My Pretties

One of the things that people buy here as souvenirs are old doors. It sounds funny, but some of the old doors and windows have beautiful hand carving and rustic details that make them fun decorative pieces. A lot of them are brand new reproductions that are shipped over from India and Pakistan that are made to look old. They are either hung on the wall or turned into tables. 

Josh has wanted an old door since we lived in Oman, but the ones we looked at there were huge, heavy and cost about $1000. So we put that idea aside for a while. A few months ago, Josh was talking to our landlord and I don't know how the topic came up, but our landlord said that he had an old door from his house that they removed while they were remodeling. He said we could have it so his guys pulled it out of storage and dropped it off. We went and talked to the guy that made our Bahraini bench and came up with a design together. This is the final result: 

Without the glass

I love the old brass latch. 

Some of the other doors we've looked at were more intricate, but we have an authentic, antique, Bahraini door. (And the entire project cost us $130) I'm a bit frightened what our house is going to look like when we return to the states -- are we going to have room for such a huge coffee table and floor space for our carpets?!

Speaking of carpets, these are not mine, but I had the pleasure of shopping for a carpet for a friend of a friend. Technology is a beautiful thing. I was able to snap and send these photos (and others) to her and then real time chat while she chose the one she wanted. If anyone else wants a hand made carpet at prices well under what you'd pay in the US, let me know. I'm happy to shop with other people's money. 

These particular carpets are from Pakistan and are the softest wool with silk accents. They are huge -- 10 x 13. He was selling this type to me for around $1100. (Yes, it sounds like a stupid amount of money for something that people walk on, but when you look up close and see all the little knots that make up the pattern . . . I'd be charging people $100,000 after putting all that work into something.) I'm eating crow because I never understood carpet love until I saw the stacks of them in person and could appreciate the uniqueness of each one, feel the wool and silk (and cotton, but not my fav) between my fingers and under my bare feet, and to be awed by the artistry and labor involved. I've come a long way from my, "Machine made is just as good as handmade and way cheaper!" days. 

Jerian is short, but it gives you an idea of how massive it is. 

They folded it (she bought the red one) into a box this small. It was only around $75 to ship it to the East Coast, including insurance. If any west coast peeps want a carpet (since I suspect that shipping will be much more expensive to get it to the opposite coast), the guy at the post office was showing me the largest flat rate box that ships for $25 up to 25 lbs. I'll be your dealer and hook you up. 

This baby might be mine if I can get past the $1600 price tag. It's from Iran and the detail is exquisite. It's soft and plush and I don't need it. I don't need it. If I buy more carpets I'll have to wallpaper my future home with them. I have a gorgeous red carpet already. I don't need this. 

This one is vibrant and gorgeous and different than any that I've seen before. I really like it, but it's a different style than the Persian carpet above so it's not as soft. I have a thing for soft wool. It's also $1600. 

 

Since I can't seem to go carpet shopping without coming home with a carpet, I brought home this little guy. It's from Belutschistan which is a region in Pakistan (and sounds like John Belushi). It was only $100 and really soft. It's red and brown, with bits of green and white. I wasn't sure if I loved it (especially after the big expensive one), but the feel won me over in the end. I smile every time I walk across it.   

detail up close -- it's not this florescent in real life

Cause you know, the dog needs another carpet to lie on. 

I finished this scarf/shawl that I've been working on for the last few months. I love these colors. It's asymmetrical -- skinny on one end, wide on the other. 

One last acquisition -- our shoes were out of control so we had our furniture guy build us a shoe rack. I found a few photos on Google images and told him, "I want the top like this one, the shelves made of slats like this one, and I want the stain the same color as my bench." Perfect. 

The Christmas tree is going up today and I was excited to pull out these ornaments that I bought in Paris. We're still in the running for the ugliest, most obnoxious tree, but we've added quite a few sentimental and beautiful ornaments since that first year in Oman. I can't believe this is our 5th Christmas in the Middle East. It might be time to upgrade our artificial tree. Especially since the boys were having to scrounge for books to go under one of the legs to keep it from falling over. 

Closing out with my favorite pretty of them all. She is so fun and so funny, but she is an award winning cryer. Josh jokes that she must have a switch in her back because she goes from happy to killed puppy in 2 seconds. This is because I wouldn't let her watch Frozen when she first woke up. 

Drama at the orthodontist office

Because I wouldn't carry her

She gave up her protest because two Pakistani men walking down the street were getting too close . . .

Hope everyone is having a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Election Day

It's no coincidence that the sky is hazy today. There have been fires all over the island. Elections are happening for the first time since before Arab Spring (2011) and some people are happy and voting and others are unhappy and burning (both literally and figuratively). For the past several weeks our island has been wallpapered with gigantic posters of the various candidates (the elections are for the parliament).

Picture these everywhere. (and bigger)

Hello, giant man face. He's in our district. Interestingly, women can also run for office. (Since 2002)

The unrest here is rooted in Sunni vs. Shia religious dispute. The majority population is Shia, but the government is overwhelmingly Sunni. There is a small Shia opposition group (there are also moderate Shia) that pulled their candidates (18) from the election out of protest. There were over 250 candidates running, but they were almost exclusively Sunni. I'm not sure what the process is to get your party's candidate on the ballot, but historically the complaint is that the majority population is not properly represented in the government.

It has been reported that the opposition group didn't want to participate in the elections because they don't believe them to be free, impartial, and fair. So today in particular neighborhoods, they are calling for a boycott of the elections.

We had to go to bring our car to the dealership because my sunroof was stuck open and the weather forecast called for rain. Of course election day was the only day to do it -- I got some photos of one of the most active areas as we were driving. 

This is bigger than tires. Possibly a car (yes, seen that before), a pile of junk and old furniture, or an abandoned shack of a building. 

On the way back on the other side of the highway. 

See the white haze? That's tear gas. It looks like the poisonous fog from the Catching Fire movie. 

There was a huge cloud of it, but I couldn't get a good angle on it. We could smell it in the air. 

A small fire -- looks like tires

This is always a busy corner. 24/7 there are police vehicles parked here to "keep an eye on things." Sometimes I wonder if as much would happen if they weren't there as an audience. They do keep it off the highway though so I'm thankful for that. 

flames in the street

Ironically, hazy skies make the best sunsets. 

In case you want to read more about the elections: 

http://rt.com/news/208019-clashes-bahrain-elections-protesters/

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/23/us-bahrain-elections-idUSKCN0J605R20141123

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrain/bahrain-elections-q-and-a-1.1416173

Are you ready for some football?!

Queen Roach has been busy. I had 2 meetings last week and I have 2 this week (in addition to all the regular stuff that I juggle). It's funny to see that other people are just as surprised as I am at my new titles. I was at TRX class last week and a friend asked why I wasn't going to lunch with everyone after. "I have an FRG meeting." She got a puzzled look on her face and said, "Wha . . .? Huh? Who am I talking to? First SAC and now FRG? I'm not recognizing this person standing in front of me . . . " Exactly. Good thing it's not a permanent fixture in my life. I've got enough to handle managing all of my athletes' schedules.

Calvin tried out and made the High School varsity basketball team last week. He's so excited. This fall I wasn't sure if he was going to make it because although he now has the height (he's 5 9" or 10" and growing) he had the confidence of a much smaller player. He played short. He's a great athlete, but he over thinks things, gets nervous and is afraid to make mistakes. (hmm, wonder where he gets that from?!)

I told him I wanted him to come home at the end of tryouts and be able to say with certainty, "I made it" or "I blew it" before the coach posted the list. Our mantra for those three days: go big or go home. No regrets. I said I'd rather have him miss 6 three-pointers in a row than not try for any at all. He was able to get out of his head and play like he loved the game. I'm so proud of him, but I'm already dreading the 5:30 am wake up tomorrow morning.

So Calvin has basketball and flag football right now (one evening a week and Saturday games). It's a really fun league that is run by the base for kids ages 4 - 15. Carter and Calvin are on the same team so that's even more fun. Both logistically and for cheering purposes. I love seeing them work together, encourage each other and talk strategy.

LOVE THIS.

Caleb is playing flag football and baseball. Yes, I caved on baseball. Go back to my January - May 2013 archives to read all about the weekly double headers. Against the same team. Caleb wanted to play so badly, saying it was his favorite sport (which I had a hard time believing when he asked if I would buy him a "baseball mitten."), but since the practices and games are at school this year and not at a field 30 minutes away and because he and Carter could play together, I caved. I will have to remember the raw joy expressed by dancing and leaping throughout the house when I get annoyed by the endless innings later this year. 

His coach is giving the quarterback the play to call. I love this league because it's made up of people we know from base and school (both on our team and all the opponents), it's coed at all the age levels, everyone plays at the same field, bunches of our friends are there and we chat while we sit in the sunshine, and it's all very Pleasantville. The coaches are competitive, but also teaching the kids how to play and giving everyone a chance to try different positions. I don't think we even keep score (officially. The kids keep score, of course.)

Caleb's first try at quarterback

hike!

looking for an open man

going long . . .

Carter, the lucky kid, is playing 3 sports right now. He's got flag football and baseball and he joined the Middle School soccer team this month. They've had 2 games so far, 1 win and 1 loss. I think they'll have a good season.

Carter at QB

going for the touchdown

He did score, but I'm not sure if it was on this play. Carter and Calvin have the same football coaches as Caleb, so all 3 boys are having a great football experience. They all got to try QB and wide receiver, nose tackle and some other positions I don't remember the names of. 

While some of you are having snow, we are having a heat wave. It had to have been almost 90 yesterday. Ugh. So hot. Camille and her friend were pouring water on themselves to keep cool. 

I didn't get many photos of Calvin this week, but he just caught a pass here. 

My favorite photo of the day -- right through Carter's fingers (look at the football in the foreground. I almost didn't see it the first time.)

Busy days, but good days. My calendar is maxed out.