Bubble Wrap , Bumper Stickers , And Gum

We are Still eating turkey 4 days after Thanksgiving . Good thing I only cooked the breast, huh ? We have had turkey left over turkey....... sandwiches , turkey salads ,turkey hash , and turkey and eggs . I am here to say , I hope I never see another turkey until next Thanksgiving !!!!


Sign on the bumper sticker at the very end of my blog , along the bottom says ...

You say I am a bitch like it was a bad thing .

Mop and glow , the 3 Mile Island clean up .

Allow me to introduce my selves !

Chaos , panic , and disorder , my work here is done .

Therapy is expensive .Popping bubble wrap is cheap . You choose .

And for your added therapy pleasure I have placed some bubble wrap to pop at the end of the left hand side widgets ! Try it out . It even has a warp speed . It really does sooth you somehow or another , like popping bubble gum . I know that is considered a disgusting annoying habit, but when I pop my gum it releases all kings of negative energy . Really , you should try it sometime .

A Good Season In Life

I hope every one had a lovely Thanksgiving this past Thursday that celebrates this holiday . I felt a little better so went ahead and cooked the whole turkey dinner thing ; dressing , mashed potatoes , etc. It turned out pretty nice if I say so myself . Of course we will be eating turkey for the next month !

This seems to be a eventful time for some of my friends and family . Khadija Teri has gone off to Malta to rescue a friend that is recovering from surgery there . That's pretty exciting , since like me, Teri has been here forever . So happy that she gets to have a chance to travel . Then another friend that has been in England these past 4 months is coming home today . Can't wait to see her . My oldest daughter has her birthday today . I can't believe it . It seems just like yesterday when I had her . My youngest daughter has announced that she will be adding one more to the family in July/August sometime . We are all tickled pink , or will it be blue , over this new addition to the families . My little grandson is in the process of cutting his 1st teeth , so that means he is growing like a weed .

The weather here has been pretty nice too this last week . All in all , things are ( gosh , I hope I don't jinx myself ) pretty good .It seems we have so much to be thankful for this moment in time. Why don't you leave a comment below , in the comment section, telling us what you have to be thankful for also .

Happy Thanksgiving !

Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving filled with much to be thankful for this year .

The Great Turkey

This is HAlf of The Great Turkey that I found after searching high and low all over Tripoli this year . I had to have it cut in half just so I could get the thing home .I admit it was way more than I bargined for , this monster turkey , yes it was !Oh , I had grand plans this year for the Great Turkey . I was going to make the very best stuffing in the whole world , mashed potatoes with creamy smooth gravey , corn , green bean salad ,and for dessert , I wanted to make pies ! Chocolat mirang , pumpkin , apple/pear tort , and a carrot cake to top it all off .We were going to have our son , his wife , and grandson over to celebrate as a family .I saw it just like a Hallmark card in my head . BUT.... mother nature had another idea for me instead , the flu ! So , here I sit with a fever , acking all over , sniffling and feeling sorry for myself now that all my plans have gone out the window .The Great Turkey sits in the freezer mocking me saying "na na na !" So , now I am plotting revenge on the Great Turkey for when I am well . I am determined that we will eat the thing once I am well enough to stand up in the kitchen all day to cook . Thanksgiving is just delayed in our house , not scrapped ! Haaaha , take that you frendish bird !

Sunsets To Die For

This is the fantabulous nightly veiw from our balconey at The Condo On The Seaside. Imagine this happens every single night ! Wanted to share it with you .

New / Old Rule

Some of you may or may not know of this rule in Libya that your passport must be translated into Arabic . The rule was relaxed for a while but due to new developments , it was revised this week . Read the below article from A.F.P. news service .

Libya refuses to compromise on travel restrictions

1 day ago

TRIPOLI (AFP) — Libya on Tuesday confirmed it will turn away Western visitors to the north African nation unless they provide Arabic translations of their passports.

"Libya will not reverse its decision, nor will it take into consideration the international reaction" and uproar triggered by the new restrictions, a Libyan official told AFP.

"The West demands that we translate our passports into English and therefore we must act in kind. It is only normal," said the official.

"Travellers arriving with foreign language passports are perturbing officials at border posts and airports because they don't know foreign languages," he added.

On Sunday Libya turned back scores of passengers on a flight from Paris because they failed to provide Arabic translations of their passports.

The official insisted that the rule was not new.

"Libya adopted Arabic as the country's sole language since the revolution but in a bid to encourage tourism it scrapped the measure" in 2005, before reviving it this month.

"We must defend our Arabic language. There will be no compromise," he said.

The measure is in response to a decision to prevent Libyans with visas for the EU's Schengen border-free zone from entering certain European countries, notably France and Britain, a Libyan aviation official said.

The current Schengen zone nations include France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Norway and Iceland, but not Britain or Ireland.

A Film Festival In Tripoli

I found this news tid-bit in a Maltese on line news paper . Wonder , will Tomcat , Brangalina ,or Robert Redford be at the premier ? LOL ! I am waiting to see Jonny Depp ! See ya there .

"The Great Directors Film Festival” is to be inaugurated in Tripoli, Libya, tomorrow , November 14, 2007.

The film festival is being organized by the Italian Cultural Institute in collaboration with the Tripoli Municipality People’s Committee for Culture and Information and with the participation of the Embassies of Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Republic of Korea, Japan, Malta, Poland, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey and the USA. Sixteen films are participating in the festival.

Nasser Al-Qattari’s "The Ambassadors", a 1980 Libyan production, will be screened at the festival’s opening night ceremony to be held at the Al-Fatah Cinema in Tripoli at 8pm. "

The Walls

Here are a couple of examples of walls already up along the sea road further into town . This one totally blocks all views of the sea .

Oh , here's a view to the sea ... through a forgotten door left open , oops ! Can you glimpse the sea in the distance ?

Poor palm trees half buried in sand that is being used to make embankments the rest of the way into town .At least they plant grass on the embankments further along the road .But no sight of the sea , sigh !

I found this one gap in the embankment where you might spy the sea ... if you look real quick !

The Sea Veiw Road

In A previous post " Oh Say Can You See ?" I wrote of the fact that walls were going up all along the coastal road Al Fatah causing the lose of a wonderful view to the sea . In the below pictures you can see how lovely the drive is into Tripoli .

The below picture shows construction for a new sidewalk all along the road . The metal posts are for attaching corrugated steal as a temporary wall .

The below picture shows the contempt that Mother Nature has for the proposed wall .She blew it into twisted metal night before last in a storm !

Shocking News To Me

I found this blog surfing the other day and received a shock when I read this report . I am not too sure just how accurate this report is but it's worth the time to read it . I accessed it from The Tripoli Post newspaper . It reports the emerging of a underground group known by the name of The Libya Islamic Fighting Group . Here is a very short exert from the blog post :

"Abu al-Laith is a senior Al-Qaida military commander and likewise a key principle behind the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG)... While it is certainly interesting to see both Al-Qaida and LIFG leaders openly acknowledging a formal relationship with each other, this is hardly what one would term "new news."

http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/189999.php

Amazing Sands

Beautifil sand dunes .

Car coming over the top of a white sand dune .

Desert tornado .

Modern Day Caravan In The Libyan Desert

This rock formation is in the middle of white sands .

White sands with ancient black volcano lava rock .

The modern day caravan .

Time out to rest .

Was Libya Framed For Lockerbie

I read this article in the Tripoli Post newspaper on line . For years we in Libya have heard all sorts of things in regards to the Lockerbie Pan Am bombing of flight 103 . I don't normally post political things on this blog but this is a different view of a tragic loss . Please read with a open mind .


http://www.africanpath.com/p_blogEntry.cfm?blogEntryID=2349

Look What We Are Getting

This was pasted on to me by a reliable source .....

Hertz says it is to open its first car rental location in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. The news comes as Libya re-emerges into the wider world of commerce after a period of isolation and as more western airlines serve the country. Hertz will enter into a franchise agreement with Trans-Africa for the Import of Cars and Spare Parts (TAIC), a company that has operated in Libya for 20 years in the automotive industry. As well as downtown offices, Hertz will also open a location at Tripoli airport that will feature vehicles including four-wheel drives and other services such as Chauffeur Drive and hotel deliveries. [ABTN]

Now if they would only send us a WalMart , Target , or even a Sam's Club . I am waiting so patiently !

Oh Say Can You See?

Oh say can you see the … sea? That will soon be the new refrain around Tripoli . I noticed on the way into Tripoli today that a new wall of corrugated steal is being erected in front of the already existing low cement wall in place along most of the sea road from the east going west into town . Once the road was a lovely ride with a uninhibited view of the sea as far as the eye could see, now it is being chopped up into segments with different types of walls to obstruct the view for some unknown reason. I noticed also that where there used to be little hotels and restaurants along the seaside farther in town they have all been knocked down which is not a bad thing in it's self because they were not kept up and many times they were hang out places for undesirables . After they were all torn down there was a fantastic view of the harbor and the approaching town . NOW, the powers that be have decided to make a earthen bank all along the sidewalk and are planting grass on the banks. Ok , that looks nice , cuts down on flying sand when windy but where is the view of the sea ? Then on top of that , they have piled the sand half up the tall mature palm trees trunks that are standing sentinel along the sidewalks . Can that be good for the trees ? Sometimes you can't help but wonder to yourself … What Where They Thinking ! If I can I will take some pictures of this disaster in the making . Libya has one of the longest coast lines of North Africa and just about the most unspoiled coast of all the Med . What a shame we will no longer be able to enjoy the view .

Speaking of unspoiled views of the sea , There is some very serious gossip making the rounds here on this side of town at least , that all the empty beaches between Tagura and Tripoli will be made in large private beach resorts catering to the tourist trade . That’s a good thing tourist are being courted to come into the country helping to boost the economy with the ensuing new jobs in the hotel and catering business , but am sure that most of those jobs will be going to foreign labor since an average Libyan would consider it beneath them to work as a waiter , maid ,or any other laborer that will be needed to run a hotel .Maybe on the construction side of things there will be more jobs for Libyans , but I doubt that also since most of those contracts will be given to outsiders , here again . There is even big talk that we will have an American hospital here teamed up with Libyans . Now that will be a good thing . This will save many from having to make the long and expensive trip for medical care outside the country , as long as they can afford it that is . Will be interesting to see what really will happen in the future .

The other day my son and daughter in law came to take me out. We were listening to a cassette tape I had made of classic rock and roll. Kamal stopped to go to the store while Abir and I stayed in the car.The song "Rock and Roll Hoochie Coo " started to play and I was singing along with it . Abir knows a little English but was really stumped by "hoochie coo" . She asked me what that meant , hoochie coo .I had all these mental pictures running around in my mind of what hoochie coo was but for the life of me I could not figure a way to explain it to her on my limited Arabic. I started to laugh wondering what she would think if I could explain it to her. She sat there staring at me like had lost my mind .Kamal came back to the car and asked what I was laughing about and I told him . He smiled, looked at Abir and told her , " Honey , never mind. It's a American thing . We don't have that here !" How would you explain hoochie coo?