A Pretty Parcel

So what is in this pretty gift-wrapped parcel? An early Xmas present? No, it's my laundry back from the Pressing.
3 garments washed AND IRONED for 23DH that's about 64p a garment. I sent 2 long dresses and a lined jacket, none of which would adequately have survived my ironing. Now just remind me why I bother to do any. 
They are always returned exquisitely wrapped in brightly patterned foiled paper. "Dark Side of the Moon" was playing in the shop. The proprietor said "Pink Floyd, Good Music".

A Shelf

Our kitchen was inherited from the frenchman and the more I think about it the more I'm convinced he didn't cook but had a maid in to cook for him or ate out. There was an enormous couscousier but no oven or microwave and not many pans. There wasn't much storage and the first thing we did was buy some freestanding base cupboards and a vegetable rack. As I've got the oven and retired I've added quite a lot of baking equipment and tagines and such like and keep stores of flour, rice, pasta etc in jars. These were gradually taking over all the surfaces in both the kitchen and the dining room, so it was decided we would have a shelf. Moha looked at the accumulations and said we should have two.

 But I would not be able to reach the second and we would have a similar situation to that in Wales. There Beloved and the taller of the Kiwi boys put up the kitchen cupboards. They held them at what they thought was the right height. I said "lower". They moved them down a fraction. I said "lower" again. Repeat several iterations. Eventually they were giggling away at how anybody could possibly want a cupboard so stupidly low and I gave in. Beloved has had 25years to regret that giggle as whenever I need anything from the top shelf I shout "Beloved" and he has to come and reach for me. The corollary of that for me is that I live in the sort of magical world that babies learning Peekaboo occupy, where things miraculously appear, or for me, disappear. If Beloved tidies to the top shelf the object is out of my line of sight and does not exist for me.

Anyway a shelf in Morocco is not bought off the peg from your local B&Q or IKEA. It is made  to measure and to fit even though the kitchen is not square and it needs to be a long trapezoid with acute and obtuse angles at opposite ends. Similarly the brackets are handmade specially to purpose.

I'm pleased with how it has turned out. It certainly stows a lot of gear. 

Freyja Henna

We had a lovely, lovely day on Saturday when a friend took us to visit his sisters in Freyja. They have a house with the most amazing situation at the top of the village, right next to the bridge, overlooking the Sousse valley. Being a moroccan house there are no picture windows or loggia taking advantage of the view, just a blank wall and the house turns inwards to the courtyard. It is acceptable to sit out behind the wall in the evening and watch the sunset which is what we did.
We were given one of those moroccan feasts which they seem to prepare effortlessly where you think you have managed to do quite well and that although you couldn't eat another bite you haven't offended by not eating enough, and then find that they bring out another 2 or 3 courses. One of these extra course was Seffa which I haven't eaten before although I have the recipe. You Steam angel's hair pasta and then add shredded almonds (shredded skin in so as to be dark brown) cinnamon and icing sugar all drizzled over. They were good enough to do me a separate pile without the sugar. It was very good. The Juggler and his Ladylove are visiting soon, maybe I'll try it  on them.
Afterward we went down to the Riad Freyja for mint tea. We've passed it frequently and never been in. It's much bigger than I expected, 40 or so simple rooms. Some open onto the swimming pool and others are around the inner courtyard. Ther are views from the roof 5 storeys up. It would be a good place to stay for some quiet I think.

Rachida insisted I had my hands henna'd. The henna is made into a thick blue paste and then applied freehand with a syringe like cake icing but narrower. this leaves the pattern raised on your hand and you have to leave it to dry when you can rub it off and the pattern is there stained on your skin in the burnt ochre colour as though you have been painted with ninhydrin.

Paradise Parking

These pictures are of the Guardian's hut in the main car park in town. When he first started having pots I thought he had a sideline selling them but in fact he has made a really good little garden; and yes, those orange flowered bushes are the French Marigolds we grow as bedding plants.

Strikes and Purchases

Well we've been back a fortnight. It has been unseasonally hot -39C- which is quite enervating and leaves me like a wet rag under the air conditioning but it has been more sensible the last 2 days and even about 10 minutes "rain". (What, if it had lasted,  the Irish would call a "moist day".) 

We have had to upgrade our online facilities which we had intended to do in order to be able to watch UK TV but our techie told us we would have to anyway as 3G was now so slow that you could "not even watch Youtube". He was shocked when I indicated that I saw no reason to wish to do so. Anyway he helped us with the forms and Maroc Telecom were incredibly efficient and had installed a line for the internet and phone within 48 hours so we now have a proper phone with 30 free minutes of international calls a month as well as fast internet.  We then had to buy a new television although there was absolutely nothing wrong with the old one except that it did not have an input socket for a computer and then whilst we were in the shop I spotted a nice table top oven with a fan facility which was serendipitous as the handle had come off ours again , and then Beloved craved a full size deep fat fryer for his chips and I fancied some electronic cooking scales so we had quite a splurge at Electrique-Menager.

Techie upgraded me to Windows 7 too as the XP is no longer supported so I am just getting used to my notebook looking different and Beloved plays with the new computer and we sit  like the Kiwi boys playing with them; although we have not yet started emailing each other when only yards apart.

The plants have weathered the summer well and are thriving and the bits that got knocked off the prickly pear and we stuck in compost in hope rather than expectation have grown into plants.

 This is just as well as there is a strong wind today trying to move the sahara into the house and it has blown the babies over knocking bits of them We will plant these and see if we end up with grandbaby cacti.
There was a major strike yesterday involving 3 of the main 4 unions. Government offices, the electric and water companies, and schools were closed. One of the main greivances of the strikers is that the government intends to raise the retirement/pension age for employees from 62 to 65. We explained that our government was raising it from 65 to 67 and that Sweetheart would probably have to work into her 70s and they looked aghast at the vision of things to come.

All set!

Well we're back next Wednesday, currently weighing and re-weighing the bags. We have 3x 20kg;; one a small backpack weighing the full amount in tinned pies and curry bases. We have about 30 books to fit in as I can't be doing with Kindle, two tapestry kits and a frame, various complicated electrical leads and connections, a portable ipod dock and a handblender. By Tuesday we will have added pork sausages, sliced cooked meats (mainly ham) and english hard cheese. I travel my summer wardrobe too although Beloved is only taking a pair of chinos and a dozen Tshirts to supplement  the ones he keeps out there. The clothes suitcase is quite conventional but what the customs/security will make of the rest of it heaven only knows.

Orange Groves

Driving out to Bou Al Ajat you pass by the some of the major estates cultivating oranges for which this part of the Sousse valley is famous. This area north of the town is set to benefit from the building of the new dam for irrigation and the investment in the new bottling plant  (By which I assume they mean some sort of Tetrapak).

This is cultivation on an industrial scale, the trees planted densely in rows. Many are grown in huge permanent green houses made of large frames of outward cantilevered posts covered usually in green mesh rather than plastic although sometimes plastic is used. The sides can be ruched up like austrian blinds to allow even more air circulation.

Some times they just use long lengths of mesh to wrap individual rows.

Others are left entirely unwrapped. We were unable to discern any particular rationale for wrapping , or covering , or not; perhaps it is a mechanism to extend the season. 

they seem to need a lot of pruning. The prunings are taken presumably as forage on the most overloaded vehicles, motorbike pickups, donkey carts, bicycles. This is not really a problem on the remote valley roads but on the dual carriageway to Agadir it is another matter. we long ago realised that if you see a tree in the middle of the road, particularly on coming towards you down the wrong way down the fast lane of the express way it is not an illusion.