being kate

There was a whole different post meant for these photos, but at some point between writing it and hitting the publish tab my connection was lost and so were the words I had carefully chosen to share with you.

And in true Kate fashion there is absolutly no way I can hope to recreate the post that was meant to be...it just isn't living in my head anymore I'm afraid.

I'll share the pictures of bits of my home that went with it though insha'allah.

It's somebody else's house of course as we're only renting, but it definately feels like home masha'allah.

We took these on Thursday, which is our day for a big clean up and getting ready for the weekend. Hence the reason you see my trusty old broom propped up against the wall...

Cleaning is bad enough anywhere but here in Algeria the dust is relentless and the morning clean is a ritual that is the most commonplace part of everday life for women here.

And it's strenuous and monotonous work... alot of homes are old, tiny, overcrowded...and you can forget things like dishwashers and washing machines.

Most of the women I know wash laundry by hand or have an old fashioned twin tub, that requires almost as much manual labour as washing the clothes by hand.

This is the third house we've lived in since we came almost two years ago and to be honest I don't mind moving around or even the moderate uncertainty that comes with renting.

Having said that we're a least hoping to stay put for the next year insha'allah.

The area isn't the most beautiful it's true, but the children have put down roots and our neighbours have been so helpful and supportive that it's hard right now imagining moving away.

I don't even mind that the top of our house is completely open to the elements, in fact in summer it's lovely being able to look up and see the outside inside.

This is taken from the second floor where the bedrooms are, and directly above where you see the tarp, is where our sheep lives and where our laundry gets hung.

The rooftop terraces are so close together in our ziniqa that you can easily chat with neighbours from up there...

and there's been some tentative steps on the crafting front

I lost my mojo a bit over the winter, but there are loads of ideas germinating up there in my head..it's just a matter of finding the time to get some of them done.

I'm working on a couple of cardigans, a  baby one and one for the 19 year old in my life...she chose some lovely deep teal yarn that's a joy to work with.

Yarn is a bit hit and miss here, and there's certainly nothing close to the gorgeousness you can find in the UK, but it's cheap and you can find nice soft yarns at a fraction of what it would cost back home. You just have to be prepared to look hard.

Also we only seem to be able to purchase yarn in 25, 30 and 50g balls...which is a bit of a bummer..especially when you're working on a larger projects..but them's the breaks I guess.

and tomorrow...

well, we've been planning a trip to the opticians for glasses for dd19

and there will no doubt be the usual round of meals to fit in somewhere.

There are lesson plans to write out for Tuesday

and I need to phone my Mum, even though the poor old love can barely hear what I'm saying these days.

Other than that, nothing is set in stone.

We'll wait for the day and just roll with it insha'allah.

xxx