Papyrus Is All The Rage

When we travel internationally, we try to bring home one significant souvenir that, just by looking at it, will remind us of where we were and all the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings of that particular journey. We brought back a whale-bone bowl from Alaska, pottery from Greece, decorative plates from Italy, knock-off cheap prints from Savannah that nevertheless captured the feel of the historic town for us. The only major failing we had was France. We waited until the final hours of our trip to souvenir shop and walked away with a decorative pillow with a stitching of the Eiffel Tower on it. WTF??

Anyway, in Egypt we bought a papyrus painting. Our guide took us to a local store where we were given a demonstration of how the ancient paper, made from the pith of the papyrus plant from as far back as the third millennium BC, was still produced using old-time methods. We fell in love with the painting you see here. We were also hopeful that after a 10-year search for just the right "something" to hang over our mantel, that we'd found it.

We raced the painting to the frame shop as soon as we got home. We picked it up two days ago and hung it and are thrilled with the results. 

Now, every time we sit on the couch or pass by the room, we're reminded of those eight magical days in Egypt. The Nile cruise, the ancient streets of Old Cairo with its heavy incense wafting from church (yes, church) doors, the brilliant colors inside the tombs, the pyramids, the history, the friends we made... it's all right there, hanging over our mantel. I'm finding I'm making excuses to go sit in that room, just to be able to glance up now and again... and remember.

Cheers,

Dena