Monday Mischief

Karen called early this Monday morning looking for a partner in crime to run errands. Elected. I left Dustin with 100Qr and a "Hot Chicken" menu and said, "see ya later". First stop was the Gold Souqs to pick up a piece of jewelry that Karen had custom made. She was a little nervous about picking it up as she had ordered it "on the fly" and wasn't sure what Ed was going to say about that. Yep, the same one that bought the two carpets and worried about what Ed was going to say about that! Ed might just have to lock her up. Hmm, maybe that's why he's sending her back to the states tomorrow night. Anyway, the reason she was really worried is because over the phone they told her that they had to use a lot more gold than expected and the price was increasing accordingly. On top of that, she didn't know if she would like it. Turns out that the piece was beautiful and well crafted, so she haggled with the guy until she only had to pay half of the extra that he wanted for the gold. We then went over to the New Old Souqs (an excellent example of an oxymoron, I know) to pick up some nuts for Ed. You know, "here honey, look what I bought for you today". A few kilos of nuts to make him happy and not notice the new bauble around her neck. While at the souqs, I purchased a shisha pipe as requested by Kristi. You know the drill, we revolve around Kristi over here, but just for one more month! Regardless, a shisha is a must buy for anyone visiting the country. You know, it's a major culture thing over here to sit around and smoke shisha with friends and family. I got it just to have, but Kristi and crew plan to break it in at the Friday night gathering before prom. That brings me back to a Leave it to Beaver episode when...never mind. Before leaving the souqs I showed Karen the Iranian restaurant that I had told you about a while back...the one with the beautiful entrance with all the bright colors as you walked in. It wasn't open for business, but the door was unlocked so we walked on in to check it out. As I was taking pics, a chef walks in and welcomes us to look around. He was very proud to show us the restaurant and told us to "come see". We were puzzled with what he had in store for us, as he led us through some doors. It was the most gorgeous, ornate dining room that I had ever seen. He said, "this is where he Sheikh" dines. We smile and asked if we could eat with the Sheikh sometime. The chef, Hassan, was of Iranian descent and was most hospitable. We look forward to dining with him soon, even if it's not in the Sheikh's private room.