Holidays & Oman

While hanging the Christmas lights, Brian was missing the large spruce tree in our front yard in Calgary, the tall ladder required, & doing the job with big gloves on typically the coldest day of the season - NOT!!! What he was missing, was help from the kids.

For American Thanksgiving we had a progressive dinner with 4 couples - ironically we are all Canadian. This photo is our main course. We eneded at our house with pumpkin cheesecake for desert. I love cheesecake but had never made one before - it was a hit.

The following weekend we traveled to Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman, for church business. We went early on Thursday. We stayed with a family and they showed us around a bit. These photos are of the corniche - the yacht belongs to the sultan.

We went shopping at the best souk I've seen. We weren't there long... but long enough for me to make a few purchases.

You can never own too many pashminas. Next we found the jewelry store.

Watching the people is almost as interesting as the shopping.

Weekend in Bahrain & Abu Dhabi

With our new callings for Brian as a counselor in the Stake Presidency and me as Stake Young Women's President, we get to travel quite often to various places in the Middle East. This past weekend I combined it with a shopping day with friends to Bahrain on Wednesday and then we flew from there to Abu Dahbi early the next morning.

The purpose of our shopping trip was to do some Christmas shopping in Bahrain, which is far more liberal than Saudi Arabia and some stores actually sell Christmas items. I added a couple of Santas to my collection, but we bought lots of other stuff, enjoyed a nice lunch and had a great day together.

We were in Abu Dhabi on Thursday and Friday for church meetings. Since we've decided to hold our stake youth conference in February in Abu Dhabi, we spent Thursday checking out possible venues there, including a mosque tour, activities at the sand dunes and beach. Friday we participated in leadership meeting for the UAE wards and branches.

The new mosque in Abu Dhabi is the most beautiful mosque I've ever seen, and we've visited a few in various places in the Middle East. This one has just one less pillar than the Holiest of mosques in Mecca - one we'll never see.

Going local with the sunglasses!

We were given directions to a location among the sand dunes, just outside the city. One locator was to pass the forest on our right. We concluded this must be the desert version of 'Forest'. Since living in Saudi Arabia, I've discovered some similarities between sand and snow. They typically represent temperature extremes - hot & cold, both can be wind-blown and create wonderful ripples across the surfaces, boarding is a fun activity on both (snowboarding & sandboarding) and this weekend we saw a new similarity.

This is what a day at the beach looks like for an Arab family.

Digging for Sand Roses

This past weekend we went to the desert to dig for sand roses. They aren't the botanical kind of roses, but a desert formation. Here is the on-site geologist's explanation:

The coast of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia offers ideal conditions for the growth of sand roses. These artistic assemblages of bladed crystals, composed primarilly of gypsum (CaSO4 + 2 H2O) and quartz sand, can range in size from small rosettes a centimeter across to large clusters, more than one meter in diameter. Calcium sulfate brines from the Arabian Gulf seep underground into sabkhas; flat areas between dunes, where evaporation under the hot desert sun pumps the brines to the surface, concentrating the brine to more than three times that of normal sea water. At a depth of about 1 m below the surface, gypsum formation begins. As the water table rises and falls with seasons, the gypsum crystal grows in the pore space as precipitated gypsum which traps and shoulders aside the sand grains, creating beautiful prismatic crystals, none of which are ever identical.

Here is Brian displaying the literal interpretation of some popular sayings:



Digging yourself into a hole










Digging in deeper











Sticking your head in the sand - literally!



He stuck in his thumb, and pulled out a....sand rose? Pam with some of our collection.













It was a fun day with our friends Sue & Dave Alexander. They've lived in Saudi Arabia for 19 years so they are the experts. We enjoyed a picnic lunch and sights of Arabia.

We were all sitting on the desert - well some of us were sitting and some of us were digging, when I looked up...and there in front of us was a herd of about 100 camels crossing the desert.

The treasures from our hunting.

A Trip to the Fish Market

One of the benefits to living overseas is the opportunity to experience some aspects of daily life of the local culture. We live in Eastern Saudi Arabia on the Arabian Gulf (otherwise known as the Persian Gulf). Right now is shrimp season so we've been a few times to the local fish market to purchase shrimp. I love shrimp and order it whenever possible in a restaurant, but I had never cooked it before. You can find anything on the Internet, so we found a few recipes and have had fun (and delicious meals) experimenting in the kitchen. This is how we spent the morning last Thursday - the weekend.

This is an open market - meaning that literally, the doors and windows are open. With the outside temperature at 40 celsius / 105 fahrenheit, it keeps boys busy hauling in wheelbarrows full of ice.

The fish mongers were very proud to display their wares to me...and they all wanted to have their picture taken...with their fish.

Of course shrimp is what we went for. Brian bargained with the vendor and got a good deal (since we are proving to be good customers). Yesterday we purchased 15kg of shrimp to freeze since the shrimp season is winding down.

Bargaining for the best shrimp - quality and size, at the best price is part of the experience. Once purchased, we hired young men to shuck our 15 kg of shrimp. We froze bags for future dinners and then Brian will have the pleasure of de-veining them later. Lucky him!

I made friends with this fish-monger. He was a good sport about having his picture taken, as were all the men working and shopping there. (I was the only woman in sight). I loved his outfit - traditional Saudi clothing but gum boots in place of sandals. He was fast at his trade.

Here is one of our newly-discovered favourite recipes:



Shrimp Pasta:
1 lb shrimp - peeled & deveined
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 Tbsp garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup tomato - diced
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup green onions - chopped
3 cups chicken broth
1 lb vermicelli or linguini
1/2 cup parmesan cheese - grated
In a non-stick frying pan, saute the onion in olive oil for approximately 4 minutes. Add garlic & stir. Add thyme, cayenne, peppers and basil. Cook on low for 5 minutes more. Add everything else except pasta, shrimp & cheese. Cook over low heat for about 30 minutes or until liquid is reduced. In another frying pan, saute the shrimp in some butter and garlic until three-quarters cooked. Add onion & garlic mixture and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add cooked pasta and toss well with grated cheese. Serve hot in a shallow bowl.

You're all invited for dinner!!!

Happy Birthday Allison

Then & Now

It was 27 years ago today that you finally decided to arrive - almost 3 weeks late! I had gone to the hospital the day before to be induced (again) and this time they didn't send me home when you were still stubborn about not coming into this world. They sent your father home to sleep though - to two anxiously waiting grandmas-to-be....and told me to get some sleep. Ha! I was too excited, and anxious. Finally the next day at 2:22pm you made your appearance.

People told us your full head of jet-black hair would fall out, but it never did. We were told your bright blue eyes would likely change colour, but they remained vibrant. Friends console new Moms for lack of sleep with the night-time feedings, but you slept through the night the first night home and every night thereafter. You were a beautiful baby and I loved being a new mother. Everywhere we went, strangers used to stop me to comment on how beautiful you were.

Now here you are 27 years later. It was your hair that changed colour, your eyes are still a crystal blue, and you occassionally wake up in the night (but that's because you're the Mom). When we are together strangers don't stop to tell me how beautiful you are...but they would if they really knew you. Your beauty is in your character, as well as your looks. I'm so very proud of you, just as I always have been. I'm grateful to be your Mom.

Happy Birthday Allison!

Memories to Memoirs

Yesterday I gave a presentation at the Dhahran Women's Group titled Memories to Memoirs. The DWG is the oldest interest group in our community, 62 years old, and many of the other community organizations, such as quilt guild and Adult Education, are spinoffs from it. It is an active organization focused on meeting the needs of women through interest groups, social, educational & cultural activities, outings and much more. At the weekly Monday morning meetings we have cultural presentations, cooking demonstrations, and speakers on a wide variety of topics. Our members represent over 50 countries!

Last fall I gave a presentation on beginning genealogy titled "Discover Your Roots" and enough interest followed that we formed a genealogy interest group which met twice a month. In the presentation yesterday I shared a variety of creative ways to record our life stories in the categories of written, oral, with photos and multi-media. It was well received and I enjoyed doing it. Next month I'll help to organize the Newcomers morning for those ladies who have recently arrived here and have lots of questions.