An Orange Day

Orange is red brought nearer to humanity by yellow.

Wassily Kandinsky, Russian painter and art theorist (1866–1944)

Popping out of bed and running to get my camera from the living room, I was in time to catch the Sun rise just above the horizon on a day clear enough that I could see the mountains that border the Nile valley on one side and dive into the Red Sea on the other.

Looking up from my email before 6:30AM, I caught the colourful balloon sailing by. Even after three years, the sight of balloons never fails to excite me.

And just about 12 hours later, I caught the setting Sun from my rooftop perch. It was definitely an orange day. Orange is my favourite colour. Other favourites are red, yellow, blue, and green. ;-)

Ode to an Egyptian Cat

Beloved Bastet, mistress of happiness and bounty, twin of the Sun God,
slay the evil that afflicts our minds as you slay the serpent Apep.
With your graceful stealth anticipate the moves of all who perpetrate cruelties and stay their hands against the children of light.
Grant us the joy of song and dance, and ever watch over us in the lonely places in which we must walk.

Ancient Egyptian Prayer to the Goddess Bastet

Sitting on the balcony with my afternoon espresso, I miss Cat; but I know she is being adored with head rubs and Temptations treats (and, I suspect, some blood sacrifices too -- ouch!) so she is content where she is.

I woke up to a beautiful view of the sacred mountain lit with the rays of the sunrise which make Hatshepsut's funerary temple stand out against the rugged landscape.

Today marked the first time that I saw more than one or two balloons aloft. More than a few had already sailed by before I caught this photo through our tinted windows that accentuate the colours of the morning. A million dollar view right from my desk.

Lucky Day

May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light. May good luck pursue you each morning and night.

Irish Blessing

It was either bad luck or good luck that my alarm malfunctioned, going off an hour earlier than I'd like, but that meant that I was wide awake when the sun came up and the balloons floated past. Yes, there are tourists in Luxor -- much fewer than normal for this the 'high season' but, thankfully, there are some.

In Praise of Daylight Savings Time

There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast.

Author Unknown

Cat had me out of bed before 6 A.M. this morning and I wasn't too happy about it. Then I came out to the living room and saw a big yellow balloon and agreed that it's good to get up early. It is very bright before 6 A.M. because Egypt dispensed with Daylight Savings Time this year so that, come August, Muslims will be able to break their Ramadan fast an hour earlier. I guess I can understand their logic, albeit from the opposing viewpoint: I wouldn't mind getting out of bed if the clock said 7.

Cat, however, doesn't care what time the clock says, it's time for breakfast!

In other news, this adorable filly with thick furry ears appeared this afternoon on the walk home.

She's very pretty and she knows it too, judging from all the posing that was going on. She's going to be a heart-breaker when she grows up. I can already hear all the braying that will fill the air when she trots past the boys. ;-)

 Mom may have a thing or two to say as well. She is pretty protective of her filly.


9:15 P.M. Update: I have just caught up on my reading of a favourite blog, Spitalfields Life. I don't know the Gentle Author nor much about London but I look forward to her (his?) daily posts and I feel we are kindred spirits if only because each of us has been blessed to spend our days (and nights) with a black cat. Just a few days ago the Gentle Author wrote (far more eloquently) about waking up early at feline insistence in The Caprice of Mr Pussy. I could relate to the toppling of books from the bedside table and the acrobatic leaps and bounds across or upon my semi-comatose body. There is no doubt that Cat and Mr Pussy are kindred spirits, if not kin.

Precious Moments

Never take anything for granted.

Benjamin Disraeli

This morning I looked out the window and spotted 11 balloons. I almost said, "Ho hum" but shook myself saying, "Don't take these special moments for granted." As a result, I spent a delightful half hour with my coffee watching the dance of the balloons.

And as a special treat, one landed in the nearby field. It was exciting to watch as the ground crew ran about, yelling instructions to one another, to make for a perfect landing. I was so glad that I took the time to enjoy the balloons.

Time is precious and I have enjoyed the weeks spent with my parents. Their vacation seemed to end very quickly as we kept running right up until this afternoon with a trip into the town to buy DVDs to back-up all the great movies and photos taken over the past five weeks. Tonight they began their long trek back to the homeland. Safe journey. Ma'asalama (Go in Peace).

A Morning's Entertainment

I realize that hot air has been featured many times in the past days, but it is providing much entertainment. The 'whooshing' sound of balloon jets had all of us out on the balcony in our pajamas this morning. No doubt we were a source of entertainment for photographers with zoom lenses. ;-) These folks got an up close view of the banana grove.

A little later a hoopoe arrived at the North window. I don't know what causes them to peck away at the window frame, but since they are my good luck omen I am not about shoo them away.

Colorful Day

Have a colourful day!
Make it a colourful day!

I was up with the Sun and the world was bathed in golden light.

Sky, haze, and balloon framed in the mountain in blue.

And canal reflections glimmered in vibrant colours. It was a colourful day as the job of painting the flat began.

The Comfort of Friends

Friendship is a sheltering tree.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

I am cosseted in the home of friends. Like ChinChin, I am purrfectly content. I spent the afternoon talking up a storm with a friend not seen in 12 years. The distance of time past melted away, as did the hours of the afternoon.


For some reason I find driftwood comforting. Perhaps because its character is polished by time and water. Although surely found in other places, for me it embodies the homeland.


I may be halfway across the globe but I was roused by a familiar 'whoosh' this morning. Here, however, the balloon sailed through pine trees rather than date palms.


Last night, as I drove the rental car away from the airport at 10PM, I had the spectacular view of a full Moon rising on the eastern horizon with the Sun's afterglow still lighting the western horizon. Alberta's expansive space opens one's mind and soul. Possibilities become limitless.

This evening's pleasure was witnessing day's end through pine branches. For the comfort of friends, I am truly blessed.

Just Like Christmas

A balloon sailing past looked like a glass ornament on the palm tree.


And under the tree sugar cookies were baking in the oven, thanks to a simple recipe posted by Katy on her Food for a Hungry Soul blog and which she had found on Mimi's Kitchen blog. I think these blogs are such fun! And heartening too! Sugar cookies with extra cinnamon sprinkled on top were exactly what I needed to soothe my soul which was feeling shattered after dealing with a large rodent last night. Ugg. Just thinking about it brings back the images. Excuse me while I go grab another cookie. ;-)

Riding the Waves

I was dreaming of high seas when I woke up this morning. Just as I asked myself, "Where did that come from?", I heard the whoosh of the air balloon outside my window. It does sound like the crashing of waves.


The carpenter and his son came by today to finish the wardrobes. Hurray! One job finished! Over the past few days Cat has taken it upon herself to guard the carpenter's equipment. Usually she is out on the balcony with his tools and wood, but when he came to work in the kitchen, she followed him and made sure no one stole his extension cord.

Beautiful Morn

9am and only 25C. Bliss. There were nights last week in which the temperature didn't dip this low. Like me, the flowers are enjoying this cool respite. During my swim this morning, I breathed in deeply the scents of roses and ful. Paradise.


The cool breezes also wafted in visitors from distant lands. Wary of the giant that had descended from the sky, the donkey had to be coaxed to continue along his path through the field.

Whoosh!

I jumped out of bed this morning at 6am, hearing a series of 'whooooosh . . . whoooosh' directly outside the bedroom window.


It's a bit disconcerting to have visitors arrive when one is still in their nightgown. Whoosh became the theme for the day, which has been full of activity.

A fairly stiff breeze blew against me as I bicycled to the vegetable souk. I could do without this whooshing resistence to my weekly workout. At the souk I sat with Sherine's mother for a while and watched the fellow beside her make the sieves he was selling.




Back at home the workmen soon arrived to continue their ransacking . . . I mean, installation. And progress was made. The air cooler is now functioning with water coming from the kitchen on the opposite side of flat. This necessitated drilling a hole through a wall and the kitchen's ceramic wall tile. More holes, more mess. Bokra, insha'Allah, they will complete the job. (I believe I have said this before.)


As the day whooshed by I found myself late this evening in a Luxor paint store buying supplies for my weekend project. "Colour Your World" it's not. They were able to match the colour and I could buy masking tape and paint rollers, but it seems that they had never heard of paint trays. They advised me to dip the roller into a big bucket of paint and just give it a good thwack to remove the excess paint and spread the remaining paint evenly across the roller. I'm doubtful of the success of this procedure. I think a good thwack is going to have orange paint over every surface. Ah! Now I understand all the splatters in professionally painted Egyptian houses and offices! A creative alternative to 'thwack' must be found. Stay tuned.

Sweet Landing

An early morning surprise. At about 7:10AM 20 visitors landed in our 'backyard'. They put down on top of the green cane and were pulled into the harvest area by their ground crew.

The harvesting crew and their donkeys didn't take much notice of the alien landing -- I guess this happens all the time -- but I found it fascinating to watch the balloon being deflated and packed up for the next flight. The Time Traveller had already reported for cane duty and contributed the photo above.

I am happy because the first truck load of garlic appeared in the souk today. Finally! Good Egyptian garlic is readily available. This is the first of the harvest. In Cairo it has become impossible to find the good stuff because shopkeepers only stock the Chinese import. A disgrace, in my humble opinion. The mountain of bulbs inspires me to learn how to make those beautiful garlic braids that look so attractive in the kitchen. Stay tuned.

Monday Dawns

I'm needing to get up earlier to catch Ra on the horizon, but Cat is doing her best to help get me out of bed on time. I can't believe my good fortune to see sunrises over palm trees.



But I'm not the only one up early. Balloons are always so cheerful - I guess because they first enter our psyches through birthday celebrations - and there are plenty of them here this time of year. We've counted as many as 14 flying at the same time. Even without balloons, I love to look westwards during the sunrise to see the gebel (escarpment) turn beautifully pink in the glow of Ra.



Within an hour, work is well underway. I am 'hoovering' in the house, while the farmers are tilling the land between the banana plants. Looking closely you will see several white cattle egrets. They are nicknamed "Farmer's Friend" because they follow him as he hoes (by hand, by tractor, or by roto-tiller) and feast on the plant-eating insects that are turned up. The bird's official name in Arabic is Abu Kirdan, "Father of Ticks", because it used to be seen perched on the backs of water buffalo and pecking off the irksome pests -- bringing to mind a similar camaraderie in the comic strip "B.C."

7 PM Update: For those who are wondering, the painter did NOT show up today and I was NOT happy. In frustration I ate a bowl of arrabbiata pasta and had a nap on the balcony.