Happy Halloween

Yes, we do have Halloween here in Doha. Last year we had an abundance of ghosts and goblins and expect the same this year. Trick or treating in 90 degree plus weather can work up a thirst, so juice packs are on tap for those that drop by. Kayla will be leaving her home base at St Edward's to dole out the same at Fort Knox in Kyle. Rumor has it that Kristi and friends are planning on trick or treating themselves. I'm sure Dustin will be doing the usual "Get the door, it's Dominoes" in his dashing pizza delivery costume, and Shea's costume, no doubt, will be that of an "army man". Imagine that. Looking forward to seeing the little ones. It will conjure up many memories of days gone by of four little goblins close to my heart.


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Uh Oh

Just thought I'd share this morning's front page of The Peninsula, one of our local English newspapers. Forgive me for the poor picture quality. I took a picture of a picture in the paper because I was too lazy to scan it. I'll quote the caption underneath the picture for you :

"Big Fall: A heavy-duty crane fell into a deep excavation at a construction site in Freej Soudan on Tuesday night due to the CONTRACTOR'S FAILURE TO OBSERVE THE STIPULATED SAFETY MEASURES."

You think? This would be really funny if you didn't see these pics in the paper so often. The construction zones in Doha are ridiculous and EVERYWHERE. This is definitely one instance where the Kodak Moment would not be worth it. Keep me off the broken road, please.

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Sykes News Alert!

After listening to a quivering voice on a message left by Kayla telling me to find "that" cat and that she didn't know why, but she liked it, I headed back out, yet again, in search of Sykes. By now, it was pitch dark which really didn't matter, because I didn't need to be able to see him, I just needed him to hear my voice. After three nights of searching, he finally heard it. I felt a presence behind me and checked over my right shoulder, and there he was trotting after me. He was very happy to see me, putting his paw up to my cheek several times as I carried him home. He's exhausted...I guess from having to watch his back the last several days. As I type, he is sleeping here in his usual position resting his chin on my keyboard. Oh, and by the way Sykes is the one that requested "Reunited".

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Sykes, Come Back!

Yes, it's true, Sykes is missing. Sunday evening he ran out the front door when I was trying to get the groceries in. I didn't really worry about him, figuring it was better than letting him in the backyard. When he goes out back, he climbs up on our concrete fence via the tree, then jumps down in one of the four neighboring yards and finds himself trapped until we go "rescue" him. I hate to keep him totally cooped up, because he gets so excited to go out and see the birds and roll in our "patch" of grass. Well, he didn't come back. I've walked the neighborhood a few times and quite a few cats wanted to come home with me, just not mine. David and I took the truck out last night and combed the area slowly and diligently. Still no Sykes. My sister, Regina, commented that I better find him because she was so looking forward to meeting him. Funny thing is, that's the first thing I thought about when he didn't come back..."but, Aunt Regina's coming to see you, Sykes!".





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Saturday Walking Continues

We'll continue the Saturday Corniche walking series, even though it's already Tuesday (too many birthdays this weekend!). David and I set out earlier this time by fifteen minutes. Ok, we're still not there, but eventually we'll get out the door before 11:00 am and the temp is 95. It was unusually cloudy that morning with just a little breakthrough sunshine. We started in the middle of the corniche and headed in the opposite direction this time. Surprisingly, the corniche walkers were at a minimum. We passed only a handful on our nearly four mile trek. I guess they are a little brighter than us and are waiting for cooler weather.We did run across a few fishermen, again, trying their luck. This guy reeled in a doozie with his bare hands and was proud to show it off for me. No water bottle for a pole needed this time. I really thought it was just his bait, but found out it was his prize catch. Wow. Look hard and you will see it! The bait of choice was flat bread. The building in the water is the new Islamic Museum that is scheduled to open in December. And of course, that's yours truly conquering the clam shell. We pass it often and there are always people posing in front of it for the camera. I thought I'd go ahead and take my turn at it. While I was at it, I made a self portrait of me and the clouds for posterity. Until next time...blogfully yours, Syb.









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Our Lady of the Rosary

As much as I hate to confess to the world, Friday morning was our first visit to our new church, Our Lady of the Rosary. It was blessed during the spring with a much ado "grand opening", making it the first Christian church in Doha. The Emir graciously granted permission for our church to be built in the Industrial Area, which you can see is quite dusty and construction laden. We had attended services prior in our temporary facilities, but somehow never made the transition. I'm afraid we let the terrible construction and inconvenience overtake our sense and sensibilities. Well, we found it Friday morning despite the construction and were pleasantly surprised to find that the previous "diversion" that was in place had been removed. The church is quite unusual by American standards, but we must remember we are far from there and now know, just in case there was any doubt, we are just a few more fish in a big sea. Mass is said in eight languages which should give you an idea of the diversity that Doha offers. The colors chosen resemble more of a baby's nursery than the sanctuaries that we are used to. No cushions on the pews, no padding on the kneelers, just a simple sanctuary...maybe for the simple purpose of keeping us focused on why we are really there. Just in case one forgot why, Amazing Grace was the opening hymn. which always serves as a sobering reality check.







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Legal, But RESPONSIBLE...Right?

Be careful and responsible on your BIG birthday. Have fun!

We love you.




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Queen Joan's Day

I promise...I'm retiring the camel pic, JoJo!

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Pimp My Bike

Is this not one of the coolest bikes you've ever seen? I mean, it is indeed worth locking it up to the street sign to keep away the "I wanna a cool green bike with a cool basket on the back with an even cooler matching green homemade box on the front and a really cool flower arrangement, with a really cool custom seat with fringe included bike thief". The only thing that could make this bike any cooler is perhaps, a green bell. I spotted this baby out in front of our compound yesterday as I was leaving. I risked being late for my mani/pedi appointment with a couple of my "let's pamper ourselves" girlfriends. I'm sure they'll understand me running into the nail salon just in the nick of time when they see this find!

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When is a Tree a Bush?

I know all of you out there have been dying to
receive an update on my butchered tree. Well, at the seven week mark it's sort of turning into a bush. They chopped it before I left my first summer here, but by the time I got back it was back in full tree status. I think this time, they've gone too far. I'm not seeing any possibilities of this branching out into a real tree, again. I can't complain too much, I've seen a few trees in the neighborhood that are just a trunk with NO branches.


Our Bush...


Back in May, we had a tree... :(

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The Kids on the Bus

It was an only in Doha day yesterday. This is a Karwa bus serving as school transportation for Qatari students. These thobed kids caught my eye as they were sitting up on the top of the back seat of the bus. Of course I had my sidekick at hand and snapped the pic. I anxiously waited for the kids to look back at me and ham it up with a really good pose. When they finally spotted me, I smiled at them as if to say "here's the camera, go for it". The two outside kids couldn't jump over the seat fast enough to get out of my view. The middle kid was like a deer in headlights then finally realized I wasn't the Gestapo and smiled back at me. The whole situation was hilarious, probably more like a you had to be there hilarious. It was as if they thought I was going to get them in trouble. I'm not sure why because I have yet to see a Qatari child disciplined. You see them running wild at the mall, standing on counters in the food court, bumping and running over people with no fear of being admonished. It certainly wasn't that they were camera shy. These kids love having their picture made, as I've posted in the past in Look Ma...Two Wheels and Mall Mania. Nonetheless, I think God put me and my little Tahoe behind them to just to put this crazy little bus song running around in my head for hours on end.

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Tennis, Anyone?

Are you ready for some tennis? I'm not sure it's as exciting as Hank and his rowdy friends' football, but for Doha it's the ticket. Sony Ericsson is sponsoring the 2008 end all ladies' tennis tournament in none other than the desert between November 4th and 9th. Where else would you have weather this nice in November? Thus far, Serena Williams from the USA has qualified and will be gracing us with her presence. No word on sister Venus, yet. We really enjoyed watching Russia's Maria Sharapova win the Total Open earlier this year, but she's injured so no qualification is forthcoming from her. The tournament that we attended back in February was free, but the Sony Ericsson tournament directed decided that he didn't like that concept and wanted Doha to charge for tickets. What a party pooper. So, I had to shell out all of $5.50 per ticket for the finals. For the semi finals, only the new temporary nosebleed section, yes I said temporary, was available, so I had to pay a whopping $2.75 each. I mean, why even bother. Do you realize how much $2.75 is for these people. Wait a minute, let me ask the Qatari that just passed me in his Maserati. Seriously now.



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Museums to Munchies

Our Doha Ladies' group paid a visit to Sheikh Faisal Al Thani's museum today and to our delight, it was a true treat (thanks, Amy!). The Sheikh has a nice collection of Middle Eastern artifacts, as well as many from around the world. His eclectic menagerie consists of some pretty, good "old" American cars with road kill included. That was actually my favorite part. All of our guys would have loved it. There was everything from shoes from the days of yore to dinosaur bones. Ok, the camel pic, I'm gonna let y'all tell me...not sure what all's going on in this one. After the museum, we drove through the peacock farm behind the museum. It was like a little oasis out in the middle of the desert. Those peacocks have it made in the shade, which is rare by Doha standards. Julie, Chris and myself bid our group good bye and decided to top our day off with lunch at our local "Traditional Asian Restaurant". On the way I remembered that they are closed on Mondays, so Plan B was in play. We headed to this nice little restaurant on the corniche that none of us had been to but to our great disappointment, it didn't open until 2:00pm and we were famished. We then decided on Nando's, since we were near City Center Mall. They say three is a charm, and indeed it was. I had been there before but my lady friends hadn't and they were in for a treat. It was wonderful from the soup and bread served before the meal all the way to the complimentary mint tea the server brought our way. Cheers, ladies! It was a great fun.











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Live from New York, It's Sarah Palin

Since it is Sunday, the day of rest, I thought I'd give us both a break. I'll just leave you with the opening act of last night's Saturday Night Live episode starring the real Sarah Palin. Enjoy.




Sarah Palin Rap


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Saturday Corniche Walking Series

This is the first installment (hopefully not the last) of my corniche walking series. David and I did so much enjoyable walking in Austria that we decided we should bring it home to Doha. We'll see how long he lasts on this one. The weather will be cooling down soon and walking along the water and palm trees on the corniche can be quite peaceful. We came across some innovative fisherman along the way using water bottles as poles. There were no fish in their bucket as of yet, but I have no doubt that they knew what they were doing. Next up was the "the man" toilet, not to be confused with the woman toilet. Maybe it's just me, but man toilet struck me really funny. By the time we finished our walk, I was "glistening" to the max. Maybe if David and I both didn't suffer from MDD (motivational deficit disorder), it wouldn't be so hot. We didn't start our walk till nearly 11:00am. We'll shoot for earlier next time, better yet, maybe it will be a little cooler.















David & Me taking a break at the halfway mark


Final result: 2200 meter x2. Not too bad, 2 3/4 miles for you people on the other side of the world!


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Come on Over!

I don't know if you've heard, but my sister, Regina (aka Minnie Pearl, sorry sis, I had no other pic of you!), is coming to visit me for my big five-oh(oooh) birthday. Come to think of it, she hasn't even heard that news. I decided that I might need a little extra help celebrating and since she's already a senior citizen that's been there and done that, I figured she would be just the right person. Relax, Susie Q, just messing with you. You're not quite an AARP member yet, but if you listen closely I bet you can hear them knocking at your door. So, before they do it's high time you come over to this side of the world and pay me a visit. Here's your itinerary...


I figured I'd just have to do you like we have to do mom, just tell you what's up. So, pack your bags, November 1st is just two weeks away!

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Happy Birthday, Sunshine!

OCTOBER 16TH, 1989
Today is a very special day, the day "the baby" was born. Yes, the last of four, the caboose, or as Shea would say, the kid that got away with everything. Shea would get so mad that we didn't discipline her like the rest. You know, we were getting tired, and if you knew Kristi, you knew we had to choose our battles very carefully. Over the years our answers for requests for permission ranged from "are you kidding me??" when Shea (the oldest) asked all the way to "whatever" by the time Kristi rolled around. Maybe it's just a natural reaction with that last child. Anyway, I think she turned out quite well in spite of being the "spoiled child". Maybe she was, maybe she wasn't, it's debatable. I'm just happy to say we all survived it, and let me tell you it was a heck of a trip! Happy 19th Birthday, Kristi! Continue to be your own person and reach for the stars.

We love you.

...Mom & Dad

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Friendship

Last night, I received an unexpected phone call from my runaway friend, Karen. She and Ed were sitting at the Doha airport awaiting their 1:30 a.m. flight back to Houston. They had just finished a two week adventure in Jordan and Egypt, before connecting in Doha only to sit at the airport for a few hours awaiting their final destination, America. Of course, their trip was wonderful with Petra, The Pyramids, and an awesome view of sparkling Jerusalem by night from Mount Nebo. Karen said her only regret was that they didn't bite the bullet and go over the border to visit the holy city. Well, actually one more regret was that she was offered tea by one of the many Bedouins along the way, and she hesitantly, but graciously accepted. Her stomach wasn't the same the remainder of her trip, which fortunately for her was nearing the end. After hanging up with Karen, my suspicions were confirmed. Our friendship will supersede Doha. Hearing details about her trip, her inquisitiveness about mine, and tidbits of community news I had to offer her made me realize that our friendship will indeed sustain over the oceans. I'm really blessed to add her to the list of "keepers" that have walked through my life. Yeah, she's definitely a keeper.

P.S. Can you believer I went an entire post without saying, "Austria"?? Oops! I had one and only one song in my mind that I wanted to find for this post. I couldn't find it, but I did find the Youtube for it, which was even better. So without any further adieu, pause any errant music playing in the posts, click on play, and take a walk down memory lane.



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Austria Pics Arrive!

It's your lucky day (define lucky)! Our Austria pics are posted and by the skin of our teeth, I might add. Remember that camera battery charger that I left in the States? Well, Kristi put it in the mail for me and 30 days later still no charger. So, we had to bring David's handy dandy made up charger with us. I was a bit worried going through security with all our odd looking wires, twist ties and what not, but we made it through unquestioned. While in Salzburg, his power supply that he was using blew out. Great, now what. We actually found an "elektro" store that had something he could use, so we were back in the photo business. My charger finally arrived yesterday...snail mail at its best. No problem, I think we got some pretty good pictures despite it all!


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From Austria to Reality

It's hard getting back to reality after coming off that Austria trip. It truly was gorgeous. David and I vowed to do a streudel & latte tour while there and we did succeed. We did sub tiramisu a couple of times, but the Italian influence there is so great that we knew we wouldn't be let down and we weren't. Most days it was our afternoon snack in lieu of lunch, since the "American" buffet breakfasts at the hotels were quite indulging. David swears that we walked enough to counter any effects from all the calories consumed. I have to pat myself on the back as I have unpacked, washed and put away. You have to understand, that is simply amazing for me. There are times when our suitcases are out and half packed by the next time a use for them rolls around (months later!). But don't think that I've put our trip away. I've been going through hundreds of pictures and editing and tossing and reminiscing along the way. Oh, I know...you just can't wait to get your eyes focused on them, yet, another family's vacation pics...gag me. I tell you what, if and when I post them, you will have the option to click on the X and bail out. Deal? I actually have a few friends that thrive off pictures of other people's, no matter what they are. Sickos. I'm going to slowly slide back into the local scene and take advantage of what we have on our Doha Ladies calendar. There is a museum tour tentatively scheduled that looks to be interesting. Also, I'll be holding another intro blogging class for the lollygaggers that didn't come last time (just kidding, Amy...I'm looking forward to it!). Until we meet, again...syb




P.S. Hey, Mike, I thought of this song and remembered it was one of your favorites. It seems to capture the essence of our trip...2nd honeymoon?? You have to realize, it was our first vacation alone, I think, ever! Well, since honeymoon one.


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Austria's Andreas

I'm a firm believer in everything happens for a reason. When David and I delayed our trip home I thought it was just to make the pace more relaxed while returning back to Doha. We were scheduled to take a five hour train ride and then race to the airport via subway and more trains, then board another six hour flight to Doha. A very long day, indeed, so we opted to spread it out a bit by just taking the train ride on Thursday and spend the night in Vienna before flying out on Friday. All was good with that except for the fact that our credit card company, CAPITAL ONE, cut off our credit while trying to purchase train tickets due to "possible" fraudulent activity. I'm not even going to touch that one right now as I unloaded on them last night after arriving home. Fortunately between us, we came up with exactly 100 euros cash to pay for the 97 euro ride. Anyway, back to "the reason". Upon boarding the train in Innsbruck, we found it to be quite crowded but were able to squeeze ourselves into a car that already had three people in it. They obligingly rearranged their carry ons to accommodate our massive luggage. One of the riders was a handsome young man absorbed in his music as we rolled down the tracks. After a while he removed his headphones and asked, "Are you from America?" We proudly said yes, and reciprocated by asking if he was Austrian. Indeed he was, and we told him how we loved his country. He asked why and our answers were, "everything". The mountains, the lakes, the scenery, the cleanliness, the people....the list went on and on. I asked him if he skied, he smiled and said "everyone in Austria skis, it's what we do". David asked if he skied competitively and he modestly answered yes. I thought maybe he misunderstood and just meant that he was good at it and the conversation moved along with the realization coming to me. I asked, "wait a minute, all you do is ski?". He said, "I could make a living just doing that". My immediate response was, "Are you famous?". He laughed lightly and said "no" and then begrudgingly mentioned that he had a gold and silver medal as a ski jumper that he had won at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. I was instantly turned to a teenager with a summer crush. "Oh my gosh, you ARE famous, can I take your picture?". After much conversation, we found that Andreas was not just an accomplished skier, but a well rounded young man with a good handle on life who just happens to love the 1965 Ford Mustang. He's a smart young man that knows he's just one jump away from a career ending injury so he is also attending school to become one of Austria's "polizei" force. Balance is his motto...the motto that I've preached to the kids over the years. I will be looking for my new found friend, Andreas Kofler, at the February, 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. I've already added the reminder to my AOL calendar to remind me, lest I forget. Good luck to you, Andreas! We'll be looking for you to win some more medals for your countrymen. As we say in America, "Break a Leg"!




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Back to Vienna for a Last Hoorah

Seriously, can it get any better than this? David told me from now on I have carte blanche on planning all future vacations. There hasn't been a disappointing moment. Well, maybe the spitting incident, but even he couldn't spoil our trip...only add blog fodder. Ha! I wasn't kidding when I said we weren't coming home. We've canceled our flight and changed it to tomorrow. Just delaying the inevitable, no doubt. We'll catch the train back to Vienna in just a bit and spend the night there before catching our plane back to Doha. It's been a great trip. Thanks for enjoying it with us!




P.S. Kayla, Dad insisted that I take this pic for you. Does it remind you of anyone??




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