Nature Nomad – @naturecompass.bsky.social
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Today we were gone essentially all day. It’s now after dinner and I’m preparing for tomorrow – getting up at 4:30 a.m. to go to the gym.
I went to the gym, showered, had breakfast with Brian. I had a massage soon after that. It was absolutely what I needed. For some reason, I was tied in knots that Khun Weaw patiently kneaded out. I changed clothes quickly and we traveled to visit my husband at the nursing home. One bright spot on the trip over was they were getting ready to have a parade for the Bo Sang Umbrella Festival that started today and will run through Sunday, with ladies in traditional Thai dresses carrying handmade bamboo umbrellas. There will be classes in how to make the umbrellas, contests on painted umbrellas, the parade, a talent contest, and more during the three days. It was nice to catch a glimpse of the finery.
My husband wasn’t having a good day today. He was constantly routing around on the sides of the bed ‘looking for his gun.’ He insisted that he needed to be ‘ready.’ He insisted that he could get up and walk – which hasn’t been true for several months now and was frustrated with us that we were discouraging that. (It takes 3 people now to get him up into a wheelchair… ) He was also complaining that some ‘crazy’ lady came every day to hug him. When we talked to him about it some more, he agreed to give her some slack, that she was trying to be nice to him, and that just because he felt he didn’t know her, he should give her the benefit of the doubt and accept the fact that she was trying to make his day more pleasant.
We got back from the visit in time to grab our stuff from Brian’s place and head to the cafe to be out of the way while Khun Nong cleaned my place. I had a good time sketching, reading, and then watching the traffic outside my favorite spot at the front window. A man came over and introduced himself. He was an ex-pat, also from Arkansas, if you can believe it. He was a former teacher, like I am, showed interest in my sketches – telling me he had seen me in the cafe before and ‘stole’ a look at my sketch as I worked. He showed me a painted sketch he had done of a building near here somewhere. He was a much better artist than I. He goes back and forth from Chiang Mai to Vietnam, but has pretty much decided to stay here. It was an enjoyable visit.
We went back to Brian’s for dinner and now I’m finally back in my place. Whew! A nice, busy day. Tomorrow is a free day after the gym, so I can do some catching up, including writing blog posts.
Sorry I’m shorting you today. I’m too sleepy to do more. I hope your day is wonderful.
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