sunny with a chance of bluebirds

man’s best friend

Posted by Emily | Posted on 03-07-2010

Category : Family

I’ve enjoyed getting spend some time with Otto over the last week or so. He is probably hands down the world’s best dog.

We got Otto in 1997 — right after we moved to Phoenix and just before we entered the oh so lovely eighth grade. I’ll spare everyone the story of what a difficult transition that was, but little Otto came to the rescue and cheered us up whenever we were feeling blue. There is really nothing quite like a puppy to cheer you up… especially when he’s adorable and about the size of a baked potato!

the rain hits the ground and the leaves dry it up

Posted by Emily | Posted on 24-06-2010

Category : Family, Food, in America and Elsewhere

warning… sincere superlatives abound below.

Hello, America — you beautiful, magnificent, awesome, beloved country, you! It is so good to be home.

I have been enjoying the splendors of the Pacific Northwest, complete with chilly temperatures, misty sunrises, beautiful rainforests, tree frogs, hoot owls, yellow finches, rabbits (both domestic and wild!), serene pastoral vistas, rain, rolling dark clouds, and the joy of fleeting sunlight and blue skies. The best part though was spending time with my delightful twin sister and her husband. We had a lot of fun catching up (surprising how much catching up can be done between two people who typically talk at least once a day), making and eating really good food, sewing, baking, and lots of laughing, storytelling, and smiling.

Meredith put together this little montage from my week in beautiful Washington.

and last but not least…

Posted by Emily | Posted on 12-06-2010

Category : Family, Mom and Dad's Visit, My Life in Cairo

the Pyramids!

On Wednesday we finally made it to the pyramids of Giza. We decided to try to get there as early as possible since it has been so hot. When we arrived around 8am, the park was virtually empty except for three Weddles, a few camels, and a lot of guys getting ready to sell souvenirs.

from ancient to medieval in Cairo

Posted by Emily | Posted on 10-06-2010

Category : Current Favorites, Family, Mom and Dad's Visit, My Life in Cairo

On Tuesday we started our day with a cab ride to Tahrir to see the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities.

We spent a few hours enjoying the Tutahnkamun exhibit, Akhenaten collection, and other ancient art and artifacts of Egypt.

We then took a taxi to the Citadel.

The views of the city were stunning.

weddles in luxor

Posted by Emily | Posted on 06-06-2010

Category : Current Favorites, Family, Mom and Dad's Visit, Ryan's Visit, Travel & Sightseeing

This past week has been a whirlwind! After seeing some sights around Cairo with Ryan, my parents arrived and we left for Luxor. We arrived in Luxor around midday and decided to check out Luxor Temple in the afternoon sunlight. It was incredible. The city of Luxor creeps right up to the edges of these ancient sites, making the experience very surreal.

Ryan in Cairo!

Posted by Emily | Posted on 31-05-2010

Category : Family, My Life in Cairo, Ryan's Visit, Sightseeing in Cairo

Ryan arrived in Cairo on Saturday, and by Sunday morning we were at the pyramids! It has been about 48 hours since he landed and we have already been to Giza, Saqqara, and the Red Pyramid.

We decided to ride horses out in the desert in Giza to enjoy the view of the three main pyramids from afar. I forgot we would have to ride through garbage alley to get to the desert, but we managed. And hey, it appeared that we must have just missed the carnival.

My horse, which happened to be named “George Michael,” was a wiley one. For some reason I always seem to get put on wiley horses! He spent most of the time ignoring my attempt at direction and instead opted to careen into Ryan’s horse whenever possible. Apologies to Ryan and his horse on behalf of George Michael.

Anyhow… here’s Ryan on his horse with Cairo in the background.

call for the captain ashore…

Posted by emily | Posted on 28-05-2010

Category : My Life in Cairo, Oh, Egypt

Today we went to Carrefour. It’s a huge store and it’s usually crowded and loud and crazy. (Remember Brandon’s video of me looking lost and confused in the maze of shopping carts and families at Carrefour last year? Click here to see it on his blog.)

Today’s best Carrefour find had to be this game:

the stars are projectors

Posted by emily | Posted on 27-05-2010

Category : Uncategorized

There is one of the four stars or so that we can usually see. See it there in the upper right corner of the picture? I think it’s Venus. Hi, Venus!

A hundred miles is a long drive inside a car.

Posted by emily | Posted on 27-05-2010

Category : Art, My Life in Cairo

One day last fall, after riding in a particularly eccentric taxi in Cairo, I decided to start snapping cell phone pictures of every taxi I take, whether it’s decor is interesting (i.e. plastic-wrapped seats, plush furry seat covers, minnie-mouse head-rests) or not (just the standard Christmas tree shaped air-freshener and box of Flora brand tissues on the dash). Anyhow, I have finally reached my 50th picture, and thus, surprisingly, my 50th taxi ride since the unknown beginning of this project.

One day I’ll make a complete montage, and who knows, maybe I’ll compile all the stats to see if there is a significant positive correlation between the amount of flotsam dangling from the rear-view mirror and jauntiness of the photo (generally a pretty safe indicator of a crazy ride). Who knows. But for now, here’s a quick sample…

the end of an era

Posted by emily | Posted on 24-05-2010

Category : Uncategorized

Call me crazy, but I love LOST. I just received the iTunes email notification that the final episode of ABC’s LOST is ready and waiting. Either you love the show, or you hate it. And I happen to love it. Why? Because LOST has been there, through thick and thin since 2006 when I was finally convinced to give the series a try.

when i finally get it figured out…

Posted by emily | Posted on 23-05-2010

Category : My Life in Cairo

over the course of just a minute or two, the sky changed from pink to peach to orange to purple. hello, summer! so nice to see you!

the good things

Posted by emily | Posted on 23-05-2010

Category : Family, Food, My Life in Cairo

This weekend we celebrated Brandon’s birthday with a long awaited apple pie. I wish I could say I made it, but really I only helped (although I fully intend to try making my own one of these days!).

I have been hearing about Brandon’s Grandma’s amazing apple pies since I first met Brandon in Arizona. So when Brandon’s grandma offered to make apple pie while she was here in Cairo visiting in April, I was lucky enough to get the recipe and see how it’s done. We made an extra pie and stuck it in the freezer to save for Brandon’s birthday.

And thank goodness for that! After a busy week studying for final exams we most likely would have had to stick a birthday candle in a McFlurry if it wasn’t for that pie. And oh my goodness, it was delicious!

Also, I have to confess, I think we have eaten half of the pie in under 12 hours. And yes, that includes what we ate for breakfast.

the sunny side…

Posted by emily | Posted on 20-05-2010

Category : My Life in Cairo

Because the last post shows some of the stranger things, I thought I’d better share a few photos of the beautiful side of Cairo.

oh, egypt…

Posted by emily | Posted on 20-05-2010

Category : Food, My Life in Cairo, Oh, Egypt

In my ongoing effort to not do laundry, I decided to peruse the photos I have snapped on my phone over the past few months. Here are a few of my favorite gems.

Enjoy!

A couple of weeks ago, I ordered a Coke and was pleasantly surprised to see Santa in the 100 degree weather. Nothing like a little Christmas in May, right? I was just glad it says “Holiday 2009” and not “Holiday 1999.” My favorite “food past its prime” moments are when the grocery stores tape together two boxes of expensive food (i.e. cinnamon toast crunch) with packing tape and sell them at a discount. Judging by the date on these deals, I am guess the cinnamon toast crunch is a little lacking in the crunch department. Still, it’s charming, right?

This next one is from when we went snorkeling recently and were on a boat.

the same in the rain or sun

Posted by emily | Posted on 19-05-2010

Category : Family, My Life in Cairo, Oh, Egypt, Uncategorized

Some of you may have heard the story of the Egyptified letterpress print I received manhandled in the mail recently. I’m not ready to fully comment on it yet (or touch it), although I love it so much. I really do. And years from now, I’ll look back on it and think, whoa, I lived in Egypt. Crazy. So when I am ready to photograph it in all its glory and write about that fateful day, this will all make sense. So for now, long story short, the mail I have received thus far in Egypt (while thank goodness it makes it all the way from point A to B) isn’t always handled with tender loving care every step of the way.

After a package has been knifed open en route, and it’s contents (i.e. tiny fuzzy Easter chicks) were deemed safe and not of tremendous monetary value, the package is taped back together and sent on its way to my apartment. It’s not unlikely for things (i.e. an unlucky and now maimed fuzzy chick) to get caught in the web of tape the mail handlers use to reseal the package.

So, when I received something in the mail from my wonderful sister last week, I didn’t notice this little surprise that must have befallen the same fate as the tape-maimed fuzzy chick and gotten stuck to the tape inside the envelope. Anyhow, I finally got around to some tidying up around the house this afternoon, and as I was getting ready to throw away the envelope from last week’s mail (yeah, I know, it’s been sitting here all week), I found this delightful surprise.

I believe the cupcake pin is by cakespy (a really cute blog about sweets), and the little horseshoe, well, I guess I have that to thank for the intactness of my mail. Thanks, Mer!

P.S. Mer, we have to get cupcakes and coffee this summer…!!

Happy Birthday, Mimi!

Posted by emily | Posted on 16-05-2010

Category : Art, Family

Today is Mimi’s Birthday! As one of my few regular blog-readers, I hope she is happy to know we are wishing her a very happy birthday from 6,732 miles away! (Hooray for the internet!)

Mimi is really the best Mimi anyone could ask for! I have a million memories of wonderful summers spent at Mimi’s house, eating popsicles outside and watching birds splashing in the birdbath, swinging on the swingset, or sitting with Mimi while she read to us about “Thunder-cake” when we would get scared of a thunderstorm looming on the horizon. I also have countless memories of sleepovers at Mimi’s, fighting over the fuzzy bear slippers, playing games, and best of all, that wonderful time right before bed where we would all say, “Mimi, tell us a story…” And what made Mimi’s stories so exciting and special was that they were her stories, real stories from the past. We loved hearing about life on the farm, about riding into town to sell eggs, and making biscuits early in the mornings before the sun came up. And we also loved hearing stories about our mom when she was a little girl, and even funny stories about things we had said or done when we were little kids. Oh how we loved to hear Mimi’s stories!

I’m already looking forward to seeing Mimi this summer! We always have a ball together! Thanks for being such a wonderful grandmother! Happy Birthday!

I love you!

Emily

way out in the water, see it swimming?

Posted by emily | Posted on 15-05-2010

Category : Travel & Sightseeing, Travel within Egypt

It is a busy time of the year for us. Final exams are next week (and I actually have one early final in a few days!), projects are due, Brandon has lots of grading and work to get done preparing for the summer term, we have summer travel to plan, and unfortunately for everyone around me, my patience seems to be in a little shorter supply than usual (sorry everybody!). I think I must be suffering from some serious “grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” syndrome. I am really ready for summer and can’t wait to see family and friends and enjoy all of the wonderful, wonderful comforts of home. I am sure by the end of summer I will be getting excited about returning to Cairo, but for now, I can’t stop daydreaming about all the things I want to do and places I want to go and food I want to eat back in the States.

Anyhow… we just got home after a relaxing weekend at the beach in Ain Soukhna. It was really nice to get out of city, enjoy a little fresher air, and swim in the ocean. We saw about a million sea urchins, but fortunately avoided getting pricked. I did hold one in my hand, which after overcoming my initial fear of the spikey little creatures, was pretty neat. They can crawl! Who knew!?

There were lots of shells and coral washed up on the beaches. Kids were finding teeny tiny hermit crabs, urchins, fish, and harmless purple jellyfish. Brandon found several strange shells that looked something like a cross between a sand dollar and a horseshoe crab. We went out with our snorkels and fins and found some live ones which were covered in strange, flexible, moving spines. They were really bizarre! After looking online, we think they are Lovenia Elongata which I think is like a significantly more animated and really bizarre type of sea urchin.

All in all, we had a great time. Now it’s time to wrap up all my studying and finish the semester!

Mount Sinai

Posted by emily | Posted on 28-04-2010

Category : Current Favorites, Travel & Sightseeing, Travel within Egypt

Last weekend we went on a faculty trip to Mount Sinai. After a 9 hour bus ride through barren, empty, desert, along the eastern coast of Egypt and across the Sinai Peninsula, we made it to Dahab where the best thing about our hotel was the coral reef meters from our room. Another 2 hour bus ride through a forbidding landscape of rocky terrain and craggy mountains and we arrived at St. Catherine’s Monastery which is located at the base of Mt. Sinai.

Climbing Mt. Sinai was an amazing experience. We began climbing in the afternoon. Most visitors make the journey in the middle of night, climb in the dark, and reach the peak at dawn. While that sounds lovely and majestic, I can’t imagine how I would have kept my footing in the dark. However, with the path ahead visible in the blinding midday sun, I can understand how climbing in the dark might have its benefits. Regardless, the views were incredible in the afternoon sun.