Dubai

The first time I saw a stop sign, I thought it had a picture of people in a canoe on it.

FRESH Pita Bread...unbelievably delicious!

Fountain show set to music

I couldn't get enough of these traditional outfits.

These shuttle bloats shuttle people across the "creek"...it was fun and cheap to ride.

Sunset at Jumeriah Beach

This arrow on the ceiling in our hotel room shows the Muslims which direction to pray.  The hotel also offers prayer mats.

"Old" gold market

"Old" spice market

There is some money in this town.  There was quite a car show on Friday night in front of the Dubai Mall

These old rickety ships are still used to ship items on the open ocean in the middle east area.

"old" markets (aka Souks) are all covered by these beautiful wooden arched ceilings

The men in the fish market loved having their pictures taken.

Sitting alone with a Latte...no kids, no husband, no laundry, no iPad...ahhhhh...relaxation!

Creations

My boy

My boy...a baby one minute & a grown man the next.

Reason for the Season

Ever since I saw a child-friendly nativity scene, I've wanted one.  I love the idea of children being able to play with it and act out the story of Jesus' birth.  I started looking into ones online.  There is a beautiful wooden one made by a great toy company in Germany...I wanted one bad enough, that I was willing to pay the 60+ Euros...but didn't want to wait until we got back to Germany for it.  I started looking for more options, when I came across a hand-painted wooden one on Etsy for $150!!!  Wait...I have paint!, but where would I find plain wooden peg-people.  A few days later, I came across bracelets with large plain wooden (round & cylinder beads).  They were cheap enough to give it a try.  I am pretty pleased with the results and like having something I made...and, of course, I like that my price-tag was around $4.00.