Jenyfer Matthews

Since the children and I are leaving on Saturday to spend the holidays in the US with my family, aside from my wreath I’m not putting up my Christmas decorations this year. There is one spot of color however:

This is a leftover from last Christmas and is turning red no thanks to me. I had to deliberately ignore my four poinsettia most of the year because the more I fuss the worse they do. You should see the two big ones (shudder) Kind of nice to see this one doing its thing though.

I checked the weather forecast for northern Minnesota, my Christmas destination - the predicted high for Saturday is 14F with a low of 1F.

It’s official: I am afraid - very, very, afraid!

We stayed the night at a hotel near Lake Qaroun, a large salt water lake. The salt content of this lake is higher than that of the Mediterranean.

Fishermen on Lake Qaroun at sunrise.

The location of the hotel was lovely, as you can see. Though it looked pretty good on the outside, the hotel was a dump. Our room was unusually large - it was apartment sized and we all had our own beds which I wasn’t expecting. We couldn’t enjoy it however because the room was so disgusting. The walls were crumbling and speckled with bug splats, the tub had dried up mouse turds in it, and one bathroom was missing a window pane which allowed swarms of mosquitoes to join us. The housekeeping couldn’t be bothered to tend to any of those problems, yet they left fresh bougainvillea blossoms on our pillows!

As an aside, having had experiences like this before in Egypt, I have a list of things I bring with me when I travel:

Flip flops
Wash cloth
baby wipes
hand sanitizer gel
bar of soap
mosquito repellent (not that they paid any attention this time!)

I may have to add sheets / sleeping bag to this list! Needless to say, none of us slept much at all.

On the second morning we headed out to Wadi Rayan where we were supposed to go and visit an open air museum where there are some 400 fossilized whale bones preserved from millions of years ago. It was in fact the main purpose of the trip.

This is as far as we were allowed to go. There was some mix-up between the bus company and the tour organizer and argue though she did, she was unable to convince them to drive our buses down the gravel road to get to the site. The drivers were concerned they would get stuck and disappointing as it was to miss the fossils I can’t really say I blame them.

The road the buses refused to travel…

While our tour organizer argued, we wandered in the sand near the bus and picked up fossilized sea shells.

So, instead of whale bones, we visited the waterfalls of Wadi Rayyan. They are formed by the overflow of Lake Qaroun flowing down into lower areas, forming two more smaller salt lakes. They aren’t particularly impressive until you realize that they are some of the only waterfalls in Egypt, period.



Close enough to Cairo for a day trip, this is a big picnic spot for Egyptians - and they certainly seem to be enjoying themselves!

The people in the countryside wear much more colorful scarves than the city





The last place we visited was this Greco-Roman temple, with the remains of the city of Dionysias








My son claimed he liked this last site best of all because we were able to climb on to the roof - though perhaps it was the danger of falling through the open pits into rooms below that thrilled him most. That or the bat we saw.

All in all, it was a good trip. We returned to Cairo on Friday evening, tired, mosquito bitten, and dirty. But there is nothing like a night in a crappy hotel to make you appreciate the comforts of home.

We spent our holiday traveling this year visiting an area of Egypt known as the Fayoum. I’m no expert on Egyptian history, but in a nutshell the Fayoum region is a desert depression into which the overflow of the yearly Nile Valley flooding used to flow. Due to this, the area is incredibly fertile. But it wasn’t until the Greco-Roman occupation of Egypt that reservoirs and canals were built to bring the waters of the Nile to the area on a controlled and regular basis, allowing people to farm there year round, at which time the area, though geographically small, became a very important area of Egypt.

Our first stop were the remains of a village called Karanis, on the edge of the Fayoum region. This was an agricultural village populated by ordinary people. Not much remains of the village because their homes were built of mud brick which has eroded over time.

(click any image to enlarge)

The remains of a mud brick wall in the village. The holes in the wall were where the palm log flooring fitted to make multiple story buildings.






The ruins of the village with the lush greenery of the Fayoum valley in the distance





It wasn’t all mud brick - this simply adorned temple still stands.





The primary god worshiped in this area was Sobek, the crocodile god. There were niches in this temple into which mummified crocodiles would have been placed.



The Pyramid at Hawara, built by Amenemhet III during the time of the Middle Kingdom. It doesn’t look like much now because the outer layer of limestone has been removed over time, exposing the much less durable mud brick structure below. But it is an impressive number of mud bricks! And apparently this pyramid has one of the most complicated internal passage systems, built in an attempt to thwart tomb robbers. Shortly after this period, pharaohs abandoned pyramids in favor of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings down in Luxor.






The entrance to the pyramid. There wasn’t much to see - the water table has risen so you could only go a few yards in before the floor of the tunnel was covered in water. It probably wouldn’t have stopped Indian Jones but the caretakers stopped us!



One of the many policeman that guarded us at the various sites we visited over the two day trip, a necessary precaution.



The decor at the rest stop where we ate lunch was certainly interesting!



Farmland



Pyramid at Lahun, built by King Senwosret II



One of several openings leading to the tombs of the princesses



This pyramid survived somewhat better than the previous pyramid because of the way in which is was built, incorporating the stone of the hillside in conjunction with the mud bricks.

Stay tuned, more pictures tomorrow…

I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of facial hair - in spite of the fact that hubby has sported a goatee for years now. Although some men actually look better with facial hair. I once had a boss who had a goatee when I met him. Apparently it was fairly new because no one else in our office liked it at all. He shaved it off a few months into my employment and I actually missed it. It was a good look for him. At this point I kind of think I’d have a similar reaction if hubby shaved his goatee off. He had lasic eye surgery a few years ago and I still sort of miss his glasses.

I can live with a well maintained goatee (obviously) but full beards and lone mustaches? Not a fan. And clearly from this tongue-in-cheek article, Great Moustaches of Rock, I’m not alone in my feelings about moustaches. Though I’m sure these guys couldn’t care less - they’re rock legends after all.

What do you think about facial hair? Love it? Hate it? A little goes a long way?

I kind of like the five o’clock shadow look but it’s not much fun to get up close and personal with - unless you yourself like to sport the red chin look…

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there celebrating today. My family and I are going on an overnight trip to an area of Egypt called Fayyum so our holiday meal will be postponed until Sunday. I’ll tell you all about the trip (with photos!) next week!

When you’re done with your dinner, check out this quiz and see how much you know about Thanksgiving.

And don’t forget to stop by over the weekend when J. L. Wilson is here with her book ENDURANCE from her paranormal romance series The History Patrol.

Looking for just the right gift for your little one this Christmas? Want something unique? Something that will stimulate their imagination? Develop hand-eye coordination while at the same time killing any spark of empathy or compassion they might have?

Have I got the toy for you!

(Click images to enlarge)

Not convinced it’s right for your little one? The blurb on the back speaks for itself:

Having trouble finding the Terror Game in your local toy store? Made in China by HAPPY BABY, request it by name!

Note: This game is not suitable for children under three.

(THREE??? I think they should have stopped after “not suitable”, full stop)


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SSSHHHH!!! Don’t tell, but I’m giving this to my father for Christmas. Should be good for a laugh…

I knew that this weekend would be busy, but I wasn’t expecting how exhausting it would be. It wasn’t as if I was the one doing all the sports!

Wine night on Thursday was so much fun. I put the kids to bed, put my husband on call, and kicked back with my friends. Only three of the ten who said they would come did actually attend but that just meant that there was more wine and food for us. And goodness was there food! One Indian lady who said she would come and then had to cancel due to illness sent her food on anyway - four DOZEN samosas! Between the samosas, the shrimp tray, the sushi, and the pie that another friend brought we had more than enough. I sent everyone home with a box of samosas and was still eating leftover party food all weekend.

My daughter’s weekend was not so good. The antibiotics the doctor prescribed for her were not the correct variety and so her fever persisted. She begged me to play her school tournament on Friday and I almost cracked - I love to watch her play as much as she loves to be out there. I was seriously wavering when a friend gave me a solid reason to say no: dehydration. So I was the mean mom and said no, much to her disappointment - and that of her school team / PE teacher.

Saturday we had to be at the soccer field and ready to play for my son’s tournament at 8AM. He had three rapid fire games, back to back. He played really hard but his team lost the first two games and won their third. They were knocked out of the tournament but ended on a high note (with cupcakes!) so were very happy.

My daughter’s team was scheduled to play at 10AM and I told her she could watch - she wanted to see her coach again and collect her participation trophy and since I had to be there anyway for team mom duties, I said yes. The other team did not show up so their team advanced by forfeit. No quick end as I had hoped. Next game at noon.

We hung around and they played at noon. And as I expected, daughter begged to play. Coach gave us puppy eyes. Other parents pleaded with us. Daughter was medicated and fever free. Hubby and I finally cracked and said she could play, but only defense since that doesn’t require so much running. She did a quarter on defense and we caved in and let her run. She was obviously not tip-top but still managed to score a goal for her team so she was elated.

Her team won that game and had to play another right away, which ended 0-0 and went to penalty kicks and in the end the other team won. Which was a mixed blessing - I would have loved to see them advance because even had they lost the next round they would have been fourth. But at the same time it was already 2PM and I was ready to go home!!

As it turns out, I was right to worry about the cupcakes because the mom I asked to bring them did not. However, because I am a neurotic control freak, I had bags of backup cookies in my bag which the children devoured. Our spread seemed a little paltry compared to some teams I saw who had elaborate cakes decorated with soccer balls. However, I saw many of those cakes being taken away hardly touched while there was very little left at the end of our party.

Daughter collapsed when she came home, fever returned. After a phone consultation with the doctor, her medication has been changed and she seems a bit perkier already. I am doing my best to not only get her well again, but also keep the rest of us healthy. It’s never a good time to get sick but this coming weekend we have an overnight trip scheduled as well as a tennis tournament and the following weekend the children and I fly to the US. I’m popping vitamins like candy.

And I’m oh-so-thankful that soccer season is finished!

I went shopping for coach gifts for my son’s soccer team on Tuesday, thinking that if there were any snags I’d still have time to rethink and do something else. Am I ever glad I did - there were more snags than anything else!

The head coach recently became ill from eating out so a restaurant certificate as an idea, an old standby, was immediately thrown out. Though she is a recent arrival to Egypt I decided against buying her any arts / handicrafts because tastes vary so much with that sort of thing. In the end I decided to get a gift certificate to a local clothing store than sells a nice selection of items made from Egyptian cotton. Everyone agreed it sounded like a great idea.

Only when I got there, they don’t sell gift certificates. In fact, I had to explain what a gift certificate was.

So I made a few phone calls and it was decided that I should go to another shop in the neighborhood, one that sells arts/ handicrafts, and see if I could get a gift certificate there. They not only knew what I was talking about but had pre-printed cards ready. One down, one to go.

After a quick consultation with the assistant coach’s wife, I went to his favorite shop at the mall. They don’t sell gift certificates (Attention Egyptian retailers - you’re really missing the boat on that one!) I then went to a club to which he belongs, planning to get him a restaurant voucher there. Closed.

Keep in mind I was walking everywhere to do this stuff. I was certainly well exercised as I was defeated at every turn.

As it turns out, it seems what he would really like is a case of Corona beer so guess what he’ll be getting? Though he’ll have to pick it up - I’m not schlepping that to the field!

With coach gifts sorted I thought I was home free. Not quite. My daughter, soccer star extraordinaire, child with not one but *two* days of tournaments scheduled this weekend, is sick with a fever and throat infection. There’s something going around our building so I called the doctor at the first signs of illness (He came to us within an hour! Cheaper and easier than an office visit!) Fingers crossed the meds he prescribed will kick in by tomorrow. She’s determined to play for her respective teams. (And I’m more grateful than ever I went out and got the coach presents early!) I hope she recovers quickly because it wouldn’t be nearly so much fun to be out at the field all day Saturday for my team mom duties if my own child wasn’t even well enough to participate!

At present, I’m just determined to remain well enough myself to enjoy wine night tonight!

Since we don’t have a car, I get around mostly on foot. I don’t normally mind walking - in a safe and orderly place. Walking in Cairo is anything but safe and orderly. In fact, pedestrians are considered just one more hazard in the road.

It’s become even more tricky to walk lately since the one decent sidewalk that existed in our neighborhood has recently been torn up. It looks as if they are intending to improve it a bit which would be great:

However, they tore it up with much more speed and enthusiasm than they seem to be reconstructing it. I haven’t seen anyone working on it in a week.

And it seems to be tree trimming season in my neighborhood. It all started when a large tree limb broke and fell onto that sidewalk pictured above. Not only did no one clear it, but it seemed to give people ideas and everyone in the vicinity started adding their own tree trimmings (and other misc trash0 to the pile. That enormous pile has been cleared away to make way for the sidewalk destruction but there are similar piles springing up all over the neighborhood.

I could go on like this all day! It’s kind of fascinating in a way, though it does make it hard to walk along when your path is suddenly blocked by a big pile of tree limbs. And the poor trees! We aren’t talking about precision pruning here either - think a barefoot guy up a tree with a blunt axe, cutting off anything he can reach until all that is left are a few leafy sprigs. It’s a wonder than anything survives.

Only three weeks until we leave for our Christmas holidays in the US. Maybe when we get back, the sidewalk will be fixed…

This week is crazy, as usual. And it’s pretty much a result of poor planning and too much enthusiasm on my part.

Soccer season ends this week and as team mom - for both my children’s teams - I have to coordinate the end of season parties. I’ve written before about the doubt and anxiety I suffer when it’s simply a matter of pitching in and bringing the snack to the weekly game, so imagine what I’m going through now. I was dreaming about who was going to make the cupcakes earlier in the week! Clearly I’m much too involved (or just neurotic). I’m doing my best to delegate jobs to other parents - and I slept much better after I got a volunteer from each team to make cupcakes!

Not only am I worried about providing a suitably festive menu, but I worry about what the children and the other parents on the team will think of what I’ve organized. I tend to be a simple-is-better sort of person when it comes to things like this, so my plan is to have the team party at the field immediately following the last game. Everyone is very busy these days so it seemed to make more sense than trying to regather everyone at a later time. I was confident in that plan until I heard that some other team moms were planning more elaborate dos at Pizza Hut or their country club. What?? Even if I wanted to do something like that, I don’t have the time. So, it’ll be a party at the pitch and if the other parents aren’t impressed they can volunteer next year!

The other thing I volunteered to do was host a party at my house on Thursday night. A good friend of mine had the idea that what we really needed to do was to have a monthly ladies wine night. In theory we would sample different varieties of wine and learn a little something about each one - even if it was just a matter of “I like this one” and “I don’t like that one”. But since the variety of wine one is able to procure in Cairo varies wildly from month to month, mostly we just get together and drink and chat and have a great time. It floats from house to house and this month it’s my turn.

The date was my mistake choice. Can’t actually recall now why I didn’t choose last weekend - there wasn’t so much going on just then.

My friend is a brilliant multitasker and hugely energetic so she’s a great partner to have in such a venture. My job mostly boils down to bundling my children off to tennis lessons and dinner out with my husband and making sure my home is presentable - which some days is no small feat. Having wine night on Thursday could be good timing actually - surely a couple of glasses of good wine and some laughter will help me let go of any remaining soccer party anxiety!

It’s no secret to anyone who’s been reading for a while that I adore pomegranate seeds. Last year I was drinking a lot of pomegranate juice and eating the seeds by the handful. This year we’ve gotten a little crazy with them and have been adding them to all sorts of things.

They are fantastic sprinkled on hummus - in fact, it’s my new favorite lunch. They’re also wonderful with goat cheese on a cracker. And tucked into a pita pocket with halloumi cheese (they roll off the cracker when paired with a harder cheese!) I added some pomegranate seeds to a fruit salad I made the other day with great success and used them for decoration on a pineapple upside down cake I made my son for his birthday (instead of maraschino cherries, which none of us like) I’m thinking that they would be nice coupled with brie too but I haven’t tried that variation yet.

Like apples, they can be stored for a long time and supposedly improve with age. I’m going to have to stock up before the season ends!