In Search of Fossils

I have heard that there are places you can go to find shark teeth.  So I got on the internet to try and find out more, but there isn't much out there giving specifics.  I did manage to get a gps coordinate however, so we made an outing out of it.  The gps led us off the freeway, along a dirt road and following a gas pipeline.  Pretty soon it said that we had reached our destination.  Sure enough, there were other tracks in the sand, so we weren't the only ones venturing off into the dunes.  We pulled over, grabbed our garden tools and a hammer and set off into the rocks.  

There was lots of hammering and chipping going on, but I'm not sure anyone knew what they were looking for.  We did however find some mouse bones, a vertebrae from something larger, some interesting rocks and shells.

These are hard layers of sand that are curling (I think due to some salt deposits).  Crunchy to walk on.

As the energy dwindled, it was time to have some lunch.  We were laughing that if a random vehicle drove by, we would have to explain that we thought this to be a perfect spot (in all of Qatar) for a picnic lunch)

A bit of a blurry photo, but we did find a fossilized muscle shell, some tiny fossilized snails attached to a rock, and some hematite.

I tried to get the others interested in yet another site, but instead we went to check out a beach in Um Bab.  Interesting how so many palm trees grow in this one location.

An afternoon out

Being that we're on break, it's hard to get anyone moving before noon.  Yesterday we went out after lunch for a wander around the Pearl.  There's a scenic promenade to walk along and some amazing yachts in the harbor.  

So we did a bit of walking and then had to stop and have an ice-cream.

Then it was home again for a challenge in darts (Rob's Christmas present)

Boxing Day at the Beach

We got a bit of a late start, but decided to head to the beach for a bbq lunch.  Hardly anyone was there which was nice, but it was fairly windy and a bit cold.  We cooked up some hotdogs and then explored a rocky outcropping.  We've found a perfect spot to try and get to next time we come.   We'll see if the 4x4 can handle the terrain.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day was spent opening stockings, then eating cheese breakfast casserole outside, moving on to presents and then a turkey dinner.. It was a lovely, festive day.

Days leading up to Christms

We decided to go and see the Damien Hirst art exhibit in town.  The great thing about Doha, is that many of their events and exhibitions are free.  We were thankful that we didn't pay money to see this.  His work is .... interesting.  If looking at polka dots is your thing, well you may get more out of it.  He seemed to be obsessed with medications (pills all lined up on mirrored shelves), surgical tools (shelves of those too), animals in formaldehyde, and flies (both dead and all stuck together on a circular plate about 10 feet in diameter, and living gathering around a cow's skull).  Go figure.  Stuart did remark though that it was one of the more interesting 'museums' he's been to and is sure there must be deeper meaning in his artwork than any of us can figure out.

The exhibition center is located at the Museum of Islamic Art Park, so we had a nice walk along the waterfront.

Madeline and Stuart got into cookie making mode and spent an evening in the kitchen.  We were all grateful for the dozens of cookies that were available for nibbling.

Then on Christmas Eve we went to church.  What usually takes us 20 minutes on a Friday morning took us more than an hour on a weeknight.  The traffic was horrendous and it wasn't all the locals heading off to church either. Just the usual night traffic.

Maddie made sure that Santa was taken care of for his late night visit!  He had some Baileys and a minced pie... lucky fellow.

Caroling around the bonfire

This year we attended the bonfire night at the 'Singing Sand Dunes.' It's located about 35 minutes away and was attended by about 600-700 I would guess.  We went while there was still daylight, but once it got dark, the bonfire was lit and we were all led with carols.  It was a really nice event to be part of.  They even had a Santa in a tent for the children to visit.

Friday Brunch

Having the family back was cause for celebration so we went for a special brunch at the Marriott. It was an afternoon of indulgence!

RC Car Track

On the first day of Connor's return we went to the Villagio sports area where they kids played a little basketball and we took a walk on the designated walking path. It was lovely to be out in the fresh air and warmth.  While we were walking we noticed a lot of commotion going on across the street so we we decided to go and check it out.  They were having a race with gas powered RC cars.  

Ballet Class

More ballet class

Ballet Class

A Shell less egg

For a science experiment, Maddie had to remove the shell from an egg.......

Trick - soak it in vinegar

3 on 3 basketball tournament

Stuart participated in a 3 on 3 basketball tournament.  His team won the event.

Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving was a little bit different for us this year.  We didn't have Connor with us so we made up for it by inviting two other families and five Americans from the military base located here in Doha.

It was probably one of our best Thanksgivings - good company, good food, and so much to be thankful for.

 We created an outdoor living area, with some rented carpets and moving the couches out.

With everybody's help, we managed to get all of the traditional dishes served.

Seating for sixteen in our now living and dining room.

Rob also created a firepit area and scavanged for wood from building sites.