Turkey Central
Going back to Turkey Central on Merqab Street in Doha, was both like a home coming, and a big surprise. It was the second place AdventureMan took me when I arrived the first time in Doha (Fakr al Din, the first place, is no longer there), and it was a place a lot of people hung out.
Through the years, it has had a roller-coaster reputation, sometimes closed for renovations, sometimes closed for health / sanitation violations, but – when open – packed with people in search of reasonably priced, outstandingly tasty dishes.
It’s not one of AdventureMan’s favorite places, but it is one of mine! 😉 So the night we went to the Doha Clinic to get our blood-types – beginning the endless process of paperwork and hurdles for our residency in Qatar – he agreed to take me to Turkey Central.
Oh, YUM.
In the first place, when we walked in it all looks immaculately clean. Cooks and servers are wearing hats to keep stray hair from falling into food. Tables are now granite, chairs are comfy.
The food is wonderful. The place is packed. Our old friend sees us come in and comes over to greet us. We feel at home.
We decided to try some new mezzes (appetizer / salads) instead of our same old, same old hummous, tabouli, mouttable. We tried the chili salad (made of sweet red peppers, not the hot kind, and excellent), the baba ghannoush (actually, we have had this before at TC and love it ) and the moussaka (no meat moussaka) which we both agreed was THE BEST.
The best part of all is the Turkey Central bread, hot, fresh from the oven, and covered with sesame seeds:
AdventureMan ordered the Mixed Grill:
and I ordered my old favorite, shish taouk (marinated, grilled boneless chicken pieces):
Too much food! I walked out with a big bag of leftovers, enough to cover a week of lunches!
Pete’s Pigeon
“There’s an ongoing problem with the pigeons,” the former resident told my husband.
I remember the pigeons. We all have these two story entries, and the pigeons love them. The problem is, that they nest, and so when company comes, there might be pigeon droppings in your entry – aaarrgh.
I’ve always loved the sound of pigeons coo-ing, so it didn’t bother me so much. I pay the gardener a little extra and he makes sure the entry is cleaned every day. When guests are coming, I scrub any late additions myself.
LLLOOLL, I can see they have installed beds of nails to keep the pigeons from roosting.
Our resident pigeon has two perfect eggs; she pooped enough to build up a foundation above the nails, and now she roosts, safely, on the sharp nails. She takes turns with another pigeon, I am guessing the male, sitting on the eggs.
Sorry for the poor quality of these photos, but the windows are dirty, salt streaked, and I am shooting through a screen. Also, I don’t know which one is the daddy or mommy pigeon, or even if they are daddy and mommy or mommy and friend. I don’t know that much about pigeons, I just love the sound of their voices. I guess I should be appalled by the pigeon poop, but I feel lucky to have two pigeon eggs, and protective pigeon parents, it seems like a good omen to me.
It would be a health issue if any of the pigeon windows opened, but none of them do. When the eggs hatch, and the pigeons fly off, I will get the guys with the tall ladders to come clean the dropping off – again – and hope they will roost in another spot next nesting season.
Pete thinks this is the greatest show on earth. He has windows all over the house, and there is always something happening. The gardener is watering the lawn in back (well the dust in back, but we are going to have the trees cut back so the lawn and bougainvillea will grow once again), washing off the entry in front, the birds are flying in and out of the trees, the pigeon is roosting on her eggs, or flying off to find some bugs or whatever pigeons eat. He is losing his excess weight (I hope I am too!) running up and down the stairs. He is NOT bored! Anything but bored! He loves this place.
Windy Kuwait Sunrise
The wind is blowing; if we were in Alaska, I would think it is a huge snowstorm outside from the whistling around my windows, and the curtains blowing, even though the windows are closed and “sealed.” (Yeh, right.) Last night, I could feel it coming – I don’t have asthma, but I can feel a dust storm coming in my lungs. AdventureMan was using his puffer frequently, not a good thing.
Out on the balcony, early early in the morning, we can not see the Kuwait skyline; it is obscured by dust. The wind has totally transformed the surface of the sea; it is pushing waves which are crashing against the shore. Well, small waves. The sea has been flat and glassy for weeks; this is a significant difference.
The sun is coming up before five in the morning. I had a restless night, and couldn’t sleep any later:
Have a great day, Kuwait.
Don’t Mess with Seniors!
A while back, one of my commenters said she had read a book with an “old” couple just like AdventureMan and me.
“Old??” we looked at each other in horror!
“Old people with a son getting married” is I think what she said, so that makes just about every person over 45 “old.”
We will have our revenge. Time flows only in one direction – but the older you get, the farther away “old” looks.
My 85 year old mother visits friends, now and then, who live in retirement homes, from modest to posh.
“What do you think, Mom?” we ask, knowing how lonely she is without Dad and wishing she had more companions around her to do things.
She sighs.
“They are all so OLD!” she says. “I don’t want to be surrounded by all old people!”
And she is right. She lives on her own, she cooks her own meals, cleans her own home, with only a little help from a cleaning lady and her family. She keeps herself in good shape. She is far from “old.”
I found this in today’s news on AOL – some young idiots thought they had an easy target. They thought wrong.
Two would-be carjackers learned the hard way not to mess with this grandfather. Ted Mazetier, 84, stopped to help two men with a broken-down car in Tacoma, Wash., April 22 but ended up fighting them off when they attacked and demanded his keys. Mazetier kicked one in the groin and the other in the stomach. The two were later arrested, KOMOnews.com reported.
Breathless Day
The air is still, and there isn’t a single wave on the vast, flat glassy Gulf. At eight in the morning, it is already breathlessly hot:
It’s not getting any better. Maybe by the beginning of next week, as you can see, a little “cold” weather will be moving in 😉
The only way you can determine the difference between water and air is the layer of yellow tinged haze on the far horizon:
Here is what my life looks like right now:
Yesterday, a sweet friend dragged me away from all the packing and focus on moving and treated me to a day at the Aquatonic Spa. I admit it, she had to drag me – I can get so immersed in my misery that I don’t even want to do something fun.
In spite of my churlishness, we had a great time. Playing around in that fabulous pool, and then having beauty treatments afterwards – it just took all the misery out of me. I felt great for the first time in weeks. I slept last night without waking, and awoke refreshed, thanks be to God, and thanks to my friend who knew what I needed better than I did.
Map of HIV Spread in Europe by Vacationers
Fascinating news from BBC Health News:
Scientists who have mapped HIV’s spread across Europe say holidaymakers infected abroad are largely to blame.
By analysing samples from 17 European countries, the international team tracked the movement of the virus around the continent.
Their map shows Greece, Portugal, Serbia and Spain are big HIV exporters, with many tourists to and migrants from these countries leaving with the virus.
The UK is an exporter and importer, Retrovirology journal says.
The same is true of Israel, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland, while countries like Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Luxembourg are largely importers of HIV, the researchers say.
In Poland, HIV is contained but is spread among its inhabitants because of injecting drug-users, the research group found.
To construct their map, the researchers looked at the most common type of HIV circulating in Europe, known as HIV-1 subtype B.
They tracked its migration by creating a family tree for the virus, looking at detailed genetic characteristics that reveal how the virus has been evolving over time.
DIRECTION OF HIV SPREAD
Exporters: Greece, Portugal, Serbia and Spain
Both exporters and importers: Israel, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK
Importers: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Luxembourg
Lead author Dimitrios Paraskevis, of the University of Athens, said: “Popular tourist destinations like Greece, Portugal and Spain probably spread HIV with tourists infected during their holidays.”
In the case of Serbia as an exporter, it is most likely down to its inhabitants travelling to other countries and carrying the virus with them, he said.
“To a large extent HIV spread within Poland is due to injecting drug-users, who make up around half of the HIV-infected population.
“Viruses move around with travellers – thus health programmes within countries should not only target the national populations, prevention efforts must also be aimed at migrants, travellers and tourists – who are both major sources and targets of HIV.”
Rowan Harvey, of the Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “HIV isn’t constrained by borders, it’s a global epidemic and there are bound to be patterns of transmission between countries.
“Tourists travelling abroad should definitely pack condoms, but people should also be aware that HIV is at its highest level in the UK as well.
“To protect yourself from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, safer sex is essential both at home and abroad.”
Real Age: Restaurant Catastrophes
LLOOLL – I thought we were good, sharing a dessert between two people. Real Age suggests sharing a dessert with 4 – 5 people! Just a few bites are all you need! LLOOLLL!
The truth, as I see it, is that Real Age gives lots of really good advice on health maintenance and prevention. Do I always follow their advice? . . . hmmmmm. . . . Take their Real Age test, sign up and they send you newsletters with lots of great ideas. Even if, like me, you adopt some but not all, it is probably a good thing.
Avoid Restaurant Catastrophes
To us, a restaurant catastrophe isn’t just when a waiter spills something on you or when you accidentally miscalculate the tip. When it comes to your health, a catastrophe is what can happen in the first and last 10 minutes of a meal. But it doesn’t have to. Here’s how to dine out, enjoy your meal, and be trim and healthy, too:
Before You Go
Don’t arrive starving! Eat a little healthy fat — like about six walnut halves — before a meal. The healthy fat in walnuts triggers a chain reaction that slows the rate at which your stomach empties, so you’ll feel fuller faster. But the chain reaction takes 30 minutes, so plan for it.
The First 10 Minutes
• Raise a glass. Of water. To your lips. This can fill you up, so you don’t overeat.
• Ask for cut-up veggies instead of bread. Most quality restaurants (including inexpensive ones) provide this option.
• Dip in olive oil. If the restaurant brings you whole-grain bread, dip it in olive oil. People who opt for this over butter eat less bread.
• Request the bottles. Order oil and vinegar on the side. Relying on the kitchen to dress your salad — even with oil and vinegar — can deliver as many as 450 extra calories!
The Last 10 Minutes
• Share. Get one dessert for every four or five people, and have just a few bites. If there are just two of you, take half of the dessert home, and freeze it for a special occasion.
• Savor your wine. Ending a meal with a glass of wine lets you avoid the cloying aftertaste of sweets . . . and helps you avoid calorie-bombs, too.
• Go European. Do what many Europeans do: Make salad the last thing you eat.
Breakfast in Schwetzingen
German breakfasts are anything but light. There wasn’t a piece of fruit to be found! We were lucky to be guests at the hotel, because most of the tables were reserved, and people were turned away, even at nine in the morning, the breakfasts at the hotel Cafe Journal are so good.
You could have smoked ham, cold cuts and cheese, too, but we chose not.
Breakfast bread basket:
Yummy condiments:
Fresh orange juice:
Herb and cheese omelettes:
We were astonished – in Germany and in France – that there is absolutely NO SMOKING in any of the restaurants. If you are sitting outside, you can smoke, but we could not believe how well enforced this law is. We had heard about it, but frankly – the French not smoke in restaurants? We would not have believed it possible! Germans are very law-obeying peoples, but the French??? Never, not once, did we see a person smoking in a restaurant. It was amazing.
More Sleep, Fewer Colds
This is one of the weekly tips from Real Age. The problem I have with this tip is one of the reasons I knew I was coming down with something was that I was wide awake when I normally am sleeping. I had a virus recently, like a cold, but it started with being very not-sleepy. It was weird. Fortunately, I haven’t had it for long, and it seems to be moving on.
Are you like me? I was sneezing and coughing – and very worried I had caught the new swine flu. Why on earth would I think that???
That bug that’s going around? Until it’s moved to the next zip code, put yourself to bed early.
In a 2-week study, getting a little less sleep — under 7 hours instead of 8 or more — made people three times more likely to get sick after exposure to a cold virus. Now that’s something to sleep on.
Seems your immune system takes a hit from both lack of sleep and poor sleep. In fact, poor sleep may have an even bigger impact than short sleep. People in the study were five times more likely to get sick when their sleep quality dipped — even if it just dipped a smidge.
Hope in a Bottle – with Proof
When the results of this study were published, BBC News tells us, Boots sold five month worth of stock in one day!
The study goes on to say that the two main causes of wrinkles are sun damage and smoking, but that this face cream can turn back the clock. Wooo HOOOO!
Scientists say they have clinical proof that a face cream available on the high street does reduce wrinkles.
Five months’ worth of stock of the leading brand sold in a day after Professor Chris Griffiths announced in 2007 it appeared to combat sun damage.
Two years on from the BBC Horizon programme showcasing his work, his team has shown the cream visibly smoothes out the skin.
Boots predicts boom sales of its No 7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum.
This moisturiser is a richer version of its Protect & Perfect Beauty Serum that the team tested before and found it stimulated the production of fibrillin-1, a protein that promotes elasticity in the skin which is lost with sun damage.
You can read the entire article HERE.
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