Idioms

«روح بلّط البحر»: the Levantine way to say «do whatever you want, it won’t change anything». Meaning, tone and examples.

The delivery came without the drink and the food was only okay. A short Shami diary entry that ends with a proverb about bad luck.

The phrases I used to write about holiday guilt — أشيل هم، أحس بالذنب، خيّب أمل — pulled out into one place, with short examples.

I’m too tired to do anything today — except, it turns out, dishes, job applications, a 2:30 meeting, a walk, and a swim at the nearby spring.

Attending a funeral for a dear friend of the family.

A Shami sequel about bubble soap in the fish tank, three dead fish, and a rushed rescue for the survivors.

Doing one small thing at a time.

Half an hour of sleep, a coughing kid with pneumonia, and a morning running on fumes.

New year starts with a stomach bug and a birthday IOU I still need to make good on.

VPN issues slowed work but led to more time with my son.