Q8 coming to an End

A beautiful sunrise and as you can see the sun has moved farther over every day as I have taken the pictures. Most mornings I can not see it until it is over the building as the dust or clouds are thick.

As you walk into Michael's Villa this is what you see. His 2 couches and to the left is the little dining room set we bought while I was here. I made 2 quilts for the backs of his couches and I think they look really nice.

After you get in and look to your left this is what you see his long hallway and at the end of it is Ashleigh's bathroom.

To the left of the top photo is his Kitchen. It is very compact but efficient.

Then as you go down the hall the first door on your right will be the spare/junk room. It has a brightly painted wall.

The next door you will come to is the TV room which for now has been Ashleigh's bedroom. It has the patio door which goes out onto his nice big balcony. It is a bit messy but only because of it belonging to Ash right now. I am sure as soon as we leave it will go back to being his Wii workout room. Yes we are leaving the Wii over here for him. I will get me one at a future date.

The picture above is the master bedroom which has a bathroom of its own. We also have a nice big balcony but why sit on it as you can not see anything but the steel walls they put up. It is a nice big balcony but is useless as it just gets to hot with no breeze.

A cat trying to stay cool in this heat. Found a cool water spot and laid there for a long time.

One of my last sunsets over Egaila. Oh how I will miss them.

Well my days are slowly coming to an end. Michael has been working 12 hour days for this last week and it has sort of pissed me off, but it is his job. He did not get home tonight until after 7 and left before 6 to go to work. He needed to go to another base so Greg and him could get base passes for his car. Thursday is his last day of work for the week so we will have all day Friday & Saturday to do fun things. We will probably go to see a movie as "The Mummy" finally got here this week. So tomorrow will be movie & dinner. We will probably go into Avenues to see it. This evening after Michael finally got home he and Ash went to KFC to get some dinner. The chicken was good.
Let's learn a few Arabic terms:
God knows best---Allah alim
God Willing---Insha'allah
God's Will---Masha'allah
Goodbye(Go in Peace)---Ma'assalama
Good Afternoon/Evening---Masa alkhair
Good Morning---Sabah alkhair
Good night---Leila sa'eeda
Happy Birthday---Eid Milad Sa'eed
Have a safe journey---Bissalama
How are you? (m)Kaif halak, (f)Kaif halik
I am fine.---Ana bekhair
Peace be upon you---Assalamu alaikum
Thank you---Shukran
Welcome---Ahlan wa sahlan

So there you have a few little things to learn. I am going to try to learn more terms before I come over again so I am going to practice and maybe I will teach Alyssa a few. More things tomorrow.
Well to all my girls & Barb I love and miss you all and I will see you in 3 days.

Q8 is a wonderful place

sunrise

sunset

The bottom 2 photos are of the milk that Michael buys it is really neat as it does not have to be refrigerated until you open it and it does taste really good.

With only 3 days left in my stay I would like to say that this has been a wonderful trip and can not wait to come back. I have enjoyed all the sights of this beautiful city. I thought the "Water Clock" at Sharqsouk was beautiful and to hear the Iraqis almost destroyed it with a missile is sad. There are many wonderful things here and some sad. To see the buildings that were bombed by Iraq and to know fearless young men fought and died to keep their country free is sad. The Water Towers and Liberation Tower are beautiful at night all lit up..
Michael worked again until after 7 so we ate a very late meal. We had meatball subs and they were very good. I am looking forward to going home to see my 4 girls and see how much Alyssa has changed. I am sure she has grown up a lot and changed in her looks. Michael made his flight arrangements for coming home for my dads funeral. I checked today and they had only 2 seats left so I texted him to get on the ball or he would not get a flight home when he wanted. I do not mind flying it is just when I am not familiar with my surroundings and do not know what to do. I have to go thru Customs in Dulles. So that will be a new experience for me to do by myself with a 12 year old. Yeah fun.

So What Is New In Your World

Sunrise

sunset

Michael brought me home a copy of the Arab Times this evening. He got it from a guy at work since I know nothing of what is going on in the world. Which is sort of nice. I have enjoyed my no TV while over here. Back to the Arab Times well the headline of this paper was" KD 40 minimum wage set for State-contract firms" now on the face of it that sounds great by US minimum wage terms. But this is KD40($150.40 US) for the whole month and this is what they have to live on. Granted all there expenses are taken care of like health care, housing, transport & meals. Before this ruling the employers were deducting all of this and some were only left with about KD8($30) and that is to do with what they may. I just do not know how they do it on such a little amount of money. A taxi anywhere in the city if you want to do something after work is at least KD3. So we in the United States have really nothing to complain about. I am sure they wished they made KD1.75 an hour.
Oh well I have but 4 days left here in the great country of Kuwait. My husband has been working very long hours and I have not seen much of him this last week. To my girls and Barb I love and miss you all and will see you soon.

count down to going home 5 days

Sunrise this Morning. A little orange due to the dust in the air.

Ash is getting a new tooth and wanted me to tell everyone . So here it is her new tooth that is coming in. I am hoping it will close the gap between her 2 front teeth but we will see.

My days have been a little lonely this last week as Michael has been working late but he does not go in until 7. So I do get to spend a little more time with him in the morning. Ashleigh does not get up until after 2 in the afternoon so I am mostly alone per say. Which I really do not mind as it gives me some nice quiet time to do my writing, crafts and other stuff around the house. I am sad about leaving my hubby over here by himself again as I worry something could happen and no one would know. But, my youngest daughter informed me when I told her this that her dad knew that when he took the job. Well yes he did but I did not realize how lonely it would be for him over here.
I am all packed except for a few things I need to wear this week-end and then my flying home clothes. We are going to see Mummies this week-end then go out to dinner and just have a good time together. I am still hoping that Ash will come back with me next year and do this again. But, I do not know. I am coming over no matter what. I do like it over here and it is nice to be with my husband. He is happy and likes the job he has so what else could a wife ask for.
Well I have but 5 days left of my holiday with my hubby and we had a very nice dinner tonight when he came home. I made chicken, baked potato, peas and sweet white corn in butter sauce. It was really good if I must say so. The easy bake oven he has a big learning curve on it and I am learning. So when I come back I can cook us little romantic dinners for just the 2 of us.
So Ma'assalama(Good-bye-Go in Peace) until tomorrow. Stay safe and love from here in Q8.

6 more days in Q8

Sunrise

Sunset

Well my days in this wonderful country are slowly coming to an end. It has been nice a little bumpy at the beginning with no car. But, once Michael got that drivers license we had fun and got to see the town. Kuwait City is very nice and has a lot to do as far as sights to see but, the farther out you get the less there is. Egaila is a new part of Kuwait so there is not much to do and not any food places as of yet. Fintas which is right across the Highway has a few places to eat. But I am sure in the future this will be a very happening place to live. Michael likes it here as it is very quiet except for the road out front. Michael can not here the road noise at night as his bedroom is in the back of the Villa. There are so many thing about this house that if I ever won the lotto or maybe just enough to do a big redo on my house I would do some of the things they do over here. I love that all the rooms with water are all tiled with a drain in the floor. That way if your plumbing bursts you will not ruin the whole house. Although these house are all concrete and that keeps them cooler the windows could be a little better quality. They whistle and leak really bad. During a sandstorm you can not keep the sand out of your house no matter how hard you try. I love the fact that most of the homes have wrap around balconies and that is really nice. It is a nice place to go and sit and watch the world go by.
Well to my girls at home I will be there soon and then we need to get ready for your dad coming home and the funeral. This month will be sad but we will get thru it. I love you all and miss you so take care and see you in 6 days. To Barb I do hope you got my e-mail and I am so sorry I am slow about that. I am trying to be good but please know I think about you everyday and I love you and miss you.

My last week in Q8

this is Wesley and he is the dog that lives downstairs. When I first saw him he looked so much like Molly that I did a double take. The coloring is a little different but the curly tail, the fur, and the look is Molly. He barks and cries when the guy downstairs leaves in the morning.

Looks like damage from the war it is in an area across from us that looks like it once had a thriving neighborhood and now only a few bombed out looking houses remain. It has places where roads went in and street lights and this is why we think at one time it was a thriving neighborhood.

Look at the photo above and below and notice the house has an architectural feature that is in the photo above. I guess someone must like the water towers but then again maybe they are the houses water holders.

This is just a little part of "The Avenues Mall" and I mean little. This mall is huge and still growing. You could have a concert in here and have plenty of room.

An artists rendition of the Fintas Center which is being built not far from Michael. It will have shopping, Cinema, & apartments. It should be nice when finished.

A house I love that is not far from ours in Egaila.

Well as of right now I have a week left of my time in Kuwait. I have learned so much while over here. I know if I ever lived over here I would not drive at all. The people over here and that is all of them Kuwait and ex-pat's do not follow any kind of driving law. A stop sign is yield but do not stop and when it says give way just keep going . I have seen people who have very little space between the cars pass. They pass on the sidewalks, on the right even if there is no right and they just drive way to fast. I make Michael a nervous wreck in the car. They do not look when they change lanes and I have lost count as to how many times we have almost been sideswiped. Turn signals I do not think they know what they are. This country is a wonderful place and on the radio station I listen to they plead with people to drive like every one on the road is a relative you would not want to lose. It is against the law to talk on a cell phone you are suppose to use hand free but out of 10 cars on roadway 8 are talking on their cell phones. Children over here are not put in safety seats and you see them standing in the cars and hanging out the windows. It is us 20 years ago.
I also have tried very hard to keep me covered while over here. The long pants get very hot but I do not like to be stared at. I do not have to cover up I just feel that since it is part of there culture I will try to be as covered as I can. I should have my hair covered when the sand is blowing as it would probably save my hair. In the 122 degree heat it is hard to be covered all the way but I do try. We usually try not to go out until after 3 when the hottest part of the day is over. I do love it over here and I wish I could come over and live with Michael but I have responsibilities at home. Michael understands this and me coming over for a few months every so often should do just fine as he will be home in between those times.
This country is a beautiful place. So many beautiful areas with trees and flowers even in this heat. The only thing that detracts from this is the amount of trash in this country. I can not believe they can not see how beautiful this country would be if the trash would just be picked up. The beaches are dirty and they smell. I do not know how anyone goes into the water. I will never complain about the beaches back home ever. They are kept so clean and you are not afraid to go into the water. Every one on the planet needs to see the movie Wall-E because if we do not get a handle on our trash that is what is going to happen to all of us. The planet needs to change. We need to start worrying about this place we call earth and begin to take better care of it before it is all gone.

Countdown to home

The first three photos in this blog are of a bead artwork that Ash did and I think it turned out rather well she has the eye. I am hoping she will keep up her love of crafting as it is what I love to do. The next photo is of Liberation Tower at night in a moving car with no flash. The colors are nice. So as for those facts I think it turned out rather well. Photo #3 is of the Water Towers.

Ashleigh in front of the Water Towers at night. They are beautiful daytime or nighttime. This place is really jumping at night. People stay in during the day and after dark Kuwait comes alive.

Me under the Water Towers at night.

Another shot of the towers and you can see the center tower in this one.

The pigeons wanted to take a walk so down the center of the road they went. A little dangerous in this neighborhood as they drive way to fast.

This last photo on my blog is of my dad, Uncle Harry(dads brother) and Me. I had it my stuff as it is one of the pictures I love of my dad and I. I was shocked to look on the back and the photo was taken on 07/08/2001 which was a year before his surgery and stroke but it was 7 years to the day he died. If we had only known that July day what the future was to hold would we have changed anything. I think not. I loved the relationship I had with my dad my whole life. He was not perfect and yes he made fun of me on a regular basis and was disappointed in me that I did not do anything with my Cosmetology license but it was just not my thing. I passed my state board and that I did for him. I have had only 3 important men in my life and 2 of them are now gone. My Father-in-law was a wonderful man and he loved me for me. I called him granddaddy as he was the most loving man and as a child I had no grandfathers. He was the best at his job and loved all of his grandchildren the same. He once told me he did not care that there were no boys to carry on the name as he had 4 wonderful Bowman Girls(3 mine, 1 B-I-L's) and I respected him for that. My Bowmanettes are the last of this Bowman line. I went from my fathers house to Michaels and have been with him for 30 years. I once told Michael that my dad was the most important man in my life. My dad and Michael were only 11 years apart in age and at this time in my life that worries me. I have never been on my own, never had to fend for myself. Yes Michael has not lived with me a few times in our marriage and he is not now but I know he is always there and if I need him he is there.