Other People's Backyards

#-E commented that the Israeli tourists to Sinai are more likely to go backpacking and hiking in the mountains than the Europeans who come for Las Vegas By The Sea (aka, Sharm el Sheikh), and I'd agree. They and the local outdoors types are more likely to support the camping beaches and the bedouin camps in the interior. Like I pointed out in my last post, the only conclusion one can come up with regarding Taba is that this was aimed particularly at the Israelis and not at the Egyptian government as many of the attacks in the past actually were, although it was the tourists who were harmed. It's bad enough that things are such a bloody mess in Israel, Palestine, Gaza without having it exported to Taba.

Meanwhile in my backyard, aside from the hideous mess that is the internet here, life is pretty good. I came back to six puppies in two litters who will have to find homes, but that should be workable. Two horses have a vet visit this afternoon for leg problems. I have one of my Rat Terriers staying for a while with me because her owners, previously Sharm residents, are in an apartment in Zamalek for a grim wait. The husband underwent surgery for brain cancer last year in Vienna with the associated chemo and radiation therapy, but there is a new tumour and he isn't willing to do it again. Trying to care for a dog in an apartment under these circumstances isn't really an option so I offered to give her a place to stay for the time being. She stayed with me while her family were in Vienna as well so she understands the routine.

October is the start of our best weather that should last all the way to about June. Nights are chill, mornings cool and the afternoon sun is a blessing rather than a curse. Leaves do fall a bit, but not much. Poincianas lose their leaves in the winter, when we need the sun more and get them back in the spring along with their scarlet blossoms. I'd rather sit with my door open to hear the muezzin's call and the pickup with the unintelligible loudspeaker messages about weddings and funerals in the area than hear the sirens of the police and fire department in Manhattan.

The attack on the storage in Toronto turned out to be less painful than I'd expected. At least two thirds of the boxes could simply be thrown out, being things that simply were pointless to ship. But there were a few boxes of my grandmother's journals from before WWII, my old high school annuals and photo albums (the kids will get a laugh out of those), my husband's and my Master's theses (pretty dry reading), some silver mugs that had been baby gifts to the children, some pewter wine glasses that were a wedding present, and some painted panels that used to hang in the living room of our house. All of these things will come here, while about 4 boxes of good wine glasses went to my hosts in Toronto with instructions to share the wealth. Funny the things that you think are important when you pack them away may not be later.

I spent the afternoon with a friend who had worked for my husband in Canada. He has had the keys to the storage and has cared for our house there. I think of Dave being very young, but both he and Bruce (another ex-employee who came over later that night with his wife and kids) have some grey hair now. Aging is such a shock. Dave and Bruce were just out of college when they came to us, and now they have kids, hockey practice, mortgages, that whole syndrome that is associated with becoming a bona fide "Adult". Made me feel old in a way. I float along life's channel without really noticing the passage of time until a marker like this comes along. I wonder if there is a way to synchronise one's outside better with one's inside? Or if I really want to.... I sort of like being about 30 inside.