Eid Mubarak!!

Hello beloveds! The above photo was taken during the celebrations for National Day, commemorating 36 years of nationhood for the United Arab Emirates. Yay! A day or two off work, lots of firecrackers, people decorating their cars, gunning their engines and generally making a lot of hooha and clogging the streets. We were on our way home from dinner and got stuck in traffic so I popped out of the sunroof and tried to snap a couple of shots for you all. I haven't really mastered nighttime photography as you can see but the funky light effects are kind of cool. The building is called the Emirates Palace which isn't really a palace at all but a sort of super-posh hotel and restaurant complex for visiting dignitaries and such.

The other nice thing about National Day is that they put decorative lights up all over town and they thoughtfully leave them up throughout December which allows us to pretend they are Christmas lights. It makes things a bit more festive.

Also coming up is the Eid al Adha. We are currently in the holy month of Hajj which is when devout Muslims make their pilgrimage to Mecca. At the end of the month there is a "feast" (fete, festival, holiday) to celebrate the first pilgrimage made by Mohammad. Again, a couple of days off work, fireworks and honking, visiting friends and exchanging gifts. It is also a time honored tradition to, um, sacrifice a goat or lamb or two. One of our neighbors down the street has a few goats in a pen outside his house and his neighbor across the way has a rather large sheep tethered in the front yard. I declined to photograph them for you in light of their sure to be nearly immediate demises. Sorry. At least it's supposedly done humanely. Just in case, I will stay inside for the next day or two and then it will be time to fly home. Oh, and "Eid Mubarak" is the holiday greeting.


Speaking of Christmas, I'd completely forgotten what it's like to put up tree with kittens in the house. All the bottom limbs are broken off. Someone (DAISY!?) has chewed through a strand of lights. I awake in the night to the sounds of an ornament being batted around like a ping pong ball and the whole tree smells like cat pee. I'm thinking pine tree air fresheners for ornaments next year. It doesn't look too awful in the photo but the effect is generally pathetic.


Sorry. I tried to rotate it but it didn't work. Look at it sideways. Now that's pathetic.


Honeywell recently treated its employees to a family day of fun at the Officers Club in Abu Dhabi. There was a lovely buffet, ATV riding on the beach, shooting at the firing range (for those 16 and above) and bouncy castles and a video arcade for the kids. The Officers Club, aside from being a very swanky facility with health club, restaurants, olympic size pool, travel and banking services, as well as the above mentioned amenities, also has a couple of interesting exhibits on the history of the military and police in Abu Dhabi as well as popular firearms. You may just be able to spot the Menehune in some of these photos.


I salute you soldier dude of the desert!




Tres swanky, non??


And it just wouldn't be right to go without a picture of my cute but troublesome kittens. It is all about them after all.


No, we did NOT just peepee on the tree. Or eat that stuffed penguin ornament.


Have a merry holiday season and I will write again soon. Love!

Holidays in Abu Dhabi

Well hello everyone. First I want to express heartfelt thanks to all of you who had such sweet, encouraging things to say about my blog. I am so glad you found it enjoyable. I love the connection I feel with all of you who are so far away... but always in my thoughts.

I did receive some suggestions - mainly more photos! I hear you. I like pictures too and promise to take many more and post lots and lots of them. Even my scintillating prose can't show you all the things I see around here. Also, some of you have never seen my husband Connie and in fact doubt that he even exits. Fair enough. You'll see him today.

When last I left you we were madly preparing for Thanksgiving. It was a scramble especially since I spent the 24 hours before in Dubai. I made the dishes that I could ahead of time and prepped the others so they could be put together at the last minute. Some of you know that I have done a pot luck style Thanksgiving before but remember that most of my guests were not American and in the end I simply must have cornbread dressing, sweet potatoes, and gravy just the way I like them. So even if guests bring things I end up cooking a full meal anyway.

When the first guests arrived I was still stirring gravy in the kitchen but everything else was ready to go. The guests dined on the terrace under canopies surrounded by large potted plants and lighted by morrocan lanterns. It was very atmospheric. We had about five children of all ages running around. Robert soon had everyone armed to the teeth with guns, swords and light sabers so battle waged around us on every floor. At some point I realized I had not changed out of my monkey slippers and had been entertaining my guests in them all evening. Oh well.

There was plenty of food, wine, music and company. The last guests departed well after midnight. That's the kind of Thanksgiving I like.

So, holidays in Abu Dhabi. Right now we are celebrating National Day. This is the 36th anniversary of when the United Arab Emirates became a country in their own right. Before this they were known at the Trucial States, a British Protectorate. There are seven Emirates: Abu Dhabi (the capital), Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, and Um Al Qawain. I have been to or through most of them. Robert is actually in Fujairah this weekend, camping and snorkeling with his boy scout troop.

The town is lit up and people are driving around with flags on their cars and honking. We get a couple days off work. Also, the month of Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) is coming up and there will be a holiday (Eid) at the end of that.

What is different from my last time here is that apparently it is the new thing to decorate and advertise for Christmas. There are tacky ornaments and cheesy carols at nearly all the stores and hotels now. It's not terribly sincere. I almost prefer it the old way where we just made do with what we could find. Oh well.

Enough blah-blah for now. I must give the peeps what they want: photos!




Did I tell you my neighbor has camels? Well he does!







This is Connie and Robert at Lookout Mountain last summer. We did "See Rock City".





Look closely. There is a cow in the back.





Must always end with "cute cats nappin" photo.


You are always on my mind! Talk to you soon.