The King is Back

So Saturday night Stitch was returned to his rightful place, and I don't know why I worried as he was so excited to see us, he was running on superhero juice, back and forth between the two of us, when we took him for a walk I swear he had a little spring in his step, I think our boy had a thoroughly good weekend away from home.

So this week apart from the gym I have done very little, although yesterday I had an episode with some eggs and an Egyptian brunch, and what a lovely brunch it was too, we all took something to add to the brunch, I made breakfast eggs, 6 eggs later and waiting for them to cool I managed to throw them on the floor, 6 more eggs and the last one into the bowl was bloody so they were thrown in the bin there is a lesson there somewhere, 6 more eggs and I decided to put these in little cases this time in the hope that I would not throw them on the floor as I was quickly running out of eggs, phew eggs were made and I threw my haggis T-towel over the top and walked quickly to the rec centre to meet the other ladies all without disaster thankfully. The trouble with the cases became noticeable when I took an egg and tried to peel it out of the case, tasty but awkward to retrieve. I think next time I wake up feeling groggy from lack of sleep I will just stay in bed regardless of where I am meant to be.....But the very best thing about nice Brunches are the ladies and their food, getting to know the different foods is great fun, yesterday I discovered some greens which look a little like large rocket leaves, I see all these things in the stores but never know what to do with them, the falafel dish was a tasty delight, golden brown on the outside and coriander green on the inside, the fava bean dishes were all tasty, and if I remember is known as Egyptian Fool.

Yesterday evening I decided to make a dessert I had been told about, now you have to understand my beloved will eat most anything, but if it has a slimy texture you can forget it, won't eat cooked spinach, but he eats it every time I make his favourite Chicken Khorai using it, he hates aubergine, but when I grill them to a crispy texture he eats them, so when after supper he decided to have a shower that was when I set about making him a chocolate mousse with another one of his least favourite ingredients, sometimes being married is just like having children, you gotta stay one step ahead.... so whilst my beloved was in the shower I took the ingredient mashed it up, added cocoa powder and honey to taste, threw in some home made almond granola and few blueberries and voila Chocolate mousse, I sat him down and whilst I was trying to keep a straight face as I know he hates AVOCADO he began to pick out the ingredients from the tastes, the last and most important ingredient stumped him completely, but as he said it was delicious... I let him in on the avocado and the first thing out of his mouth was 'I don't like avocado', I just said 'YES DEAR' and we continued to eat our lovely, tasty yummy dessert.

I will get lashed!!

I decided to take a trip to downtown and do a little exploring, I have been meaning to do it for a while and as the weather is only 30 degrees I thought I would take advantage of the cool streets!! 

So I took the compound bus to King Khaled Street checked the time of pick up and off I went, firstly I headed towards Suwaket Street, as I was looking for a specific spice and oil store which I never found did find mainly because I found so many other pretty things to look at. I found one store for Abayas and entered only to be met by a friendly gentleman whose demeanour helped with getting over my nerves of actually being out alone on the streets of Saudi, it's one thing being in a big old mall, but it's quite another walking around downtown on your own, I chatted and then I left the shop, he followed!! he turned around and invited me into his other shop which happened to be next door and had a bigger display of Abayas, again we chatted and then I left only to find he had a third shop again next door, and as I found out the higher up the street the higher the price, I found a very nice Abaya which wasn't see through, I asked him when it was going to snow as I was wilting inside the store with no air con and apparently it's winter so they leave the air con off...we chatted about modesty and fancy abayas he encouraged me to take the abaya I liked outside and see what it looked like in the sun, I pointed out that should I do this I would blind half the drivers and cause a massive pile up in the road with the reflection from the bling sewn into the neck we laughed and then it was time to say goodbye, but not before we had a giggle about the fact I will end up getting lashed as I keep  forgetting I'm not allowed to snog my beloved in the street.  Oh and one day I will find that spice store, just not this particular day as I ran out of time and had to leg it back to meet the bus.

So our hotel was booked for Bahrain we would be staying overnight in the Intercontinental on the Thursday and with family on the Friday, 'the greatest laid plans of mice and men', passports were still away getting the green light for Goa, no one informed us that the Indian embassy would be on a two day holiday!!! So we waited and waited, and just as we decided to change our weekend and everything was in place including the date changes our passports were flown down from Riyadh and back to our grubby little hands, Oh well nothing for it but to stay home and let the changes remain, well apart from one, our boy Stitch was booked out for a weekend sleepover with a work friend of my beloved's and because said friend was very excited to be taking him for the weekend we thought it rude to disappoint her and her family, so Thursday night my boy Stitch was collected with his sleepover bag of treats and poo bags and toys and headed off the compound for the weekend, he didn't even look back much to my dismay!

We had a lovely weekend, getting up late as no pup dog to let out, we headed to the gym, we did grocery shopping and then we spent a lovely evening with friends at Soul Kitchen a sushi/fusion restaurant on Pepsi Road, the food was wonderful and I enjoyed watching the plates as they were delivered, no pictures I'm afraid as I didn't like to as we were in company, but my Eastern Maza starter was delicious as was the maki/sashimi I shared with my beloved for a main course. But what I really enjoyed after the company and food of course was my favourite of all past times - people watching, the ladies in their Abayas the men some in traditional clothing some not, the screened areas where ladies and gentlemen sat where I presume the ladies were able to remove their face coverings as they can get pretty messy I would imagine whilst trying to eat a Tom Yum soup!!!! The children squirming as parents waited for tables to free up, and the waiting staff, who went about their business quietly and quickly making their way around a very busy restaurant with the poise of a ninja. 

Saturday was Al Rashid, and somehow we managed to go through three prayer times, and two rounds of coffee before leaving, still I have not figured out the layout of this Mall, it makes absolutely no sense to me at all, and I have a fantastic sense of direction - just not in Al Rashid Mall, there is definitely a ploy there to keep you locked in, because I know I haven't seen all the shops yet, but trying to figure out where the one's you have seen are after leaving them is an impossibility.....

Al Rashid Mall

The Labour of Love

Another week has passed and I still don't have my passport, I am keeping everything crossed we will get it back this week, especially as we have booked a weekend in Bahrain, just to get in some practice for when we meet the family in Goa, going into Goa without practice would be very bad for ones health.....

My Beloved had a work free weekend, well he didn't have to sit at his computer much, but the usual phone calls continued, it's quite funny when I get to listen to the whole conversation in the car, and a Saudi gentleman has to translate for an Indian gentleman so my gentleman can understand, it really is quite amusing.  

Stitch had a nice long walk out of the pound on Friday we took him and Dina the young girl from across the street out to the top of our road and gave them a walk around, Dina collected shells and Stitch chased his ball, the only trouble was the sand, there have been many storms over the last few days or so and that stuff just gets everywhere, even with contacts in my eyes were gritty, and don't even get me started with the hair, I much prefer my salt spritz to getting sand blasted thats for sure.

We had a lovely Valentines spent at home, we both cooked and I was on starter and sweet this year and my beloved was on the main course, so we had Gobi Manchurian for starter which was adapted for our Paleo eating, I halved the recipe as we were not wanting to eat to much, unfortunately I forgot to half the chillies and to say it was fiery would be an understatement, luckily we both love the spice, phew...... then my beloved prepared King Prawns with garlic and Beef Fillet with cabernet sauce with mushrooms, with a side of carrot Latkes, the dish was a delight and we decided to rest before dessert, oh and did I mention that we both dressed up for the occasion, my beloved wore his wedding suit and I wore an outfit I purchased in 2006 for a very special birthday evening in New York, we both looked rather spiffing if I say so myself, when we had rested a while it was time for dessert a sweet potato brownie with coconut cream and blueberries all in the shape of a heart, we decided to give ourselves 10/10 for effort this year, and now we have to really push the boat out next year, can't wait.

Stitch is banished from the kitchen, my beloved has decided he will no longer be fed in the kitchen as he is driving him round the twist, fridge opens there he is, turn around there he is, sniff, sniff, I blame my beloved who wholeheartedly denies the fact that this is actually his fault, so now our poor baby is banished from the kitchen forever, although I think it will take him a little while to get the hint........

 

Short Break

Why is it when things can go wrong they will go wrong, but really!! does it have to be the weekend, so my beloved spent most of Saturday working, after taking me to the mall, we made a few purchases then prayer time began, so we waited in a coffee shop for it to finish unfortunately the call came in (not the prayer call) and that was the end of the shopping expedition.  So we headed home and back to the works computer, myself I headed into the kitchen and played around with a Latke recipe I had found, and the result of my efforts was a dish that was beyond amazing, I swapped out the potato for carrot, and instead of frying I baked the dish in the oven, lets just say that those Latkes will be a regular in our house from now on.

Over the last week or so I have drank coffee, drank more coffee, and on occasions .... drank coffee, how very odd that life used to revolve around drink, and now it still revolves around drink just not the drunken kind.  When I first arrived in Saudi I had a terrible urge for alcohol, how very odd it was too, as when in Bahrain I really only had three/four nights I think out of the whole month, and those included Christmas and New Year but once I stepped on Saudi soil and someone else was dictating what I could and could not drink that was me, like an alcoholic in rehab, I had a need.... thankfully that passed and I'm back to thinking drink is the devil, well until Goa that is....

Our passports are once again out of our care, they are now in the care of the Indian embassy, hopefully getting visaed up and what it cost as a relative pointed out was actually about the price of a weekend away to Bahrain.

Stitch is getting quite the rascal just now, he knows when I sit down that he will not get on my lap unless invited, but my beloved well that is totally different, I'm not sure who I should be chastising first, the dog for presuming or my beloved for allowing his to presume, maybe I should just take a stick to both of them, a tickling stick obviously.

Currently I am making Chicken Biriyani for supper, a friend sent me the recipe (all Paleo too) so I decided to try it out, after a false start and asking the ladies on the compound for help as I had no garam masala, Saadia came to my rescue and gave me some from her tub and gave me some great tips on it's preparation too, and also told me where to get the best spices from in downtown Khobar.

I didn't realise until yesterday when having yet another coffee with friends how much of Dammam and Al Khobar I have seen, ok some of it just the malls and supermarkets and downtown, but when you have seen more than girls who have been here for at least a year thats when you know you get around, I can make a shopping trip into an excursion no bother, and it can be supermarket or clothes or even furniture, I like to browse, well I do it so well, really I only do it to give the dog a break, he gets sick of the sight of me......

I do, I do...

Mummies

Hooray, I am now resident with all the paperwork that entails, I can come and go as I choose, well at least for the next 6 months and then the multi entry visa will need a refresh..

What this actually means is I can now go to Bahrain and get a face like a rat should I so choose, mmm I could be getting that face very soon.

So the next thing we need to do is organise visa's for Goa, this too is a little tricky, we really must go to countries that do not require hoops to be jumped for entry purposes, we were considering Vietnam and Cambodia next year but I have yet to look at the visa requirements for those beauts.

My beloved and I have been walking the hound around the pound, the compound that is, and whilst out the other evening my beloved reminded Stitch that Mummies are not just for Christmas, Stitch just nodded and continued on his way, that dog knows which side his liver is buttered. Speaking of liver I have been experimenting with dog treats, our friend bought doggie treats in recently but they will not last long and we seem to be having trouble finding any in KSA, so I have been baking liver treats, and Stitch approves, every time the fridge is opened and then closed there he is sitting behind the door on the floor expectantly with his puppy dog eyes, my beloved gives in every time....

So far this week I have been shopping in the Mall, shopping Downtown and obviously supermarket shopping, there seems to be a theme here, I have also done coffee with the girls one of whom is from the UK and her husband used to work with Garry's uncle whom I stayed with over Christmas, have you noticed how small the world is becoming, you will always find someone with a connection to your life, we are after all just the same as our neighbours, separated sometimes by fences, often by walls, and occasionally by countries, but we are neighbours just the same.

Here's an old neighbour from my childhood whom I met
up with last year in Cyprus

Coffee, Dinner, and BBQ

So it has been a busy old week for me, less so for my beloved, well apart from the work side of things which appears to get busier with every trip of the sun.  

Thursday Morning was coffee morning with the Ladies from the compound, we each provided something tasty to eat, I personally made Brownies from a new recipe I was testing, all Paleo except the chocolate chips because I couldn't get he appropriate chips, but let me tell you they were the simplest things I have ever made and oh so delicious, in fact they were a 10/10 from my beloved as I had to save him some for when he came home, personally I don't think he is putting out enough if he can eat chocolate brownies before going to the gym........

I tasted so many nice things at the coffee morning that I was left with a real sugar rush headache for the rest of the afternoon, but it was good at the time.  I met lots of nice ladies and babies, oh I do love babies, and we have now another date pencilled into our diaries for February which is a birthday/valentine coffee morning.

So for my evening entertainment I was invited to a Ladies evening at another compound in the area, Haliburton Wives group laid on a lovely Arabic evening there was a disco and raffles and lots more food for me to taste, I avoided the sugar this time even though every dish looked like if you went face down in it you would arrive in heaven instantly.

Although I purchased raffle tickets the closest I got to winning was sitting next to a lovely lady with a winning ticket, never been good with raffles. No photos were allowed to be taken other than in the designated photo area as some of the ladies were Muslim and because this was a Ladies only evening they removed their outer layers kept on for modesty purposes, even the catering was undertaken by ladies, this allowed complete freedom for the Muslim ladies for their evening of entertainment, thus the no photography rule.  The dresses worn by the ladies were beautiful, it was so nice to see so many dresses, trousers were for once in the minority, the bling was out and the heels were on, myself I kept the flats on, the foot is still a little dodgy after tying myself up with the bedspread so no dainty shoes for this clod hopper. I people watched, I danced, I met some lovely girls, from all corners of the world, we chatted about children, and husbands, countries and customs, I had a lovely evening, and not a drop of alcohol touched my lips.

Friday was gym time again, and then it was a quick shop and a bake as I was again making the Brownies, this time they were for a BBQ at yet another compound, when we eventually arrived after getting lost due to road works, it wasn't so much being lost as being unable to get where we were going, we were introduced and proceeded to eat our way through a mountain of food, there was homemade bread, and sides, there was salads and obviously the meat cooked beautifully on the BBQ by an Aussie, well if an Aussie can't get the meat right no one can, then there was cake, Sari our host had a birthday and after the birthday song was finished the cake was cut, oh me, I have never had boiling icing before and it was so tasty, and light which was quite unexpected, I wonder if I can make that into a paleo dish???

Stitch got a longer walk over the weekend but I have to say with him chasing his ball at crazy quick speed he tires very quickly in the 30' heat we are experiencing just now, I think by summer he will sticking his paws up and saying ' you go and tell me how it was'.....