There and back again, again

We took another trip to California yesterday.  But it was just me and my dad that went down and picked up my son and did a few other things.  And then we drove back the same day.  That's a lot of driving and I was beat!  I didn't do much after we got back except rest.

Here's a picture of some sunflowers along the side of the road at a place we stopped that sold fresh fruits and pies.

This was driving through the hills in Livermore, which are dotted with windmills.

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We went late last week to visit an aunt and uncle of mine who live a couple of hours away but who I hadn't seen in at least 11 years or so.  They both look great and in terms of being around them, it was just as if no time at all had passed.  They are so easy to be around and very gracious hosts.  They live on a beautiful spot of land with a wonderful view out of their back yard.

This is the view you see from the backside of their house and balcony.

There were wild turkeys roaming their yard while we were there.  I saw 6 at the most at one time.  They didn't seem to want me too close but I did manage to get some pictures and video of them.  I'm told that there are bears around the area and that they actually come up to the house.  There are also mountain cats as well.

Here's a few of the turkeys that were roaming around.

As beautiful as it is, and as relaxing as it was to sit out on the back balcony in the afternoon, I'm not sure I could live somewhere that was so remote.

The drive there was not entirely pleasant.  It took about two and a quarter hours and I believe at least one of those hours was just twisty turny curvy thin road.  Not fun.  When I say twisty I mean really really twisty.  Not the kind of ride you want to make if you get any kind of car sickness.

But, we did have some amazing views and passed a nice lake which we got some pictures of.  We saw a sign at one point that said "cow crossing", which I thought was kind of funny since we were up in the mountains and not around pasture at all, but sure enough, not long after passing the sign, we rounded a corner to find a cow standing right alongside the road munching on something or other.  It was rather amusing.

Here's some pictures of the lakes.  The first we just stopped so I could take a picture, didn't even get out of the car.

And here is a lake we stopped at and got out to look at.  There were little fishies swimming in the water and lovey waterlilies and I found out later that I got burrs all over my socks from walking around there.  lol
The first picture here is just the lake.

And here is a picture of me with the folks standing in front of the lake.

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Went to Walmart today.  As much as I might not like their business practices, sometimes it's the best place to shop.  Maybe if I had more money to spend I wouldn't shop there.

Anyways, I had been there a couple of times since I've been visiting here and I noticed that I get a lot more looks when I'm in Walmart than when I'm in other stores.  I tend to forget for the most part that I'm wearing a scarf on my head because it's normal to me.  I usually only remember when I notice people staring.

Today seemed to be the granddaddy of days for people to stare.  And not all that nicely either.  Maybe it was just because it was the weekend and there were more people around, I'm not sure.  It doesn't bother me all that much but I don't know that I'd be really comfortable living in this community.

We did find a good sale on cheesy poofs though.  lol
I thought it might be amusing to take one of these back to Egypt with me, but I definitely don't have that much space in my luggage.

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Ramadan is coming up fast.  It should be starting around the 11th of this month.  I came across a link to a site that had a lot of nice decorations that can be made for Ramadan and for Eid, so when we were out today shopping we stopped by Michael's craft store and I spent some time looking around for everything on the list of items I wanted based on making crafts from the site I found (wow that was a long sentence).

I actually found all but one item (vellum paper) and insha'Allah when I get back to Egypt I'll be able to make some decorations.  I want to start some traditions for hubby and I for Ramadan and Eid.  I don't have any traditions because I didn't grow up with Islam, and I think a lot of the traditions in hubby's family were for when they were kids or something.  I want the house to feel special and festive during this time.

Ramadan will be a bit harder this year (and for the next few years) as it is coming when the days are very long and very hot.  I'm so thankful that we have air conditioning in our bedroom, however hubby told me that since I've been away, there have been a lot of power cuts.  I'm really hoping there won't be many during Ramadan.

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Speaking of hot, it's forecast to be around 100 or a little hotter in Cairo this week.  Which is relatively hot.  But when I look at the forecast for Kuwait (where hubby is at the moment) the forecast gets up to 118 degrees.  Ouch!!  The forecast there lately doesn't seem to dip below 111 degrees during the day.  And apparently it's quite humid as well.  Hard to be outside there during the day, and even at night it stays pretty hot.

So, when I get back to Egypt I will be staying at the in-laws.  But only for a few days insha'Allah til hubby gets back from Kuwait.  But it means no a/c and only fans for a few days.  Which isn't happy happy joy joy considering how hot it will be, but you do what you need to.  I will just be happy to see hubby again when he gets home insha'Allah.

As a reminder, you can click on any picture to get a larger view of it.