Vergie

At Vergie's house

One of the reasons that Lisa is able to work full time at the University is because of Vergie! Vergie is the name of our 48 year old Philipino housekeeper. She comes to our house five days a week to do laundry, cooking, and cleaning. She is talkative and great fun to have around. She is also one of the oldest housekeepers in Education City and so our home constantly has other Philipino housekeepers coming around for some of Vergie's wisdom. She advises on food, cleaning, and life choices. She is called Ata Vergie by the others -- this means "old Vergie".





Since her husband died 18 years ago, Vergie has worked in several countries as a Nanny in order to provide money for her three boys. Her boys are now in College/ Trades programs in the Philippines. At the end of every month Vergie sends money home to her boys and to her mother.

Vergie "massaging" the bread dough

Vergie makes us some wonderful Philipino meals -- Adobo Chicken, Pancet noodles, Tom Yum Soup, Lemon Grass tea. And I have taught Vergie to make some of our favourite North American food. Today I coached her in making Maritime Brown Bread. She enjoyed "massaging" the dough.

Basketball in Kuwait

Max is Number 13

Max plays on the Qatar Academy Junior Varsity basketball team. He is a "shooting guard" and he has been working hard to improve his vertical jump. This past weekend he went to Kuwait with his team to play in an International Tournament. 

QA JV basketball team 2013 (Max is second from right)

 Max was on the starting line for all of the games. His team won the first 4 games that they played. But then physical and mental fatigue got the best of them. They played 7 games in 3 days and ended the tournament in fourth place. They won the Sportsmanship Award.

Tim's Recruiting Trip

Every year Qatar Academy hires many new teachers.  Part of the process involves the school administrators attending job fairs to meet teachers wishing to work overseas. Last year Tim went to Bangkok.  This year Tim  spent a few days in Boston and in San Francisco. The days are busy  interviewing potential teachers, checking references, and making job offers. Despite the work, Tim always manages to get out for some sight-seeing and shopping. 

 Unfortunately, Boston was hit with a major snow storm. Tim's only extra-curricular activity was to attend a Boston Celtics--Los Angeles Lakers basketball game the night before the storm began. The Celtics won easily and Tim enjoyed being in TD Gardens with 20,000 other fans. Max and Simon were totally bummed that Dad got to see Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, and Rajon Rondo in a live NBA game.

San Francisco was warmer and Tim saw a few sights: the trolley cars, Fishermen's Wharf, and Alcatraz Island.  He also was able to get the items on his shopping list: new Nike basketball shoes for Simon, a Kindle Fire for Max, and a Posture-Pedic pillow for Lisa.

Muppy's accident

Muppy BEFORE the accident

We have had our cat Muppy for a year. We received her from a friend who was returning to Germany and it has been a long adjustment for all of us. In a year we have seen Muppy grow from a "cool" stray into a warm house cat. And despite the incredibly loud night-time crying (when she gets lonely), she has become part of our family.

We also discovered that Muppy is a 'fraidy cat! When we first brought her home, she would get so afraid of other cats that if she saw one she would immediately "lose her bowels" -- thankfully she has outgrown that! But she is still not a cat that enjoys the company of other cats or dogs.

Last Thursday night the neighbour's dog got loose from its gated yard. He chased Muppy under the neighbour's Porsche and we heard some awful wailing. We quickly discovered that Muppy had tried to get away from the dog by crawling up inside the car -- and one of her paws got stuck there. It was a very stressful 30 minutes as we tried to free her.

Hard to tell that she only has three legs

Once rescued, we took Muppy to the Vet where she spent some time in the Animal Hospital. After 24 hours the surgeon asked to see us to discuss Muppy's case. Muppy had broken her leg but also dislocated the joint in her "ankle". The damage was so severe that the surgeon was doubtful that it could be repaired to any satisfaction or quality of life for Muppy. We had to decide if we wanted to try surgery anyway, amputate the leg, or put her down. For all of our threats over the past year about getting rid of the cat, we could not see her die when there was another way. So we agreed to the amputation.

Easier to see that a part is missing

Muppy is home now and is growing stronger every day. She is already able to limp around on three legs and is starting to purr again. We are anxious for her to adjust to her three legs and grow back the fur on her backside.