New Hairstyle

My family back in [insert country of OPNO's passport] liked to [some of the time] set the table for dinner.

Not to mention candles, and floral arrangements. Find room for the food on that table, I dare you! https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1lZuuBeKrr-TMyHaSXgpJTYwou9LZCvYwsnkjRbiuaoLuSfS9ID650z1RMxizaouXudjcKhj8clrkPKpXEkesbuYk3Yl9hkMAFGe7OazepS3q01vjJoxd0O1ZHxe5HNp3D5-ShMiywLiK/s400/Artfool+-+MSW.jpg

That's why we also have buffets, a seperate peice of furniture to house and present the food, and store it while we eat in courses https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyEh4RQwi1Rk-yOeeMC5Ak5ttju4_iR6Ygr8jcib0WTCnpLtahxiM62R02ovLsy_IXIX6pWWeMeoY0C9UWISBj4xqYPZl2aCcMLY_AiPB2ki3TqENPpm7RqvcRuryseDX7Ld_eF0g_Lgf/s400/MS+BAT+3.jpg.

Doing dishes was a nightmare. You see, we don't have maids back home. Well, Boxie did, but that explains why she is still so messy;p.

As was trying to spare certain friends with a less European background which fork to use for what http://www.acornadvisors.com/Kitchen%20Newsletters/2007-09-06%20Setting_the_Table/Placesetting-Diagrams.jpg. Like that scene in "Pretty Woman" where the hotel man is trying to teach prostitute turned escort Julia Roberts how to eat for a night out at a posh restaraunt http://mrjam.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/julia_roberts.jpg. BTW, they play that movie on repeat waaaaaaaaaaaay too much here in Oman.

Anyways, I want to relate to you all, because I have nothing better to write about today, about the time I went to the trouble to throw myself a housewarming party and invited some players from the Oman handball team (I won't tell you which one;)).

I cooked/prepared 4 courses. Appetizers. A salad. Main course. Desert.

I set the buffet (a crappy plastic table covered in a lovely table cloth and well-disguised).

I set the table. Table cloth. Table runner. Plate chargers. Cloth napkins folded with personalized name cards for the settings and napkin rings. Plates. Silverware. Glasses, for our non-alcoholic beverages. Glasses for water. Floral arrangment with floating candles. Very pretty.

Ready for the guests!

My guests, all Omani (most from Seeb, Mubela, and Al Khoud), arrived.

Replay of the proceedings:

The portions (since they were not served together in a heap) were at first regarded as small. Most of the service was disregarded. Cloth napkins were replaced quickly by the ever present kleenex, an Oman essential, and hands replaced the many forms of utensils available.

It was fun, but a TOTAL waste of my effort.

I have learnt my lesson.

As they say.

When in Rome...

[Note: for my Omani friends who are GIRLS, this wouldn't apply. They eat in restaurants in Qurum more than at coffee shops and mishkeek stalls so lol]

This post is dedicated to my friend Kasey in Canada who lives sometimes in the Gulf, but hates it here at times, and we all know why: the Khaleej, as it now stands, lacks a Canadian girl's coffee and sweets pick, Timmies.
But as Muscat Mutterings http://www.muscatmutterings.com/2011/02/help-local-blogger-and-tim-hortons.html wonderfully informs us, we are getting our Tim Horton's, so Kase, it's safe for you to move back now;D
Thank you MM for the glad tidings. Keep us abreast if you learn any developments of the TH's planned {Muscat?} locale.

Last night I was #400 plus something at the ROP registration office in Ghala/seeb-ish area that I can't describe any better.

So, I went to the Seeb exhibition center. It was promoting everything his Majesty had accomplished for Omanis.

The place was "almost" empty of Omanis [no shopping I teased MOP] except the ones manning the exhibition and those whose works made an effort to frequent the stalls pertaining to them.

"Why would this interest us a great deal?" MOP remarks. "This is nothing new for Omanis. EVERYDAY our government is telling us what it does for us."

Which, I suppose, I would know, if my Arabic were better. Alas, there was also a lack of expats due to most of the exhibits signage being arabic-only.

My favourite booths: Oman Women's Association because they gave us helwa and qhawa and had traditional Omani dresses on display. Oman Air, because they had free candies. Oman education ministry (also free candies). Oman Agriculture ministry also had an awesome greenhouse model FILLED with huge strawberries, that were they to be to scale, would be the size of bicycles. This amused me greatly.

So did the chap from the Minstry of Housing who told me expats can buy and own land anywhere in Oman that Omanis can. Which is wrong information, but then, they wouldn't send the expat guy, since the signs and info pamphlets were all in Arabic too.

The exhibition also had the world's longest card (made for Omani women's day) on display. The pic from above was taken for that event to commemorate Omani Women's Day. MOP encouraged Princess to sign it but she didn't want to since she isn't REAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLY Omani.

WHAT WAS INTERESTING THOUGH (And she spoke english) was the plans for making a garden/conservatory/ plant natural biodiversity and heritage village in Al Khoud to showcase all Omani plant environments and their growths, and to preserve the traditional uses for plants and the knowledge thereof. Interesting to me.

Well, it was still, like 200 people in front of me still to go at the registration office, to I went to Mutrah and bought 40 (yes, you heard that right) samboosas for 1 rial. I ate 20 and was so stuffed with greasy yumminess that a walk on the Corniche was required to cure the guilt.

Returned to registration with the Shorta, only 50 people in front of me to go. Allllllllllllright!