Rumi: The Moon is the Same Moon

I adore Rumi. I read this poem recently and it struck home. Enjoy!

The Moon is the Same Moon

Know that the world of created things
Is like pure and limpid water
In which shine the attributes
Of the Omnipotent One
Consciousness, justice, mercy
Are like stars of heaven
Reflected in the running water.
Kings are the theater
Of the royalty of God;
Sages are the mirrors
Of God's Eternal Wisdom.
Generations have passed away,
A new generation has come;
The moon is the same moon
But the water's not the same.
Justice is the same justice,
Knowledge the same knowledge,
But generation has replaced generation
In a long and endless chain.
Generation after generation
Have gone into the dark
But the Divine Attributes
Are changeless and eternal.
The water in this river
Has changed innumerable times;
The reflection of the moon and stars
Has remained unaltered.
Its origin is not the water
But the Light-Kingdoms of Heaven.

(Originally from the Mathnawi; Source: Teachings of Rumi by Andrew Harvey)

How to add a light to beautiful metal Egyptian lamp

Long story short, a couple of years ago I studied abroad in Egypt. Yes, right after I got there the January 25th Revolution happened and yes, I stayed anyways. For my blog from my time there, go to kerryinegypt.blogspot.com or click here.

Anywhooo, I try to visit Cairo as much as possible, since I fell absolutely in love with it! On one of my recent trips, I picked up this beautiful golden metal lamp from one of the shops in the Khan el Khalili (giant market place in Cairo). Unfortunately, the light that was already installed in the lamp was not the right kind (excuse my horrible lack of knowledge on the specifics of this) to be plugged in when I got back to America - I was told it would start a fire or explode or do something else ridiculous.

The lamp says in Arabic "SubhanAllah," which means something along the lines of "Glorious is God" - basically you say it when something inspires wonder in you with its beauty or complexity or amazingness. I love it :)


Yesterday a miracle happened and I finally remembered to drag my butt to the hardware store to buy the parts required to create a functioning lamp out of my poor lonely lamp-shell. I have to note that my friend Tess gets all the credit for putting everything together while I uselessly sat next to her observing the process.

Here's how I would recommend going about this:

Take a trip to your local hardware store, taking the lamp with you. We went to McGuckins, our favorite because the employees are very helpful and knowledgeable. They will be able to set you up with the necessary parts. This shouldn't cost more than $10 or so.
 In our case the parts included:
- a socket to put the light bulb in, with wiring attached
- a bolt and nut to secure the socket to the metal tab on the lamp (see pic below)
- light bulb of desired brightness that will fit in the socket (15 watts is what we chose)
- a cord with a plug and a switch
- two wire attaching tip things (potentially called nipples - I don't exactly remember)

Tess began by screwing the socket onto the metal tab (which came with a hole in it for this purpose) to attach it to the lamp.

Then, using the wire attaching tip things (like my technical terminology??), secure each wire from the socket to its matching wire on the plug/switch cord. The people at the hardware store can tell you which pairs with which. If you're fancy, you can shorten the cords from the socket to the desired length (requires wire strippers). We however chose to leave them at the length they came.

The pic above shows the two cords attached together. After plugging in the lamp, I hid the attachment part behind the table I put the lamp on. You can put electrical tape around these ends as well if desired.

Here is another picture of the cords, including the switch, to give you an idea of what the whole thing looks like:

And voila! Zee final product, with a proud Tess:

Yay for my pretty lamp! :D

Note for anyone buying these sorts of things: Please don't put anything (decorations, jewelry, lamps, etc.) with religious words on them in the bathroom, it is extremely disrespectful.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Last night was a cozy Sunday night... My bestie and I decided it was time to try out a recipe we dreamed up recently. Here it is, enjoy!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Filling:
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes

Preaheat oven to 350°F
Makes about 15 pies

Ingredients for cookie parts:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning (optional)
1/4-1/2 tsp cloves
1/4-1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (*not* the pie filling)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg

Ingredients for maple cream cheese filling:
8 oz cream cheese
1 stick of butter (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup real maple syrup (you can add more for additional flavor)
2-3 cups powdered sugar (depends on how thick you want the frosting to be)

Instructions:

Cookies:
1. Mix the dry ingredients, not including the brown sugar, in a mixing bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, blend together the remaining ingredients (pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla, and egg).
3. Stir together dry and wet ingredients.
4. Cover cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper, and use a table spoon to create round-ish portions of dough on the cookie sheet.
5. Back at 350° for 10-15 minutes, until cookies are spongy and lightly browned.
6. Cool either on cooling rack or by placing in freezer for a few minutes (for those of you who are lazy and impatient like us! :P)

Filling:
1. Beat softened butter until broken up, then add cream cheese and blend together.
2. Add maple syrup and blend.
3. Add powdered sugar and blend. Taste and see if you want to add more sugar. You can also decide to add more sugar if you wish the frosting to be a bit thicker.
4. Store filling in fridge so it stays firm.

When cookies and filling are cooled enough, choose cookies that fit together shape-wise and make into sandwiches with a generous spoonful of filling in between the two cookies.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Can't sleep = new blog.

Well, it's 2:09am on a Thursday night. I've been trying to sleep since midnight with no success. So, I decided to create a blog where I can speak about ... well, anything and everything that I feel like speaking about! This may include, but is not limited to:

- travels
- food
- fashion
- venting about frustrating things
- dance
- Arabic, Islam, Egypt, the Middle East, etc.
- life in Colorado
- fricking philosophy!
- nerdy things like *science*!
- rambling about nothing


K bye.