Summer 2013

So… I haven’t had much to say on my blog lately. It happens! I am not going to try and catch up on everything I’ve missed posting about, but as my blog is for photos as well as random thoughts and recipes, I am going to post some older photos.

I love this photo of Ninja helping Honor with her homework – she’s always so involved in whatever the kids are doing.

…and this is a rare one of all three cats hanging out together doing the same thing. They generally have their own favorite activities, but ‘yelling’ at birds and outside cats on their patio is something that they can all get behind.

Ninja seemed to know that when the last day of school was this year. Honor and Brian’s class schedules had been on the fridge for the whole school year, but the first week of summer vacation starts and Ninja chose to celebrate by eating Honor’s schedule!

One of the reasons that, I believe, I have been so remiss in posting lately is that Kuwait feels very much like ‘home’. Why should I post things that are seem so similar to home? I know… to share, and I should do more. And, yes. It is different here and the culture is different, and the people are different, etc. but we feel at home and there really is so much that is NOT different!
Driving down the roads, unless you look closely at the signs, feels like driving in the US (except perhaps, with more folks here who go faster than they ought to) but still, very similar to desert-y and/or coastal, depending on where we are at, city areas of the US.


There are a number of very lovely malls that are nice to visit. They are designed to be nice to visit and roam about, not just for shopping. We took Honor out for her birthday to the Avenues Mall. There’s a pretty fountain at one entry point.

Above the fountain, the color of the lights in the ceiling gently cycle through various shades. I had to take several shots to try and catch the ‘best’ ones. We like the peacock effect and colors.

We wandered about and after a fun visit to Build-a-Bear (haven’t gone there since Honor was 3 years old!) we had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.


Avenues is more than a name, it describes the theme of the mall. It is set up like indoor ‘avenues’. Quite lovely.








We had some lazy summer days… which the cats did not mind.

And a lot of computer playing… which Ninja found boring…

We had some really gross sandy days…

And some very hot days… but Honor and I planted a bunch of plants and made a nice fairy garden.










Eventually, as the temps went up past 110F and pretty much stayed there day and night(!), the garden dried up (melted?!) despite our best efforts to keep it going. We will plant again soon. Perhaps in October.

Here is a random photo of a cat in a drawer. Just proving the concept that if something is opened, a cat MUST get into it.

The kids are still taking karate lessons and enjoying them. Their instructors are very good! 


There was the traditional 4th of July camel ride.

Brian had been a good ‘big brother’ to a friend’s little boy and rode with him as he was too small to go alone. Brian was relieved that we took his buddy down before the camel sat so he could dismount though. Riding a camel is easy… but that bit where the camel rocks way forward and way back in order to stand up? That’s a little crazy!

And what next? Well, R&R of course! By July, we were on a plane and heading to the US for vacation, but those pics will come later.

Karate Orange Belt

The kids have really been enjoying their new karate classes with Master Husein Suleiman and his sons as their teachers. They have been really motivated and working hard. They tested for their orange belts and judging by the smiles, I think they are very proud of their accomplishment!!

Number Randomness, and Homemade Hot Pockets

33 DAYS in Kuwait. Really? Already? ONE month plus?? Wow.

 

94 DAYS since we packed out of Amman. I really miss our stuff. And our truck. So…

 

NOT ENOUGH – Things. In our house. We have things, but are still ‘camping’. Ninja is concerned as she notes the lack of stuff.

 

TWO weeks – is the time it took for Ninja to forgive her siblings for this move. I’ll have to blog more about that later!

 

TWO kids in school and settling in well. They really seem to like their new schedules, teachers, and routine.

 

5’6” – the height of one 11 year old boy. He also broke 100lbs this summer. I don’t think he’s going to wait until his teens to be taller than me.

4’7” – the height of one 9 year old girl. She’s working hard to catch up with her brother.

At least 4 – the number of brand new, previously well fitting, purchased in July, school uniform pieces already out grown. (Not counting the Hanes plain white tees for PE shirts… they shrank… about 6 inches!! *shakes fist*)

 

114/74 – This momma’s blood pressure. After a walk to the clinic in 100+ heat and getting a vaccine shot. (Hey, it may be a silly stat, but I’m happy with it… at my age and on no meds, I like to see these numbers, hanging in there at a very good level, consistently too!)

 

99F at 12 noon – and me thinking that it’s cool out there. Summer temps do NOT mess around here and we will no doubt be over 100F soon. This is ‘normal’. Honestly, there’s also a touch of humidity in the air, and often a breeze too. I don’t find it to be all that bad out there. (note: 30 minutes later, and it’s 102F)

ZERO – the number of our plugs and adapters that would fit in the *%#&*$-ing electrical outlets in this house. You’d think, with all of our time overseas and buying basic electronics overseas, we’d have ALL of the needed adapters. Right? No. Our house has US 220V outlets… which, of course, I have NEVER seen in the US. These aren’t the massive appliance plugs, they are completely different and totally useless to everything we own.

Now, obviously, once we obtained adapters, (thankfully the warehouse has them) we could use all of our appliances because most of the items we own our dual voltage, but still… how inconvenient! 

 

2-3 LAPS – that I walk around the embassy every morning. A great way to start the day with a new friend.

1 YOGA class – just started last week. We’ll see how my creaky knees agree with this. So far, really well except one move, the full boat pose. It didn’t hurt. My muscles did not feel too weak, it just seems to be a move which my knees are simply not constructed to make. I cannot straighten/lift my legs straight out in front of me while sitting in a chair either… I can bring them up, but my kneecaps do not track properly and I sort of have to do a sideways motion to make it happen. This one move is not looking possible! (The issue with the knees is not the unknown, I’ve been to orthopedic specialists, but what I can or cannot do with yoga will be a learning experience!)

 

TWO Karate classes a week, for the kids, starting today. We’ll see how that goes.

MULTIPLE – Outings. We’ve been out and about a bit in Kuwait. To a restaurant. A couple of friend’s homes. Shopping. We really have been focused on getting settled into our new routines and have not been interested in exploring much. One thing at a time!

ONE – New online radio channel. ExoSphere radio! Check them out (I’ve added a link in my sidebar) as they really have a great selection of music. From their “About” on Facebook – “A collaboration of friends from all over the planet wishing to share their unique cultural melodies that bring us together in the human symphony of life...”

 
TWO – at least – new pets. We have geckos that run around our house. They use the air ducts. I wanted to name the big guy ‘Newt’ as from the movie Aliens “We'd better get back, 'cause it'll be dark soon, and they mostly come at night... mostly.” … but the kids named it “Greg”. There’s also a very tiny baby we call Gregito.



I think that’s enough numbers, maybe, for now… and so on to a handy school lunch recipe, which is something I need more of because we have to have lunches packed FIVE days a week… I like to have things that are portable, not too messy, and can be eaten without having to be warmed up.

I had made a pot roast with potatoes, onions and carrots cooked with. There was not much left over, it was a small roast, and when I chopped up the remainder (diced it) I had maybe 2 cups of ‘filling’. I added grated cheese and some minced spinach (from frozen) and some spice to make it more tasty, and ended up with about 3 cups of fill. It doesn’t look all that yummy here, but it really has lots of goodness here, all chopped up and mixed together...

Then I made a simple dough recipe, as follows:

1/4 oz yeast (1 packet, 1 tbsp, approx… this is flexible)

1 cup warm water

– Add the yeast to the water and allow to sit for about 10 minutes to proof.

3 cups flour

2 tbsp oil ( I use olive oil)

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

Combine dry ingredients. Stir in yeast mixture. Knead until smooth and elastic.

For this ‘hot pocket’ recipe, I actually used a batch and a half of the dough.

This is a great dough. You can add herbs, like rosemary or whatever you like, form it into a ball, and let it rise and bake it as a bread. You can roll it out and use it like pizza dough. Whatever. This thing is a working dough. I rolled it out, not too thin, and hacked it into squares of approximately equal size – measuring is for wimps:

Each square got a pile of filling…

and then it was rolled into a ball…

Bake on lightly greased cookie sheet, at 350F, for about 10-14 minutes. You have to watch because cooking time may vary depending on the size of the balls and thickness of the dough… the filling was cooked, so that wasn’t an issue.

Remember to turn them about half way through to brown them more evenly… oops!…

Hand them over to your test subjects for final approval… silly testers will do…

Last step for school lunches …. HIDE the ones you want saved for actual school lunches or they will be eaten!! I had made a pot of chili on the side while prepping these and they (my tasters and their dad) quickly discovered that these filled breads taste great dipped in chili, which is good, but this grabbing and absconding cuts into the original purpose of my making the durn things! They warmed up well and withstood the abuse of transport in a lunch box. I managed to get two lunches (plus two unauthorized dinner sides) out of this batch.