What a Difference a “D” Makes
AdventureMan called me, laughing, and said “I just have to tell you what just happened to me.”
He was talking with a Kuwaiti woman who said “You speak Arabic amazingly well, except for one little thing – you say the ‘d’ when you should be saying the ‘Dh’.”
It was all he could do not to laugh. Not because of what she had said, but because it reminded him of a conversation we had, repeatedly.
When AdventureMan took Arabic, I took French. We were on our way to Tunis, I had a small baby, and I already spoke a little French. I made arrangements to study half days, and hoped it would be enough. Thanks be to God, together, we did just fine. In Tunis, most Tunisians spoke French and even those who spoke Arabic switched to French for the numbers. (Things are different now; this was many years ago.) The Tunisians called him “That Lebanese guy married to the French woman.” (He is not Lebanese. I am not French. Most Tunisians spoke a Berber dialect, which was not quite the same as Arabic.)
When I finally started formal Arabic classes, years later, I would say things I had learned from my husband and my dear Qatteri teacher would say “No, that is how those Lebanese people say it, not the way we say it.”
When my husband would correct my Arabic, now I could just cooly look at him and say “That is how you Lebanese say it, but we Qatteris say it this way.”
When he would lecture me on Arabic (I can only absorb about one minute of lecture at a time and them my head starts swimming) I would respond with ” ‘Dh’ AdventureMan, ‘Dh’ ” implying that his “Dh” wasn’t hard enough. It would make him laugh every time, totally crack him up. He can’t lecture me when he is laughing.
So here he is on the phone, laughing and laughing, because the Kuwaiti woman told him his Arabic was fine except that his “dh” wasn’t hard enough. God bless you, dear, whoever you are. 🙂
Home Prices Drop, Sales Rise in Seattle
The Seattle Real Estate market has been fairly bullet-proof, until lately, when following the trend across the United States, prices here have also dropped, reports this morning’s Seattle Times. (If you have ever dreamed of having a home in Seattle, even after all my rain photos, now is the time!)
By ALEX VEIGA
The Associated Press
A real-estate-agents trade group says sales of existing homes rose 3.1 percent in July as buyers snapped up deeply discounted properties.
Stephanie Kuhn — who moved in March from the Seattle area to Orlando, Fla., because of a family emergency — has yet to find a buyer for her Mountlake Terrace condo.
The two-bedroom, 1,100-square-foot condo has been on the market since March but is drawing little interest.
“I can’t buy another house until I sell my house up there,” said Kuhn, 47.
Seattle and Portland, Ore., were among the top 10 metro areas in the nation with the most pronounced drop in home sales last month compared with July 2007, according to The Associated Press-Re/Max Monthly Housing Report, which analyzed all home sales recorded by all local agents.
The AP-Re/Max home-sales report was one of two released Monday. The second was from the National Association of Realtors.
Sales of existing homes in the West edged higher overall in July, as many buyers took advantage of falling prices in foreclosure-ravaged areas in California, Nevada and elsewhere, both reports show.
About 1.1 million pre-owned houses and condominiums were sold last month in the 13-state region, up almost 1 percent from the same month last year, the Realtors group reported. But the median home price plunged more than 22 percent to $273,200, it said.
You can read the rest of the article HERE.
Hope in a Bottle
Holy Smokes, I notice I am just about out of my trade-mark Smog eye shadow, totally unavailable even in the Sephoras in Kuwait and Qatar, but fortunately available in a nearby Sephora here in Seattle. Sparkle introduced me to Smog, and Maui Wowie, by Urban Decay. If you know me, you know how funny that is. The name is so Goth. I am so not.
As I am perusing what else I might need and not even know it until I see it, a very strange man comes into Sephora with a patter and a handful of red, white and pink balloons.
Honestly, I thought he was like a singing telegram, and maybe it was somebody’s birthday, but the gals working in Sephora were sort of brushing him off and his patter was, well, unattractive when not profane. One gal, working on a makeover, was kind but firm, and said good-bye to him and he seemed to take the hint and left. He comes by almost daily, she said.
As I was checking out, I asked the Sephora lady if she had any little samples of face cream, so that when I go back to Kuwait I can put them in my little plastic sack and use them so my face won’t get all dry, and she very graciously gave me several. It wasn’t until I got home that I took a good look and started laughing. In my family, we have always called all face creams “Hope in a Bottle.”
Dinner at Girardi’s Osteria in Edmonds
It was one of those magical not-to-be-predicted warm summer evenings in Seattle. We’ve had a funny week, alternating rain and bright, sunny days. This happened to be one of those bright sunny ones, and Sparkle and Mariner Man had invited Mom and me to dinner. They picked a place I had never been and had been interested in trying.
Oh! Wow!
I got there early, and thought I would take a quick look at the menu, posted outside. I’ve always loved it that in Europe, it is a requirement, so you can get a look to see what is offered before you go in and sit down and then discover that they don’t make what you have your heart set on. But I only had time for a quick glance before I heard Wooo Hooooos, and people calling my name; Sparkle and Mariner Man and my Mom had made it to the restaurant just minutes before I did.
They were waiting patiently, and what a great wait – Sparkle was sipping a pomegranate martini, and I had something red, dry and Italian – wine. We all started with crab cakes, which, I am sorry to say, were so good we just went right ahead and ate them and I didn’t even think to photograph. When the main courses arrived, Mariner Man pulled out his camera, thank God, or I might have just jumped right in and forgotten all about you!
I had the very delicious antipasti salad – with grilled shrimp. The shrimp had a delicious smokey flavor, and the salad was perfect for a warm summer night. They grate the fresh Parmesan over your salad – I was engrossed in conversation with Mariner Man over some camera technicalities before I noticed that my salad was getting LOADED with Parmesan and said “Whoa!”
Mom had the Veal Scallopine, very mild, very tender, very delicious:
She said that as a bonus, the carrots were parboiled, so that they were still crunchy, but not crisp, and were sweet and tender. She loved those carrots.
Sparkle started with the Tricolore Salad (Caprese: tomato slices with mozarella, basil and balsamic vinegar) That had an awesome basil pesto with it, then proceeded to the Pollo Putanesca – WOW. That is one of my favorite sauces, and when it is done well, it is awesome. This one was amazing – full of kalamata olives, anchovies, capers – and was intensely flavorful. She ate every bite (except the one she shared with me so I could taste 🙂 )
Mariner Man started with a Ceasar salad – again, WOW, the real thing, served with a whole anchovy and slices of parmesan cheese, and then his main course – Pollo Masala – which was better than good – it was amazing!
The dessert list was also amazing. Creme Caramel. Tiramisu. A whole list of sorbets. We all looked at it, and then looked at each other in dismay – we hadn’t saved any room! We were stuffed!
I would go to Girardi’s again in a heartbeat. The service was friendly without being intrusive, the atmosphere was comfortable and elegant, and the food was delicious. Thank you, Sparkle! Thank you, Mariner Man!
WordPress and Tabular Stats
One of my commenters once said “You are very random!” and I thought, “Yes! I am!”
It took me a long time to start blogging because I couldn’t limit myself to one sort of topic, like Life in Kuwait, or Religious Musings, or What Caught My Eye in the Newspaper Today, or Recent Studies Show . . . .
see what I mean?
I am such a geek. Today WordPress put out a bulletin: Tabular Stats.
The introduce it thus:
Tabular Stats
Today we present to our beloved stats addicts a new way to perceive numbers: stats tables! Tabular data is arranged in convenient grids so you can easily compare values along two dimensions: columns and rows. Headings along the top and left edges provide context and orientation. Alternating rows are faintly shaded to improve readability. Surely you have seen these things before.
Three new tables are available today: Months and Years, Average per Day, and Recent Weeks. They were modeled after tables Matt created for displaying top-secret WordPress.com metrics. Each one resembles a calendar in its own way. You probably won’t want to refresh these as often as some other stats pages—only a few of the table cells will be updated—but I won’t try to stop you. I know what it’s like.
When you WordPress users go to your stats page, go down to the bottom, where it shows things like your all time high day, and a small summary of your stats. There is a button there now – press it. It will take you to a nirvana for stat buffs, where you can see your average daily count for any given month, they have computed percentages – like the stock market – for when your stats are up or down – it is so much fun. Well, fun if you are a numbers and stat geek.
Breathtaking Morning and The Olympics
What? You think I am going to talk about the China 2008 Olympics, but you are wrong, wrong, WRONG. After slogging through two days of on-again-off-again drizzle, light showers, and downpours, the sky cleared late yesterday, the sun broke through, and this morning, we had a breathtaking view of the Olympic Mountains. You might even notice there is a trace of SNOW on the mountains.
You gotta dress in layers. One minute you will be shivering, the next, when the sun comes out, you will be sweating. None of that matters – once the sun comes out, this place is gorgeous.
Daily Odds and Ends
This cat was found as a kitten; he’d been hit by a car. The man who found him paid $1400 to get him well again. Now he had a home where he is happy, has special furniture just for him, and a life where he is treasured. His name is Lucky. He looks crabby, but he is a sweetheart:
Lucky lives next door to an Ethiopian Grocery store:
In an antique store, I found this unique display:
I’m crazy about old silver, and these pieces knocked my socks off. I am guessing it is old hotel silver – I didn’t ask.
I talked my military-wife-friend into going back to Tai-Ho’s and this time we tried their famous noodle soup with meat and chinese pickles. It is to die for!
Mom called as we were saying goodbye to say that if I was anywhere near the coast, there was going to be a fabulous sunset with magnificent clouds:
Everett Marina Park
This weekend there was an Arts Fest in the Everett Marina Park, drawing people from all over the area, as there were a lot of hands-on demonstrations and artists who encourage people to try developing a new skill. I saw this fabulous sculpture in the Marina Park:
I love it because it looks like a whale, playing in the surf. It is made of like seven different slices of (wood?) (metal) bolted together, so that if you look from one end, all you see is flat slices, but the sculpture seems to move as you move around it. So creative!
All in One Day
Life is funny, in Kuwait, you are just getting up, brushing your teeth, getting ready to head for work, knowing tonight is date night and tomorrow you sleep in. I’m in my jammies, lying in bed with my computer, watching old Law and Order’s on TNT (sometimes the Olympics just get boring) and winding down, getting ready to call it a day.
And what a day! My long time Army-wife friend and I went out playing – picked up lunch at Ivar’s and took it over to the park to eat, where we found a whole flock of new friends:
This guy was persistent – after we ate our fish, we threw him the fries:
We looked at a house for sale – great bones, significant view, lousy location:
The day was warm, but there was a persistent wind, and at one point, we drove home from the crowded malls in a driving rain. Everywhere, for the next three hours, people were saying “this is October weather, not August weather!”
A great night for Chinese food. T&T’s Seafood is SO Chinese that there aren’t that many things on the menu I am comfortable ordering, and I fly close to the edge of the envelope when exploring Chinese food. I ordered Hot and Sour Soup, Green Beans with shaved meat, and Prawns with Honeyed Pecans. I sat with all the other take-out people waiting for their orders – it’s truly that kind of night. Everyone is talking about the weather. They don’t do a lot of delivery in Seattle; mostly you have to go pick it up yourself:
It was pouring when I went in – clearing when I came out:
Heading toward the coast:
After dinner, I drove down to surfside to take a sunset photo with these wonderful clouds:
Colors and Localities
One of the things we joke about, AdventureMan and I, when we come back to the Seattle area, is that all the houses are grey. Some might look brown, but it is a very grey brown. Some might look green, but it is a very grey kind of green. Some houses are purely grey – maybe they have white trim, but they are very very grey. An occasional truly brown house sticks out, anything not toned down by grey sticks out. And oh! now and then someone with a Mediterranean soul will build a pink or terra cotta house with a red tile roof and people will say “Oh! Look at that! They must not be from around here!”
Yesterday, I was in one of my most favorite places, Home Depot, wandering around looking at what the contracters are putting in the newest houses.
“High rise toilets!” I exclaimed to AdventureMan, who was on the phone with me. “For people who are older, and don’t have the strength in their legs to lower themselves too far!”
I was looking to see what was available in small bathtubs, because I love a hot bath on a cold day, and I want a deeper, smaller tub in which I can lean back with a good book, not one of these huge tubs that take all day to fill. I was looking at shower apparatus; I am thinking one day I want to go the European way with those wall flash-heaters that give you hot water when you need it and don’t keep heating it all day when you don’t.
And then I saw the carpet samples. I just had to laugh. When we lived in Florida, I loved walking into the model homes, with their seafoam green carpets, or even a mellow shade of tropical pink. Everything looked so welcoming and laid back.
In the Pacific Northwest, people choose from shades of sand. I never knew there could be so much variation on beige, which is somewhere between white and brown:
To those of you who say that sand isn’t as dark as the darkest brown swatches of carpet, I can only say you have never walked along a Pacific Northwest Beach on a dark and stormy day. Believe me, sand can be very very dark.
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