Eid Mubarak

Eid Al Fitr was announced today. This marks the end of the Holy month of Ramadan. Our 30 (actually it was 29 this year) days of fasting have come to an end and with that we begin 3 days of celebration (and eating during the day)!!!

The UAE follows Saudi's lead on when Ramadan begins and ends by the sighting of the moon. More specifically the Hilal (moon crescent)



The hilal marks both the beginning and the end of Ramadan and must be seen with the eye by a sheikh before the actual date will be announced. Therefor you will find that different countries begin and end their Ramadan's a day apart (i.e. Libya started Ramadan a day before UAE this year) and you never know the actual dates until the eve before.

Saudi tends to announce Eid after 30 days of fasting. So we were waiting on pins and needles to see if Eid al Fitr would be tomorrow or on Wednesday (day 30-when most thought it would fall) and surprise surprise it's tomorrow!!! After only 29 days! Yippy!! There are fireworks going on outside and a general sense of happiness and celebration.

It really is fabulous to be here in this country during Eid.


p.s. photo from this site

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Duck update: We won. Yup we won again!!!! we are now 4-1 after beating WSU which leaves us ranked as 23 --- well actually that's not great but, you know, the season has just started so we'll get there!

FO: pinwheel!!!! oh yeah!

i did it! i finished the pinwheel sweater for my niece and managed to do it before she graduated high school!! it was a little touch and go there for a while because my work was so demanding. i had another meeting to plan and i had two weeks to put it together. it was a bit stressful (to say the least) and my knitting took a back seat to, umm, sleep but i'm getting back on track and with the beautiful FOUR day weekend next week i'm sure i will be able to make a lot of progress. i mean i wouldn't want to show up to the SnB with nothing new to show : D

anyhow with out further adoo.... the pinwheel sweater!







isn't it cute? i'm tempted to make another one just to keep around for a while but i'm already on to new projects. after finishing the pinwheel i cast on this baby sweater for a friend of mine who is due in december. i'm working with Lion Brand Jiffy so that it will be nice and soft and warm for the baby as they live in a climate colder than our own



here's a friend who came to keep me company at the meeting i planned last week



and i thought i would sneak in a pic of my Jerry (my more elusive kitty cat) actually curled up and sleeping out in the open (usually she hides under the bed). she's been very unlike herself lately (meaning friendly) and the last time she was like this she was pregnant... now i know i got her fixed (she still runs when i get the cone out) so it can't be that... hhhmmmm... oh well i think i'll just enjoy it while it lasts



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Duck news: University of Oregon lost last week Boise State : ( we are now 3-1 :::sigh::: oh well, we still have a long season to go i'll keep you posted on how the game this weekend goes.

pinwheel progress...

well even with the crazy work schedule (work is REALLY cutting into my knitting time) i'm managing to make (slow) progress on my niece's pinwheel sweater. i have gotten one and a half sleeves done. see?



i'm really happy with the way it has turned out so far and i can't wait for a pic with my niece wearing it!

the tunic on the other hand is slow going. and it probably will be for a while. i think it's because i'm just not as happy with the way it's coming out so far. but this has happened before and when i trust the process i'm almost always happy with the end product. so i'll just keep moving forward with it. yup that's what i'm going to do. after i take a nap

all work and no play

makes for a grumpy lindsay. it's still ramadan and already i'm feeling a bit over loaded. there's just too much to get done and not enough awake hours to get it done in. i must say that peoples unreasonable expectations make me extra grumpy, some days i just want to tell people no. no i cannot print that out. no i cannot get you a taxi. no i cannot order you lunch and spot you the money for it! :::big sigh::: it's weird some days i really love what i do and other days things seem to compound and i get grumpy. really grumpy. ok i'm done complaining let's talk about something nice! it's time for a.....

knitting update!!!!

i finished the first sleeve on the pinwheel sweater (woot woot) i made it only 11" instead of 12" like the pattern calls for because 12 seemed excessive. they say that a four year old can wear the same sweater as a 2 year old (one size pattern) and i just don't see it. even in the pics it looks too small on the four year old. so i made an executive knitting decision and stopped an inch short. i just didn't want my niece swimming in sleeves, you know?

i'm going to go get started on sleeve number 2 now because i actually have an occasion to give my niece this sweater!! it's her congratulations-you-started-walking sweater!!! she just turned 1 and she's walking, now i'm not exactly sure when kids are suppose to start walking but i have decided that she is exceptionally talented and i'm very proud of her and she deserves a sweater (let's forget that i was going to give it too her before she started walking). and sis if you read this pretend you didn't ; )

3-0!!

i just had to update that University of Oregon Ducks prevailed! my sis brought it to my attention that the Ducks won yesterday!!!! we beat purdue 32-26 woot woot!!! so the season is off to a great start!

next week: uhh ohh sydney next week we are playing Boise State. but it should be a great game!

fantastic weekend!

it is amazing what meeting new people can do for your mood and outlook. i met four fantastic women at the first Abu Dhabi SnB this weekend. We met at Marina Mall's Caribou Coffee and some of the women i have been blog chatting with for a while and the rest were new to me completely.... and this made for a fantastic weekend.

it wasn't that i have been in bad or down mood lately or anything like that. i'm not even that homesick but getting to hang out with a bunch of women who have the same interests in knitting as i do and also can understand some of my expat frustrations of living here in Abu Dhabi was great! it was just one of those things that you didn't realize you were missing until you had it again. i miss just hanging out with a bunch of girls talking about whatever while drinking coffee (after ramadan).

although i must say i'm very fortunate... it took me some time to start making friends out here but through work i have met some great people who i hope to keep in my life ling after i leave the United Arab Emirates and now through knitting i have met four more!

in knitting news: i am almost done with the Pinwheel Sweater.... it's obviously too small for me but i won't say who it's for cause it should be a surprise. ; )

anyhow here's the Pinwheel Sweater with the body done and the hole where i'm about the add a sleeve (that is now half done) the white stripe on the other side is where the second sleeve will be


up close


this is the tunic i'm working on from fitted knits. i'm more than half done with the front at this point. the first picture shows the color really well but not the detailing...


where the second picture show the detailing really well but not the color


:::sigh::: try as i might i could not get both color and detialing in one picture! i was going to try to take a picture of it outside and see if natural sunlight would help but, you know, it's hot and dusty and i just didn't want to go outside today.

Duck update: University of Oregon is playing Purdue today... so far we are 2-0 so hopefully we make it to 3! but don't you worry i'll keep you updated

movies

i have noticed an ongoing battle here (in the United Arab Emirates) when it comes to movies... i have realized over the last several movies that i often leave upset and sometimes even offended. it makes me often wonder why i even bother to pay all that money to go to a movie when i'm just going to end up in a bad mood.

last night we went and saw "Journey To The Center Of The Earth" at Marina Mall and i went in with the understanding that this was a kids movie and that kids are going to do kid things. but there were four kids sitting in the front row screaming, talking and even running around during the ENTIRE movie! when we finally left, that is when i realized that their parents/caretakers/torture givers had sat their kids in the movie and then left! just left them there for an entire theater of people to deal with for nearly two hours!

we saw "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" at Abu Dhabi Mall a few weeks ago and the lady next to me sat and talked on her phone. not only did her phone ring out loud but she answered it! and not in a hushed "i'm in a movie and will call you back way" no she had an entire conversation. out loud. normal voice. of course she also stepped on my foot as she was getting in to her seat and didn't say excuse me either, so obviously she wasn't too concerned with the people around her.

now i know these (rude people who have no idea that their actions effect others) people exist all over the world and not just here in Abu Dhabi but it seems excessive here. every time we try to go to a movie we run into people like this who think they are in their own living rooms and do not take in to consideration the people around them. i cant figure out if it's the culture or if people are just so selfish that they don't care that they are ruining someone else's experience.

:::sigh::: i suppose this won't stop me from going to the movies because some movies are just so much better n a big screen with popcorn and a coke but i won't stop complaining about the dumb people! thats for sure!

summer vacation is over

yep it's all over.

we are now on the decent in to fall. and i'm looking forward to it. it's so flipping hot and boring here and i'm ready for normal weather. i was talking to my dad and he was saying that back home, in the Pacific Northwest, it had been pouring rain. i was jealous. jealous i tell you! i miss the smell, i miss the sound and i miss the feel of the air. this ridiculous heat out here is just no fun. there's no leaves changing color or rain jackets (we don't use umbrellas where i come from), no pumpkin picking or fresh apple pie, no nip in the air as we get closer to winter.... :::sigh:::

but then something wonderful happened as i was driving down Sheikh Zayed Road complaining to my dad... it rained. here. in the United Arab Emirates. it was like 8 drops, not even enough to wet the car or the roads but it was rain i tell you. glorious rain! rain that us Ducks just can't live with out! rain that cleans the air and nourishes the plants! of course it was rain planted as an experiment by the government but rain none the less.

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the end of summer also marks another important event. the beginning of (American) football season. yes collage football season has begun and i'm proud to say that my team, the University of Oregon, Ducks, have gotten off to a good start.... by winning. i'll keep you posted as the season continues