To Sandspit Beach we go

 Our Beach House

 Sandspit Beach (the view from our huge balcony)

The Volunteer Lifeguard. These are the local fishermen

that had to go rescuing people anyway. Now they do it in uniform 

it was super windy the whole time

 Camel rides are the best :)

View from the window of our beach house

 The opposite window view

 A little more zoomed in

A lot more zoomed in 

Eid (Celebration)

Eid-ul-Fitr is the celebration following a month of fasting. It's spent with family, friends and food. I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful it is to be able to eat again whenever you want.






Zaina (my cousin) gets a blow dry for Eid.
All the ladies in the house got one from hairstylest that came to our home on Eid morning.

Ariana's clothes match her Khala. We chose the fabric. The tailor came to the house for measurements and delivered it when it was ready.
If you haven't noticed... Ariana got a haircut to match Zaina Khala's too.

Ariana and me :)

Ariana stuffs her Eidi in the piggy bank. Kids get money on Eid from grownups.

Eid Lunch. My grandmother hosts a lunch every Eid for all our extended family.. it's tradition.

Day 2 of Eid. A new Eid dress for Ariana. Everyone in Pakistan gets atleast 3 days off for Eid. 

"Chaand Raat" Literally "Moon Night" -The Night Before Eid :)

Breaking our last fast... my family around the dining table

Pakoras... Onions, Spinach leaves or Potatoes dipped in Besan (chickpea paste) and deep friend

It's something on the menu that never changed during Ramadan.

 Bangle Shopping is tradition on Chaand Raat

 Just one of the Bangle Shops around

 Guava anyone?

 Mehndi (or Henna) is a tradition too

Fabric Shopping & Independence Day

 Picking out fabric at Ashiyana... they have atleast 40 fabric shops there all in one place

 Another shop... we picked out more fabric here

 Ten different prints for Ariana and two for me. Total cost 4500 Rupees ($45)

 Getting ready for Independence Day... The flag goes on the rooftop

 The view of the city from the roof

We put up "Jhandis" in the front of the house

The other interesting happening was that my grandfathers friend and wife came to visit. And we did the the typical thing, our entire family (my grandparents, my mother, aunt, uncle, cousin, Ariana, Mikael and I) hung out with them. It hit me at some point in the visit that this is so normal for us, how strange it would be in the West to make it a point to hang out with your grandfathers friends everytime they came by.

On that note, Happy Independence Day to Pakistan... googles image on www.google.pk today:

Fun and Shoe Shopping

some dates fresh off the tree

Ariana at a play-place with her friend Nael

First time making some pottery

Shoe shopping... we bought 6 pairs of shoes... total damage 4500 Rupees ($45ish) 

- not the cheapest shop around.

Mikael got a pair too :)

Sunday Bazaar

The Sunday Bazaar is a covered market that has been very popular ever since I can remember. It's full of new discoveries even for the seasoned shopper.

This fruit is called SHARIFA... this one is from a our own backyard. Its flesh is soft, sweet and creamy. There's nothing quite like it.

Some donation toys from Ariana's birthday party went to my maid's sister who just had her first baby

I found out that this bird is called the BULBUL

At the Bazar, Ariana picks some hair accessories... all 20 Rupees each (=$0.20)

Here's what she picked.

The boy on the right carried our shopping for us for Rupees 50 ($0.50)

Ariana picked out sunglasses and did a little dance

Books $0.30 each... we bought 10

The seashell shop... check out the f-16 on the left

The vegetables.... 30+ stalls on the left and fruit on the right 

Chicks and ducklings for sale ($0.20each)

A clay piggy bank... Ariana bought a blank one to paint. These one have a slit and no hole. When it's full you have to smash it to get your money out. This little boy on the left followed us everywhere. My mom bought him a little gift from the 20 rupee store. 

Afghani Embroidery and beading... we bought a few things here.

The Bazaar is so big you need 6 hours or more just to explore. We spent 3 hours there today and didn't get to everything we wanted. 

Around the house

Today was uneventful, so I decided to take pictures around the house and the trip to buy some fruit.

 The Mayna birds... in my front yard . It is said that the Mayna birds can be trained to speak.

The Koel bird... related to the cukoo, she tries to wake me up every morning with the most beautiful song. I look forward to it.

not sure which bird this is

the date tree at the side of my house... the bedsheet is used to catch the ripe dates when they fall. This tree was never planted. It just appeared and grew and grew.

our papaya tree

the front of my house. It's a 7 bedroom, 7 1/2 bath house.

the fruit guys... there were atleast 6 of these side by side.