Monday, June 14, 2010

Ready or Not

Here we come... well, almost. We leave Doha tonight at 3:50am , heading to Canada. So much to do between now and then. What to bring for Ella that will cover all possible scenarios on a plane. I have been making lists and gathering things for days. We are nowhere near ready... I should actually be doing that right this moment, but classic me... have to put it off for a bit yet. I do my best work under pressure.

A few quick updates:


  • I am currently trying to nurse a baby sparrow back to health. The little guy eats every half hour. Very time consuming. We have had "Nike" (fittingly named after the shoebox he currently calls his home) for five days now. Dogs 'found' him last weekend. He has come a long way, but still not sure if he will make it. Very touch and go. Delicate little guy. Fingers crossed.


  • Mercy is going to be living at our house while we are gone to take care of Coops and Ben. I have been pestering her with rules, notes and reminders for two solid weeks. She just smiles and says, "Don't worry Ma'am". I hate leaving my boys. Hate it. I told the security guards at our gate that if they find either dog wandering the compound alone, there is big money in it for a safe return. I think they assume I am crazy. I think it would have to be huge money for one of them to touch my dogs, as they go to great lengths to avoid them on our walks. I guess if one wanted to break into Qipco, you could just show up with a pack of poodles and charge the gate.


Ella now crawls AND stands up in her crib. Life has changed suddenly. Can't turn our heads for a second and she is up to something. I was secretly hoping she wouldn't crawl until AFTER our 22 hour plane ride. She had other plans!

  • I am learning not to love anything on television too much. Movies, sitcoms (no new ones), news...whatever. Guaranteed as soon as I 'get into' a program on TV, the signal gets sketchy and I am left with a fuzzy mess to try and view my show on. Infuriating. We've taken to watching purchased DVDs lately. Lots of movie nights, which is actually a great way to spend an evening if the only thing you can find on TV in English is a staticky Britsh cooking show.
  • Can it get any hotter? Yes. Yes, it can. Stupid, stupid question.
  • Thank goodness I like orange. Since World Cup has started (so long Colin, I will miss you), our neighbours have taken to decorating. It appears from their 'decorations' that they are all Dutch. Holland flags, banners, and streamers adorn our little compound. Ik houd voetbal! (How was that, Marena?)
  • Night time unicycler. Yep, we have one here. Every night when we walk the dogs, there is a man who is out about the same time as we are, and is practicing his unicycling on our service road. At first he was terrible, and we would hold our breath and watch him tumble forward, but now he is markedly better. He stays going for long stretches at a time. I think, by the accent, he is British. Colin & I are both very impressed how far he's come. I guess living in a place like this allows you the time to try things you always thought about doing. Unicycling. Hmm. Not just yet. Maybe I can find some time to pick up a paint brush first instead.
Ok folks, Ella is starting to cry and we have a marathon pack ahead of us, so better go start our day. Please pray we have a safe and uneventful plane ride. Seriously. Send good vibes this way! Will write again soon.