anne's Church and the Pool of Bethsadia. After checking out the traditional birth place of Mary and the pools and cisterns, we went to The Church of the Holy Sepulchure.

On the way we passed the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. It was closed so we couldn't go in and climb the tower. The tower is supposed to have an awesome view of the city. In side the Church of the Holy Sepulchure is another smaller Church which is covering a spot thought be where the Cross stood. Then, again, there is another spot in the bigger Church that says the same thing. I'm confused. We also saw typical tombs in the lower level.

After a bit of shopping, it was off to the bus station then the airport. I should have said off to the races. If we weren't running, we were at least walking very fast. Those of us with short legs were having trouble keeping up. A couple were having trouble even though their legs were longer. At the bus station we used our numbers to make sure we all got on board early. Means we got to sit this time.

At the airport, we cleaned up a little. Nothing like getting on an eleven hour flight after running a foot race. Gene and I said our good-byes to the Canadians. Then on to customs and security. They didn't have a problem with the souvenier knife in the checked bag. BUT, they couldn't xray through a book in the same bag, which meant opening the bag for a look. Otherwise, no problems.

On the plane back to the states, my stomach started bothering me. By the time we landed in Newark it was "montezuma's revenge." Try going through Passport Control and Customs with something else on your mind! Made it through ok, though. The rest of the trip was problematic. Short lay over in Newark, buy pepto bismul. Long lay over in Houston, buy Imodium, no sleep. All the great smells from the restaurants on the concourse, and I didn't feel like eating. Darn! Made all the way home by 9pm Tuesday night.

By the way, my body clock is still on Israeli time.

Hi,  today is our last day of work for the week.  It was hot and humid today.  Dan was feeling a bit queezy after breakfast so Nancy offered a Pepto Bismol tablet.  You can guess what happened next :O  Yep!  There was an orthodox priest looking at the ruins and he offered to take Dan to the kubbitz so I took him up on it, because it was only 9:30. 

Before that, Jim Gimbal (pastor) was stung on the leg 3 times by a big black scorpion that crawled up his pants leg.  I gave my bug bite medicine up to the first-aid kit and they applied that after getting his pants off and lying him on the sacra (the road that runs perpendicular to the decamanas).  Really this is a fancy name for the Roman road we walk on to get to our squares.  Anyway he was taken to the medical clinic here for observation and soon was told to drink a lot of water and rest.  He is limping and says his leg is tingly from the mid-calf to the mid-thigh. 

Harry was already absent due to a back injury, so our team is shrinking.  Jim Rodgers went home Tuesday night.  Harry and Dan (father and son) will go to Jeruselem and continue on with their sight seeing.  We will be down to 19 I think. 

We are working only 2-3 squares now with Jess drawing and Nancy and I conserving the mosaics and plastering.  I am not sure what we will be doing in the beginning of the week, because it looks like we are almost done with the second mosaic.  In 2004, they used a concrete type material to stabilize the edges of the mosaic and it is really strong.  Dr. Schuler said it was in much better shape than he expected.  We are just repairing what we can inside the mosaic and cleaning it up for photos and drawings.

Big news happened in the square with Steph, Darrell, Jim Applebaum and Nathan and Chris (C-5).  They found a stone bowl, a mortar with a fantastic stand, and a Roman incense shovel that was in almost perfect condition.  I think you can see these pictures on Jake's blog first.  Stop and look! 

Other stuff... 

Laundry day was successful and we got back all of our clothes or so it appears. 

I have heard from Carl and he is dog tired, up at 3 AM with jet lag and has a ton of problems to solve including what appears to be a water leak in the floor at my house.

Carl is going to Blog about his trip home so you can read about it.

Love you all, Tina and Dan