Gardening joys

This week Lisa did some renovating in the yard -- with a lot of help. Laureen joined her on a fun trip to the greenhouses north of town. It is a wonderful place to get your fill of "green" which is hard to come by in Qatar. It is relaxing to walk among the plants, shrubs, flowers.

After purchasing 10 hibiscus plants and 30 weigela plants, plus a variety of other potted trees and plants for inside and outside, we headed back to town with a very full car.

Lisa called her new friend Edwin, the Gardening Supervisor on the compound, and he brought a crew over to do the work. The guys cut back the jasmine which was overgrown and (potentially) harbouring mice. Then they removed three lemon grass bushes (kept one), and a variety of other unknown vegetable plants. They moved the aloe vera plants, trimmed the bougainvillea, and replanted grass in areas that were bare. Then they put in a row of hibiscus and a border of the weigela. In time, things will fill in and provide a nice backdrop to the patio area.

Haircuts

Does anyone else think that Simon needs a hair cut?

Getting a hair cut in Doha is tricky business. Most salons are Ladies only. There are a couple that serve Men only and some for Children only. There are also a variety of barbers for men where you can get a cut, a shave with a straight blade, and an Indian scalp massage. The prices vary significantly. Max and Simon used to get their hair cut at a great men's salon in the Villagio Mall. But the mall has been closed since its deadly fire in May. We are hopeful that it will reopen soon. But maybe not soon enough for Simon's hair.

RJ and Lisa, June 2012

Lisa has found a wonderful stylist at one of the hotels downtown. RJ is a 30 year old Philipino who has been living in Doha for 3 years. He is a whiz with scissors. He started cutting hair when he was 7 years old -- all the children in his Village!

Tim has the sweetest deal going. Every Saturday he gets his flat top trimmed by the live-in stylist. Maybe not the best in the world, but the best flat top in this town!

UPDATE

We wrote this blog earlier in the week and then heard that Villagio would be opening this weekend. We went to the mall this morning and the boys' salon was open. Edward and Aaron were glad to see us again and we were pleased that Max and Simon have new haircuts for their school photos next week.

Old Friends in New Places

The new academic year sees new people arriving in Doha for school and work. This August we were thrilled to welcome Laureen and Dave from British Columbia. Lisa and Laureen taught nursing together in Prince George at the College of New Caledonia in the early 1990s. In the 20 years since their first meeting, the pair have had different career paths. (Laureen is now Dr. Styles!) But it is exciting to be working together again at the University of Calgary -- Qatar.

We have enjoyed showing Laureen and Dave some of the sights of Doha and helping them to get adjusted to a new environment. Laureen admits that having us in Doha feels like an "instant family". Dave is on sabbatical from his University for this year and is traveling to Australia and Costa Rica to continue his research, while using Doha as his home base.

 

The boys have especially enjoyed getting to know Jaro and Tanner, the large but gentle dogs that also moved to Doha last month. Max has taken a keen interest in learning how to instruct the dogs. Dave has done an excellent job of training the dogs and was happy to pass on some hand signals and commands to Max.

Back to School

First day of school 2012-13

The students at Qatar Academy have just completed their first week back in school for the 2012-13 academic year. Max and Simon were quite ready to get back into the routine and did not complain once about having to go to bed at 7:30 p.m. The days begin early and are very full so we all appreciate getting some good sleep.

The photo here might look a bit blurry and you might want to blame Lisa for not reading her manual for the new camera yet. But the foggy look is actually because at 6:00 a.m. on that first day of school last Sunday, the temperature was 29.6 degrees Celsius and the humidity was 97%. The camera lens fogged up immediately and repeatedly.  Without a cloud in the sky it still felt like it was raining.


The humidity levels here are quite variable. When the winds are blowing across the Saudi Arabian desert, we have sand in the air but it is very dry (usually October - May). When the wind shifts (usually June - September) and brings air off the Gulf, then we are dripping!

Resting in Peace

Sometimes it is very hard to be away from family and friends. Today is one of those days. As we write this, our friends in Truro are gathering to say good-bye to a very dear friend. Lynn Erskine died earlier this week while out for his evening run. He was 31 years old and has left behind his beautiful wife, Natasha, and two sweet daughters, Roya (4) and Alea (2).

Lynn was a remarkable young man with a deep belly laugh, an energetic walk, and a compassionate heart. We knew him in his role as Pastor of Worship at Immanual Baptist Church. He was a gifted musician and it was a joy to be under his direction in choir and to hear him worship in song on Sunday mornings. We know that he is whooping it up in heaven right now -- really having a blast for sure!

It is so hard to be left here without him among us. Natasha and Roya and Alea have a difficult time ahead. A Trust Fund has been established "to raise enough provisions to allow Natasha to heal and raise her little ones without the worry of providing basic needs and debt repayment". The goal of the Lynn Erskine Memorial Trust Fund is $60,000. 
www.facebook.com/LynnErskineMemorialTrust/info 

We join with many others when we say that we will miss you Lynn.

Welcome Back!

This week we returned to Doha and returned to work immediately. Max and Simon have a couple of weeks to get over their jet lag but Tim and Lisa hit the ground running!

One of Lisa's colleagues at the University of Calgary - Qatar held a Welcome Back party for the Nursing Faculty. What a delicious feast of Iranian food!