Yesterday we were gone most of the day so I didn’t have the energy to write any blog posts.
My day started with the treadmill at the gym. I came back, showered, dressed again and had breakfast with Brian.
Then I had my glorious massage with Wey-o. I felt like a limp noodle when she finished with me.
I came home, dressed again for running errands with Brian. We got him a new set of sheets at one place and then went to a store in the large mall where we had found clothes for me before. I bought some shorts with elastic at the waist and the material is light and airy. I also got some tee shirts to go with them, or to just wear any time. Brian got some shorts and tees, too.
We stopped for coffee on the way home. We got home just in time to grab supplies for spending time at the cafe next door to our condo building so we would be out of the way of Khun Nong, my housekeeper, while she performed her miracle in my place.
We got home in time to order and eat some dinner.
By the time I got back to my place the rest of my energy was used up getting tags off my new things and putting them away and prepping for this morning.
This is one of the latest paintings. I found this wonderful image on the net. It is not my design. It’s part of my effort to try to learn to draw what I see better. I loved the drawing when I saw it and wish I knew whose design it was so I could give the artist credit.
I look at these images of what people have created as living spaces and drool and dream. It’s kind of a mini-vacation, drowning yourself in the beauty.
Lisa Smith – Pinterest
This one would give me even more motivation to keep walking at the gym – so I could negotiate these stairs with ease. I would love to see inside!
Marlene Alcocer – Pinterest
I would become a slug here – spending all day with drinks, books, and music here. You could come, too!
Michelle Reichhold – Pinterest
I will have to ogle this one from afar. For some reason, I get the urge to make bread – something I’ve had to cross off my list until further notice. Maybe a pot of beef stew in the slow cooker…
Please skip this post if you don’t like puns. Some people consider puns the lowest form of humor. Others consider it the highest. I agree with the latter. My dad was full of all sorts of humor – from funny stories from his life, to jokes, to sarcasm, to puns. I grew up with it and learned to love it all. When you are able to see the humor in any given situation, it helps you cope with it in a healthy way. 😃
My dear friend Marsha sent these. I laughed my head off at some of them. I hope you smile, grin, smirk, guffaw, giggle, laugh and groan at a bit.
Thank goodness for chocolate therapy! We needed it after our visit with Harvey today at the nursing home. He was sitting in the wheelchair on the front porch when we arrived, but he was having a bad day. He was almost totally unresponsive.
The few questions he answered were totally inaudible. He simply mouthed the words. I, who have trouble hearing him when he IS audible and have to try to read his lips, couldn’t understand a thing he said today.
Apparently he had only two things on his mind. He wanted us to bring him a phone so that he could order what he’s seeing on TV. He has no idea where he is. He has no bank account, and we finally cut off the credit card on any accounts we have had in the past so that he can’t get on and order anything. He thinks he is in Arkansas or Oklahoma. He has no idea of money, or whether it makes sense to order what he has seen. He has seen it and he wants it.
The other thing he wanted was a hamburger and French fries. Brian ordered this for him, even though we’ll also pay for the meal they would have served him for lunch today. We watched him eat it. He didn’t say anything or even look pleased. He did wolf down the French fries, but only ate about half the burger.
We had brought him a new, simplified, Kindle, that was only for reading books. Brian had even downloaded all the books Harvey had on his old Kindle onto the new one. We tried to show him how to use it, but he just wasn’t catching on. We will try again next time.
So, today’s visit was a super challenge and very depressing. There just ‘wasn’t anyone in there today.”
We stopped on the way home for chocolate therapy to try to maintain sanity. Hopefully, the next visit will be a good one.
This is another part of the park where Brian and I walked yesterday when the power was out at the gym. What a beautiful walk we had! The only problem is my intolerance for high humidity, so I had to sit down and rest several times while we were walking. I’m so glad I got to see part of this stunning park!
Photo by Benjamin
This gives you an idea of where I sat with my new ‘family’ who adopted Harvey and me as honorary grandparents to their two children. I found out that the mother of this family, my new friend, started this “playdate” idea about a year and a half ago when she and her husband were trying to find other kids their child could play with. They have since added another child to their family, and the playdate group has grown steadily.
I don’t know how often they do this, but they choose a child-friendly restaurant and spread the word on date and time and all who can – come. There was a good crowd at Fernpresso on Lake yesterday, but not so many that there were any problems.
We walked down one side of the lake and back. My friend picked a humongous leaf from a teak tree and fashioned a Peter Pan type hat from it for her son. It was delightful.
I SO enjoyed watching Brian and his friend play with the friend’s almost four year old in a variety of games, using several different toys. They all had a great time.
I ate one bite of a delicious banana bread my friend got for her mom. We were all enjoying drinks. I had an iced mocha, and then some water afterward.
The appetizers above were definitely too pretty to eat, but I enjoyed one anyway, and the other gals ate the rest, plus shared a lunch. Brian and I had eaten breakfast, and weren’t due to eat until evening, so the bites and the drinks I had were more than enough.
We sat under a huge umbrella under a canopy of humongous trees beside the lake. There was also a ring-on-its-edge sculpture that misted water out, cooling the area even more.
We met other families who had come for the playdate. It was wonderful to see the parents and the children interacting with people they had met before, plus others who were new to them.
I’m so glad that Brian and I were included in this beautiful idea!
Brian and I walked to the gym this morning, went in when the lights went on as usual, but then the lights went off again. No power. We waited for several minutes, but it stayed dark, so we went back outside. We waited outside a few more minutes and then decided to do something else.
Brian knew about a park that was close to the gym, so we decided to walk around there. The park is called, Princess Mothers Health Garden.
“Leafy local park featuring abundant green space, shade trees & a network of walking paths.”
It is huge and quite beautiful. We only walked the paths in one area. Even though it was “Chiang Mai Cool” at 6 in the morning and quite nice for walking, the humidity is still a bit much for me. I’m hoping that in time I’ll adapt to the climate, but it looks as if it will be a slow process.
There were beautiful buildings and lots of really well taken care of paths and greenery. We walked around the area we chose at least twice, to be the equivalent of my walking on the treadmill at the gym. (without the fast and slow intervals.) Quite a good workout for me – I was using the small towel from my carrier liberally trying to keep the sweat out of my eyes. I was frustrated because that was obscuring my view of the beautiful park! It was a snail’s pace for poor Brian, but he was very patient, having accepted that his regular workout for the day wouldn’t happen.
So what could have been total disappointment about not getting our workout in the gym this morning turned into a beautiful walk and an adventure for me!
The family who adopted Harvey and me to be honorary grandparents invited us for a ‘playdate’ today! Brian and I will meet the whole family, including their real grandmother who is visiting from the states, plus nannies, at this stunning place called Fernpresso at Lake.
It’s a really nice cafe beside a lake with lots of area for kids to play, get lots of sunshine, look at a beautiful lake, plus maybe get to play with a dog who is shown in some of the photos I saw online.
photo by Freda
This is part of the area around the cafe.
Photo by AJ
Part of the inside eating space. There are all kinds of places outside, too. I’m not sure which we’ll enjoy. We’re meeting there at 11, so I’m not sure if we’re having breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dessert. I’m up for whatever!😋
No credit given
Latte Lover
We will all eat, and then the nannies will give the parents a nice break by playing with the kids. This playdate will be a real experience! I can’t wait!
I discovered the art of Angie Wallace via X. Her contact on X is @AngieWFineArt
She does pencil portraits of pets and horses, but also does wildlife, and offers these in the form of commissioned portraits, prints, greeting cards and gifts.
This was the flying pig Harvey and I made from an empty propane canister and scrap metal. He hung from a tree over the driveway looking down as visitors drove up to see us.
“You can put wings on a pig, but you don’t make it an eagle.” ~ William J. Clinton
Adobe Stock – WBeIlcHN8KqthzGPRnBiAUe0rx
“I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.” ~ George Bernard Shaw
Amazon.ca
“Don’t try to teach a pig to sing. It doesn’t work, and it annoys the pig. “ ~ Judy Sheindlin
Displate
“People have a famously soft spot for pigs. Intelligent, inquisitive, imperious, myopic, sociable, gluttonous, grunting, ungainly, it is easy to recognize ourselves in them.” ― Isabella Tree, Wilding
Great Big Canvas
“I’m very proud to be called a pig, it stands for pride, integrity and guts.” ~ Ronald Reagan.
Print – Jeremy Norton Artist – Pinterest
“Who can’t like pigs? They’re wonderful creatures! I’ve always liked pigs.” ~ Alexander McCall Smith
Sunny Pig – Cari Humphry
“Pride grows in the human heart like lard on a pig.” ~ Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
My dear friend Carla sent me this picture this morning.
When we left Arkansas to move to Thailand, my biggest concern was our pets – our yellow lab, Amber, and our weird cat, Jet (aka Monster Cat). Some people down the road from us we had never met before adopted Amber, and all seem very, very happy together.
My friend Carla said she would take Jet so that she could take the time required to rehome her to a family who would love her and take good care of her.
We had adopted Jet several months before from a shelter in Fort Smith. She was beautiful, but she came with some baggage. She had had a litter of kittens recently when we adopted her. She had been spayed and was ready to be adopted. She didn’t trust people.
She was not very affectionate and there was quite a challenge to get her to accept that Amber lived in our home, too. She definitely has quite a personality and isn’t afraid to show it – hence, her aka name.
Carla has a heart as large as Arkansas. She has several animals she has adopted and takes wonderful care of all of her menagerie. She took Jet out of the goodness of her heart because she knew I was so worried about leaving my pets.
Somehow – probably due to the huge kindness Carla shows to people and animals alike – Jet has become part of Carla’s family. The rest of the animals adapted much more quickly than Jet, and Jet was slow to warm up to Carla, as well.
This picture shows Jet lounging on the huge, comfy bed that actually belongs to the dog! She now sits in Carla’s lap. Jet definitely won the lottery on homes with Carla. 😁. This picture made my day. I still tear up when I see it, SO happy for both of them. I hugged Carla when she told me she would make sure Jet got a good home, and again when Jet and all her stuff went home with Carla, but it will never EVER be enough. ((((Carla))))
Since I’m not EVER going to be an ‘exercise afficionado,’ – particularly since it’s a bit late to start at 78 – I’m trying to make the exercise I AM doing do the most for me.
I read an article recently (actually, my friend Marsha pointed it out to me) that the Japanese had done a study that showed that, instead of just getting on the treadmill, setting the speed, and walking for 30 minutes (1 mile) as I have been doing for about a month and a half now, it’s more effective if you start with a warm-up of a couple of minutes, then increase your speed as if you were going to miss a bus, be late for work, etc. for a few minutes, and then go back to slow, repeating over and over for the same 30 minute session.
I don’t really know if it’s really doing me much more good than what I was mindlessly slogging through before, but it keeps my interest and makes me FEEL like I’m doing myself more good.
I’ve been doing what I call, “Old lady yoga stretches” for quite a while now, hoping to keep myself as flexible as possible, improve my balance, loosen stiff muscles, etc. The problem is that I’ve been planning to do my session in the evening after dinner.
I’ve finally recognized a tendency to either shorten my session or just put it off altogether due to my innate laziness. SO – now I’ve changed to doing my session in the afternoon, when I’m still relatively fresh, not sleepy, and more likely to do a full length session, slowly, with intention. (Like as soon as I finish writing this post!)
Last, my doctor here in Thailand recommended three exercises for me to do to strengthen my back when I told her about my ‘mystery debilitating back spasms’ from which I suffered for about a week.
I don’t have weights, but I DO have 1 liter bottles of water. I’m doing two of the exercises using one of the bottles. I’ll increase that to two when this gets easier.
The first exercise is to stand holding the bottle close to your body with both hands in front of you. You twist as far as you can to the left, then back to the front, then twist as far as you can to the right and back again. I’m doing 20 reps.
The second exercise starts with you standing holding the bottle in front of you legs spread for balance. You reach as far as you can up and to the left, hold, then bring it back. Then reach as far as you can up and to the right, hold, then bring it back. I’m doing 20 reps of this one, too.
The third exercise is really a challenge for me. I’m combining it with my yoga stretches. I’m flat on my stomach on my mat, arms in front of me on the floor in a ‘V’ shape. Then I’m supposed to lift up my arms and my head and as much of me as possible from the waist up off the floor and hold.
Yeah, right.
I’m doing the best I can, but I’m barely able to lift anything from my waist up off the floor now. I’m looking at this as the same theory as the lady who created the yoga video for seniors. She said that it doesn’t matter if you can’t touch your toes. If you are TRYING to touch your toes, bend over as far as you can and breathe into it, you are doing the same good for your body as if you DID touch your toes. Your body is stretching toward your goal and will give a bit more each day. I’m HOPING that – if I keep lifting up as much as I can each day – gradually I’ll do better and better. The lifting and stretching will hopefully strengthen my back a bit at a time.
When Brian and I are walking to the gym at 0-dark-30 each morning, I’m thrilled by all the bird calls I have never heard before.
I listen and appreciate, but can’t see the birds doing the calling. There are at least 5 different birds calling each morning. I realize I could probably try to record the calls, but that would mean a distraction from my watching the uneven ground beneath my feet threatening to toss me on my head at any given moment. I can glance up and around quickly for the same reason, but can’t see them to even think about trying to identify them.
I’m a lazy, but appreciative bird lover, and it’s wonderful to hear different calls than I have ever heard in the states. Brian is concentrating on getting to the gym as soon as it opens, plus monitoring me to make sure I’m steady on my feet, am watching where I’m stepping, not falling on my head to and from the gym, not getting distracted – so he’s no help.
I think it would be GREAT if, when I hear one of the wonderful calls, I can say, “Oh, listen to that!” and the bird in question would step out on the branch, or, better yet, fly down close to us, throw his wings out, and say, “This is me!” so I can thank him properly.
I don’t really need to know what some bird-ologist named him – the “wooly headed, wide-mouthed, whapadoo,” or even be able to critically recognize him or his call when I next see him.
I just want to appreciate the beauty of the sound, and smile at the bird, letting him know I think he’s special.
I’m told that some people may set off fireworks this evening somewhere around Chiang Mai, though there isn’t an organized event. I guess there might be enough expatriates here. It would be wonderful to see.
TikTok
OC Fireworks
My dad’s favorite holiday was the 4th of July. We made it an all day event at our house with ‘snakes’ and a ladyfinger or two, but we always went to the swimming club my parents belonged to in order to cook outside, swim, and see their fireworks display.
One year my dad developed cataracts in both eyes. The doctors said they had to get ‘bad’ enough for them to operate on one at a time, but that 4th of July, my dad was almost completely blind. He had given up reading, TV, becoming really depressed about the upcoming holiday. He COULD see lights, but decided he wouldn’t ask Harvey and me to drive my mom and him to the club.
Harvey spent the day out doing errands. He came home with a humongous grocery sack full of fireworks, plus snakes and a whole group of ladyfingers tied together. We brought cookout stuff, which my parents expected.
When we finished dinner Harvey suggested we sit out on the back patio. My dad reluctantly joined us, but it was obvious that his heart wasn’t in it.
Harvey brought out the snakes first. My dad’s face nearly cracked open when he ‘saw’ what Harvey had brought. He got down low, sitting on the concrete, so he could see the snakes as they were lit and grew, curling all over the patio. He was like a kid at Christmas.
Harvey brought out the ladyfingers and my dad hugged him. He asked Harvey to light the end so that the whole group of ladyfingers went off one after the other.
And finally, the sky grew dark. My dad had gotten quiet, wishing he could see fireworks.
Harvey spent the rest of the evening setting off one firework after another in our back yard – safely – but close enough my dad had the best row in the house actually being able to SEE each one. He thanked Harvey over and over for providing the “best 4th of July EVER!”
I brought out a towel and a beer for Harvey, who had been working so hard he was wringing wet and thirsty.
If I hadn’t already loved my husband as much as humanly possible before this, this would have proved to me that my husband was a ‘keeper.’ 🤗
We got home a while ago from visiting Harvey in the nursing home.
It’s getting more and more like a stressful game of charades, or sending smoke signals, or playing the old “20 Questions” game when trying to communicate with my husband.
Today he asked for his notebook. He had written a page and a half of notes he wanted to tell us. The trouble was, his writing was undecipherable. I kept going over and over it, hoping a word or two would give me a clue, but I gave up finally and handed it to Brian. He couldn’t make any sense of it, either. Worst of all, Harvey couldn’t read it – even with his glasses – or remember what he had written.
We gave up on that and just tried to talk to him. The only thing we got was 1) he wanted to come home with us 🥲 and 2) he wanted to order a dishwasher for the condo online (one of the reasons we don’t give him his phone.) I explained to him that we don’t have a lot of dishes to wash and also there wasn’t room to add a dishwasher to the kitchen.
He did say he had a good time playing with the dogs on his wheelchair ride. We are hoping that they take him out every day that the weather is cooperative. It’s a good thing for him to look forward to.
On the way home, we stopped at the small mall to run an errand plus check out a shop that supposedly offered magazines. They DID! We got him three and will take one to him when we visit Sunday. He wanted a newspaper because he wanted to read Thai (and the magazines will enable him to look at written Thai as much as he wants.) He really liked the sugar-free grape drink Brian brought for him and sucked it right down.
Even though communication is more and more of a challenge, he seems to be comfortable. We are hoping the magazine Sunday will give him some good entertainment.
Brian and I have been straining our brains to think of things that may help my husband adjust to being in the nursing home after his stroke.
We are all making a bit of progress, in that he is not actively hostile at this point and is finding a few things to NOT complain about. 😋
One of the things he has asked for is a newspaper. He didn’t even care if it were in Thai or English. I’m not sure what his thinking is, but we decided we would try to bring him one tomorrow when we visit. It also occurred to me that he might enjoy thumbing through a magazine for the pictures.
So after breakfast, we walked to a bookstore that Brian said was close to the condo building and had magazines. (I was happy, also, to get a bit more walking in. It’s cloudy today, so the sun doesn’t immediately bore right through your brain, particularly at around 10am in the morning.)
We got to the bookshop. It was a nice place with lots of good looking Thai books, but not a newspaper or magazine in the place. Some of the reviews we had read had mentioned magazines in particular. We asked the clerk, and she looked at us as if we had two heads. She didn’t have any.
Brian looked quickly on his phone and managed to find another bookstore close by that might have what we were looking for. We got there, only to find it was closed.
SO – we went to have a chocolate and regroup.
It is obvious that at least in Thailand, magazines have gone the way of the dodo bird. Paper newspapers might still exist, but they are not in the hotels close to our condo building, and we didn’t see ANY of the newspaper boxes where you put in quarters and pull out a newspaper, as there are in the states.
I got online when we got home and looked for both newspapers and magazines. Again, there probably ARE some, somewhere, but this is making me feel really old and that this ship has definitely sailed.
People either find what they want to know on their phones or laptops. Paper magazines and paper newspapers are SO old school…
Brian is going to search again and see if there is a way he can order either one, but it doesn’t look like we’ll have anything to take with us tomorrow. 😒
It’s funny, something I thought would be easy and inexpensive turns out to be almost impossible to obtain.
On a good note, though, the nursing home sent us photos and a couple of short videos of Harvey enjoying a wheelchair ride. He has refused to do any more physical therapy, and gets actively hostile about it, but he really seems to enjoy being wheeled out onto the front porch and the front yard.
Yesterday the nursing home sent us pictures of him petting an afghan hound that someone had brought to the front porch. The short videos were of him outside the fence in the front yard, interacting with three beagle type doggies, offering them treats through the fence.
We will continue to look for other things that will bring him some comfort and enjoyment. Today’s efforts were a bust so far, but we will come up with something.
Having a 7-11 in your neighborhood is a huge thing in Chiang Mai. They are very popular and a lot of them are open 24 hours. We actually have one just outside the lobby of our condo building. This is very convenient to lots and lots of folks in the building and in the area.
I’m still finding it a bit of a challenge, though, because of my own limitations. The 7-11 in our building is divided into halves – one on each side of the outer lobby. One part is mainly food and drink and the other is more geared toward medical and general supplies.
You would think you could walk into a 7-11 anywhere in the world and easily find what you’re looking for. It’s a bit more challenging here.
The photo above shows some of the everyday things we have bought downstairs. Sometimes the picture on the product helps you with what it is. Sometimes a brand name can give you an idea what it is. Most things require some study, as – you guessed it – almost every word is in Thai! Imagine that! 🤪
Since I don’t have a payment app on my phone tied to a bank account yet, I have to try to make sure I have enough cash for what I need. That means I look at the bahts listed and then either do math quickly in my head to get a rough idea (35 bahts to a U.S. dollar) or get out my phone and find a conversion on Google. (142 bahts = $4.37 USD)
I asked Brian if he would pick up some toothpaste for me recently. He filled my request very quickly, handing it to me as we came in from other errands. For some reason he was grinning at me. I finally asked what the deal was. He wanted to me look at the toothpaste. I couldn’t tell anything, so went into the bathroom to squeeze a bit out.
At that point, Brian let out a belly laugh – something he almost never does – at the horrified look on my face. It WAS toothpaste, but it was BROWN. It has been marketed as a joke here as something to the equivalent of ‘turd paste.’ It’s a test to see if you’re ‘manly’ enough to handle toothpaste that looks like it came out of the other end of someone.
He laughed even harder – telling me I was ‘cool’ – when I stood there and brushed my teeth with it… (It’s the tube on the right of the photo above.)
creativeartworksblog 