7 July

Tough start to the day. I felt just a bit wobbly and when Graeme went directly to the tent to nap, I came close to...well, not laughing. Half an hour into the morning, Anita unearthed a small creature in our balk. Not sure what we'd disturbed, we carefully dug it out. It was a HUGE spider (mentioned in previous post w/ comments about Wild Kingdom and I'll add a picture when John McDowell shares the one he took). Hearing the words "camel spider" roused the Prince from his repose. Once the excitement over the eight-legger subsided, Lizzy quickly found work for Graeme. In our square, work advanced to balk stud removal. Happy Anita.

Part of my wobbliness disappeared once Graeme was back in the flow. But today I could no longer continue in my course of chosen denial. I felt decidedly Tom Sawyer-ed. I've paid for the privilege of painting someone else's fence and, I could no longer pretend otherwise, I'm not really that into fences! Justin has been clear from the start that this is hard work that she doesn't really enjoy. While I haven't contradicted this, I haven't made too much of it either. Today, I joined her clear-eyed perspective. Once I admitted the Tom Sawyer reality to myself, I hailed Ken. "I need a personal day," I said, explaining my analogy. "After Petra this weekend and once Justin leaves, I need a break." I suspect many others feel the same way about a personal day, but this isn't built into the program. Jordan continues to agree with me, but I know that I didn't miss my calling as an archeologist. I'd rather look up and out and interact with the living, than look down and into the earth and puzzle over the ancient past.

Happily for Justin, she made a wonderful find today. She unearthed a small ceramic seal. Later, Suha studied it and found remarkable detail of an Ibex nursing its young, a crescent moon and star. Stunning. That find didn't come a moment too soon. The tone of the day continued improving, and I felt myself again by second breakfast.

Back at camp and before lunch, the time finally came to do something about Graeme's hair. "Do you want to dread it?" I asked. "Naw," he replied. Justin campaigned for cutting it and this seemed momentarily tempting. In the end, Graeme accepted my other offer – heavy conditioning and a good comb through. Now to see if he can keep it from matting again by using a kafia while at the dig.

My spirits rose considerably when Ken and I walked into the cafeteria. Randy, Deanna and Alex Wisbey were all there. I sat next to Deanna with my tray of spaghetti, a double treat. Between the two of us were were quite a pair. I was clean but wrung out from the day at the dig and she was slightly dazed from jet lag. "I think of what to say, but can't make my mouth form the words," she said. I'm so glad they're here. Petra will be wonderful with our families together.

Late. Time for bed. Several workers invited Ken and Graeme to watch the World Cup game between Germany and Spain. They return very late and I can only imagine how they'll feel at 4:00 tomorrow.

Call to prayer from one of the mosques near camp. My lullaby.