Want a Date?

On the short walk to the beach this morning I passed a few palm trees which were laden with dates!! Only problem is... 1. I don't have a step ladder and 2. the birds seem to be getting all the ripe ones!! I love dates... maybe a kitchen chair would do?

It wasn't even 9 a.m. and the sand was too hot to walk on without sandals... and the water was warm and I had my walk up and down and found some shells and a dead crab and loads of little stripey fishes playing in the shallows, then I hot footed (LOL, good that eh?) it back to the air con in the house!

Here are the three kittens, Gremlin, One Ear and Pandora asleep in the shade of the front door. They are all fighting fit again but Grem and Pandora need to put the weight they lost back on... their big brother appears enormous next to them!

Shopping at Fanateer Mall

Aren't these lovely? I was going to buy just the middle one and use it for storage but then I thought it would be fun to have a little one on the top of it.... which sort of lead to me buying the very large one and stacking all three! I think when I get them back to Scotland I am going to use them to store my Christmas decorations.

I found these gorgeous make-up mirrors for handbags and couldn't resist a couple, I would love to make a mini book cover in a similar design.... which seemed like a good excuse to get them!

Oh and then I found this shoe for keeping my rings tidy on my dressing table... cute huh?

and I did a 12 x 12 LO of little Merrick who lives next door to me, the photo has come out really bad, so apologies for that, can't re-do it because I gave the page to his Mum.

For those of you who read my last post.... yes, I am still going to the gym and it is getting easier, I even burned 140 calories yesterday and stayed on the treadmill for 35 and did 2.5 kilometres!! Impressed? I am!!! ;)

Abayas R Us Photos!

Odelia, my next door neighbour that scraps, and I are getting really adventerous now and we took ourselves off to Fanateer Mall in Jubail yesterday morning. I had bought a new abayah last week and it was too long so I wanted the wee mannie with his sewing machine in the corner of the shop to take it up for me. Its a very pretty one with silver and aqua embroidery on the sleeves and because I was also buying some other abayahs for some expat women who are due to arrive soon... they gave me a discount and a free hijab (scarf that matches the abayah). Now... you don't get that sort of service in Marks and Sparks do you? "Oh Madam, you have bought three dresses; here, this shawl matches beautifully, we will throw it in for free! You need them taken up you say? No problem... can you wait five minutes and we will have that done for you....no charge" Do you think I should email M&S and suggest it? It might help in the Christmas slump!Here is Odelia and little Merrick in the shop - see.... I told you, you can have any colour you like as long as its black!! :)

Here is the wee mannie who takes the hems up and in a couple of minutes he had my abaya sorted and back in its bag - all for free!! :)

This is the owner, he was a little camera shy but didn't mind me taking pictures - more abayahs behind him.... yep, all black.

Here I am in front of Mr Chocolate - the sweet stores here are beautiful - the chocolates are in these arrangement of baskets with all this decoration. And yes, I need to get my hair done but there aren't any hairdressers shops! :( Men aren't allowed to touch a woman to whom they aren't married, women aren't allowed to work.... so that's a difficult one!! Chris did offer to cut mine for me but I passed on that... there must be an expat hairdresser here somewhere, I just need to find her!!

And to the beach...

So I was up and about and looked out of the window to see that the beach was empty and the water like a mill pond so I armed myself with bread for the fishes, that stupid hat and my crocs and went for a lovely stroll - and it wasn't even 7.30 a.m. - its the nicest time of day to me, not too hot, nobody about to laugh at the hat, fishes are hungry...

Little fairies come in the night and rake the beach, tidy the sun loungers and have it all pretty for the morning...
The building work in the background is going to be a restaurant, swimming pool, beauty parlour and bowling alley.... yay, way to go... go faster!! ;)
A walk along the beach edge early morning and late evening... bliss!!
OK, took this photo from the beach looking back at our villa... yep... its that close!!

Now I have made you all green like cabbages... I had better get on do something useful... like scrap!! LOL