Well we've had a busy couple of days. And today we had the "pleasure" of rain.
I had wanted to get my Egyptian drivers license before my international drivers license wore out on March 1, as I heard it was super simple to get the Egyptian license this way as opposed to without the international license. However, we never did get my multiple year residency visa which of course would be required to get an Egyptian drivers license, so we decided to kill two birds with one stone and get them both done at the same time, and what we thought was the same place.
We went down Wednesday morning to the Mogamma, which is the big building full of ministry offices.
When we went to check on the visa, we were told that we had to bring a copy of my "Muslim" certificate that we got from Al Azhar on my last trip. Why they needed an official paper stating that I was a Muslim I don't know, but since it said on our marriage contract, which they also needed but which we had a copy of, that I was Muslim, they needed proof. Something about being more thorough with their paperwork or some garbage.
So, after that we went to check on the drivers license. And were told that you don't do that at the Mogamma, you do that at your local branch of the drivers license place, which was totally different than all of the information I had read online from other ex-pats and which was also disappointing, having made our trip downtown a total waste of time.
However, after we left the Mogamma, we headed to a trade show that I had heard about, it was a textiles trade show, and though I had written for information, I never heard back if it was only for manufacturers and such or if the average person off the street would find anything useful there.
I had read that they would have machines for sewing, embroidery, fabrics and all sorts of other things.
It was at the fairgrounds where they had just held the famous book faire, the one which we missed unfortunately.
Well it turns out after much walking through all the buildings, that it was really just for manufacturers and such, so we didn't get much out of it, but we did get to see some neat machines that did embroidery, and huge machines that did quilting. Those were actually pretty cool. But, nothing to buy for the average person and in the end, also a bit of a waste of time. Except we found out there will be a furniture fair there starting in mid March which we will go to insha'Allah.
So, back home we went.
And started all over again this morning, only this time add rain to the mix.
It rains so infrequently here that we were both happy about the rain, except while I understood how that could make things difficult, hubby was only just excited about the rain. lol
Erm, just checked by the way because the windows in the reception were making noise, and it seems that we're having more rain and add some thunder and lightning to the mix! woohoo! :D I've moved from the bed to our little stool in front of the windows in the reception so I can watch.
Anyways, we headed down to the Mogamma. It is, as always, a great place to people watch. Just wonderful for seeing all sorts of people from all over the place.
We found the right window to go to and had all our paperwork this time. I had filled out the form we needed before we got there, which is a good thing to do since there are no tables to speak of there, only the little counter area in front of the windows.
We had to do some running around to different places getting signatures and buying stamps and such, and in the end, we will have to go back a week from today to get the visa itself. It seems they do some background checks or something before issuing a residency visa, and so it wasn't a waste to go today but we didn't leave with the visa as we had thought we would. We will go back next Thursday insha'Allah.
After that, and while it was still raining, we walked downtown because hubby had heard about a place that sells Brother sewing machines and so we went in search of it. It was a longer walk than I was expecting and let me tell you, the streets here when it rains do not become cleaner as one would hope, they become a muddy pig pen. Gross gross gross! Not a day to have been dumb enough to be wearing sandals, which I saw plenty of people wearing. And definitely requiring a lot of attention as to where you step since there are no drains and you are likely as not to step in a large puddle of muddy water.
Well we did finally find the sewing shop but guess what? They were closed for the week for the same trade show that we had visited the day before and wouldn't be back open until Sunday. We did find the repair shop for the place though and the guy was able to bring out one machine, in a box, which I wrote down the model number of. It's not the model I want and they want way too much money for it, so we will wait til the store is open again and go see what we can see. Perhaps next week when we go down for the visa.
After that we had another little adventure, this one called the Metro, or underground. I had never ridden on it, despite having been here for almost a year. It's fairly cheap and you can ride to as many stations as you like on one ticket as long as you don't exit the system.
It was, of course, crowded, though I'm sure it gets more crowded than it was. It's also a bit stuffy, though I did see small fans mounted to the tops of the trains inside, covered by cages so that no one could steal them presumably. Or mess with them. I don't think they did much good but perhaps they would be at least somewhat of a blessing in the hot summer weather.
There was a lady and her son sitting next to us (we were standing the whole time, no seats available) and they were eating something like sunflower seeds. And, of course, spitting the seeds out on the ground.
Honestly, I mean really, honestly, it doesn't take that much to be considerate of others. Of people around you or who will come after you and use the space you're using. The seed shells weren't particularly bothering me but it makes a mess and some other poor soul has to clean up your spit out shells. How hard can it be to use a tissue or something else and make the world a little bit nicer?
It seems though, that that is a pretty common attitude in Egypt when it comes to garbage. I mean.. that people just don't care. It's a shame for sure. You see it everywhere, people throwing litter out without a thought or care at all for what it's doing to their city. Wouldn't everyone enjoy a place with less litter dotting the landscapes? It can't be just me.
Well, we arrived home and I was beat! My legs were so tired from all the walking, including numerous amounts of stairs in the Metro.
Awesome thunder and lightening here right now by the way. Very cool.
I know I had some more impressions, but this is what I'm remembering for now. Still other things to post, as always. And I had so many good camera opportunities today, but someone convinced me to leave the camera at home, since they make you check them when you go to the Mogamma building. lol
Oh well, there's always next time right?
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Butter worms
There is a nap with my name on it, and it is calling strongly, but in the interest of getting a post in before another few days goes by, I shall resist, at least until this is posted.
One of the new kitchen items I got when we were shopping a week or so ago was what I believe to be a potato masher. What I really wanted was a pastry cutter but I'm not sure if I'll find one here or not and I figured this would do for now, if not for good. I've used it twice for mashing butter/sugar together, and also last night I used it on some chickpeas. Fun!
So here's a picture from the first time I used it. I was so amused by the little butter "worms" lol.
And I suppose mashers can bring us to last night's dinner, which is what was deemed Melissa's Middle Eastern Extravaganza., with complete lack of seriousness. lol
I started off with a yeast bread recipe for Greek pita bread. It looked fairly simple to make and it was. So while the bread was rising, I started making the caramelized onion hummus, which was also easy but took some time. This is the part of the dinner that I used the potato masher for. :D I don't have a food processor or blender, so I used the masher to mash the chickpeas up a bit. While I was making that I also started getting everything together for a garlic vinegar sauce which is VERY yummy, which was to go over the cous cous, which is the only thing that I didn't make from scratch.
All in all, it took a couple of hours, a little over I guess, to make everything. The bread took a bit to cook as you cook it kind of like a pancake, and since you're only cooking one piece at a time and there are 6, it just takes a while. I finished up the garlic vinegar sauce while I was cooking the bread.
The bread was really simple to spread out into circles, I didn't even need a rolling pin, which I was somewhat worried about since I don't have one yet. I just used my hands to spread it out, easy peasy! And it tasted really great. Hubby had some of the leftover later on with a sweet spread called halawa.
Anyways, here's a picture of the food. I had wanted to cut up some cucumber and put it in yogurt but I ran out of time and energy. lol
The bread should be obvious. The hummus is in the bowls to either side of the bread, and the garlic vinegar sauce is the little bowl with the spoon sticking out of it. The bigger bowl with the black spoon is the cous cous. Who knew one cup dry would make so much??!!!
:::
Actually, speaking of food, I was making pancakes the other morning. I was on the last pan and looked down at the stove and saw the tiniest ants you could ever possibly imagine. I would not have been able to see them with my glasses off. They were just tiny specks moving, and also they were a light color, not dark. VERY hard to see! In any case, gross. I couldn't exactly figure out where they were going to or coming from, except from one part of the oven to another. And there's nothing in there to attract them that I know of. It was odd. And, like I said, gross. Slightly ruinous of appetite, but I ate the pancakes anyways. lol
I got some vinegar out a little later and wiped the stove down, and baked something later on that day and we haven't seen them since. Kind of creepy though how small they were.
The ant sizes here are really amazing. From the tiny tiniest, to the largest ants you could imagine. They look like the ones you see on the nature channel when they magnify the picture of the bugs. lol
Totally creepy. Oh well.
:::
More food related... lol
We went by the in laws on Friday to celebrate my sister in law and one of hubby's cousin's birthdays. I made some brownies and some chocolate chip bars.
The brownies were SO good. The recipe stated that they tasted like the kind you get from the store, from a box mix, and it's true, they did. I guess if you don't like the box mix this would be disappointing but I loved them as did everyone else mashAllah! Very moist and chocolaty and I guess they are my new favorite as opposed to my old favorite, which is the Moosewood fudge brownies, which are very good in their own right. No pictures of said brownies. We all know what brownies look like right? lol
:::
We finally got a new gas tank in for the kitchen. The other one hadn't quite run out yet but we were fairly sure it was going to go in the next day or so, so we got a new one in. We are actually getting a second tank to have on hand as a spare, though I'm not sure when. It's an extra tank hubby's folks had and they need to bring it from another apartment. But it will be nice to have that backup. Also, we've been here for quite some time and it's nice to know the tanks last so long. I've used the oven quite a bit!
:::
The elevator periodically goes out in the building, and I don't necessarily mind walking the four flights of stairs. The stairs are wide and spaced well so it's not quite as tiring as it could be.
But what I do mind is the constant smell of cat pee. When you walk in the front reception to the building downstairs, or going up the stairs, or coming out of our apartment, the one thing that you can always smell is cat pee. It's gross. Not just the smell but the fact that there's always some cat around peeing. lol
I am sure the doorkeeper has other things he'd rather be doing than cleaning up the pee every day, but the smell is really gross. I have noticed this in other buildings as well, so it's not like our building is unique in this. I'm not sure how they can control it really. The stairs are open and the front door to the building is open all day, but there must be some solution.
As much as I'm okay with the apartment itself here, I'm not thrilled about the building, and the cat pee is one of the reasons why. That and the elevator. I try not to touch anything in it. It gives me the skivvies just looking at it. lol
I'm not a clean freak, really, but with a little effort on the part of the doorkeeper, and also on the part of the people using it, the elevator could be nice. Instead of dirty and smelly and oh my god get me out of there!! lol
:::
Oh! More food of course. lol
I found pumpkin!! I was so excited! :D
After we left the in laws the other night we went by the grocery named Metro, which carries a lot of imported items. And I found two large size cans of canned pumpkin! I only bought one can, since it should last for a couple of recipes of something or other, and at least I know that it can be bought now. Man I was SO thrilled. We also found Bisquick, imitation maple syrup, and some blueberry pancake mix, the kind that has the blueberries in a can. We didn't buy it but now I'm thinking we should have. I've talked to hubby about blueberries before and I'm not sure that he's ever had any.
:::
Alright, I still haven't posted the pictures of the building demolition, and still haven't talked about the trip back from the previous time we were at the in laws. Perhaps in the next post. But don't hold your breath. lol
One of the new kitchen items I got when we were shopping a week or so ago was what I believe to be a potato masher. What I really wanted was a pastry cutter but I'm not sure if I'll find one here or not and I figured this would do for now, if not for good. I've used it twice for mashing butter/sugar together, and also last night I used it on some chickpeas. Fun!
So here's a picture from the first time I used it. I was so amused by the little butter "worms" lol.
And I suppose mashers can bring us to last night's dinner, which is what was deemed Melissa's Middle Eastern Extravaganza., with complete lack of seriousness. lol
I started off with a yeast bread recipe for Greek pita bread. It looked fairly simple to make and it was. So while the bread was rising, I started making the caramelized onion hummus, which was also easy but took some time. This is the part of the dinner that I used the potato masher for. :D I don't have a food processor or blender, so I used the masher to mash the chickpeas up a bit. While I was making that I also started getting everything together for a garlic vinegar sauce which is VERY yummy, which was to go over the cous cous, which is the only thing that I didn't make from scratch.
All in all, it took a couple of hours, a little over I guess, to make everything. The bread took a bit to cook as you cook it kind of like a pancake, and since you're only cooking one piece at a time and there are 6, it just takes a while. I finished up the garlic vinegar sauce while I was cooking the bread.
The bread was really simple to spread out into circles, I didn't even need a rolling pin, which I was somewhat worried about since I don't have one yet. I just used my hands to spread it out, easy peasy! And it tasted really great. Hubby had some of the leftover later on with a sweet spread called halawa.
Anyways, here's a picture of the food. I had wanted to cut up some cucumber and put it in yogurt but I ran out of time and energy. lol
The bread should be obvious. The hummus is in the bowls to either side of the bread, and the garlic vinegar sauce is the little bowl with the spoon sticking out of it. The bigger bowl with the black spoon is the cous cous. Who knew one cup dry would make so much??!!!
:::
Actually, speaking of food, I was making pancakes the other morning. I was on the last pan and looked down at the stove and saw the tiniest ants you could ever possibly imagine. I would not have been able to see them with my glasses off. They were just tiny specks moving, and also they were a light color, not dark. VERY hard to see! In any case, gross. I couldn't exactly figure out where they were going to or coming from, except from one part of the oven to another. And there's nothing in there to attract them that I know of. It was odd. And, like I said, gross. Slightly ruinous of appetite, but I ate the pancakes anyways. lol
I got some vinegar out a little later and wiped the stove down, and baked something later on that day and we haven't seen them since. Kind of creepy though how small they were.
The ant sizes here are really amazing. From the tiny tiniest, to the largest ants you could imagine. They look like the ones you see on the nature channel when they magnify the picture of the bugs. lol
Totally creepy. Oh well.
:::
More food related... lol
We went by the in laws on Friday to celebrate my sister in law and one of hubby's cousin's birthdays. I made some brownies and some chocolate chip bars.
The brownies were SO good. The recipe stated that they tasted like the kind you get from the store, from a box mix, and it's true, they did. I guess if you don't like the box mix this would be disappointing but I loved them as did everyone else mashAllah! Very moist and chocolaty and I guess they are my new favorite as opposed to my old favorite, which is the Moosewood fudge brownies, which are very good in their own right. No pictures of said brownies. We all know what brownies look like right? lol
:::
We finally got a new gas tank in for the kitchen. The other one hadn't quite run out yet but we were fairly sure it was going to go in the next day or so, so we got a new one in. We are actually getting a second tank to have on hand as a spare, though I'm not sure when. It's an extra tank hubby's folks had and they need to bring it from another apartment. But it will be nice to have that backup. Also, we've been here for quite some time and it's nice to know the tanks last so long. I've used the oven quite a bit!
:::
The elevator periodically goes out in the building, and I don't necessarily mind walking the four flights of stairs. The stairs are wide and spaced well so it's not quite as tiring as it could be.
But what I do mind is the constant smell of cat pee. When you walk in the front reception to the building downstairs, or going up the stairs, or coming out of our apartment, the one thing that you can always smell is cat pee. It's gross. Not just the smell but the fact that there's always some cat around peeing. lol
I am sure the doorkeeper has other things he'd rather be doing than cleaning up the pee every day, but the smell is really gross. I have noticed this in other buildings as well, so it's not like our building is unique in this. I'm not sure how they can control it really. The stairs are open and the front door to the building is open all day, but there must be some solution.
As much as I'm okay with the apartment itself here, I'm not thrilled about the building, and the cat pee is one of the reasons why. That and the elevator. I try not to touch anything in it. It gives me the skivvies just looking at it. lol
I'm not a clean freak, really, but with a little effort on the part of the doorkeeper, and also on the part of the people using it, the elevator could be nice. Instead of dirty and smelly and oh my god get me out of there!! lol
:::
Oh! More food of course. lol
I found pumpkin!! I was so excited! :D
After we left the in laws the other night we went by the grocery named Metro, which carries a lot of imported items. And I found two large size cans of canned pumpkin! I only bought one can, since it should last for a couple of recipes of something or other, and at least I know that it can be bought now. Man I was SO thrilled. We also found Bisquick, imitation maple syrup, and some blueberry pancake mix, the kind that has the blueberries in a can. We didn't buy it but now I'm thinking we should have. I've talked to hubby about blueberries before and I'm not sure that he's ever had any.
:::
Alright, I still haven't posted the pictures of the building demolition, and still haven't talked about the trip back from the previous time we were at the in laws. Perhaps in the next post. But don't hold your breath. lol
Coming attractions
Didn't get a chance to write today, will post tomorrow.
The list includes: Ants, Melissa's Middle Eastern Extravaganza (food related), Best Brownies Ever, The Trip Back and anything else I can remember. I'm sure I'll be mentioning the weather as well, it's been pretty hot but nice. And picture(s)!
à bientôt
The list includes: Ants, Melissa's Middle Eastern Extravaganza (food related), Best Brownies Ever, The Trip Back and anything else I can remember. I'm sure I'll be mentioning the weather as well, it's been pretty hot but nice. And picture(s)!
à bientôt
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Ok ok already
Well, I'm still pretty beat and a bit sick and don't really feel like posting but I can only use that as an excuse for so long. Sometimes I'm just too lazy. lol
I think I just caught a cold. But, on the mend and should be all better in a few days insha'Allah.
:::
I finished going through the pictures I took of the building across from us that got demolished and have decided which ones to post, I just need to edit down the size a little bit before posting.
In related news, hubby heard from our building owner that the person who owns the land where the building was torn down, is putting up a new apartment there, and that they want to dig a bit into the ground, which they are afraid is going to make the apartment building next to the lot (the building right next to us) unstable and so they are trying to buy the building and get everyone to move so that they can tear that building down too.
Now, despite the fact that this sounds like a giant headache named dust to me, there is something funny about it as well.
On the building across from us, on the roof, which is level with our apartment, there are piles of rubble, and I believe that this has a large part in how much dust we get in our place.
I have talked to hubby about us trying to do something to get rid of the rubble, even volunteering to go remove the stuff myself if we could find someone to haul it away.
I guess God is answering my prayers in getting rid of the dust. I just need to put up with more dust and noise from another building being demolished and then the dust and noise from construction going on for some months (years?).
I'm really just groaning about the construction that will be happening. Not looking forward to that AT ALL.
It means that I can't go about in front of the windows without hair covered or in short sleeves.
However, I have no idea when they will demolish this other building as there are still people living in it, and no idea when construction will start. Hopefully not for a long while yet.
Pictures of the demo to come soonish.
:::
We had a nice time the other day at the in laws and visiting with hubby's cousin from Kuwait. The two kids she brought with her very pretty well behaved and the little girl was too cute!
My MIL made lots of the family favorites as far as food goes. Um, mine not included. lol
Kind of the opposite for me. But I got full enough with rice and grilled chicken.
Hubby had heard there was a lot of traffic going on the way towards our apartment, so he was thinking about taking us a side way, and then decided not to, and then I convinced him that he should, as traffic wasn't moving.
It ended up being quite the little adventure, and I'll share more about that next time I post.
:::
We ended up going shopping the other day, last Friday, to 3 different stores, and getting a whole lot of stuff that we were still missing in the kitchen. Hurrah! I was so excited, and also exhausted by the time we got home
But, almost done with shopping for the kitchen. And yay, I finally have a cheese grater! lol
And a blender!
I think I just caught a cold. But, on the mend and should be all better in a few days insha'Allah.
:::
I finished going through the pictures I took of the building across from us that got demolished and have decided which ones to post, I just need to edit down the size a little bit before posting.
In related news, hubby heard from our building owner that the person who owns the land where the building was torn down, is putting up a new apartment there, and that they want to dig a bit into the ground, which they are afraid is going to make the apartment building next to the lot (the building right next to us) unstable and so they are trying to buy the building and get everyone to move so that they can tear that building down too.
Now, despite the fact that this sounds like a giant headache named dust to me, there is something funny about it as well.
On the building across from us, on the roof, which is level with our apartment, there are piles of rubble, and I believe that this has a large part in how much dust we get in our place.
I have talked to hubby about us trying to do something to get rid of the rubble, even volunteering to go remove the stuff myself if we could find someone to haul it away.
I guess God is answering my prayers in getting rid of the dust. I just need to put up with more dust and noise from another building being demolished and then the dust and noise from construction going on for some months (years?).
I'm really just groaning about the construction that will be happening. Not looking forward to that AT ALL.
It means that I can't go about in front of the windows without hair covered or in short sleeves.
However, I have no idea when they will demolish this other building as there are still people living in it, and no idea when construction will start. Hopefully not for a long while yet.
Pictures of the demo to come soonish.
:::
We had a nice time the other day at the in laws and visiting with hubby's cousin from Kuwait. The two kids she brought with her very pretty well behaved and the little girl was too cute!
My MIL made lots of the family favorites as far as food goes. Um, mine not included. lol
Kind of the opposite for me. But I got full enough with rice and grilled chicken.
Hubby had heard there was a lot of traffic going on the way towards our apartment, so he was thinking about taking us a side way, and then decided not to, and then I convinced him that he should, as traffic wasn't moving.
It ended up being quite the little adventure, and I'll share more about that next time I post.
:::
We ended up going shopping the other day, last Friday, to 3 different stores, and getting a whole lot of stuff that we were still missing in the kitchen. Hurrah! I was so excited, and also exhausted by the time we got home
But, almost done with shopping for the kitchen. And yay, I finally have a cheese grater! lol
And a blender!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Shorty
Well, I had wanted to post a longer post today with actual topics in it, but I'm coming down with some kind of cold or something and don't feel much up to it.
However, I do have stuff to post about and maybe even a picture or two!
I'll try to post tomorrow, depends on how I feel.
Goodnight wherever you may be.
However, I do have stuff to post about and maybe even a picture or two!
I'll try to post tomorrow, depends on how I feel.
Goodnight wherever you may be.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
In love!
Well it was pretty warm today. Warm enough that I had just the tiniest inkling, while I was sweeping the apartment, of how it will be to do housework when it's 5 billion degrees during the summer. Maybe not so nice. lol
In any case, although it would appear winter is over here by the 5 day forecast, hubby says it will be back. I'm not so sure but he's the native.
:::
I made shortbread yesterday. And wow! Talk about love at first bite! Flaky, buttery and melt in your mouth! I understand why people love it so much, though I'd much prefer homemade to store bought.
However, because there is so much butter, that being pretty much the majority ingredient, it's also an easy way to pack on some pounds if you're not careful. lol
Thankfully I'm not too worried about that right now but I can see how it could sneak up on you easily.
:::
Going to meet a cousin of hubby's tomorrow that I've not met before. It's one of the daughters of his mom's sister. This cousin has 6 kids! Holy smokes! lol
She is visiting here from Kuwait and she brought two of her kids with her.
I've met two of his other cousins, so this will be the third and there is another in Kuwait that I will meet soon insha'Allah and one more who I probably won't meet for some time, if ever, as he resides out of the country.
Anyways, excited about the meeting. I hope her kids are nice. lol
:::
Almost forgot, the picture that I posted the other day.
Well...
I make pasta a lot and I use a bouillon cube and some butter in the water while cooking the pasta, and kind of let it cook down.
After eating the pasta one night, I decided that I didn't feel like washing the pan right away, so I put some water in the bottom of the pot so that it wouldn't get all crusty and be hard to clean.
The next morning when I went to look at it, this is what I saw. The butter and bouillon cube had left a residue and when mixed with the water, this is what it did. It looked so neat in person.
Mystery solved!
In any case, although it would appear winter is over here by the 5 day forecast, hubby says it will be back. I'm not so sure but he's the native.
:::
I made shortbread yesterday. And wow! Talk about love at first bite! Flaky, buttery and melt in your mouth! I understand why people love it so much, though I'd much prefer homemade to store bought.
However, because there is so much butter, that being pretty much the majority ingredient, it's also an easy way to pack on some pounds if you're not careful. lol
Thankfully I'm not too worried about that right now but I can see how it could sneak up on you easily.
:::
Going to meet a cousin of hubby's tomorrow that I've not met before. It's one of the daughters of his mom's sister. This cousin has 6 kids! Holy smokes! lol
She is visiting here from Kuwait and she brought two of her kids with her.
I've met two of his other cousins, so this will be the third and there is another in Kuwait that I will meet soon insha'Allah and one more who I probably won't meet for some time, if ever, as he resides out of the country.
Anyways, excited about the meeting. I hope her kids are nice. lol
:::
Almost forgot, the picture that I posted the other day.
Well...
I make pasta a lot and I use a bouillon cube and some butter in the water while cooking the pasta, and kind of let it cook down.
After eating the pasta one night, I decided that I didn't feel like washing the pan right away, so I put some water in the bottom of the pot so that it wouldn't get all crusty and be hard to clean.
The next morning when I went to look at it, this is what I saw. The butter and bouillon cube had left a residue and when mixed with the water, this is what it did. It looked so neat in person.
Mystery solved!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Stinky fish
The apartment, much to my dismay, now smells like stinky fish. Or, if you're my husband, it smells like delicious spiced shrimp. lol
I was going to make some caramelized onions to go with the rice tonight and when I was looking up a recipe I had, I came across one for caramelized onions with sardines. Not something I would eat, but I know hubby loves him some sardines, and we happened to have a couple of tins, so I decided to go ahead with it.
It was messy while cooking, splattering everywhere, and it made such a stink that it was making me sick to my stomach, but hubby assures me that it was very tasty and that he would gladly eat it again. So, success in hubby's belly, just not in my nose.
:::
Still waiting on word for some things at hubby's work. I'm kind of excited to see what will happen. If things turn out well there's the chance for a fair bit of travel. And it's exciting to travel to new places. Although I'm not fond of flying, being in an airport always leaves me with a sense of adventure and wonder, even if I'm only dropping off or picking someone up.
Hopefully we will be able to work in a trip to the States this summer. I'm still hoping for a train trip across the country but we will just have to see. If not this time, then next insha'Allah.
:::
Okay, here's a picture I took some time before hubby went on his business trip. Lets see if you can identify what it is. I don't think I would have guessed as to what it was myself if I didn't know. But I love the color and design of it.
I was going to make some caramelized onions to go with the rice tonight and when I was looking up a recipe I had, I came across one for caramelized onions with sardines. Not something I would eat, but I know hubby loves him some sardines, and we happened to have a couple of tins, so I decided to go ahead with it.
It was messy while cooking, splattering everywhere, and it made such a stink that it was making me sick to my stomach, but hubby assures me that it was very tasty and that he would gladly eat it again. So, success in hubby's belly, just not in my nose.
:::
Still waiting on word for some things at hubby's work. I'm kind of excited to see what will happen. If things turn out well there's the chance for a fair bit of travel. And it's exciting to travel to new places. Although I'm not fond of flying, being in an airport always leaves me with a sense of adventure and wonder, even if I'm only dropping off or picking someone up.
Hopefully we will be able to work in a trip to the States this summer. I'm still hoping for a train trip across the country but we will just have to see. If not this time, then next insha'Allah.
:::
Okay, here's a picture I took some time before hubby went on his business trip. Lets see if you can identify what it is. I don't think I would have guessed as to what it was myself if I didn't know. But I love the color and design of it.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Yes we have no bananas
Well, I think I mentioned that we accidentally left the bananas on top of the fridge when hubby left on his trip to Kuwait.
Here they are, a nice... black color. lol
Little too ripe for banana bread methinks!
It's been quite chilly here, though nothing compared to how cold it is in other parts of the world where it does awful things like snow!
Snow is wonderful to look at but it seems like such an inconvenience to live someplace where it snows. Not to mention very cold!
Thankfully we have the heater here in the bedroom so although the rest of the house gets a bit nippy, we really don't spend time except in the bathroom, kitchen and bedroom.
:::
Best news in a very long while, hubby hooked up the water heater in the kitchen today so now I have hot water to wash dishes with. Yahooooooo!!!!! :D
I don't think it's very common to have hot water in the kitchens here as the pipe systems are kind of... different. I think that usually the hot water heater, which is small and mounted to the wall, only heats the water in the room it's at.
The exception to this that I know of is the first apartment we lived in when I first moved here. The kitchen did get hot water. It was nice.
So, very happy with hot water in the kitchen. Makes doing dishes by hand in cold weather a whole lot easier.
:::
We might have some very interesting news in a couple of weeks or so regarding hubby's work and some opportunities.
The only thing new about possible move to Kuwait is that if we do this, it would be more of a thing where we lived there for about a month at a time in a furnished apartment, going maybe 2 or 3 times a year.
That way, we don't have to keep an apartment up in each country, and we can still live in both. Trying to find an apartment here in Egypt is no easy task, and then fixing it up when you do find it is no piece of cake either, so it makes a lot of sense to just visit Kuwait for shorter periods of time instead of giving up our apartment here and moving there.
I'm actually excited about visiting Kuwait after all that I've heard and read about it. Hubby says that the next trip he takes he will bring me with him insha'Allah.
Here they are, a nice... black color. lol
Little too ripe for banana bread methinks!
It's been quite chilly here, though nothing compared to how cold it is in other parts of the world where it does awful things like snow!
Snow is wonderful to look at but it seems like such an inconvenience to live someplace where it snows. Not to mention very cold!
Thankfully we have the heater here in the bedroom so although the rest of the house gets a bit nippy, we really don't spend time except in the bathroom, kitchen and bedroom.
:::
Best news in a very long while, hubby hooked up the water heater in the kitchen today so now I have hot water to wash dishes with. Yahooooooo!!!!! :D
I don't think it's very common to have hot water in the kitchens here as the pipe systems are kind of... different. I think that usually the hot water heater, which is small and mounted to the wall, only heats the water in the room it's at.
The exception to this that I know of is the first apartment we lived in when I first moved here. The kitchen did get hot water. It was nice.
So, very happy with hot water in the kitchen. Makes doing dishes by hand in cold weather a whole lot easier.
:::
We might have some very interesting news in a couple of weeks or so regarding hubby's work and some opportunities.
The only thing new about possible move to Kuwait is that if we do this, it would be more of a thing where we lived there for about a month at a time in a furnished apartment, going maybe 2 or 3 times a year.
That way, we don't have to keep an apartment up in each country, and we can still live in both. Trying to find an apartment here in Egypt is no easy task, and then fixing it up when you do find it is no piece of cake either, so it makes a lot of sense to just visit Kuwait for shorter periods of time instead of giving up our apartment here and moving there.
I'm actually excited about visiting Kuwait after all that I've heard and read about it. Hubby says that the next trip he takes he will bring me with him insha'Allah.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
da plane, da plane!
Well, hubby has landed and is waiting for his luggage to come out of the innards of the airport. He should be home in an hour or so insha'allah. And thank goodness for that because my MIL is waiting lunch on him and it's almost 6 p.m. now, so we're a couple hours past due! My tummy is rumbling.
Did I mention that Egypt won the soccer playoff? That brought them to number one and the winners of the Africa Cup. There was much celebrating to be sure.
I'm sure I'll have some more news in the next day or so.
Did I mention that Egypt won the soccer playoff? That brought them to number one and the winners of the Africa Cup. There was much celebrating to be sure.
I'm sure I'll have some more news in the next day or so.
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