I love my thinkpad Edge

I have a 15" Thinkpad Edge 0578-CTO, configured with an I5 CPU and 4 Gb of RAM. I got it with the red lid.  I just love it. It's quiet, runs quite cool, is pretty light and the battery lasts close to 3 hours. 

But the things I like the best is that it runs video, really well, the sound never stutters, the wireless network rarely has issues or too little bandwidth even on a bad day. I could go on and on  After my last 2 laptops this one feels like a bit of heaven. It's doing exactly all the things I have always wanted my laptops to do. I love that it has an HDMI port and I am running on it an LG W2253V. While I'm writing this I'm watching a TV show on it from the laptop from a file sitting on another system, via wireless and it's not having any issues. It also plays DVD's really well. My previous laptop didn't even handle my MASH collection of original DVD's in pristine condition, that worked fine in every other PC and home DVD player.  I can't stress how much I'm enjoying this laptop.

The only 'bug' I've found with my Thinkpad and it's not that big of a deal is that when I rest my hands on the either side of the mouse surface while typing  if I try to use the touchpad the mouse sometimes jitter. I have to remove my hands and then the mouse moves properly again. But this is no biggy. I can't emphasize enough how much I love my ThinkPad Edge :)

I remember the old Thinkpads from 10 years ago. They were bitchy. This one on the other hand has to be the friendliest I've used. I have yet to run into a problem with it.  

Admittedly I've always been an IBM fan. I could say it's the fault of my buddy George.  At work I'm the one who collects IBM and now Lenovo machines. I currently work with a Lenovo S20, D20, M58, A57, M52, and an IBM Intellistation Z-Pro 92xx series. I'm the only one at work who has Lenovo's. Most people don't care for them.

Cold Spell freezes Ontario and Quebec

It's been frigid the last couple of days. It's -26C this morning. Not the type of weather that incites someone to spend much time outside. Thank Goddess my Grand Vitara starts up pretty well.   Oddly enough I haven't been cold outside, but I've been cold inside. It's not surprising.

At least we have electricity in this cold. I was reading that they lost electricity for more then 12 hours in Moosonee this week-end. If I lived in such a desolate area I'd definitely have an old style wood stove in my home, that I could use to heat and eat in case of power failures.  That's the one thing that sucks about my current house is that without electricity I have no heating. It sucks that even though my furnace is fueled by natural gas that I need electricity for it to work. I should be able to start it manually and have it work without needed electricity in case of power failures. 

At least our BBQ also has a side burner, so in case of power failures we can use it to warm up food, boil water, and of course we can BBQ things as well.

Time to go get ready to brace the cold. 

Giant Tiger in Ville St Laurent

Last Friday after leaving work I was planning to go to WalMart to get my kitty litter but instead I decided to go to the Giant Tiger on Marcel Laurin in Ville St Laurent to check it out after a friend mentioned there was one near by. I was not impressed. I was expecting a bigger store and more sales. I didn't see anything special and the store isn't particularly big  

The only good thing about driving there  was that it was right next to the biggest Dollarama I'd been to, with items I've not seen at other Dollarama's. I won't be going back to that Giant Tiger though, not worth the trip. 

I noticed there's a Dollarama that opened right next to my therapists office. I should check that one out. Sometimes I find frames, sometimes I find cat toys, random stuff. I find going to dollar store sometimes fills my need to shop and I can get away with spending under $20. :) At Christmas it's where I got my cat some Christmas outfits.

New Additions to my Art Gallery

This week-end I finished 5 pastel drawings.

The first is a Red Aurora over a Cabin. I love how this one turned out.

The second is part of my women in motion/movement series, this one titled "Women walking into the sunset", which came out better then I expected.

The third based on a photo Hot pink northern lights. I have no opinion on this one.

The fourth is from a photo called Sunset on Wakiki Beach. I don't like how this one turned out. I was not going to finish it or scan it.

The fifth is from a photo, represents a Latvian sunset. I like how it turned out.

Canadian Business men stranded in Abu Dhabi airport

Visa rules are now in effect for Canadians traveling to the UAE. It means that if you are a Canadian traveling to the UAE you should be aware of what type of VISA you need for your trip ahead of time and apply for it before arriving at an airport in the UAE. 

Obviously the 2 Canadian business men that got stranded at Abu Dhabi airport did not do their research, or the staff that booked their flight didn't. They were going to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and then back to the UAE. Common sense would imply that they needed a multiple entry VISA not a single entry VISA.  So if they got stuck at the airport for several hours it was their own fault. Not the UAE's fault, beyond of course the fact that they imposed their VISA' on Canadians because we would not grant their airlines more landing rights.

When I traveled to Syria this September, I knew I was going to enter the country twice, so I got myself a multiple-entry VISA ahead of my travel dates. I had no issues crossing borders either, other then 1 border guard wanting a small bribe when I crossed from Jordan back into Syria. It is not uncommon in that part of the world and it is not worth arguing over a few dollars and getting stuck for hours at a border, and my husband would argue, especially at the Syrian border.

Sure it's a little unexpected to us Canadians to have to get a VISA, since most countries welcome Canadians with open arms. But each country has the right to rule as they see fit and impose VISA' on us Canadians as they see fit. If we're not happy with that, then we should choose other travel destinations.

Bob Newhart on NCIS

It was really weird to see Bob Newhart on NCIS in a serious role. In fact a role so touching it had tears in my eyes by the end of the show. It amused me that I have been watching old episodes of the Bob Newhart show famous of course for Larry and his brother Darryl and his other brother Darryl. And then out of nowhere, bam there's Bob Newhart.

I was drawing when I was watching NCIS, so I didn't have my glasses on and that's how I recognized him right away. Apparently he did the cameo appearance partly because it's his wife's favorite show :)

Kind stranger with coupons...

I went to Walmart and Zellers this morning. I go to Walmart about once a month to pick up kitty litter. It's one of the few places where I can find Maxx Scoop for multiple cats in 14Kg pails at a good price. 

So I get into Walmart and pick up my 2 pails of kitty litter, and start to look for other items when I get stopped by a French Quebecois woman who says "Oh you have Maxx Scoop, I have coupons for it and don't need any". She gave me 2 $1 off coupons. So I saved $2 and whatever the taxes were on my kitty litter.

The  thing I picked up at both WalMart and Zellers was inexpensive frames for my art work.  I also picked up new cotton socks [92% cotton woot!] at Zellers. Now I have to go through my sock drawer and toss out all the ones with holes in the toes. 

Gotta love nlite to slip-stream drivers into a Windows [tm] ISO

So today I slip-streamed all the SAS, RAID and AHCI drivers that I had on my downloads PC onto my XPSP3 ISO using nlite . I  then tried it out on the Intel DX58SO motherboard  that was giving me such a hard time the past couple of days and it installed  XPSP3 without any hiccups. It was awesome. Nlite rocks, it's intuitive and the average techie should be able to slip-stream whatever he wants with it quite easily. It was the first time I used it to add drivers, previously I had used it to add a service pack into my XP ISO.

I'm now kicking myself for not having done it sooner.  It's just that since we may have 100 systems in my group and rarely do we have more then 2 of the same machine, if we even have 2. And often even if we have 2, like the HP Z400, they are different revision [One can take only 4 sticks of RAM, the newer one can take 6 sticks of RAM]. So in my mind making a CD that covers all options always means it's out of date because I might get a new machine tomorrow, that has controllers that won't be supported by the version I just made.

Monday I will revise my system list to make an XPSP3 bootable CD that handles the SATA drivers for all current machines we have in my team. Then I'll work on XP 64 bits, and Server 2003 32 & 64 bits. 

Should make setting up systems in ACHI mode easier for legacy OS',  I won't have to argue with a USB floppy that may or may not work on that USB port on a particular motherboard. I won't have to wonder if the reason I'm seeing that "Inacessible boot device" blue screen is because it's not seeing the hard drive or because of the SATA DVD-ROM.  I won't have to use the USB enclosure with IDE CD-ROM.

Setting up XP in AHCI mode can be infuriating

I typically install up to 11 OS' on the same drive in order of release from Microsoft, starting with XP and making my way up to Server 2008 R2. Most of the time for simplicities sake we have set up drives in IDE mode. Lately I've decided all the newer machines should be set up in AHCI mode and the systems that come with a SAS controller, we'll use that for setting up. So that we have systems set up in a variety of ways. 

I've set up several HP's [XW8600, Z800, XW9400] and a Lenovo D20 with minimal issues using a Iomega usb floppy on the SAS controller and/or just in AHCI mode.

Setting up XP in AHCI mode in some machines is like pulling teeth. I suppose if I had 50 systems of the same model to set up or even 10 for that matter, I might be motivated to slipstream the driver into XP. Though thinking about it now, slipstreaming at least the intel driver might help resolve a percentage of my problems. 

It was the Dell T7500 I'd asked one of my co workers to set up on the SAS controller using AHCI mode. After a week of arguing with XP and getting nowhere, I tried. I fought with it for some time. The blue screen error code basically said "Inacecesible boot device". Here we were thinking it was the drivers we were feeding it for both AHCI and SAS that were causing it. But in fact we later realized that it was our installing using a SATA optical drive. It was it that became inaccessible. Plugging a USB enclosure with an IDE CDrom proved to be the answer here.

With this knowledge I thought I'd have no problems setting up the new UEFI machine with intel mobo DX58SO. I've been arguing with it now for 3 days. I tried the the USB enclosure with IDE CDrom that worked so well for the Dell, but no such luck. XP installs fine in IDE mode and Windows 7 installs fine in AHCI mode.

Fuck shtupping!!!

It always amazes me how even in 2011, you can't say "fuck" on TV but apparently you can say shtup! That Dennis Leary special, they were trying to bleep any variation of fuck, asshole and shit. They weren't succeeding too well either.  For some reason though nothing is more vulgar in the English language then fuck.

I have "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by the Verve stuck in my head.

"'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony this life
Trying to make ends meet, you're a slave to the money then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places where all the veins meet, yeah

No change, I can't change, I can't change, I can't change,
but I'm here in my mold , I am here in my mold
But I'm a million different people from one day to the next
I can't change my mold, no, no, no, no, no"

Big Bang Theory and other favorite shows.

Currently one of my favorite TV shows is the Big Bang Theory.While I attended Concordia University I was part of a group of nerds/geeks. I knew someone who was as bizarre as the character of Sheldon if you can believe it.   I probably liked this TV show from the first time I watched an episode.

I  spent way too much time with Star Trek fans. I mean to this day I can more or less tell you what episode it is just from the first minute or so. I'm talking original series. While I watched some of the later series at one point I just got really turned off by anything remotely trekish, 

There's other shows like MASH that I never watched while it was on the air. I mean I'd seen an episode here and there, but never cared for the show. I suddenly grew fond of it back in 2001 and then needed a daily MASH fix. I own the entire series on DVD. I discovered in the past year another show from the same time frame China Beach, also something I never watched back then. It was brilliant But I suppose when it aired I was in a different place in my head and this type of show had no appeal. 

Then there's NCIS, which at first I watched because there was nothing else to watch on TV but that during a certain time slot. It took me several weeks to get to know the characters.  Now I just love the show, and especially the character Gibbs, though I never cared much either way for the actor who plays him. 

The Catholic church and Douche-Bags.....

Interesting article on the Catholic church,  about documents that make it clear that the Catholic church knew some priests were molesting children and kept it hidden.   I don't get that the priests were kept and just moved around from parish to parish exposing more and more children to these pedophiles. My understanding was that priests should be celibate and abstain from sexual relations.

Of course not all priests are bad. My step-dad was a Catholic priest before he married my mom in 1972, and he was just a really good man. With the qualities you'd hope to find in a priest.  I was really lucky to have him as my father, he was the best father a girl could wish for and I wish he was still around...

I watched  a Dennis Leary special and giggled myself silly. Douche-bags everywhere he says, and starts by making fun of the pope  in particular and the Catholic church in general.

My favorite   Dennis Leary skit though has to be the one called "My kids".  After a bad week, that skit never gets old. Especially "Dad, dad dad dad dad dad dad daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad, dad .." "WHAT" "Can I have a cookie?"

Inspired

I finished 4 pastels this week-end

I was playing with new fluo pastels and drew Afghan women

This one is called Walking the red path

More northern lights, this one started in December.

Last one was called sorrow.

If you've never seen a Moose does it mean they don't exist?

Some of the weirder headlines coming out of Canada in the past little while includes a man from Quebec suing the company who makes a penis enlargement device. This one has me giggling. I mean I always wondered if people actually believed those devices worked.  Apparently some do. 

The other one that has me giggling is that a Newfoundlander is suing the Newfoundland government over Moose overpopulation. It seems that Moose were introduced to Newfoundland and now there are too many coliding with cars. Some feel their government should take care of the overpopulation problem. 

Of course some people don't believe Moose exist because despite all of the Moose crossings they have crossed, they have never seen a Moose. What they don't realize is all the better they don't see moose, if you don't see them you're less likely to hit one with your vehicle.

Omelet with Za'atar and Kashkaval cheese

Omelet with Za'atar and Kashkaval Bulgarian cheese

a couple of slices of red onion finely chopped

1 tbsp of Za'atar [In my case it was a Syrian version of this middle eastern spice mix]

a couple of slices of Kashkaval Bulgarian cheese finely chopped [casein free sheep cheese]

2 eggs [I used brown omega 3 large eggs]

1 tsp of water

1 tbsp of margarine for cooking [I used Nuvel which is casein free]

In an 8inch [20cm] skillet, warm margarine at medium heat. Toss onions in for about 3-4 minutes. Mix in a bowl 2 eggs, teaspoon of water, tablespoon of Za'atar mix and the cheese pieces. Mix until well mixed and a bit frothy. Put in skillet over onions. Put lid on for about 5-7 minutes until  top is solidified, and then just turn over for 30 seconds and voila ... omelet. 

I don't eat wheat anymore, but I bet it would taste great wrapped in a pita with either some mayo or even possibly some hummus.

Solitude is a good friend.

I go through periods in my life where I have a profound need to be alone. It's like it all becomes too much. I become overwhelmed with the outside world. I become so drained that I need to withdraw from others and society. 

Sometimes I can go for weeks without going out except for work, and since I've been at the same workplace for close to 19 years, I can handle going in most of the time. When I get like this though I work more hours when no one is around [like while others are at lunch]. I'll pick up groceries or cat food during my lunch break, which I take when others are back from lunch. Other then that I have little or no social contact. 

I'd love to be able to go live out in the middle of nowhere, with the nearest neighbor no closer then a kilometer away. Have a property with trees and a stream or lake. Sometimes I wish I could figure out a way to work from home. I love Montreal, but I'd love to not live in it anymore. It would be far more exciting to visit :)

I used to get lonely at times as a child or a teen. Of course after my daughters were born I didn't get much time alone and since that point I've rarely gotten lonely when I've been alone. No I have reveled in the fact that I could just be. 

I've just realized that in 2010, I spent about 3 months living in close proximity with 4 to 6 people, between having my gf's family living with me after the fire, to living at my mom-in-laws during our vacation. Don't get me wrong if something happened to my gf, I'd still take her in for as long as it takes and I really had a great time at my mom in laws. I'm not complaining but then after I need to spend time all alone to recharge my batteries.

Pastel drawing

This one is different then most of what I draw, found here

What was different was the process. Most of the time I need an image as inspiration and I draw what my mind sees. This drawing came from within. I picked the pastels and the picture just drew itself in a very short time.

It seems like the easier solution

I was left profoundly touched by Bill Zeller's last words.  I mean who's to say what enough hurt is?  Who's to say when you've had enough? When it's too much pain?

People always tell me I'm over sensitive to everything. I've realized it's part of my ADHD nature. I'm over sensitive. Not just to words, but to touch and other things. People also tell me to control my emotions. Like if I could control my emotions I'd be this emotional?  Its easy for someone who's not emotional to tell me to 'snap out of it'. It's always much easier for those looking from the outside to criticize us, but until they have walked a mile in our shoes, what do they know?

And no matter what hell someone else has lived, no one understands your own personal hell. Sure I wasn't molested repeatedly as a toddler nor did I live through war, but I lived through events throughout my life that left me profoundly affected. Sometimes it means I need to be alone for days just to find my way through my darkness. Just to realize that life isn't all bad, and that I have to strive to live for those fleeting moments of happiness, where the darkness seems to have cleared even for a few moments. 

I don't understand why everyone needs to decide how I should handle my dark moods, and my moments of depression. Basically all I ask is to be left alone and somehow that really bothers some people.  My ex never understood it and never left me alone when I specifically asked to be left alone. He feared that I'd hurt myself.  If I really wanted to hurt myself, no matter how much I was watched I would. 

I mean for instance I stopped drinking when I was 19. Back in 1982.  I haven't had a drink since. No matter how bad it got, no matter the darkness. But I'm not allowed the alone time in case I might hurt myself.  Right. 

One of the stupid things that was told to me recently was to snap out of it because it's affecting others. Great. Another reason to add as to why I should end it. At least if I wasn't around my dark moods wouldn't be affecting others. 

I wonder if that was a factor in Bill Zeller's choice of ending it all?

Gluten and Casein free Macaroni and Cheese

Gluten and Casein free Macaroni and Cheese

- 2 cups of brown rice macaroni [Metro house brand Irresistibles has this gluten free pasta]
- 1/2 cup of semi-firm goat or sheep cheese in small cubes [I used Kashkaval Bulgarian cheese]
- 1 tbsp Nuvel margarine [Nuvel is casein free]
- Seasoning to taste.  I added  garlic  powder, onion powder, thyme, salt & pepper

Boil about 6 cups of water. Once water is boiling throw in your pasta. Let it cook at low heat about 20 minutes. Drain the water.  Add cheese, margarine and seasoning and stir until cheese has all melted, and you have cheesy pasta.

Hubby walked in just as I was finishing to make it and he found it smelled really good.

Attention Deficit HyperActive Disorder

Sometime early summer 2010 my therapist suggested I might have ADHD/ADD. He had me fill a form, which I filled out so well with my coping mechanisms that I pretty much told him I didn't have ADHD. Except that a few months later, in early August, it finally made sense. 

It explains everything about myself that I could not understand or explain before. Most people assume ADD/ADHD is only found in 6-12 year old boys that disrupt their classrooms by being too hyper. Most people assume that it is outgrown and adults don't have it. 

The first article I found useful on the subject describes both me and my daughters. I'm more a chatty-kathy and tomboy, so is my eldest, my youngest is more tomboy daydreamer.  I looked for books that were written by women with ADD/ADHD. I figured they would most likely understand what it's like to be female and have ADHD. 

The two books I've found helpful so far are "You mean I'm not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?" by Kate Kelly and Peggy Ramundo and Women with ADD by Sari Solden.  You can tell they were written by people with ADD/ADHD which some people criticize but with me it's like a coming home. I feel understood. Yes it's chaotic but after almost 50 years of living in my own chaos it just feels normal to me.


I did find Driven to distraction, Answers to distraction and Delivered to distraction by Dr Hallowell would be useful books, but I haven't progressed enough in my journey to benefit from them yet.

As far as my diagnosis goes, I've got ADHD - combined type. Meaning I'm both hyper and spacey :)  I've always know I'm hyper. I just used to see myself as driven. 

Having ADHD isn't a bad thing. It just means my brain works differently then someone who does not have it.  I also need to have realistic expectations of things I can do and things I cannot do easily. And learn to ask for help on things I struggle with.

I've decided for the moment that since I've managed nearly 50 years without the benefit of stimulant drugs, I was going to keep going that way.  I am experimenting with a gluten and casein free diet, which I read could be helpful for people with ADHD/ADD, and autism. I'm also mostly vegetarian, and do not each any refined flour, sugars, have no caffeine  or alcohol in my diet.   I'm hoping that a good diet will keep my mind the least distracted. 

There are many reasons I don't want to be medicated. 1) I've finally come to like the fact I'm impulsive, unpredictable and sometimes downright fearless - and I like that in others 2) I've found a good place where I can do art and be creative 3) I've taken all the stimulants out of my life because they all made me more aggressive be it sugar, or even caffeine or nicotine.  4) I am also OCD and struggle with addictions, it's too easy to get addicted. I don't need medications that I would get addicted to. 

My Docs Rock

Jemma Dr Martens

Last May I bought some 20 hole Docs at Rio on St Denis street. They didn't have my size in stock so I had to order them, they didn't come in till late June and by the time I had them it was too warm to wear boots.

I have been wearing my black Jemma Dr Martens several times a week since late September and I absolutely love them.I find they go great with skinny jeans as well as leggings. I also like to wear them with certain dresses, but that's a matter of taste :)  

The Dregs of Humanity all seem to shop at...

It's one of those nights again where I'm awake at 3am because I dozed off at 8pm last night.  Tonight I've been giggling over The People Of WalMart. What baffles me is the amount of people who go shopping at WalMart wearing a tail

And the other thing that puzzles me... if you're a middle aged man and you're going to dress up as a woman, why not also shave your facial hair and do your hair or even get a nice wig so you actually have a semblance of a female face?  I mean I like cross dressers. Always have.

I've wondered about that. I suspect this is my parents fault. They took me to watch La Cage aux Folles [The original version of the BirdCage, though the version with Robin Williams is good too] at the cinema in 1978 at the tender age of 16. Its no wonder I know 3 T-Girls [One of which I dated when she was a really hot he], 1 cross dresser and several in the closet cross dressers too.

In fact one job option I'm mulling about is to be a purchaser or buyer for cross dressers. I do the shopping, so they don't have to go in public and buy woman's clothes. Pretty fun job if you think about it, I'd get to spend all my time shopping.  And that would include shopping at WalMart, and I'd get to see more of the people of WalMart......

because it's always good to have dreams...

RIP Bill Zeller

Child abuse is wrong. Children who have been abused stay marked for life. Some never get past the abuse.

I just finished reading Bill Zeller's parting words to this world and I was so moved that I figured I should share this link with others.

What's with the flood of biblical proportions?

What is it with the news media referring to the current Australian flood being of biblical proportions? One of the main flooded cities is RockHampton.

I quote from Wikipedia "The Fitzroy River at Rockhampton has a long and well documented history of flooding with flood records dating back to 1859. The highest recorded flood occurred in January 1918 and reached 10.11 metres on the Rockhampton gauge. The most recent major flood occurred in December 2010".

There is 77,000 people in RockHampton and it is the community the worst affected. Most people have been evacuated to dry grounds.  All the other affected communities are smaller.  So where's the "Biblical proportions" coming in?????

I mean what about the 2010 floods in Pakistan, from which people have not yet recovered?  I quote again from Wikipedia "At one point, approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's total land area was underwater.According to Pakistani government data the floods directly affected about 20 million people, mostly by destruction of property, livelihood and infrastructure, with a death toll of close to 2,000.^[2] The number of individuals affected by the flooding exceeds the combined total of individuals affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.^[6]

^{The news media isn't talking about Pakistan anymore. It hasn't made headlines in a while. So what makes Australia so special?}

I love my Grand Vitara while awake and wired at 3:30AM

Of late I tend to be sleepy between 8-10pm. This is NOT a good thing. If I fall asleep then, I will wake up between 12-2 am and then I cannot fall asleep again. Even if I eat. I stay wired. No matter what  I do.

Tonight I'm feeling what I could only describe as "there's a storm coming". I hope it's a huge snow storm :) I love huge snowstorms.

2010 Grand Vitara  off road in Mt Tremblant Provincial Park

Of course it's even more fun now that I have a 2010 Grand Vitara V6. [insert a Tim the tool man Taylor grunt here]. I just love it. 

The amusing thing is, when I went out to shop for a small SUV, Suzuki wasn't even on my list. My top contender was the Mitsubishi Outlander. I had decided to try out all the top Japanese brands. So I test drove a Nissan Rogue, a Toyota Rav4, a Honda CR-V, and a Mitsubishi Outlander. 

When I test drove the Honda, the salesman was trying to assess my needs and asked me how long I keep my vehicles and I said 10 years. So he suggests, that if I'm going to keep an SUV that long I should go with Honda, Toyota or Suzuki.

2010 Grand Vitara JLX-L V6 deep sea blue metallic

So I test drove the Grand Vitara, and fell in love. I was able to raise my seat way up and still reach pedals, I can see where I'm going, I love it's acceleration. [insert another Tim the tool man Taylor grunt here]. Unlike most vehicles it's class, it's more of a truck then a car and is the only true off road one. Something I think I'm really going to enjoy as I travel around in northern Canada, or even if I just live outside the city.

The only thing I'm equally in love with is my ThinkPad Edge, but I'll blog about that some other day :)

Scanned several finished pastel drawings.

My first drawing is of a Colorful crescent moonrise.

The second drawing is of an Afghan woman walking away.

The third  is of red dusk at Mont St-Michel.

The fourth is of a lighthouse at dawn.

I like extremes

I've been nursing a migraine that seems to accompany the collection of cold sores festering in my nose most of the Christmas vacation. This is day 11 of this said migraine, so not being able to do much of anything since I can barely keep my eyes open, has let me to spend lots of time day dreaming. 

After our trip in October, I've fallen in love with Jordan, especially with Petra and Wadi Rum. I just loved being in the desert and at the ancient Nabataean city of Petra. I pine to go back daily. I want to spend a month in Jordan, with two weeks dedicated uniquely to Petra. I want to visit most of it's nooks and crannies.  I also want to spend a few days in the desert in Wadi Rum, go to Aqaba, and back to the dead sea.   I want to visit whatever other artifacts are there. 

At the same time I've been looking into traveling to the edge of James Bay up in northern Ontario. Taking the polar bear express from Cochrane to Moosonee, and going camping at Tidewater Provincial park is just talking to me. Of course not in January, it's too cold, it would have to be between May and September to camp. I also found a Moosonee resident who is an amazing photographer and who loves taking photos of his village. If you use Google Earth and zoom into Moosonee most of the photo's you will find will be his as well. So I'm pining to visit Moosonee, Moose Factory, Tidewater Provincial Park and crossing the Moose River,

Enquiring minds want to know: Does Drew have a Pussy Fetish?

I go to Fark frequently. Mostly to see the submitting comments on the "not news" section, not necessarily to read the stories themselves. Though sometimes the comments just makes you click that link. 

There are always cat stories, every week just in time for Caturday. This tag currently has over 800 links.  That's a lot of pussy stories! Today for the first day of 2011, there's an endearing feline story with the comment "Happy Mew Year".

This makes me wonder if Drew Curtis isn't a really a Cat Lady instead of a 37 year old male?

Happy New Year!

Drug Estacy might help those with social issues..

Interesting article about E. I suppose it might be helpful for those people who are autistic or even in the autism spectrum [Like people with ADD/ADHD, and dyslexia] who have issues with socializing.

I mean can it be worse then the drugs that are currently given to people with ADHD? 

Justin Bieber and the Ground Zero Mosque

Even though I'm Canadian until a few months ago I didn't know what a Justin Bieber was. I don't have teen daughters and I don't listen to much radio.  The first I heard about him was at my hair dressers. Anyone who knows me, knows I go there infrequently at best, so that in itself is amusing.

So the first thing I heard about him was that it seemed 7-13 year old boys were getting their hair cut like him. Though most wouldn't admit it was a Bieber cut they were getting.  Of course over time I've heard more comments and jokes about him, not enough to have an opinion, but enough to know he's a teen heart throb and all the jokes that come from it. 

Today I was giggling myself silly when I realized that some web site made a hoax about Bieber having commented about the ground zero mosque in Teen Beat Magazine. [Anyone who read teenbeat magazine would know they would never ask about something like this, but I digress....]

So some hard core anti-ground zero mosque activist [Which is neither a Mosque nor on the ground zero site, but a Muslim community center several blocks away... but I'm digressing again] is now boycotting Justin Bieber along with his children. I'm still laughing. There's now hundreds of people boycotting Justin Bieber over this.

As for Mosques, they are sprouting up like mushrooms throughout north America. So long as Canada stays secular, I'm all for freedom of religion and Muslims have a right to a place to worship

City Homicide, Last season already?

I've fallen in love with an Aussie show.  City Homicide is as good as anything produced in the US. My eldest and I love the Aussie slang and the way the show has developed. 

I was reading commentary from an Aussie newspaper saying that no one needs more cops shows and that there is nothing new in this show. I thought it was interesting and fresh. Perhaps because it was the first Aussie show I've seen? Season 4 which has just ended is the last full season I'm told. Next year there will be a mini-series and then the show will be put out to pasture.  

Daughter says best line ever "You been rooting senior sergeant's wife mate?"

Personally I love watching cop shows from other countries, since their rules of law and the way their police works is different then what I know in Canada. I'm used to US shows, but I've also had pleasure to watch Law & Order UK and Paris enquêtes criminelles. I enjoyed both because even though episodes are based on US ones, I get to see a different perspective

UAE acting like spoilt child over Canadian landing rights.

I remember when I traveled to Dubai in February and December 2007, that I just needed to show my Canadian passport and I would get a 30 day VISA no questions asked. 

Starting January 2nd, this will no longer be the case. You will need a VISA before arriving in the UAE and it will cost $250 for 30 days. More expensive then visa's to most countries. Considering that the UAE isn't a common travel spot for Canadians, it won't affect us all that much. Especially since the crash last year, people are no longer looking for jobs in that part of the world. 

I mean the UAE has been lobbying the Canadian government for more  landing rights for UAE airlines flying to Canada. I know Canada limits landing rights to keep Air Canada somewhat afloat.  I guess the UAE figured that since we aren't giving them more landing rights, we should pay to enter their country.  Personally I think Canada should reduce whatever landing rights they have at this point. 

One of the comments from a Globe and Mail reader basically said that it was no great loss to Canadians. That any country that treats it's women as property, where kissing in public can get you tossed in jail and where being gay can assure your death isn't somewhere most Canadians want to be.  Admittedly this is stereotyped and overall my experience in the UAE was better then that.... but in some ways it's not too far off. 

Since I doubt Samer would ever want to go to UAE again, it's not a big deal for us. 

Ikea here we come

We went to Ikea this morning, so I could pick up a drawer unit on casters to put my art materials in. I spent part of the afternoon putting it together. I always enjoy putting together Ikea furniture.  

The only down side to Ikea is that I've never seen this store with few clients, it's always packed. Sadly the more packed a store is the most likely I'm going to forget to buy half of the stuff they have because I get too frazzled over the noise and commotion of all the people.

Trip to Lebanon, Syria and Jordan

I finally blogged about our trip in late September/Early October to Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Lebanon was mostly so that Samer could see friends and Family, Syria was because I insisted, and Jordan we both wanted to see.

I fell in love with Jordan, the desert and the Bedouins and want to go back to Petra for at least a week!

Anyways I put all 20 days, check out my new posts in the archives for September and for October.

My Art Gallery

I enjoy drawing with pastels. Mostly I like to draw sunrises, sunsets, northern lights, flowers, pastoral settings, churches, animals and veiled women.

You can find my Art Gallery here.

Oh and I finally fixed the bug in the blog style sheet I am using, that wasn't there when I started using "thisaway rose". Took long enough but now the date isn't overlapping the arrows.

It's now almost 2pm on Boxing day and I have not gotten up from bed. It's yet another cloudy day [It was sunny briefly this morning] and I'm sick of cloudy days. It just makes me want to sleep. I want SUN!!!!

This time of the year sucks

I've hated the commercialism of Christmas for years but this year it hit particularly hard. People become so aggressive in the pursuit of that perfect gift for uncle Joe that everything pales in comparison.

I was at Costco [Bad example since people always seem to be aggressive at Costco] last Saturday to pick up Perrier, Lara bars and Pita bread. Everything else was optional. It was hard to find parking on their lot, I had to circle 3 times and I was parked about as far away as you can imagine. Of course the store was also equally as full. Trying to navigate was as frustrating as watching paint dry. I was following a shelf re-stocker and he was moving slow, didn't have a choice with the size of palette he was navigating. A guy appeared behind me and within 15 seconds started berating the clerk about "Not having all day to go down the aisle" etc...

From late November to mid january, you can't go even in a grocery store never mind a retail store without that Christmas frenzy. Everyone is overworked, underpaid and overstressed in making that perfect christmas.

People also glamourize how great being together in family is. Well that might be true for a small segment of the population, but most of us are fooling ourselves into thinking that our family is great. I mean I cannot remember one Christmas when I was a kid where the adults in my family weren't fighting and if I tried to say something I'd be told "shut up and mind your own business" or "Shut up and eat". Meanwhile the adults weren't eating and having a 3 hour fighting discussion that would leave lasting impression until the next Christmas. ... Because of course these same adults didn't see each other any other time then Christmas.


After all the hype, for me Christmas is just a huge disappointment. Even without expectations, it's almost always a disappointment. My happier Christmases have been spent abroad traveling or as a teen sometimes in a ski camp...

Personally if I find someone sucks all year I don't see why I should be nice at Christmas. As it goes, I try to be nice to those who are deserving all year round, not just once a year as a huge show in front of company.

Christmas sucks!

Enough is Enough

You know how it is? Every year there's always a person that shows up at your gathering who can't eat or drink anything you've bought or prepared It's frustrating. First thing this person does is question every item of food or drink as if it's been sprinkled with poison, or alternatively looks at any food placed for guests with great suspicion.

Even if this person is very gracious, they might not accept anything other then water of your hospitality. This can feel pretty insulting.

Normally I try pretty hard to make allowances, I mean it's not like you can expect a diabetic to eat something that will make them sick, but this year, after all the other cooking I just can't find it in me to be accommodating and find something to make for the bitchy vegetarian that comes to all my dinners. Let her eat salad or eat the same food like everyone else.

Avalanche Snow Removal is no more....

I blogged last January about avalanche snow removal.... I had been sufficiently satisfied with the price/service that I renewed my contract this year.

Well this morning when I looked out the window, I realized my blue avalanche posts had been replaced by Yellow SylJack posts. As well since that day, it has been a Syljack truck removing my snow.

Was Avalanche bought by Syljack? Were they the same company all along ? Who knows? The only thing I wonder is.. will I get the same price as this year next year for my snow removal?

In Memory of December 6th, 1989

December 6th in Montreal always brings mixed feelings. Most of us still remember the Polytechnique massacre. I wrote on December 6 1990 this poem in memory of those who died.... Everyone remembers where they were. I was home with my 2 babies, watching television, while sewing, and my first reaction seeing the late breaking news on TV was "Oh another crazy in the US" until I realized the 'crazy' was in Montreal. Since my hubby then worked for a firm comprised mostly of engineers, we realized we knew people who knew the victims. Including Barbara Daignault, the cousin of our good friend Thierry.


In Memoriam of December 6th, 1989

You are gone forever but not forgotten
The memory of your tragedy lives on
It is a pity that you were attacked and killed
For just fulfilling your potential

There is a malaise in society
That was created long before you came to be
It will not go away so easily
Perhaps your death will make the problem clearer

There were those who looked on in disbelief
Those who were confused and deeply hurt
How can someone decide the fate of others
Is there no justice for the living?

The work of a madman for sure
But there is a madperson in all of us
Some say that he was just a marginal exception
But how can we learn to trust others again

Perhaps this incident will make people think
Of all the injustices committed towards women
Perhaps the next time she cries injustice
Society will believe she her complaint.

The answer does lie within each one of us
To forgive him who focused his personal anger on women
To help others learn to love and help themselves
And make this world equal for both men and women.


In your memory: Genevieve Bergeron, Helene Colgan, Nathalie Croteau,
Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Havierncik, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Maryse Laganiere, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay,Sonia Pelletier, Michele Richard, Annie St..Arneault, Annie Turcotte.

Day 20: We fly back to Montreal

So this was my 5th time leaving Beirut, 4rth time from the airport. Leaving doesn't seem to affect me that much. It's arriving. It does not matter whether we arrive by air or land, once I my feet touch the ground in this particular part of the world I get overwhelmed by emotion. I mentioned it to my therapist, who was born in Israel and he was surprised. He said he feels the same thing and he'd always assumed it was because it was his home land.

I love landing in Montreal after being away. The longer I've been away the more I long to land in Montreal but I've never been overwhelmed by emotion landing in Montreal. The energies just don't bring that out of me. But Beirut does. And by my therapists comments I bet if I landed in Tel Aviv I'd feel very similarly.

The flight home was uneventful. I remember not sleeping and not finding much interesting stuff to watch since I'd watched it all on the flight out. Bill was waiting for us at the airport and thankfully I had 2 more days of vacation :)

It was an awesome trip. My mom in law was a wonderful hostess, and Souad was an awesome guide. Without her we woulnd't have been able to visit as much.

We still have more to visit, there is Tripoli in the north. I passed through it but did not see much of it. There's also Beit a dein in the Shouf and the Khalil Gibran Khalil Museum in Bcharre [and if we go back there, we should of course see the Cedars again and maybe other monasteries, I love religious buildings!] And there are other places too I'm sure as while Lebanon might be smaller then Cape Breton, each hamlet is unique in it's composition, be it because of the variety of mixture of religions and people, be it the passion of the land, but there is something new to explore everywhere you go.

Day 19: Beach in Sour & last day in Beirut

Souad took us to the beach in Sour early in the morning. It was nice, the water was great. I got to swim in the Mediterranean sea from Lebanon for the first time. I just left myself float in the waves for over an hour. I loved the water temperature.

After the beach we had lunch at a restaurant in Sour, I believe it was the RestHouse, right on the waterfront. I remember the food being really good.

We went back to Beirut and we were supposed to go see the outside of an old Synagogue but then I think all sorts of last minute visitors arrived. I tuned out for a while and took a long nap. This served me well when I didn't sleep at all while waiting to leave for the airport.

Day 18: Lunch at Amto's Dinner at Khalo's in Beirut

Samer Sandra and I went to Myriam's around 11:30 AM. When we arrived, Abu Samer's wife and her sister were there with her 2 children and Samer's half siblings. I got to meet my sister in law Layal - 10 years old and my brother in law Paulo, not quite 1 year old. I have family pictures which includes all 4 Beyhum siblings. Pretty cute ones of the sisters, cute ones of the brothers.

After Abu Samer's family left, Sonia came to join us and we all had a large Lebanese meal. Including delicious veggie side dishes.

We left we were so stuffed we could roll out :P We went back to Sonia's for a few hours and had dinner at his uncle Girard's. I got to see what used to be his grand mothers' apartment, and where the war had hit the building. Everyone was so stuffed unfortunately we barely ate Nouna's cooking which smelled awesome. I didn't get to taste the meat dishes, but everything smelt great.

We got so stuffed that day. Unreal. :)

Day 17: Arrival of Sandra and Robert

We stayed in Beirut and Samer's sister Sandra arrived from Abu Dhabi. Sonia went to the airport to pick her up with a friend. Later in the afternoon, Samer's khalo's Robert arrived from Paris. They both came without spouses, Lee had a contract that kept him in the Emirates and May is a teacher so travel in October is not ideal for her.

We had a nice dinner later in the day, which was attended by Bshara and his friend Rolland, a German who liked Beirut and a particular Beirut resident so much that he found worked and stayed. :) Souad, Tala, Gerard and Nouna also came for dinner.

Good food, lots of family and friends.

Day 16: Cooking in Beirut & Shopping on Hamra

We decided to stay home and cook for incoming relatives. I had decided to make Irish Stew and Ratatouille and Samer made his rosemary chicken. The first challenge was that we were out of water, it made things interesting. It sucked I couldn't bathe before getting started and of course could not clean the kitchen after cooking. The 2nd challenge is that the rotating electrical outages. When the truck with the water arrived, it took another 2 hours before we had water to bathe because the electricity was out and the water could not be pumped to the container on the roof.

Around dinner time I had managed to shower and I went shopping on Hamra Street with Sonia. We also went for a hot beverage at a Cafe on Hamra street.

Day 15: The Chouf and Al-Shouf Cedar Reserve

We went with Souad to Joumana's family's home in the Mountains of the Chouf. The view from Joumana's home is breath taking. Mountains and valleys. From there we drove to the Al-Shouf Cedar Reserve and with a guide, toured the part of the reserve that is accessible to tourists. I found the Cedars here to be somewhat different from the Cedars in Bcharre. The guide told me it was impossible because all Lebanese Cedars are the same. This might be an official line, but I know enough about gardening to know that while the Cedars from both locations are very similar, they have a distinct feel to them and difference.

The oldest Cedars here, can be also up to 3500 or even 4000 years old. Rumour has it that the roots of some of the biggest Cedars go from the mountains and reach the sea. It's probably what keeps Lebanon from falling into the sea.

The nice thing about the Cedars of the Al-Shouf reserve is you can see they are taking good care of them. The forest is not just Cedar but also contains old Oaks and other conifers and feels really vibrant. I didn't get the feel of trees screaming here, but of trees in peace.

After our visit in the forest we had a meal at a typical mountain restaurant I'm told. I believe we stopped at the Barouk Palace Hotel, and ate at their River Restaurant. The food was very good, and I loved the fact it was along side the Barouk river and just so neat.

We dropped Joumana back home, stopped in to say goodbye to her family, and meet one of her friends. Then drove back to Beirut, it was dark and with picked up Eliane and Alain. We spent evening at Sonia's sharing stories and laughing.

Day 14: Wadi Kadisha & Cedars of Bcharre

We set off for the mountains with Eliane, Alain, Tony & Nicole. We went with 2 cars. We went to the around the Kadisha valley, Historians believe that the Kadisha Valley has had monastic communities continuously since the earliest years of Christianity. First we drove   up a steep mountain gorge.  My original google search concluded it was  the Melchite Catholic the Monastery of St. John of Chouweir or Deir et-Tabcheh... But I was mistaken. It is instead the Monastery Saint Anthony of Qozhaya that we visited.  The Monastery has a museum which displays the first Arabic printing press, along with other interesting artifactsIt also shows caves where early Christians used to pray.

We had lunch in Edhen. This restaurant had poutine on the menu. Samer tried it out and the thing looked disgusting and nothing like a Quebecois poutine. The server was such a space cadet and they didn't have half of the items on their menu.

Finally around 2pm we were in Bcharre, and we went to one of Lebanon's two Cedar reserves, the Arz el Rab reserve. Some of the Cedars in this reservation are 3500 years old. It blows the mind. The sad part is that some of those trees have half been cut down recently for firewood, because people were so cold. In the reserve there is a small Maronite chapel who's name I cannot find, but it is quite pretty.

After exiting the Cedar reserve, we walked along the road where there are plenty of souvenir merchants. One of the souvenir shops, the guy talked to us, asking where we were from. Samer said he was Lebanese, and I said I was a Canadian. He thought it was cute and took a keychain made from cedar and burned our names into it with 2010 and Bcharre as a souvenir of our trip. We ended buying a wooden Cedar box for me from him as well.

We got back to Beirut it was dark.

Day 13: Visiting friends in Beirut

Early in the day we went to Eliane's place near the bank of Byblos. We spent a few hours grilling Alain since it was the first time we meet Eliane's husband :) Of course while we were visiting their place was grand central station, one person would leave, another would arrive :P

In the afternoon we wandered over to LAU to see Leila after doing some shopping. Samer went to help Leila backing up her computer onto a USB drive.

Later that evening we took a cab to Susu's place. I was very lucky I got a private exhibition of Susu's paintings. Unfortunately shortly after arriving there, my stomach got all bent out of shape and we went back to Sonia's.

Day 12: Baalbek

We spent the day going to Baalbeck with Susu to visit the archeological site. The temple of Bacchus here is impressive. I felt compelled to walk it's perimeter while touching the walls. The entire site is impressive. What I found funny was that there was graffiti etched in the stone of the walls of the temple of bacchus from the 1850s. And we think modern man has invented everything!

While we were there we ran into 2 doctors from New Zealand traveling the silk road.

I can't remember what town we stopped in on the way back from Baalback but we had dinner there at this nice restaurant. We got back to Beirut after dark.

Many nights during this trip Susu and I would end up in Sonia's room talking for hours. Especially me, I got to be very verbose. It was interesting, I got to know both Sonia and Souad so much better on this trip. It was an interesting form of bonding. All 3 of us suffer from some form of ADD/ADHD and in some ways are very similar. All of us have unique challenges because of our neurological disorder and we each deal with it in a different way.

Day 11: Jbeil & Byblos

While I'd been to Jbeil and Byblos in 2007 it was at night, and I thought it might be nice to see it again. Souad took us and we first visited the Crusader Castle, that I had only previously seen at a distance. We also went to the souk and to the Wax Museum. We had lunch at Pepe's. The fish was pretty good. We stopped at a Cafe where Susu and Samer had some desert and we saw cats begging. It was pretty entertaining.

We were hoping to see Eliane and Alain but family obligations kept them away.

Day 10: Three countries in 12 hours

We left Wadi Rum at 8am after running into husband & wife from the Canadian Praries, who currently live in a ex-pat 'English community' in Aqaba. Of all the places to meet, in a desert camp in Wadi Rum.

We got to Amman around noon time and had lunch at a small Falafel joint where our driver often takes his family for a meal. This was some of the best falafel I've tasted and it was dirt cheap. Not more then a couple of canadian dollars and we had 20 falafels and a huge plate of hummus of course with pita and drinks. Our Syrian driver picked us up here and we drove to Syrian border, then drove straight across Syria, to the Lebanese border. This time we were at the Masnaa border and it went better! We came through the mountains and through some stiff fog around Mount Lebanon, which Samer loved.

We were in Beirut by dark. What a trip! Was the first time I'd been in 3 different countries in 12 hours! It could have been different countries if we had been able to enter Israel! Oh well!

Day 9: Wadi Rum

We didn't have anything planned till noon and in retrospect I should have asked to go back to Petra for the morning... but it just occurred to me, months later when transcribing the travel notes!

I spent some of the time taking pictures of the view, and of the paintings by a local artist of Petra found on the various floors of the hotel. Samer actually spent some time sun tanning and swimming in their pool. I wasn't in the mood for swimming.

We left at noon and went back for the last time to the Sandstone restaurant. We drove to Wadi Rum and took a 4x4 ride in the desert. Our truck was a toyota with 2 rows of seats and a back wagon. Samer and our driver sat in back and I sat with the Bedouin up front so I wouldn't be sick! The Bedouin asked where we were from and I said Canada. He said he liked Canadian tourists. Apparently we're nice and friendly. He dislikes the French, Germans and Italians because they are disrespectful and not appreciative.

The desert in Wadi Rum is surprisingly beautiful. It's not endless rolling sand dunes like in Dubai. This was just the beginning of the rainy season so it was the end of the dry season and there were these long white flowers in bloom and all sorts of small brush in the desert. Other then all the rock structures of sandstone, that look like they were carved from the sea. This area of Jordan was part of the Silk road and apparently the movie Lawrence of Arabia was filmed there.

We stayed at Al Zawaideh Desert Camp. While the accommodations were not particularly traditional it was fun. We had a small tent to ourselves. The food was awesome, there was enough food I could eat as a veggie. I even got to sample the Bedouin tea without sugar and it was quite good. I have to google how to make some of it :)

It was interesting, the food [especially lamb and chicken] was cooked in pans that were buried under the sand, just by the heat of the sun. I thought it was a really neat idea.

In the Jordanian desert is where I first experienced smoking a Shisha. I have to admit it was fun. I'm not sure I'll ever do it again, but I definitely enjoyed it.

Day 8: Dead Sea & Petra or Camels, Horses and Donkey's Oh My!

We left Amman for the dead sea at 8am. We got there at 9am before the first tour bus. Heck I had to ask them to open the women's bathrooms, they were still locked!!! It was awesome floating in the dead sea. We stayed close to an hour, just floating and enjoying the feeling. I couldn't bring myself to put mud all over myself though.

After we drove till about 1pm and made it to Petra. On the way we stopped so we could buy some local apples and sample them. They were great. It seemed like a mix between a granny smith and a red delicious. I didnt find much difference in taste between their green and red apples. However much like any fresh fruit recently picked off a tree, as opposed to a fruit that is picked before it is ripe for travel, it was sweet and delicious tasting.

We had lunch at the Sandstone restaurant in Petra which caters to vegetarians - like myself and our driver as it turns out. Around 3pm we got to Petra, and then rushed to get to the top - the monastery. We didn't get there till around 5:30 pm. It's impressive. Once up there I sat on a bench while Samer went up some more to a look out from where you can see the valley and Petra and the whole site. I figured my knee needed resting. While I was there I heard a cat's meow, so I responded. This yellow tabby male came out of nowhere, and jumped on my lap. I petted him and talked to him some, and he promptly fell asleep on my lap. I had to pry him off when Samer came back and we decided to go back down and try to see as much as possible before the sun sets.

The road leading to the Monastery from the entrance is about 4-5 km and there is 800 steps to get to the top. We didn't stop to take too many photo's walking up, and walking down towards the end it was too dark. Spending 5 hours at Petra was not nearly enough. I want to go back. We just barely covered the beginning. I want to see it all. I didn't get to see enough of the Treasury. All of this of course many people have seen in the Indiana Jones movie.

We had dinner around 8pm at the Sandstone restaurant. Not a bad idea. Although the Panorama hotel in Petra had a spectacular view of the town in the valley and felt much more like a hotel in Jordan, I didn't want to risk that it didn't have the right type of food.

Day 7: Amman, Jebel Nebo & Madaba

We left Damascus around 8:30 AM and we were at the border of Jordan roughly around noon. I was so frazzled by the border crossing and changing cabs that somehow I left my passport in the Syrian cab. When we got to the travel agent's office with our Jordanian driver, I get asked if I left my passport on the bus. I think he is joking until I cannot find my passport. The Syrian driver, an honest man, called to tell our Jordanian driver that he found my passport and arranged to meet up with us on his way out of Amman to return my passport.

After which we drove to Mount Nebo. It was probably later then expected because we lost 2 hours dealing with my damn passport. Mount Nebo is about 50km away from the border of Israel. The view is stunning. Sadly we arrived at the beginning of the rainy season and it happened to be windy and stormy that day, so the visibility was poor. We could see from the top of Mount Nebo the Dead sea - to which I exclaimed "That's it? That's a SEA? It's the size of a small lake!!!". That Canadian bias after seeing some of the great lakes!

We saw some amazing Mosaics at Mt Nebo and then some more at St George's Greek Orthodox church in Madaba. We got back to Amman it was dark and stayed at the Ramada Inn. If you want to sample life in the place you are staying, don't stay at the Ramada Inn. Apples from the US, when Jordan produces amazing local apples. Just as an example. There is nothing typically Jordanian on their restaurant menu other then hummus.. which isn't a meal. I had a meltdown in Amman. Especially after seeing the menu.

Samer took a cab around Amman and brought back some Falafel, hummus, and other local food which helped a great deal.

Day 6: Old Damascus

We had breakfast in Abu Kamal restaurant looking over a roundabout bustling with activity. We walked towards the souk and shopped a bit in the Damascus souk. We found some interesting souvenirs in one store, but none of our cards would work. The shop keeper walked us to a local bank machine where after trying all cards, I managed to get a cash advance on my Mastercard. At one end of the souk is the entrance to the Umayed Mosque. We had to get an entrance ticket for me and rent a brown hooded abaya before we could enter.

Shafi took us around the Mosque and toured us around. What to say about this Mosque other then impressive and beautiful and awesome. I could have spent more time absorbing it all but when you travel with others you have to be mindful of others :) We did get to see Saladin's burial place.

After our visit of the Mosque, we found Sonia at a cafe in a small street of old Damascus. I had a cold beverage and did a bit more shopping. It was interesting walking through the narrow roads and we went to this restaurant housed in a beautiful old home. I originally wrote it was Beit Jabri but I was wrong. According to a photo I have it is the Al Shami House Restaurant. The food was good but the place was just incredible. After we continued walking around the old Damascus, stopping in a couple of hotels that Sonia wanted to scout for future trips.

By the time we took a cab back to the hotel it was dark. Sonia and Shafi left for Beirut, while we took a long walk around the area around our hotel. We ended up on a street filled with shops so we did some window shopping until Samer couldn't deal with all the people anymore, then went to get fries again at the falafel and fry shop.

Day 5: Damascus

We got to Damascus it was dark. We didn't have too much of a hard time finding our Hotel, but we were not housed in the main part of the hotel but in an adjacent building a few buildings down. This seemed more like long term apartment then short term hotel room. The first room we were shown apparently stank and looked disgusting.

They were deciding how they felt about the second room and really I found nothing wrong. It wasn't any worse then any cheap motel I've been at. The rooms were clean and bug free. There was bathroom with functional shower and functional AC. We weren't planning on doing much but sleep in the rooms, so why stress it? Originally the idea was that the two men would share a room and the two women would share a room, so it was a suite with 2 bedrooms with each a single bed.

However apparently things have relaxed in Syria and no one asked us if we were married when we were alone in the suite the 2nd night. It didn't matter. My paranoia meant that we had a Lebanese paper that shows family status and is an acceptable proof for such cases. However Samer realized later that in his passport, our marital status is shown but in in English. Either way we were covered and we were never asked.

We went for a walk and found a place that made great french fries with amazing seasoning a couple of streets over. It was right next to a men's coffee house. As best as I can call it. Large room which much have room to seat up to about 2000 people. Men play cards, play chess, or checkers, eat, drink non alcoholic drinks, smoke shisha, watch sports and socialize. This coffee house appeared to be near capacity.

Day 5: Homs

This morning we left really early by cab from Beirut with Sonia and Shafi and drove north towards Tripoli, and to the border of Syria. via the Arida crossing. What chaos! In the end Samer had to pay Syrian official [Or lebanese official?] $10 because he had a Canadian wife! Past the crossing the drive to Homs was uneventful.

I guess the thing that struck me once we got into Syria is that it's poorer then the poorest parts of Lebanon that I've seen. Either that or the Syrians aren't as industrious ? Not sure. When I was told my mom in law was from Homs and the jokes that abounded around it I had visualized a small village. But apparently the city of Homs is now a large urban center and is home to over 1 million people. It's the third most important city in Syria , and mostly inhabited by Sunni Muslims.

Along with Sonia's good friend Nabila, we visited Homs' traditional Souk, as well as the "The Church of the Lady of the Girdle" where Sonia's mom used to worship. The story goes that this church has a girdle worn by the Virgin Mary. Currently this church, built over two older churches, is an active Syrian Orthodox worship center.

Nabila, a childhood friend of Sonia's treated us to Syrian hospitality. We were served a large meal. When Nabila found out I was vegetarian, she had made a bean dish especially for me. Although the smell of the bean dish was foul, the dish itself was quite delicious. After the meal, her husband drove us to the bus station and insisted on getting us tickets for the luxury coach to Damascus and wouldn't hear about us paying anything.

Oh and before we went to the bus station, he took us to the childhood home where Sonia had lived as a child. I took several photo's of Sonia and Samer in front of the building which still stands and looks very much as Sonia remembered it.

One thing that struck me about Nabila is she reminded me of my friend Diane, not because they looked that much alike but because her skin, both on her hands and face and her facial features appear like those of someone with Scleroderma.

Day 4: Saida and Sour

Today we went into the South of Lebanon, first we drove out of Beirut in the direction of Saida [Sidon]. The town is along the Mediterranean and has an interesting crusader Castle which we stopped to visit. We also visited the souk which had no sellers because it was Saturday but had a stamp exposition in collaboration with the Turkish government that was open and free to visit.

After which we drove to Sour, to a nice villa owned by Souad's uncle where we spent the day's hottest hours. The house has a large outdoor living area near a pool on beautifully kept grounds. Other then a jack hammer who serenaded us for the first hour, there is such peace in the gardens, that you forget you're just 2 hours away [when there is traffic] from the chaos of Beirut.

This was my first experience main with Lebanese hospitality. [That is outside of Samer's family] We were treated to a feast, of which 6 of the 8 dishes I could actually eat. Several were fish dishes and I was made aware that the fish had been bought early the same morning from the fisherman, before it made it to the market. The food was just awesome.

We then went to visit the Al-bass archeological site in Sour [Tyr]. The site is impressive. I also saw probably the biggest aloe vera plant. Compared to my small plants at home!

We got back to Beirut it was dark.

Day 3: Beirut - Visiting Samer's Amto

Today, Saturday along with Sonia, Souad and Samer, we went to visit Samer's Amto. In arabic it means a paternal aunt. This is his dad's youngest sister, and also Samer's favorite aunt. I liked her because she is blunt and direct. I always like that in people. She has two teen age daughters, both pretty spunky.

The conversation took an interesting twist and we ended up discussing open relationships and the fact that 1 person can rarely be someone else everything. Not the conversation I would have expected but I can see his aunt and I see eye to eye :)

Day 2: Visit downtown Beirut

We took a walk from my mom in law's house in West Beirut to Martyrs Square and the big blue Mosque that is also the resting place of Hariri. The Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque, is modern, finished in 2007 and also the first Mosque I had the pleasure to visit.

We met Samer's friend Joumana in front of the Mosque, and continued visiting walking past the Roman ruins and going to Place de L'Etoile. After which we went back to West Beirut since Samer wanted to say Hi to Brenda, the Missionary from his childhood, who just happened to be in Beirut at the same time as us.

Day 1 : Arrival in Beirut

We landed in Beirut around 2pm local time and it was a change from both Montreal and Paris with 12C or less, whereas it was 32C in Beirut. Of course it goes without say that it was with 80% humidity. Sonia picked us up at the airport with Karim.

I was pretty jet lagged so my recollection of the day is fuzzy at best. I know we saw Samer's friend/teacher/ex-boss Leila. His uncle Gerard and wife Nouna also stopped by for a visit and I'm sure Souad came over to hang out as well.

Day 0 : We leave for Beirut, Lebanon

We left for the airport at 2pm. After waiting 30 minutes to be processed at the check out counter we found out 2 of our bags were too heavy for the current international standards for Air France. So we had to buy an extra carry-on and put all the heavier stuff in it. Despite this we were still too heavy but the 2nd person we got at the checkout counter was much nicer and she avoided us the surcharge for an extra heavier bag.

It was a big Boeing 777 from Air France reasonably new, so it had personal entertainment at each station. I ended up watching Sex & the City 2 and some new doors documentary [not as good as the movie based on book "No one gets out of here Alive" in my opinion]. Also got to watch an episode of NCIS and an episode of CSI. THat kept me from stressing too much over the turbulance. THe food was nothing special and their sauce was sugared. YUCK. Thankfully their fruit was fresh.

I hate Charles de Gaules airport. We arrive in this massive plane and had to walk down the stairs ourselves onto the tarmac and then onto a bus with our carry-on. Then we got to the terminal where the first thing that happens is a security check. Because in that space between being scanned in Canada and boarding the place SO MUCH CAN HAPPEN!!!

They were so disorganized. THe thing beeped for absolutely no reason. I mean I Had gone through the first time without it beeping but they forced me to go back to take my camera out. Because somehow being asked if I had a laptop should have made me realize that if I had a camera and anything else electronic I was supposed to take it out of my carry-on. Then I walked through again and this time it beeped and I was patted down. After all that once they asked for my boarding pass, they re-scanned my purse. The irony of it all is after all those security checks I had both a lighter and matches in my purse... which both made it back to Montreal on the way back too.

And with all the stresses I didn't manage to sleep a wink the whole way to Beirut from Montreal.

Great Chart

I think I saw this posted on Facebook by one of my friends. I thought it was great.