..back in the saddle again

This blog-cast is coming to you from the rooftops of the Oudayas. The heat has driven us to the roof with our laptops, and while a tiny bit inconvenient it is lovely and blessedly cool, and there is a naked pudgy man a few roofs over and I am having a very hard time averting my eyes… he may well have on some sort of skimpy bathing costume, I fear to gaze too long in his direction lest he suspect me of more than simple curiosity. While I am clothed in what is normal summer attire (a short sleeve shirt and shorts) it is not something I would wear even outside my door here. However as I informed Q, this is my house and I am not going to wear any more clothes in this heat. There is the sound of drums in the distance, which could mean anything from a wedding to some sort of show for the tourists. Oh my giddy aunt he stood up and has on a rather skimpy bathing costume – and he is not someone who should… Ah yes I see now it is a bar-b-que on the neighboring roof, and as Q so brilliantly noted, “there’s a fire over there!” And only men. So where do you suppose the women are eating? Oh my, our mouths are watering as the smell of meat grilling and some sort of delectable sauce is poured over it while on the fire. We are not big meat eaters, more your chicken and fish girls, but we are carnivores and now and then the body screams, “feed me meat!”. Alas after dark here that is not going to happen, perhaps tomorrow we need to go back to Le Grand Comptoir. We have decided it’s the only place to eat fish and I’m thinking the beef will prove out as well.

We have such a splendid view up here of the river and the city. In the twilight the city is a soft white and grey with the green rooftops and the twinkling lights of the traffic adding splotches of color. We can hear the prayer calls now going out over the cityscape and see Hassan’s Tower and the palace are lit up. The neighborhood’s only two dogs are barking from the palm-covered roof over next to the bakery (they do not leave their roof as they fear attack by the gang of “terrace cats”). “Who’s your daddy now?”

The moon has risen and is the kind you see in all the landscape paintings. Full and rose colored with the clouds drifting across the bottom. In the distance we can see the lights from the “I want to die in an accident” Ferris wheel and tipsy top rides. Q is crying out in some agony from the smell coming from “the men’s party” terrace of meat roasting.

File under total lack of personal responsibility: NYTIMES “Study Says Obesity Can Be Contagious”. “You don’t want to lose a friend who becomes obese, Dr. Christakis said. Friends are good for your overall health, he explains. So why not make friends with a thin person, he suggests, and let the thin person’s behavior influence you and your obese friend?” Didn’t that used to be, “It’s just as easy to love a rich chap as a poor one”? What a world, what a world. So now let’s see.. it’s not guns that kill people… and it’s not that buttery pastry you are putting in your mouth but your friends who are making you fat? I don’t think so.

I am one who believes in the power of thought – be it called prayer, meditation, or intentions – and we can use some of your positive thoughts just now. I had not told you of this as the incident with marymary took my attention, but M.C. Solaar is unwell. He went in Monday last for the very simple neuter procedure. Unfortunately a series of events has turned it to a dark day indeed. One of his testicles had not descended turning the snip-snip into an invasive procedure with multiple stitch sites. Then he had a very bad reaction to the anesthesia and we had to take him back to the vet where he stayed for three unhappy days. Q brought him home and he is a scruffy, sad little fellow indeed. The first antibiotic gave him terrible diarrhea, and now he is on two antibiotics. He won’t eat or drink and Q has been patiently feeding him with a syringe and squirting the water into his mouth. There has been none of his usual running, jumping, leaping – just sleeping. We are very concerned that he is no better after a week’s time. He returns to the vet on Wednesday to have his stitches out. I know there are many of you who are ‘animal people’, and those who are wonderful without animals. If you could spare a moment to send a positive thought his way it would be so kind. This is the poor dear’s schedule at present:
10AM--amoxi 1.5 ml
10:15--12 syringes of food+3 water
11AM--stomach antibiotic 2ml
2:15--12 syringes of food +3 water
3PM--stomach antibiotic 2ml
6:15--12 syringes of food+3 water
7PM--stomach antibiotic 2ml
10PM-amoxi 1.5 ml
10:15--12 syringes of food+3 water
if you're up--2:15--12 of food+3 water

We are somewhat encouraged as he moved aside the box blocking the staircase and made his way up the stairs to crawl into bed with me last night, where he curled up and slept quite soundly.

All good thoughts are appreciated.

If I don’t die from the heat, it is to be 39C and over the next few days, I shall return.

You all certainly made me feel better these past days. After all the hoopla I really considered dropping the blog thing, but you have made me rethink that decision. Thank you to everyone – and thank you for coming by☺

Ciao.

I was going to talk about how hot it is here, but then I saw this and decided perhaps not. I am so fortunate that even on the hottest days; the sea breeze has been blessedly cool, and even chilly at night. We are still sleeping with a blanket, so nothing much to complain about eh?

I had my reflexology (foot) massage at Moving again. This time the thirty-minute massage lasted twenty minutes. That is still not up to specs. I tend to be a very generous tipper, because I think good work should be rewarded, but I feel the same about poor performance. I have paid for the massages, but left no tips. I am thinking Maryam will get the hint, as I tipped the hammam mistress very well. We’ll see… the massage is so good; I am willing to give it one more try. I am in a bit of a bind as we have seen nowhere else that offers it.

That happens quite a bit here, when you realize you can’t just run out for something, anything, whatever. For instance I need, really need not just for play, a bed table/breakfast table. I use them to work. I am one of ‘those’ people. I love to spread everything out on the bed so I can see and reach it, and then work from there but the laptop is too hot and ungainly for me without a table for long term working. And there just isn’t one. We went over to Agdal and walked about, found some lovely lingerie at La Vie en Rose but no table. I looked at the Marjane in Souissi, no joy; so now I am at wit’s end. You can’t order something like that, the postage to get it here cost more, and sometimes twice the cost of the item! It is interesting to find what you can live without… Nonetheless I shall forge ahead today for another look.

I went by Dessange yesterday to have my hair washed and blown out, here is called “a brushing”. The wonderful Muss who cut it before is on vacation. I did not care for the job the chap did today, not bad, just not up to snuff; however the woman (I will get her name tomorrow at the manicure) who washed my hair gave me a scalp massage to die for! I almost dropped my fan, to which I was clinging for dear life, to the floor I was so relaxed. And the woman at the reception desk was all over it, “You are not very pleased? You did not like this one? You will tell me and I will have someone else for you next time.” Now that’s service. Hear this ladies – the wash, massage, and blown dry? 100 dirhams (12 usd/6 pounds), with 20 for the hairdresser, and ten to the shampoo lady. Such a deal. Apparently it was “impossible!” to have a manicure today, ah well probably too hot to dry anyway.

M.C. Solaar is moping about missing Q.

Here we go, I started thinking about this last night when Annie at Blooming Marvelous mentioned she doesn’t like westerns (gasp). Top Ten All time greatest movies:

The Dirty Dozen
The Seven Samurai/and then The Magnificent Seven (for those who prefer guns to swords)
The African Queen
Breakfast at Tiffany’s/An Affair to Remember (I know that’s cheating, but it’s MY list.)
Star Wars
The Great Escape
MASH
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Young Frankenstein
Henry V (the one with Kenneth Branagh)

What are yours?