Counting Down

It is now just over two days until I depart. CircusK9 is living in a mostly empty hovel. The animal transport logistics FW really doesn't begin until tomorrow although getting all of them up to the vet clinic last week to get the health certificates was rather chaotic; I hope to have time to post about the FW required to get the animals out of KSA before I leave. I sold everything but a set of shelves which I will have to leave with a friend to take care of for me.

My agility handlers threw a big old-fashioned party for me after our last class. It was complete with cake and fruit and coffee (thanks to the thoughtful planning of Lois for the extras like cups and milk for the coffee; such luxury!) and lots of photos and hugs. My friend Penny (no more initials!) got a little teary when she was making the official presentation speech (they all chipped in and got me a generous Amazon gift card which I will reserve especially for school-related purchases) which in turn made me a little teary and neither of us managed to say all that we wanted to say. Helen gathered photos from every corner and designed an enormous, four-sided card (full color and laminated!) with pictures of nearly every dog and handler who has been in the agility class. And those sly folks invited people to the party from previous sessions who hadn't been able to continue with the class for one reason or another. While I know it was tinged with a bit of sadness, the party itself was fun and light and struck the exact tone that we needed to finish off agility here in Dhahran.





Mimi was fascinated by the cake and managed to get her long tongue on that strawberry in the corner. That "photo" is done with a computer spraying edible ink on a layer of frosting. Fabulous!




Last week, a friend and colleague along with his wife and family most generously offered their house for a ma'asalamah party. It was potluck, my favorite kind of party, and the table was groaning with fabulous food. Tom got a fabulous LandSat photo of the Arabian Peninsula from Cartography and had people sign it on the back. I've enjoyed looking at that image ever since I arrived and now I have one that I can frame--it will have far more to say to me than just the story of the surface geology.

That's the real story. Without all of these friends and colleagues (and their dogs), I would have bailed from here a lot sooner.