Sea freight arrives

Apologies for not writing for a while, but our sea freight arrived last week so all our spare time has been spent unpacking the 300 plus boxes! We're well over half way now, but our progress is markedly slower with little B to entertain as Flo and I effectively have to work in shifts so that one of us is attending to Beatrice while the other can concentrate on the unpacking. Remarkably, Flo still manages to get some unpacking done during the week when I'm at work, so I'm trying to put together the larger items like shelves and cupboards so that Flo can fill them up when I'm not around.


I've been finding the move a little stressful this time round. Things aren't helped with me being busy at work and not feeling 100% (my stomach is still struggling with the local bugs), plus we have acquired many more things since we last moved, so it's all taking much longer. Inevitably, there are a few damaged items and a few things that appear to have gone missing (although we haven't unpacked all the boxes yet so they may still turn up... we're hoping). But we have a good incentive to get things finished this week, since we're planning a trip to Jordan next weekend!

The weather here has turned colder and wetter, with temperatures currently ranging from between 11 to 18 degrees Centigrade (and it's raining outside as I write this). So we've had the heating on this week! In fact, there was a storm, complete with thunder and lightening on the evening that our sea freight was delivered, so the poor guys transferring the boxes from the shipping container got soaked through to the skin, but still managed to carry three boxes at a time or an extremely heavy washing machine on their back up the two flights of stairs to our apartment!

Beatrice had her second batch of vaccinations this week, which she didn't at all enjoy... I've not heard her scream so loud since the day she was born, which started before the doctor had even pulled out the needle. So I don't know if she remembered back from last month or that a particular sound or smell triggered the reaction, but it was very upsetting seeing her screaming so loud! I've updated her photo album, which includes a vaccination picture.

From Beatrice Dorothy Corcutt

She's grown loads since last month... 10% increase in length to 66 cm and a similar increase in weight to 6.7 kg, so she's well on track to doubling her birth weight within the normal five month period. Her grandparents will barely recognise her when they come to visit next month!

One year ago

Today is a special day. Not only because this is the day that both my maternal grandmother and my second cousin (her great granddaughter) were born, but because today one year ago we had two embryos put back. The result is sleeping soundly next to me at the moment.

Our gorgeous little girl
- who prefers sleeping in her parents bed, snugly between the two of us
- who is always in a good mood in the morning
- who loves getting undressed and having a bath
- who doesn't like getting dressed so much, despite all the pretty clothes she has
- whose hair at the back of her head looks like she had a hair cut already
- with amazingly long Bambi legs
- whose tiny little fingers like fiddling with my t-shirt or my bra when she is nursing
- whose face lights up when she sees her daddy
- who giggles so much that we sometimes think life is one big joke we are not getting

She brings so much joy to our lives, it is amazing to see her grow and become more aware. Of herself (hey, I have feet!), us and her surroundings. We are extremely lucky to have her with us and I am forever grateful for the extraordinary act of kindness of one woman that helped us make our dream come true.

Back to Seidnaya

Today we decided to return to Seidnaya and visit the Convent of Our Lady of Seidnaya. This time, Flo was still fit and healthy when we arrived, so we popped Beatrice into the sling and had a wonder around the convent. You can view the pictures by clicking on the album below.

Trip to Seidnaya

It's a pretty convent and supposed to house a portrait of Mary painted by Saint Luke. I was surprised that almost the entire convent is open to visitors, including walking up onto the roof to admire the view.


We decided to take an alternative route back to Damascus, by driving up into the mountains. The detour was certainly worthwhile as we were treated to fantastic views and a great, narrow, twisty road snaking its way up the valley. We're starting to discover Syria's little gems...

Beatrice aka James Brown

Beatrice has started to shriek like James Brown! And like James Brown, I'm sure that, at least in the mornings when she is in her bouncer, her shriek would be followed by... "I feel good!"

Trip to Quneitra

Today we went day tripping, this time to a place called Quneitra and our first trip in the new car! I won't bore you with the history and politics regarding this place as it's all documented elsewhere, suffice to say it never fails to surprise me just how horrible people can be to one another.

Trip to Quneitra

I've posted some pictures in the album linked above, and you can even see where the pictures were taken on the Google map. It's a bit bizarre driving around, since there's a check-point a couple of kilometres before Quneitra where they check your paperwork (you need to get a letter from the Ministry of Interior Affairs to visit the area) and where a member of the secret police steps into your car to escort you as you drive. He was a pleasant enough chap and I was very impressed that Flo managed to convince him to wear the seat belt in the front seat... which just managed to fit around his impressively large belly. What I found really incredible though was that he didn't ask for any money when we dropped him off at the check-point!

The UN have a military base within the remains of Quneitra. It was a little odd seeing them there... it's a really sombre place, so hearing loud music blasting from the barracks and seeing the soldiers participating in a "fun-run" through the bombed out remains of the town was really peculiar.

On the way back we decided to explore and drove back towards the Golan Heights... it's kind of weird driving around this area as it's something that we heard a lot about on the news when we were growing up. It's actually a really nice place... much greener than the area around Damascus, full of olive trees, valleys and little streams. Unfortunately, we headed up a road that led to a dead end up the valley. It was also being resurfaced, so our new car is now covered in sticky tar! So that will give me something to do when our sea-freight has arrived... I'll be spending a weekend de-tarring the car!


We'll definitely revisit the Golan Heights area, but next time we'll be better prepared and figure out a round trip back to Damascus.