I think I have joined the lost generation that now stares fixedly at their iPads or smart phones, lost in another cyber world of games and animations. The real world is an annoying list of interruptions that make me have to put down the screen and go out and talk to people. John is right, I am a sad git. The latest is the new Apple Ap called Hooked on Words. From 100 Scrabble-type letters you have to make words, and get the highest score possible. I struggled and struggled until finally I made a score of 929! What with that and trading and breeding coy carp on the Pocket Pond 2 game, a game of True or False, and Scrabble with the computer, there is not enough time for anything else.

Quilting of course is still high on the agenda, and I have almost finished Noah’s Ark and the I Spy one. I have started other projects, and this weekend I almost gave up completely. I went along to a 2 day workshop run by a Canadian expert called Martha Schellingerhoud who had flown over to Doha specially.

The first night she gave us a show of all her quilts…

We sat enthralled as she showed us the most amazing collection and then showed us the miniatures, often copies of the large ones. She told us how many hundreds of metres of fabric she used, how many hours each one had taken, and then told us which prize from what country she had been given. I came home, and nearly put my head in the oven, but did a few Hooked on Words instead.
Martha is a mathematical genius and was discussing eighths of inches and joining seams with silly tiny numbers so that the pattern could evolve naturally and super perfectly. I kept thinking to hell with that, what a galloping horse can’t see is not worth worrying about. She taught us how to quilt feathers and what not, but we shall see. After her class I have sort of gone off the whole thing.

I did go home to Scotland last month to visit my new and utterly beautiful granddaughter, Bonnie Faye. No one prepared me for the total coup de foudre that would occur.

Natasha is such a calm and gentle mum, totally on top of it all, and as a result Bonnie just responds to cuddles, and makes us all smile as she practises all her facial manoeuvres.

Eyebrows raised, a wobbly smile, a grumpy moment followed by a thoughtful pose. We walked in the spring sunshine, along the cliffs and over the Barrage to Cardiff, and Bonnie thrived on bumps and slept peacefully breathing in the fresh air. I was quite heartbroken to leave, but happily Skype allows me to see them all and monitor Bonnie’s progress.

The little interlude in Edinburgh was nice, and a bonus.

I weeded the garden, walked about, visited with friends and now I am back in Doha. The sea outside is deep turquoise and thankfully we have an unbroken view which no doubt will be sadly blocked as I see the cranes are in place for yet another high rise.

Next week we fly to KL, and then over to Kuching for the start of our Borneo Adventure Tour. John so needs a break and this will certainly be a change! First though he has a visit with the dentist, who will put in the titanium post, so hopefully the bone graft that he suffered will be strong enough to take it. It has been a tough few months for him.

Otherwise Doha is blooming, petunias are running riot and the sun is hot but still bearable. We will beach this weekend and maybe even be able to swim. It will be nice to give the eyes a break from the machine and the iPad, and just let my thoughts wander…