We're Going to Milan!

We will be leaving July 6th to go to Milan for just about a week. Then I fly on to the states! Can't wait to see many of you!!!

Tropical Cyclone Gonu

Okay, now seriously, what are the chances of this? Bad weather obviously follows us! Hope this doesn't cause gas prices to rise for those of you in the states!!!

Tropical Cyclone Gonu continues to move towards the Gulf of Oman, packing winds of 145 mph (as of 5 am Tuesday Eastern time). Gonu is forecast to stay just off shore of the northern coast of Oman, then approach the coast of southeastern Iran Wednesday afternoon or evening (Eastern time) with winds around 105 mph, making it a category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale.


Gonu peaked yesterday at 160 mph, and has been slowly weakening since Monday afternoon. Much of this area is desert, and the heavy rain that will accompany Gonu as it passes just off shore (in Oman) or approaches the coast (in Iran) will cause life-threatening flooding to residents in these areas.

Look What We Got!!!

TWO RUGS!!! We made our first rug purchase! It is funny, Michael and I often think about what we would do with visitors and going rug shopping is top on the list! There are so many different stores that you are bound to find something you love. There is a wide range of quality, anything from machine made, to handmade tribal rugs, to handmade wool and silk, to 100% silk rugs. Obviously the silk rugs are the most expensive, but they are beautiful! Because of their cost, most people hang silk rugs on the wall or put them in low traffic areas (I am sure there are exceptions to this!!!).

So we got many lessons from many different stores and learned all about the different types and thread counts. The rugs all have different designs. For example there is the garden, tree of life, hunters, dome, fish, rug in a rug...etc. I personally love the dome and fish pattern, which is what we bought.

The rug shopping experience is truly one of a kind. Of course it involves tea, and some times hours looking at rug after rug. The rugs are in piles, so when you find one you like, they pull it out and display it on the floor for you. They will pull out as many as you want and do not even frown when you ask to see one at the very bottom! So you look at them, walk around them, look at the back, find out where it was made. Then you ask about price, then you go and look other places and then come back and do it all over again!!! It is quite entertaining! The store owners seem pretty good about reading what you like and don't and are always happy to recommend other options.

We found a silk that we loved, but of course, went to many other stores, and then came back to our original store. He of course remembered us and said he got new silks in since our last visit. And he starts unrolling rug after rug after rug. There were a couple that were lovely...but we knew there was one that we originally fell in love with! So after he showed us all his new silks, he grabbed a carpet and said but this is the one you are most interested in. And amazing as it was, he remembered exactly which one it was!

So we bought one silk rug. It is from Qum, Iran. The really cool thing about silk rugs is that there is a light side and dark side. The hard thing is that you may like a rug one way but not the other. So you spend a lot of time pacing around a carpet or asking someone to hold it for you. The silks have signature woven into the carpet. This rug is a dome design. The pictures above are all of the silk. It is so hard to do the light/dark justice with a digital camera. It may look like we manipulated the lighting, but it truly is the carpet. The picture directly shows the signature.

The second carpet is a wool/silk. It is from Tabriz, Iran. The design on this carpet is known as the fish pattern.

So needless to say, Michael and I now have our anniversary, Christmas and birthday presents!!! If anyone would like to borrow a carpet on loan, please let us know!!! lol

Time to Hire a Maid

I found out this week that I will be temporarily joining the American School of Doha. They have a teacher who had to leave unexpectedly for medical purposes. The last day of school is June 15 so I will be there full time for the next 3 weeks! I know...you are all wondering...what will I be teaching...7th grade science!!! (Gene, the best 7th grade science teacher ever, please hold back your laughter!!!) One of the things we will be unable to do in this teacher's absence is dissect a shark! He and I talked about it briefly but I would literally have to go to the fish market and buy like 20 sharks...and that just was not going to happen...not to mention the dissection!!! The kids are very disappointed but I told them that I have already found a shark dissection online that we can watch! (I know, not the same!!!)

So if the blogs seem a bit sparse or I am not available for morning phone calls...you will know...I am working AGAIN!!! (Big surprise!!!) This is not too tragic as I have my eyes on a very large rug!!! The rugs here are amazing (and the rug shopping experience is a blast in itself!) The one I am looking at is not silk but it is still very beautiful!

A Trip to the Souqs!

This morning we met another couple for a trip to the souqs. We were there by 8:30 to get a parking spot as parking becomes a challenge the later it gets. On the weekends the souqs get very crowded, so it was nice to go early and be able to take some pictures (as you are not supposed to take photos of the locals). The souqs are open from about 9-12 and then again from 4-8.

First we went to Souq Waqif. This souq recently received a major transformation but still closely reflects the spirit of the olden day markets. Here you will find winding hallways with store after store spilling their goods onto the concrete. You can find anything here from perfumes, to spices, to tools, and chocolates!

I wanted to take a picture of Michael by all of the candy because he has quite a sweet tooth! Of course everyone thought that I needed my picture taken...but where??? Thanks to Michael's wonderful recommendation, my picture is among the nuts! I believe I heard Michael say something about me having something in common with baskets of nuts...but he promises he said nothing of the sort!

You can actually make a meal out of sampling at the souqs. They will let you taste anything...you can even unwrap candy just for the taste!!! Spices and nuts are priced per kilogram (about 2 pounds).


We also stopped by the Gold Souq. Talk about gold!!! Store upon store of GOLD bangles, necklaces and earrings.

We Won!!!

We attended a large company family fun day this afternoon and evening. It was about 110 degrees and outside. But, it was all worth it when we won a raffle prize! I was so excited as we won a microwave oven!!! (Yes Bree, they have microwaves here!) For some reason microwaves are not provided at our compound and I have been determined not to buy one. Looks like now we don't have to! I was very excited and caused quite a commotion, probably embarrassing Michael...but it was all worth it after I popped a bag of popcorn!!!

"It Wasn't Me" - Take Two!

First of all, Michael is fine. Unfortunately I have yet another accident to report. I won't give Michael too much grief about it as he feels EXTREMELY BAD AS HE WAS DRIVING MY JEEP!!! You know Michael isn't usually allowed to drive my car...lol...just kidding (couldn't help it!)!!! However we have a guy who washes our cars every Friday afternoon. My car had already been washed and Michael's was in the process when Michael decided to go to the store. So off he went, in the Jeep. He was very close to the house, just two roundabouts down! Each Roundabout has a name and usually some sort of ornament in the middle, this is how you learn where you are going in Doha. There is the Treasure Chest Roundabout, The Mall Roundabout, Burger King Roundabout, Civil Defense Roundabout and so on and so on.

Well, Michael was at the now most civilized roundabout called Green Steps Roundabout (and yes there are four sets of green steps in the middle of this roundabout). It is civilized because unlike most of the others, it actually has traffic lights which makes it a lot easier to get through. Many of the roundabouts are either being taken out or are receiving traffic lights due to the increased amount of traffic and accidents.

Michael was going through the roundabout when the light turned red and he stopped before actually coming out of it. A taxi hit him from behind reporting that the light was yellow. When an accident happens in Doha, you are not to move the car. It doesn't matter if you are blocking all lanes of traffic and no one can get through...you don't move your car. The police arrive, assess the incident based on the location of the cars and then a ticket is written. Because most of the dialogue is in Arabic, Michael had to call a designated Qatari coworker to come and represent him (for a second time...sorry...I said I wouldn't do that!). We are so appreciative of his assistance!!!

Luckily the fault was placed on the taxi driver and the incident was handled quickly. Michael is safe, my Jeep received some minor damage and will need to be repaired, which will be a memorable experience I'm sure! You might be interested to hear, that the taxi was damaged pretty badly and was not drivable! GO JEEP!!! And yes, I know what they say about paybacks! lol