All Wrapped Up

It takes me awhile to try some things here … especially time-consuming food projects that taste so good when my experienced neighbors prepare them.  In almost eight years here, I still hadn’t made waraq diwali, the delicious stuffed grape leaves so popular here in the Spring when the grapes are tiny buds and the leaves are big and tender.  These are often made over a couple of hours, sitting around a table with plenty of time to chat and roll the leaves.  The leaves, full of health benefits, become tender when you blanch them and flavored beautifully after a full 90 minutes of simmering with their fillings.  I like mine with lots of lemon.  This year, with grape arbors so near and multiple friends talking me through it, the boys and I made them.  They were delicious and worth the time I think, though I will still probably leave the making of them to my expert neighbors for the most part…

Rain in May

May is usually an odd set of weather factors here…dust blowing in sudden taupe storms and lingering in muggy air, sometimes falling in drops that become a puff of dust on impact.  But this May brought the most delicious rain many times over.  Visiting local friends, they joked that we were having  a Spring for the first time.  Because the confused weather still brought it’s dust, the air before the rain was fluorescent orange and filled with thunder and lightning.  The Spring also brought for us other blessings like a visit from dear Ryan and Kara, feasts with friends, and a memorable hike among the wildflowers on a visit to an island…

Gettin’ Educated

We’ve mentioned before that education takes some creativity here.  I think I am finding, at this point, that early frustrations can bear some beautiful fruit.  I am enjoying the education process so much right now, even though we have our share of mundane days over math and re-writing sentences yet again.  I feel thankful that education here also includes soccer with local friends, crafting with Bedouin friends in their tents, electives with our ex-pat community here, a parent-run preschool full of all the sweet preschool musts, nature walks, a co-op in the capital where we can learn things like Renaissance art and engineering, and even a chance to take climbing lessons!  It all keeps us on our toes but I can honestly say I love it in this season and am thankful for the chance to finally pay attention to Greek history this time around…

The Best of the Winter

Just sharing some highlights from our Winter here, which seemed to fly…making romance where we can, bona-fide Christmas musical experiences, an Advent calendar that includes pillow fights along with sacred readings, swinging during the olive harvest and sharing hot chocolate breaks, a much-appreciated visit from awesome Aunt Jenty, early experimentation with recycled felted wool (and snuggly boys to wrap in it), and continued joy of gathering in tents and learning from one another as friendships deepen.

Seven Year Old in the House!

Caleb turned 7 in late November and we celebrated with a camping-themed party complete with a hike through the olive trees, a “s’mores cake”, storytelling, hot dog roasting and even an origami tutorial by Caleb…

Caleb’s wholehearted nature still shows itself in love for family and friends, a cool relationship with his brother and an openness to new people and adventures.  This year, he has added a love for geography and history – he is teaching us new things all the time.  We love this awesome guy.

Two Months

As a family, we are finishing up two months in a hilly Druze village, sprucing up our language and homeschooling our boys.  Once again, we are drawn into the families around us, embraced at their lively tables filled with food and strong coffee, evening after evening sitting together over tea and pomegranates.  We are sent home with meals and herbs and extra treats for our boys.  We learn about their crafts and explore the places they hold dear…and never cease to be amazed by these open arms.

A grace-filled visit

My parents, the boys’ Omi and Opa, came to visit us during our studies.  We visited new places together, enjoyed the sunshine and the sea, spent time with our adopted families, and mostly just loved being together.  At the end of the visit, Omi slipped and broke her leg.  Somehow, in the midst of all the challenges that came with this, our time together felt more grace-filled than ever, just walking through it together.

Herbal

I love learning about what connects our neighbors here to their gardens, to the trees growing nearby, to age-old remedies and to their families and communities.  Aside from the love of olive oil, I find friends love to talk about herbs and to use them liberally.  Foraging seems to come naturally. Our neighbors might pluck some sage or mint from the garden to make me a delicious cup of tea.  They might nestle thyme into a pot of boiling water on the stove to make a sinus-cleaning steam treatment.  It all seems to come with life here.

I’ve had a chance to visit a bit with a kind couple who cultivates, imports and forages herbs.  They educate the community on their age-old uses.  I came home with a few samples after one visit, perfect for setting in just-boiled water for 5 minutes to steep before straining and taking as a tea…Moringa is actually from India but is considered a vitamin-filled cure-all, best combined with locally foraged Hawthorne, which aids circulation.  My friend threw in some Oshrock plant to settle the stomach and some Natali plan to keep the liver clean.  He added some Turmeric for it’s anti-inflammatory benefits.  He and his wife drink a cup of olive oil daily to keep their bodies healthy.  Forever I believe I will associate our adopted homeland with the smell of herbs, lemon and olive oil…

Summer Making and Summer Magic

When I think of childhood Summers for both Jeremy and I, I think of lots of making.  We both had moms that made us and our siblings “Summer knickers” or “Jams” for lots of messy playing.  Both of our moms made it possible to learn to make things and try new skills during the Summers between swims and popsicles.  Our Dads added some spontaneous magic (like my dad, who arrived home from work one day to jump in the pool fully clothed with us, just to delight us.  Jeremy made that happen this Summer too – just to pass on the magic).  We are both so grateful and I found myself incorporating those memories as we spent the Summer in our desert town, joining with friends who love the same things and enjoying making alongside neighbors.  My heart is full of memories and little creations pepper the house…

Four

Evan just turned four and, true to tradition, we visited his birthday-sharing twin friends.  We also had a party with a friend that included swimming and (by his adamant request despite all my sugar-filled suggestions) watermelon and strawberries as his cake.  Evan continues to be our subtle humor-filled delight.  This year, we’ve seen more love for art and ability to engage with others through creative expression.  Also, he has an ability to express needs and emotions so well with his words – we could all take a lesson!  We love you to bits Evan Bo Bo….

A Whole Month…

An overdue post…but we got to spend a whole precious month of Spring with beloved Grandma and Grandpa…

All That Kept Us Warm

The rain lingers, making for more green in this desert than we’ve seen in a long time.  So welcome! In so many ways, this Winter felt warm.  All that warmed us?  Keeping traditions…a visit from our beloved Uncle Ryan….enjoying familiar adventure spots and finding new ones…creating…games and books and science with other kids…a visit from dear Elisa…packages!…the piano late at night…always, always, remarkable hospitality…

Nuptuals

We’ve been to a few different weddings in our years here, each with a different feel.  Still, there is a general way that weddings are carried out here…

-Bride and Groom enter a big hall filled with women and children and loud Arabic music.  Guests are dressed in a range of clothes from full hijab to modern outfits.  The women in the bride’s family have usually spent the day at the salon getting decked out.

-The bride and groom dance and the groom gives the bride gold jewelry while the women look on and then later join them for dancing and greeting them as they sit on throne-like chairs.

-The bride and groom cut the cake with an ornate sword (at a recent wedding, the cake was lowered down out of a round hole in the ceiling of the wedding hall!)

-Meanwhile the men are grouped in another hall nearby, dancing and smoking and also eating cake.

– The women cover, including the bride who adds an ornate sleeve attachment and hood to her sleeveless dress.  Then, the men enter (first his family and then hers) to greet the bride and groom.

-In some weddings, a big co-ed dance party ensues with all ages holding hands and dancing the dabke….  We love this part!  The family might make a special effort to include us, the foreigners, in the center of the dance circle.

-The wedding party drives the bride and groom to their home in a loud, horn- honking procession, kids hanging out the windows and sun roof, waving and yelling.  Sometimes, a gun is shot into the air as the bride and groom are dropped off at their house.

Here are some photos of our outfits and the boys bogeying down…

Having Boys…

…is a wonderful excuse to use machines, make experiments, read lots of books, snuggle, and get outside to play.  You know, for them.

Pressed

One thing that has promoted Jeremy to “super dad” status beyond all question is the fact that he homeschools the boys on Wednesdays because he wants to.  While we didn’t help at all with the harvest this year (the local Bedouin workers who come do a wonderful job and have a long history here), we do love watching it all happen.  This year, the trees were especially productive and it may be due to limited water of all things.  Jeremy, on his super-Dad day, took the boys to the local olive press along with the olive harvesters to watch the pressing process and enjoy the “zayt u zaatar” (olive oil and herb mix) they love so much.  We do have a special love for this desert fruit and all we can do with it…

Six

How did six years pass since we met him?  I don’t know but he is still our full-throttle, inclusive and loyal Caleb.  He is full of observations and wonder, ideas and inventions, love for creation and those around him.  We celebrated him with an obstacle course for anything with wheels so that all his friends could join (including strollers and wheelchairs!) and ate pizza, finishing with an airplane cake.  His friends made a collective gift: a geoboard that he is loving.  Loved ones sent gifts from far away: beloved legos!  We’re so glad for each day we get to spend with you, Caleb.

Sliding back into the swing of things…

Our first month back: homeschooling learning curve that I find I am actually really liking, sweet moments with neighbors and a new family of friends, surprise harvest from our garden-gone-wild, and Jeremy’s daily stories that make me say “This life!  Just wow.”

A Poem for Spring

“The little cares that fretted me, I lost them yesterday, Among the fields above the sea, Among the winds at play, Among the lowing of the herds, The rustling of the trees, Among the singing of the birds, The humming of the bees.  The foolish cares of what might pass, I cast them all away, Among the clover scented grass, Among the new mown hay, Among the hushing of the corn, Where drowsy poppies nod, Where ill thoughts die and good are born, Out in the fields with God.” –  Louise Imogen Guiney