Yummy, yummy

We were driving through this regular neighborhood when we came across this livestock yard with chickens and sheep available for fresh slaughter. They also had a few camels and a monkey in a cage? I am afraid to ask. Evelyn asked if we could go rescue the sad monkey but Roger nipped that in the bud by telling her how vicious monkeys really are.

This is the Spiderman! A sandwich with tuna, a chicken patty and either fish sticks or nuggets (couldn't really tell) with a sweet relish, ketchup and mayo mix and cucumbers that was totally unique. We ordered it on name alone!

Sunset

I snapped this at sunset in Hidd, also on the island across from Manama. Last night the moon was an upside down crescent that looked exactly like the Cheshire cat's smile left in the sky. It was beautiful!

Arad Fort

It was a beautiful clear day, so we went to the Arad Fort yesterday. Gotta love short sleeves in December!

In this photo, Edward has his Spiderman sunglasses in hand. Seconds later, they were gone without a trace! We looked everywhere. Evelyn and I were Scooby-sluths, looking for 20 minutes, but had to conclude that Roger's suggestion that the ghost of the Arad Fort must have taken them. (Either that or Edward burried them in the sand or threw them down the well when somehow we didn't notice- but that seems unlikely since we were holding hands the whole time.)

 I love this picture of Roger helping Edward up the stairs!

Arad is actually on the other main island- with Muharraq (the old capital city) and the airport. They are connected with three bridges. Here is looking across the ocean to the Manama's skyscraper skyline.

Merry Christmas!

More handicrafts

We were thinking we could buy a nice soviener handicraft for Christmas, but we can't decide and don't know what is really a good price. I think we pay American person premiums if you know what I mean. I can't bargin to save my life. Looking around we saw this beautiful rocking camel Edward fell in love with. I like these old Bahraini windows. And this brass lunar calendar is really neat- but heavy and impractical. Maybe next Christmas- we still need to really shop around!

Winter Wonderland

We went to the City Center Mall in Manama with friends to bowl and hit up McDonalds when we ran into this Winter Wonderland set up. So much fun! All the kids had been begging to bowl for forever, but were all done after just a few turns! With my two for one coupons and their short attention spans- it was a cheap date. And McDonalds ice cream is only $.25 here- finally something cheaper than in the States! It was really fun to spend time with friends and do what Evelyn calls "a FUN family activity." But I overreached and tried to run into the grocery store at the mall really fast at the end of the trip for some sugar. I'm sure any mom can imagine how that ended. But points for me for trying to be the fun mom!

On the Causeway

We went to the halfway point on the Causeway between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. There we got to go up the Bahrain view tower- there is a Saudi one too- on the island that is between the two countries. It was too hazy to see Saudi, but it was really liberating to be able to drive off the island for a bit. We went with some friends of ours. It is so nice having great friends in Bahrain.

Roger is trying to get a travel visa to go through Saudi to visit friends of ours in Qatar. He was going to go with a friend from work, but the friend is Canadian and so his visa is having a harder time going through. I guess the Canadian government made some Middle Eastern airlines mad- so there is kind of a hassle for Canadians with their visas since then. Roger isn't sure about going solo. It isn't the most warm and welcome tourist destination after all.

black flags

So in Bahrain, if you are driving and come to a neighborhood covered in black flags you know that trouble is brewing and that it would be best to probably leave that area. We were on the lookout for black flags, but never saw any, even in the unrestful neighborhood our house cleaner used to live. We thought maybe we didn't know what to look for, but Roger found them finally and took me to see them- they are pretty unmistakable! They line the roads- field flags, flags on poles and businesses, black bunting, black banners.

National Day!

December 16 was Bahrain National Day. This year was the island's 40th year of independence. To celebrate, people wore Bahraini traditional dress or flag-themed dress and drove around in cars waving flags especially near the clock tower round-about- near the Riffa Palace. All the trees were decked out like Bahraini flags- red and white- makes it seem a lot like Christmas! (Although I am told the lights come down promptly on the 24th!) Everyone was honking, hanging out windows and sunroofs, with their cars decorated with flags, pictures of the royal family and tinsel. Families and friends, including us, would park on the side of the road and take photos by the lit trees. That picture of Roger and the kids is taken with a photo of the crown prince. The king's photo was a lot more crowded! Everyone had mad national spirit! It was really fun to be part of it. The Bahrain flag has a white serrated edge with five points on a red ground. The five white points represent the five pillars of Islam which are shahada (there is no God but God and Muhammad is His messenger), salat (daily prayers), sawm (fasting during Ramadan), zakat (giving alms), and hajj (a pilgrimage to Mecca). Red is a traditional color for the Arab gulf countries. Qatar has a very similar flag.

My beautiful boy

I snapped this on the porch the other day. Edward is so full of personality lately. He says "Emm-Inn" for Evelyn. He loves swinging- he just chills out while you are pushing him. He could do it for hours and hours. He loves eating pizza and noodles. He loves opening his advent calendar in the morning and getting "chalk-it" He adores the plush snowman wreath we have hanging on our door and always wants to play with it. He insists on wearing his "sweater" every day- one of his two sweatshirts. He is now starting to sing and dance to his favorite songs. Captain Feathersword on the Wiggles can scare him, as can Diesel on Thomas and the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. He is also suddenly scared of sleeping alone in his room, so good thing Evelyn already moved in there, but goodbye naps. He is still snuggly once in a while- he loves to cuddle in my bed and read books. He loves going to school to see daddy and pick up Evelyn. He loves to play "break it" with her legos- his name not mine- where he takes her creations apart. He likes to get her Ken doll and beat him up making all kinds of sound effects. He knows how to switch the computer off and will come hit the power button when he wants attention. He loves to water my garden and himself. It is a bit harsh on the squash seedlings- afraid they didn't make it! He took my car keys the other day to start up his Little Tykes car. He loves stickers and to color. Roger and I got asked to me in a Nativity as Joseph and Mary and Edward came up- jealous of my fake wrapped cloth baby. So I tossed it to Roger to cuddle my own small miracle- until he was lured away with a candy cane so he wouldn't spoil the effect any more! It was the highlight of that Christmas party! He loves his trains, cars and play kitchen. He is helpful- singing "clean up, clean up" to pick up the toys and putting extra shopping in my cart at the grocery store. While I am fixing dinner- he squirms in between me and the stovetop- using his massive head to push me away from fixing the dinner because he wants held. When Evelyn is busy with her homework, he wants to scribble along. He is a cutie. And I am so glad he is mine.

Driving pictures

I snapped these while Roger was driving. They are typical of driving around here- narrow streets trying to squeeze between parked and double parked cars while not hitting the guy on the bike talking on his cell phone or the pedestrians dashing out in front of you. The last one is the palm trees near our house decked out in lights for National Day. The Bahrain flag is red and white- like the pattern of the lights on the trunk. The nice thing is it really makes it feel like Christmas around here! National Day is Dec. 24th I think. Perfect timing!

More down by the bay

We went back to Arad bay and I took more photos. It was such a nice day!

Shaikh Isa Bin Ali House

Today we visited the Shaikh Isa Bin Ali house in Muharraq. It was build around 1800 and is a good example of the grand homes of the time. I loved all the carved gypsum and hand carving and arches and stained glass, but one of the most unique things was the wind tower that funneled breezes down to cool the house no matter which way the wind was blowing. It was a lot cooler underneath it. The house had three different sections, each with its own courtyard and well. The family section was the biggest. In the middle was the kitchens and servants quarters, and then the guest rooms. The rooms with no windows were for winter, the rooms with windows were for summer. It was really interesting. And it was a dollar for our family to tour it. Crazy how cheap cultural stuff is here.

A Library!

I joined a library! I was overjoyed to find it. It is in the nearby Awali development, which was built in the 1960s? to house British oil workers. It still houses Bapco employees, which is the Bahrain Petrol Company and sub contractors. We have American friends that live there and the husband is with Chevron. Anyway- the whole development is very faded colonial glory. It has a library and most of the books are from that era. It smells like moldering old books. There are copies of old Awali magazines from the 1960s when it was the height of society on the island and a scrapbook of Queen Elizabeth's visit to Awali in 1979. Ah the glory of old.
It cost me $11 BD or $30 US to join for 6 months. With this money, they buy ten new books a month, so I was happy to pay it. I get three books and two magazines a time, checked out for two weeks. They have cards, not barcodes and are stamped with the due date. They have a card catalog! Almost all of the authors they stock are British, so I am picking up all kinds of new things- like zucchinis are courgettes, etc. Roger is a bit worried I will get the whole library read through soon, but I am pacing myself.

The Gingerbread library is for the kids. It was $5 BD for both kids to join, like $13.30. They also get three books each. Edward is so happy they have a smattering of Thomas the Tank Engine. What more could our family want?

Park photos

This is the nicest park on the island, Arad Bay. It is right next to the airport and around a bay. It is really pretty- the pictures don't do it justice.

Characters at the mall

The Seef Mall had this Toon Town Character weekend. I was curious so we went. They had Dora, Spongebob, Spiderman, Pooh, Belle, Snow White, Barney, Laa-Laa the yellow Teletubby, and this weird cartoon lady with a yellow face covering- from a cartoon from the UAE called the Freej grannies? Here is her animated:

Edward liked the characters, but was a little unsure- he was trying to figure them out- are they real? We got to share an elevator with Spongebob, so Evelyn was pretty happy even though "Princesses are a tiny bit babyish." Oh, it makes me so sad to hear that, my big eight year old!