RAIN, RAIN DON'T GO AWAY!

While everyone else

wished that it would stop raining,

I savored

 EVERY SINGLE DROP!


John and I spent the day in Kentland
visiting with Joanne
and various Diedam siblings!
Would you believe I FAILED ONCE AGAIN
to take a single picture!
What is WRONG with me?
AHHHHHHH!
Happy TGIF everyone!*!

BEYOND EXCITED!

If you live in the

UNITED STATES

you simply will not understand 

how BEYOND EXCITED I got 

when I saw this.

And this morning,
I was
BEYOND EXCITED
when I saw this.

He's home, he's really home!

BEYOND EXCITED!*!

PURE PERFECTION!

I was so excited to finally meet

my newest great nephew!

He's got more clothes that a year 

full of days,

and more pacifiers than a jar full of cookies!

And, yes, he's quite the "Stud Muffin"!!

He just couldn't keep his little eyes open...

...during our lunch out together!

As a matter of fact, he nestled calmly,

in my arms, 

through an entire lunch (and almost dinner),

filled with stories and laughter and more stories and 

more laughter!

My newest great nephew....  

PURE PERFECTION!

REUNITED!

REUNITED

and it feels 

SOOOO GOOD!

FINALLY, and at long last!!

PICTURE-LESS K-TOWN!

ROAD TRIP

to

K-town!

And a special bonus?

IT RAINED!

(WOOHOOWOOHOO!)

 I got so excited seeing everyone and catching up....

I didn't click my camera even once.

Oh dear!
But I'll be heading back to K-town again,
once Dieds arrives in town.

Picture-less K-town.....Good Grief!

HANK.HANK...HANK.A.ROO!!

For nearly eight months

I've watched this little guy from afar.

I've wanted to squeeze his little cheeks.

I've wanted to squeeze his little thighs.

I've wanted to squeeze his other little cheeks.

And yesterday, well yesterday I did!

 HANK.HANK.HANK.A.ROO!!!

(And yes, he is just as squeezable as he looks!*!)

DUBAI SOUQ PANTS ARE A HIT!!

They all laughed at first.

And then, after my urging, they tried them on.

AND THEY LOVED THEM!

 

 

Yes, the Dubai Souq Pants were

quite a hit!*!




ORIENTATION!!!

I can't think of a better way to get

ORIENTED,

to being back in the States,

than to go to a college ORIENTATION!

 

I met my niece, Rachael,

on Tuesday morning on the campus of IUPUI.

(Indiana University / Purdue University)

 

(Oh how I LOVE being on a college campus!)

 

 

After two full days of meetings,

presentations, and one-on-ones, we ended the second day of

ORIENTATION

with Rachael getting her class schedule for

her first semester!

Oh, how exciting that was!!

Rachael is now officially an IUPUI Jaguar!!!

 

 

Besides attending the

ORIENTATION,

I've been doing load after load after load of laundry!

WHY?

Well, because I CAN, that's why!

It's difficult to explain how awesome it is to be able to

wash a load of laundry

in such a short period of time!

And then to actually dry a load of laundry --

OMG, pure bliss!

There's nothing better than the smell of really dry clothes

coming out of the dryer!

(Trust me, if you lived in Dubai you'd totally understand!)

 

AHHHHH, IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK HOME!!
(Dieds....hurry up and get here!)

BACK IN THE USA!!

You know you're back in the

USA

when the guy behind the counter at
Passport Control
says,

"Welcome Home!"

(Music to my ears every time!)

 

You know you're back in the 

USA

when you walk through the airport and 95% of what

you hear spoken is English -- American English!

You know you're back in the

USA

when you walk out the airport doors,

take a deep breath

and think,

"Man, Indiana sure smells good!"

You know you're back in the 

USA

when you get a Sim Card for your iPhone 

and begin calling friends and family in the States
just to chat!!!

You know you're back in the 

 USA

when you drive up the driveway and get a huge hug

from this guy!
(OMG, it was the best hug ever!!!!)
 

You know you're in the
USA
when this guy gets home from work and
the first thing he says is,
"Mom, wanna go see the house I just bought?"
(OMG, they really do grow up!)

You know you're in the
USA
when you drink water right out of the faucet!
(And it tastes sooooo good!)

You know you're in the
USA
when you're ready for bed at 8:00PM!

You know you're in the
USA
when you take a hot shower in soft water!
(OMG, pure heaven!)

You know you're in the
USA
when you tumble into bed at 8:30PM
and fall right to sleep
in your Sleep Number Bed!*!
(AHHHHHH, joy of joys!)

You know you're in the
USA
when you jump out of bed at 3:00AM
ready to start your day!
(ARGH!)

Dieds....hurry up and get here so you, too, can say,

 "AHHHHH, it's great to be back home!"
 

COMEDY OF ERRORS!!!

My flight was to leave at

12:10AM

this morning to head back to the USA.

By 2:00AM we were still sitting on the runway.

Finally, the captain got on the speaker and told us

the plane had a generator that was 

malfunctioning.

Service technicians were trying to figure out the problem.

Finally, at 3:00AM we were told that the 

FLIGHT WAS CANCELED!

And then the COMEDY OF ERRORS really began!

I won't go into details (I'm much too tired!), but let's just say

that it was 6:00AM before I walked back 

through the door to our flat!

I'm booked on the same flight tomorrow morning!

So I'll be arriving 

back in the good 'ol US of A

at the same time a day later than expected!

And I can hardly wait!

Yes, it was most definitely a

COMEDY OF ERRORS!*!

GREEN FLASH! GREEN FLASH!!

So, I was sitting on our couch last night,

minding my own business,

when a neon green light flashed through our flat.

I ignored it,

(because I thought I was seeing things),

but then it flashed again.....

and again!

So I got up to investigate,

and this is what I found sailing through the Marina!

Yea, basically a boat on steroids!

Suddenly, the level of excitement of my evening 

went up a notch!

And, just like that, it was gone!

INTERFERENCE?

They say there's a first time 

for everything!

Yes, would you believe our television service was lost....

DUE TO INTERFERENCE WITH THE SUN?

Only in Dubai!

HEATIN' UP THE BALCONY!

Nothing,

but nothing,

beats BALCONY TIME

in the Dubai Marina in JUNE!*!

It's like she can SMELL the HEAT of the day coming!*!



PRETTY IN PINK!

Yes, yes you would

look....

PRETTY IN PINK!*!

IT'S GOING TO BE A NICE DAY!

Woke up this morning to some

big, blue, clear skies and a

nice breeze blowing!

It's going to be a nice day!

Shallie and I lasted a little longer on our walk this morning!

It's going to be a nice day!

I took a cab to the JLT metro station,

walked through the metro bridge over to JLT,

then walked outside to Yoshita's building for silk painting.

It's going to be a nice day!

Then, lo and behold,

those hazy, crazy days of triple digit summer returned.

I came back home, three hours later,

and all I saw was HAZE and all I felt was HEAT!

So what happened to

IT'S GOING TO BE A NICE DAY,

pray tell?

HAPPY ISRA AND MI'RAJ!

Sorry, late night last night!

Went to some friends home and celebrated

Isra and Mi'raj,

by having an American 60's dinner (and drinks OMG)!

(I've never laughed so hard in all my life!)

 

 

So what's Isra and Mi'raj?

"Isra and Mi'raj, also known as Al Isra' wal Miraj, is observed on the 27th day of the month of Rajab, the seventh month in the Islamic calendar. This event marks the night that Allah (God) took Mohammad (also known as Mohamed or Muhammed) on a journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and then to heaven."  (The Internet)

 

So what that means exactly,

is yesterday was a holiday here in the UAE.

Everyone had the day off, except for John!

His choice, really.  He saves every Islamic holiday

celebrated over here to add to his vacation time!

So it was an ordinary day here for us,

except for this text I received

early yesterday AM....

 

 

So, HAPPY Isra and Mi'raj, everyone!

(However you spell it!)

 

Have a wonderful weekend!



AND THE ENTERTAINMENT WAS AWESOME!*!

Last week several of us went to Bo House Café

to have dinner

and listen to this young lady play the keyboard and sing.

 

What can I say?

I'm a groupie of Victoria's!

She is the 14-year-old daughter of a friend.

I discovered her when her Mom posted a video of her

on Facebook.

She has the most soulful voice, is absolutely adorable,

and is truly a remarkable young lady!

 

I'm having trouble uploading videos to YouTube right now,

so I borrowed a video

from our friend, Tony Elliott, who was with us that night!

(Thanks Tony!)

 



 

Unfortunately, Victoria and her family are leaving Dubai

and will be relocating to Barcelona, Spain.

Dubai's loss, for sure!

But I have a feeling we will all be hearing the name

VICTORIA CANAL,

as she is truly a rare talent!

 

It was a lovely evening spent with good friends,

delicious food and

AND THE ENTERTAINMENT WAS AWESOME!

 

 

THE LIGHTS ARE ON IN THE MARINA!

Since the temps are beginning to

SOAR,

Shallie and I are left taking walks at oh-dark-early

and oh-dark-late!

Even then, it is almost too warm to enjoy.

 DARN IT!

And girlfriend.....well, I suppose a haircut could help!

She may look like she is Big Bertha here,

but trust me,

she's only 5 1/2 pounds

under all that hair!

 

 

 

Tonight Shallie and I went out to "attempt" yet another walk.

I brought my camera

this time,

so that I could take a picture of...

 

THE LIGHTS ARE ON IN THE MARINA!

 

Park Island has lit up our palm trees

along the water

and it is oh-so-beautiful!

Oh dear,
I guess Shallie was offended by my weight comment!
She wouldn't even look at me!

 

We only lasted about 15 minutes on our walk tonight,

but hey,

it was an oh-so-gorgeous 15 minutes!

 

GOOD NIGHT ALL!

 



AL NASSMA CAMEL MILK CHOCOLATE!

 

 

CHOCOLATE....CAMEL CHOCOLATE

 

Now that I've got your attention,

let me tell you about a tour that a group of us

got to take of...

 

DUBAI'S CAMEL MILK CHOCOLATE FACTORY!!

 

Located out past the Outlet Mall

(on the road to Al Ain),

the camel farm, the factory, and the offices of

Al nassma (camel milk chocolate),

and Camelicious (camel milk),

are situated far away from the hustle and bustle of Dubai.

 

 

 

Although the factory is usually off limits

to the general public,

a friend (Dawna) got the okay to bring a small group

to tour the facility...woohoo!*!

The camel milk powder that is produced at

the Al nassma camel farm

is shipped to Vienna where it is crafted into the

delicious chocolate bars.

 



Al nassma

is Arabic for "a refreshing breeze."

Let me tell you, we certainly enjoyed that

refreshing breeze

once we stepped out

(in our high styling blue shoe covers)

to take a look at the camels....all 3,200 of them! 

Most of them are females; a lot of them are babies;

and only 15 of them are male!

(You do the math!)

 

The camels are milked twice a day

and we were there to witness their afternoon milking!

It was an absolute riot to watch.

The camels knew exactly what was expected of them.

 

 

 

 

 

And they seemed quite content with the process!
 





After we watched several groups of camels getting milked,

 we got to go and feed some of "the ladies"

(as they are affectionately called)!

 

Lo and behold, one of the hairiest noses I've ever seen

came right up to me for a sniff.

(And a carrot!)

 



Martin, the General Manager of Al nassma,

(who was leading the tour of the camel farm),

explained that this hairy nose belonged to none other than 

a camel known around town as

TINA TURNER!

 



 

I hate to admit it, but every single carrot I had

I fed to Tina Turner!

And, man oh man, did she ever enjoy them!

 



Our last stop (oh goody, goody) was the chocolate store!

 



Martin bid us farewell and

Patrick, the Director of Sales of Al nassma,

enthusiastically talked to us about the chocolate.

He offered us samples...

many, many delicious samples!



 

And then he brought out the Camelicious

camel milk for us to try!

Between the delicious camel milk chocolate bites

and the ice cold camel milk,

everyone was happy...very, very happy!

 



THANK YOU Dawna,

for somehow setting up this fabulous tour!

And THANK YOU Martin and Patrick,

for sharing your enthusiasm and knowledge

(and samples)

 of your camel milk chocolate!

 



 

Al nassma...the first and finest camel milk chocolate!

 

CHOCOLATE AND CAMELS.....

two of my all time favorite things!

Oh yea, baby!*!*!