What a few weeks!

Wow. Where to begin? The visit with Mum was awesome. We had a blast. We didn't make it to Oman, but we did manage Hatta after the countryside dried out a bit. Mum was SO excited when she saw the camels for the first time.

And, one of my best friends will be traveling to Russia; we hope she'll be going VERY soon. My dear friend, much love is traveling with you. May your journey be wonderful, joyful and peaceful.

Today was a crazy day at work - made a trip with a VERY large group to a nearby city. Good fun, but tiring. And, I think a lot was accomplished.

Tonight we're going out to a favorite restaurant (Mum, it's the first restaurant we too you too). I'm craving good fried cheese and a beef burger. Yummy.

For all of you reading this, may your journey be exciting, may your travels be fun and exotic, and may you stay safe. Peace.

Rain just keeps on coming

Yup, the rain in the desert just keeps on coming. Some places in the area are really wet, and others, life is just as normal. I thought some of you might be interested in this news article I found:
http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Education/10182266.html

Because of all the rain in the area, I didn't get to take my mum out to Musandam/Khasab. And, I don't know if we'll be able to go out into the 'real' desert so she can see camels. We'll try, but many major roads are closed.

But, even with all the road closures, we still managed to get out and do a touch of shopping today. First stop was a book store; I received gift certificates for Christmas and birthday from co-workers (thanks so very much guys!). Once stocked up on fresh reading material, we took mum to some 'local' kinda stores to finish up some of her vacation shopping. Mum seemed a bit surprised when I proceeded to haggle with the store clerk in a mall store. But, I got a bit knocked off the prices. Good fun, and I got a silver fish ring with a tail that moves.

If it dries up enough, I'll take Mum into a 'real' souk/souq (shopping area) this weekend. We'll just have to see what the weather brings. I also would love to take her to my fave fish market. Loads of critters for sale to eat that I can't fully identify. I'd LOVE to go through there with a camera and a notebook, but I'm afraid folks would think I was nuts (well....if the shoe fits...).

Stay dry.

Flooding in the Desert?

Well, here's a little guy I managed a snap of from yesterday. Actually, he was about 1 foot long.

As I sit here typing this, I can hear the water running down the outside of where I live. We are experiencing flooding here. Not massive, or at least not yet. Some of the folks around at my place of employment were picking people up and giving early rides since some villas were flooding. One lady at work told me that her bedroom flooded while she slept ruining her rugs and some computer equipment. My husband came and met me at my place of work, and I followed him home. Love my preferred mode of transport! It's old and ugly, but it's reliable. We saw cars stalled out in deep water in the road. A little shift into 4x4 mode, up into the mud and around the deep spots. No worries.

My patio is very wet, but the drain on it is working and my outside facing walls are staying dry. I'm grateful I'm living in a newer built place. I think the older areas tend to be harder hit by this kind of thing. The roof was leaking in my place of business, really making quite a mess in places.

Heavy rain is forecast for tonight and more tomorrow. I already know of one area school which is closed tomorrow. Again, more cheering children I'm sure. But, the roads close to where I live seem to be doing ok. The roads around our places of employment, very messy. Gee, rats. Can't go to work. Hee, hee.

Well, my pantry if full, I'm making chili for dinner tonight, and the husband scrounged up 2 cans of jumbo flaky biscuits. Yummers.

http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Environment/10182101.html Check out this website for news and pics.

Stay dry and happy. Peace.

A relaxed kinda day

With things generally kicking back for the day, I did a bit of snorkeling. This snap, however, is from an aquarium I visited back in the home country in December. Isn't he cool? I think he was looking at me more than I was looking at him.

The snorkeling today was rather chilly, but thanks to the 'farmer jane' wetsuit, it was more than tolerable. I took some fish pics (they were 'feeding'), but the pics need to be cleaned up a bit. I'll be posting some of them soon.

My mum went in the water as well. I offered her the wetsuit, but she declined. Mum didn't snorkel, but I think she still had fun splashing around a bit.

I found a news article some of you might be interested in reading:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/14/bush.mideast.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

More news later. Peace.

Crazy life

This is a snap from my recent home country visit. The pink sunset was being reflected in the water coming up on the beach. I tried to capture some of the amazing color in this photo. I'm not sure if I was very successful.

Well, crazy stuff. In a certain place in this region of the world because of the imminent visit of a world leader (guess who), an entire city is being shut down for a day. A government holiday has been declared. All major roads will be closed. All schools will be closed and MANY businesses closed as well. I am sure there was much cheering from the school children who get an unexpected holiday. Personally, I'm grateful for things like a full fridge and pantry.

And...to make things even more unusual....in this same place, it has been pouring rain. It's cold and raining - in the desert. Wow. Makes me just wanna curl up with a cup of hot tea, a blankie and a long book (and I have a NEW copy of my favorite collection of books in the whole world from the home country - can ya guess the title? My old one is so loaded with notes in the margins...well....I'm breaking in a new copy. Great fun!).

Well, Daisy Rat is here in my lap and enjoying life. My mum is visiting, and we're having great fun. I'm SO enjoying taking her shopping. Haggling over prices (serious business - makes buying a used auto look quaint and easy) is a new game for her. Really, great fun. And, I just bought a hippopotamus as living room decor (yeah, I know. I'm a bit odd.). The starting price was 150 AED, and I haggled it down to 35 AED (plus they cleaned it up - it was rather dusty/dirty). That's like going from $41 to $9.50. Oh yeah, great fun. The husband says I get a thrill from verbally beating up folks when I haggle. Not true! It's just the thrill of seeing just how low I can get them to go!

FYI: Because of recent rains, we didn't get to take my mum to Oman. Sigh...oh well. But, it was just not worth the risk of flooded roads. We've still had fun anyway.

Peace everyone.

Back from the Home Country

Good morning! Well, I'm now 'jet lagging,' but the visit to the home country was a great thing. And, my mum came back here with me! Yeah!

Our winter holiday was much too short. We just didn't have near enough time to visit with all our friends. We did get in some good family visiting time, but it would have been nice to have more. We did manage to get some supply shopping done, and we returned to our new home with organic macaroni and cheese and my favorite gravy mixes - enough to last the next 7 months.

My lovely husband gave me a new set of golf clubs over the holiday. I REALLY want to get out soon to use them. But first, my mum needs to see things here, and we are scheduled for a weekend in Oman. Great fun!

I took the above snap near my family's home (home country). I just love watching these little birds dart in and out of the the cold water.

Many thanks to my friend for taking care of Daisy Rat while we were gone. And much love to all our friends and family back in the home country. The countdown to the summer holiday will begin shortly I'm sure!