There's nothing like clean underwear and a home cooked meal to help you feel settled in

There is the beauty of a sunset over the city, but the first thing to really take my breath away since we arrived in Abu Dhabi was...

Isn't she a beaut?

The new washing machine finally arrived a week ago Monday. Let me tell you that it's the little things like doing laundry that you miss when you can't do it. We had purchased a washing machine with the lot of furnishings we shipped down, and like the rest of the experience, things did not work out quite as we had planned. It took me a couple of days to find the adapter I needed to hook up our washer (the concept of regular business hours for some of the smaller shops is quite fluid during Ramadan). And once it was all hooked up, the basin spewed chunks of foam lining and refused to drain. After a couple of tries, we surrendered and ended up buying a washer at the closest shop we could find on the day before Eid which meant the earliest it could be delivered was three days later. A family from church invited us overa couple of Fridays ago to feed us and let us use their washer. We might have overstayed our welcome by a few hours which only put us that much more in their debt. The new washer arrived on Monday and, part from the faces of my family, may just be the single most beautiful thing I've laid my eyes on since arriving here. I had never heard of Haier, but the salesman assured me in his best English that it was much better than the LG I was looking at. He didn't tell me which of the two paid the higher commission, but I have my suspicions.

Tuesday was the first home cooked meal we had since we've arrived. I guess technically the ramen we had a couple of nights in a row was cooked at home, but it didn't offer the same level of comfort that Julie's fresh baked bread and quinoa chilli had. She even baked a couple of batches of cookies. It was the first time she had baked with a gas oven, and apart from the extra crispiness of the first batch of cookies, everything turned out perfectly. To make the meal even more fulfilling, we invited our neighbour Rudi from across the hall. He also teaches at the college and has been an invaluable resource whenever we've needed any help or advice.

And, yes that is home baked bread!