Who Will be my Friends?
This will be my 31st move.
When I moved back to Doha, as I sighed and packed boxes, I took a few minutes to sit down and count them up. 31 moves. A lifetime of changing houses . . .
Until I get to the new location, I am caught up in the crushing details of moving – decisions on what to take, what to leave and to whom, closing accounts, opening accounts, blah blah blah. It can be overwhelming. I always think about that old joke about “how do you eat an elephant?” and the answer is “one bite at a time.” It’s the same with moving. Don’t look at the big picture, just keep moving, one detail at a time, and it all works out.
But when I get there, I wonder who will be my friends? It can be a lonely 6 months to a year while waiting for the right friends to come along. I make friends easily, but the ones who are going to stick, those tried and true friends – it takes a while to figure out who those are going to be.
We are lucky this time, we have family waiting for us. Our son is already educating us on how to pronounce local streets and areas (No, Mom, not “Sehr-vahn’-teys” as the Spanish would say it, but “Sir-van’tees”, not “Tex’-are” but “Te-har”, LOL) and what attitudes and perceptions we might best keep to ourselves if we want to get along.
We want to get along. Ironically, moving back to our own country is more daunting than moving to another expat community. The expat communities are relatively open and fluid, people coming and going all the time, willing to accept new members and welcome them in. This move is going to be to a very different life and a very different community from that in which we have lived the last thirty something years . . . God always sends me good friends. I just wonder who those friends will be?
One Brown Glove
Have I told you how cold it is in Pensacola?
People here are in fur coats, and gloves!
Today we drove up the Bayou and saw what we thought might be a run-over animal on the road, but it turned out to be one brown glove.
We were laughing at how easy it is to lose gloves – to end up with one of several different pairs. My Mom used to make us wear mittens that had a string attatching them; you ran it through the coat and out both arms so you wouldn’t be losing so many mittens. In Alaska, you really need those mittens.
I still have a pair of Nordic mittens my Mom knit me. No. No. They are not attached by strings; they are grown up mittens, LLLOOOOLLLL!
Honey Baked Apples
“If you really want to make something I like . . . I really really like those baked apples.”
My daughter in law and I hate the term daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. We wish there were nicer words for the relationship we enjoy so much. I really do want her to be happy, and I want to make life with a new baby easier, so I am glad there is something I can do that will make life sweeter.
I made this recipe up from things we keep on hand in the house. I don’t think it matters what kind of apples you use; it is the honey, nuts and cinnamon that make this SOOOOOO good:
Heat oven to 350°F/180°C
apples – cut in half, scoop out seeds with a spoon, cut off stem or end pieces
chopped pecans, or walnuts – fill each apple cavity
honey – pour honey into each apple cavity over pecans, and drizzle a little over the rest of the apple
cinnamon – sprinkle lightly with cinnamon
cloves – sprinkle with a tiny bit of ground cloves
Spray a baking dish with olive oil (you do have a Misto, don’t you?) Place apples in, cut side up, fill with pecans, drizzle with honey, sprinkle with cinnamon and clove. Pop into oven and bake at 350°/180° for one hour – one hour and a quarter. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before eating.
This is a very healthy fruit dessert, but you can add a little vanilla ice cream and it will still taste good, LOL, it will also add calories. 🙂
This is what they look like when they are ready to go into the oven:
Famous Dave’s BBQ
Oh WOW.
AdventureMan wanted just one more BBQ meal to tide him over until he returns to Pensacola. We headed for Famous Dave’s, because they are really, really good.
AdventureMan had the pulled pork sandwich with baked beans and cole slaw:
I had the catfish platter, with baked beans and a cob of corn:
The catfish came with two sauces, a remoulade and a Thai sweet/hot sauce, but I prefer the BBQ sauces:
Oh my friends – Kuwait and Qatar need Famous Dave’s!
Fat Tuesday and Beads
“That’s not tinsel, Mom,” my son said, “They’re beads. People throw them during the Mardi Gras parade, and they stick in the trees. And it’s not Shrove Tuesday, it’s Fat Tuesday, here in Pensacola.”
Oh.
Today I needed to do a couple trips downtown and so I looked closely at all the colorful objects sparkling in the trees after the Mardi Gras parades. Yep. He was right. Beads.
It is still cold in Pensacola. The temperature as I was driving around this morning was just above freezing. But it is cold – and clear – and sunny, and those beads sparkle in the sunlight.
Tonight we are having Jambalaya for Fat Tuesday, the night before Lent starts. I have little Q sleeping next to me. Life is sweet in Pensacola. 🙂
Pensacola Moments
Yesterday I drove AdventureMan to the airport. He rushed off to check in, planning to meet once the car was checked in. The checker-inner said “do you really want to pay $7.49 a gallon?” so I rushed off to fill the tank, God bless her. It’s funny, with all the stuff we have going on, little things we normally remember just slip right out of our minds.
I came back, picked up my next rental (I know, I know, not cost effective, but I thought I was going to buy a Rav4 while I was here – LLLOOOLLL! I still plan to, but I am waiting for some dealer incentives) and went in to spend some time with AM before he left.
When I came back out and went to my car, it REEKED! I have a non-smoker profile! I went back to the fast-booth, and waited in line. When I explained the problem, they gave me another car, a serious upgrade. Wooo HOOOO!
I only mention these instances, because two people at Avis/Budget Car Rental in Pensacola took the time to insure that I was a happy customer. I am. I am a happy customer.
Somewhere, I lost my sunglasses, and because mostly I only need glasses for driving, I needed to get a new pair. Walk in, have an eye exam within 30 minutes (he told me my old prescription was too strong!) and a pair of prescription sunglasses that are PERFECT in one hour. Professional, courteous service all the way.
I need some baby clothes, so I go to a very good department store looking for WARM baby clothes (it is very cold in Pensacola this year!) and the very nice lady says “Oh, we have some beautiful baby clothes I just marked down to 70% off.”
Am I dreaming?
Family Gathering
Last night was fun. New baby is settling in, sleeping more, figuring out how his new world works.
Last night, another set of grandparents visited (lucky baby has three sets of grandparents!) and while other grammy held the baby, our son and his wife were able to get away for about an hour to run errands, I cooked up a very simple dinner, and when son and DIL came home, we all ate – very simply.
There is nothing like having a newborn baby in the house to help set priorities. Babies needs come first. Feeding is totally the job of the new mother in this case, we can all help with just about everything else – changing diapers, holding baby, doing laundry, cooking meals, cleaning up . . . but life becomes very simple. There is nothing so wonderful as the sound of a baby sleeping!
I am off to church this morning – on a Sunday!
We had about one minute of snow on Friday, and zero accumulation. Big fat flakes hit the windshield and melted. So much for the Pensacola snow day. Today it is cool, but clear and sunny, another gorgeous day in Pensacola.
Snow Forecast for Pensacola
There is a possibility of snow forecast for Friday in Pensacola, FL.
Update on sleep-sacks – good old Amazon.com has several styles, and two are on their way!
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