Happy Thanksgiving to my family and friends.  I hope you are all enjoying this day with those you love and are able to fill your bellies with plenty of yummy food.

They don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in Egypt, though I am not averse to celebrating it myself.  Just not quite the same if you're the only one celebrating and there aren't any of the usual trappings.  Being with others who celebrate is what makes it so great.

Maybe next year I will get it together enough to make a Thanksgiving dinner for hubby and his family.  I wanted to the first year I lived here and this year I just kind of fizzled on it.  Perhaps due to being sick or who knows what.

I heard it was snowing in the UK and I was a little sad that the weather here is decidedly not really in the realm of Fall yet much less Winter.  It was 77 or so today.  Maybe this is what it's like to live in Los Angeles for the holidays.  Northern California gets more seasonal weather than those living down in the southern half of the state.

In honor of today, here is a little friend I found some years back.  He always makes me smile.  :D

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The weather has been strange actually.  It takes a long time until it seems to finally settle down into Fall here.  We had temps as high as the 90's just a couple weeks ago and the high 80's the past week or so, but I think it's finally made up its mind now and hopefully we won't see anything above the very low 80's and even that should go soon and we'll have 60's and 70's and I can complain about how cold I am.  lol

We finally stopped using the a/c for the season and have yet to use the heater, so at least we're saving some money on the energy bill.  We just have the lightest of blankets on the bed, I'm not sure you could even call it a blanket, but I'm at a loss as to anything else to call it.  Pretty soon we'll take the "winter" blanket to the cleaners so we can use it and put this light one away.

The water heater in the bathroom will probably start staying on more now.  During the summer it's not on as much because it's so hot you don't need that much hot water.  And the water stays pretty warm anyways without the heater, but boy oh boy in the winter you really want that hot water.  I just wish the hose we use in the bathroom had hot water.  Boy that water is a shocker in the cold of winter.

We did have a hot water heater in the kitchen so I could have hot water to do dishes, but there is some problem with it and it's not working.  I think we'll need to get it fixed soon because it gets pretty cold in the house during winter and I can't be washing dishes in cold water.  My hands will get frostbite or something.  lol

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Alright, I will endeavor, now that I have the new computer, to finish editing the pyramid walk pictures and get those posted in the next week or so.  Hurrah!

Todays video is of the roof on the buiding across the street.  It seems every year they get a sheep to slaughter for Eid and they keep itup on the roof until they kill it.  Well, we've also seen a mother cat and kittens on the roof recently and so this video shows both the sheep and one of the ktitens.

Here is a link to the video on youtube:  video

I have to say, it was nice hearing the sheep make his blaaating sounds.  Something different anyways.  And definitely nicer than the continual sound of traffic we hear.

Now, even though the sheep is gone, I still hear the kitten at times.  Or some kitten anyways.

The other night when we were coming home from the in-laws, we walked into the entry  for our building and there was a mother cat standing and two kittens feeding from her.  While standing.  The whole thing seemed very strange and they were apparently skittish of strangers and so the mom started walking to avoid us and of course the kittens followed.  To tell you the truth I'm not even sure they were both her kittens.  You never know!



Happy gobbles to you all, enjoy your parades and football and food. 

Again with the plague

Well, where to start?
I know I won't remember half the things I wanted to write about.  I suppose that's what happens when I wait so long to write.

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We just finished celebrating Eid al Adha, which is our second holiday of the year.  It always falls a certain number of days after the first Eid, which is celebrated at the end of our fasting month, Ramadan.

This time we went to my in-laws on both Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.  I was able to meet a cousin who was visiting from Jordan and also to see some other cousins that I see a few times a year.

My mother in law was busy in the kitchen as always, and I got to eat fattah both days.  Fattah being the rice/garlic dish that I absolutely adore.  I even had a dream about it a couple of weeks ago.

It's customary for people to slaughter a sheep/goat on this Eid (or have the butcher do it) and then they share the meat out with those less fortunate and also with friends and family, so there is usually sheep during the Eid meals as well.

Unfortunately, on the second day, Wednesday, it seems I came down with the plague.  Hubby has been sick for a week or so and I don't think I have what he has, but maybe he gave me his sick germs and they just mutated into something different in me.  Also, half the family seemed to be sick while we were visiting for Eid, so I guess it's going around.

Hubby was nice enough to do most of the dishes yesterday and also boiled a chicken to make me chicken soup.  Which was yummy.  I'm thankful he is able to help when I'm sick, as I surely wasn't up to anything yesterday.

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Two exciting things to share.

I finally got a new computer, alhamdulillah!  I didn't get to pick it out but it's pretty spiffy.  It's loaded with Windows 7 which I have never used before and which I really haven't taken the time to figure out, but so far it seems like there's some nice changes from the other versions of Windows. 

This means that I have no excuse not to finish editing pictures and posting them here.

The second item of excitement was that we bought an iron!  Woo!  lol

This may not seem exciting but I couldn't wear a lot  of the clothes I have because we didn't have an iron.  Oddly enough they're kind of expensive here.  Which I really find strange.  You can certainly get some cheap ones, or cheaper rather, like the ones that weigh about 5 tons and have no steam or anything to them, and you can get some super fancy ones as well.  We went with something in the middle.

Now we just need to get an ironing board.  lol
I was ironing a skirt the other day on the bed and it's a little bit of a challenge but it can be done.

Hard to iron hubby's shirts though without the board.
Insha'Allah we will get a board this week.

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My "baby" boy turned 16 on Tuesday.  I am sorry I couldn't be there to celebrate with him.  Sometimes I worry about what I'm missing, and I know we both miss spending time with each other, but for now this is where I'm at.

It's hard to believe he's so old though.  I barely feel older than 16 myself!

I never imagined having kids when I was younger.  In fact I definitely didn't want them.  But I am so happy that I had my son and the chance to watch him develop and grow.

I certainly don't wish kids upon him anytime soon, but I think I will like being a grandparent.  All the fun with not so much of the responsibility.  lol

Well, happy birthday to my bubba.  Love you and miss you.

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Alright, last item for the day (will save some items to post in a few days insha'Allah), here is a link to a video I took a couple of weeks ago.

One afternoon I heard some drums down on the street and decided to see what was going on.  I went out onto the balcony and saw that there was a guy who was playing a drum and he had a dog that danced on his hind legs to the drumming.  Amusing.  And the drumming was nice as well.  Of course, donations were accepted.

dancing dog video

A hundred things

I hate it.  I love it.  It's okay. 

It's smelly, it's dirty.

It's full of life.

I've been back and forth lately about my feelings for this city I live in.  I feel sure I could find one hundred things I love about it, but also one hundred things that I hate.

I think this is probably normal?  I've come to the conclusion that there is no perfect place as such, anywhere on earth.  The only perfection we're going to find is the peace we find inside, no matter where we are living.

I find joy here.  In the smallest things.  A smile, a child walking along with its mother, the way people share with each other, the men who walk arm in arm as friends, there are really so many things and my mind has gone blank.

But I also find so much misery here, and things that make me despair.  The beggars you find everywhere, the dirty crumbling buildings, the cart animals that are treated so badly, again there are so many things.

But I do find peace here.  Despite the dirt and decay and rudeness and everyday lies people tell each other.

This city, it is full of life.  I know there are many cities that could be said of.  New York City, Chicago, San Francisco.  Most large cities are full of life right?  But it's different here.  Each city has its own flavor so to speak, and I find that I don't care for San Francisco's flavor at all.  It's nice to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.  But Cairo, wow!  The feeling here is just sublime.  If you can let go and really feel this city, how can you not love it?

And now we're back to the wearing down.  The traffic, the horns, the yelling, trash everywhere.

I hate it, I love it, It's okay.


:::


We went to visit the in-laws the other day and have lunch.  When we got to the door and my mother in law opened it, the first thing she said when she saw me was "Mafeesh".  lol

This word means finished in Egyptian.  I have maybe lost a few pounds since she saw me last so this was her way of saying I am too thin, like I am all done.  She is too funny.

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One thing I meant to mention which I don't think I did, was that really, it's a very BAD idea to wear jeans in the humidity here.

I never noticed this fact before because California isn't all that humid (it's actually pretty dry compared to most of the rest of the States), and I have not traveled enough in the humidity to other states at a time when I wore jeans it seems.

But, really, it's ugly.  It doesn't matter if your jeans are lightweight and loose, you will still feel like you are the sweatiest thing around on two legs.  It is VERY uncomfortable.

I thought I learned this the first time I wore them here on a humid night, but it seems I needed to wear them on another occasion to really get this lesson down.  The second time I wore them was on a walk of about 45 minutes, so I had plenty of time for that to really sink in.  lol

Am I the only one this affects?  Or is the humidity here different?  Is there some universal unwritten law that everyone knew but me about not wearing jeans in humidity?

Anyways, winter is coming alhamdulillah and jeans will be on the menu, humidity free!  Woo!

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We recently celebrated our third wedding anniversary.  Time is such a strange thing.  Every year when I think about how long I have know my husband, somehow I'm always adding a year or two to the actual number of years.  Why this happens I don't know except that time.... well, apparently it's not a constant in my mind.

I'm not sure we did anything too special that night, but I'm not sure we needed to?

Taking a few moments to acknowledge each other and how much we love each other, despite the normal ups and downs, that's enough right?

I remind myself often that even though things aren't perfect here in this country, they aren't perfect anywhere, and I'm happy that I can be with the one that I love.  Alhamdulillah.

:::

No pictures this time but next time I'll try to post up some of Cairo tower (different or better than what I posted on Facebook) and also maybe a short video or two I took of it.

What would you dooo-ooouuooo!

So, it seems that Fall has been teasing us for a while here, coming and going as it pleases.  I'd appreciate it so much more if it would just stay for a while, until Winter lets say.  The temperature at the moment is 104 degrees!

I know that even in November we could get an occasional day of 90's, but 104 in mid October?  Bleeehhhhh.....

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We have a game here at the apartment that we play.  I'll call it "What's That Noise?".

As it so happens, Cairo is a city that is chock a block full of more noises than you could possibly imagine.  Hence the title of our game.  Sometimes I think we can guess fairly well, and other times we are both left wondering.

There are often sounds which resemble a gunshot, but which could be a car back firing.  And really, it could be either.

Quite often we hear loud bangs, as if someone has dropped a load of something heavy from a tall building onto the street.  This is also quite possible but hard to verify unless it's happening within sight, which isn't likely.

There is one sound in particular which I hear, though hubby doesn't usually hear it as it seems to be more of a daytime sound.  It's reminiscent of something you might hear at a fair.  Kind of a squeaky horn type of deal.  Or a badly tuned violin.  The thing is, sometimes I hear it from further away, and sometimes it sounds very close.  So it's apparently a mobile sound.  But it's not the kind of thing you'd think would be a car horn, it's not loud and insistent enough to perform a horn's intended purpose.  And it seems too loud and unlikely to be a bicycle horn.  So this one is really a mystery.

We hear a lot of yelling.  Sometimes from actual fights and sometimes people just talking over a longer distance.  There is also a couple of periods during the day when kids get out of school (they have staggered start times so they get out a couple times a day) and they are very loud in the street.  I wouldn't call it yelling so much but perhaps shouting.  There's a difference ya know!

We hear so many noises that I can't begin to describe.  It's kind of amusing.  Because if we don't let it amuse us, it will drive us crazy.

:::

In a slightly related issue, we also have a "game" called, "What's That Smell??".  This one is usually food related and so mostly enjoyable, but occasionally it is not food related and then it becomes quite less enjoyable. 

The bad smells are usually coming from the kitchen drain.  I don't know what people use in there but the variety of bad smells is truly amazing at times.  It was actually fine for a while but recently I've taken to having to keep the plug in the drain so the smell doesn't permeate the entire kitchen and outwards.

We have a neighbor somewhere nearby that likes to cook up seemingly large batches of garlic at odd hours.  We keep pretty late hours, so we are often up at 3 or 4 and we can smell the garlic as if we were standing in a field of it.  It's just crazy.  And this is with windows closed mind you.

I love the smell of garlic but sometimes it's a little much.  The eyes water and I get a little sneezy.

I think the most fun is when I can smell something familiar cooking and I can't quite place it, so I kind of walk around doing whatever, sniffing every so often trying to figure out what it is.  Sometimes I can catch part of what it is but am left wondering at other parts.  Or I know that I've smelled it before, say at the in-laws, but don't know what it is.

And then there is the ever present smell of exhaust/bbq/smog.  I know I've talked about it before.  To me, if I was asked to pick one smell that represented this city, that would be it.  And I have to say it's not all together a bad smell.  I mean, it's not like having a bowl or roses on the table, but it's not stinky.  Just a smell.  The smell of home.

:::
We recently saw the movie Cairo Time, and I have to say, although the story was a bit slow, and that might be an understatement, the scenes from Cairo are amazingly real.  Of course, they shot the movie here so it should seem real, but sometimes even when shooting a movie they can make it seem like something that it isn't.  This film really gave a pretty good look at some ordinary life here.  I'd say it's well worth a look if you're interested in seeing what daily life looks like here.

:::

The breast cancer walk is coming up this Saturday but I'm not sure if we're going to make it or not.  We had wanted to go, or rather I had wanted to go, but sometimes things just don't pan out.  I'm trying to remain positive but I just have a feeling we're going to miss this one. 

We did talk about going to City Stars on Thursday though, which would be nice.  It's the 5 story mall here that is actually one of the largest malls in the Middle East?  It's certainly the largest mall in Egypt.  It's quite huge.  It might even be more than 5 stories, I can't remember.

But we thought we could walk around and maybe catch a film in the theater there.  We tried to find the theater last time we were there but I think it's located in a slightly separate area than the mall itself and we weren't able to locate it.

And I've only been there once.  And all we kind of did was take 5 hours to walk around the whole place, without actually really getting to look at too much in the stores themselves.

Sooo... not sure what the rest of the week will bring but hopefully we'll get out one way or another.

:::

Hopefully some good news coming regarding my mostly broken computer.  It's at the HP certified repair/sales place right now.  They said to call Thursday and they would let us know what was wrong.

We think it's a power issue, as it seems to be dying all the time.  But weather it's the battery or the power cord, or possibly both, or something else all together we don't know.

We are hoping for an inexpensive fix, at which point we will fix it and sell it and get something better insha'Allah.

:::

Here's hoping for some cooler weather!

Picture day v 2.0

Whoopsie daisy!  All those posts I have written in my head somehow haven't made it to the page here.  Imagine that.  :D

I've been able to do some photo editing so getting a little closer on the pyramid photo's.  And in the meantime, here are some miscellaneous food ones.  I think I mentioned them in my last post.

First up is the zucchini carpaccio.  We liked it so much I think we had it 3 times that week.  lol
Just thinly sliced zucchini with oil and lemon drizzled over, then some salt and pepper and last some asiago type cheese on top.  Very yummy!

Next we have a couple of pictures of trying to figure out how to bake cookies since I don't have actual cookie sheets.  I had been using a large pan tray thingy, but I found that the sides really hindered the baking.

Since this wasn't working well at all, I finally found something flat to use, with a slight modification.  It's a uh, thingy you use over pans so that they don't splatter grease.  At least I think that's what it's for.  I just covered it with foil and it actually worked fairly well, so it is my current cookie sheet.  Only having one, baking cookies is a slow and drawn out process.

Next we have the pizza I made from scratch.  Well, I made the dough from scratch.  I'm not quite making my own cheese yet.  lol
The dough turned out really good and it was super super easy.  I've been meaning to make it again but haven't yet.  Soon insha'Allah.
So this is a before it went into the oven and an after it came out of the oven slide.

Here we have shots of my slices of pizza, minus sauce, and hubby's slices, which did have sauce.

And the final picture for this post, birthday cake!  My husband and father kind of but not quite but still almost share a birthday.  lol
So this cake was made for both of them, though unfortunately my dad did not get to taste any.  Sorry dad!
But I thought of you when I was eating it.  :D

:::

Since we're still having trouble with my laptop and I'm not able to use the computer as much, I'm doing more cleaning.  There isn't a lot else to do.  No tv and there's only so much laundry and dishes to do.

It's nice to get the cleaning done, though it tends to leave me a bit tired afterward.  Also, it always feels slightly futile, especially any cleaning that gets done to the balconies, as I know that the dust will be back sooner that you can shake a rag at it.  Nevertheless, it feels really nice to be surrounded by clean.

Still a couple of projects to be done, and then I'm not sure what I'll get up to.  Still wishing on a sewing machine but not sure when I'll get it.  I thought I would buy one when I got back from my trip to the States but holding off for now.

I do have plenty of books to read, however they are all on the computer, and so when it dies quite often, and with no warning, trying to read is a little frustrating.  If we had libraries here like we do in the States I imagine I could keep quite occupied.

Hubby actually remembered a library that he used to go to when he was younger and so we will check that out soon insha'Allah and see if they loan books or have any in English.

:::

I found some information on the Breast Cancer Foundation of Egypt.  They are having a walk later this month, well a walk/run, up at the pyramids.  It's in connection with the Susan G. Komen foundation and also the Suzanne Muburak Peace Foundation (can't remember it's exact name - she's the President's wife).

The walk itself isn't that long, it's only supposed to last for a total of 45 minutes and I believe it's less than a mile.  After the walk they'll have a parade and some ceremony type of thing.  Everyone is welcome to join, men, women and children.

I've convinced hubby that we should do the walk.  It's not that expensive and the money goes towards a good cause.

Here's a link to the page linky link

I'm really looking forward to this!  Will try to take pictures of course.

And that's all folks!