In Memory of...

Our summer has been just about everything you can imagine. Difficult, adventurous, traumatic, sad and unfortunately only relaxing for a few days. On August 28, after spending three weeks by her hospital bed, we lost Erik's mother Eila to a series of strokes preceded by a battle with cancer. She was an amazing woman and a fighter to the end and we are very grateful to have been there as she went to be with the angels.

Getting Out, Part I, a.k.a. "Plan G"

I'm so exhausted, I can hardly think, but I thought I'd at least share some information and photos with you.

Plan G - actually we don't even know for sure if it is Plan G, but sooner or later, when things have actually started to work and there is some peace, we'll write a list of our different plans to get out of Qatar. Be that as it may, Plan G is the following:

July 23: Karen flies to Amman, Jordan and is driven to a hotel in Petra. Why? No time to get her Saudi Visa.
At the same time, Erik drives to Petra through Saudi Arabia

July 24: Erik arrives in Petra in the wee hours of the morning, gets some sleep and we go see the sights.

July 25: Travel to Egypt by ferry over the Red Sea from Aqaba to Nuweiba. The reason for this is to avoid two border crossings because there is a tiny strip of land on the Red Sea between Jordan and Egypt belonging to Israel. Drive towards Alexandria and overnight where possible.

July 26: Drive the rest of the way to Alexandria and check the car in at the ferry in the afternoon for the 8pm launch towards Venice.

July 29: Arrive in Venice at 8am. Drive immediately to Munich to start import procedures.

July 30: Endless paperwork in Munich, all of which has to be done by closing time at noon.

July 31 or August 1: Drive to Cologne

August 2: Drive to Kristiansand, catching ferry from Hirtshals at 10:45pm.

August 3: Arrival

So, we received our export license on Tuesday...

It's only good for 10 days, so we've got to hurry!

We went through weeks of planning to try to find people who would issue us insurance. We were told that we would get 10 days of insurance for the Middle East from our Qatar company along with our plates, but that turned out to be false. All we got from them is insurance to the border and the certificate was under the name of "Earek Wer". "Wer" did they get that??? Apparently it's the car's insurance, not ours, so as long as the car data is correct, it's fine. We have to buy liability anyway at the borders, but that means we're running around without comprehensive for several days. From the US we were able to get comprehensive for once we get into Europe. From Luxembourg, we were able to get 3rd party liability. When we get to Germany, we have insurance ready to go, but first we have to go to customs (probably), have the car inspected, register the car and get plates and Erik has to register in Germany again. There's an order to this, but I can't remember what it is. You'll have to ask my husband. The one troublesome point in the import procedure is that the Germans say they want a certain form, EU0600 "Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung" (yes that's one of those endless German compound words), from the Italians and the Italians claim they have no clue what it is and that we can come into the country without any trouble at all. It took my dear harpsichordist Sergio two days of calling around to figure this out and even he isn't satisfied with the answer.

So, last night we packed up, behind schedule, and of course determined that it wouldn't all fit. Erik comes back in September anyway. He will have to bring his road bike back to Europe then. He has another bike in Cologne. We also have the Qatar apartment until September, because after tons of rigmarole, we will get paid what they owe us, but Erik just has to come back for the expatriation procedure which he can do without me, but with one of my passports - another story for another time.

Erik took me to the airport this morning. Everything went smoothly for me, but not at all for him. He spent probably 6+ hours at the Saudi border going back and forth between the Saudis and Qataris dealing with paperwork and just when he got the last paper from the Qataris, the Saudi office that needed it closed for the day. The result? He is in no-mans land sleeping on an air mattress between the two countries waiting for the office to open at 8am tomorrow morning. So much for Petra. Gentleman that he is, he made me promise to see it for us both and try to enjoy myself and have a nice evening with a nice meal and enjoy the sunset. VERY HARD. I won't really be able to relax until we are on that ferry. Egypt is still a big nightmare because we don't know what they are going to demand at the border. We think something called a "Carnet de Passage" which, of course, the Qataris don't know anything about. So, we don't have it. We just have export papers and whatever Arabic papers Erik got today.

So, I attempted to enjoy the evening. Hard but, that's how it is.

Here's the sun over Petra.

Going...

going,

gone.

4 Blogs in 4 Days?

Unheard of. Not since the beginning of the blog have I blogged so much. Today I spent the afternoon with a dear friend who humored me and took photos of my most recent creations.

I love to knit.

Knitting is relaxation for me. Without it, I'd probably be in the loony bin by now. I always have to have a project going, even if I don't know who it's for. Someday it will tell me.

Knitting is a good companion activity for a musician - especially a traveling one. I spend a lot of my time on planes, trains and buses. If it's a plane with movies, I turn one on and knit away. If it's not, I turn toward an audio book on my iPod.

Knitting makes it possible for me to actually sit down and watch a movie or television series without feeling guilty for not being productive.

Knitting is addictive. If I haven't done it for a few days, I start to get restless. In spite of my enormous collection of yarn, I always seem to need more. There's not always just the perfect skein for the project I want to make. So, the collection of yarn grows.

Knitting is a social activity. Months before we moved to Doha, I already had e-friends there through Ravelry - it's way better than Facebook. Unless it's extremely complicated, one can talk and knit. In fact, I often have two projects going simultaneously - the semi-mindless one that can be accomplished while talking and the complicated, don't-talk-to-me-while-I'm-counting one.

Knitting fosters friendship. Through knitting I met one of my dearest friends.

And above all...

Knitting is tangible. One can feel the needles and the yarn in one's hands. When the project is finished, one has something useful and lasting that will bring joy to me and the recipient. Being a musician is great, but when the concert is over, the most one can expect (and hope for) is to have a nice memory.

So, the proud knitting mama just has to show off some of her most recent babies. Many thanks to Maschenkunst for the photos.

 

Zauberschall

Lace-edged Corset

Featherweight Green Sweater

Happily surrounded by yarn.

Any requests?

On the Positive Side...

On the Positive Side...one of the most enjoyable parts about being in Qatar was the weekly Doha Knitters gathering. This was a combination Quatsch-ing, idea-sharing, show-off, yarn-untangling, moaning (about the lack of yarn shops), drooling (about what so-and-so brought back from wherever) and pure knitting session. Each Monday we met (and they still meet) at a different knitters' house. The hostess provides a simple meal and we eat whenever we're hungry and can drag ourselves away from our stitching. This was a life-saver for me and something I really looked forward to each week.

 

Here is a photo of our last session before I left a few weeks ago. Sadly, there won't be any more Mondays when I go back  next week shortly to do the last packing and expatriation. The menu for the evening was lasagna and a fantastic red velvet cake. On the coffee table you see the knitting night essentials - a plate with cake on it, balls and skeins of yarn, knitting needles and empty wine glasses. Some of the ladies had left before it occurred to me to take a photo, but most are still there. On the left and in the process of winding a skein of yarn, is Kelly, hostess of the evening and American mother of four boys, the youngest of which is on the lap of Tracy, another American. In the freshly-finished green shawl (Clapotis pattern for those of you who are interested) is Kirsty, a Brit, standing next to Kiwi-Kirsty. The newest member, just working in Doha for the summer is Jordan. Sarah is standing behind her (could that be a scarf made of Noro yarn around her neck?). To the right is our untangler, Berta. She's a Canadian who has been in Doha for ages - I think something like 11 years. Or was that 7? Doesn't matter - seems like forever to be in a place like that.

I'll miss these ladies, my only non-musician friends in Doha. I'll just have to gather another such group in Kristiansand. Watch out Norskies!