Greetings from the Holy Land!

Howdy folks, Well that's right. I'm writing you from a place known as Israel. You may have heard of it. I figured I would drop a line to say hello and keep you abreast of all I am doing.

Which to be honest is not a lot. Just drinking a ton of wine and whiskey with my 90 year old Grandmom. It's pretty awesome, to be honest. I mean, she is kind of the best drinking partner a girl could ask for. Wine with lunch, then a nap. Whiskey hour at 5 o'clock and then wine with dinner. I'm living the dream!

But seriously (well actually I'm being totally serious) I come here once a year to spend quality time with my grandmom (see above). This time it has been the most glorious weather so I've been going to the beach. It's the most crystal clear water i've ever seen. Absolutely stunning. And rejuvenating. And whatever else you can think of. (It also adds beer to the wine and whiskey routine above).

So seeing as how I don't have many (read:any) friends here I spend a lot of time by myself (when I'm not with grandma ovbi.). I relish it. It really feels like I recharge my batteries. Sure I wish there was someone to take pictures with (I've taken 3 selfies-none that I will share) and to hold my hair back after too much whiskey, but it gives me time and space to think. which I love. And I need. I'll get into that stuff later. but  in the meantime I thought I'd share some of my favorite things about Israel.

1. My grandmom-goes without saying 2. The food-even the hummus from the grocery store is freaking AMAZING! 3.No commercials on TV ! 4.The crystal clear/blue Mediterannean Sea 5.I'm 15 minutes from the beach 6.All the girls have curly hair and bigger butts here:i.e. I feel like I belong 7.I am a reading maniac  because there's not much else to do (I should mention i've been here before and done all the touristy things:) 8. Zara- I don't know what it is about the store here but it just has the BEST shopping. It's way different than the ones in the states. I usually end up buying a whole new wardrobe. 9.(this should probably be number 2 but I thought of it late) Being disconnected from my phone! Makes me want to chuck it into the Sea really because it's been so nice not being chained to a phone. It made me realize how much I actually check it throughout a day. Even checking email is a pain here because the internet connection is so slow.I'm talking like 1998 slow. so I check it once a day if that and you know what? The world continues on and I don't have to constantly check to make sure that it's still turning. An awesome reminder to put.down.the.phone. Be present.

Some of my not so favorite things?

1. My hebrew is not as great as I'd like it to be. I can understand fairly well but responding is a mess. I literally have to think out what I'm going to say and when I try to say it, it never comes out that way 2. Israeli's can be pretty rude- the other day when I was standing in line (no it wasn't at Zara-Ok fine-it WAS at Zara)  this lady basically insinuated that I wasn't in line and when I indicated I was, she was so impatient and nearly knocked me out of the way to take her turn at the cash register. It doesn't sound that bad, but believe me, it was shocking. 3.Leaving- I always have such a great time with my grandmother that I never want to leave. And then I try to imagine if I could really live here. I mean the no commercial thing practically convinces me every time but then I realize right now, my home is in NY.

so there you have it. My little vacation rundown. Before I left I started some pre-production on a couple of songs from song in your box and I'm really excited to finish those and get into regular production. I will keep you abreast (apparently it's my new favorite word) of that process as it's happening.

Hope you all are enjoying a nice fall state-side!

Love to you, Dana