Charlie gave me a fleece rugby shirt for my birthday which was oversized yet short.

I decided to make it into something I would actually wear.

First I sliced it right down the center front.

Then I cut 2 long strips of navy knit from an old sweatshirt.

I sewed them onto the raw edges below the rugby’s button placket. First I stitched one seam then folded the piece and pressed it with an iron.  Repeat on the other side.

I stitched the other raw edge into the seam.  I pressed the binding flat.

I might add a few Velcro dots if I decide I want to close the front.

I added 2 darts to the back to give the jacket a little shape.

Et voila! Finished.

Jo

In March we look forward to Spring and birthdays and Easter and flowers, etc., etc.  I’m starting the month with very few concrete plans hoping things will develop as the month goes on.

Here’s my list to try and get done:

1.  Celebrate Charlie’s birthday.
   

   Two years ago we celebrated in NYC.

2.  Read a book.  I have a couple on my nightstand.
3.  See a movie.
4.  Attend a concert. I have a ticket for Symphonic Pops: Sky’s The Limit. 
   

   Thieving Magpie Overture, King and I Medley, Selections from Wicked, Irish Tune from County Derry, Superman March, Music from “UP.

5.  Wash some windows.
6.  Finalize plans for April’s trip to the Midwest.
   

   We have plans to stay downtown close to the Arch in Saint Louis.

7.  Celebrate Easter.
8.  Plan a quick party.
   

   Afternoon Affogato!

9. Pick a word to focus on for the month. My word:  DEVOTION.
10. Write a goal list for April, 2024.

Jo

February is always loaded with things to do, things to make, future plans, celebrations, and weather issues.  Nonetheless February is my favorite month.  This year we get an extra day to enjoy its quirkiness.

In addition to the pre-determined numbered list, I .  .  .

• Went to a local comedy club with Charlie which was touted as “live, clean, stand-up comedy”.
  

  We had a nice evening out.

• We had an enjoyable time and the best roasted beet (not a typo) salad I’ve ever had.
  

  Sooooo delish!!

• Had the oil changed in my car.
• Celebrated Dash’s 6th birthday by taking him out for a puppuccino.
  

  6-year-old Dash. Ready for first grade??

• Filled out Peaked Hill Trust lottery application for a Dune Shack.
• Had some friends over for a Friday “Coffee Break”.
  

  Invite one or a dozen — it’s easy to connect.

  

  Healthy food among sweets were served with morning coffee.

Here’s the list of projects and activities I tackled in the shortest month of the year:

1.  Celebrate my birthday!  Charlie bought me some Penn State spirit jerseys now that we’re both lifetime alums.
   

   I’m transforming the fleece rugby shirt into a jacket.

   We also tried a new restaurant in Baltimore, Koshary Corner, remembering our recent trip to Egypt.

   

   A popular food court near Johns Hopkins University.

2.  Sewing project — correct the length on all my jeans. I tried on every pair of pants I own except ones I was sure were the right length.  I marked the inseam measurement on a tag inside each pair.  The ones (all jeans) that were too long (even by an inch) have been shortened to a neater length and also marked with the length on an inside tag.
   

   Four pairs of jeans have been hemmed — one with a tuck technique that allows the original hem stitching to show.

   Generally I wear sneakers with my jeans but from time to time I wear boots so I made all the jeans just a little longer (1/2″ to 1″) than my dress pants.

3. Pack up photographs — both framed and unframed.  I packed up another 2 boxes.  Someday I’ll go through all of them but for now thankfully they’re boxed up and not just lying around.
4. Organize 2023 tax information for accountant.  By the middle of the month I finished getting all the information ready and mailed it to our accountant.
   

   I never know the outcome so I try to submit early.

   One of my least favorite activities and I keep good records.

5. See a movie.  I used our local Tuesday movie discounts to see Argylle.   Argylle, an action-packed spy spoof, was a lot of fun.
6.  Read a book. I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society which takes place post World War II in England.  Although I don’t usually care for books that are a series of letters this one was a good sequel to last month’s pre-war read, The Boys in the Boat.  I also read Taste by Letitia Baldridge, a little snooty but fun to think about.
7.  Attend a concert.  I went to a classical music concert  entitled Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.  My favorite piece was Richard Strauss’ Horn Concerto No. 1 featuring Markus Osterlund on the French horn.
8.   Paint living room. Ah! A big job finished.
   

   Here’s the before and after.

   We went from Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter to Sherwin William’s Alabaster. It’s lighter! It’s brighter! It’s bigger??

9.  Pick a word to focus on for the month. My word: CONNECTION.
10.  Write a goal list for March, 2024.

Jo

After painting the living room a new lighter color the lampshades look downright grimy.

One of the four actually had some kind golden moldy spots all over.

I tried cleaning the moldy one with Shout stain remover and it did help a little.

My next step was to get out the liquid chlorine bleach and to sponge it all over the shade.  The results were brilliant — not perfect but much, much better.

I was happy with the newly-cleaned shade until I put it back on the lamp in the living room.

Now the other shades appeared conspicuously dingy.

So instead of cleaning just one shade I bleached all four living room lampshades by pouring chlorine bleach on a kitchen sponge and wiping the shades.  (I did this in the kitchen sink wearing rubber gloves.)

I’m just happy that these lampshades (10 years old) and lamps (2 of them are from the 1960s, the other 2 from the 1990s) are still stylish enough to remain in the living room.  I don’t want to think about replacing them just now.

Jo

The switch covers in the living room are clear glass.

Originally they had mirrored backs which were stripped.  For the past 25 years or so they had been back-painted with the original yellow color of the living room walls.

When we repainted 10 years ago the old color was fine with the new gray color.  However, now that the walls are much lighter the switch covers looked muddy.

I used paintbrush cleaner to strip the paint from back which worked fast and pretty well.

I tried the covers without painting them but because they are clear the holes in the wall behind the switches were obvious.

I painted the backs of both switch covers with the wall paint color — Alabaster by Sherwin Williams — and now they look as good as new.

I’m happy I took the extra time and trouble to work on the switch plates.

After the big change it’s the little details that make a cohesive design.

Jo

After touring Kom Ombo in the morning and having lunch on our Nile cruiser, we arrived in Edfu.

Our tour guide met Charlie and me in the lobby area of the boat where we all disembarked onto the quay.

We were welcomed aboard a horse-drawn carriage that would take us to the Edfu Temple.

There was enough room in the carriage for the 2 of us and our guide in addition to the driver as we rode through the dusty streets of Edfu.

Our tour guide gave us tickets so we could enter the site. The front entrance of the Temple of Horus is created by gigantic pylons 118 feet high decorated with battle scenes of King Ptolemy VIII defeating his enemies for Horus, the falcon-headed god. As the tallest of the surviving Egyptian temples, the pylons also contain four large grooves that would have been used to anchor flags.

Through the main entrance and between the enormous pylons is an open courtyard graced on three sides by pillars with floral capitals.  We had access to the entire temple but since it was now afternoon lots of tour groups were also there.

After our guide gave us some verbal information about the temple we made our way back to the sanctuary which was the most sacred and important portion of the temple. At one time it contained the sacred barks (boats) of Horus and Hathor, used in processions, as well as the permanent shrine for the sacred image of the god which was likely a wooden falcon statue. The shrine, made of black granite, is located at the rear of the sanctuary and is one of the few remnants of an older temple of Horus. The shrine was made by Nectanebo II (360-343 BCE), around a hundred year before the beginning of the construction of the current temple of Horus.

After thoughtfully touring the site we met our guide who took us back to the carriages.  Thankfully our guide recognized our carriage from the dozens that were parked near the Temple.

We tipped our carriage driver who returned us to our boat, Le Fayan, in time for afternoon tea on the upper deck.

• Egypt – Preliminary Itinerary
• Egypt – Firming Up the Details
• Egypt — Getting There
• Egypt — Cairo 
• Egypt — Giza
• Egypt — A Camel Ride
• Egypt — Aswan
• Egypt — Abu Simbel
• Egypt — Cruising the Nile
• Egypt — Felucca at Sunset
• Egypt — High Dam and Philae Temple
• Egypt — Kom Ombo

Jo

Last month I started painting the living room a new color, a new neutral color.

After our renovation in 2013 we painted the living room Revere Pewter with an Edgecomb Gray ceiling.

I wanted to go lighter so I left the ceiling as it is and painted the walls Sherwin Williams’ Alabaster.

The entire room seemed to get not only brighter but a little bigger.

In all fairness I have removed some of the furniture which also adds spaciousness.

All of the outlet covers were painted the same color as the walls. (There are both original and newly installed outlets in the room.)

Painting the living room is a larger task than it seems since it flows into the dining room on one side and into the mud room on the other end so I was ably assisted by Charlie.

A couple of details had me stumped for awhile:  1) the glass switch plates

and 2) the now dingy looking lampshades. Both issues will be discussed in future posts.

I am eager to add some accessories for a bit of color.

I call painting the living room FINISHED!

Jo

After we toured Philae Temple on Monday morning we stayed on our Nile ship the rest of the day except for a felucca cruise on the Nile.

The next morning after we ate breakfast in Le Fayan’s dining room then met up with our guide at 8 a.m.

We were still berthed in Aswan. Our driver and private car picked us (Charlie, our guide, and me) up to take us to KomOmbo. Hani, our guide, gave us the entry tickets.

We were happy to walk around early in the morning since Aswan temperatures rose to about 95 degrees later in the day.

Next to Kom Ombo Temple is a crocodile museum featuring mummified crocodiles from around Egypt.  Crocodiles were a constant threat to the ancient Egyptians. They lived in all regions — in swamps and marshes and along the Nile River. And there were lots and lots of them, not so today.

I found this dark exhibit creepy especially since there are people inside the museum who want to take a photo of you (with your own camera) for backsheesh (a tip).

Our guide offered us the opportunity to visit an alabaster factory but Charlie and I had decided in advance not to spend time standing around watching things being made that then would be offered for sale.  (We had already passed up the perfume factory and papyrus factory visit.)

We headed back to the ship for lunch.  Next stop Edfu.

• Egypt – Preliminary Itinerary
• Egypt – Firming Up the Details
• Egypt — Getting There
• Egypt — Cairo 
• Egypt — Giza
• Egypt — A Camel Ride
• Egypt — Aswan
• Egypt — Abu Simbel
• Egypt — Cruising the Nile
• Egypt — Felucca at Sunset
• Egypt — High Dam and Philae Temple

Jo

February (in Maryland) usually comes with the worst winter weather interspersed with unseasonably warm days.  The daffodils and quince start to grow and bloom harbingering a much welcome spring.

We had lots and lots of rain in January which left a muddy mess in the yard and driveway.  We’ll save the big outdoor cleanup until March but will make a few strategic changes this month to pretty up the property.

Dashie will be 6 years old this month.  We got him when he was 6 weeks old.  He has matured into a socially acceptable handsome gentleman who is willing to take car trips and sit at outdoor cafés.

Here’s my list of projects and activities for the shortest month of the year:

1.  Celebrate my birthday!
   

   Coffee is my go-to treat.

2.  Sewing project — correct the length on all my jeans. (I think I’m getting shorter.)
3. Pack up photographs — both framed and unframed.
   

   Some framed photos have been boxed but there are many more to pack up.

4.  Organize 2023 tax information for accountant.
5.  See a movie.
   

   This spy spoof looks like fun.

6.  Read a book.
7.  Attend a concert.
8.   Paint living room.
   

   The living room is prepped for painting.

   This a big task we prepared for last month.

9.  Pick a word to focus on for the month. My word: CONNECTION.
10.  Write a goal list for March, 2024.

Jo

Our first visit in Aswan with a tour guide was the High Dam — we would say Aswan Dam.

The roads in and out and indeed the dam itself is highly guarded by security, police, and army.

Like almost every historic site in Egypt there is a café along with tourist souvenirs.

We traveled by private car to the dock where we caught our next transportation to Philae Temple.  Our guide took care of all tickets and logistics. I’m sure we would not have seen all we did if left to our own devices.

The real highlight of the morning was a boat ride to Philae Temple which is on an  Agilkia Island.

Our boat only carried the 3 of us and the captain.  Larger groups were crowded onto bigger boats.

The temple used to be on Philae Island until it was almost submerged due to the building of the dam.

Much like Abu Simbel it was dismantled and moved piece by piece to a new venue.

We got a good look at carved hieroglyphs.  We learned that a group of hieroglyphs inside an oval cartouche referred to a person’s name.  (A few can be seen in the photo above.)

After wandering around the site on our own for awhile we met up with our guide who escorted us to our launch to take us back to our car and driver.

Then we all headed to our Nile cruiser, Le Fayan, where we would spend the next few days and nights.

• Egypt – Preliminary Itinerary
• Egypt – Firming Up the Details
• Egypt — Getting There
• Egypt — Cairo 
• Egypt — Giza
• Egypt — A Camel Ride
• Egypt — Aswan
• Egypt — Abu Simbel
• Egypt — Cruising the Nile
• Egypt — Felucca at Sunset

Jo