Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be moving to a foreign country to live, let alone a country in the Middle East. Over the 2009 Christmas and New Year’s holidays, my husband Roger and I discussed what we wanted the next part of our life to be like. He thought that before retiring, he would like to do one more airport project but only if he could find something very interesting. I half-jokingly agreed that would be fine but could he try for an exotic location? As usual, Roger came through and soon we were headed to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. This blog is a recap of our "leap-of- faith" wanderings around the Middle East and beyond. We joyfully share these expat experiences.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

RAMADAN . . . A SIMPLE ACT OF CHARITY – Adopt-a-Camp Care Packages


Ramadan is the Muslim holy month; a time of spiritual renewal, fasting, family gatherings and alms giving. As a Catholic living in a Muslim country during Ramadan, I see much emphasis placed on the restraints imposed on ones daily schedule. But rather than ruminate on the restraints, I decide this Ramadan to embrace alms giving and do simple act of charity as a gift to my adopted home town, Dubai.

Adopt-a-Camp (AAC), which provides “care packages” to the men who live in Dubai’s labor camps, is my choice.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Blogging Boomer Carnival #222



CarnivalsThis week, SoBabyBoomer.com is hosting the two-hundred-twenty-second carnival of blogging boomers who write about what's happening in their world.   Baby Boomers are ever changing as the world turns.  Baby Boomers continue to personally evolve; setting new trends along their wake.   Come to the fair and observe interesting segments of trend-setting happenings that seek life's meaning through passionate living:
The Accidental Locavore conducted a crème fraiche taste test recently.  See whether homemade beat commercial and get the recipe.
EarthquakeAre you living in North America and feelinguneasy about the three earthquakes and hurricane we had this week?
If it feels like the rich are getting richer and the rest of us aren't, your perception is correct.  The Midlife Crisis Queen shares some interesting data on economic inequality in America here.
Boomer birthday's are a big deal and the Big ones even more so....but sometimes, a gift takes on a meaning of its own and provides the best of life's lessons.  Even without the fancy paper.

Monday, August 22, 2011

8 TIPS TO SURVIVE YOUR MOVE TO DUBAI


This is my “Welcome Wagon” gift to all my new friends who have just moved to Dubai.

In Dubai, summer is the traditional time for new arrivals. This, my second summer, I met many women who  “just landed” and are a bit bewildered by the “settling in” process. I watch their frustration and enthusiasm ebb and flow as they tackle the complex and sometimes nonsensical procedures of re-establishing their homes in this amazing city. I feel their pain and know first-hand how exhausting it is to tackle tasks, which should be simple, but become enormous undertakings that can take days and multiple trips.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

BLOGGING BOOMERS #221

It is my pleasure to host the Blogging Boomers Carnival this week. Such great information!!!


Jane Fonda's take on gutsiness and sex, a chicken caper, the perfect coyote, bigfoot hunting, financial advice from the preeminent economists of the last century, figure our your retirement style, an attitude adjustment for love and experience the drama of moving to a foreign city.


SoBabyBoomer tells us that Jane Fonda was asked, "One theme of your life is gutsiness, which I guess is why you devoted almost 50 pages of this book to sex advice? she replied, "I have never found a book that talks about everything from the psyche and spirit and wisdom to penile implants."







Tuesday, August 16, 2011

BloggingBoomers Carnival #220


Thanks to The Boomer Chronicles for hosting this week’s Blogging Boomers Carnival.



At SoBabyBoomer, The Love Doctor and America’s Marriage Doctor provide a couple of answers to the question, “Does an empty nest spell the end of your marriage?”



Friday, August 5, 2011

Weekend Excursion from Dubai . . . BULL-BUTTING IN FUJAIRAH, UAE - This is a lot of bull!


On our third road trip to the Emirate of Fujairah, Roger and I  still marvel at the dramatic twists of landscape as we drive from the humid coastal areas of Dubai, through the unencumbered desert, climbing over the weathered red Hajar Mountains, and quickly descending to the beautiful blue Gulf of Oman shoreline. This time we join the Corvette Arabia club that is hosting a gathering at the Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa. (Be sure to watch the YouTube video of the rally in the postscripts)

As we motor, I am diligently flipping through my Lonely Planet UAE guide in search of something of interest we might have missed on our earlier trips. Eureka!! We are just in time for  . . . bull butting!!

BOOMER BLOGGER CARNIVAL # 219


It's that wonderful time again--the Boomer Blogger Carnival is in town!  Watch out for the elephants. But seriously, it's a collection of the best insights, news & humor for the Boomer generation. Enjoy!

Nasty anonymous comments on blogs are an online scourge, says The Boomer Chronicles.









Wednesday, August 3, 2011

THE BLOGGING BOOMERS CARNIVAL #218

Good news today.


I am the newest member of The Blogging Boomers Carnival, the longest running boomer blog carnival on the Internet.

As faithful readers know, I have been writing about our expat adventures since moving to Dubai 15 months ago. It started as a way to keep the brain cells working as I struggled, after 25 years of working,  to adjust to what I refused to accept – my retirement.

So I started writing. And I have enjoyed every moment of it.  This past January I made the conscious decision to make travel writing my new career. I think this my 9th career, if you count motherhood.  I have had just a really hard time deciding what to be when I grow up!