how much time should a person invest in a decision before they decide it was a mistake? not necessarily a big mistake, but a maybe a mistake nonetheless.

admitting that a decision could have been the wrong one might be the first step. not that I did make an error in judgment. Oh no. I don't make flip decisions, but instead I wallow in the decision making process and overthink and weigh out the pros and cons. exhaustingly.

but there could... supposedly...potentially... allegedly...maybe...be an occasion when a person took a chance on a decision. how long should someone live, dwell, tolerate, enjoy, survive, allow, evaluate, weigh, etc., the result before deciding it was a good or bad decision? how much time should pass before deciding that this is something that should continue or it's now time to pull the plug?

not that my current situation specifically poses this query, but events this week have put this question on the forefront my mind. given an alleged relationship between friends, or husband & wife, or employee & employer, or any other decision and/or relationship, how many good days or bad days does it take to tip the scales one way or the other?

This is why I should never clean house

I love my bathroom. It's all tile - walls, ceiling, floor, and has a drain in the middle of the room. No wood, no paneling, no countertops, no electrical outlets. Fabulous! If I ever have a home of my own, all the bathrooms will be the same. All tile with a drain in the middle of the floor.

I have hated cleaning bathrooms since I was little. Growing up that was one of my Saturday chores. Dad decided that as oldest daughter I was to help Mom by doing dishes every evening, iron all the clothes (for a family of seven) and clean the bathrooms. A full bath upstairs and a 3/4 bath on the main floor. I hated it. I would have rather done outdoor chores, but that was 'mans work' and my older brother was responsible for that. Hated, hated, hated cleaning the bathrooms and would dawdle all morning until hollered at to get it done. That and ironing. Awk! If I see one more laundry basket of stuff to Iron...well, that moves into another story.

So here, when I saw my green & burgandy bath, I was happy. And a soaker tub! with slanted backrest. Man, it was like heaven! And cleaning is a breeze! Just remove all towels and tissues and then I just turn the shower hose on the whole room. Dust is everywhere and as soon as I clean, there's more dust to come. But give me a half hour on the weekend and I've hosed down the bathroom top to bottom, squeegied the puddles and wipe the sink and mirror. Done!

But then this morning I felt a quick tingle as I'm wiping the mirror. Yup, I've made a connection and water on the over-the-sink mirror light zapped the hell out of me.

I quit. -- and I need a houseboy to clean my bath.

Someone had a birthday!

Happy Birthday Miss Grace!!!

(purple cake. not just purple icing, but purple CAKE)

Happy Easter from Camp As Sayliyah!

Don't even think of complaining to me about your commute!

It doesn't matter where you're going, you can't get there from here. You've got to go somewhere else first.

Estimated length of this latest road project: 18 months.

Oh joy.

Treats for Troops!

What a great program! I received a nice box of goodies from a total stranger. Cookies, chips, candy, games, sunblock; even a pair of socks. Enough for me and Pat and still more to share with my friends at Finance.

If you're ever in a generous mood don't hesitate to check out this organization. You can send a foster care package to me or to any service member at www.treatsfortroops.com.

(My personal Treats for Troops ID # is 188750.)

Castle Roundabout

One thing you can count on here is that there's always road construction. What is here one day and appears to be perfectly fine, will no doubt be rubble within a short period of time. Take for example Castle Roundabout. The local maps won't identify it as "Castle Roundabout" but as you can see in the picture, well, it's an obvious landmark. This picture was taken mid-December. There's no historical significance of the castle; at least none that I was able to discover from multiple inquiries. With no interior structure, this is a stone facade with the interior used for storage of public works materiel. The grounds around the castle were beautifully landscaped with fountains, flowers, grass & palm trees. Lovely. I don't know how long the castle has been here, but as of early this month, Castle Roundabout is now Rubble Roundabout or "The Roundabout formerly know as Castle". Gone. Looks like this will be another sacrifice to 'modern' roadstructure as this roundabout is turned into a multi-lane multi-level intersection.

As much as I dreaded the roundabout traffic when I came here, seeing them disappear as more traffic lights & intersections are constructed make me sad for the loss of the 'charm' of 'exotic' and crazy Qatari traffic.

(Google Earth at 25°13'33.13"N 51°25'54.37"E)

Al Wakrah

This is from our road trip down to Al Wakrah. I just love how the woman's hijab is blowing in the wind.