Today is the official first day of summer. My husband has taken off a few days for a staycation. Bahrain continues in lockdown mode. Most shops are closed except for pickup. Groceries and pharmacies are the exceptions, so our weekly date night is to the supermarket. This week a few times we’ll also go out for coffee and tea (takeout, of course) and sit at the sea to drink it.
I went to school on Monday morning for a game of Two Truths and A Lie that one of my colleagues had put together from things we had submitted a few weeks ago. When I arrived at school, though, Lois and I were also surprised with bouquets of flowers and a juice toast. My birthday was in August and hers in October. For various reasons, they did not get celebrated closer to the time they happened. My old department remembered, though, and surprised us with this on the last day of school.
Then today I had to go back to school to confer with my partner about a memory book we are making for the principal, who is leaving. We are collecting photos, poems, notes of appreciation and memories. It is turning out beautifully, a hardcover book 25 x 25 cms. While I was there I was asked to stop at the LI Department, which is our special needs department, and the one I’ve been working most closely with this year. They had a gift for me and the other volunteer who worked this year.
Empty already? Yes, I could have eaten all the treats out of all of these dishes. I love sweets too much–baklava, two kinds of halwa, chocolates, and mixed nuts. I ate plenty, but instead of gorging myself until I burst, I dished up the sweets into 33 individual servings to share with some of our hospital workers. Keith and I will deliver them tomorrow. I kept the nuts!
What I’m most excited about this gift, though, are the sweet dishes. I will be serving Bahraini breakfast in them. The food in the Instagram post below is our very favorite meal here in Bahrain. I’ve been perfecting recipes for these dishes (I use that word perfected very loosely here). My recipes are going to taste better now, though, just because they will get to be served in these darling dishes.
Happy summer, everyone!
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