Happy (re)Birthday Ruby

It was a year ago today that Ruby first appeared at our back door as a little skeletal dog. I can't believe it is a whole year already and can't imagine life without her now. She is such a good tempered and affectionate dog.



We are in the last few days of Ramadan now.... just hoping for a clear night when the new moon arrives. It has not been as bad as I thought it would be, but then the weather has not been so unremittingly hot as it usually is this time of year - in fact some days it has been distinctly cool.

Mohamed's sister Aicha and family are here for a few days. It is nice to see them but quite hard work... they are all staying up late and eating late and then sleeping late while I would rather get a good nights sleep (not really possible with a house full of fully awake Moroccans) and get up early (which I have to do to work and feed animals) and so would prefer to eat earlier.... but I guess it is only for a few days. It would be better if it wasn't Ramadan though.

I think his other sister Khadija will be here for a few days next week.

We have just about cleared up all the concrete dust and rubble and are getting things together to start on finishing a room upstairs so that guests (who don't want to sleep on the living room floor) will have a bedroom with ensuite - with the aim of getting it ready for my Dad when he visits in October/November.

and that is about all the news.

I hope you are all well.

Ramadan Kareem

Today we have had a reprieve and it is not quite Ramadan here in Morocco - I think it must have been too cloudy everywhere for the new moon to be seen. Still it is going to be starting soon - probably tomorrow. Mohamed and I need to get to the souk today and buy chebekia and dates and chickpeas and everything else we need to buy to eat in Ramadan. It always strikes me as very contradictory all the food preparation that goes on for a month that is supposed to be about fasting.

Well the other week we went to the house-warming party at Aisha and Said's new house. It was the first time I had been to the house for a while and it was looking very lovely and surprisingly light - I was worried that it would be dark with the lack of windows.

The party was a big affair (not the family lunch and dinner I was expecting). We went on Thursday which was officially ladies night (though there were a lot of men there) and there was a disco upstairs on the roof for dancing as well as the out door kitchen with the cooks cooking up huge amounts of tagine and chicken and sfah (sweet couscous)etc etc.... My new best friend is Fatima the professional cook who was brought in for 3 days to get all the food prepared and cooked.

On Friday it was men's day where the men all come and read from the Koran and eat couscous and no doubt sit around talking seriously about weighty things.

And at the end of the night Miluda and M'bark got formally engaged. This wedding has been talked about for over a year and will finally take place in early September - once Ramadan is over. M'bark is the younger brother of the father of Jamia (Rachid's wife)... so large families grow larger. I first met them when I took photos of his sister's wedding. They seem like a really lovely family and live on a farm just at the edge of Taroudant - which I guess will be Miluda's new home. Mbark works in the Shell garage in town.

On the home front we are in the final throes of building building work. The walls on the roof are just about finished so now I can go on the roof without worrying about falling over the edge (my worry) or being seen by the neighbours (Mohamed's worry).

It was quite funny when the stairs were complete Ruby would not go up onto the roof. She was really freaked out by it all....and it is not about being at height as she goes rock climbing all the time. The cats went up and explored and started chasing each other round almost straight away. I think it is that cats are very much in the present. They know perfectly well that it is a new roof and that it wasn't there before... but it is here now and that is all that matters. Dogs on the other hand (or Ruby anyway) worry about change.

And our other news... well Mohamed's results for the year are out and it looks like he is top of the year. So well done to him.

I will post some photos some time when I have a better internet speed.