Check out the cute guy who's come to live with me.

But a word of advice.  If your hairdresser calls unexpectedly, out of the blue, you might consider not answering.  I answered, and got a new puppy.

As many of you know, I lost my little Min Pin, Jake, a year ago.  Because I missed him, and because Sassie, my little girl Yorkie missed him, too, I got another Yorkie, Mishka.

But when  my hairdresser heard Gizmo was available, she knew I loved Min Pins and offered him to me first.  How can you refuse an adorable guy like this?

Sassie has adjusted very well to being the bossy big sister.  And loves to nap with him, too, right beside my desk.

In the evening, when I sit down to watch TV, more often than not, the three of them draped all over me. 



















But it's great to have Min Pin shenanigans in the house again.




















Hey, wait a minute.  That's my chair.  Where's a girl find room to sit down to write?

How about you?  Who helps you get your work done?  Or maybe help isn't the right word.

Anyway, enjoy your furry friends

Judi

I’m Home

Okay, I’ve been back in Maine a week.  It’s COLD.  I grew up in Maine.  I lived in Minnesota for 30 years.  I’ve been back in Maine 10 years.  Who knew that in 5 weeks I’d get acclimated to being warm.

It’s snowed a foot and a half since I came home.  My poor puppies are relegated to running down a tunnel of snow from the deck to the maple trees.

 

One bright spot is that I brought home a tajine (a kind of stove-top oven) for cooking tajine (basically a Moroccan stew).  The day after I arrived, I rummaged through my refrigerator and found chicken (in the freezer), some sketchy potatoes and a winter squash.  I ‘refreshed’ the chicken in some cold water while it thawed, peeled the veggies, added a spice that I from one of the three packets of mixes I bought in Rabat with my DIL’s help (can’t remember what’s in them and can’t read Arabic), added chicken broth and a hint of white wine (definitely not in a Moroccan recipe) and Voilà! a tasty dinner with savory smells filling my house, reminding me of North Africa and my beautiful granddaughters.

 So, what’s your favorite food or recipe for cold winter days?

Judi

Très FROID au Maine

Goals for 2011

Sadly, this will be my last blog from Morocco.  I leave for home first thing in the morning tomorrow.

So, I decided to that this opportunity to post my goals rather than penciling them on a scrap of paper that I promptly lose.  So here they are.

Be content with where I am and who I am

Finish Two Moons Rising

Finish revisions on Through All Time

Finish Mirror, Mirror

Find  home for Afternoon Delights

Find a home for Two Moons Rising

Find a home for Whispers in the Heart

Work on Second Chances (Aerial's story)

Set up and maintain a regular writing schedule

Search for a part-time job

Figure out blogging/self-promotions

Remember, I always have enough time because I am always doing what I choose to do.

And for everyone who's been commenting that there are no pictures of me, here I am on the Barbary Coast of pirate fame, looking toward Rabat with Salé in the background 

Hoping everyone has a wonderful 2011

Judi

The Road to Marrakech

So right after Christmas, we spent four days in Marrakech in La Palmeraie--actually a palm grove that's an oasis.

 

Here's the patio of the apartment we stayed in.

And the orange tree just beside it.

Tuesday we went to the souks in the medina.  Marrakech is much more of a tourist destination than Rabat so there are lots of random offerings by guys of stuff to buy--and they're fairly persistently.

Wednesday we drove to the foothills of the Atlas Mountains to Terres d'Amanar, an adventure park--no rides but with adventuring activities for all ages, ranging from a zip cord traversing from one hillside to another across a valley several hundred feet below, to a kid's playground with similar activities that the girls loved.

 

The reception was housed in a reproduction of a Berber tent.

And there was a sheppard tending his flock on the grounds.

 The scenery was spectacular.  Here's No. 1 son.  You can barely see the snow-topped mountain peeking out between the hills in the foreground, the bit of blue mist merging into the sky.

 

At the end of they day, they light a fire to keep away the chill of the desert evening.

 As you might guess, the seeds of a story are planted and growing.

Wishing you une nouvelle année joyeous

Judi

Henna Extravaganza

Look what I did the day after Christmas.

Rahma had a friend come in who applied henna to my hands and feet in traditional designs.  The girls also had their hands done.

Here's what the first stage looks like while the henna is drying--it's still very dark:

And here's the end result after setting the design with olive oil, washing off the henna, then spraying it with perfume to bring out the orange.

 

As you can see, the color is deeper on my palm.

 

Getting decorated with henna was a fascinating process that took several hours.

 

The now very beeaauuuutiful Judi

Christmas is coming - tomorrow night

It's the night before Christmas and all through Rabat . . .

The girls have done the Advent Calendar

  

They've visited Santa at the American Club and assured him they were very good girls:

The tree is decorated:

And the cookies for Santa are baked.

But here's what it looks like in the garden:

Flowers are blooming:

Mrs. Tortoise sunning herself in a warm corner.

The weather has been mostly sunny and in the 60s and 70s on those days.

I must confess it's a little odd for a girl who's spent most of her life in the northern half of the United States to be snowless this time of year.  Although I can't say I miss the shoveling.

Joyeux Noël du Moroc

Getting Around in Rabat

Okay, so I'm taking a French class at AmidEast.       

and getting there on my own these days.  I catch a taxi on the corner of the main street

and tell them to go to McDonald's (yes, there are several McDonald's in Rabat) Magdal (the neighborhood where AmidEast is) because, really, taxis don't go to specific addresses.  You have to tell them a landmark.  When the weather's nice (which has been every day except the second day of class), I walk home. Takes less than half an hour.  Below are some street scenes on the walk.

Crazy parking.  No parking meters, but there is a parking guy (in this picture, he's the guy in blue on the sidewalk on the left ) on most street corners and in parking lots who tells you where to park and helps you maneouvre into the space.  When you leave, you give him 2 dinar (approximatel 25 cents) for his assistance.

 Crazy traffic.  The blue car in the middle of the street is the kind of taxi I take.

And you'll notice that sidewalks aren't just for walking anymore.

And here's the street where I'm staying.

 The house is behind the white gate on the left.

It's a nice walk.  Gives me time to practice French in my head and mull over any plot points I want to work on.

à plus tard

Judi