One Disaster After Another

One week exactly after we got back to Abu Dhabi from Australia, Zena, Mark, Archie and Sam arrived to visit us. We were so excited to have them coming to stay with us, so that we could show them what life is like over here, show them all the new things that we have seen.

From the moment their plane landed however, things started to go wrong. I'm not going to go into too many details, but we had everything from sick babies, missing baby seats, food poisoning, hot water burns, nappy explosions and all of us had at least one day where we felt like absolute cr@p. I just know in years to come we are going to look back on this holiday and laugh! Right?

Despite the mishaps we still managed to have a reasonably good time. Needless to say though, any plans we made went straight out the window. Heres some pictures.

Sam and I at Mall of the Emirates.


Out side Madinat Jameira with the Burj Al Arab in the background.


Zena and I at the top of Jebel Hafeet in Al Ain.


Chi Wai and Archie.


After all that, there were tears at the airport (from me) as we waved them off to the UK. I hope they are having a great time and are not too cold!

Phew!

I'm out of breath from everything that has been happening lately and I haven't had time to blog. Consequently, I have plenty to update you all on. A warning, this is a photo heavy post. So here goes.......

Three weeks ago we had our flying visit back to Australia to go to our friends' wedding. We left Abu Dhabi on the Thursday, arrived in Sydney on Friday morning (7am!), were back at the airport on Monday and back at work bleary eyed on Tuesday. That amounted to about 3 and a half days in Sydney, and boy did we do a lot!

We were met at the airport by my BF's Alison and Zena with the twins in tow. I got to have my first cuddle and I have to say they are just the cutest little things! Sam has a bright red Mohawk and Archie has the most gorgeous big blue eyes.

After a quick shower back at Zena's we headed off to the city to meet my mum (who flew down from Queensland for one night to see me, thanks Mum!), my aunt Didi and my grandmother, Nanny for lunch in the Queen Victoria Building. There was lot's of cuddles, presents and girly giggles. Here's some photos.....

Here's Nanny having a cuddle with Archie.


Now it's Mum's turn.


The girls.


And Chi Wai and I having a cuddle and a cuppa!


That night we went to a Spanish restaurant in Darlinghurst for Tapas, Paella and Sangria. We got to catch up with more special friends, Norman and Stephen, Linh, Martin, MJ and Kayne, and Al's partner in crime AJ brought up Ruby and Dalton too. There are no photos sorry. We were too busy with the sangria and the two bottles of Moet that we bought duty free. So good to catch up with good friends.

On Saturday it was the wedding of our friends Sylvia and Darren. They have been together for 16 years so the slogan for the day was "Hitched at Last!". The ceremony was in a park up high overlooking one of the Northern Beaches of Sydney (Queenscliff area) and the weather was stunning.

Some snaps from the ceremony.....

Location, location, location.


Good friends (Jason and Shino (newly expecting), me (der!), Mel and Mike (about to pop!) and Richard (happy being fat, well so he tells me!).


Getting hitched!


Chi Wai and I with the happy couple.


The reception was at a Chinese restaurant at the Esplanade in Manly which was also fabulous. This was the view from the restaurant. No bad eh? Tee hee!


Lastly, here are some snaps from the reception.


We had such a great time. I'm glad we made the trip over for it.

The next day we hit the Marigold in Chinatown for Yum Cha. At this point I think I was running completely on adrenalin! We had such a big group, about 30 of us, it was great, although I have to apologize for not getting to spend enough time with everyone.

My aunt Didi and uncle Peter came with my cousin Christopher and his girlfriend Kat.


Some of the knitting girls were there too! Donna and Ailsa made the trip up from Wollongong and Cambletown just to see me! Aren't I lucky. Here they are (left to right) Donna and Ailsa, with Zena, Alison and Sam.


Here's the rest of the gang.


On a knitting aside, in the bottom centre panel of the collage above is my friend Julie with her new baby, Thomas. I knitted him ribbed baby jacket by Debbie Bliss which I discussed previously here. Here are some finished pics.


That evening a few of us headed back to Chi Wai's brother's place for a relaxing BBQ. Well it was relaxing for me, but I think hard work for Simon and Jenny who put on such an amazing spread. It was nice to be able to spend some quiet time with Chi Wai's family and some close friends. Thank you Simon and Jenny, you guys are amazing.


One thing that I loved about that night was how well the kids played together. Ruby and Dalton had never met MJ and Kayne until two days before and they got along like a house on fire. Apparently Ruby developed a bit of a crush on MJ! Tee hee, so cute!

The following day (Monday) there was just time for one last cuddle before heading off to the airport.


Aw, aren't those boys cute!

It was such an amazing weekend! Special thanks to Zena & Mark and Simon & Jenny for letting us stay with them and to Norman and Stephen for being our event organisers for the weekend. A big thanks to everyone else that came to see us. It was so good to see you, I think it has made me miss everyone more! We love yous all!

Like I said, phew! And I haven't even talked about Zena and Mark's visit last weekend. I think I might break here for a rest and tell that story another day. Be back soon.....

News!

I've been meaning to post about this for a while, but it just hasn't happened until now. I have big news!

Next weekend, in 7 sleeps, Chi Wai and I will be touching down in Sydney airport! That's right, we're going home. It's only going to be a flying visit, but I don't care. I'm soooo excited! The main reason for our visit is to go to our friends' wedding, but really I think it was just the excuse we needed to make a visit home. We'll only be in the country for three and a half days (crazy I know), but we're planing to fit a lot into that short time.

The other exciting news is, exactly a week after we get back from Australia, my best friend Zena, her hubby and the twins will be arriving here in Abu Dhabi to stay with us for nearly a whole week. How fantastic is that! I can't wait.

In knitting news, I have been somewhat productive since I finished Ruby's cardigan. I have finished the vest for her big brother Dalton, made a jacket for her baby cousin Thomas, and managed to complete the long languishing Puff Sleeved Cardigan. I've madly blocked everything today so that the presents will be ready to take back with me next weekend (did I mention that it is only 7 sleeps?).

Here's some sneak peaks of these projects before blocking.

Dalton's vest......


Pattern: Vest with Splits and round neck from "Panda 8plys: 11 handknits for kids"
Yarn: Knitpick Swish DK in Asparagus

The only change I made to this pattern was to knit it in the round rather than in two pieces, to reduce seaming. This was sooooo boring to knit, but I think it will look nice on Dalton.

Baby Jacket for baby Thomas before seaming......


Pattern: Ribbed Baby Jacket by Debbie Bliss available for free here
Yarn: Knitpicks Shine Worsted in Seaspray

This was really quick to knit and I think it's going to look great. I've got some gorgeous buttons picked out for this. They are hand turned wooden buttons that I bought from the Berry Markets on a visit to see my friend Sharon. I love the colour of this yarn (the photo doesn't really do it justice) and the feel is really nice and soft. It does produce some fluff though, which I'm hoping will settle down after blocking.

My mods on the Puff Sleeved Cardigan.....


Pattern: Puff-Sleeved Feminine Cardigan from "Fitted Knits" by Stefanie Japel.
Yarn: Knitpick Swish DK in Maple Leaf

As I have discussed before, this pattern and I had issues! I worked hard to resolve these issues and I'm reasonable happy with the result. I'll talk more on this once I have some photos of the finish blocked object.

And finally, here they all are blocking (with Ruby's cardi too)!


Phew! I feel so much better now that I have got all that off my chest!

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!

The day after the big fishing trip was Australia Day (I told you I had fallen behind) and one of the local international hotels was having a celebration, so we decided to check it out.

It was a little bit strange. I didn't think there would be enough Australians here to warrant an actual Australia Day function, and while I think there were a few ring ins in the crowd, there was definitely a good Aussie contingent present.

They were serving Crown Larger with an Australian themed menu.


We were a little perplexed by some of the dessert items, in particular the "Blue Currant Cheesecake" and the "Strawberry Truffle".

They had also gone to quite a bit of trouble with the decorations.


The "Bush Band" was three middle aged Filipino guys trying to remember the words to "Give me a home among the gum trees" and "Waltzing Matilda" with the "Tequila Song" thrown in for good measure. It was quite hilarious.

Here's Chi Wai and Brian admiring the "Aboriginal Artwork" and enjoying a Crownie. For those who know Brian, don't fret, we haven't driven him to drink, that's actually my beer!


Happy late Australia Day everyone!

Gone Fishin'!

About four weekends ago now (man, I really have fallen behind), our house-mate Brian took us on a fishing trip. Back in Australia, Brian is really into his fishing, I mean big time. I'm talking as big into fishing as I am into knitting! He tells us stories of his fishing tackle stash and we compare how much money we have blown on out respective hobbies. He wins! He really, really likes fishing!

The kind of fishing that Brian is into, isn't your ordinary stand on a rock wall and wait for fish to arrive kind of fishing. He's after big fish that are a real challenge to catch, the kind of fishing where you need a boat, an ocean and expensive equipment, the kind of fishing where you kiss the fish and throw it back in when after you've reeled it in kind of fishing.

So anyway, a few months ago, Brian announced that he was going to go on a charter fishing trip and asked if we wanted to come along. We said, "yeah! Why not!".

We had to get up early for the four hour drive to a place called Dibba which is actually across the Omani border. Can you believe we went to another country just to go fishing? Apparently this where the fish are!

So we headed out on the boat with our guide Galvin, a young South African.


I've never seen Brian so happy!


There were plenty of fish around.


My plan was to sit back and enjoy the scenery.


You know, read a bit, be the photographer, that sort of thing. Fishing ain't my thang! But somehow I got roped in too!


All in all it was a good, but very tiring day, and while I enjoyed it, I don't think I'll be rushing out to do it again any time soon. It's all the salt spray, the boat bashing on the waves, too much wind messing up my hair, fish slime and not being able to go to the toilet for 8 hours! I'll leave it to the fishing fanatics.

I'll leave you with one last photo. I find it quite disturbing! It looks like I'm enjoying myself, but really I'm thinking "Hurry up and take the @#ing photo. This fish is wriggling and it's all slimy!"

Weekend Round Up!

Posting to my blog has been a bit slack the last few weeks, because I have been so busy on the weekend. I have lots to catch you all up on.

We have nothing planned this weekend, so I will be madly trying to get up to date on all that has been going on in my life. Keep your eyes peeled!

Here's another road sign that I thought was a bit apt for this post. There were no road works whatsoever around this sign, so we were guessing that they were apologising for the general inconvenience that is the UAE. Tee hee!

Cardigan Complete!

I completed the cardigan for Ruby last weekend. Here it is.....


It is not yet blocked in these photos, however, being mostly garter stitch, it almost doesn't need it. I will still will block it though, just to flatten the seams. I think the colour is the most acurate in the first photo. I'm pretty happy with the result. The merino is soft and spongey. I hope Ruby likes it.

Here's the girl in question, with her big brother Dalton, on her first day of school, just last week.


What an adorable photo!

I have since cast on for a vest for Dalton. I am completely bored with it already (too much stockinette in the round!) but should finish it this weekend hopefully. Photos to come.

Last post I discussed the problem with the vests I knitted for Zena's twins. See here. Zena, my very clever best friend has fixed the problem! Yay!

Here is little Sam (the bigger of the two twins) sporting the newly rectified vest.


Look at that red hair!

I am soooooo happy she was able to fix it. Thank you, thank you Zena. You are a star!