A little help from my friends

Well, I was going through the emails in my "time of the signs" label (in my ever-faithful gmail) to try and decide what to post today. Suddenly, I went back a bit further than I had meant to... and discovered that there are a bunch of things that were thoughtfully sent to me that somehow slipped through the cracks, and weren't ever posted! Some are from actual friends of mine, and some from virtual friends (who would have ever thought that I'd have virtual friends!). Anyway, all of you - thank you for sending these! Here are some of them, better late than never:

That one was from Elie Klein, who found it while rafting with his family on the Hatzbani river. A tremendous specimen! This one seems to be almost as awful as those ones in Asia that we see posted around online. I can't even decide which part I like best, but I am confident that Elie's family fulfilled the sign's required level of cool.

That one is from Mrs. S., who pointed out that this box is a real mine field. I can just see the family get together - the ice cream is mine! No, it's mine! No, it's *mine*!

This one is from my good friend Rachel, who was cheerfully greeted by this message on her laptop in the airport in L.A., upon nearing the end of her allotted wireless ration. The thing about this is that when she first sent it to me and told me that it was "from the airport," I just assumed that she was talking about our little Israeli airport, Ben Gurion. Then I started putting this post together and I suddenly remembered that Ben Gurion has unlimited free wireless access, and so it had to be a different airport. Which makes this all the much more shocking, I think! L.A.?! And that's the English that they came up with? That's actually really scary. Thanks, Rach!

This is from my good friend Dena. I almost like the Hebrew here as much as the English... I always enjoy witnessing the usage of the word "ped" for "pad." Anyway, I actually know some people looking for cheap housing now - I wonder if there's any room left in the skid resident base?


Wow, I actually have a bunch more photos waiting here - I guess those will have to wait until next week. Be patient, everyone! But before I leave you, I must include the pièce de résistance of this week, and here I owe a bunch of thanks. To Dave, who first showed it to me, posted on Avigdor's Facebook page... to Avigdor, who was kind enough to let me use it... and to Gidon, who later emailed it to me. And now, with no further ado:

Okay, are we all looking in the same place? Do we all see it? There, first word on the second to last line? So - even if you don't speak Hebrew, and even if you don't understand the Jewish Law regarding orla, you can certainly agree that you don't want any foreskin in your grape juice. That said, this label makes me a little nervous. I mean, this brand guarantees no foreskin, right? So tomorrow, if I pick up a different bottle with no such guarantee, will my neighbors really feel comfortable with the level of kashrut in my house? Oh, man, this is exactly how stringencies start... 


Thank you, Avigdor, who's boss' friend in England saw the actual label. Once again, I'm posting to Lesley's new meme, Signs, Signs. Go check it out, right now! And have a great week, everyone!

When I was your age...

Well, I've been going through my older emails, and I found this photo, lovingly submitted by my dear brother Avy. You may remember him from such posts as this one, and even this! He is officially a good brother; as you can see, he's linked to both of my blogs on his sidebar :)


Anyway, Avy wrote, "I saw this sign at Jewel, and thought: "It's probably my duty as a human being to share this with Toby and her blog. Apparently, it's a new brand of bread." To which I respond, "!?!"

So it's true that I haven't lived in America for quite a few years, but I can tell you that in *my* day, bimbos just weren't so readily available - and certainly not next to the olives at the grocery store.


Thank you, Avy! And everyone - don't forget to check out Lesley's cool new meme, Signs, Signs! Have a great week!

Highly estimated

Here's another doozy from Yoel, who sent this to me a while ago. Thanks, Yoel! He found this in the Carta parking lot, in Jerusalem:

Estimated, eh? Is it possible that they're trying to say esteemed? Or, as Yoel suggests, perhaps whoever translated this spoke Spanish, and got mixed up with estimado. Who knows? I also like the please notice used here, it seems very passive and mild mannered. Don't pay attention, and certainly don't put in too much effort - just noticing is good enough for us :)


I occasionally think that I've covered all the typos in this country. It's almost a relief to know that there are more out there to giggle at! 


Have a great week, everybody! And don't forget to go check out week #2 of Lesley's new meme, signs, signs! 

Happy New Year!

In keeping with my pledge to post once a week, here I am! Just under the wire, but here! First of all, Happy New Year, all of you! Let's see how long it takes me to remember to sign '11. I think I'm usually well into February before I really get the hang of things...


Anyway, here's a funny restaurant that I found with the kids this past summer, on our way back from the beach in Ashdod. See, I told you that I have photos that have been waiting around for a long time! What do y'all think of this one?

I like it a lot! But that's just me, there's no accounting for taste. Unless, of course, you're a restaurant :)


I'm excited to be participating in a new meme this week - something I've never done before with this blog. Lesley is starting a meme for photos of signs - what could be better for me? It's very logically called Signs Signs - go and check it out right now!


Happy New Year, all! And have a great week!