To Gwen.......My chairs

Okay - a little history, here. My husband and I bought these chairs at an antique mall in Dallas, circa 1998, at which point they got put in the garage, just waiting for the day they would be refurbished. We then moved to Houston in 2001, where the chairs, in their original state, found a place in our home. We should have been embarrassed by these chairs and their state of disrepair. But the dream was always to have them redone.

10 years and 3 kids later, we finally had them refurbished along with our baby grand piano. Just in time to pick up and move to Doha. These chairs moved with us, but my beautiful, refurbished piano now resides in my sister's house in Houston.

Two Days..........

Two days - it's been two days since our container arrived. The excitement in the villa reached epic proportions. I attacked our kitchen, which, as you know from previous posts, was just one big pile of stuff.

Look at it now. Look at those clean countertops! I ROCK! (Ignore all that tupperware in the corner. I have no idea where to put that. I'm out of room.)




The kids were not at all excited about their stuff coming. They didn't open box after box and dump the contents out in their rooms. They didn't immediately jump on their flat-tire bikes and ride around the compound. Not excited, no way.

Kaylie's room:




Scott and John's room (theirs is worse than their sister's room):





But we are all having fun! See you at Halloween!

Today is the Day - Now What?

What do I do with all this stuff? Packers unpacked some boxes, left furniture all over the house. Who's coming to Doha to help me????

Today is the Day!

NOW - after 12 1/2 weeks - our container arrives. On the day they said it would! This is big for Doha. John was home, after running a fever since Saturday - he was my very big helper, since my husband is in London for the week.

Who's idea was it to bring all this stuff? Will it all fit?

Everyone here says having our familiar household items will make a big difference. That it will feel like home. No one told me that I would be as emotional as the day our things were packed up in late July. Or is that just me?

I can't stay away

So - I'm breaking my strike again. First to change my blog and now to share my discovery this morning. And who doesn't appreciate a little Sesame Street music?



Do you know what these are? CLOUDS! The first I've seen in 12 weeks. (Yes, I messed up on counting weeks and realized it this morning. Thought it had been 13 weeks, but no, only 12. Terrible for someone who used to count for a living.)

Blog Strike, Part II

Does being on strike mean I can't play around with the look of my blog? I've always hated it - now I'm changing. Don't necessarily get used to this one, either. I've been known to change my mind many, many times when making decisions.

Back to the strike...................

12 1/2 weeks and still counting.......

and still waiting.......................But, could it be? A tentative date?

I've been told that all our goodies will be delivered:


MONDAY, OCTOBER 27.


To be confirmed on Sunday. Good thing there's nothing to post - you all would be missing out. At this rate, you'll get to see kids dressed up for Halloween. Lucky you.

Blog Strike

No more posting. No more music. I'm going on a blog strike until my sea shipment arrives. So all you groupies start a groupthink project for the Dickersons to GET THEIR STUFF.

In the meantime, here are pictures of my very boring villa and my incredibly ugly furniture. It doesn't feel like home, yet, but it will. With my stuff here. My cool leather rocking chairs I finally got redone (Gwen - are you reading?), our bed, the boys' beds, all my old, but loved plain white everyday dishes. More forks, spoons, knives. Real sheets that don't feel like sandpaper. A salad spinner, a cheese grater- all those little conveniences of life we take for granted. It's all coming - BUT WHEN??? It's been 11 weeks! Yes, I'm still counting.

Cooking 101 (oh man, no good cooking songs - anyone? anyone?)

I took my first ever cooking class. I know, I know - you all are saying "Sharon, you are a GREAT cook - you don't need this!" But my new friends were going, so I joined in. It was Italian cooking - led by the chef at Il Teatro at the Four Seasons Hotel. Ooh! We made "perfect" spinach flan with a fontina cheese sauce, homemade gnocci with tomato sauce and strawberries with balsamic vinegar and vanilla ice cream. Perfect - I'll be able to whip these right up for dinner.

I have the recipes for these items. But let me say this: Italian olive oil, good balsamic vinegar, fontina cheese - all somewhat difficult to find in Doha, based on conversations around me. Maybe Italian wasn't the cuisine to pick. Middle Eastern or Indian cuisine may have easier ingredients to find. But who's complaining?

I know you are jealous, but I got a certificate of completion for the class. Love this kind of continuing education, where you get to dine on the actual chef-prepared meal for lunch. Not a great way to start my Weight Watcher challenge, but I am in Doha and have to play along.

Beach Baby, Beach Baby

We went to the beach today. A true Doha excursion. About an hour's drive north, almost to the northern tip of Qatar, a place called Fuwairit. It was sandy by the shore, but rocky just off the beach. Cool rocks to sit upon, and cool rocks to climb under to get out of the sun. A large naturally occuring sun shelf, for those of you with pools.

We went with 4 other expat families and their kids and had the best time, out in the sun, being outdoors. Oh, and the weather really seems to be cooperating. A beautiful day, breezy, to keep the heat at bay.

The boys climbed all over the beach looking at all the shells and rocks.

All and all, a good day for the Dickersons in Doha. They say in a month, the water will be too cold to get in. We'll see. But for now, it was perfect!

The Boys get a Haircut

Finally! We've been here 9 weeks, as of today, in fact, for those of you counting along. And that's 9 weeks, plus 1 or 2 back home, that the boys have gone without a haircut. So, this morning, during the holiday week, my nameless husband took both boys to find a barber (I would have gone, but I was busy, busy on my laptop). You know Scott likes his hair long - well look at him now:




And, yes, both of them ended up with slightly longer hair in the back. Not the greatest haircuts they've gotten, but no more tangles!

I continue to be amazed at the attention my boys get while we are out and about. It's the blonde hair. John gets it the most. Cute, little 5 year-old - he just attracts all sorts of looks and stares. And almost always, someone pats him on the head or stops and talks to him. At first is was very disconcerting, but I've gotten used to it and he has too, for that matter.

Now it's my turn for a haircut. But I won't be posting pictures of THAT!