A drink of inspiration

I stopped at the supermarket yesterday and picked up some different kinds of herbal tea.  One of the herbal teas is verbena... it's supposed to be calming, which is perfect to drink while I sit in the new lounge chair. Oh, did I forget to mention that I bought myself a lounge chair for my front porch?

According to wikipedia verbena has some other useful aspects... "In the Modern Era, it is sometimes considered a powerful "ally" of poets and writers, as its relaxing effects can relieve writer's block." 

So look out... I might be inspired to post more often.

Two trees

I spent yesterday with family and friends - a picnic and a hike.The day started out dusty, but it rained a bit while we were hiking and the air cleared some. There hasn't been much rain this year and everything is really dry. I'm expecting a very hot and dusty summer. 

Finding some respite in my garden

I've been feeling depressed lately. Events in Libya (the French Embassy bombing among other things) are enough to make anyone here feel depressed, but the weather hasn't helped as we've had days of sandstorms and dust so bad that it even closed down the airport for a while. I had a busy week too, but I woke up this morning and decided to tackle the dusty house.... but first I had a look around my garden to see how things fared through the dusty, windy hot weather.

The morning glories are glorious as usual. Nothing seems to get them down! 

My succulents all seem to be thriving this year. Purslane seems to be growing in almost all of the potted plants. It's edible and many Libyans cook it in a tomato based sauce and eat it with bread or rice... it tastes similar to spinach. Nutrition facts about purslane: here

More cacti and purslane.

We've been trying to xeriscape as much as possible which means we are choosing plants that need as little irrigation as possible. So we've got quite a lot of cacti and succulents as well as plants that are native to the area (which most people think of as weeds!) We still need to water though. More about xeriscaping: here

Yep, this one is a weed, but it grows well and I love to put sprigs of the lacy flowerettes in flower arrangements. 

We found these growing wild and dug some up and planted them in the garden, since then we've been reseeding. My husband loves yellow flowers and quite a few of the plants and trees that we have are yellow. 

No garden in Libya is complete without mint and geranium to add as flavouring for tea. We've just started these in small bed in the side garden. We've also got some rosemary and sage. In the past I had loads of basil but this year I have none.

The honeysuckle vine that I got as a gift from OTE is finally starting to grow over the garden wall. 

More cacti in pots on the front steps.

The climbing roses are doing well, just a bit dusty.

Ahhhh... how nice! A walk around the garden always makes me feel better.... now to get down to work and attack the dusty house. 

A Milestone for Sara

So much to do this weekend, but the exciting thing was Sara's braces. She'll have the bottom ones put on at the next appointment. 

Things that make you go 'Hmmmm'

Libya lacks a lot of things, one of them is customer service which drives me crazy sometimes. I wrote a post once in 2006 about my shopping experiences: here. Nothing much has really changed since then. Maybe I should look at it as kind of a challenge - but there are days when I really don't feel up to the challenge. 

Two weeks ago when I was on my way to pick up my son from school I popped into a shop that sells lighting and electrical supplies to buy a few light-bulbs  While I was in there I saw the most exquisite lamp hanging behind the counter right next to the cash register. It was gorgeous - I was mesmerized! I asked the little old man that ran the shop how much it cost and he said 'We just got that. We haven't put a price on it yet'. This is something that happens quite often in Libya. The shopkeepers usually don't even bother to try to check the price for you either and I find it so annoying. I left the shop with my light-bulbs and decided it just wasn't my day for an impulse buy.

Yesterday I was running a little early and decided to stop in at the shop to see if the lamp was still there. Sure enough it was hanging right where I left it two weeks before with the same old man standing next to it. We exchanged greetings and then I asked him how much the lamp cost. 'We just got that. We haven't put a price on it yet' the man replied. I just looked at him in disbelief. I examined the look on his face to see if he was joking. Nothing! Blank! I stood there for a few moments waiting for him to do something... check the price in a catalog maybe, or call someone to check on the price.... but no - he did nothing. Finally, I said 'Asalamualaikum' and turned around and walked out of the shop. I decided that there was no point in discussing it with him. 

I'm still thinking about that lamp.... I'm so tempted to go back into that shop again and see if he says the same thing. ... am I feeling up to the challenge?... maybe... it's a fabulous lamp... I really want it.

Finally have some time to enjoy spring

I've been busy the past few weeks, but I am finally finding some time to settle down and enjoy my garden. The rose bush next to my front door is covered in huge blooms and the garden is full of daisies. 

One of the cacti in the front garden is in bloom too - it's covered with very odd looking flowers.

We've been having typical March weather this year - all four seasons in one day. I never know what to wear when I get up in the morning.  But overall, the weather is warming up and I'm predicting that we'll have a very hot summer here. So I'm going to go out and enjoy my garden while the weather is good and spring is here....

I need to get a swing for my front porch... 

One more year

Today's an anniversary for me.... I've been living in Libya for 24 years. In another year and it will be a quarter of a century!

.... that's a long time.