Back in my third home again..

...in Cairo that is...

yes, it starts to feel like home now.

Even our four legged baby

is content. 

Most things have found its place,

TV, internet and phones are working,

food in the fridge,

and not to mention yarn,

lots of it,

in close reach.

I have my small garden spot,

temperatures are great for being outside.

Now I just need to slow down a bit 

and enjoy it,

find some time to work

with new designs.

Just back from the states

after 2 weeks there,

I will soon head to Norway 

to see my Norwegian grandchildren,

then to the states again,

before heading back to Egypt...

In between, 

we try to visit different sights here,

in and around Cairo.

Above, the woman sitting room

in the Gayer Anderson Museum.

I could totally spend some time

by this window 

with a cup of coffee

and a knitting project in hand.

This weekend,

we had a great sightseeing trip.

and one of the sights we visited

was the "tent maker" area.

I got pleasantly surprised

over all the quilters 

who had their shops here.

Beautiful work,

and the needles were going 

as we watched.

It seamed like needlework

is an inherited art form

for several of these artists,

some of them young men.

Also this glass factory

is run by both father and son,

the son very proud of his father,

showing us a newspaper article

where he was spoken about.

I got out of there with a few wine glasses,

knowing I can get back if I need more.

 Have a nice week!

Sahara Sjal

Endelig kan jeg få lagt ut dette sjalet.

Har jobbet med det gjennom sommeren,

samtidig som jeg har reist frem og tilbake 

over antlanteren noen ganger.

Jeg har vært på flyttefot

mer eller mindre siden i Juni,

men nå er vi heldigvis i hus!

Strikkingen er kun en liten del av et mønster.

Det skal også skrives,

fotograferes, teststrikkes,

og korrekturleses.

Takk for all hjelp til Liv og Monica!

Når vi alle befinner oss spredt utover på kartet,

ikke bare på norgeskartet,

tar det bittelitt lengre tid til å få samkjørt alt.

Foreløpigt er mønsteret

 kun tilgjengelig på Norsk.

På Etsy, her, og på Ravelry, her,

men det kommer på Engelsk etterhvert.

Bildene av sjalet er faktisk tatt i selveste Sahara,

på en varm dag.

Dagene i Egypt er fortsatt varme,

men om kveldene synker temperaturen litt.

Ha en fortsatt fin dag!

Mohamed "Alabaster"

Everybody need to visit 

the Alabaster Factory!

It is located on the edge of

 the "Garbage City" in Cairo,

close to the Citadel.

This is a family business,

at least two generations

works here.

We were here first time in March 2012,

and today we were

welcomed back.

Mohamed is a happy guy,

and a good sales man.

He will welcome you to the shop!

The factory has also two outlets in Maadi,

one at road 9 and one at road 231.

The factory has a large show room.

Table lamps, chandlers, sconces,

vases, jars, soap dishes and more.

The Alabaster shows its real beauty

as soon as it is held up

against the light.

The floor lamp above went home with us,

among a few other things.

The alabaster rocks gets transferred 

in to pieces of art.

The workers are doing a fantastic job!

Every rock is beautiful polished

to perfection.

Happy faces all the way around..

Outside on the street

I met these cute girls and their younger brother.

They were practicing their English

and asked to be photographed.

Hope you enjoyed the trip.

Have a great day!

A new shawl

... is taking shape.

With a few extra skeins of 

Heritage Hand Painted sock yarn

in my stack,

I decided to use it for a new shawl.

My summer has been busy

getting ready for the move to Cairo,

so not a lot have been done on 

the knitting front.

After our air freight and sea freight

were both sorted out,

I head to Norway for a month

bringing some of our family,

meeting the rest of the bunch there.

The pattern is made easy on purpose.

Who wants a complicated

stress reliever

as you get in and out of the car,

on and of the many ferries,

visiting and chatting with friends.

It was a great time as always,

seeing everybody,

seeing my country.

Now, pretty much settling in Egypt

 for a while,

I am finally finishing the shawl

and the pattern part 

is being worked on as we speak..

Have a great day!

Fallucca Ride

..on the Nile.

I guess we had perfect conditions,

a light breeze,

calm water.

Perfect for me at least,

who is not a fan of to much movement

of the wet element.

Fallucca..

an Egyptian traditional sailboat

with no engine.

Used on these waterways

for thousands of years.

Checking out the banks,

I couldn't help thinking

of the story of Moses in the basket...

Other boaters

were grossing the river,

this one,

a passenger boat.

Another,

 a little further away.

Great day,

great company

and beautiful surroundings.

Can't ask for much more...

Thanks!

Breathtaking

The Citadel,

a small city inside these solid walls.

There are several Mosque's inside.

This one is called Mohamed Ali Mosque

and is the largest in the Citadel.

The Mosque is dark and quiet inside.

Every little piece is handcrafted,

everything you see is a piece of art.

The largest dome seen from the inside.

My pictures are not that good,

so for more and better pictures,

go to this link.

Here is a sense of something
larger than life,
at least that is what I feel...

 

Not being a Muslim myself
I can feel this is Holy ground,
and we take our shoes off...

As we get outside  again,
we get a peek of parts of Cairo.

It is a very large city,
lots of people living very tight together.

With dust and pollution in the air
our view is a bit hazy.

Maybe I will be able to show some knitting soon.

My yarn has still not arrived,

and I am about to get with drawl.

In the mean time I will play tourist.