A Toss Salad Life

My life has been much like a tossed salad recently . You know , a little of this and a little of that ? Talking to relatives in the States , doing nothing much around the Condo , reading Obama's book , " Dreams From my Father" . Doing the laundry . Just a all round exciting life in the fast lane here !

As I read Obama's book about his childhood , I think how a multi racial inheritance influenced his way of thinking and wonder would he have been different if he had been all white or all black. Of course the answer to that is yes but it is something to contemplate anyway ? That leads me to think about my own children and their multi ethnic back ground . One child has definite feelings of having a handy cap for such a mix . Another doesn't care one way or another , and the 3rd one is 50 /50 on the situation . So , you see it is purely a personal thing .I occasionally read or hear of other people that are mixed race , religion, or nationality; of their coming to terms with their uniqueness , sometimes for the good and sadly to say , sometimes for the worse . I always thought that Moe and I were giving our  children a rich heritage of cultures , races, and languages to draw from as they grew older .Maybe that was what Obama's parents were thinking as well ?As I read more of the book , I am finding it harder and more difficult to reconcile his auto biographical details to the man I see on TV , a world leader . One man is so contained and the other is so open and vulnerable.

The weather has been wonderful for us here in Tripoli finally ! Cool days and even colder nights with spectacular sunsets seen from our balcony in the evenings . Clouds that roil in from the north over the sea bring delight to the eye .

I am basking in my solitary  leisure , doing nothing much but daydreaming .My friends have decided that enough is enough and have tried to tempt me from my den by useing my weakness , my love of good food , lol . One calls to say she has chesse stuffed hot dogs imported from Malta . Another calls to say she has a special surprise for me ...home made rasberry cheese cake with a peacan crust , a whole cup full .I have to admit , these things do tempt me , but I am enjoying the peace of my home too much to venture out .Sheilia called me the other day to ask did I need her and I had to moan that yes I did , in the worst way , but not yet.I have become a hermit .Soon , I will leave this zone of tranquility , sally forth to see these good and caring friends of mine ,enjoy their fellowship , worship in the love we share as friends , but not yet .Soon .Life is so good .Wishing you well and happiness , OTE

Painting by Mark Adam Webster ... " Grey Matter"

Homesick & The News

.Went to the meat market the other day to buy some beef imported from Brazil and saw sides and sides of mutton hanging up to be sold . I stood there wondering to myself how would a person know if the sheep was healthy when it was alive . Some one pointed out in the comments section of the previous post , that there really wasn't a way to know one way or the other if the sheep slaughtered was healthy or not .The sheep are supposed to be inspected before slaughter I think but who knows ? If the market is slow , maybe some one desperate enough will fudge about the health of the sheep just so they will make a sale ? I sincerely hope not .

I went to a get together yesterday for some of my friends at the home of a new American lady . She has recently moved here with her American husband . It was so nice to see everyone again . We don't have the chance to see each other that often any more . We all are busy living our busy lives and kinda lost touch with one another . There was some great food there. Since it was a pot luck dinner, we all brought a dish to share with the group .And of course we all are great chefs !LOL ! Much laughing and many smiles to see . Memories shared and sisterhood renewed .A wonderful day .

My oldest daughter is eight and a half months pregnant now .She will be having her little girl soon . My oldest niece in America hosted a baby shower last week end for my daughter .Rosebud got lots of very lovely presents for the new baby .One woman made her the loveliest little hand knitted blankets and bonnets for the baby .My daughters mother in law is giving them a crib for the baby and has already given her a rocking chair . She will be getting a lot of use out of that chair in the future , lol , around midnight feedings !

My other daughter and her family are doing well too . This daughter is always sending us loads of pictures of our grand daughter . One video she sent us is of the baby laughing . It is so funny to see her little face all scrunched up in laughter ! Our grand son is growing like a weed and now that he walks , nothing can slow him down . He is all over the place running here and there .

The weather has cooled off some in the daytime . That is nice . It gets cold at night . We hauled out the blanket to put on the bed at night .It is so amazing how you can store away something clean and when you take it out of storage it is dusty , EVEN when it was stored on a air tight bag ! I had to air the blanket out . That gave me a allergy attack , and that in turn made me miserable for a few days ! Moe made fun of me ... until HE started to sneeze too , lol , then I got to laugh at him !

This time of the year makes me "home sick" for the States . It happens every fall when there is a hint of cool in the air as there has been recently.Something about that air that stirs longings in me .I miss funny things .


Hickory smoked BBQ beef sandwiches that drip sauce all down the front of you and fall apart as you eat them with a sliced dill pickle in your other hand. There is nothing in the entire world that can
compare to a toasted marshmallow that was toasted over a roaring camp fire . Or the color of fall leaves on the trees .A nice roaring fire in the fireplace sit close to and watch the fire dance.

We always went to the Fall Art Festivals that come once a year in the fall . The Renaissance Festival where people dress in Medieval costumes; which has strolling minstrels ,jousting knights , fair Ladies and Knights in Shinning armor , along with some of the best foot massages in the world for tired worn out festival goers .

I miss American football games, the excitement that a last two minute win can bring. A sense of camaraderie that just can't be beaten unmistakable in the crowd . I miss the squeaky sound tennis shoes /trainers make on a basketball court as the players run to make the play . The sound of a marching band in a parade marching down the street with the brass sections blaring away , the drums pounding the rhythm of the beat .

I miss the holidays that come in the fall too . Halloween with it's
fancy dress party's . The kids Trick or Treating for candy door to door . The week end that they turn the clocks back used to be THE PARTY NIGHT ! LOL ! Thanksgiving dinners with family and friends gathered around the table groaning with delicious food .
That special holiday cheer that comes with Christmas ,
much like Ramadan in the Muslim countries .

I miss all that when the wind blows cool across the Mediterranean from the north to hot dry Tripoli . This is the signal I have been waiting for , the one that says rains will be coming soon . That the dust will soon be washed away and Tripoli will shine in the clear air once again .Yep , I am homesick alright !

What's Your Fantasy?

What is your very own fantasy ? I don't mean THAT kind of fantasy , but what you dream about doing or living if there wasn't any obstacles in the way such as lack of money or time . Would it be travel ? Maybe you would be some one famous ? Or what about rich ? Would you be a saint ? Prehappes you would be a famous inventor that invented something to help mankind ? How would you live ? Where ? Would you be a duck ? I have know a couple of people that wanted at one time or another to be a duck , so don't laugh !

I used to dream that Moe and I would live in Venice in a restored palace along the Grand Canal . We would go to the opera , the art gallerias , the theater , stroll along the Piazza San Marco pretending to be tourist feeding the pigeons . We would dine al fresco when it was warm enough , eating fantastically prepared gastronomical delights that Venice is famous for under the open sky . There would always be music in the background like a Hollywood movie sound track somehow , lol . We would of course go to the Venice Film Festival and see all the movies stars there for awards . I would wear those dresses that you used to see the actresses of old movies wear , with my hair ALWAYS perfectly styled ! When winter comes we would definitely go to the Carnival in handmade costumes that would look like something from a European court of the 1700's wearing masks that would take your breath away from the shear beauty of them . Hey , it's my fantasy ! What is yours ?

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 !