Monday 30 March 2020

Hearing the news on Social Media.

If you're like me with facebook you'll be a member of lots of local groups, blogger pages and news channels and you'll have online friends like me who post random photos throughout the day, clogging up people's timelines. I think they call it FOMO if you're not involved in everything.

I split my social media time between facebook, instagram and twitter and several blogging groups. I also spend (waste) hours watching facebook videos, they're just too addictive, aren't they?

As a consequence I miss an awful lot of actual real time news. Not opinions, not local/international news, but real news from real people such as moving house, weddings, pregnancy announcements and births.

I'm not a big fan of breaking news in a public forum. I post according to my audience so twitter is for random comments and observations. Instagram is for photos of things that make me laugh or puzzle me or I think other people might find interesting and face book is my life story, where I share our travels/holidays, house moves, photos of visitors and people we visit and pretty much over the 3 areas, along with my blog I share my life online with family, friends, acquaintances and random strangers.

But when I have news, like we're relocating, our health, the kids getting married, the birth of a grandchild, I actually make an effort to tell those who are important to me, either face to face, over the phone or a private message online, before the general riff raff get to hear about it. Sometimes if I want to ponder something I'll post in a secure group to get feedback from people with similar situations before I let people know about our decisions.

Recently we discovered news, that we thought the person sharing it, should have told us about personally, not for us to either miss or randomly discovered several days after their big announcement. It's not the first time and it won't be the last for sure. These people are no longer on my 'tell first before making public announcement' list.

When I see posts on the public timeline announcing a birth or a marriage or a house move etc and I'm not tagged, I assume that those who they want to know have been informed personally and private conversations, congratulations have been made and that really the only interaction they're looking for now is a like or a casual comment. I won't send a card, buy a gift or even make a big fuss over the public announcement as I assume I'm not part of the inner circle of friends or even count for much in terms of my place within a wider family. I certainly won't remember your child's birthday or your wedding anniversary.

And do you know that's ok with me. It's like hearing news about a celebrity, I'll think 'oh that's nice' but I don't send them a card or a personal message and I might not even click the 'like' button.

I'd be interested to know how you feel about sharing news over social media.

Does it bother you if people don't like or comment on your big announcement?

Do you prefer to tell people your news face to face where possible or do you post publicly?

If so, do you feel upset if you don't get the response you're looking for?






One Daily Positive - Week 13 Covid-19 and travel to the UK

I spent my last few days in Dubai sorting the furniture and our personal belongings out into 3 piles. What's staying in Dubai, moving to the UK and being disposed of/donated.

It's been a harder job done in a short space of time, due to the uncertainty of when I'll next be allowed back in Dubai. At the moment it is closed to everyone, my next flight  27th April till 27th May has been cancelled.

Peter will be out in Dubai until I can get back or he can leave to visit me. We have a wedding to attend in June, which has now been cancelled, we're not disappointed, we understand the seriousness of this virus, we just have plan a, b, c waiting to be implemented.

If I'm honest I'd rather have stayed in Dubai, where I'm at less risk of catching the virus, but my MIL has been house and pet sitting for the past 3 weeks, she is 82 and would rather be isolated in her own home. Also our eldest child is in care in the UK, she's not at risk physically, but requires 24/7 care and if the staff levels drop, then so does her care and there's always a slim chance I might need to have her home.

There's not much difference to my usual week, being in isolation. I guess I'm more likely to catch the virus from the travel and being back in the UK than I was in Dubai. I don't miss the going out, I miss the ability to just spend a couple of hours out walking Bob, I'm still walking him once a day, but varying the route and making them shorter in case we have to go into full lockdown at some point.

I've had more contact with friends this week than usual, because I'm back in the UK where I can access voice over internet, such as Skype, facebook and whatsapp calling.

82 Sunday More arranging and sorting ready for our move in May, however we will just extend the rental contract here for a few more months if necessary. Emirates have cancelled all flights and the border will close on Wednesday. Was called in for another blood test as white blood cell count had shot through the roof again.
To top it all off, we had more rain and some localised flooding.

83 Monday As above, all done. Did a food shop for Peter before I leave, as check in was open and my flight is still scheduled. Finished organising the house. WBC back inside the normal range, no idea why it went so high.

84 Tuesday Flight to Heathrow, the last British Airways flight out of Dubai. Both Dubai and Heathrow T5 were empty. I was collected by friend due to my time of arrival and stayed at her house over night, we maintained a safe distance. Who knows when we'll see one another again?

85 Wednesday A lift to Watford then 3 trains and a short walk home. MIL had left by the time I got back and had left milk in the fridge, after unpacking I took my shopping trolley to Lidl and stocked up on fresh fruit, vegetables and meat. The toilet overflow is broken so I had a go at fixing it, it'll do for now but the downstairs loo is now out of action until I can get a plumber in or purchase a new ball valve. My oldest twitter buddy to the rescue.

86 Thursday The weather was glorious so I spent the day in the garden after taking Bob out for a walk. I then cleaned out and tidied both the sheds, borrowed the neighbours mower and cut the lawn, reclaiming back the patio and a path. Dug out all the Ivy growing over from next doors garden that had caused my fence to collapse back in December.

87 Friday Another day spent in the garden, more digging, weeding and tidying up. I have 4 large concrete pots I'd like to move, but even if I empty them of the soil, I still won't be able to shift them. Managed to move them just enough to get them off the edge of the lawn. Dialled in to a zoom call with my friends in South Africa to keep up to date with what is going on in their part of the world,  only allowed out with a permit if you are essential staff. My very own cat cafe.

88 Saturday Attempted to dig a new border, but it was cold and windy out, so I collected up all the bricks and laid them out, marking the new border. I fixed some loose panels on the shed. Sorted out the parcels I intended to post to family for Easter and birthdays. I condensed the contents to letter box style as I don't believe a trip to the post office is essential and I have enough stamps for the postage. Afternoon spent baking, watching TV and blogging. Found a new route to walk. In the 8 years we lived here I never knew there were allotments 200ms from our house.

On the blog this week:

I'm running out of things to blog about


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Friday 27 March 2020

Post Comment Love 27th - 29th March 2020

Morning all. I'm back in the UK after a 48 hour journey to get back from Dubai on Tuesday. I was on the last flight out with British Airways, collected by my friend and spent the night in St Albans. On Wednesday I made a 3 hour journey home via a short car trip, 3 trains and a short walk. I unpacked and went out for a food shop stocking up for the next 2-3 weeks.

We had reclaimed our family home back in December and I'd spent January sorting out jobs and thankfully have everything I need to continue redecorating and getting things fixed. I've already turned my hand to plumbing to sort the toilet overflow and I borrowed the neighbours lawn mower and started to reclaim the path and sort the borders out.

Before I left to Dubai in February, I'd put together Easter boxes for a couple of friends kids and family. I won't be posting them as it's not essential, but the boxes contained bath bombs, easter eggs, seeds and craft activities, so they're all mine now and will give me more things to do.

I hope everyone is keeping well during these difficult times and do feel free to message me if you want to chat or offload as we're all in the same boat together.

Stephanie and I would love to hear about what you've been up to this week.

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PoCoLo

Monday 23 March 2020

I'm running out of things to blog about

I started blogging in October 2009 as a way to tweet longer. You can read my first post  when I spent the week dressed as a Dalek after winning #FDF Fancy Dress Friday that used to run on twitter.

Since then I've blogged about almost everything. Kids, family life, travel, teenagers, grandparenting, life as an expat in South Africa and Dubai, disability, boarding school parents, depression, repatriation, dealing with loneliness, charity work and volunteering and many many rants.

I've written a few sponsored posts over the years, but don't consider myself a blogger as an occupation. It's more of an online diary, previous to setting up the blog online, I was keeping a basic diary of day to day events.

These days I only write 3 posts a week. My One daily Positive that I set up in January 2015 when we moved to Dubai and I link with #project365. The other two posts are a linky I co host with Stephanie @lifeat139a Post Comment Love #PoCoLo and a post I write each week to link up to it, as I've done with this post.

I used to join in with several other linkies, but I found I was repeating myself with parenting and travel posts. I would write a weekly Animal Tales and HDYGG? How Does Your Garden Grow posts but the hosts stopped blogging and the linkys just died and My Sunday Photo for which I wrote a weekly photography post about the construction projects in Dubai and ones I'd visited around the world.

I could carry on writing these posts, but for what? I'm not blogging for hits or numbers, although I have a healthy DA score and I've left all the groups as they became more pods than for interaction, which is what I prefer on Social Media.

I've got plenty of things to tweet about, photos to load on Instagram, but I'm struggling to write about day to day stuff anymore as I feel like I'm stuck in a loop and have covered all the subjects I know anything about.

I tried fashion blogging, lifestyle posts, but I struggled for content and had to go looking for things to write about.

There's too much stuff online these days and it's all being repeated as the next generation leave school, uni, leave home, have kids, marriage, divorce, go on holiday, move house, lose a loved one.

I've been there, done that, bought the t shirt......maybe it's time now to write the book....oh hang on, that's been done already, my life experiences, difficulties and celebrations are already recorded in this blog. I could write about writing, but I think that's pretty well covered also.

Where do you get your inspiration from when you blog? I'd love to hear to get some more ideas for content.

Sunday 22 March 2020

One Daily Positive - Week 12 How we're managing in Dubai with the Covid-19 virus

Wasn't sure how this week would pan out with the spread of the Virus. All schools were closed on March 8th for 4 weeks. Over the weekend, all theme parks and cinemas were closed and twitter informed me, that after Tuesday there would be no further visas issued. Malls reduced their opening hours, bars and nightclubs closed, restaurants remain open as do supermarkets. I've never seen Dubai so empty.

The roads at rush hour are empty as people are now encouraged to work from home, I've never seen it so quiet even at 2am on an airport run, there's usually a lot of traffic, I never venture into the Marina or onto the Palm by car outside of 10am- 2pm as it's chaotic and a 15 minute trip can often take over an hour at peak times. As all the tourist spots are closed or closing down, I'm taking our visitors for a drive around Dubai to show them the size of the City and the various building projects that are going on.

Airports are empty and I've been able to park right by the door at the malls. My flight was cancelled but rebooked for the afternoon flight on the same day at no charge. They're condensing flights from 3 to 1 a day, makes sense not to fly half empty planes. All flights into Dubai are now cancelled.

Spirits are high from the people I meet out, but the workers are worried about their jobs if the few remaining places left open were to close and after dinner out on Tuesday we received a text message from the restaurant to say a big Thank you for our custom at this difficult time.

Thankfully we're still in winter so spending a lot of time outside, walking, sitting in the garden and enjoying the peace and quiet, whilst still enjoying the views and maintaining social distancing.

Our son phoned from Australia, his visa expires in April. He's decided to stay put as he's already applied for a new one and his home is there, the shops are advertising for staff to help keep up with the demands for goods and he works were a transport company which will guarantee an income during this time. If the government advise foreign nationals are to leave, he will take this advice.

75 Sunday Stayed in bed till midday then a food shop, no one is panic buying and shelves are fully stocked, hand sanitisers every where for the pubic and workers and not chained down. Home to finish the cleaning and washing ready for Peter's sister and her friends arrival tomorrow morning. The weather is warming up and storms are forecast.

76 Monday An early start to the airport, we went out to the Marina and beach area for coffee, walk and lunch and had a BBQ in the garden in the evening. T1 Dubai.

77 Tuesday Peter with his sister and friend took the Ferry to the Creek, I drove up to meet them as I'd done the trip last week and after lunch on the waterfront we explored the souks. home to change then out to the Souk Madinat for dinner, it was like a ghost town. The Burj Al Arab was lit up green for St Patricks Day but the Irish bar was closed, so no celebrating. I finished the evening with a migraine, probably sun exposure and lack of fluids, I don't normally spend this much time outdoors.

78 Wednesday The medication killed the migraine, but I opted to go to the coffee shop while our visitors spent the morning on the beach, we then went off to Dubai Mall, Peter joined us in the evening for dinner. All our coffee shop and restaurant visits have been outdoors with no other customers.

79 Thursday Was supposed to be visiting the Burj Khalifa today but it's closed until the end of March, so we drove out to the markets in Masafi, Fujeriah and had lunch at the Radisson Blu, home for a quick shower and change then out for dinner on the Palm.

80 Friday Up early to take Peter's sister and her friend to the airport, flight took off on time. I rebooked my flight. Home to sort paperwork, plan for move in May, just in case I can't get back and pack my suitcase. Until these places close, or we develop any symptoms, we will continue to visit, however we are choosing places with outdoor seating, using contactless to pay and if there are too many people were walking away.

81 Saturday Spent the day rearranging the house, deciding what stays in Dubai, what is going to the UK and what we are disposing of. We went to the Marina for a walk outside and chose a coffee shop with outdoor seating that was empty. There is far more work than I thought to sort the house so will be doing downstairs tomorrow.

On the blog this week:

Why is no one applying logic to wearing masks and gloves when out? They're still spreading the virus unless they're changing their gloves as often as we are advised to wash our hands.

How complicated is your life? As an expat it is complicated by it's very nature, the Covid-19 virus has slowed us down and still have no idea if I'll be able to travel to the UK next week or not.


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Friday 20 March 2020

Post Comment Love 20th -22nd March 2020

This is my last week hosting from Dubai before I return to the UK on Tuesday, or is it? Thankfully if flights get cancelled due to the virus, I'm not exactly stuck as I have home here, just got to hope my Mother in Law doesn't mind staying in our UK home looking after the cat and dog until I can get back.

My Sister in law and her friend have been visiting this week. I've been showing them round Dubai, it's their first visit here. They arrived on Monday, the day before Dubai stopped issuing new visas, before they even landed the Burj Khalifa announced it was closing like many theme parks, attractions and cinema. So it was wait till the last minute before getting notification about Desert Safari's and Boat trips.

Still, we've had a lovely week and Peter's sister has finally visited our home in Dubai where we've lived for the past 5 years.

I'm spending the weekend organising the house ready for our move in May, half the furniture is returning to the UK and the rest will move into a new apartment, we'll be renting for Peter to live in and for me to visit until he retires in 2-3 years time.

Stephanie and I would love to hear about what you've been up to this week.


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PoCoLo

Wednesday 18 March 2020

Failing to apply logic in light of Covid-19


I'm getting a bit annoyed with the inconsistencies when I'm out and about and the lack of logic applied to many situations.

Mask wearers are winding me up and it's taking a lot of self control NOT to say something to people as they continue to touch the mask constantly.

Glove wearers are next on my list. Why are you wearing gloves other than to protect yourself? Unless you change the gloves as often as others are washing their hands, then you're not helping to prevent the spread of the virus.

A woman in the supermarket, gloved and wearing a mask, rooted in her handbag to answer her phone and held it to her face, still gloved and wearing a mask, previous to this she'd been wiping down all the items she picked off the shelf with anti bacterial wipes before placing them in her trolley....I just sighed.

The Dubai Municipality have taken steps to reduce the spread, shop counters have been cleared of promotional items, areas are being cleaned regularly, public venues are closed, opening hours at the malls are reduced to allow for extensive cleaning and hand sanitisers are available everywhere and not even chained down and in a lot of places such as the lift and ticket machine in the car parks, they've been installed.

Jumeriah Beach Residence this morning

My biggest bug bear is in the coffee shops though. Staff wearing a combination of gloves and masks, handling the cups, pens, money, passing the cup to the barista and then holding the lid to p[lace on the cup before passing to the customer, no hand washing in between. I'm not asking them to wash their hands, but I am asking for a ceramic mug and often being refused as it's against company policy.


My applied logic is this. A ceramic mug is put through the dishwasher and sanitised. The take away cups are sitting on the counter, exposed to people coughing on them even if they are 2 meters away in the queue.

It just makes more sense to use a ceramic mug that is hygienically cleaned between each use and this morning, I persuaded the barista to apply some logic.

I'm. not over reacting, but I do keep going on about it as my husband complains to me. He's right of course, I don't have to go out, I have no symptoms, there are currently less than 10 people in the coffee shop, there were 4 of us in a restaurant last night for dinner, we were served on ceramic plates with metal cutlery, we drank from glasses.

We just need to apply some common sense, some logic, question why people weren't washing their hands as frequently anyway and avoiding situations where we could put people at risk from our lack of hygiene.

The guidelines applied to both here and Dubai about working from home, schools closing, public gatherings etc being cancelled should be enough. But from what I'm seeing on Social Media at the moment and from the behaviour of people who are out and about, I'm not surprised some countries have gone into lock down if people can't use common sense and apply logic.

Monday 16 March 2020

How complicated is your life?

I've not really been settled since we relocated abroad to South Africa in 2011, since then the last 2 kids have left home, we moved to Dubai, my father died, we had a grandchild and I moved back into our former family home, with the cat and dog joining me in February this year. There has been a lot of change over the past 9 years.

Life is just ticking over at the moment. I'm moving between the UK and Dubai each month. Not really getting a chance to settle down and get into a routine before I'm back on a plane.

In the UK I'm restoring our former family home, walking the dog and catching up with family. My current trip to Dubai has been spent with friends and family from the UK who have taken advantage of us still being out in Dubai for a holiday for our last few years in Dubai.

Last year I completed 134 hours of flying time, with a long haul flight every month as child 3 lives in Australia and we had 2 trips back to South Africa as Peter has been working there more often so I've accompanied him when I can. This year I've already completed flights in January and February with my return trip to the UK next week and another return fight booked in April/May. I'm hoping to keep my silver status with Emirates for next year as flying is a lot easier without all that queuing at check in and getting on the plane.

I'm planning to return to the UK from Dubai on March 24th. We have visitors this week and I have to sort all our furniture and personal belongings into 2 piles. 1 for the new apartment Peter will be moving to in May and the other pile for its return to the UK. I also have to apply for a ToR (Transfer of Residency) so I don't have to pay tax/duty on our personal belongings and list every item for this as well as for insurance purposes.

I will be back in Dubai to help with the move and the packing, however I'm sorting this all out now as I have no idea whether I'l be able to travel back into Dubai with Covid-19 not due to peak until the summer time.

I have a wedding in the UK in June so I've packed my dress and some summer clothes in case I can't get back out in May and I have house sitters provisionally booked who may not be able to travel to the mainland from Northern Ireland to do so.

I'm remarkably calm about the whole situation, there's no point being anything else as all this concern with travel is out of my control and it's not like I'd be stranded in either place and with this move there are no visa requirements, so no time scale other than vacating the villa on the 25th May, but I'm sure we could extend month to month if needed.



Sunday 15 March 2020

One Daily Positive - Week 11 A holiday (staycation) in Dubai.

It's been a very quiet week in Dubai, the roads and malls are much quieter than. normal, even more quiet than in the middle of summer. Schools are closed for 4 weeks and Peter's travel has been curtailed by some of the countries he flies to having restrictions.

My friend and her husband have been visiting this week. I met Debbie 18 years ago in the playground, she's also a neighbour back in the UK and is helping my MIL look after Bob until I get back in 2 weeks.

As from Tuesday there will be no visa's issued for anyone travelling to Dubai. Citizens and residents can still fly, assuming airlines are operating, but we've been advised against unnecessary travel.

The Doctor phoned with my blood test results, ferritin levels are sightly increased but still too low and my white blood cell count has gone up again. I have had a cough (no fever) since I returned to Dubai, but as I only cough when I eat and drink something, I think it's my reflux playing up, so back on the medication for it and it seems to be easing.

68 Sunday Boat trip from the Marina to the Creek and a visit to the souks, lunch and driverless train back to the Marina, home and dinner in the garden.

69 Monday The Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall and the aquarium. I didn't go in these attractions as I've done them numerous times over the years, so I wandered around, shopped and drank coffee. We watched the fountains and had lunch together. Drove home via Ras Al Khor nature reserve to see the flamingo's.

70 Tuesday Coffee at the Souk Madinat, lunch and shopping at Mall of the Emirates, a visit to Dubai Miracle Gardens, then met up with Peter at Global Village for dinner.

71 Wednesday Off to the Beach for a walk, then Debbie and Paul were collected for a desert safari for the evening.

72 Thursday A visit to the Frame. I sat in the car, blogged and read my book. It gets expensive having visitors and I've seen these sights on more than one occasion. Called in at Dubai Mall, then home via a drive around the Palm. Out for dinner in the evening.

73 Friday Early start to the airport. Debbie is on her way home to walk Bob for me until I get back in around 2 weeks. Called in to do a food shop then spent the afternoon and evening in bed, not feeling well.

74 Saturday Spent the day in bed, sent Peter out for coffee, packed suitcase, changed beds, cleaned bathrooms in preparation for Peter's sister and her friend visiting on Monday. We waited till dusk and mowed the lawn and cut back the shrubs.

On the blog this week:
A week in Dubai in photos and blog posts



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Friday 13 March 2020

A weeks holiday (staycation) in Dubai


Living abroad means we get lots of visitors, from family and friends to colleagues. Some are just passing through on their travels and stop with us for a day or two. Some are here with work and stay in hotels and we meet up for dinner. Others come solely for the purpose of visiting us.

We love having visitors, but we have to keep reminding ourselves we're not on holiday and it can get quite tiring and expensive, especially when Peter is at work or day, or our visitors stick to their own timescale and we're hanging around wondering if they'll be back for dinner or are eating out.

Since the kids left home, managing visitors is easier, no school runs to stick to and less cleaning. However the cat and dog have added to our stress when we have visitors due to not letting the cat outside and the dog being over fed.

But now it's just Peter and I. The cat and dog relocated to the UK last month. My MIL is looking after them while I'm out in Dubai for 3 weeks.

So what have we done this week?

Our friends arrived late on Friday night, quick tour of the house, a drink, chat and off to bed.

I didn't go in to most of these attractions as I've done them numerous times over the years. I will go if a friend or family member travels on their own, but otherwise I just wander around, shop and drink coffee.

I've added photos taken this week and the links are to old blog posts written at the time of my first visit to each place.

Saturday The Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, a quick visit to Yas Mall and the Ferrari world shop, calling in at the liquor store then to the supermarket to buy sausages and steak for a BBQ in the garden. We exploded all the myths about Dubai in one day.



Sunday Boat trip from the Marina to the Creek and a visit to the souks, lunch and driverless train back to the Marina, home and dinner in the garden.


Monday The Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall and the aquarium. We watched the fountains and had lunch together. We drove home via Ras Al Khor Nature Reserve to see the flamingos.


Tuesday A visit to the Souk Madinat for coffee with views of the Burj Al Arab. Then off to The Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Miracle Gardens and met Peter after work at Global Village for dinner.



Wednesday Off to the beach, then our visitors were collected mid afternoon for a desert safari.

Thursday Off to the Frame, then dropped visitors off at Dubai Mall for them to do some shopping  Out for dinner in the evening.

The next lot of visitors arrive on Monday morning, we'll be repeating a lot of the same trips. The beach on Monday and a BBQ. Tuesday the Ferry trip, but they will go on their own and I will drive to the Creek to show them around then drive home rather than catch the train. Wednesday will be the Souk Madinat and Mall of the Emirates, then they'll go on the desert safari. Thursday to the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall and dinner out in the evening. They fly home on the Friday.


Post Comment Love 13th-16th March

Our friends leave today. I met Debbie in the playground in 2002, she also lives a few doors down from us in the UK. Her eldest son and our child 4 were best friends for a few years, they haven't kept in touch.

I've got till Monday morning to change the beds and clean the bathroom and relax before my SIL and her friend arrive on Monday for a week. I'm also going to pack my suitcase for my flight home to the UK next week. I don't have to pack any clothes, just a few items I've discovered I need in the UK. It seems pointless buying things again when I can use my luggage allowance to bring things back with me.

I've been exploring Dubai as a tourist for the week, rather than a tour guide. Living out here for the past 5 years means I look at things differently than a visitor does.

Before I return to the UK in 4 days time I have to make a list and itemise the replacement value of everything in our home for insurance purposes that we wish to pack in a container and take with us back to the UK. I have kept the lists from our 2 other international moves so it's not as difficult as it sounds. This is for my Transfer of Residency, so I don't have to pay tax/duty on our personal belongings in the UK.

I've also been in touch with an agent out here to help us find an apartment for Peter to move into in May and the company who will do the internal and international move and I've advertised our garden for sale. Our friends will be having the plants, but we need to sell the fence and the tiles.


Stephanie and I would love to know what you've been up to this week.


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PoCoLo

Monday 9 March 2020

One Daily Positive - Week 10 Back to Dubai

I'm back in Dubai now till the end of March, via a night in St Albans with a friend as I flew from Heathrow. It's nice to back in the warm and looking forward to 3 weeks of holiday as my friend and her husband are visiting the end of the week, then my SIL and her friend are out the following week. My MIL is house and pet sitting while I'm away.

It is weird being 'home' without the cat and dog, the weather is warmer but still a bit chilly in the evenings

61 Sunday A walk to the retail park for coffee with Bob, then home sorting out photo's, online accounts and blogging, a Sunday lunch early evening and my friend Debbie who is visiting Dubai this week, popped up to say hi and will be walking Bob daily either side of her trip.

In Dubai Bob's nose was more pink, sinc he's been out the sun, it's going dark again.

62 Monday Not taking much with me back to Dubai, my case has just my over night stuff for tonight and 2 nights back in St Albans on my return. Train took 3 hours with 2 changes, let myself in and then popped out for a coffee and a walk around the City.

63 Tuesday Up early to Heathrow for my midday flight, arriving at midnight, same time as Peter who had been in Saudi since Sunday. Flight was half empty, both Terminal 1 and 3 were unusually quiet for that time of night.

Whats wrong people? I lay down and slept most of the fight, these seats were unoccupied for the whole flight. They stayed in their seats, sleeping sitting upright.

64 Wednesday Slept till midday then off to the mall for coffee and some food shopping, pub quiz in the evening.

The garden was a bit overgrown, will have to sort, but also have to sell it.

65 Thursday Dr's for a blood test, nail bar, coffee and home to clean the garden and the upstairs ready for our guests tomorrow.

All this was washed down from the bedroom bacony.

66 Friday cleaned downstairs, I challenge anyone to find another cat or dog hair. Out for coffee, then off to visit friends here, we do the pub quiz with and see their new house. Lazy evening in the garden and off to the airport to collect Debbie and Paul. Debbie is my friend and neighbour from the UK, we've known each other for 18 years, she visited our old house in Dubai in 2015, this is her husbands first visit here.

Our grandchild's 1st hand and foot prints, our DIL made them out of salt dough, nut sadly in the heat they went mouldy so I cast them in plaster of paris.

67 Saturday Off to Abu Dhabi to the Grand Mosque for a visit, then to Ferrari World and Yas Mall. A BBQ and champagne in the garden. We exploded all the myths about Dubai in one day.

On the blog this week:

Maintaining a long distance relationship



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Friday 6 March 2020

Post Comment Love 6th - 8th March

Welcome back to PoCoLo and for the next 3 weeks I'm hosting from my 'other' home in Dubai. Huge difference here with the weather and just as busy. I arrived 3 days ago, so far prepared the spare room for visitors who arrive later this evening, my friend and her husband from the UK, who live 3 doors down from me over there. They're walking the dog for me while I'm away and my MIL is house sitting.

I fitted in a trip to the hairdressers and nail bar and got a food shop done. We've got a packed week ahead of us with trips out and I've advertised my garden for sale. Our tenancy states we have to return the garden to the same state in which we found it, so it'll go from this:

back to this:

Stephanie and I would love to know what you've been up to this week.



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