As I mentioned previously, Ramadan 2010 was a blur. 2011 has been an interesting adjustment. Grocery shopping last week was chaotic. The best way I can describe the feeling is similar to a snow warning in Atlanta or a hurricane warning in Houston... the stores are a madhouse and the shelves are bare. Also, any time I leave the house I usually have a 7 Up Free with me. Last week I made it to the compound gate before I realized I couldn't really be seen outside the compound with a drink. Commence chugging! Heading to the beach this weekend I also grabbed a glass of water for the ride, to which Kev raised an eyebrow out. I'm thinking, it's not like I'm going to spill this, not realizing that again I can't really be seen with a beverage during daylight. Most stores are closed during the day, which has me at home most days catching up on Dexter. I've been sending Kev to work with a sad little packed lunch - really the first time he's brought lunch to work this consistently in many years. A ton of folks also choose to break the fast at Chili's, apparently! Guess how we know? :)
We went to Suhoor at the Ritz Carlton this past Friday. This event was coordinated and subsidized through the spouse's group at Kev's company. A few of us gals got henna tattoos, applied meticulously by hand. The woman used a cone of henna, similar to a cone you'd pipe icing from. It's got quite a strong scent, similar to mint. She piped a similar design on everyone, but each one was slightly different. Henna is also clearly is a bad idea before you eat. We were all attempting to either eat with our left hand or were minimizing movement to our drying right hands.
The ballroom was transformed into an orgy of turquoise velvet and white sheer drapery. The buffet was tasty, with the requisite lamb and other treats like jumbo shrimp tempura, chicken shawarma and lemon caper hammour (grouper). The dessert spread was almost more lavish than the main buffet. I picked up six desserts and they were all some version of baklava. I also tried kunafeh (which we had in Turkey as künefe), a gooey sweet cheese dessert topped with shredded phyllo.
We have an all-Indian Iftar tomorrow night... can't wait!
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