Buying rosemary at the Plant Souk and once again head to toe Ozzie Ltd. Girl
Notice all of the terra cotta pots on the dhow; these boats travel between here and Iran!
Scott at the restaurant in one of my favorite t-shirts
Richard (typical kid) and Roxanne (Bling Girl with Style) Gardiner and Christine. 
Scott, Ross Gardiner, Christine and Lisa Gardiner - super hosts!Hi All,
It's Christine keying & only 4 days post op from carpal tunnel release surgery (more on that later). Arrived safely, but not sanely, after my 14 hours in an airliner with 14 babies and the crying one sat right beside me the entire way... Was I ever happy to get off that airplane and see Scott's face. Once again he had a delicious snickly snack of shrimp cocktail, crackers, cheese, fruit and oh yeah, wine!
Friday and Saturday we went to the grocery stores (I love the huge grocery shops here - such exotic fruits and vegetables, interesting staples "what is THAT?", it is a hunt to find "familiar"items and I've no idea what anything costs, so I just point and ask Scott "can I have that?" We also lazed by the pool and I personally enjoyed temperatures above 50 degrees!
Friday night we were invited to dinner across the street with Chris and Suzanna (parents of 5 m/o Tavvi). Actually it is interesting how these two households "do" dinner. Chris and Scott are both excellent cooks, so they each usually make part of the meal and then Scott takes his part of the meal to them. Chris did the salad, beverages and cheese/crackers; Scott did Ann Morrow Wasmer's new recipe of Chicken Brogata and the vegetables. Saturday evening we were invited to dinner at Ross, Lisa, Roxanne and Richard house also in the compound. Ross and family (Australians) are the one who invited Scott to accompany them on the desert safari last December. They made the whole meal of wonderful chicken soup followed by crabs. The meal and company were so nice both evenings; how welcoming people here are, sort of "like we are all in the same boat" attitude.
Sunday I went to Mafraq Hospital with Scott only to find out that my surgeon was called away all day to a meeting, so back I went on Monday and spent the WHOLE, LONG day there. Saw the surgeon, the pre-admissions clinic (2 times), the anesthesiologist, lab work done, chest x-ray, ECG, and my family practice physician. George, the surgeon, told me that I would be there all day long and was he ever right! Tuesday was the surgery - scheduled for 11:30 and I finally got taken into the surgical theatre at 2:00. But I had a lovely single room from 9:30 until 2:00 - amazing how much you can read when you are all alone... Scott was exasperated! Then I got my private room again until 5:00 pm when was permitted to leave with Scott. To get sprung I just had to have pain in my wrist, NO tingling in my fingers and be able to walk unassisted... Two very long days in a row at Mafraq Hospital but on the bright side, total cost was ZERO. Stitches, only three, come out Wednesday. Yeah, this may be boring part of the blog, but for a person who has had numb and/or tingling hands for almost 20 years, this seems miraculous. Already planning on having the left one done right after moving here in September.
Three days later, still no tingling in my fingers and only moderate and manageable wrist pain. Saw George Wed and got a great report (am doing everything right). Scott has been great taking care of me and the meals he is cooking are excellent also.
It's Christine keying & only 4 days post op from carpal tunnel release surgery (more on that later). Arrived safely, but not sanely, after my 14 hours in an airliner with 14 babies and the crying one sat right beside me the entire way... Was I ever happy to get off that airplane and see Scott's face. Once again he had a delicious snickly snack of shrimp cocktail, crackers, cheese, fruit and oh yeah, wine!
Friday and Saturday we went to the grocery stores (I love the huge grocery shops here - such exotic fruits and vegetables, interesting staples "what is THAT?", it is a hunt to find "familiar"items and I've no idea what anything costs, so I just point and ask Scott "can I have that?" We also lazed by the pool and I personally enjoyed temperatures above 50 degrees!
Friday night we were invited to dinner across the street with Chris and Suzanna (parents of 5 m/o Tavvi). Actually it is interesting how these two households "do" dinner. Chris and Scott are both excellent cooks, so they each usually make part of the meal and then Scott takes his part of the meal to them. Chris did the salad, beverages and cheese/crackers; Scott did Ann Morrow Wasmer's new recipe of Chicken Brogata and the vegetables. Saturday evening we were invited to dinner at Ross, Lisa, Roxanne and Richard house also in the compound. Ross and family (Australians) are the one who invited Scott to accompany them on the desert safari last December. They made the whole meal of wonderful chicken soup followed by crabs. The meal and company were so nice both evenings; how welcoming people here are, sort of "like we are all in the same boat" attitude.
Sunday I went to Mafraq Hospital with Scott only to find out that my surgeon was called away all day to a meeting, so back I went on Monday and spent the WHOLE, LONG day there. Saw the surgeon, the pre-admissions clinic (2 times), the anesthesiologist, lab work done, chest x-ray, ECG, and my family practice physician. George, the surgeon, told me that I would be there all day long and was he ever right! Tuesday was the surgery - scheduled for 11:30 and I finally got taken into the surgical theatre at 2:00. But I had a lovely single room from 9:30 until 2:00 - amazing how much you can read when you are all alone... Scott was exasperated! Then I got my private room again until 5:00 pm when was permitted to leave with Scott. To get sprung I just had to have pain in my wrist, NO tingling in my fingers and be able to walk unassisted... Two very long days in a row at Mafraq Hospital but on the bright side, total cost was ZERO. Stitches, only three, come out Wednesday. Yeah, this may be boring part of the blog, but for a person who has had numb and/or tingling hands for almost 20 years, this seems miraculous. Already planning on having the left one done right after moving here in September.
Three days later, still no tingling in my fingers and only moderate and manageable wrist pain. Saw George Wed and got a great report (am doing everything right). Scott has been great taking care of me and the meals he is cooking are excellent also.
Yesterday Scott took me to a wonderful lunch at a restaurant down by the Fish Market. Then off to the Iranian Souk for find pots so Scott can grow his own herbs. We drive up to oddly open market with terra cotta pots all sitting out in the sun. Didn't see anything that thrilled me (I've been buying terra cotta for 25 years and only certain ones will do). So we walk out back to the wharf and there is a traditional dhow tied up. The dhow is full of terra cotta pots of all sizes packed in straw. I pick out a couple, Scott bargains the guy down on the price and then the guy hops on the boat and literally slings these large pots at Scott. Meanwhile the boat is moving further and further from the wharf and I can just imagine someone falling right in the water. When asked from where the pots came: Iran! So, now Scott and I have indeed bought something "right off the boat!" Then we went next door to the Plant Souk to buy soil (I choice German over Dutch) and we selected a beautiful rosemary plant. I decided on rosemary because it does well in hot & dry climates and Scott makes a wonderful sauce for his lamb with it. Can't wait to see if he can keep it alive throught an Abu Dhabi summer. A new adventure everyday.
Cheers! Christine and Scott
It is just so good to be doing things like shopping, sunning eating and just being together...
Great post, keep them coming. Love the pictures too.
ReplyDeleteGuess I'm a little slow at keeping up with the posts. I was just wondering how you're doing with your wrist and decided to check here first. Sounds like you're doing great! I am relieved. Keep having fun! The photos are wonderful. Beth
ReplyDeleteI was showing Ken your new(ish) post and just discovered that I can click on the pictures. They get BIG! Brings things up close and personal! :-)
ReplyDeleteBeth
It is such a beautiful blog i like it very much.I can't describe about it more.Thanks for sharing nice blog.
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A very romantic love story you have there. It is just nice to know that you have all that you wanted in your life that moment. Goodluck with your new life there.
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