Today...

 on the walk home from collecting one of the wee people from school, the 3 and a bit year old decided to do the whole John Cleese, ministry of funny walks gig, with wild abandon, a huge grin on his face and loads of giggles from him, and us....

it's not the norm here, of course... but then so much of what we do isn't, that we're pretty much past caring what people think and we just let the kid get on with things in his own peculiar way...

on a later walk home, we were following a few sheep, one of which was doing it's own peculiar walk... which gave me  a slight fit of the giggles... and the 9 year old, complete with very heavy backpack, walked the rest of the way home singing, something about a sheep, moving one way and it's tail moving another, with some interesting drumlike sound effects and not a little swaying this way and that from her... which could have been because of the very heavy school
bag but I'm not totally convinced!

Again, we drew a few stares, which to be honest appeals to the Britishness in us and just made us a bit more giggly...  

It was on my almost last school run of the day, whilst being blown hither and thither in the market, that I mused over how immodest the wind is, and that I'm not keen on my hijab being blown all over the show when I'm least expecting it...(my personal ploy is to turn around and walk backwards for a bit, which my daughters tell me looks a bit weird here but what the heck, in for a penny in for a pound I say!)  anyway this led to another fit of the giggles when dd21 suggested that it made us humble hijabis look like we have  jumpsuits on when the wind blows at us full throttle and mercilessly moulds every inch of fabric to every lumpy bump you possess....

we have a fair number of giggly walks...and I sometimes think it's a shame that I don't see enough Algerians embracing the giggly bits of life.... 

sometimes the reality of how different we are as a family hits me when I least expect it, and I know alot of sisters struggle with the divide. But the more I dare to be myself, the more I realise how accomodating Algerians are... and if they look sideways at me today for being a bit giggly about silly stuff they wouldn't bother to crack a smile for, they'll hardly bat an eyelid
 when they catch me doing it next time...

rain rain, go away.....

it's been raining for over a week now, incessant and dismal and very, very heavy.
I've said it before I'm sure, but there is nothing like Algerian rain.. it's relentless. I spent the majority of last week wet.. and muddy. and sleeping with my family in our living room to get away from the leaky upper level of our house. But we haven't flooded yet so this I tell myself is a bonus. We needed the rain.. in fact about half an hour before it started a couple of our local mosques prayed Salat-al-Istisqah.. which is basically a plea for rain.. it worked.. I was standing outside the school when the heavens opened and the rain came down, and it's hardly stopped since.

It's at times like this that I have to remind myself why I came here. Why I put up with the sub standard housing, the mud, dust and bugs...This time last year I was almost booking tickets to go back to the UK, so I guess there's been some kind of an improvement because it hasn't got that bad for me yet this year...

Hijrah does get easier for people. I see the evidence in how other people are living, but then maybe I'm only seeing the surface... who knows how hard it is for people really and how much they divulge about the difficulties of living here. I have yet to see it in my own life.. but we march on regardless... getting through the day and making the best of what we have, and don't have.

Lately I've begun to supplement the 8yr olds schooling ...  trying to weave into this life of ours some of the homeschooling lifestyle we left behind. So we've been reading ALOT... Roald Dahl is what she's loving at the moment and me, doing the grand high Witch complete with German accent is making her super giggly. She's also doing some Math drills online to try and get to grips with the speed at which lessons move in this country. And slowly, very slowly she's recognizing words in English and reading them on her own.

It's been a strange learning curve for her. Her first spoken language is English, but she's so fluent in Algerian derdja that English has become a language she only uses if she has to... She can't read English yet, she learnt to read Arabic first and is learning to read French before attempting to read English in any determined way. So the pace is slow, sometimes too slow for Algerian teachers and she's fallen behind her classmates a little. But this happens in the life of the multi-lingual child. And while I patiently sit by waiting for her brain to filter all the languages and make sense of it all, knowing that eventually it will all settle and make sense to her, the teachers here are not so forward thinking. I console myself with the fact that school will be out by the end of May most probably this year and that we can settle down in the summer to some home-ed unschooling style and do what comes most naturally to us all.

And we're embracing simplicity. Sometimes due to neccesity, but also from choice.
We live a pretty frugal, simple life anyway... we're minimalist from habit and don't have alot of the "stuff" that other folk have. But this year I was determined to set myself a challenge and make this my year of living sunnah. embracing from it what I could and living my Islam more holistically.

Which is why I started the New Year quietly... keeping myself slightly at arms length. Putting it all into perspective and taking slow, purposeful steps. I have hermit tendencies, and I'm standing slightly further back all the time,  no longer trying to find the place where I'll fit but content at last with the fact  that I never will and feeling comfortable with it.

And the rest of the day ahead?
Well the rain is falling... upstairs is leaking and out of bounds. Outside my window the mountains have disappeared into a grey cloudy haze and are no longer visible and I have all of the children in the sitting room trying to stay warm and not get on each other nerves. We were supposed to go to the doctors today for a routine visit for more meds but we're not brave enough to face the rain today. I'm off to cook, and get some laundry done. Figure out my spending plan for February, decide whether I'm going to plan my menu's next month or not. Get some more knitting done, a chunky scrapbusting scarf for the 3yr old and some of the Shalom Cardi that's coming along so nicely despite a couple of very minor imperfections that I can live with and the 8yr old won't notice. And if you've really been taking notice since my last post you'll have notice that the cardi is no longer destined for the 12yr old... we have a bit of a yarn, needle problem here in Algeria .. not enough different sized needles to suit the yarn weights... and I'm not going to even bother discussing my relationship with Math & Dyscalculia  here and my innability to veer even slightly from the pattern... so the cardi is slightly smaller than it should be but will fit the 8yr old nicely thank you...

Pictures will come eventually, when the rain stops and the Internet connection can take the pace of multi-tasking...

We've come to the end of the two week spring break, fairly unscathed and ready to tackle the last six or so weeks of the school year. There's been some dispute {naturally, it being Algeria}as to when school would finish this year, some saying the beginning of May {yikes!} and some saying the beginning of June. We have elections happening in Algeria in May which means schools will be used as polling stations .. though judging by what Joe Public is saying on the news there's not likely to be much of a turnout! And to mix things up just a little, some teachers called la Grève yesterday, which means some or all or possibly no schools will be out on strike at some point or possibly no point during the term... it's all very organised here you know... 

We also have preparations going on for April 16th which is Yowm-al-Ilm, or Day of Knowledge... unfortunately in dd13's case this means an accapella version of "We Are The World" sung to the rest of the school.... and a play she can't take part in because she's the only girl in her class who wears hijab and "it doesn't look right!"... this meant a kindly discussion on why some people aren't prepared to accept other people differences and be more amenable... I don't think she was convinced by anything I said... being the fragile 13yr old that she is, and I'm pretty sure it's going to continue to be a source of upset till it's over and done with but I guess these are the things that toughen us up and help us grow emotionally. 

As usual our house has been a busy happy mix of things over the holidays, and although we didn't get to go anywhere there were a few catch ups with friends... old and new, settling into a new spring routine... longer daytime hours with Fajr prayers coming in before 5am!! and a more relaxed non-menu planning month for me....

I had slipped back into menu planning over the last two and a bit months, as a way of getting back on track with my budget, and while it worked... for the most part... it has been a relief to let it go again. As a tool it does help me to regain my footing now and again, but I'm happier not having to do it long term if I'm honest. I think it goes too much against my free-flowing ways... it sounds a bit stupid to say my menu plan makes me feel trapped, but it does... I've been a much happier and more spontaneously creative bunny this first week of April.

Budget wise.. I'm thinking up ways of not spending any money.. which isn't easy but I am trying...

Potatoes continue to be a source of annoyance here... still far too overpriced for most people to be able to afford. I'm only buying a Kilo at a time and only feeding them to the dh... the rest of us are exploring carby alternatives and patiently waiting for the price to drop. I have been a good girl though and for the most part have stopped buying bread and have been making my own, and also baking the children school-break snack... which needs some forward planning... not my strong point ... and has meant a few midnight baking sessions but we're getting there. 

And finally... as if I haven't chewed your ears enough with my garbled witterings already.. the crafting is coming along nicely thank you... I very happily had my bag pinned  the other day and have since started a yoga mat bag for the 20yr old....and a doily... I'm thinking of turning them into a table runner type thing. And I'm feeling very kindly towards my sewing pile these days... I haven't actually finished any of it... but there are yummy half finished girly dresses lurking ...

And on that note, there is soup to blitz, pies to make and breakfast to bake... and a very scary laundry pile to tame.

:: THIRTEEN ::

Exam results are looming... it's like staring in to an abyss
I have no idea why Arabs feel the need to make school life so miserable...
Ask almost anyone living in an Arab country and I can almost guarantee they'll tell you how grim and arduous the school year is. It's a seemingly endless round of exams with not much time for studying in-between; which is why the students spend most of what should be crucial learning time, memorizing what they need in order to mentally regurgitate it back on the the page for their exams.

I tell myself, that at least they're studying in Arabic, at least they have a full hifdh programme at the masjid, and at least they're attending almost daily halaqaat...

However, as an ex-homeschooler I can see the effect that a state education has had on my sons, not my daughters...
Two of my daughters have never been to school, were home educated and passed their exams. One of them is still studying for A'levels.
The two younger girls are doing well and are ambitious about succeeding and getting good grades mashallah.
Boys it seems,find it harder to stay on the right track even when given every available means to make it easier...
Boys, the teenage ones in my life at any rate... exasperate me!

We have a two week spring break starting on Thursday... first we have to collect four sets of exam results from three different schools...

I'm planning some Tarbiyyah Islamia in my home during the holiday... it's time to pull some teens back in to line and get a bit more Islamically motivated inshallah....

Wish me well.... it could prove to be a bumpy ride!

:: ELEVEN ::

Since I became a mother I've always made a point of cooking meals from scratch.
Partly because it's more cost effective, but also because it's important for me to know what my children are eating.

I chose to cook from scratch in the UK. In Algeria there is no choice... we do have supermarkets that sell some convenience foods but generally speaking they're overpriced and not too hot on the quality front...

And what's more children really appreciate good old fashioned home cooking.... 

 I'm not the greatest cook, my food is edible... sometimes it's even more-ish ....

The thing that's most satisfying though is the expectation my children have of coming home and knowing something warm and comforting is waiting for them.

Their day is punctuated by family meal times... the walk to school on a cold and dismal wintry day is preceded by something freshly baked and a cup of milky tea....

The school day is interrupted briefly by lunch-time..which they all come home for.

Cooking lunch at 10:30 in the morning isn't always fun... and I'm usually working on auto-pilot till at least midday, but I know they appreciate coming home and finding one of their favourite meals plated up and ready to go.

It's not always easy, knowing that the day will be full of cooking and feeding.. but Alhamdulillah that we're in a position to feed our children healthy and nourishing food...

There are so many children around the globe who for one reason or another won't be nurtured or nourished enough.

Cooking for your family doesn't have to be about putting fancy dishes in front of them... we're not looking for perfection. Home cooking should be an expression of love... finding joy in the mundane, raising it from a simple household task, to an act or worship... feeding others for the sake of Allah and creating your own family traditions.. this is what our children will love us for now, and remember us for in years to come inshallah. It's as much about us putting the time and effort in as anything else... and well I guess it's the job I signed up for!

Happy cooking people

xxx

:: EIGHT ::

You get me early tonight...
dh has been away all day and wont be home till tomorrow inshallah...
 we're moving through time at a different pace right now... funny how not having a man in the house can alter the flow of a day.
I wont pretend to understand the science behind it, I know I enjoy it for brief spells, I also know if left to my own devices for too long I tend to get far too caught up in my tendency to do only the things I like doing. The fact that they usually only involve food, the sofa, books and yarn is what holds me back if dh is away for too long... I'm a much more productive person when there's someone more grown up and responsible to keep me in check.

Right now, dd20 is very very kindly relieving  me of my nightly chore and is in the kitchen making cinnamon bread and a couple of batches of vanilla biscotti... for this I am truly grateful... being in my kitchen at anytime of the day is grim... suffering it at night is worse... I don't actually mind the new, nightly bread making ritual... but tonight I'm feeling the monthly bleughs and even I can delegate if I really have to.

The dress yoke I mentioned yesterday is happening nicely... I'm really hoping to have it finished over the weekend, and I even managed to get out for a walk and buy the cotton I need to finish a dress for dd20... so even that might see it's rightful owner sometime soon.
If it does, it will be nothing short of a miracle, my personal quirk is to start lots of things and finish almost none.. it's something I've perfected over the years and I really feel there are few who could match my capability at it...

Our water was off for almost the whole day yesterday, which isn't unusual for us.. we quite often go without water.. for anything from half an hour to day long stretches. It's usually fine, we save water in 5ltr bottles in the kitchen and use them if we have to.
One of the children had filled a bottle in the bathroom; and because the water came back no-one used it... rather worryingly, a day later a layer of sand has settled at the bottom of the bottle.
We don't drink tap water... we cook with it... but now I'm not so sure I'll even be doing that!
one of my neighbours was sent to hospital for tests last summer; complaining of severe abdominal pain... the doctors discovered sand in her belly.
We have a third world water system and strangely enough I don't mind it half as much as the third world mentality this country seems to suffer from. I mean how can we ever claim to be making progress when people don't even have clean drinking water?
I love Algeria, but it's so frustrating at times...

Tomorrow all the jobs I had earmarked for today will at last hopefully happen inshallah....
the washing is breeding, having no water has encouraged it to spread and if I don't deal with it soon it's going to get scary...

:: SEVEN ::

This will be my second time writing this post... my fingers got a bit slap happy while I was typing and I accidentally deleted everything... and now, as I sit here listening to the rain lashing against the side of the house I can't for the life of me start piecing that post back together again from what serves as my head...

I know menu planning was in there but after controlling the urge to take a spiteful swipe at my PC by going upstairs to check on the children I'm too cold to think thoughts of budgeting and food and ... well  it'll teach me to make some notes before I even think of approaching the keyboard in future.... 

Suffice it to say (for now at least) that it's going a good deal better this time around... I forced my own hand a little by taping the , menu to the fridge door for all to see... I gave myself less room to flake out and give up.

I even sat myself down this morning and put together another meal plan for the next seven days... 

See, I can be organised and well balanced when I have to..

It's freezing again here... after a full week of beautiful sunshine.. warm enough to have the windows open, the temperature dropped and the rains came down, and I'm shivering... I hate being cold!

if it's as cold as this tomorrow when dh goes away for the weekend... I'm going to drag the kids down for a camp out in the living room for extra warmth inshallah....

And it's the start of the weekend tomorrow inshallah... three of mine have a half day and one of them only has an hour in the afternoon... so it's a mad rush to get all the weekend cleaning out of the way before they all  get home again..... with dh being away it's also an opportunity to slow down a little and catch up on some reading and crafting inshallah.... 

I've also got some plans to spruce up the blog a little... 

What will you be doing this weekend inshallah?

:: FIVE ..

Normally, during the winter I'm fired up with thoughts of crafting and spending long winter evenings with my yarn basket beside me. This winter just gone was no exception; but for one reason or another I just never got round to making anything.

Now, with spring on it's way inshallah, I have ideas growing... 

I've even almost been tempted to dust off the old sewing machine and finish off the dress I started for myself late last summer!  Good sense prevailed however and the old faithful stayed put and I went to work instead, tidying up my forlorn and neglected yarn bag.

Now here's the thing... I live in Algeria... and we're not spoilt for choice in the yarn department. We make do with whatever we can find that doesn't bring us out in a rash or cause friction burns while we're knitting  & crocheting it up... and whats more, by the time summer comes in ALL yarn will have been secreted away to the  back of the yarn shops and won't see the light of day till the wedding season is over... which is normally from the first blush of spring till the first frost of winter...

Never one to be put off by such trivialities, I've dusted off my very modest yarn stash.. discovered a few unfinished projects lurking in there, and made plans to stop by my local haberdashery store tomorrow to stock up on the necessaries to finish them inshallah....

See what a spot of spring sunshine can do to an uninspired crafter!!

On the home front, there's been alot of baking going on... 

One of my goals for march was to bake our morning bread instead of buying it. As a rule I do make bread daily during the summer, but during the winter our kitchen is just too cold.

This week I've found the perfect breakfast bread, and it's been a hit through the whole house mashallah...

I might even treat you to some photographic evidence tomorrow... 

:: TWO ::

I've spent some time this evening going over some old halaqah notes. We used to hold regular halaqaat when we were in London, I also used to help run a youth halaqah and opened up my home to sisters at least a couple of times a week so that we could learn together and spend time focusing on our deen.

Sometimes I miss it. The hustle and bustle of a busy home... my home is still busy, but not in the same way.
I miss being active in my Muslim community. I miss the discussion and the opportunity that writing halaqaat gave me, in terms of researching and learning.

Unfortunately there  isn't the same kind of opportunity here in Dz, and I think alot of sisters suffer because of it. I think we're all alot more isolated in some ways and for some of us it's had an adverse effect on our eeman. I realized while I was reading my notes, that I'm further away from the Islamic ideal I was aiming for. That in making hijrah I have focused too much attention on the rest of my families needs and not enough on my own, and I think sometime soon something will have to give.

I've tried to be useful in my community, I've taught for two years running in our masjid, but decided to spend time away from teaching this year. I've held weekend crafting classes in my home for the young girls in our area, but nothing seems to hit the spot the way it did in the UK. I can be useful... but I can't be useful in the way I find most fulfilling.

And I'm trying to decide if this is a hurdle I need to jump, if this is something I need to just get past before getting on with something else and being productive in other ways. There is no way of giving dawah in Algeria as an ajnabiya.(foreigner) Even the most subtle attempts are unappreciated. I think the general opinion is that there isn't much a revert ajnabiya can teach someone who was raised Muslim. It's shortsighted, but it is what it is...
And so I'm left with thoughts I need to unravel and make some sense of inshallah. Perhaps the problem is that I've not actually given myself the space to think it through and really find some other purpose for being here... other than just, being here....

:: ONE ::

The first day of a new month. And typically, for me, a chance to sit and reflect over what I'd like to achieve during the next few weeks insha'allah. Winter is drawing to a close and I'm already feeling more productive and ready to tackle all those tasks I've been neglecting for so long. 

I've stepped in to March with more focus on being frugal and with that in mind I've organised my menu for the week ahead and even done the grown up thing and written a well thought out shopping list to go along with it... I can already see how much money I'll be saving myself in the long run... it smarts a little though to have to go back to menu planning, but prices here have gone crazy lately. Even basic staples like potatoes have risen in price by at least 20da where I live.. there is no time now to be complacent. The price hikes took me by surprise last month... usually after the two eids are out of the way and people have done with celebrating muloud we enjoy a bit of respite. Prices generally start to slacken a little and things become a little more affordable.This hasn't happened yet... at least not in Algiers. 

Which is why I'm not taking any chance this month insha'allah 

I thought I'd try blogging everyday for March... I had attempted it in December but other things were clearly planned for us that were out of our control. To be honest I think it's to keep me on the straight and narrow as much as anything else. I have a tendency to veer away from the path of good sense and go rogue sometimes and it ultimately ends in chaos and me annoying the heck out of myself for being thoughtless and random. 

So there you are, I'm battle ready and willing to document my foray into the world of the organised and focused. It might not be pretty!

As much as I'd like....

to give you something witty and insightful, it just isn't going to happen I'm afraid...
It's late I have brain fog from the little known disorder of, Exam stress by proxy, and any hope of me making sense is simply laughable....

So I'm not going to bother. My children have hit exam week not running but limping I'm afraid... I think my sons may have hit their academic peak on the first day of the first semester. I live in hope.
The girls are approaching exams with the fierce ambition I thought they would... exam week, one way or another gets very feisty in my house.

Friday morning was my light at the end of the tunnel. I get the children out early to their tutors, make sure the house stays quiet enough not to wake the others, and then settle back with a coffee to catch up with some online reading and emails....
Not this morning... we were locked in the house, had to wait to be liberated in time for the children to still make it to their lessons and by then everyone was up and at it so loudly there was no point trying to pretend that my Friday morning ritual was still going to happen.

Malish, tomorrow inshallah is another day....
Want to know what's taken my fancy on line?

Inshallah there'll be some of this goodness going on. I've been meaning to make doughnuts for ages.. it's just the oil that puts me off. I've now found the perfect compromise... naturally I feel duty bound to indulge now.

I'm a real sucker for food blogs with yummy photos

I've been waiting all week to find time to read some of this sisters archives. A beautiful and inspiring read mashallah. As is this mashallah, and I am in awe of my sisters who face life and it's difficulties with such strength and faith in Allah.

And that will probably be all there is time for, between doughnut making, budget planning, making sure the laundry is done before the water gets cut off, producing a couple of meals and trying my very bestest to get them all to revise...
I'll let you know how I get on inshallah.....

Thinking ahead...

School, belive it or not, will start winding down for the year in May... Yes MAY!
As an ex-homeschooler, having them at home isn't the part that bothers me. What really worries me is that since we stopped home-schooling, their whole approach to learning has changed.
Part of our reason for coming to Algeria was the fact that the children would be able to learn Arabic more readily, which they have done (despite the fact that it's not actually the spoken language of Algeria); But I feel we've lost alot of ground Islamically over the past couple of years and I really need to do something about it. I think I've mentioned before that our lives were much more faith based when we were learning at home, and that was mainly because our deen was the foundation we built all our other studies and projects on.

So, I'm sitting here this morning planning some summer homeschool... yes I know it's only February but I've been out of the loop for a while. And if it takes me from dawn till noon to get my thinking equipment into gear even on a good day... imagine how much longer it will take to do something even remotely sensible.
I am therefor ignoring the mess on the floor, the fact that it's dh's day off and that he will probably be in and out of the house all day long  and I'm getting on with some long overdue planning.

Dh was impressed with my plans and even fell back into home-ed mode when ds13 brought out his maths book and decided to (briefly) explore the mass and quantity unit in the CPG book he's all but ignored since we came here... but it's a start. And if dh got a bit ambitious in guessing the mass of eggs and the possible capacity of a paddling pool, never mind! It's all part of the fun, right?

In the meantime, while we're waiting for the summer sun to bring our thinking matter back to life I've come up with a vague strategy to get them back on track before we plunge head first into our summer of learning.
Tuesdays afternoons will be extra English studies, Friday will be family halaqa, and I'm reintroducing our craft-time for Saturdays insha'allah. It's a small step forward but I'm feeling hopeful.

The weather continues to bombard us, and we're waiting for brighter, warmer things to happen inshallah. Despite the fact that I come from a cold climate, I have realised since coming here, that I dislike Winter intensely. I'm a hibernator, I have barely left the house since the start of December and I don't think very much will push me to venture into the breezy alleyways where I live, although today my dh's aunty wants us to visit. One of her daughters whom we haven't seen for a while is also visiting with her. The question is... can I be tempted?.....

We also have a casualty in the house, dd8 slipped and fell, hitting the side of her head on the bottom of our oil heater, there wasn't much blood but it did need some stitches. She's back at school with her patchworked scalp and strict instructions to obsessively stalk the teacher and stay as far away from marauding or menacing little people as is humanly possible. Algerian children are invaders of personal space... she may get feisty.

I'm off now to have my coffee and try and then it's split pea soup and cheesy bread making that awaits me this morning... connection and dh's phone permitting there may very well be a couple of recipes here tomorrow, how's that for a promise?

xxx

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...


 

:: TWO ::

You know it's so hard negotitating computer time when there are offspring lurking. I could swear they conspire to create diversions to make it easier for each other to whip the laptop away from me when I'm least suspecting it.

Yesterday I just gave up... there's no point fighting a losing battle is there?

We were out for most of the day anyway, and had a lovely time catching up with a special friend. Which of course means I didn't actually do any cooking.
I redeemed myself today.I have no pictures to prove it, which is a shame but I know you trust me, right?

Want a recipe anyway?
This is one of my favourite warm salads. I always have salad on the table. It's an easy and effective way to pad out a meal, is relatively inexpensive (depending of course on what you use!) and of course veggies are full of goodness. Ticks all those groovy boxes kids!

Warm Green Bean Salad


Boil some green beans until just tender. (I used about a quarter of a kilo)
Once they're cooked, finely chop a good handful of fresh parsley, and put it into a frying pan with a couple of generous slugs of good olive oil and saute gently without colouring the parsley.
Add some grated garlic (three for me) to the pan and saute for a further few minutes (without browning the garlic) before adding the beans and a little salt.
The beans will only need about five minutes to warm through and take on the flavours of the garlic and parsley.
Serve dressed with the oil.

The recipe was given to me by my husbands aunty. Green beans are relatively inexpensive most of the time here so it's a good tasty and economical side dish.
We had this tonight with a simple beetroot salad. And some oven roasted chicken with new potatoes.

Meat is still pretty expensive here at the moment, so a good option is chicken. It's still not cheap for the average Algerian pocket, but still alot more affordable than red meat.
I try to be as thrifty with a chicken as I can. We certainly wouldn't use a whole chicken in one sitting.

Today I threw the wings in the freezer, I'll save them up bit by bit till I have enough to make some hot wings.
The offal also went in the freezer. I use it up when I have enough to make a decent sized meal. Usually in a spiced sauce, but sometimes, if I have enough it gets roasted with turmeric, lime and corriander. I know for some, cicken offal might have a bit of yuck factor, but I really reccomend trying it.
The cat got the neck today, and the skin... although chicken necks can also be made into a really tasty dish aswell, so the cat doesn't always get the benefit of my generosity.
I saved most of the breast for tomorrows lunch which left me with  the drumsticks, thighs, back and a small bit of breast.

Baked Chicken

Put your cicken, cut into pices into an ovenproof dish along with one lime cut into quarters, a whole head of garlic (split into cloves but not peeled) and sprinkle over, a good heaped teaspoon of cumin, and also turmeric, some salt and freshly chopped corriander. A few good slugs of olive oil are all you need now before mixing everything into the chicken with your hands. I often add potatoes at this stage and roast them along with the chicken in the pan.
It's good to leave it for as long as you can before cooking, but I've also been in a rush and cooked it right away, and it's still delicious.

Cook until the chicken is just cooked through, and the potatoes are tender. You can cover with foil, it'll help create a wonderfully rich gravy.

Serve with a fresh handful of corriander leaves thrown over if you like.

For me the most delicious parts of this dish are the lime, which becomes so lush and soft that you can eat the whole thing, skin and all. And the garlic cloves  which wil have burst out of their skins, and which taste so mellow it's imossible to resist them. We fight for the garlic cloves in my house.. and I regularly use two bulbs to account for the theivery that goes on under my nose at the table!

And that's me for the day. I'm tired and have to be up with the larks. The boys have lessons in the masjid at subh, and it takes forever to get a boy out of bed even at a reasonable hour, never mind at 6am!
It's the start of a new school week and we had some lovely brothers come over this evening to fix our dreadful terrace so that it won't leak anymore insha'allah.
After hardship does indeed come ease, May Allah ta'ala bless each one of you who made dua for us. Ameen

xxx

it took a while...

two days solid in fact. Negotiating my shonky connection to make a few changes around here was a true test of my sanity, but I did it and the place looks a bit brighter don't you think?

today, ALL of my schooly children have a full day of learning... well, I say learning which strictly speaking isn't what goes on in the Algerian school system but never mind. We've had two weeks of exams with some of the children only having school in the morning and some in the afternoon. I can't believe I home-schooled them all for so long without going completely and uttterly demented. They would have tested the patience of the most pious, and I'm not kidding you. Algerian children are wild. And my children are becoming seriously Algerian

I have nothing much planned today, beyond some mild menu planning....a tight-ish month lies ahead. Our shop has been closed for a month (most butchers close for at least that long after Eid) so I'm going right back to basics with my budget and cooking insha'allah.

I'm thinking of doing a post a day for December.... a budget and menu plan special.
It might keep me on track.. it could drive me madder, quicker!
Who knows?

Other than that, there's nothing much doing except some crochet catch up. DD7 needs to have the poncho I started sometime before the cold weather ends so I need to crack on with it insha'allah.

I have things to share later, so I might yet be back at the other end of this fine and sunny Algiers day....
yeah sunny!  We're almost dried out now mash'allah. Two rooms have stopped leaking and are now forming some decorative water bubbles that look like they want to burst.
Our store room is the one room that refuses to stop soaking up all available water and raining indoors. Which is a problem as fas as food storage goes, but there's nowt to be done if the room is insisting on being a sponge.

Me, I'm just getting on with it. Homesickness is behind me. Seven months of careful saving and a moderate amount of planning are ahead of me. There will be frustrations, and no doubt more bouts of longing for "home" but that's life, innit!

The best laid plans...

My plans for last week were to do some cosying up for winter. We've had a bit of a tough run since Eid, and we've really been questioning our hijrah. We put our best feet forward though and decided to carry on regardless. Tarting the place up a little and hunkering down for some winter comforts was on the cards.

And then the monsoon rains hit. If you live in Algeria you'll know what I mean. You'll know how relentless and oppressive the rain can be. 

It took about an hour. By then the rain had come in via both the open roof and the ceilings. The water on the terrace was shin deep. We're still drying out. We're not sure if the ceilings will hold another rain.

 

Are we depressed?.... yup!

Are we yet again questioning our hijrah? ... Hell yeah... we're only human after all and living nine to a room will do that for you.

We've moved downstairs. All the bedrooms are now unusable. The ceilings are making weird creaking noises.

It's a bit of a downhill groove we're on at the minute but we're trooping on. This is when our best of British stiff uper lip comes in handy. We're down, but not defeated.

I have thought about my hijrah alot since moving here. It'll be three years this coming summer. 

It hasn't always been what it could have. Sometimes it's been better. Right now it's not even coming anywhere close to hitting the mark. But these are tests. Tests of our endurance. This is Allah testing our metal. Seeing how strong we are, and how committed we are to staying here. 

To be honest I'm not so sure I am anyore, and because of our current situation I can't really tell if thats a fleeting emotion brought about by my immediate frustrations, or a deeper problem.

I guess I'll just have to wait things out as patiently as possible and ride the storm a little while longer.

It's also STILL exam time. For some reason, this semester the teachers have decided to prolong the agony and drag exams on for two weeks. But  the good thing is that a two week holiday is looming, so we get at least some time off for good beahviour.

I'm off now to cook some lunch and get some sorting out done. I have a mini battle going on at the dinner table/revision station.... and it could get super ugly.

Oh, and more heavy rain and flash flooding have been forcast for Northern Algeria.

Please make dua that our roof stays put and that we don't get too wet....

.

And as another day starts...

It was raining incessantly as I started writing this post this morning. DD11 had left for school, as she always does at 7:20, and both boys had left a little earlier. It's exam week here in Algeria and school for my boys has been happening at 7:30. They're home again for the day at about 10am, so the week has been... a challenge!

Only DD7 was left ready and waiting to leave, and though she normally walks to school on her own, this morning, with the rain pelting down, and the sky still pitch black, DD19 and I put on our outdoor stuff and braved the elements in order to keep her company, The result was a very happy to not be walking to school on her own 7 year old. So a good start to the day.

Unfortunately the downside was, that having taken lots of pics around the breakfast table this morning, I missed prime connection time for uploading, and I only just managed to upload this one. After half an hour!

It's now 11:10 and I should seriously start thinking about throwing some pasta in a pan to be honest and getting some other chores out of the way. I hung curtains in my sitting room yesterday to cosy the place up a little. One of the by-products of short lease renting is that it sometimes makes you less likely to bother to cosy up your living space, we are however a bit tired of feeling like we're living in temporary accomodation and we're just going ahead and cosying up the place for winter... well I guess as much as you can with an Algerian house. They don't naturally lend themselves to a homely feel, they can feel in fact, a bit sparse and cold so it's no easy task getting the comfort factor right. Added to that is the fact that by putting "our" kind of stamp on our living space we naturally make our house look more than a little odd and "unkempt" by Algerian standards. But the task is, to make this house our home for the next seven month insha'allah.

The rest of my day will hopefully be about finishing up some blanket making, and some stitching that I've been working on. I don't like the stitching it has to be said. It's a practice piece that I can't wait to see the back of.
And there's a doily that needs to be finished, it's for a pillow case that needs some livening up. Oh and did I mention the dh just phoned to ask if I would cook chicken biriyani for 8 this evening... yup biriyani for 16 (that's including those of us at home) no problem!
I don't mind, dh will eat in the masjid with the brothers. It's almost a night off...but not quite.

And now, I'm off to do that pasta... tidy up a bit, think about making some samosas & pakora to go with that biriyani.....

 

We went out for some fresh air yesterday. We needed a change of pace, a change of scenery. I needed to be reminded of the reasons I love Algeria. It worked. I came back feeling refreshed and ready to carry on.

That was some week!

But we got to the other side of it. Not completely unscathed, but a few battlescars add to the character in my opinion. We've been easy on ourselves over the past few days. Been to see a good friend, had a couple of walks out to the market and local shops, done plenty of tea drinking and soul searching. And a fair amount of gentle crafting to stop the brain from oozing out of the skull.

In short we have attempted nothing we had any chance of failing at this week. We all needed gentle passtimes to serve as a balm. & dh went away for a couple of days which meant even more lounging about being restful so all in all, I do feel alot better. Not 100%, not by a long shot. But better.

 

We've been discussing moving on from this rented accomodation to another. we have seven months left on our lease.  And it can be hellish finding decent rentals here. We don't want to stay in ths house for a third year if we can help it. My landlady and her daughters are wonderfully warm and genuinely caring people. But the house has been a bit of a disaster. Alot of Algerian houses are unfortunately. And I'm ready for pastures new to be honest. 

It might not be far, having said that... it could be. It might just even be a new house in the same-ish area. But a change is as good as a rest right?

In the meantime, well dh has phoned and said he's on his way home. Children have gone off to tutors and will be home at 11-ish. It's Friday, so I need to get a crack on with lunch, which on a Friday should be cous-cous but I like to go against the grain whenever I can so that's NOT what we'll be having here.

Friday lunchtime in Algieria is about equal to a Sunday afternoon dinner in the UK.  It's a day when alot of families make the effort to get together. Some people will eat early beofr going to Jumuah, but with my men leaving the house at 12.30-ish and my propensity to lose all track of time, that's  never likely to happen in my home. Instead I fall into the second camp, which means Lunch at 2.30pm, followed by a siesta.

One of my favourite meals (and I make the exception of serving meat on a Friday lunchtime) is a chicken djouez (stovetop casserole) and croquettes. 

I always serve my croquettes Algerian style, in my casserole. but these would be just as nice with a salad, or with a cut of meat and some veggies. Today I'll tell you how to do the croquettes, and then when my dh finally opens up shop again and we have access to chicken once more, we'll do the whole thing, djouez and all insha'allah.

Right, so take a quantity of nice floury potatoes, how ever much you think you'll be able to eat! You'll be mashing them once they're cooked so boil till nice and tender.

Mash them, or put them through a food mill while still warm.To the mashed potato you'll want to add some salt, and I use some stoned cut olives mixed into my mash. (My neighbour uses parsley and tuna which is also nice). Mix in the olives and then roll the mash into golf ball sized balls.

 Make an Indent with your  thumb and put a small nugget of cheese inside the hole before closing it up and re-rolling. The cheese we use is La Vache qui Rit ( basically laughing cow) because apart from President, Camembert and Edam it's what Algeria has. But you could go wild and use something else more to your tatse.

What you need now are dishes of flour, eggs and breadcrumbs. Just enough for the amount of croquettes you've made.

Dip each croquette into the flour, then the eggs and the breadcrumbs before shallow frying the croquettes untill crisp and golden. Ideally I would have loved to show you some finished, but they don't last long enough on the plate for me to click the capture button.

These keep well in the fridge, and would probably freeze well too.
They're easy on the purse too which is always a bonus in my book.

 

And now off to tackle the ever present chores and cooking. Athough, if I might get back later to show you some wips, if I can get hold of the dh's phone for long enought to take any decent pics.

It doesn't happen often...

but when it does, homesickness hits hard!
And this week it's compounded by the fact that it's not only me. Every single member of my household is feeling the pull to go home. I am confused.

I haven't been able to sleep properly for over  a week, I go to sleep and wake two hours later at most, unable to clear my head. I think the lack of sleep is making it difficult to put things into prespective. I've sought answers from people around me. Asked my children what they  would most like to do. My dh has expressed a wish to go back, but would only do so if I made the choice, as it affects myself and the children the most. I'm fortunate to have been given the space to choose, but the weight of resposibility is weighing heavy on my shoulders right now.

As I'm typing I can hear one of the many Adhan's we can hear here, calling for morning prayers, and I know I would miss not hearing that terribly. But i'm also very much aware of the fact that my eeman is now at the lowest point it has ever been and I can't see a clear way forward.

I miss my Mum and worry that shes not being looked after proerly. I'm concerned that dd19, a promising artist with ambition, hasn't painted anything since we got here. I worry that she's finding it harder to study here and feels that her education has come to a halt. I worry about having to make the decision to either stay or go before a decision is made about dd20's enagement. I'm concerned that my 15 year old won't be able to fulfil his dream to have a career in sport, it is definately look less and less likely here for sure. My 13 year old is absoloutly adamant that he wants to go back (at least this week) and that he is no longer happy here. My 11 year old is probably the happiest at school, and my 15 year old has a good circle of friends that he would miss. But even then they have issues with being here. My 7 year old, is being bullied by her teacher (again), and is feeling pressured to achieve more than she's able to given that this is only her second year in school, and that she's finding it harder to learn to read than we thought she would.

And I wonder why I can't sleep!

it's not that life in Algeria is any harder than life in the UK, but I don't think we have managed to get as much out of our experience here as we could have done. I worry about my children being here and missing out on oportunities they coud have had in the UK, but I worry that if we go back they'll miss what they had here.
I love Algeria, but I'm being palgued with serious doubts. I don't want to make and rash and hastily made decisions.
I'm going to have to think this one through properly.