Another flowering tree in Chiang Mai. I have no idea what this one is. The amazing thing about this tree is even when the flowers drop spent to the ground, they are lovely. That’s how I first saw this tree! The blossoms on the ground were bright orange with streaks toward the middle of a beautiful pattern of leaves as if the bloom had opened before falling. Leaves in the center of the spent bloom were bright yellow! You miss the whole thing if you are just looking around. The clusters of blooms are way high up in the trees; so unless you’re looking UP – which I only do when Brian is holding tightly to my hand – or looking down at the ground – as I was, paying attention to places I could trip – you miss it. I’ll try to draw one of the spent blooms and show it to you.
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My glorious turtle puzzle is FINISHED!!!!!!!! 🎉 🥳 🧩. I finished him this morning. Brian has taken a picture of the finished puzzle and will order a glass print of it, the way he has done for the previous ones so that I can display his gorgeous face on my statement shelf. I’m going to leave him up for a couple of days so I can enjoy running my hands over him before taking him apart, bagging him up, and giving him to someone else who will enjoy putting him together again.
The Cheetah’s voice is getting a bit louder as he calls to me, but he’s still muffled inside his box…
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I tried out my Google Translate app on my phone at the cafe yesterday. I wrote, “You are a good water fighter. I had fun. Thank you” and showed it to my favorite server who had thoroughly drenched me in Songkran two nights running. He read it, then broke out into a HUGE smile and bowed. a few minutes he was back, asking me to read HIS phone. He said, “You are good, too, Auntie.” This again shows how NICE the Thai people are. I’m really happy the app worked!!!
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These are my two latest painted sketches.
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Poster My Wall
creativeartworksblog 
The flowers on that tree are so pretty. I wonder how many people walk by and never look up to see the whole picture?
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! You did it! I knew you could finish the turtle puzzle, as you do not seem like the type of person who gives up easily. It is beautiful and worth the wait to get to see it. Thank you for sharing it.
That was so nice of you to show your server your translated message, and then, for him to show you his message, was such a great connection between you both. You have made some great friends there, it seems. (Donna)
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Thank you for your kind message, Donna. I agree the flowers – even the spent ones – are beautiful. My friend Sheila has given me some lines to pursue as to what the tree might be. The gorgeous turtle is smiling smugly at me in his put-together state on my puzzle table this morning. Brian is coming to take some more pics to be sure he has a good one to send to the glass print place. Then I’ll take the turtle apart and give him to another turtle lover. The translator is wonderful. I will still use everything else first, as I don’t want to rely too heavily on it long term, but it was really fun to communicate with my server yesterday. There are several people here now I’m feeling close to now. I’m very very lucky.
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Great job on the puzzle. BTW what is a “glass print of the puzzle?”
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Thanks, Linda. He’s smiling at me smugly from the puzzle table this morning. There is a company that Brian found online that makes prints of your photos on whatever size of glass you like. You sent them an image. They print it for you and return it to you. You can have it framed, but I prefer plain, sitting in a simple stand. The images are really sharp and show the colors vividly. Won’t fade. Brian made me a smaller one of a painting my dad did of me at about 6, showing my personality. Brian saw that it was killing me to leave that, so he had a glass print of it made and gave it to me as a condo-warming gift, essentially bringing my dad to Thailand with me. Since then, we have been making prints of my finished puzzles. The turtle will be #4 on my ‘statement’ shelf in my living area.
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Thank you so much!
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You’re welcome, Linda.
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YIPPEE! for both the turtle puzzle finish and the Google Translate working sooo well for you at the cafe! That’s fantastic, Linda!!! I’m smiling so big for you right now!
I looked up the tree pic on Google Images and found this: The image features vibrant pink flowers, which appear to be the Peacock Flower(Caesalpinia pulcherrima), also commonly known as the Pride of Barbados or Dwarf Poinciana. I hope that makes YOU smile! (What WOULD we do without Google?)
I saved a screenshot of the girl on the bike. I want to draw/sketch her now. But I have others in the works… I may get to her in a couple of weeks. I had to stop everything I had been working on and get a NEW kindle version of my book uploaded to Amazon. That WHOLE book project has really unnerved me. There must be a better way! (So, as it stands currently on Amazon I have the paperback version, an eBook version that is a Print Replica that people could not seem to download, and an eBook Kindle version. Ugh
But I go to a new naturopathic doctor tomorrow, who is also a doctor of Oriental Medicine, so I have BIG hopes he can resolve my foot/tendon issue so I can start dancing again! Woo-hoo!
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Yesterday was a stellar day. My turtle is smiling smugly today. Brian will get some more pics before I take him apart and give him to another turtle lover. The translator was truly wonderful. I’ll still use it as a last resort, not wanting to become overly dependet on it, but it’s wonderful to know if words, pantomimes or pictures don’t do it. THANK YOU for taking the time to try to find the tree. I’ll take a look in just a minute and report back to you. I’m sorry for the aggravation and extra work on Amazon for your book. It seems like just as we relax, ‘something’ explodes. I hope you can get it all figured out and straightened up. I’m glad to hear you have hope that the Oriental medicine doctor can help you, and that you’ll see him soon. Here’s hoping you’re laughing and dancing soon!
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I see the doc tomorrow. Yes, the Amazon book issue is as resolved as it is going to be now, Linda.
thank you dear friend!
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I’m glad the Amazon issue is settled the best way it can be now. Please let me know what the doc says tomorrow.
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Yay! The turtle is done! The cheetah should be a fun one. I’m so glad your Google translate app is working! When I was teaching beginning English learners, 7th and 8th graders, I had a class of about 10. Only two were girls. One came from Mexico and one came from Yemen. I loved watching them use their chrome books to translate from Spanish to Arabic and back again! Then the first time I heard them speak English to each other, even though it was a short phrase, I was so excited. 😀
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Debra. thanks so much for your kind note. The turtle is smiling smugly at me on the puzzle table this morning. Brian will make sure he has a good photo to send to the glass print people and then I will take him apart and donate him to another turtle lover. Meanwhile the handsome Cheetah awaits. The image in this one is so good I almost expect him to roar! I LOVE your teaching experience. How lucky those 10 kids were to have you to help them. I would imagine that your feeling when you heard the 2 girls speaking in English to each other was similar to the joy I felt when things finally merged, made sense, and my kids started yelling with happiness as they figured out a printed word. There really are no words to describe how wonderful it is to be a part of that.
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