Well I will once again endeavour to upload some pics of the flowers at my parent's place. They live on 1/2 an acre in British Columbia, in a valley surrounded by three mountain ranges, it is beautiful, peaceful and I really do miss it when I am in Egypt surrounded by the noises, pollution and whatnot. It is so pleasant to wake up to the sound of bird song being the only noise - when I come back to Canada the quiet is the one thing I notice the most - no honking horns, no call to prayer (sorry I live in an area with at least four mosques within a block - so call to prayer is a real cacophony - I do eventually tune it out but.....), no one selling their wares, no people yelling, no construction noises, no wedding/funeral parties, and the list goes on.

I do have a 'garden' at my place in Egypt - but I miss the variety of the flowers here - I liberated an old seed catalogue from my dad and I sit there and drool over all the flowers - think I will head to a garden centre when I get back to Calgary - and see about getting some more seeds - then in shaa allah I will be able to plant some for next year - as it is too late for this year - although I may try to plant a few things and see how it goes - since the growing season is so much longer in Alex than it is here.

And I will be heading back to Egypt on June 20 - arriving on June 21 - will be taking British Airways - and only have a one hour lay over in Heathrow - here is hoping I make the flight - whereas when I took Lufthansa I ended up with a 10 hour layover and the trip took 1.5 days instead of just one. So - despite the high price of flying British Airways - it is worth it in the time I save.

Ta da - today it worked - the first picture to the right is a picture of the 'dwarf' lilac flower at my parent's home - dwarf is in italics as it was only supposed to reach 6 feet in height and it is now approaching 13 feet - so my dad is not too impressed - but the flowers are beautiful - purple outlined in white - and of course the scent is to die for - I do love the smell of lilacs.





The second picture - maybe to the right - one can never tell where the pictures and text are really going to end up until you preview - and then it is not always accurate - anyway - this is a picture of a star magnolia - there are two of them on the lot - they are beautiful flowers.








Now this is a tree peony - it is enormous - that is my dad's hand beside it and my dad's claim to fame is not dainty hands - they do not smell very nice - but what a sight to see a bush covered in these ginormous blooms.









This is an iris - my parents have many different kinds of them - and they multiply like crazy - when I lived in Calgary - I had a bed of transplanted irises from my folks - and I do miss them - I miss all the spring flowering plants - the daffodils, tulips, crocus, paperwhites, etc. - they just make spring for me - when all the snow goes and they are there - already green and ready to show off their pretty flowers.




Now this last picture is not of a flower - it is a picture of my husband, Aymn - I took it at the airport as we were waiting for me to go through security - I think it is a good photo of him - would love to be able to take a picture of him when he sees my hair - I have not yet told him - it is going to be a 'surprise' - like the surprise when he got his new cell phone. And guess what - his new cell phone is hors d combat - I received an email from my friend who is staying at my place - the day I left he was walking along the street - with cell phone in hand - so other's could see what a fancy cell phone he has - and he fell - and landed on his fancy dancy cell phone - and it no longer works - 5,000 LE - up in smoke - he wants me to get it fixed here - I phoned Nokia here in Canada and they said it has to be fixed in the region it was purchased as the components vary from region to region - and besides it is not like the repair depot is next door - it is located in Ontario - which is a four hour flight from where I live - so I told him that he needs to get it repaired in Dubai - which is where the phone originates from - it is not legal to sell in Egypt - as it has GPS in it. I am so mean - bawahahahaha. Meanwhile my cheap little cell phone has been dropped all over the place and it keeps on going - but it has not a bell or a whistle on it - it answers and it sends and I can send text messages - that is it - no pictures, no ability to download, upload or anything. SIGH. Sorry Lord - but I am mean.

And thanks for the positive comments about my hair - much appreciated - needless to say I am a bit nervous about my dh's reaction - but I like it - I am so glad to have all the 'colour' out of it. And at least by getting it cut as soon as I got here I have a chance to get used to it - and I must admit - I still do a double take when I pass by a mirror - and of course I will be covering it when I head back to Egypt - but for the moment I am 'enjoying' going about 'uncovered'. And Safa - thank you for the comment regarding my son - I agree - but then I think I may be a tad bit biased - LOL.