egianqueen

2011-08-27T02:40:00.001+03:00

As promised - a tad later than - but better late than never. Got the okay from Miles last night to post pics of 'my' boys on my blog. So here goes - sure hope it works smoothly.

Allow me to introduce you to Baby B - picture taken minutes after his entrance into this world.

This is Baby A - not looking all that thrilled - again taken within minutes of his entrance.

Baby B - giving us the 'eye' - I cannot believe what just happened.

Baby A hooked up to his c-pap machine - to help him with his breathing. Again taken shortly after birth - August 9, 2011

Lincoln Gordon Myers - sleeping peacefully at the Peter Lougheed Centre NICU on August 13, 2011.

Austin Miles Myers - in his mom's arms - at the NICU in Peter Lougheed Centre - also taken on August 13, 2011

Proud papa with Austin - red light on his foot is monitoring oxygen saturation of the blood - Aug. 13, 2011

Austin and grandma communing - notice the little smile. Aug. 13, 2011

Proud papa and Lincoln - such a tiny package of joy. Aug. 14, 2011

Lincoln with grandma - such bliss. Aug. 14, 2011

My boys waving goodbye to me - Aug. 14, 2011.

2011-08-23T05:15:00.000+03:00

Today was a big day in this Myers' household. Shani and I went to the hospital this morning and the boys were released. We brought them home - arrived about 1:30 - they are adjusting well to their new environs and mom and dad are tickled pink to have them home - makes life so much easier - gives them time to get things done around the house - and to enjoy the boys in a much more comfortable setting. Lounging around on the couch is much more comfy while snuggling the boys than sitting in one of the chairs at the PLC (Peter Lougheed Centre). Unfortunately before we were able to make our escape it was found that a routine test that was done a week ago yesterday was going to have to be redone because the box indicating what sex Lincoln Gordon was had not been properly checked off - so they would not accept the test - so he had to have another heel poke - and while the nurse was poking his foot to get the blood - Lincoln anointed me - he peed all over me - missed the diaper just about completely - ah well - such are the joys of being around babies. Good thing I was not wearing my high fashion duds of silk and satin - not likely as I do not own anything that cannot be thrown into the washing machine.

One of the women in their ward brought supper over - zucchini pie, salad, sour cream brownies, grapes and blueberry muffins. It was all very good - although I have not yet tasted one of the muffins. Miles will be making himself popcorn - Mr. Picky Pants.

I took quite a few pictures and will endeavour to upload them - should try now - but I am too tired - afraid that if it did not go well - the laptop might end up out a window.

When we got home Shani and I had a bite to eat and then she laid down for a snooze and I was given the 'honour' of putting together the change table - quite the challenge when I had no idea what it looked like - no instructions as it is a borrowed item - but with a bit of ingenuity I managed to get it together. Here is hoping it stays together - I did not have a screw driver so I used my nail file - pretty sure I got the bolts done up tight enough - especially for now - not as if Lincoln and Austin are exactly bouncing around much yet .

Tomorrow I think we will likely be doing a lot more around the house to get it more organized - needless to say with the twins opting to come early not much is ready for them. So Shani and I have a lot to do - and I will be doing most of the grunt work with directions from the boss.

The nursery needs to be sanded down - to get the wall paper remnants off - and then painted. Miles will have his hands full - although I think he has enlisted the aid of a friend - so hopefully it will be done sooner rather than later.

Just realized I will have to invest in some batteries for my camera - as my rechargeable ones may not be able to be recharged - will have to ask Miles and Shani if they have a charger that I could use - if not I will just buy some regular batteries and use them - not really a big deal - unless I forget to get the batteries and the camera dies - then it is a problem.

Must admit that flying from Fort McMurray to Calgary is much more pleasurable than driving - took less than an hour to fly down - whereas when you drive it takes between eight and nine hours - depending on the number of stops you make. Only one small fly in the ointment - the cost - but ......

The next big news is that Ayman has been 'found'. He contacted his wife and kids in Egypt on Saturday telling them that he was going to be released in a few days - as soon as the battle for Tripoli was over. Mahmood kindly passed along the news. Then on Sunday while I was at the airport waiting for my flight I checked my Facebook and Mawada had sent me a message telling me that Ayman was out of jail and at his brother's place in Tripoli - kindly giving me two numbers where he could be reached at - tried to contact him this morning and got nowhere - will try again tomorrow - although I am tempted to just 'wait' for his call - but he has likely lost Miles' phone number - but still tempting. Guess we will see how I feel tomorrow.

2011-08-16T05:37:00.000+03:00

Ta da - I am a grandma - Miles and Shani had their twin boys on August 9th at 11:00 p.m. They did not have names picked out for them - so they were referred to as Baby A - who weighed in at 5 lbs. and Baby B - who came in at nearly 4 lbs. - 3 lbs. 15 oz. to be exact. Shani had gone for her usual appointment and on the way home her water broke - so she made her way to the Foothills and they hooked her up to a monitor and told her she was in labour - pains were obviously not very bad as she was not feeling a thing.

Shani was released from the hospital on Friday and the twins were moved from Foothills to the Peter Lougheed Centre - not at all convenient as Miles and Shani live in the SW - they were asked where they wanted the boys to go and they chose Rockyview - but they were full - so why bother to ask. Of course the transfer was a good news bad news scenario - good news because it meant the condition of the twins was not as grave as it had been meaning they could be transferred out of the Level 3 NICU to a Level 2 NICU - which is great - but then they were transferred to the hospital furthest from them - which means a lot of travel time. Unfortunately, Shani was left with an epidural headache - one of the side effects of having an epidural - which meant every time she was vertical she was in a great deal of pain.

I received some pictures from Miles on Thursday - they had been taken by Shani's brother Dennis - and of course I needed to see them in person - Marian suggested I take Friday off work - a no go as I need to earn as much money as possible - but then she suggested we drive down Friday after I finish work - I was desperate to see 'my' boys - so I phoned Miles and asked if I could bunk with them for part of Friday night and Saturday night so I could see the boys - he allowed as how I must be 'desperate' to see them - and he was right - as it is an 8 hour trip to make on a two day weekend - just a bit nuts - but then.....

So Friday after work Marian picked me up - a tad on the late side and we drove down to Calgary - we arrived around 2 a.m. - I got to bed around 2:30 a.m. after having a shower and had to get up early - 6:30 a.m. - as Miles wanted to have a shower before we were going to head to the hospital in the morning - so I needed to get up early enough so I could shower before Miles did - yes I shower twice a day - we headed out to the hospital around 8:30 a.m. - made it for their 9:00 feeding.

When the babies were being transferred it was impressed upon Miles and Shani that they boys needed names. So let me introduce you to Austin Miles Myers (previously referred to as Baby A) and Lincoln Gordon Myers (Baby B).

They are so cute - and oh so tiny - remember my 'baby' was 9 lb. 3 oz. - I have never held such little ones.

When we got to the hospital Shani fed Austin and I snaffled Lincoln and fed him - unfortunately I was sitting on my iPod so was unable to take many pictures of him - and it is tough to get your mitts on him because Miles loves to cuddle with him. I do have pictures which I will endeavour to upload one of these evenings when I have more time.

Lincoln had been hooked up to a CPap machine - to help him with his breathing for the first couple of days - but he was off that before he was transferred - both boys are hooked up to a monitor to check on their heart rates, oxygenation, respirations, etc. as well he had an IV to supplement his diet. Austin was hooked up to the CPap machine for a very short period of time and also an IV - but he was taken off the IV before they transferred.

Managed to spend nearly 8 hours at the hospital with the boys on Saturday - then headed back to Fort McMurray Sunday morning - as we both had to be back to work on Monday. It was hard to leave my boys behind - but it was certainly wonderful to see what a good daddy Miles is going to be. He was looking after the twins as well as Shani - he even changed a poopy diaper on Saturday. He had been bragging that he had not yet had to change a dirty diaper - and voila both boys pooped themselves - and I was given the honour of changing Austin while Miles changed Lincoln - I have it on video.

Talked with Miles and the boys are doing well. Lincoln no longer has an IV - woo hoo. And Austin nursed 2 or 3 times today and Lincoln managed to nurse once - which is really good as they have been being fed via bottles - and it is a challenge to get them working for their food now. Lincoln gained a bit of weight today while Austin held his own.

And that is my life in a nutshell - and I need to call it a night and get some sleep. Tomorrow seems to come awfully fast these days - and my body is not thrilled with not having a day of rest over the weekend - and going on very little sleep as well. If I want to make it through this week with my 'sanity' intact and no more injuries I need to get some sleep.

So until tomorrow or so - TTFN.

2011-07-24T20:54:00.000+03:00

My life is so very unexciting these days that I find it difficult to blog. There is nothing to report. Work is as usual - I seem to have accepted a long term assignment - was told to me that it was only until they find a permanent employee to take it - but once I accepted it found out it is for a year to two years - hmmm - wonder what will happen when I fly the coop in November/December for a few months - oh well will cross that bridge when I get to it. Started working on the route (Rover 2) on July 11. Settling in nicely - then on the 18th at 6:05 a.m. the phone rings - they need me to be Jim today - he was on holidays and was scheduled back on the 18th but did not show - and I am the 'only' person who knows how to do his job - with no real training - so I was out the door at 6:10 a.m. to catch the first bus - had just managed to get dressed and was on my way downstairs to have breakfast and get something ready for my lunch - no such luck. Was at work by 6:35 and worked straight through until 2:00 - someone noticed I was wearing my 'sandals' - closed toe ones - but sandals nonetheless - felt it necessary to bring it to the Health and Safety person's attention - who then went to the supervisor - my response was - well I am assigned out of the Riedel office - so I leave my stuff there - my sneakers are there - so someone was supposed to bring them over - actually the woman who got to do my run for the day - but she forgot - twice - then said she would bring them over at 2:00 - and I said not to bother as I would be heading home then. Got home around 3 - and for some odd reason was hungry - go figure - looked in the fridge and there was some pizza - figured I could have a few slices as I had not eaten yet - and it would be the only meal I ate - but was informed by Matthew that the pizza was 'his' - so left it and made myself a couple of little sandwiches and had some salad - then had a big bowl of fruit - raspberries, blackberries - and went to my room.

Tuesday morning - phone did not ring - figured I was safe - downstairs at 6:36 - having had breakfast and made my lunch - and the phone rings - call a cab and come to be Jim again - ARGH - and do I have a pair of sneakers I could bring - yes I did - as I had purchased two new pairs of runners on Saturday - had been window shopping and Foot Locker had a sale on - so I picked up two pairs of Saucony shoes - size 9 and 9.5 - not sure about the 9 - but - whilst browsing I ran into a fellow postie - Maxine - and she told me what to look for and also informed me that her podiatrist had told her that with all the walking we do that shoes should be replaced ever two months - ouch - we do get a boot/shoe allowance - a whole $0.11 an hour - and the shoes were one sale for $80 a pair - no way does the shoe allowance cover replacing shoes every two months - but upon hearing that I did not feel badly any more that the pair that I started wearing in March were trashed - I had wondered what was going on - bad pair or what - but upon reflection - not surprising - the walk routes are between 12-17 km every day - day in day out and I am no light weight - so it is not all that surprising that the shoes had had it. With the route I am on now - the walk route is very short - so the shoes might last longer. Anyhow - took the pair of size 9's to work - and by the end of the day thought my toes were going to fall off - not a happy camper.

Wednesday back to 'my' route and I wore the new size 9's again - had the old pair at the depot so if necessary could swap out - but they were not that bad - I am glad that I do not have a lot of walking to do - as they are just a snitch too short - but for the walking I am doing now - they will work - the size 9.5's will be perfect - and I must admit that with the new shoes my knees and hips are not nearly as sore - although I guess it is not fair to say it is just because of the shoes - part of that may be because I am not walking nearly as much.

The Rover 2 run consists of a lot of loading and unloading of mail/parcels. First thing I have to do is load up the mail for Fort Chipewyan and take it to the airport - then off to Westjet to pick up any last minute express post - and then back to the depot for the express post to be distributed. I also have to take all the 'third class' mail from the Riedel office to the Hardin office - royal pain in the touche. The bins that are used are quite large and get heavy - so I have to lift them onto the truck and then shift them from the truck into a 'mono' (large wire cube - 3' x 3' at least) - lots of upper body work - and my upper body is not all that strong - so my muscles are not really thrilled with me - and having to reach up to close the back door - my right side gets a really good stretch - need to remember to alternate which hand I use - or I will end up even more lopsided than I already am. I have to pick up parcels and other mail at two Retail Post Offices and take them Riedel to be sorted to Edmonton or in Fort McMurray. I also have to empty the red mail boxes - have to start that at 15:00 not a second sooner. I have 21 'ports of call' that I have to deal with from 15:00 on. Usually am back to the depot by shortly after 16:00 - although sometimes it is later. No one wants to take this run because you do have to work until at least 16:00 - whereas if you are doing a walk - you are finished by 13:00 or earlier and then you get to go home. There are certainly times it would be nice to be able to head home early - but such is life. If the morning goes smoothly - no late relay bags or anything like that - I am finished by 11:30 a.m. and then do not have to start back until 13:45 - so have a nice long lunch break - would be nice to have wheels - could do something - but then again - I do not think I would want to be coming home - because once I got here it would be tough to go back. I manage to while away my time. Think I will use the company vehicle (it is allowed) and head to the library this week - have finished all my library books and will not be in town this coming weekend to return them - so will do it during my break - or in the morning if I have time before I head out to deliver my mail.

Spoke with my sister in law, Suzanne, last weekend still no word from or about Ayman - afraid this is really wearing me down - I do not sleep well - which does not help me deal with work or life around here - but not much I can do about it.

Marian and Matthew headed to BC on the 21st of July - Marian will be spending two weeks in Creston with the folks - Matthew is headed to the island to spend time with his dad.

Shani and the twins are doing well - this upcoming week is her last week at work - she says she feels as if she is being beaten up from the inside out, but other than that she is doing well - has passed or will soon pass the 32 week period. Here is hoping she can make it to the end of August - best for the babies - every day she can keep them happy incubating in her is great.

Still no idea when I will be heading to Calgary - Miles has not been able to make/take time to discuss it - so will certainly be playing that one by ear. Did get busy and ship some 'treasures' down to Calgary with Marian - will make my trip much easier - as I will only have to pack one suitcase.

And on that note I am going to sign out - go downstairs and finish the laundry and maybe get brave and mow the front lawn before it rains again - will have to check to see how wet it is before I attempt it though.

TTFN

2011-07-11T03:11:00.000+03:00

The lockout is over and we are back to work - we were back to work on June 28 - have been working flat out since then - have a back log of mail to deliver. First week I was on a mobile route - which means I deliver parcels for a fairly large area and deliver mail to a smaller area - got the hang of it and was finishing in good time on the last day - which was the Thursday - Friday was Canada Day so a day off. Then I got switched to another route - not sure why - according to the union rep I should not have been bumped - but who knows - and of course by the time I am informed it is too late - and this route is a walk route - walking about 12 km every day - five days - Thursday in the rain the whole time - Friday in the rain for a bit of the time - needless to say by the end of Friday my body was not at all happy with me. I feel physically beaten up - add to that being mentally bruised and I am not in a very great place - wishing I could find me a cave and hide out in it for the duration - the stress of not knowing what is happening with Ayman is wearing on me - I know there is nothing I can do about it - could someone please get that message to my brain - so that at night I can sleep - I am not sleeping well - which does not help me to carry out my letter carrier duties at all - need all the sleep I can muster to get my body walking as far as it has to - but ....

Spent yesterday in the company of a very good friend - she picked me up and we went shopping. We went to the Body Shop at the Peter Pond Mall - they had an awesome sale on - so I took the opportunity to stock up on body butter and a few other treats - spending as much time outside as I do - I need extra moisturisation for my skin - I am getting quite brown - well parts of me are getting quite brown - my feet have a very funky tan line going - and that which is tanned is quite dark - my legs are slowly getting brown - not at the same rate - unfortunately - and my arms and neck are quite brown - my face is not getting a lot of colour - a) because I wear a wide brimmed hat and b) because I wear sun screen with an SPF of 100 - as per the dermatologists orders in Egypt - need to be careful when applying the sun screen because if it gets in my eyes - it really burns - and of course I sweat like a horse so if I put it on my forehead it just runs into my eyes - so it is put on my nose, cheeks and chin - and of course the hat covers my forehead - so it does not get any sun.

Today spent the day at Marian's work picnic - was a good time - despite the sulking 18 year old - must admit I do not 'appreciate' his attitude and the way he treats Marian - not much I can do about it - but it certainly frustrates me. Lots of good food - the standard fare of hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken breasts - all very well done. They had someone painting faces, a balloon man who was busy making all kinds of balloon shapes, snow cones, popcorn and of course cotton candy. They had a bouncy room for the little kids - lots of soccer balls for the kids to play with - a little craft area where they could colour up a bus and take it home. Weather was nice - a bit of a breeze - some cloud to keep it from getting too hot - but enough sun to keep it warm.

That is all I have to report at the moment - not much new in my life - in fact nothing at all. But felt the need to update and try to keep on top of things - such as they are.

2011-06-11T23:39:00.000+03:00

Not much to report - nothing much has changed - been busy running around 'shopping' as if I had money - which I did do as I got paid on Thursday and my vacation pay was added to the cheque - which of course meant the government took their share - wish we had the option of holding the vacation pay and asking for it - would ask for it once I was no longer working - then I would receive more of it - oh well - such is life. Went to WalMart bright and early Friday morning because they had 32GB iPod touch on sale for $298. Now I am debating whether or not I will keep it - or return it and bite the bullet and get an iPhone - which I can use in Canada and Egypt - need to do some research - talked with Miles about it last night - and he had some good insight - so will have to do some checking - may take the iPod touch back and end up with and iPhone - will see how I feel after I talk with some sales people. Only thing is that I would likely want to wait until September before getting the iPhone and I seem to have misplaced my cell phone - SIGH - not a good week - not sure where my head has been - but I seem to have been misplacing things quite regularly. Hope I can get my head back in the game soon.

Marian headed to Edmonton on Thursday night - so I am left in charge of three cats and one teenager - the teenager is a royal pain in the hiney. And of course my hands are tied as he is not mine - so not much I can do about it. So very grateful that my teenager - while not perfect - was nowhere near as obnoxious as this one is - if he had been I would been in jail for murder - not really - because mine was not allowed to be so obnoxious - I was a very MEAN mom - but it certainly paid off - because Miles has grown in to a very responsible adult.

Weather here is still not bad - yesterday was a very cloudy day - we had hopes that it would rain - but no such luck and today the sky is blue with a few clouds - so not much chance of having rain in the near future. And we really do need it - the forest fires are still going like crazy - just hope and pray that the fire does not come closer to the town site.

Have had no further news on Ayman - will likely be talking with my sister in law tomorrow - but I am not holding out much hope that the status will change. I am worried about him - but I am also really pissed off with him - he should have left Libya before he was incarcerated - but oh no he had to stay to protect his 'assets' - not doing him or his family any good now - are they - GRRRR - all of this could have been avoided if he had not been so greedy and short sighted - he was convinced that the protests would be short lived and the people would 'cave' - when we talked about it I was always urging him to leave - but he was sure it would amount to nothing - hmmm.

Has been a quiet day - have spent most of the day reading - had a short little snooze - felt good - and I think I will continue reading - it is just that kind of day.

2011-06-08T16:37:00.000+03:00

Today is the second day of being 'locked out' at work. Monday all temporary employees were sent home - at the behest of Canada Post - not the union. This means that mail is not being delivered all over Canada because Canada Post is playing 'games' - shame on them. Yesterday spent the day grocery shopping - buying loads of cherries, grapes, pineapple, satsuma oranges, strawberries, lettuce, broccoli - do love this time of year when there is so much produce available - yummmm. Then I realized I had 'misplaced' my driver's license - ARGH - went through all my 'purses' - one purse and my backpack plus the bag I carry to work - could not find it - drove myself nearly off the deep end - did not take a lot - stress levels are a tad on the high side right now - was having my shower prior to heading to bed and trying to recollect the last time I knew for sure that I had had the thing - remembered that I had shown it to a woman at work on my birthday - because she did not believe it was my birthday - it was one of our supervisor's birthday as well and they had bought her a birthday cake - said it was also my birthday - and this woman did not believe me - HARUMPH - despite what some people believed my birthday is June 2, not June 12 (dig at my favourite cuzzy) - so after my shower I went to my room and checked all my work shirt pockets and VOILA there it was - meant I was driving on Friday and Monday without my license on my person - good thing I did not get pulled over - and thank God that I found it. WHEW!!!!!!! Big sigh of relief.

Talked with Suzanne (my sister in law in Egypt) and the news about Ayman is less than stellar. They had word that he was incarcerated in a jail in Tajura - which is a suburb of Tripoli - had been moved all around the place prior to this place - heard this from someone who was incarcerated with him but had been released - but the authorities are denying they have any Egyptians in jail - and my brother in law - Hatem - who lives in Tripoli went to the jail and was told they had no Egyptians - so it is anybody's guess as to where Ayman is and how he is. He may well have been 'fine' the last time someone saw him - but that can change in an instant as he is being held by Ghadaffi's goons - who are not known for their kind caring spirits - they are better known for being torturers and murderers - so many people have 'disappeared'. Ayman was picked up with a group of Egyptians and jailed because he is Egyptian - nothing more than that. Ghadaffi had decided that the Egyptians were to blame for the Libyan people revolting against his 'benevolent' regime - guy really lives in la la land.

So, this week has not been great - started with not so great news about Ayman (which translates into lousy sleep for me) - locked out of work - and I am so grateful that my living situation is what it is - my living expenses are minimal - do not HAVE to pay rent or a mortgage - do not HAVE to pay for utilities - I do pay a minimal amount for 'rent' and contribute groceries by paying for them - but nothing major. Will be interesting to see how many temporary employees are still around after this 'strike' - most of them rely on their income to live - so they will likely be looking for other work - not looking forward to getting back - as the work will be piled high - I had just been given an indefinite route - the woman is off on maternity leave - so I was to cover it until they found a permanent employee to take it - would have to be out for bid - have a feeling when things resolve themselves - I will be on it for a fairly long time - as no permanent employees want it - you start at 8:30 a.m. - not 7:30 a.m. and you do not finish until 4:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. at THE earliest - with upwards to a 2.5 hour break from 11:30 to 2 - depending on how quickly the first part of the run is done. It is not my favourite route - but it is all right - but the permanent people want to be done by 1:30 or so - which is when most of the walks are done by. So I will be 'stuck' doing this - at least I know what I am doing for the foreseeable future - once we get back to work. And then misplacing my driver's license - at least I found the thing so that is one less worry.

Still lots of smoke around here - the sunrise and sunset are spectacular - the sun is SO red from the smoke. Guess we have the 'honour' of having the largest fire in 50 years - 415,000 hectares have burned so far - and it is still out of control - and awfully close to Fort McMurray - if the winds pick up and blow the 'wrong' way we may have to evacuate - and of course we have had NO rain to speak of - had a few showers the other day - along with thunder and lightning - which meant of course that more fires were sparked - thank goodness they got them put out in a hurry. Last week the weather was VERY warm - in the high 20's - just about melted - driving around all day in a 'step van' - an oven on wheels - and of course no air conditioning - and then on Friday the high was set at 8 - we got to 4 - it was freak'n freezing - although I would rather have that than the heat - at least I can wear a sweater to keep warm and when I have to do the walk portion of the route I am not dripping all over the mail.

Not much else to report - my body is not really thrilled with this job - but then it never has been. The new route I am on requires me to do a lot of heavy lifting - not a lot of walking - so my upper body is not happy - lots of lifting and twisting - have to be very careful so as not to injure my back or my knees.

And on that note I will sign off - keep thinking I should post pictures - but of what???

2011-05-15T20:19:00.000+03:00

Another work week about to begin - wonder what this one will bring. The last two weeks were quite 'pleasant' as I had the same route every day - gave me a chance to really learn it and get it done in a timely manner - in fact Friday I was back to the depot by 1:30 p.m. - a record for me - of course for the regular carriers it was considered late - most of them had already left for the day - but I was tickled that I got back so early. Meant I had time to do the one flyer and get out before 3:30 - in fact I was home by 2:45 p.m. - YES - that is what I like. Only drawback last week was that I injured myself. Wednesday I was back to the depot by 2:00 p.m. and ended up falling flat on my oh so expansive backside - but in the process I managed to wack the back of my left hand - badly swollen - thank goodness nothing is broken - but the worst part was that when I fell I managed to do more damage to my hamstring -where it attaches to my hip - so my right butt is extremely tender - walking is not a problem - but sitting - OUCH - and the route I had was a driving route so I had to drive the vehicle around - Thursday was a challenge - Friday I got smart and took some Ibuprofen before I headed out and it was not so bad. But sitting at the computer is a challenge.

The weather here has been great - a couple of days of rain - but it was not a heavy rain - a nice 'gentle' rain - so did not get soaked while out delivering the mail. The day it rained the most - by 1:00 p.m. it had quit and the birdsong was fantastic - I do so enjoy being outside and being able to listen to the sounds of birds - something that I really do miss in Egypt - temps have been in the low 20's - very nice for me - I sweat profusely - so the temps is good - they are forecasting 26 tomorrow - gonna be a hot one for me - but such is life. My arms are nice and brown - I am being very good and putting my sunscreen of 110 SPF on my face every morning and when it is sunny I wear my Post Office 'sunhat' - so my face is still fairly pale - and I do need to get busy and start wearing sunscreen on my arms - but I do so like to be brown - I know I know - it is not 'healthy' - but I think it is more attractive than being pale.

This weekend Marian took off for a doctor's appointment on Friday - she had had an ultrasound on May 6th - and when she got to Edmonton on Friday she found out the appointment had been changed to May 27th - asked me to mark it on her calendar - and lo and behold she had already made the change - DUH - guess one should check the calendar. She left Matthew and his buddy Daniel here - as Matthew was scheduled to work. When I got home from work on Friday he and Daniel were still hiding out in their room - had done nothing yet - they were supposed to be working at 5 - but that had been changed to all day Saturday - after some 'haranguing' Matthew came down and did the dishes - sort of - and vacuumed the living room - jobs that his mother had left him with. He got about 1/2 the dishes done and ran out of room - so I told him to come back in 30 minutes and then the dishes could be put away and the rest of them could be washed. So about 45 minutes later I called him down to finish the dishes - he came down and did most of them - left a few behind - never ceases to amaze me how pots and pans are not considered dishes - what are they??? When I got up Saturday morning (around 8) the house was empty - so I finished cleaning up the kitchen and made myself something to eat. The boys did not arrive home until 2:30 this morning - one wonders what they were up to - guess I will find out when they start moving.

Yesterday was a very quiet day for me - had planned to head out and do a bit of shopping - but by the time I could go - my get up and go had left me behind - so I just schlepped around - watched some of the shows that I had recorded last week and the week before. Head to bed around 10:00 - had had enough TV - but still have more shows to watch - so may spend some time this afternoon going through a few more of them. Must admit this ability to tape them is kind of nice - I know the technology has been around for a long time - I remember setting my VCR to tape shows - but this is so much easier.

Today I got up around 8 - and came downstairs and cut up celery and carrots for munching on during the week - as well cut up radishes, celery and onion for making egg salad or tuna salad for the week - made myself a salad for the rest of the day and had a bacon and cucumber sandwich and salad for breakfast after munching on a couple of oranges and some watermelon. Plan is to head out for a walk - go to the ATM and get some money - I have no cash on me - and I do not use it often - but it is nice to have some on me for those occasions when a credit card is not feasible.

2011-05-14T17:59:00.000+03:00

At this time 29 years ago I was labouring to give birth to Miles - yep today is his birthday - he was officially 'hatched' - had a c-section - at 12:01 p.m. on May 14, 1982. This began one of the 'best' adventures in my life. I am so truly blessed, honoured, lucky, fortunate, etc., etc., to have been 'chosen' to be his parent. I do believe he got the short end of the stick in this choice - but hey it was his choice to make and I am so glad he did. We certainly had our ups and downs - but mostly I remember the ups - he was a great kid - learned quickly - well most of the time - he was a relatively easy baby - made being a mom quite 'easy'. He liked to sleep - never had to fight with him about going to sleep - he would fall asleep anywhere - I remember one time we were visiting my maternal grandparents - I put him to sleep on the floor - he was not very old - I don't think he was six months yet - but I knew not to put him on a bed - so I placed him on a blanket on the floor - went to check on him and there he was - GONE - he had skooted under the bed and he was peacefully sleeping - at Laverne's - his long time sitter - she would find him sacked out on the stairs or on the kitchen floor - always had his blanket with him - he did not have a specific blanket - but he always had a 'receiving' blanket to snuggle up with.

He has always had a very tender heart - although he tries to 'bury' it - I remember we went to visit my sister Marian - she was going through a divorce and was pregnant - we found her in tears - and he just climbed up into her lap - wrapped his chubby little arms around her neck and told her he loved her and it would be all right - he was not yet four. His curiosity was just what was needed - we all need to see the world the eyes of a child - brings us back to 'reality'.

Along with his tender heart is a very strong streak of stubbornness - I remember him sitting with my dad for ages and my dad trying to get his to say Dog - Gog - he would be on my dad's knees and my dad would say duck - Miles would parrot back duck - then door - back would come door - working their way through quite a list of words that began with D - and then dad would say Dog and back would come Gog - OMG - what a hoot. There were certainly times his stubbornness stood him in good stead and other times I sure do wish he had been a little more 'maleable' - but looking back I am grateful that he was stubborn and did not 'follow' others - kept him out of a lot of trouble. Although I am sure he got into more than his fair share - a lot of which I doubt I will ever know about.

Fast forward to 1992 - when I 'met' missionaries from the LDS church - after quite some time of teaching I took the challenge to be baptized - told Miles I was going to be baptized - I had always met with the missionaries when he was not around - and he informed me that I was not being baptized without him - so for the following couple of weeks it seemed as if the missionaries lived at our house - I had to have the remaining three discussions and Miles had to have all six of them - we were baptized together in October 1992. In May 2001 he left on his mission - one of my online friends asked me at this time why Miles had joined the church - and you know I had never given it a thought. I then asked him when he was in the airport in Denver on his way to Houston - and was informed that he had been praying for years for the missionaries to come and find us - WOW - so it was all his 'fault' - amazing testament to the power of prayer.

He served an honourable mission and when he came back we had some bumpy times - choices I had made led to a rift. A rift that broke my heart - but thank God it is being repaired. I can feel the distance drifting away - this past February when I ended up staying with him and Shani - it felt almost 'normal' - was great.

He married a wonderful young lady - Shani Ellison - am so grateful that she joined our somewhat 'strange' family - she and Miles make a great team - it is heartwarming to see them together - they have what I 'wanted'. Now they are on the verge of a new journey - this coming August/September they will begin the journey of becoming parents to twins - I can't wait to watch them grow and adjust to this new role. I have no fear that Miles will be an awesome father - as he is an awesome (but not perfect) husband - he worries that he does not have a role model - the flip side is that he has had no bad examples to work through - he has a clean slate - he can chart his own course as a father - his children are so fortunate to have 'chosen' this family to come to.

So, Happy Birthday my baby boy - you will always be my baby - and I will always be 'emotional' about you - it is with great delight that I prepare to watch you as you start on this new journey. All the best - and I love you the most.

2011-04-28T15:03:00.002+03:00

Just a very short little post before I head to work. Got word from Suzanne (my sister in law) that Ayman is safe (for the moment) - he is unable to leave the house where he is staying at - from my understanding of the message that was left.

2011-04-25T16:11:00.000+03:00

Time flies when you are having 'fun' - guess I am having way too much fun - NOT.
Started this post over a month ago and did not get it posted.

I am now in Fort McMurray - arrived here on March 24th - flew in - was kind of nice - not that I could truly afford to fly - but the difference in price between busing and flying was not all that great - but the time spent on a bus would have been at least 10 hours - whereas flying took only 1.5 hours - so ....

I phoned the Post Office on the 24th and told them I would be ready for work on the 28th - boss was 'thrilled' to hear I was back - have been working every day since - had truly thought I would not get many hours so soon - but hey - it is all good. At least good for the bank account. I find it quite stressful - not knowing what I will be doing day to day - one day I am doing one thing next day something else and then something else again - and unfortunately I get routes that require me to drive - which means I take a LONG time to deliver the mail - because you also get to deliver parcels and I am not very good at getting things 'organized' - no matter how hard I try I usually end up 'forgetting' at least one parcel - which means I have to back track - which of course puts me behind - oh well such is life.

Weather here has been very good - considering the time of year - we have had a bit of snow - not enough to really cause a lot of problems - although one Monday we did get quite a bit - lasted a couple of days - but then was gone again. This weekend the forecast was for temps in the double digits - we did not get them - it has been a tad on the cool side - clouds today look like they are going to be dumping some snow on us sometime or other. Time will tell.

I opted to stay in Fort McMurray this weekend - have four days off work - Marian and Matthew decided to head to Calgary - and I toyed with the idea for all of 15 minutes and then decided to stay here - and enjoy a nice peaceful weekend on my own - has been very nice. Have spent the time resting, cooking for the week so we do not have to worry about cooking suppers when we get home from work, have been playing catch up on a few TV shows as well.

I went out last weekend and bought myself a bicycle - Canadian Tire had them on sale - actually got the bike Wednesday night - they had to assemble it - and that took them a long time - but it was done - now I need to gather my courage and go out and ride the thing.

Have had no word from Ayman - needless to say the family is frantic with worry (me included) - no one has told his mom that he has 'disappeared' - last time he was heard from was March 16 - a long time with no word - and of course the last he was heard from he was in the town of Binjawad - which apparently has been leveled - so .... His brother had been able to get through - but now all the cell phone lines are out of commission as are the internet lines. Apparently Hatem (his brother) who is located in Tripoli is unable to leave the city - he waited too long to get out of the country and he is now 'stuck' - and in considerable danger - as is everyone else in the country. I worry about all my family and friends there. I am glad that I am here in Canada - at least I am working and keeping relatively busy - so that at least I am not sitting in Egypt stewing - although I would have been back in Canada anyhow - plan was to leave Egypt mid April so that I could visit for a bit before heading back to work in mid-May. When Ayman left for Libya I told him good bye for good - because I 'knew' that I would not see him before I left for Canada - a little something told me - and it was oh so right. I wonder what I would have done about money if I had stayed - I know he left lots of money in the safe at his house - and I bet dollars to donuts that Amal would not have made sure that I got my monthly 'allowance' - so all in all I am glad that I left Egypt when I did - at least here I have been able to help when I was needed and am back at work - so that I can take time off when the babies are to be born.

Before I headed to Fort McMurray I went to Creston for 10 days - and had a good visit - unfortunately I arrived with a cold and when I left both mom and dad had managed to contract a cold as well - not sure if I am to blame for both of them - but when I went I worried about mom getting ill - and now both of them are sick - sorry.

Arrived in Creston bright and early in the morning of March 10th - Thursday - had taken the bus - my nephew in law Ty took me to the bus depot as both Miles and Shani were otherwise occupied - was kind of nice - Ty had worked at the Greyhound Depot as a security guard - so I was given the 'royal' treatment - did not have to pay for my second piece of luggage - went to the gym with mom and dad - did some work on one of the elliptical trainers and then did weights for legs - must admit working out when it is hard to breathe does make it more difficult - but I worked my way through it.

Friday we headed down to the States - went to Staples, Yoke's, GNC and WalMart - I do enjoy wandering around stores to see what they have that is different than in Canada - bought a few things - of course.

Saturday we headed to Cranbrook (108 km west) for my dad's eye appointment - things are looking good so that his next visit is in two months instead of five weeks - we stopped in at a local restaurant for lunch and then mom drove home.

Sunday I went to church - saw a few old friends - good to see them.

Monday dad and I headed to the gym - did 12 minutes on the rower - I do hate that machine - but it is a good overall workout - then worked on my upper body. Went to the gym a few more times - must admit I do miss the gym when I am in Fort McMurray - sick puppy I know.

Helped Dad gather up the 'limbs' from the trees he had pruned before I arrived - needed to gather them up so that the spring flowering bulbs that are in the area could show themselves. Was nice to be there and see the crocus and other spring bulbs that do not get eaten by the deer - unfortunately the tulip crop got scavenged by the deer - much to my parent's chagrin.

I also did up my income taxes while in Creston - dad bought the program to do his and mom's and so I did mine as well - I was some chuffed that I could not finish them online - as I was a new 'immigrant' I was unable to finish them - so when I got back to Calgary I copied them out onto the appropriate forms and went downtown and put them in to be couriered to Winnipeg - have yet to receive my refund - any day now - I hope.

While I was in Calgary I 'dragged' my buddy Deb to a new store - the Bulk Barn - did not take a lot of arm twisting - what a store - good thing I do not live in Calgary - would be bad news. The variety of bulk spices was fantastic - great place to go to stock up on a lot of things.

And then it was time to pack up again - I was only able to take one suitcase with me - so left a second suitcase and a bag for Marian to bring back with her. She left for Calgary the day after I arrived in Fort McMurray - she had booked holidays - and my being in Fort McMurray meant she did not have to take all her cats with her - she left three of them behind for me to look after - and took the one that needs 'special treatment' - which is fine by me - I do not mind looking after the cats - although must admit doing the litter is not one of my favourite jobs to do. Marian was gone for 10 days - so it was a very quiet re-entry into life in Fort McMurray.

Not much else to report - life is busy - work is keeping me out of trouble - well for the most part anyhow.

2011-03-02T21:49:00.000+03:00

BRRRRR - third day of below minus 20 temps - with the wind chills it has been around minus 37 - Monday was the worst because the wind was the strongest and I went out for a walk - dang it I must be crazy - I left Egypt because of what????? I am beginning to think I was crazy - but then I read what is going on and I am glad to be here - I may be danged cold - but at least I am safe. Libya has eclipsed Egypt in the news - but I do not think things are normal in Egypt yet - not sure when they will be - I am hoping that when I go back in December things will be 'better' - I am thinking it is going to be a long time before things in Egypt are 'normal' - mainly because no one has any idea of what normal is going to be. Unfortunately the people are expecting miracles to happen overnight - to have democracy, better wages, better living conditions - and these things are all going to take time - has taken 30 years for things to get as bad as they were - so please be patient - none of the things that people protested about happen overnight.

Miles and Shani are getting ready to head to Houston today - their flight leaves around 5:00 p.m. - so I will be driving them to the airport and then I am on my own - with wheels - imagine - WOW - the trouble I can get into. Only drawback is that is too cold to get into too much trouble. Oh well I will work on it.

Yesterday I went to MEC and wandered around - managed to find a few things to purchase that will assist me in keeping warm when I get back to delivering the mail - not really looking forward to it - but the money is good and the exercise (if I survive) is awesome. Can you tell I am trying to convince myself. I don't think I am doing a very good job - because I am really looking for a cave that I can hibernate in until the weather becomes warmer - but so far no luck. I have been successful - I think (I hope) in finding a pair of winter boots that I can wear at work - have been wearing them around the house - in the hopes that I will be able to 'break' them in a bit - they are not that uncomfortable - but not as comfy as my runners - but I truly hope they will keep my feet warmer than my runners do.

My life seems to be in a state of turmoil - wish I could get it back on track - but I cannot do this on my own and my 'partner' is quite content to bury his head in the sand and ignore everything in the hopes that it will all just disappear and I will come to my senses and be a good girl and let him continue to do what he wants when he wants with no consequences - think he will ever get that - I don't. Must admit one 'nice' thing about Miles is that at least he is willing to talk things through - oh well such is my life.

Has been very nice to be appreciated while I am here in Calgary - I think it is the first time since I married Ayman that I have felt that way - I have usually felt very much in the way - but Miles has certainly changed and for the better. Patience - wish I was better at it - slowly but surely.

Not much else has been going on - trying to keep warm - major feat - and trying to work through the 'mess' I seem to have made of my life - this is a tough one - as it keeps me awake at nights - which does not help my situation at all. I have trouble keeping it together when I get enough sleep - but when I am plagued with insomnia it is ten times worse.

2011-02-27T08:30:00.000+03:00

Just a quick little post - the cat is out of the bag - Shani and Miles told her parents tonight - so I am free to 'blab' - I am going to be a grandma - Shani is pregnant - with twins - yep you read it right - twins - due at the beginning of September - more than likely to be born before that though. I was told on January 30th, along with the request for my help for awhile when the babies are born - another reason to come back to Canada earlier than I had planned - need to start work so I can take time off - and still have time to earn some money.

Shani is doing well - has to graze all day or her gag reflex goes into overdrive - so I have been packing a small store of goodies to keep her going at work - as well as preparing suppers as she is very tired when she gets home.

Miles is thrilled - as is Shani - but he is a tad 'stressed' about the financial side of things - expensive enough having one - but two at the same time - double everything - also means getting a larger vehicle - ah the joys of having babies.

2011-02-23T17:43:00.000+03:00

Wow, where has the time gone. Last time I posted I was on my way back to Egypt and here I am back in Canada - 3 months earlier than planned - the unrest in Egypt was too much for me to deal with on my own. My family was great - but waking up at 3:30 in the morning to the sound of gunshots in the street was the breaking point. And my family in Canada was very concerned about me - so I decided - albeit a very tough decision to make - to come back to Canada early and wait things out (what was I thinking - it is danged cold here).

I arrived in Cairo on January 8, 2010. Ayman was at the airport to meet me - first time in a very long time. Arrival was a bit trying - was just about not allowed in the country - I have a residency visa - and unbeknownst to me it allows me to be out of the country for only six months - so I was held up at passport control until the office could nab his superior (who was busy chatting with others) and once the superior came, he looked at my marriage contract and said to let me in - the marriage contract trumps the residency visa - YAY. Ayman wanted to spend the rest of the 'night' - arrival time was 3:30 a.m. and by the time I passed passport control and got my luggage it was around 4:30 a.m. - at a hotel in Cairo - I had been travelling for 24 hours - and while it was sort of appealing - I would have jumped at the chance if we were going to stay in a 'nice' hotel - but the hotel of Ayman's choice is not a really great hotel - hot water is a luxury, the bathrooms are not all that clean and it is in a very noisy, busy (therefore dirty) area of Cairo - so I was not really interested - especially as we would have had to check out by 11 - did not see the point - I had slept most of the way back - so was not really tired - so we headed back to Alexandria - another 3.5 hours of travel time.

Got home and was 'upset' at the mess my house was in. Ayman had asked the bowab (security guard) to find a maid and he had not been able to find one - likely did not even bother looking - he is not known for being very active at doing things unless you are right there to nag him - and Suzanne (my dear SIL) had also been unable to find a maid to clean (and unbeknownst to me she had been in the hospital in ICU for four days - she just about died) - one of the balcony outer doors had not been shut properly and had blown open in the wind - which in turn blew open the inside door and there was garbage all over the place - the bathroom was a disgusting mess - and Ayman had 'lent' my place to friends from Libya and they had stripped the bed but had not made it - so I had to clean up the bathroom - because after travelling for that length of time I HAVE to have a shower and then I had to make the bed - needless to say I was less than 'thrilled' - and then Ayman pouted like a little kid - did not help - just sat their bemoaning the fact that I was not happy to be home - ARGHHHHH.

Spent most of Saturday trying to clean up the worst of the mess - did manage to get a bit of rest - told Ayman I was not cooking - as I had been out of the country for a year and had no idea what was left in my freezer or cupboards - so he sent my youngest nephew out to get a roasted chicken.

Sunday we got up and headed out early to get the registration on the car renewed - had expired in April of 2010 - and Ayman had just driven the car without registration and when he got pulled over he paid a bribe and went on his merry way. Took most of the day and 700LE to get the car registered - then the complaints about how much it cost started - I figured that since he drove my car all the time he was in Egypt while I was in Canada it was the least he could do.

Sunday evening my mother in law and Suzanne and her kids came up to visit - my MIL was impressed with my weight loss (Ayman had not mentioned it at all) - had a good visit - this is the custom in Egypt - if you have been travelling the family is supposed to come and see you shortly after you arrive home.

Monday he decided that he wanted to look at property in Borg el Arab - a new 'city' that is being built about 1.5 hours from Alex - he is going to 'invest' in property for his boys - so when they want to get married he can provide them a home - as this is a requirement - the males are to provide a home for the wife - and of course his boys are not about to work for it themselves. So I was dragged out to look at property for his kids - unfortunately I am not really thrilled with this - as he was unable to purchase a home for me - I had to purchase my own place - needless to say I am less than impressed. Monday night I was informed that he had to go home to spend time with his kids as he had not seen them for a month - WTH - you have not seen me for a YEAR - and you arrived in Egypt on Tuesday and I arrived on Saturday - so what were you doing during that time. Another black mark. And the whole time he was with me he talked about his kids and money - not exactly my two favourite subjects - I am beginning to see the end here.

After Ayman left I went downstairs and visited with Suzanne and her family. Suzanne was very surprised that Ayman had already left to be with his family - she figured he would have spent at least a week with me. She was also very surprised that Ayman talked so much about money and his kids - as if I am interested in his kids. I was interested to find out from Suzanne why Ahmed was in contact with me while I was in Canada - he was under the impression that I was going to buy him a laptop and bring it back - asked where he got this idea - Ayman had told him that I was going to do this. When I came back to Canada Ayman had asked me to look at the laptop of his son's desires - I looked - and before it went any further - my brain said WOAH - here I am looking at a laptop for my 'stepson' while my husband refuses to pay 500LE to get my computer up and running - something is not right - so I quit looking. Saw Ahmed twice while I was in the country - once because his father 'insisted' that he come to see me and he came with my nephew Mahmoud. Then once more Mahmoud was coming to see me - so Ahmed came along to say good-bye. So much for his assurances to me that he would be better than before - I doth believe I smell a rat.

Tuesday I drove to Sadat City to visit my friends Rose (from the US) and Louise (from Australia). I had not seen Rose for just about two years - and of course last time I saw Louise was just before I came to Canada in 2010. Both of them had had a really rough 2010 - both their husband's passed away quite unexpectedly and quite quickly. It was great to see them - Louise kept looking for the other half of me - made me feel good that someone 'noticed' the weight loss. Ended up spending the night - as it was too late to head back - I do not like driving the highway at night - so just spent the night visiting and having a really good time. Wednesday morning I headed off around 9:30 or so - they were heading to Cairo to put Louise's son (Thomas) on an airplane back to Australia. I got home without mishap.

Thursday Ayman went out to Borg el Arab with his uncle and aunt - and they came back to my place for lunch - I made beef stir fry and rice - trying to stretch the meat as I had not taken enough out for guests - but it worked out all to the good. Friday we were out and about looking at more properties for his sons.

Saturday and Sunday I was on my own again - went out to Carrefour to do some shopping on one of the days - took a friend along - and we decided that we needed to make another trip so we could just walk around and see the expansion and renovations that had been done to the mall. Spent time with the family.

Monday and Tuesday were spent running around looking at properties again - nice to know that I was soooo missed in the year I was gone that all Ayman could think about doing was dragging me around to look at properties for his sons. Hmmm - do I detect a touch of sarcasm here - not me!!!!!

Not sure what I did on Wednesday and Thursday - likely not much - think I worked at getting things unpacked and in order and doing cleaning.

Friday, Ayman informed me that he was going to be heading back to Libya that day - I pitched a fit - I have been gone for a year and you cannot stay in Egypt for more than two weeks after I arrive back - WTH????? So he - oh so graciously - allowed as how he could manage to stay for another week. We spent the day looking at yet more properties and on Saturday it was the same - only difference was that we were looking closer to home - at apartments that were actually finished - the placed he had been looking at in Borg el Arab were in the construction phase - I figured he would never get the things done - and there are time limits on when the construction has to be completed or there are fines to be paid. The flats he was looking at are really nice - if I had the money I would be looking to buy one - the flats are situated in 6th of October a subdivision of Agamy - which is a 'bedroom' community of Alex. The area is a gated community - and everything is built in a very nice grid pattern - no buildings higher than four floors - and each area has it's own shopping area - not far from the sea. Oh well - such is life - I don't think I would have liked buying there when I moved to Egypt - it is nice to be so close to the family.

Monday I walked to San Stefano - took me an hour (walked along the corniche) and met with the ladies from AWA - was nice to see those who are still around. After the coffee meeting there was a lunch being held in honour of Gail Rohland - a wonderful lady from the States - her husband had been working in Egypt these past 18 years - but they were preparing to move back to the States as Gail has been diagnosed with Parkinson's. One of the ladies of the group - Gloria - hosted a lunch for Gail and members of her Bible Study and MahJohng group - at a very nice restaurant. I was asked if I was going - said no as I had not been invited - but was told that I was welcome to come - so I tagged along. Felt badly as one of the AWA group had not been invited - if I had realized that I would have stayed behind and visited with her. Ayman came over and told me good-bye - he just HAD to leave - there was a truck heading to Libya that he had to get things ready for so when the truck was coming back to Egypt he could bring a shipment to Egypt for Ayman - I as not too impressed - in fact I was truly pissed off - but that is one of the 'joys' of being married to Ayman. And of course with all this unrest - he is unable to get the copper here - and he did manage to get one shipment but he cannot sell it because the roads are not safe and the banks have been closed - although the banks are now open - not sure if the shipment has been sold or not yet (anyone but me see the irony here).

Tuesday was the first day of protests - held on Police Day - I went to spend the afternoon and early evening at my MIL's place with Suzanne and her two youngest children (Mawada and Mohammed). My MIL lives not far from the train tracks - we saw two groups of protesters - both on the other side of the tracks - did not see or hear anything in her immediate neighbourhood. Played cards with the kids and then had supper with the family and then we came home.

Wednesday was a quiet day - did not do anything memorable.

Thursday I walked to San Stefano again - this time I walked along the tram line - took me 35 minutes - had a nice visit with Gail Rohland - walked home and felt good about walking that distance - a couple of nice hills to navigate.

Friday I spent the day glued to the television watching history unfold - I could not believe what I was seeing - the protesters were not at all violent - but the riot police came after them like gangbusters - the scene of the riot police tear gassing the Muslims as they said their mid afternoon prayers will be seared in my mind for a long time to come - as well as the scene of the police using the water cannon on the men as they prayed the sunset prayers - OMG. Unfortunately the peace did not last all that long - but I truly believe that if the police had minded their p's and q's there would have been much less violence. Watching what was going on in Cairo and Suez was mind boggling - the people were without fear - for the first time since the Mubarak regime took over. There were no live reports coming from Alex - at least nothing to show - but there was a female reporter who was reporting that thousands upon thousands had gathered in an area - a long way from me - and it was getting violent. In the end all of the police stations were torched along with all the Ministry of the Interior buildings. Needless to say I did not leave the house - internet was cut - not that I have a computer - and mobile phone service was also cut - thank goodness I had my land line - they did not cut that service - so I was not completely cut off. I had phoned my sister fairly early in the day to wish her a Happy Birthday - because they were announcing that mobile phone service was going to be cut.

Even though it was very quiet in my neighbourhood it was very unnerving being in Egypt by myself at this time - family was just one floor below me - but I did not spend much time with them - my mistake - but that is just me. I was not really concerned about my safety - because it was so quiet where I was - but I had begun to notice a definite shift in the attitude of people towards me as a foreigner - one of the vendors at the souk I go to for my produce yelled at me - telling me that I should speak Arabic not English - I was talking with my SIL at the time - and he was not nice about it - he was quite angry - told Ayman and of course he pooh poohed my concern - which just makes me even more ticked off - as he was not there so how dare he try to tell me that I was over reacting - GRRRRR.

Ayman was calling on a fairly regular basis during this crisis - always downplaying my concerns - making me feel like a moron - as he was sitting 'safely' in Libya - telling me there was absolutely nothing to worry about - hmmmm. And for the most part I was fine - a bit worried about food supplies - but not overly concerned - I had a fair bit in the house - so did not really need much of anything - although when I heard that Carrefour and one of the Fathalla's (large grocery stores) had been looted it was disconcerting. And I must admit that seeing the 'neighbourhood watch' in place - once the jails had been emptied - made me realize that all was not really well with the world. Went to Suzanne's on February 2 - Wednesday - and spent the evening visiting. She 'convinced' me that there was no need to leave - I was safe - nothing to worry about - so I went back upstairs and went to sleep - sleep had been rather elusive of late - and at 3:30 a.m. I was awakened by the sound of gunfire on my street - ummmm - now I am really scared - so with the urgings of my family - my mom had been calling regularly and my son had called on the Sunday (Jan. 30) and gave me some news that changed things - I was ready to leave - hard decision to make as I felt like I was deserting a sinking ship - the overriding reason for the decision to leave was the fact that I was on my own - Ayman had no intention of returning - so what was the point in my staying - and plus I rationalized in my little brain that since I had the option maybe I should leave so that there would be one less person to feed - kind of crazy - but that was my thought process. Called Shani and asked her to make arrangements from Canada - as I was unable to do anything in Egypt because all the travel agents were closed and there was no internet.

During this time my mom was 'registering' me with the Canadian Embassy - I had contacted them - called the Embassy in Cairo and there was no one there - so was transferred to the 'command' centre in Ottawa - to register you had to have access to the internet - hmmm - kind of tough to do when there is no internet - thank goodness for my mom - she managed to register myself and Margaret - albeit a slow process. Must admit hearing that the Canadian government had arranged flights to get registered citizens out of the country was a red flag to me as well. I phoned to see where they would be taking us to - and it was to Jordan - where in the news it was just being announced that the king had dissolved their government and people were protesting in the streets - hmmm - sounded like jumping from the frying pan right into the fire - at least in Egypt I was in my own home - so I passed. As well the flight to Jordan was going to cost $400 and then once you arrived in Jordan you had to make your own arrangements to get back to Canada - $400 to get to Jordan was way over priced in my books - so I went to plan B and contacted Shani and asked her to see what she could arrange - I admitted defeat - in my eyes.

Shani was able to book a flight leaving from an airport near Alexandria - Borg el Arab - as I was unable to leave from Cairo - the road to Cairo was not safe so .... I was scheduled to leave from Borg el Arab on Feb. 6 - through Bahrain, London, and finally Calgary - adding an extra 7 hours of flight time to my trip - but what the heck - at least I would be in Canada. I booked a taxi to take me to the airport - on the way out - just about there - I am asked which airport - so I phone Shani and ask her new or old airport - and she tells me the flight to Bahrain has been cancelled - Egypt Air cancelled the flight - needeless to say I was in tears - did not help when Suzanne asked me if I was sure - as if Shani would jerk my chain like that - then Ayman called and asked the same thing - GRRRRR. Went home - calmed down - then tried to book a ticket myself online - unfortunately my bank would not allow me to use it - afraid of fraud - GRRRR - so another SOS to Shani and she booked my ticket leaving from Cairo - no choice in the matter - on Feb. 8 - one month from the day that I arrived - through Amsterdam - and because of the curfew the departure time from Cairo - which is usually 3 a.m. - had been switched to 2:45 p.m. - it meant I had a 20 hour layover in Amsterdam - YUCK - but at least I would be out of the country - and the return ticket was $400 cheaper than the one way through Bahrain, London and Calgary - added to that the first flight was with British Airways so I was only allowed one suitcase - and with KLM you are allowed two - minor detail that I had already packed everything into one suitcase I brought alone an empty 2nd suitcase. Booked a taxi to take me to Cairo - and waited until Tuesday.

Trip to Cairo was 'interesting'. Instead of taking the desert road the driver took the agricultural road - which tends to be slower as you are travelling through many small farm communities. My nephew - Mahmoud - came with me. The drive was uneventful until we hit the outskirts of Cairo - we got stuck in traffic for over an hour - I freaked out when I realized I might miss the flight - I arrived 30 minutes before the flight was to depart - thank goodness Mahmoud was allowed to come with me to help me with the luggage - bottom line I was in tears - because I was worried about missing the flight and because I was leaving so soon - it was hard to leave my family - I worry about them.

I arrived back in Canada on February 10th - to some nice weather - only drawback was that because I was so run down I managed to get a whopping nasty cold - so I could not head to BC to visit my parents because my mom does not need this - as she suffers from COPD.

And that is my saga. Will work at being more 'reliable' at posting on my blog. Now things in Libya have gone to hell in a handbasket and I am worried about all my friends and family there - I have a brother in law and his wife as well as Ayman there - and of course all my good friends in Tripoli. In shaa allah all will be safe.

2011-01-04T18:44:00.000+03:00

As my time in Canada winds down it is very bittersweet - I am glad to be going 'home' to my own bed and my own space - but not really looking forward to the 'expectations' that will be placed upon me - and looking even less forward to the upheaval when it is made clear that I have had it up to here - and changes need to be forthcoming from the other party - it is not all about my changing - I have changed, compromised, bent over enough - I am D O N E. Also - must admit that the explosion at a church near my place has certainly given me pause for thought. Only one thing keeps going through my head - 4.5 months and I will be heading back to Canada for at least six months. And must admit this year has shown me that if push comes to shove I can start over again - not saying it will be easy - but it can be done - had had my doubts about that - but - I eventually found work - and in time could get started over - again.

I am currently staying with Miles and Shani - has been a great visit so far - have never had issues with Shani - but Miles and I have certainly had our 'problems' and this time a corner has been turned - I hope it keeps up. Last night we had a fondue - borrowed my fondue pot and other things from my best cuzzy Maurine - Shani and I shopped - and then I made the sauces - and she copied them down - maybe I should have kept them secret so I would still be 'useful' to them - as Miles does love fonduing and he does love his Bouginion sauce - loves it so much but cannot remember the name of it - so I am required to 'remind' him - giggle.

They are both currently at work - and I am waiting for my friend Michele to come over for a visit - she is going to be in town for a doctor's appointment and we are going to do lunch. Will be great to spend some time with her - missed her presence in my life for a lot of years - great to be reconnected.

Tomorrow the plan is to spend the day shopping with my niece Shawna - have a few things I want to get at Costco and she has a membership - also want to get a new pair or runners - the ones I bought in July for work have had it - they do not owe me much - they have been through a lot - and since my plan is to walk five days a week and work my way up to being able to do the fifteen floors of stairs in my building before I come back to Canada - I need new shoes.

Getting a bit stressed about all that I have accumulated during this year - have stuff all over the place - need to get things together so that I can sort through and decide what I am going to take and what will stay here - and what I will have to get next time 'round. Does not help that Ayman has requested a few things - and of course they are not little things - but will figure some way of transporting them.

Not much else to report - except the butterflies in my stomach are growing - but as Miles says - not to worry - I will be back and what I do not get done or cannot pack will just have to wait until next time.

This will likely be my last post from Canada - will endeavour to keep everyone posted once I am 'settled' back in Egypt. Have a month to get things sorted out and then my buddy Deb is coming for a visit - she will be in Egypt for a little over two weeks - looking forward to that. Am also trying to 'convince' my parents to come for a visit in March/April - if I am successful on that - will be a busy time as I will be heading back to Canada mid to late April - as I am to report back to work on May 16, 2011 - yay.

2010-12-03T04:15:00.000+03:00

I truly do need to learn the lesson of being very careful what one asks for. I asked for more hours and I am getting them - good for the bank account - not so great for the body - but what doesn't kill me will make me stronger - I am hoping the latter will occur and not the former.

Yesterday I got a call to come in earlier than my 10:00 report time - only problem was that I was baking - so finished baking and went in. I was told I was going to do Rover 5 - which is a step van and you deliver parcels in the downtown area - oh oh - I have never driven one of the step vans - GULP - and I do not know the downtown area at all. Went and picked up the van at the Riedel office and then drove to the Hardin office to pick up the parcels - don't ask. Made it okay. Got there and the person they had asked to help had scanned all the parcels - and had not separated the parcels that require signature and those that didn't - ARGH - oh well - no biggie - then the really bad news - we were not going to have a scanner - we were going to have 18 pages of IBD sheets - with the numbers on them - in no order - and we had to find the parcels that required signature and have the person sign on the appropriate space - OMG - the day got progressively worse - I was nervous about driving the step van and my team mate made me even more nervous about it - so I was doing things that I usually do not do - like forgetting to take off the parking brake - trying to put the vehicle in gear before starting it - and it just kept getting 'better' - he had to leave by 3:15 so he could make a doctor's appointment. Got back to the depot with about 65% of the parcels still in the van - I felt like crying - what a loser - but everyone kept telling me it would get better - RIGHT.

Today I phoned in at 6:30 and asked Fay if I could be assigned to Rover 5 with Sylvie (the regular driver) because I felt so badly leaving so many parcels behind and also so I could learn the route better. Fay said sure - but I had to be at work by 9 - and Marian had wanted me to do something with her this morning - unfortunately work trumped getting her pictures for her passport and signing them - I am her guarantor. Must admit the day went much better having the 'boss' around who knew what she was doing - we were finished and back to the Depot by 4:20 - and then I got to leave work - because there was no time to do RTS - have a funny feeling I will be stuck with RTS tomorrow - but that is all right - at least I have a glimmer of an idea of how to do Rover 5.

Got home earlier than usual and have started making split pea soup - have the ham bone in the water simmering - will leave it simmering overnight and then tomorrow before I head to work will put the onions and the split peas in and let it simmer for the day - Marian will be home for a part of the day.

Marian is planning on heading out to her friend's place - there is a Christmas Bazaar in Smokey Lake that they are going to participate in on Saturday - I am not sure what I am going to do - have been invited along - would like to partake of the bazaar - but would like to stay home and get some more baking ready for Christmas - must admit this business of working sure does cut into my prep time. So I have yet to make up my mind - do I or don't I - would like to go as I have not been out of Fort McMurray since the beginning of July and the break might do me good - but .....

And on that note I bid you adieu.

2010-12-01T17:08:00.000+03:00

'Tis 7:04 a.m. on a beautiful day here in Fort McMurray. Have a pot of soup started - tomatoes, onions and celery are stewing. Have been outside - hence the reason I know it is beautiful outside - and shovelled - we had a bit of snow last night - wanted to get it shovelled before it got packed down - wore just my fleece indoor jacket - and am sweating like a horse - shovelled Marian's walks - and two of her neighbours front walk. Little bit of exercise - always a good thing. Now next thing on the list is to roll and cut and bake the shortbread dough that I made a couple of days ago. So - off to the kitchen I go.

Supposed to be at work at 10 a.m. today - will be interesting to see what I end up doing.

2010-11-29T02:13:00.000+03:00

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. It is beginning to look like Christmas - and I am loving it - well most of the time - must admit when I have to go out and deliver mail in the minus 20's it is not my favourite - but such is life. Have not had to go out to deliver mail very often - even though I spoke with the boss and she told me that I would be doing two portions - delivering mail - and then my four hours of RTS as well. Went in on Monday to start and was relegated to working in the depot - not that I really minded - it was minus 38 with the windchill - only drawback was that I was dressed to work outside and I just about melted. Went back on Tuesday all bundled up again and was in the depot yet again - then on Wednesday I was told not to come in early - so guess I will be heading in for 7 a.m. - as there are temps who were hired after me who do this and get work - so .... as all work is supposed to be given according to seniority - I am going to show up and see what happens.

By Thursday the weather had turned to become quite warm - well all things considered - from in the minus 30's to minus teens - much better. Saturday Marian and I took in the bazaar that was held by the Golden Years group - great deals and some really nice handmade things. I did not buy a lot - as I have NO room to take any more back to Egypt. Would have been a great place to take the kids to get gifts for Mom and Dad - nice things and very reasonably priced - Marian scored some really good gifts for the grandkids. They manage to keep the prices low by using donated goods - great place to donate excess fabric, yarn, etc. After that we headed to Heritage Park to take in an Old Fashioned Christmas - a great thing for a family to go to - they had a small skating area, two bonfires, horse rides, hay ride, maple syrup in snow, pictures with Santa - entrance was a cash donation - most of the rides required that you purchase some coupons - coupons were $2.00 each - so the rides varied in price from $4 to $10 each. They were renting sleds - you had to give them $5.00 and when you brought the sled back you got your money back. Was a nice day for it - not too cold and a bit of snow coming down. It is still snowing now - but the flakes are nice and big ones - not wet though still dry.

Last night after we got home we curled up in Marian's bed and watched TV that she had recorded - I managed to get a fair bit done on a cross stitch project that I am working on - and of course as usually happens when I am working on my cross stitch time got away from me - it was midnight before I realized it - OMG.

Got up this morning around 7 and started baking - meant I had to clean up the kitchen first so that I could find place to work. On Friday we had gone to WalMart - they had a Kitchen Aid mixer on sale for a good price - when I made cookies on Thursday one of the beaters on Marian's antique Sunbeam MixMaster bought it - needs to be replaced or repaired - and replacing it will be a challenge - as the machine is likely around 40 years old - used to belong to our maternal grandmother - I can remember it being used when I was a little kid - and that was a LONG time ago. The Kitchen Aid was on for 188 instead of 288 - but we saw a Sunbeam MixMaster for $88 - and went with that - Marian is not much into baking - no time for such things - so we (I) figured the Sunbeam would suit her just fine - I will likely use it more than she will. I have managed to cook up a double batch of kevling (almond shortbread) and have made up the dough for snowballs and regular shortbread - they are cooling in the fridge. Now I am working on supper. We are having ham, yam, squash and cauliflower and brocolli. Ham is in the oven, yam has been 'par' cooked in the microwave and now I need to tend to the other veggies. So will say TTFN until next time.

2010-11-17T17:41:00.000+03:00

This past weekend I got busy and started Christmas baking. Got two batches of nuts'n'bolts made - did not have all the 'preferred' ingredients - found out that Bugles are no longer available in Canada - I was shocked - what a lot of nerve these people have - but we made do - and of course we are unable to get Rice Chex and Corn Chex here either. When I lived here I would always make a trip south over Thanksgiving and get them - or ask my personal shopper to keep any eye open for them if they should ever go on sale. I will be spending Christmas in Sherwood Park with Marian, Gloria (her second eldest daughter), Elias (Goria's 2 year old son), Mom and Dad and of course me. So I asked if there was any baking Gloria would like - and I got a list - so now I need to get off my duff and start baking - and of course wouldn't you know it - I am working more hours at the Post Office.

This has been an eventful week - so far.

Monday waited until after 8 to go for my walk - figured it was safe then - because all the routes should have been covered - got home around 8:30 or so - to two phone messages - both from the Post Office - both asking me go come into work. Phoned Fay first - she is the head supervisor - she asked me to come in and cover two portions of LC13 - which is the first route I was trained on - said sure. Then phoned Rick - who also offered me the same thing - told him I had called Fay already and accepted the two portions. So, off I head to work. Get there at 9:30 and have to wait until 11:00 for the mail to be sorted - new girl doing it and she did not have a clue what she was doing - not a good start. So off I went at 11 - delivered the mail that I carried and then had to wait for 20 minutes for someone to deliver the bags to the relay box - day is getting better. It is now starting to snow - making walking treacherous - glad I had the good sense to put on my long johns - skiff of snow is covering the ice on sidewalks and driveways. And then I trip over a little 'step' - boom down I go - and of course my left knee (which is still recovering but doing nicely) takes the brunt of the fall - put out my right hand and end up with a bruise and a tiny cut on the heel of my hand. My left knee is now very sore again - back to living on muscle relaxants and pain pills - DANG. Even managed to scrape the knee through my pants and the long johns and to add insult to injury - put a tiny tear in the long johns. SIGH. Kept on snowing. I managed to get the route done in the allotted time though - just kept on trucking. The adage at the post office is to follow the mail and when you run out look for a relay box - I did that - and the girl who pulled it left two bundles in a relay box and did not take me back there with the mail to deliver it - and she also left me with no mail and no relay box. So there I am standing with no mail - no relay box and the snow just coming down - so I had to 'dead walk' (when you are walking with no mail to deliver) back to the relay box to get the mail - needless to say I was not favourably impressed. Oh well - managed to get it done and head back to the office - then I made my way to the other office to do my RTS - only to not be allowed on the computer - kept telling me 'User is not active' - ARGH. So I sorted through two boxes of mail getting them in order - makes it faster to label them. And of course ended up getting thoroughly chilled - was warm enough while I was walking - but once I stopped - I got chilled - not wearing heavy enough clothes - plus add to that the fact that my clothes were damp from sweat - yes hard to believe that while walking in freezing temps I sweat - gotta love it. Anyhow - left at 5:30 - since I started at 9:30 - and figured I would catch the 5:45 bus - only problem is - it did not show up - so had to wait for the 6:15 bus - standing outside - already chilled - getting even colder. Got home - warmed up some soup and Marian had cooked up some sauerkraut and ham sausage - so we ate that - then I had a hot shower and crawled into bed - did not have the brains to take any muscle relaxants or pain killers - so had a very restless night - woke up with a headache on Tuesday.

Tuesday I figured I would have a nice relaxing day - cook up some pork tenderloin that I had been marinating since Sunday, cook up some sweet potato and parsnip and a squash that was sitting on the counter. Did up the dishes from Monday - and talked with my buddy Margaret - she is currently in Vancouver for a couple of months to spend some time with her daughter and grandkids who are going through a rough time right now. Got off the phone - two messages from the Post Office - called in - could I come in and do a portion of LC13 - the portion that did not get done yesterday - the walk is divided into 3 walk portions - I had done two of them the day before and someone else was supposed to do the third - but did not have time - so I went in at 11:30 and did that - and then back over to the other Post Office to do the RTS - this time the computer worked - thank goodness. Have now figured out that I will be doing the RTS - it is considered my 'position' - but will hopefully be getting two portions of walking routes to do as well - so I can get more hours in - had been hoping to be able to get to working days - but I think my 'fate' is to be working the 2-6 shift no matter what - not thrilled - but I will continue to take it. Was a bit better dressed yesterday - no falling - but the same girl had pulled the mail - so I was left doing a lot of back tracking - did not walk nearly as farm as on Monday - Monday I walked 7.349 miles and Tuesday only 3.99 - my hips and glutes are letting me know they are not really thrilled with all this extra activity - but that is just tough. I am really hoping to be working and walking a lot more between now and Christmas. Finished the route and was back at the office by 1:30 - divested myself of the keys and the RTS mail - and then took a taxi to the other office for my 2nd portion of work - RTS. My feet were cold - I am out walking in my runners - nice and airy for the summer - but not very good at keeping the damp out in the winter - and I am too cheap to go out and get a pair of good boots - would cost too much - because I would have to make sure they were good enough for walking in - so I took my shoes off - and put them in the storage room right beside the computer - really nice and warm in there - sat on the chair with my stocking feet - and did a box of mail - takes about 1.5 hours or so - and after I finished I went and put them back on - and they were nice and dry and warm - and my feet were warm again. Finished work at 6 - left to get the 6:15 bus and - guess what - it did not show up until the 6:45 bus was there - and he would not take any passengers because he was late - so we had to wait another 10 minutes to leave - at least we were sitting on a relatively warm bus - but it is most frustrating - did not get home until after 7:00. Marian was getting concerned about me. Had a bowl of soup and some of the charred remains of the supper I had made - Marian had gone shopping after she dropped me off at work and had forgotten the food was in the oven cooking - meat is very crunchy, vegetables were all right - but the squash seeds are cinders. Oh well - such is life.

Tiger - one of the cats - has a growth on one of her back paws - keeps coming back - Marian took her to the vet before she went to Calgary for the birth of her latest grandchild - March sometime - because the growth was back - she asked the vet to excise the growth and biopsy it - when she got back she had a whopping $1100 bill and all they had done was two stitches and cleaned the cat's teeth and taken out a tooth - no biopsy. When I got home last night the paw had burst - she was leaving bloody prints all over the place - so I held her while Marian 'bandaged' it. She put the bandage on too tight and ended up making a real mess - poor Tiger was walking around shaking her paw trying to get this thing off of it - and she was by herself at the front door growling and hissing at her foot. I went and got her and that is when we saw that the situation had been made worse - so I held her while Marian got the bandage off - I then carried her to her kennel to put her in it - and she was shaking the afflicted paw all the while - needless to say I was covered in blood and she managed to dislodge the growth on the way - so Marian picked it up once we noticed it and put it in a bag in the fridge - she is wanting to take it to the vet to get it biopsied. Will see what transpires.

After all that excitement - still with my headache that I woke up with - I had a hot shower and crashed. Woke up this morning at 5:45 - got up and showered and dressed. I need to eat and do some dishes - not sure what is going to happen for the rest of the day - time will tell.

2010-11-06T21:51:00.000+03:00

Not much happening in my little neighbourhood. Marian is in Edmonton to attend her ex-mother in law's funeral - she invited me to go and I could have - but the prospect of staying at the cabin - read the outhouse - did not really appeal all that much - so despite the fact that I did not have to work yesterday - a) because I was not home when they called at 7:45 a.m. for me to cover a walking route and b) because there was no RTS mail to be done - I opted to stay home. I must admit I do enjoy running water and such creature comforts. Although there is more comfortable furniture at the cabin - but ...

Yesterday we got up and did our flyers - be thinking this will be our last month - mainly because in December I will be heading to Calgary and then off to Egypt - and Marian does not want to do it on her own - but also because it is getting to be too cold - I know, I know - I am a namby pamby - my blood has certainly 'thinned' living in Egypt and the cold gets to me much more easily now - although as time goes on I a noticing that I am able to withstand it a little more easily - just have to make sure my hands are warm - they do get cold very easily - and that has nothing to do with living in Egypt - they have been like this since my surgery on them. SIGH. So was out earning money when the Post Office called - ARGH - lesson learned - need to be home between 6 to 8 a.m. every morning to take a call.

Weather here is still gorgeous - considering it is November 6 - we still do not have any snow. Today is a beautiful bright sunny day - has been like this most of the week - kind of hard to believe it is November - until one steps outside and there is a definite 'nip' in the air.

Had been eyeing some Keen slippers - was going to order some - on my way home from the store today I stopped in a store that carries them - tried them on - could not get my dainty little foot into it - it is too high in the instep - ARGH - they looked like a fantastic pair of slippers - awesome arch support - so could wear them and not have sore feet and legs by the end of the day - especially in Egypt where the floors are ceramic tile on top of concrete - not a lot of give - read NONE. So if I am busy in the kitchen for the day - my feet and legs are killing my by the time I am finished. Oh well - one of the 'perks' of having wide feet with a very high instep - but glad I figured it out before ordering them and then having the hassle of returning them.

Not much for plans for today - although I keep thinking I should get busy and make some home made split pea soup and some tomato soup - so that we have it to eat during the week - also have a hankering for garlic cheese baking powder biscuits to go along with the soup - yummy. But that would mean I would have to clean up the kitchen - SIGH - guess I should get busy and do it - needs doing and I do feel better when it is cleaned up and I can see the countertops. Must admit I am missing home more and more.

Sunrise - October 2010 - from Marian's front step

Sunrise - October 30, 2010 - from WalMart parking lot.

Sunrise - October 2010 - from Marian's front step

Unfortunately the camera does not capture the true colours - the sunrises were a lot redder than I could capture - but gives a good idea of the sunrises here - they are truly magnificent - love stopping and watching God's handiwork.

2010-11-01T05:37:00.000+03:00

As the old saying goes - time stops for no one - and that includes me - hard to believe it has been over two weeks since I last posted.

Not a lot has been going on - have made several batches of spaghetti sauce and canned them, two batches of salsa and canned them, a double batch of tomato ginger chutney which was also canned as well as one batch of tomato soup that got canned - have had a canning good time.

Work is much the same - having to pace myself so that I can stretch it out. Finished all the RTS that there was on Friday by 5:00 - so got to head home a tad early - left 30 minutes early - started at 1:37 - so should have been out the door by 5:37 - so it was not a really big deal - but still nice to get out a bit early. Of course most of the letter carriers had gone home by the time I arrived at 1:30. Before I went to work I had to stop at the Provincial building to buy my bus pass for November. Went into the building and where the cashiers are it was closed off - wondered if they were closed - but you could walk through the hangings they had - and all the cashiers were dressed up as clowns and there was free popcorn and candies for the taking - so I took a bag of popcorn - might have held 1/4 cup of popped corn and one chocolate pumpkin. HOORAY.

Saturday we got up early and headed to WalMart - we had both taken pictures at Marian's company picnic in August - and later realized that maybe we shouldn't have - we took pictures of a friend of Marian's - his name is Monsef and he is from Tunisia - he was there with his five children and we took pictures of them - then realized that as devout muslims this might not have been appropriate - so Marian finally got around to asking him about it - and he said it was no problem and that he would love to have copies of the pictures - so we went to WalMart - and I insisted we get there early - because whenever we have been there later in the day the lineup to use their self serve photo print shop is lined up - so we got there shortly after it opened at 8 - we had to scrape the car windows - has been a LONG time since I had to do that - and I was right - it was very nice in the store at that time - not many people - and we did not have to wait to use the photo printers - well not quite true - we had to wait for them to come online - so we got the pictures printed that we wanted - must go through my photos and see about making a list to get them printed. It is well and good to have all these photos on my camera - but it is still nice to have prints to look at. Marian wanted to get some pants for badminton - she has been wearing capri yoga pants and she figured it was getting a tad chilly for that - so she bought some longer ones - she also bought herself a jacket and I talked her into buying a shirt - looks really good on her - but she will not wear it - she is still into wearing baggy clothing - thinking it hides her - has yet to figure out that the baggy clothes just make her look bigger. I found a pair of capri shorts in the clearance rack for $1.00 - had to buy them - also found some socks - four pairs for $3.00 - can never have enough socks. After WalMart she headed to her Weight Watchers meeting - she has now lost a little over 50 lbs. - must admit kind of frustrates me - she just keeps dropping weight and I am struggling to lose - have to work really hard to lose any - but she just seems to drop it no matter what she eats or does or doesn't do. Oh well - I just have to worry about myself and quit comparing myself to her - easier said than done. My goal this week is - just because it is there does not mean I have to eat it - so am working hard on that one.

Today I got up and got dressed for church and actually went - was good to go - but as usual quite bittersweet. The people are quite friendly - I only stayed for sacrament as I took the car and Marian needed it to go to badminton - so I could not stay for all the meetings. But I figured one meeting was better than none.

Not much else has been going on - getting cooler and cooler - but at least no snow yet and today was quite warm - high of +7 - so a good night for trick or treaters - we have had eight so far - and it is 8:30 at night. No little ones though - I think they are the cutest.

Here is my best 'side' - the back of my hair.

Here I am as a 'light auburn'.

Ta da - finally got the pictures of my new hair colour. Worked quite quickly this time. Now I am going to call it a day - need to do up the dishes - check on the ham in the oven and the squash seeds that are roasting in the toaster oven.

2010-10-13T19:01:00.000+03:00

Here it is Wednesday - yes - I do love short work weeks.

Woke up at 5 this morning and instead of rolling over and going back to sleep I got up and had my shower and got dressed. Came downstairs - fed the cats in shifts - had some raspberries - they are not very good - should not have bought them yesterday even though they were on sale - they are on sale for a reason - and some strawberries - they were better - and then an apple. Went through my emails, facebook and topix (a forum that I belong to). After this I had my breakfast - I had an avocado mixed with some salsa on a couple of rice cakes - the life I lead.

Got busy and did some arm exercises and some stretching - while I was on the floor Snookums decided my hair needed grooming and Twobit decided I was a comfy place for a nap - hmmmm. Once I got off the floor - much easier than it used to be - still not much for finesse - but hey what do I want - I put on my socks and shoes and went for a 25 minute walk - just walked around the neighbourhood. Walked long enough to work up a sweat - and now as I sit here I am a tad on the chilly side.

Marian got home shortly after I arrived back from my walk. I had not taken my vitamins so I did this - and then realized I needed to eat something - I find if I take the salmon oil without eating I burp it up for what seems like forever - so I had some celery sticks, some carrots and some sliced yellow pepper. I am waiting for my Roibos Cape Doctor tea to steep - tastes like Earl Grey tea - it is so yummy. I usually go for the Roibos Market Spice - which is absolutely delish - lots of cinnamon, cloves and other spices - so it tastes sweet without having to add any sweetener - this is what I go for now when I am craving something sweet.

I am working at only eating sugar on Saturday and Sunday - so far it is all right. I find that if I steer clear of sugar I do not crave it - but if I have something sweet it leads to more and more. I really need to get a grip on my eating habits. Took a long time but I have now lost 53.6 lbs. - still have a long way to go - but I have set up some goals and rewards - and they are not food related at all - or clothes related - because it would be pointless to spend money on clothes that will not fit for very long. Am hoping that I can keep up the change in attitude - and if I slip not to let it drag me down - but to just get back right away to eating sensibly. Marian was a trifle chuffed that I had gone out walking on my own - she wanted to go with - but I need to do it for me, myself and I and not rely on someone else - because so often it just does not happen - and since I am not working until the afternoon - early morning is still the best time for me to get out and get some exercise. Have come to realize - more like accept - that this eating sensibly and exercising is a very solitary process - I need to rely on only myself - because eventually I will be on my own in Egypt with no one dragging me, kicking and screaming to get some exercise - I need to 'embrace' it and learn again how to enjoy it - I have always enjoyed going to Spa Lady in Calgary - mainly for the camaraderie - but that is not an option in Egypt - so I need to motivate myself and not rely on anyone - because I know when I get back to Egypt there will be very few people around who will motivate me - I know that Ayman loves me the way I am - so he is not much of a motivator - but I need to be in better physical shape so I can be healthier - bottom line - I am responsible for my own happiness - no one else. Has certainly taken me a LONG time to figure this one out - not really - but has taken me a long time to 'own' it and actually believe that it is true. So I am embarking on yet another journey - this one is all about ME.

And yesterday morning I coloured my hair - light auburn - will endeavour to get before and after shots uploaded - well first I have to get a picture of the new colour on the camera - shows how much I dislike having my picture taken.

2010-10-12T01:19:00.000+03:00

Happy Thanksgiving - today is turkey day here in Canada. I have the turkey stuffed and in the oven - smelling soooo good.

Just had a haircut - Marian cut it for me - she generally does a good job and saves me having to spend money on a haircut and having to go out - I do not think there are any cheap places to get one's hair cut here - so ..

It is another beautiful day here in Fort McMurray - we are certainly enjoying a beautiful Indian summer - I keep thinking I am going to wake up to a foot of snow - not looking forward to this - I know that it will eventually happen - later is good for me rather than sooner.

Dinner has been served - turkey was well cooked - fell off the bones in the roasting pan - messy. Easy to carve though - not very pretty - but who cares. The stuffing was DELISH. The new recipe I tried for brussel sprouts turned out very nicely. Has been a couple of years since I had turkey dinner with all the trimmings - last time was Thanksgiving 2008 - and I was sicker than a dog - did not really enjoy it much. Now I have to strip the carcass - find room in the fridge and do dishes - again. My hands need some TLC - poor things are getting all rough and dry from doing dishes so often. Well I best get at them - not going to get done on their own - still cannot figure out why there are no dish pixies. Will sit down afterwards and do some more reading - not much left of the first book that I started reading - would like to finish it soon - have five more to read in less than two weeks - YIKES.

2010-10-10T21:23:00.000+03:00

October 10, 2010 - need to date this one - as the one I posted earlier today was two weeks ago - time flies when you are having fun.

Last week was a busy week - was out and about every morning/early afternoon shopping. Marian gets home between 9:30 and 10 and we headed off on Monday to Safeway and Sobey's - Tuesday we took off for Extra Foods - they had coupons in their flyer - plus we needed a lot of produce - did not really have much for fresh fruit or veggies in the house. Wednesday she had a chiropractor's appointment - I drove her to it and then headed to Canadian Tire - they had silicone baking mats for 75% off - and I decided I wanted some to take back - easier than having to buy parchment paper - they also had all of their silicone bakeware on sale - and I succumbed and bought a four pack of mini loaf pans - decided that they would be better to have in the house than one large loaf of banana bread (what I usually end up making in loaf pans) - better to have four little ones - eat one and freeze the rest - if there is a big one I end up eating it - and I am usually on my own - so.... Marian also asked me to pick up a few other things for her - ended up purchasing 16 of the silicone mats and a few other things. Then I headed over to WalMart to return some hair colour I had bought - decided it was too dark - am going to go with a light auburn - see how it goes - as well as some shoe protector for my shoes - just as I was driving away Marian called and she was finished - so I headed to pick her up - then we went to a second hand book store - she wanted to get a book for Hayden for his birthday - and we had been to Coles and they do not carry it - as it is an older series - so she had called the second hand book store and was told they had some of the series - there are 21 books in the series and she managed to get thirteen of them. Then after I left for work she headed to the post office near the house to mail it - she sent it expedited and it arrived on Friday by noon - less than 24 hours - so the Post Office can move - you just have to pay enough. Thursday I had hoped to stay home - but I had to return the CD's and DVD's that I had borrowed - you can renew books but not CD's and DVD's - so had to head down to the library to return those. Then we stopped in at Superstore as Extra did not have any brussel sprouts when we were there on Tuesday - and they also had a sale on squash and did not have a lot - so wanted to get some more - and all we got were brussel sprouts and some more squash and a few more yams - she dropped me at work on her way home. I was one tired puppy - all this running around plays havoc with me - but such is life.

Work is work - on Monday (4th) I got a phone call around 9:30 a.m. telling me that I needed to report to work at 12:30 for a road test. I knew I was going for VOP training - was told I would be told on the 1st what the schedule was - but no such luck. I was a tad thunderstruck - had thought we would have the in class session prior to the road test - but you have to pass the road test before you can take the class - DUH - oh yes I work for the post office - give my head a shake. So reported at 12:30 for my road test - took it in one of the vans. Had six minor errors - basically did three things wrong - stopped too close to vehicles in front of me, did not turn the steering wheel properly (bad habit I have), and did not signal early enough or keep it on long enough (training from Egypt - minute you signal you are going to change lanes that is the signal for everyone to speed up) - but did manage to pass the test - will have to work on these bad habits of mine even when driving on my own. The class session was on Friday - so got in a full day's worth of work - and did not have to do my 'job' after - got to leave at 3:00 - YES. Was very nice to get home at four o'clock instead of seven. By 7:30 I was in bed. Had not slept very well - had to wake up to the alarm clock and I do not do that well - I am always worried that it will not go off - GRRRR. Now I am going to have to wait another three months to get training on the right hand drive trucks they have - would not do to get all the training done at once. At the training on Friday there were two new temporary letter carriers - nobody that hired on with me was there - I think I am the only one that is still employed by Canada Post - everyone else gave up and found other employment - smart. The two new employees have not even had their letter carrier training - will be interesting to see how the one does - while we were in class watching videos she was busy texting - the instructor left the class during the video presentations - having seen them innumerable times and having other things to do.

On Friday Marian dropped me at work on her way to Edmonton - she had a doctor's appointment Friday afternoon. then she was going to spend some time visiting with her daughter - Gloria - and grandson in Edmonton. While we were at Superstore we did buy something else - they had bags of tomatoes for 50% off - we bought two bags of them - so I have been busy making spaghetti sauce - had thought I would make a batch of spaghetti sauce and a batch of tomato soup - but decided to just go for the sauce - Marian likes it more than the soup - so.... Yesterday (Saturday) I made up one batch and got four jars done up - next batch is stewing as I type - need to finish it off and get it canned. Going to have spaghetti squash, home made sauce, turkey sausage, and a vegetable for supper. Marian is on her way home - so will have that when she gets home.

Weather has been very nice - a few clouds - but for the most part sunny - quite enjoying Indian summer - because I know that soon enough I will wake up to white stuff - brrrrr. Had really hoped to be back in Egypt before I saw snow - but the best laid plans of mice and men. Between making sauce and cleaning up the kitchen I have been reading. Certainly do miss my comfy chair in front of the fireplace - SIGH. Whenever I get ready to read I end up with a cat on me - getting in the way. Keekee is the biggest offender - he insists on getting between me and the book. Right now the cats are laying in the sun enjoying it as well.

I think that sums up my oh so exciting life. Will work on another post with some fall foliage pictures. Do not feel like fighting with that right now.

2010-10-10T20:32:00.001+03:00

WHEW!!!! What an action packed weekend - well to be more exact a very busy Saturday. (Saturday, September 25th, 2010)

Got up early Saturday to go deliver flyers - we spend more time dragging our feet than it takes to deliver the cursed things. Took us a little over an hour to get them done. Then we came home - Marian headed to Weight Watchers - I started cooking breakfast - waffles and bacon - I cheated - we had bought Eggo waffles on Friday so I toasted them up - easier to count points and much easier to only have two of them - than to make up even 1/2 a batch from scratch. Enjoyed them immensely. Then I went up and grabbed a shower and got dressed. After I was dressed we headed out to MacIsland to take in the fall trade show - it was really interesting - was pleasantly surprised by the number and variety of vendors at the show - reminded me of walking through the show at Klondike Days - ah the memories. Marian managed to buy a couple of Christmas gifts - so it was a good day. I broke down and bought a picture - it is beautiful - will post it a picture of the picture.

Just a fantastic picture - could not resist.

I also bought some pyrogies - had not had any for so long - so broke down and bought some - cottage cheese and sauerkraut. We were supposed to leave by 2 - but did not manage to get away until 3 - oh well. Stopped at the library on the way home and got a library card - they are free - and we are going to endeavour to pick a day and go to the library - you can get as many books as you can carry for three weeks and CDs and DVDs for a week. Got home - had something to eat and I crashed - soooo tired and we had a big night ahead of us. Up and dressed and out the door by 6:15 p.m. to take in the Johnny Reid concert. Marian is a fan of his - I had not heard of him until she mentioned him - he is a country and western singer - at least that is the genre that they have pigeonholed him in. She had heard a month or so ago that we would be in town and managed to get tickets - she insisted on buying one for me as she would not go on her own - oh well. The concert was FANTASTIC - he is a wonderful showman - the venue was small - and not laid out very well - but the sound was good - and he does a lot more than country western style music - he covers just about all the genres - except rap. By the end of the evening I was beginning to get hoarse - and my 'neighbours' were less than thrilled with this noisy white haired person sitting near them. It was a good evening. After the concert we went out for supper - at 9:30 p.m. - oh well - you only live once. Went to Boston Pizza and ordered two of their thin crust pizzas and shared them and then ordered a dessert to be shared - chocolate explosion - or something like that - was very good. But it was a late night.

Sunday started earlier than I had hoped - because Ayman called and woke us up - so I got online - to chat with him - only to wait because he did not have a good internet connection with his phone - ARGH. Oh well. Denise called and asked if we would like to go out for supper and we said sure - she then called later in the day and had to cancel - so I ended up cooking - we had fried cabbage and onions, the pyrogies and some bacon. Unfortunately the pyrogies were a sore disappointment - nothing like the pyrogies that Jackie O. makes and taught me how to make - next time I want pyrogies I will make them myself. Worst part was that they were not cheap - and they were mostly dough with minimal filling and the cottage cheese ones had no dill in them - afraid I am very spoiled - Jackie's pyrogies are 100% better than these were - oh well live and learn.

Monday it was back to normal - I was back to work for the afternoon shift - but at least there is a 'pile' of RTS mail to be dealt with - so I will just be doing it at a very leisurely pace. Need to pace myself so that I do not have any days with no work. Got up fairly early so that I could clean up the kitchen - busy weekend equals very messy kitchen - counters were very cluttered and dishes were piled up - so got that all done before Marian got home from her first shift. Then we went out and got some grocery shopping done. Stopped at Mark's Work Wearhouse for Marian to be fitted for her new uniform at work. Had lunch and then headed to work. Got home yesterday and warmed up some tomato soup and made a couple of chicken 'wraps' for supper. Went to bed early - still trying to play catch up from the weekend.

Took me forever to finish this post - had technical issues with uploading the pictures and video - spent 3 hours trying - every time I tried the computer would freeze - so I threw up my hands in despair and gave up - took me awhile to come back - this time it worked - although it is taking FOREVER to upload the video - wondering if it will be worth it - definitely not - just got a message saying there was a problem uploading it - so will post without it. Now I will post this before something else happens and try to catch up - my life is SO exciting - NOT.

2010-09-27T15:12:00.000+03:00

This is a posting from the official Calgary Gators website - it is the write up of the last game they played this season - for the AFL championship - just had to share with my friends.

Gator 3 players of the Game

Offensive - Mike Wasylyniuk 10 Catches for 205 yards, 1 TD
Defensive - Miles Myers 6 Solos, 2 assists, 1 Int, 1 Forced Fumble, 1 Knockdown
Special Teams - Ian Hewitt FG 2/2 Long 46 Yards, 2/3 PAT, 5 Punts for 211 Avg 42

The Gators hopes were high heading into Lloydminster to take on the Vandals on Saturday but their hopes were quickly crushed on the first play of the game when former BC Lions, Mike McEachern was knocked out of the game when he was bent over backwards on the initial kick return. Without the services of Kyle Heier due to an unrelated football injury, the Gators returned Denny Bonnett to safety and put rookie DB Dylan Halliday to work in the secondary.

The Vandals quickly capitalized running the score up 21-3 in the first quarter, the only Gator points coming from a long 46 field goal from their reliable kicker, Ian Hewitt. The Gators started to mount a comeback, bringing the score within 16 at the half. But the football gods were not on their side, after a turnover filled first half, the trend continued into the second half. The Gators would march the ball to the redzone only to turn it over twice on interceptions by QB Dan Strikaitis who came into the game in the third quarter to relieve struggling QB Dan Craig. Striker looked great initially, completing 5 consecutive passes before throwing his first pick after which he stopped a trio of blockers from creating a wall which would have helped lead to another big-play TD from the Vandals.

There were bright spots here and there in the game but they were too few and far between. WR Mike Wasylyniuk had an incredible game, catching 10 receptions for 205 yards and 1 TD. SB Taylor Campbell led the Gators in scoring, grabbing 2 TDs, one coming on a long 33 yard pass from QB Dan Craig. The Gators collectively put up the most rushing yards in a long time against the Vandals D, led by RB Nick Berry, they ran for 124 yards on 21 carries.

On defence the Gators secondary looked scared to be beat deep after the loss of McEachern, allowing Vandals receivers a big patch of field to work with on the short pass. This led to many Vandals first downs. The front seven had some trouble keeping QB Valleau contained initially but eventually adjusted and started catching him more often resulting in a few short runs and 3 sacks from the Gators linebackers. Big Tony Verbrugge had some big plays, tossing the QB and RBs around like ragdolls with his bear-hug tackling style. MLB Donny Scott helped out everywhere he could catching Vandals for 1 solo and 7 assists and a 1/2 for loss. DB's Miles Myers, Dylan Halliday, and Neil Scotland combined for 22.5 tackles, which doesn't tend to bode well for that translates into many completed passes. Some of those completions were very rightfully earned, however, with some quite spectacular catches from the Vandals receivers. Miles also forced a fumble, something most of us has never seen him do. He attacked the ball and ball carriers with a vengeance, catching the Gators only interception as well.

The Gators would like to sincerely thank all of their fans, supporters and sponsors this year. Without all of you, there would be no Gators Football. We promise to be back next year, as hungry as ever and in the hunt once again for that Provincial and then the National Championship. With all our returning young players getting that year under their belt, coming so close to the big win, you can bet our boys won't disappoint. If you want to see the Gators before that, you can always keep an eye on our website for upcoming events and fundraisers.

This is a pic - compliments of one of his team mates - Miles is the right in the middle - facing the player with the orange helmet that is being 'sandwiched'.

I am very 'proud' that Miles' team made it to the finals - would have loved to have been able to be on the sidelines cheering him on - but the game was played in Lloydminster - too far away - and me with no wheels. I called him the day before the game and he was excited - looking forward to a good game - talked with him yesterday and he seemed 'content' with the way the game turned out - not thrilled - but pleased with the way he played and he had fun - and no injuries (that is his mom talking).

2010-09-24T01:09:00.000+03:00

My poor little feetsies - they are soooo sore. Got up this morning at 5:15 a.m. or thereabouts - had my shower - came downstairs - fed the cats - fired up the computer - and the phone rang - it was 5:45 a.m. - hmmm - wonder who that could be - I answered and was asked if I could be at work by 6:30 - said no - because the bus cannot get me there until 6:45 or thereabouts - said fine - Jim phoned in sick - so do I know how to do all the work he does - DUH - no - only training I have had has been on RTS - but I can turn the machine on - OK - we will find someone to help you figure it out. Really bad when the supervisors have no clue how to do the work - I think they should all be trained on the jobs - so that if push comes to shove they can train someone else to do it in a pinch - but what do I know. The supervisor that is there these days was waiting for Jim to call to give me help - hmmm - he phoned in sick - end result was that I was trained by a letter carrier who had done the job a few years ago - so she got pulled off her route to train me - and then she went home - got paid for the full day worked for 2 hours - maybe. Anyhow - I can now see why Jim has little time for the RTS mail. The time it takes to redirect all the mail that has change of addresses in is quite mind boggling. And then on top of that he is responsible for posting the new changes of addresses. I learned how to do all of the jobs he does. Big supervisor - Fay - was over for a supervisors meeting - told me that I was to report in at 6:30 tomorrow morning because Jim would likely still be out sick - and if he shows up - well then he can spend the day training me - hmmmm - seems kind of like putting the cart before the horse - I already know how to do all the job - but now they will train me. Oh well - I will get paid for a full day - so I will take it. One of the letter carriers - as I was leaving - I stopped to talk with one that works later than the rest - and she commented that I was leaving early - said yup - started at 6:30 - so no way was I staying and working until 6 - another letter carrier commented - why not - you are not a postal employee - and I said yes I am - I am temporary - she said then you could be a letter carrier - said yes that was what I was hired to do - but have been catching up on the RTS rather than stay at home doing nothing. People are interesting. Guess I could have stayed - but then the union would have had a kitten fit - OT and all that - besides I was beat - did not have time to pack a lunch or anything - and my breakfast was 1/2 cup of quinoa porridge - did not last all day - tummy grumbled a bit around 10 - I ignored it - it quit. I had 5 plums in my back pack - ate them on the way home.

Marian and I had planned on going grocery shopping today - so she went out and got a few things - not sure what all she got - but she also bought some sushi - so I had sushi when I got him - mmmmm good. I am determined to burn my nostril hairs - the wasabi is hot - but so good. I think I am going to go up and put my feet up for a bit - tonight I am supposed to deliver flyers - YAY. So looking forward to that - my feet are protesting already.

2010-09-22T23:50:00.000+03:00

Just a really short post - just got back from the hospital with Marian. The day she left on her holidays - Sept. 3, she missed the last two steps on the staircase and fell - when she came down she fell on the bulky end of an extension cord - which had been chewed by cats - so had some very sharp edges. She really did a number on her right leg. Much concern had been expressed by people. Today she finally went to the emergency room - at the behest of her chiropractor - and after waiting around for 1.5 hours - she had a five minute exam - and the doctor declared that she did a real number - and that it will take a good six months for it to repair itself - but saw no signs of cellulitis, breaks or cracks - so she has a very nasty looking leg for the foreseeable future.

On her way home she dropped me at the depot - asked her to wait - went in - there was all of 1.5 boxes of mail to do - so checked with the supervisor - will go in tomorrow to do the work that shows up tomorrow as well as the work that was there today - figured it was not worth having to pay for bus fare to work for an hour. May as well pay for bus fare for a couple of hours - and the supervisor agreed that there was not much need for me to stay. So I am at home for the afternoon - going to keep myself busy doing some cross stitch.

2010-09-22T17:35:00.000+03:00

Has been a 'hectic' couple of days. Marian arrived home a little after 8 p.m. on Monday - I was in the shower when she arrived - WHEW - just beat her - so at least I was in bed - phoned my girlfriend Phyllis and had a good chat with her - always do. She is one of the best - have known her since Secretarial Sciences - circa 1978 - and no matter how long it has been between calls or contact - it is as if we just talked yesterday - she has been there through thick and thin - good to have friends like that - have only a few of them - life is good if you have a few friends like that.

Got up Tuesday to see the 'produce' Marian brought home with her. A box of prune plums (Italian) from mom and dad - yum yum. Had not bought a lot of fruit because I knew this was on its way - well worth the wait. I just have a small bone to pick with Weight Watchers - according to them 2 plums equal one point - hmmm - these plums are smaller than most - and I disagree with their analysis - I mean - c'mon - 8 oz. of cherries equal one point - so .... Anyhow - Marian also got some cabbage at her friend Judy's place - five or six of them - hmmm - now what are we going to do with that much cabbage - making sauerkraut is not really an option as we do not have the 'equipment' needed. She also brought back potatoes - have not seen them - two large zucchinis, and a 'butternut' squash - that I do not believe is a butternut squash - but I took pictures and will endeavour to upload them - getting brave in my old age - either that or just more foolish - and you can tell me what you think that orange thing is.

This is the butternut squash?????? - and in the box beside are the yummy plums.

Ah - there are six cabbages and two 'small' zucchini

Went to work as per usual Tuesday - and there was all of two boxes of RTS mail to be done - and Jim had plowed through one of them - had done about 80% of one of the boxes - so that did not leave me much to do - finished by 4:30 - and really only would have taken an hour - but I took my time. So I have worked myself out of a job - one of the drawbacks about being efficient - oh well - not sure what I am going to do now - really do not want to go in to work every day for just an hour or so - does not seem worth the effort. Will have to talk with someone about what I should be doing - I would rather just go in every other day - and at least get a full day worth of work - but I will go in every day and see what happens.

Woke up today to blue sky and sunshine - and now the clouds have moved in and they do not look at all nice - they are black - wonder what the rest of the day will bring.

2010-09-21T04:26:00.000+03:00

Today was a 'good' day - got a few things done this morning - cleaned out the litter boxes - YUCK - one reason why I do not want to own a cat - plus the fact that I travel so much would certainly not be fair to the animal. Did up the dishes - made a batch of quinoa porridge - was really good - will be eating it for breakfast - as I have said I am not really much of a warm cereal person - but it sure does hit the spot these days - it is a tad on the cool side.

Got to work on time - as usual - and there were five boxes of RTS to be done - and they were all done by 5:30 this afternoon - and the GM left and I followed him out the door - after I finish the RTS there is NOTHING else for me to do - so I got home 30 minutes early - nice treat.

Got home and there is a message - Marian did not leave until after four this afternoon - late as usual - oh well - she is the one who does not get enough sleep - and that is something I just do not understand - her job requires her to be alert but she keeps pushing the envelope. She seems to 'refuse' to get enough sleep - oh well she is an adult.

So I will be heading to bed around 8 - have my nice hot shower and curl up in bed for a bit with a book I am reading - am trying to get up earlier in the morning - so that maybe I can start going for a bit of a walk in the morning. Not any marathon - but a short walk to start out with and see how it goes.

2010-09-19T21:41:00.002+03:00

As promised - finally - here are some pictures. For Margaret and Tootous - the cats. We have Snookums, Tiger, KeeKee and TwoBit.

This is Mr. KeeKee - sleeping on the computer chair - he is the elder statesman and only male. He regularly goes after Snookums for no good reason.

This is Ms. Two Bit - she is a real character - her tail has been broken - leaving her with a paralyzed anal sphincter and a 'dead' tail. She is a real lovey dovey - loves to sit on you and suck on your shirt. She likes to get her nose under my underarm and knead and suck - not bad as long as her nails have been trimmed. She loves to sit on her pedestal in the sun and keep track of the goings on in the neighbourhood - she goes right snakey when she sees magpies or ravens (of which there are plenty).

This and the next one are of Ms. Snookums - she has a purr like a tractor - she does not willingly get picked up - but if you do manage to snare her she starts purring right away. She loves to chase her tail - have a video of her doing it - it is hilarious.

Last but not least is Madame Tiger - she reminds me of the cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland - she is quite standoffish unless you are reading, on the computer or watching TV - then she wants to be on you. She is a real snorer - she loves chocolate, cheezies, cheese, bacon - if I am cooking bacon she is at the table as soon as I get it out of the fridge.

For everyone else - just random shots of Fort McMurray - and my sister with her bus. She was driving to work - it was a Friday - and not many people actually work on Friday - there were maybe at the most six people on the bus - so I was 'allowed' to tag along - and we were looking for the wild tiger lilies in the ditch - much easier to see from the bus than from the car - being so much higher up. Just picture this in your mind - bus driving down the highway - slamming on the brakes - pulling over to the side of the highway - and then these two women climbing down and walking in the ditch taking pictures - what a sight to behold - was a good day. Now that she only works Monday through Thursday - and I am working from 2-6 p.m. - no more bus trips. SIGH.

Wild Tiger Lily found in the ditch between Fort McMurray and the oilsands.

Another tiger lily found in the ditch.

Not sure what this is - but it was also in the ditch.

Wild strawberries that we found in the ditch.

Another flower that was found 'in the ditch' - lots of ditch watching done this day.

Marian and 'her' bus - she has since started a new shift and has another 'newer' bus.

The following pictures were taken on our walks - that have since gone the way of the dodo bird - unfortunately my 'injury' keeps me from doing much walking - the after effects are not nice at all - can hardly hobble around. But you will get the idea of why I enjoyed walking here so much.

This is my favourite shot - always made me want to take another picture - have quite a few of this spot.

Wild - hmmm - want to say columbine but that is not right - but whatever it is it grew on the path.

And of course the wild rose - the floral emblem of Alberta - lots of these.

Not the best shot - but you get the idea - I have no clue what kind of flower this is - just that it is pretty.

This is the view of the Athabasca River with the Snye entering it - on our walk.

A 'close up' of the above view.

One day we went on a tour - we stopped and took pictures of a few areas. The first is a 'creek' that runs not far from the Shell Albian work site.

Very picturesque - and not very far away there is an oilsands project.

The next stop on our 'tour' was the Oilsands Discovery site - hard to get into pictures the size of the machines that were used when they first started 'mining' - technology has changed - do not think any of the companies continue to use these machines.

Cannot remember what this is - but it is a small piece on the large machine.

This is one of the 'small' scoops that scooped up the oilsand.

Man am I bad - I need to look at all the pictures - because I did take pics of the descriptions - suffice it to say this is a piece of machinery that was used to mine the oilsands.

Next stop on our trip was a stop at the buffalo paddock - Marian had seen that there were some on her way home - usually you cannot see them this close to the highway.

The one in the foreground was looking pretty good - had already gotten rid of his winter coat - the one to the right - you can see still had a fair bit of his winter coat - they looked quite shaggy.

Such a majestic looking animal.

The following is a picture of me and my friend Helen in her back yard in Pinawa - taken the weekend of the big High School Reunion. Thought about posting some pics of the reunion - but nobody knows anyone - so will post them on Facebook instead.

Helen and I in her backyard - do miss Pinawa - loved the size of the yards and just the peace.

Now this is just a candid picture of my sister - just could not resist.

Luv ya Marian

The next shot was taken at Marian's work barbecue. One of the women brought some puppies in the hopes of selling them - the runt was by far the cutest - they are not big dogs to start with and the runt was only about 2/3 the size of it's siblings.

Hard to get a pic - puppy would not sit still.

These next pictures were taken at the fall fair - just a very small sampling of the handiwork of the local artisans.

This teddy bear was hand made out of real fur - there were three or four of them - they were adorable.

This was a beautiful bowl handcrafted out of wood - when the fellow went to put the 'oil' on it the grain just popped out.

This quilt one first prize - beautiful - there were lots of fantastic quilts.

And that is it - took me over three hours to figure out how to upload these pictures - will either have to do it more often or never again - right now I am going with never - but I am sure I will relent.

2010-09-18T19:39:00.000+03:00

Managed to 'sleep in' until 7:00 - not that I was sleeping - but sure is nice to be able to laze around. Got up - had my shower - got dressed - phoned my favourite cuzzy - you are AWESOME - but before I did that I got the first load of laundry in the washing machine. Woke up to fog - had sort of hoped it would be a nice day so I could hang the clothes outside - but no such luck - fog has burned off - sun is weakly shining now but the clouds do not look very promising - so first load of laundry is in the dryer - keeping my fingers crossed that it will work for me - seems to take it into its head to not work every once in a while - used it last weekend and it worked - took a long time to dry the clothes - but hey I have lots of time.

Spent some time on the web last night - looking at job opportunities here in Fort McMurray - sure are some nice jobs - great pay - wish I knew the trick to getting me one of them thar cushy jobs. One of them really piqued my interest - it is working for the Municipality - excellent salary - only one year - soooo - now I am debating about applying for it and seeing where it leads - have applied for lots of jobs with the Municipality - but never heard boo from them. It is a junior position - but I don't really care - salary is awesome. Yesterday while I was at Safeway I filled out an application - they had postings saying they were looking for cashiers and a courtesy clerk - so ... filled out the application - will have to see where that leads. Hope if I get the job it can be worked around my job at the post office. Do not want to give up the post office until such time as I find a full time job that pays as much if not more.

Today was a 'porridge' kind of day - and I am not a porridge fan. I had purchased some quinoa flakes - decided to make them up - doctored them with cinnamon, buckwheat honey, raisins and cut up a date - it was very good. May have to look at buying some more - or just using the quinoa - some of the recipes I saw online made the porridge with the regular quinoa - which would be fine - could make up a big batch - and then just warm it up when I want to eat some. Bet Marian would help me eat it as well.

Ayman is driving me crazy - I know 'tis but a short putt. He is complaining of testicular pain - but will not see a doctor. He was going to go Saturday night (Egypt time is 9 hours ahead of us so it gets confusing) - but instead he headed to Cairo to sell some copper. And he was planning on heading to Libya on Sunday - but now he is planning on leaving Saturday night - because there is a driver unloading his load in Tripoli and Ayman is planning on shipping some copper back with him - ARGH. His ability to procrastinate drives me nuts - I am the one who pushes to get things done - NOW - not later - he is always saying we can do it later - but I have learned later rarely comes - unless it has to do with his business. When I wanted to renew my passport - told him that before he headed to Libya we had to go to Cairo to start the process - he wanted to leave it until he came back the next time - but I INSISTED that it be done - so he actually had to delay his travel plans to Libya - I am such a beyotch - but if I had waited I would have been running around with an expired passport - not my idea of a good thing. I ended up having to drive into Cairo with Sharon to go get it - good thing I usually pay attention when Ayman is driving - the area where the embassies and consulates are is in the downtown area of Cairo - it is a disaster - full of dead ends and one way streets - and of course no parking - but I found the place and got the passport - Ayman had made arrangements with his friend to drive me - but did not hear from him so went on my own - danged independent wife he has. I have just about always been good about doing things now instead of later - well maybe not so great with the dishes - but for 'important' things I like to get them done now so that I do not have to worry about them.

Before I left Egypt they were making noises that they were going to be instituting property tax - so everybody had to register their property - well the backlash was ferocious - so there was noise that they would start very slowly - and of course I wanted to register the property - rather than face the chance of being penalized by not getting it done by the deadline - and of course Ayman was all for waiting - but again I pushed and it got done before I left - did not take all that long - actually took longer to drag him out of the house - he just wanted a 20 minute nap - I had already made the bed - so no way - it was all of 9:30 a.m. - he had been up for about 45 minutes - the joys of East and West - well actually the joys of night owl and morning person - guess which one I am.

Need to think of something to eat for lunch - no idea what to make - maybe I will get busy and make some zero point spaghetti sauce, cook up some sausage or smokies, and cook up one of the spaghetti squash I bought (no points), cook up some broccoli and make a salad - hmmmm - sounds like a good meal. Guess I need to get busy and get started on the spaghetti sauce - usually use canned tomatoes - but will stew up some of the tomatoes I have bought.

Will endeavour to upload some pictures later today.

2010-09-17T18:59:00.002+03:00

I am heading back to bed for a short snooze before I head to work. Has been a busy morning. Cooked the last of the beets - SIGH. And also made a big batch of home made tomato soup - looking forward to having a bowl of it after work with some garlic bread. Numm. Even have all the dishes done - and the ginormous pressure cooker Marian has is put away. Lunch will be fish, quinoa, beets, swiss chard and maybe a salad. Can you tell I am 'trying' to be good. Am on my third litre of water - need to have the toilet attached - spend a lot of time making my bladder gladder. Hope that in a few days things will settle down - and my body will 'get used' to the water - usually does.

Right now the weather 'looks' gorgeous - sunshine, blue skies - but that can change in a matter of minutes. Will be interesting to see what it is like when I get up.

On my way home from work I will stop at Safeway and get some more tomatoes - they are on sale - and it is certainly soup weather. Plus will make a batch of spaghetti sauce - bought a couple of small spaghetti squash - for spaghetti and sauce - no points - love it. Will likely add some meat of some sort - maybe a chicken smokey or a chicken sausage - low points and maybe a piece of garlic bread - getting hungry thinking about it - will do that tomorrow.

2010-09-17T04:15:00.002+03:00

What a cruddy day weatherwise - man we have had sun, snow, rain, sleet and more snow - it is still snowing - I got home just in time - YUCK.

Work is as usual - I have finally caught up with the RTS - am working on mail that was boxed on September 14 - so.... a light at the end of the tunnel. Now I just need to be careful not to work myself out of a job - thought I was going to - there was no mail for a couple of days - got me kind of worried - but the last two days have got 3 boxes both days - I can manage to get through 3 boxes (short) and usually one box of 'flats' - magazines, 8 x 11 sized envelopes, 5 x 7 sized envelopes - etc. There are now five boxes waiting to be done - one of them is 1/2 done - got that much of it done before I called it a day. My back is not happy with me today. I left for work at noon - instead of 1:10 - because I needed to get a few groceries - so I have been on my feet a lot longer than usual - and my back is letting me know it is less than thrilled with me. Does not help that I did not sleep very well last night - had trouble getting to sleep - unusual for me - I usually drop off quite quickly and then have trouble staying asleep - but last night was different. I guess the news Ayman gave me unsettled me more than I thought it had. While chatting with him yesterday he informed me that my downstairs neighbour - who is determined that I will get rid of the garden - has contacted a lawyer - and the lawyer contacted Ayman. This started over a year ago now. She has decided that the reason the paint is coming off her ceiling is because of the garden - now I have not seen where the paint is peeling - Ayman has - but typical Ayman he does not 'remember' where it is - last year her husband called Ayman and Ayman contacted a painter and made arrangements with the husband to pay for having the ceiling repainted - even went as far as purchasing the supplies needed. But wifey would have nothing to do with it - so Ayman returned the supplies. Now she has contacted a lawyer. Guess she and her next door neighbour do not get along - gee wonder why - and she has been trying to get the neighbour to complain as well - but there is nothing to complain about - she even went so far as to complain that she was getting dangerous worms in her flat from my garden - hmmm - yet I don't have any in my flat - guess they just slithered out the door, down the stairs and into her place - give me a break. Ayman is sure it is a tempest in a teapot - but man it galls me. I guess the paint in her bedroom - which is right below ours - is also peeling - and she is blaming the garden - DUH????? I have had second hand experience about how slowly the wheels of justice work in Egypt - so doubt that much will ever come of it - especially because the place is in my name - and I am likely going to be out of the country a lot - good luck finding me in the country and then having the time to get me to court before I take off again. It is most unfortunate that she is being so 'silly' - she has given Suzanne, (my sister in law) her husband Sadee and her eldest son Mahmoud grief over the garden on a regular basis - because of course she cannot talk to me about it because her English is likely about as good as my Arabic - so.......feel badly that my family has had to be dragged into this pettiness - but such is life.

Not much else to report - Marian is still on holidays - expect her back on Monday - likely pretty late - she is not very good at getting anywhere at a decent time - oh well - her life not mine.

Last Sunday a friend of Marians - whom I have met - Denise - called me - was surprised to get me at home - guess she had been calling - did not leave a message - and I certainly did not recognize the number so I did not call her back - she had misunderstood what my work hours were - she thought I had been avoiding her - but not true - I was just at work whenever she called. We drove out to Dunvegan gardens - bought a bit of fresh produce - I bought green and wax beans and swiss chard and she stocked up on beets to make pickled beets for her girls. We wandered around the greenhouse for a bit - then headed to her place - where she had laundry to do - so we chatted and then ended up going out for supper - her treat. We had a really good visit - she is a really interesting lady.

Other than that my life consists of work and home or home and work depending on your perspective. It is nice to have the pile of boxes down to a manageable number - wonder how long it will be before the powers that be decide that they are going to make a permanent part time position out of the job I have been doing - scuttle butt has it that I will have first dibs on the job when/if it comes through - hmmmm - decisions, decisions.

2010-09-05T03:25:00.002+03:00

It has been a very quiet day here - Marian left yesterday for her holidays - she is heading out to BC to visit the folks. She will be gone for two weeks - what will I do??? Today I tidied up the kitchen - turfed a few things - Marian will not likely be happy - but I warned her. She had a sunshine iced tea jar - and the spigot leaked - she wanted to get it fixed - told her she had 3 weeks to look after it - after that I would deal with it - as in throw it out - that was 6 weeks ago - so today I turfed it - shhhhh don't tell her - see if she notices. She took two of the cats with her - leaving Tiger and Snookums with me - and right now Tiger has woken up and is sitting on the desk top - 'helping' me type -not sure what she wants - she is not a particularly cuddly cat - but .... bet she wants food - seems to be a constant in their lives - every time you head to the stairs they beat you to it - to their food dishes in the hopes that they will be fed - good luck on that one. She wants her head scratched - does love that. And just stepped on the enter key - so lots of lines put in. Weather was not bad today - mostly sunny - but the clouds have rolled in now - they are promising rain tomorrow and Monday - so much for the long weekend - but why am I not surprised.

Work is as usual - although one of the supervisors informed me that they are considering making the position a permanent part time one - the one I have been doing - and as I have been doing the job for a month or so - seems like forever - I will get first crack at the cat - so to speak. Hmmm - do I want to go from temporary to permanent part time - not sure - decisions, decisions. Have decided to speak to HR and get a bit of background info regarding the difference in the two - and not worry overly much about it - after all this is the post office - will not worry until I hear for sure they are going to do something.

Maybe tomorrow I will play around with the camera and see about uploading some pics - not making any promises but will certainly think about it.

Finally heard from Ayman - had talked with him briefly on Monday - he had his knickers in a knot because I had not called him - so Tuesday I went and bought some phone cards - and tried to call him Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - phones were off - very unlike him - his phones are rarely off because he has to be in contact with drivers - was getting very worried - but turns out he was in an area that has really bad signals - so no phone signals - hmmm - do I believe him - or was he getting back at me - a common Egyptian practice. One shows one's displeasure by not answering phone calls from the person who has pissed you off - he has done this to me before - but man does he get irate when I do it to him. Last time I did it - he was really incensed - told him I thought it was the Egyptian custom - to ignore phone calls when you are upset with the person - as he had done this to me - and he is always telling me that I do not understand the Egyptian customs - so ..... he told me he did not like it when I did this to him - told him I did not like it when he does it to me - so ...... I had called him at 5 a.m. this morning - and his phone actually rang - so I came downstairs and got a phone card and called him and then he did not answer - ARGH - he says he was in the mosque when I called. Said he would try to get to a cybernet after iftar - no call - so I guess the cybernet was not there or not open. Must admit I do not like not being able to keep in touch with him - worries me when he is unavailable.

Not much else to report - things are pretty quiet on the northern front.

2010-08-30T16:44:00.003+03:00

Here it is Monday - SIGH - back to the grind. The weekend was very busy - not much 'down' time.

Saturday the weather was not very nice - since we had planned on going to the County Fair here in Fort McMurray - it was chilly and damp - but we persevered - there were lots of arts and crafts and baking on display - lovely quilts - I was quite impressed with the scope of talent here in Fort McMurray - it is not a very large town - but there are a lot of very talented crafters here. Need to get busy and upload some pictures - right now I think I am doing well just blogging - but need to get on the pictures - pictures make the blog much nicer. We spent four hours poking around Heritage Park - where the Fair was held - looking at the buildings they have - as well as looking at the crafts and the vendors. We happened on the Dunvegan Garden's booth and bought some beets, carrots, onions, radishes and then I found that they had baked goods for sale - oh oh - ended up buying four cinnamon buns and a tiny zucchini lemon poppyseed loaf. So guess what I am doing today - yep cooking beets - getting ready to make another batch of borscht - Marian put in a request. I am very glad that I splurged and bought my yellow duck jacket - as Marian calls it - it is a waterproof jacket - got it at WalMart for $8.00 or something like that - has turned out to be very handy. Unfortunately all the standing around in the cold weather did not help my knee any - but such is life. When we finished at the County Fair we went grocery shopping and got a few things that we needed. Got home - I made a gourmet meal of hot dogs and a salad - we also had 1/2 a cinnamon bun for dessert - then prepared ourselves for 'movie' night - we watched the movie 'Precious' - Marian has quite a movie collection as well as TV Series - the movie was 'interesting' - not autobiographical - but I guess a combination of stories - sad that this happens - made me truly appreciate that which I had as a child. It was certainly sobering.

Unfortunately I did not sleep well Saturday night - woke up around 2:30 a.m. and could not get back to sleep - tossed and turned - finally gave up and started reading. Did not manage to get any more sleep - ARGH. Meant Sunday was going to be a very long day.

Sunday was Marian's company's first annual picnic - lousy timing as a fair number of their drivers are Muslim and of course are fasting for Ramadan - so the turnout was not as good as it could have been. Weather was much better - sunny with a few cloudy periods - when it was sunny it was VERY nice. We were supposed to start early - but Marian got sidetracked - surprise, surprise - so by the time we got moving it was time that I had wanted to be back home so I could have a nap - I get CRANKY without sleep - but I ended up going - because if I did not go Marian would not go - oh well. Had quite an enjoyable time - ran into Brenda - she is one of the Weight Watchers leader here in Fort McMurray - she commented that I had lost more weight since I quit going to meetings (financially and psychologically could no longer cope with it) - and yes I have managed to lose around another 20 lbs. - have .6 lb. to lose and I will be at the 50 lb. mark - still a long way to go before I get to my goal -but I am closer than I was. Before we went to the picnic we stopped at Save on Foods and bought out their quinoa - it is usually $1.59/100 g - on sale this week for $0.99/100 g - I bought 2 kg. to take back with me to Egypt - I really like it - and I am sure Ayman will eat it as well - as he eats anything. Marian got around 6 kg. of it - they now have no more - we bought it all. But we both like it - and since I found the recipe for Tabouleh Quinoa - it is a real crowd pleaser - we go through quite a bit of it. We indulged at the picnic and had a couple of burgers each - small ones - so when we got home I put together a huge salad and that is what we had for supper - and polished off the last of the cinnamon buns - we each had one for breakfast - they were YUMMY.

So here it is Monday morning and I have cooked beets - now need to wait for them to cool off so I can put together the borscht - guess I should have some breakfast - not sure what interests me - but I need to get something going - already had some 'concord' type grapes - yummy. Going to cook fish, beans, corn on the cob and have salad for lunch - it is our big meal of the day. Then for 'supper' we will have soup and maybe a sandwich.

2010-08-28T05:12:00.002+03:00

TGIF - and I am finished work for the day.

Yesterday was a long day. Worked my usual 2-6 at the post office - then went to A&W and had a Teenburger - they were donating a dollar from every teenburger sold to MS - so Marian and I went to do our part - yeah right - okay so you don't believe me. They also had a fairly good collection of 'classic' cars to look at - I was quite impressed with the number of cars considering that Fort McMurray's population is around 100,000. They even had cars there that are older than ME - hard to believe - but it is true. After we gawked at the cars - and Marian shook her head at some of the souped up cars that were automatic - hard to believe - what is the point - we headed home and guess what - the flyers were on the doorstep. So we came in made our bladders gladder and headed out to do the flyers. I have not been doing much in the way of helping since I buggered up my knee - have been helping mainly by driving and loading the flyers into the carrier bag for Marian - have been slowly working my way back to doing my share. Last night I did - and man is my knee ever sore today - had trouble getting to sleep last night because my legs were so sore - partly from the walking - the steps kill me - and partly because I have been doing squats every day - and my quads are saying - WHAT IN SAM HILL ARE YOU DOING TO US - hmmm - maybe I should only do them every other day. Once we finished the flyers and disposing of the extras - we came home grabbed a well deserved ice cream treat - walked up the hill to the gazebo that is perched on the hill - and sat inside to watch Mother Nature put on a really whiz bang light show. The lightening was stupendous - and the thunder was pretty good too. Only problem was that it was past my bedtime - Marian's as well - got home a bit after 10:00 and I did some stretches and then had my shower and tried to sleep. Marian got 'sidetracked' as is her wont - and did a bunch of laundry before getting to bed - so she did not get upstairs until after midnight and then she had to have her bath. We were supposed to get up early this morning and go for a walk - got up around 7:00 - knocked on her door - and she said she wanted to get more sleep - I did not argue too much - my legs were still giving me grief from yesterday - but I got up and had my shower and got dressed and came downstairs. Today is the first day of Marian's weekend - she has 3 days off - but today she had to attend a Professional Driver Improvement Course - which took all morning. She had made an appointment with Telus to come in and do something with her TV's - so I had to stay put - and of course they phoned yesterday to confirm - and stated their technician would be by anytime from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. - I usually head to bed around 10:00 for a laydown - find the afternoon at work goes better if I give my feet and legs a break - only an hour - but could not do this today because I was waiting for the Telus technician - and I was worried that if I went upstairs to lay down I would not hear him when he came - because you cannot hear much of anything when you are upstairs - kind of nice most of the time - but times like this would have been nice to have not had it so quiet. Anyhow so I stayed up - he called around 11:30 (could have had my rest) - he was on his way - did I want him to come - UH YES - called again after about 10 minutes - he was lost - had to give him directions - talk about the blind leading the blind - like I know my way around Fort McMurray- luckily he was quite close so I knew where he was and could give him directions to the house. He was here for about 30 minutes - and when he left I went upstairs for my rest. Marian got home in time for me to take the car and drive to work.

Got to work and ended up sitting around for two hours because I could not get into the program I needed. Have a feeling IT had been busy after Jim left - he was gone when I got there at 2:00 - and had done some upgrades and closed the program - only problem is that no one there knew what the password was - so we had to wait for Jim to arrive home and call back - so did not really start work until just before 4:00 - managed to get two boxes of mail done - one short one - and one 'flat' one - not as much as I usually get done - but did not have my usual amount of time either - so shoot me.

Got home and prepared supper - leftover barbecued steak, fresh green beans, corn on the cob, salad and some potatoes that I cut up and 'fried' in the oven. For dessert we had some chocolate pudding - all in all a good meal. Now I have to figure out what to cook for the coming week - because there are no leftovers - will be thinking about eating a lot of fish - we have bought lots of it - was on sale - so should just eat it up - make room in the freezer.

Tomorrow we are planning on heading to Heritage Park for Fort McMurray's Country Fair. And then on Sunday the company Marian is working for - Diversified Transportation - is putting on their first Family Picnic - not a great time to do this - as a lot of the drivers are Muslim and it is Ramadan so they are not able to eat - but I guess they will be bringing their kids and the kids can eat.

Ayman headed back to Libya on Wednesday - he is hoping to be able to ship some copper to Egypt during the next couple of weeks and then hightail it back to Egypt for Eid.

And that is it for today.

2010-08-24T16:04:00.002+03:00

OK - to continue the saga of the last 3 months.

My job hunting has been more 'successful' here than in Calgary. I applied for a part time job working at A&W - was hired to work Saturday and Sunday and some evenings. Unfortunately the woman who hired me then quit - and the new management were not happy that she hired me at $13.50 an hour - according to them my wage should have been around $11.00 an hour - because I would only be working on weekends and the occasional evening. I did all the training - it is done online - took what seemed forever. Every time I would complete a module I would be told to do more. I ended up doing all 18 of them - when I only really needed to do six of them. Oh well - interesting.

I then applied - on a whim - for a letter carrier position with Canada Post. Actually my niece Annie told me about the position - she had applied for it - so I thought what the heck - and I got called. Had to go in for a GAT (General Aptitude Test) - now I remember them from when I was being tested by Manpower (way before it was called UI now EI) to decide what 'career' best suited my 'skills' - and I was a bit freaked because I remember the math being a doozy - and I was not all that great at math when in school - and as you know from my previous post - it has been just a 'day or two' since I was in school - so I worked myself up into a sweat about the math portion. Day finally came to go for the testing and why was I surprised - they were so disorganized. The tests had not been run off yet - and instead of giving us the test first - they give us a wad of paperwork that had to be done - security clearance, privacy issues, TD1's, banking information - all kinds of stuff - which to my way of thinking was a waste of time until we had at least passed the GAT - but who am I to question the way things are done - after all this is Canada Post. We were to be there by noon - and of course people showed up late - so held everyone up - because we had to fill out all the paperwork before we could get to the testing - ARGH. Well the math - after all my stressing - was a non-event - very basic - adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing - no sweat - interesting to hear the 'young 'uns' go on about how tough the math was - SAY WHAT - but of course they do not know how to do it without a calculator - I just breezed through it. Did run into problems with the short term memory test - my ability to memorize things has never been very good - and after noon it drops dramatically - being a morning person and all - so I likely did not do all that well on that portion of the test - so I am figuring I am done for. But lo and behold I get a phone call - I passed the GAT and am not onto - what I think and have been told - is the last hurdle - the one on one interview - a bunch more scenario questions - as well as a map question - get through that and I think I did quite well. Then I get an email saying they have added a physical fitness test to the equation - more stress - ARGH - oh well - I have been walking a couple of hours most days - so I think I am all right. In the email I am given the phone number and instructions that I have 48 hours to make the appointment or I lose the opportunity. So I immediately start calling the number they have given - to find out it is the fax number - hmmm - Marian suggests looking the company up in the phone book and getting the number from that - so I do - call them and am told that they cannot make an appointment right now - they will call me later in the day - so I wait - at 3:30 - no call so I phone them - and am told that they are not yet set up for the testing - could I please call back in a week to 10 days - SAY WHAT????? I tell them I have 48 hours to make the appointment or I lose the chance of work - no change. So I contact the woman I had interviewed with - she was not there - but I got the number for HR in Edmonton - gave them a call - told them that the number in the email is actually the fax number - oh - so sorry - but that email comes from head office - ok - then I tell the woman that I did make contact with the company that was to do the physical testing - and was told that they were not yet set up - she was some surprised - because the company told Canada Post they were ready in mid-June - and this was the end of June - hmmmm - so she makes some calls - gets back to me - tells me that they are ready - and the company calls while I am at A&W and Marian makes the appointment - I am now stressing about this. Go for the test and it was a 'piece of cake' - only problem I had was being hooked up to a heart monitor for the walking section - you were carrying the postal bag - with increasing amounts of weight - up to 35 lb. - and you had to walk 300 ft. including up a step - hmmm - not bad - except I was rushing - and my heart rate exceeded their 'normal range' - so I had to stop - a phone call was put into Canada Post - and a decision was made to give me another chance - this time I took it nice and slow and remember to breathe - second time around my heart behaved itself - minor detail that my resting heart rate is higher than their normal - but God forbid anyone 'think' - so I leave there and wait again for a call or something. The call comes in when I am at A&W - Marian calls me and I am thrilled. Finally I am going to be working - had applied for many, many jobs in my 'field of expertise' and heard nothing from anyone. So, at the age of 53 I am going to be a mail carrier - GULP.

Went in on July 12 to start my training - remember how in the previous post I mentioned that on July 10 I had injured my IT band - now it is causing major problems. My first week of training is on a walking route - about 14 km long - and I am in PAIN. Having to walk is not the problem - but the stairs are a killer - Monday I just followed Kriscinda - my trainer - and Tuesday I delivered a bit of mail - Wednesday she divided the walk in 1/2 and I did one 1/2 and she did the other - then on Thursday we switched - Wednesday took me forever because the bags of mail had been put in the wrong transfer boxes - so I did not have the mail at the right place - meant I was doing a lot of backtracking - oh well - got it done - then on Friday I did the whole route on my own - she helped me do the sort - which is the most important part of the job - you sort it right and then you just follow the mail - was going along really well - until I got to a transfer box - and the wrong bag was in it - NOT AGAIN - yes again - so I just picked up the bag and carried it to the right box and took the bag that was supposed to be in the other box back to it - and carried on my not so merry way. The weather was HOT and HUMID - so I was sweating and dehydrated - but I followed the mail and managed to finish it just before 3:00 - Kriscinda is usually done by noon at the latest - oh well - got back to the depot and had time to sort through the mail that was waiting to be done - called flats - magazines, and advertising (not flyers) and got out by 3:30. Called Kriscinda when I got home - she was surprised that I finished when I did - thanks I think. I just kept following the mail - must admit by the latter part of the day I was really wishing the mail would just disappear. Got home and soaked my feet in cold water - AHHHHH.

The second week of training was done on a 'motorized' run - which means you drive around in a Canada Post vehicle - the route I was trained on is in a newer area of Fort McMurray - and most of the mail is delivered to the super mail boxes - she has six of them on her route - and as well you deliver all the parcels to the houses for that area - and there is a small walking section as well. Much easier on my knee - but this woman kept telling my to pick up the pace - I was slowing her down - well I was going as fast as I could - will take time to get as fast as these guys who have been doing it for years. I tend to have to look at the mail a lot more than they do - they do the same route day in day out - week after week - so they know the route really well. Anyhow I managed to finish the second week of training - still in a lot of pain - but I finished it.

Now I have been hired as a temporary mail carrier - so I now sit at home and wait for the phone to ring to be called in. On the Friday of the 2nd week of training I am told that I will have Monday off - so I sleep in - am in the shower at 7 - when Marian comes banging on the door - I have to go to work - thank goodness she was not working - so I could take the car - they needed help with sorting the mail - usually you get one maybe two boxes of mail - well most of the routes were dealing with four to five boxes - and one of the regular carriers was off - so the person doing her route needed help sorting the mail - so that was fine by me. Then Kriscinda - the girl who trained me on the walk route was not feeling well - so I ended up doing half of her route - they called it an 'overtime' route and it is done a lot differently - so I was not very fast at getting it done - took me until 3:00 to do half of the route - but I was going round and round in circles - I was SO confused - I knew how to do the whole thing - but the way they divided it had me thoroughly flumoxed - oh well I got it done. No calls came in for the remainder of the week.

The following Tuesday I missed a phone call from them - did not hear the phone and did not see that they had called until later in the day - ARGH. Decided to head in on Wednesday to see what was going on - I had to pay the $5.00 initiation fee for the union - so used that as my excuse to go in - went in for 7:00 a.m. and told the supervisors I would show up every day at 7:00 because I do not have a car - so to wait at home would waste a lot of time - I would not get paid for the time - but I did not care - would rather be there when they need me then at home and not be able to get there until 8 - which means you are running late with no chance of getting caught up. Was told to report to the other depot (there are two in Fort McMurray) at 1:00 p.m. that day to be trained on RTS (Return To Sender) mail - ok - means I will be working from 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. five days a week - I am not THRILLED - but it does beat sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring. The job is B O R I N G - you sit or stand at a table - pick up an envelope - type in the postal code of the sender - put the envelope in the machine and a label is put on it with the sender's postal code and reason for the mail being returned - and then you do it over and over again - oh yes it is just such a thrill. I am able to do 3 boxes of mail in a 'normal' shift - do not seem to be getting anywhere - because for every 3 boxes I do - another 3 come in the next day - yesterday I finished the RTS mail for July - which was an accomplishment. And actually got the mail done for Aug. 4 as well. Will be at this for the foreseeable future. Talked with the supervisors - had been thinking maybe I was being punished or I had washed out as a letter carrier - but was told if I would rather they could bring someone else in and I could sit at home - told them no thanks I am happy to be working four hours a day - just want to know that there is a chance I will get to go outside and play - and they said yes. The VOP training (have to be trained to drive their vehicles) will next be held at the beginning of October - so will be doing that - missed the last one because of the danged long drawn out hiring procedure - oh well - such is life.

And I think that is the end of the post for today.

2010-08-23T05:33:00.003+03:00

Well this is truly frustrating. Spent a couple of hours yesterday typing up my life in the last few months on MS Word and am unable to copy it onto my blog - so will have to start from scratch.

First my hair has been cut numerous times - so have lost the calico look and am au naturel - white - with a sprinkling of pepper. Have renewed my licence again and even took the major step and admitted that my hair colour is white - ah isn't aging grand.

I think I will start with my 35 year high school reunion. It took place on July 9 and 10. I flew out to Winnipeg from Fort McMurray, rented a car and drove to Pinawa - located 120 km ENE of Winnipeg - on an island in the Winnipeg River - beautiful place. We moved there in 1971 - in April - I was in Grade 8. Did not really find my niche as the kids in my class had been together since Grade 1 - definitely odd man out. Found out how odd at the reunion - a couple of people questioned whether I had graduated with them - hmmm - really made an impression. Of course the girls I did associate with did not come to the reunion - we were kind of the 'outcasts'. Arrived in Pinawa around 5 - had dinner with my hostess - a friend of my parents that I got to know through Miles - and her son who was visiting from Australia. After supper I went to the meet and greet - that had originally been planned to be held at the Pub - but the pub burned down a month or so before the reunion - so the venue was moved to one of the organizer's back yards - only drawback were the mosquitoes - one of the bonuses of living in the 'wilderness'. The only people who recognized me were the few people who I have connected with through Facebook - the rest were absolutely clueless - and even wondered if I had in fact graduated with them - I assured them I had. It was 'fun' to see the people who were there - there were about 15 who showed up for Friday night - again I was the observer - watching people. And I remembered why I did not associate with them even in high school - their idea of fun is to see how much liquor they can consume before upchucking - not much has changed. I was busy in high school babysitting - earning the princely sum of $.50 an hour. Good money back then - how the times have changed. This was the first reunion that I had attended - will likely attend others if I am in the country and available - but will plan to stay longer than 2 days. Saturday I opted out of the golfing - I have never golfed in my life - no desire to start now - and spent the day with my gracious hostess - Helen - she took me on a tour of the town - sure has changed. When we lived there there were very few fences - my dad put one up and I think it was one of the very few in the town. But fences have now been erected to keep the deer out of people's yards. The deer have become a real problem - Helen and I were sitting in her back porch and a doe and her fawn just about came in and joined us - they are very tame - guess there are a few reasons why the deer have become such vermin 1) there are very few kids - when we lived there there were loads of kids - so lots of noise; 2) new town bylaw keeping dogs tied up - when we lived there the dogs roamed - so kept the deer at bay and 3) lots of Bambi lovers. There are even people who feed them - causing more of a problem. Saturday night we were supposed to go to the club for a meal - but again the venue had to be changed - the chef quit earlier in the week - so salads were catered and we barbecued in another classmates back yard. It was quite enjoyable - again I watched and marvelled. Unfortunately I managed to trip and injure my IT (ileotibial) band - making walking very painful. I flew back to Fort McMurray on Sunday.

And that is all I have time for tonight. Will endeavour to do more tomorrow.

2010-08-22T05:09:00.002+03:00

Every day I receive a couple of spiritual newsletters. This one that I got today really struck a chord - so I thought I would share it with you.

Differences and Divsions

Differences and divisions are not the same things.

Differences, confirm and make possible, your experience of Who You Are. Divsions confuse and render impossible that experience. Without the differences between here and there, up and down, fast and slow, hot and cold none of these things could be epxerienced. Yet there is no division between here and there, up and down, fast and slow, hot and cold. These are merely different versions of the same thing. Similarly there are no divisions between black and white, male and female, Christian and Muslim. These are merely different versions of the same thing.

I promise to start blogging on a regular basis - had a post all typed up in MSWord and am having trouble copying it - so will try again tomorrow.

2010-05-09T20:01:00.004+03:00

Ta da - as promised yesterday here are pics of the new 'do'. I also included pictures of the car after we had picked up a few groceries in Fort McMurray before we finished the trip.

Here I am with the everyday look - looking a tad bit like a calico cat.

The everyday look from the front.

Here we are really styling - spikey here I come.

Looking so happy - but still styling.

And a back shot - some would say my best side - kind of hard seeing the dark hair at the back - used to all be that colour. SIGH.

Here I am in the car - well packed - good thing we did not have far to go.

See how much stuff is in the car - and at the bottom of one of the piles is a cat carrier with two kitties.

Good thing it was well packed - only got attacked by a jacket and a backpack a couple of times.

Love that hang dog expression - poor little ol' me - just all packed up for the long journey to Marian's place.

2010-05-09T00:22:00.000+03:00

Where has the time gone? Hard to believe that it is over 3 months since I arrived in Canada. Have had winter, summer, spring, winter, spring in those 3 months. Gotta love spring in Canada – especially Calgary.

So far I have had no luck with finding employment. On May 4th I packed up and came to Fort MacMurray with my sister – in the hopes that I would be able to find work here – economy is much better here than in Calgary – so keep your fingers crossed that I am able to find work. My niece’s husband has a lead with the company he works for – heard that the company here in Fort MacMurray are looking for an Admin. Assistant – so will endeavour to find out where their office is and on Monday I will drop in with my resume and tell them that I had heard they were in the market for an Admin. Assistant and I am interested in the position. If this does not pan out may end up working at Timmy’s serving coffee and donuts – YEAH – oh well will beat nothing. And at least I have a place to stay here in Fort MacMurray.

Two weeks ago I had to move from my friend’s place, not sure what was going on – but I was asked to leave – so figured I would move in with my niece and her family along with my sister – was talking to Miles (son) and he asked me to move in with them – so I did. Spent 8 days with them – was nice to spend time with them – had not seen much of them since I had arrived. Did manage to spend some of the Easter weekend with them. We were invited over for Easter supper on Sunday, my parents had come into town – the arrived Friday night – and I had bought a small roast – cooked it up with potatoes, and made Yorkshire pudding (nummy) – invited Maurine and her daughter Maurghan over to join us. Saturday we went to WalMart – mom was looking for shoes – she found two pairs that she deemed suitable. Then we went to Shawna’s place for supper – it was quite a gathering – my two nieces and one nephew came up from Edmonton – had not seen the nephew for about 10 years – he has growed some – it was nice to see him – he was on his best behaviour – there were no major or even minor incidents – WHEW – my niece lives in a smallish place – and there were 10 adults and 4 little kids there – was nice to be together. Sunday we went to Miles and Shani’s place for Easter dinner – there were around 15 people there – mainly her family. Miles youngest sister Jennifer had been in Calgary and they got together for a couple of hours at Miles place – would have been nice to have seen her – but we missed her by 10 minutes – oh well. Had a very nice dinner there – good food and pleasant company. Monday we had KFC – Dad had a hankering for it – so we went out to Maurine’s place and on the way purchased a bucket of chicken – love it when Dad cooks. Mom and dad headed east on Tuesday morning. They went to Saskatchewan to visit family and friends. While they were gone we had a wing ding of a snow storm in Calgary and south – was really ugly – have actually had a few storms – as I said luv’n spring in Canada.

Marian was in Calgary waiting for the birth of her newest grandchild – Shawna’s fourth – little fart showed up late – she had booked a month off work – and he showed up 10 days before she had to head back to work – so she asked for 3 more days off – and we headed up on Tuesday – through yet another snow storm – roads were scary in parts – especially around Edmonton – they had had a really bad snow storm – whiteout conditions – cars and big rigs all over the place in ditches – apparently it hit around noon – so good thing we were late leaving – as usual – weather was so bad that a car got hit by a train – all 3 in the car were killed. We spent the night with Marian’s daughters Gloria and Annie – along with Gloria’s son. Wednesday we headed to Fort MacMurray and the roads were clear, weather was good, sunny and blue skies all the way up – a bit windy – but nothing compared to the wind we had on Tuesday, we made the trip safely – you should have seen the car – it was packed to the gunnels – good thing as the wind was so strong – at least the car was heavy and did not get blown around too much.

Unfortunately there is no gym here that is affiliated with the gym that I belong to in Calgary – so I am going to have to improvise – thank goodness (I guess) Fort McMurray is a very hilly town – so there are lots of hills to walk up and down – Marian’s place is not far from a walking path – and it has a humdinger of a hill – so I am walking that five days a week – plus another walk with Marian after she finishes her first shift in the morning – well at least until I find work that is.

I miss being home in Egypt – but this is something I have to do – I really need to earn some money – and it is kind of nice being here for so long – away from the drama that seems to be my life there. I miss my family there – and I really miss Aymn –this is the longest separation we have had since we married. I like being where I understand the culture, the language and how things are done – but I miss the people in Egypt.

Two weeks ago today I had my niece cut my hair – I did not particularly like the style that I had – so she used her clippers and cut it all off – it is about an inch long all over – most people really like it – I think it is funky – not sure how it will be received in Egypt – but we will cross that bridge when we get to it. Should get a picture taken and post it – hmmm – I was bright and did not bring my camera cord – so will see if I can get Marian to take a pic and upload it.

While in Calgary I was fortunate to spend a fair bit of time with my cousin – Maurine. We had a lot of fun – miss her here – but such is life. Also got to spend a week with my folks shortly after arriving from Egypt. Would have been nice to have been able to go to Creston this weekend since tomorrow is Mother’s Day – and then next weekend is a long weekend – but I am finding life does not always work out the way we want it to – I know – just a tad slow on the uptake.

Not much more to report – have started back with cross stitching – have one project on the go and 7 in the wings waiting for me – so need to get myself organized here and figure out how I can work on it.

2010-02-06T18:49:00.002+03:00

Hello C A N A D A. Whew - has been one heck of a week. Landed in Calgary on January 29th at 4:00 p.m., left Alex on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. (which is 10 a.m. Calgary time) - not appreciating at all the fact that I have to leave from Cairo - makes a long journey into a much longer one. Add to that that there was a must see football match and it was YUCK. Made it to within 80 km of Cairo before we HAD to stop to watch the football match - Egypt won - YAY. Then we headed to Cairo - needless to say Cairo was CRAZY - Thursday night and Egypt made it into the final at the Africa Cup - then my husband is saying - I think this is the way to the airport - not exactly the words I wanted to hear. Thank goodness we made it in plenty of time - my flight was scheduled to leave around 4:00 a.m. - so was supposed to be there by 1 - made it by 1:30 - lots of time to spare - the Cairo airport is not exactly a hub of activity - not much to see - wandered around for a bit - saw all there was to see. Boarded the plane and was asleep before it taxiied down the runway - slept through the food - but did not stay asleep - managed to get 2 hours of sleep before I woke up. Amsterdam was great - nice airport - friendly atmosphere - quite a change from Frankfurt. Had a 6.5 hour layover here - found some comfy seats and crashed for a couple of hours. Security was 'interesting' - security was after you checked in - so did not leave a lot of time - and they were doing the body scan - so it took quite awhile to get checked in - I did not have to go through the body scan machine - there was a real lineup so I just went through the normal metal detector - was asked if I had a lot of 'bangles' (in my dreams) - showed my right arm with my 1 bracelet - no problem. While at the airport I bought some cheese to bring back - then wondered how much fun I was going to have going through customs - woman asked me at passport control what dairy product I was bringing - told her cheese - she asked me what kind - told her Gouda - she wrote fine on my card - so breezed through customs. By the time I made it through passport control all my luggage was on the carousel so just picked it up and out I went - into the moderate weather of Calgary.

First stop was Spa Lady to work on my membership. Only reason I was travelling in January to Canada - no I am not really and truly crazy - was because the gym (Spa Lady) that I had a lifetime membership with had been bought out and the new company was not honouring the lifetime members - we had until Jan. 31 to sign up for a new membership - 1 month free and then $19/month for 23 months and then $19 a month forever more. Definitely something I wanted to participate in - because I need to go to the gym when I am in Canada and I am afraid bottom line is that I will eventually be relocating back to Canada - no idea when - but eventually - so will want it then as well.

Saturday we headed to WalMart - needed a few things - outdoor footwear was number one on the list. Got everything on the list except the footwear - SIGH. Then we headed to watch my friend's grandson's soccer game. After the game we went to Sobey's and bought lots and lots of produce - the variety is overwhelming. Then home for lunch - and then out in the evening to watch Avatar - awesome movie - special effects were fantastic - would likely have enjoyed it more if I had had more time to unpretzel my self and had more rest - but well worth the bit of discomfort I had at being confined again.

I am staying with my friend Tina and her husband Sav in the NE of Calgary. Not far from my old stomping grounds. I am without wheels - so I am going to have to bite the bullet and start using public transportation - SIGH. I am so very grateful to Tina and Sav for opening their home to me. I am also very grateful to my friend Deb who has been my 'wheels' during the week - when she is not busy she very kindly drives me around to get things done.

Sunday saw me out and about again - had wanted to go to church - but did not make it. Ended up back at WalMart - this time I got the footwear - then had a nice relaxing rest of the day. I need to get back into the habit of not shopping on Sunday and going to church - need to cadge a ride from someone - will look into that once I get back to Calgary.

Saturday got to see my favourite cuzzy for a bit - was I blown away - she has lost a lot of weight and has gone from a size 18 to a size 10 - I was gobsmacked - she attributes it to divorce, depression and Weight Watchers - now I am not sure I want to go for the divorce or the depression but the WW sounds like a good idea. Talked with my buddy and we decided we would join WW that week sometime. I looked online for the meetings and we decided to join on Tuesday afternoon.

Sunday afternoon I got to see my niece Shawna and her 3 kids - phoned her in the morning and she motored over in the afternoon for a nice visit.

Talked with Miles - but have not yet seen him.

Monday the routine started - off to the gym for 6 a.m. - OMG what was I thinking - I have not worked out for over a year and my body is not really thrilled to be back - but I know that soon it will be thanking me. While Tina and Sav are at work I do a bit of housework and prepare supper for when they get home.

Tuesday Tina and I headed to WW after she finished work and we joined up - I am determined to make this work - it truly is a plan I can live with for the rest of my life and it is certainly something that is long overdue. My goal is to lose enough so that when I go back to Egypt (if I do) I can sit more comfortably in the seats. Must admit it is no fun flying when you are uncomfortable - not that it will ever by truly comfortable - but when I get down to a more reasonable size it will be less uncomfortable.

Thursday night saw me boarding a bus for Creston to spend a week with my parents, before I start looking for work, figured it made more sense to spend the week before I started looking for work - so that when I find work I can start right away.

So I am here in Creston - have some sewing to do - and will be heading Stateside for a gander at the Super WalMart in Sandpoint - if the weather cooperates we are planning to head down south on Monday. Sunday I will head to Church - will be good to see some friends. This trip I have opted not to cover - decided that since I will be working and there is no way I am going to cover at work - that I am not going to cover at all. Had a new western wardrobe made while I was in Egypt - so brought all that with me - to leave behind if I head back to Egypt - must admit it is taking a bit of getting used to - not covering when I go out - getting kind of used to it - although I am wearing a winter coat - so I am sort of covered.

Will endeavour to post more regularly - not that my life is all that exciting - but .....

2010-01-13T21:29:00.002+03:00

Well, since my mom ditched me and I have 30 minutes before I head home - I will take this opportunity to blog.

I do not have a computer at the moment - have not had one for about 3 months - need a new motherboard and new RAM at the same time - and I just do not have the money for it. So I am back to sitting in cybernets and being smoked. Sure do wish there was one near the house that was a non-smoking one - but such is life - the one I am using is more expensive than most - but it keeps the 'gamers' out of the place - which is good.

I am heading back to Canada on January 29th, have my ticket in my hot little hand. Will be looking for work as I have a few debts I need to look after - and my investment money has disappeared - turns out it was a ponzi scheme - I am very grateful that I got all of the money I invested out of it before it dried up - but it sure has changed my plans for the future. Am looking forward to being back for my 'sanity' break.

Not sure how long I will be in Canada - will all depend on how long it will take me to earn the money to cover my debts as well as have a nest egg so that I can afford to go home next year. If things work out well enough on this trial I will look at going back for the summer for the next few years - a) to add to my CPP and b) to build up a bit of a nest egg for unforeseen circumstances here in Egypt.

Weather here has been wonderful - not much rain yet. I spent Christmas in Ain Sokhna with my buddy Margaret - spent Christmas day at the beach in the water - even managed to 'drag' two little ones in the water with me. Margaret and her husband, Mustafa, had company for Christmas Day - husband and wife with 3 adorable little ones - 5, 4 and 2. I managed to entice the two older girls into the water with me. Unfortunately because I do not have my own computer I am unable to post my pictures - but I do have pics and as soon as I can I will post them.

Aymn is still spending a lot of his time in Libya - although the last time he was back he managed to spend a bit over 3 weeks here - instead of his usual 10 days to 2 weeks - was kind of nice. Things have certainly improved between us - I think the fact that I had the place listed to sell and actually had people coming to see it shocked him - whatever it was - I am glad - we are in daily contact now - last year or so once he crossed the border I rarely heard from him - so it is very nice to get text messages from him every day. On Dec. 23 he had an accident in his car in Libya - cost him over 8,000 LE to get it fixed. Managed to rear end a truck on the highway - not sure how he managed it - but he came up behind a truck that was not going nearly as fast as he was - and could not pass him as there was a truck travelling in the other lane - and of course he was going too fast to be able to stop in time - I am just very grateful that he was wearing his seatbelt - something he has started doing since his Canadian wife insists he put on the seatbelt every time he is in my car.

I spent a bit of time today in the garden - one drawback to not having 'winter' - the garden needs watering and weeding - today I tackled the rose garden - came out looking the worse for wear - have sweet peas blooming already - will take pics and post them when I have the chance as well.

2009-11-22T20:40:00.002+03:00

Has sure been a long time since I updated. Right now my computer is in the shop - has been out of commission for over a month - not holding my breath on getting it back in the near future - so I am having to go to a cybernet to keep in touch.

Life has continued in the same vein - Aymn spending 90% of his time in Libya and me getting more and more disenchanted with my 'marriage'.

I am still alive and kicking and I appreciate the concern of my friends. Hope to be able to do better soon.

2009-07-15T10:09:00.002+03:00

I do believe I have recovered from my adventures on Monday to a degree that I can report on them.

On July 7, Aymn, Sharon and I headed to Cairo - I had to get my passport renewed - it expires in September and I do not think Aymn will be back before then - so I insisted that it be renewed before he headed back to Libya - he had planned on leaving on July 7 at night - so nothing like waiting until the last moment - but that is Aymn - he never 'plans' his trips back to Libya - he just up and leaves - usually when things are getting too stressed here he hightails it back to the quiet of Libya. Sharon tagged along because she wanted to do some shopping at a place where you can get crafts made by refugees from the Sudan - we had been introduced to their crafts at a bazaar that the group we belong to held - and we are hooked. We found the place - after not much effort - only to find out that Sharon had misplaced her wallet - so she had no money. Unfortunately all I had was the money I needed to pay for the passport - it is more expensive here than at home - SIGH. She decided to stay at the shop and window shop while Aymn and I ran after the passport. Aymn dropped me at the Consulate - and I found out where I could go to get pictures taken - we tried to get them done here in Alex - but I knew they would not be acceptable - talked with my buddy Margaret and she told me that she had to go and get hers redone - at a place not far from the Consulate - so I decided not to waste money getting them done here. Got into the Consulate and was going to have to wait to talk to the only employee - seems the receptionist knows nothing - but a fellow that was also waiting kindly gave me the address of the closest place - only about a 10 minute walk - Aymn reappeared and we took a taxi to the place - got my pics taken - such glamour shots - no smiling at all - then we walked back to the car - got all the papers I needed - Aymn signed Amal's name - I had to have a guarantor - seems really stupid to me - I already have a passport - should that not be good enough - but no - because I had it done in Egypt - I am not the same person - and of course the only person that I knew that was 'qualified' was Amal (my co-wife - she is a dentist) - Aymn asked her if she would do it - she said yes - so he signed for her - welcome to Egypt. Then back to the Consulate - was so nice - wonderful air conditioning - it was hot in Cairo. Had to wait for about 5 minutes - then I got called into the 'secured' office - so nice not having people barging in front of you - with just a little question. Took about 5 minutes to get everything dealt with - they took the old passport and my birth certificate - not really happy about that - have to head back on the 28th to get the new passport and the old one - need the old one because it has my residency permit in it - and I am really hoping that I can just go and get it transferred over into the new one - here is hoping - nothing is ever that easy here in Egypt - but I can always dream.

We went and got Sharon - she said that in the craft shop there were more crafts than just the ones from the Sudanese refugees - but neither one of us had money - so we headed back to Alex. I ended up driving - Aymn was too tired - could not stay awake - must admit that is something I find so 'interesting' - I enjoy driving - I can make the trip both ways in one day and not be too bagged by the end of it - but Aymn can only manage driving one way.

After Aymn left on Wednesday Sharon and I talked about it and we decided that we would head to Cairo to shop on Monday. According to their website there are two shops - one in Zamalek (which is where we went with Aymn) and one in Maadi. We decided we would head to the Maadi one - and see what it was like. Well we found Maadi - found the address - but they were not there - so we headed back to Zamalek - now let me tell you driving in Cairo is a real challenge - the roads are a mystery - I was very proud of myself though - I only made one wrong turn - did not have to drive all that far to make a U-turn and head back. Found the shop in Zamalek with no problems - I am so grateful that I pay attention when I am being driven around. As we were leaving after our shopping expedition I asked what was the best way to get to the bridge we wanted to get to - unfortunately I missed the turn - and we ended up driving around a bit - but I managed to get us back to the bridge - much more quickly and much easier than Aymn did - man we drove around for at least 20 minutes when he was driving - took me less than five to find the bridge I wanted to get me out of downtown. WHEW. I am very proud of myself - I drove around Cairo - only took one wrong turn - found my way to where we wanted to go and got us out of there with a minimum of effort. Way to go.

On the way home we stopped at Carrefour just before the toll booth on the desert road. Must admit the desert road is much nicer to drive on now. They are busy resurfacing and widening the road - so when they are working on it it is a royal pain - the road is divided - four lanes each way - so when they are working on a section - you have to drive on the other side - two lanes - with the speed dropped to 60 kph. But starting in July they have ceased construction for the holidays - much nicer driving.

I had taken Suzanne, Mom and the kids into Cairo to spend the day at a 'theme' park - much against my better judgment I allowed myself to be suckered into doing it on a Thursday - I spent a bit of time with them at the park and then took myself to visit a friend in 6th of October - not far away. We did not get away from the park until 4:30 and the traffic was a disaster - a trip that usually takes 3 hours took 4 - we were stuck in traffic for over 30 minutes because of a big traffic accident and Egyptians are the WORST rubber neckers I have ever encountered - traffic was backed up for at least 5 km on either side of the accident. And then of course traffic was very heavy because Thursday is like our Friday and it seems at least half of Cairo heads to Alex Thursday after work - ARGH.

Anyway just thought I would post about our adventures in Cairo - I think I could even make it to the Consulate on my own - Aymn has asked his friend Mohammed to take me - because I did not want to have to drive it on my own - but after Monday - I think I could do it - so if he is unable to take me - I will head there on my own. One one hand I will be much happier having Mohammed drive - but on the other I think it would be more fun to do it on my own - at least then I could shop if I wanted to without feeling that I was bothering Mohammed any more than I already was. I'll keep you posted.

2009-07-01T07:50:00.002+03:00

Happy Canada Day!!!!

Life has been 'hectic' around here - a lot going on - seem to be doing a lot of wheel spinning.

Right now I have company - Sharon is staying with me until her affairs are settled and she is on her way stateside. Has been great having company - although I will be very lonely when she leaves.

Aymn is back in town - has been here for about 1.5 weeks - of course no idea when he will be leaving again - he is getting antsy so I am assuming it will be soon.

Weather has turned into a furnace - although the last couple of days have been really really windy up here in the penthouse. Did laundry yesterday and by the time I had the second load ready to hang the first load was dry - sheets were really 'snapping' in the wind - had to make sure I anchored them really well or they would have taken flight.

Unfortunately with the heat my ambition has 'dripped' away - even eating is a challenge - just too hot.

Having to water the garden every other day - the basil in one of the pots is my indicator that I need to water - it gets very droopy when it is dry - so about the only thing I am managing to do with any consistency is watering the garden.

I am sorry that I was absent for such a long period - I am having computer issues - but while Sharon is here I am able to use her computer - need to start bugging Aymn about getting mine fixed - but as usual - money is tight - but I think getting the computer fixed is a priority - so will start pushing. He will be here tomorrow night - so will get on him tomorrow - because of course one can only take the computer to the shop at night - because it is not open during the day.

Even sitting here and typing I am breaking out in a sweat - ARGH.

So I will keep this short - hope all my Canuck family and friends have a great Canada Day.

2009-04-10T07:13:00.002+03:00

For Lynn who requested the recipe for the pinwheels and anyone else who might be interested.

Hamburger Pinwheels

4c. packaged biscuit mix
butter or marg.
1 1/3 c. milk
1 tbsp. instant minced onion
1/4 c. chopped onion
3/4 lb. chuck beef, ground
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. worcesershire sauce
2 tbsp. catsup
2 tsp. prepared mustard
2 eggs
1 c. drained cooked or canned peas (I used frozen - not cooked)
1 envelope gravy mix
1/4 c. drained, canned, sliced mushrooms *
watercress *
2 tomatoes, cut in wedges *
*- optional

About 1 hr before serving:

1) In large bowl, mix biscuit mix with 2 tsp. butter or Marg. until butter particles are fine, then blend in milk and instant onion; set aside (Can use recipe for baking powder biscuits instead of mix - which is what I did - recipe follows)
2) Start heating oven to 350F. In 1 tbsp. butter, in mediumskillet, saute chopped onion until soft. Add ground beef, salt, pepper, msg,Worcetershire, catsup and mustard; then cook until beef just loses its red color.Remove from heat and add 1 egg and peas.
3)On floured board, roll biscuit dough into a rectangle 14"x 8";** with sharp knife cut dough into strips lengthwise into 8 strips, each 1" wide. On each strip, evenly spread about 1/4 c. of meat mixture, up to 1" from each end; then roll up strip like a jelly roll, brushing end with some of 1 beaten egg, before sealing it.
4) Place pinwheels on greased cookie sheet, then bake about 1/2 hr. or until golden brown. About 5 min before pinwheels are done, make up the gravy mix as label directs; add mushrooms while heating.
5) Serve pinwheels on a heated platter, garnished with watercress and tomato wedges. Pass gravy. Makes 8

** I (my mom) usually spread the meat mixture on it , leaving 1" edge (along short. side) for egg wash, then roll it like a jelly roll and cut into 8 " slices with a sharp knife. Often have to reshape pinwheels a bit too. I did this as well - no way was I going to fuss around cutting strips and then trying to roll them up - doing it the way my mom suggests was really easy - and 'reshaping' the pinwheels is no big deal.

Biscuits Supreme

3 c. all purpose flour
4 tsp. baking bowder
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cream of tartar
* 2 tsp. fresh chopped garlic
* 4 tsp. italian seasoning
3/4 c. butter
1 1/4 c. buttermilk or 1 c. milk

* - my own additions - used when making the pinwheels - also when I want to make 'herbed' biscuits ( a big hit around here) and I also use this recipe when I make pizza.

1. In a large bowl stir together the flour,baking powder, sugar, salt and cream of tartar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles caorse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add buttermilk all at once. Using a fork, stir until moistened.

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough by folding and gently pressing dough for 4 to 6 strokes or just until dough holds together.

Bon appetit - hope you enjoy as much as we do.

2009-04-09T18:35:00.003+03:00

Today I got to sleep in - until 6 a.m. instead of getting up at 4:45 a.m. to go for a walk - managed to walk for five days - must admit as the week progressed the distance and speed diminished - but we hung in there and accomplished the goal of walking for an hour. Although I am none to keen on getting up at 4:45 a.m. - must admit it sure beats walking in the heat -we are usually home by 6:45 at the latest - unless we walk to Mandara - but I think that will be a one time only deal - before the sun gets too high.

After I got up I had my shower, got laundry started, checked my email, vacuumed (even moved furniture), dusted, did dishes, cleared off the dining room table (tends to be a catch all - being right at the front door) and then dusted the table, had breakfast, have done four loads of laundry and it is even all dried and put away, and then last but not least I vacuumed and dusted my bedroom - I even watered the garden and then got a knock on the door telling me that water was dripping - like I can do anything about it once I have watered - figured it would happen today - got a little overzealous watering one of the pots and water went all over the place - I just hope the water did not drip out of the drain spout that comes from the rose garden - that water then ends up on people's clean clothes - if they have any hanging outside - SIGH. I even got ambitious and swept part of the balcony - right by the doors that I use the most - in the hopes that maybe I will not track in nearly as much dirt when I am going in and out.

Last Tuesday I got busy and made my pinwheels - invited Sharon over for lunch - and we had the pinwheels and made chocolate pudding cake - pinwheels turned out really well - there was not much pudding in the chocolate pudding cake - not sure if it was because I baked it for too long or if I need to put more water in it. Oh well - such is life - tasted good anyhow. Took a picture of the pinwheels and uploaded it.

Pinwheels - used to have them when I was a kid - has been ages since I had these

Not much going on in my little world of make believe - after many false starts - I finally got my household money today. What a hassle. Ended up with one of Aymn's uncles going to Manshaya and getting the money - he then dropped it off at Suzanne's as he does not know where I live - and Mr. Sadee told him to leave it with them - guess he was not keen - as Aymn had told him to give me the money - Mr. Sadee explained that I live on the 14th floor - same building - and chances were that I would already be asleep - of course I stayed up late waiting for him to come - gave up at 10 - after figuring out that he would not likely come to my place but would choose to leave it with Suzanne. This uncle drives taxi so he was out and about anyhow - must say I do appreciate that he went to Manshaya and brought the money to me. Aymn was not a happy camper - he had asked Mr. Sadee to go and get it and he had said sure - then did not go get it - then Aymn wanted me to take a bus and go to Manshaya - told him I would not go (have to work at not feeling guilty saying no) - then he had me phone Suzanne and get the uncle's mobile number and I messaged him with the number - and then he phoned the uncle and asked him if he could go get the money. Amazing - he gets shirty with me because I do not do what he wants me to - and yet I am not supposed to get upset when he does the opposite of what I ask him to do - go figure. Anyhow - long story short - finally got the money for the month.

Today I got the water bill - less than 20 LE ($4 CAN) for at least six months - and I use a lot of water because of the garden. Must ask Suzanne how much her bill was for.

And that is my life in a nutshell - do not really expect Aymn to return until next month - if then. Must admit this is certainly giving me a lot of food for thought.

2009-04-05T07:58:00.002+03:00

WHEW - it is 7:05 a.m. and I am back from my walk. Last night Suzanne decided we would go at 5:30 - and of course she was not ready - but only took her 15 minutes and we were hitting the pavement.

Yesterday we left at 8 and after about 20 minutes she asked if we could walk to the bank in Mandara (the bank that Dad and I walked to when they were here) - takes about 45 minutes - she wanted to get some money for Mom. So we walked there - she said we would take a micro bus back - we got to the bank and she used the ATM - and there was no money in Mom's account. OOPS. Anyhow - we ended up walking back - which was fine by me - the more walking the better - only request I would have would be to start out earlier - walking in the sun is not my idea of fun. Before I headed out yesterday - having gotten out of bed by 6 - I had stripped my bed, washed the bedding, and it was hanging on the line, had my fruit, then an hour later my breakfast, had even done up the dishes that had been malingering around. After I got back from my walk I did up the breakfast dishes - did a small load - wanted to wash the outer clothes I had been wearing as they were drenched. I also downed 2 litres of water in very short order. Now if only I could figure out some way of sweating out the fat instead of just the water I would be doing really well. Had plans of doing a bit more around the house - but had two phone calls that took up 2 hours of my time - I really need a cordless phone. One of the calls was on my cell phone so I could wander around and do a few things - but the longer call was on the house phone and I am tied to one spot - and I find after sitting for that long - for some reason my get up and go had deserted me - go figure.

Yesterday was a great day - lots of sun - I sat outside and cooled down and read a bit - before I did the second load of laundry. After I showered and dressed I sat outside again - but I am being good now - sat in the shade. It was very warm yesterday and did not cool off much at night - woke up this morning with damp hair - time to take the blanket off the bed - although I may just fold it down at the end of the bed - because it can still get cool again.

This morning was very smoky - looks like it may be a nice day - although there are clouds - which may burn off once the sun gets high enough.

Heard from Aymn yesterday - he had not contacted me on Friday because he did not have good news - like waiting a day changes it. He will not be home anytime soon - has yet to sell the car or send any copper. The two trucks that he spent 5 weeks waiting for - left Libya without taking any copper - after saying they would. So he is now waiting for another truck. So another 5 or 6 weeks. He says it will only be another week - but I have been hearing that for a couple of months - so colour me skeptical.

Will do another load of laundry today - will wash my bath towel and a few other things. Must admit I do enjoy hanging my clothes outside to dry - most of the western women miss their dryer - but I like hanging the clothes outside.

Anyway that is my oh so exciting life in a nutshell.

2009-04-01T10:36:00.002+03:00

Has been a 'busy' few days.

Monday I went to AWA - took a taxi - must admit that while getting the taxi is a bit of a hassle - parking is such a breeze - get out and off he goes. No more fancy jewellery for my car. After AWA we headed to San Stefano for lunch - had a good time visiting - always nice to get out of the house and meet up with women who 'get' where you are coming from. Came home and started weeding in the garden - must admit the rose garden was a disaster - looking much better now - although the sweetpea jungle has taken over - so cannot really finish it off - as there is no way I am rooting through the jungle in search of weeds to come upon roses. I also watered the gardens - worked at making sure I did not overflow the potted plants so the water would not end up on the furniture on the sidewalk below.

Yesterday - started with a walk - we (Suzanne and I) actually got off to an early start - we were out there by 7 a.m. then I spent more time in the rose garden - came out of it looking as if I had been in a battle - blood all over my arms. Finally had to give up and actually stand in the garden - not may favourite pasttime - but there is just no way I can reach the back of the garden without crawling into it - not a good idea with the rose bushes - or standing in it - I have basically done as much as I can until the sweetpea jungle is done for the season. I then started puttsing in the next garden - worked at getting the long grass that is going to seed - next is the little plants that I consider weeds - they are harder to get at - but I will win - and when I pull weeds - I endeavour to get as much of the root as possible meaning it takes me longer to weed - but it stays weed free longer as well. I fired up the barbecue and cooked up the sheep meat I had started marinading on Friday - took the cooked meat down to Suzanne and family - I just could not eat it. So after I finished cooking the sheep meat I cooked myself some wieners - I do like barbecued wienies.

Today - went for a walk - Mawada joined us. And on the way home I went to pay my phone bill - what an exercise that is. There are 3 windows - 2 of them are for men and one for women - well the women's line had two lines - one with women and one with men - I just do not get the inability to stand in line and wait your turn - everybody is more important than you are - and it is especially true of the men - you really have to be assertive or you will wait forever - good manners do not exist here when it comes to line ups. Did not take all that long - but you sure do have to be pushy - something I have learned - not something I am comfortable with though. So the phone bill is paid and I ran into Ahmed (door man) and paid him - I usually pay him 65 LE - 35 for the elevator and for him taking out the trash and delivering bread - and then 30 for looking after the car - but since the car is not around I only gave him 50 - he was not happy - but I think it is more than fair. Anyhow - now I have about 45 LE left until Aymn either arrives or sends me this month's allowance. Must admit I do not like this tussle to get the money - I think he should just get it to me on the first of the month - no matter what - but that has yet to happen. And while I had my own money and was not completely dependant on his contribution - it did not really bother me - but now that I am completely dependant on his money - it irks me no end. The plan for today is to spend more time working in the garden - but that my just change - may just take a break today. Time will tell.

2009-03-29T20:04:00.002+03:00

Got up today around 6 - had the last of my strawberries -SIGH - and then had breakfast - went for a walk with Suzanne around 8:00 - on the way home we stopped at the phone company - wanted to pay the phone bill - but they refused to take my money because the due date is not until April 1 - first time in my life that a company refused to take money because it was early - just gotta love Egypt.

Came home and did a bit of work in the rose garden - arms look like I tangled with a cat - but I am slowly working my way through it - although will lkely run into a problem once I get to the sweetpea jungle - as I cannot see what is under there - so I will wait until it is finished and then root around in there. I am busy pruning the roses bushes - likely the wrong time to be doing it - but tough - it is the only way I can get at the weeds - by wacking down the roses. I should have taken a picture of the garden before I started so one could see the improvement - oh well - next time. Still have not run across any black worms that are coming from my garden.

Had my shower and sat outside and read a bit. Did some hand sewing on my new wrap dresses. The dressmaker used my snaps - but I have found that the fabric that the snaps is on needs to be reinforced so I was busy reinforcing all of them - have a couple more snaps on one of the dresses - then just two more and I will be done - love make work projects. Put sunscreen on - but still got some colour - so I am going to have to be a lot more careful - obviously the sun is getting stronger - like I didn't already know that - but ....

Made myself a taco salad for my lunch - have lots of romaine lettuce - got 3 heads of it last Tuesday for the princely sum of 1 LE - that is about 20 cents. Really great price - but there is only so much lettuce this one person can eat - but I am working my way through it.

Not a lot more to report - chatting with mom online now - then I will likely head to bed early - must admit getting up so early makes for early nights.

2009-03-28T20:23:00.005+03:00

This is a shot down the market street in Mahmodaya.

Wonderful fresh strawberries - in the foreground to the right are tomatoes.

Another shot of the street that the fresh produce market is on.

Can you smell them - they were to die for - I bought 2kg of them for 5 LE (about $1 CAN).

They were some of the best strawberries I have had this season - fresh from the farm.

Wednesday I took my car in to Toyota to be fixed before the insurance runs out. Had planned on staying until they had finished with the estimate and the insurance adjuster had shown up - but I was told that they would likely start work on the car the next day - so I took a taxi home - cost 35LE - a lot of money - but the only way to get a taxi is to call one - you cannot get a 'local' taxi where the Toyota workshop is - if you want one of them you have to walk quite a ways - then it would be 25 LE - so I splurged. Must admit I was not happy leaving the car behind - but not much choice in the matter. Got a call on Thursday saying that the estimate came in at 9700 LE - OUCH - and that the insurance company agreed to pay for it - bet they will not renew my policy - not that I can afford it anyhow - but .... so will be without the car for at most 3 weeks. Will have to adjust my thought processes in that time - as I am planning on selling the car once it is fixed - so I can get my money and run. One of the engineers figures I should be able to get between 70,000 and 72,000 LE for it - I paid 88,000 LE for it - very different than in Canada. Used cars do not lose their value nearly as quickly here as they do in Canada.

Thursday spent the morning cleaning the kitchen - took me two hours - did a really really thorough job. Then Sharon came over for a visit and we sat outside on the balcony - was a wonderful day - sunny, bit of a breeze and quite warm. Working on my tan before I cannot stand to sit outside because it will be too hot and humid. Managed to water the plants while we were enjoying the weather. Sharon left and Suzanne came up - people were complaining because some water escaped and ended up on their 'furniture'. An upholstery place has opened up in one of the shops that is on the main floor of the apartment building and they keep most of the furniture on the sidewalk or the road - SIGH. And I was also told that one of the apartments below me is complaining that there are big black worms in her apartment and they are from my garden - now this I find very strange as I have dug in the dirt in the garden and have not run across any worms let alone big black ones - and wouldn't you think that if they were going to enter a home they would enter mine as it is much closer than crawling up the wall and then down the wall to the window - very strange.

Friday was a quiet day in the neighbourhood - weather was windy and cloudy with a bit of sun just for variety. And of course it rained - and I had watered the day before - SIGH.

I had a hankering for some peanut butter cookies - so I made some - restrained myself - was planning on a double batch - but settled for a single batch - more than I need - but what they hey.

Mawada came and spent some time with me - not sure what the deal was - but she asked if she could come and spend time on the balcony - not a good day - as she got rained on - but she brought her school books and studied inside once she got rained on. I picked some of the sweetpeas for her. She stayed for a little over 3 hours - I read after I finished baking the cookies.

Today I dragged my carcass out of bed and went for a walk - opted not to wait for Suzanne - I enjoy going with her - but she goes too late for my liking - I hit the road around 7 and was back shortly after 8. Was very windy - had to work even harder because I had to battle the wind. I stopped on the 10th floor and took the stairs to the 14th - not that my body appreciates it in the least - but such is life. Got home and Suzanne had called around 7:45 - and by the time I called her she could not go out - will call her tonight to see if she is wanting to walk tomorrow - sure hope she can get out and about early enough - must admit I get a lot more done if I am back from my walk earlier.

After I got home from my walk I lifted some weights for my arms - YAY. Then I had breakfast, had a shower (now this may not seem like much of an accomplishment - but there are days I do not get around to having one until I go to bed), made my bed, did 3 loads of laundry, chatted with Aymn (talk about a waste of time - but I cleaned up the computer desk - tidied up the papers that were littering the top and also cleaned it - what a muddy mess), made some pastry, and then made some cinnamon rolls - used baking powder biscuit instead of a yeast dough - takes less time and I like it just as much. Sharon came over for a visit and helped me to eat a few of them.

Made supper and that was my day. Such a thrilling life I lead - NOT.

Pictures of my cinnamon buns - with raisins and pecans.

2009-03-24T07:34:00.003+03:00

Weather here has matched my mood - overcast with bits of sun and lots of rain. Last night we had another thunderstorm - I think this has been the most thunderstorms I have seen since I moved here - quite impressive - if you like thunderstorms that is - if not not so great.

Yesterday I got up bright and early and went outside and swept up more of the balcony - got more than 1/2 of it done - and now with the wind and rain it will look like I have not touched it in months - SIGH. I did take a couple of pictures of the awesome bunch of sweet peas that are taking over part of the rose garden.

Ta da - there - three photos of my 'sweet pea' patch.

Today woke up to more rain - it is now sunny - so no idea what will happen for the rest of the day. I am heading out to Mohmodaya - thought Suzanne and I would be going - but Gehan and Mom are also coming along - so I will be the driver. Must admit that when the three of them get together I feel very much like an outsider as they spend all their time talking - in Arabic of course - and I just drive. And most times I am able to deal with it - but right now I am feeling rather 'fragile' and not sure how I will cope - but somehow I will manage to get through this day.

2009-03-22T19:45:00.002+03:00

Today was a mish mash - did a little bit of a lot.

Got up bright and early - had my fruit - chatted with my mom - means she can have a leisurely Sunday breakfast without rushing to meet me in the morning - my evening. It sure is great to be able to keep in touch this way - the blessings of the internet. Chatted with Aymn for a bit as well. Still no idea when he will be back - it was five days, then four, now no idea.

Did two loads of laundry - had a third in the washer when I headed out to pick up Sharon to head to Carrefour and Fathalla - also took Suzanne with us. Did not buy a lot - but got a few things that I needed/wanted.

Got home around 12:30 - got home - and finished the 3rd load of laundry - my quilt. Sat outside for a bit - enjoying the sun. Caught a 10 minute snooze. Got up and actually did some gardening - did a bit of weeding and wacked at the rose bushes - likely not the right time - but they need to be pruned desperately - and no way do I want Aymn going at them. One of the volunteer sweet peas has really run amok - was working near it - sure does smell nice - reminds me of spring in Canada. Will take a pic of the monster bush tomorrow.

Came in and made my bed - had washed the bed linens. Put away the groceries that need refrigerating or freezing.

Then went outside again and swept up part of the balcony - I could have quite the beach if I wanted to - but I just throw the sand out - do not think it is good enough for the garden. Now I need to throw out the garbage from the garden. I am sure that when I go out tomorrow the balcony will look as if I did not touch it - but I know I did some of it. Certainly is a challenge to keep up with it - a challenge I do not manage to keep.

And that was my day in a nutshell - such a thrilling day I had - can hardly stand the excitement. LOL.

2009-03-22T07:48:00.002+03:00

This is what The Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit has to say about the Monastery at St. Anthony:

Hidden away in the barren cliffs of the Eastern desert, the fortified religious community of St. Anthony's represented the beginning of the Christian monastic tradition. Built in the4th century AD by the disciples of St. Anthony, the walled village at the foot of the Gebel al-Galala al Quibliya is the largest of the Coptic monasteries.

This founding monastic order sprang up around the son of a merchant who had given up his worldly possessions to devote his life to God. Anthony actually retreated into the desert, in about 294AD, to escape the disciples he had attracted to his hermit's cave by the Nile. While his followers adopted an austere communal life at the foot of the mountain, Anthony took himself off to a cave, high above the developing monastery village, where he lived to the ripe old age of 105.

Despite is isolation, the monastery suffered Bedouin raids in the 8th and 9th centuries, attacks from irate Muslims in the 11th century and a 15th century revolt by bloodthirsty servants that resulted in the massacre of the monks.

Following the example set by St. Anthony, St. Paul and their followers 16 centuries ago, the 25 monks and five novices who live at St. Anthony's today have dedicated their lives to poverty, chastity, obedience and prayer.

St. Anthony's has several churches, chapels, dormitories, a guesthouse, bakery, vegetable garden and a spring. The oldest part of the monastery is the Church of St. Anthony, built over the saint's tomb.

If you're hiking from the main road make sure you're properly equipped, especially with water, as it's a long, hot and dry walk. If you do get this far you should also hike up to the Cave of St. Anthony, which is north-east of the monastery. the medieval graffiti on the walls is fascinating and there is a breathtaking view of the hills and valley below.

2009-03-21T22:06:00.003+03:00

Shock of all shocks - two posts in one day. This will be a short one.

Got up this morning and did some laundry and had breakfast. Went for a walk with Suzanne - something we have been doing for a week - left around 8:30 - got back just before 10 - and horror of all horrors there was no power - so not only did we have to walk up the stairs but there was no light - and let me tell you - it was pitch black. There are NO windows in the stairwell. Around the 10th floor - which is where Suzanne lives - it started to get brighter - light from the rooftop made it down 5 flights. So for the last four flights at least I was not doing it blind. Rested for 10 minutes and then headed down - Suzanne wanted to go and get some fateera for Shereen to take with her on her flight - and the bakery she wanted to go to was quite away away - so I said I would go with her - big mistake. Lots of goodies - and reasonably priced. I bought two 'little' fateera - the size of a salad plate. I also bought some coconut macaroons and some other goodies - hard to describe them - my favourite though tastes a lot like pastry -thicker though - and has black sesame seeds on it - very good plain -but with strawberry jam - excellent. When I got home from the bakery - the power was back on and the elevator was working - thank goodness.

Got my laundry hung up to dry and another load washing. Had a shower - sure did need one - I was soooo sweaty.

Sharon came over for a wee visit and then I vegged in front of the TV - cannot quite figure out why I am so tired - I just hope I can get out of bed tomorrow. I am now heading to bed and it is 9:11 p.m.

2009-03-21T08:29:00.009+03:00

Must admit that getting this post ready has been tough - have had no blog initiative. I took lots of pictures and I think that is what is slowing me down - but finally here I am.

The drive to Ain Sokhna was uneventful - the drive through Cairo was a breeze - hardly any traffic. A few roadblocks - but we did not get stopped. Arrived in Sokhna around noon - not bad time. We stopped and filled up once just before we left Alex and then in Cairo I topped it off - wind was bad and I was pretty sure we could make it - but did not want to take any chances. Along the Cairo - Sokhna road the wind was really bad - was fighting to keep the car on the road - good workout for my arms - I guess. For lunch I prepared the bruschetta that I forgot to bring - had made a list - but still forgot it - figured out that one has to look at the list for it to be truly effective - we had not gone far when I realized I had forgotten it - so I turned around and came home and got it. I managed to spill some on Sharon - if I had tried I could not have done such a great job.

Saturday we walked around Margaret's place - saw the pool. For those that do not want to venture to the beach.

A picture taken from Margaret's back yard - part of the golf course.

Picture of the pool closest to Margaret's place.

On Sunday we headed to the beach - I had not realized when we made the plans that it was a long weekend - so the beach was 'crowded' - not really - but there were certainly more people than I expected. Did not get into the water - had not planned on staying - just wanted to go for a quick look see - so was not really dressed for the occasion - did stick my foot into it - was not bad - but no one else would have gone in with me because it was tooo cold.

Water did not look very inviting - day was windy and overcast - still a lot of sand blowing.

Monday Sharon and I drove around the complex after taking a drive to the 'local' supermarket - kind of like a 7-11 - without the slurpees - we were sent to get hamburger buns - but they did not have any bread in the store - guess they were waiting for the delivery. There are certainly some fancy vacation homes in this place - obviously there are some people that have a lot of money.

Tuesday we drove to Zafarana - had seen the signs and was always curious - went online and found that not far from Zafarana were a couple of Coptic Monasteries. We made our way to St. Timoty's - it was very interesting. Unfortunately we arrived about 1/2 way through the tour. And they take you to the souvenir store prior to the tour - thank goodness the tour monk allowed us late comers to peruse the store after - and I bought a book- must admit the prices were certainly high - they had them marked in US dollars and the exchange rate was outrageous - so I limited myself to the one book - figured it would help to know what I had looked at. While on the tour I managed to be oh so graceful and fall over a raised block - went down backwards - as I was stepping back to try to take a picture of the belfry - managed to hit my right elbow - still lets me know that it did not appreciate my hi jinx. I was very grateful that I was wearing pants under my cover dress - or it would have been even more embarrassing. This monastery was the first monastery in Egypt - started around 400 AD. This Monastery is located out in the middle of the desert - very isolated. 15 km off the main road. In the old days it was a fortress with no door or gate to be opened. You gained entrance by an 'elevator'. They were protecting themselves from the bedouins -who still can be found in the area. Their only water source is from within the 'mountain' - it produces 100 m3 of water a day - and has done every day since the monastery was started.

Tough to see - but the monastery is at the bottom of them thar mountains.

Picture of the newest 'church' not yet finished.

Artwork found at the entrance to the monastery.

This is why Antony opted to hang his hat here - he found an 'oasis' - which of course meant water.

The palm trees and the 'garden'. Looks like they produce a few things to eat - not a lot though.

One of the doors to a 'cell'.

Hard to see - but this is in the oldest 'chapel' which is over the burial site of St. Antony. No flashes allowed.

This is their source of water - has been in use since the monastery was started - around 400 AD.

Here is the 'elevator' - the photo above shows the 'trap' door and the beams used to raise the car.

And this is the 'motor' of the elevator.

This is some of the stonework that surrounds one of the churches - looks to be under renovation - we could not enter it.

The entrance to the Church of the Cross and the Resurrection.

Picture of the sea taken on our way back to Sokhna - around Zafarana.

Wednesday we headed back to Alex - and it was a very expensive trip. I got caught speeding - and the ticket was 150 LE - I need to learn how much a bribe is and how to give it - or not speed. On the desert road they have parts of the road that they are working on. The desert road is for the most part an 8 lane divided highway - but where they are working on it it is down to four lanes - with no division and the speed is posted at 8o - well I did not see the need for going that slow and I paid for it. Then once we hit Alex I hit one of those beloved rocks that people leave on the road when they are having car/truck trouble to ensure that people move over to give them enough room to work on their vehicle - but of course they do not bother moving the rocks when the move - and I hit one square on as I could not move over to miss it because the 2 laned road had 4 lanes of cars - OUCH. Thank goodness two men risked life and limb and ran across traffic and changed the tire for me - I can change the tire - but I had no idea how to get the spare out from under the back of the van - now I know. But now I need a whole new tire as the rim has been destroyed - tire is likely fine. SIGH - just love driving here.

Traffic in Cairo - around the pyramids.

More traffic - notice the motorbike, the bicycle and the donkey cart - as well as the other motorized vehicles.

And of course the ever present camel. Just around the pyramids do we find camels and horses. But carts pulled by donkeys and horses are all over the city.

And here a horse is being given a bath - in the same water that dishes are washed in.

Weather took a turn again once we got back home - winter reared its ugly head - more wind - my place looks like a beach - so much sand in it and there is not nearly as much as there used to be because of the new windows. Wind was bad for a couple of nights - had to pull up my quilt Thursday night got that chilly again. Wind really picked up Thursday night - was woken by windows banging in the wind and when I finally dragged myself out of bed to investigate - the one door onto the balcony had blown open - so much for my vacuuming. Oh well gives me something to do.

This past Thursday I dragged Sharon along with me and we headed downtown (manshaya) to file a claim report on my car insurance - while I still have it. Parked the car in a parking garage - on the second level - have been to this place numerous times - and have yet to find stairs - so you have to walk down the ramp. Got to the office and realized I likely would need my driver's license and the car registration - both of which reside in the car - met with Bassem and sure enough - got the claim filled out - of course it was in Arabic - so Bassem had to translate it for me - then headed back to the car - up the ramp. Then down the ramp again - to give the needed paperwork to Bassem - he had it photocopied - I now need to make an appointment at Toyota for the insurance assessor and Toyota to go over the car. Bassem asked if I had filed a police report - because if the damage is over 5,000 LE a report is to be claimed. Told him that no I had not filed a report - because not one of the dents or dings was over 5,000 LE - but cumulatively it would be over 5,000 LE to get it fixed - asked him if he owned a car - he said yes - I asked him if when he parked it it got damaged - of course - told him that is why my car needs repairs - not because of one accident - but because of a year of being parked and hit - and driving over a rock. He said an exception would be made -right. If I had my car in the shop every time it was damaged while it was parked it would live at Toyota. Now I need to phone Toyota and make an appointment and let Bassem know when I will be taking the car in. Not looking forward to not having my car - but such is life.

After we finished with the insurance and I caught my breath we went 'shopping' at Trish's place. Trish and her husband Don are leaving Egypt - his contract was not renewed and they have had very little time to prepare. I had phoned Trish on Wednesday and asked her if she had any chocolate chips or bacon - she said yes - I said please keep them for me I will be there tomorrow to buy them. Got to her place - no chocolate chips no bacon - she had sold them to someone else - thank goodness the person who purchased them does not want the bacon - as she is Muslim - so I will buy that - was expensive - not sure it was worth it - but hey I had said I would buy it - so I felt obligated. Must admit the pricing was really weird. Foodstuffs were very expensive - but they had lots of alcohol and it was a steal. Bottles of wine were going for 15 LE - less than $3.00 - hard liquor was 20 LE - yet the bacon was 50 LE for 2 pounds. I also succumbed and bought some Italian sausage - for 25 LE - from the States - cooked it as soon as I got home - boiled it in water and then fried it - made mashed potatoes to go with - SOOOOO good. Wish she had more of the sausage - I would buy it all - well worth the price. The apartment they are in is HUGE. Makes mine look teeny weeny. And they are not at all ready to move - the movers will be in on Monday to pack it up - they are storing the stuff they are keeping until they know for sure where they will be headed. Trish is a really nice person - but a bit of an airhead - not at all organized - a true southern belle - and she is from the southern states - so it fits. I also managed to score some Mary Kay - not what I need - but a set of Satin Hands and some more body scrub and body gel - got it for a good price - so I guess it evens out the price of the bacon.

Sharon bought some of the wine, a bottle of creme de menthe and six cans of beer. By the time we left there was not much booze left. If I was but a drinker - there would have been even less left.

Yesterday morning I got up and made bread - I had no more in my freezer - so made a double batch. First time I set the yeast to work it did not and I was afraid I was hooped - had finished the yeast I brought back from Canada and was using some I had bought here - tried it again - and it worked - I am assuming the water was too hot first time round - but I am so glad that the yeast worked. Made 29 'pieces' of bread - Aymn called and asked me what I had been doing - told him I had just finished making bread - he asked me how much I made - told him 29 pieces - asked my why so much - told him because it lasts - and it does - put it in the freezer right away - still a bit warm - and then warm it up on top of the gas range and it is just like fresh. And he keeps saying he is coming back - which means the consumption may go up - if he is here at all.

In the afternoon I went over to my mother in laws place - everyone had gathered as Shereen is heading back to Qatar today (Saturday). She is heading back very happy - while she was here in Egypt they went for fertility treatments and she is pregnant - with twins - one of each - so she gets it all done and over with in one go. Aymn's kids were there - and of course I was invisible - not even Ahmed acknowledged my presence - which surprised me as he is quite quick to chat with me online - oh well. I left around 7:30 - said my good bye's to Shereen. I have included a pic or two of her friend Nurmeen's daughter Kinsey (which means precious in Arabic). She is a real sweety - but tied to Mama - will not go to anyone else - although she did warm up to some of the kids. Boggles my mind to watch the older kids 'fight' over the little one - like she is a toy. Oh well. I bought my mother in law some leb (pumpkin seeds) - she is very fond of them and does not buy them for herself - and today is Mother's Day - so as I have no idea what to get her - that is what she got.

And here is Nurmeen and Kinsey.

I think that is the last two weeks rolled up in one report. Now I get to upload pictures. Wish me luck.

2009-03-05T19:45:00.002+03:00

Yesterday (Wednesday) saw Sharon and I shopping at Carrefour and Fathalla. After we finished shopping we had a bite to eat and then we went to see a movie - The Tale of Despereaux. It was all right - but not one of my favourites. Aymn called while we were out and he said he will not be back for at least another week - I figure it will be closer to two weeks. Told him I was heading to Ain Sokhna on Friday and would appreciate getting my 'allowance' - guess what - I have not heard from him today - so do not think I will be getting my allowance until after he is back. I am not all that surprised - but I am tired of his empty promises. After the last time he promised that he would NEVER leave me short again - and I thought to myself - yep - until next time. Did not have long to wait.

Last night I went out with Suzanne and bought myself a new shower head - was tired of the trickle that was forthcoming from the old one - works better - but I still have problems getting the heat of the water adjusted - I either freeze or fry - ARGH. Also bought some more karkadee - just about out.

Today I woke up early to chat with my mom as I was unable to chat with her very long last night as I had a date with Suzanne - but of course my internet did not cooperate. I was very busy today - did two loads of laundry, made whole wheat pita's, baked buttertart squares (Margaret requested these), made banana loaf last night, made bruschetta and popcorn for in the car. Even managed to get the dishes all done up. I even managed to water the garden - since I am leaving tomorrow and will not be back until Wednesday - the garden should be watered before I get back - but such is life - will have to go without. Now all I need to do is pack and I want to take some of the stuff downstairs tonight so I do not have to pack so much tomorrow morning. We will be heading out at 7 a.m. - hoping to miss the bulk of the traffic in Cairo - since we will hit Cairo before prayers and it is usually pretty quiet on Friday until after prayers.

Do not think I will be posting while I am away - but will certainly be taking my camera - so hope to have some pics to post next week when I get back.

2009-03-04T08:57:00.003+03:00

Yesterday was a wonderful day - not quite - but hey I am working on it. The weather was fantastic - spent time outside reading and sitting in the sun - my tan is coming along quite nicely - the front of me anyhow - the back of me is still pastey white - do not have a lounger - and laying on the 'ground' - concrete topped with ceramic tile - is a tad hard on the body - besides getting down is easy enough but getting back up now that is another story altogether. I had made hamburger patties the night before - so I invited Sharon over and I fired up the barbecue and we had homemade barbecued hamburgers with all the fixings - was a bag girl and made homemade chips as well.

Only drawback was that my water pump did not work - ARGH. I really do not like not having water. It was not all that bad - I had water - a trickle - but no hot water - now that is not good. Dishes piled up - because unlike the locals I just CANNOT wash my dishes in cold water. Phoned Suzanne around 11 in the morning and she said that Mahmood would get someone when he got home from school - finally at 8:30 p.m. Aymn called the plumber and around 9 he showed up - do not know what the problem was - but it did not cost me anything to have it working again - good thing as it was the same guy that I paid 20 LE to to fix it 1.5 weeks ago. Still cycles occasionally - which bothers me as I do not think it is 'good' for the pump - but the plumber disagrees. So finally at 9:30 p.m. I had hot water again - YEAH - could have a shower - must admit I do not like going without my showers. While we were out in the sun I watered the potted plants - the 'garden' did not yet need it and besides it would have taken me hours with the trickle of water to get it wet. I will water again on Thursday - as I am leaving on Friday to Ain Sokhna for a few days.

Today Sharon and I are going shopping for our trip to Sokhna - she is joining me on this trek - actually it is because of her that we are going - she has never been and as she is heading stateside soon Margaret wanted her to come for a visit. While we are out shopping we may take in a movie - we shall see.

Wish I could take a picture of the wonderful weather we are having - and yes I know - 'spring' here is very shortlived and very soon we will be complaining about the heat - but I am enjoying the weather we have now.

And to top it off my mom has activated my new VISA card - so watch out - shop shop shop. LOL. Not really - but I am glad to have it and have it ready to go.

2009-03-02T18:40:00.004+03:00

Just for you I had quite an adventurous day today (Monday - could not post yesterday as my internet was being temperamental). Sharon and I went to club and as usual parking was at a premium - in fact worse than usual as they are building an apartment building in the same block as AWA - so I parked in my 'normal' spot - and when we got back to the car it was booted. I did not freak out - tried to call Aymn - but he was not in a service area - phoned Suzanne and hung up before she picked up. Went to a shop on the street where the car was and asked where I had to go to make arrangements to free my car. They told me Sidi Gabr - so Sharon and I caught a taxi and went to the police station in Sidi Gabr - to find out that I needed the Traffic Police in Sidi Gabr - about half way to where the car was. An older gentleman came with us to the right place - and they asked for my license and registration - both of which were in the car - so they wanted me to go back to the car and bring the papers with me -there was a young man there whose English was very good - so he let them know that I was not keen on all this trekking back and forth - and he and a police officer (who had the 'key' to unlock my car) came with us in the taxi - wish I could have taken a pic - but picture this - a little Lada car - and they are small - with 3 guys sitting in the front - the driver - the doctor (who was our translator) and the police officer. We got back to the car and the officer took the boot off in exchange for the license and registration. We put the boot in the trunk of the car and headed off to the doctor's car - he was about 5 minutes from where I was parked - we dropped he and the officer off at his booted car - and headed back to the police station. Got the boot out of the car and they asked where it had been - told them on my car - they then wanted to know where the officer was - told them he was on his way back. And he and the doctor showed up quite promptly. I paid the 75LE find - signed my name - and they wanted to know if I could sign in Arabic - told them no as I do not even speak Arabic let alone read and/or write it. Anyhow - after I got my change and I was told that I was finished and could leave - I thanked them - I was smiling and laughing the whole time - they were very surprised. Most people are not at all happy - but hey they were doing their job - and I should not have parked where I did - minor detail that I had parked there twice and had no problem - oh well - life is an adventure. I am so proud of myself that I got myself out of the mess with no help from anyone and I did not lose my cool either.

My car with her new jewellery on - SIGH.

After we finished with this adventure we went to San Stefano Mall for lunch - we missed the 'gang' but we had lunch - then wandered over to Metro (a grocery store that carries a lot of western products - but is very pricey) to see if they had any marshmallows and some tea that Sharon is looking for - but they did not have either. I bought some hamburger buns - took hamburger out of the freezer this morning - will season it and barbecue it tomorrow. Also bought some caraway tea - one of the women from AWA said that she drinks it to alleviate heartburn - Aymn frequently suffers from heartburn - and I have never tried it - so ... just bought a small box.

Made it back home in one piece - and when I got to my door an envelope from my mom was resting on the door knob - she had sent me my new VISA card - so glad it arrived safely. Now just need to get her to activate it and let me know what my PIN is. Not that I think I will need the PIN here - but I gather when I get back to Canada I will.

Weather has much improved - was quite sunny all day and not very windy at all. So I am hoping that winter has finished. Time will tell.

2009-03-01T09:18:00.003+03:00

WOW, WOW, WOW. Weather here has been something else. Went to bed 'early' on Friday night - around 10:00 and at 11:30 was awakened by windows blowing open and banging around. Holy moly - the bathroom window had blown open and things had been blown around - so I tried to close it - only problem is that Aymn broke the latch off and said he would fix it - still waiting - so I stuffed an empty toilet paper roll in it and it stayed closed. Then windows in a couple of the other rooms were banging around - so I got them all closed - closed the shutters as well - went back to bed. Just got to sleep and some of windows were banging around again - ARGH. And sounded as if the satellite dishes on the roof were going to be ripped off. Before I had to bed there was some fantastic lightning and thunder.

Yesterday was another miserable day - lots of rain and the wind - YUCK. Would not mind the rain if the wind would just disappear - at least I do not have to water the garden - LOL. Spent yesterday trying to stay warm - was not very successful. Was wishing I could move one of my easy chairs into my bedroom where I had the heater going and the room was warm. Last night there was one booming thunderstorm that passed through - at least with the wind it did not hang around long - but sure made one take attention - it was right overhead and caused everything to rattle. LOVED it - good thing that electrical storms no longer terrify me. I can remember as a little kid hiding in my bedroom with my head under the pillow as the rest of my family stood at the kitchen window watching a thunderstorm roll through. Weather was bad enough I opted to turn off my computer before I went to bed.

Today woke up to some sun - but it is going away - wind is back and is blowing in another bad weather front. Wonder how long this is going to last.

This is a picture of my 'bowab' with a friend of his - Ahmed (bowab) is standing. He is responsible for keeping the building clean, taking out the garbage, getting things maintained (water tank and elevator for starters). He also keeps my car clean - sort of.

This is a picture of one of many rabikya men (he takes things that are broken).

This fellow is selling an assortment of veggies and fruit. They go up and down the streets and some women send down a basket from their balcony or window and he fills the basket with the goods and she pulls it back up.

Just to give you an idea of how fun driving is - these carts are all over the place - on the main streets, the highways - everywhere. Bad enough you have to deal with motor vehicles - but these guys are even worse - as they do not have mirrors or anything - and they seem to think they own the roads - very annoying to those of us that know WE do.

2009-02-26T09:50:00.005+03:00

Sorry, sorry, sorry. I have not posted for awhile - life just keeps tossing me curve balls - not that a lot has been happening - more like things that should happen are not happening and it throws me off my game - like I have a game.

Last Friday Sharon and I headed to Manshaya - was to pick up my February's 'allowance' in manshaya - I do not like driving to manshaya or trying to find parking. But we left early - tried to miss most of the traffic by heading out before Friday prayers. Drive along the corniche and men abandon their cars on the corniche - which has a usually very strict no parking rule - to head to the mosque for prayers - like it is a surprise that the prayers happen at that moment. My mother in law had said she wanted to go to manshaya to look for a wall clock - figured we would do it on Friday - but she and Suzanne and Gehan bowed out because the shops in manshaya would not be open on a Friday - HUH. Left at 12:30 - was to pick up the money by 1:00 - got to the place where I was supposed to get the money and got a message from Aymn - could I go shopping until after 2 when the guy would be back from prayers. So we found a parking spot and spent a couple of hours drooling over gold at the gold shops - have included a few pics. Sharon sold a couple of her gold bangles and bought a couple of rings - a puzzle ring - would love to get one for myself - and a couple of pendants - plus she got over 1000 LE in change. Wish I had been smarter and spent my money on gold - then I would have some easily liquidated assets. At 3:00 I sent Aymn a missed call - he finally called back - he could not make contact with his contact - so I should just go home - I was fit to be tied - 2nd time this month I have ended up in tears because of no money - at the end of my rope - skin of my teeth is starting to complain loudly.

Just one of the many shop windows in the 'gold' street.

This is a picture of a shopka - what is given to a woman when she gets engaged.

Gorgeous bracelet.

Lots of very nice bracelets.

Another picture of a shopka.

Some very ornate necklaces.

Some every day wear bangles.

Dressier bracelets - reserved for special occasions.

Another store front window.

A couple of bangles for special occasion.

While we were browsing in Manshaya we stopped in a hole in the wall - quite literally - store that sold things other than gold. I have included a few pics of what there was to see.

This is a hand painted picture on copper. Very nice - there was a smaller one that was nice as well.

And then of course there are the blown glass perfume bottles.

More perfume bottles.

These are the bottles that Sharon purchased - the one in the front - with the purple top - the elephant - she gifted to me for my birthday.

Want to go back to Manshaya and get some more bottles - I really like them - they are so unique - and not very expensive - between 15-25 LE a bottle. Then I want to get some perfume made up - have always wanted to get something that was uniquely mine. Not that I wear perfume a lot - but I like the idea and it is relatively inexpensive - and it lasts as it is the oils - no alcohol put into it.

Weather has been ugly over the last bit. Last Friday was not bad, then it got quite ugly - rain, wind and cold - well for here it was cold - okay?? Wind was so bad that I closed the shutters on the windows and doors before I headed to bed to stop the banging that occurs when it gets windy. Must admit that snuggling under the covers for the duration sure held a lot of appeal. But I did not - got up and did not much.

Saturday I got busy and baked some boiled raisin cookies - Sharon's favourite - and she came over to relieve me of all the burned or broken cookies - she is such a food friend. I made up some potato things - no idea what to call them - they look like pasta - but you deep fry them and they puff up a lot - then you put seasoning on them or not - they are quite tasty - my thanks to Suzanne for telling me what they were when I was at Fathalla with her - I always thought it was just pasta. Then I made popcorn - really wonderful diet for the day. But hey every once in awhile one needs some 'comfort' food. Sunday finally got my money for February - not quite all of it - but most of it. Took most of the day and a lot of phone calls from Aymn. But Mahmood went and got it - had been sent with a van driver who lives not far from us. Aymn did not send it this way- he had given the money to someone with the understanding that it would be transferred to the 'travel agency' in Manshaya. But someone decided to do it this way - so of course nothing truly added up - and many phone calls were made to ensure that the money was given to the right person - like how many people would know to call and ask for a specific amount from Libya. But anyway - Mahmood went and got the money for me - and phoned the other family to tell them to come and get their money.

Monday as soon as I woke up I sent a Birthday Greeting to Aymn's eldest son - had been told to - grrr - but I guess in the scheme of things it is a small thing - and surprise surprise Ahmed even acknowledged the greeting and thanked me for remembering his birth date. I then went to club - I am now 'flush' with money - not really - but .... Had an enjoyable time - was not a bad day - lots of sun. After the meeting was over Sharon and I headed to Carrefour and Fathalla - I needed a few things. We had a bite to eat at the food court at Carrefour. Shopped then headed over to Fathalla - must admit I much prefer hitting the stores earlier in the day - not nearly as many people.

Although there were not nearly the crowds that we ran into last week when we went - we got to Carrefour early - but the place was a zoo - they had rice on sale for a good price - people were fighting to get it - and of course Egyptians are such an orderly bunch - NOT - what a mess - the manager of the store was fighting with people - telling them they could only have one sack - but there were people with five and six sacks - and you see them out in the parking lot - the women carry them on their heads - wish I had taken a pic.

Monday evening I spent some time with Suzanne and her family. Tuesday was Mawada's birthday and I had planned to have everyone over for supper - but the two younger kids go to school from 12:30 to 7 and then Mawada had tutoring after so she would not be home until after 8. Suzanne was saying she would make a cake for Mawada to take to school to share with her friends - asked if I could make cupcakes or something - she said anything - told her that as it was Mawada's birthday - it was up to Mawada - she asked for rice krispie squares.
So Tuesday morning saw me making rice krispie squares with marshmallows that have not fared well here. Storing marshmallows in this place is impossible. They are terrible - they do not melt at all well - making it difficult to do something that is usually so easy. I have learned my lesson though - will not do it again. Although it is frustrating as I do like to keep a package of marshmallows on hand just in case I need to make rice krispie squares - and there is no way that there is room in either my fridge or my freezer. Oh well - I did manage to get them made and Mawada came and got them just before heading to school - along with a bottle of water - she just wanted the bottle - but it was full of store bought water - gather the water at school is not very good.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day - spent a couple of hours basking in the sun - working on my tan - best time of the year - do not bask much in the summer because it is too hot and humid - and I leave a puddle wherever I sit - unless of course I am at the beach - but then I am under an umbrella in the shade hiding from the sun because it is too hot. Never thought I would be tanning in February. Also got brave and fired up the barbecue. My friend Margaret barbecues and has a technique that is quite clever. Her brother in law purchased a charcoal holder that they use at coffee shops to light the charcoal for the water pipes - I do not have one of those - but I do have a rack that we put the meat in when we barbecue - so I put the charcoal in that and then put it on the stove top with the burner going - worked like a charm - 5 minutes and I had the coal going - put it outside in the barbecue and did not even have to tend to it - when Aymn barbecues he spends all his time fanning the fire - and he uses gasoline to start it - and I do not like doing that - a) because of the danger and b) because I do not like gasoline flavoured food. I had taken some steaks out of the freezer the day before and marinaded them - so I barbecued all of them - now I do not have to cook for a few more days. Although I must admit it was hard to stop myself at one steak - it was soooo good. But I did manage to stop myself from eating all of them. Now I have steak for supper tonight and tomorrow night - without having to cook it - yummy.

A picture of my oh so fancy barbecue that Aymn had made for me. Nothing really fancy but it works.

Picture of one of my planters with sweet peas coming and geraniums blooming- sure do like the geraniums - they bloom all year.

A picture of my volunteer sweet pea - going great guns - amongst the roses.

And here we have the final product - yummy steak.

Today I have so far managed to clean the bathroom and strip the bed and it is in the washer now being washed. YAY. Being a good little hausfrau.

2009-02-17T08:47:00.002+03:00

This was initiated by my friend Lynn who got it from a friend who likely got it from a friend. It is called PAY IT FORWARD and this is how it works....The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going . Then come back, let me know you're going to play and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift!Leave me a comment and then send me an e-mail with your name and address at snowy_owl57@yahoo.com. Can't wait to surprise someone, sometime this year. Don't you just LOVE surprises?? I DO!