Hallowe'en at Al Zuhour

Hallowe'en is a big deal at Al Zuhour compound. We have lots of kiddies here and they love to dress up and go door to door collecting candies. Fortunately they are more interested in treats than tricks.


Well, maybe I shouldn't be so quick to say that they all love to dress up. I did have a very reluctant bunny come to the door, as well as a less than eloquent Greek philosopher.



But everyone loved the treats. Including me!

The Doha Tribeca Film Festival

It's starry nights for Doha this week as the Doha Tribeca Film Festival unfolds at a new venue, the Katara Cultural Village in West Bay. A gigantic open air theatre has been built as well as the Katara Opera House. In this country everything is done big and with flare.



Tonight was my first time to visit the Cultural Village. Kim and I went to see "Secretariat" at the open air theater. Great movie, great venue. And they even gave us a miniature Secretariat!

Bon Voyage

We gave Dave a send off last night. He should be near to Montreal by now, I would think. He wanted to have his girls over for the long awaited coconut cream pie. Yes, he really does make it all by himself! So Tam and Kim came to eat pie and say good bye. Pam was invited as well but she had tickets to Miss Saigon.

The Fiddlehead

It's time to start gardening. The weather is starting to cool, the sun not so hot, and I'm ready to plant some seeds and get some annual color on my patio. Dave had not been to the nursery out by the camel race track so we made the trip this morning. I think he was impressed by the rows and rows of green houses full of seedlings, and large mature plants. It is still a bit early for them, I think, because there wasn't a great selection and many of the seedlings were very tiny. I found some marigolds and coleus, as well as another plant with a pink flower--not sure the name. My prize, though, was a large plant for my entry way, to replace one that deteriorated beyond recovery during the summer. It looks a bit like a fern, but the leaves are not feathery. In the center are new, not yet emerged, leaves that are curled up like fiddle heads. I could not resist. It makes a lovely addition to my plant collection, and reminds me of home.

They are also building new green houses out there. I found it interesting that they had to chew their way through the cement like earth in order to prepare the place for them.

The Staff of Life

It is difficult to find a really good loaf of bread in Doha. The Arabic bread is great but it is a flat bread and can't compare to the soft, crusty loaves that we make in N. B. Dave is always telling me about the bread that he whips up in the bread maker and I feel so envious. So this week we went to Lulu and bought a bread maker for the villa. Dave has had a great time this week trying out recipes that he has found on the internet. He's mixing up an Italian garlic bread right now to have with the chili that we will make for supper. He's also had good luck with the oatmeal nut bread like he usually makes at home.


It has been so good having Dave here this past week. I didn't have chores saved up for him but his second wife, Kimberly, did. We went to her villa this morning after church and finished up her little jobs. Oh no, there is one more thing Dave has to do for Kim--bake a coconut cream pie!

Ethiopian Food

These pictures are for my friend Sheila who loves food pictures almost as much as she loves food.