It really heated up in Cairo over the weekend. Great for drying clothes outside but not for much else. And because it’s so hot, people are running their air conditioners more which does two things: pumps yet more and hotter air back outside and puts more strain on the already inadequate electrical infrastructure of the city. It won’t be long before the rotational black-outs start. We’re lucky because our power is rarely off for more than half an hour, and usually in the middle of the night. But once in a while an unplanned black out occurs. Yesterday I had to grocery shop by the light of the flashlight in my cell phone because the transformer in the building next to the grocery store had blown. Smoke was billowing out from between the cracks in the pavement as I walked home. Is it any wonder that the quality of frozen foods isn’t the best here?
I have lots to accomplish in the few weeks that remain before I leave Egypt for the summer (provided I don’t contract H1N1 flu and get quarantined or grounded before I leave, touch wood) but all this heat is making me lethargic. I need to get busy quilting the moose head wall hanging but have found that my thread colors aren’t quite right. It may be some sort of elaborate procrastination method generated by my genuine fear of messing this thing up, but I can’t start until I get the right colors of thread and yesterday when I went to the shop it was closed. Will try again tomorrow.
And today I got another commission, this time for a bed scarf (they are all the rage, darling!) The project itself isn’t such a big deal, the problem is that the family is leaving Egypt at the end of September so I have to get a start on it now if I have any hope of completing it before they leave, given that I will be away shortly for six weeks myself. If the school shuts down because of H1N1 flu, I’ll be totally screwed.
(No, H1N1 is not actually such a big deal here but the Egyptian government is taking no chances at all – hence the senseless slaughtering of masses of pigs.)
Basically, I’m just trying to prioritize and get through it all – and stay cool in the process…
Stay well. Enjoy your kid-free time. Don’t get sick!!! And have a wonderful summer!
by anny cook June 15th, 2009 at 10:45 amHot here too, but at least our electrical companies have been able to keep up with the demand. The only time we had electricity problems (not counting hurricane outages) was during the winter when the freezes hit, and the heat takes more energy than a/c. The electric company normally would ‘buy’ electricity from another state, but they were blanketed by the freezes as well and there was none left for us.
I remember putting the turkey out on the patio (the kind I intended to cook, not a live bird!) because it was 27 degrees out there at most, and who knew what the temperatures were rising to in our powerless fridge.
by Terry Odell June 15th, 2009 at 9:35 pmWhen it was too hot in Alexandria, khamaseen days, and air condiyioning, we would close the shutter half way, fill the bathtub and soak in to refresh. Here in Florida, I follow the same principle and swim in the ocean.
by Mona Risk June 16th, 2009 at 1:54 pm