Uncle Fuzzy's Night on the Town

In my naivety, I never thought it would happen. It certainly wasn't as bad as it could have been - for that I am eternally grateful. And from now on, we will always make sure the twist tie is on the cage door every night.

It began as any other night: Michael fed Uncle Fuzzy and went to bed. Steve and I probably watched a bit of t.v. and went to bed ourselves. But at 1:30am, things took a turn.

In a drowsy stupor, I heard a scratching noise. We have a gravel siding on our house that the birds sometimes attach to, and they make similar sound. The scratching tonight sounded louder though - so loud that it could be inside? As the parade of "scratcher" candidates strolled through my mind, I became quickly alert. Turning on the light, I saw something moving under the curtain against the wall.

It was much to big to be Recko. The thought of anything bigger in our room made me nearly faint. Summoning all the courage I could, I gently pulled back the curtains. There, with a grin from ear to ear (I'm sure of it), was Uncle Fuzzy. I'm not sure if I was more shocked to see him out of his cage, or more relieved that it wasn't a big reptile.

Using a small piece of apple for bait, we got Uncle Fuzzy into his exercise ball - from which we transferred him to his cage. Michael slept soundly through the entire incident, very sorry in the morning to have missed the excitement.

We don't know for sure how he got out - whether he was able to push the cage door open, or if Michael left it open. We don't know exactly when he came under our door into our room, or why he didn't hang a right and go down the stairs. We don't know how long he had been in checking things out in the room. But we can say with all certainty that it could have been much, much worse.

Hamsters are nocturnal: Uncle Fuzzy sleeps all day and doesn't become active until after 9pm. If he had gone anywhere else in the house...how on earth would we have found him? He's very skittish and would have hid until we were all asleep. Not only that, he probably would have chewed on all our wood furniture, the upholstered furniture and who knows what else? And worst of all, what if he died somewhere?

Uncle Fuzzy seems to be in better spirits since that night - I bet he's still dreaming about his Great Escape, and plotting the next one! And as for me? I keep finding hamster turds to vacuum up.

Repelling in the Desert

One of the great things about living here with boys is the unique opportunities they will have through Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, such as trips to very cool places. I really don't know much about it and won't pretend to be knowledgeable. But I do want to show you some pictures of one of the trips the Boy Scouts took this year to do zip lines and repelling. This is somewhere in Saudi Arabia, in the southwest area I believe.

They drove out in a convoy of SUVs to a place with a landscape similar to the Grand Canyon. The vehicles were driven to opposing sides of the canyon and somehow hooked together with thick cables to make zip lines. Some of the vehicles just had the cables attached to the hitches (?) and then the kids used the cable to repel down the canyon walls.




Doesn't this look like fun? My first question, after when will Michael be able to participate in something like this (answer being when/if he crosses over from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts), was, "Do the parents get to have a go???"

Apparently they also camped out somewhere in the vicinity of the repelling. Desert camping is a very popular activity here. It sounds really boring, I agree. But friends tell us there is a lot more to do while you are camping in the sand than you think. Fun activities include sand dune skiing, digging for sand roses and geodes, 4wd driving in the sand, etc. I'm not convinced, but at some point I'll probably give it a try. I'd be especially willing if some of this action was involved!

Michael's International Charm

One thing we didn't expect in our international travels was how quickly Michael was able to make friends, charm his way into tour extras, and generally connect with anyone he met. On our trip to Egypt and Jordan it was especially evident. At first we thought maybe it was that the tour operators, drivers, hotel porters, store clerks, etc. didn't see that many blond kids cross their paths. But then we realized that they were not taking any particular notice of Jacob.

Some of the cool extra things only Michael was given the opportunity to do included:

Steering the feluca boat on the Nile River:
Using the microphone on the tour bus:
Scoring a fun ride for him and Jake with the driver of a long chain of tourist trolleys:
Borrowing hats from some Egyptian policemen to take a fun picture:

Driving the horse cart (he was gracious enough to let Jake hold the reins for the picture -- and YES, I do know that the horse's mane has been dyed orange. I have no earthly idea why).

At one perfume store we stopped in, we were given a 15 minute demonstration/talk about why Egyptian perfumes were superior to name brands - all in an attempt to get us to buy perfume, of course. We were busy trying all different scents when we realized that Michael was no longer sitting with us. After a quick scan of the store, we spotted this:

He was busy with his new friends playing games on their cell phones--where else would he be?

Seriously, all throughout the trip we were amazed at how many people knew his name. We would walk past guards / hotel staff on the way back to the cruise ship and hear calls of, "Hi Michael." "Good afternoon, Michael." "What are you up to this morning, Michael."

While on the Nile River cruise we ate most of our meals on the ship and were assigned a specific waiter and table throughout the duration of the trip. The waiter took a shine to Michael immediately and always greeted him with a big smile (I don't remember smiles for us!). The most memorable thing was that the waiter had little brain teasers for him to do during each "boring meal." I have to admit the adults enjoyed the games as much as Michael did and actively competed to see who among us could solve the puzzle first!

The Night Market

"Foreign types with their hookah pipes sing: Way-oh-way-oh-way-ooo-aa-ooo..."
(The Bangles - "Walk Like an Egyptian")

It was in a back alley - you had to know it was there...to know it was there. Chairs were set up tightly around little round tables, about knee height. There was what one might call an aisle where waiters squeezed through bringing your tea, or hookah if you so desired. The air was thick with oddly pleasant smelling smoke and the buzz of conversation in a handful of languages. After touring all day, it was nice to rest our feet and people watch. We were in the oldest, and judging from the amount of patrons also the most popular, tea shop in Cairo, called "El Fishawy."

But just before taking a load off with our tea, we wandered through the Khan El Khalili souk (market) that was one of the main attractions in this area. This market dates back to 1382 (no typo - that's 1382!) During our short visit to Cairo we had already been through many markets, ranging from about a block long, most of which were lining the entrance to ancient sites...to as short as just a couple of make-shifts booths strategically placed where tourists would take notice. Our tour operator promised that this was the "mother of all markets" in Cairo. As far as size goes, I would agree. But in all honesty, it was the same old stuff -just a lot more of it.


Knowing it was our last chance in Cairo to purchase those items we reluctantly had our eye on, we eagerly started down the street. The street was normal width but despite crowds of tourist walking down the middle, it wasn't blocked off to traffic. Cars, trucks, motorcycles and worst of all buses tore down the crowded street. Had the shops not extended their tables and wares into the streets, or even if there had been sidewalks, it wouldn't have been so dangerous or memorable. Several times I grabbed onto one of my kids' shirts to pull them back, a bus coming through less than a foot from us. Seriously, less than 12 inches! Yikes!

After buying some last minute souvenirs, dried spices and teas, and an cool Egyptian chess set Michael HAD to have, we finally wandered over to El Fishawy. And what an experience that was! It's best described as rows of chairs that were not just set up in a shop but extended out into an alley. Looking up you could see a cheap, junky roof covering the alley part. After giving our order to the waiter, we just sat and looked around at the spectacle we were now a part of.

Through the hazy air you could make out groups large and small of other patrons drinking tea and smoking water pipes called a hookah, or shisha. Smoking hookahs is a huge part of Arab culture and social life, and hookah cafes are everywhere. The tradition of smoking water pipes is not unique to the Arab world: they can be found in other areas such as Turkey, Southeast Asia and Spain for example, and are becoming increasingly popular in Eastern Europe. Hookahs are used to smoke herbal fruits, tobacco or marijuana among other things I probably can't imagine.

Being that the kids are repeatedly told in school that if you smoke you will eventually get lung cancer and die, there was no way that we were going to try it. It wasn't a big loss... Steve already has tried it once on a business trip and Tom, Dolly and I weren't interested.

While we drank our tea and ate some nibbles, outside entrepreneurs eagerly squeezed in and out of the aisles making deals with the patrons. Dolly and I were able to get a good price on some beautiful pashmina scarves / wraps. As we were half-heartedly dickering with the vendor, a woman behind me leaned over and mentioned that she had gotten a much better deal. We of course started insisting on the same great price she got. The vendor got a bit upset, but did ultimately sell us the scarves at the lower price. He probably thought he would turn a big profit off the Western tourists - but he underestimated the bond of sisterhood - we girls have to stick together - right?

We hung out at the cafe until it was time to leave for the train station. It was really a lot of fun to just take in the whole experience. In the same area as the souk and the tea shop were a mosque, restaurants, a courtyard and a small university.

A site as historical, interesting and popular as this does draw a large number of tourists. And unfortunately with the open nature of all the shops and courtyard, it has been a target for terrorist attacks. In February, two months after we had been there, a bomb exploded in front of a crowded cafe outside of the market killing one and wounding twenty three. Were we freaked out when we heard about it? Yep, to be honest.

But more than being freaked out we were reminded that everyday, no matter where you in the world you are, there's the possibility of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Acts of terror by disturbed, fanatical people can (and do) happen almost every where these days. It happens in a shopping mall in Illinois. It happens in Montgomery County, Maryland on a bench in front of a post office. It happens in an elementary school in Colorado. And it happens in a popular tourist area in Cairo. What a shame that it has to happen at all.

Recent Pictures

Here is something to keep you busy while I get some more posts written:

Recko finally allowed me to take his picture. Here he is on our sliding glass door, with a golf club as reference for his size:


When Jake was "Star Cat" of the week, Steve stopped by to read their (his and Jake's) favorite book to the class, "The Monster at the End of the Book." It was a huge hit!


This is what happens if you leave the camera laying out anywhere near the kids:


Jacob and I at the beach on the first grade field trip...Michael didn't want me to go on his trip. I was so sad.


Eating Green Eggs and beef bacon on Dr. Suess's birthday. No ham to be found around here!


A previously undiscovered talent in the Green family: playing the recorder with your nose! I have this on video, but can't get it digitized (someday I WILL conquer the video camera!). Until then, look at this picture and imagine a perfectly played version of "Mary had a little Lamb."


Steve ran in a wellness relay marathon in March. He had to run a mile before passing off to his teammate. I believe he ran four times and his team came in first in their division. We were really proud of him - in the past Steve did ANYTHING to avoid running.


The entire first grade performed, "A Year with Frog and Toad." It involved singing, dancing, and speaking parts, and was so very cute!

How Hot is Is?

Courtesy of our school principal, Chris Wollack:

It is so hot you can say 118 degrees without fainting.

It is so hot you learn that a seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron.

It is so hot the temperature drops below 100, you feel a bit chilly.

It is so hot the 4 seasons are: tolerable, hot, really hot, and ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!

It is so hot you discover that in June, it takes only 2 fingers to drive your car.

It is so hot you discover that you can get a sunburn through your car window.

It is so hot you notice the best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.

It is so hot the birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground.

It is so hot you actually burn your hand opening the car door.

It is so hot your biggest bicycle wreck fear is, "What if I get knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook to death?"

It is so hot you realize that asphalt has a liquid state.

It is so hot that my outdoor thermometer was banging on the door to come inside.

It is so hot that I saw a dog chasing a cat and they were both walking !

Yep - I agree..it's really THAT hot!