That ain't no puppy dog...

And that ain't no house cat, either.

Once upon a time I heard a story that a man in Doha owned a cheetah. And not that I'm skeptical, but I was skeptical.




Oops. My skepticism has no place here in Doha.

Hitting the Highlights

In Paris. Quick trip. See the big things, then entertain some children at Disney. It was a quick trip.

Favorite part of Paris? The Eiffel Tower, of course. And we got lucky, hit it just before twilight, no lines to go up top. Perfect.

Another favorite, thanks to Disney and that hunchback, was Notre Dame. Of course we didn't stay long because I realized my pants had ripped on the tour bus and I needed to get home and change.

Then a morning at Versailles. See what we saw? AT VERSAILLES?!?! A contemporary Japanese art exhibit. Yep, this art fit right in with the 17th century gilded Hall of Mirrors. Guess what? This art exhibit is coming to Doha! I could see it again. If I wanted.

And then Disneyland Paris and Disney Studios. Just like Florida, but smaller. If you ever get the chance to ride Crush's coaster, do it. Even if you have to wait in line. (But look at the gorgeous fall weather we had in Paris - big treat for us desert rats.)

Another family trip recorded for the ages.

Amazing

I just want to make sure everyone knows how amazing Jennifer is. No one in the world could ask for a more stunningly attractive, magnificently brilliant or fantastically funny friend (note the triple alliteration - a word I know only because she is such a phenomenally well-read indivicual who shares all her knowledge with poor little me). So.... here's to you, Jennifer. I appreciate YOU.

It's almost over...

Ramadan, that is. So what better to mark the end of Ramadan than with a picture of this cannon. You see, every night during Ramadan, this cannon is fired at sunset, marking the end of that day's fast. I can't hear it from our villa, but if you are near the Corniche at all, you can.

So the end of Ramadan marks my elation again at the simple act of stopping by Starbucks and grabbing a non-fat, grande coffee frappucinno to go. And DRINKING IT IN MY CAR! Ah, it's the little things.

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: