For the sake of Bthy C and Abl J who asked me not to stop posting! =)

 Thinking about all I wanted to write, I let it pile up till it was too overwhelming to think about writing.  Except I took pictures of all I wanted to write about - they will speak for me =) Much easier task now!

 Giant pots for huge families! I should've had Izzy stand beside it for a better contrast =D
This cost the equivalent of $80 US1

 Left - one of the tea pot thermos-types, which I love! Unique designs.

 Right - Maybe these are popular, or, well known - but I think  they're signature Middle Eastern pastries - baklava, etc - made with a thinner than paper "fillo" dough, 7-8 layers of that, each brushed with butter - and then a sugar syrup poured over top and soaking everything.....It's something amazing...Mmmm.(thanks to my mom's friend (and my friend!)  Z (and friends!) in [my state], who taught some of those cooking classes =D )

 a building row of , maybe abaya shops? It seems all the shops for a particular item are usually next door to each other; I think there is an abaya shop across town - but you have a better chance of customers if you're all together, because I've heard people go into every  shop instead of only one.
 For many families, it is inappropriate ("EYE-ib")for any of their women to leave the house without a brother, father - or, a 12 year old son, even? So some are allowed to go shopping alone, but since it's just the way things are, that someone should be with you, you might - probably will - watch TV all summer until school starts - with absolutely nothing else to do - and it would definitely be exciting for me to have my younger brother willing to drive me shopping!

I may bring this back for my brother L!
It seems to be one of the outfits available for Eid sales (the holiday of feasting after Ramadan -Ramadan is the month of day-fasting; it seems Eid is like Christmas!)

Although most of the kids younger than a certain age - maybe 10 or 13 - dress exactly the way any kid would in the States (kind of surprised me!)
  Some little boys dress like their dads, with the checkered turban, and simple straight tunic, though, and it's pretty adorable. ;-)

Peanut butter! All the peanut butter we've bought over time!
We had two jars, and we were using it up, so J bought a 3 pack of one brand, then she found some that had no added sugar, so bought 5 of those cuz we both prefer that =) but she and F didn't like the taste, so they bought some with LESS sugar than normal....
Then some "Skippy's naturals" brand when it was in stock at the store, and a friend cleaned out her fridge before she went home this summer, and among her food was more peanut butter!! =)
All told, we had 11 jars at one point! =)

Magnets or maybe bookmarks? Souveneirs that look like prayer rugs.

 The [Big City] =)

In the mall.....

"No kissing or overt display of affection. No smoking in the mall. No dangerous activities - sports games, rollerblading or skateboarding..."              This caught my attention! People were still wearing short shorts - anything they wanted. And as far as the dangerous activities - they actually had an ice rink in this mall - so it's not a far-fetched warning =)

At friend S and A's house. I thought it was their clock, started getting very confused about "9...12...5...20...1??"

 Take a look at the middle of the board and start laughing =D (If you can't tell, it's a dart board.)

Makes me think of the Sound of Music ballroom, though these look like dulled plastic! =) This is just Middle Eastern flair for  decoration - it's not a palace, at least not S and A's house. ...J's tutor has breath takingly gorgeous men's and women's medjilises- I have to ask someone if it's okay to ask permission, to take a picture! =)

This is one of the back rooms of S and A's house - and it's older - but I really love this!

Random - pens for sale, at the "Dollar Store" type Gift Market; some have missing lids, they're shrink-wrapped into small bundles... It made me grin!

At the top of the second tallest mountain in this country, beautiful sunset!
 Apparently a lot of car chase scenes are filmed here for good movies? It was pretty hard on our car uphill - and downhill, with the brakes on a lot for the curves!

Simple henna (plant ink design drawn free-hand) on two of my European friends ..who.have.been.gone.for.vacation.and.whom.I.really.miss.having.sit.on.my.lap =)

J, abaya shopping =)

Kandoora shopping - ie, house dress, nightgown-looking-dress shopping =)

 Our fave juice/smoothie place - if you can tell, the "door" is just thick clear plastic, split like drapes to walk through - it's convenient for the shops!

 -

For R G and Shan. D. ;-D (Always coming back to haunt me!!)

Lots of things are shrink wrapped together for special deals =D and maybe they do that in the States or other countries? I'd never seen it before =D

This is actually  from China,  special cleaning wipes for computer screens and electronics - and I would definitely make these and worse  mistakes in a foreign language! But it kind of made me grin hugely =)

Supposed to be like Gatorade?

Different 

styles or medjilis seating =)

Lamb roasting in a giant "hot ...room/oven"? sitting outside a restaurant - love the smell! They'll just shave off a slice of lamb for you and let the new side continue to cook - and I guess it's similar to a rotisserie chicken ..."spit", or whatever it is =)

Impregnating Shwarma

Lamb - amazing and 'greasy" =)

So, the food is generally simple and non-exotiic! A lot of meat, rice, bread =)

A nice security camera =) 

A fortress by the "souq" (the souq is kind of like a farmer's market? The vendors don't grow their own, but qual and price are great =)

The souq

Dates

Souveniers, lots of interesting things for sale!

I believe this is the "watching eye" or "seeing eye" or something, to hang in your home, against evil spirits...?

Medjilis cushions! very stuffed, but with cotton? or something very heavy, they feel like a 20 lb grain sack, you pick one up and fall over!  Aggressive pillow fighters, might break your nose!

Models of previous bedhouin life - there are so many interesting and beautiful things in Middle Eastern culture!

This woman is wearing.... can't.remember.what.it's.called! over her nose and mouth =) I've seen a few older women wearing them, maybe in more remote towns it's more common? They seem to be made of light aluminum? So, ladies, don't stand in the sun for two reasons - you'll get an odd tan line on your face (which is the only visible skin to tan, of course, besides hands and feet) then your lip and nose will strawberry! ... I guess unless your skin is dark =) [There are Arabs/ Middle Easterners with light skin =)]

The boxes in the bottom left hand corner, are sort of like a hope chest for a girl before her wedding.

I walked past this - and it was "my little Honda Civic that died at a stop sign when I forgot a cell phone" =D

A " huuka" shop =)               You put water in the bottom of this big thing, coals...somewhere, and breathe in tobacco through a big long tube/reed/straw. The fumes go through the water - so the smoke is cool, and apparently it's a very pleasant feeling =D  It's usually a very social thing - guys will go to coffee shops and watch TV, smoke their big huukas; or, drive out into the desert, grill meat, cook food, and smoke it... However, F has seen guys sitting in the old coffee shop alone, with their wifi, laptop, and  this tall vase thing next to them on the table with the huge reed in their mouth while they work..?

  Well, not quite sure how to end this, but maybe I will say that I have learned funny things here =)
 I had texted some girls I met, a picture of a cow, and the butter cow from a state fair =) I told them what the cow was, that it ate grass, and said, maybe you have cows here, but I haven't seen any - and I didn't know what they'd have to eat... =)
 They DO have cows in a more lush city, nearer the ocean, maybe 2-4 hours away...well....I should've guessed - there's all kinds of meat! (And I don't know anything about raising animals - I guess I really DON'T know what they can eat! Our neighbors have chickens and a goat....I think they feed them vegetable scraps?)

 And, my friends know what snow is! In this sandy country, it snows! ( in a different area they said - no idea how far away it is ;-) )
      (And btw, the girl who told me this DOES speak good English, and I sent her pictures of snow, she recognized it, and told me it's about 4 hours from here - I believe it's in the mountains; but still - when you come from a mid-western state, and know about snow and now sand -  it's new, but you're sure they know nothing of snow.....  =)

Well, to conclude - last week, through some friends, I met a girl two years younger than me, named C (I know, real helpful!),  from a state that is round on both ends and high in the middle =), she's homeschooled, like me, has 7 siblings, like me, (though she's in the middle), she's taking care of some friends kids =D
       Our families seem very similar, we're pretty similar personalities, I think, and it will be a ton of fun to get to know each other, and co-watch kids and learn this place together ,and be good friends by the time we part ways - though of course, everything is so weird and random and unusual about meeting each other, we'll "just have to be friends for life" =)

    The fact that we met overseas, we're living in the same town, helping friends with the same things - when, if we'd lived in the same state, we would've met at a home school co-op or convention .... it's pretty funny and crazy, and I'm even more excited for this next year, to see where C and I will both be next summer =D