Treasure Hunting, Shopping and RAIN!!

Hello all,

So you all know Jimmy got me a metal detector for my birthday last month. I go to the beach across the street in the morning on days I don't work. I haven't found any jewelry but I have found several coins. I have found at least one coin every time I have gone out so I consider that a success. I have lots of curious people watch me and some ask what I am doing. I had the police stop me yesterday morning. They patrol the beaches regularly and saw me with my metal detector. They pulled up next to me and were very nice- asked me where I bought it (downtown Dubai) and if I have found anything (showed the one coin I had found that morning). They wished me luck and went on thier way. Here are some pics of me treasure hunting-

Heading down to the beach in search of lost treasure!

Listening for the beeps- shovel at hand ready to dig up my find.

AHA! I eagerly dig and sift through the sand- another pull tab from a can! I get alot of garbage like that but I always pick it up and put it in my baggy to throw away properly at home. I think it's good karma that if I clean up the garbage I find I will be rewarded with a treasure. Seems to be working because I have found at least one coin every time. One day I am bound to find something really cool- patience. I really enjoy my new hobby and don't mind curious people watching and asking me about it.

After treasure hunting we return to the apartment and make breakfast. I usually make eggs and biscuits and bacon. This one morning Jimmy wanted 3 eggs over easy; I had two over easy. Everyone has come across an egg with two yolks once in awhile but this morning was truly strange-

Two of the three eggs had double yolks!

Then I made my eggs-

Both of mine has double yolks as well! All the eggs came from the same container. Those were some wierd yolks, folks!!

After breakfast we went to the Blue Souk in Sharjah. The Blue Souk is two two story buildings side by side connected by a walkway on the second floor. It is called the Blue Souk because of the blue tiles covering the roof. Inside are many, many souks (small shops) selling jewelry, carpets, abayas and lots of unique items. I have never seen so much gold in all my life! A very interesting experience.

Gold jewelry.

Gold bangles galore!!

Very heavy, ornate necklaces.

Looking down the main corridor of one of the buildings. Both sides are lined with shops on both floors. So much to see!

Very pretty, fancy abayas.

You all know I live on The Walk which is a major tourist destination. The beach and many shops and restaurants are all within walking distance. Parking is at a premium on the weekends and people get a little nuts. There is a sand lot next to the hard top parking lot and people park there as well. For most folks it works out ok but some get stuck in the sand. I spend hours watching from my window as people return to thier cars to find them sunken to the axle in sand or blocked in by other cars. It is happening now as I write this post!

I would be so upset! Hot, tired, covered in sand and just wanting to take a shower and find your car is trapped like a rat!

It may be hard to tell in the pic but there at least three cars blocked in by other cars. What is really bad is I will watch someone get pulled out of a soft sand spot and another car will pull in right behind him to get the spot! Crazy parking situation- sure am glad I don't have that problem. I find it interesting to note that despite the crazy parking, blocking in and sand traps I have never seen anyone lose thier temper. Ever. Folks that drive trucks or 4 wheel drive vehicles will pull a stranger out and blocked in cars just seem to bide thier time until they get unjammed. I've seen people in Florida get into fistfights in parking lots over less infractions. Usually in those situations alcohol is involved; glad The Walk is alcohol free!!

After treasre hunting this morning it RAINED! Real live honest to goodness RAIN! I told Amy in a past email to be thankful for the little things in life as those are the ones that you miss the most- this is exactly what I meant. I haven't seen rain or felt raindrops on my face for so long. What a treat! It was a short rain by US standards but enough to soak the streets and make me dance with glee. Too good not to share-

Raindrops on a leaf.

The Walk wet with rain. So very cool!

Blessed, life giving rain!

The staging area that was set up for the Footvolley tournemant has been taken down but now another staging area is under construction in the same place. You never know what will happen next on The Walk! I'll find out about it and let you know.  Shout out to Wayne- glad you are doing better! Much love and best wishes to all my friends and family. I love you all so very much! M&J

Footvolley and Halloween!

Hello all! Quick update on Gotcha; the crab and Cosmo the beta fish- both are doing very well! I'm so pleased they seem healthy and active. Gotcha' has turned into a higher maintenance pet than we expected- we bring fresh water and wet sand from the beach every 4-5 days and clean out his crabitat. Water and wet sand are freaking heavy! I get wet sand because I think it may have plankton and other stuff in it Gotcha' may need. We must be doing something right because he is thriving.

We attended the World Cup Footvolley tournament and it was wonderful. There were athletes from 17 different countries vying for the title and they were amazing. Footvolley has the same rules as volleyball but the player cannot touch the ball with his arms or hands. They displayed some pretty incredible skills using thier heads, shoulders and kicking the ball back and forth over the net. I'm posting some pics but if you have seen this blog before you know my picture taking skills are definately lacking.  Amy or Ashley have taken much better pics! The schedule was way off and despite our best efforts we missed seeing team USA play. I know they beat Russia in the first round but were eliminated by Croatia later. I searched the entire venue until I found them and got to meet and talk to them. They are great guys who are living life out loud and ripping it live! The cheerleaders from the American school in Dubai were also there and did a routine on the field as well as cheering all the teams during the event. A DJ also played (very loud- maybe I'm just getting old!) between rounds. The Walk is already very crowded with the return of nice weather and tourists and the weekends are especially busy so parking is at premium but the added traffic from the Fottvolley tournament meant parking was insane. We watched from our window as cars parked in a sandy area and no less than 4 cars got stuck in the sand and had to be pulled out. This went on for a couple of hours. Remember- I told yoy the television here is not so good so that was actually pretty entertaining!

The American flag waving proudly! It was windy and of course my pic didn't capture the whole flag!

Team Brazil in action!

Brazil bounced the ball off his chest to set up his team mate to kick it over the net. They don't just kick it like a soccer ball; many times they have to flip upside down in order to hit the ball high enough to go over.

I know it looks like he is about to hit the ball with his hands but he is jumping high enough to head butt the ball over the net. I don't know how these guys can take so many hits to the head- they were hitting hard every time, too!

TEAM USA!! The guy on the left is from San Francisco and on the right from Detroit. Mr. Detroits' hair was long- down to his waist.  I hate we missed seeing them play bit they had a great attitude and seemed to truly enjoy the sport. They gave me a card and asked me pass on some info. They are really trying to raise awareness of the sport- http://www.detroitwaza.com/ and youtube- waza tv. Check them out!

There was a tent offering free samples of local food. We got the macaroni dish. The flavor was good and there was lots of chicken in it but also lots of chicken bones- mostly small chicken bones. We called it "Bone-A-Roni".

Halloween was a few days ago and I decorated- of course! They don't do Halloween here but there are so many ex-pats that the local child care centers have parties. We walked past and saw the children all dressed up and running around being super heroes and princesses- so cool! They even had valet stroller parking- the parent would stroll up and take the child out of the stroller and an attendant would give them a card with a number on it to reclaim thier stroller when they leave. Only in Dubai! I wore my abaya and an orange witches hat with cool feathers to work on Halloween and took my pumpkin for everyone to see. We even stopped and got doughnuts for treats for everyone. (OK there are maybe 7 people in the whole office). They get a kick out of me and my oddities! I brought the pumpkin home and was still in my abaya and halloween hat when a young boy got on the elevator. He smiled at the pumpkin and the odd looking blonde lady wearing a witches hat! I asked where he was from- Russia, and if they have Halloween there. He said they do but not here so he couldn't go trick or treating. We got to my floor and he was impressed with my door being decorated. A couple of hours later the doorbell rings and I open it wearing my pajamas thinking it was the laundry guy. Nope- it was my little Russian boy -and he brought a friend! The shouted trick or treat and held out grocery bags to recieve thier treats. The smart little rascal! I was totally shocked and UNPREPARED! I have never not had candy on Halloween and this young boy was so excited that he would be able to participate in Halloween! YIKES- what to do?! I asked if they would accept some dirhams so they could buy thier own candy. I could tell he was a little disappointed but they gladly accepted the money and said thank you.

My front door. Jimmy puts up with so much crap from me; he just smiles and never says a word.

A very expensive pumpkin! Jimmy actually cut the face- he doesn't think it is a good idea for me to handle sharp objects! Smart fella'!

Closer shot of the spider web I put up around the door frame.

Me- the ill prepared witch who had to pay off the only two trick or treaters I got on Halloween!!

Gotta' go now. I love you and miss you and hope all my readers had a safe and Happy Halloween!

M&J