Egypt, land of Arabian knights

Today's Egypt, which news people write about and what we see on TV, is vastly differely from the Cairo, Egypt, I experienced. When my husband Dave was flying the NYC to Cairo route for TWA in the 90's , we brought the family along on one of his trips to Egypt. We saw a land of pyramids, traffic jams, statues of ancient gods, little kids weaving silk rugs, spitting camels and Arabian horsemen in flowing robes dashing through the desert. It was a land of romance and smiling people who couldn't do enough for us!

Mohammed was our tour guide. He'd been befriended by airline crews and enjoyed showing off his city's sites. After taking us to a bazaar which had existed from times before Christ, to papyrus factories, rug weaving shops, The City of the Dead where squatters had claimed tombs of the rich as their homes, we rode camels past the pyramids and a flooka sailboat ride on the Nile, he invited us to his home for dinner. Thank goodness we knew NOT to use our LEFT hand when we ate. The left hand is dirty, used for wiping only...hummmm Though we never knew what we were eating, it was tasty and we never felt ill.

Egypt remains a delightful memory of an exotic desert land filled with pyramids, spitting camels, colorful tents of Ramadan, and smiling, helpful people. I hope their new government will be peaceful, successful, prosperous and a friend to the United States of America.

Let the sun shine in!

Shrinking walls of snow re-energize me, especially when the sun shines on the frozen lake so brilliantly! It's been a lethargic period of time for me; no energy. Then I feel guilty that I'm not accomplishing anything. Why is it that a first born kid never gets rid of the guilt of not achieving? I could have been a catholic for all the guilt I harbor. I've been spending days doing a jigsaw puzzle and reading...remembering Dad telling me to "get your face out of that book and go outside!" Well, reading is another world for me...what a great escape when I'm discontent with the present. Grayness darkens my mood...let the sun shine in!

Snowy days to write short stories

This is January, a month of ENDLESS SNOW! I'm aching from shoveling the driveway daily with my new scoop shovel...it's faster and easier, but..........it's LOTS of WORK! Give me time to think about constructing a short story with a new character...I'm tired of my old characters. I want fresh blood in my shorts! New class starts Wednesday on "Crafting the short story" which I'm quite excited about. We'll be studying short stories by several authors, then trying to employ their techniques in crafting characters and settings. It's going to be motivation and FUN! Writers will gather in my family room around the cozy blue Austrian stove, write, discuss and indulge in coffee and sweet treats.

WHITEOUT!

It's another WHITEOUT! I can't see across Carmen's Bay! My daughter Kate from Mexico City and her CA college pal Shanna plan to attend the Viking game today looking like snowmen in their layers of insulated, warm clothing, boots, scarves, mittens and hats. What a disaster: the metrodome's roof collapsed! Brett Farve (Shanna's hero) is injured! Another blizzard in MN! Game is being player outdoors in the falling 8" of snow! TV will be just like black and white TV of the 1950's...all we'll see is SNOW, SNOW, & more SNOW! What a memorable day!

St Lucia Day arrives Dec. 13th

Tree is up, decorated, but no smell...it's a fake, but lovely. No worries about fires, watering, drying out...all that mess. Best part of decorating is refinding the kids' Christmas ornaments they made in nursery school and grade school. Also, my Luther friend Ginger has made at least four or five handmade, stitched ornaments celebrating friendship. THAT'S SPECIAL!

St Lucia Day is approaching on December 13th! My annual party with neighbors and pals wearing THEIR UNIQUE versions of a Lucia crown are absolutely hilarious! It'll be such fun! And the Scandinavian goodies top off the day beautifully, tho they're sure to add pounds...ah, well, this the season!

It's coming fast! I'm really looking forward to being with the Sunnyside group of gals from Luther College. Wonder how much we've all changed in the two years since we've been together. In my mind, we're still the svelte, cute coeds of the 60's giggling and horsing around as we anticipate graduating and separating for years.

But we've stayed in contact! Amazing, as we weren't close friends with everyone who comes to the gathering. I hope we'll talk about our lives, what we've encountered, our marriages, our aspirations for the future. Now that we've all 65 and older, what will we look forward to ; what do we want to accomplish?

Gals, bring book suggestions of good reads! How about starting a newsletter for Sunnysiders? With email we could easily post news and keep up with each other's current status.

Hugs

Today I'm wondering: where do you get your most satisfying hugs? Who or what does it for you? Are hugs more meaningful from a spouse, a pal, a teddybear, from a deep thinking discussion...or, does a glass of wine of a piece or two of chocolate do it for you?

I'd like to know where the best hugs come from?