Happy Thanksgiving and Saint Andrew's Ball

Well we didn't have our turkey until Friday but we had a somewhat traditional turkey dinner for Thanksgiving. As this american holiday is not celebrated here we went to the Saint Andrew's ball instead and had a great time. Andrew was feeling better and we actually stayed until after midnight. Probably doesn't sound like much but considering most nights I am asleep by 8:30ish it's a big deal for me! It starts getting dark here around 4:30 so by the time we eat dinner and tidy up afterwards it feels like it should be bedtime.

Saint Andrew's day is a holiday celebrated mostly in Scotland as he is their patron saint. The flag of Scotland that is blue with the white "X" on it is called a St. Andrew's cross.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dani65652003/SaintAndrewSBall

Anyway, we got dressed up and went out for a big night. There was a pipe band of course, and then they also flew in a scottish folk band that played and taught people folk dances. We didn't dance between Andrew's compressed nerve and me not feeling so confident in dancing in a long gown but we had a great time watching everyone else and listening to the music. I think this is the last ball of the season as most of the westerners will start leaving soon for the holidays.

I hope you all had a good thanksgiving and enjoyed lots of great food and company.

While we are here for a time it is fun to experience some local nightlife.

We are becoming more domesticated

That's right Andrew is enjoying our big new kitchen even more than me. He has spent a lot of time in there baking and sharing with the neighbors. The mediterrean fruit ring and pavlova were a big hit. Even though I am not a big egg white fan I have to admit the pavlova was pretty tasty.

I have been cooking our meals but nothing new yet. Our BLS group went to a thai restuarant at the Hilton for cooking classes so I am hoping to make that meal again at home soon. There is a wonderful american woman that lives across the street from us named Teresa who does cooking classes every week. I have been attending and learning some great southern cooking recipes. She is from Texarkana so she knows lots of good ones. Unfortunately their contract is up this month and they will be leaving on the 29th. There is a another lady who lives around the corner from us who is from Louisiana and we are hoping she will take up the rein on the cooking classes in the new year.

I have also been pretty inspired by our visits to the fabric souk and have decided that I would like to take up sewing. There is a wonderful group called the Kuwait Textile & Arts Association that meets a couple of times a month to educate you on all different sorts of textiles and crafts. I have been told that there are lots of sub groups off this organization so you can be as involved as you would like to be with just about anything. I thought this year I would tackle sewing and quilting. If we end up staying longer out here I may take on weaving. There is a group of bedouin weavers here that will teach you their weaving skills if you are up for the challenge. Sounds like a lot fun but more importantly a lot of work!

Now for a bit of bad news, Andrew has a compressed nerve in his neck that is radiating down his right shoulder and arm and giving him a great deal of pain. He has been suffering with it for about 15 days now and we have been to the hospital three times already. They have him on everything from anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxants to pain killers and B12 shots. He also has to wear a neck collar and hopefully will be starting physical therapy soon. The orthopedic doctor said they usually like to follow this therapy for 3-6 months but because of the amount of pain that Andrew is having that if they don't get some relief in another 15 days they feel that surgery will be his only option. Apparently, they will go in and remove the disc in his neck between the C5 and C6 vertebrae to relieve the pressure off his spinal cord. The doctor seems to think this will cure all his pain and everything will be restored to normal. In the meantime, Andrew spends his afternoon in the kitchen because it seems to help him keep his mind of the pain. He has even volunteered to bake a few items for the bible class here that is holding a bake sale next week to raise money for the Operation Hope charity here in Kuwait.

We have had lots of great experiences since our return to Kuwait this time. I will try to post more regularly now that things have settled down some with the house. The hardest part is just never knowing when the phone will go and we will be off again.