A storm in a cider glass?

Hello Playmates, here we are again, or should I say "at last"?

Just because I seem to neglect you all for a bit, it doesn't necessarily follow that I don't love you. Life is unpredictable and sometimes difficult, and there are lots of reasons for me not posting as often as I used to, believe me!

Did I tell you that we've had guests? Three lots, mind you. American/Lebanese, English and then French. A nice change, but I'm out of the habit of working! Getting up out of bed in the morning isn't what I really like. In fact, there's an English folk song called A Country Life, and the first line goes...."I like to rise when the sun she rises, early in the morning" and I've written my own words (not that I've sung them in public, yet!) which go...."I like to lie in bed in the morning, underneath the duvet, nice and warm". But never mind that, it was nice to see some new faces, and to know that they had enjoyed Luxor and our hospitality.

But that's not the only reason for me being tardy in posting here. I really don't have all that much to say which will be of any interest, sorry!

However............ I do check my blog "stats" every day, so that I know where you, Dear Reader, are from and how you come to find me. I was surprised (and rather tickled) when I saw that someone had come to my blog from another blog......

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com.eg

and that the first visible picture on that blog was this:

Whereas my first picture today is this:

Or, it could well have been this:

 

All pictures of storm! On the American blog, a snow storm, and on our's a sand storm! Chalk and cheese, eh? Many of my faithful readers will recognise the location of my pics, they were taken from the terrace of the Steigenberger Nile Palace Hotel, which looks directly over their swimming pool and onto and across the Nile, which along with the West Bank seems to have disappeared again!

I'd half decided to vacuum our terrace today, but I'm really pleased that I didn't do it this morning, before the sand came! Roll on tomorrow, uuuurrgh!

Mind you, the weather, in general, is much better now that the winter is definitely behind us, no more having to snuggle under the duvet (Freda's actually taken it off the bed) or to have several layers of winter clothing on. What a relief, it's back to proper Egypt! In fact, we've had some really lovely days lately, with Freda sitting on the terrace reading, to the sound of her (as yet not quite finished) little fountain, disturbed only by the normal Luxor sounds drifting lazily up to our roof. Except for some sounds which we haven't heard for a wee while.......what do you think of this:

Yes, boys and girls, that's three goats! There are actually four, two larger black and two smaller white. They now reside on a balconey on the street which runs at right angles away from the other side of the building directly opposite to us. I'm sure that the family who live there will be only too pleased to give up the use of their balcony if it means that they can enjoy the fresh meat which the goats will eventually provide, along with the possibility of nice fresh goats milk in the meantime! It brings new meaning to the words "City Farm" eh?

We're now winding down in readiness to leave Egypt next week. I've had all the downstairs curtains down and they're washed, dried and put away, with the sunblock curtains put back up on the balconey. All the outside stuff has been taken in off the stairs, and the carpets cleaned and rolled up. There's not much left to do down there, and it won't take long to pack our little hovel away up here. Yusuf the cleaner is due to clean the stairs tomorrow, bless him. He still doesn't realise that he is washing the dirt into the cement and that they look dirtier every week, poor beggar! I've ordered (and paid for) our last meal from Mrs Adam, beef kofta with spaghetti and potatoes, for Tuesday night; it will see us through Wednesday as well. Then we're off on Thursday, insh'Allah.

So...........unless something really interesting or frightening, or whatever, happens, you'll next hear from me from good old Blighty! (That's if anything interesting ever happens there!)

Wish us a safe journey, and think of us and our Egyptian neighbours and friends now and then, won't you?

TTFN.