Ayam Zakat
My niece, Little Diamond in a comment on a previous post reminded me of the “cat containment center,” also called the cat house, that the Qatteri Cat once inhabited so that he could spend time in the garden when we weren’t outside. It had three levels he could climb up to and sleep on, and a long run to the exit. He didn’t like being contained, but he liked being outdoors enough to put up with it.
Little Diamond helped me put it together when it arrived. Little Diamond has a great big brain, she can find anything on the internet in four seconds flat, including all the lyrics to Put the Lime in the Coconut. All we have to do is mention wanting to know something, and she finds it. She also forwards all kinds of fascinating reading for me. She is SMART.
She is not so smart about putting things together. Like she said we didn’t need to look at the instructions, which were sort of in Chinese anyway, but I am a read the instructons kind of woman. Our first try was not so good. We had to resort to looking at the instructions. We finally got it together, but it never was quite right. It worked, however, well enough.
It even had a flag for the top.
Little Diamond speaks Arabic fluently. I only stumble around, but you know how when you are learning a language there are words that sound like other words, or you make jokes about the language that would make no sense to the people speaking that language but make perfect sense to the learner? (I have heard that the English word “unique” will send you into gales of laughter). Little Diamond and Adventure Man love puns, especially in Arabic. We can be rolling on the floor over things that will make YOU native Arabic speaker roll your eyes.
“On the flag” suggested Little Diamond, with a perfectly straight face, “we need to write ‘Ayam Zakat'”! and then we both laughed so hard we rolled on the grass with tears in our eyes, howling with laughter.
In Arabic, Ayam Zakat makes no sense at all. Ayam means something like times and zakat is charity. When you say it in English, however . . . it is the perfect flag for the Qatteri Cat’s house.
You can find the Cat Containment Center (condo) and all kinds of other items for entertaining and transporting cats at Midnight Pass/Kittywalk
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Hahhaha! When I first read “Ayam Zakat” I was thinking HUH? Then when I got to the end I started giggling too 😛
No matter how “mature” I think I am, unique still makes me laugh!
I like that bas we don’t have an outdoor garden
😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
I am TERRIBLE at following instructions – I always try lumping it without the manual and usually end up turning back to the manual when my “kinetic learning” approach doesn’t pan out!
I LOVE the cat containment center memories – I remember laughing and laughing as we put it together. But I think the khalo was the one to make the brilliant ayam zakat connection 🙂 – it was relatively soon after Ramadan and the sandouq al-zakat kiosks were still up in the malls.
lol! for some reason or the other, I hate instruction manuals! Espically when it comes to electronic gadgets(mantling them) and the look at parents face is priceless during those times 😉
Chirp – I laugh again too, when I think about it. It probably isn’t that funny, but it is to me!
Chika – we don’t either, anymore, and I don’t let the Qatteri Cat go on the balcony because he is too stupid, and might jump.
Oh Little Diamond, how we miss you! No, it was you, while we were putting the cat house together, that said it should be “ayam zakat”. AM was the one who offered you a beer-a kebeer-a, remember? 🙂 🙂 🙂
Joel, you need to meet Little Diamond. The two of you . . . oh, perish the thought!
Do they have those for children? XD
LLLLOOOOLLLLLLLLLLL! Yes, 3baid, they are calle “playpens!”