...forget to mention that yesterday the temperature outside in Amman reached 108 degrees Fahrenheit?
Did I???
And that we had several 'brown outs' making the use of our fans impossible.
If it ever got this hot in Birmingham without AC or fans, we'd all melt into gelatinous puddles. Thank God for dry heat. (It truly is different.)
UmmZaid, stay put a few more weeks, ok?
Today it was only 94. Thank God for cool breezes.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Bama Scenes Two
I love these old homes. My friend Somaya lives here. We ate tandoori chicken and veggie rice. It was a lovely afternoon.
Somaya's street. 
I had never noticed many trolleys on the streets of Birmingham before. This particular day, however, they were everywhere.
It's none other than Vulcan, god of iron/steel forging. Birmingham was and still is a huge steel producer. Vulcan just got a multi-million dollar facelift and rear-end lift. They also tore down the room we could go in (when I was a youngin') and view the city, and instead replaced it with a copiously shabby metal slab that I refused to trust.
He looks smashing. And he's holding a popscicle, for all of Birmingham to lick.
View of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) hospital and various 'skyscrapers.'
Some Bama Scenes
These are some tall tall pine trees in my old friend Ginny's mom's yard.
My friend Umm Aisha's husband made a lady out of their lovely tree.
I just loved all of the greenery.
I also loved the summertime afternoon deluges. This cloud was moving faster than my car was.
I tried my hand at the "sports" setting on my camera. My son ended up a ghostly blur of athleticism.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Pack, packrat, pack!
I am procrastinating.
I am drinking cofee and messing with computer.
Behind me lay boxes and suitcases and bags of STUFF--the stuff that is the re-stuffing of my stuff supply which has been depleted of stuff since our last attempt to stock up on stuff, four years ago.
I think we're covered in the sock and underwear category.
I think we could use some more techno hickies, but what we've bought will have to suffice.
I bought all of the coffee on sale I could find.
We have shoes.
We have contact solution. (In Jordan, one regular-sized bottle is $14. I'm not kidding.)
My younger girls can now dress up as Snow White, various fairies, and a cheerleader.
Needing your du'a and good vibes, please, as we begin the final countdown.
I am drinking cofee and messing with computer.
Behind me lay boxes and suitcases and bags of STUFF--the stuff that is the re-stuffing of my stuff supply which has been depleted of stuff since our last attempt to stock up on stuff, four years ago.
I think we're covered in the sock and underwear category.
I think we could use some more techno hickies, but what we've bought will have to suffice.
I bought all of the coffee on sale I could find.
We have shoes.
We have contact solution. (In Jordan, one regular-sized bottle is $14. I'm not kidding.)
My younger girls can now dress up as Snow White, various fairies, and a cheerleader.
Needing your du'a and good vibes, please, as we begin the final countdown.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Winding down
It's almost time to go 'home' to Jordan.
The five weeks have really flown by.
It's back to making my spaghetti sauce (and everything else I cook) from scratch; back to 3 Dr. Peppers per month instead of three per day; back to dusting the house several times daily instead of monthly; back to the land where if someone from the general population is courteous to you during the course of a day you want to do backflips.
It's back to my little patch of grass; my snapdragons; my grapes on the grape leaf vine (bearing fruit for the first time ever); back to cool summer breezes and the sounds of nightly fireworks to celebrate all of those summertime weddings. It's back to not freaking out if my kids wander off on their own for a bit; back to yummy shawerma sandwiches that won't put a dent in my wallet.
I'm taking lots of good memories and gratitude back with me. I'm looking forward to making some changes in my life there. I want to be rant-free for a while.
Think I can do that?
The five weeks have really flown by.
It's back to making my spaghetti sauce (and everything else I cook) from scratch; back to 3 Dr. Peppers per month instead of three per day; back to dusting the house several times daily instead of monthly; back to the land where if someone from the general population is courteous to you during the course of a day you want to do backflips.
It's back to my little patch of grass; my snapdragons; my grapes on the grape leaf vine (bearing fruit for the first time ever); back to cool summer breezes and the sounds of nightly fireworks to celebrate all of those summertime weddings. It's back to not freaking out if my kids wander off on their own for a bit; back to yummy shawerma sandwiches that won't put a dent in my wallet.
I'm taking lots of good memories and gratitude back with me. I'm looking forward to making some changes in my life there. I want to be rant-free for a while.
Think I can do that?
Monday, July 16, 2007
Only in Dixie
A friend pointed out to me some of the southern-ness I've passed on to my children via speech the other day.
My three-year old came in the room talking about the "buggy" she was pushing.
No, it wasn't a cart.
It wasn't a basket on wheels.
It was a buggy. Like a buggy in the supermarket, which I tend to call the grocery store. Grocery stores have baggers, who in put customers' food into sacks, although they are not usually called sackers. Would you like a paper bag or a paper sack? Oh, I'll have the sack any day.
I also drink Cokes, which are actually a family of drinks, not a brand name. It's like you have the Cat family, which includes mountain lions, leopards, cheetahs, tigers, pumas, and the like.
A Coke can be anything with carbonation and syrup. Some of my favorite Cokes are actually Dr. Pepper and Mug Root Beer. They are all Cokes. They are not, to me, pop. We drink no pop in our home. Occasionally I might have some sort of a brain lapse and call a carbonated beverage a soda, but that's a rare day. Cokes they are.
Now, something my kids did not learn from me is the term supper. In my home we dine, thus our evening meal is dinner. We do not sup. When asked by their grandmother what they wanted for supper, they did not respond, for they knew not what supper was.
Want another?
My children did not understand the phrase mind your mother. I think their grandfather told them, "...they had better mind Mama or Mama was going to be upset with them." The way that mind was pronounced sounded to them (and me!) more like mine, which made them think they were hearing "you'd better mine your mother." Complete dumbfoundedness resulted. I advised gentle grandfolk to instead say things like Behave! or Listen!, which the children can understand.
Next week my kids will see (only two of them actually remember her) their great-grandmother, who is ever-so-southern. For a long time growing up I thought she had coined words understood only by she and our immediate family members. The prime example of such words is everwhat. Now, I've never actually heard someone say everwhat (meaning, of course, whatever) in actual earshot of me besides my grandmother. Once, however, I did hear a local furniture store owner on TV boasting that his store carried everwhat you wanted in the way of furniture.
Can you just hear kids saying this to their parents?
"Son, what do you want for lunch today?"
"Oh, everwhat, Mom."
I think my grandmother is the only one who could say it and pull it off.
Must run now; my supper's getting cold.
My three-year old came in the room talking about the "buggy" she was pushing.
No, it wasn't a cart.
It wasn't a basket on wheels.
It was a buggy. Like a buggy in the supermarket, which I tend to call the grocery store. Grocery stores have baggers, who in put customers' food into sacks, although they are not usually called sackers. Would you like a paper bag or a paper sack? Oh, I'll have the sack any day.
I also drink Cokes, which are actually a family of drinks, not a brand name. It's like you have the Cat family, which includes mountain lions, leopards, cheetahs, tigers, pumas, and the like.
A Coke can be anything with carbonation and syrup. Some of my favorite Cokes are actually Dr. Pepper and Mug Root Beer. They are all Cokes. They are not, to me, pop. We drink no pop in our home. Occasionally I might have some sort of a brain lapse and call a carbonated beverage a soda, but that's a rare day. Cokes they are.
Now, something my kids did not learn from me is the term supper. In my home we dine, thus our evening meal is dinner. We do not sup. When asked by their grandmother what they wanted for supper, they did not respond, for they knew not what supper was.
Want another?
My children did not understand the phrase mind your mother. I think their grandfather told them, "...they had better mind Mama or Mama was going to be upset with them." The way that mind was pronounced sounded to them (and me!) more like mine, which made them think they were hearing "you'd better mine your mother." Complete dumbfoundedness resulted. I advised gentle grandfolk to instead say things like Behave! or Listen!, which the children can understand.
Next week my kids will see (only two of them actually remember her) their great-grandmother, who is ever-so-southern. For a long time growing up I thought she had coined words understood only by she and our immediate family members. The prime example of such words is everwhat. Now, I've never actually heard someone say everwhat (meaning, of course, whatever) in actual earshot of me besides my grandmother. Once, however, I did hear a local furniture store owner on TV boasting that his store carried everwhat you wanted in the way of furniture.
Can you just hear kids saying this to their parents?
"Son, what do you want for lunch today?"
"Oh, everwhat, Mom."
I think my grandmother is the only one who could say it and pull it off.
Must run now; my supper's getting cold.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Fear and Loathing, and Loathing, and Loathing in My Country
Let me just say that I, for reasons of sanity, never read anything written by right-wingers or GOP-ers or Faux Newsers. I cannot do it. I will rupture an artery or something from the rapid increase in blood pressure.
Yesterday, however, I overheard a snippet of Rush Limbaugh on the radio. When I walked into the room where it was being broadcast, I froze like a deer in the headlights. I was paralyzed with numbness, because I heard Rush saying,
"Don't you understand that our way of life is about to die out if we don't get them, if we don't take them, if we don't destroy them?"
I suppressed the implosion taking place within me and went on about my business. That was really hard to do.
Yesterday, however, I overheard a snippet of Rush Limbaugh on the radio. When I walked into the room where it was being broadcast, I froze like a deer in the headlights. I was paralyzed with numbness, because I heard Rush saying,
"Don't you understand that our way of life is about to die out if we don't get them, if we don't take them, if we don't destroy them?"
I suppressed the implosion taking place within me and went on about my business. That was really hard to do.
Mis Observaciones, Thus Far
Here are some of my general observations, in no particular order, since visiting the US this summer:
1. Blueberries and raspberries are now superfoods. They are also superpriced.
2. Foam is smart.
3. EBay is new and improved and can leave me fixated, panicked, and searching for hundreds of dollars in items I do not need, but must win. It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight.
4. Baby clothing in the United States is the softest stuff I have ever felt, and I wish I could have some rubbed on my skin, 24/7.
5. If your sheets aren't at least 400 thread-count, please exit my personal space. How can you sleep on poly/cotton? Are you...Shrek or something?
6. Leaving the house means letting $50 (minimum) escape from my possession.
7. Regarding #2, I feel I must elaborate. Every store I go in, I am faced with advertisements for pillows with memory, mattresses with memory, shoe inserts with memory. Apparently, someone found a way to train the foam to remember how its owner wants to sleep on it every night.
Unbelievable.
8. A Chic-Fil-A sandwich by any other name (Jordanian 'Chix-Fil-A') does not taste anywhere as sweet.
9. Good shoes are EVERYWHERE!
10. Since being here, I've worn less of a grimace. I've had some funky dreams (raising alpacas/llamas), but all in all, I've been a happy camper.
11. (Let me end it with an odd number) My friends, some of whom I have not seen in more than five years, (and one I've not seen in 23!) are treasures. My family members who have shown me such love and warmth are the greatest gifts on earth.
1. Blueberries and raspberries are now superfoods. They are also superpriced.
2. Foam is smart.
3. EBay is new and improved and can leave me fixated, panicked, and searching for hundreds of dollars in items I do not need, but must win. It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight.
4. Baby clothing in the United States is the softest stuff I have ever felt, and I wish I could have some rubbed on my skin, 24/7.
5. If your sheets aren't at least 400 thread-count, please exit my personal space. How can you sleep on poly/cotton? Are you...Shrek or something?
6. Leaving the house means letting $50 (minimum) escape from my possession.
7. Regarding #2, I feel I must elaborate. Every store I go in, I am faced with advertisements for pillows with memory, mattresses with memory, shoe inserts with memory. Apparently, someone found a way to train the foam to remember how its owner wants to sleep on it every night.
Unbelievable.
8. A Chic-Fil-A sandwich by any other name (Jordanian 'Chix-Fil-A') does not taste anywhere as sweet.
9. Good shoes are EVERYWHERE!
10. Since being here, I've worn less of a grimace. I've had some funky dreams (raising alpacas/llamas), but all in all, I've been a happy camper.
11. (Let me end it with an odd number) My friends, some of whom I have not seen in more than five years, (and one I've not seen in 23!) are treasures. My family members who have shown me such love and warmth are the greatest gifts on earth.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Thunderlicious
Chocolate Thunder From Down Under, you are the best dessert, ever. Period.
If you've never tried it, you must.
G'day, mates.
If you've never tried it, you must.
G'day, mates.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Any Britons* Prefer Eel?
I just watched a show on the Travel Channel about bizarre foods around the world.
(Insomnia due to late night cup of coffee I coud not put down.)
The host was visiting the U.K. tonight.
Now, my friends know that I will try any kind of new food.
Some of my "tries" have ended up being foods I really love. (Hot spleen sandwich from Lebnani Snack, you are delicious.)
So tonight I found myself lying in bed, watching the show and getting really hungry for some jellied eels, served next to a plate of beef pie and mash. This was in an East London working man's hole-in-the-wall sort of diner, but man, the food looked good.
I know there's a can of smoked oysters downstairs in the pantry...that might have to do as a substitute, since I don't have any eels on hand.
Naysayers, keep quiet. People eat stuff all over the world that others find repulsive. I should have been the host of this show. The Travel Channel is, however, asking folks to send in videos of their bizarre food experiences while traveling or just in the kitchen.
I just might have to make a video!
*Lambeth, London reader...please respond!
(Insomnia due to late night cup of coffee I coud not put down.)
The host was visiting the U.K. tonight.
Now, my friends know that I will try any kind of new food.
Some of my "tries" have ended up being foods I really love. (Hot spleen sandwich from Lebnani Snack, you are delicious.)
So tonight I found myself lying in bed, watching the show and getting really hungry for some jellied eels, served next to a plate of beef pie and mash. This was in an East London working man's hole-in-the-wall sort of diner, but man, the food looked good.
I know there's a can of smoked oysters downstairs in the pantry...that might have to do as a substitute, since I don't have any eels on hand.
Naysayers, keep quiet. People eat stuff all over the world that others find repulsive. I should have been the host of this show. The Travel Channel is, however, asking folks to send in videos of their bizarre food experiences while traveling or just in the kitchen.
I just might have to make a video!
*Lambeth, London reader...please respond!
Monday, July 09, 2007
Agua
I learned this from the Discovery Channel this week, on a program about the Amazonian rainforest:
The mouth of the Amazon empties enough water each day to supply every single American family with all of the water it needs for 200 days.
Isn't that amazing?
SubhanAllah. (All Glory is due to God.)
The mouth of the Amazon empties enough water each day to supply every single American family with all of the water it needs for 200 days.
Isn't that amazing?
SubhanAllah. (All Glory is due to God.)
Saturday, July 07, 2007
I stayed off the wagon
I have happily stayed off of the wagon o' video games since gaming became so popular. I have allowed two small Gameboys in my house with tame, calm games, but NOTHING that hooks up to the TV. No X-Box or Playstation or Gamecube or whatever. Nothing.
Am I a meanie?
I think the stuff rots the brain. We already have enough battles with the television and computer and the small Gameboys already in our home. Is that not enough stimulation? (or over-stimulation?) Am I being the punisher my kids make me out to be sometimes? Am I depriving them in some way I will regret in the future? Maybe their hand-eye coordination isn't as up to par as the gaming boys, but heck, their brains aren't mushy, either. For that, I am grateful.
I have also outlawed the word bored in the house since we've been on vacation. I don't want to hear it.
I wish there were fields to plow or cows to milk. That's the stuff my kids need to be doing.
Am I a meanie?
I think the stuff rots the brain. We already have enough battles with the television and computer and the small Gameboys already in our home. Is that not enough stimulation? (or over-stimulation?) Am I being the punisher my kids make me out to be sometimes? Am I depriving them in some way I will regret in the future? Maybe their hand-eye coordination isn't as up to par as the gaming boys, but heck, their brains aren't mushy, either. For that, I am grateful.
I have also outlawed the word bored in the house since we've been on vacation. I don't want to hear it.
I wish there were fields to plow or cows to milk. That's the stuff my kids need to be doing.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Open up a credit card account and...
...receive 20% off of this purchase!
Which, in my case, was $31.
I will never again use my Kohl's credit card, but what a deal.
While I am not as starstruck as I was when I first arrived, I still have a very hard time going into a store and focusing on what it is I went in to buy. I get sidetracked looking at all of the choices. Do I want Whitening toothpaste, or Super Whitening, or Whitening plus Tartar Control and a Hint of Eucalyptus, or Whitens and Softens Hands While you Do the Dishes and Melts Away Pounds of Fat? I just can't choose.
I also remember, years ago when I lived here, driving from one location to a destination and not remembering the actual process of getting from point A to point B. This used to happen time and time again on my way to work each morning. Before I would realize what had happened, I'd be pulling into the parking lot, with a mindful of NPR newsings to start off my day. In Jordan, if I fall into a 'traffic trance' for a millisecond, I will surely perish. In Jordan, I drive white-knuckled and tense, usually arriving at point B in a sweat or having uttered some choice words along the way.
I can do without the humidity here. Leaving the store yesterday and walking into the parking lot left me with fogged up glasses. So attractive.
My son (he's 10) thinks that The Late Show with David Letterman is the funniest program he has ever watched. He demanded to know why I had not told him about that guy. He also wanted to know why I was not clutching my gut in laughter as he was. "I'm laughing inside, really," I told him. I was. No one stirs up my love o' sarcasm like the Davemeister.
All in all, I think Americans are lovely. And I really dig this Clearance Sale concept.
Which, in my case, was $31.
I will never again use my Kohl's credit card, but what a deal.
While I am not as starstruck as I was when I first arrived, I still have a very hard time going into a store and focusing on what it is I went in to buy. I get sidetracked looking at all of the choices. Do I want Whitening toothpaste, or Super Whitening, or Whitening plus Tartar Control and a Hint of Eucalyptus, or Whitens and Softens Hands While you Do the Dishes and Melts Away Pounds of Fat? I just can't choose.
I also remember, years ago when I lived here, driving from one location to a destination and not remembering the actual process of getting from point A to point B. This used to happen time and time again on my way to work each morning. Before I would realize what had happened, I'd be pulling into the parking lot, with a mindful of NPR newsings to start off my day. In Jordan, if I fall into a 'traffic trance' for a millisecond, I will surely perish. In Jordan, I drive white-knuckled and tense, usually arriving at point B in a sweat or having uttered some choice words along the way.
I can do without the humidity here. Leaving the store yesterday and walking into the parking lot left me with fogged up glasses. So attractive.
My son (he's 10) thinks that The Late Show with David Letterman is the funniest program he has ever watched. He demanded to know why I had not told him about that guy. He also wanted to know why I was not clutching my gut in laughter as he was. "I'm laughing inside, really," I told him. I was. No one stirs up my love o' sarcasm like the Davemeister.
All in all, I think Americans are lovely. And I really dig this Clearance Sale concept.
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