I know its been awhile but I have been busy. Settling in here has been a chore and a blessing. I came to an empty house and had so much I was waiting to ship from the USA so I put off buying things that I knew I had and didn't need more of. Sadly, its now been almost a year and I still don't have but a single shipment that hubby sent with the car of our possessions from back home.
So what have I been up too? Well as always when things are going good life will smack you to remind you that its watching you so here goes....the UPDATES
Let me see its been since March OMG so long so lets start...
My mother died in April and although I will miss being able to contact her for her recipe for Fruit salad for EID or Thanksgiving each year I finally got it worked out and passed it on to my girls and my niece so we would have a memory to live with. We had a few weddings in the family and I wish I could post some photos but I don't have any since most use their cells to take pics but I will ask around see who has some that I can get copies sent to my email and post.
My husband's last uncle passed away sadly and we spent the customary 3 days with his family and neighbors. We are getting out a bit more we have had a few scares with Fatimah and her sugar levels and going on the 3rd illness since the year started. We need to watch her she is going back to her old ways and not checking before eating and going long hours of no insulin to counter her intake. But we are thankful that she has not had more than a few hours of nausea and she recoups quickly. Medical here is a challenge for even the people and many who can afford go out of the country to seek care since he let hospitals rot for the general public. Medical is free but quality well U pay for that. Sounds like home right?
All the month of Ramadan we had nearly every day power cuts one day was over 15 hours. As a result the new freezer I bought went out and i'm still waiting for someone to look at it. We got a air conditioner the last week of Ramadan as a family gift and it went for a week then stopped working. They are saying that the power to the house is weak and that is why we lost it but then why is my in-laws working? The fridge is weak on power too, I used a outside temp gauge that I brought with me and it said that the fridge was 61 degrees. So I can't put much in it as it will not stay long.
I battled with Pneumonia twice now and got a nice bunch of injection spots on my rump each time since I needed to get antibiotics to knock it out what ever is here is strong I have never been sick like this in the states but I'm better and stronger.
This week we lost my dad's sister Connie and I was sadden to know of this by facebook from a post of my brothers and my daughter. Her funeral was Friday and I sure wish I had been in the USA I would have liked to see her kids and hug them. I haven't seen any of them since my dad passed away over 20 yrs ago. But I guess that is what all families do drift apart over time.
Suhayl went back to the USA it broke my heart but he is old enough to decide his life and I pray that one day he will come back. He is staying for now with Taher and helping when he can to get him back here so we can finally settle in. He has also registered for school so I hope he finds his dreams. I don't talk much to my girls sadly with internet what it is here and all the blackouts I just pretty much given up on keeping more than updates on my facebook page since I could not get here to write more.
Suhayb is working at a school teaching english and he liked it at first but now he feels like I did when I tried doing that before. Its not american english that is taught and we constantly have to correct ourselves to teach british english and many of our common speech patterns are not the same so what sounds correct to us is sometimes incorrect. So he has gotten flustered over this but for now he will continue to work if they keep him after this first quarter. Plus, they only pay at the end of a semester so if we needed money in an emergency we are out of luck.
Aieysha got her a second dog and I probably haven't told you about the first one she got since its been that long. She got a lovely male dog back in May for her birthday and he was bought at the puppy mills in town. Cost us 150 LD which is a lot of money for a dog but we had looked and waited for promised dogs long enough and her heart needed someone to hold. He got settled in and she was saying he needed a buddy since Ramadan was approaching and with the heat she was not sure how much time she could give to a puppy and he would be lonely. We got lucky on this issue a lady saw her post on facebook and had a puppy that had been dropped over her wall that she could not keep. A poor sad looking little white ball of fluff that turned out to be a female when the lady thought she was a male. She was covered in fleas and needed a bath desperately and she got both that and a new loving home. We took about a week in finding a name for her she got christened Lakoda.
First few baths she got to kill off the fleas and clean her up a bit. She was very timid and its obvious that she has been mistreated but she was young enough and we are working with her to overcome her fears. She refused to come inside or go though any doorway and hated stairs and gates. She was timid to even be touched but she has really blossomed with her care and loving home.
Only really bad thing these past few months has been an issue over the dogs.
We keep them up on the rooftop since we have no place downstairs that we can keep them. LONG STORY.... so we made lean-toos on the roof to keep them covered and we exercise them by taking them out for walks along the neighborhood. As I mentioned before we sometimes walk them out on the main road and boy what traffic stoppers we are. Most are boys and men hooting "Kelb ...bark bark". A few young kids you can hear them exclaim "Momma, Babba, look a dog." in arabic. But we love it and the dogs get social interactions.
But we had one snafu at the end of Ramadan that has put some damper on things with my husbands mother.
Aieysha took the puppies out for their daily walk the boy first and got no one to disturb her. She walks them separately now since they like to challenge each other and she can't deal alone with both until they are better leash trained. She took Lakoda out second and she is the more timid and so she is more wary about interaction with her around kids. She had only gotten to her uncles house just across the street literally, and a small group of boys approached her. They were all young and it was the 3rd day of Eid and we were planning on meeting the family for dinner so I was busy baking in the kitchen and could not walk with her. The boys approached her and most of the time she doesn't know what they are saying so she gets nervous. She tried to tell them to be careful since she is timid and she doesn't want the boys to be nipped by a timid dog. One of the young boys around 7 yrs old began to tease the puppy and kick at her. Aieysha told him to stop and they just laughed at her. Then the youth grabbed a toy BB gun and shot the puppy twice in the rump and she told them to stop and grabbed up her yelping puppy. She turned to go to her uncles house for help and he aimed the BB gun at her and shot her in the leg. She went crying to her uncle and yes he did come out and scold the boy but he told her to "take the puppy home". She came in very upset and told me what happened. I was furious. I asked Suhayb to join me and we went to speak to my brother in law. I asked where was the boy who shot them and saw a few young boys outside by a fence. I went to them yelling what did they think they could shoot someone for nothing and get away with it? I was beyond furious. Well I sure drew some looks from the local houses but I didn't care what was it that a young woman could not walk a street full of family houses and not be accosted!!! I then went to my father in law and told him that this nonsense has to end. She has every right to walk among the homes of family and not have any problem. I will be damned that the streets be ran by little children and young men who have nothing better to do than harass a female. That to allow children the right to misbehave was letting them learn that boys will be aloud to do anything and no one will stop them regardless of age. Things will never change with this behavior. And don't tell me a young lady can't walk in her own neighborhood simply because she is female!!
Well I guess that got my mother in law upset and later on in the day I had gone to get some stuff I needed for preps for dinner meal. I saw her sitting on the carpets outside of her door and I told her I had been busy but I saw that the courtyard needed to be swept before company arrived and I would come back down and help out. I approached her to tell her good morning and she told me go away. I asked her why she wanted me to go away. She told me to leave her home. I again asked her why? Then she got up and went towards her doorway and I followed her asking her what I had done to displease her. Then the big one.....She called me "bint al kelb" like in english equivalent to "you bitch" . Sorry but in my whole life no one has ever called me this and I blew a gasket. I told her why did you call me this dirty word? I know she didn't fully understand me and I was trying to find out what did I do to deserve such fowl words to be spoken to me by a woman whom I had only shown the greatest of respect to.
I grabbed her shoulders and shook her asking her why. I swear I have never even laid a hand on my own mother and now I was trying to understand why a woman whom I now called mother could treat me such. My heart was beyond broken and I told her ok so be it I will leave you. I gave up all my life in the USA to bring her son home and for what!
Needless to say my day was ruined and we sat in the house with no meal and no one to see on the last day of EID while family joined them downstairs. Not one member came to me so im a bit bitter over this. I contacted my husband and he called me later that evening said to stay away from them until he comes and he would deal with it when he does.
After that the neighbors understood that I will not allow my kids or their pets to be the brunt of any abuse. If you want to see the puppies approach with caution and we will allow them to be petted but if you act in any way to harm them then watch out cause I will take you down and you will wish you never touch them again.
A few days later we were out walking again by my husbands brothers house and his uncle and a small group of boys saw us walking the boy dog. Again we knew they were up to no good and they could be heard planning to tease the dog to get it to react. I told Aieysha to hold on to the puppies leash and watch out I wasn't sure what they were planning but I could hear them talking. First, one of the little ones ran past us really close but I was between him and the dog. Then when he saw he got no reaction he motioned for the other two to run. They ran past us as well. Then acted like they were playing tag. They did this three times by the time we got to the end of that strip of houses. By then I was getting pissed off. I turned to them and told them go away and leave us alone. The older one laughed and I told him this is how you respect your elders? We are doing nothing to you leave us alone or I will call for help.
We turned the corner and these houses are all the homes of my husband uncle and his sons so we were surrounded by family homes. I then noticed they were following us planning who knows what. A few more steps and I noticed a broken broom handle laying in the dirt and I picked it up. They saw this and backed off. I will not take it.
We got to another two houses and a new group of boys began to approach us. LOL yep it just keeps happening..... but this time some relatives were out and saw the boys and told them to leave us alone. I thanked the men and we walked home. The next day we had a few boys approach us and luckily they spoke some english and we told them we're trying to train the dogs and if kids keep bothering us the dogs will not learn to behave. They understood and were excited to see the dogs do some tricks. Later we saw my BIL Salem and he was sitting with a man. We approached to say hi and she showed them how well behaved he is and what he is learning to do sit and lay on command. They both were impressed with his good behavior. I told Aieysha this is the only way we can be. Show that we are working with them and so they need to be left alone and that they will not bite so any time there is an issue it will be on our side that people have seen how well behaved the dogs are.
Let me see....Eid is over and we have begun to go out again to visit people and things are getting better. We went to a relatives land and stayed the evening enjoying the quiet of country life. I dream to have some land soon we can build on and enjoy our own home. I want so much for the kids futures.
Khadijah is still pretty much to herself and I have tried to accommodate her in getting stuff to keep her entertained. There is more to her than people see and its hard dealing with her.
Fatimah has been going out a bit more lately too and got to spend time with some kids her age. I got to meet a young lady from twitter the other day too.
I also met finally..........Katrina or better known as UKWatcher from Livestream. She came to Libya finally to put the finishing touches on their new home and we had a lovely evening. Sadly she is back in the UK with the girls but I hope we will see each other soon.
Im getting out more I refuse to sit around the house and do nothing. I went out shopping yesterday and got some glasses for coffee, tea and juice so now I feel at least I can offer someone a drink not in a plastic cup. I finally got my Libyan tea set I bought it in pieces and am happy with what I bought for now. I still need the little table and a cook top but for now im practicing making tea that is sweet enough I know its not BLACK enough lol but I hate such dark tea. I tried to foam the tea and ended up spilling quite a bit so I definitely need practice.
We have two weddings approaching soon so the ritual of finding things to wear is always there to keep me busy looking in shops. The freezer has left us with no way to store meat so I have to go out daily and with cost and all it is cheaper to buy a cooked chicken full of rice and side of salad than cook one. So for now we are eating out lol...most people don't eat out. With all the amazing cooks here you should never want too but I haven't much choice when even the fridge cant cool drinks barely.
Well this is a long one but we are caught up for now. I will remember what I did to get back into my account so hopefully I can write some more soon. Keep reading and keep in touch I love your comments lets me know people are reading it at least.. Love to all.
Here is a photo of the puppies hope U like them :)
Racoon the cat
Will post more soon
