A Walk in the Park

Saturday and it's back to school for the children and back to work for Karen and me. My working life is a little strange at the moment, since my weekend is different from the rest of Novell's, but I think it will work out quite well. Monday to Wednesday are the working days we have in common, so I use those mainly for human interaction (phone calls, conference calls, instant messaging etc). Then Thursday & Friday (my weekend) I check email and voicemail periodically and am available on the mobile for anything urgent, and I use Saturday and Sunday (when I'm the only Novell person working) for solo work; writing documents, building demos, email etc.



Anyway, I'm straying from the point of this post aren't I? I mentioned before that the Diplomatic Quarter (DQ) where we live is beautifully landscaped, and it is, but it is also very, very quiet. You do see other people from time to time but it's not at all unusual to go for a walk and be the only pedestrians around. There's a large park just down the road from the house where I went for a walk at dusk yesterday with Elliot & Abigail, and we were amazed by how well kept and attractive it is, but above all how empty.



It is a large park as you can see from the photos but we were the only people in it. We did see a few cats - even a cat fight; did I tell you there are stray cats all over the place?



The park has cloisters with climbing plants, fountains, a wide, open area full of palm trees, and a children's playground with slides, rickety bridges, fireman's poles and the like.







It's also next to one of the many Mosques in the DQ, from where we can hear the call to prayer several times a day.



On the way back we stopped off to peer through the gate at our still-being-refurbished permanent house. Latest estimate for moving in is mid-February.



Hmmm, maybe I'll get a car like my neighbour's...