Sometimes happiness isn't getting what you want, it's wanting what you already have!

The keys are in hand! We will sign the lease today (or Wednesday) depending on how the schedule works out.

For reasons I can't explain right now, Nelson and I ended up in the desert north of Al Khor yesterday. Basically, we were looking for a way to cut across from Al Khor to the stable in Al Samriya. You know, a short cut. HA! You know there is no such thing in Qatar! The first one took us out in to the desert, past camel poop, rock, rocks, more rocks and a lizard and then STOPPED at a deserted villa that was falling down. Very lovely. We then tried again a little farther north. This is when we saw the most beautiful skies! I had wondered earlier in the day if the approaching clouds over QU would actually yield something. They never did. But farther north, the clouds took on this amazing quality--the edges had a ring of bright light from the sun, encased in a darker cloud which then radiated rays from the sun....it's just indescribable. I was so bummed we had no camera, but maybe it's one of those moments that is best kept in a snapshot in your heart. A camera could not have done it justice! Then there was lightning. It never amazes me how excited we get over lightning here! :) And thunder arrived. Finally, big, fat, split splat rain drops started hitting the windshield. At first, they were so few that we counted them....when they were too many to count, we deemed it a real thunderstorm! I rolled down the window and got all wet, breathing in that fresh smell. There is nothing like the smell of fresh rain and you don't know how much you appreciate it until you rarely have it! It was a splendid storm and continued as we attempted another shortcut across the desert. The water pooled on top of all this bedrock and looked like ponds and small lakes. We watched rivulets like miniature rivers run down the small hills (well, if you can call them that....more like inclines!). It was fantastic. We continued on and finally met some guys dressed in thobes in the middle of nowhere, at a roundabout in the middle of nowhere (signs said North Army Camp-this way). They gave us some directions. Apparently they had been in the desert playing with their falcons when it began to rain. One guy's falcon sat on his armrest next to him as he drove. They are such gorgeous creatures...someday I am going to witness them doing their thing! We just missed it yesterday!
We continued on, knowing where we were (basically in the middle of NOWHERE but the road was good....go figure!). We finally made it to a little "town." We knew we were back in civilization when the mosques started popping up here and there. As we finally headed toward Al Shahaniya, we saw herds of camels roaming free in the desert. We had seen plenty of camels in pens at farms. These were roaming free...my favorite way to see them! The lead camel was so dark, he was almost black! I love the huge variety of colors in camels....who know they weren't just "brown?" I also saw one a couple of days ago that was so light, it appeared nearly white.
In any case, we passed by the Camel Track where there was scores of camels and riders exercising, getting ready for race season. We didn't stop at the farm because we had to get home. We didn't really find a SHORT cut, but we had a great time, got to experience a rainstorm, and simply enjoyed something different for a change!
Updates on moving will be forthcoming shortly.