Cal ih for nigh A

Well we are back from a quick overnight trip to California to drop my son off and check on some things I had in storage.

I think we were in California for all of maybe 24 hours or so.  Stayed overnight at a nice hotel, though after seeing all the exposes they do on hotels nowadays, I was feeling slightly germaphobic.  lol

I was sorry to drop my son off but we'll see him again in a week.  It's been great spending time with him and I've missed him so much.  He's a great kid and insha'Allah he'll keep growing to be a great man.

Saw a friend who I didn't get to see before I moved to Cairo and also met her daughter who I had never met as she was only a month old when I moved.  Nice to meet with a friend since I don't really have any in Cairo.

So here are a few pictures from the trip.  In no particular order.

This is from this afternoon, on our drive back.  I can't remember the names of the lakes right so you don't get a name with it.  lol

These are some baby cows that live where my son lives at.  Apparently my son's house shares a yard with a couple other people so they have a lot of animals - cows, goats, ducks, chickens, geese, etc.
There were some baby ducks that were too cute.

This was monkey enjoying the ride into California.  We were somewhere around Sacramento at this point.  I think he was hoping to catch a glimpse of the governor.  :D

This is a little over halfway driving from California to the folks place.  Lots of wide open fields, and because it's summer and it's hot with low humidity, everything turns brown.

This is a picture my son took of me when we were just starting our drive on Saturday morning.  The long boring hours in the car had not hit yet.  lol
It's a beautiful drive but it's also a rather dull one and almost 4 hours.

Took my parents out for dinner on Saturday night.  I ordered the home made mac n cheese with a side of veggies.  The mac n cheese is great.  I'm sure the veggies were too, but I didn't have any of them!!  (Shhh... don't tell my husband!).

All in all it was a nice trip.  It was odd driving around the town I grew up in and lived in most of my life.  Lots of conflicting emotions.  I miss driving around and the freedom of going wherever I want to go without the hassle of traffic or taking a taxi or whatever.  But I don't miss the rut my life was in, and the grooves I had worn into my life in this city.  Plus and minus, like so many things in life.

Good to be back at the folks.

On Time!

Enjoying my stay here at the folks house.  For the most part it's pretty lazy and comfortable and relaxing.

One difference that I've noticed is that whereas in the Middle East, time is approximate, here it is very precise.  When someone says 2:30 here, they don't mean 2:45 or 3:00 or as soon as you can make it, they really mean 2:30.  It's a little bit of an adjustment after having no schedule and not having to rush for almost a year and a half for anything.  It's not bad, just a difference.

We saw a movie yesterday, Sorcerer's Apprentice.  We all really liked it.  It's nice to see movies in the theater instead of on your computer.  lol

Thinking about walking down and getting some video or pictures of the geese that hang around this one area nearby.  Not sure if I'll do that today or another day though.  I did get some video this morning of all the birds and squirrels in the back yard.  Well, it's more of a back strip, long and thin.  Anyways, it's nice to wake up every morning and have scampering animals to watch.

Here is a picture of some birds on the seed sock that is hanging from the patio.

The other day we had a great thunder and lightning storm.  It did rain but not too much, mostly just the thunder and lightning.  I had a great video shot, or would have, of some lightning, but one of the porch posts got in the way and obscured it completely.  lol

Here are the hills across the way during the storm.  I'm sure it was raining plenty up on top there.

I might try to upload some short videos to youtube later, but I got a new camera and it takes really large sized photos and videos, and while I can easily fix the file size on the photos, I'm not sure how on the videos, and they might just be too large to upload.

:::

I have noticed some stares since I got here.  I guess people here are not used to seeing a woman wearing a head scarf.  Well, the town size is approximately 3,000 people (it was under that on the 2000 census), and I can't be positive, but I really doubt there are any other Muslims living in a close proximity.  Perhaps in Reno, but that's 45 minutes away.

The stares aren't really nasty or mean, mostly just curious.  You can see people whispering sometimes after catching sight of me.  I just try to act "normal", lol, and don't really let it bother me, but it's hard not to notice.  I've tried, in general, to be more smiley or something when out in public, as a smile can make such a big difference to your appearance.  I had forgotten what it was like not to look so much like everyone else, as it's the norm for women to be wearing a scarf in Egypt.

Maybe something positive will come from this, who knows.

Ah Paris, oui oui

Well here I am back in the United States.  It is kind of strange.  In one way it feels like I never left and yet... even though everything is the same, it's different too.  Still trying to figure that out.

Had a slightly rough trip.  Pretty much everything that could go slightly wrong did.  lol
However I made it and I'm happy to be here.

The flight from Cairo to Paris was fairly uneventful.  We had screens in the backs of the seats in front of us so we could watch movies or whatever.  It's one of the reasons that I picked Air France, because their planes are pretty nice.  My seat mate was fairly quiet and didn't seem to want to talk at all but she wasn't necessarily unfriendly.

We landed in Paris just before sunrise and by the time we got off the plane and I was walking through the terminal, the sun was coming up.  It was really beautiful, though the picture below doesn't necessarily show it.

I used the bathroom shortly after arriving.  The airport was pretty empty seeing as how we landed at 6 a.m. and not even the shops were open.  In any case, there were people constantly cleaning the bathrooms and they were actually pretty nice.  I took a couple of pictures because I liked the color.  lol
The first picture is in the actual uh, stall.

And then the sinks that I liked.  They just kind of flowed all the way down, not completely separate.  And you can see me in the mirror at the end.

I was waiting in one particular are of the terminal, gate E65 I believe, which was all the way at one end.  About 5 to 10 minutes before my flight was due to leave, a lady made an announcement that my flight had changed gates and was down at the other end of the terminal.  Oh joy!  I got up and put my laptop bag over one shoulder and my large purse bag on the other and made a mad and very long dash to the other end.
I'm sure it took over 5 minutes to get there and I was so sure I had missed the flight.  Thankfully they were just starting to load people on.

Most of the time I was waiting in the terminal it was beautiful and sunny outside but towards the end it got cloudy and I could see when I got to the second gate that it was raining outside and I heard some thunder.  I was so thrilled I can't tell you.  We get so little rain in Cairo that it was just joyful.

So we all got on the plane and situated.  I took a picture out the window to show the rain.  lol

I had monkey with me, he wanted to visit the States and see his family and friends.  Here he is waiting on the plane for something to eat.  He was pretty hungry.

And then the waiting started.  At first they said they were waiting for some baggage.  And then half hour later it was because there was lightning on the runway and also because of an air show going on because of their national holiday.  I think we waited about an hour and a half before actually taking off.  Which sucked as the flight is long enough to begin with.  Also, these seats did NOT have the screens in the back of them, so that cut out almost all options as far as watching anything.  Very disappointing on such a long flight and I'm going to see what I can find out about the return flight and whether the plane will have screens or not.

Anyways, that flight lasted forever.  And ever.  And ever.  But my seatmates were nice, a young couple going home from some vacation or other.  And the flight attendants on Air France are always super friendly, more than any others I have ever encountered.  It's great.

They stopped me a couple of time in immigration to ask a slew of questions but they were nice and aside from the fact that I was super tired from not sleeping much or well on the flights, I didn't mind.

And then after I got my luggage, one piece of which I thought they lost as it didn't turn up til about 10 minutes after all of the rest of the plane's luggage had come out, I made my way out to my parents and son who were waiting and it was so nice!  We hugged  and hello'd and got started out towards the car.

Because the flight was delayed and it took so long going through immigration and to get luggage, we ended up hitting a lot more commute traffic than anticipated.  After an hour and a half driving we stopped for an early dinner and then got back on the road.  3 hours or so later and we finally got home.

All in all a very long time from leaving the apartment in Cairo to arriving home here at the folks.  Over 24 hours.  I was so tired and wiped out.  I had wanted to take a nice hot shower and get to bed but I didn't manage much before I just went to sleep.  lol

Anyways, nice to be here.  Very different than what I've been used to for the past year and four months.

Lesson number 2

Well, really, it was the first lesson.  Learned way before the apple cider lesson.

When you're washing dishes by hand, always remember to keep your mouth closed and breathe through your nose!

I realize (at least I think) that most people breathe through their nose by default, but since my nose is quite frequently a bit stuffed up (or my sinuses or whatever), I am often breathing through my mouth.

That means that on occasion, when the soap gets out of control and makes a mad dash to escape the pit of dishes, it lands on or in my mouth or surrounding area.  Soap doesn't taste good, even if it is pineapple scented.

And as much as I know that I should keep my mouth closed, I often forget.  And then remind myself after I get soaped that I need to close it.

Anyways, that is today's lesson.  Who knows what excitement awaits in the next lesson!!

:::

Getting ready for the trip.  Coming up very shortly.  I should be in the States in just a few days time insha'Allah.

I haven't started packing yet.  Not even sure what clothes I will bring.  Or other items.  Or if it will all fit in the luggage I planned on bringing.  I guess we'll find out tomorrow when I try to start some packing.

Good news is that we finally got my temporary resident visa (we started that process back in February!!!) and I am legally able to live here for 3 years until I have to renew the visa again.  Which is good because that means when I come back from my trip, I won't have to pay the 15 pound visa fee at the airport.  Not that 15 pounds is a huge deal.  lol

I've checked the weather where I'm headed and it looks to be just as hot as the weather here right now.  How that happened I don't know.  But, I am also aware that the house I'll be staying in does have the option of central a/c if we choose to use it.  Alhamdulillah.  :D

Finally, just today, starting to get "for real" excited about the trip and it's finally starting to feel real to me.
I don't know how that works and why it didn't feel real at first but I guess coming down to the last few days before leaving and finally starting to get things in order to leave has made it seem more real.

Wondering how I'll feel when I see my family at the airport.  I'm about 100% certain that I'll cry.  lol
Oh well.

Making sweets for the hubby tonight for while I'm gone.  Lemon bars and chocolate cookies.  I will pack them up and put them in the freezer and he can take them out day by day.  But they will also be all packed if he ends up making a trip to Kuwait while I'm gone, of which the chance right now is about 50/50.  He'll know in a few days about that.  He promises to be back before I come back from my trip if he goes.  And if he doesn't go and ends up going after Ramadan, he said he will try to take me with him.  :)

:::

Judging by the pain in my calves the last 2 days, you'd think I had run a marathon.  Like the Boston marathon.  I'm not quite sure what happened but my calves are EXTREMELY sore.
We did go out the other day and a couple of the stores we went to did have like 5 levels of stairs to go up, but that is not so unusual and the in-laws have 4 flights to go up, so I didn't think it was that big of a deal.
But I can't figure out what else would have made them that sore.  We did walk around some as well but not that far.  But I haven't done anything else that would have made them sore.

I'm hoping that by the time I fly (and have to walk 5 million miles through airports) that they'll be feeling mostly if not all better and that it won't be an issue.

Okay, back to baking and getting ready and YAY I'M TAKING A TRIP!!!!  lol

Oh, sorry no uploads on pictures or videos.  Guessing  I won't get to it in the next couple of days but perhaps while I'm in the States.

Fun with Vinegar

Well, I learned several things about vinegar the other day, all within 15 seconds or so of each other.
And when I say, "fun with vinegar", I'm not sure fun is exactly the word I'm looking for.

It was washing hair day, and I've been using the apple cider vinegar as a rinse after I wash it.  It's been fine the last few times I used it.  I expected it to be fine this time.  And indeed it left my hair soft.  And I managed to wash more out this time so I smelled less like an Easter egg than the last few times.

However....

Before washing my hair, I had shaved my legs.  With a new razor.  Can you guess where this is going?

So I'm rinsing my hair with the vinegar, and the moment it hits my legs, I gasp so I get a nice taste of the vinegar, and simultaneously my eyes open in surprise, so my eyes get a nice dose of vinegar as well.

Things learned:  vinegar stings in cuts (left by new razors), it stings in your eyes, it doesn't taste that great (even diluted) and one shouldn't use it after shaving.

Lesson learned.
lol

:::

One of my husband's cousins is getting married today.  Well, today is the paperwork part of it, the contract signing.

And then in a few days will be a henna party and a few days after that the wedding party.

I've been invited to the henna party, along with all the other females in the family.  And both hubby and I are invited to the wedding party.

I have to say, I am not really thrilled about this.  I'm not upset, it's just that I know even though they are Muslim, things won't be done Islamically.  And that's their deal, except that when I'm there, it affects me as well.

In any case, both should be interesting.  Not sure how many women at the henna party but the wedding is supposed to be "small" with only 200 people or so.   Ha ha ha?  I would consider that fairly large.  I'm not sure I even know 200 people.  lol

Will try to take pictures, though I'm not sure I'll be able to post any.  Will be sure to write about my impressions though insha'Allah.

:::

Getting excited about my trip back.  Less than two weeks til I go.  And I just discovered today that I'm actually leaving here a day earlier than I thought.  Ooops.  lol

The flight leaves after 12 a.m. and so technically even though we will drive there in the night of one day, it's leaving on the next day, and I was thinking we were driving there on the next day and so... I lost a day.

But, that's okay.

Haven't figured out what I'm going to pack.  Not sure how the weather will be, though I don't expect I'll be outdoors all the time.  Hopefully the parents enjoy using their air conditioner.  lol

I've been downloading things to listen to for my ipod.  Mostly comedy routines from some famous comedians (nothing explicit, thank you very much), but also a couple of autobiography/life story type of books.

I think the ipod gets 16 or so hours battery time before it dies, so that should last me fairly well.  I think I'm only flying for a total of 16 hours.  But, there is the 5 hours layover in Paris and I'm not sure what I'll do.  I'm pretty sure I have to change terminals from where I land to where I board the next flight, so maybe I'll have a good wander around some shops or something.  I don't want to sit in a seat for 5 hours in addition to sitting for 16 hours of flying. 

Excited.  Hate the flying part but excited to be headed West.

Anyone know if I can put my computer laptop bag inside a larger duffel bag to bring on the plane?  I hate to be stuck only bringing a large purse and a laptop.  If I can fit the laptop inside my duffel bag that would be optimum but I'm not sure if the laptop has to only be carried separately.