Here There and Everywhere

Expat wanderer

Transition Sunrise

I was shocked when I looked at the five day forecast and saw that the high temperature for tomorrow is 80°F / 27°C. Holy smokes. Winter is over. 80° is about as hot as I can handle without A/C – around 80° in Florida, fleas eggs start hatching, and it is time to flea-proof the house. We don’t have the same problem with fleas here, probably due to the air conditioning, on most months of the year.

This morning’s sunrise is barely less murky than yesterday’s. The weather reporter says “light haze” but sometimes it says that in the middle of a heavy dust storm, so I don’t put a lot of credibility in what it says.
00sunrise9feb09

The days are getting perceptibly longer. In our neighborhood, when the meuzzin “chants” for the dawn prayers, it is not so hard to get up. We are blessed to have a tenor muezzin, who loves the morning call to prayer, and does it with great melodiousness and passion. It is a wonderful way to wake up.

Have a great day, Kuwait.

February 9, 2009 Posted by | Arts & Handicrafts, Beauty, ExPat Life, Health Issues, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Spiritual, sunrise series, Weather | 7 Comments

Murky Morning

It is one of those transitional weather days, not raining, not clear, somewhere in between and it could go either way:
00murkymorning

I was sleeping soundly and happily this morning when I heard a very very loud “AAACCCCKKKKKKK” and I jumped out of bed, adrenaline pumping, thinking “Is someone strange in the house?” I listened, didn’t hear anything else, so went to the living room where the Qatteri Cat was lying on the floor. Maybe a blade of grass tickled his throat (I make bowls of grass for him to help digestion; long haired cats get clogs sometimes) or maybe he sneezed, or jumped down from his high perch by the window, I don’t know. I patted him and he followed me back to bed where we both snoozed a little until time to get up.

February 8, 2009 Posted by | ExPat Life, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Qatteri Cat, sunrise series, Weather | 6 Comments

Welcome Rain in Kuwait

AdventureMan is snuggling up against me, shivering in the cold, Qatteri Cat is snuggled up close on the other side, and I can hear the wind howling at our bedroom window. It sounds like an Arctic blizzard; the wind is relentless. It feels so good to be in bed, to be able to go back to sleep, so warm and cozy, and then AdventureMan whispers “It’s raining outside.”

Three minutes later, I am up and out of bed, going to the closet for old towels.

Kuwait isn’t built for rain. Our beautiful big windows were sealed . . . once. I think the heat has destroyed the seals. When we get a serious rain, I get some serious leakage. It dribbles onto the windowsills and then slithers across the floor. I have to get the towels in place immediately, or I have a real mess.

And, (sigh) once I am up, I am up. I brew the coffee, run some water to wash up some dishes and watch the day lighten incrementally – no sunrise today, but I love the sound of the raindrops falling, falling, falling.

We need more. The rain is an occasion for joy, here, not like in Seattle, where we get so much rain that we take it for granted.

Rain on the Gulf:
00rainy7feb09

Rain on the windows:
00rainwashingwindow

February 7, 2009 Posted by | ExPat Life, Kuwait, Marriage, Qatteri Cat, Weather | 4 Comments

Sunrise 5 Feb 2009

Good morning, Kuwait!

It is another gorgeous day, with more to come. Have you noticed the temperatures have taken a jump? No more shivering under heaps of covers at night, no more Qatteri Cat desperate to cuddle with me every time I sit down – and the forecast is for more of the same:

forecast5feb

It is a beautiful sunrise this morning, harbinger of a beautiful day to come – have a great day, Kuwait!

00feb52009

February 5, 2009 Posted by | ExPat Life, Kuwait, Living Conditions, sunrise series, Weather | 1 Comment

Sunrise and Weep

This morning’s sunrise was unspectacular in that it is uniformly spectacular. Most sunrises here are spectacular; spectacular gets to be the standard (for sunrises) in Kuwait.

The translucent cloudy effect is not the fault of the sunrise, it is the result of the rain spots on my window.
00sunrise4feb09

Now, for my friends in Germany, in England, in Seattle and across the Winter Zone, here is what our week in Kuwait will look like – again, uniformly spectacular. The weather I love, light sweater weather, weather that makes you want to get outside and walk or run or drive!

5day4feb09

If you have ever wanted to visit Kuwait, February is the month. 🙂

February 4, 2009 Posted by | Beauty, ExPat Life, Kuwait, Living Conditions, sunrise series, Travel, Weather | 2 Comments

Whatever Floats Your Boat

Actually, I hate that phrase, but today it fits. I looked out the window and laughed – there is a tanker, floating above the horizon. At first, I almost thought it was a balloon. Look! See for yourself:

00lighterthanairtanker1

The day is so clear, I can see the tin roofs on Failaika Island with my bare eye. It isn’t much, but it is the clearest day in a long time:

00failaika

In today’s Kuwait Times, Dr. Saleh al-Ajeeri tells us that the chances of rainfall are going away because the winds are changing, and that the temperatures are going to fall again. It’s hard for me to believe, on a day like today, warm and sunny and not a cloud in the sky, it’s hard to believe it is going to be cold. Dr. Al-Ajeeri says “The winter season is still going on and the cold will return during a season locally known as the ‘Scorpion’s Cold'” and that we can’t count on higher temperatures until the end of February.

SCORPION’S COLD?? OK, my Kuwaiti friends, I have never heard of that before. Can anyone explain to me what this is? And what it it called in Arabic?

February 3, 2009 Posted by | Entertainment, ExPat Life, Kuwait, Local Lore, Technical Issue, Uncategorized, Weather | 8 Comments

Tanker Sunrise

I can tell when the air is bad in Kuwait. I wheeze a little when I am lying down, and I wake up with a small headache. It’s such a shame – the weather is so beautiful, I want to go outside and breathe deeply. I have a feeling that might not be such a good idea.

It looks like another beautiful day in the most beautiful month in Kuwait:

00tankersunrise

As for the title, if you look at the photo closely, near the horizon you can see all the oil tankers lining up to get into the . . . um. . . er. . . tanker place.

February 3, 2009 Posted by | ExPat Life, Health Issues, Kuwait, Living Conditions, sunrise series, Technical Issue, Weather | 5 Comments

Bright, Shiny Day

The clouds are gone, and it is looking like a beautiful day in Kuwait. With the schools out for winter break, the roads are even driveable! Wooo HOO, Kuwait, get out there and have yourselves a great day!

00brightshinyday

In the hard copy of yesterday’s Kuwait Times (unfortunately, not the electronic edition) there was a small article featuring a Kuwait meteorologist who said that due to the south (easterly?) winds prevailing at this time of year, we could expect rain frequently throughout February. We sure need it. Yesterday was such a treat, but to quote Jewaira we need “More! More!”

February 2, 2009 Posted by | Blogging, Blogroll, ExPat Life, Kuwait, sunrise series, Weather | 4 Comments

Stormy Weather

I heard a strange sound last night, and couldn’t figure out what it was. When I did – I laughed. How could a girl from the Pacific Northwest not know the sound of rain on the windows?

Here is what the “sunrise” looks like this morning:

00stormysunrise

It’s 61°F/16C early this Sunday morning, and the forecast is for light rain. We really need a good, soaking, heavy rain. Insh’allah.

February 1, 2009 Posted by | ExPat Life, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Weather | 4 Comments

Rainy Sunrise

00rainysunrise

Woooo HOOOOO, Kuwait! We have rain! We have rain! Not a heavy, Pacific Northwest kind of rain that will last the whole day – as you can see, the sun is even breaking through from time to time – but rain! Beautiful rain!

The roads will be slick today, my Kuwait friends. Be careful out there.

January 25, 2009 Posted by | ExPat Life, Kuwait, Living Conditions, sunrise series, Weather | 5 Comments