Virus and Blonde
There was a time, this is a true story, when we had a friend who was both very beautiful, blonde, and also kind of dumb. We were at dinner one night and she told us you could catch the flu or a cold from a computer. She had been in her aerobic class and had heard people talking about it. They’re called “computer viruses”, she told us.
Her husband quickly diverted the conversation into another direction and we knew he would be explaining things to her in their car on the way home.
Here is what I feel like today:
moar funny pictures
A big croaky frog.
I have not caught this virus from anyone, I have caught it from visiting Swair’s Blog, I swear! It came over me the same day as the dust storm.
Oh? What? It might have been the dust?
*blonde moment*
As It Snows . . .
Catching up with the news, I was looking at the Thursday Kuwait Times when I came across a photo. I am not going to print the photo in my blog, but if you want to look at it, or one like it, you can see it at Yahoo News, just click here on the blue type.
The photo of the execution, titled Iran hangs 13 on a single day is extraordinary enough. I don’t think we print those kind of photos in American newspapers. Maybe in the tabloids; these photos are considered disturbing. I know they disturb me. This one in the Kuwait Times has big white balls in it and the caption reads: QOM, Iran: Three Iranian drug traffickers hang limply from the nooses as it snows in a square in this central city yesterday.
I remember cutting out a similar one from a paper in Saudi Arabia when I lived there. It didn’t have a photo, but the article was about the Taliban hanging of a convicted man in the stadium in Kabul. It stated the man was wearing a blue sharwal khamis. There was no mention of why this man was hung, of what he was convicted.
The Yahoo version of the same hanging of 13 states: Three Iranian drug traffickers hang limply from the nooses after being executed in a square.
To me, the mention of snow falling as people are executed, of the executed man seems . . . maybe poetic? Maybe some way of softening the horror? I don’t know. It’s not something we would do. Bad news is left bare, without a lot of dressing it up. I would love to get your input on this. For me, it’s a different way of thinking.
Saturday, 5 January Sunrise
Clear horizon . . . . looking for snow clouds . . .
Scary – that’s not the horizon the sun is over, it’s the veil of (smog?) (pollution?) (fog?) that seems to hang over the Gulf perpetually.
Why all these sunrises? Well, for one thing, because I can, because when I wake up I usually can’t get back to sleep, I am AWAKE and ready to go. My best time of the day.
Bundle Up!
If you’ve been following the weather forecasts, this week to come is going to get very very COLD. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are going to be getting down to freezing, below freezing in remote desert areas.
It’s so humid . . . is it possible to have snow in Kuwait? Has it ever snowed here?
Wait Five Minutes
When I first looked out the window this morning, you couldn’t see a thing. Looking closely, you could see a tiny glow where the streetlights are, but nothing else. The fog had rolled in.
Five minutes later, you could see the shoreline.
Now, there is still a thick fog, but you can see through it.
I didn’t have any hope for a good sunrise this morning, but I was pleasantly surprised. I had a gleam of sunshine about 7:30:
Five minutes later:
And five minutes later:
And in my head, I hear the ineffable strains of Break Forth, Oh Beauteous Heavenly Light, which when I went to U-Tube, I found this wonderful version by the Florida Agricultural and Mining University, beautifully done with another appropriate hymn, Deo Gratias, or, as we say in Arabic, Thanks Be to God!
Sunrise 29 December 2007
It may look like just another sunrise to you, but I LOVE this sunrise! Look at that flash!
Sunrise 14 December
Every sunrise is different. This morning, the Gulf is glassy-smooth, there are thick clouds in the sky, so the sun can’t break through until it is already up, and the mood is entirely different from other mornings. Still no significant rain in Kuwait, but you can see a little hope as the clouds begin to thicken . . . maybe one day soon!
Band of Boats
It must depend on when the fish are running; there is a band of boats a few hundred yards off shore, the shuw’i , the old fashioned kind of fishing boats. Late in the afternoon, they are easier to see than in the morning, where the haze obscures them. Best of all, early in the morning, before the sun rises, they form a necklace of bobbing, flickering lights, and, for some reason, it makes me feel warm and secure to see them out there.
(Some things don’t have to be rational, they just are what they are.)
The description of the shuw’i at the Science Museum along the Corniche:
While the weather is so perfect for walking, and for being outdoors, visit the Science museum on the Corniche. The old boat exhibit outside is totally FREE, and a fabulous peek into Kuwait’s past, which, every morning and night, I am reminded, carries on to the future – the historic shuw’i are still in use, as are the larger jalboot.
Christmas Punch Update
AdventureMan awoke this morning with a cough and some sniffles. We are both awake early these days, which I love because I get to step out on my balcony while it is still dark and no one can see me, and watch the shoowi (old fashioned Gulf fishing boats) lights bobbing a couple hundred yards off the coast, sip my coffee, and shiver a little for a change, and then we get to watch the sun rise.
While I was on the balcony, the microwave was warming up a cup of Christmas Punch for AdventureMan. When he gets a tickle in his throat, there is nothing that makes him feel healthier than a cup of this punch to start the day.
The Christmas / Eid season is upon us! Make it for your friends, serve it hot – and then save the leftovers to be warmed up later. With the cranberry juice and the pineapple juice – it’s even good for you. 🙂
Christmas Rum Punch – and Rumless
2 32 oz. jars Cranberry Juice
1 32 oz. can Pineapple Juice (or 2 (1) litre containers of Fresh Pineapple juice from the Co-op or Sultan Center)
1 cup brown sugar (I often use a half cup)
12 inches cinnamon stick
3 Tablespoons whole cloves
1 orange peel
Original recipe: In 30 cup coffeemaker, put cranberry and pineapple juice in bottom, and place coffee basket with brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves and orange peel in top. Perk juices through basket. When ready light comes on, add 1 quart Meyer’s Dark Rum.
In Kuwait – don’t add the rum!
When you don’t have a 30 cup coffee pot – Put juices into large kettle, add cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange peel, sugar and bring to simmer. When hot, use strainer to fish out cinnamon sticks, cloves and orange peel – Do this sooner, rather than later, or the juice will get too spicy.
Add 1 quart of rum – or not! This is perfect for these chilly winter days, it’s good for you, and it gives your house a wonderful smell.
This is what it looks like if you use a pot, before you scoop out the spices and orange peel:
After scooping, you can transfer punch to a beautiful pitcher for pouring, or to a hot-drink container, or you can serve it using a ladle, straight out of the pot. To your good health and happy holidays! *raises a glass*
Recent Comments
intlxpatr on Shampoo Ginger tigerbutterya0c5ff1d… on Shampoo Ginger intlxpatr on British Soldier Kidnapped, Esc… John on British Soldier Kidnapped, Esc… intlxpatr on British Soldier Kidnapped, Esc… Wikipedia Donate Button
Amazina
Early Voting in Florida
Here There and Everywhere 