I am Skeptical

It's the last day of January. The sun is shining. The birds are singing. As young Tantor said to his mother in Tarzan with regard to sanitary water: "It looks questionable to me!" I just know we are going to get hit with a weather whammy. The Real Spring better get here soon and relieve my inner pessimist.

KT Tunstall

Yesterday, a new friend, Neda, and I traveled to London on a very spur of the moment trip to attend a very interesting occasion. Neda is a huge fan on the Scottish singer/songwriter, KT Tunstall. Neda follows her on Facebook and a few days ago KT offered 10 pairs of free tickets to a live audience taping of the SkyArts television show Songbook in London. Neda replied and was selected to receive a set of tickets!!! We started messaging and I offered to go with her (hehe) and she graciously said yes.

We took the coach into London and spent an afternoon on the Tube, talking, eating and visiting the British Museum until it was time for the show. The show was taped at AIR studios in Lyndhurst Hall. The building which was originally a church and a missionary school was amazingly cool and the studio was small and intimate seating about 200 people max.

The show and KT Tunstall were even more amazingly cool. Firstly, because Neda had won tickets, we got to jump a fairly long queue and go right to the front doors. Then, we were escorted to front row seats. They weren't the best seats because we would mostly see KT's back during the interview portion, but we were so close we could touch her. Then the stage manager approached me and asked if we would be willing to move because the white turtleneck I was wearing was too white as a background - again we were seated right behind where KT would be. So we said yes and he moved us right in front of where KT would be singing!! Like dead center "oops I tripped and I am onstage" seats!! It was just about one of the best karma moments ever. KT Tunstall definitely has a new fan in me. She was fantastic live and her use of her voice and instruments and technology was incredible.
KT's guitars

It was also really interesting to see how a show is taped and how they fix mistakes.

We took a late coach home and I stayed in bed until almost noon the next morning.

Deerhurst Detour

This autumn, I drove to Tewkesbury every Monday to stitch in the Abbey, but the kneelers have been moved out of the Abbey for another month because it is too cold to stitch. On my drive, I would see signs for two places: Mythe Bridge and Odda's Chapel. Yesterday, I drove to Tewkesbury to preview items at a monthly auction I usually attend and I had some time, so I decided to take a detour to these two places.
I looked at the map and saw that the Mythe Bridge was very close, just outside of Tewkesbury. It is of significance because it was designed by Thomas Telford who is a bigwig in bridge and canal construction and he designed the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct over which we traveled last summer while narrow boating. So I get to the bridge and realize driving over it wasn't the way to get a good view of the bridge's better qualities. It was chilly and starting to rain, so I didn't head back, but I might one day to get a better view. The Mythe Bridge link has a very pretty illustration.
Then I headed to Deerhurst which has the distinction of having two Saxon churches (really old stuff) within feet of one another. I drove down the one-lane road, parked and got out to explore. It was completely deserted. I spent time looking around The Priory Church of Saint Mary and snapping some photos. The church was pretty, very simple and well-restored which can be both a good and a bad thing, mostly good in this case. It was also freezing cold inside.
Unusual triangular windows in the bell tower
Beautiful carvings on the pulpit
Great metalwork
Carved angel
The squares next to the head are the angel's feathers.
Dedication to the pregnant Madonna
Nature's Rorschach Test
Lichen on gravestones is so cool.
This wins the day's "best gravestone" award.
I headed over to Odda's Chapel, which has a very interesting history, but I didn't go in because I want to return there with Craig and explore the surrounding area as well. Odda's Chapel is named for Earl Odda who dedicated the chapel to his brother, Ælfric, in 1056 upon Ælfric's death. In 1675, the dedication stone was found with this information chiseled into it, but the chapel was nowhere to be found. In 1885, repairs were begun at a nearby farmhouse and the chapel was discovered as part of the house! In the 1960's, the two structures were separated. This is a great blog note to read if you are interested: English Buildings.

Thought of the Day

I never thought a slice of toasted rye bread with cream cheese could taste so good. I love rye bread.

Owen's 'English' Homework

Last night, Owen was sat at the kitchen table with his English/Spellings homework in front of him. After about fifteen minutes, he came to us because he did not understand what he was supposed to do. He had already put a bunch of words into alphabetical order without fail but then there was a part two to the homework. He had to 'circle the unstressed vowel' in the words. Okay, easy enough, they are learning about primary and secondary stress in words. So I look at it and get immediately irritated because I figure that one must pronounce them in a English accent to get them correct. Craig goes in to look at it. It turns out that the task is not actually to mark stress on weak syllables, it is actually to mark the syllables that ARE NOT PRONOUNCED! What a bizarre homework assignment.
For example, in Brit-speak the word 'literally' is pronounced "litruhlee", deleting the 'e', so Owen had to circle the 'e'. Some other words were:
stationary - delete the 2nd 'a' to say "stationree"
immediately - delete the 'a' to say "immeejitlee"
February - delete the 'a' to say "februree"

It reminded me of how we say the days of the week in Baltimore even though it's a different process:
"Mondee, Tuesdee, Wenzdee, Thursdee, Friday, Saturday, Sundee, hon!"
But we don't teach this in English class!

So then I started thinking about the purpose of this homework assignment and I realized it wasn't a pronunciation exercise, it was actually a backward way to teach a child how to spell the words and realize (excuse me realiSe) that even though a sound isn't pronounced, it is there in the spelling and it is a pretty systematic rule, thankfully.

Then Craig and I started thinking about other dialectal rules that are not taught in Spellings class. Our favoUrite is the rule we call "extra r". If a word ends in a vowel, the English often add an /r/ sound to the end. For example, my friend Lisa's name is pronounced "Liser", 'India' goes to "injier", 'Alabama' is "ahlahbahmer" and pretty much my most fave word is 'dilemma' pronounced "die-lemmer". Lately Tunisia has been in the news and it is pronounced "toonisier". What we find the funniest is that if a word actually has an /r/ in it's spelling preceded by a vowel, the English DON'T pronounce it i.e., "dah-ling" for 'darling'. They do pronounce an "American" /r/ if it's in a blend, as in the word 'tree' or at the beginning of a word except some people pronounce the /r/ funny like they have an articulation issue (a funny w/r sound) when in reality they don't. That's a whole 'nother dialectal issue.

Then finally, Craig was talking about a meeting he attended yesterday and how the speaker kept saying the word "beeter" over and over again and how he had no clue what she was talking about until his mind clicked with an "A-HA!" moment. She was talking about a system that was labeled 'something something B'.
B = beta = "beeter" in Brit speak!
Now the Greek letters have been around for like ages, litruhlee, and the whole world pronounces them the same.
Except in Britain who dares to be different.
And they say WE talk funny!

I Like Commercials

This is my favorite advert here.

Busy Weekend

In our attempt to see parts of Britain that we haven't yet explored, we started with a drive to Shipton-under-Wychwood for a pub lunch at The Shaven Crown on Saturday.

We actually had already been to this pub in 2004 when the kids and I met Craig in London after a conference. The village looked pretty much the same as we remembered. The pub served Hook Norton ales which we have come to love, especially for their slogan:

We then drove to Banbury just because and looked around. There was an interesting church there. Nothing spectacular on the inside, but the architecture on the outside was noteworthy.
On Saturday night, we went our separate ways: I attended a previously scheduled bunco game and Craig went to a Burns Night celebration at a neighboUr's house a few houses down. We both had a fun night. For an explanation of Burns Night, follow the highlighted link.
Today, I helped my friend, Jane, who was hosting an Anglo-American event at her house. Every year, the American contingent sponsors an "American-style" breakfast complete with pancakes & syrup, sausage, bacon, egg bakes & muffins. This type of breakfast is uncommon in the UK. A typical English breakfast includes things like toast, beans, grilled tomatoes, eggs, sausage (fatter and different), and gammon (or rashers) which is sort of like bacon, but not bacon in the American sense. They do have a pancake day on Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday), but the pancakes are more like what we Americans would call crepes. I will blog about it on Shrove Tuesday AKA Mardi Gras which is 8 March.
Craig is keeping track of the developments in the Bears v. Packers NFL game. I'm blogging. The kids are in bed. End of weekend.

Fancy a Cuppa?

Over the past few years, tradesmen have had to visit the house for a variety of reasons, mainly plumbing or boiler repairs and service checks. When they visit, it is customary to ask them if they would like a cup of tea. I have never had anyone decline this offer. So I go to the kitchen, fill my electric cordless kettle (I know, it sounds contradictory) and flick the switch. In less than a minute, I have hot water. I throw a teabag in a mug (we use Tetley but PG Tips are also often spied in my tea tin) and go back to ask how many sugars which is usually answered with "One" or "Two" and if they want a "splash" of milk. I buy sugar cubes here instead of loose sugar because it's a consistent measurement of "One" or "Two". Then I make the tea and bring the mug and sometimes a digestive biscuit (like a graham cracker cookie) if I have them but a lot of times I do not have digestives because they are addictive beyond belief, especially the chocolate hob-nobs! Often, I get a "Cheers" as thanks and if the tradesman is of a certain age, I get a "Cheers, Luv".

A few days ago, a plumber was here. He had been here before and the first time he opted for coffee. It was early in the morning and I had some brewed coffee in my thermal pot, but not enough for a full mug, so I brewed some more. I tend to make a strong brew and when I brought him the mug and he took a sip, his eyebrows shot up in appreciation because it was a real cuppa, not the lame instant coffee (usually Nescafe) that permeates Britain. Upon his second visit about four months later, I asked if he would like anything and he said, "I would greatly appreciate a cup of American coffee." I joked about him remembering that he had coffee here and he said he was glad to see that I was on his work orders that day because he enjoys a good cup of coffee.

This got me to thinking how nice this custom is and how sharing a cuppa can be such a pleasant experience even with people you might never see again.

Snowdrops Don't Lie

Spring must be around the corner. C'mon, Spring. (whistle, whistle, whistle) Heeeere, Springy Springy.

Shave and A Haircut

My children crack me up!

My Role

I am taking a break from my starring role as "Kristen, The Domestic Goddess" in the off-off Broadway play entitled The Domestic Goddess which is my life story at this particular moment in time. I am typing (obviously) while listening to The English Beat's CD I Just Can't Stop It which isn't as good as Special Beat Service but it was the choice of the moment and it's sort of appropriately titled for the morning and one of the songs on the CD is Mirror in the Bathroom. How apt!

It is 11:30AM and so far I have done the following:

ate breakfast
emulsified a toilet
cleaned a bathroom sink area and mirror
vacuumed all of the common areas of the house including four flights of stairs
vacuumed my bedroom
dusted my bedroom
collected and sorted laundry
put two loads into the washer/dryer
getting ready to fold one
collected and emptied every rubbish bin from every room
wrote a to-do list for Craig (yes, he should be worried)
made two important phone calls
emptied and reloaded the dishwasher

Phew!

I need to make a few more phone calls, dust three more rooms, iron shirts and finish the laundry.
Where is that understudy when I need her???

As I was gathering Evan's laundry, I noticed this on his desk:
It is one of the kids' (and my) favorite books from a ways back. Here is a photo of our favorite pages:
The text reads:
'On the fresh new snow in the meadow, we
would lie down and make prints with our
bodies. I remember saying, "Hush, Max,
be still." And for a moment or two we lay
there listening to the silence.'
The text reads:
'We piled one on top of another
and sculpted snow ears. Our mama gave
us her old pink scarf to tie around the
snow rabbit's neck. She laughed.
"I think it looks like Grandpa."

Max insisted that we leave a carrot
for our snow rabbit in case he got
hungry during the night.

When we came back to visit the next day,
there were nibble marks on the carrot.

This is true.'

I am completely anal and have all of my kids' book grouped by theme and/or author and no, I will never get rid of them. Never. Anyway, every season or holiday I pull out the little kids' books and scatter them in the television room hoping that the kids will look at them, read them and remember times past. Now I have proof that Evan does read them, albeit in secret. I just love that he is still a little kid in a big kid's body and is as nostalgic as I am even if he doesn't see it that way. I'm making myself a little weepy.

And the best news ever... Evan go an A* on his recent Maths GCSE. Such a shmah-tie pants!

Return to Luxor and Ultimately Home

We were officially separated from the tour in the morning as pretty much everyone flew home early that morning. We and two couples had the ship to ourselves and then we were transferred to the hotel after lunch. We opted to explore a few more museums in Luxor and then the town proper. It started out fine but then Craig got suckered into a caleche ride, I got crabby because Craig seemed to have completely forgotten our agenda and Owen got museumed out. Thank goodness for room service!

Mosaics outside the Mummification Museum which was worthwhile, short & sweet:

Anubis
Scarab & Winged Sun
Lotus (above) and papyrus (below) on fence of the museum
Our caleche driver, Mohamed (everyone seemed to be named Mohamed by the way), waited for us to finish seeing the museum and then took us on a tour of the real Egyptian market (not the tourist one) and stopped at McDonald's for Owen and Finn to experience the thrill of eating in an African McDonald's (where IS that sarcasm font when I need it???). I will confess that the Egyptian fries are better than British McDonald's fries. Craig bought Mohamed a caramel sundae and a super size Coke. He consumed half of each and shared the rest with friends.
View of the Luxor Temple from McD's - prime real estate
Even the Chicken Nuggets are Egyptologists!
Market scene
Then we were dropped off at the Luxor Museum which was modern and nice and had a few really interesting mummies but overall it was just okay when one considers how many artifacts could have been in the museum. There were so many Americans, it felt like we were in the Smithsonian. In the gift shop, the attendant noticed I was chewing gum and asked for some "for the children". I don't think gum is sold in Egypt; I never saw any in the shops. He told us that Americans were "very nice". I think "very nice" translates to "sucker" in Egyptian. A cab driver also told us that Americans were "the most very nice" and Russians "not so much nice". I totally laughed out loud at that one.

On our last day, we opted to just veg out poolside mainly because we hadn't yet and partially in response to world events and word that there were riots in Cairo that day. The Sheraton had a fab outdoor heated pool and it was a sunny but somewhat chilly in the shade day. I suppose the weather gods were weaning us from Egyptian warmth to British chill. We were packed and ready to go the next morning at our 4AM wake up call. The kids experienced Business Class for the first time and we were home by 4PM. It was nice to be back and not have to tip someone in the toilet to get toilet paper or to just plain use the facilities.

Which leads me to my parting notes:

The opportunity to travel to Egypt was incredible and I will never forget it. Well, unless I get Alzheimer's which is possible.

I will also never forget my top five reasons to perhaps never return:

1. Haggling
Just tell me how much you need for it. If it's sensible, I will pay your price. I don't need to negotiate;

2. Baksheesh
This is the custom of being required to tip everyone who does something for you whether you need them to provide the service or not. It gets old real fast;

3. Toilet attendants
Expecting money for handing toilet paper to someone or a paper towel to dry one's hands has always been a pet peeve of mine and it is inescapable in Egypt. I actually had my own small roll of toilet paper (much to Owen's amazement) and the toilets weren't all that clean so you don't get what you pay for in my opinion;

4. Feeling guilty
Actively ignoring people just makes me feel guilty but the pushiness to buy the exact same junk the next guy is hawking was worse so I chose to feel guilty. I also felt guilty that I was riding around in a big bus looking out at someone else's world. That's why I don't love the catered vacation package experience, I suppose;

5. Being taken advantage of
This was a hard one because even the smallest profit means a lot to someone who has less than you, but I still dislike the feeling of someone trying to take advantage of me right in front of my face.

Reasons I liked Egypt:

1. Mostly EVERYONE smiled. You don't get that here;

2. Delicious food;

3. The climate;

4. Being able to see and touch ancient structures is mind boggling;

5. My kids will never forget it.

Colossi of Memnon, Deir el-Bahari & the Valley of the Kings

Two posts today - I am feeling generous!

Our first stop was to see the Colossi of Memnon. These two statues were pretty much right next to the side of the road with a parking lot, sort of surprising and a lot like Stonehenge.

The statues themselves were amazing but what was really awesome was the sight of at least 10 hot air balloons in the distance. There was a haze in the sky which added to the dramatic look. I couldn't stop taking photos!

Then we went to the Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (pronounced "hat-cheap-suit") AKA Deir el- Bahari. This was another dramatic view as the inner sanctum is built directly into the rock face and is situated in a deep valley. The style of architecture was completely different from all we had seen. It was actually more modern in design. Hatshepsut must have been very hip and happening.
Anubis rocks
My next favorite hieroglyph is the tower looking chess piece one. It is known as "Osiris' backbone".
The hieroglyphs are in high relief which is harder to do and more expensive than carving into the rock. Instead, the rock needs to be carved away and leveled out, leaving the symbols to pop out. Much more laboUr intensive.

We stopped at an alabaster workshop which was nice. Alabaster is so pretty and allows light through it. Again, the haggling for a dish and some trinkets for the kids began. No fun, but I feel like we got a decent deal which is what haggling is all about.

Lastly, we were off to the Valley of the Kings to see some tombs. I think we went to see Ramesses I, IV and IX. They were all decoratively painted. My favorite was Ramesses IV (at least I think it was that one) because the ceiling had a huge painting of the goddess Mut bending over the Earth, protecting it. We opted not to see King Tut's tomb because they charge like 100 pounds Egyptian (about $17) to see it and we were told repeatedly that it is nothing special since King Tut died so young so it is not nearly as decorative as the others. Some of our tour mates did go in and came out saying exactly that.
No photos were allowed at the Valley of the Kings complex which was a lesson Finn learned when a guard was going to confiscate his brand-new iPod Touch after he took a picture. I left Craig to do the negotiating because Evan and Owen were well ahead of us and I didn't want to get separated from them. I am sure Craig had to pay the guard something because that's how they roll in Egypt.

Upon exiting, there was the ubiquitous bazaar. We were steaming through it until I spied a worn Egyptian flag hanging inside someone's shop as a decoration, not as an item for purchase. I gestured to ask if it was for sale and he said yes so I ran to Craig and asked for 50 pounds Egyptian which was a little less than $10. I handed him the LE50, said "OK?" and the guy looked at his boss because I think he thought it was too much or expected a haggling session but I hate haggling with a passion so I took the flag from his hands and said "50 Egyptian, OK? (pause) Bye." and left triumphantly! Well done, self!

The rest of the day was spent eating and packing.

Happy 1-1-11!

I know I am 11 days late on this, but I am trying to stay chronological.

Q: Where were you on New Year's Day 2011?

A: In Egypt on the Nile!

In true McCarter fashion, we did not ring in the New Year at midnight besides it wasn't New Year in the US until 7AM this morning. Craig was down for the count with a severe cold. He slept a lot of the day which was well-timed as we were sailing back up to the Esna lock and no excursions were planned. Going through the lock was far less busy than the first time, but it took just as long.
Open sesame
While we were waiting, the tablecloth and galabeya squad was out in full force and greeted the guests by chucking things across the gap. There was a big changeover of passengers on Thursday at Aswan and the newbies thought it was cool. However, I didn't think it was as cool as the guys we had throwing stuff up from boats. I had become jaded. The new passengers were predominantly American and I can honestly say they flat out annoyed me: their nasal voices, their volume, their know-it-all-ness and one cheerleader type was publicly so rude to a staff member in a sugar-coated voice that it was embarrassing. Seriously.
Earlier before the hullabaloo, I was reading on the bow and no one else was there. It was so nice to be on a ship that had 200 people within itself. The wind was blowing gently. I could hear voices occasionally from the bank. I heard a call to prayer from a passing mosque tower. It was just heavenly and one of those moments when I really cherish my good fortune. My New Year's resolution is to become more tolerant and take deep breaths.
Happy New Year.