A long day from start to finish

It was a big day yesterday. When I sit back and look at all that happened it seems like a dream. Run, run run from the first thing in the morning until the night.

First on the schedule was to take the girls to have their day with Sheila. Three girls having 'me time'. Nora and Sara went first. They always want a haircut but at the same time they don't want it to look like it's been cut. They want their hair to be as long as possible. So after a trim and shape and some texturizing and they now look fabulous!

Then it was Jenna's turn. She had this style in mind that was like Halle Berry in Catwoman... but Sheila took one look at the pictures and said it just wasn't gonna happen. Jenna has three times as much hair as Halle Berry. But no worries... she would give her something similar, but better.

This is the before picture.

This is how much hair came off Jenna's head!

And this is after... Jenna looking very pleased with the outcome!

She says I have to pay her 10 dinars for every picture of her on my blog!

We had a great morning and then it was time to head for home. I threw together lunch and then headed out the door for an afternoon with OTE. We had plans to spend the afternoon and part of the evening shopping.

Can you guess where we went? It didn't involve clothes, or shoes or accessories. Fine jewelry was not on our list, nor was cosmetics. What on earth could two mature ladies find to keep them shopping all afternoon?

Well if you guessed DIY you are almost there.... OTE and I spent the afternoon at the new Ace Hardware store in Beviuw. It was wonderful! We went from aisle to aisle looking at all the things that have been unavailable in Libya for the last twenty or so years. They have all kinds of stuff in there! Murphy's Oil Soap, closet organizers, Ball canning jars, cast-iron pans, patio furniture, real toilet paper from America, the list goes on and on. I have to go back to get a leaf blower for my garden... they have three to choose from!

Next door is a new supermarket that was well stocked and clean... no more going through the traffic and fighting for a parking space... Mahari, I'm sorry... but you are out of my life now. I've found Usrah.

OTE and I had a great time. I'm glad we went together because the experience just wouldn't have been the same with anyone else. I think the shop clerks had just as much fun watching us enjoy the store.

After dropping OTE off at her house I headed to my in-law's. My mother-in-law is heading for Tunis today for medical treatment and I wanted to wish her a safe trip. The doctors here said she needs a bypass and so now it's off to Tunis for another opinion and treatment. I wish I could go with her but the kids have school and I have work... sigh. So I'll just have to pray from here that all goes well for her.

A new week... lots to do.... always busy, busy, busy (the way I like it).

Tasteful home decor... or maybe not

We are back to looking for furniture again after having taken a break for a while. A lot of the shops still have the same merchandise that they had a few months ago. We get in the car and go from shop to shop hoping to find the perfect dining room table (that seats eight). No luck so far.

The marbowa (men's sitting room) needs to have custom made furniture. It's the room with traditional Libyan decor... so we need to pick out some gaudy upholstery so that the Libyan visitors will feel comfortable. Something that borders on seizure level. I draw the line at covering everything with clear plastic... why do they do that?.... ewe...

The Anniversary Cake

The kids were so excited about the cake. First because it was white - like a wedding cake, and second because there were fresh strawberries on the top. The inside was chocolate, caramel, cream and nuts. It was sinfully delicious!

Hubby and I cut the cake together... of course we had a small argument about just how it should be cut first... lolol!

A good time was had by all!

December 7th... a day in history

This day is not only famous for the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, it's also my 27th wedding anniversary today. Yep... 27 years! It comes to nearly 10,000 days. Imagine someone putting up with me for that long... hehe... Imagine me putting up with my husband for all that time...

Wow.... 27 years.... sigh....

Happy Anniversary Habibi!

I hope he doesn't forget...

I reminded him about a thousand times.

Maybe he'll bring me a present...

he better not have forgotten....

sigh...

I love you honey!

Eye Candy!

I noticed that National Geographic's Photo of the Day was a stunning shot of a Tuareg in Libya taken by Bobby Model. It's also featured in a National Geographic book Visions of Paradise.

My mother sent me a link to a photo journalism site of Chris Peterson, a photographer and the editor of Glacier Park Magazine. He spent 100 days in Glacier National Park, Montana USA taking photos and publishing one for each day. They're all beautiful and the stories behind each picture are so interesting.

I love photography and I enjoy taking pictures, but I am definitely a novice. I've always wanted to do something like a 100 days of Libya or even just Tripoli (as I'm unlikely to be travelling all over the country). I'm not sure my pictures would be any good, but I bet I'd improve! Something to think about doing for 2010.

Feeling sooooo much better now!

I've got a lingering cough but otherwise I am fine. Actually I'm really fine because I have been to Sheila and she has worked her magic. I'm sportin' a new hairstyle! Wooo Wooo! When I came home Nora said it was too bad I didn't get before and after pictures.

The girls will be having their day with Sheila on the 12th. Now the search is on for a picture of a hairstyle for Jenna. She has been talking about getting something like what Halle Berry had when she was Catwoman. If she does that I will have to start calling her Ratwoman, or Ratgirl because she was born in the year of the Rat, the month of the Rat and the hour of the Rat... Jenna is a triple rat. Hehehe... Ratty hair for a Ratty girl!

Time for popcorn.... movie night!

I've been relaxing and watching movies. Today I downloaded a film called Precious. I watched it straight through without stopping. Wow! It's a very powerful film, very realistic. Thanks Tara for suggesting it.

Then, I started Marley and Me but Jenna begged me not to finish it because she watched it first and said it was too sad - the dog died and she thought it was just too much to bear. So I'll watch it later when I think I can handle the sadness... lolol..

I'm waiting for Sunshine Cleaning to download next. It's going slow so it probably wont be until tomorrow.

What films have you watched lately? Got any favourites? Anything thought provoking?

Click on comments..... Suggest something.

Getting back into the routine

I'm still recovering from the flu. I got back behind the wheel of the car today and drove Ibrahim to school. Eid is over, the kids are back to school and things are beginning to return to normal. The only thing left is to finish the drying and processing of the gadeed (dried meat), hopefully tomorrow.

Eid this year was strange. The government officially proclaimed Eid Adha to be on Thursday when everywhere else in the world celebrated it on Friday. Thursday morning the mosques made a feeble attempt to call people to Eid prayers but because most Libyans decided to celebrate Eid with the rest of the world on Friday, no one seemed interested in answering the call to prayer on Thursday. We celebrated on Friday, as did most Libyans.

There was also a debate this year in Libya over when Ramadan would end and Eid Fitr would begin. So both Eids; the two biggest holidays in the Muslim calendar, have been disrupted. It seems really weird not to have had Eid prayer this year.

Playing with something...

Autumn came & then winter on Storybird

Two in one

Happy Thanksgiving

and

Happy Eid!

Getting well

I'm on the mend, moving slowly about the house and trying to get things back in order. I'm coughing and still weak but the fever is gone. I'll need to get up enough energy to make a trip to the supermarket to try to refill the fridge and cabinets. The kids ate everything in sight and the stuff that was hidden too.

Thanks to all who sent get well wishes, emails and texts. Sorry if I didn't talk to you - for a good part of the time I was comatose. Now I need to sort out my house.... Nora is starting to feel ill now. I think it will make it's way around the house.

Slowly Recovering

I have the flu. It all started last Thursday morning I woke up with a headache and by the end of the day I had developed a cough and a slight fever. On Friday I had invited some of my students and another teacher over for a picnic, but by the time they started to arrive I was too sick to join the fun and had gone to bed. I was out like a light... comatose!

Someone had taken some pictures with my camera and it looks like they had a great time. The picnic lasted all afternoon and into the night. Sorry I missed the fun.

Over the next few days my husband kept trying to wake me up. Everything was hazy and all I knew was that my entire body ached.. my eyeballs even hurt. By day three he insisted I go to the hospital. So after a huge effort to make myself somewhat presentable to the general public, we headed out the door (one day I will look back at the sight of Nora trying to put my clothes on for me and laugh).

We decided that since there was a chance I had Swine Flu the best thing would be to go the main hospital where we thought we would find a whole system set up to deal with cases of influenza. After an ordeal of finding a parking space I told my husband to let me sit down someplace (away from other people) while he went in to find out where I needed to go. He came back after a while and brought me inside where I was taken into a room.

After being asked my name and what was wrong I was led into a curtained off corner just big enough for two grubby looking hospital beds. There were already five women perched on those two beds, add me and now there were six. Imagine having a doctors examination on a bed with two other women!

The doctor asked me what my symptoms were and I told him. Then someone took my blood pressure and then I was asked to get up. Back out to the desk in the main area; I was handed a prescription for Panadol Cold and Flu, Amoxicilin and vitamin C. No one took my temperature, or listened to my chest (oh darn), or cared what kind of flu I had.

I'm starting to get up a bit. I can manage about 15 minutes and then I need a four hour nap. I'm a survivor! My advice... if you think you have the flu in Libya - just stay home. The trip to the hospital could kill you. I am taking the antibiotics... God alone knows what those other ladies on those beds had.

A special note for November

I've been enjoying the weather. It's warm during the day and cool at night. The leaves are starting to change colors and flocks of migratory birds can be seen flying over from time to time. Yesterday morning, as I was driving Ibrahim to school, we saw two flocks of larger sized birds flying over in V formation. I like this time of year.

A few years ago a friend of mine gave me a poem she had written. It was on a small piece of folded paper that I kept in the top drawer of my dresser. Every November I would happen to come across it and take it out and read it. And then I would pick up the phone and call my friend and we would have a long chat. For some reason the paper with the poem on it disappeared and I searched for it last November but couldn't find it. So I asked my dear friend to write the poem for me again. I'm posting it here so I don't misplace it again.

November Cricket

November Cricket singing by my kitchen door-

You fill my heart with gladness,

You fill my heart with joy.

Now as evening falls

Your merry little notes fill the peaceful air

Saying

"This is a happy home."

Yes, you know we face our share

Of trials and tribulations.

Yet we are richly blessed

With all the goodness that comes

From our Father up above.

Sing November Cricket!

November Cricket-

I love you.

Rhonda Ahmed

November 16, 2001

The morning sun

Ibrahim running around in his Spiderman costume in the morning. That boy loves Spiderman!

H1N1 Vaccine in Libya?

My husband told me the H1N1 vaccine was available in Libya but it cost 1,000 dinars a shot. This has increased the costs of anyone travelling to Saudi Arabia for Hajj this year. The vaccine isn't required to go to Hajj but you have to pay for it whether you take it or not.

Why are they charging so much for the vaccine? Does anyone know anything about this?

In the US the vaccine is given either for free or possibly with a fee for the administration. Kids and pregnant women are the ones really at greatest risk and there are plenty of those here in Libya. I can't imagine that families would be able to afford a thousand dinars for each member of their family, especially since Libyans usually have BIG families.

A quiet day for a change

I've been enjoying my day off. The weather has been wonderful and the only major thing I did the entire day was a few loads of laundry. I rested, I napped, I enjoyed the breeze. I noticed flocks of migratory birds flying over from time to time. I needed this break. Tomorrow is another day.

I've got guests!

It's amazing to see the number of foreigners that are here in Libya. Ex-pats, guest workers, call them what you like, they are an integral part of the workforce in this country and their numbers are growing.

How do they adapt to life in Libya? How do they deal with the people and culture? In the past Libyans would gawk at any foreigner they came across but nowadays, especially in Tripoli, Libyans are getting more and more used to seeing foreigners in shops and restaurants. It's starting to become normal.

And as the number of ex-pats in Libya increases, the number of ex-pat bloggers increases too. Chronicling their lives here for their family and friends back home. Life in Libya is an adventure!

There is a group of ex-pats here that have put together a website for other ex-pats. I asked them if they would like to have a guest post on my blog since I have so many ex-pat readers, and also because many people who are in the decision process of taking a position in Libya stumble across me in their research. I'm also interested in how cultures blend and mix. They agreed to be guests on my blogg. Here's what they sent me to post:

LookOutLibya.com – A peek under the veil

We are a group of enthusiastic expats with a positive outlook who want to provide relevant information on life in Libya. Before arriving here each of us had problems finding out how living in Libya might be. For this reason we got together to meet this need. As a group, we try to portray all aspects of this multi-faceted society – the good, the bad and the in between.

Look Out Libya aims not to provide exhaustive information, but rather an introduction for newcomers to the country, and an ongoing update for the online community here in Libya. We concentrate on the practicalities of life and hope to offer our readers first hand insights into life as a foreigner in Libya.

There is much development in Libya and the country is evolving at a rapid rate, hence we rely on the contributions of our readers to keep the site up to date and current.

Our largest readership is in Libya but readers from all over the globe have visited the site. We are thrilled each time we receive an email with feedback - from expats thirsty for information and Libyans delighted to see their country receiving a worldwide audience. The best feedback to date … “The Look Out Libya website has coloured in a country that for me had always been grey on the map”.

It’s so exciting to be a part of it. Come and be entranced!

Getting a good soak

It's been raining the last couple of days and the reports say it will rain everyday this week. I'm happy because I enjoy the rain so much. Actually there are only a few negative things about this kind of weather:

• puddles - because you never know how deep they are and driving through them is dangerous. I try to drive behind someone. Today there was a puddle so deep and wide in front of Ibrahim's school that I just decided to turn around and go home. I've been wanting a 4-wheel drive vehicle for quite some time... maybe I can convince hubby now is the time to get one.

• laundry - how to get it to dry when you have no dryer... the clothes line is full and sagging with the weight of very wet clothes. Solution... get a dryer.

I suppose I could get a 4-wheel drive, head for an appliance store and bring home a clothes dryer! This would solve all the problems and there'd be no disadvantages to rain.

Old to New

There is a picture floating around of what Tripoli will look like in the future. In the picture it shows that all along the seafront there will be modern buildings and skyscrapers. It will look quite different from what we see today.

Things are beginning to change already. But how much of the old should go to make way for the new? I'm all for improving things but at the same time I'd like to see traditional style and culture remain. Can the new blend with the old, making a modern-traditional mix?

And why does it seem as though there is not much thought for the people and businesses that are displaced in the process? It always seems that they are taken by surprise when the demolition crews begin their work.... A mad scramble to move before the walls cave in and endless talk about how much compensation they will get and the big question WHEN they'll get it. As well as whether it will be enough to buy something elsewhere - and is there something elsewhere.

Change is inevitable I guess. I seem to notice it more since we moved out of the city. I'm surrounded by work in progress everyplace I go.

Take your shoes off and stay awhile

The culture here dictates that people usually take their shoes off before they walk into the house. Although I prefer to wear shoes in the house (and do), I don't have a problem with this custom. If someone wants to walk around barefooted that's their business. What I do hate is looking at a pile of shoes next to the door.

I've spent years pleading with my kids to bring their shoes into the house and put them away in their rooms. This has been just a waste of my vocal cords because no one has ever paid any attention to me and I've had to endure looking at (and usually tripping over) shoes by the door. I tried a shoe cabinet next to the door and just ended up nagging at the kids to put their shoes inside... which they rarely did.

But a miracle has happened! We moved to the farm and now have four wonderful, shoe chewing dogs! Anyone stupid enough to leave their shoes (or anything else for that matter) outside next to the door is guaranteed to lose them to the dogs who are delighted to have a tasty chewy toy. The dogs love them! Yummy shoes, scented with the tantalizing smells of feet and far off places.