Broken Circles

Life recently for Moe and I has been a lot like the above painting , one minute you think things are going smoothly , in a nice neat circle , the next , the circle is broken to bits in disconnected fragments .

Moe has been ill now for about 2weeks with his heart .We spent one entire day at the Tagura Heart Hospital waiting to see the doctor in the emergency room . Trouble was , the emergency room was also being used for patients with appointments to see doctors , in a non emergency capacity . So , even though Moe had suffered a heart attack , we were made to wait until the last patient with an appointment was seen, a total of 5 hours . He was finally seen by the doctor about 30 minutes before sunset . Moe went in to see the doctor alone . He of course did not tell the doctor all the facts or his entire medical history , so the doctor was going to send him home with a pat on the back . Luckily the doctor walked Moe out of the room and I asked him what was being done for Moe . He looked at me like I had 2 heads and told me nothing .I then asked him did Moe tell you about.... this ? Or that ? Or this too ??? No , he hadn't . SIGH !!!!

So , back into the examining room we went as I filled the doctor in on ALL the facts .He ordered all sorts of tests . We waited for the results while wondering what we were going to eat when we got home , since it is still Ramadan and we were fasting .The results all said , according to the doctor , that Moe was just fine . Nothing wrong with him at all . Ah ha, I said , but what about this pesky little ole heart attack he had this morning ? Oh , don't worry about that, he said .You have to make an appointment tomorrow to see the heart specialist . In the mean time , just take a pill if you feel bad .Long story short , it will be until the end of the month before Moe see's a specialist . So , that has happened .

A good thing , we have heard from our oldest daughter that her baby girl doesn't have a heart murmur after all, as was suspected . YEAH !!! The other grand children are all well .

I have declared war on the men in the condo building . The septic tanks from their condo's are all over flowing.They refuse to have a septic tank car come and empty them .This is a problem that has been on going  for over a month . The sewer water is pooled underneath my car , which means I have to walk through it to get in my car . I have talked to them all, to no avail , so last night I moved my car into one of their nice and dry parking places when they went out .The man came home to find me in his place . To say he was unhappy is a complete understatement .He came to me screaming and yelling . I told him once he and the others empty the septic tanks , the lake dries up , I will move back to my place gladly , but until then , I am staying in that spot .He threatened me , I told him to take his best shot . So far he hasn't .

But on the plus side , Ramadan is almost over and it has been lovely this year . Friends and neighbors have sent over many delicious dishes of yummy food .Moe has spent several nights with his family having much needed fun .Other friends have come to visit us .We have spent time in prayer and giving thanks for the riches in our lives .I am going to miss Ramadan .Only 2 more days until it is over and we have the 3 day Eid that is spent visiting friends and relatives .Hope all is well in your lives .OTE

Happy Eid To All

Today in Libya it is the 1st day of the Eid. For the rest of the Muslim world, tomorrow is the Eid. Don't ask , cause I can't explain, ok ? It was a good Ramadan. We actually had a great Ramadan this year . Things on a general whole went well for Moe and I.

Having said that, I am definitely glade it is over since the last two days I developed a sever bladder infection. But it is sure seemed weird to wake up this morning and drink a cup of coffee .

Our  son and his family came over to take Moe out to wish relatives happy Eid, while I stay home to greet our guest. Everyone looks so nice in their new clothes.

Our daughter in law is ready to deliver her new baby any second now. I feel for her. She said "I want it out NOW !!" LOL ! And at the same time she says she is afraid for what awaits her in the delivery room. I just laughed at her and told her it is a little too late to be remembering about that part of having a baby. LOL! 

We know it is a boy . She still hasn't picked a name out yet . She likes one name. Our son likes another . They both are nice names . She asked me today what I thought about the name our son had picked out. I almost said it was a nice name when I saw the look on her face. I quickly said it was a good name but the one she liked was much better. I figured since she named their 1st son after our son that died, she should have her pick this time around. Well , we will see how this turns out . Will let you know when the time comes.


Weather here is hot , hot , hot and the AC needs freon. Impossible to find anyone to do that during Ramadan. So hopefully after the Eid we will get fixed and I can stop sweating all the time ! I hate to be sweaty !!! It makes me all grouchy. Someone is knocking on the door . I gotta go. Take care. Happy Eid to you wherever you are, peace and blessings. OTE

Ramadan 1st Week

I am sitting here wondering what to write about. At night when I go to bed my mind just goes off on all sorts of things to talk about , but now I am here staring at this blank screen .... well , phew , not a darn thing. 

Moe has stopped going to the gym since it is Ramadan and is in the Condo with me 24/7. Don't get me wrong, I love the man ... BUT ... 24/7 is too much of a good thing if you know what I mean? Oh , he is so nice and obtrusive, but he is ALWAYS there! I feel like he is sucking all my air. I am the sort of person the cherishes her down/ alone time. I think I might have made a good hermit in Medieval times , maybe if I had a good book to keep me company .

Other than that , things have been going smoothly here for the two of us this Ramadan. I am reading the Quran everyday. I am having to revise my arogant thoughts that I will die and go straight to Heaven , lol. I have read the Quran many times over the years and I always get something new from it whenever I read . This time, I am finding that it is the little things that are gonna be my down fall if I don't change my wicked ways. I am trying , but I am such a sinner, lol , that I fear there maybe no hope ! LOL ! I think I better get off the computer now and go try to save my soul! Peace out , OTE

Beach Weather

Oh it is hot , hot , hot here and I am already sick and tired of it ! The other day it got to 107% . The next day it was 106% . Today we are having a cold front with the temperature a cool 103% .

I hate it when it gets like this here . The humidity shoots up to 1o0% . I have the AC going full blast , set on Arctic and it is still hot in the Condo! You take a bath to cool off and before you can even get dressed you are sweating again .I can't imagine sitting on the beach in this heat .

And speaking of the beach , I think I mentioned that the Boy Scouts were camped on some of the beaches here in Tagura . I passed by them the other day when it was 107% and felt so sorry for them . They are bivouacked in old army tents and sleeping on the ground on top of mendars( cushions that Libyans sit on the floor with ) . They looked so hot and listless . At least they can go jump in the sea when they can't take it anymore .


My daughters sent me photo's of our granddaughters from this past week . They are growing so fast !!! And so cute too . Of course they are super smart too , they are MY granddaughters after all ! LOL ! Gail just celebrated her 1st birthday . Here is a picture of her eating her cake . Sophia is sitting up all by her self now, in this picture at 7 months .What personalities they have too ! Now I sound just like your typical grandmother but can't help myself .

Ramadan is only a short 6 weeks away and I am already trying to get somethings organized and out of the way before it starts this year . It will begin in the middle of August this year and I am really not looking forward to it this year to tell you the truth . I think it will be a much simpler Ramadan than we have had in the past . The focus on the contemplation of the holy month and not so centered around meals as in the past .I say that now , but we will see . Things have away of getting out of hand during Ramadan .

Our Eid News

Today is the last day of the Eid . It has been a very nice Eid . Our daughters in America called us twice each . Our son , his wife and his son came and spent the first day with us . We had several family members stop by as well that day . What's nice about the Eid for us , is that we never know who will come by for a visit . One year it might be this person and the next year they may not come but some one else will . Always interesting to see who drops in to say hello !

In the middle of of the night of the first day I woke up with a migraine and stomach ache more or less wishing I was dead . I couldn't sleep from the pain and had no one to drive me to the hospital . I tried this and I tried that but nothing seemed to help make things better . I think I might have taken every drug known to man at one point just trying to stay alive.I haven't been sick like that in several years .

Luckily Moe was going to spend the second day with his sisters . I spent that day in bed trying to recover from the night before . Still not feeling well I took knock out drugs hoping to sleep whatever it was I had off . I faintly remember hearing the door a couple of times but couldn't move to answer it .I woke up around six in the evening feeling like I might live ... maybe .

I was sitting down trying to watch TV when I heard a knock on the door . It was a good friend of the family come to say Mabruk for the Eid . While he was here a niece drop by as well . It was her first Ramadan and Eid here in Libya , since she recently moved here from England with her family .I had to laugh at her as I told her she should go visit one of the older uncles who was quite ill . She looked at me and said this Eid business is so complicated ! In England we just have to visit his mom and then my mom . That's it , where as here it is all these uncles , aunts , cousins and friends of the family . No wonder they have to have three whole days to do this ! LOL !

Today I woke up feeling like I would survive whatever this is I have , but it is still pretty iffy even at this point .You know I am ill when I don't want to eat ! I have containers of sweets and a fridge full of soft drinks . I am thinking of giving it all to the neighborhood kids . Moe and I don't need all that junk .

What was so cool , well from my point of view , is that it rained here for several hours the night before the first day . I mean it rained . It was so great to see that rain tumbling down .Then afterwards the temperature drop several degrees and things were nice most of that day . It was a lovely unexpected surprise and a wonderful gift . So that's how our Eid was spent .

I had hoped to go visit some of my friends I didn't get to see during Ramadan these last few days of Eid but haven't been well enough to do so . This is a long week end so maybe by tomorrow I will be well enough to go out before everyone gets back into their pre- Ramadan schedules again .

I think one reason people love Ramadan so much here in Libya is that we live at a even slower pace than during normal times .Yes , there is the pressure on women here to be gourmets chefs along with all the other things we have on our plates daily , but there is also the family closeness that comes with Ramadan and especially the Eid that we don't have in our everyday lives . It is hard on the men as well during Ramadan , no cigarette's or coffee . But that is all off set by the family times spent together . People make time for friends and family during Ramadan , where as they let the pace of life over take them in non Ramadan or Eid times . I think there in lies the happiness factor of Ramadan and the Eid .

I really hope all of you had a lovely Eid this year .Take care , The Edge

Count Down To Ramadan

This is what Moe looked like when he came back home last night after spending all day at the beach with his sister and his brothers and their family's , lol . He was tired out but so happy .

I stayed home to spend the day in the kitchen cooking food to freeze ahead for Ramadan . Ramadan is only a little more than a week away . I think it will start in the 31 of August this year , but will have to see what the moon says .And I still have a appointment with Sheila this week sometime too , OMG , rush , rush , rush .

I am hoping that by cooking as much as possible before hand , I won't be spending ALL my time in the kitchen this year . It remains to be seen and we all know that the road to hell is paved with good intentions huh ?LOL ! Seemed like a good idea at the time . Today I did some more cooking by preparing all the pickled veggies by setting them to start marinating . Tomorrow I hope to finish up with baking the pizzas . I also cooked up the soups too . All this goes into the freezer to be taken out as needed for dinners . Next I have to tackle the house cleaning ...ugh ! I hate that part more than the cooking .

Ramadan is 90% preparation and 10% doing what needs to be done . This isn't the correct way to celebrate Ramadan but it helps to get these things out of the way so you can devote your time to prayer , charitable acts , good deeds , good thoughts , and being good . Behaving well , being the operative words here . That's why prayer is so good , it keeps you on track when you want to scream at the idiot in front of you at the bakery , the store , in the traffic , moving so slowly when you still have 10,000 things to do for dinner time at sunset . Well , this idiot has to go and do some more stuff for preparing for Ramadan . Bye !

More News From Me

So much going on I'm not really sure where to begin but I guess the biggest and most talked about here in this part of the world is the deal between America and Libya settling a fair compensation for victims from the bombings of Pan Am Flight over Lockerbie , Scotland and the USA's bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi that ended diplomatic ties back in 1986 . Secretary Rice is actually saying she will make a diplomatic visit to Tripoli before the end of her term as Secretary of State .

More on the diplomatic front ...... Libya and Bolivia are establishing relations . It seems both countries have the development of energy resources on their minds for mutual benefits of each other . I don't know if I have mentioned this before but if I have , please forgive me , lol , but when I met Moe the very first time I asked him which country he was from . He told me Libya . I thought , poor thing he doesn't even know how to pronounce his own country's name and kept correcting him by telling him , no you mean Bolivia every time he said Libya . He finally smiled at me and just nodded his head . It wasn't until several days had gone by that I realized there was a real country named Libya ... all the way in North Africa , not Bolivia in South America ! OMG , that man has some patience huh !

I just watched the movie " Cold Mountain " with Nicole Kidman and Jude Law. I normally won't watch a movie that covers the American Civil War . Nor do I like to read any books pertaining to that subject . It was a terrible time in American history that to this day you can still see and hear the scars if you look or listen hard enough . But this movie was so good that I became lost in the love story it told instead of focusing on the war it was placed in . The acting was very moving . If you haven't seen it , I recommend it .

I broke down and bought myself some reading glasses , along with a new pair for everyday . It is so amazing when you get new glasses all the things you notice that you hadn't seen before , lol ! Like dirty windows . They never bothered me all that much before . Now , I think I will have to break down and wash the rest of the ones my nice daughter in law didn't do when she was visiting us !

And now that I have reading glasses I am begging for books to read from my friends again . After I read "The Pillars Of The Earth " I realized how much I have missed reading . Used to you could never get my head out of a book but when I started to need reading glasses , I just stopped reading rather than buying the glasses . Isn't that stupid to give up something so wonderful for a silly reason?

So now I have a large stack of books waiting for my attention . I don't know when I will find time to cook this Ramadan for all the reading I have waiting for me ! Right now I am reading " The Secret Life Of Bees " by Sue Monk Kid . I like it . It is bringing back forgotten memories of my childhood times , even though my childhood was nothing like the girl in the book . It was in the same time period as in the book. Yes I am all that old , lol !

Some sad news to report to my family and friends that read my blog to stay in touch , our daughter in law has miscarried her pregnancy of two months . She is alright and the doctor says she can try again in the future .

My News In English

Been pretty busy this week and last week . Moe thought he was going to go out of town for a vacation . That needed all sorts of planning , running to and fro for things he might need , or wanted for his trip . All that rush , rush doing this or that and the man is still here ! OMG !

I had planned on all sorts of fun for myself while he was gone . I was going to sleep as long as I liked . NO PLANNED MEALS !!!! No cooking !!!! Eat ice cream in bed while reading a good book .Visiting friends , going to weddings , having some clothes made for myself . Many of these things I can still and will do , but half the fun is NOT having to do all the everyday things I do normally for him . A mini vacation for me but with all the comforts of home thrown in , lol ! Maybe he will go after all , keep your fingers crossed for me , lol !

It has been the Annual Pre Ramadan clean out the freezer thing this past week end . I made a solemn vow this year as I hammered the ice off the sides of the freezer ..... next year , I WILL HAVE A FROST FREE FREEZER AND REFRIGERATOR ... or else ! Or else what I am not too sure but definitely a OR ELSE !

In the mean time , I read "The Pillars Of The Earth" book and loved it the second time around . Yes , I said second time , for after all that searching for the book here and finally getting my hands on it , I realized after the very first paragraph , that I had read it when it came out in the 1980's ! Of course that was so long ago , I had forgotten most of the story so it was new again for me . Loved the book !

I have also done most of the Pre Ramadan shopping now . I am so glade that's over with !!! The prices haven't gone up too much ... so far . But I didn't notice many new food items on the shelves as in years past . But the port of Tripoli has ships stacked waiting to come in and unload their goodies for Ramadan , so maybe I just went shopping too early this year .

So nice to see the ships waiting to come in the harbor . Made me think of how things were in the 1970's when ships had to wait days to again entry to the docks to unload their cargo . At night you could see the ships lights out at sea as far as you could look , like stars on the water . Maybe it will be like that again ?

Did any of you watch the opening ceremonies for the Olympics ? OH WOW !!!! That was something else ! So fabulous !!! I loved the way the countries came in ,out of alphabetical order , like a deck of cards that had been shuffled . I appreciated the thought and planning that went into the placement of countries not on good terms with one another . I thought it was so ironic that Syria was placed in the middle between the US and Russia , lol , like a Peace Keeper , lol ! What a sense of humor those Chinese have!! I had to get up to do something and missed Libya's entrance . Does anyone have a picture of that ? If you do will you place it on the comment portion of this post . Would live to see them !
So , that's what I have been up to lately . What abut you ????

Capital "P" & More !

In my previous post , Spot a Lair Quiz , I did pretty well . I owe it all to raising kids , I think , lol ! I helped raise my sisters nine children . I did tons of babysitting when I was a teenager too . Then I married and had my own children . I could almost always tell when they were lying as little children because they would get this funny expression around their eyes and mouth , like Bill Cosby does when he is trying to pull a fast one on one of his TV sitcom shows . I can't describe it, but you know he is lying when you see that LOOK ! And so where my kids , lol ! To this day I can still see that look on their faces and I just have to laugh at them because I KNOW what's up ! LOL !

Today I went to " Beauty Street " as Khadijateri calls it . It is the whole sale district for beauty products all on one street !!! Every womans dream come true , AND all at a discount !!!!! I mean what more could a woman want ? I went for hair color . I am thinking of having Shelia throw some red high lights in the next time I go see her . So I needed some of that , then I saw this wonderful lipstick I couldn't pass up . Somewhere along the line of shops I bought a Chinese fan to use during weddings when they get hot and stuffy . I saw some rather exotic electric blue glittery eye line that I barely passed up . And my friend that went with me bought some promised soothing spa like bubble bath that is supposed to transport you to some place other than where you where at the time of the bath ! I am waiting to see how that went for her . Maybe she went to some place MORE exotic than Libya ?

All my friends are going to see Sheila , or have already been to see her. They are all looking MARVELOUS DARLINK ! I am trying to work out a schedule around Ramadan . If I go too early then I have to go twice and if I leave it too late then I end up looking ... well ... AWFUL !!!! Oh help , I am a damsel in distress !!! What to do ? LOL !

They are paving the street out in front of the Condo now . They have raised the road bed , put a rock foundation down , packed that real good , and now are laying the asphalt . Looks like this winter back strokes are out . I think we can sell the ARK too . Had Moe building one on the balcony this past year JUST in CASE we have the usual flooded street when the rains come in the winter . In the past you needed a boat just to get in and out because the road flooded so badly . Now , we have a real paved road ! Oh , HALLELUJAH and Happy Days ! This winter I will confidently drive over to my friend and neighbor knowing that somewhere under all that water is a paved road, not mud , waiting to suck me down to the depths of the underworld ! More PROGRESS WITH A CAPITAL "P" !!!!

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 .