Mac Moments

I a very pleased to report we now have a liquor licence, you have no idea how nice it is to just sit and sip a glass of wine again. I really missed that and to top it all off we can sit and watch an amazing skyline. More importantly, Sean lost his 2nd tooth and the fairy really spoilt him.... now number 3 is loose, roll on the Qatari tooth fairy! He is loving it but will not let anyone pull them out, they must come out on their own. That was one of the many bonuses of the weekend. The next is that Jessica's ears are a lot better, so we need to keep it that way, we have decided that if not Jess and I will fly back to SA to have them looked at by Peter Friedland and do any operative work there. We will decide on this in the next 2 weeks, as our only window to do this in is November. Next we are almost finished with Jessica's bookshelf and desk and one more box down. We really only have to put a couple more pictures up and store some outside stuff into a metal kist. ok and I...

Picure - couldn't resist Sometimes I feel like this, like when I have to use a taxi because I still don't have my permanent driver's licence and am not allowed to drive until I get it. Taxi to and from school morning and lunchtime costs QR160 a day, start multiplying that out and it becomes a shit load of money.....about R350 a day x 3 days now and counting. Wonder if the taxis and govt have something going here.... Otherwise, Jess had her last injection this morning - 6 injections this time, then a check up tomorrow and then we need to schedule the operation to remove her grommits. McManus life is never dull that much I can tell you. She is still a brave little soul and gritted her teeth during all the injections, she would kick and scream before hand, but not one tear was shed and she was very very proud of herself for not crying. She is so very accepting of anything that happens to her and I just pray to God that they are good with her and look after her in the opera...

Photos - Roundabouts in Doha I have been wanting to write about this for a while now, so here goes. The street names in Doha are a sight for sore eyes, when you are not arabic speaking, but slowly you learn the names. They consist of names such as Al Amir, Al Waab, Al Furousiya, Al Bustan, Al Muntazan - if you have the Al ok, then you can get around just about anywhere ....lol!! When I take the kids to school we go along The Corniche, turn into Grand Hamad road, which becomes Al Matar, into D ring road, then Najma, towards the mosaic and they are just behind the Al Ahli Sports Stadium....quite a mouth full! Then there are the roundabouts and you just hav to love them.... Exhibition, Sheraton, Museum, Oryx, Theatre, White palace, Sports, Rainbow, Independent, Ramada, Sudan, Toyota - roundabouts - they are all na11med after something that has been built close to them or what they look like...makes life a bit easier to find things...someone will say - turn left at the rainbow roundabout...

Photos: The view from our bedroom window & the building site right outside of the window.....we will have to enjoy the view we have while we can. We have just about finished unpacking....3 weeks and counting, we cannot believe just how long it has taken to get organised, but in retrospect, with only having 3 hours in the morning from dropping the kids to fetching them and very little time in the afternoon, it is not surprising that it has been slow. The apartment is looking really nice and quite cosy. The pictures went up yesterday, just our photos of family that now need to be placed and Jessica's desk that needs to be built. Steve has done a phenomenal job of building all the beds and desks and added bits and the kids rooms are looking fantastic. So wonderful family and friends we have fitted in at last, we have thrown or given away quite a lot of things. It is now time to have some fun, to settle down and enjoy life here. I so want to just go and explore, camp, snorkel...

Photo: a pic of our possie A very happy birthday for 1 October to my bestest friend Aline.... It has been a couple of days off work and school, so we have spent the time getting the rest of the apartment built and sorted out. We have Sean's room sorted out, just need to get Jessica's desk built and pictures up on walls. All the boxes are unpacked, yay and books are on bookshelves. We also replaced the TV and everyone is really really happy to have a big screen tv back on the wall.....we are a TV family now, dammit! or were we always. By the end of the weekend there are no more excuses, we are going to have to start exercising 100% again and get fit and healthy.