Dawn’s Early Glare
August heat has set in with a vengence. The temperatures are the same, but the humidity is rising, clothes are wilting, and bodies are glistening. Nights are cooler, thanks be to God.
This morning, there is one great glare of sunlight; no differentiation between sea and sky, just 180° of colorless glare:
Officially, the temperatures are dropping. Today, a big drop to 111° F, down from last week’s 118°F temps.
. . . And then there was light
There are times – not too often, but it happens – when I want to have a whole crowd of people in, and I regret not having a larger place. Every morning when I get up, the view takes my breath away. You would think it is the same old/same old, but every day is different. One day, the sea may be like glass, another day with white caps. One day the sky is crystal clear, the next, there may be a sandstorm, and I am surrounded by orange light. One day, we even saw dolphins lazily swimming by.
Our window on the world is a never ending thrill.
99.9% of the time, I am content – even more than content. This morning, circumstances once again conspired to have me up before sunrise. Wooo Hooooo! I can always take a nap later.
You might get tired of my sunrise photos, but I never get tired of taking them!
The still, quiet world just before dawn – wouldn’t you like to be out in these boats while the fish are biting?
And then . . . a miracle happens!
I think that band that gives the photo the darkness is actually a low lying cloud of pollution, but it makes for more dramatic photos. This is the actual photo. There is no retouching, resizing . . . It is the photo just as it appeared.
WeatherUnderground for Kuwait tells me the temperatures are dropping! Only 113° F. /45°C today! And dropping down to 82°F/28°C tonight! Feel the frost in the air! 😉
Any Exercise is Good
From BBC Health News comes a report on a study that shows that even mild exercise three days a week can help forestall the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle:
‘Even light exercise’ aids health
Even low levels of weekly exercise could help reduce blood pressure and improve fitness, scientists say.Experts say walking for half an hour, five days a week, is the minimum required to achieve health benefits.
But a Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health report from Northern Ireland found walking on just three days a week gave similar benefits.
The finding could encourage those with sedentary lifestyles to take up exercise gradually, the authors say.
This could be helpful as few people currently meet the minimum recommendations for exercise, with many saying they do not have enough time.
Read the rest of the article HERE.
I find it really hard to exercise in the heat of Kuwait. If you go out during the day, it is like living in an oven. And even hitting the pool is difficult when you are surrounded by oogling eyes. I have exercise equipment . . . and I don’t use it as often as I SHOULD. Aaarrgh.
But I love articles like this that get me moving, that give me hope that even though I am not as fit as I would like to be, any exercise is helpful. Bye! Off to the pool now!
Different Day, Same Sunrise
We didn’t have any luck with the Perseids last night – the sky was too hazy where we were. Did you see them?
I’m doing well with the jet lagging this time, except that I find myself wide awake around sunrise – and how bad can that be?
It was beautiful again this morning:
Welcome Kuwait Sunrise
Adventure Man looks at me like I am stark-raving-out-of-my-mind.
“It feels different,” I have just said. “I can feel winter coming.”
The temperatures the last couple days have been 118° F. (48° C) going down at night to 91° F (33° C), according to my friends at Weather Underground: Kuwait.
But the five weeks I have been away have made a difference, I can feel it. The sun is rising almost a full hour later. The clouds are different, early in the morning, and there are more of them. No, no, I am not breaking out my sweaters yet, but the shift of the seasons has already begun in Kuwait, and I am nearly dancing for joy. I love the six months of winter in Kuwait.
For some reason, I am not jet lagging so badly this time, or at least not yet. Sometimes it hits me hard a couple days after arriving, but so far, so good.
And look at the Titian sunrise that greeted me this morning:
Watch out, Kuwait. Intlxpatr is back!
Royal Treatment
It’s back to Purgatory for me – the start of two full days travelling to get back to Kuwait. The day dawns cool, but the clouds are high and the roads are dry.
Seattle is undergoing a major infrastructure upgrade, and most of the lanes on the major interstate close tomorrow. Public announcements are on all the radio and tv stations about finding alternate routes, and today was the last day all lanes would be open. I was afraid traffic would be heavy, so I started early, but it was surprisingly light.
Turned in the rental car, got checked in, everything is cool so far. Go to stand in the security line and – as usual – I get sent to the “Royal treatment” line.
I am so used to it that I don’t even groan any more. I have my computer, my little plastic bag with face cream, mascara, etc. all in one bag, and I have little footies to put on when I have to take off my shoes. I am SO prepared.
What I am not prepared for is for them to tell me in an angry voice to take the liquid out of my purse. I say – as all guilty people do – “I don’t have any liquid in my purse!”- and they throw my purse at me and tell me to go through it and take out the liquid, and they give me a small plastic bag.
I go through my purse again – it has a lot of zips and pockets – no liquid. I put a very humble look on my face and hand it to her and say “there is no liquid!” and they yell at me “she’s going to take it!” and they run it through again. And then I have to wait in a small booth (again) for the full bag hand inspection for explosives and for the pat down check.
Those who know me will know why this is so funny. I am not dangerous looking.
They pat me down. They magic wand me. They tell me I can put my shoes back on as they wipe down my handbag and my carry on. Guess what – no liquid. They stamp my ticket, but . . .no apologies, no nothing. Just “you can go now.”
I’ve had this happen for five years now, almost every trip. It doesn’t matter whether I pay cash in person or pay by credit card online – I get the royal treatment.
On top of that, my plane is seriously delayed. They are bringing in another plane to substitute for it. I hope I will make my Kuwait connection – and I really really hope I have time between flights for a shower. I’ve also lost my KLM card somewhere in all these changing flights and confused reservations and they are being stinky about believing me, even though my frequent flyer status is on my ticket, on my boarding passes and in the computer. More royal treatment.
Port Gamble
Port Gamble is always a great place to stop, stretch your legs a little, walk around the beautifully maintained old company town, snap a few photos . . . .and have some delicious locally made ice cream. (I had raspberry sherbet, sorry, it disappeared before I could photograph it for you.)
God blessed us with a gorgeous, cloud free day in the Pacific Northwest for my Mother’s birthday, and a great road trip, alhamd’allah!
(Yes, we can make a birthday spread out over a week or two in our family!)
Seattle Overcast
August in Seattle – while a day may dawn bright and sunny, the majority of days dawn with an overcast, even some rain, and slowly during the morning the clouds thin and dissipate. I found a wonderful photo on a forum like skyscraper city:
Isn’t that gorgeous? It’s from a website called City-Data.com. The photo above is by Pwright, and there are several more equally gorgeous photos you can look at by clicking the City Data site.
Cost Cutter
The store I was going to wasn’t open, and I knew we needed a couple groceries, so I headed across the parking lot to the Cost Cutter (yep, it’s raining):
As soon as I got inside, I knew this was not just any old grocery store. The cashiers, the manager and the butchers all looked Mexican! And when I got to the deli section, the specialities were things like Dulce de Leche, all packaged up for people who eat a LOT of dulce de leche:
To my delight, there was an aisle labled Middle East foods, with tabbouleh, canned hummus and muttabel, foul, and Lebanese olive oil:
And a huge aisle with East European foods (I am not sure what East European foods are!)
And, while most stores hide their beer selection in some dark corner of the store, Cost Cutter has a huge aisle down the center of the store, with all kinds of neon signage – it looks very festive:
Stores like Cost Cutter, that serve the large and varied population of immigrants are one of the reasons I love Seattle.
Long Sleeves in Seattle
The weather is back to Seattle’s normal for late July – early August – absolutely gorgeous. At sundown, we watch the light shift over the mountains and the sound, watch the cruise ships coming and going, watch the clouds change colors until they go that bright smokey fushia just before all color disappears. The sky does not actually become dark until after nine at night.
And it can be chilly! My first day here, I got to wear a little long sleeved hoodie I haven’t worn since February! It was overcast and rainy, and there was an occasional chill wind blowing . . . brrrr! I love it! Even though it can be cold, it isn’t really cold, just a tiny bit cold, just enough to make you move a little faster and get the blood going, and you will be warm enough. I love it.
The weather is shifting, and should be like spring in Kuwait – in the high 70’s, low 80’s Fahrenheit.
My Mom is looking great. We did a little shopping, had a great lunch . . . it has been a hard year for her, with my father’s death, and she is still recovering. Today she will have her hair trimmed up; she knows her birthday is coming and that will mean PHOTOS. My entire family is as camera-happy as I am, and an event like a birthday means a minimum five cameras. I am amazed at how good she looks!
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