No it isn't snack time, it's labor over cat food time

Hi, my beautiful Ladies!  Are you doing well today?  I hope so.  I think of you all the time.  It's Saturday, but everyone seems super busy.  I took my Mom grocery shopping in the morning.  I had to buy chicken myself, so we went driving around town most of the morning, and my mother bought me some rice for lunch.  I needed to relax before Mary Unknown7 started singing, so I didn't do any kitchen work in the morning.  Which means that I was stuck in the kitchen all evening, and I'm still exasperated from it.  Plus, I'm not done yet.  I quit buying cat food, so me and my cats eat the same thing: chicken.  Last time the chickens were small, so I bought two.  I bought two again today which wasn't necessary because I generated more labor for myself.  I always get the butcher to cut the chicken in four.  Then when I begin work on it, the first thing I do is lock the cats up in the kitty litter room.  Then I can process the bird in peace.  I have to get as much flesh off as possible, and the bones, fat, innards and skin go into the pot to be slow boiled.  I put the red meat and gizzards in one container, then the liver, breast meat, and wings in other separate containers.  The knife is never sharp enough, but I learned it's best to use a small knife.  Today, I used scissors as well, which was a great idea.  Floofy and Lookie get the raw meat (which I keep in the freezer), and little Yoolie gets the cooked flesh from making broth, which is a lot, which I also keep frozen.  I defrost as needed. I get the wings, liver, broth, and whatever white meat is available.  Oh so tedious, but do much better for the cat's health.  If I had a choice, I would buy only white meat, but the whole bird is cheaper.  Groan.  Next, I have to pull the flesh off the bones.  I'll talk to you again tomorrow, inshaAllah.

I was waiting for regret, but it didn't happen

Hello hello, my wonderful Ladies!  How are you?  Is everything under control, and are you having a great time?  I imagine you are, I have faith in you.  You should be the more excited one Erin, with what is going on in your country.  Let's not celebrate until it's time to celebrate, OK?  Yesterday for lunch I had hot wings, and I was waiting for my stomach to rebel.  This batch of hot sauce is quite controlled, but still my tummy is very sensitive.  But the regret didn't happen.  I got teased a couple of times but no, no pain and no runs.  Maybe it was the influence of all that tofu I had for dinner.  I guess this is a solid case for optimism.

Oh but bowel movements are so unromantic!  Let's talk about food instead (even though it's technically the same thing).  I'm under such a tight budget right now, there's not much to talk about there.  I made tortillas instead of pita bread.  I had a couple of hot dogs to use up, plus eggs, tofu and sliced cheese.  So that's what went into my burritos.  Tofu omelets are so good though, and so simple.  Don't complicate tofu! 

Tofu

Hi there, my precious wives InshaAllah!  How is life treating you today?  I do hope so that you are having lots of fun, because you are mine, and I love you.  Let's talk about food, shall we?  I assume that you would like tofu.  Right?  I had tofu for dinner just now.  For lunch, I had hot wings, a lot of them.  I was afraid that I would regret it later, but it's sunset now and I'm still waiting to regret it.  It didn't disturb my session with Mary Unknown7 this afternoon either, unlike the extra donut I had for lunch on Monday.  Ugh... I won't ever do that again.  Anyway, the expensive tofu is usually the flavored stuff but really, fresh tofu is best just with salt.  Next in price is the smooth stuff, and the tofu with the rough skin is cheapest.  But if you were to cut past the skin, the inside is soft and smooth (unless you cook it to death).  So I made some pita bread.  Dinner was sautéed chicken liver that had been marinated in turmeric powder and salt, cubed tofu heated up and sprinkled with seasoning salt, and dried fried onions stuffed into the pita bread.  I think it was a success, and healthy food too.  Wanna try one?  :-)

With Allah as my Witness

I had a dream last night that I was transported back 80 years to when my mother was a two year old girl.  I got to see what this village looked like back then, with its mud roads and a few ramshackle houses on stilts, dispersed between rice paddies and thick jungle.  Now you have to drive half an hour to see any jungle.  The people are still poor, most of them, but there's no one sleeping on the streets, and the hospital is for everyone, so I guess in that sense it's better than America.  But I have a lengthy post today, so let's get to it:

I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the rejected.

60.  Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into the enemies, of Allah and your enemies, and others besides, whom you may not know but whom Allah does know.  Whatever you shall spend in the Cause of Allah shall be repaid unto you, and you will not be treated unjustly.

The Spoils of War 8:60

I am pleased to announce that I am only a couple of weeks away InshaAllah from getting a replacement for my Internet computer, so Mary Unknown7 can sing the voices of the dead to the whole world.  This is my mission, for only Allah can make the dead to speak, and Allah chose me to be the guardian of this music instead of some imam or politician.  It will have to be a piece of shit used computer, while the enemy and the forces of evil have teams of the most powerful and expensive computers to do their bidding, but this takes me everything I got, saving up the pocket money my mother gives me for cleaning her toilet and such.  Just as it took me everything I had to make music in America, and I was worked until my feet broke and I became homeless, then I moved here.  That is how Shadowplay became an Asian brand instead of American.  Granted, my piety has improved alhamdulillah, but people are the same all over the world.  Right?  So it should be obvious to the rest of the world how the Muslims here care about the Cause of Allah when they make me face the enemy with a plastic spoon instead of a battleship.  And to be honest with you, I don't really care about their caring anymore than I care about what atheists believe in.  And they will present lies and excuses such as:

1.  He never asked.
2.  We didn't know.
3.  We can't afford it.
4.  We didn't choose him.
5.  We're too weak and helpless.
6.  Let his mother finance him.
7.   He's not a prophet.

That's right.  I'm not a prophet.  The Last Prophet is dead.  So peace be on him.

And to put it in local language, "Kalau tak mahu tolong, jangan tolong."

Hi Erin

How are you today, Honey?  You seem to do quite well in general about keeping calm and collected.  It takes a lot to shake you out of your direction, huh?  Do you like the rain?  I would figure that being a Pisces, you would love the rain.  Well, I don't like getting caught in the rain but otherwise, I love the rain.  I'm just so sensitive to it.  It's been raining a lot lately.  But yay!  No yard work!  Dinner was pita bread stuffed with spicy tofu.  You want to try one?  I've really been into pita bread lately, because I can use the same pan for both the bread and the stuffing, and I don't need a rolling pin to stretch the dough.  Anyway, it's Tuesday so I'm going to shower then get to the mosque by sunset.  I love you!

Homesick

Hi Erin, yeah I know you are watching this but I have to address her emotions regarding this matter.  I know what it is to be homesick.  The pain is in the heart, and it's amplified by guilt that we aren't doing enough for our family.  You have probably already set up camp close to home, it's probably easier to wait there.  And that should be your plan Natty, if those emotions are too much to bear.  I hope you bought some real estate in your home town like I asked you to, for you may need it sooner than later.  Work from there while you wait for me to get my shit together.  Perhaps you might want to try environmental engineering.  I won't abandon you InshaAllah.

Aw Natty

Traveling can get lonely my dearest Natty, especially traveling alone.  But please try not to be so disappointed, you have so many people who love you, and want to be with you, I being one of them.  You are beautiful, and have a wonderful career most of us can only dream of.  Plus you get to see the world.  So hang in there my darling, you are not alone.  Life isn't supposed to be easy, but you are doing great, and everything will work out just awesomely for us inshaAllah.  I love you OK!