Going Mobile

Last night I went out with Khadijateri and her girls to do some Ramadan shopping . We stayed in the car and the girls got out to do their shopping while KT and I visited sitting in the car . It was a ideal shopping trip for me . BUT .... the real fun started BEFORE we left to go shopping , KT handed me a gift bag and told me to open it . I did ,inside I found a Ramadan/Eid/early birthday present ....... a very "pretty in pink" mobile phone that can do everything , including the Hokey Pokey ! OMG ! OMG ! OMG !

I KNOW I always said I would NEVER have a mobile phone BUT what can you do when one just falls into your lap, so to speak ? I HAD to accept it , huh ?I mean it would have been terrible rude not to have taken the phone , don't you think ?  Who refuses a present ? What to do ?What to do? I took the phone ! 

I have been busy every since going crazy trying to learn how to use it . LOL ! I ended up accidentally calling KT at around 6a.m. this morning when I pressed " this button" to see what it would do .Then I didn't know how to end the call , so I just closed to phone entirely , lol .I was horrified I might have awakened her or her husband , whom I am sure would not be all that understanding at 6a.m. to have been woken up by a "dumb blonde" phone call!

Thank you Khadijateri so much for the phone .Once again you have enriched my life by giving me another wonderful present .Call me the next time you and the girls want to go car shopping . I can't wait ! OTE

The News In English

The last several post have been pretty negative I have to admit .Things have started to look up again, I am happy to report !The people in Tagura are so nice and helpful I am proud to say . Moe and I were out shopping and I can't count how many times we had different people help us carry our bags to the car for us . Or offer to go into a store to do our shopping for us,because the store had steps leading in to the store that were difficult for either Moe or I to climb .The man that owns the laundry we use reprogrammed Moe's mobile phone for him when Moe had to install a new Sims card into his phone . Moe nor I could figure that out and Nuri offered to do it for Moe . Now how nice is that ???

Yesterday I was brought to tears as we were out cruising Tagura when the car in front of us stopped traffic , the driver got out of his car to walk a elderly blind man across a very busy street .God bless him .The coffee bar we go to brings the coffee out to our car for Moe after he orders it , so that Moe may go sit in the car  with me.One of our neighbors carried a heavy bag of groceries up the stairs for me the other day , even though I told him I could carry it myself . My friend that is ill and her sister in law have decided to send over little plates of goodies during Ramadan this year so I won't have to stand so long in the kitchen cooking . I am so over whelmed by the goodness of the people that have touched our lives .Thank You God !

On a different note and not so positive ... it is that time of year now when it is warm enough to open your house , so many of our neighbors , 3 to be exact , are remodeling their Condo's . So , all we hear morning noon and night is .... KA BOW ! BAMM ! BOOM !KABOOM !! Over and over , as the entire building shakes in rhythm  to the hammer blows .Yesterday as I was trying to put up the groceries , the man underneath us wanted to come through my kitchen so that his plumber could climb out my kitchen window to drill his new water pipe to the outside wall . I said ok , but had to walk out of the kitchen . I couldn't stand to see that poor man dangle 4 stories above the ground out my window , possibly to fall to is death . He didn't thank goodness !And here I was worried about the sound of my vacuum cleaner waking the baby upstairs up!  LOL !

The weather here in Tripoli has been the strangest I can ever remember for this time of year .The last several weeks it has been mainly dusty and hot , or cloudy , dusty ,hot and humid . Normally it is still coolish/warm and mainly sunny.Today it it was sunny and warm .Nice . I did the laundry that stacked up while the sand was flying around .

It is also beach weather here . With so many of the public beaches walled off from public use this year , the beaches that are open are packed even though the weather has been uncooperative until today .There are water ski's for rent . I think there might even be boats for rent by the day . I heard rumors to that effect anyway .No life guards in sight so far though .

Whatever your summer brings your way this year , be safe and be happy .OTE

What's Going On !

The other day my good friend took pity on me and drove me to the fabric souk ( market ) here in Tripoli so I could buy some material to have clothes made . This was a tricky endeavor as the souk has moved locations several times .Not the actual soul it's self but the location where the fabric is sold has moved from place to place . I don't understand , along with most everyone else here in Tripoli , why things don't stay in one place. We aren't talking about just fabric either . Other things have a tendency to not be in the location where you bought them last .

But anyway ..... the current fabric market is in the poorer , rougher part of town that I am unfamiliar with and a chicken to drive there myself , not knowing the area well. My friend volunteered to drive me . I had asked her not just because she is a excellent driver , fearless and bold , but she could also keep me on track .

I have this problem when faced with buying material . I have had it for many years now and it used to drive my girls crazy when they had to go with me to purchase material in the past . I go into a store to look at the cloth and get caught up in another world . One in which there is sensory overload ! I see colors that dazzle me in rainbows . I feel soft , smooth , rough , bumpy , silky , satiny , hairy textures . My fingers tingle with the touch . My senses reel with the patterns that beg me to wear them . This one shouts flaunt me ! That one says remember the gown you had in these colors long ago ? This cloth promises to keep me warm in the cold winter to come . That piece says I would be so comfy as a robe , what do you think ? A cat print seductively growls , I will make a animal out of you if you take me home with you ! By the time I make it to the back of a store that sells material I am done for ! Completely confused , unable to make any rational decision at all !!! I have been known to walk out of a fabric store with some very strange purchases that never see the light of day again once I get home with them because they are sooo not what I needed or wanted in the end . But I loved them when I bought them , lol !

That's why I had my friend along . She constantly had to remind me what my mission was , what I needed to buy , and keep me moving along even when I weakened . Several times she had to physically remove me from a store with a stern reminder that I still hadn't made my main purchases yet and to keep on looking ! Now that's a good friend indeed !

In the end I did make a couple of buys that were not on any list but , then life is like that isn't it . Not all things can be planned for and a brilliant piece of cloth that begged me for a new home got lucky ! I can't wait to see how the tailor will translate these dreams into reality for me . A new dress to wear to up coming weddings after Ramadan . Haven't had one of those in many years . Then several dress slacks , along with a couple of long slinky skirts to wear when the weather turns cool again . Several blouses to go with all of those things and a house dress or two for comfort . A whole wardrobe !

After I bought all that material I came home to find my daughter had written me to say that my son in law stood in line at the post office there in the States on his day off to FINALLY mail me my packages that were to have been sent one and a half years ago . I had given up on that ever happening , hence all the cloth and plans for long needed clothes ! I am thrilled beyond words ! I appreciate his sacrificed day off to mail these boxes to me .

Way back last September I rented a post office box here in Libya so that my daughter could mail my packages to me . You may recall I mentioned the adventure here on the blog . Now what started all this P.O.Box thing was that Khadijateri was always telling me how she gets her packages from "home " from her family there in the States . I was dubious to say the least since I can remember the days before internet that it took a minimum of six to nine months just to send a letter to the States , let alone a package .But she swore she got all of her packages and I could too . I was a believer and here we are now . The packages are to arrive in Tripoli this coming Monday .Now , we will see how long it will take them to make their way to Tagura to me . And I hope all the contents are still in the boxes since things have a mysterious way of disappearing sometimes .Keep your fingers and toes all crossed for me .Eyes too if you think that will help also ! LOL !

Moe is struggling to learn all the ins and outs of the Mobile Phone world . He gets frustrated with trying to remember all the complicated steps involved to program his phone .He gets embarrassed having to ask other people for advise that he doesn't catch the first time around , or even the third time , but I encourage him to keep on trying to learn . I tell him it isn't a easy thing he is doing but I just know he can if he keeps on trying . So he gives one more try .

The first night he got the phone he left it laying on the coffee table when he went to bed early . I had stayed up to watch a late movie , when his phone rang .I was surprised , after all it was a brand new number that hadn't been used before . Moe hadn't give the number to anyone yet either . So , who could it be now ? I answered the phone because I was curious and I also didn't want the ringing phone to wake him up . I said hello and at one a.m. I heard a woman asking me who I was ! I hung up . LOL ! Then I remembered WHY I hate telephones ! LOL ! So , Moe has a girlfriend now . He thought it was so funny that his first call was a " mystery " caller ! LOL !

I got my hands on Ken Follett new book , " Pillars Of The Earth " at long last ! I have tracked it down from one person to another here . Always when I contact this friend or that friend that I heard has the book , they have already sent it on it's way to some one new . I captured it and I am planning on devouring it as soon as possible ! I think that's what I will spend this week end doing , reading it , living it , lost in that other world .

Pop Corn Brain Phone Video

One good reason to hate cell/ mobile phones ... see what your brain looks like on a cell phone , lol .

Téléphone Portable + Maïs = Pop-corn - Vidéo humour

The News In English

Please ignore the 1st two entry's for this post . There was a malfunction with my finger and the button !!! LOL !

I think I mentioned in a past post that my daughter in law and grandson were staying with us while my son is working in the dessert . That made my last week very busy and exciting with all sorts of activities . LOL !

My daughter in law , bless her heart , was so nice and helpful . She did many things I hadn't been able to do around the Condo , while Moe and I enjoyed having all of the time with Haroun we wanted ! He wore us out but he was also exhausted , lol ! By the time he went back to his own home on Saturday , he understood English when I spoke to him . I think if he had stayed here a little longer he might have even started to speak it . Maybe next visit . His mother announced at the end of her stay that she and my son are expecting another child in the up coming year . Amazing , this time last year I had only one grandchild , now I have two with two more on the way . Talk about making up for lost time , lol !

Moe has entered the techno age finally ! My son gave him a mobile phone which I was surprised to learn Moe already knew how to operate ! Just goes to show you age is no boundary for learning something new ! Now , we just have to get him a number to go with the phone so he can use it . I guess I am the very last hold out against having a mobile phone . I can't stand the things . As a matter of fact ... I just hate phones in general . They are a intrusion on ones privacy I think .

Update on the seranti thing ...... remember me telling you all about trying to get the roll down shutter in the living room fixed a while back and we still needed a part for it ? The other day AFTER my daughter in law washed the windows in the living room , I realized that it still wasn't fixed yet . I had just become used to seeing it half way down and since the windows were so dirty ( I never do windows ! Just a matter of principal !) I had stopped paying attention to it . So , today we called the guy , or rather Moe did since the guy is still sensitive to speaking to women ,and he said he would come next week to finish the job . So , please would someone out there remind me to make sure I follow up on that ? I would like to get that finished before Ramadan starts .

Speaking of Ramadan ... it is ONLY in six more weeks !!!! I am going to have to get in high gear this year and start to stock up on stuff from now for Ramadan . Hopefully that way I will have a minimal of shopping to do during Ramadan . I hate to shop for food during Ramadan because it is soooo crazy crowded in all the shops and the people( me included ! Some times ) are pushy !It is supposed to be a charitable time of the year ... yata yata yata .... but can get pretty nasty out there in the mean streets !

So anyway as far as I know , the first day of Ramadan seems to be on September 1st , which the anniversary of Qaddafi's Fatah Revolution . This is celebrated here in Libya much as the 4th of July is celebrated in the States . This year marks the thirty ninth year of the Revolution . Now since the 1st day of Ramadan and the 1st of September will both be on the same day this year , it will be a interesting day this year .