Farewell 2011..

Yes.. the blog has been very absent through December. It has been a crazy month best written in bullet form . Here is what kept me from blogging!

•  Christmas cake project for 15 homeschoolers! 
•  My Sweet, myself & my boy kiddo all have birthdays the week of Christmas. 
•  The now routine visa runs (yes, still no visa). 
•  Christmas. 
•  Reunions with old friends. 

So welcome 2012! I am hoping that this year will be less hectic or more that I will be able to manage the life we live here with joy and patience. I am sure I will blog about my December 2011 experiences but for now it's all about the New Year.

The familiarity of routines and traditions are always helpful when living in a foreign country. The Kiddos feel more settled when family things are done in the same way. And sometimes we start new traditions to mix in with the old. This year I decided to make the New Year a Scottish one! During my years living in my homeland my Gran would always have the family together on New Years Day and it is customary to have Steak Pie. Gran made the best but sadly she has lost the recipe and is no longer in good enough health to teach me. One of my regrets about overseas living is that I have not had the time to learn many traditions from my family. Now that I am older I feel real desire to carry on family traditions so that they will not be lost.

So with this in mind I made shortbread on New Years Eve (another tradition). Usually the shortbread is taken to whomever you visit on New Years Day. Then the attempted Steak Pie. My Mum tried to remember how Gran did things and I adapted a little too. I am so thankful for Al Fair. This grocery store has a hidden "pork" section and my Sweet found some Lard which is key for making a good steak pie! For my first attempt it turned out pretty good! Too bad 2/3 Kiddos are not pastry fans-but the meat they loved.

Scottish Steak Pie Och Aye!

My hope is that I can blog more this year. I have lots of goals, dreams and plans. It's a good feeling. Thanks everyone for reading my posts and commenting. I love Arabia. It's an amazing place and not quite as crazy as you might think. This blog is an attempt to show the culture as it is but with the underlying desire to communicate that it is a wonderful place to raise our family and do life. Happy 2012!