Anybody else out there needing the A/C?

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Time for our weekly update. From my perspective, after three weeks now, life is becoming more routine: work for me, school and gymnastics for Morgan, work for Steve. Steve's getting all the immigration minutiae settled, now has a local bank account and is working on getting his Qatari driver's license and liquor permit. Now that his visa is through, I'll have to start mine soon, beginning with a visit to a lab to have my blood typed. Morgan was one of six Year 3 students selected to accompany the principal to a local beach for trash pickup. It ties into the school's focus on community service and their current unit of inquiry, which is the environment and concerns about it. Last week's trip to the desert for the whole class was canceled because of a sandstorm; they'll try again on Thursday or next week.

Over the weekend, we went to the Intercontinental for brunch on Saturday. If you've ever been to the Willard in DC for a holiday brunch, the spread is pretty similar, but also included a variety of Middle Eastern mezze and desserts. For the kids there was a cooking lesson with the pastry chef where they made fruit tarts and later a face painter who turned Morgan into a cheetah.

After brunch we checked out the Museum of Islamic Art, which just opened in late November. It stands alone in the bay on a man-made island -- architect I.M. Pei didn't want his creation to become lost in Doha's ever-spreading skyline. Steve pointed out that this is fourth place we have lived with an I.M. Pei-designed art museum, after Bloomington's IU Art Museum, Paris's Louvre addition and the National Gallery of Art's East Wing. Just call us Pei groupies. There are overlapping elements across his body of work, such as the use of glass and angularity, but Pei made sure to add touches to this one that make it part of its surrounding environment. The museum's collections are well-curated. I appreciated the early manuscripts, dating back to the 7th century. Morgan was fascinated by a small jeweled box with diamond and pearl sides and an emerald top. Steve liked the carpets.

Museum of Islamic Art