Luxor Part 1

We are back! Yay! We had a great week together in Luxor. The problem is that there are so many pictures I want to put on, but just can't. Oh wait! I have this wonderful program called Picasa. Let's make a collage.

This whole trip was a surprise for Spencer. It's our 10th anniversary later this month and he had all of last week off. So, what better time to take a vacation? I was going to try and surprise him the morning of, but seeing as how we had to leave at 4:45 am, I didn't think he'd appreciate being woken up that early and leaving on short notice. I left our plane itinerary on the bed and asked him, from another room, to go get the papers for me. He was thoroughly surprised! Our flight to Luxor left at 7am and is only an hour flight, so by 9am we were checked into our hotel and ready to begin the day.

We took it easy and visited the Luxor Museum first, which is, in my opinion, the best museum Egypt has to offer. It's 80LE ($14.47) entrance ticket is a little steeper than other prices, but totally worth it. Everything is well labelled, beautifully arranged and lighted, air conditioned (not that it matters at this time of year, but other times it's essential). They even have two mummies which are leaps and bounds past the mummies in the Cairo Egyptian Museum. The Egyptian Museum is a disorganized, poorly lit, over-heated mess of pharonic artifacts. And you have to pay extra to see their stinky mummies. But it's only open from 9am - 1pm, so you have to plan your time wisely. Although we got there at 10:30 and were completely done by noon. And we are museum freaks, we love reading every description, lingering over each piece and basking in the awe of ancient artifacts.

After the museum, we headed over to this great little cafe called Chez Omar. I discovered it last February when I went to Luxor with my friend, Collette. It's traditional Egyptian food, but not tourist prices. A bowl of lentil soup, 5LE (90 cents), rice and vegetables, 5 LE each and half a grilled chicken for 20LE ($3.61). And we each ordered our own everything, we could have easily split it. We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling through town and along the Nile, you know, being mushy 2nd honeymooners! There is one picture, on the bottom row, 4th from the left. That was what greeted us when we returned to our rooms the second day. The "maids" (they were mostly men) had made up the room, rolled a towel into a snake/swan something, put a book in front of it and balanced my glasses on it's "nose". The tears of laughter were flowing! Though I had put my glasses away in my case, creepy at the same time. We made sure to hide everything adequately for the rest of the week.

The second day, we went to the West Bank (no, not that one), Luxor proper is on the East bank of the Nile. We caught the 1LE (18 cents) ferry across the river and hired a taxi for the day. We went to the Valley of the Kings first. There are numerous tombs (65 known tombs at this time and 2 new entrances discovered this year) but your ticket only gets you into 3 of your choice. And King Tut's tomb is a separate ticket of 100 LE ($18.10). We didn't go inside that one. We went inside Rameses IV, Tutmoses III and Rameses IX. The last one, Rameses IX, was a last minute choice seeing as how some other choices of ours required an extra ticket or was closed. After that we went over to the Ramesseum. It's the mortuary temple of Rameses II. After a quick stop at the Colossi of Memnon, it was back to the 1LE ferry across the river. That takes us up to Tuesday night, more to come! (oh, and no photo allowed inside the tombs, that's why there aren't any)

Sunday Quotations

It is Sunday, hence, quotations! I'll dip my toes back in the blogging waters with this post while I create a menagerie of collages illustrating the past week of vacation bliss!! I'm sharing some quotes from Hugh Nibley today partly because of our trip last week. He was a great scholar and was fluent in many languages. One particular interest of his was Egyptology. He could read Hieroglyphics and I am just generally impressed by him. He was one reason we went to see the Dendera temple. It is one of the most well preserved temples in Egypt and Hugh Nibley would frequent it during his travels to Egypt. I had the privilege of hearing him speak in person while at BYU. But the first person to introduce me to his works was my wonderful Spencer. I remember when I first heard this quote and then I asked, "Why?"

Hugh Nibley was professor emeritus of ancient scripture at Brigham Young
University when this commencement address was given on 19 August 1983.

"Twenty-three years ago on this same occasion, I gave the opening prayer, in which I said: "We have met here today clothed in the black robes of a false priesthood." Many have asked me since whether I really said such a shocking thing, but nobody has ever asked what I meant by it. Why not? Well, some knew the answer already, and as for the rest, we do not question things at the BYU."

That said, I've got a short but sweet quote from Brother Nibley.

"Beauty is whatever gives joy."

A short Hiatus

Hiatus
–noun, plural -tus⋅es, -tus.

1.	a break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc.

I know, I know, it's not Wednesday. The day has come, though. Spencer and I are taking advantage of the Eid el-Adha celebrations a jetting off for a vacation! Without the kids! This was a surprise for Spencer. So we'll be back in a week. Ma'asalaama!

Sunday Quotations

In memory of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, I thought I'd share a little memory about him as well. Actually, it's not my memory, it's Spencer's. When he was on his way home from his mission, he met Elder Wirthlin in the Salt Lake airport. It was the last leg of his journey and he was looking for his gate. He found it and was about to sit down when he heard a voice call out that said, "Elder, come sit and talk to me." It was Elder Wirthlin and his wife on their way to Ricks College to give an address. *gulp* So Spencer sat and talked with him and his wife until it was boarding time. Then the announcement came that it was time to board and everyone began gathering their things. They parted ways and got in line. They ended up sitting next to each other for the flight home. During their conversation, Spencer expressed some apprehension he had about being released, and about keeping the same spirit he had on his mission. Elder Wirthlin said,

"You find yourself a good girl, get married, finish your education and you'll be fine." Sidenote: Seven months after that conversation, Spencer and I were wed for time and all eternity. We are celebrating 10 years this month, by the way.

Spencer had been doing some proselyting on his way home from the Dominican Republic, prior to running into Elder Wirthlin. At one of the airports, he had spoken with a man that was interested in learning more, and who wanted to talk to the missionaries. Spence got his contact information, but wasn't sure what to do with it. When he asked Elder Wirthlin what to do with it, Elder Wirthlin said,

"Here, give it to me, Elder. I'll take care of it."

A few weeks after Spencer got home, he got a call from Elder Wirthlin's office. They were asking him if it was OK if Elder Wirthlin use their conversations in a mission president's training seminar. Sure, no problem. Spencer's last mission president had come to the mission field under special circumstances, and had not had the mission president training. So he was in attendance at Elder Wirthlin's training course. When he got to the part where he shared Spencer's proselyting endeavors, he said,

"Whoever Elder Penrod's mission president was, he taught him right."

Spencer's mission president was beaming!! He called Spencer after the conference and told him about the mention and thanked him and wished him well. We will all miss Elder Wirthlin, but we know that he lived a full life and is now reunited with his lovely wife!

A tag of 8

8 Favorite Shows
(everything listed here is on DVD, except American Idol. so we watch WHEN we want to!)
- Lost
- The Office
- House
- Monk (although the season should have stopped a year ago)
- Psych
- Stargate: Atlantis (it's wonderfully unrealistic & I love my disconnected hour of fun!)
- American Idol
- Heroes

8 things I did yesterday (I started this on Friday, even though it's being posted Saturday)
- Went to the gym
- Woo-hooed with the girls because it's the last day of school!
- Helped Jacqui get on the toilet. (she's potty trained, it's just that the toilets here are HUGE, the seat hits her at mid-chest.)
- Prepared my "Sunday School" lesson for church on Friday.(so why don't we call it Friday School?)
- Found heavenly Jello Cups at the commissary. They are sugar & fat-free & only have 10 calories!
- Checked my email.
- Watched an amazing clip of Kristin Chenoweth.
- And another.

8 Favorite Restaurants
- Bhua Khao (amazing Thai)
- Cantina Laredo (the best pulled beef tacos in Cairo!)
- Rainforest Cafe (They have one good dish, Calypso Chicken. I've only been once & I've dreamed about it ever since. And my kids LOVE the animatronic animals, huge aquariums and anthropomorphized tree in the gift shop.)
- Wingers (man, their wings are good!)
- Macaroni Grill (the spinach & shrimp with lemon and pasta, yum. same thing, had it once, been dreamin' ever since)
- Rodizios
- P.F. Changs
- Pho Dat Than (a vietnamese soup place that is amazing, you build your own soup AND we can feed the whole family for $7, yeah. Unfortunately, it's only in Virginia & Maryland)

8 things I'm looking forward to
- Spencer getting home TOMORROW
- Going to Germany when my brother goes to the temple.
- The new Harry Potter movie.
- Christmas
- Turning 30 (someone said you get more street cred. after 30)
- Leaving CAIRO this next summer! (though I'll cherish the memories, some more than others)
- Going to the salon for a new 'do
- Going to D.C. this next summer


8 things I'm NOT looking forward to
- Getting up in the morning
- Children getting up in the morning.
- Renewing vaccinations.
- Getting the house ready to move. (I need to do some serious de-junking)
- Addressing & mailing Christmas cards
- A month of kids at home all day, every day
- Eliza turning 9 next month
- Leaving ReRe here in Egypt (my housekeeper)


8 things on my wish list (only 8?)
- Wilton Mini Loaf Pan
- This frame from Ikea. Nothing in it. On a plain wall.
- This dining room set
- A huge self-cleaning kitchen
- Snow
- Lasik surgery for my eyes!
- A personal jet (clearly, some of these are more realistic than others)
- A backyard for gardening and playing


8 people I tag
- Katelyn at Chris and Katelyn
- Leslie at The Good Report
- Sara at 2 of us, 5 of them
- Nancy at Heissatopia
- Carolee at The Schilling Family
- Aprillee at The Life of Mark and Aprillee Spencer
- Melissa at State of d'Nile
- Janyece at Daily Journeys of an American Gypsy

Four Foods on Friday 58

This is a meme I participate in every Friday. Someone else comes up with the week's questions and we answer them!

#1. Does your family usually eat meals in the kitchen or somewhere else?

Our kitchen is so dinky, we get claustrophobic with more than 3 people, let alone have enough room for a table. (we're a family of 6) We eat where I was taught to eat, at the table. Family dinner. Now, if it's just my husband and me, (after the kids are in bed) we will skooch together on the couch and share a cozy dinner with a good movie.

#2. Who usually does the dishes in your house?

Right now, my housekeeper, ReRe. And when she's not around, the dishes sometimes wait for her. We're teaching them how to play dead next week! I will tackle the mountains on her off days; she comes in 3x a week.

#3. What’s your favorite small appliance or tool in the kitchen?

My stick blender. I use that baby every morning for my protein shakes! And for my soups! And for hiding "secret food" in with the regular food. One time, I made spaghetti with tomatoes and eggplant. I cooked the eggplant and then buzzed it into oblivion and added it to the tomato sauce. And nobody could tell. I hide a lot of things. I think it stems from my mom. I came into the kitchen one evening and she was making spaghetti sauce. I saw her grating carrots and cooking zucchini and I asked,

"What are you doing?"

"Making spaghetti sauce." she calmly replies.

"With that stuff in it?"

"Yep, and I have been for years!"

Yeah, so now I do the same thing to my kids! You can hide a ton of stuff in spaghetti sauce. My stick blender is really great. I really like it. A lot. **


#4. This one’s for my son. Share a recipe for chili.

I don't use recipes, amounts are very fluid for me! This is my own creation. It did win a small church chili cook-off! There were 4 other entrants, 5 including me. Soooo, do with it what you will.

About a pound of ground beef
beef bullion granules
a cup of corn (i like pict sweet)
1 can red kidney beans
2 cans Hunt's tomato sauce
1 can Diced tomatoes and pepper (drained, I like Ro*Tel)
1 can Diced tomatoes & Garlic (drained, I use Del Monte)
1/2 a packet of Chili Seasoning (schilling brand)
liberal dashes of chili powder (depends on how spicy you want it)

- Brown the beef, I add the beef bullion during this time and the chili seasoning.
- Then add everything else.
- Taste and tweak.
- Once it's heated, serve!!

This recipe is really subjective to taste and number of people. More people? Add more beef. If you like more corn, do more corn. Less saucy, (rrrowwl) use less tomato sauce. My rule of thumb is to start small, you can always add more.


**hmmm, best movie for february ever? am i right or am i right or am i right?

Word of the Day Wednesday

Litany - \ˈli-tə-nē, ˈlit-nē\ noun; plural lit·a·nies

Etymology:

Middle English letanie, from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French, from Late Latin litania, from Late Greek litaneia, from Greek, entreaty, from litanos supplicant

Date:

13th century

1: a prayer consisting of a series of invocations and supplications by the leader with alternate responses by the congregation
2 a: a resonant or repetitive chant a litany of cheering phrases — Herman Wouk> b: a usually lengthy recitation or enumeration a familiar litany of complaints c: a sizable series or set a litany of problems


Friends and family have often asked about the call to prayer, the adhan (or athan, whichever dialect you want!) The call to prayer happens 5 times a day; first at sunrise (which I don't hear anymore alhamdulilah! It bothered me the first few months, but then I guess I just got used to it. That and we put a huge noise-making fan outside the baby's room to provide white noise!) Then again about noon, again at about 3ish, sunset and then an hour after sunset. That's when I hear the muezzins calling out. And then, sometimes, (for the heck of it?) these really creative guys in our neighborhood just start wailing & yowling into the evening. Maybe they're just practicing. Now, I don't mean any disrespect, but it's really quite unintelligible, even for Arabic speakers. The beginning part is unmistakable, (refer to the hotlink for adhan) but the rest? Well, I've asked ReRe, our housekeeper, what they are saying and she says,

"Oh, they're saying this & this & this." (because they say the same prayers every day.)

"No, can you understand these exact words right now?"

"Oh no, ma'am. Some of them are quite awful."

But to hear a really great muezzin; it is truly an art. They train and practice and when it's done the right way, it's like music. I have a clip of the call to prayer at sunset below. This is something truly unique to hear. Even though the cacophony can sound a bit overwhelming and mixed up, when sunset comes, you can hear the waves of voices beginning to spill over the city. First far away and then building to it's peak right outside your kitchen window. Which is where I recorded this video clip. I caught it at the peak of saturation. I'm not extremely pleased with the sound quality, it's a lot louder in person, but, hey you take what you get! Boy, this turned into quite a wordy Wednesday.