30 Years Later

If you look hard enough, you might be able to see David and I in this crowd of people at the 1981 wedding of Charles and Diana. Yes, we were "there" somewhere. David took me to England for a month in 1981 and it is safe to say that the trip Changed My Life forever. It was my very FIRST trip on an airplane, and it was quite the mind-blowing experience for this lil Minnesota farm girl. It was my real exposure to things "off the farm" or rather off the continent. We actually did see this carriage, or rather, I did. In a stroke of chivalry and deep kindness, David put me on his shoulders and I saw everything crystal clear, while all he saw were the backs of people's heads.

We really REALLY wanted to be at the wedding today (I am sure our invite is lost in the mail..very unreliable service in Q8!) but alas it wasn't able to fit into our schedule. So I'll be watching along with the couple of other billion people on the planet. David won't have to put me on his shoulders, he may sneak a peek at the "telly" once in a while, but he doesn't plan to make a day of it.

We have a colleague--the famous Miss Mona I have written about a couple times--who IS at the wedding. Or at least in London. She took a couple of personal days and flew out to see the happenings. She promises to get us a souvenior mug with Wills and Kate's photo on it. It will be placed in honour next to our mug from 1981.

God Speed M/M Wales. May a life of happiness and true love be in your future. And I'll pass along the BEST advice I got before my wedding...remember it's the MARRIAGE not the wedding that counts!!

PS to the royal couple...when my invite arrives, I'll have the address to send your toaster!

Best Lil Bunnies in the Patch

These two babes are just precious aren't they?! Wouldn't you just love to hug them and sueeze the sweetness right out of them?

okay I confess they are my great great neices that I don't get to see very often.What fun is it to be an Aunti if I can't brag?!

Reporter Brown thinks of YOU while in Dubai

This is good advice for all of us. It's the fond farewell that my longtime friend DrB always gives at the end of phone conversations and emails. This photo was taken outside a restaurant in Dubai.

I jumped up and down in delight and had my friend M take a photo of me "posing". This one's for you Bob! ;-) Just wishing you all a Happy Easter from the desert. I took this photo when I was in Dubai a couple weeks ago. This beautiful egg/candy set could have been mine for only $50 but I passed and took a photo instead. I thought it was easier to share with YOU!

Weekly Report

This picture was taken of my two favorites at Ben's high school graduation in 2006. I like to think that they will always be this happy.

Greetings from Kuwait where thankfully all is peaceful and well.

We had a good week, teaching, NOT involved in any productions or activities or events upcoming. It was nice.

Biggest news for the blog is that Anna has decided to attend Jacobs University in Bremen Germany. They offered her a full ride tuition scholarship which is a very nice thing. She was able to check out the school a couple weeks ago when she was in Amsterdam for spring break.

Ben reports that he will be graduation May 11th although he won't be going through ceremonies as he has to hurry to guard duty to keep North Dakota safe.

I will admit that I'm in my period of mourning where I start to miss the people who won't be back here next year. Plus knowing that Anna won't be living with us next year, yes I admit it's a little tough.Again I find myself eating humble pie as I remember giving such good advice to my friends whose children have graduated and moved on. It was always easier to give the "you've raised them to leave you" speech when I still had children at home.

David continues to be calm and philosophical and reminds me that this is a normal phase of life. Thank God for my Rock.

On another note, Happy Easter to all our Christian friends back home. Eat a piece of ham for us.
We'll be working on Sunday ( a normal work day for us). I haven't been invited to a dinner yet, but I'll cast a net (pardon the biblical pun) and see what I can find.

Oh Man...Oman (round 2)

As I write this to you, I am seated in the American British Academy in Muscat Oman. David and I are here attending a Theatre workshop. It's a beautiful school in a beautiful town. I was here in September '10 but basically saw the hotel and the airport (although it was one beautiful hotel). Now we are staying with our new friend B, a teacher here at ABA. We forged a friendship through his visits to Kuwait for an Academic Event. Here are a couple shots from downtown Muscat. Actually, they are almost right across the street from each other. The large yacht is owned by the Sultan. Who knows,the small dhow may also be his?

Oman is lovely, green, more organized than Kuwait (ah, many places are). It's good to be in a place with other theatre teachers and learning. And the fact that David got to go along...even better. If you're wondering, Anna is back in Kuwait watching the cat... ORvice versa.

Final Thoughts on Dubai

This is the same statue with photos taken during the day (left) and night. I actually took the night shot first. The next day I was driving by in a taxi and saw this group of Arab students posed for a group shot, and I had to snap the photo. Night and Day..just like the differences between Dubai and Kuwait. See below for my final thoughts. Then scroll down and see the other photos. While I enjoyed my trip to Dubai in the UAE, I am still glad that I live in Kuwait. As I've said before, I believe Dubai looks alot like many cities in North America (which is good and bad). It is certainly different than Kuwait: It's more modern, more multi cultural, less rigid, with cleaner greener spaces and sidewalks (we don't have consistent sidewalks here. As I have chosen to live thousands of miles from home, I NEED to be in a place that doesn't constantly remind me of home. At least for now. It's a nice, no, REALLY NICE place to visit and experience a different taste of life in the Middle East. Is it the Wonderland/Jewel/ Most liveable city that it claims to be? Many would say yes. For now, I'm content to live in my corner of the Gulf and to visit everyone once in a while. So Humdullah for Dubai with it's charm, glitz and adventures. And Thank God for Kuwait with all it's warts. As we say often "gotta love kuwait".

Part of the wonder of Dubai

At the Dubai Mall, there is an amazing water show. We were lucky to see it twice-once during the day (with the beautiful duet "Time to Say Goodbye")...

and once in the evening, to Michael Jackson's Thriller theme song. Outside the hotel, across the road, were the docks of Dubai. It really gave me a chance to see and think about "where things come from" here in the desert. That box of tissues that is sitting in my office probably had a greater travel adventure getting here than many people I know!

At the Aquarium in the Lost chambers at Atlantis. The cool part of this photo is that if you look closely in the middle you can see a scuba diver feeding the fish. It was amazing to watch, and gave me great appreciation for that man's job!