Saturday, August 1, 2009

Whisks no, balls yes.

A very nice man from our church lent us his car today. Jonathan has 2 days left to drive legally here in Doha before he has to get a new license, so we went to Carrefour to stock up on food and bulky items that I don't want to carry home on my future weekly store visits. Milk (boxed), toilet paper, laundry detergent, and of course, ice cream. There is no way we would ever be able to have ice cream unless we had a car to transport it in. Here it has become precious to us.
Before we came I tried to meet with anyone who had any connection with Doha to ask them what items I would have trouble finding. My top ten list included:
-brown sugar

-powdered sugar

-liquid vanilla

-chocolate chips

-Dr. Pepper for Jonathan

-selection of cheeses

-canned milk (sweetened condensed and evaporated)

-black beans

-cilantro

-selection of dry cereals
Well, I've seen almost all of these things except for black beans and cilantro. I couldn't believe the selection and availability of food products here. I even found those silver candy balls you use to decorate cakes with. Although I have no plans of making any cakes until a birthday comes around, I still had to buy a bag. It cost about 50 cents. Wonderous I tell you!
However, we were also in search of a whisk. You know, something to beat eggs with. No luck. They had every other kitchen utensil, spoon, and spatula, but no whisks. Perhaps there is a reason for that, or maybe they are all sold out. Someone did tell me previously that when they sell out, they may not get another shipment in for a while.

We are whiskless, but we've got balls. Candy ones.




3 comments:

Sonja said...

tee hee. I can think of lots of funny comments to add to your last sentence...but do I really need to write them? You probably already know all the ones I'd write.

Wisk no, funny yes! :)

Code Yellow Mom said...

My son's kindergarten teacher and family are moving to Qatar this summer - her husband teaches middle school/junior high age kids. Maybe your paths will cross!

This post is very funny. I miss cilantro. And I brought whisks along to Kiev, but they have been used in sword fights so often that I'm almost relegated to using a fork for whipping eggs. :)

Uncle Fred said...

Christine,

Real people are hard to build. The best ones have had good Mom's or Mentors. They have never gotten that way without some very very good help or inspiration. Sometimes it comes from suffering and more often than not from what they experienced growing up.

I am confident from what I know about you that you will have both, a great family that will make you proud, and a great life that the rest of us will be grateful to have known.

Your Grandmother will be seeing her children this weekend and possibly for the last time. Her life was rescued from abject poverty by her sheer tenacity under the worst possible circumstances in Bolivia. She has inspired me by her realization that the present or what was in front of her is not to be wasted. There has been no sophistication in it and yet it is the most sophisticated way to approach life. Her direction has always been forward. Her life has been a parable.

Keep on being who you are. Your blog has been inspiring to me. Someday what has been reflected in your honesty in it and your life is appreciated. It will be the biggest treasure for your family in times to come.

Uncle Fred