I have written this blog post many times over while we were internet free, and now as I sit here, typing with fingers numb from hanging laundry near the terrace, all the news I had prepared to tell you escapes me.
I'm glad to be back online that's for sure. Living in Algeria is challenge enough for me, doing it without any link to the outside world is, I feel, way above and beyond the call of duty.
I've been more or less phoneless over the past two months too, after what seemed like an almost complete
technological meltdown. I have no idea how my sanity was preserved, being holed up with multiple warring offspring during what appears to be a snap cold enough to freeze the bones is enough to send the hardiest of humans to madness and back. To say my house has resembled Bedlam at times over the past few weeks would not be doing it justice.
I think we had a brief school holiday in there somewhere too but life's a bit of a fuzz to be honest. Right now of course I should be doing something productive like baking or more laundry, but I just ventured out to the kitchen to make tea for the 15, 13 & 12 year old who have just come home from the tutors dodging hailstones and I'm too cold to think productive chore type thoughts.
All I do know is, I have a long weekend in front of me and if I'm going to survive it I'm going to need copious amounts of tea and an abundance of munchies. The only downside to this is the munchies will have to be homemade...third world countries haven't yet caught up with the trend in affordable healthy snacks unfortunately.. what we do have either results in tooth-rot, gut-rot or the eventual grissly death of the household budget.
So I'm off to get warm by the stove for a while & get some grown up chores done...
I'm glad to be back online that's for sure. Living in Algeria is challenge enough for me, doing it without any link to the outside world is, I feel, way above and beyond the call of duty.
I've been more or less phoneless over the past two months too, after what seemed like an almost complete
technological meltdown. I have no idea how my sanity was preserved, being holed up with multiple warring offspring during what appears to be a snap cold enough to freeze the bones is enough to send the hardiest of humans to madness and back. To say my house has resembled Bedlam at times over the past few weeks would not be doing it justice.
I think we had a brief school holiday in there somewhere too but life's a bit of a fuzz to be honest. Right now of course I should be doing something productive like baking or more laundry, but I just ventured out to the kitchen to make tea for the 15, 13 & 12 year old who have just come home from the tutors dodging hailstones and I'm too cold to think productive chore type thoughts.
All I do know is, I have a long weekend in front of me and if I'm going to survive it I'm going to need copious amounts of tea and an abundance of munchies. The only downside to this is the munchies will have to be homemade...third world countries haven't yet caught up with the trend in affordable healthy snacks unfortunately.. what we do have either results in tooth-rot, gut-rot or the eventual grissly death of the household budget.
So I'm off to get warm by the stove for a while & get some grown up chores done...
salaaaaaaaaaaaaaaams....so good to hear from you agaian...you are still my hero, so inspirational, nobody does 'little house in the prairy' as well as you....i can see your smile on your face as you wrote of your tribulations....love you take care, big fat kiss to the girls and a bigger one for you...when I grow up I want to be like you...all crafty farty, i've started taking steps in that direction...msh'Allah, don't wait weeks before posting again...take care xxxx wa salaams
ReplyDeleteLittle MAD-house on the prairie might possibly be more accurate Ines my love...
DeleteAnd it's not a smile you can see on my face it's a mad frozen' half crazed grimmace... lol
I've missed you, I'm happy you're back in blogmode... big slobbery kisses back.. xxx
Asalamu Alaykom Kate,
ReplyDeleteYou're fun and funny to read! Nice to see that on the Muslimah blog circuit.
"If the school were not full of children, the insane asylums would be full of mothers."
Ring true? Of course, I'm one of the teachers so school holidays are the same as I get during the school weeks. Maybe just more of, "MOMMY! LOOK AT ME!"
It's been a cold winter here in Egypt too. They tell me it's the coldest in 10 years. We had hail in Winter of '09/'10 and it freaked everybody out. Is it normal there?
I know what you mean about healthy snacks. I have to write a note (seriously) to parents of 3 and 4-year-olds telling them NOT to pack the 8-pack of Borruios (rip-off on Oreos). Eight cookies? We snack on peanuts, crackers from the bakery---and sometimes they even have pretzels. Lately we've gotten into Doritos because they have a fun curry flavor now but the salt content is soooo high. LOTS of salt over here. Salt and sugar. It's a wonder anyone can keep going.
Take care. Thanks for writing a comment on my blog and you're welcome to stop by anytime.
Yosra, you're so welcome! I had just found your blog before my computers went crazy and died on me, and I have to say your Hijrah posts were one of the very few things that stopped me from boarding the first boat home when my Hijrah felt like it was going belly up a few weeks back..
ReplyDeleteIt does get colder here in the winter, but the weather this year is slightly scary... I mean SNOW in the Sahara?? I've been here almost three years and this is the coldest I remember it being...
Our summer holidays start in May this year so I'm going to plan some summer home-ed to stop them (and me) from going stir crazy. To be honest I feel a bit let down by the education system here, and feel I need to balance things out a bit more... I wonder if the Education system in Egypt is any better??
BTW, my two eldest children are half Egyptian... Surrounded by Egyptiand AND Algerians I wonder how I have manage to salvage any sanity over the years ;)
xxx
salamu aleykum dear sister,
ReplyDeletei feel with you, i am also freezing in Algeria. And also allways loosing my internet connection from time to time.
It's good not to feel alone..!
salam
Yusra (another one hh)
Yusra I keep clicking the weather app on my menu bar and trying to focus on the bright and shiny sun for Thursday and Friday...
ReplyDeleteBTW Yusra, do I know you, where are you living in Algeria... are you in Algiers???
salamu aleykum
ReplyDeleteyes i'm in Algier, in el Mouradia.
I don't know if you know me. I'm german if that could help, and "known" as um-zakaria, i'm a ummi of four mashAllah.
AlhamdulilLah did you see the sun this afternoon? It seems to become more springlike!
salam
the sun was glorious mashallah, it makes such a difference to wake up to nice bright weather....
ReplyDeleteI don't know Al-Mouradia too well... I'm also Umm Zakariya... how's that for coincidence xxx
salamu aleykum,
ReplyDeleteMouradia is not to far from the monument, it is between salombé and golf. If you pass one day inchAllah we could have a nice time : i'm also a crafty sister like you! We could do some sewing togehter!
Wish you a jumu'a mubarak dear Umm Zakariya
salam
um-zakaria
Salaam sis, sitting here in me merry ole hospital room, reading your blog. How did I not find it sooner? I love your style of writing masha'Allah. So happy you stopped by my little corner of the 'net so I was able to find yours. :-)
ReplyDeleteInsha'allah your weather warms up nicely. We have had unseasonably mild weather this winter alhamdulillah but they'll be a price to pay in mosquitos later. Nothing is free. :-)
Looking forward to being a regular reader insha'allah and going through your archives as well.
Ma salaama sis!