Well, it's half past noon and it's 104 degrees. Little bit toasty. I guess it will peak in a few hours time, I hope not getting too much hotter.
Not much going on here. Been re-reading the Harry Potter books (for the 3rd time since I first read them) in preparation of the next movie coming out on July 15th. I'm really excited about it. I told hubby that he should take me to see the movie for my birthday. :D
No further news on moving to hubby's aunt's apartment, or any other apartment.
I don't think Kuwait will happen for a while. I would like to go visit Kuwait but we shouldn't be spending that amount of money for the moment I guess. Two airplane tickets and a hotel and food and blah blah. It can wait.
My MIL is getting lunch sorted in the kitchen. I saw her cooking some black eyed peas earlier. Not sure what she's making. I also saw a small chicken thawing out.
Thankfully, there is still some chocolate and vanilla ice cream to be had later on today. I am sure I will want it. It's tooooo hot.
Will start searching for somewhere here where I can buy some Cetaphil lotion. I'm doubtful about finding it but you just never know!
I belong to an online group of foreign women who have moved to Egypt. It's a great way to get information as some of the members have been living here for quite a few years and are very knowledgeable.
There are quite often the same brands here of things you would find in the States, however they are manufactured in Egypt, and the formulations are not the same as in the States, so even though you think you're buying the same product, many times you actually are buying something different.
I've started making a mental list that I will soon commit to a text file, of things that I want to bring back to Egypt after I eventually visit the States insha'Allah.
I wish there wasn't a weight limit. I could bring a lot more back. Or I wish that it wasn't so darn expensive to ship things from the States to Egypt. It costs an arm and a leg, as I'm sure my mom can attest to. (mom, how are you getting along with just one arm and leg? lol)
It is definitely an adjustment living here. I mean, it is a third world country, a developing nation or what not.
But they do have many comforts here.
Things just... aren't quite up to the same standards as in the States.
Not that everything in the States is perfect, and myself having lived in a very modern and generally metropolitan area, perhaps experienced things differently than if I had lived in say, some small town in the middle of the country.
I'm just used to the order and the rules and things of the States, and there really isn't so much of the order and rules observed here, at least in the day to day things. Of course, that is also partly what makes life so interesting here.
Seeing as how I like "order" so much, it's a difficult thing for my brain to work on, but I'm working on it all the same. To somehow merge the two worlds, the one I knew and grew up in, and the one that I inhabit now.
I hope it's possible to have the best of both worlds.
We shall see insha'Allah.
Oh yeah, I'm hoping to test out the "hot enough to fry an egg" thing soon. Will update if/when I do. lol
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
A wee little break
Well, it seems I've had myself a couple days break there.
It's been incredibly hot and humid and it's sapping the stength/energy out of me.
My heat rash is getting worse and I just got three mosquito bites on top of the rash. lol
Anyways, as I said, here are the pictures that I took from our outing on Tuesday.
First up is of Ahmed and I. I set the camera on a pillar and we are standing next to the Nile. The land to the right of us is the island Zamalek. It houses many Americans or other foreigners, and also many embassies and official offices.
Next is the building where we saw the movie. It's the tall towers that you see. The movie was in the bottom floor. I guess only the bottom 3 floors have stores and the theater, and the rest of the floors must be business offices? It's quite a large set of towers. Very nice inside, marble floors and good a/c.
It's right across the street from the Nile.
Next we have a view from the other mall we went to, Arcadia mall, where the food court area was. I made sure we got a view looking at the water. Not all the seats were facing that way and some were towards the inside of the mall. I just loved the view and even though it was noisy, it was so relaxing to sit and stare at the water and dream about living on the island Zamalek, which is the land you see across the water. I have a video that I took from that spot and I'll try to upload it tomorrow.
Here is a closer view of the island. I decided I could happily live in the large house that you can see. I told hubby he better hurry up and make a very large amount of money, because I want to live on that island, right up at the edge of the Nile. lol
Yeah, keep dreaming Melissa!
Last we have the view from the furniture store that we went to. How can anyone work with a view like that all day? lol (actually now that I look at this particular picture, you can't really see the view, but it was like the one from the restaurant we were at in the mall)
Also, this couch was so awesome. Total pimp couch. But, if they had it in black and it wasn't so expensive, we would totally buy it. lol
I think the striped looking pillows were actual fur. Very soft. Kinda gross.
There is a chance that we will be moving to an area called Heliopolis. It's very near the airport, and pretty far from hubby's work. He would have to take the underground to get to work and it's maybe 45 minutes or so each way, so that kind of sucks.
There's some pluses and minuses and we are still discussing.
The two big minuses for me are that hubby will be too far away during the day if there was any kind of emergency. The other is that the family's cleaning lady sleeps there 3 nights a week. Hubby says she is only there from 10 pm until 6 am, but I'm just not really liking this at all. I mean, maybe he has known her all his life but I haven't and not that she isn't nice, but she just kind of... makes me crazy.
The apartment is owned by his aunt who lives in Kuwait. His grandma lived there before she came to live here in this apartment where we are now, and when his aunt or her kids come to visit from Kuwait, they stay there.
His aunt offered it several months ago to his mom (which I didn't know), but I guess Ahmed told her no. And so hubby's mom will ask his aunt again (mom's sister) and see what she says.
Of course, I haven't seen the place since my trip in 2007 and don't remember much about it and there is still the fact of the cleaning lady to contend with.
We shall see....
Dying from the heat. It was 106 on Wednesday. Only about 100 on Thursday but more humid. It cools down to maybe 80 or so during the night and gets fairly humid overnight.
I think one of the things hubby is thinking about regarding the possible move to his aunt's apartment, is that it has air conditioning, and I really need to get out of this heat because my body is not adjusting and I'm sure I was close to heat exhaustion a few days ago.
Not sure if I will post as much when it's hot. It just makes me feel too tired to do much at all.
It's been incredibly hot and humid and it's sapping the stength/energy out of me.
My heat rash is getting worse and I just got three mosquito bites on top of the rash. lol
Anyways, as I said, here are the pictures that I took from our outing on Tuesday.
First up is of Ahmed and I. I set the camera on a pillar and we are standing next to the Nile. The land to the right of us is the island Zamalek. It houses many Americans or other foreigners, and also many embassies and official offices.
Next is the building where we saw the movie. It's the tall towers that you see. The movie was in the bottom floor. I guess only the bottom 3 floors have stores and the theater, and the rest of the floors must be business offices? It's quite a large set of towers. Very nice inside, marble floors and good a/c.
It's right across the street from the Nile.
Next we have a view from the other mall we went to, Arcadia mall, where the food court area was. I made sure we got a view looking at the water. Not all the seats were facing that way and some were towards the inside of the mall. I just loved the view and even though it was noisy, it was so relaxing to sit and stare at the water and dream about living on the island Zamalek, which is the land you see across the water. I have a video that I took from that spot and I'll try to upload it tomorrow.
Here is a closer view of the island. I decided I could happily live in the large house that you can see. I told hubby he better hurry up and make a very large amount of money, because I want to live on that island, right up at the edge of the Nile. lol
Yeah, keep dreaming Melissa!
Last we have the view from the furniture store that we went to. How can anyone work with a view like that all day? lol (actually now that I look at this particular picture, you can't really see the view, but it was like the one from the restaurant we were at in the mall)
Also, this couch was so awesome. Total pimp couch. But, if they had it in black and it wasn't so expensive, we would totally buy it. lol
I think the striped looking pillows were actual fur. Very soft. Kinda gross.
There is a chance that we will be moving to an area called Heliopolis. It's very near the airport, and pretty far from hubby's work. He would have to take the underground to get to work and it's maybe 45 minutes or so each way, so that kind of sucks.
There's some pluses and minuses and we are still discussing.
The two big minuses for me are that hubby will be too far away during the day if there was any kind of emergency. The other is that the family's cleaning lady sleeps there 3 nights a week. Hubby says she is only there from 10 pm until 6 am, but I'm just not really liking this at all. I mean, maybe he has known her all his life but I haven't and not that she isn't nice, but she just kind of... makes me crazy.
The apartment is owned by his aunt who lives in Kuwait. His grandma lived there before she came to live here in this apartment where we are now, and when his aunt or her kids come to visit from Kuwait, they stay there.
His aunt offered it several months ago to his mom (which I didn't know), but I guess Ahmed told her no. And so hubby's mom will ask his aunt again (mom's sister) and see what she says.
Of course, I haven't seen the place since my trip in 2007 and don't remember much about it and there is still the fact of the cleaning lady to contend with.
We shall see....
Dying from the heat. It was 106 on Wednesday. Only about 100 on Thursday but more humid. It cools down to maybe 80 or so during the night and gets fairly humid overnight.
I think one of the things hubby is thinking about regarding the possible move to his aunt's apartment, is that it has air conditioning, and I really need to get out of this heat because my body is not adjusting and I'm sure I was close to heat exhaustion a few days ago.
Not sure if I will post as much when it's hot. It just makes me feel too tired to do much at all.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
A grand day out
And a lovely time was had by all....
lol
We had a really nice time out today and I think it's the first time I've been in air conditioning in about a month! Phew it was so nice!!!!
The plan was to go to Arcadia mall and to a movie. It turns out that Arcadia mall does not have a theater inside, but the big building next door did, so it all worked out.
On the drive to the mall, the windows were down in the cab, and the hot air was blowing uncomfortably at me in the backseat, when a bee flew in and landed on my lap!
Holy smokes it scared the bejeepers outta me and I was like HONEY!!! HONEY!!!
He was sitting up in the front seat with their family's driver, and I had frantically tried to shoo the thing off of me.
I must have succeeded but I have no idea where it went to and for several minutes afterward I kept checking different areas of my clothing to make sure I didn't just flick it somewhere else onto myself. Sigh. lol
Both the Arcadia mall and the mall/building that the theater in had air conditioning.
Pure heaven I tell you.
We bought the tickets for the move at about 2:45 or so and the movie started at 4:15, so that gave us time to walk around the Arcadia mall and also have a bite to eat.
There are pictures, but I haven't done anything with them yet (though they came out good!), and I'll post them tomorrow insha'Allah.
I had some breadsticks and a 7-up from Little Ceasears and hubby had a chicken sandwich and also some of the breadsticks. They were quite yummy.
Also, we had a view of the Nile and Zamalek (island on the Nile) from where we were eating. Despite the fact that it was noisy inside full of teens/twenty somethings, it was still relaxing sitting there.
We also went to another branch of the furniture store Habitat and looked around. The mall was interesting in that it seemed to have a floor dedicated to furniture, a floor dedicated to clothes, etc., etc.
Well, it was finally time to head to the theater. In Egypt, you pick the seats that you want when you buy the ticket, and then you have to sit in that seat. They don't just go in and pick whatever seat they want after they get inside where the seats are.
Also, for the coming attractions, they had um... it was like they showed a piece of paper with the film name written on it before showing the preview. Like someone at the theater hand wrote all the titles for each one and then they just showed it. It was quite strange.
The theater we were in was quite empty, only 9 people including hubby and us.
Also, the sound system was set very LOUD! Holy smokes, it was so loud that it was vibrating my body in some of the scenes. lol
We saw Terminator Salvation. I had thought they would have some other movies, well, they did, but the only two they had that we were kinda interested in were Terminator and the new Transformers. I'm not sure if they had already shown the Star Trek and Angels and Demons or not.
So, nice action movie, nice air conditioning. Nice nice nice.
Oh, another weird thing they do when they show movies here, is they have an intermission. Not just for long movies, for any movie. They just stop it at some point and then people can get up and do whatever. Go use the bathroom or smoke or get some food. I mean in theory it's fine, but it interrupts the movie and you should use the potty before it starts! lol
After we finished, we walked across the street to the Nile and then walked along the Nile for a way til we went to Zamalek and walked around a little bit.
I have been wanting to walk around Zamalek for some time, but I'm not so sure we were in the area that has all the nice stores and such. Insha'Allah we will go another time and walk around some.
Then we took a taxi home.
Back to the heat.
lol
I'm probably leaving something out, but it's hot and it's dinner time and so I'm off!
lol
We had a really nice time out today and I think it's the first time I've been in air conditioning in about a month! Phew it was so nice!!!!
The plan was to go to Arcadia mall and to a movie. It turns out that Arcadia mall does not have a theater inside, but the big building next door did, so it all worked out.
On the drive to the mall, the windows were down in the cab, and the hot air was blowing uncomfortably at me in the backseat, when a bee flew in and landed on my lap!
Holy smokes it scared the bejeepers outta me and I was like HONEY!!! HONEY!!!
He was sitting up in the front seat with their family's driver, and I had frantically tried to shoo the thing off of me.
I must have succeeded but I have no idea where it went to and for several minutes afterward I kept checking different areas of my clothing to make sure I didn't just flick it somewhere else onto myself. Sigh. lol
Both the Arcadia mall and the mall/building that the theater in had air conditioning.
Pure heaven I tell you.
We bought the tickets for the move at about 2:45 or so and the movie started at 4:15, so that gave us time to walk around the Arcadia mall and also have a bite to eat.
There are pictures, but I haven't done anything with them yet (though they came out good!), and I'll post them tomorrow insha'Allah.
I had some breadsticks and a 7-up from Little Ceasears and hubby had a chicken sandwich and also some of the breadsticks. They were quite yummy.
Also, we had a view of the Nile and Zamalek (island on the Nile) from where we were eating. Despite the fact that it was noisy inside full of teens/twenty somethings, it was still relaxing sitting there.
We also went to another branch of the furniture store Habitat and looked around. The mall was interesting in that it seemed to have a floor dedicated to furniture, a floor dedicated to clothes, etc., etc.
Well, it was finally time to head to the theater. In Egypt, you pick the seats that you want when you buy the ticket, and then you have to sit in that seat. They don't just go in and pick whatever seat they want after they get inside where the seats are.
Also, for the coming attractions, they had um... it was like they showed a piece of paper with the film name written on it before showing the preview. Like someone at the theater hand wrote all the titles for each one and then they just showed it. It was quite strange.
The theater we were in was quite empty, only 9 people including hubby and us.
Also, the sound system was set very LOUD! Holy smokes, it was so loud that it was vibrating my body in some of the scenes. lol
We saw Terminator Salvation. I had thought they would have some other movies, well, they did, but the only two they had that we were kinda interested in were Terminator and the new Transformers. I'm not sure if they had already shown the Star Trek and Angels and Demons or not.
So, nice action movie, nice air conditioning. Nice nice nice.
Oh, another weird thing they do when they show movies here, is they have an intermission. Not just for long movies, for any movie. They just stop it at some point and then people can get up and do whatever. Go use the bathroom or smoke or get some food. I mean in theory it's fine, but it interrupts the movie and you should use the potty before it starts! lol
After we finished, we walked across the street to the Nile and then walked along the Nile for a way til we went to Zamalek and walked around a little bit.
I have been wanting to walk around Zamalek for some time, but I'm not so sure we were in the area that has all the nice stores and such. Insha'Allah we will go another time and walk around some.
Then we took a taxi home.
Back to the heat.
lol
I'm probably leaving something out, but it's hot and it's dinner time and so I'm off!
Insert Title Here
We're off to some mall and a movie. Will try to post when we're back later this evening. If I haven't melted into a puddle that is. :p
Sunday, June 21, 2009
The Net
The mosquito net that hubby bought for the bed. Slightly off center and hanging from the curtain rod, but still works wonderfully.
Been hot hot hot here. No news there I suppose.
The bruises on my arm from the wax are turning an ugly yellow color now. lol
And I seem to have developed heat rash.
I must say, between mosquito bites, rashes and bruises, I'm looking quite stunning these days.
hehehe
:D
Been hot hot hot here. No news there I suppose.
The bruises on my arm from the wax are turning an ugly yellow color now. lol
And I seem to have developed heat rash.
I must say, between mosquito bites, rashes and bruises, I'm looking quite stunning these days.
hehehe
:D
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wax, string, sugar and some scissors
Well, yesterday I went to the place to have my hair cut and arms waxed. I normally wouldn't mention the arm thing but in the interest of ...well... interesting things, I decided to go ahead.
My SIL took me to a lady that she has seen in the past, and that she trusted to do a good job with my hair.
It was just down the street a few blocks so we walked there.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I was hoping for a/c at least. lol
However, there was no a/c. There were however, flies! And they seemed to love me no end. :D
Anyways, there is one sink for washing hair, and one chair for cutting hair.
It's a bit small, but there was a waiting area with a smallish couch/setee type thing.
I'm assuming the door in the back led to a bathroom and there was a small closet in the front for storing things.
So, I was there to get my hair cut, just a couple inches off the bottom, and my arms waxed and I thought I would also try something they call threading. This isn't widely practiced at all in the States except by people from middle eastern countries. I'd never even seen it done before. However I have heard that it's nice and so I thought I would try it for the little peach fuzz above my upper lip.
First thing that happens is they sit me down in the chair.
A girl comes over and pulls out what looks like a spool of thread, and she was doing something with putting it in her mouth and around her fingers and next thing I know she's coming at my face with this string contraption. lol
Well, I was surprised to say the least. I really wanted to watch but I couldn't see the mirror and I couldn't exactly see the front of my face.
It took just a couple of minutes and didn't hurt at all. I was so pleased. I had heard from people that it hurt, but maybe they just never had that area waxed before. Waxing that area hurts for sure!
Well... the threading was about the only thing I was pleased with. lol
After the threading, they took me over and got my hair wet in the bowl. I didn't want it washed because I'm picky about my shampoo/conditioner and what they smell like.
So she wets my hair down and then puts a towel on me and brings me to the chair again.
At this point, I don't have my glasses on so for the rest of the time there I can't see much except what is right near me.
So, the girl that did the threading had gotten out this piece of dark colored substance that I'm assuming was the wax they were going to use. There is a type of waxing they do here called sugaring, or halawa, in which they boil a combo of sugar and water (and honey?) and get it to a point that it's stretchy and elastic.
They then take that and rub it around on your arms to get the hair off.
I had just assumed that the wax would be spread on like the normal wax is when you go to the salon. They take a wooden stick and get some melted wax on it and spread it on your arm.
But.... I was oh so painfully wrong.
She took this ball of stretchy halawa and started rubbing it up and down and around on my arm. OH MY GOD! The pain! lol
I have had my arms waxed so many times and the pain is only brief and totally no big deal. I could go to sleep getting my arms waxed. But the halawa? Man oh man that hurt. After about 10 or 15 seconds I had her stop because it was so painful.
Well, she stopped and so they were going to do the waxing in the way that I was used to, but they cut my hair first.
Cutting my hair couldn't have taken more than 10 minutes, and basically she just cut it the same length all the way around. Not the greatest cut ever but it did obtain the objective of being a couple inches shorter.
After the cut came the wax. The way that I thought she was going to do it and the way that it was done, were not the same.
lol
I'm used to a pot of wax that is heated on a little mini burner and then the wax is applied, as I stated above, with a wooden stick. You then put on the muslin cloth and rip it off. Sounds more painful than it is. At least in most areas.
What this lady had were tubes that you fit a piece of wax into, and then plug the tube in to heat it up. After it's heated, you roll the tube over the area you want to wax. The problem with these devices is, in order to get the wax rolling out when you first start it, you have to roll it around a bit. And she was doing that on my arm. With dry wax on the tip. Can you say ouch? Again? lol
Well, after she got it rolling, it didn't hurt so much.
However, she wasn't very skilled with the waxing at all and I sincerely doubt that she ever had any training except watching someone else do it.
I've seen it done a million times but that doesn't mean I know enough about it to go and wax someone else. lol
They wanted to know if I wanted my legs done and you never heard anyone say no faster than I managed to get that word out. lol
After she was done with the waxing, she slathered some white greasy cream all over my arms, necessitating a wash of the shirt and light sweater I had on.
All in all, this experience of pain and disappointment cost me 100 pounds.
Now, since I paid for this with money I brought from home (after having my dollars exchanged into pounds), the cost to me was roughly 20 dollars.
And I could never have done what I had done here for the same price in the states.
However, I would have been mad beyond belief if I had worked for that money here in Egypt, and was paying for it with my Egyptian labor.
Ahmed taught me to think of money here in this way:
A dollar in the states can buy you a certain amount. Well, a pound in Egypt can also buy a certain amount. And even though you can buy more in Egypt with a dollar than with a pound, I have to think of pounds as if they were dollars. All things being equal. Like, if I spend 100 pounds here on a haircut and wax, I have to think of it like spending 100 dollars in the states.
Which would be okay in the States, as things are expensive, but the service and performance of what I got yesterday was no way worth 100 pounds.
On top of that, my right arm is bruised to hell because this lady didn't know what she was doing with the wax.
Lesson learned I suppose. Next time I will ask the ex-pats for a recommendation and maybe I will find something, that while it's a little more expensive, will be a lot less painful and a lot better service and product.
*sigh*
:D
Alright, now that we've had more than enough of the subject of hair, shall we move on to pigeons? :D
First up, we have the pan full of pigeons after they've been cleaned and are ready for doing whatever you want to do to them. lol
Next we have a pan full of the pigeons after they've been stuffed. There were 15 total at the end, this picture is short one that was being worked on when I took the picture.
Now we have the mixture that was stuffed into the pigeons. I'm sure I wrote about this the other day. It's a small pasta cooked with onion, pigeons liver and kidney pieces, onion and oil. Probably salt and pepper as well.
After they stuff the pigeon full of the pasta/liver mixture, they stuff the head of the pigeon inside to keep the stuffing from coming out, and then they sew the end shut. After sewing shut, they then tuck in the legs into some part of the skin at the end. I think you can see the final thing a couple pictures above where they are all sitting on the plate stuffed.
In any case, when the last pigeon was being stuffed, there was just the one little head left in the pan. lol
I couldn't help myself and had to take a picture. I guess my sense of humour can be a bit on the strange side at times but it really made me giggle.
After all of the pigeons are stuffed, they go into this ginormous pot full of broth with onion and cardamom pods and they also add something like a gum. not gum that you chew, but well... I don't know how to explain it. It's golden in color and like a little nugget that is kind of see through.
After boiling, they are fried, but I didn't manage to get a picture of that.
Here is the end result, pigeon in a pot. lol
Maybe someday I'll try pigeon, but it just wasn't going to be after I watched them being stuffed and their heads put inside. lol
My SIL was eating hers and she sits across from me at the dinner table, and while eating, she took the heads out from the inside and set them down next to her plate. So I'm eating and there's this pigeon head just staring at me. :D
Life is rarely dull here, in many senses.
Did I mention that hubby bought me a mosquito net for the bed?
I was so surprised, I didn't know he had been looking for them and then he came home with one on Wednesday night! It works wonderfully and I have had two very nice nights with no worries about being bitten and needing to wear too many clothes in a hot humid room.
I took a picture but it's not ready to post, so I'll post that tomorrow or soon.
Hubby is back from Friday prayers. Not sure what we will do today except I'm still thinking to make some goodies. I think maybe snickerdoodles since they are fairly easy to make. We shall see.
A little taste of home would be quite nice.
:D
My SIL took me to a lady that she has seen in the past, and that she trusted to do a good job with my hair.
It was just down the street a few blocks so we walked there.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I was hoping for a/c at least. lol
However, there was no a/c. There were however, flies! And they seemed to love me no end. :D
Anyways, there is one sink for washing hair, and one chair for cutting hair.
It's a bit small, but there was a waiting area with a smallish couch/setee type thing.
I'm assuming the door in the back led to a bathroom and there was a small closet in the front for storing things.
So, I was there to get my hair cut, just a couple inches off the bottom, and my arms waxed and I thought I would also try something they call threading. This isn't widely practiced at all in the States except by people from middle eastern countries. I'd never even seen it done before. However I have heard that it's nice and so I thought I would try it for the little peach fuzz above my upper lip.
First thing that happens is they sit me down in the chair.
A girl comes over and pulls out what looks like a spool of thread, and she was doing something with putting it in her mouth and around her fingers and next thing I know she's coming at my face with this string contraption. lol
Well, I was surprised to say the least. I really wanted to watch but I couldn't see the mirror and I couldn't exactly see the front of my face.
It took just a couple of minutes and didn't hurt at all. I was so pleased. I had heard from people that it hurt, but maybe they just never had that area waxed before. Waxing that area hurts for sure!
Well... the threading was about the only thing I was pleased with. lol
After the threading, they took me over and got my hair wet in the bowl. I didn't want it washed because I'm picky about my shampoo/conditioner and what they smell like.
So she wets my hair down and then puts a towel on me and brings me to the chair again.
At this point, I don't have my glasses on so for the rest of the time there I can't see much except what is right near me.
So, the girl that did the threading had gotten out this piece of dark colored substance that I'm assuming was the wax they were going to use. There is a type of waxing they do here called sugaring, or halawa, in which they boil a combo of sugar and water (and honey?) and get it to a point that it's stretchy and elastic.
They then take that and rub it around on your arms to get the hair off.
I had just assumed that the wax would be spread on like the normal wax is when you go to the salon. They take a wooden stick and get some melted wax on it and spread it on your arm.
But.... I was oh so painfully wrong.
She took this ball of stretchy halawa and started rubbing it up and down and around on my arm. OH MY GOD! The pain! lol
I have had my arms waxed so many times and the pain is only brief and totally no big deal. I could go to sleep getting my arms waxed. But the halawa? Man oh man that hurt. After about 10 or 15 seconds I had her stop because it was so painful.
Well, she stopped and so they were going to do the waxing in the way that I was used to, but they cut my hair first.
Cutting my hair couldn't have taken more than 10 minutes, and basically she just cut it the same length all the way around. Not the greatest cut ever but it did obtain the objective of being a couple inches shorter.
After the cut came the wax. The way that I thought she was going to do it and the way that it was done, were not the same.
lol
I'm used to a pot of wax that is heated on a little mini burner and then the wax is applied, as I stated above, with a wooden stick. You then put on the muslin cloth and rip it off. Sounds more painful than it is. At least in most areas.
What this lady had were tubes that you fit a piece of wax into, and then plug the tube in to heat it up. After it's heated, you roll the tube over the area you want to wax. The problem with these devices is, in order to get the wax rolling out when you first start it, you have to roll it around a bit. And she was doing that on my arm. With dry wax on the tip. Can you say ouch? Again? lol
Well, after she got it rolling, it didn't hurt so much.
However, she wasn't very skilled with the waxing at all and I sincerely doubt that she ever had any training except watching someone else do it.
I've seen it done a million times but that doesn't mean I know enough about it to go and wax someone else. lol
They wanted to know if I wanted my legs done and you never heard anyone say no faster than I managed to get that word out. lol
After she was done with the waxing, she slathered some white greasy cream all over my arms, necessitating a wash of the shirt and light sweater I had on.
All in all, this experience of pain and disappointment cost me 100 pounds.
Now, since I paid for this with money I brought from home (after having my dollars exchanged into pounds), the cost to me was roughly 20 dollars.
And I could never have done what I had done here for the same price in the states.
However, I would have been mad beyond belief if I had worked for that money here in Egypt, and was paying for it with my Egyptian labor.
Ahmed taught me to think of money here in this way:
A dollar in the states can buy you a certain amount. Well, a pound in Egypt can also buy a certain amount. And even though you can buy more in Egypt with a dollar than with a pound, I have to think of pounds as if they were dollars. All things being equal. Like, if I spend 100 pounds here on a haircut and wax, I have to think of it like spending 100 dollars in the states.
Which would be okay in the States, as things are expensive, but the service and performance of what I got yesterday was no way worth 100 pounds.
On top of that, my right arm is bruised to hell because this lady didn't know what she was doing with the wax.
Lesson learned I suppose. Next time I will ask the ex-pats for a recommendation and maybe I will find something, that while it's a little more expensive, will be a lot less painful and a lot better service and product.
*sigh*
:D
Alright, now that we've had more than enough of the subject of hair, shall we move on to pigeons? :D
First up, we have the pan full of pigeons after they've been cleaned and are ready for doing whatever you want to do to them. lol
Next we have a pan full of the pigeons after they've been stuffed. There were 15 total at the end, this picture is short one that was being worked on when I took the picture.
Now we have the mixture that was stuffed into the pigeons. I'm sure I wrote about this the other day. It's a small pasta cooked with onion, pigeons liver and kidney pieces, onion and oil. Probably salt and pepper as well.
After they stuff the pigeon full of the pasta/liver mixture, they stuff the head of the pigeon inside to keep the stuffing from coming out, and then they sew the end shut. After sewing shut, they then tuck in the legs into some part of the skin at the end. I think you can see the final thing a couple pictures above where they are all sitting on the plate stuffed.
In any case, when the last pigeon was being stuffed, there was just the one little head left in the pan. lol
I couldn't help myself and had to take a picture. I guess my sense of humour can be a bit on the strange side at times but it really made me giggle.
After all of the pigeons are stuffed, they go into this ginormous pot full of broth with onion and cardamom pods and they also add something like a gum. not gum that you chew, but well... I don't know how to explain it. It's golden in color and like a little nugget that is kind of see through.
After boiling, they are fried, but I didn't manage to get a picture of that.
Here is the end result, pigeon in a pot. lol
Maybe someday I'll try pigeon, but it just wasn't going to be after I watched them being stuffed and their heads put inside. lol
My SIL was eating hers and she sits across from me at the dinner table, and while eating, she took the heads out from the inside and set them down next to her plate. So I'm eating and there's this pigeon head just staring at me. :D
Life is rarely dull here, in many senses.
Did I mention that hubby bought me a mosquito net for the bed?
I was so surprised, I didn't know he had been looking for them and then he came home with one on Wednesday night! It works wonderfully and I have had two very nice nights with no worries about being bitten and needing to wear too many clothes in a hot humid room.
I took a picture but it's not ready to post, so I'll post that tomorrow or soon.
Hubby is back from Friday prayers. Not sure what we will do today except I'm still thinking to make some goodies. I think maybe snickerdoodles since they are fairly easy to make. We shall see.
A little taste of home would be quite nice.
:D
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Pigeon you say?
I went into the kitchen this morning just as my MIL and the house cleaner lady were starting to stuff little birds. I thought at first maybe they were like cornish game hens or something, but no, no hens. Pigeon. 15 of them to be precise. Filled with a cooked mixture of pasta (something like orzo?), onion, pigeon livers and oil.
Um.... Yum?
lol
Well, I took a goodly amount of pictures. But I'm not done and I won't post them til tomorrow.
After they were stuffed with the pasta mixture, and then the heads stuck inside (for what reason I can't fathom), mom sewed up the ends to keep everything inside.
There was a big pot of broth on the stove that they were going to be put into. Not sure exactly what was in that pot but I did see onion and cardamom pods. They also added something that looked like little pieces of dried honey, but they called it mustique. Or something. No idea what it was.
Anyways, I don't think I'm having pigeon, particularly after seeing their little heads.
lol
I think mom made some chicken for me. Thank God for chicken.
The spraying of the room with bug spray did not go exactly as I had wanted and I was less than happy about it but oh well.
We did not get bit that night, but I can't say I slept all that well anyways.
Last night there was no spray and we just left the door closed and it was fine. A little bit toasty, but not too bad and the fan was on as it is every night.
As long as it doesn't get too hot/humid, it's okay like that, but when the weather gets too bad, even a fan doesn't help unless you open the doors/windows, which is when the mosquitoes come inside.
I sent a list to my mom today of things I am hoping she will be able to ship to me.
I wish it didn't cost so much to send things or I'd have put more on the list.
Which reminds me, speaking of seeds for planting, sunflower seeds!! :D
Tonight it seems that my MIL, SIL (mother in law, sister in law) and myself are going to one of hubby's cousins house for something. I think to drop something off. Or pick something up. Not sure how long we'll be there. We're going sometime around 6 or 7 I think and it takes about 45 minutes or so to get there.
Hmmm....
Then tomorrow morning the three of us will again go out, this time to get hair cuts.
Should be interesting. I don't want that much cut, but need a couple inches off.
Hopefully things will turn out well!
Hubby has started the process to look for apartments here for us, since we won't be moving to Kuwait for at least a little bit, and living with the in-laws is... well... of course not ideal.
I love my new family, but I think I would even have trouble living with my own parents for a month.
lol
I mean, you know... space and all that.
Plus, as an adult, I think it's harder to live with your parents. Boundaries or expectations or something. Who knows.
Maybe I'm just fussy and picky.
:D
I'm not sure that we have any plans for Friday (Ahmed's Saturday), though I may finally try baking something. Just not sure if it will be something chocolate, or something simple like snickerdoodles. Hmmm.....
Pictures tomorrow!!!
Um.... Yum?
lol
Well, I took a goodly amount of pictures. But I'm not done and I won't post them til tomorrow.
After they were stuffed with the pasta mixture, and then the heads stuck inside (for what reason I can't fathom), mom sewed up the ends to keep everything inside.
There was a big pot of broth on the stove that they were going to be put into. Not sure exactly what was in that pot but I did see onion and cardamom pods. They also added something that looked like little pieces of dried honey, but they called it mustique. Or something. No idea what it was.
Anyways, I don't think I'm having pigeon, particularly after seeing their little heads.
lol
I think mom made some chicken for me. Thank God for chicken.
The spraying of the room with bug spray did not go exactly as I had wanted and I was less than happy about it but oh well.
We did not get bit that night, but I can't say I slept all that well anyways.
Last night there was no spray and we just left the door closed and it was fine. A little bit toasty, but not too bad and the fan was on as it is every night.
As long as it doesn't get too hot/humid, it's okay like that, but when the weather gets too bad, even a fan doesn't help unless you open the doors/windows, which is when the mosquitoes come inside.
I sent a list to my mom today of things I am hoping she will be able to ship to me.
I wish it didn't cost so much to send things or I'd have put more on the list.
Which reminds me, speaking of seeds for planting, sunflower seeds!! :D
Tonight it seems that my MIL, SIL (mother in law, sister in law) and myself are going to one of hubby's cousins house for something. I think to drop something off. Or pick something up. Not sure how long we'll be there. We're going sometime around 6 or 7 I think and it takes about 45 minutes or so to get there.
Hmmm....
Then tomorrow morning the three of us will again go out, this time to get hair cuts.
Should be interesting. I don't want that much cut, but need a couple inches off.
Hopefully things will turn out well!
Hubby has started the process to look for apartments here for us, since we won't be moving to Kuwait for at least a little bit, and living with the in-laws is... well... of course not ideal.
I love my new family, but I think I would even have trouble living with my own parents for a month.
lol
I mean, you know... space and all that.
Plus, as an adult, I think it's harder to live with your parents. Boundaries or expectations or something. Who knows.
Maybe I'm just fussy and picky.
:D
I'm not sure that we have any plans for Friday (Ahmed's Saturday), though I may finally try baking something. Just not sure if it will be something chocolate, or something simple like snickerdoodles. Hmmm.....
Pictures tomorrow!!!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Whole lotta Chocolata
It seems, based on the things hubby brought back for me from Kuwait, that we have quite a bit of chocolate in our future. Or as they call it here, chocolata.
I took a few pictures of the chocolate he brought back. He also brought me a 2 cup liquid measuring cup since I didn't bring one with me when I moved, and also he brought me a set of dry measuring cups, so now I'll have an extra!
These first two pictures are the unsweetened baking chocolate that I requested.
It is 1 kilo. Which I looked up and which translates to 2.2 pounds. Wow, that's a lot of chocolate. lol
I guess it will last me for some long while.
So here is the front, which looks rather plain.
And here is the back.
I also requested chocolate chips. I was hoping for Nestle brand which I am used to, but I guess what they had was Hershey's. They don't taste exactly the same as what I am used to but insha'Allah they will be fine. They were on special actually, and came with one bag of chips taped to a canister of baking cocoa, which I don't have pictured. So I have two bags of chips and two canisters of cocoa.
He also bought me some Hershey's kisses, since he knows that I'm fond of them. The packaging is different than what we have in the states but I'm assuming that the taste is the same? We'll find out when I finish my current bag of kisses and try the new bag.
Well, last night was not any better than the night before. We didn't get to sleep before 4:15 a.m. and did not sleep solid before getting out of bed at 6 a.m.
However, last night it was hubby who was really irritated. Not that I wasn't, but I guess I was more upset the night before.
He had opened the sheesh (wood shutters) wide open in the bedroom to let some breeze in because the humidity was something like 65% or so when we went to bed, which was just nasty. He ended up closing it for some reason, which I have to say I was happy for, because I felt like I was naked on preview for the whole world to see. I mean, I wasn't naked, it just felt very open. Like I was outside camping or something.
lol
It was amazing though, when we went out onto the front balcony before going to bed, how chilly and windy it was, though it was still humid.
I'm wondering if the people who grow up with humidity mind it so much? I mean it's not nice in any case but I wonder if you live with it from birth for so many years if you just get used to it.
I talked to hubby about buying some screening to put up over the windows, at least for while we sleep, so that we can get air in and keep the mosquitoes out, and he had been thinking of buying a thin drape material, but in the end we came to a sort of compromise involving neither of those items.
He knows that I don't like any kind of bug spray, though they do use it in some rooms of the house here, and at first he is always telling me that they have some spray that has no smell, but it's not just the smell that I don't like, I don't like the thought of that nasty chemical bug killing crap sprayed over my bedding or belongings. Because it doesn't just disappear. It leaves a residue. And I don't want that on my stuff. Yuck!!
However, there is a sun-room and balcony attached to our bedroom. To get to the sun-room, you open the glass doors, and then the sheesh (wood shutter doors) and you are in the sun-room. In that room, there are wide windows that open, and also a door that opens onto the balcony itself.
I told hubby that if he wants to close the sheesh and glass doors, and go around to the balcony from his parents room (the balcony goes all the way around the back side of their apartment), then he can spray the sun-room area while the bedroom doors are closed.
Meaning, the sun-room can get sprayed all to heck, and it shouldn't get into the bedroom, but if we open the doors from the sun-room to the bedroom later on, it should be okay.
We shall see.
I hope that made sense. lol
I'll try to take a picture later, which would probably make things easier to understand.
I took a few pictures of the chocolate he brought back. He also brought me a 2 cup liquid measuring cup since I didn't bring one with me when I moved, and also he brought me a set of dry measuring cups, so now I'll have an extra!
These first two pictures are the unsweetened baking chocolate that I requested.
It is 1 kilo. Which I looked up and which translates to 2.2 pounds. Wow, that's a lot of chocolate. lol
I guess it will last me for some long while.
So here is the front, which looks rather plain.
And here is the back.
I also requested chocolate chips. I was hoping for Nestle brand which I am used to, but I guess what they had was Hershey's. They don't taste exactly the same as what I am used to but insha'Allah they will be fine. They were on special actually, and came with one bag of chips taped to a canister of baking cocoa, which I don't have pictured. So I have two bags of chips and two canisters of cocoa.
He also bought me some Hershey's kisses, since he knows that I'm fond of them. The packaging is different than what we have in the states but I'm assuming that the taste is the same? We'll find out when I finish my current bag of kisses and try the new bag.
Well, last night was not any better than the night before. We didn't get to sleep before 4:15 a.m. and did not sleep solid before getting out of bed at 6 a.m.
However, last night it was hubby who was really irritated. Not that I wasn't, but I guess I was more upset the night before.
He had opened the sheesh (wood shutters) wide open in the bedroom to let some breeze in because the humidity was something like 65% or so when we went to bed, which was just nasty. He ended up closing it for some reason, which I have to say I was happy for, because I felt like I was naked on preview for the whole world to see. I mean, I wasn't naked, it just felt very open. Like I was outside camping or something.
lol
It was amazing though, when we went out onto the front balcony before going to bed, how chilly and windy it was, though it was still humid.
I'm wondering if the people who grow up with humidity mind it so much? I mean it's not nice in any case but I wonder if you live with it from birth for so many years if you just get used to it.
I talked to hubby about buying some screening to put up over the windows, at least for while we sleep, so that we can get air in and keep the mosquitoes out, and he had been thinking of buying a thin drape material, but in the end we came to a sort of compromise involving neither of those items.
He knows that I don't like any kind of bug spray, though they do use it in some rooms of the house here, and at first he is always telling me that they have some spray that has no smell, but it's not just the smell that I don't like, I don't like the thought of that nasty chemical bug killing crap sprayed over my bedding or belongings. Because it doesn't just disappear. It leaves a residue. And I don't want that on my stuff. Yuck!!
However, there is a sun-room and balcony attached to our bedroom. To get to the sun-room, you open the glass doors, and then the sheesh (wood shutter doors) and you are in the sun-room. In that room, there are wide windows that open, and also a door that opens onto the balcony itself.
I told hubby that if he wants to close the sheesh and glass doors, and go around to the balcony from his parents room (the balcony goes all the way around the back side of their apartment), then he can spray the sun-room area while the bedroom doors are closed.
Meaning, the sun-room can get sprayed all to heck, and it shouldn't get into the bedroom, but if we open the doors from the sun-room to the bedroom later on, it should be okay.
We shall see.
I hope that made sense. lol
I'll try to take a picture later, which would probably make things easier to understand.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Mosquitoes 10, Melissa 2
Well, I have to say, last night was the worst night I've spent since I've been here, and one of the worst nights I've had in general in quite some time. lol
It was VERY humid yesterday and it didn't let up during the night and the heat wasn't coming down very well either.
Somehow (*ahem*, hubby leaving windows and doors open), we got a whole bunch of mosquitoes in the room and so spent til 4 in the morning getting bitten and trying to hide under the sheets not to get bitten, though that didn't work and only made things sweatier. Well, I was the only one under the sheet.
We did manage to kill a few mosquitoes, but not all of them. Hubby even got about 4 or 5 bites. But my 10 or so bites was just a bit much.
I was just so miserable.
:p
Today isn't much better and if tonight isn't better than last night, I'm afraid that my husband will have a mess of a wife on his hands.
Now, enough whining and on to some pictures.
First is the maashi that my MIL made with the vine leaves the other day. Picture is a bit blurry and I've had to try to lighten it up some as well, as it was pretty dark.
Here is the cannelloni. It was very good, though the picture doesn't do them justice. I had to use a flash because it was too dark in the room.
Here we have some of the little snacks that come from a little bakery nearby.
The ones on the left are kind of like little pizzas, minus the cheese. The ones on the right are kind of like the bitay that I have for breakfast, just mini size. They're dough with some kind of salty cheese inside and on top are nigella seeds, though they look like black sesame seeds.
And last are some more munchies from the bakery. These are cookies (they call them biscuits here) that are half vanilla, half chocolate, and all yum!
There's plastic wrap over the top (wow am I lazy or what), so there's a bit of glare.
Hopefully tomorrow will be more pictures and less whine. lol
It was VERY humid yesterday and it didn't let up during the night and the heat wasn't coming down very well either.
Somehow (*ahem*, hubby leaving windows and doors open), we got a whole bunch of mosquitoes in the room and so spent til 4 in the morning getting bitten and trying to hide under the sheets not to get bitten, though that didn't work and only made things sweatier. Well, I was the only one under the sheet.
We did manage to kill a few mosquitoes, but not all of them. Hubby even got about 4 or 5 bites. But my 10 or so bites was just a bit much.
I was just so miserable.
:p
Today isn't much better and if tonight isn't better than last night, I'm afraid that my husband will have a mess of a wife on his hands.
Now, enough whining and on to some pictures.
First is the maashi that my MIL made with the vine leaves the other day. Picture is a bit blurry and I've had to try to lighten it up some as well, as it was pretty dark.
Here is the cannelloni. It was very good, though the picture doesn't do them justice. I had to use a flash because it was too dark in the room.
Here we have some of the little snacks that come from a little bakery nearby.
The ones on the left are kind of like little pizzas, minus the cheese. The ones on the right are kind of like the bitay that I have for breakfast, just mini size. They're dough with some kind of salty cheese inside and on top are nigella seeds, though they look like black sesame seeds.
And last are some more munchies from the bakery. These are cookies (they call them biscuits here) that are half vanilla, half chocolate, and all yum!
There's plastic wrap over the top (wow am I lazy or what), so there's a bit of glare.
Hopefully tomorrow will be more pictures and less whine. lol
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Fish out of water
I feel like I should be a fish with this humidity. It's really disgusting.
lol
Hubby came home yesterday and I was soooooooo happy to see him!
We spent a lot of time just sitting and talking and catching up.
He brought me some nice baking stuff so hopefully I'll be baking soon.
He also bought himself a nice "toy". He says it's for business, and of course it is a business tool, but it's also a play tool. lol
I can't blame him, they're fun, and it's his money, so ya know, whatever makes him happy!
Mom made maashi yesterday, but this kind wasn't filled veggies, it was filled grape leaves that she rolls up with the rice filling inside. Personally I don't like grape leaves so I skipped them. But hubby more than made up for me not eating any. By far. lol
There were also what they call canneloni, though I'm not sure by technical definition that that is what they are. In any case, they were little round doughs that she cooks, kind of like a crepe only a bit thicker I guess, and these ones she had filled with a ground beef mixture and rolled up and then fried. Well, it was ground beef with some onion (I think) but there was a flavor I couldn't place at first and when I asked what it was, they said it was cinnamon. I was so blown away by this combination and it was SO GOOD! Really I was so surprised. It was almost sweet but not quite, but kind of. lol
She also made maashi today, today's version being a very thin slice of beef, rolled around peas and carrots, then individually wrapped in foil and baked, and then after they are all baked, she cooks them in a sauce. Unfortunately, I wasn't so thrilled with the sauce, which had curry and some other spices in it.
I asked hubby how long we would be here before we move to Kuwait insha'Allah.
At first he had been telling me it could be a couple of months, but today I asked him, how long will it be til you know when? Like.... There should be a cut off to say if things are moving fast enough or not or if we will put the move off or what have you. So he said that in 2 weeks, if things are not looking well, we will get a place here of our own in Egypt, instead of staying for months at mom and dad's house.
I was immensely happy to hear that, though of course, when my hubby says two weeks, it could be more like a month. lol
It isn't through any fault of his, he just likes to give the best most optimistic answer, and of course life isn't always working out like we think it will.
Still, the thought of having a/c sooner that I had thought was very welcome.
Insha'Allah I'll make it through however long it takes til we move, wherever we move to.
It's nice to hear him talk about Kuwait, as he really does like it there, though things have changed some in the 15 years that he's been away. But I love listening to hubby talk when he is really excited about something. It makes me excited too, and so now I am waiting eagerly for news of when/if we will move.
One of his cousins who lives there (he has 4 cousins living there) wants to help get me a job there, though I'm not sure that I want to work straight off. It could help us decide if we can move or not, if I'm bringing in money, but of course it will be an adjustment and all since it's a new country.
Everyone always assumes that if you can speak English that you will want/take a job as an English teacher. Which doesn't appeal to me AT ALL. It isn't that I hate kids, but I'm not great at teaching things, and quite honestly don't want the responsibility of teaching a whole class. It's daunting enough trying to teach your own children things. lol
In any case, she told hubby for me to get my CV/resume ready and send to her and she would see what she could find for me.
I would definitely appreciate living so close to the sea. I would love to have a house at the ocean some day, but who knows if that some day will ever come, and if the closest I can get in the meantime is an apartment by the Red Sea, I could be doing a whole lot worse.
Though, of course, it's too hot during the day for the most part to go out to the sea. But at night or early morning, or during the "winter", it is alright.
The one things that has struck me about Kuwait, and one of the reasons in my "not thrilled about moving there" column, is that from the pictures and videos I have seen, there is no character to the country.
In respects similar to the US in places where you have all the same grocery and shopping center stores. Like everything looks the same and there is no individuality. That is something that I truly love about Egypt. Sure there are some chain stores here, but for the most part, everything is individual. Different. Unique. I feel like I will never run out of things to explore or look at or take pictures of here, no matter how long we live here. But I don't get that feeling from Kuwait at all. And hubby agreed when I told him how I felt. He said that only the older part of the city still was kind of okay.
I mean, the new buildings are pretty and all, just... there is nothing special about them. You can find a similar tall flashy building in any modern city.
Anyways, we shall see how it feels/looks when I actually get there insha'Allah.
Alright, finally I'll post the pictures that I took of one of the casseroles that my mother in law made. It had veggies and a cream sauce. She calls it bechamel sauce.
So this first picture is of the veggies cooking. Zucchini and carrots.
They are spiced with what appears to be pepper and I'm assuming salt as well.
After they are done cooking, she puts them into this round pan, and puts about half of the bechamel sauce on them, just enough to cover them.
To the rest of the bechamel, she adds two eggs.
And then she pours that mixture on top of the veggies.
This is the finished product. Unfortunately, taken in the dining room where there is little light, and I had to use the flash, so it doesn't look that great.
But, it was supremely tasty.
I have a bunch more food pictures but this is enough for today I guess.
lol
Hubby came home yesterday and I was soooooooo happy to see him!
We spent a lot of time just sitting and talking and catching up.
He brought me some nice baking stuff so hopefully I'll be baking soon.
He also bought himself a nice "toy". He says it's for business, and of course it is a business tool, but it's also a play tool. lol
I can't blame him, they're fun, and it's his money, so ya know, whatever makes him happy!
Mom made maashi yesterday, but this kind wasn't filled veggies, it was filled grape leaves that she rolls up with the rice filling inside. Personally I don't like grape leaves so I skipped them. But hubby more than made up for me not eating any. By far. lol
There were also what they call canneloni, though I'm not sure by technical definition that that is what they are. In any case, they were little round doughs that she cooks, kind of like a crepe only a bit thicker I guess, and these ones she had filled with a ground beef mixture and rolled up and then fried. Well, it was ground beef with some onion (I think) but there was a flavor I couldn't place at first and when I asked what it was, they said it was cinnamon. I was so blown away by this combination and it was SO GOOD! Really I was so surprised. It was almost sweet but not quite, but kind of. lol
She also made maashi today, today's version being a very thin slice of beef, rolled around peas and carrots, then individually wrapped in foil and baked, and then after they are all baked, she cooks them in a sauce. Unfortunately, I wasn't so thrilled with the sauce, which had curry and some other spices in it.
I asked hubby how long we would be here before we move to Kuwait insha'Allah.
At first he had been telling me it could be a couple of months, but today I asked him, how long will it be til you know when? Like.... There should be a cut off to say if things are moving fast enough or not or if we will put the move off or what have you. So he said that in 2 weeks, if things are not looking well, we will get a place here of our own in Egypt, instead of staying for months at mom and dad's house.
I was immensely happy to hear that, though of course, when my hubby says two weeks, it could be more like a month. lol
It isn't through any fault of his, he just likes to give the best most optimistic answer, and of course life isn't always working out like we think it will.
Still, the thought of having a/c sooner that I had thought was very welcome.
Insha'Allah I'll make it through however long it takes til we move, wherever we move to.
It's nice to hear him talk about Kuwait, as he really does like it there, though things have changed some in the 15 years that he's been away. But I love listening to hubby talk when he is really excited about something. It makes me excited too, and so now I am waiting eagerly for news of when/if we will move.
One of his cousins who lives there (he has 4 cousins living there) wants to help get me a job there, though I'm not sure that I want to work straight off. It could help us decide if we can move or not, if I'm bringing in money, but of course it will be an adjustment and all since it's a new country.
Everyone always assumes that if you can speak English that you will want/take a job as an English teacher. Which doesn't appeal to me AT ALL. It isn't that I hate kids, but I'm not great at teaching things, and quite honestly don't want the responsibility of teaching a whole class. It's daunting enough trying to teach your own children things. lol
In any case, she told hubby for me to get my CV/resume ready and send to her and she would see what she could find for me.
I would definitely appreciate living so close to the sea. I would love to have a house at the ocean some day, but who knows if that some day will ever come, and if the closest I can get in the meantime is an apartment by the Red Sea, I could be doing a whole lot worse.
Though, of course, it's too hot during the day for the most part to go out to the sea. But at night or early morning, or during the "winter", it is alright.
The one things that has struck me about Kuwait, and one of the reasons in my "not thrilled about moving there" column, is that from the pictures and videos I have seen, there is no character to the country.
In respects similar to the US in places where you have all the same grocery and shopping center stores. Like everything looks the same and there is no individuality. That is something that I truly love about Egypt. Sure there are some chain stores here, but for the most part, everything is individual. Different. Unique. I feel like I will never run out of things to explore or look at or take pictures of here, no matter how long we live here. But I don't get that feeling from Kuwait at all. And hubby agreed when I told him how I felt. He said that only the older part of the city still was kind of okay.
I mean, the new buildings are pretty and all, just... there is nothing special about them. You can find a similar tall flashy building in any modern city.
Anyways, we shall see how it feels/looks when I actually get there insha'Allah.
Alright, finally I'll post the pictures that I took of one of the casseroles that my mother in law made. It had veggies and a cream sauce. She calls it bechamel sauce.
So this first picture is of the veggies cooking. Zucchini and carrots.
They are spiced with what appears to be pepper and I'm assuming salt as well.
After they are done cooking, she puts them into this round pan, and puts about half of the bechamel sauce on them, just enough to cover them.
To the rest of the bechamel, she adds two eggs.
And then she pours that mixture on top of the veggies.
This is the finished product. Unfortunately, taken in the dining room where there is little light, and I had to use the flash, so it doesn't look that great.
But, it was supremely tasty.
I have a bunch more food pictures but this is enough for today I guess.
Friday, June 12, 2009
The eagle has landed
Well, hurray, hubby has landed safely alhamdulillah, and is probably still at the airport, waiting to disembark or get out of the terminal.
He should be home soon insha'Allah and then we will all eat!
My mother in law was waiting lunch on his return, so it's late and I guess we're all hungry. lol
It's 4:45 now and I guess we won't eat til 5:30 at earliest.
Anyways, very happy to have him home, very happy indeed.
I had pictures ready to post yesterday but didn't manage to make any posts and today though I'm posting my mind isn't sitting still long enough to explain pictures.
lol
The ones I have are food and need some explanation, so insha'Allah I'll post them tomorrow.
Hubby said he managed to get most of the things I asked for from Kuwait, though they are all baking related. lol
He did not find double acting baking powder, but I read up online and found that there is a specific combo of baking soda and cream of tartar that should work perfect as a replacement, and since I have cream of tartar and can get baking soda here, I think I'm in business!
He even managed to get me a liquid measuring cup, which I did not bring with me from the States.
Not sure what I'll make first, but I set aside some recipes that were fairly simple in terms of ingredients. Most of them have cinnamon in them, not sure how that happened. lol
But I'm looking forward to some treats soon.
Still hot and humid. Still trying to figure out a way to deal with it.
It's quite wearying to be honest, the humidity. I'm sure those in the States who live in humid areas are well aware of that. I'm sure I sound whiny and spoiled about it but... so be it. lol
I'm hoping either my sister in law and myself, or hubby and I can go shopping soon for some cooler clothes, since I was counting on a/c for the most part.
On the last book of the Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King. I anticipate finishing in a couple of days or so.
Nice series. I liked the first book better than the second, and not sure about the third, but I guess I will like that better than the second as well.
He should be home soon insha'Allah and then we will all eat!
My mother in law was waiting lunch on his return, so it's late and I guess we're all hungry. lol
It's 4:45 now and I guess we won't eat til 5:30 at earliest.
Anyways, very happy to have him home, very happy indeed.
I had pictures ready to post yesterday but didn't manage to make any posts and today though I'm posting my mind isn't sitting still long enough to explain pictures.
lol
The ones I have are food and need some explanation, so insha'Allah I'll post them tomorrow.
Hubby said he managed to get most of the things I asked for from Kuwait, though they are all baking related. lol
He did not find double acting baking powder, but I read up online and found that there is a specific combo of baking soda and cream of tartar that should work perfect as a replacement, and since I have cream of tartar and can get baking soda here, I think I'm in business!
He even managed to get me a liquid measuring cup, which I did not bring with me from the States.
Not sure what I'll make first, but I set aside some recipes that were fairly simple in terms of ingredients. Most of them have cinnamon in them, not sure how that happened. lol
But I'm looking forward to some treats soon.
Still hot and humid. Still trying to figure out a way to deal with it.
It's quite wearying to be honest, the humidity. I'm sure those in the States who live in humid areas are well aware of that. I'm sure I sound whiny and spoiled about it but... so be it. lol
I'm hoping either my sister in law and myself, or hubby and I can go shopping soon for some cooler clothes, since I was counting on a/c for the most part.
On the last book of the Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King. I anticipate finishing in a couple of days or so.
Nice series. I liked the first book better than the second, and not sure about the third, but I guess I will like that better than the second as well.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Hmmmm.....
Still have not uploaded the videos of the street repaving. And haven't edited any pictures to post today.
Just not much going on here and it's too hot to do much but sit around and wish that the fans would somehow turn into air conditioners.
lol
I'm On the last book of the Lord of the Rings books, The Return of the King.
Hubby should be back Friday.
He had said that we could go away for a week when he got back, but I'm not gonna hold my breath on it. I know he'll have a lot of work to catch up on at the office, and be busy trying to build up business in Kuwait.
This is Jake's last week of school and then summer vacation. If you can call it that seeing as he's going to be attending summer school.
lol
Oh well, live and learn I suppose.
Just not much going on here and it's too hot to do much but sit around and wish that the fans would somehow turn into air conditioners.
lol
I'm On the last book of the Lord of the Rings books, The Return of the King.
Hubby should be back Friday.
He had said that we could go away for a week when he got back, but I'm not gonna hold my breath on it. I know he'll have a lot of work to catch up on at the office, and be busy trying to build up business in Kuwait.
This is Jake's last week of school and then summer vacation. If you can call it that seeing as he's going to be attending summer school.
lol
Oh well, live and learn I suppose.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Maashi
Another day of reading and hanging around.
I was treated to the sound of roadwork down on the street all day yesterday. It seems they were going to repave the road, but they had some kind of tractor that was going back and forth on the street doing I'm not sure what. I took some videos so I'll give the link to one of them.
Anyways, they finally started the actual laying of asphalt at 12:30. a.m.
Yes, why pave the road during the day, when you can make that much noise so late at night?
lol
I heard the tractor again at 6:30 or so this morning. I was prepared to be fairly irritated after not having gotten to sleep til close to 3 a.m., however after a minute or two, either I fell back to sleep regardless, or it stopped. I can't remember which.
Anyways, there is new pavement on the street.
The family joked that they renewed it because I was here.
I think just because of all the renewing they did for Obama's visit. It was crazy the work they were doing when he would only be here for 8 hours. Not that the work didn't need to be done mind you.
Hubby's trip has been extended and he will now be home either Thursday or Friday insha'Allah. Thursday if he makes standby, and if not then he is definitely booked for Friday.
He only needed to stay one more day and could have come home Wednesday, but I guess all the flights were booked.
And he definitely wants to make the move to Kuwait. However it won't be until he can bring enough business to be profitable there. And he isn't sure how long it will take, his guess being between 1 to 3 months. Or maybe more.
During which time we will continue to live at my in-laws apartment.
With no a/c. And more mosquitoes than you can shake a stick at.
During the hottest and most humid months of the year.
Oh, you can bet your patootie I'm excited about that!!!
Pictures for today are the maashi that mom made the other day.
This first picture is of the veggies after she has hollowed them out. Mostly you see zucchini in this picture, though there is the one white eggplant, and the bell peppers are hiding somewhere, I guess underneath.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the finished maashi before mom started serving it. This was after everyone had eaten, what was left in the pot.
In the back you can see the white eggplant, and off to the right and left sides are the zucchini, in the bottom middle there are a few bell peppers.
Maashi is very tasty but it's pretty heavy, as is a lot of the food here.
The rice that the veggies are stuffed with has a variety of spices in it. It's not my favorite as there is some spice in there which is slightly off and not to my taste, but I don't know what it is.
I like the stuffed zucchinis the best, followed by the eggplant. The eggplant is a bit mushy and hmmm... I'm maybe not used to the taste of it. For some reason, when the bell peppers are cooked like this I don't like the taste of them at all, and just eat the rice from inside. Funnily enough, hubby does the same. lol
I think I will post the video of the street work tomorrow, since I don't have it uploaded to youtube yet.
I was treated to the sound of roadwork down on the street all day yesterday. It seems they were going to repave the road, but they had some kind of tractor that was going back and forth on the street doing I'm not sure what. I took some videos so I'll give the link to one of them.
Anyways, they finally started the actual laying of asphalt at 12:30. a.m.
Yes, why pave the road during the day, when you can make that much noise so late at night?
lol
I heard the tractor again at 6:30 or so this morning. I was prepared to be fairly irritated after not having gotten to sleep til close to 3 a.m., however after a minute or two, either I fell back to sleep regardless, or it stopped. I can't remember which.
Anyways, there is new pavement on the street.
The family joked that they renewed it because I was here.
I think just because of all the renewing they did for Obama's visit. It was crazy the work they were doing when he would only be here for 8 hours. Not that the work didn't need to be done mind you.
Hubby's trip has been extended and he will now be home either Thursday or Friday insha'Allah. Thursday if he makes standby, and if not then he is definitely booked for Friday.
He only needed to stay one more day and could have come home Wednesday, but I guess all the flights were booked.
And he definitely wants to make the move to Kuwait. However it won't be until he can bring enough business to be profitable there. And he isn't sure how long it will take, his guess being between 1 to 3 months. Or maybe more.
During which time we will continue to live at my in-laws apartment.
With no a/c. And more mosquitoes than you can shake a stick at.
During the hottest and most humid months of the year.
Oh, you can bet your patootie I'm excited about that!!!
Pictures for today are the maashi that mom made the other day.
This first picture is of the veggies after she has hollowed them out. Mostly you see zucchini in this picture, though there is the one white eggplant, and the bell peppers are hiding somewhere, I guess underneath.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the finished maashi before mom started serving it. This was after everyone had eaten, what was left in the pot.
In the back you can see the white eggplant, and off to the right and left sides are the zucchini, in the bottom middle there are a few bell peppers.
Maashi is very tasty but it's pretty heavy, as is a lot of the food here.
The rice that the veggies are stuffed with has a variety of spices in it. It's not my favorite as there is some spice in there which is slightly off and not to my taste, but I don't know what it is.
I like the stuffed zucchinis the best, followed by the eggplant. The eggplant is a bit mushy and hmmm... I'm maybe not used to the taste of it. For some reason, when the bell peppers are cooked like this I don't like the taste of them at all, and just eat the rice from inside. Funnily enough, hubby does the same. lol
I think I will post the video of the street work tomorrow, since I don't have it uploaded to youtube yet.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Guest photos
Another hot and humid one.
I guess we should just assume that is the norm from now on out, until about late October or into November. I heard yesterday from one of Ahmed's cousins, that July and August were the worst months for humidity.
I can't say I was pleased to hear that, since it's already humid now. lol
Oh well.
Hubby sent me some photos from Kuwait. I figured I could post a few here. I wish that some of them had come out better but there are still some nice ones to post.
Of course, I'm not really sure what any of this stuff is.... lol
First is, I think, a view of an inlet of the sea? I'll ask hubby and see what he says.
It's got a nice view of part of the city, and you can see it looks fairly modern and nice.
Next is actually one of my favorite photos that he sent, though it doesn't show much. lol
I just like the reflection, how it's broken up. I think this is one of the towers that is reflected. There are several "towers" that are like a spire or something with a ball on them? I'll try to get a good picture of them. The ones hubby sent are kinda blurry.
Last we have....... cows!! Woohoo!
Part of hubby's work in Kuwait has to do with agriculture, and so he was visiting one of the farms/clinics to check something out. This is not in his usual day to day activities, I can promise you. lol
I think that's it for today folks.
More pictures tomorrow.
I guess we should just assume that is the norm from now on out, until about late October or into November. I heard yesterday from one of Ahmed's cousins, that July and August were the worst months for humidity.
I can't say I was pleased to hear that, since it's already humid now. lol
Oh well.
Hubby sent me some photos from Kuwait. I figured I could post a few here. I wish that some of them had come out better but there are still some nice ones to post.
Of course, I'm not really sure what any of this stuff is.... lol
First is, I think, a view of an inlet of the sea? I'll ask hubby and see what he says.
It's got a nice view of part of the city, and you can see it looks fairly modern and nice.
Next is actually one of my favorite photos that he sent, though it doesn't show much. lol
I just like the reflection, how it's broken up. I think this is one of the towers that is reflected. There are several "towers" that are like a spire or something with a ball on them? I'll try to get a good picture of them. The ones hubby sent are kinda blurry.
Last we have....... cows!! Woohoo!
Part of hubby's work in Kuwait has to do with agriculture, and so he was visiting one of the farms/clinics to check something out. This is not in his usual day to day activities, I can promise you. lol
I think that's it for today folks.
More pictures tomorrow.
Friday, June 5, 2009
It's a new day, it's a new dawn
Another very hot day here, I guess it was over 100. I think the summer will only get hotter, though there will be days where it is under 100 insha'Allah.
I was out on the balcony taking a video this morning when the batteries in my camera pooped out on me. It seems the other batteries that I thought were charged were not, in addition to the several that already needed to be charged, so today was a day of charging batteries. At least this morning was. This afternoon I got some shots of mom making maashi, which is stuffed veggies. I'll post those sometime in the next few days. I also still have the veggies with bechamel sauce to post, as well as a few other food pics.
Still going strong on LOTR. a good ways into the second half of the first book. I imagine that I'll finish it today.
My sister in law has a friend/work colleague over and they are working on a 30 page paper that her friend needs to do towards her Masters degree.
Her friend is very nice and offered to take me around on a tour of some sites in Egypt after some studies are over, in about a month. It should be nice insha'Allah.
Hubby is shopping today in Kuwait. Or at least window shopping. I know he has many things he wants to buy for himself. I let him know it would be in his best interests to bring me something. lol
We actually discussed it before he left for the trip and he already had a couple of things that he might get me. We will see what happens.
First pic is of some veggies that mom had sitting on the little table in the kitchen. Not sure why she had them in this lid but I thought the combination was pretty. The bell pepper is on the miniature side, close to the size they use for making maashi, and the carrot is actually thinner at the top than many of them I see, which are quite fat at the top and rather short. Maybe this is how carrots look naturally?
Also on the table were some zucchini in a plastic bag.
This last picture is from today. Mom made some little cakes. They are from a box but I'm sure they'll taste fine. They certainly smelled good baking in the oven.
The power went out three or four times yesterday, but only for a minute or three each time. It hasn't caused me any trouble, but I can imagine that it could cause some grief, depending on what you were doing. Since I'm always using a laptop for a computer, and it's always either charged or charging when it gets low, I don't have to worry about the power like if I was using a desktop computer.
Anyways I guess it is fairly common for the power to go out in the summer, and it's no wonder with the increased a/c usage and the number of people living in this city.
There is not enough water, enough power, enough jobs, enough of a lot of things.
Alhamdulillah for what I and my family here have.
I was out on the balcony taking a video this morning when the batteries in my camera pooped out on me. It seems the other batteries that I thought were charged were not, in addition to the several that already needed to be charged, so today was a day of charging batteries. At least this morning was. This afternoon I got some shots of mom making maashi, which is stuffed veggies. I'll post those sometime in the next few days. I also still have the veggies with bechamel sauce to post, as well as a few other food pics.
Still going strong on LOTR. a good ways into the second half of the first book. I imagine that I'll finish it today.
My sister in law has a friend/work colleague over and they are working on a 30 page paper that her friend needs to do towards her Masters degree.
Her friend is very nice and offered to take me around on a tour of some sites in Egypt after some studies are over, in about a month. It should be nice insha'Allah.
Hubby is shopping today in Kuwait. Or at least window shopping. I know he has many things he wants to buy for himself. I let him know it would be in his best interests to bring me something. lol
We actually discussed it before he left for the trip and he already had a couple of things that he might get me. We will see what happens.
First pic is of some veggies that mom had sitting on the little table in the kitchen. Not sure why she had them in this lid but I thought the combination was pretty. The bell pepper is on the miniature side, close to the size they use for making maashi, and the carrot is actually thinner at the top than many of them I see, which are quite fat at the top and rather short. Maybe this is how carrots look naturally?
Also on the table were some zucchini in a plastic bag.
This last picture is from today. Mom made some little cakes. They are from a box but I'm sure they'll taste fine. They certainly smelled good baking in the oven.
The power went out three or four times yesterday, but only for a minute or three each time. It hasn't caused me any trouble, but I can imagine that it could cause some grief, depending on what you were doing. Since I'm always using a laptop for a computer, and it's always either charged or charging when it gets low, I don't have to worry about the power like if I was using a desktop computer.
Anyways I guess it is fairly common for the power to go out in the summer, and it's no wonder with the increased a/c usage and the number of people living in this city.
There is not enough water, enough power, enough jobs, enough of a lot of things.
Alhamdulillah for what I and my family here have.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Fiddle de de, fibber thee
Well, it has been too hot and too humid here. Even fans don't help much.
And the mosquitoes are having a feast with me!
I promised pictures but I haven't got round to editing them yet to post them.
Much of what I have done in the last days is read. I'm on the first book of the LOTR trilogy now, on chapter 10. Good reading and a nice way to pass the time in the heat, as it's too hot to do much else.
We had a lovely meal at lunch yesterday. Mom made pasta with a white sauce and mozzarella cheese. It was very yummy! There was also leftover veggie soup for me in addition to fried potatoes AND chicken. Holy smokes they eat a lot here. Mom is totally trying to fatten me up.
Hubby is schedule to be back later on Tuesday, but that is subject to change, as everything seems to be here.
I'm working on something to post here, but I'll let it be a surprise for now. It will take a few more days to gather what I need I suppose, but it should be nice insha'Allah.
Does anyone know if single acting baking powder can be used in place of double acting? Like maybe I can just use double the amount? It seems single acting is the norm here in Egypt, and double acting is the norm in the States, so things won't bake exactly the same way.
I will endeavor to post some pictures tomorrow. Lets see what happens.
And the mosquitoes are having a feast with me!
I promised pictures but I haven't got round to editing them yet to post them.
Much of what I have done in the last days is read. I'm on the first book of the LOTR trilogy now, on chapter 10. Good reading and a nice way to pass the time in the heat, as it's too hot to do much else.
We had a lovely meal at lunch yesterday. Mom made pasta with a white sauce and mozzarella cheese. It was very yummy! There was also leftover veggie soup for me in addition to fried potatoes AND chicken. Holy smokes they eat a lot here. Mom is totally trying to fatten me up.
Hubby is schedule to be back later on Tuesday, but that is subject to change, as everything seems to be here.
I'm working on something to post here, but I'll let it be a surprise for now. It will take a few more days to gather what I need I suppose, but it should be nice insha'Allah.
Does anyone know if single acting baking powder can be used in place of double acting? Like maybe I can just use double the amount? It seems single acting is the norm here in Egypt, and double acting is the norm in the States, so things won't bake exactly the same way.
I will endeavor to post some pictures tomorrow. Lets see what happens.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The grump!
Well, I am hot and sweaty and grumpy this evening, so you are just going to get some pictures.
I did get pictures of mom making a dish today but I will post those tomorrow I think.
So, first is a picture of the chocolate bitay (like a chocolate croissant) that I was talking about the other day. Not a great picture but it at least gives you an idea.
And, I have to say, they are VERY tasty.
Next up we have something that I haven't tried, and don't plan to.
They were brought/bought by the lady who helps to clean the house here.
Apparently, they are made with molasses and also have peanuts in them somewhere, (though I'm guessing ground?) and also some other ingredients I'm sure. They are hard sticks with a hole down through the middle.
It took me a while to figure out, when my brother in law was telling me that they had peanuts, what he meant, since he called them bean nuts. Because in Arabic they don't have the letter p, p's and b's here are often confused. It happens to almost everyone and they shouldn't feel bad for it at all. It just leads to some confusion on my part at times as to what is meant.
Here we have the cookies, or biscuits as they call cookies here, that I have become addicted to. They seem a bit like shortbread cookies? They are very buttery with a hint of vanilla. I usually eat several a day. And yes, those are my hips you hear expanding.
They have a cellophane wrapping over them which might give a slightly odd look in the picture.
Last is a picture of where I hang out at for most of the day.
Generally on the computer.
Sometimes I go into the bedroom and can occasionally get some unsecured wifi from someone around here. But mostly I'm on the couch.
It is not exactly comfortable. At all. In any sense. Except for in the sense that it's probably more comfortable than the floor. Maybe.
Not to say anything bad about my in laws. At all.
The couch just isn't made for being comfortable. I guess they make furniture here to entertain or to look "nice". Not for any comfort.
The sun has now fallen below the horizon, which means it's time for the mosquitoes to come out and start attacking me. Which means it's time to put on my long sleeves and socks, even though it's 93 degrees and we've no a/c.
Yeah, color me happy.
Tomorrow I will have some nice food pictures.
Hope I haven't scared you all off.
lol
I did get pictures of mom making a dish today but I will post those tomorrow I think.
So, first is a picture of the chocolate bitay (like a chocolate croissant) that I was talking about the other day. Not a great picture but it at least gives you an idea.
And, I have to say, they are VERY tasty.
Next up we have something that I haven't tried, and don't plan to.
They were brought/bought by the lady who helps to clean the house here.
Apparently, they are made with molasses and also have peanuts in them somewhere, (though I'm guessing ground?) and also some other ingredients I'm sure. They are hard sticks with a hole down through the middle.
It took me a while to figure out, when my brother in law was telling me that they had peanuts, what he meant, since he called them bean nuts. Because in Arabic they don't have the letter p, p's and b's here are often confused. It happens to almost everyone and they shouldn't feel bad for it at all. It just leads to some confusion on my part at times as to what is meant.
Here we have the cookies, or biscuits as they call cookies here, that I have become addicted to. They seem a bit like shortbread cookies? They are very buttery with a hint of vanilla. I usually eat several a day. And yes, those are my hips you hear expanding.
They have a cellophane wrapping over them which might give a slightly odd look in the picture.
Last is a picture of where I hang out at for most of the day.
Generally on the computer.
Sometimes I go into the bedroom and can occasionally get some unsecured wifi from someone around here. But mostly I'm on the couch.
It is not exactly comfortable. At all. In any sense. Except for in the sense that it's probably more comfortable than the floor. Maybe.
Not to say anything bad about my in laws. At all.
The couch just isn't made for being comfortable. I guess they make furniture here to entertain or to look "nice". Not for any comfort.
The sun has now fallen below the horizon, which means it's time for the mosquitoes to come out and start attacking me. Which means it's time to put on my long sleeves and socks, even though it's 93 degrees and we've no a/c.
Yeah, color me happy.
Tomorrow I will have some nice food pictures.
Hope I haven't scared you all off.
lol
Monday, June 1, 2009
Hobbits about!
Not much to speak of the last two days.
Just been here with the in-laws.
Mom made my favorite chicken dish on Saturday for lunch (which is the main meal here).
Yesterday my brother in law had some nice pastries delivered because I had mentioned something about liking cinnamon.
Everyone is being very nice.
But I still miss Ahmed. He must be very busy as I've barely heard from him!!
:p
Started reading The Hobbit on Sunday night and am on chapter 12 now. I originally read the book when I was a teenager. It's probably been about 25 years or so since I read it. After that I will delve into the LOTR books. Something to occupy my time at least.
I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow. Though I'm running low on any interesting pics to post, and won't be going outside to take any at least until Ahmed is back I suppose.
Though there is always mom's cooking, or things in the kitchen. Hmmm......
Merry June to everyone!
Just been here with the in-laws.
Mom made my favorite chicken dish on Saturday for lunch (which is the main meal here).
Yesterday my brother in law had some nice pastries delivered because I had mentioned something about liking cinnamon.
Everyone is being very nice.
But I still miss Ahmed. He must be very busy as I've barely heard from him!!
:p
Started reading The Hobbit on Sunday night and am on chapter 12 now. I originally read the book when I was a teenager. It's probably been about 25 years or so since I read it. After that I will delve into the LOTR books. Something to occupy my time at least.
I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow. Though I'm running low on any interesting pics to post, and won't be going outside to take any at least until Ahmed is back I suppose.
Though there is always mom's cooking, or things in the kitchen. Hmmm......
Merry June to everyone!
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