Jenyfer Matthews

Time is a funny thing. Sometimes it d-r-a-g-s and sometimes it just flies by. My summer vacation has gone by much too quickly and today I’m on my way home.

Going home is bittersweet. On the one hand, I am looking forward to being in my own home again, in my own environment, and not living out of a suitcase. But living in Egypt isn’t always easy and truth be told, I’m not super enthusiastic about going back. Neither are my children. They’ve really bonded with their grandparents this year. To the point where they were threatening to revolt and just stay behind - see ya next year, Mom.

On the other hand, I’ve been so busy doing other things this summer that I haven’t done anything “productive” at all. My creative juices, kind of dry at the end of June, are totally flowing again. I have several ideas for new quilts and lots of ideas for writing. Once I get over the jetlag, I’ll have lots to keep me occupied in the coming year. Yes, in my mind, September and not January starts the new year.

So right about now, I’m flying somewhere high overhead on my way home. Keep commenting on Elizabeth Jenning’s Friday Feature - I’ll announce the winner to my weekend contest when I get home. See you soon…

I know that vacation is rapidly drawing to a close when I start to freak out about my luggage. I arrived traveling fairly light for a women with two small(ish) children in tow, but I’ve been happily shopping all summer. Traveling light is no longer possible.

In all the years I’ve been traveling, I’ve only ever had to pay excess baggage fees once. Since then, I’ve got packing nearly down to an art form. It’s an important skill to have now that the international luggage allowance has gone from 70 lbs / piece to 50 lbs / piece.

First I pack all the heaviest items in the smallest suitcases - you’d have to pack quite a bit in there to make it go over 50 lbs. Bulky light things like quilt batting and stuffed animals go in the largest suitcases. And I take full advantage of the number of bags we are allowed - two per ticket. The only problem with that method is that there is only one of me and six bags. I love waving goodbye to that pile at the check-in counter.

Not looking forward to carrying it all up five flights of stairs at the other end however. It’s a good thing my husband arrived home first

While I’m puzzling over where to pack what this weekend, stop by and visit Elizabeth Jennings, my featured author this weekend. She’ll be talking about her book Dying for Siena and the fascinating inspiration behind the story.

Summers are short in northern Minnesota (for frame of reference, it’s been down to about 42F the last couple of nights). So when the weather is nice, as it has been lately, you have to get out and take advantage of it. Which is what we did, non-stop, all weekend long.

Saturday was cool, breezy, and clear. We took a morning walk, and then headed out to the Grand Portage reservation around lunchtime to catch the grand entry of their dancers at the annual pow-wow. We’ve been for the last several years and the children really enjoy looking at the elaborate costumes and head dresses and watching them dance to their traditional drumming. It is a striking display.

After the dancing and a look at all the sales tables - my daughter bought herself and her brother each a buffalo tooth, because hey, it was there - my dad and step-mother and I took the children to a beach along Lake Superior. It was windy enough that the waves were pretty high but that didn’t put the children off at all, nor did the fact that the water couldn’t have been more than 40F - they both stripped down to their underwear and dove in! What doesn’t kill them…

Sunday was another gorgeous day. We packed a picnic lunch, the canoe, and off we went to the Swamp River. First we had lunch - bratwurst cooked over a campfire, cheetos, and smores - and then we got in the canoe. I’m surprised we didn’t sink it as much as we all ate! The river was tranquil and lovely as always - so calm in places it was like a mirror.

After our big lunch and our canoe trip, we went blueberry picking. That makes it sound easy - before we found any blueberries we first had to climb a small mountain along a trail that was a tad overgrown. I really should have brought along a machete. I had on jeans and insect repellent, but someone needs to write to the makers of Off! and tell them that the Minnesota mosquitoes and black flies laugh in the face of their floral fresh spray. They bit me through my shirt so thoroughly I look like I have measles on my back! (we won’t talk about my face!)

We were at least rewarded at the top with a bumper crop of blueberries.

So my city children learned a thing or two this weekend: 1) don’t rock the boat - particularly if you are in a canoe, 2) always wear jeans when going hiking with grandpa, 3) don’t beat on rotten logs unless you want to stir up the ants, 4) it’s a good idea to pee downhill if you want to keep your shoes clean.

Less than a week left now. Time flies when you’re having fun…

I feel like I’ve been doing more eating than anything else this vacation. It’s all good stuff, but I haven’t actually felt hungry in days now. And yet, somehow, I manage to go on.

The town my mother lives in had their annual street fair this weekend - The Fisherman’s Picnic. There are tables by local crafts people to browse, the local stores have sidewalk sales, there are activities for the children, and of course food. How could I resist getting a grilled bratwurst? Or a bag (or two) of mini donuts? The whole event is a fund raiser. I’m just supporting the local economy!

I’ve also been revisiting childhood favorites. I noticed that Milky Way and Nestle’s Crunch candy bars have new variations - the Milky Way Midnight dark chocolate bar and Nestle’s layered chunky crunch. I tried them both and while I can’t say they were bad, they didn’t thrill me. It may just be nostalgia or it may be that I’ve been ruined by long term exposure to Swiss chocolate. Don’t get me started on crunchy Cheetos. No really - don’t. I have no willpower against them. What do they put in that orange powder anyway??

My adult side has been indulging itself at the liquor store. Back in Cairo, the local liquor stores carry primarily locally produced beer and wine. There are perhaps four brands of beer that I am aware of and it pretty much all tastes the same. The wine? The quality is inconsistent and pretty meh in general. Since I buy my wine based more on where it comes from and how pretty the label is, I don’t consider myself a wine snob, but I won’t drink just anything and I’ve been considering giving up on Egyptian wine altogether. (Gotta cut the caloric intake somewhere!) I’ve been having a blast trying out all the microbrewed beer and choosing wines at random as they catch my eye. I was excited to have my first wine from New Zealand last night - a Monkey Bay white. It was really, really nice. Going to have to go back and look for a red…

On Sunday my step-mother took us for a 5 mile hike. My son has been looking forward to the walk all year. Me, not so much. But having eaten as much as I have lately, I felt obligated to go. If I don’t do something to offset all the eating, I’m going to grow out of all my new clothes before I get home again!

And with two weeks still to go it’s a legitimate risk

One of the things I love to do when I’m traveling is eat - not for quanity but all the things that I can’t ordinarily get.

Our first stop on this trip was the New Jersey coast. Some may mock New Jersey but I’ve always enjoyed my visits there - though the beach may have something to do with it. Well, the beach and the pizza. My husband and I were out exploring on a trip we made more than a decade ago and stumbled upon a small local pizzeria. This was no ordinary pizza though - it’s heaven by the slice. I’ve made it a point to get back to that place every time we are in the vicinity and I live in fear that they will go under between my visits.

Imagine my delight to find it still going strong even after a considerable gap in visits. If you’re ever in the Allenherst area, give Serpico’s Pizza a try. You won’t be disappointed.

Another food I always like to eat when I’m back in the US is Mexican food. For whatever reason, it’s not easy to find good Mexican food in the Middle East. I was delighted to discover a good Mexican place located right next door to my hotel in Duluth - the burrito I ordered was obscenely large and they had nice margaritas too. I’ll be staying over again the night before my departure. Guess where I’ll be having dinner?

Now that I’m up in the woods with my parents (dividing my time between their separate dwellings) I’m enjoying home cooking that I didn’t have to prepare myself. I’ve only been here a couple of days and I’ve had fresh fish twice. My mother has a list of all my favorites planned and my stepmother loves to bake.

I’m doomed.

I mentioned a few weeks back that I’d won a year’s gym membership - I think I’m going to need it by the end of this trip!

Summer is always an odd time for me. I spend much of the year pining for the conveniences of life in the US, the comfort of knowing how things work, where to go, and how to get things done. And then when I come home again, nothing is quite as I imagined it to be.

I feel like I’m in some sort of parallel universe where things *look* the same but are not quite what they seem.

For instance, I rented a car for our week at the NJ coast. When we got the car, it was running and ready to go so we all climbed in and drove away. It wasn’t until I parked the car in NJ that I realized it didn’t actually have a key - just a plastic stump that fit into the dashboard. A car without a key? And the stump was covered with various electronic buttons to lock / unlock the car. So tell me, what happens when the battery that I presume is in the stump runs down and it no longer works to get you in the car? Is that what the “panic” button is for?? Call me old fashioned, but I want a metal key, windows with a hand crank, and pull button locks.

And the stores! The grocery store where I normally shop in Cairo is perhaps the size of a convenience store, yet it has most of the stuff I require. I can do my weekly shop in about 15 minutes and it only takes me that long if the deli guy is dawdling. The grocery stores here seem ENORMOUS to me now. Miles and miles of aisles, acres of choices. It seem so odd to me now. Why is there an entire aisle for chips? Soda? Even picking out a jar of peanut butter can be a challenge where there are so many varieties to choose from beyond just chunky or smooth.

I won’t go into how stupid I feel when I get to the checkout counter and don’t know how to work the credit card swipe. Or how much I hate the electronic signature pad.

I’m not the only one who’s feeling the differences either. My kids have grown up in a part of the world without quite so much. They watch the same TV programs on our satellite package but without the commercials - so they have no built in defense against the marketing. They see a box of cereal with a picture of Hannah Montana or Lighting McQueen on it and they want it desperately - no matter what the flavor. I can tune all that out, but they stop every two steps because cartoon characters decorate every concievable product.

Part of the challenge of shopping is actually trying to tell them “no, you can’t have that” while also trying to scan the miles of shelves for the things I actually do want among all the things I don’t need.

Fortunately, I have left the big cities behind for now and am now in the woods of northern Minnesota. The grocery store is a reasonable size and there are no malls. Grocery shopping will be a little less nerve wracking.

Just because I’m on vacation doesn’t mean that I won’t be around. And don’t forget to stop by this weekend when Nancy Hunter will be my Friday Feature.

My husband brought home a bag of postcards from work a while ago. They’d been donated to the library but the library had no use for them - there aren’t rare or collectible. I looked through the bag eagerly. I love old postcards.

This bag was a treasure. Most aren’t dated, but are probably from within the last twenty years or so. I was happy to discover there were duplicates of many of my favorites. What fun it will be to finally send these on their way somewhere!

I picked out a few of my favorites to share with you. It seemed fitting as I’m traveling now and will likely be sending a few postcards myself. Not sure if I’ll use these this time…I’m tempted to frame some of them. I only wish I could see the original art work from which these were produced.

(Click on any of the images below to see a larger version.)

“Old Cairo” by Camilia El Madani
pastel on paper

Sabil-kuttab of Ruqayya Duda, 1761
from Robert Hay’s Illustrations of Cairo

Minarets of El Monayyad Mosque, Bab Zuweilah, Cairo
by Owen B. Carter

Temple of Karnak

The Nile and Luxor Temple


These last three I liked because they were so bright and cheerful. I can’t read the writing on the backs of the cards but I assume they are from Pakistan. There were groupings of cards from different places and these two seemed to fit best with the Pakistan group. (Please correct me if I’m wrong!)



(This one has a dull gold metallic background)





This last one made me smile. We saw many a large truck in the United Arab Emirates decorated in a similar way, driven by Pakistani drivers…