Wednesday 30 April 2008

A Thoughtful Surprise To Lift your Mood

Photobucket
There is nothing like gifts from loved ones to cheer you up masha Allah! Esp. when you are feeling low, subhan Allah sends His relief in different ways, blessings in different forms. I have been looking for ease from outside the home when all the time the relief came from within, sometimes dua's are answered instantly as Allah knows what’s best for you! Photobucket
It's not so much the gift for me although it is much welcomed and i am grateful its the thought! That someone went out there and felt me worthy of their savings or exra cash masha Allah spreadiing love and gaining reward from Allah Subhanoo. I love the box and the title of the perfume 'love Me' , may Allah bless my dd1 with Janat Al Firdous ameen.Photobucket

when it rains it pours.

pain.=/

Ever felt it always comes in one go? I have been analizing why life seems so hard in Algeria in so many respects? Apart form the obvious, when things go wrong , inability and lack of resources to access the remeidy for one! Alhamduilah just lately I have had some issues come in thick and hard all in one go, I am trying to work them through inshAllah, with sabr and steadfastness. Sometimes we all need a boost, we all need a lift , we all need support, we all need to feel inspired. The feeling of a storm brewing, trying to aviod a climax this is the real endurance test subhanAllah.Storm Brewing

Sunday 27 April 2008

Entertaining My Algerian Guest

I am having a long awaited guest coming over today as this family member (dh family inlaws)is here in Algeria on hols and soon to return to her home in Europe. I want to talk about feeding guest and ettiquite here, first of all Algerians have there own protacal on this mater. For me its too much protocol, I just do my own thing! What’s best for me but without minimizing on the effort for my guest inshaAllah. Now invites for dinner, coffee , lunch are a lavish affair in Algeria , hospitality is overwhelming sometimes but nice, at times I feel like the queen dinning with all the trimmings ect , sometimes the effort gone into make the food is so nice I don’t want to devour it with my fork. It is nice but sometimes can be to stuffy esp. if you are not accustomed to dine this way, I certainly don’t feel relaxed. So today I will served Buriyani , my own version as we don’t have buriyani in the North of Indian and this is my own fusion cooked version borrowed from my desi neighbors the Pakistanis and South Indians.

Photobucket
ok this picture does not do justice so i took another while I await my guest
Photobucket

Then there was Algerian salad
Photobucket

I must add the veg in Algeria is so delicious and taste just like veg should, natural sweetness and flavor, tomatoes are lovely; now I never ate tomatoes in the UK here I eat them like apple yum!

Salada falfal halow (sweet pepper salad)
Photobucket

Something to wash it all down with and some fruit for desert they call them mish mash here I am not sure what they are called in English. Then there was bread of course as Algerians eat bread with everything Inc rice!!!
Photobucket
Photobucket

Now I am just awaiting my guest as she is late!

Friday 25 April 2008

Doughnuts

Photobucket

I made doughnuts for tea today , i like this quick and easy yet soooooo satisfiying recipe , loved by all the family bar 1, not saying who.
1-1/4 Cups Milk

1 Egg (beaten)

1/4 Cup Butter

1/4 Cup Sugar

1 Tsp Salt

3-3/4 Cups White Flour

1-1/2 Tsp Yeast


1, Measure ingredients into baking pan in order as appears

2, Then set bread machine to the Dough setting

3, When done roll dough to 12mm (1/2'') thick

4, Then ut with a dough cutter or use biscute ring 6.5cm (2-1/2'')

5, Place on a tray and cover let rise double in size for 30 min.

6, Then heat up oil in a chip pan when hot put some of the dough in the pan and fry turn when brown on one side

7, Drain on kitchen towel

8, Dip in Caster Sugar (or Caster sugar mixed with cinnamon)
Enjoy!!

When In Hardship........

Go visit someone in a far worser situation than you! Makes you put your own situation into perspective. Offer suport and kindness, exchange gift's if you can as this increases and spreads love.
Bachelorette Party Gift
I did exactly that , I want to talk about the walk uphill to the shacks, i love the place this person lives in, ok so its shacks and the area is not much , with piles of rubbish and land filled sites(I noticed that someone had set up a shack next to the rubbish tip, subhanAllah Al Al mut'aan what a condition to live in next to the rubbish tip, well in it rather. The views are breath taking, wish i had a cam to show you, truely beautiful subhanAllah. The walk is uphill very uphill, i had great views of the sea and town centre , the market (that appeared like a dot from where i was) I could make out the white Masjid, the roads and the cars that looked like ants.
sea side veiw
There is a serinty and carmness that i feel when ever i go there, the path is rocky and the drop is low, its a tiring uphill walk but i like it makes me feel hummble subhanAllah. A simple act of walking makes me hummble and be thankful for the abilty to make this step mashaAllah alhamduilah.It more to do with what i see on my way, the poverty, the despration, of families, young and old. The shacks are not to bad , some have brick walls and some have proper roofs. My friends roof leaks as its made from ply wood, her home is basic as they come but she has a TV and a satilite dish, an odd site for the shacks but they all have it subhan Allah. It's so peaceful in her home,there is a natual tranquilty, a smiplicity, a bareness that only povery can provide, she is always appoligising to me about the state of it , I tell her don't! I like it! It's comfy, simple and Peaceful. She told me since the council started building works further up the road, the water had been disconected its been 2 months now, she walk to a well about 10mins down hill with empty bottles in a bag and returns uphill with them full. This process is repeated often throughout the week. How we take for granted turning a tap on, i have water rations and that is hard enough esp as the reseve tank is out of action and I do run low on supplies, it's so stressfull , I will enter the kitchen on such days to cook wth a heavy heart and a stressed mind as I find this hard to do so with little water, washing clothes is hard too, so I am only touching the ice berge of this hardship subhanAllah as alhamduilah my water come in daily now and they are rationing once per week or maybe twice but supply will return within 24hrs. when I first arrived in 2005 water was on rations for 2 days at a time sometimes 3 the most being 4, now that was hard. Before I made hijrah one year while on hols here in the summer and tempture was 4oC , 12 days , yes 12 days of misery , no water. I value a drip from the tap belive me as sometimes its all I have had for days as mains supply and I have collected a bucketful in hours. I never though a drip would bring me such pleasure and joy! I remind her of someone in far worser hardship than hers, I tell her think of those who have no clean drinking water, think of thoses who have no 10 min walk to get water from a well and say Alhamduilah.
Drip Drip Drip
Have a look around you today and say Alahmduilah for all you have beacause it's a blessing belive me!

Thursday 24 April 2008

Someone out There Is Suffering!

Can we make a difference ? Can we reach out to someone and make a change? Can we be bothered to care for those suffering?

When you see your sister suffering when do you intervine? When do you say come on you can't do this alone I am going to help you? Do you turn the other cheek and move on? You may not know her well but this does not mean she does not warrant your help? Do you really know the meaning of sisterhood? Do you really know the meaning of loving for your sister what you love for yourself? Give charity if only with half a date!!!
Photobucket
These are my muslim brothers and sister
You hardly know her , got your own set of prob's but remember there is always someone out their in far greater need! Say Al hamduillah Allah has put you in the position you are in , Allah does not burden you with a test you can not see through! After the hardship comes the ease , maybe you are that ease where this sister is concerned?
Go do something nice for your sister today, go pick up the phone call her to pass salams , send a happy email, sms (TXT), make your sister smile for her happyness and well being by your intentions will weight heavy for you on a day when it matters and material gain will not!

Wednesday 23 April 2008

Sisterhood Not Wanted Here Please!!!

Ever felt rejected? offers of love for the sake of Allah rejected? hurt so badly by others words and actions? All you wanted was a realationship, was it too much to ask ? was it too much to give? We all make mistakes , we are all not so perfect, we all need love in different forms, we all need to feel apprechaited for our efforts however big or small ( iam not talking about praise here). Its hard to forgive sometimes when the pain is so deep and the hurt is so rife, but you do , you do it for the sake of Allah as islam has taught you to be better than that, only to get slapped in the face again (not litirally but with the hurt and rejection described earlier). I want to say i am not a mug, i am a person, i am someones daughter, sister, mother , wife i didn't just fall out of a tree, i deserve respect!!!! so what to do now!!!! move on , why set your self up for a fall time and time again ? Iam a person !!! Don't you see that !!! I have feelings!!! What is it about me that causes you so much unease!! I have a right to your sisterhood for the sake of Allah!! You are hurting so many as my life involes others!!Broken heart
The damage is done , my heart is turned ,You hurt me so much , you put the knife in and twisted it so many times!! i tried and i tried Allah is my witness and remember 'you will stand before next to me before our lord to give account for all the hurt you caused me, you will give account for this!!!! yet i don't hate you , i make dua for you , i pity you but i can't rebuild with you , you have distroyed that in me, maybe coz i haven't forgiven you although i have tried belive me. Iam not the superfical type i dispise hporocsy, i can't sit there and be fake the damage is done sister leave me be.....................you pain me now , you cause me grief.

Ever felt like this ?

dead rose

Monday 21 April 2008

It's windy!!

Photobucket
It sure is windy out there , since last night the wind has been battering my windows and shutters with no let up. I quite like noisy weather and high winds is another i like along side rain, as long as i am not in it. I like the way the sea moves and changes colour with the waves lapping on one another, i like the way the trees branches are blown over like they will snap off under such force. I like the way it creates a dust whirwind (as long as that does not come near my net curtians!!!). The way people are holding onto thier clothers and struggling to put one foot in front of the other, best of all subhanAllah it reminds me of Al khaliqh my creator and the creator of this very wind, that is blowning today by His comand!

Six word Memoir/ Tagged

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Thanks for the tag strangerinduniyah it made me think!

The Rules:
1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post
4. Tag six more blogs with links
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

Living Life through tears of happyness!

I can't get my link thingy to work!!!

I tag :
1. http://motherhoodinsaudi.blogspot.com/
2. http://katescrafts.wordpress.com/
3. http://www.happymuslimmama.com/
4. http://thoughtfulstranger.blogspot.com/
5. http://muslimbychoice-amina.blogspot.com/
6. http://culinaryxcouture.blogspot.com/

Friday 18 April 2008

Iam back alhamduillah

sooo true

I have been quite around here as my net was down for tooo long , its horrid when i don't have connection , its like my my left arm is missing, well i kept busy in different ways.


I had the saga of the lost lauggage - which alhamduillah turned up 3 days latter all well and in order mashaAllah.

Alhamduillah i have had company during my abscence, there was a party for a sister who is leaving algeria temporaliy to head back to the USA. We gave her a send of , it was very nice mashaAllah to see sisterhood ex-pat style at its best, we were 8 sisters all from different corners of the world , what was uniting us here? Islam and love for the sake of Allah alone subhan Allah also the fact that we are all ex-pats bar 1 (my new native sister) not forgetting the Algerian dh's, what a blessing mashaAllah. I had afternoon tea with some sisters yesterday and a new sister who is my first native friend mashaAllah, i really like this sister she is so down to earth and chilled mashaAllah. More importantly she laught's at my jokes!!!!!
world unity


I have had water stress by means of a leaking reserve tank that was vandalised in my abscence while on hols to the UK- kids nodoubt!!!! I had the leaks fixed alhamduillah but still no water coming to the home when main supply is on rations Allah al must'aan.

I went to up town Algers to sort out my internet and i made this trip with dd1 via bus and it was great a really nice afternoon out , i liked the views of the port and the ferry's and ships. i also found a gynocolgist finally after 3years of not trying to hard infact i found 2!!!!
smile
I have managed to crochet 2 new squares for a cusion for my daughter and learn 2 new styles mashaAllah, thought my dd2 to sew , she has been sewing beeds onto fabric alhamduillah. I have been up and down to the schools, cleaning , really deep cleaning piles of dust subhanAllah, trying to relax and chill, have been shopping too mashaAllah as the sun is out spring is here and its like really hot mashaAllah 25oC i always say i like algeria better in the sun.
happy

I have had some good news alhamduilah upon my return Algie telecom have installed telephone mast in the area and already done the wirring to the buildings in my abscence which means i will inshaAllah be able to upgrade in the futre to broadband and goodbye dial up!!!!! Also major construction is under way all around me , a indoor market is being built on my doorstep, anyone who lives in Algeria will know how much of a blessing this is esp for me mashaAllah. also a new hosp , secondary school and a mosque inshaAllah, after the hardship will come the ease subhanAllah, i think i am meant to be moving from here in a year or so so maybe not , i must say i am tempted to stay on though........i realising the younger 2 need there space , so we defo need to move to bigger premisis inshaAllah soon.
road construction

Saving the best till last now that burning question you ladies want to ask , how do i feel being back??? in all truth mashaAllah GREAT!!!!! i really needed to get away and come back recharged , i have come to realise that Algeria is full of hardships and thier is no way around that , its about learning to live and cope is where i need to channel my energies inshaAllah, you can't escape them , they are all here one after the other and its all for a reason as i belive nout is random.

Friday 4 April 2008

My return....................

All was well we checked in online the night before we were even able to allocate our seat on the flight for the next day ourselves mashaAllah, the new terminal looks small from the outside but once in its very nice , i found it very simple and stress free. The lower levels are like an up-market shopping centre with shops like Prada, Harrods all selling thier goods. All we had to do was to go to the fast bag drop to have the bags tagged and weighted, this was done all ok alhamduillah. Depture lounge actually felt like the depature lounge in Algeria and looked like it too. At the final checks point , I had a tin of heniz baked beans convinscated, they said the volume was too big , i was gutted as it was for my dear friend in Algeria who wanted a taste of home , i pleaded and pleaded but to no avial and they threw it away in a big bin full of other goodies. We were delayed in a que for take off there were a number of planes hanging around for a take off slot. When i got to Algeris i noticed there were many people hanging abut the belt for bags ect but only few bags , 2/5 had arrived of mine and 3 piece never arrived Allah Al must'aan what i have been reading about on the news for weeks had happened to me!!!!! The stress had began and i was barely on Algerian soil subhanAllah but not an algerian problem this time !!! A very British one!!!! so now i wait for a phone call from the arport to see if my bags come in ..........and wait and wait , we are making dua they show soon before Tuesday as i have medicine for various sisters and i am seeing them on Tuesday inshaAllah. also one suitcase belonged to my dd1 and she is devestated as it contained all her treats but we have to have sabr and thank allah at least we got 2 bags some people got none.
Photobucket
Apart from that fisco i was dreading leaving and coming back , subhan Allah Allah has been mercyful to me yet again mashaAllah and i feel happy to be back , i really do , felt like i was never away , felt like home subhan Allah actually felt nice to be back , i was suprissed myself for feeling this way, m heart is in 2 places, its like a man being in love with 2 women he cant explain it but loves them both!!! am i making sense? i poped into see the neighbour to pick up my tortoise she had been pet sitting for me. It was so nice to see her mashaAllah and she noted the change in my glow and said it looked like the trip did me good !!! MashaAllah she was not wrong there! We had spagetti in pasata sauce for dinner , it was actually very nice, i did a lil dusting and sweeping , changed the bed covers as the place just feels so dusty- hard slog for the days ahead i foresee alhamduillah. The kids are straight into school tomorrow inshaAllah they are 1 week over due, the gifts they got for thier teachers are in the lost baggage. Do i feel refreshed , yes , do i feel ready to face Algeria and all its good and bad for another pierod , yes inshaAllah i do , recharged mentally but physically i am actually looking forward to the rest here as the UK was a lot of going out and about , condensing 9 months worth into 4 weeks but i did it alhamduillah , only thing i didn't get to do was a trip to the West End and the park, that had more to do with the weather than anything elses.You will be reading more or less from me over time
i might be moving agian, back with my mom and her bf. I might b able to talk to u for ever know

Thursday 3 April 2008

The Return

my heart is in 2 pieces and my head in much more , my limbs just do what they are told, its that time Photobucket
need to get my act together and i mean emotional and physically too. I will feel better once i have done the goodbyes , checked in with all bags and on that plane inshaAllah. Well i get to check out the new terminal 5 , with all its added baggage prob's.

more tunics

I am due to return to Algeria tommorow so time has been very sort , what with one thing and another i have just ran out of time !!!!!!! Alhamdullah i really pushed myself to get these last tunic's sewen, the black one is messed up and she won't be wearing it , the green came good mashaAllah sleeves and all alhamduillah.
Photobucket
Photobucket

Prayers for Peace

Prayers for Peace