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!

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

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....

.

Today needs to be a doing day.
Unfortunately doing is not my strong point!
I am a creature built for comfort, and I get distracted, EASILY!.

Today I need to find some spare tarpaulin to fashion a makeshift pane for my glassless window. It was cold last night, and not alot warmer this morning. I could manage for a while longer but because my bubby boy sleeps with us in the room it needs to be tad warmer. His pathalogical aversion to any kind of bedcover isn't showing any sign of abating so I'll have to go another route!

I also need to brave the fridge today, it needs cleaning and looting for semi-useful grub to cook ahead of my new month of housekeeping. My children tend to graze from the fridge without mercy or inteligence, consuming all things useful and leaving me with oddments that are difficult to find any sensible use for.

The sewing machine needs some loving attention today, my poor dd11 needs some new clothes and the only way that's going to happen is if I actually make them. I hate sewing and I'm not sure why. I'm fairly competent, can work without a pattern, and as long as there are no zippers in sight my finished garments are fairly decent. My 7 year old is wearing dresses my 19 year old was wearing at her age, so they even last longer than shop bought. I really can't fathom my aversion to it. Beats me completely, so I'm just going to knuckle down and get on with it without thinking too much.
I hope I have some kind of camera soon to take WIP pics with...
  I have to put some thought into where November's allowance needs to be spent most. I had a poorly month this month. Unexpected expenses do not make for a happy healthy purse. And I have three people in line for the dentist, two kids waiting for new school bags, and some winter wooly making that needs to be financed from somewhere because it's just so much more cost effective than buying ready made. I have two days left and yet again there has been more month than money, so at some point todatay insha'allah I will be sitting myself down with a pot of tea and my notebook and trying to make sense of my finances.

We've just about decided what cakes to make for Eid, and what bits of sheep we'd like to keep.  And it looks like we might have a new sheep taking residence upstairs on the terrace til summer, which will please bubby boy!

The rain is still falling in fits and starts, our store-room ceiling which is directly under the untiled and fairly water-logged terrace has started to bubble... it wont be long before the rain finds it's way in. I may have to find a new home for my dry goods. And if our sheep is indeed coming home we'll have to spruce up his living space, and rescue the rug thats been up there for the best part of the year, which will go to the Lavage (car wash) for a steam clean some time this week insha'allah

And just to mix things up a bit, sons 14 & 13 have just arrived back home in the rain. Sport was cancelled so no school till 1:30pm. The joys of motherhood in Algeria!

Love and peace people
xxx

We're  finally waving a fond farewell to the heat, here in Algeria. It's been a long hot summer with little  to cool us down, and so the change in temperature is more than welcome, and so is the rain
The children however will be sad to see the end of their leisurely summer days. During the holidays and even after school, children (mine included) tend to camp out on my doorstep, playing, chatting, eating...you name it it all takes place out there.

We're gearing up for winter in my house, looking forward to the seasons vegetables and fruit, trying to plan some winter crafting, and generally loking forward to cosying up a bit insha'allah.

And what better way to cosy up, than with a nice hot cup of something and a cookie....
I know I've been promising recipes for a while, and it's been hard to find a slot in my day to blog with a clear mind and without feeling as if I should be doing something more important. But this small patch of time, after they've all left for school and before the day's chores begin seems to be just right.

Unfortunately for us, this morning is all about waiting to see if the children get sent back home from school.

We are being hit with the threat  of a fresh wave of school strikes, my chidren came back home on Thursday evening proclaiming La Grève! with more relish that I care to admit... they've only had three weeks back!

So I'm off to have some tea before the innevitable happens, and peace is shattered for the day...

Okay I said cookies right?

 

 Peanut Cookies

300g flour

100g ground peanuts

200g soft butter

200g icing sugar

pinch of salt

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoons of baking powder

2tsp vanilla

Place all of the ingredients into a large bowl.

Make a well in the centre and add the egg yolks.

Mix well to form a soft dough.

Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface to about 5mm thickness.

You can cut thoe dough with cookie cutters or into fingers, whichever is your preference.

If you're in frugal mode, use the leftover egg white to lightly brush over the cookies before baking, adding a sprinkling of ground peanuts before putting them in the oven on a moderate heat for about 15 minutes.

My egg whites got thrown in the freezer, and we went for the "dredged with icing sugar" look, but have fun dressing these up in whatever way takes your fancy. I did a batch of  these dipped in chocolate and they were fab!

Your cookies should be lightly golden coloured on the bottom and pale on top when done.

Nothing much left to do after that than make yourself something nice to drink and settle back and enjoy the fruits of.

 your labour.

We've been back at school for about three weeks now and I really should be settling into some kind of routine...
It's been hard getting back into a rhythm though after four months of summer holiday.
I've been trying to ignore all the things that distract me from being present and attentive during my children's day. It's been hard... I'm easily and all too willingly distracted from most things domestic, and so it's been a challenge to stay focused at times.
 Three weeks in though and the barest hint of me actually getting my crazy act together is finally starting to show. The children are mildly relieved and I'm sure by the time the winter holiday comes round in December I'll have almost found my feet.

Nothing much else has happened over the past three weeks. Dh has been and come back from the UK....
I have tea, I have chocolate, the 18 month old has quickly learned to use both of these new words with willful abundance and my sanity will be thankfully less questionable for a wee while, at least until the tea and choccy runs out. And if only I could muster enough intrest to load the bread machine with enough bits and bobs to make a half decent loaf so that I had a more interesting vehicle for my Marmite than scraggy old Algerian baguette then I'd be on a bloomin roll luvvies.

However, this is ME, and I have a list of wanna do's longer than I care to admit to and it's time to kick my botty into gear. I remain hopeful that October will be THE month the brain fog finally clears!

I haven't forgotten by the way, the requests for recipes. we've had some connection issues, I seem to be sorted now though so I'll be posting a few later in the week insha'allah. Unfortunately my phone and only source of picture taking died on me and I'm waiting to see if it can be fixed, so I'm not sure what will be happening on the photo front. DD19 and I often go out these days and lust after camera's in our local shopping mall... but that will have to wait. We're tryng to be grown up, by not allowing our wants to overtake our needs.
SO not easy!!!

Eid and beyond...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Food, dressmaking and cakes seem to have been at the forefront of everything we've done or thought about doing for the past month and a bit.

I don't usually enjoy sewing these days, most of my sewing is functional and not too inspiring, but I enjoyed making these masha'allah and the girls love wearing them too which always helps to boost the seamstresses ego.

We're concentrating now on getting the children ready for the start of a new school semester on Sunday. And praying that dh's long journey to the UK is a safe and fruitful one insha'allah. Our pace of life (and eating habits) change when he's not here and we consoled ourselves with his going away with some good old fashioned bangers and mash!

Tomorrow we're off on an early morning jaunt to the market to stock up on school supplies, and then home to bake for some guests we're hopefully having in the evening. We have days to fill.

xxx

For the past two years of my hijrah, I have ambled along. Living life, dealing with crisis, big, small and middling, got pregnant, had a baby...volunteered as a teacher...dealt with the numerous and varied curve balls the dh throws at me.. learnt new skills, made new friends,..lived in three different homes, and as each phase was dealt with and passed, somewhere deep inside there was a niggle that woudn't budge.

I've been slightly off kilter the whole while and didn't realise it till this afternoon when, after nearly  week of suffering the ill effects of a mutant virus and feeling as if I would never feel well again the realisation suddenly hit me full in the face. It's the lack of home-ed that's making everything cock-eyed and out of balance.

Reading through one of my old journals later this evening only served to confirm it... I was so much more productive when I homeschooled. Everything was centred, and we had a a lifestyle based on teaching, learning and exploring faith. And not only do I miss it, I realise now that it's made a profound difference in how I live my daily life...

Of course the children have gained alot of benefit from being at school for the past two years, but we've also sacrificed something huge. And now that I've realised what the problem is, I now need to find a way to heal the wound..which isn't quite gaping but is, none the less in need of a soothing balm insha'allah.

I need to find a way to bridge the gap that a non homeschooling life has made, two years is a long time to have wandered along an unfamiliar road without realising....

Life or something like it...

Keeps getting in my way,

So we'll blithely ignore the fact that I haven't been here since declaring I'd be back after a cuppa and chores, we can even pretend it has everything to do with my diligence in housekeeping and attention to domestic detail and nothing at all to do with the shonky nature of Algerian Internet if you like... would certainly make me feel a whole heap better! Especially as my sitting room at the moment has been well and truly ransacked by my mini-man who has developed an obsession with my yarn basket... picture if you will what you think an explosion in a yarn store might look like and then you might be somewhere close to what my sitting room looks like several times each day. It's too easy of course to remove it... he loves tipping out the contents, rolling around with it all and then giggling as we rush to pick it all up faster than he can lob it all over the show.
Anyhow.....
I promised you pics didn't I?
Documented evidence of things done....
There has been homemade pitta bread and falafel.... does that count?

Along with lovely cotton doilies, fresh thyme, and an attempt to use up all my bits of stray yarn by making a blanket.... yes I know it's spring here in North Africa, but the rate it takes me to finish a project these days I'll be lucky if it's ready by winter!

We're nearly at the end of the spring holiday, a two week break that was much needed and not nearly as well appreciated as it could have been, but we'll blame that on the children shall we?
Tomorrow the children will be packed off to school bright and early, and after catching up on chores and cooking I intend to get down to some serious sewing...the backlog of things to be done is horrible.
I'm a slacker pure and simple on the making clothes front... I stopped and started with two tunics and still have at least two others cut and ready to be put together insha'allah.
If I can keep my eyes open after a late night and an early start though it will be a miracle...

all in all,

the past week and a bit has been a pretty hard slog..and I have been more than happy to see the back of it all..

There is something relentless about sickness in a large family...

it just all seems to keep going round and round and....

well, you get the idea right?

so, I have welcomed December with open arms...

eager to start a fresh month, with new possibilties and put the  nasty old puke filled one behind us...

crafting has been happening...s.l.ow.l.y

what can I say?

the urge to craft dwells within us,

the ability however to find space in the day to achieve it is something else altogether!

Our lack of routine is seriously wreaking havoc on my craft life and it isn't making for a totally happy bunny!

I seem to be in a constant state of routine change these days,

something is slightly off kilter, and it becomes increasingly difficult to find the beat of your own rhythm when everyone else's  is so bloomin loud!

I battle on regardless though, trying to find a way to carve some time for myself while tending the needs of others, and the most routine changing decision I have made this week is to give up tutoring..

a decision that has taken me weeks to make,

but one that feels right.

Living in the commmunity I tutor has not been an altogether profitable experience in many ways.

It's just been far too convenient for people to drop in unannounced and univited for impromptu advice, lessons and requests to do any number of relatives homework..

So, apart from my once a week job in the masjid AND a few tutoring favours for friends I have decided to take no more new students and to let the ones I have go...

especially after my 10.30 saturday girls decided to take their chance in coming this morning at 9.30.

Of course it's because their mothers are busy with weekend cleaning and want them out of the way..if they dont come to me they wander the streets.

And on one hand I feel bad, but on the other hand I can't allow myself to be used as a baby sittig service at the expense of my own childrens weekend...

The school routine (especially exam time) is pretty outrageous and I just feel the need to spend some quality weekend time with my own children rather than other peoples...

Which means I'm looking forward to some proper weekends with some proper downtime insha'allah...

anyway... a walk into town this afternoon means I need to get cracking and sort myself out..

we're off to buy a couple of pattern(crochet)books

and see what (Algerian quality) yarn can possibly entice us..

First week....

back at school and I'm already fit for nothing.

Lack of sleep and too many chores backed up and waiting to be got through has meant my whole week has felt like I've chasing my own tail..

There are photos that need uploading... recipes that need sharing,and craft WIP's galore....

So, tomorrow morning...insha'allah, I'm going to grab my coffee and come sit here for a while and share it with you...

I have tried several times this week but somehow or another there was always just that one more house chore that needing getting out of the way before I could tackle anything even remotely bloggy.

I'm trying hard to find beauty in the mundane, but when your elbow deep in stained cloth nappies, your third cup of coffee on the trot has gone cold, and you have no time to even schedule something as simple as a pee into your day, it gets a bit hard to find the time to put thoughts out...

I was discussing the merits of surrendering oneslf to domesticity with dd18 this evening, (or was I trying to convince myself that there are some merits??)

Either way it was an interesting discussion,which led on from an chat we had earlier on in the day about decline of moral values and the destruction of family life.

There has been a huge turnaround in peoples attitudes towards homemaking recenlty, and lots of women are returning to it with a new found confidence.

I chose to stay at home when I had children,and this has been my job now for 20 years... I sometimes wonder if I should have retained my independence for at least a little while longer than I did, and I sometimes feel that women who choose to work after becoming mothers are far more adept at creating balance and creating quality time...

I'm a bit hopeless and hapless at the whole organised home thing, and really am quite domestically challenged left to my own devices...

Which is why a new school term is a good thing for me, its given me focus and a framework...plus time off when the children are at school!

Despite the fact that it's early starts, meals by the clock and constant activity (and my back is feeling it this week!)it's been a fulfilling, if tiring week masha'allah.

My day is falling into it's own little pattern and it feels good...