A few flower pictures that I took a while ago. Bougainvillia - not sure of the spelling. You can see these poor bougainvillia bushes struggling to grow everywhere. There are some beside the shopping centre seemingly growing out of the sand. It seems to be a thriving bush, others seem to be having a harder time, but I never realized before how hardy they must be. They are certainly a lovely bright patch to see every now and again.

This looked like a secret garden to me - in fact it is the back side of the hotel near the water and I am told these bougainvillia bushes line the road to the carpark.

This is what it takes to get some plants to grow. These are regular petunias in the colours of the Qatari flag - purple and white. All the piping is drip hoses that keep these plants watered, I am told in some cases four times a day! The plants around our building all have irrigation as dense as this, but they obviously turn ours on, as opposed to these, where they are struggling.

I dont know the name of this flower, but it grows almost like a weed. I went to the stitching group yesterday and the hostess lives in a compound so has a bit of a garden in the back and this was growing profusely, to the point that she has to keep cutting it back. She is an Alberta girl from way back and was trying her hand at growing brocoli and green peppers. It was so hot the green peppers didn't get beyond pea size before they fell off and the brocoli grew so fast and went to seed hardly before she got a crop at all. However, we do get quite a lot of locally grown produce, particularly tomatoes, potatoes and some herbs. The local produce is always way way cheaper than the imported and tastes really good.

Hooray, Hooray! I successfully have found a reliable driver. He picked me up yesterday on time and was even early to pick me up at the other end. He was fairly pricey - but worth it to know I can have transportation at my beck and call. It is far cheaper than me renting a car and getting into an accident on a roundabout. If I was living here for longer I probably would want a car, but so far, I think the combination of bus and hired car with the odd taxi thrown in will work. At least I dont have the trapped feeling any longer as I can go where I want, when I want. He explained several times that he was available 24 hours a day!

The stitching group was really fun. There were about ten people, two from Australia, two Albertans, one from Norway and the rest were mostly from Texas. All were from the quilting group and are mostly traditional quilters. But boy, get a group of women together and as usual the information is just flying. I learned where to find the best endocrinologist in the area or in the world according to her (should Derek need one before we get home!), where to buy cranberry juice, what sewing machine not to buy in the local grocery store, where to buy the best cotton material, where to buy the best silk for cheapest price etc. etc. etc. Someone from the group is tasked to pick me up next week, so I dont have to worry about the driver whisking me off early. It's great. Well we are off for Indian food tonight as someone from the office is leaving. It is certainly a revolving door around here. Different people are here on different contracts for different time periods. One of the young fellows who is always cleaning in the lobby and helped us bring the groceries in; he is from Napal as are a lot of people we have met. He reminded me he is from the mountains and also is feeling the heat - he has been here a year and has another year in his contract. Lots and lots of expats here, far from home.