On my way home

From the best trip ever...I am waiting to board the third flight of four to get home, in London. I have not been in this airport in well over 20 years which is not only sad, but strange.

Usually, I am chomping at the bit to get home from a long trip, to see what things have gone wrong and what has to be done to get back on track--but this time it is hard to see the trip end. I have had so much fun, it sucks to leave. On the other hand, I have some great things waiting for me when I get home----so its not all bad. And that is all I have to say about that for the moment.

I have thousands of pics to work on but I will share a couple I got yesterday at the Souq when we were running errands--I absolutely love the architecture here. It is hard to find anything old because Doha has exploded and the construction is non-stop but this market is over 100 years old. I love it.

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A funny scene from Doha, Qatar

I have so much to catch up from this week, but I want to include all the pics and that is going to take some editing. However, today I got another one of those funny shots that just crack me up, and could not wait to share it.

This photo was taken at the Four Seasons Doha where Mandy, Gabi and I had lunch on the beach. You can imagine how ritzy this place is--I have fun just watching the cars pull up at the valet station! Anyway, this man in traditional dress sat near us. And drank beer. Tell me that is not a conflict in practice--he is conservative enough to dress traditionally, but clearly disregards an important feature of the Muslim faith.

I have had so much fun catching these idiosyncracies during this trip. I guess it just highlights how similar all people are all over the world---picking and choosing which parts of our faith we choose to follow.

Dubai-land of excess and decadence

We landed in Dubai yesterday early evening and are having an amazing time. I have not had time to download photos yet because as soon as we got back from the Dubai Fountain (incredible video to come) and the world's biggest mall full of fancy stores, an ice rink, aquarium, ski slope and other crazy things which is right across the street from us, I passed slap out even before Mandy was done working.

I will get to it.

It may not be today though as we are going to champagne brunch here Knowing us, I will be so busy getting my money's worth of champagne and food that I will not be able to function until much later. After that, we will lay at the pool and rest off all those calories.

Tonight is the big night out in Dubai, as their weekends are Friday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday

Acting Arabic

OK, these men were not acting Arabic. They were full on Arabic and as you can tell, not pleased with Paige at all. And that is fair since my attempts to be sly to get their photo were pretty transparent.

But they were so exactly what this country is like, I had to do it.

These, on the other hand, are very happy Muslims

We went to Tejine, a Moroccan restaurant in the Souq Waqif. The thing to do here after your meal is to smoke shisha, which is flavored tobacco served in a water pipe. Its wild to see everyone doing it.

This is the guy who gets it started for you and tests to make sure it works. If you do it right, you get a little lightheaded and dizzy for a minute or two--like a very short buzz. When the coals burn down, the ashes make it taste bad so he has to empty the ashes, add coal and re-test. I suspect this is a fun job to have. I do not know how they make it through a shift though.

I never thought I would see the day that my almost-always well-behaved brother in law ever smoking anything but maybe a fancy cigar--but here he is! And of course, it is so misleading---this is perfectly legal. Its just regular tobacco for Pete's sake, but it does look like we are up to no good, doesn't it?

I look particularly ridiculous here--but I think this is when I finally got it right and did not cough, laugh or choke---and maybe from the looks of it, maybe got the little buzz. I appear to be a little shocked, don't I?

And I cannot get this damn picture out of here. No one needs to see this at all, let alone twice. Sorry

Mandy had similar problems at first, but picked it up pretty quick. Now I think she is hooked--I am pretty sure she made plans with Joel and Jill to join them on their weekly excursions. We may have lost her to the pipe---all those years of being a good girl may finally have broken her! And doesn't Ed look so proud of wifey? ha!

This is Jill, Mandy's trainer. She is an old pro at this shisha thing--she is like the dragon lady with the smoke. It was so funny to watch because she is such a girl, and has the cutest Mississippi accent....it just does not match with the pipe.

This is Joel, Jill's husband. You would think from this pic that he is the good one. Really he is the master puffer who knew what kind to order and when to call the shisha man to have the pipe corrected and was the one to teach the rest of us how to do it. So do not let him fool you with that innocent look.

This is Mandy, me and Lina. Lina is actually a good girl and did not smoke any. She is from Australia, and spends all of her time fighting with people who accuse her of being Phillipino....which she is not, but no one believes her. Her reenactments of the confrontations are hysterical.

This is what the pipes at Tejine look like. Because the bottom is red, you cannot see the water where the bubbles happen...it feels so weird.

Here are some far prettier ones that were for sale in the

souq. Arent they beautiful?

This was just interesting to me. These are wheelbarrows that old men use to drive your souq purchases to your car.

Living big at the Bay Club

On the way to the Hotel Intercontinental for some time at the pool bar, we passed some things that reminded me just how different it is here. Above is typical Arabic architecture

This is typical dress for many men. This is called a thobe. The weird thing is they are always bright white--never a speck of dirt on them. How do they DO that? I cannot even get out of the house in white without ruining a white shirt and they go all day looking fresh as a daisy

This is part of the hotel we went to for some relaxation. See more of it here

The pool area

The beach

A view of the Pearl, a new development being built now.

Read about it at The Pearl Qatar It sounds like an amazing place.

This is what a hillbilly looks like when you take her out of her natural environment and plop her down in a fancy one. You can take the girl out of the sticks, but not the sticks out of the girl. Wait a minute, that does not sound right at all

We had a great afternoon there. We make friends wherever we go--these two ladies from the UK and Joseph from Dubai. He was an absolute trip and it did not hurt a bit that he bought some of the drinks....when a daquiri is $20, who am I to turn down a sponsor? I may be a hillbilly but I am not stupid! We laughed like crazy, and came home to take naps. We spent the evening with Edward and the kids and crashed early. All in all, an incredible day.

Home base in Doha, Qatar

This is not Mandy's house--but it might as well be--it is the same house she has, just across the street from her.
First floor living room.
Dining room.
Some of the stairs.
On the second floor is Gabi's bedroom, Crews' bedroom and the master suite. For some reason, I only have photos or Gabi's room--maybe because it is so absurd for a 4 year old. This is one view of it
This is the other side of it. yep--two beds for a 4 year old.
This is the second floor play area for the kids and TV watching area. Note the marble floors which are all through the house

This is the window in my room on the third floor. The only other thing up here is an office, and the maid's room.
Which means we have this whole monster deck to ourselves. This pic in no way shows how big it is. These doors are the general entrance to the deck. My entrance is around the back there, where I also have sliding doors to access ir

This is the back patio--just outside the living room--this is where we had dinner tonight.

None of these photos demonstrate how absurd this is--5 bedrooms, 6 baths, Mandy does not even know how many square feet. Its massive and gorgeous. I have my own thermostat in my bedroom so I have it set on vacation mode--very cold--its awesome. This is one of the many perks of Ed's job--this compound is very secure and the only people that live in here so far are people who work for his company. Its absolutely beautiful and even Mandy was laughing her ass off showing me around last nite--it is so excessive--but they deserve it for as hard as he works. And who would not want to live like this if they could get away with it. It cracks me up that even the 2 year old Crews has his own bathroom, and they have not ever used the bathtub in Gabi's room because there are so many others. My room is huge too and the bathroom is all marble and granite--so fancy. Trying to get used to being called madam by the maid/nanny Amy is really weird--cracks me up--but I could sure get used to it! It is standard to have help living in here, but I can tell it is a little awkward for Mandy and Ed to get used to it--but its perfect for Mandy's work schedule and the kids school stuff- it affords her a lot of work flexibility.

I am on the verge of collapse so i am giving up for the nite--hopefully I get this jet lag kicked over nite and can catch up with stories of the insanity that went on today. One of the funniest parts was a discussion Mandy and I had before we went out today--back in the day, I had a friend who we boated with when I was in law school. We would be at the lake lounging in the middle of the week, and he would say "Wonder what the poor folks are doing today?" and we would crack up because we WERE the poor folk. Over the years, that became a catch phrase that has come up on every trip or big event. When i said it to Mandy today, she deadpanned right back at me "We do not know any poor folk". I almost peed on myself laughing

Now everyone who knows us knows that is a HUGE load of crap--lots of days we are still the poor folk. We both know how lucky we are...and are so grateful for all the opportunities we have had. But never before has it been so clear how far from southern Illinois she is now...but still same ol Mandy she always was. Just living like the queen of the manor now--but her acknowledgment of how excessive these living arrangements are demonstrates that no matter how you dress her up, she will still always be a Mt Vernon girl at heart.

On that note, I better start resting--cuz I sure have to be up tomorrow to work out and get some sun before the pedicure lady makes it here to fancy me up. I am even embarrassing myself looking like this. Yep--I could get used to this.

Stay tuned for the pics from our adventure at the Intercontinental Bay Club today--

Greetings from Manchester UK

~Which is where I am PAYING money to use a computer. That is the extent of my sickness.

But it had to be done. Last weekend, my beautiful brown Toshiba took a header and passed away. I immediately bought a new one, but it is not completely set up yet---its giving me shit. I got her all charged up to I could blog while I waited for my next flight, and despite the supposeldy free internet in this airport--not so much. Now I am using pretend funny money to play on the internet. I think this is like my weird Mc Donalds craving--I rarely crave McDonalds, but the minute I touch down in a foreign country, I have an uncontrollable urge to eat it. Like there is not a McDs on every corner in the world, for Petes sake--I have even eaten it in Fiji. That is just strange.

So anyway--unless a miracle can be performed when I get home--all my pics etc are gone. Im hoping it can be solved but I ran out of time preparing for this trip.

I arrive in Doha Qatar tonight around midnite their time (4 pm or so our time) to hang out with Mandy and the family. I will be there til Thursday when Mandy and I go for girls weekend in Dubai. On Sunday we go to Abu Dhabi for a couple of days. Then back to Doha to play until the Saturday after Thanksgiving. If I do not get to ride a camel on one of these trips, someone is going to be sorry as shit.

I did not bring the pup because they would not let her come through England for some reason and I could not get my flights changed. Now they will get her on Christmas morning, which is equally cool.

In other news, Rex the gray rescue horse is fattening up. I do have a new pic of him but of course, not on this computer. I will get it up soon though--he is gaining by the day

I am concerned I may have a stroke being without constant phone access.....but it will be good for me. I can use Mandys phone for FB stuff while we are out and about so keep an eye open for photos of our adventures and I will try to post on here as we do fun things.

What else do I know? So many things, but lack of sleep keeps me from knowing what they are....I will get it together one of these days.

I am pretty much sure this post was not ork the $3.35 it cost me to post it. Oh well!

Bad news

It has taken me a week to post this, because I did not want to.

But since people are asking, I will tell it.

The TWH colt I was rehabbing did not make it. At 10 am last Friday morning he was fine and atg 2 pm, he was gone. I think his organs were too damaged from malnutrition, or he had a hell of a colic that got him fast.

It was heartbreaking but I guess not that surprising.

Rex is doing well though. Eating well and gaining all the time. I had a camera malfunction so Sunday's pictures did not transfer. Hopefully, I have it cured and will be able to update this Sunday