MEET BABY!

Baby Batset Bennett

We picked up Baby from QAWS (Qatar Animal Welfare Society) on Christmas Eve - she was my present! This poor Baby spent the first few weeks hiding - has just started coming out and being friendly. Don't know how Baby got to QAWS in the first place. But do know that she and another cat were adopted by another family. Baby hid all the time so that first family brought her back to QAWS. She then spent 2 months at QAWS before we adopted her.

Baby is starting to come out of her shell now. She is a very affectionate cat - loves to sit on laps and be petted (if you sit down with something to read she will be right over). She is OK with us, but still runs and hides if someone else comes in the house (when the kids are here to play she is gone!). She is already neutered and will probably come back to the US with us.

She came with the name "Baby" - "Batset" is the Egyptian Godess with the head of cat that people used to worship.

SNOW IN THE MIDDLE EAST!

We had a little bit of cold rain on Friday and chilly temperatures (high in the low 60's), but farther south in the United Arab Emirates they had snow!

"A blanket of snow has covered a mountain in a part of the UAE, a rare phenomenon for the desert Gulf country, according to local media reports. Al Jees mountain, 5,700 feet (1,737 metres) above sea level and 25 kilometres (15 miles) northeast of Ras Al Khaimah city, was covered in 20 centimetres (eight inches) of snow, the state news agency WAM said."Although limited snowfall was recorded on the mountain some years back, for the first time the peak of the mountain was fully covered in snow," it said. You can see a video of the snow at http://www.arabianbusiness.com/544650-uae-mountain-covered-in-rare-snow

I have never been to that part of the UAE. Here in Qatar the land is flat - no mountains (just some sand dunes). So far, this winter has been warmer than last. It gets up to 70 most days and is sunny. This is the nice time of year.

UPDATE ON QATAR - ISRAEL RELATIONS

DOHA (AFP) — Qatar ordered the closure of Israel's trade office in Doha over the Jewish state's war on Gaza, Qatar's official news agency reported on Sunday, citing a foreign ministry official.
"The ministry has summoned the head of Israel's trade office in Doha and gave him an official memorandum of Qatar's decision to close the bureau," the agency quoted the official as saying.
Qatar, previously the only Gulf Arab state with Israeli trade ties, said officials working at the Jewish state's trade office, open since 1996, have seven days to leave the country.
Qatar and Mauritania decided on Friday to "suspend" their relations with Israel at an Arab summit in Doha called to discuss the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, a Mauritanian diplomat told AFP

PARTY!

12:00 AM 1 Jan. 2009


New Year in the Hot Tub!

Andy going native on New Year's Eve

Andy dealing at Casino Night

After this post everyone is going to think that we party all the time! (Not true) Anyway, as you can see we had a great time at our compound New Year's eve party. To be fair, soon after the hot tub picture was taken, I joined the guys in the tub. It felt great! Last night we went to the American School of Doha PTA Black Jack & Black Tie Gala at the Intercontinental Hotel. Since this is Doha, the gambling was just for fun. Had great food and a DJ with dancing (dancing is a definite No-No in public - but OK in hotel ballrooms, as is drinking for that matter.) Andy was a blackjack dealer for an hour, and I helped out with the Silent Auction portion of the evening. A great time was had by all and we raised thousands of dollars for the PTA.

You Know You Have Lived in the Middle East Too Long When:

You Know You've Lived in the Middle East Too Long When ...
1. You're not surprised to see a goat in the passenger seat
2. You think the uncut version of "Little House on the Prairie" is provocative
3. You expect the confirmation on your airline ticket to read "insha'allah" (if God wills it)
4. You need a sweater when it's 80 degrees outside
5. Your idea of housework is leaving a list for the maid
6. You believe that speed limits are only advisory
7. You know whether or not you are within missile range of Iran
8. You get excited and spread the news when chocolate chips, marshmallows, graham crackers, (the list could go on) show up at the grocery store
9. You fully expect to go to jail when a local national hits the back of your car at a stop sign
10. You know what a shawarma is, and which end to unwrap first
11. You consider it normal for the same section of the road to be dug up three times by contractors in the space of a few weeks
12. You understand that the true definition of a nanosecond is the time interval between the light turning green and the guy behind you honking his horn
13. You don't even think about the price of gas
14. You get used to using the cold water tap to get hot water during the summer
15. You make left turns from the far right lane without a second thought
16. You expect gold for every birthday
17. You think that a box of kleenex belongs on every dinner table
18. You think water only comes in bottles
19. When having a bad hair day, you kind of envy the women in the abayas
20. You understand that when someone says "Bukra (tomorrow), Insha'Allah" to you it really means "Sometime during this calendar year"...if you're lucky!

Been here too long!

VALLEY OF THE KINGS

Temple of Hatshipsuit

Valley of the Kings

More Egypt pictures! First we have the temple of Hatshipsuit (that's how it is pronounced - try saying it fast 3 times :) near Aswan. Hatshipsuit was the wife of a Pharoh - he died and rather than pass the throne to her stepson, she made up a story about her father being a god (and mother a mortal) and took the throne herself - the only female Pharoh. She ruled for many years.

Other picture is the other side of the mountain from Hatshipsuit's temple - the Valley of the Kings, were many of the Pharoh's were buried. The top of this mountain is pyramid shaped - pyramids were sacred so the Pharoh's were buried underneath. You can't see much outside at the Valley of the Kings. About 20 tombs are open to the public - you have to go in the mountain to see them. Some still have the colors painted thousands of years ago. Can't take photos inside the actual tombs. Some are pretty plain, some are magnificent. The Valley of the Kings is where King Tut's tomb was found - the only tomb found intact. (Really the only reason Tut is famous is because his tomb was found intact. He ruled for about 10 years, from age 9 - 19.) There are over 5,000 (discovered) tombs near the Valley of the Kings - most are for the commoners.

Cold here today - only 54 degrees the morning! Andy and I have decided to have the stray cats on our compound neutered. We found the government office that does it for free. We borrowed a trap from them, and took our first cat in this morning. It is resting (in a cat carrier) beside me right now. A bit groggy, but seems OK. We'll take another one in next week.

Kids went back to school today - after a month break. Yahoo!