Who in the World?

It's amazing how much my perspective has opened up in the last few months. I don't mean I've had some political revelation or great change of heart. It's just that, we live in an enormous country and I can't keep up with all the news in our own nation, let alone really get a grip on international situations.

I even considered myself a news junkie and constantly listened to talk radio, mostly NPR and frequently tuned into all-day news stations on TV...at least for background info. But being here and being involved with the lives of people from, literally, all over, things just mean a bit more.

That's why I just want to take a moment and say:

Thank goodness the situation in Indonesia wasn't as bad as last time. An Indonesian girlfriend of mine, June, still has her entire family at home, but they are fine and we will be praying for the other people in their country who struggle to rebuild lives and structures after the recent earthquake.

It is a miracle that a friend of a friend was released from Somalia after being kidnapped from his office in Kenya, where he was working with a French aid/relief agency. Read more about it here.  We will be praying for him, the others captured and freed, and their captors, who are desperate in their situations and surroundings.

Shower the People

Tonight was a fun and special night - the baby shower for the person who graciously encouraged me through frustrations and taught me the Arabic alphabet with such phrases as, "No. Is wow (a letter pronounced as such), not ya. If you confuse again, I will bite you. One more time say wow for ya and I will bite you. Now, read."

All tutoring issues aside (and the fact that she calls me Dth-oo-bah or fat every time she sees me), it was such a sweet night to celebrate Huda and welcome her almost-here-bundle-of-joy-to-be, Saeed, and I got to take photos!

But, even though I now have actual real proof of my Arab-girlfriends, I can't show that proof to you (especially you men - married or single!). Most of the women here are very sensitive about even having pictures taken, not to mention the thought of them being posted on. the. internet. When Huda got her wedding pictures back, we had to sneak them into a side classroom and post a lookout at the door in case a *gasp!* man should walk by.

So, instead, here are a couple of my faves that don't compromise anyone!

This is Blair and Roman on the left (due in two weeks) and Huda and Saeed on the right (due in four).

And Miss Party Planner Ellen's tasty and cute decorations...I'd say they speak for themselves, but the writing on the top two rows of cupcakes is in Arabic. They say (reading from right to left) Mabrook Huda (Blessings or Congratulations Huda).

Falling for...

Have I mentioned it before? The fact that it's hot here? The fact that there seems to be a distinct lack of seasons here? As much as the heat bothered me during the worst of summer, I haven't mind it too much. I'm a warmer-weather person anyway and, compared to coldest-rainiest-winter-in-35-years Morocco, March in Oman and the UAE were a total blessing.

But, hey, March is the time where the weather had better be shaping up anyway, where I come from. So, even though it's been in an extreme way, March through September should be hot. I know I mentioned just the other day how I'd miss my fall walks and trees, but my own memory combined with facebook, blogger and, yes, even Williams-Sonoma, are all collaborating to make me really miss the seasons.

I got an email a couple of weeks ago about Esther's potential Halloween outfits for her pup, everyone and her brother seems to be posting status updates about apple cider and carving pumpkins, my sister-in-law and her roomies are baking up gorgeous squash pizzas in my old house and now, even one of my little internet pleasures - searching Williams-Sonoma - has turned up heartache.

But so what if this year we won't be carving pumpkins and camping and apple-orcharding and roasting perfect turkeys while football blares on in the background...this year we will live in the memories of times past and make a few that we'll keep around during the times when things are "normal" (if there ever again will be such a time!).

Like when Esther (who lived with me for years) would celebrate fall by purchasing tiny gourds to decorate our dinner table come fall.

Or the year in college I had such a ridiculous Halloween costume that people still remember it (oh, the follies of youth).

Long walks in the 'hood with Vitale, MA, Jess and lots of other friends who stopped in.

Mulled cider on the stovetop.

Walking to work at Preston-Osborne or Smiley Pete and collecting leaves or kicking over piles of them.

Saturday mornings at Magees with warming coffee and chitchat.

Halloween parties - and the first year I owned my house and had tricker-treaters.

Thanksgiving with my family - and last year, when I had the privelege of two Thanksgivings.




What are your favorite memories?

Tourist Duty

We have scant few weekends left here (What? So weird!) and so, to make the most of those remaining, we have decided to venture out a bit more into the countries around which we are living. We've spent plenty of time in Oman and the UAE, but there are still a few things we've noticed and of which full advantage have not been taken.

One of those things is "interior Oman," which generally means not Muscat or the UAE border. The country is full of Dunes and Oasis and Wadis (valleys that fill up with water - ripe for swimming and exploring). Another is taking a (totally touristy) safari in the UAE.

We did both of those things during last week's Eid, as well as spending a cultural day in Abu Dhabi at their soon-to-be-finished-twenty-years-in-the-making-Isalmic-cultural-center (it's technically not a mosque because Muslims are instructed to build very practical and plain mosques meant only for worship, and this is not that; however, people do worship here. They also call it an Islamic cultural center so they can admit non-Muslims.).

It was a great couple of days break to act as a buffer between the days of re-settling in our expat lifestyle while simultaneously conducting exercises to get us out (Jacob's job search intensified last week).

Anyway, here are the memories...ah, Kodak (or, actually Sandisk digital image) moments.

Full album here.

Wadi at Sunset. It's so amazing to come across this - palms and mountains

and greenery in the middle of the desert.

Obligatory camel-love shot. C'mon, I know we all rode one at the zoo, aged 8, but in the desert? A must.

Also a must: dune bashing. It's like a roller coaster with no track! Well, maybe a soundtrack, which in our case was alternating Middle Eastern pop and Western R&B/Rap (ie, Apple Bottom Jeans), to which our driver/guide bashed (quite rhythmically) until he made our Danish girl-companions sick.

And the final part of the evening was a "Bedouin-style" dinner at a tented encampment, wherin we enjoyed a pleasant dinner, a belly-dancing show, henna and sheesha (and the locals enjoyed the show of international tourists mooning over desert livestock and the novelty of sitting on the ground for dinner - win win!).

And now, Abu Dhabi. Every time we've driven into the capitol city, we've passed this incredibly-massive-four-minaretted white mosque off the highway. You can't miss it. This time, we actually stopped. Well worth it. The architecture, detail and design of this place is amazing. Even if camels don't do it for you, check out the album to see the rest of the mosque pics. White Grecian heat-absorbing marble (so you can walk around barefoot and not get burned) inlaid with everything from precious stones to colored natural marble to mother of pearl (black and white) in intricate designs. Not to mention the white- and yellow-gold accents all over.

The hallways, which border all four sides, were arched and inlaid and gold-leafed and surrounded by pools.

You might notice some odd posts if you subscribe to thehardyheyday.blogspot.com, or follow us on Facebook.

No worries, these are just the posts of our other blog, Moroccomyworld. Despite it's really awesome name (thanks, Jess!), it's become a bit inactive, so I migrated it to The Hardy Heyday so that all the photos and recipes are still available.

We'll keep posting the adventures here. Stay tuned!

It hasn't happened for the longest time...

I think the last time I really felt like this was probably before I bought my little house in 2005. It's the way I feel right before a big change, a move, a decision. I feel energized and anxious (the good kind) and curious, like a kid at Christmas or a birthday.

The whole world is open to us right now, as we contemplate next steps in our life. We are down to just over two months until we leave the desert lands and middle east and adventures of Africa for our next move.

I can't believe it's been almost a year.

I can't believe it's been nine months since we got married (actually, tomorrow, the 27th).

I can't believe we don't know where we're going (but it's ok...I happen to like surprises!).

Eid Mubarrek!

We've been a bit MIA this past week because of Eid Al Fetr, the holiday following the end of Ramadan, Islam's month of fasting. We were around some and out some (photos of Dubai safari and Abu Dhabi's mosque coming!). The days in were mostly taken up with some housekeeping and continuing Jacob's internship search (where we stop - next - nobody knows!).

It was nice to finish up reviewing our France photos, though and think of our sweet vacation and the short glimpse of fall we got while traveling there. It's amazing that September is almost over. Even an Indian Summer might extend to September, but in the next few days it will be officially fall - one of my favorite seasons (but not here, even thought it will be cooler, Insh'allah).

I'll miss the tea-scented fallen leaves strewn around the tree-lined streets of my neighborhood, especially on Catalpa, where the Gingko leaves turn the street brilliant yellow for a spectacular week. I'll miss the first crispness in the air, clear mornings and jackets (worn because it's cool and not because I have to cover my arms, even in the hundred-plus-degree heat!).

So, here are the photos of Tours, in the Loire Valley. A preview and the album!

A stunning success in culinary quests: the Doner Kebab.

Castles...just like fairy tales!

One of my favorite dinners in France - in Tours - The Smoking Rabbit.Isn't this just like a children's book or something?

Sigh

Provence, though not in its high season (lavender was passed, sunflowers were on their way out), was still a wonderful and relaxing stop during our trip. We stayed in Orange and made sojourns out to Aix-en-Provence, Arles and Avignon. It was beautiful country, and even reminded us a bit of home with the rolling hills, grazing animals and manicured farmlands.

The towns were wonderful, too, full of shops and cafes and markets. Everything was perfect for long walks and long lunches with light cool wines and sighs of contentment.

A few of my favorite shots below, and the web album here!
I love all the menus they have in front of the cafes. I think I photographed just about every one I saw!See? Didn't I say the shopping was great? My adorable husband modeling some French wares in Aix-En-Provence. The Palais de Papas in Avignon, where the Papacy was housed for about 70 years during a time of unrest in Rome. Arles, one of the towns we visited, was home to Cezanne and Van Gogh during many of their (maybe unpopular, but) productive painting years. I loved these horses. There was even a little track that the kids could race them on, and a leaderboard just like Keenelands with chalk lines for the finishes!

Request for photo input!

Ok, so there are about a million pics of Paris, and some of them are duplicates in B&W. If you take a look at photos on my picasa account or on fbook and have a preference on the photos that are B&W vs. color, let me know. I've been staring at them so long it's hard to tell!

La vie en rose

When we arrived in Paris, it was eight in the morning. So, we grabbed our bags and navigated CDG (which looks nothing like it should according to fave HS flick French Kiss...maybe that was the other one?) to the connecting train station where we navigated by, yes, plane, then train, then automobile to our charming little corner-closet-room on the top floor of our boutique hotel. Tres cute.

Me, and all our luggage (since we nearly always travel, like carpetbaggers, with all our belongings!)

We spent a bit of time on the Champs de Mars and Champs-Elysees and planned the sights of our trip, because, of course the Eiffel Tower and famous streets are iconic images of Paris that had to be mentally (and photographically) documented immediately! Plus, cafes...mmm...food. I already mentioned baguettes, brie...there was wine and pain au chocolat and croissants and cafe au lait and duck and butter and...mmmm...

We also saw Versailles (actually pronounced correctly! It's a revelation after living in Kentucky so long! I kept having to tell myself: don't do it, don't say Ver-say-lls!) and Notre Dame and one of my favorite spots: Ile St. Louis, where there was a little band and kids and dogs everywhere and an impromptu "free massage" service all along the bridge and, of course, streets lined with flea-market stalls full of old books and maps and kooky pictures and knick knacks.

A charming little side street.

The band on Ile St. Louis.

The absolute highlight of Paris, though, was the evening that started the week before when a book showed up at my mom's house. It was my birthday hint. A copy of "The Sun Also Rises," Ernest Hemingway's first major novel. On our last evening in Paris we visited the famous restaurant "Les Deux Magots," where Hemingway is said to have completed a large part of the book, for a spectacular dinner and fabulous wine and great atmosphere. We sat at a table on the upper level of the tiered patio and talked, ate drank, imagined and watched the people - and the day - fade away. It was one of Jacob's more notable successes in events (and that's hard to say considering his record!). So thoughtful.

Following Paris, we headed to Provence, but more about that later. Here are all the pics of Paris. Enjoy!