Where rain brings excitement...

Yesterday it rained, last night it rained and this morning it was still raining; not heavy, just slow, gentle and comforting.  But not to be complacent.... WAKE UP MOTHER, WAKE UP CHILD, heck we have to get to school.  Outa bed, down the breakie, slam on the clothes and out the door 30 minutes early to arrive at school 10 minutes later than normal - but at least we were there that is more than could be said for over half of the class.

Doha is in the desert, what happens in the desert?  The sun shines, the sun shines, the sun shines, oh you get really hot but for a very very few times in the year the rain falls and it is actually cold.  In many areas there are no drains, the main roads have some (but not full guttering), however, when you get out of the built up area, the roads turn into near "non-roads" and this is where a lot of the newer schools are located.  So this morning, we had fun listening to Rasputin (Teagan has a fascination of the Tsar and his children at the moment) by Boney M (over and over and over) and taking some photos of our drive to school.

One week into the new year....

It is one week into the new year.  Technically, I should be writing a blogpost and it should be meaningful; a summary of the year past and promises for the year ahead.  But, unfortunately, I don't have any plan on what to write just yet!

Ah ha, how about, our return trip to Doha, now that was an interesting expedition.  It started with Miss Independent doing all of her airport work herself and progressed with that same someone in "naughty spot" at the back of luggage collection shouting "Mumma Mumma" for 30 minutes and finished with our whereabouts unknown.

Here in Doha, you kind of don't really know what is happening, it just happens.  I think I blogged about trying to get to the airport and needing to drive and park in the very expensive long-term car park. Well that was at the terminal that we departed from.  To our surprise, when we landed, we landed at a new temporary arrivals terminal, so where were we?  Naturally, I sent Ross off on the midnight investigation while Teagan and I waited in "a" carpark with luggage and trolleys.  Sometime later he arrived back to say we weren't where we were when we left - DUH.....and the news was, get a taxi to find the car...and the adventure was....to find the taxi...found!  Yes, we were quite a distance from the old arrivals terminal and not within any adventure distance.  All worked out well as the carpark's charging system was not working and we were let out for free.

Now, I must admit, it is two weeks into the new year.  My brother has been now married for a lengthy stretch and I realise that I am still the same person that slept in those bunk beds in the Kurow camp some 21 years ago..... but what has happened since....a lifetime...

Yes, a digression but it does bring in a break in the "spouting" as I bridge a one-week gap where this blog post sat in draft format.  In Doha, we have had a fairly quiet week, albeit, watching Queensland (in particular Oakey) through the floods and now we watch the news with the tragic death toll in the Brazilian landslides...there by the Grace of God...

As to school, our news is that Teagan figured out how to read...all the stars lined up during December (properly).  It is quite funny when she writes now as she does it purely phonically and has such a limited knowledge of the real spellings that the outcome is rather interesting.  It was on Friday morning that we were greeted with the below shopping list.  We were surprised and accordingly bundled into the car to go shopping (with doll's buggy attached).  Now, I daresay we have the enormous task of learning to spell!!  All in all, it is fascinating and a privilege to observe the early stages of a child's schooling.