I hate cats.

I mean, really, they're just not my animal. Yet I had to move the feral cat capital. There are cats everywhere here in Doha. Roaming cats. Skinny cats. Yuck. They hang out at the kids' school, in parking lots, in our compound. I have had to shoo a cat or two out of our villa after one wandered in when the kids failed to close the screen door. Blech.

They. Are. Everywhere. I'm not kidding.



But even I, hater of cats, has a soft spot for kittens. And see what I found on our front porch this morning? 3 skinny, mangy kittens. I'll be honest, I'm fighting the urge to feed them. But I know the minute I do that they will never go away. I hear there are mice at the grocery store. Maybe they'll migrate there soon.

I love this place.

Happy Birthday, to my favorite daughter.

 

How do you know?

How do you know you're home? And, really, is it home? Is home where you live? Or is home where your heart is? Either way, we are "home." How do I know?

The temperature in my car, in the shade, reads this:




The landscape, while driving, looks like this:





My son climbs our date palm in the backyard to collect this sweet middle eastern fruit (sweet being a relative term):





And when I turn on Disney at 12 noon, this is what I hear:
(Disclaimer - I pulled this off of YouTube after spending hours trying to get my own video to upload, only to fail every single time. Sigh.)





So, yes. We are home for now. But if you want to know how I really feel, watch this. Thanks Katie, for this gift: