He's Gone...

My last glimpse of him was through the posts and bars that outlined the security system for Terminal 5 at O'Hare. And then he was gone.

It has been a wonderful 2 weeks -- I'm so grateful we could bring him home inbetween his Adventures for God. Off to country number 3 -- another in North Africa where his French will be useful, but where he will have to learn yet another Arabic dialect. I'm glad he could spend time with Jen, especially, but also with Susie, Kara, and his friend Michael who was home for the same two weeks from his Peace Corps stint in Guatemala. He even got down to Indy to see Wes, Brian, Ben & Aaron -- and of course, Torrey and Chris were here for Christmas.

His suitcases were heavy -- he's packing for -- well, nearly two years -- though I expect a few care packages will fly between here and there. One suitcase was 68 pounds; the other was 62. Somehow they overlooked the one that was 62, and only charged us for the really heavy one. I just hope it made it in one piece...

"Ah, I see you washed your passport" said the ticket agent. Evidently she has seen that before. He'll need a new one -- just don't know when he'll be able to get that given all the traveling he will be doing.

I cried when he left. I tear up even now.

Being an empty nester is tough.

At least Jen and I can do a Ladies' Day Out periodically. That helps.

Yes -- it does.

Moroccan Dinner

Thursday night we decided to do our version of a Moroccan dinner with the "Poulet au Citron" which has an emphasis on the olives rather than the preserved lemons. Tim and Jen were the assistant cooks, chopping garlic, arranging olives, putting together the spices for the "juice."

Susie, Kara & Michael came over for dinner as well, which wasn't quite finished when they arrived, so the kitchen was full of happy noisy people. It was wonderful. I presided over dinner wearing my purple jellabah (of course). Bob presided over dessert which was vanilla ice cream with Saunders Hot Fudge (the best in the world, I'm convinced -- it comes from Detroit. I tried to make the hot fudge once -- I found a recipe for it. I used a very clean, washed bottle to store it in. The hot fudge was delicious -- if you like a very faint odor and taste of dill. Evidently the bottle had once been used for pickles. But I digress....) Not very Moroccan, but there you are.





Our menu:

Poulet au Citron avec Olives



Broccoli (because Jen is into healthy)
Couscous (surprisingly good given that it came out of a package)
Fresh Italian bread (what, you think we are going to get Moroccan bread at the Jewel??)
Red wine
The aforementioned ice cream with hot fudge -- which wasn't hot, but that's OK.

We had great fun, the chicken was amazingly good, consider that my general claim to fame in terms of cooking is applying microwave to food, and super fellowship.

I do like Tim's friends.

Christmas Traditions

It is so much fun to hear about other folks' Christmas traditions -- how and why they became traditions. We each bring much from our family of origin, and then combine them to see what fits -- what new ones we'll add; what will work for awhile, and what will be put away -- perhaps as we add children -- or as they grow and leave the nest.

So I thought I'd try and list ours -- where they came from and why we do what we do.

1. Decorating for Christmas on Thanksgiving Day

This actually started -- oh -- maybe 12 years ago or so when Rosie began sending us Christmas dishes for our gift. Seemed smart to get them out at Thanksgiving and keep using them through the new year, thus getting at least 6 weeks use per year out of them. That started getting us decorating -- which includes the little Dickens village I have on the buffet in the dining room. We moved from a real tree to a real-looking one about 4 years ago, so we are now able to decorate the tree on T'giving Day and keep it up through New Years.

2. The yearly Christmas letter.

Bob and I got married in 1970, so this is our 38th Christmas together. I have a notebook in which I have a copy of every card I've sent out -- with a synopsis of each year that I would hand write until I finally got a bit smarter, and in 1981 started what would become the annual Bulletin. It has morphed from a typewritten letter on plain paper, to a dot-matrix printer on holiday paper, to laser jet printer with water marks, to clip art (1996) to pictures (2003). Jill and Torrey are keeping up the tradition -- smart girls -- they started a lot earlier in their marriages than I did!!

3. Luminaria on Christmas Eve -- see the Christmas Eve blog in 2006 for this one.

Every year we drive around our neighborhood to see who has "complied" with the unwritten rule about luminaria....it's fun to see that almost everyone on our street has.

4. Christmas Eve dinner at Beijing.

Tim was 16 months when we first went to Beijing for Christmas Eve dinner -- he's now 23. It's a highlight! Gone are the days when Bea and Johnny, the owners, would come over for a little chat. Seems as though it's become a VERY popular spot. The restaurant was packed out last night. What do we eat? Same thing every year: Won ton soup, potstickers (2 orders please), crispy shrimp, orange beef, mu shu pork, and sesame chicken.

5. Christmas Eve service at College Church

We've moved from the 4:00 children's service to the 11:00 candlelight service -- at least 12 or 13 years ago when Tim decided he was too old for the children's service.....

6. Pajamas from the Elves

I think this one started when Jill was about 4 and Torrey was 1. The elves choose new pajamas for each member of the family (or anyone staying with us over Christmas Eve) and leave them, wrapped, on the person's bed so they are there when we arrive home from church. The kids believed in the elves long after they stopped believing in Santa. My favorite memory about that is my mother, a couple of years after she and Amos married, came running down the stairs yelling, "We've been elfed! We've been elfed!!"

7. Tea....

After everyone gets their elf jammies on, we gather in the kitchen for a cup of Christmas tea. This year it was Candy Cane Lane. (Moroccan mint for Tim).

8. Birthday cake for Jesus

We don't do this one any more, but when the children were younger, this was the tradition after the jammies and before bed...."Happy Birthday to Jesus."

9. Stockings

Of course. And still.

10. Gifts put out before everyone else is up

This is probably tradition in many families -- but Bob and I still put out the bulk of the gifts under the tree and fill the stockings before everyone else is up. We used to do it after Beijing and before the Christmas Eve service -- fortunately our parlor/living room has pocket doors so we can close them and no one can see what is there. Now we just get up earlier than everyone else, put the coffee pot on, and put everything under the tree. That's the advantage of not having little kids....in case you needed an advantage.

11. Pictures - then stockings - then presents

And presents are one at a time....always. With Bob being "Santa."

12. Christmas dinner....is no more

Instead (see blog for Christmas 2005 regarding Lazarus, the dead turkey that did not rise again) we have hors d'ouevres and snacks all day long. No cooking for the One Who Only Applies Heat to Food, and a totally relaxed rest-of-the-day reading, playing games, putting together a puzzle (this year), and napping....

Speaking of which.....

What are your traditions?

Merry Christmas!

"It's About the Cross..."



Need we say more?

Eid al-Adha

This Muslim holiday begins today and lasts for three or four days. It is the second Eid of the year on the Islamic calendar; the first one marks the end of Ramadan. This one commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice Ishmael -- according to the Koran, Ishmael was spared, and a sheep was sacrificed in his place.

"Wait a minute," you say -- "Wasn't it Isaac that was to be sacrified?" Yes, according to the book of Genesis it was Isaac, but according to the Koran, it was Ishmael.

So this is the celebration. According to the Chicago Tribune, "Muslims traditionally put on their best clothes in the morning and meet in large, open spaces to pray to Allah. After listening to a sermon, they disperse to visit family and friends, partake in festive dishes and sweets, and give children eidee (Eid money) and other gifts.

Tim says he is rather glad he is home in the US of A instead of in Fes for the celebration. His friends, Najib and Abdullah, brought a sheep over to live in Tim's back yard for a couple of days until they could slaughter it appropriately, as is the custom. Tim helped them carry this Very Large Sheep through his house and into his back yard where it quietly lived off the grass for the last couple of days of his life. (His? Sheep with horns = male?)

The sheep must be slaughtered ceremoniously, and then left to drain all the blood so that it will be hallal (or ceremoniously clean). Tonight, the first night of Eid, they will eat the liver, spleen and heart. It's organ night.

Tomorrow night is the sheep's head and the brains.

Now you know why Tim is glad he is at home and not visiting Najib who had already invited him to be part of the celebration. Fortunately, according to Tim, he already had his plane tickets home.

And we had pork chops for dinner.

Not hallal.

Definitely not hallal.

Last Bits from Morocco

Time to wrap it up -- see if there are any more pictures we want to share or that you would enjoy from this most exotic of trips. If, of course, you can apply "exotic" to squatty potties and hand held showers. Though it is compared to what Tim is going to in 10 days.

Ouch! Is that all he has left? Deep breath.



This is one of the gates into the King's palace in Fes. Moroccans are not allowed in this plaza, though "foreigners" can be there as long as they don't take any pictures of people -- just things. The King has several palaces in different cities though he generally resides in Rabat. Evidently he had just been to Fes and we missed him by a couple of days.



One last picture of the old wall around the newer old city. There is the medina -- the old city dating back to 900 AD, and then Fes J'Did which is a newer walled city. I don't know exactly when it was built, but it is obviously a lot more modern with wider streets and bigger souks than the old city.



And a final picture of us at our Moroccan dinner after we had our three hour course in Darijia. The true picture would have been to see us digging in with our hands and just tearing the meat off that delicious chicken.

l-magrib zwin, l-hamdu lillah!

Beslama for now.

Just a Slight Catastrophe

Tim laundered his passport.

Dried it too.

My hunch is that passports were not designed to be run through a typical American washer and dryer (with Bounce, no less).

Fortunately, his visa enabling him to get to the next country where he is going to work is intact.

More or less. Fortunately, more.

His passport (0riginally) only had about 2 blank pages left.

It now has -- oh -- four or five blank pages left.

Plus there is an added page where the last sheet separated from the blue backing.

I suppose that could be considered a plus.

Tim -- did your mother not teach you to check pockets before you do the wash???

What kind of mother do you have?

Oh -- I'm that mother....

Tim is HOME!!

We picked him up at O'Hare tonight -- a snowy, blowy night....His flight came in an hour and a half late from Paris...and then of course, was the interminable wait for him to navigate getting his luggage (it's still in Paris) and customs -- at least this time he wasn't detained by Homeland Security...

Ah -- but he is home. And he's loving every bit of the C'mas lights and music -- there is none of that in Morocco.

His friend Michael got home from Guatemala tonight too. Michael has been serving in the Peace Corps since last April and his folks brought him home for C'mas too.

His mom called me today -- two excited mothers -- our sons are home for Christmas!!

And the best part is that Torrey & Chris will be here on Friday so we will have ALMOST our whole family together. If only Jill, Derrick & Deven could be here too -- but Jill said "I'm not ever coming north again when it is cold...."

OK for you -- no more "home for Christmas" or "sleigh bells ring" or "chestnuts roasting o'er an open fire...."

But tonight -- I'm one happy mom!

Chicken with Olives

With abject apologies, you are not going to get the really yummy "Poulet au Citron" recipe I have. That's because it came from the Chicago Tribune Magazine before we went to Morocco and doesn't count. That recipe calls for saffron and preserved lemons, neither of which are easily obtainable at your local Jewel or Dominicks (I checked).

Of course, I HAVE the preserved lemons (preserved, bottled and sold in Marrakech) and the saffron (teeny little threads in teeny little baggies) sold and packaged (I presume) in the wonderful and funky grocery store in Fes J'Did.

The reason I love this dish is because (a) for the most part, I can cook chicken. Or something that tastes like chicken. Or we can get Brown's Chicken on a Sunday night while we are watching 60 Minutes or Amazing Race (which Torrey & Chris absolutely HAVE to enter) -- but I digress.... (b) it has OLIVES. Now mind you, the best green olives (with stones) in the entire world come from Sevilla, Spain. Tim would get little packages of them and have them as his study snack. Quite unfortunately, he introduced us to said olives. Oh My Word. Well, they don't deliver to the US of A. I checked. Anyway, despite that, it has olives and if you can get the right ones -- don't bother with the canned Libby prepitted ones. They have to have the STONES (pits, for you Americans) in them. (c) I'm sure there was a (c). I just have to think about it for awhile.

Anyway, here is the dish:

And, for you Cordon Bleu -- or "apply-heat-to-food" cooks, here is the recipe from our "North Africa Recipes" booklet:

40 g butter
about 2 kg chicken, cut into serving peces
1 onion, finely chopped
1 glove garlic, crushed
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp flour
1/2 liter water (OK, I'm a nurse. I know that is 500 cc -- or about 2 cups)
250g stoned green olives, soaked for 1 hour in cold water. Let me assure you these are NOT olives that are drunk, OK? These are olives that still have the "stone" or "pit" in it. The best thing to have on hand is my very favorite in the whole world souvenir I bought in Sevilla which is a little dish for the olives which has a teeny cup attached for the stones.
2 tbsps finely chopped fresh mint or parsley (That would be tablespoons for those that are deficient in this area)
juice 1 lemon

Melt butter in a large saucepan and add chicken pieces. (Remember you cut up the chicken, or you bought thighs & legs for those of us who are crazy about dark meat, regardless of the recommendations of assorted dieticians in the US of A.)
Oh yes. Sprinkle onion, garlic and seasonings over the chicken. Cook over a low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

NOTE: If you were authentic, you would be using a tajine (or tadjeen). But having never in my entire life seen a tajine at Williams Sonoma, we'll give it a pass. Try whatever pan you have that holds as much chicken as you think is necessary. Keep in mind that if you are going to cook this chicken according to my picture, it will be an ENTIRE chicken. Never mind the 'free range' business. I don't think the Moroccans have heard of that.

Mix flour to a smooth paste with some of the water and add to the pan with the remaining water. Sitr well and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Hey -- even I might be able to do this)

Stir in olives (my favorite part), mint or parsley

...and lemon juice. OK, from me: If you have the preserved lemons from Marrakech, add them here. Of course, I have no idea how much. Just add -- um -- some. Where were we? OK, cover and simmer a further 15-20 minutes or until chicken is tender. (Good idea). To serve (I hope you have gotten to this point):

Arrange chicken pieces in a large dish and pour the sauce over the top. Add more water if necessary.

I'm not sure what that means.

I'm hoping that someone that does more than "applies heat to food" knows.

Tim and I (he doesn't know this yet) are going to try this when he gets home.

Day after tomorrow, not that I'm counting. Uh, that is gets home. Not ready to cook yet. We are going to Red Lobster, home of the frozen, preserved and otherwise ready-to-eat lobster-which-tastes-like-crab-which-tastes-like-chicken.

Oh -- I forgot. Just eat with your hands -- right hand only, please. Dip your bread into the sauce -- oh my goodness.

Wonderful.

Weddings in Morocco

Not that we attended one. Tim did, four years ago when he had his 24 hour "adventure" while studying in Sevilla. Our hosts, Patti and Jim have been to a couple of them, and they are wonderful! Unlike here, the wedding "ceremony" really isn't. A week before the wedding, the bride, who has often been chosen for the groom by the groom's parents (based on money, ability to bear children, and looks -- in that order), goes to the doctor to get a "certificate of virginity." The official marriage takes place in a magistrate's office in which the certificate is examined for authenticity (good thing it is just the certificate that is examined...) and papers are signed attesting to the fact that this couple is now indeed married.

The celebration is another story, particularly among the wealthy. Generally it goes until at least 5:00 in the morning in which there is much changing of outfits (remember the really pretty jellabahs in Fes J'Did?) starting with a white one, and moving on to various colors by the bride, and even changing of clothes by the groom. Lots of food and lots of dancing -- but the women are in one room and the men in another.

Around 5:00 the couple is ushered into the bridal chamber where the marriage is consummated. Around 9:00 or thereabouts the bride's mother (!!) brings breakfast to the newlyweds and the sheets are examined for actual proof that virginity was, in fact, a fact. Fortunately they don't run DNA testing to make sure it isn't chicken blood.

As we were driving into Fes from the airport, we passed a home in which a wedding was taking place. The bride & groom were being carried into the house in one of these chairs which are manufactured and bought (if you have tons of dirhams) or rented for the occasion:

Some are for the bride alone --

Some are for both the bride and the groom --

And some are for carrying the bride (or bride and groom) places...

The groom can have up to four wives, but according to Ahziz, the first wife has to approve the addition of the next wives. Of course, if she doesn't approve, he can divorce her, so it is sort of a catch 22.

There are occasions that I've thought it would be nice to have another wife -- but certainly NOT a wife "with benefits" if you get my drift.

A bit more architecture

Overlooking the medina from the tannery.

One of the beautiful -- and few working -- fountains

And then in Newville, you see something like this. Absolutely stunning. I couldn't get a good picture of it at night when it is all lit up.

A veddy fawncy hotel on a hill overlooking the medina. Also nice bathrooms in case you are interested.

This is what we could see from the veranda of the hotel.

More coming later.

Oh Lyn --

Not to imply you have enough padding to protect you during a fall -- just that you are too young to be thinking about falling....

So don't.

Taking a Tumble

It was SO icy this morning. I was wearing the cutest little purple shoes with my purple outfit -- yes, purple IS one of the Christmas colors. We were on our way to church...Bob had just commented on how slippery it was as I was carefully easing my way down the back steps.

Suddenly -- whoosh! thump! My cute little purple shoes slid on the ice, I did a most ungraceful pirouette and landed on my (fortunately) well padded rump. One shoe went one direction, the other went the other.

I must have twisted my already gimpy knee and hurt the ankle somehow. But I've discovered one of the most important reasons for a little extra fat when you get old and uncoordinated -- you don't break bones quite as easily when you fall.

Rosie -- this message is for you. DON'T fall!!

Bob was going to help me up, but I had awful visions of me pulling him down instead of him pulling me up. "Can't I just sit here until it melts?" I asked plaintively.

Good thing I didn't opt for that -- it is STILL icy -- just dreadful. Instead I carefully hitched my bottom up the stairs far enough that I could stand -- but NOT until Bob brought me some ugly old black shoes with rubber soles. So much for cute and purple. AND put icy melt from hither to yon so we wouldn't have the performance repeated.

Yes -- I did go to church.

And I have aches in parts of my body I didn't know I had. Thank goodness for Advil & Naprosyn.

And no, we didn't take pictures.

Sorry.

"Oh Come Let Us Adore Him...."

Last night we attended the annual Wheaton College Christmas Festival, held in Edman Chapel, featuring the Men's Glee Club, a percussion ensemble, the Women's Chorale, a flute ensemble, the Concert Choir, the Symphony Orchestra -- and all of the above combined. It was magnificent!

I talked to Tim yesterday morning -- he's coming home a week from today, not that either of us are counting!! -- but one of the things he is missing is Christmas music. It never dawned on him to download any to his computer; when at home he hears so much of it that by the end of the season, he's had enough. But he is missing the music and all the "stuff" of Christmas that we decry because it starts so early...but if you were in a country that doesn't acknowledge Christmas at all -- you'd miss the lights, the decorations, the special programs, the trees, the gifts, the food, the parties, the Christmas Eve services at church -- and yes, even the 267th rendition of "Silver Bells."

Now THAT was a run on sentence. Mr Gow (high school journalism) would have given me an immediate F, "you little potsy you."

It occurred to me -- not for the first time -- that one of the huge differences between Christianity and other world religions is music. It started, I'm sure, with the angelic choir singing "Glory to God in the Highest..." on the night that Jesus was born. It has gone on from there. The love of Jesus has inspired some of the greatest musical creations ever. Is there any other religion in which the people worship by singing?

As the music swelled to a crescendo -- including the audience of 2500, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with thankfulness and gratefulness that God had given us this ability to express our love to him.

Oh come, let us adore Him -- Christ the Lord!

Moroccan Architecture

I wish I could give you a good picture of the medina. I think it is probably what Jerusalem looked like in Jesus time -- tiny little streets -- wee little doors that you would crouch to get into, few little windows. Of course, it is a bit younger than the Jerusalem of Jesus day - so I'm sure there are a lot of differences. Anyway, it did give me a lot of scope for my imagination to run wild....



Most of the mosques and other fancy buildings in the medina are done in this style -- lots of colorful shapes and ceramic tile.





This is one of my favorite pics. Look at the juxtaposition of the old minaret with the satellite dish -- everyone has a satellite dish, even some of the poorest shacks in the countryside -- with the pharmacy.



Drat. Blogger isn't in the mood for more pictures, so I'll let this one go -- and do a few more tomorrow.

Speaking of Shopping

I don't think I could have gotten this at Nieman Marcus. I'm afraid I won't have a lot of call for wearing it here at home, but it shore is purty!



My guess is that about 80% of the Moroccan women we saw were wearing these. They are actually an outer garment, worn over clothes. Sometimes the woman had on a pair of tights-like pants that matched. Some were plain, some were absolutely beautiful. All were essentially the same pattern. Almost all women wore them with a head covering of some type. Boy -- could I use that on a bad hair day!

Our hostess, Patti, always wore one when she went outside. She had a couple of warm ones for the cooler days, and while I was bundled up in sweater and coat, she was perfectly comfortable in her jellabah. She also had a light one for summer time -- purple, of course!

I really rather like the jellabah. Covers up a multitude of sins, including, but not limited to, too much Christmas celebrating!!

And yes, in case you are interested, I defied convention and wore it to College Church on Sunday. So much for the assumption that we all have to dress alike there!

Happiest of Anniversaries -- and Happy Birthday, Chris!

What a special day! Happy second anniversary to the initial reason for this blog -- the wedding of Torrey and Chris in 2005. And, of course, happy 32nd birthday, oh Christopher!

Yesterday was the first Sunday in Advent so the church was decorated for the occasion -- and, of course, that brings back such wonderful memories of the wedding. Nice to have a visual reminder of the wedding 5 Sundays a year!!

Here are the newly wed couple two years ago:



And here they are just yesterday:



Their "tradition" is to come to Chicago the first weekend of December and spend it downtown. (I think two years makes a tradition -- sometimes one year can make a tradition...I refer to the fiasco of Lazarus the turkey on Christmas Day in 2005, and the new tradition of serving only hors d'ouevres on C'mas afternoon...) So yesterday they called us after church and offered to meet us at Alfie's for "lupper" (late lunch, early supper) before they headed back to Indy.

So nice to be part of their special weekend!!

Shopping -- Not Your Local Nieman Marcus....

If you are really into shopping (and bargaining), Morocco is a great place to be -- especially in the medinas. Tim is actually very good at bargaining. He could walk out of a stall in disgust with the best of them -- usually to have the vendor chase him down and give him his price. I'm not sure I'm brave enough to tackle that on my own -- something I'm sure the vendors are banking on when they see westerners....

One of the gates into the Old Medina (built around 900 AD)

Shopping in the herbal pharmacy



An amazing cloth place...





Fes is famous for its leather goods. Here they are drying the skins on the roof after they have been cured (in a vat of something that contains -- are you ready for this? -- pigeon poop. You KNEW there was a reason for pigeons, didn't you?)



The dye vats. The color is changed once a week.



Pottery and ceramic tile "factory." This guy is tapping out the little pieces of tile. I got one that is one of their eight-sided stars.

Pottery making. Tim thought this was great. Decided this man was a bit better at it than he is!

Fes is also famous for its fountains which are absolutely everywhere in the medina, but which are mostly dry now, and filled with garbage. This is what they look like when they are just made. These are to be sold to the wealthy to put in their homes as decorations.


Fes' famous "Blue Gate." This is actually quite close to Tim's part of the medina.



We aren't quite sure what was IN this "Chicago Boutique" buried on a very dark street in the medina.

Yep -- you read it right. This is "mint-flavored" CRUST toothpaste. Tim just HAD to buy a tube. Actually tastes like bubble gum. Cheap bubble gum.

If you really want it, you can get your own camel head. Or buy camel meat. I wonder if it tastes like chicken...

The display of fruits in the square in Marrakech beat Jewel's any day. On the other hand, I've not seen too many flies on the fruit in the Jewel.



Back in Fes J'Did which is the old new town -- the jellabahs were VERY fancy.





Give it up, Tim. They just don't MAKE a size 13 in Morocco!! The young vendor kept assuring Tim that they would grow to fit his foot.



Nope -- this ain't Nordstroms! On the other hand -- the prices ain't Nordstroms' either!! :>D