Cars here have strange names. This is probably the cream of the crop – the Nissan Sunny SuperSaloon.
Here’s the KFC and Pizza Hut signs somewhere between here and Ras Al Khaimah.
How did we know what floor of the shabby parking garage we were on? Why by the “2” drawn in crayon on the wall next to the elevator buttons, of course.
Three totally unrelated things
March 13, 2009"Fast" food
March 13, 2009
This is Paul’s chicken sandwich from the mall food court restaurant. Notice that it is two real chicken breasts, not a reconstituted chicken patty. It cost a whopping Dhs 18 ($4.50).
Below is my large pizza. The dough was hand tossed and it was baked fresh for me in a brick oven. Cost me Dhs 35 ($9.50). The crust is the thinnest I have ever had. It is crispy and almost like a cracker. Yum.
Who needs to go to the food festival? Every day is a food festival in Dubai.
Sand storm
March 13, 2009You may have heard of the sand storms in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on the news. We are not experiencing anything as disruptive as that, but here are pictures of the view from our balcony this morning.
Contrast that to the fog back in December.
And a sunny day in January.
Answers to your questions
March 12, 2009Questions have been piling up, so here are some answers.
Are we coming back “home?” and will we bring the furniture we are buying with us? ***Don’t really know. Here’s the deal. We came here with the intention of staying until it is time to retire, which should be around 20 years. 1/2 of the first year down, 19 1/2 to go. So, we are buying good quality furniture that will last. Now, most anything could happen and we might not stay the full 20 years. We do intend to ship the best pieces to wherever we might move. It will cost a bundle, because they are hardwood and heavy and worth it.
Jon and anyone else is welcome to visit. We recommend January. The weather is wonderful then and I have two weeks off, perfect for sight seeing.
The toys are made in China. No, they have not been tested for lead content, but I wasn’t planning on putting them in my mouth.
Why do all the toys (so far) have flashing lighted eyes? ***No idea. Perhaps they are part of a plot to overstimulate children.
If men gather for kushti wrestling, what do women do for fun? ***Unknown. There are probably interesting things going on, but we haven’t discovered them, yet.
There be furniture here!
March 9, 2009We got matching bedside tables. They are 33″ wide and 21″ deep. I am so glad that my alarm clock won’t be falling off onto the floor anymore. (I was using a chair previously.) I only wish we’d thought to get a third matching one to go under the television. Next time, I guess.
Here is our lovely new bookcase. The sides have cut out camels.
The back is painted dark blue.
And our books have nestled into their new home. Ahhhh.
They are happy to not be laying in piles on top of the ironing board anymore. And, if I ever find an ironing board cover, I might get some ironing done.
We got these items at Lucky’s Furniture and Handicrafts in Sharjah. We recommend it!
Most fun I have had in a long long time
March 8, 2009Last Wednesday we went to a goodbye dinner party for Adrianna at her favorite restaurant, Special Ostadi (not to be confused with Ostadi Special, which is right next door). It is located in Bur Dubai (across the Creek from where we live). It didn’t take very long to drive there, but took a lot longer to find parking.
The restaurant is a “hole-in-the-wall” with real character. There are a wide variety of clocks, old cell phones, and baseball caps hanging on the wall. (The clocks don’t necessarily tell the correct time.) It was crowded and busy. We hadn’t even stepped in the door and joined our party when the waiter/owner saw Paul and said “Holly man!” Not sure if he was calling him “holy man” or “Harley man,” but once again, it’s the beard. When another of our friends arrived, an attractive young lady, the only open chairs were hard to get to and the waiter offered to carry her over everyone’s head to a chair. She was a little creeped out by that. It was late and I couldn’t eat much if I wanted to sleep, so I just had the 3 dirham soup ($0.80) and nibbled on the cucumber appetizers. After the meal comes unlimited free tea. He gave me quite a time about getting free tea when I hadn’t paid for food. (He didn’t know we are big tippers 😉 I nibbled on some of the meat others had and it was really yummy, so we will have to go back when I can manage a full meal. Additional friends kept showing up and it was a very fun evening. The teasing escalated when our Syrian/Russian friends (Rami & Sami) showed up. The waiter brought a plate to one of them, told him it was a special salad, when in reality it was the peelings from the appetizer vegetables. He brought out two small plates of dates. One had two dates — this was for four of us — the other plate was heaping with dates — it was for Adrianna only.
It was one of those evenings when your stomach muscles hurt the next day because of all the laughing.
Closer than they appear
March 8, 2009
“Objects in the the mirror may be closer than they appear.” Actually, I’d like to know what the literal translation of this is. I bet it isn’t exactly that.
There’s a PSA campaign currently. The sides of buses are painted bright yellow with sayings like “Changing lanes suddenly can be confusing.” or “Speeding is not thrilling when it goes out of control.” We saw a bus driver being confused by someone changing lanes suddenly just last night. Seems to me that speeding is at its most thrilling when it goes out of control.
They should be drilling into people’s head that children should be belted in. We are frequently seeing children roaming around the inside of moving vehicles and/or sitting in the driver’s lap. Considering the cultural emphasis on family, it is strange that the importance of child seat belt safety hasn’t occurred to them.
Amusing Toy, part three
March 7, 2009Here’s the March edition of amusing toys.
Superman: Dream Hope Justice Courage. (Not Truth, Justice and the American Way)
Light music, fluctuant revolving, battery operated, spining colorful
Light, music, all direction tun
So wonderful 100% and the best design new thing
Superman trample the bicycle
The ideal paradise of friends
Eye contain light
Head would or so swing
Feet ministry sport
Resulting in the wheel goes forward
Bump and go action engine
(Yes, I’ve had a hair cut. Just thought I’d get that question out of the way.)
Jackhammer video
March 7, 2009Here’s a little taste of the jack hammering going on outside our window. This was recorded a couple of weeks ago, but it is still going on even as I write. They do, however take a break at night, so it is not as bad as it could be.
