Dear Doha Days,

Well we're wrapping up a mildly eventful week. I've

needed some time away from our crazy activities and I've had little to blog about but now I'm ready to post away. Doha is actually very boring these days so this is about it.

Last week we were extremely concerned about Nick's grandfather and really missing home. Actually planning to jump on a plane! He's getting better each and every day. It will be a challenging recovery but he's well on his way of getting out of the hospital. We're anxious to get to Houston to see both Nana and Boppa! Still praying God continues to make Boppa stronger and that he gives Nana the energy to keep up the pace she's on.

Its about time these canines made the blog.
They're sweet and deserve lots more attention than they get...
Obviously because they ate an entire bag of raw chicken off my counter. I was marinating at least 3 large chicken breasts and just a few minutes away from making some Chicken Parmesan. Stepped outside to check on the boys while they were playing and turned around to see the leftovers...the zipper to the Ziploc bag! They apparently have stomachs of steel! No consequences were paid for their ingestion of salmonella!


Just 24 hours later on Thursday night I was sitting outside (in the middle of the cul-de-sac) watching the boys play, waiting for Nick to come home, and visiting with my dear friend and neighbor, Biny. For some reason I glanced towards our house and the view was almost exactly the same as this photo, minus Nick's car and the color of the smaller window. Unfortunately the small window was filled with flames and completely orange. It was my very first (and hopefully last) house fire. In that moment, I had non doubt what it was since I left a candle burning in my laundry room.

"Why in your laundry room", you ask? The dog kennel is in our laundry room and they spent the entire day hanging out in there. They were NOT in there at the time of the fire, thank the Lord, but my house was clean and clothes were washing. The combo of dogs and clean clothes/house just isn't my choice of scents...so I lit a candle. And I lit a candle too close to the Bounce box! As soon as I saw the flames from outside I immediately ran inside and turned the corner to see the laundry room shelf on fire and out of control. The flames were all the way to the ceiling and way beyond what I could do myself. I panicked! The 1/2 pitcher of water I threw on it, did nothing but thank goodness for my dear friend who followed right behind me to help. She immediately grabbed our fire extinguisher, that is beautifully hung on the wall in our kitchen. She ripped the tie off, pulled the needle and sprayed! In a matter of seconds the fire was gone! It was one of the most dramatic moments I've ever experienced. (everyone should have a fire extinguisher in their house somewhere...maybe not displayed on the wall, but still...)
Unfortunately Brooks and Barrett saw all of the drama, panic and fire. We were all a little out of sorts after wards but the boys were especially. They didn't sleep well for a few nights and still don't want to even go in the laundry room. Fire really is an unbelievable force. It scared us all. I have a whole new appreciation for people who have lost a room or even worse, their entire house to a fire. Its heartbreaking. Thankfully we didn't loose anything that we can't easily replace. One thing we're thankful for is that we live in a cement house, otherwise our walls and ceiling would have been absolutely engulfed in the flames. I believe the fire burned for 20-30 minutes before I noticed it. So, needless to say we are thankful it wasn't worse!

The candle was sitting on top of this black shelf.

Smoke damage to the ceiling and wall.

These bottles of cleaner just melted together.



This is an aerosol can of roach spray that was sitting on the shelf next to the candle. I'm convinced this explosion really triggered the huge flames I saw from outside the house. I'm so thankful I didn't walk into the laundry room when this exploded.


And today I wrapped up my week with what felt like a little drug deal! I was thrilled and definitely could hold back a few signs of anxiety and withdrawals. The secret was exposed on Facebook a few days ago that one of my most favorite grocery stores in Doha might have canned pumpkin on the shelf. So I made a quick stop on my way home from Bible study to find out that the Pumpkin was there but NOT on the shelf!
The kind employee asked me if I was looking for something...and when I said "pumpkin", he just smirked! "How many", he asked. Then I proceeded to follow him to the back of the store and rationalize how many cans I really needed/wanted. Obviously I don't have the time or energy to make a lot of pumpkin recipes before we head home for the holidays but with Thanksgiving THIS week, I had to put my pumpkin dealing in full gear. I didn't have time to call friends or really think so I bought 8 cans. I shared most with friends and have laughed all afternoon about the kind man who was so proud of his secret stash of Libby! I actually only paid 9.75 QR, so it was just a little more than what I would pay in the US. What a deal!

Nick will now call our Thanksgiving complete because of the beloved pumpkin pie! Now I must master the art of crust from scratch. My grandmothers and mother will be proud! There's no such thing as Pillsbury pie crust here. How sad!