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 .

What My Mouth Says To People

Here is what my mouth says to people .... according to this quiz , lol , anyway . Check it out and see what your mouth is saying to people .

What People Think of Your Mouth People see you as both flirtatious and intimidating.
Your friends are secretly put off by your seductive powers.
And strangers either fear you or obsess over you - sometimes both.
No way to fight it - you're a natural vamp. Or rake.

Wiggle Worm

My grandson is staying with us. He has started to walk all over the place , lol . It took my daughter in law , Moe, and I all most ten minutes to get Haroun to be semi still long enough to snap these pictures of him ! They aren't his best pictures but they show you how active he is now he can go where he wants to go , when he wants ! As a dotting grandmother I have to admit he is something else !


My son is in the dessert for a while and my daughter in law called and asked if she could come spend some time with us . We said of course . We have tried this several times in the past and it wasn't very successful before for either one of us , due mainly to cultural differences , but this time , knock on wood , it seems ok !My daughter in law is a big help to me and I really appreciate all she does for us . It is so nice to have Haroun around too !


It is strange to have someone else in the house with us after several years on our own with out kids . It has interesting for all of us . Like remembering to close the bathroom door or not running around in skimpy clothes , lol ! My daughter in law has had to make adjustments also since she is used to her own home . All in , things are going well !


Last week I was pretty busy . I went to Sheila's and had the "works" . I felt like a queen when she finished with me . Sheila does a mean pedicure with a message like nothing you have ever experienced before . I always feel so pampered after a day with her . I don't know what we will do here in Libya when Sheila decides to retire .


I was invited to a coffee for a friend that moved back to the States nine years ago and is here for her sons wedding .It was fantastic to see her once again , especially since I thought we would never get to see one another in this life time . We have stayed in touch through e mails but it's not the same as actually talking face to face . She looked marvelous !!!


One of my other friends here went" home " to visit her family this last month . She also took her married daughter with her husband and little girl , to introduce them to the American branch of the family . My friend was due back two days ago . I called the day after she came back to do some catching up on her trip,when her husband told me she was still stuck in Rome with her son in law. Supposedly when they were going through immigration in Rome on their way back here the Roman officials discovered that my friends new American passport hadn't been translated into Arabic on the back of her passport as the Libyan government requires in order to enter Libya . It didn't matter that she is married to a Libyan, has family here , or even lives here . So , she had to wait until the next day to go to the American embassy there in Rome to get the translation that the embassy here didn't do when they issued her a new passport . Thank goodness she wasn't traveling alone . And thank goodness she had her son in law along to help with money and morale support . Otherwise what would she have done ? This same thing happened to another friend of mine several months ago on her return trip from the States to Libya, also . She got stuck in Germany . Only as luck would have it she happened to run into a employee there in the German airport that was helpful and found her a official translator that worked in the airport to translate her passport for her ... for a hundred dollars . Good thing she happened to have one hundred left from her trip huh ?


Oh, the other thing that happened this past week was my daughter giving birth to my grand daughter . That was the most exciting thing so far !!! I got to talk to my daughter last night after she came home from the hospital and was so overwhelmed with emotion . We talked and talked . It was so good to hear personally from her that all was ok . And I guess that about sums up whats been going on in my life lately .


What about you ? How have you been doing these hot summer days ?Anyone spending time at the beach ? Anyone going on holiday ? If so where ? Is the gasoline prices affecting your summer time plans this year ?

She's Here !

Gail made her grand entrance into this world yesterday July 9, 2008 . She came in at eight pounds exactly and twenty inches long . We are ecstatic over our first grand daughter !!! Mother and daughter are both doing well .

Food For Thought

Like some foods , this food for thought might give you indigestion if you are allergic to the truth .This will link you to Lawrence Of Cyberia
who writes mainly on the Palestinian/ Israeli on going conflict . This particular blog post concerns the death of the Palestinian who last week drove a bulldozer into several cars and a bus or two , killing some Israelis .This was brought to my attention through PH's blog quoting Lawrence's post .Thanks to PH !

Now , I am pretty sure that this new food will not cause your allergies to bother you at all . There is a new blog by Serena named Kaleidoscope .It is devoted to poetry ... for now , but I have it on very good authority that in the future it might also feature art as well . Taste this blog and see how good it is !!! This poem is all about our world famous Sheila!!!

There is another new blogger in Libya called My Being Days written by Caught In The Middle that I think will not cause too much allergic reaction in your diet .LOL ! She is a 32 year old that according to her profile says : "I'm a 32 year old living in Libya. I created this space to talk, talk about my life, my loves, my struggles and my rocky road to heaven. I hope you enjoy." I hope you do too !

Happy reading !

Up In Smoke

Last Thursday , the Libyan police burned drugs that were confiscated in drug crack downs across the country recently . They were taken to the beach in Tajoura and burned in the open air on the beach . A large crowd that had gathered to watch cheered as the drugs went up in flames .

One eye wittiness report said a local chicken was seen later staggering around from being intoxicated by the smoke in the air . I wonder was there a run on munches in the surrounding neighborhood stores since there was a slight northern breeze off the sea moving the smoke southwards over nearby residential homes .

This is a positive step in the right direction for the war on drugs here in Libya . Hope this continues and that maybe this will also lead to the establishment of free drug rehab clinics to help the addict over come this terrible plague that has contributed to the death of many here from HIV/ AIDES and assorted hepatitis's .

Happy Fourth Of July

Happy Fourth Of July !!!!!!

All across America today people are celebrating America's birthday by coming together , having parties , going on picnics , barbecues outside , eating watermelon , homemade ice cream , apple pie , potato salad , and corn on the cob dripping in butter . Home cooked hamburgers , briskets hot off the grill , and hot dogs by the dozens are being devoured by millions of Americans as they relax from playing all sorts of sports , going to parades across America expressing their love and pride of country , enjoying outdoor concerts that feature patriotic music which accumulate in watching fireworks later in the evening . Happy Birthday America !

Tony Benn On Hard Talk

I am sure some of you are tired of me shoving politics down your throat but some things are just too amazing not to share with you . Here is a link from the BBC ( yes again with the Chee ! LOL !) for a interview with Tony Benn on Hard Talk with Stephen Sackur .

This amazing man, Tony Benn is 83 years old , retired from Parliament and sees the world as it really is these days . Here in this interview he expresses his thoughts and views on the British polices and the direction the British government is moving away from democracy . He expresses his concern for the dangers facing the UK if this trend is allowed to continue . This is not a stuffy old man shooting the breeze , but rather a clear minded man that loves his country . Well worth the time to watch the video .