No smoking policy

Yesterday, winter started. The temperatures drop until freezing point at night. Still warm and sunny from 11 AM until 3 PM. Last night and this morning there the sky was full of clouds and it seemed like it was going to snow. They tell me that when it snows here, it is at night which is normal because during the day the heat of the sun raises the temperatures . It is the wind coming from the mountains that is cold. There is snow in the mountains, for sure.

As soon as the sun sets, I put on the stove and suddenly the house is too big, because the only place that is used is in front of the stove. When visitors arrive, they immediately take place around the stove and stay there until they leave.

It is hard now to maintain the non smoking policy in the house. Many Syrians smoke a lot (like Turks). And, they consider it not polite to tell a guest not to smoke, but I do. News is travelling fast. I notice that many smokers do not light one anymore.

Most of them accept the arguileh (waterpipe) that is offered. Even when smoked with real tobacco – instead of the apple tobacco – the house is not stinking as it is with 1 Syrian cigarette.

Mohamed’s cousins that are building the wall outside are smoking a lot. The veranda is covered with the remains of their addiction. But it is outside, so I do not mind. The cigarettes and the tea keeps them happy. At noon they ask for “fool”, a kind of soup based on big beans and other stuff. I do not like it. It is their breakfast and they like it because it keeps their stomach quiet until the evening.

They have been working hard, but not every day. 1 more working day and another item can be notched on my list. That should be 1 of the coming days.

I’m also waiting for the second bed to be delivered, so I can move to the other bedroom. The cold wind is blowing on the bedroom’s outside door. The other bedroom is on the other side of the house.

A new closet will be built in the colour that I asked for originally. No big discussion as with the blinds. Do not know when it will be ready.

And 5 trees are waiting to be planted in the garden : lemon, orange and some fruit of which the trees are blossoming now, but I have not understood exactly what it is. We will see in the spring. Still need some more, like peach, mango, olive, fig, etc.