Bringing it All Home - Interior Decoration from Around the World
- Community
- Annuitants & Former ExPats
Author: Nancy Ackerman
Released 30 November 2006
This beautiful 7' x 11' Isfahan Carpet hanging in the family room took two Iranian ladies 9 Years to make and has 625 Knots per square inch. It is a magnificent piece of art that will one day be donated to a charity for an auction to benefit a worthy cause.
Photographs Contributed by Patsy Inglet
A Pair of Straight-A Travelers
Once upon a time, in 1974, a young Tom and Patsy Inglet never suspected that, as they headed for Dhahran, they would experience the ‘Dream Job’ with Aramco.
Leaving their native Texas for the first time, they anticipated five years overseas and had a wish list to visit three A’s…Africa, Australia, and Alaska, and as the 5 years expanded to 25, they did all that and more. Not only was another A added to the list, Afghanistan, but Tom, as a Project Manager, was also posted to Houston, The Hague, Tokyo, and London. So, sprinkled into their Aramco memories are sumo wrestlers and Geishas, Gouda cheese and Dutch canals, London theatre and history…with Texas grits and barbecue balancing out the shwarma and hummus enjoyed in Khobar.
The Damascus Chest in the entry displays a Lebanese box and Indian carving and is flanked by bird and animal prints as well as a weaving from Thailand.
From the time of their initial arrival in the Kingdom (where they were welcomed with a 122-degree temperature) until their departure in January 1999, they racked up some impressive travel, an arsenal of colorful stories, and some irreplaceable treasures (both monetary and sentimental).
Soon after arrival in the Kingdom, Patsy began teaching young Saudi men English, Math, Science and Accounting at the Industrial Training Center. In the succeeding years she spent time working in Community Services, Management Training, and Loss Prevention and teaching in the Aramco Schools. Outside of the workplace, she cites her experience as a performer in the 5678! productions as a highlight of her years in Dhahran.
A Samovar rests atop a Kuwaiti chest, while a "Camelot" (created by Richard and Ann Barr) greets guests. A stunning piece of framed Bedouin silver is behind.
In general, Aramcons past and present travel widely and collect enthusiastically. This is a shared bond, and we love looking at what others have and the stories that accompany each acquisition—every treasure has a wonderful story to tell. So while the furnishing of our homes can hold similar decorating styles, the unique personalities of the occupants always shine through to excite and impress.
Tom and Patsy live in San Antonio, Texas, and are deeply involved in volunteer activities that cover a broad spectrum of their talents and interests. At the top of the list is their involvement with and teaching of Concept-Therapy, which, Patsy explains, is a workable philosophy of life that teaches the principles of healthy, happy, successful, and peaceful living. They are also very focused on educating people about the conservation of ecosystems around the world. The San Antonio Zoo benefits, as both Tom and Patsy are docents…plus they have both qualified as Texas Master Naturalists and participate in education programs for the San Antonio Parks and a local nature center. They have both become avid birders and enjoy traveling to see birds as well as learning as much as possible about them. They teach a “Birding 101” class to families to encourage people of all ages to protect and appreciate birds. In short, they are very busy, very happy, and very committed to their volunteer roles. Patsy commented that ‘it is truly amazing how many organizations simply could not survive without their volunteers, and we love being in the ranks of those who are able to help.’
The breakfast area holds an assortment of cookbooks, photos, and small collections. Tom, of course built the bookcases and the table.
At home, both are experts in the kitchen, and Tom spends as much time as he can in his large workroom, adjacent to the house, where he contrives everything from a travel trailer (more about that later) to all the bookcases in the house, the bar, kitchen table, desk units in the study, and all sorts of home improvements for the lucky ex-Aramcons and other friends who live nearby.
This BIG coffee pot was the first item bought from “Tex the Antique Man,” who learned his enthusiastic greeting, ‘Howdy Ma’am,’ from the drillers who were his first English teachers!
Treasures from around the world…..
Tom had to carry this vase around China, as Patsy found it at the first stop of a 2-Week trip. He called it his 'Baby Coffin'… and swore ‘Never Again’!
The Hammam Throne Room
An Indian screen, textiles, and a sheep pot at the end of the entry area partially hide the view of the kitchen dining area and back patio.
In the living room, carved screens are used as window coverings, and a serene camel keeps watch atop a Chinese chest.
The Master Bedroom holds an eclectic collection. The door at right leads to a magnificent walk-in closet.
The Inglets with the Kinglet made entirely by Tom, from the wheels up!
Surely, Tom’s most impressive creation to date has to be the Kinglet. Inspired by the trailer in Jellystone Park (the one that Yogi and Boo Boo always visited), and after seeing a similar trailer at Big Bend National Park, the seeds of the idea were planted. After making sure that Patsy REALLY wanted a teardrop trailer to use when birding around the country, Tom was all over the Internet to come up with the plans and materials, and work began in June 2005. By March 2006 the Kinglet made its maiden run to Ft. Davis State Park, where it drew a steady stream of admirers who couldn’t believe Tom really made it all by himself. Patsy was content to contribute moral support and a pink flamingo themed ‘interior’ of curtains, sheets and blankets. By the way, a Kinglet is a small gray bird with lots of spunk, and just happens to rhyme with Inglet.
The lifestyle of the Inglets these days centers on travel in North, Central, and South America—usually connected with birding. They purposely delayed visiting ”their local hemisphere" until retiring, and the first place they went was the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. They now know their native Texas and the adjoining states much better and have fallen in love with the interior of Mexico. They traveled with the San Antonio Zoo to Costa Rica and Peru (Amazonian region), spent a month in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia ogling puffins, and most recently spent two weeks in Panama seeing gorgeous tropical birds. They ended 2006 with a trip to El Cielo in Mexico to help with the Christmas Bird Count.
Patsy and Tom are still soaring to new heights with their total involvement and enthusiasm for the important things in life. And when not birding or teaching or helping someone or something out, they stay in touch by email with old friends and make visits when they can.
Contact Tom and Patsy Inglet by email: tpinglet@satx.rr.com.
Please share your photographs of treasures collected abroad. Email them to info@aramcoexpats.com. If you would like your inspiring interior decoration to appear on the Aramco ExPats website please write to Nancy Ackerman at RNAckerman@aol.com.