Chaos

*Warning: This is a long post completely unrelated to quilting, so feel free to skip it if you like.

Note: I had originally decided not to post this but info contained here explains other things I’d like to post about, so what the hay! I hope you don’t mind the reading.

Sometimes life hands you things and you just don't know how you feel about them.

This whole trip to Iran has been meet with denied expectations and lots of life's little surprises. We are in the process of having apartments built on the lot that used to hold my in-law's house. They have been in a smaller house that we bought with his sister a few years ago while we are in a rental. The apartments were supposed to be finished a few months after we arrived, however, they are still basically a three-story shell with exposed pipes, sil didn't get any receipts for money given to the contractor for the job, he walked off the job and now there is a lawyer involved. So this has definately NOT met expectations.

The kids are doing well in school academically but some of the lessons their learning I would just as soon not have them learn, especially Mustafa. He's been in lots of fights and been picked on in large because he is bigger than anyone else in his class, believes in following the rules and has stepped in to stop a few fights so other kids try to prove themselves against him or retaliate for things he's done. During the course of the year his teacher has hit him at least once and his vice principle has twisted his ear at least a few times but we don't know exactly how many because he's a very reluctant talker. After the incident with his teacher early on, dh and I talked about pulling him out and homeschooling him like we did in the US but he felt we should wait a bit longer. Over the course of the year, he's seen that yes, we really can teach our kids as much or more and better than what they learn at school so that option is on the table for next year. I've also been frustrated with the amount and pointlessness of the busy work that his teacher assigns. For the first half of the year, ds had to draw and color a picture at the end of each night's homework. It did not have to be anything related to what they had learn but it had to be colored. Mustafa hated coloring and his teacher tried to suggest there was something wrong with him since he wouldn't color his pictures. Now she has them doing math workbook pages but then exactly copying the pages they've done into their homework notebooks and rewriting them without any kind of correction. How pointless is that! Dd has faired a bit better in kindergarten but she's had her share of annoying behavior from other kids such as pinching, hair pulling and knocking her snacks on the floor. Also, the tend to pop movies in for the kids to watch while they are playing with playdough and on more than one occasion she's told me they watched movies I would never let them watch like "Spiderman". When dh asked his teacher about the movies, she showed him a room were they have the movies and said that was all the showed but dd told me that kids also bring in movies. Grrr! Now don't get me wrong, I let my kids watch movies and they've even seen most of "The Lord of the Rings" but I don't think 5 years should be watching whatever happens to be on hand in the 4 hours they're at school.

I was told that I'd have no problem finding students to teach English to but except for 1 woman I tutored for 2 weeks, I've only had a class of three students this year, all of whom are Safiya's classmates. So, I've only made about $500 in the last 7 months. Definately NOT what I expected.
On the upside, the kids only have a week and half of school left and both have done very well considering they barely spoke any Farsi when we arrived one month before school started. And as far as teaching goes, at least I’m getting experience for handling future classes.

Pool dreams

Please ignore the fact that this is all hyperlinked. I cut and pasted this from Word into Picasa and don't know how to unlink it at the moment.

First, Thank you to everyone that gave me feedback on my book question. Everyone I’ve spoken with seems to have the same view that this should be my take on life here with exploration of the domestic sphere, so that’s the direction I’m headed in. Now I just have to find time to write.

Ok, so why did I need to post that last long one. Well because of the half finished apartments, we are renting and the lease is up soon. I don’t particularly want to stay in this house because it has various flaws that are starting to get on my nerves like impossible to vacuum carpet and plaster and paint that keeps coming off the walls in different places. As long as the apartment situation remains unresolved, we will be in Iran, and in particular, Shiraz. In-laws just aren’t up to dealing with the crooked contractor and all of the court issues, so Mohsen has made that his #1 job. So we’ve been looking around the last couple of weeks for another place to rent. A few days ago, SIL mentions that a realtor told her about a 1000 sq. meter house with a POOL! Problem is is that it rents for about 3 times what we are paying here. *sigh* The rent alone would almost equal our current monthly expenses. It was, however, nice to fantasize about swimming again and getting the kids started back on swimming lessons only with me as their teacher this time. With the approach of summer, the opening lines of Dr. Suess’ “Horton Hears a Who” keep running through my mind. “In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool” Ah, well. As much as I think we’d enjoy it, I really can’t see a justification for spending that much money when neither of us is really bring much in. There’s just not a whole lot of other single family rentals available so keep your fingers crossed for us that we find something good at a reasonable price. We have to let our current landlord know by the end of the week if we are going to renew the lease!

On a quilty note, I’ve been slowly working on Reza’s quilt, haven’t gotten anything done on the challenge quilts and am contemplating making a green mini for Project Spectrum. In the mean time, here is a picture of Mustafa’s little quilt. He’s sewn the binding on but he says he wants to do diagonal quilting on it as well. It’s a morphed bowtie quilt.

 

Questions

I'd like to answer Jeanne's question about the orchard as well as ask everyone who read this a couple of questions.

First, Jeanne's question was wether the orchard was privately owned or a public space. The orchard in the pictures is privately owned by one brother and all of the improvements were made by another brother over the last 10 years or so. It's such a beautiful place that their mother choose to spend the last few months of her life there.

It just so happens that the day Jeanne posed her question we made a trip to a public orchard that is about 700 years old. Unfortunately, this was an unplanned stop on a trip home from the airport so we did not have our camera with us but I'm sure we will be back since this is a beautiful spot. A three story "summer" house of sorts stands at the center of the orchard. The house is in disrepair now but it is at least 200 years old, probably more. The view is amazing. I can't wait to get some pictures to share. Iranians LOVE to picnic, so any green space is often filled with families at all hours of the day and frequently at night. We visited in the orchard in the early afternoon on Thursday and there were 3 separate groups of women out picnicing with at least 10 women per group.

Now for my questions-My husband suggested tonight that I try my hand at writing a book since I am in the somewhat unique position of being an American woman in Iran. I can understand his point and thinking about current events and rhetoric gives me the idea that it might even be timely but I want to know if others would really be interested in reading it. He just suggested it about an hour or so ago and I've only had a little time to let the ideas simmer but I was thinking about either writing about my impressions or about Iranian women or perhaps even a mix of the two. What do you all think? Anyone think there would be interest in such a book? I found one book on Amazon similar to the idea of writing strickly about Iranian women but it was published 4 years ago and much has changed in Iran during that time.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone and everyone that has any ideas or opinions on this.

Thanks.

Orchard

I thought you might like to see an example of an orchard in Iran. This is a different one than the one we had our No Ruz picnic at but we've been here several times. Each side of the path is lined with rose bushes; some up to about 15 ft. high. The paved area extends about 20 or so meters on either side of the picture. At the end of the path, to the right, they've built a little one room house for relaxing in or as a place to go in case of rain, complete with a mini kitchen, fireplace, bathroom and shower. Here is one of the many rose bushes along the path. There are a few others this color but most are white, yellow or red. The red ones are the ones that are about 15 (or more) ft. tall.
 

Orange done...

kinda. The top is done for the April project spectrum wallhanging. I had read someone's blog that said there are 3 finishes to a quilt. Well, this is finish number 1-the top. I know 2 of the borders a bit crooked. I guess that will teach me to sew by the light of the computer screen. :) The little white spot about a third of the way down was dust on the camera lens. For now it will be moved to UFO status probably until June. I'd finish this now but if I'm going to participate in the Middle East Quilters' Challenge, I need to get moving on those projects. 

Top 20

Ok, Jeanne listed this probably at least a month ago but what can I say, I'm slow!

Here is a list of the Top quilts I'm either working on or want to do (except for 1st four, not in any particular order):
1. Belated orange April Project Spectrum wall hanging. Almost finished with the top.
2. Reza's 1st birthday quilt-Road to Jericho. Making sure and steady progress. Will post a pic when I get to a point that is photo worthy.
3 & 4. Middle East Quilters' 2006 challenge- Mini quilt ~12" sq. and ~48"x36". Theme "The 4 elements" I've got ideas for both down on paper, most fabrics pulled but haven't cut or sewn anything. We'll see if I can get anything done by the deadline sometime around the beginning of next month.
5. Strippy Twist quilt ala Bonnie's Quiltville site
6. Mini Amish Churndash
7. Wonky Animal House growth chart for kiddies
8. Chicklet quilt with sashing similar to Forest Jane
9. Bargello
10. Mini Trip around the World
11. Log cabin
12. Bear paw
13. Something with Flying Geese
14. Irish chain
15. Drunkard's Path
16. "Shape of My Heart"- applique in planning stages, inspired by a Sting song on "Ten Sumner's Tales"
17. Depression block
18. quilt for Mustafa-his choice
19. stars and ribbons
20. a couple of non-wonky house wallhangings

Ok, that's all I can think of for now. At the rate I make quilts, the kids will all be grown by the time I finish this list. ;D

Project Spectrum

Ok, I'm in the thinking/planning stages of turning an orange block into a 12" mini wall hanging but I may not finish by the end of the month so instead here is a picture of an orange from my neighbor's yard. This and one other tree peek up over the wall the seperates the two yards so I get to look at them all the time while I'm hanging laundry. I took the pic a couple of days too late since the flowers were much more abundant two days before, but I think it still looks pretty.
The roses were a "reward" for being company last week. We visited one of Mohsen's friends and he had over two dozen profusely blooming roses bushes lined up in two rows off his porch. When Mohsen complimented him on them, he promptly got out his pruning shears and a bunch for us. From top to bottom they are deep red, redish orange and a deep pink. He also had white ones but most of those blooms were past their prime, as well as some little light peachy pink climbing roses.

Now to answer so of the asked questions:
Jeanne-I became a Muslim when I was around 21 so I didn't have a set cultural dress style to follow. In the US, I pretty much wear what I do around the house if there are men here, i.e. jeans, t-shirt, scarf and a big, loose button-down shirt with the bottom few buttons fastened. If I'm going to the masjid/mosque, I'll either wear a monto or my regular outside clothes. It just depends on the occasion.

The kids only have one cousin to play with who will turn 2 this week. She's Mohsen's youngest sister's daughter.) She's very shy and quiet but my kids are doing their best to break her out of her shell and she now loves the attention she gets from them. Mohsen's two older sisters are not married, so no kids there and his younger brother has just this week gotten engaged so we'll have to wait a bit for cousins from them. ;)

Patty- Girls have to start covering when they reach puberty or around 9 years old. I've seen some people put scarves on babies as well but it's not very common. Most boys and all girls wear school uniforms depending on the school they attend. For all of the girls, the uniform is some style of pants, monto and scarf regardless of age although in the younger grades the girls don't have to keep the scarves on all of the time. It's basically just to get them accustomed to wearing them, similarly to what you said about the Amish covering the baby girls' heads.

It really is truly amazing how many similarities there are. Thanks to the internet, I've also found other groups of Christian women who cover and know from a friend that the Russian orthodox Christians cover as well.

Don't worry about the questions you ask, this is how we learn about each other. If there's ever a question that I might not feel comfortable answering on the blog, I'll either email you the answer or accidently, on purpose, forget to answer it. ;P But I doubt that that will happen. 

Clothes

Patty asked a few questions about how I dress and, since I've heard these questions before off-line, I thought I'd answer them in a new post in case anyone else is curious. And, Patty,
I don't think you're a bit nosy. I think it helps us all if we learn more about each other and their lives.

What I wear outside-jeans, overalls or cotton pants, t-shirt, knee-hi stockings, scarf, monto-this is the long, loose coat. My montos are anywhere from mid-calf to ankle length, however, the style among teens right now is mid-thigh to just above the knee and much more form-fitting.

What I wear inside-At home with just us I'm almost always in loose cotton pants, sometimes overalls or jeans, and a t-shirt with barefeet. If males other than my dh or father in law are present then I add a scarf, long, loose men's shirt and socks or knee-hi's.

Now is this hot? Patty, as you said, you get used to it. Also, I grew up in the south and baked on the beach each summer. I'm probably no hotter covered up than I was exposed because let's face it when it's 90+ degrees outside everyone's hot. :) Plus I have the added benefit of automatic sunscreen so no more sunburns except maybe on my cheeks and hands and I can slide my scarf forward a bit to shade my eyes if I forget my sunglasses. I try not to forget them too often since the sun is stronger here and I have very light eyes so it's very uncomfortable to go without shades. Montos and scarves also come in different weights of fabric for the different seasons. My sils often wear very light weight sleeveless tops underneath during the summer. Since having babies and when I'm pregnant my tolerance for heat goes way down. I'm usually the first to turn on the ac and I went the whole winter here without a coat only wishing I had worn it one time. I guess it helps that I spent two winters in Indiana and the last few winters in Virginia were nearly arctic, especially since I was often out at night because of college classes. There were plenty of days/nights with negative windchills, snow and ice so I know not to complain when the temps aren't even near freezing. :)

Ok, I hope that answers the questions. If anyone has any other questions, feel free to ask. I never mind answering.

Picnic-Iran style

On the 13th day of the New Year, Iranians head out to their favorite nature spots to have a picnic. In our case, we went to the orchard of my sil's in-laws. The funny thing about orchards here, in part because of urban sprawl, is that the orchards are often located side by side with houses, shops or resturants. And, because all property with any kind of yard is walled and almost all houses have some kind of trees growing inside the walled yard, it is difficult to tell from the outside which property is an orchard and which is someone's house.

Anyway, back to the picnic. As you can probably tell from the pics, an Iranian picnic is basically just a regular meal eaten al fresco. This includes rice, stew and tea as well as real plates, glasses and silverware. Paper or plastic dishes or utensils are a no-no. Here we had three kinds of rice, boiled chicken and a simple summer salad made on the spot. It's not unusual to see people bring along the equivalent of a camp stove to keep the food and tea hot.
I'm the one in the blue scarf down at the end between Mustafa and Reza. We had our own more American-style picnic fare of kebab (spiced hamburger) sandwiches, juice and cookies. 

Weird me

Hey, I got tagged by Jeanne for a meme about 6 weird things about me. I do, in fact, consider myself a bit odd so I guess this is perfect for my first meme. :)

1. I love making chocolate chip cookies, but would much rather eat the dough raw than the baked cookies. And I love brownies both raw and cooked, but only if they're fudgy.

2. I have been pregnant with or breastfeeding a baby for all but 7 months of the last 8 1/2 years, but who's counting?

3. I love being surrounded by books. I keep lists everywhere of books that I've read about that sound interesting and that I might someday like to try. I read an account of one pioneering couple that sold their furniture when they moved out west but shipped over 1000 books to their new home. I can so relate. Besides the books and a few magazines that made their way into our luggage, 6 boxes of books were shipped (still waiting on 3 of them) and I want more. (I've got a 3 page wish list at Amazon!) I would have to live to be at least 100 to get all of the books I want to read read and all of the quilts I want to do done.

4. I'm a vivid dreamer and pretty good at lucid dreams. In case you don't know what lucid dreams are, they are the kind where you know you're dreaming and can control the events in your dreams. Many of my dreams are of either the fantasy/sci fi variety or action/adventure where I get to beat up really big guys. It's quite fun!

5. I tend to have a running dialogue in my head where I'm thinking about what I'd like to write or what I'd REALLY like to tell some people but I rarely ever do either. I'd love to write stories but never manage to get much done on paper.

6. I'm a very physical mom. In other words, I am a human jungle gym. ;) I toss my kids over my shoulder like their superman, help them do all kinds of flips and swing them around upside down, at least until they get to tall or too heavy. (I have big kids.) I remember my dad doing similar stuff with us when we were kids, so I guess I'm just carrying on the legacy. And in case anyone is wondering, from about 9 or 10 months on, kids LOVE hanging upside down and swinging.

Now, I'm supposed to tag 6 more people but I don't know how many of those that read my blog have blogs of their own, so I'll tag Patty, Tonya and Sandy and whoever else what's to join in and has their own blog, feel free to join in the fun. Just leave me a comment so I can go peek at your meme's.

Cyberfriendships

Patty posted about how important having girlfriends is to women. She suggested that the internet has provided a way for women to make similar connections that they would make off-line. I think this is especially true of blogs. We take about our days or what we're working on or wish we had time to do. We also share our special moments. Before we moved, at least once a week, two of my girlfriends and one's children got together for playtime for the kids and talk time for us. We could spend hours just sitting around chatting while the kids all had their fun. I may not remember the topics of most of the conversations we had during the last 3 years but I'll never forget the feeling of connection I have with Monica and Asma. (And my kids will likely never forget their friendships with Ali, Maryam and Zahra.)

Since moving, I haven't found anyone to fill in the space that leaving my friends has made but being able to read about other women's lives through their blogs has given me a feeling of connection all it's own. We all come from different backgrounds and live in different places but we still have so much in common.

So, greetings to all of my friends in cyberspace and know that, although, I don't always have time to comment, I try to find time to read about how you all are doing everyday.

Oh, and Patty, thank you for all of the beautiful pictures you share with us each day and the gift of your wisdom and insight that you so generously express through your blogs.

Paint splatter?

In honor of Project Spectrum, here are some of the yellow pansies in my yard. They're so cute. The look like someone accidently dripped purple paint on their petals.  

Fabric from Dubai

Here are the pics of the fabric I gotten in Dubai. Sorry it's taken awile to get them up. Since we got back we've hosted lunch once, been lunch guests twice, had a birthday party and greeted my brother-in-law at the airport late one night when he came home for a visit. The Moda I mentioned before is the red one on the far right. I also found quite a few marbles which I wish I had gotten more of, especially the cream and purple ones at the bottom. The print under the monsters is of trains in similar colors which I plan to use on Reza's birthday quilt. Alas, I haven't even finished cutting out the fabrics for his quilt much less finish sewing the blocks. He's the only one to not at least have a finished top as a first birthday present. It's a good thing he's still little and doesn't know the difference. ;)
 

Tea and cake

Patty had asked how tea is served here as well as what type of sweets are served. Usually when company comes, it is expected that tea, sweets and fruit will be served. Fruit, which is offered first, can either be already placed on small plates with knives on small tables next to seats or offered to each guest from a bowl after plates and knives have been distributed. The typical fruits are apples, oranges, tangerines, bananas and/or small cucumbers as well as other seasonal fruits such as apricots or plums. The tea is just a basic black tea (I'm not a tea drinker so I'm not really familiar with the different kinds.) served in small cups or glasses and always with sugar cubes. Often, a sugar cube is held between the teeth while the tea is sipped. The order of offering tea is also important. You start with the oldest male guest then the oldest female guest and work your way around the room from there. This is followed closely by fresh plates and some type of sweets. The picture is of rice flour cookies with a jelly-like candy flavored with saffron called kolucheh maskati. These are a company tea-time staple which are available from pretty much every bakery. Occasionally, muffins or small slices of sponge cake layered with whipped cream will be offered instead. During our Eid company hosting, I had baked banana muffins as well as brownies.

On a seperate but somewhat related note, Reza celebrated this 1st birthday on the 14th. We ended up having about 20 people here including us and various relatives of Mohsen's. I made three single layer 9" cakes. Carrot and chocolate from scratch and a lemon cake from a mix that I wanted to try. When all was said and done we only had 2 pieces of carrot and half a piece of chocolate left. Reza thoroughly enjoyed his carrot and lemon cupcakes. And as with any Iranian gathering, tea and fruit were also served.

The birthday boy. 

Dubai mall

Here are some pocs from on of the malls in Dubai taken by a family friend. It has 7 sections, each decorated to reflect a country along the Silk Road. Even the bathrooms match the decor of each country.
 

Here is the fabulous Dubai airport Terminal 1. What we got in Terminal 2 was the ugly, poor, unloved step-sister. ;P
 

Dubai Pt.1

Well, we finally made it to Dubai and back. :) 4 1/2 days of shopping fun (or at least as much fun as one can have with 4 children and hubby in tow.) I did pretty well getting things both wanted and needed. I found GREAT prices on fabric. Instead the expected of just over $2/yd, I bought most of my fabric for $1.38/yd. Woohoo! I even got a very nice Moda fabric for $2.18/yd! The best prices and selection were of course at the first fabric store we stopped in and because Mohsen kept reminding me that we had at least 3 more stores to go and I should try and get everything at one shop, I ended up not buying as much as I had planned. If you're ever in Dubai and looking for quilting fabric, go to Najran's first and then Tahir's (right next door) on Al Satwa Rd. They didn't bargin but at those prices, who needs to bargin. ;) I'm downloading Picasa right now so I hope to have lots of pics up soon. I didn't have nearly as much luck with kids clothes but did manage to get shoes for all of them for just under $25.

Getting there and getting back were absolutely crazy. As usual, we ran late getting to the airport only to find out that there was no flight at the time listed on our tickets. After much inquiry, we found out there has never been a flight for our airline at that time....until the following day when they would be starting a flight at that time. (All thanks to an older travel agent {and owner of the agency} that didn't know what he was doing appearantly.)Grrr! However, the airline reps recognized us from our last attempt, took pity on us since we had four kids in tow and wanted to make a good impression on the American (me) so they put us on standby for the next flight which left 2 hours later. They even kept a whole row free for us while they were checking in the other passengers. We had a late flight back (10 p.m.) and knew the kids would be a challenge at that time since bedtime is usually 8:30-9 but we figured what could we do. We also had to go to the airport at 7 because that was the only time the hotel's shuttle would take us and we decided it would be too much of a pain to get our big bags into a taxi. Since we were going SOOO early, we figured we could get some dinner at the airport since we had heard good things about Dubai's airport. Unfortunately, all of the good stuff is in Terminal 1, we were in Terminal 2 where they seem to really not like the passengers. The only things there besides some smoky seating, were a small snack bar and a small duty free shop, which left us without many dinner options and once you go through passport control, you're stuck until your flight leaves. To make matters worse, our flight ended up getting delayed for a total of 3 1/2 hours. We didn't make it home until 5 a.m. with 4 VERY cranky kids, especially Zahra. Not that I can blame them. We're finally just about recovered 3 days later but we let Safiya stay home again. It's not like she's missing that much in kindergarten. ;)

Oh, yeah. I was also greeted with a (unwelcome) rearranged courtyard thanks to my sister-in-law. It seems she just can't resist moving things around while we're on vacations. This is the second time she's done this. The first time was my kitchen and we were only gone for less than 2 days! Boy, was I annoyed! Fortunately, Mohsen returned things back to their normal state before I went back outside again. After I expressed my irritation, of course. I hate to see what she rearranges if we go on another trip. I guess that's one of the downfalls of living close to family or at least close to Mohsen's older sister.

Well, that's it for now. I'll answer Patty's questions about serving tea and include some Iranian style picnic pictures in the next few posts.

Company

I used to envision myself happily entertaining company with style and grace and a completely relaxed air, however, as I've grown older, I've come to realize that I am not a people person. In general, I really don't like having people come to my home and I don't enjoy going to others' homes. I am very much an introvert and having company or being company is very stressful for me.

Why am I posting this little insight now? Before coming to Iran, with the exception of my two best friends, I only occasionally had people over or went to other people's houses. Generally no more than 3 or 4 times per year. Well, part of the Iranian New Year's celebrations is the requirement to visit and be visited by friends and family. This usually means multiple visits both directions over just a 13 day time span. I've been fortunate this time around and only had to visit 3 house one of which was my in-laws so that doesn't really count but today we had 3 back-to-back visits over the course of 3 1/2 hours which means 3 presentations of tea, sweets and fruits to 13 people with barely any time to squeeze in a potty break or give the kids dinner. (DH and my dinner happened around 10:30 after the kids were finally in bed.) Why the mad rush? It was either everyone in one day or having to repeatedly make the house company ready over several days and probably have the company here longer each time. That and I would have had at least 3 days worth of tension in my neck and shoulders rather than one and a half. :P

Now, it's not just company that stresses me out. It's being around people in general. No, I'm not anti-social. It's just that, while a people person gets a major energy boost from being around others, my energy is drained. If I don't get at least an hour or two completely to myself at least every few days, I tend to get a bit cranky. That time is usually gotten after everyone's gone to bed or, occasionally, before they get up. So, on any given day, you're bound to find me on the computer, watching a movie or reading a book until the wee hours of the morning. Does this lack of sleep cause problems keeping up with the kids? Oddly, no. My energy is usually restored after a nice long session on my own as long as I don't push too far (staying up until 4 or 5) or do it too often (passed 2 three days in a row). ;)

I guess this is one of the benefits of getting older. You learn more about who you are, what your strengths and weaknesses are and how to work with them.

ACK...I've just been informed we have to go visit more people in the next day or two.

Kids and Bowties 2

Here is the promised photo.

If all goes well, we leave for Dubai next week.

Thanks to Patty and Jeanne for their concern about the earthquake. We're all fine. The quake happened in the neighboring provence. According to the news here, they've already managed to restore water and electricity to the affected areas but are still searching for victims.

I reread my previous shopping post and it sounds like I'm a major shopping nut and quite extravegant. The fact is, I do like shopping but only if I can get a good deal. I'm very frugal which is how I managed to keep our family's clothing budget to under $300/year which included clothes, coats and shoes for everyone. My stash is mostly from fabric bought from the scrap bins, on sale, with a gift card which I earned from using my Jo-Ann's card and paying off the balance every month. (This is also how I bought my sewing machine.) I no longer have a sewing machine or a Jo-Ann's to shop from and found out a couple weeks ago that there really isn't any (or much) 100% cottons to be had in Shiraz. The stores just don't carry it. :( I've also spent the last 7 months needing a variety of things for the house, especially kitchen, which I just haven't been able to find here. I like to bake but Iranians just don't do that much baking. (There are tons of fabulous bakeries everywhere here.) We didn't ship anything so everything we brought had to fit into 10 suitcases. (2 per person not including Reza) Lots of stuff got left behind including most of my baking dishes (I did bring my muffin pan and pizza pans; snuck in at the last moment after everything else was madly packed, finishing just under an hour before leaving for the airport.) Also, the water here seems to be much harder on clothes because it seems like alot of the kids clothes are starting to get holes, especially their socks. (The socks here are often polyester and crazy color combinations like bright orange and green.) So, I have a decent size list of "needs". I also want to get a few small things for decorating from Ikea. I always felt guilty before for spending money for such things because the money could always go to better uses but now, I've made some money teaching (about $500) and I don't feel bad about spending it to make this house feel more like me. Nothing extravegant though and I know the prices and products at Ikea are good so that's where I intend to go. If I find bargins elsewhere, great, but I'm not about to go overboard. Later, after I make more, I want to get a nice cushy armchair for sitting in to read or quilt and another sewing machine.

Anyway, I just wanted to clear that up. To me, at least, the last shopping post made me seem like a hyper-consuming shop-aholic. :P

Oh, and I haven't been posting because my ISP is on the fritz again. I have been able to read blogger (only blogger pages, in fact) but I couldn't see pictures or post. :(