Isn't this a wonderful machine?! The upholsterer showed up at the flat with this beauty under his arm. I love the winged Sphinxes. Singer never looked this good where I come from. I want one!!
Today's big achievement was the recovering of a sofa and two chairs. The chief upholsterer and his two assistants set up shop in the living room and worked from 11am until 8pm. And, yes, they were well fortified with numerous cups of tea, coke, espresso, cheese sandwiches and oatmeal cookies. I am so happy with the results. After I get the place cleaned up, I'll post 'before' and 'after' photos.
The stuffing of Luxor's locally-produced furniture made me gulp at first sight. No it's not a rat's nest; it is the inner bark of a palm tree. It makes for a very firm seat, which is now a little less bumpy thanks to the addition of a bit of good old fashion foam.
All the while that the threads were flying inside, two young fellows fit the screen door on the North balcony with exacting precision -- the likes of which I have not seen in Egypt before. There was no "maleshry"* with this carpenter, who I would guess to be 18 years old. He's shaving, but his assistant has a few years to wait.
For those of you following the saga, we now have 1 door installed, and 3 to go. Tomorrow I will buy some more sugar.
*"Malesh" appears frequently in Egyptian conversations -- it has the sense of "Oh well" or "C'est la vie" and it usually implies that you have to accept poor workmanship and that the person articulating the word (often in compassionate tones) bears no responsibility for said workmanship. Years ago the government tried to get TV announcers not to use the word in hopes that it would fade from the Egyptian dialect and improve the quality of work. I say no more.
PS: There was a technical glitch as I learn this blogging business. Seems I "scheduled" this posting rather than posted it last night. Life is all about learning . . .
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