Pods & Tentacles

Those are date tree buds. I'm not sure of the real scientific term. But I saw these pods exploding at the tops of all the date trees in my yard. First, my wild imagination ran away with me and I was a little creeped out. Pod things growing from my trees & growing bigger than thought possible? Yikes.
If you'll look at the photo above, on the left hand side are those fin-like pod things. They were getting fatter & fatter this past week. Yes, I have nothing better to do with my time than stare at palm tree pods. When I was pulling into the driveway last week, I noticed that they had burst open! Those little tiny flowers will soon look like this.


The flowery parts mature, and most fall off, leaving fluttery little piles of petals at the base of the palm trees and the stems with the buds that will become dates! Then our groundskeepers come around and take care of the trees.

No, I don't usually have that vase sitting by the window. When I first pulled out my camera, the other dude (there are two up there) looked straight at me. I guess he could see the crazy white lady with a camera in her kitchen taking pictures of the poor hard-working schmucks in her yard. It took me another 20 minutes just to go back to the window and nonchalantly wash some glasses, pretend to wipe clean the vase and set it in the sun to dry. Then take a picture of it. I'm sure I looked very innocent & covert. But it was very cool, the maintenance they were doing on the trees. See the white parts at the top of the trunk? That's where the took their hook-like machetes and hacked off the dead, pointy parts of the bark. And they also did this.

Apparently you have to tie the tentacles together so that it produces an abundance of dates! I can't wait for my dates to grow in my very own backyard. Oh, and another reason I think the pods broke open, the weather. It has been quietly, but steadily, getting warmer. I don't mind putting a cardi on to go outside, I've loved the "winter" weather. (winter weather = 66F-72F average temp=happy Lydia) Now it is starting out at 66F at 9am and is 82F by afternoon. And the cars are heating up, too. Getting into the car after it's been parked all day and needing the AC so I don't suffocate is not something I expect in February. But hey, at least we've got the malls to go hang out in. Oh wait, those are down by the "unrest". 'Nuff said.

To-may-toe, to-mah-toe

You use an ice scraper . . .

I use a squeegee.

Welcome to my life.

(and no, it didn't rain last night)

Sandy, not the girl

It's not easy to get a good picture of a sandstorm. Usually, pictures don't do them justice and video sometimes doesn't even define the essence that is blowing sand. The picture below is the sun. At 2 pm. And yes, those are the street lights that are on. If this were Cairo, 'on' streetlights during daylight hours would not be something out of the ordinary. Here in Bahrain, the lights are all fancy-like with them new-fangled sensors that flick the light on at dusk & flick 'em off when the sun comes out.


This was a particularly mild one, lasting just the duration of the day. I like to be inside and pretend that it's a cloudy, overcast, thunderstorm-y day. And really, two out of three isn't bad! The aftermath of a sandstorm; little piles of sand by all the crevices in the house, isn't the greatest, either. I could do without them. But hey, what 'cha gonna do when you live in a sandbox?

Blame it on the rain

"The rain in Bahrain mainly clogs my drains."
~ Eliza Al-Hamd'olittle

Last night, I was running back to back loads of laundry. So that meant I was going in and out of the house all evening. When I dashed out for the last load, I noticed the stairs were wet. I thought the gardener had put a sprinkler too close to the house. Then I noticed the driveway was all wet, too. "Wow," I'm thinking, "He went all out and hosed down the driveway! I didn't know he'd do that for us!" I brushed past the suburban on my way through the garage & it was all dripping wet, too. I looked around inspecting little constants that don't change . . . unless . . . RAIN! I ran back inside the house to announce the news to Spencer. He didn't entirely believe me, but I don't blame him. He thought I was kidding.

This morning, the air was clean and a bit crisp. The humidity, ironically, seems to have been cut. Only a trace of the former thickness in the air. The horizon was piled high with clouds, backlit by the 6:30 am sun. The kids ran out to the bus & I ran back to bed. (I stayed up way too late last night) Jacqueline came in about 30 minutes later, gleefully announcing, "Mommy! It's raining and crashing!" I got up and saw that the raining & thunder had recommenced, just in time for Jacqui's school run.

Natives of Middle Eastern countries are notoriously afraid of puddles. I'm not kidding! If a garden hose overflows and floods the street in front, cars will avoid all wet surfaces and literally tiptoe their car around the pooling water. Now, part of me can't blame them for this paranoia; I've seen some potholes that would literally swallow a Vespa. But here, in Bahrain, they also seem to have an added neurosis of driving off of any paved surface. The road outside our compound has been under construction since we got here, and there are places where only one lane is paved, the other is smooth, dirt shoulder. They will *NOT* drive on it and if they do, will only proceed at a snail's pace until paved concrete is visible again. So combine the fear of driving through water & on dirt plus a country that has no water drainage system and you have a whole mess of problems.

The biggest problem? Half an hour after school started, the school called. There isn't any water at the school. Meaning no one can flush toilets or get drinks. Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. Another 'didja know' thing about rain in desert countries; everything is dirtier after the rain. Ironic, I know. But we go so long without rain, dirt and sand accumulate on every surface. And (usually) if it does "rain" it just spits for a few minutes from the sky and really doesn't wash anything. It moistens all surfaces enough to make, even leaves, muddy. This rain, however was very cleansing. My driveway is clear of all bougainvillea & plumeria blossoms and leaf accumulation. And the leaves are actually green.

See how the dirt all ran to the middle of the leaf on the left? And the leaves on the right, just dried mud.

Truly Outrageous

I have an announcement.
*clearing throat*
Today, the 14th of October, 2010 the temperature in Bahrain was 89F.
Oh, and humidity was only 48%.
It has been hovering between 98F & 105F for the last few weeks and 65-85% humidity. Before that, well, it was just hellish. There is not better description. You know when you open the dishwasher & stick your face in too soon? Glasses fog up. And you know when you open the oven & your face is too close? You feel blasted & your eyelashes may stick together a bit b/c your mascara melted? Combine those experiences & you know what it's like to walk outside when the heat index is 135F and humidity is at +80%.

For the first time in almost 8 weeks, I felt a cool breeze.
For the first time in 8 weeks, I *wanted* to be outside.
For the first time in 8 weeks, the air conditioning felt too cold.**
This afternoon, Grant said,
"Hey Mommy, It's not hot or cold, it's just (gesturing with open arms) this."
Yes, for the first time in 8 weeks,
I did not feel weighted down by just stepping outside.
It feels good.
It feels like freedom!

**speaking of being too cold: ironically, yesterday we had the power out from 4am to 10am & a busted central a/c. we camped out in our bedrooms by the wall units & made quick, furtive forays to get food from the kitchen. the a/c's compressor was shot. they fixed the central AC on this day, the day i turned it off. Oh, and 4 hours before this whole mess began, Spencer left on TDY for the rest of the month. Hoo-rah.

Oh, and don't forget, tomorrow is the Weekly State Department Roundup. I've only had two submissions so far. There's still time!

Welcome to Manama!

Wow. We are here. I don't know where to start. 'Hot' seems like too miniscule a word to describe the H-E-A-T. 'Heat,' is considered a four-letter word now in this house. Imagine your entire body wrapped in Saran Wrap and then being immersed in lava. I've never felt the sensation of being instantly wet; palms, arms, face, etc. upon walking out the door.

Here is the current weather update as I type this. (It is 5:30 pm)

Sunny

Temperature:

99°F

Feels Like: 125°

My thoughts are quite jumbled & disconnected right now. Thank you, jet lag. We are all doing better though, this will be our 5th night. Everyone slept through the night last night, so we are on track for readjustment. Though I fear Sunday morning will come all too early for the school-going members of the family. The bus arrives to pick them up at 6:50 am. Yipee. Thankfully the bus stop is right outside our house.

Oh yeah, house. Lovely Manama House. It is more than I could have imagined. I fear I may be in danger of actually having some empty storage shelves. I do have to go outside to do the laundry in a non-air conditioned room. And I seem to have a grouping of geckos that like my laundry room. As long as they keep staying out of my way, I'll be happy. I have noticed an absence of ants & cockroaches in the walkway to the laundry room.


And another one that likes to frequent the ceiling of Mairyn's room. I did not want to influence the children with my abhorrence to all things creepy crawly, so I told them geckos were good. They don't have any teeth, they're not poison, no claws & don't bite. They eat bugs we don't want in our house. And then that's when they named him, Hector Protector. (and just b/c he's a gecko, I kind of want to change the spelling to Hektor Protektor, but then I decided it looked a bit German in spelling, and that wouldn't make sense for a Bahraini gecko)

Whoo-boy, if you can't tell already, I am wiped. I will wrap this post up, but don't worry. Now that we have internet, I will be giving very frequent updates. We have a lot of things happening this next week; first day of school, first grocery shopping trip, etc. And of course, I'll have more pictures.

Easter Grass

Today, on the third of April 2010, that title is an oxymoron. Seeing as how we didn't have a flake of snow left on the ground as of Thursday, I am taken back a bit. There is no visible grass. It is all buried under the 4 inches of snow from the unexpected storm blowing through. Yes, blowing through because it's still falling. I listened to the wind whip around last night and this morning in my bed. I thought that we were just getting a lot of wind (as predicted). No, what met my eyes when I looked out the window was a shock. I wouldn't have been more surprised if the Easter bunny had brought me breakfast in bed.



A white out. Complete curtain of white and piles of snow. I was thinking about driving to Idaho Falls this afternoon, but forget that! IHOP is having this wonderful promotion in April; kids eat free every day from 4 to 10 pm. Yay. Though we'll probably only do it once or twice, it will be a fun diversion. Not today. I think the cabin fever will be hitting early on today. Not that I won't have my diversions. General Conference is this weekend, so the next two days will be split into two hour segments from 10am to 4pm. To quote Wikipedia, which sums subjects up much better than I can,

"General Conference is a semiannual world conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held in April and October, where members gather for five two-hour sessions to listen to instruction from Church leaders. General Conference is broadcast via satellite from the Conference Center at church headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah."

This year in the States for us is especially unique because we are able to listen in 'real time' and watch it on T.V.! We are usually able to listen to the stream on the internet and hear the morning sessions. Then we have to find time the next day to listen to the afternoon session that took place while we were sleeping. If anyone is interested, go here to --> Listen to General Conference <-- Happy Easter, everyone!



*I bought these tulips last Friday because they looked so spring-y. Little did I know I'd need a reminder of Spring in my kitchen.*

Night Sledding

I'm improving, I'm only a week behind on posting pictures about the current activities. We took advantage of the last wheezes of winter and spent a night up near the Tetons in a cabin with our good friends, The Whoolerys. There was an awesome "official" sledding hill nearby. "Offical" meaning there was a tow rope to take you to the top of this foothill. Sledding so fast your eyes water. Though the towrope was out of order, so we hiked to the top each time we wanted to sled down. But that provided worn out kids for us adults.

The next morning, we hit the hill again. I took more pictures than sledding this time. The night before, Jacqui & I got going a little too fast and overshot the end of the sled run. Jacqui was fine, my gluteus maximus and right shoulder took the impact. Whew, haven't done that in a long time! We had a great time enjoying our last winter for a long, long time.

Spring has sprung

For want of a better word, I am feeling: apathetic. I think it's the after-effects of a long, long winter. The cold & isolation have wrought their havoc on me. It's been keeping me from things I usually enjoy. Blogging, for instance, hasn't held the same luster it used to. And then I would see others blogging and wonder to myself why I couldn't do something so simple. Well, I'll save you the long, drawn out apologies and not leave you with anymore empty promises. It seems like 'promises' is all I have been posting about every time I come out from under the storm clouds. I'll post. I promise. Whoops, more promises.

The weather has been b-e-a-utiful this past week. I took the kids to the park on one of these days. It was almost 50F. Whoever thought that would feel downright balmy?

I think Mairyn's expression sums it up. Hooray for winter coming to an end!

Eliza was feeling the warm weather vibes, too.

Grant deep in 'Boy Heaven'; playing in the mud.
Jacqui was running around too much for me to catch a good picture.
She didn't want to waste any of this wonderful weather.
Just in case it was teasing us with empty promises.

Chillin'

Ok, I'll admit it. I'm no good at backtracking. Or blogging right now, for that matter. It all just seems to overwhelming and brain-power intensive. It doesn't prevent me from skipping around to my favorite blogs, though. Then I finish reading and go, "Oh, that was a simple way to put it. Why is it so tough for me?" Maybe it's writer's block or cabin fever or the mid-winter blahs.

We are freezing our hienies off here in Idaho. The high, (defined as the warmest measurable temperature for the day) reached 22F (-5C) yesterday. We are keeping warm inside, but that is the problem; we're inside. It looks nice and sunny outside, but then I step outside and every little hair freezes in my nostrils. But let's play the 'Glad Game'.

A) I'm not sweating in Cairo
B) I know I have a parking space when I go to the bank, grocery store or library.
C) We have a public library!
D) Any person I encounter in public speaks English.

The only downside? I can't argue with the grocer about the outrageous price of asparagus, strawberries or mangoes.



So I guess I have a lot to be glad about. The kids are finally warming up (hah!) to the idea of playing outside in the snow. They were little chickens, I tell you. Couldn't take more than 5 minutes outside before they came running for the door, pleading to be let in from the bitter cold. That was when it was only 40F (4C). Now they throw on their snow playing paraphernalia and spend all afternoon in the white drifts. We haven't had any new white stuff for about a week. Maybe we're on the tail end of all this. Probably not.

A shoveled driveway

Accomplished

And this is from Tuesday. It has since snowed another 4 inches. Lovely. I forgot how much of a workout it is to shovel snow. I don't think I've done this since I was 15 or 16. A show of noticeable progress. It's something to do outside; where I prefer to be. It's easy during any other season; mow the law, weed, plant something. But this is about all there is to do for a grown-up during the winter. Though there is a great sledding hill on the other side of town . . . hmmm.

W-w-winter is h-h-here

Like a swift kick in the pants, winter is here. Some may say that it's always cold in Rexburg, how is this any different? I'll tell you. Since September, we have had a roller coaster of weather. Frequent typical fall weather; need-your-coat cold in the morning and tying that same jacket around your waist in the glow of a pleasant afternoon sun.

We had snow a bit early, October 5th, I believe. The last week of September, I felt a chill creep in. The next week was the snow and we shivered for a month. Then, Oct. 14th, the day Spencer flew in, he must have brought the warm weather with him from Baghdad. It was still 'cold' for him, but mid 60s felt downright balmy to us! Beautiful fall weather prevailed again and the day before Spencer left, we were digging out the cold weather coats. Even the season was sad to see him go.

It was still moderate for the next week; but progressively sliding to the colder end of the spectrum. Last Thursday, it snowed in the evening, leaving us with about 3/4 of an inch on the ground. When the sun rose Friday morning, the snow did not melt with it. Off and on, all day, the gray cover of clouds sprinkled snow down on the town.

Saturday morning, a cloak of clouds still remained, spluttering flakes here and there. All in all, we only accumulated an inch, tops. By evening, the cloud cover blew out and the wind was howling. Oh, it's been a long time since I felt that bite. The wind so sharp it cuts through to the core. Though I have to say, I am LOVING my new winter coat. I don't feel the chill. I notice it when I'm lazy and just throw a hoodie on over my t-shirt and cardigan. Layers help, right? Wrong smartypants. There aren't many barriers that can keep Jack Frost at bay.

My marvelous mother & father in law took the kids on Saturday afternoon and I had some time to myself. When I went to pick them up that night, we stepped out onto the porch, and into the wind, to say goodbye. I looked at my father-in-law and stated, without a doubt,

"Winter is here. Isn't it?"

He nodded his head solemnly, "That it is, my dear. That it is."

And even though the clouds have been gone for 2 days, the high today was only 31F (0C). Chilly chilly, willy the penguin.

Brrrrr. . . .

What the . . . ?

I came out on my porch yesterday afternoon to this sight.

Our pseudo-see saw in the front yard. (wonderful thing. i bought it in Egypt for 25 LE or about $5. two kids can sit on each end and rock or one kid can sit in the middle and still have the same effect.) It's still wrapped up because I just extracted it from our garage and frankly, it's been a bit cold to play on outside and what with the ominous winter coming, I thought it would be better protected in yards and yards of plastic sheeting. But the fact that it was in the front yard as opposed to the back yard (where I had placed it) was the disconcerting matter. It wasn't hard to figure out who was the culprit. The wind. Rexburg is a windy place. If the temperature doesn't get you, the windchill does. Frequently, the weather on wunderground.com will say 43F but feels like 28F. Brrrr. I've lived in Alaska where the temperature can live at -50F. Negative fifty! But without any windchill. People hear it's my first winter in Rexburg and just grin, "Wait till winter comes!" they say smugly. What they don't know is that I've been married to an Idahoan for almost 11 years and I've experienced Rexburg winter. That and I lived in a northern climate from the age of 5 until 13. (North Dakota, Northern Minnesota, and Alaska) I'm still coasting on the thrill of having actual seasons right now; I relish the chill!




So . . . . . I wanted to post the video I took. I don't know why my video isn't working. Hmmmmm. That's a pain.

I thought it was behind me

Usually, people associate sandstorms with desert-y places; i.e. from whence we came. Egypt had some whoppers. Though Spencer has reported that there has been one in Baghdad that put the biggest whopper we ever saw in Cairo to shame.

In Cairo, the air would be even worse that usual. Visibility would be reduced to barely being able to see across the street. The air would be yellow and your mouth & other orifices filled with grit. Sand & dirt would sneak in through every available crack in the house; through the bathroom fan, under the doors, in windows, etc.



Today in Rexburg, I had a bit of dejavu. We had a little sandstorm. And I think some people in the neighborhood thought the end of the world was coming. The mommies were rounding up kids cowboy style in the streets; urgently pushing them indoors for fear of being blown away like Dorothy. Kids came running from far corners of the neighborhood covering their heads and screaming like banshees. Seriously. My kids, on the other hand, ran out to the porch and said, almost lovingly,

"Awww, it's a hamseen just like Cairo!"

(a hamseen is a sandstorm, but also used to describe the sandstorm season; about 50 days, hamseen)

Well, not really kids, but it's quite impressive for Rexburg, ID. We just like to keep things interesting here.



P.S.
I've added a new label: 'weather'. It occurred to me that we will be seeing a new variety of weather here; SEASONS!!! Leaves are already starting to fall, the mornings are crisp and afternoons lovely. Fall, come on in, I've been waiting for you!