A little help for crafts

This activity was posted in the local paper. It all seems to be perfectly normal until you read step one.   This is a telltale sign that you are in a foreign land....

The Hydro Races are Back

The pits are very close for the viewing audience.

The hydro races are down on the Corniche.  The trucks and boats all seem to be from Seattle.

January Candids

For Christmas the children got a basketball hoop with a backboard.  In typical fashion, all we have to do is call up the maintenance staff to get it installed.  Of course we'd love to do it ourselves, but we just don't have the tools.

Our vegetable garden is really taking off.  We really enjoy our small grape tomatoes.  

A few days ago we decided to go to the beach for a sunset bbq.  As we were driving we felt a strong vibration.  We pulled over to check the tires, but everything seemed fine.  As we continued driving, the vibration turned to an unalignment.  It felt like something was wrong with an axle.  The next thing we know, there is a thump, thump, thump. As we pull over, Rob looked in the rearview mirror to see a strip of tire tread in the road.  He thought that perhaps he had hit it.  As you can see in the picture, the tires look fine.  But, as we looked closer, the front right tire had lost its tread.

Now the work had to begin to change the tire, but our jack wouldn't raise the car high enough.  We then had to look for some scrap wood to put beneath the jack.

Once the tire was changed, we were back on the road, headed for the beach.  We didn't make it in time for sunset, but we managed a bbq in the dark.

Each year, Qatar hosts the ExxonMobil Tennis Open.  This year we got tickets to see the singles semi-finals and the doubles final.

We soon figured out that tennis players have their own interesting routines.  Before serving, this player would take 3 balls, bounce them and then get rid of one, then sniff the final two balls before selecting which one he would serve with.  This happened every single time and provided quite a few laughs for us.

Last Day of 2012

For our final day of 2012, we went to a beach near Purple Island.  We had been in this area last year, but this time we wanted to try a different spot.  It was a warm day (around 74 degrees) with a bit of wind.  The tide was way out and even when we got to the water, it was only about 4 inches deep.

 Flamingos in the background.. I tried to walk out to them, but as soon as I got too close they flew off.

These are snails that covered the sand.  They were slowly moving along leaving a long trail in the sand.

 The mangroves

Santa brought little remote controlled boats.  This waterway was a great place to try them out.

Little crabs dig out these holes in the sand.  The hole is surrounded by perfectly formed balls of sand.

Christmas Eve

It's been a few days of hustle and bustle as we prepare for Christmas.  We've been to the Christmas pageant.  We've been listening to Christmas carols.  Today there were just a few more things to take care of (including some last minute shopping, taking the car in to the car shop for a 2 day repair, pedicure treatment for the girls, and a party at our friends).

 

You're never too old to make a gingerbread house.  This is one of my first attempts to make gingerbread from scratch.

 

Then it was time to make the pumpkin pie and minced pies.

 

And set the table for Christmas Day.

We've just finished listening to A Festival of Nine Carols and Lessons put on by King's College and we're having a family reading of The Night Before Christmas...

Let Christmas begin

Winter Break

Rob and I celebrated our wedding anniversary at the Four Seasons Hotel.  What a treat.  What I love about this hotel is that they do the little extras to make your stay special.  We had told them it was our anniversary and they had a cake waiting for us in our room.

Our room had a lovely view of the beach below.

The best part about this hotel is the pool/spa.  Outside they have numerous pools and hot tubs.  Indoors they have hydrotherapy pools.  We spent the day relaxing and soaking.  The next day we had late check-out and the children came and joined us for the afternoon. 

After shopping one day we stopped by the souk to look for a trinket. 

There was a little shop with a line, so I knew there must be something worthwhile going on.  This man was making flat bread.
We ordered 10 pieces to take home for a total of 54 cents.  What a deal.

 

 

A Weekend in December

With Christmas just around the corner, we are doing what we can to prepare.  Here is a little touch we have added to our pergola.

 My sunflowers are in full bloom.

 Yesterday we went to see some festival grounds that have been set up for National Day.  Loved seeing the group of men gathered in the background.

 Having some fun with a mock up of a dhow boat.