12 Oakdale

It’s just sleep. We will catch up. Mary woke me about 3:00 AM yesterday, saying she’d had a couple of contractions, but they were nothing. We decided she should call Triage to report, then we went back to sleep. I thought I heard her call me about 5:45. She was awake, having showered, and having some discomfort. I jumped into the shower, then dressed. By 6:00, her water broke, and we were hustling Bella and Remi to car. No time to speak to neighbor Lisa who came out to wish Mary well. Slowing down to throw kids out at Sarah’s, I used my race driving skills to hustle to hospital, while Mary yelled which lane, relatively speaking, was smoother. Hitting bumps at speed did not help her discomfort. I careened into the emergency lane at Naval Hospital, ran (if one could call it that) to the door, where a person was already ready grabbing a wheelchair. Mary was able to get out of car between contractions and was wheeled away. By the time I parked, hustled to the elevator, rode to the third fl...

Welcome to busy first days of October. Thursday. I gave a fairly off the cuff speech at Toastmasters about coping with change, then Grant and I picked up a Joe Pye weed at the Bloom & Grow sale. That evening, Orlando Shakes’ production of Dracula: A Comedy of Terror.  Since we donated $500 to the organization, at every show, there is a little gift at our seats. This time, 2 vampire teeth lapel pins. Cute. We cashed in the free drink tickets given to us at the previous production. Friday morning, I worked like crazy to plant the 6 Brussels sprouts and 7 romaine plants I’d bought at Lowe’s. I weeded beneath my sad Romano tomatoes for the latter, crossing my fingers that all will be well. I restrung the anti-bunny fencing just in case there are plants to eat. That afternoon, watercolor class of a pipeline swallowtail, and a chance to catch up with Kathy Santz., who had been to Egypt in May. I think my wings turned out well. The body, meh. Next time. Then Stephanie took us to see h...

Tuesday, I had an appointment with Dr. Raja, my ophthalmologist, who said now my left eye, maybe both (?) were making little filaments over my cornea, which was the sore spot I’d noticed every time I blinked. He numbed my eye and picked it off, but recommended a treatment. Sure, why not? This was absolutely a time when Grant should have come with me because too much information was flowing for me to absorb. However, I went by myself because I thought the appointment was just a checkup on the results of the pricey vitamins and wonderful warm mask I’ve been using, which, BTW, were not impressive, according to Dr. Raja. Still not much opening of oil glands in my lower lids. However, I’m going to use the warm mask forever, it is that wonderful even if not effective. In any case, he plopped a huge contact lens made of “natural anti-inflammatory and anti-scarring”  amniotic membrane in my left eye. He prescribed some antibiotics, and said come back Friday to have the lens removed. Whoa, ...

We are home after 25 hours of flight and layover, starting by leaving our Cairo hotel at 12:30 AM. First to Vienna, where wheelchair support whisked us through the airport and customs. Then to Frankfort, and a Viking representative waiting for us. Somehow we lost her when Grant went to the bathroom. Suddenly our long layover with what I’d hoped would be a nice meal turned to chaos. I was overwhelmed, exhausted, and hungry. I started to break down Thank goodness I had added the Viking Travel Support phone number to my contacts, so I messaged for help. Coincidentally, I spotted another Viking rep, and with her phone calls to supervisors, another wheelchair and staff came to our rescue. He even took us to the back area and found clean pants for Grant. Another quick trip through customs and on to the gate waiting area. While Grant sat, I scrounged for food. Several long gates away, I found a sandwich bar with beer, wine and tables. If only I’d had the energy to push the wheelchair, it coul...

A day of hurry up and wait. For some reason, we on Bus C, were leaving Cairo later than the rest of our group. So we had a relaxed breakfast after putting our luggage outside our door at 8:30 AM. Another chance to watch the fishermen run their nets each morning. When I asked the waiter what kind of fish they were catching, he replied, “Egyptian.” True. Difficult to translate fish species across language and geography. Maybe mullet-like since they were netting,  not using rod and reel. Our later start also meant we were not getting lunch until we reached the ship at 3:00. I tucked an extra muffin in my purse to tide me over. We boarded our bus and drove to Cairo airport, passing the palm tree cell towers which really amuse me. For some reason, our flight was delayed, even though it was a charter. I was glad I’d brought my muffin. Eventually, we bused out to our plane, climbed the stairs, and flew to Luxor and the Osiris.  And lunch. The upside to all of our delay...

The Grand Egyptian Museum and the pyramids. I am overwhelmed. First the museum. As ever, at a fast pace, but with Ehab at the helm, we bypassed the main area and went straight to the boat of King Khufu, the oldest boat in the world, circa 2570 BCE. Found in 1954 next to his pyramid, it was reassembled and given the place of honor in its own building. Eventually it will be joined by another.  Next, the treasure of Tutankhamen, 1347 BCE. Gold, gold, gold including the 11+ kilogram mask that never leaves Egypt. But also all the things the king would need in the afterlife: food, clothing, chariots, weaponry, furniture, etc.  My favorite: the 365 small figurines of the king that would handle all the work he was going to be required to do, one for each day. Exactly what I need at home for my gardening. Given an hour of free range, I headed to the gift shop for post cards (meh selection), a cat magnet for our cat sitter Vera (all I could find)*, a pillow cover with a...