Completely Off Topic

Last Monday was my birthday and we had the biggest sandstorm that my hubby could remember. I was at the conference on the East Bank. Salima Ikram gave a lecture under the most trying circumstances with wind whistling and canopies flying. The conference facilities at the Karnak Sofitel is just a marquee so very primitive. I left in a hurry hoping to paint the town red and found there was no town, electricity down and trees!!. The taxi driver I got was really nice and when I said ferry he told me it was not running. He was really fair when I asked him to take me to the West Bank instead 100LE but the drive was really scary when we had to cross to the other side of the road to avoid fallen trees and signs.

Yesterday my hubby arranged a belated lunch date with my adorable step children hidden in the car to surprise me. They loved the joke of surprising me and for a full five minutes all that could be heard was laughter. It was brill and we ended up at Abu Hagger for a great lunch. I taught my step daughter to use a knife and fork and she picked it immediately one lesson with a knife and fork and a mobile phone as food as she got the picture. She then proceed to eat her entire lunch with a knife and fork I was so proud her, she is 6, really bright and learning English really well. Expect to hear her as my replacement in a couple of decades.

But the really off topic was I was given some alcoholic birthday presents from Finland. My beloved Finns bought me Finish vodka (great still unwrapped) and Koskenkorva which is a fruity vodka drink and I love and Salmiakki which is cough medicine!!! Made of liquorice, sorry but one glass was enough for me.