So here’s another pet peeve about life in Doha. My first and foremost worst pet peeve which I tend to go on and on about, is driving. But a close second is grocery shopping. It’s highly improved over the past few years but still has a long way to go.

I probably spend the majority of my time here going from store to store trying to find the most simple of things (dull life?). For instance, why is it that for years the one North American item always on the shelves here was Kraft Dinner but for some reason there has been none now for about four months? Or I always like (?) it when you can’t even find chicken. Or eggs. Or perhaps cheddar cheese.

Last week we had some really yummy peaches so dear hubby asked if I would kindly make him a peach pie. Now that I’m actually on the hunt for peaches there are none to be found.

To find quality, fresh fruit and veg here is always hit and miss. Even when I think I’ve scored something fantastic like ‘crunchy’ apples, I get them home only to find they looked fresh, felt sturdy enough but once we bit into them…. mush! And check out the price on these….. QR 18.25 for 4 apples. That’s about $5.20, or more than $1 each!

When produce does turn out to be fresh and tasty I try to remember which store I bought them from, go back and immediately purchase more. In this case I’ve been trying just that for a week with no luck.

I shouldn’t be surprised. We are living in the desert so to expect a vast supply of fresh produce might be considered an unreasonable expectation. But they always have lovely produce in hotels and restaurants. I can only assume they get first pick from the suppliers and we get ‘second grade’ or something to that effect.

Another item I’ve been searching for the last couple of weeks, though not a grocery item, has been earphones for my iPod. A few weeks ago mine broke so I bought a new set. However, they were not as comfortable nor did they have great sound. Well, call it fate but I misplaced that set so have been searching again for new ones. This time I was hoping to find the same ones I originally had. Again, no luck after my many searches around Doha.

Finally, last Saturday night I logged on to the old trusted shopping site – Amazon. Immediately, I spotted them and I couldn’t believe the price. £2.45, so $2.80. So, I ordered them. Today, just 4 days later I received the text message informing me they had arrived at Aramex.

Maybe I need to change the way I do things. Any time I need something that’s not really straightforward I should try the internet first and then resort to my dance around Doha looking for it if that doesn’t work. Do you think a company like Amazon will soon be making regular grocery store items available for shipment here?

But hey – I’m happy as one mission is accomplished. Now where did I put my iPod…….?