It's as cold as it looks, but beautiful!
Hello all! I am finally over my jet-lag after flying to the states and back over the Christmas break. It was a sort of "Murphy's" trip. Not quite everything that could go wrong did, and those that did were not irretrievably lost but it wasn't the most relaxing of vacations. Highlights included making a lightning dash into Amsterdam during a long layover at Schipol Airport, and seeing my friend Stephanie and her son Robbie in Memphis. The low points were my catching an awful cold on the flight over which took me the length of our stay to get over, Connie's losing his suitcase (again), and missing our flight from Denver back to Memphis due to snow and poor road conditions in the mountains. Everything came out all right in the end, just not quite as we had planned it.
A couple of elves I ran into at the airport.
Our return voyage was blissfully uneventful and for once, I welcomed a return to the warm and by now quite pleasant climate of Abu Dhabi. Honk if you're glad to be home! Beeep!
I've spent most of the time since our return "recovering" from the rigors of travel. This requires maximum sleep and minimum exertion for as long as necessary.
In actuality, Ali, our oldest kitty, stopped eating while we were gone and lost 50% of his body weight which required a stay at the veterinary hospital and a hefty cash infusion. He was re-hydrated and fed and had his teeth cleaned because his mouth was hurting him. They shaved a large swathe on his side to put a pain patch (which he promptly yanked off- silly kitty!) and now he looks like Tele-Kitty.
Connie and Robert hard at work in Winter Park. Check out the fine artwork.
Close up of the "painting. I swear to God I rotated it first!
I've also been spending far too much time at Engrish.com, which inspired the first part of today's heading. I finally had to cut myself off. I laugh so much and so long that it's like getting an abdominal workout, or so I've been telling myself. Do check it out if you've never visited it before but be prepared to waste a considerable chunk of time. Neither would I recommend it during meetings or other times when your loud guffaws would be deemed inappropriate.
We are currently enjoying a long weekend due to the Hijari (Arabic calendar) New Year. So to all of you, a happy, prosperous, and healthy 1429!
Talk to you soon.
Stephy and I say "Let's New Year!!"
