November 2014 – robinchartier

My Pretties

One of the things that people buy here as souvenirs are old doors. It sounds funny, but some of the old doors and windows have beautiful hand carving and rustic details that make them fun decorative pieces. A lot of them are brand new reproductions that are shipped over from India and Pakistan that are made to look old. They are either hung on the wall or turned into tables.

Josh has wanted an old door since we lived in Oman, but the ones we looked at there were huge, heavy and cost about $1000. So we put that idea aside for a while. A few months ago, Josh was talking to our landlord and I don’t know how the topic came up, but our landlord said that he had an old door from his house that they removed while they were remodeling. He said we could have it so his guys pulled it out of storage and dropped it off. We went and talked to the guy that made our Bahraini bench and came up with a design together. This is the final result:

Without the glass

I love the old brass latch.

Some of the other doors we’ve looked at were more intricate, but we have an authentic, antique, Bahraini door. (And the entire project cost us $130) I’m a bit frightened what our house is going to look like when we return to the states — are we going to have room for such a huge coffee table and floor space for our carpets?!

Speaking of carpets, these are not mine, but I had the pleasure of shopping for a carpet for a friend of a friend. Technology is a beautiful thing. I was able to snap and send these photos (and others) to her and then real time chat while she chose the one she wanted. If anyone else wants a hand made carpet at prices well under what you’d pay in the US, let me know. I’m happy to shop with other people’s money.

These particular carpets are from Pakistan and are the softest wool with silk accents. They are huge — 10 x 13. He was selling this type to me for around $1100. (Yes, it sounds like a stupid amount of money for something that people walk on, but when you look up close and see all the little knots that make up the pattern . . . I’d be charging people $100,000 after putting all that work into something.) I’m eating crow because I never understood carpet love until I saw the stacks of them in person and could appreciate the uniqueness of each one, feel the wool and silk (and cotton, but not my fav) between my fingers and under my bare feet, and to be awed by the artistry and labor involved. I’ve come a long way from my, “Machine made is just as good as handmade and way cheaper!” days.

Jerian is short, but it gives you an idea of how massive it is.

They folded it (she bought the red one) into a box this small. It was only around $75 to ship it to the East Coast, including insurance. If any west coast peeps want a carpet (since I suspect that shipping will be much more expensive to get it to the opposite coast), the guy at the post office was showing me the largest flat rate box that ships for $25 up to 25 lbs. I’ll be your dealer and hook you up.

This baby might be mine if I can get past the $1600 price tag. It’s from Iran and the detail is exquisite. It’s soft and plush and I don’t need it. I don’t need it. If I buy more carpets I’ll have to wallpaper my future home with them. I have a gorgeous red carpet already. I don’t need this.

This one is vibrant and gorgeous and different than any that I’ve seen before. I really like it, but it’s a different style than the Persian carpet above so it’s not as soft. I have a thing for soft wool. It’s also $1600.

Since I can’t seem to go carpet shopping without coming home with a carpet, I brought home this little guy. It’s from Belutschistan which is a region in Pakistan (and sounds like John Belushi). It was only $100 and really soft. It’s red and brown, with bits of green and white. I wasn’t sure if I loved it (especially after the big expensive one), but the feel won me over in the end. I smile every time I walk across it.

detail up close — it’s not this florescent in real life

Cause you know, the dog needs another carpet to lie on.

I finished this scarf/shawl that I’ve been working on for the last few months. I love these colors. It’s asymmetrical — skinny on one end, wide on the other.

One last acquisition — our shoes were out of control so we had our furniture guy build us a shoe rack. I found a few photos on Google images and told him, “I want the top like this one, the shelves made of slats like this one, and I want the stain the same color as my bench.” Perfect.

The Christmas tree is going up today and I was excited to pull out these ornaments that I bought in Paris. We’re still in the running for the ugliest, most obnoxious tree, but we’ve added quite a few sentimental and beautiful ornaments since that first year in Oman. I can’t believe this is our 5th Christmas in the Middle East. It might be time to upgrade our artificial tree. Especially since the boys were having to scrounge for books to go under one of the legs to keep it from falling over.

Closing out with my favorite pretty of them all. She is so fun and so funny, but she is an award winning cryer. Josh jokes that she must have a switch in her back because she goes from happy to killed puppy in 2 seconds. This is because I wouldn’t let her watch Frozen when she first woke up.

Drama at the orthodontist office

Because I wouldn’t carry her

She gave up her protest because two Pakistani men walking down the street were getting too close . . .

Hope everyone is having a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Election Day

It’s no coincidence that the sky is hazy today. There have been fires all over the island. Elections are happening for the first time since before Arab Spring (2011) and some people are happy and voting and others are unhappy and burning (both literally and figuratively). For the past several weeks our island has been wallpapered with gigantic posters of the various candidates (the elections are for the parliament).

Picture these everywhere. (and bigger)

Hello, giant man face. He’s in our district. Interestingly, women can also run for office. (Since 2002)

The unrest here is rooted in Sunni vs. Shia religious dispute. The majority population is Shia, but the government is overwhelmingly Sunni. There is a small Shia opposition group (there are also moderate Shia) that pulled their candidates (18) from the election out of protest. There were over 250 candidates running, but they were almost exclusively Sunni. I’m not sure what the process is to get your party’s candidate on the ballot, but historically the complaint is that the majority population is not properly represented in the government.

It has been reported that the opposition group didn’t want to participate in the elections because they don’t believe them to be free, impartial, and fair. So today in particular neighborhoods, they are calling for a boycott of the elections.

We had to go to bring our car to the dealership because my sunroof was stuck open and the weather forecast called for rain. Of course election day was the only day to do it — I got some photos of one of the most active areas as we were driving.

This is bigger than tires. Possibly a car (yes, seen that before), a pile of junk and old furniture, or an abandoned shack of a building.

On the way back on the other side of the highway.

See the white haze? That’s tear gas. It looks like the poisonous fog from the Catching Fire movie.

There was a huge cloud of it, but I couldn’t get a good angle on it. We could smell it in the air.

A small fire — looks like tires

This is always a busy corner. 24/7 there are police vehicles parked here to “keep an eye on things.” Sometimes I wonder if as much would happen if they weren’t there as an audience. They do keep it off the highway though so I’m thankful for that.

flames in the street

Ironically, hazy skies make the best sunsets.

In case you want to read more about the elections:

http://rt.com/news/208019-clashes-bahrain-elections-protesters/

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/23/us-bahrain-elections-idUSKCN0J605R20141123

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrain/bahrain-elections-q-and-a-1.1416173

Are you ready for some football?!

Queen Roach has been busy. I had 2 meetings last week and I have 2 this week (in addition to all the regular stuff that I juggle). It’s funny to see that other people are just as surprised as I am at my new titles. I was at TRX class last week and a friend asked why I wasn’t going to lunch with everyone after. “I have an FRG meeting.” She got a puzzled look on her face and said, “Wha . . .? Huh? Who am I talking to? First SAC and now FRG? I’m not recognizing this person standing in front of me . . . ” Exactly. Good thing it’s not a permanent fixture in my life. I’ve got enough to handle managing all of my athletes’ schedules.

Calvin tried out and made the High School varsity basketball team last week. He’s so excited. This fall I wasn’t sure if he was going to make it because although he now has the height (he’s 5 9″ or 10″ and growing) he had the confidence of a much smaller player. He played short. He’s a great athlete, but he over thinks things, gets nervous and is afraid to make mistakes. (hmm, wonder where he gets that from?!)

I told him I wanted him to come home at the end of tryouts and be able to say with certainty, “I made it” or “I blew it” before the coach posted the list. Our mantra for those three days: go big or go home. No regrets. I said I’d rather have him miss 6 three-pointers in a row than not try for any at all. He was able to get out of his head and play like he loved the game. I’m so proud of him, but I’m already dreading the 5:30 am wake up tomorrow morning.

So Calvin has basketball and flag football right now (one evening a week and Saturday games). It’s a really fun league that is run by the base for kids ages 4 – 15. Carter and Calvin are on the same team so that’s even more fun. Both logistically and for cheering purposes. I love seeing them work together, encourage each other and talk strategy.

LOVE THIS.

Caleb is playing flag football and baseball. Yes, I caved on baseball. Go back to my January – May 2013 archives to read all about the weekly double headers. Against the same team. Caleb wanted to play so badly, saying it was his favorite sport (which I had a hard time believing when he asked if I would buy him a “baseball mitten.”), but since the practices and games are at school this year and not at a field 30 minutes away and because he and Carter could play together, I caved. I will have to remember the raw joy expressed by dancing and leaping throughout the house when I get annoyed by the endless innings later this year.

His coach is giving the quarterback the play to call. I love this league because it’s made up of people we know from base and school (both on our team and all the opponents), it’s coed at all the age levels, everyone plays at the same field, bunches of our friends are there and we chat while we sit in the sunshine, and it’s all very Pleasantville. The coaches are competitive, but also teaching the kids how to play and giving everyone a chance to try different positions. I don’t think we even keep score (officially. The kids keep score, of course.)

Caleb’s first try at quarterback

hike!

looking for an open man

going long . . .

Carter, the lucky kid, is playing 3 sports right now. He’s got flag football and baseball and he joined the Middle School soccer team this month. They’ve had 2 games so far, 1 win and 1 loss. I think they’ll have a good season.

Carter at QB

going for the touchdown

He did score, but I’m not sure if it was on this play. Carter and Calvin have the same football coaches as Caleb, so all 3 boys are having a great football experience. They all got to try QB and wide receiver, nose tackle and some other positions I don’t remember the names of.

While some of you are having snow, we are having a heat wave. It had to have been almost 90 yesterday. Ugh. So hot. Camille and her friend were pouring water on themselves to keep cool.

I didn’t get many photos of Calvin this week, but he just caught a pass here.

My favorite photo of the day — right through Carter’s fingers (look at the football in the foreground. I almost didn’t see it the first time.)

Busy days, but good days. My calendar is maxed out.

A roach

In the last two weeks I’ve been nominated for 3 different committees. It started when a friend asked if I would be willing to put my name in for consideration for the School Advisory Committee. She said because I have kids at all 3 levels (high, middle and elementary) that my experience would be a valuable addition to a group that helps make decisions on issues or problems that pop up at the school. I told her that I’d consider it because . . . I don’t know why. She caught me at a weak moment. I could see her point though and the promise of only 4 meetings during the year was appealing.

A few days later the information about elections was distributed and I was thrilled to read the long list of candidates who were also being considered for a spot on the committee. As I read through the biographies I knew I wasn’t getting elected — people with Master’s degrees in public administration, years of experience on various boards and people who sounded like actual grownups. I didn’t even bother reading them all because yay, qualified people who weren’t me!

This week I opened my email to find this subject line staring back at me, “Congrats on your new SAC position!” Say what now? What happened to all those qualified people? All my bio said was that I was mom to kids in both High School and Middle School and I thought that gave me a good idea of what was happening at the school and that I had seen positive changes lately and wanted to help that to continue. I guess that was a winning platform. So, yay me. I went to the first meeting (I guess there will be 6 in all — still acceptable) and liked the other people who were elected and the advising staff members. It’s an interesting committee to serve on because we handle issues and complaints that involve the entire community. I guess things got pretty feisty last year so there’s the potential for drama, but so far everyone seemed very normal and the meeting ended earlier than expected so that’s a sign of good things to come.

Just as I got used to my new title as SAC member (Carter still loves making SAC jokes) another person came to me and said, “I don’t know if anyone has talked to you yet, but your name came up as someone who would be a good addition to our nominating committee for the FRG board elections.” Really? Who are these people that think that anything with the words nomination, election, board and committee would be a good fit with me? I almost laughed out loud. After a few questions I determined that this commitment is a short term one. 1 coffee meeting and 2 mornings — all to be completed before Christmas break. OK, I can do that. (especially because serving short term means I can’t be asked to do one of the long term jobs. Genius!)

Finally, on the Marine side of things (since I’ve already covered school and base) we have a new general who moved here with his wife. I’m so happy about that. Having someone at the top who understands what it means to be here with a family will hopefully bring positive changes to the unit and make it better for families overall. Anyway, his wife asked me if I’d be part of a leadership team to advise and determine direction for our family group. Specifically my job is going to be to coordinate speakers on various topics for our family events. I should probably put some of this experience to good use, huh? So I said yes. I like her and want our unit to be successful. This was an easy one to accept.

Between that and my “job” coordinating children’s church I feel like a professional administrative juggler. I should put that on my bio next time elections roll around. I was chatting with a friend who has been here the same amount of time as I have and I asked her, “What is going on? Why is my name suddenly popping up everywhere as someone to go to for XY and Z?” She replied, “We’re the roaches. We’ve outlasted everyone else.” That’s totally it. I’m a roach. Bahrain chewed up and spit out the previous residents and I’m one of the few stragglers remaining: Queen of the roaches.

Give pee a chance (and more Crete photos)

It’s Wednesday night and I should be at our family Bible study group, but I’m home because Camille won’t stop peeing in her pants. You would think she’d be over it by now, but no. She’s what I call a “functional pee-er.” I don’t think she has accidents, like she can’t hold it in and the pee goes everywhere, like my poor friend Mary-Lou in first grade, but she wets enough so that she doesn’t have to go to the bathroom and then continues along with life in damp clothes. So gross.

I’d already changed her out of wet clothes right before we left to go to our friends’ house. And yesterday was at least twice. It usually only happens at home and barely happened at all on vacation, but this week has been extra awful. So when I noticed she was wet during singing tonight, I figured, “Hey, logical consequences,” and told her we had to go home and change and go to bed. I know everyone says kids “won’t go to kindergarten in diapers,” but I’m seriously doubting it with this one. (Or maybe the saying is they “won’t go to college in diapers,” but how is that encouraging?!)

She was upset about leaving, so maybe that will give her the incentive she needs to get up and go next time. I’ve already had her checked out for a UTI or any other possible medical issue that might be causing this . . . Nope. It’s just the way she is. The more kids I have, the more firmly I fall in the nature over nurture camp. Or maybe I’ve lost my touch the 4th time around . . . I’m waiting for my mom to post how I used to pee while watching Sesame Street because I didn’t want to miss anything. But I don’t think I was still doing that at 4 and a 1/2 mom, huh?

On to times in my life I will want to remember 20 years from now: Beach days on Crete.

I had read about a shack on a beach that was off the beaten path that served incredible home cooked food so we set out to find it. We were in an area called Stavros, a series of beaches which is famous not just for its beauty, but because the end of the movie Zorba the Greek was filmed there. (Since it takes place in Crete, I’ve added it to my list of movies to see eventually.)

Based on a few landmarks and a couple of painted wooden signs we made our way past the main beach and found this secluded cove and the “restaurant.” Tables in the sand, palm frond umbrellas for shade and a camper that serves as the kitchen. I wasn’t sure that good food could come out of a travel trailer, but Trip Advisor rarely fails me so I was game.

It’s a beautiful beach with a rocky, tide pool edge.

The famous Zorba cliff — the beach at the base of it is where all the tourists go

The kids looked for sea creatures and hopped from rock to rock while we settled in and ordered lunch.

House wine on the beach. This one was so good that Josh asked where it was from. The owner gets it from someone who makes wine privately, but they found an empty water bottle and poured Josh some to take home with us. We found this kind of hospitality all over Crete.

I didn’t take photos of the food, but again, I should have. Cretan salad, meatballs with tomato sauce and polenta, a baked spicy feta dip (that Carter kept hoarding), grilled local fish (anchovy type, grilled whole) . . . magic came out of that metal box on the beach. It’s still mystifying how everything we ate was the best thing we ever had. You’ll see that I repeat this theme at every meal. Best ever. All of it.

Then we grabbed chairs down by the water and watched the kids and read books.

No waves, but the kids still had fun paddling around

The water looked like diamonds and glass

We walked down the beach and out onto the point (well the boys did and then they ran back to get us) where there was a lagoon on the edge of the ocean, completely walled in by rock.

2 feet deep — a private bathtub on the Mediterranean

Then the boys swam back across the bay and Camille and I walked

These two strays followed the kids up and down the beach. They were both so sweet and loved being petted. Look at the clouds moving in — they stayed away while we were at the beach, but moved in later that night.

Another satisfying day — restful, beautiful, adventurous, and unexpected.

We ate at home this evening with groceries from the store up the street. While Josh was cooking (I think he did scrambled eggs with feta, sausage and Greek seasoning with a side of yogurt and fruit for dessert) the wind started picking up and we began to see flashes of lightning in the sky. We ate outside under a canopy as the rain started to fall and the lighting and thunder were all the dinner theater we could have asked for.

The kids were as excited about the rain (or more so) than anything they’d seen or done on our vacation so far. When we only see it twice a year, any rain is special. This rain was spectacular.

Meele’s take on the storm

view of our night sky