As I type, I’m hoping that the handy man for the building can make time to come fix my door. It swells when it’s rainy or there is high humidity, making it really hard to open and close. Lately, it has gotten to the point that at times I CANNOT get out, or can’t get IN again. Thankfully, Brian lives in the same building. I can text him and he comes and helps; or many times, if we’re going somewhere together, he just comes and gets me and then makes sure I’m in again before he leaves me when we get back. The handy man is super busy so fingers are crossed that he can get to me today. If not, I’ll hope for tomorrow…
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Latest painted sketch.
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My work on the dolphin puzzle is going well. I have asked Brian to try to order the turtle puzzle for me again as soon as he can. I would really like to tackle that one after I meet the challenge of this one.
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I have been spending more time on Substack lately and am following several people now. I am finding some wonderful sources for things I love and want to share with you here. You might check out Substack and see if it’s something you enjoy.
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We visited Harvey at the nursing home this morning. He was sleepy and almost completely non-responsive today. He squeezed my hand, but said nothing, even though I talked to him a lot. Disheartening, but he didn’t seem to be hurting.
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I hope your day or evening is one that makes you smile.
This is something I think is important on so many levels. I try to do this every time I am out – even though I spend a lot of time with my eyes to the ground, trying to NOT fall on my head with the uneven streets, sidewalks, etc. As my balance improves, though, I take a bit more time to look around and NOTICE things. In fact, Brian thinks I’m losing my marbles because I AM noticing things I have passed a lot on our walks and mentioning them or asking him about them. He thinks I should have noticed them a long time ago, but better late than never…
When you make it a point to notice new things, you are consciously living in the moment. You aren’t thinking about what you’ll do when you get home again. Your long to-do list. Your problems and worries. You are THERE fully, taking in all around you, maybe seeing or hearing something that brings you joy. One of the things I’m noticing is the wonderful bird calls here in Thailand. I don’t really need to know that I’m hearing a ‘ruby-throated whapadoo’ to fully appreciate how beautiful his song is. I just hear it and it makes me smile.
Shops come and go here. It seems like they do it at a faster rate than what I’m used to in the U.S. I noticed that one place we pass on a regular basis is empty now. Very soon another shop will take its place, with a creative, hard-working, hopeful owner who will probably have things that are wonderful to see.
Today I noticed that the koi fish at the chocolate place we like seem to have grown a lot since the pools were created a little over a month ago. They are beautiful to watch. Very lively and colorful. A wondrous sight.
I have to laugh, even though the joke is on me. Brian saw some hot air balloons outside his window and sent me a picture of them a couple of days ago. When we were eating a meal, I thought I saw a hot air balloon, got all excited, and mentioned it. This brought on an excruciatingly funny period of ridicule as my son pointed out it was a water tower. It was shaped like a hot air balloon and painted red and white like a hot air balloon. He pointed out it wasn’t moving. I told him he should put on his list of things to be grateful for that his mom was a never-ending source of things to make him smile.
Take the time to be in the moment. NOTICE how pretty some of the trees are now. NOTICE how wonderful the smile lines on your husband’s face are. NOTICE how nice it is to be able to take 10 minutes and enjoy a walk outside. NOTICE how much joy you feel when you hug someone you love.
Take a noticing walk every day and see your happiness and well-being expand along with your world! “The world is wider than I remembered.”
“Autumn…the year’s last, loveliest smile.” – William Cullen
“Autumn in the Netherlands” – Davide – Substack
“Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go” – Unknown
“Autumn in the Netherlands – Part 2” – Davide – Substack
“Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.” – Jim Bishop
Breezie – @breeze420.bsky.social
“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.”– Emily Brontë
KatEagle – @kateorlyk.bsky.social
“As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colours enough to paint the beautiful things I see.” – Vincent Van Gogh
Mark D. Alexander – @mad7500.bsky.social
“Autumn leaves don’t fall, they fly. They take their time and wander on this their only chance to soar.” – Delia Owens
Thanks to these talented photographers for allowing me to enjoy fall from afar, now that I live in Thailand. We are having a COOL day here – at 81 degrees F. Brian had his sweatshirt on when we went for chocolate a few minutes ago, wearing a sweatshirt over his tee, jeans instead of shorts, saying that this was “cold.” hahahahahahaha I told him that it was supposed to be 44 degrees in Greenwood, Arkansas, where we used to live. Granted, this cold front is early and is supposed to be short-lived, with the temperatures going back to normal fall in a couple of days, but ‘cold’ at 81?
I’m hoping that by the time the “hot season,” or ‘smoky season’ as Brian calls it, referring to the fact that it’s the burning season for clearing the fields in preparation for planting – that I will be at my goal weight and that my strength will be built up, as well as getting acclimatised to my new home.
I got my new puzzle this morning! I think I told you of my disappointment that the order of the turtle puzzle was canceled. I had to choose another one. This is the one I chose –
I’m happy with this one. I love dolphins, and this one has some turtles, and various colored fish, lots of underwater action, plus underwater plants. I’ve decided that when I get halfway finished with this one (see my new confidence?) I’m going to try to order the turtle again…
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Typhoon Kalmaegi hit the Philippines and Vietnam in the past few days, causing deaths and destruction. It’s on its way HERE in Chiang Mai, though it’s supposed to have become a tropical depression once it reaches here today and tomorrow and a bit beyond. “The Rainy Season” ended at the 1st of November, but Mother Nature is still in a snit and showing people who’s in charge. It’s raining today, but so far, I haven’t had any window leaks. I have towels and a bucket ready if that changes. We have dark clouds in the sky and the rains start here in an instant. Sadly, according to my phone weather app, the rain is supposed to continue all through next week, too. Heavy flooding could be a problem here. My window leak concerns seem really petty compared to possible damage to peoples’ homes and businesses….
Brian texted me yesterday, saying, “There are hot air balloons out there.” They were pretty far away, but sure enough, they were there!
Balloon Adventures Thailand
I researched and found a place called, “Balloon Adventures Thailand” that sells rides of various lengths on hot air balloons. You can arrange for a 45 minute trip, for example, to get a bird’s eye view of Chiang Mai!
Balloon Adventures Thailand
I have put this in my “Wish List” of things I would love to do, see, experience, buy, etc. that I’m keeping for when things tame down, when we have the time, when it’s appropriate, when we win the lottery – depending on the size and cost of the wish. 😃
Balloon Adventures Thailand
Since we are now starting “The Cool Season” (the major time tourists come to Thailand) I’m hoping to see more hot air balloons as I look out my window.
Balloon Adventures Thailand
I will work on my ability to walk longer distances, climb up onto something, and stand for longer and longer while I wish to be able to do this in the future.
My day started with walking a mile on the treadmill at the gym, then breakfast with Brian, followed by a glorious massage. I look forward to my massages each week. I will NEVER forget Lynn Moody, and my wonderful massages in Arkansas🙏🏻, but I’m grateful I found another really skilled massage therapist I can trust here.
It occurred to me that I might not have left a review on Google about the place I go, so I checked this morning and I had NOT! So I rectified that just a minute ago, basically telling people my life has changed since finding a beautifully run, clean, caring place that has experienced people who care about their clients. Khun Weaw has her work cut out for her, dealing with a 78-year-old with a lot of stress. She knows just how much pressure to use to give me relief, but not ‘break’ me! 😁 🙏🏻
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I got back to my place, changed clothes and Brian and I went to visit Harvey at the nursing home. We had to pay an upcharge and long wait time to get a Grab, but I guess that was because of the Loy Krathong and Yi Peng celebrations. A lot of shops close, and maybe Grab was short of drivers with people going home to be with family. Also, people come from all over the globe to see these remarkable celebrations, so demand was probably very high for transportation.
Harvey was more alert than he was the last time we saw him. He wasn’t making a lot of sense, though. I was talking about something about the condo, and he asked “When did you move?” He said to Brian, “I thought you lived on Earth.” He talked about starting an import/export business, and then wanted us to bring ‘a dozen’ things from the grocery so he could sell them at the nursing home… He did acknowledge we were leaving and said, “See you soon.” He seemed comfortable, wasn’t hostile, and seemed glad we were there.
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By the time we got back, it was already time for my terrific housekeeper, Khun Nong, to be cleaning my place. We didn’t need to bother her because I had taken the things I wanted to take to the cafe to Brian’s place when we shared breakfast. We grabbed our stuff and left.
I enjoyed making some more sketches, read more of my current book in my Kindle, people and traffic watched – since I got my favorite seat by the front window – while enjoying an iced mocha and later a lemonade.
My housekeeper did a stellar job as usual. There isn’t a particle of dust anywhere, and everything is scrubbed. Things on tables are straightened and all is neat – not one of my strong suits! Today I sat down at my computer to catch up on email and saw this! The white flowers are in a shot-glass size glass vase and were left on my computer table. I just couldn’t stop grinning. I’m so grateful to have found her.
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We were gone from just after 11:00 until about 5:30. Then we had dinner and visited awhile. When I got back to my place and had caught up on email, I was so tired and sleepy I just didn’t write any posts for the blog. Apologies.
I hope you’re having a really nice day/evening today.
We just tried to go visit Harvey. We wanted to go today because Fridays are super-busy for us. I just wrote the post about the Yi Peng Lantern Festival and the Loy Krathong Festival. Apparently, the fact that the 2nd night of both festivals is tonight makes traveling anywhere really challenging. We ordered a Grab and then information came up while we were standing outside, saying they would charge more than twice the normal fare one way and that our wait time would be ridiculous. So what is a wonderful celebration tonight is not without problems for us today. We will go visit Harvey tomorrow.
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These are my latest painted sketches.
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Pixabay
I finished “Next of Kin: Rebel Ridge Book 1” the Sharon Sala book I told you about. I enjoyed it and would recommend you check her out. Now I’m re-reading “Watercolor Dreams” by R.G. Ryan, which is technically the first book in his Jake Moriarity series, though I just finished the “Prequel: The Last Happy Summer” that came out recently. I am looking forward to re-reading the 6 books I have and then getting more.
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I have rolled up towels on my window sills, hoping to contain whatever leaks I get from still more rain. I hope the rain doesn’t make the celebrations tonight impossible.
Brian is researching to see if we can go somewhere this evening where I can see some lanterns without getting in the middle of the huge crowd in the dark at the river. I would love to get the flavor of the celebration, but from a distance.
This is practiced at the river in Chiang Mai, as well as all over Thailand. I thought this clip showed the beautiful Krathongs people made and show them putting them in the water for the celebration.
I love the idea of letting go of bad things that happened this year, letting go of bad feelings you might have for any reason, shedding regret over things you did – or didn’t – do, and more, replacing all with embracing a clean slate, a brand new year with the promise of a better year to come. The beautiful ceremonies unite the people in their strong belief. Really wonderful!
“I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going. And I have trained myself to love it. Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight. And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to. But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings. You may not know where you’re going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.” – C. Joybell C.
My husband and I were living in the house we built on top of a ridge line and lived in with our pets for almost 40 years, trying to keep up with all the house and yard work needed to keep everything afloat. It wasn’t easy, but we were managing. Then we both got Flu A at the same time. My husband also had pneumonia. I also had bronchitis and low blood oxygen. I ended up in the hospital receiving an emergency pacemaker after my heart stopped twice in the ER. We contacted my son and he said he would come to help us, flying 24 hours from Thailand to Arkansas.
A month later, we each packed a suitcase and a backpack, found wonderful, caring homes for our dog and cat, sold everything we owned and flew to Thailand to retire where we could be close to our son. Then my husband fell two weeks later, spent a month in the hospital and ended up in a nursing home.
Feeling a bit like “Stranger in a Strange Land,” – Robert A. Heinlein, we’re making sure my husband is getting the best care possible and I’m living in a condo in the same building as our son. I’m working slowly on learning Thai phrases, am learning how to honor the culture and traditions here, and am fascinated by all I’m seeing and experiencing.
I’m determined to embrace my new life. I was given a second chance at life by the hospital staff in February, and I won’t waste a minute. I am lucky that I am truly able to retire here. I never thought I would be able to say that. With careful juggling, I am enjoying perks here I never could afford in the States, such as a weekly housekeeper who scrubs my place until it shines; a weekly massage that takes out all the kinks and allows me to truly relax; my first-ever mani/pedi I get every 6 weeks or so; a haircut at the same interval; and recently, taking my clothes to the laundry to have them returned clean and nicely folded the following day.
My son and I spend a good amount of time together. We share meals twice a day, we go visit my husband three times each week, we go places together to run errands or just have fun exploring. We go to the gym every morning so that I can walk a mile on the treadmill, trying to retrain my brain to fix my balance issues, lose my extra weight. I’m doing yoga stretches, Internet balance exercises, and dance to fun music with water bottles doing exercises for my arms.
I plan my day around writing posts for my blog – an activity I truly love. I really enjoy finding things I find wonderful and sharing them with my readers. I have met some wonderful people I now feel close to through the blog, something I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.
I am learning to draw a bit better, sketching things I find on the net and painting them in an art alcove in my place. I read great books on my Kindle. I watch new and old movies on my TV, and love watching YouTube music videos. Music, new and old, is one of the treasures of my life.
I have time to reach out to old friends and new now. I’m so lucky to have good friends in my life. Most of my family is gone now, but my friends are all around me, just a text away.
So, I feel a bit suspended in mid air in a new country, with a different language, different customs, fascinating stores and food, learning new things each time I go out.
I embrace not knowing any of the answers. I am learning to go with the flow, just enjoying all the differences and trying to fit in as best I can. The people are so nice here, so welcoming, so forgiving of my bumbling efforts to say a few things.
As I learn, my wings are unfolding – I am learning and growing – grateful for the chance to build a whole new life – close to my husband and son.
“When robins appear, loved ones are near.” ~ Unknown
@frankaslothothuber.bsky.social
“… Once a penguin finds its perfect other penguin, they stay together pretty much forever.” ― Anna Staniszewski, The Prank List
@aintright.bsky.social
“The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese,” by Steven Wright
@glengrambo.bsky.social
“Penguins are one of the best antidotes for despair that I know. They are living lessons in caring for the planet and its creatures, in all their beauty and vulnerability.” ― Charles Bergman, Every Penguin in the World: A Quest to See Them All
@annaquent.bsky.social
“You can’t keep a squirrel on the ground.“ ~ Mary Lasswell
We discovered, after a lot of waiting this morning, that because of fraud, the Thai government says banks cannot allow you to add someone else to your bank account. You must open the original account with your name and that of the other person you want on the account. It cannot be amended. You must start over and open another account. 😳
Otherwise, I’m having a very nice day. I’ve been painting my sketches and reading a good book on my Kindle.
Here’s my latest painted sketch.
This is the book I’m reading on my Kindle. Next of Kin, A Rebel Ridge Novel, Book 1, by Sharon Sala. This author was recommended by my friend, Marsha, and I’m hooked. The story is compelling, the action is thrilling, the characters intelligent, real, and I’m caring about them. I will definitely read more when I finish the current book.
Alexas_Fotos – Pixabay
It’s supposed to start raining around 3 this afternoon. I have the towels on my drying rack inside with the fan blowing on them, trying to dry them out as much as possible before we get more rain. It looks like maybe one more week of this and THEN “The Rainy Season” will come to an end this year…
“The Chiang Mai CAD Lantern Festival 2025, to be held on November 5–6, 2025, will be organized under the theme: “In Remembrance of the Boundless Grace and Eternal Gratitude to Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, The Queen Mother.” This year’s event will be conducted with due respect and in reflection of Her Majesty’s immeasurable benevolence, who passed away on October 24, 2025.
The two-day festival aims to promote and preserve Thai traditions and cultural heritage. Activities such as lantern releases, cultural performances, and fireworks will proceed as usual,with opportunities provided for all participants to express their remembrance and pay their respects appropriately during this national mourning period.”
Loy Krathong Festival – Khao Lak Center
The Thai government has confirmed that the Loy Krathong festival will proceed nationwide as scheduled.
Celebrations are required to maintain a solemn and respectful tone to honor Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother.
Organizers have been asked to scale back festive elements such as live music and elaborate light-and-sound shows.
Some events will replace traditional fireworks with drone shows and use more subdued lighting to create a dignified atmosphere.
The purpose of the Loy Krathong and Yi Peng festivals is to “express gratitude, seek forgiveness, make wishes for the future, and show reverence to the water goddess (Loy Krathong) and the heavens/Buddha (Yi Peng). Both festivals, celebrated simultaneously, involve releasing lights—krathongs (baskets) on water and khom loy (sky lanterns) into the air—to symbolize letting go of misfortunes and ushering in good luck and renewal.”
Since there is usually a huge crowd at the river, and I’m not good in big crowds in the dark, Brian and I will honor the festivities more quietly. I look forward to seeing the lanterns, and I’ll try to find videos of people releasing krathongs into the water.
What a beautiful way to celebrate a ‘new year’ – letting go of the past year and embracing the promise of a new one!
My friend Marsha recommended an author she likes – Sharon Sala – so I’m trying one of her books. I’m really enjoying the story so far.
Unsplash
This is the perfect day to be doing a bit of reading. Guess what! It’s raining again! I keep wringing up the towels I rolled up and put on my window sills, then putting the towels back up. There is no point in trying to dry the towels at this point. Mother Nature is insisting that the rainy season isn’t over yet, so I’m just rolling with it, grateful that help may be on the way for my window leaks.
We met my husband, his nurse, and the doctor this morning at the hospital for a routine visit. The doctor is pushing us to let him put in. stomach tube. Harvey was lucid today and clearly said ‘no!’ when Brian asked him if he wanted that, so we told the doctor ‘no.’ We will just hope that Harvey is able to eat enough food the regular way that they can remove the nasal tube. We will see him again Thursday, since Friday will be a busy day for us.
We got a notice that our order for the turtle jigsaw puzzle had been canceled. Brian sent me links to two places we’ve ordered from before and I chose this one wiith the wonderful dolphins. Brian ordered it for me this afternoon, so hopefully I’ll have it soon.
Freepik
I think I told you that Brian insisted I start taking my clothes to the laundry rather than doing them myself. We took them yesterday, and they will be ready after 3pm today! The price was amazingly affordable and the turnaround time is certainly wonderful. They will return my stuff nicely folded in a transparent plastic bag. 😁
This is what I made yesterday. Harvey’s 82nd birthday is November 18th. I hope he likes it.
Soon it will be Election Day in the states. I will watch the results with great interest, even though I’m far away now.
This was sent to me by my good friend, Nora, today. Wow. What a stunning image!
It’s still raining here. I have my drying rack inside today, trying to dry the towels that were rolled up on my window sills to try to contain the leaks with all the rain. The rain has stopped now, so hopefully the fan on the drying rack will get the towels dry enough at least to roll up and put back on the window sills. I’m thinking of lending my hearing aids to Mother Nature, as she obviously hasn’t heard that “The Rainy Season” is over…
We have been doing a bunch of things to watch money since we moved here, due to the fact that we didn’t expect the medical emergency, month-long hospitalization and then move to a nursing home for my husband. It’s taken us a few months to get things in order and figure out where we are financially.
Yesterday Brian insisted that I start taking my clothes to the laundry downstairs rather than hand washing things and hanging them out on my drying rack on the balcony. I have been taking sheets and towels to Brian because he has a washing machine. I will continue to do that. But starting today, I’ll take my clothes to the laundry! I’ve done this a couple of times when we first moved here, and they do a really good job, handing you back a neatly packaged stack of nicely folded clean clothes. And the perks of being retired in Thailand continue to grow… 👍🙏🏻
My husband’s 82nd birthday is November 18th. Nothing that I would normally do, such as bake his favorite pineapple upside down cake, make a special dinner or take him out to dinner, is appropriate now. He doesn’t read or look at magazines anymore. SOOO – I’m going to try to draw a poster type picture wishing him a happy birthday that I hope the staff will allow to go on the wall somewhere he can see it. We’ll try to figure out something else special we can do.
I’m enjoying a quiet day today. Besides taking stuff to the laundry, I’m using a jewelry cleaner to polish the jewelry I brought with me to Thailand. I just got the jewelry cleaner a couple of days ago, and many of my pieces are in need of attention. I have the timer set on my phone so I can keep things going at a reasonable pace. (Each thing is supposed to be in the solution 3-5 minutes. Wish me luck!
Today’s treadmill walk was in Chicago. I was born there, but we only stayed three weeks, so it didn’t make much of an impression on me. 😁
We did go back years later to visit one of Harvey’s friends, who served as the best man at our wedding, but our visit then was very brief and mainly on Washington Island.
The walk today was in the heart of the city, with lots of sidewalks, tall buildings, people, traffic. It was quite impressive.
I couldn’t find a picture of it, but there was some green space as we were entering the city where there was a round ball sculpture. It was large enough that you could go INSIDE of the globe if you wanted to. I would imagine kids would either love it or be afraid of it, and that adults might take a look inside, but not enter it.
I walked THROUGH this sculpture. I researched this and discovered it is the work of Magdalena Abakanowicz of Poland, who did this in remembrance of World War II. It is at the south end of Grant Park.
Richard Serra Sculpture – “Reading Cones” – named for Reading, Pennsylvania where it was created. (We walked through this while I was on the treadmill.)
Soldier Field – I only saw the very front of this – the stone entrance. There were a bunch of people going into the building, but we just went close to the front doors, and then turned and went in a different direction to the side.
This was an impressive walk through parts of the city, and then ending up beside a big waterway where a big ship was moored.
Happy November! This is the mailbox decoration we put up each year at this time to celebrate Turkey Day.
And this is the ‘yard critter’ who stood at the base of a big tree toward the top of our steep driveway all year round.
Some of my relatives and friends are saying it’s cooling off in the states. The trees are starting to turn beautiful colors. Fall is in the air!
I always started trying to get the civilized part of our yard (the part right around the house) in shape for the coming winter. Mowing was usually over about now, but there was a lot of weed whacking and edging to be done to neaten things up. I weeded the flower planters and gathered leaves to grind up and put into the planters as mulch to protect the plants as much as possible. You wouldn’t believe the amount of leaves we got each year. It’s too bad no one wanted crushed up leaves. We could have had quite a business.
As the weather cooled, I started making us hot chocolate. We might have a fire in the fireplace, not because we needed it for warmth, but because of the FEEL of having it going. We would sit on the hearth with our backs close to the fire, absorbing the lovely warmth and good feelings. Our dog, Amber, and our cat, Jet (aka Monster Cat) seemed to ‘come to life’ as the weather cooled, taking crazy runs around the house, zooming around like their lives depended on it, making me laugh every time. It was so nice to have a nice warm home we loved, enjoying a peaceful evening with good food, good entertainment, and lots of love.
Officially “The Rainy Season” here in Chiang Mai is over and “The Cool Season” has started. Brian says it’s the ‘winter’ here. That means the constant rains have stopped officially and cooler temperatures are here. (Translation: a high in the 80’s). Mother Nature is laughing at us. We got caught in a really hard rain just after lunchtime today. It was really blowing and the rain was pretty serious. When we got to my place, I immediately started rolling up towels to go on all my window sills and got out my bucket. (I had a leak last night, but only a small one). So far, the rain has stopped for the moment and no leaks yet.
The building repair crew is officially starting repair of the exterior of our building, resealing windows (hooray!!!!) and other things before a repaint. I have no idea when this will actually start as the rain is supposed to last all week. It’s nice to know, though, that help will be on the way soon.
We saw Harvey this morning. He said he was glad to see us, but that was the only thing he said that made sense. We will have to be satisfied that he is comfortable, not upset, and we simply sit on either side of his bed, each of us holding a hand, trying to let him know we care. We will meet him and his nurse at the hospital Tuesday for his routine appointment for blood work and to see the doctor.
I’m trying to come up with some way to celebrate his birthday on the 18th. Cake is probably out, since he has a nasal feeding tube and probably won’t be able to eat bites of birthday cake, though we will think about it again closer to the date and see how he’s doing then. I may make him a birthday poster, just to show him I’m thinking of him. We’ll try to come up with something else special. He will be 82 this year.
I finished these thank you cards for Khun Nong, my housekeeper, yesterday. I give her one each week, along with her payment, to show her how MUCH I appreciate her work for me.
creativeartworksblog 