Running another blog has caused me to neglect this one. But it had to be done. I wanted to first move the Dubai Knits shop out of Etsy, but had to do it slowly and then separate it from this blog which is more about my own knitting experiences, life as an expatriate in the UAE and just random photos about my family and friends. And the cat, of course! Hopefully I won’t be absent from here for too long again.

What’s been happening then? We attended two birthdays in as many months; the first one being that of baby Johann who is not such a baby anymore. He’s had his first proper haircut so he no longer sport the long Beatles-ish mop and he is now more social than before. Plus his father makes the most awesome cakes! Just look at this spread at Johann’s birthday do.

Yep, The Avengers were all over the food! Even on the cocktail sticks decorating the mini sandwiches, and the party giveaways to the kids. Sadly it was still too hot that evening so no one dressed up in any of the Avengers costume.

Not long after that beach gig, we helped celebrate my brother-in-law’s birthday. It was low key, just a simple dinner with the family, but it is always a great time to catch up with everyone.

Even the kids love it because they get to play against and with each other on the X-Box! The adults usually play backseat driver during these game sessions. There was enough time to play a game before dinner was served.

My son spends the most time with his two cousins from my sister, especially now that they go to the same church for Sunday school. On Friday afternoons. So it’s usually a meal at the mall before or after class, which often involve a trip to the arcade. Isabelle was being silly jumping into the kangaroo’s sack here.

Patrick also recently started taking piano lessons, just once a week but that’s enough to keep him busy. He says he has no rest now because he has regular school from Sun to Thu then Sunday school on Friday and finally piano lessons on Sat. Whatever keeps him off the couch and away from the TV!

I, on the other hand, still attend regular gatherings with the Amiras. First Friday of the month and every Wed evening, unless otherwise advised. Earlier in October, Jackie welcomed us to her lovely home where she made yummy lasagna, salad and coffee and everyone else brought munchies (cheeses from Hala, Lebanese mezze from Zaineb, cupcakes from Mel, and other munchies). And Debbie destashed some of her stash! She did well I think, I didn’t get to ask esp as the skein of STR Fire on the Mountain I was eyeing disappeared when I was finally ready to pick it up. Oh well, finder’s keepers I suppose.

One reason that I was glad Jackie hosted the event was Harry, her newly adopted Turkish Angora kitten. Look at those cute little eyes and that cute little face and tell me you aren’t going ‘awwww’ right now!

He loves to play. With anything. Mel’s hand, Jackie’s yarn, my slippers. Anything.

Hala, who was originally Harry’s momma, helped trim his claws. He looked helpless here as Hala snipped away. He did get treats for being a good boy and clawing himself out of Hala’s clutches.

Everyone just wanted a cuddle with the little furball! Ruth, who has 3 cats in her flat, looked like she wanted to tuck Harry inside one of her knitting bags. Between the food, the yarn, the cat and the catching up with everyone, we did manage to sit at some point and knit. An afternoon is never enough for us to get the most out of a gathering, but there’s always next month.

And going back to the knitting, I don’t think I’ve shown you this. It’s the package I received from the second International Sock Swap I joined. My partner, Chon, made me a pair of Kandahar socks designed by Alice Yu and featured in her book Socktopus: 17 Pairs of Socks Worth Showing Off using Malabrigo Sock Yarn in the colourway Arbol. She also sent me the leftover skeins! Plus a knitter’s journal and a skein of Tosh DK Terrarium. Awesome! I hesitated signing up for the next round but then felt I had such great fun the last two outings and can knit a pair of socks and send out a package before the year-end anyway. So I’m back for more.