A good Husband is...

…one who, although thinks your idea probably isn’t the best idea that you’ve ever had, helps you see your idea through to the end so that you too can see it probably isn’t the best idea you’ve ever had!

We have been in this house for over 18 months now. It’s about time we did something with it to make it more our own. We can’t keep thinking we’re going to be moved and so not bother doing anything. This autumn/winter, it’s the back garden’s turn. We’ve been mulling over a design for a shade to go over the (somewhat redundant) patio we had made earlier this year. Nothing has seemed quite right so we decided to leave it and focus on the planting. The kids’ trampoline will go around the back and some grass will hopefully be established, maybe a couple of palms and banana plants. We priced shrubberies (!) up at one of the many garden centres and we can get our garden set for about 50-70 Omani rials (about £75-100). So that is on the cards very soon, as soon as I’ve finished work, had a much needed pamper session, caught up with my girlfriends, caught up with emails and facebook THEN I will make a trip or seven to the nurseries. Not sure I will get many palms in the back of the Kia…

ANYway…let me explain the main reason behind today’s title.

I’ve been itching to get on with the garden…or any project it would seem. So I found one. The roof. It’s wasted space at the moment and could be made to be a nice, relaxing (read: MY) space.

I run it past Husband, knowing full well what his response will be. Practical, too sensible and if I dare say, a bit lazy! (Understandably maybe, we do have 3 stories to climb to get there!) My idea is that we would use it in the evening to enjoy the sunsets and the cooling evenings with a glass of wine or a cup of tea. If we forget the bottle opener for instance, or if the kids are playing outside. No, it’s not practical to be up there when the kids are playing outside but I wouldn’t be up there if that was the case! And we'd make sure we have a spare bottle opener upstairs. Along with a fridge and a kettle. Duh. ;-) This is one I wanted to see through!

So today was the day I HAD to do something about it and had the necessary energy to get on with it. So to start - it’s an empty, dusty space with the washing line, a/c units and the satellite. But there was space for a mat and the small table and chairs we brought over from the UK. Would the Arabic style camping picnic mat do? Yes, it would. That was my first idea. But then Husband suggested the large piece of astro turf we inherited from next door when they moved. Excellent, he’s getting on my side! It’s been lying out the back for over a year now, looking forlorn and dusty with no use being made of it. Yep, great idea. So I go out and start shaking off the gravel that’s accumulated. And the dust. And the crickets. It is a heavy piece so I get Husband to help. And love him, he does! We thought we might have to wait and call on the neighbours to help but we managed, we lifted this hulking roll of backed plastic, the weight of which was probably doubled by the amount of dust still embedded in it, up three stories. Very satisfying! Moreso for having some much-needed exercise too.

I've swept most of the dust from it. Well, loosened and shifted the dust from one place to another! Husband had to walk away I think, in despair! But I was in the determined mood. It was going to happen!

Now to plan pots and lighting and ambience at La Terrace! I just hope those who are invited can be arsed to climb the stairs!

"If you don't behave, I'll call the policeman over..."

Well, I haven't used that phrase yet on the kids but I know parents who have. The child is never sure they're being serious so start to behave just in case.

Today was priceless...

Pops was having his usual morning tantrum in the car on the way to school. My usual trick is to turn up whatever crap track is being played on the radio to drown him out and distract him. (Actually, it was Transvision Vamp, so a lot better than usual). So we are stuck in the usual jams and an ROP (Royal Omani Police) motorcyclist weaves throughthe traffic and pulls up alongside us. I think he must have heard the loud music being played by the heathen western woman in the Kia and so stopped. But then he clocked the Boy in the back having his meltdown. I took this opportunity and wound the back window down so the Policeman could talk to him. Pops saw him and immediately shut up! He did turn away and hide his face but he was quiet straight after! So I can legitimately say to him, "if you don't behave I call that policeman on his bike to come and see you!"

As Daddy Books said, "sincere adulation for a perfectly timed moment".


Music update: I've tried to download Radio 1 podcasts...to no avail. At least on my laptop anyway. It knows I'm not in the UK and so can't access anything. I may have to make do with my limited collection on the mp3 player.


Maybe it's time to refresh my collection and download some new tunes!


Any recommendations?

It might be of interest to someone....

I didn't think I had much to write about! But here I am again! Not bad when you put your mind to it! Off goes the televsion, music on (Mumford and Sons tonight) and there we go. I wonder how long this will last! This will probably be it for the week! I've got my neighbours worried I might divulge some of their antics! [snigger] You know who you are!

YAY!! Mama and Daddy Books are about to book to come and see us next year! Along with a couple of sets of friends coming over it's going to be a lovely spring! We decided that we were travelling so much 09/10, we really missed spending the best time of the year in Oman. But I guess it was the first full year we have been here so felt we needed to go back.

So we're in autumn now and I can start to see the weather is changing. The temperature is a little more comfortable (not by much though, humidity still gets me...and my hair) but you can really see the difference over the mountains. They're not set in a permanent dust haze, they're looking really clear and magnificent! They are the first impression I had of this country as we flew into Muscat International in November '08 so are really special. As much as I love being near the beach and the sea, there is something quite humbling driving through the mountains.

And as many of you know I like to think of weather/geography as my speciality. Although I seemed to have had most of my memory wiped by Motherhood...Husband probably knows more than I do, in fact, I'm sure he does. About everything. But hey, that doesn't stop a Spotter spotting, does it?!

So anybody want to get to know the climate here? Anyone interested? Oh, please don't go! COME BACK!!! OK, just humour me and it'll all be over in a few minutes!

Muscat, Oman

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Month	Average Sunlight (hours)	Temperature				Discomfort from heat and humidity	Relative humidity		Average Precipitation (mm)	Wet Days (+0.25 mm)
		Average		Record
		Min	Max	Min	Max		am	pm
Jan	9	19	25	11	31	Medium	72	71	28	2
Feb	10	19	25	12	32	Medium	73	73	18	1
March	9	22	28	17	42	Medium	71	70	10	1
April	11	26	32	19	41	High	64	68	10	1
May	12	30	37	24	44	Extreme	58	60	0	0
June	12	31	38	26	47	Dangerous	72	72	3	0
July	9	31	36	25	45	Extreme	77	77	0	0
Aug	10	29	33	24	42	Extreme	82	80	0	0
Sept	11	28	34	23	42	Extreme	75	77	0	0
Oct	10	27	34	21	41	Extreme	69	74	3	0
Nov	10	23	30	17	36	High	69	72	10	1
Dec	9	20	20	16	33	-	70	71	18	2

Note the 'Dangerous' level of discomfort from heat and humididty in June! So we're not being rude when we say don't visit during the summer! And although the record in the summer has been recorded at 47, this is probably the offical recording. Husband and I can vouch that it reached at least 50C last summer.

At this time and in the spring, we can never say what the weather will do day to day because it is usually a battle of the desert wind and the sea wind - think of the country's location and situation. So when the desert wind takes over, the temperature shoots up but it is a dry heat and is actually bearable. When the sea wind takes over the humidity increases as the water content in the air has increased. That's why you'd see more in the way of clouds on a humid day. Needless to say, it can feel very unpleasant.

The northern part of Oman consists of the Jebel Akhdar, a mountain range rising to just over 3,000 m/10,000 ft. The annual rainfall on the higher parts of the Jebel Akhdar probably exceeds 400 mm/20 in. In the rest of Oman the annual rainfall is below 125 mm/5 in except in the hills of Dhofar in the extreme south.

Along the south coast the cloudy rainy season is between June and September, but in the Jebel Akhdar and in the lowlands of the north rain may fall at any time of the year. Very occasionally a tropical cyclone in the Arabian Sea brings a spell of very wet, windy weather to the coast of Oman and this may cause damage through wind and flood. Google Gonu and Phet!

Temperatures and humidity are high throughout the year on the coast and the period May to September is the hottest and most unpleasant season. Temperatures rise even higher inland towards the Rub' al Khali, but here humidity is lower so that the high temperatures are more tolerable and the nights are cooler.

The following bar chart for Muscat, Oman shows the years average weather condition readings covering rain, average maximum daily temperature and average minimum temperature.

All the above info is courtesy of the Beeb weather site. Although I wouldn't trust them. They have had all sorts working for that department ;-)

There you go! Painless, huh? HUH??? Am I really that boring...?

I've had my weather fix now, although I'm teaching year 3/4 weather around the world tomorrow in Geography! YES! They're doing a presentation on anabatic and katabatic winds next week. Joke.

Anyone have Arcade Fire's new album (probably several months old now....)?

Why have I not seen Glee until now???!! The College Football players dancing to Beyonce was just classic television. Loved it!

PS I would post this evening's sunset picture but my lens was filthy *slap wrist* so I'll sort it out and maybe post it tomorrow.

Take care, y'all.

Tut...not another one!

WOW! Here I am! I am yet another blogger in the world! Don't worry, I'm not a serious one -I will not be offering wonderfully articulated views and comments on the world's events and peoples. It's another way to say hi to my family and friends and try to make them more a part of our life here in Oman. Faceache is great for immediate 'hellos' and 'how are yous' but this I hope, will give a bit more detail - if anyone wants it of course! Thanks to Mrs. Marleyman who directed me and inspired me - she writes a blog for the very same reasons, having made a huge decision to move somewhere that wasn't quite on the family's doorstep anymore.

As an aside, I went to school with Mrs. Marleyman and we have got back in touch via good ol' FB. We had the same shoes at school...I'm embarrassed that I can't quite remember more than that!

Mum and I have started handwriting letters to each other. I went through a phase a few months ago of writing to a couple of my girlfriends in the UK and my Mum. It felt so therapeutic.... We rely so much on emails now that it's refreshing to see somebody's handwriting AND to actually write something apart from a shopping list! Trouble is, living here, mail takes at least 2 weeks most of the time. Bear still hasn't got her birthday card from Nanny and Grandad :-(  So she is still writing the letter, I'll look forward to receiving that.

Admiral Fallow has been playing most of this afternoon in the house....they were on the BBC Introducing Stage at T in the Park this year. We didn't see them until the highlights on tv. Just brilliant, really original and so refreshing. I am really missing British music. Two radio stations of varying quality here (not going to say anymore than that). So any suggestions for getting music here! We download albums into iTunes....but what I'd like to do is download British radio shows and play them on my MP3 player...(I'm not a Apple girl as Husband will tell you....although I could be tempted with an iPod...but then that would mean using the Mac more....oh, god I struggle with the Mac....). I digress - our Apple-Windows feuds are another post altogether. I don't think I can download shows, just 'listen again'. It's Zane Lowe on Radio 1 and Radcliffe and Maconie on Radio 2 in particular. A 25 minute podcast might do the trick but that's just a journey to school and back.

It was a lovely sunset here this evening. The cloud formation reminded me a little of the clouds I saw when Husband drove me to the hospital when I was in labour with Bear. Except then, it was at night time!



Looking west from our roof



 

A few minutes later



Well, another weekend over :-( It was a peaceful one with a party at the pool yesterday and a chilled day today. Have planned school for most of the week...I've only got 2 weeks left! Husband is back home Monday...inshallah.

Good luck for the Hammers tomorrow...God knows they need it....