This is the haircut I got today. I got him to give me a good cut for my recalcitrant hair, blow it dry, and NOT put any sprays or goop on me!
Latest painted sketch.
This is the jigsaw puzzle I’m working on. I think it’s gorgeous, but it does have a LOT of black on either side, across the bottom, and in the middle, making it hard to figure out what I’m working on.
Here’s what I’ve done so far. I’m going really slowly, but I don’t get any prizes for doing this quickly. 🤪 I’m having a good time.
We had a hard rain storm necessitating rolled up towels in the window sills and my bucket again this week, but I have all the towels dry now, ready to go into action again. The rainy season supposedly ends the first of November. I’ll be happy to see this season go. The building is supposed to be painted on the exterior in November or so, with repairs done to the outside, so I’m hoping my problem will get solved then.
I’m hoping you’re having a good day wherever you are and that things are going well.
This is our reminder to make time for fun every day, making ourselves part of our priority list.
I’ve had a good day. I had my workout at the gym. Brian complimented me, saying I’m steadier on my feet, more agile, and he worries about me less. A SHOWER of compliments from my son!
I just got back from getting a mani/pedi. I’m having this done every two months. It gives me something to look forward to, and having professionals take care of my hands and feet is a healthy addition to my taking care of myself. The ‘polish’ is my FUN part. Brian has been goading me to paint my toenails and fingernails ‘cyan.’ I actually had to look it up, but it’s a range of shades of aqua.
Scheme Color
I’ve ignored his request up until today. Since he has introduced me to the whole idea of mani/pedis, found a place to get the service, and actually sits there and waits while I get it done, I figured today was the day.
When he saw my fingernails, his grin filled his whole face. He said, “All RIGHT!!! I’m not sure I actually LIKE this color, but his reaction is certainly worth spending two months with it. 😄. We followed this with a stop for chocolate – icing on the cake of the nice morning.
When I was coming back from breakfast with Brian, I met the cleaning lady who has been so, so nice to me. She was by herself, so I motioned for her to follow me out to sit on the bench in the foyer type area that is on each floor. (Happily, I remembered to turn my hand down and make a clawing motion, rather than the normal, “Come here” gesture, so I didn’t insult her suggesting she was an animal.)
She put down all her stuff and I got out the earrings I’ve been carrying around. I showed her, pointed to her ears. She looked really surprised, but I made as sure as I could that the earrings were for her. Her face split with a grin and she put them in her ears as we sat there. She stood up, did a little dance, and I helped her put her mask on again. I don’t think she got the idea that I painted the earrings, but the delight in her eyes showed she liked them.
I got home from our morning and quickly moved to the balcony to get my laundry in. Everything was completely dry with the exception of my socks, which were ALMOST dry. I brought everything in and was closing the balcony door when the rain started. WHEW!
It was a hard rain, so it wasn’t long before I needed to roll up towels to put on the window sills to contain the leakage. I have my bucket there to wring out the towels when needed.
Here’s my latest painted sketch. I love Halloween, and will see what I can find regarding creative costumes for kids plus wonderful jack-o-lanterns to share with you.
Brian was making our tea when all of a sudden, bubbles started floating up past his balcony! The sun made beautiful iridescent rainbows around them. I started to laugh in delight and caused Brian to turn. He came over to the table to watch them for a few seconds. We didn’t figure out who was causing them, but they sure made us smile.
The other beautiful sight this morning were swarms of white birds flying together across the sky and in front of masses of green treetops. They caught the sunshine just right as they flew, making the white glisten.
Bubbles and birds. A beautiful way to start a day!
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I just returned from getting my Friday massage. Khun Wey-o really understands what I need now. She zeroed in on my neck and shoulders today, giving them extra attention. I was really stiff and sore from all the towel wringing and hanging them to dry this week after the heavy rains. Guess who is loose as a goose NOW! I’m SO, SO lucky to have found a sweet, caring, competent massage therapist to make me feel good every week.
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I have to vacate my space this afternoon because it’s Khun Nong’s afternoon to clean. I’ve changed the sheets, gathered and put out the trash, put out clean towels and taken the sheets and towels for Brian to launder in his machine, so I’m ready for her to come. The laundry I did this morning is out on my balcony drying. I’m hoping everything will dry so that I can fold it up and put all away before she gets here. Brian and I will go to the cafe to stay out of her way. I have my sketchbook, Kindle, and sweatshirt ready.
This morning I went to get cash and stop at a 7-11 for a couple of things.
I tried twice to get cash from the ATM. I didn’t get cash, but at least I got my card back. I went back to my place and decided to regroup. It was hot, so I tried to turn the a/c down. I couldn’t get it to work.
I finally contacted my son, who told me the trick to getting the a/c to reset. I had tried exactly this twice before, but the third time, it worked. 🤪😜
He offered to come with me to the ATM. I need the money for tomorrow, so I said, “yes, please.” I did all my normal stuff at the machine, but Brian stopped me where normally I push “no,” that I don’t want a receipt. The machine said something different this time. It wanted to know if I wished to continue the transaction even though it wasn’t able to give me a receipt. I had been saying no to a receipt, instead of saying yes, I wanted to complete the transaction. Then I had to hit ‘end,’ another new thing. I hadn’t read carefully enough. It was in English, so I have no excuse, other than assuming I knew what it was asking me – had asked me every time before. DUH.
While in the 7-11, one of the sweet cleaning ladies from our building came over. I was trying to find bar soap for the shower. She showed me the stuff in bottles on the shelf. I pointed back to the several bar soaps I saw. I was having trouble deciding bec
ause none looked familiar and all the written stuff was in Thai. She showed me one and pointed to her nose and smiled. That was what I needed. I smiled back, was able to say, “thank you” in Thai!
Then she pointed to my ears. Then she pointed to HER ears, showing me she had holes for pierced earrings. I’m not at all sure what she was trying to tell me, but when I got back to my place, I got out a pair of wooden earrings that I had wood-burned a flower on, and I now have them in my carrier for the next time I see her.
Being inept is embarrassing, but with the help of others, I got the job done.
Happy October 2025! I miss being able to drive down with a mailbox decoration from the shop and my husband and I changing out the one there for the new one twice a month. It was particularly wonderful when someone would start to drive by, stop, and get out of the car to tell us what a kick they got out of our decorations. Several people told us they drove by often just to see if we had changed the decoration yet. How wonderful is that! 🤗
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This morning I was up at 1am wringing out towels from my leaking windows with a hard storm from Typhoon Regasa. I got back to sleep, back up again at 5 in order to check the towels again and get ready for the gym. I had to wring them out again, but that has been it for the day. I got the towels on my drying rack out on the balcony, and everything is almost dry now. I have rolled up towels in the window sills again, in case we’re not finished with the remnants of the typhoon, but hopefully, it has passed us now.
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This is the latest painted sketch.
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We went to visit Harvey at the nursing home this morning. This is a 3 hour round trip we make three times a week to show him we love him and make sure he’s getting the care he needs. At first we thought he wasn’t going to talk to us at all. I had almost given up after about 25 minutes of our asking questions or making statements with no reaction from him at all when he suddenly said, “I’m trying to remember where I got your engagement ring. I want to get you a “better” wedding ring.” I sat there with tears running down my face.
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Today has turned out to be a beautiful day with lots of sunshine. Dark clouds are looming, but they haven’t won yet. I’ll take it! 👍
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When we got home, Brian walked me to my door. A couple of minutes later he was back with a small package in his hand that had arrived downstairs. I opened it and found two new squeeze balls! When he ordered the original for Harvey, two came in the package. He gave one to Harvey and the other to me. I have to admit I keep it on my computer desk, reaching for it and squeezing it whenever I’m here. It’s mesmerizing. Sadly, about 3 weeks ago I punctured mine inadvertently with a fingernail. I told Harvey about it when I was handing him the ball, encouraging him to practice with his weaker left hand. Brian quietly ordered another set. I’m thrilled! I have my toy back! We’ll take the other one to swap out for the original one the next time we visit Harvey. This new one is actually better than the old one.
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I hope your day/evening is filled with giggles and grins..
This has hit China, Taiwan, the Phillipines, and Vietnam, and is due to hit us with heavy rains for the next several days. So far, we’re good.
My bucket, plus towels, are as ready as they can be. I rolled up towels and put them across the sill of my windows with the bucket right there handy for wringing out soaked towels. I’m staying alert and hoping for the best. I really hope that people at street level don’t get flooded.
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Women’s Health
A shout-out to Murray, who is celebrating a birthday today. Her birthday was yesterday, but I wrote THIS MORNING to be able to time it so that it was still her birthday in the states. (Things get complicated when you live in different countries with different time zones.) She was surrounded by family and friends, lots of fun and good food she’s trying not to eat. (Does that sound familiar?) 😋. She is one of my favorite people in all the world, so I’m delighted that she had a good celebration. I love you, Murray!!!!
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Two paintings I did yesterday.
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Unless it’s really a downpour later today, I’m planning to join Brian at the cafe for an iced mocha, and then later we’ll share dinner at my place. Hopefully, I can get the laundry on my balcony dry before a thunderstorm is forecast for around 3pm.
I’ve had a nice morning so far. I was able to increase both my walking speed and the incline % on the treadmill this morning. I’m starting to feel stronger and more balanced. I had a delicious breakfast and am feeling good.
I wish you a happy day – free from any dramatic weather – and filled with happy moments all day long.
It looks like the typhoon rain will start this evening and then continue Tuesday and Wednesday. I’m going to roll up a bath towel and one smaller one and put them on my window sills this evening, hoping to avoid more damage to my walls and floor. I’ll leave my bucket right there, too. I may get a lot of exercise wringing out towels and trying have enough dry ones to replace them the next couple of days.
At the gym this morning, I started slow and then increased my incline % to “4” and my speed to “4” for most of my walking time. I did rest my wrists on top of the handle bars, though, because I was feeling a bit shaky.
Shutterstock.com
I have yet ANOTHER annoying habit to try to stop (!) – I unconsciously reach up and put my finger in my ear to scratch it, followed by the same on the other one. Since I’m now lucky enough to have hearing aids, I now realize how OFTEN I do that – now that I have something IN my ears. I’m teaching myself to ignore it for a full minute. If I STILL want to scratch my ears, I’ll then take out my hearing aids, scratch, and then put them back in. So far, it isn’t worth the effort.
Brian is working and studying today. I will write my blog posts and then choose another fun thing to do! 😜 Have a great day!
I hope you’re learning – as I am – to enjoy the little joys as they come.
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Super Typhoon Regasa is hitting Vietnam today. This will cause the storm to downgrade before it comes here tomorrow and the next day (our Sept. 29th and 30th). I will have my bucket and towels ready to keep window leak damage to a minimum and we’ll keep going out to a minimum.
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This is the latest sketch I painted yesterday. I plan to paint more this afternoon.
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We just got back awhile ago from visiting my husband in the nursing home. He was more alert than he has been. It took him 30 minutes to laboriously eat a small bowl of mandarin oranges, but he seemed to enjoy them. When he got to the packaged chocolate-covered, icing-filled cookie on his tray, he turned up his nose. He said he had eaten two of those and they sucked. Now THAT sounds like my husband! 😋. He then talked about buying a BMW motorcycle and a house with a marble front porch – both things he had seen on TV. He said some other stuff that didn’t make sense, and still more we couldn’t understand at all, but it was a better visit than we’ve had in awhile.
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The sun is shining, so there is a good chance that I’ll get my laundry in dry later. I’m particularly glad to get all my towels dry for the coming weather and leaks.
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Do you have something fun planned to do today? I can’t decide between painting another sketch, reading, or working on the jigsaw puzzle. Maybe I’ll do some of ALL of those! Have a wonderful day.
The “Bucket and Towels Brigade” was activated at 3:15 a.m. when I heard rain pelting my bedroom window. I got up to find one of my window sills absolutely full to the brim with water and ready to spill over down the wall. I managed to get things under control, but couldn’t go back to sleep. This situation will hopefully be solved in November, when the ‘rainy season’ finally ends and exterior work on the building, including repairs window seals, will happen before repainting. I now have the wrung out towels hanging on my drying rack inside with a fan on them. (I just noticed the sun has come out, so I have moved the rack outside, to my balcony.) 😁
Yesterday was wonderful, starting with a massage that relaxed me SO much I took a nap when I got home. Khun Wey-o is truly an artist, and she now knows exactly where I keep the worst of my tension and knots and zeroed in on them beautifully. I’m so lucky to have found her, and also the prices here are such that I can afford to have a massage each Friday.
Khun Nong, my exceptionally nice housekeeper, brought new flowers to put with what was left of the old to make another stunning bouquet for me. My house is now sparkling (except for the areas that are still wet from the leakage) AND I have gorgeous flowers to keep my spirits high!
I did lots of sketching yesterday at the cafe, so I have plenty to start painting later today. Brian is working, but said he might text later and we can go for chocolate – always a favorite thing in my book. 😋
We got a short video of Harvey sitting in a wheelchair eating a meal! I think this means that he was wheeled to the dining room of the nursing home for the first time since he’s been there! We will see him again tomorrow and find out for sure.
Have a wonderful day. Find something special to do that makes you happy.
My great morning started with our normal trip to the gym. I’ve told you I’m working on trying to regain my normal sense of balance which took an enormous hit from the anesthetic when I was in the hospital in February. I’m am definitely getting stronger and steadier. I spent my 30 minutes today changing the incline % so my brain and body would have to keep adapting and correcting. Brian said later this morning he thought I was definitely healthier. 👍
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We went to visit Harvey this morning. When we first went into his room, he was lying in the bed in an odd position and we thought for a few moments he was paralyzed. Gradually he straightened out. We cranked up the bed a bit so he would be more comfortable drinking the grape no-sugar drink Brian brings him each time. The highlight of the visit was he turned to Brian and said, “I love you.”Needless to say, we both melted into a puddle.
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On the way home from the nursing home, we stopped at Index Living Mall. Brian needed a replacement sheet set. I got two extra pillowcases, and we got a frame for the print of a painting we received in the mail.
I just love this. Jon paints these and sends prints every Christmas. I have saved them over the years, treasuring them, but the collection was one of the many things we had to leave behind when we each could bring only one suitcase and one backpack to Thailand.
Here it is – displayed on my mantle/shelf in my living area. I’m so delighted to have a painting I can proudly display with my other treasures. Thank you, Jon!
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We topped off the morning by stopping for a chocolate drink.
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Yesterday I spent much of the afternoon watching “Dead Poets Society” with Robin Williams. Today I’m doing the prep work for my housekeeper to come clean tomorrow. When that is done, I’ll reward myself spending time between working on my jigsaw puzzle and trying to do some sketches.
I hope you’re having a wonderful day, as well, doing something that brings you joy.
This is the “bouquet-that-keeps-on-giving.” My wonderful housekeeper left this for me last Friday. It was fully in bloom the nearer you got to the vase, with lots and lots of buds going up the stems. As the days pass, more and more buds have opened up. This is truly an amazing flower. It has brought me such joy!
This sweet little guy greeted me this morning on an a/c unit that belongs to my neighbor, I guess. He wasn’t upset when I got my phone and took a picture of him. He looked at me briefly when I tapped lightly on the glass, and then flew away.
Two new sketches/paintings from yesterday.
We were planning to go visit Harvey at the nursing home this morning. Brian isn’t feeling well this morning, so I’m not sure if we’ll actually go or reschedule it.
I hope you have a beautiful day and evening doing something you love.
I love these drawings by Tina Ann. I love her lust for life, her gift for making you smile. Some people frown because it says, “AI modified,” and discount it as ‘not art’ or ‘not real.’ I say, “Bah! Humbug! to that.
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I honestly didn’t realize how bogged down I was getting while we were in Arkansas. We lived in a home we loved on top of a ridge line on about 8 acres outside of the town of Greenwood. We built the house in about 1987. We had the house and the shop we built, (then doubled the size of) where we made our ‘yard critters’ out of scrap metal, our decorations for our mailbox out of 4×8 sheet metal, I etched glassware, did mosaics, etc.
We had an absolutely wonderful life for many years, but as we got older, we became less able to take care of it. We didn’t have the money for renovations or huge repairs. We just had to keep up the best we could. My husband continued to ask me to take over technical stuff he had always handled but no longer could. Our health was deteriorating.
Now that I’m in Thailand and am actually fully retired now, a huge weight has left my shoulders!
I start my day with a trip to the gym to walk on the treadmill with concentration on improving my stamina plus my balance that was affected by the anesthesia in the hospital in February. Brian and I share breakfast and then we decide what we’ll do with our day.
Three times a week we spent 3 hours going to see Harvey at the nursing home.
Other than that, unless we have errands to run, I have the rest of the day to myself or a whole day to myself. I am having a wonderful time deciding how I want to spend my day – what I’m going to do for FUN once my laundry is done and my place is straight.
How wonderful is that! I can make doing something fun a priority!!! Whoopeeeeee!!
Today I’ve spent some time in my art alcove after getting my laundry out on my balcony. I’m keeping an eye out for rain, since that is predicted, but the sun is shining brightly now so I may not have to leap up to rescue my stuff. 😁
Brian keeps reminding me that it’s no trouble for him to order an iced coffee for me, so I’ll probably do that a bit later. I may watch a movie, or I may listen to music, work on my puzzle, read my book, take a short walk, do a session of yoga stretches, bop around the room to dance music with my headphones on and my water bottle in each hand, or take a nap, depending on WHAT. I. WANT. TO. DO. Can you imagine that!🤪
I wish that someone had suggested – no, TOLD me – how important it is to your frame of mind and well-being to purposefully include something fun in each and every day possible. It makes you happy when you are a priority even for a few minutes, when something makes you grin from ear to ear or do a happy dance. When you’re happy, you can be a kinder, gentler person to those around you. It’s simply contagious.
Now this is the attitude I love. The whole idea of doing something for someone ELSE on your birthday, rather than being the center of attention shows a desire to make a difference. This cheeky lady is showing she has a great sense of humor and wants to give others a special day. How refreshing is that! Talk about an inspiration!!! I will try to be more like this amazing lady.
We went to visit Harvey today at the nursing home. It was kind of sad because Harvey wanted to watch TV rather than talk to us, but we wanted him to be interested in something, and that’s exactly what he was doing.
The lady who picked us up to drive us home spoke with Brian much of the way home. It was in Thai, so I didn’t understand any of it, but she smiled warmly at me when I tried to say, “Hello, and wishing you a nice day,” in Thai. Roughly speaking, it sounds like, “Sawat Dee Ka’-ah.”
She took us to a stationery place so I could buy more heavy paper for the cards I make and then we got another Grab to get a chocolate. While we were at the chocolate place, I asked Brian what he and the lady had talked about. It turned out she recognized us, and has driven us out to the nursing home a couple of times now. She asked how Brian’ dad was doing and how I liked being in Thailand. Isn’t that amazingly nice?
I’m enjoying the afternoon now, with time by myself to do whatever I would like. The morning’s rain stopped, so I moved my laundry out onto the balcony. It’s supposed to be rainy all day, and there are some ominous looking clouds, so I’m keeping a watchful eye on the skies as I type.
This is the latest drawing. Those of you who follow the blog know what my ‘inspiration’ for this was. 🤪😜 I’m having a good time trying to get an initial handle on the new puzzle.
I have two more sketches that I did at the cafe to paint, also.
I’m having a great time in the evening listening to YouTube music. There is a search feature where you can talk into the remote, telling it a musician’s or singer’s name and it comes up with videos you can enjoy. I just LOVE that. I’m making a master list of favorite people, plus people I want to listen to to see if I like them or not.
I’m also enjoying watching a favorite movie if I have a totally free afternoon. I’ve watched two so far and look forward to enjoying more. I’m also interested to see what fare Netflix offers in this regard as time passes.
As soon as I finish blog posts for the day, you can giggle at the mental picture of me bopping around my living area with a water bottle in each hand, headphones on and grinning like a nut as I ‘dance’ to music with a heavy beat from the computer. It’s a really fun way to move a lot, exercise my arms and back with weights, all while not seeming to be exercise.
I showed you the flowers my housekeeper left for me last Friday. I think I told you that there are buds all the way to the top of the stems on this glorious display, so it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Here it is this morning!
I hope you’re having a fabulous day and evening, doing something that gives you loads of pleasure.
This is a towel and bucket day here. We skipped the gym this morning because it was raining REALLY hard. I’ve been wringing out towels into my bucket all morning so far. Hopefully, this will become a more gentle rain that won’t pelt into my windows, causing leaks. Update – later – the SUN has come out now, but I’ll still keep my laundry drying rack inside. Dark clouds are looming.
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Otherwise, things are good here. I’m about to have breakfast with Brian and then plan to enjoy the day, moving from one fun thing to another – assuming the rain calms down enough. 🙂
Besides having a sparkling clean place, this is what greeted me when I came home. My wonderful housekeeper left these gorgeous flowers for me! When Brian received a text from my thanks to her, he read it to me. It said, “It is good ‘Mom liked the flowers.” What a sweet lady. I LOVE it that she calls me ‘mom’!
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When I was in the cafe yesterday killing time, I enjoyed watching the traffic outside the window. I’m in awe of the motorcyclists! Brian says they have all been riding on, or driving motorcycles for years and have lots of experience.
The riding gear varies all over the block. Some wear helmets, others don’t. Almost all wear long-sleeved shirts, jackets, or hoodies. Some wear health masks.
I saw a father, his child, his wife, and another child on ONE motorcycle yesterday. I saw a mother with her toddler in front of her on one. Lots of people are carrying things, too. I’ve seen people with big boxes between the driver and the passenger. Bags of food and drink hang off to either side. Backpacks are full. Some actually carry pipe for repairing plumbing, pictures in frames, animals, and more.
The sheer number of motorcycles boggles my mind. For every car – and there are three lanes of traffic going each way – there are a dozen or more motorcycles zipping around and between vehicles. There are few stop lights and no cross walks. I wouldn’t call it ‘aggression,’ but more ‘quiet insistence’ that vehicles will ease into traffic or change lanes. It is utterly amazing.
“Celebrating my life for everything that it is” includes being grateful that I can visit my husband, hug and kiss him, tell him I’m glad to see him, and be happy that he’s not hurting, even though he wasn’t cooperating with the nurse on taking his medicines and made little sense when we visited today.
It also includes the fact that on the way home from the visit, we went to an arts and crafts store called, “Chunya Art & Craft” where everything in the store was handmade by the owner/artist.
I bought two things: a handmade notebook and a tablecloth.
The photo doesn’t do the notebook justice. The painting on the front is very subtle, but shows an elephant with a beautiful cloth on his back walking in dense jungle of green, blue and purple. The rope that ties the pages together is done in an intricate, lacy pattern that allows you to open the book, lay it flat. I thinks it’s wonderful.
The tablecloth is batik. The card that came with it says, “Each piece of Batik painting has a unique feel as a result of endless combinations of the dye coloring., wax effects, the fabric typs, and most importantly the story-telling of love and joy we want to pass on. Hope you love our Batik!” – Nisa C. Tanakorn.
I think it’s a work of art. I LOVE the way it brightens up the whole end of the room.
The owner/artist of the shop could not have been nicer to us. She answered questions and was honestly thrilled I was so happy with my purchases. I can’t recommend her shop more highly. I left a review with pictures on Google Maps that I hope will send more appreciative customers her way.
I’m getting my place ready for my housekeeper to come tomorrow. I’ve changed the sheets, will change out the towels and empty the trash, trying not to leave a mess (other than my puzzle table, where there is only so much I can do to neaten it up.)
I’ve been sketching, working on the puzzle a bit, and reading, since I haven’t been able to get to my computer until now because it was in the middle of doing an upgrade. It turned out that it didn’t work the way it should and Brian said he would try to get it to work again later.
This has been a good day. We’ll share some dinner soon and then I’ll enjoy listening to music on YouTube. I like it that I can use the remote on my TV to request music by people I like or want to hear for the first time, just relaxing with my headphones so I don’t bother anyone. 😁
This is my new jigsaw puzzle. I’ve been working on it about a week. I only have the outside edge and some various small groupings done. I just love this picture. I would like to GO here, sit by the water and simply soak up the ‘calm.’
These are my two newest sketches/paintings.
Today I’m going to do a good, longer session of yoga stretches than I normally do. I feel kind of ‘compressed’ for some reason, so this will help bring me back to normal. I haven’t decided if I’ll do my water-bottle-weights exercises or simply dance to some bouncy music yet in addition.
We’re having a beautiful day here, full of bright sunshine, with thunderstorms hopefully holding off until around 5pm if my phone app is correct. That would be lovely.
I watched one of my all time favorite movies yesterday afternoon – “Patch Adams.” I hadn’t seen it in years. I love Robin Williams and am still sad he’s gone. It’s the sadder parts of movies he’s been in that really get to me. It seems he had such a giant heart.
I hope you, also, have several things that you can do to regroup and relax. Things that bring a big smile to your face and fills your heart with hope.
I rescued my recently hung laundry because a rain came just after I finished that and before I sat down at my computer. I dragged my rack inside and put a sheet under it to keep any drips from the floor.
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As I sat at the computer, a small black bird was trying his very best to land on my window sill. I have a very narrow sill, so he couldn’t sit there. He tried over and over, the feathers on his head lifting in the wind so it looked like he had a crest. I tried to look up what kind of bird he was, but couldn’t find him among the common small black birds in Chiang Mai.
Before he was finished, another black bird came and they started fighting mid-air, like hummingbirds do. And then – I couldn’t believe it – a THIRD joined the fight. There was squawking, wings flapping, beaks open – all right outside my right corner window. Since none of them could get any traction on my sill, they finally left to fight elsewhere – or go have a drink… 😋
And NOW, of course, the rains have stopped for the moment, and the sun is out. There are thunderstorms forecast for right now, according to the app on my phone, so I’ll at least wait a while before dragging the drying rack back out…
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These are the latest sketches/paintings I’ve done in my little alcove.
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My phone alarm just went off, reminding me that I need to go get my duvet from the laundry. I can’t do this by myself, as it’s too large, so I’m glad I can get help from time to time.
I’m going to see if I can draw and paint this, just for giggles. I took the owls puzzle apart this morning. It is now neatly in a gallon baggie with the picture. I’m going to put it in the area where – if you want it – you can take it. Brian ordered the glass print of the finished puzzle today! 🥳
I started the new puzzle this morning. Impressive, isn’t it? 🤣
This is the new puzzle image. I just love the calmness and fantasy of this. And, it has water, of course, one of my favorite things, plus purple!
Brian took a break from working and came to see how I was. We went for chocolate – always a wonderful thing – and we’ll meet later to share some dinner.
I made some more thank you cards for my housekeeper yesterday.
Meanwhile, I’m writing posts for the blog and then I’m going to paint some of my latest sketches.
I have to tell you that I really love my life lately. I can move from one fun thing to another, spending my day grinning from ear to ear, whether working a puzzle, reading on my Kindle, working in my art alcove, listening to music, watching a movie, writing blog posts, playing on the computer, taking a short walk, taking a nap, and more. I’m totally spoiled and loving every minute of it.
We go to visit my husband at the nursing home tomorrow morning. The last time he wasn’t hurting, had no complaints, and made sense much of the time. He’s still playing with the squeeze ball. We brought him the book he said he wanted, but we don’t think he’ll read it. At least he knows we love him and want to do whatever we can to make him happier and more comfortable. Hopefully tomorrow’s visit will be a good one.
I hope that you are finding joy in your life. Life is too short to be taken up only with have-to’s. Really work to set aside some time for YOU. Tell the people you love how much they mean to you as many times as they will let you. 🤗
These are the newest sketches/paintings from my art alcove.
Brian and I will go out for errands soon and then I’ll probably have the afternoon to myself. I plan to do a combination of watching a favorite movie (!) and starting some sketches.
My weather app says, “Rainy conditions will continue all day.” Right now the sun is shining, so I’m taking a chance and my drying rack is out on my balcony. It won’t be the end of the world if it all gets rained on while we’re out.
I felt better today, so I went to the gym and walked my mile NOT touching the handlebars, concentrating on not losing my balance. My ARMS got a bit tired, so I kept changing up whether I swung them down at my sides, up by my waist, or up higher with my fingers closed. Worked pretty well.
I spent much of yesterday afternoon taking in my two pairs of jeans and two pairs of cut-off-exercise jeans. I’m trying to make these last until I get to the weight I want to maintain. THEN I’ll splurge and buy a couple of pairs of jeans that fit well, encouraging me to maintain my weight. The exercise cut-offs don’t matter as long as they stay on. 🤣
Oddly enough, on my list of things I would like to get when we can get to it is a couple of sweatshirts – one to wear, if needed, and one to be in the wash while I use the other. We often go places where we need to wait a long time and they keep the a/c on “KILL.” I get chilled, then downright uncomfortable. I’m taking a suggestion from Brian, who carries a sweatshirt in his carrier for these situations. My light hoodie and jean jacket just aren’t enough.
I just love Tina Ann’s artwork and sense of fun. I just can’t find enough of her work to satisfy me. 😃
My day has been a bit of a mixed bag. It started out with my feeling woozy with low blood pressure and opting out of my gym workout, to be closely followed by POURING rain and some leakage of my windows, necessitating towels and my bucket. I did my laundry and set up to have it dry on the rack inside. I then rested.
Now I’m feeling fine, my blood pressure is almost perfect on half of my BP pill, and the sun came out, causing me to move my drying rack out onto the balcony. I’ll watch closely to see if the weather changes….
Brian and I are at work on getting an image of the finished owl puzzle printed on glass by a company called FractureMe.com who made the wonderful image of my dad’s painting Brian got me as a housewarming present for my new place.
My idea is to do this for each of the puzzles I finish and put the glass images on the shelf in my living area with the painting my dad did as the centerpiece of the display. I love the idea of my vision growing and making a special statement. I took a pic of the owl puzzle earlier and sent it to Brian. He said it sucked (not in those words) and will take a better image for this project when he comes to my place later.
I’m going to concentrate on doing some sketches this afternoon. While I was typing this, though, I was distracted by birds singing their hearts out outside my window. I hadn’t heard them before and now CAN – because of my new hearing aids! What a delight!!!!!
(By the way. although each of us is different, if you’re in the market for help with your hearing, the brand I settled on is Oticon Intent 3. I love them because they are so comfortable I forget I’m wearing them. (an example of this is that I started to put my headphones on the other night to listen to YouTube on top of my hearing aids!) They have rechargeable batteries, so I take them off and put them in the charger until I want them again. There is a phone app so I can adjust them to suit conditions, making them louder or softer or using the ‘voice boost’ feature – when I’m needing to quiet the background noises. End of commercial. 😂
I hope that you’re having a wonderful day or evening, depending on where you are and that you’re finding beautiful things to enjoy.
I just love this painting. The more I look at it, the more I like it. I can almost hear them playing and singing. I hope it makes YOU smile, too!
This is my dad. His birthday is today. He took pride in the fact that in 1918, the year he was born, it was Labor Day. He thought that was very appropriate. He would have been 107 today. He was super creative, ahead of his time on a lot of things. He ran a one-man advertising agency in Tulsa, Oklahoma, winning advertising awards and local recognition for his radio advertisements. I miss his sarcasm and his great sense of humor.
My cleaning lady came a bit earlier than usual, and I was just getting ready to leave to be out of her way while she cleans. I thanked her for doing such a wonderful job for me, and she totally surprised me by hugging me! I hugged her hard in return. When I came back later she had left these flowers for me!!! I’m already spoiled by having her help, and hugs and flowers are simply priceless. 🤗
We went to see my husband, Harvey, in the nursing home this morning. He looked at us as if we were “invading” or something when we entered. He asked, “What are you doing here?” I replied, “We came to see YOU, of course. Is that all right?” He laid his head in my hand and said, “It’s wonderful.” Then, though we tried to talk to him, he made it clear he wanted to watch TV, so we gave up and left. He isn’t hurting, he knew who we were, and he had something he wanted to do, so that’s all good.
I have too many good things to do this afternoon, so after I finish sharing with you, I’ll get to at least one of them. Have a great day!
We lucked out on the rain today again. At the time we were planning to leave to go visit my husband, it was raining HARD. We decided to wait awhile and see if things got better, or at least more definitive.
It turned out the rain stopped, so we were on our way only a half hour later than usual. My husband was more alert and feeling better today. He wasn’t hurting and wanted to talk! What he SAID was complete drivel – like a woman with horns visited his room and critters came in and bit his feet – but it turned out that was some show on TV. He has real trouble telling what’s real and what isn’t these days. He also couldn’t remember what we were doing in this country.
Other than that the visit was a good one. He knew who we were and seemed happy to see us. Tomorrow we’re meeting him and his main caregiver at the hospital for tests in followup to his pneumonia and low blood oxygen of last week. Hopefully, the tests won’t take long. We’ll also speak to his main doctor and see what he thinks and what he recommends.
We’ve been invited to dinner with friends tomorrow, so even thoug
h the day will be long, the ending will be pleasant.
I hope that you in the USA are enjoying the Labor Day holiday today and have had a fun weekend.
My friend Carla (the pretty lady in yellow) and her son, Clint – to the left of her in the photo – were the car race feature winners last week! They share a love of fast cars and racing, and they enjoy being together to build the cars and try to win on the weekends at the local racetracks. Mother/son adventure – BEAUTIFUL!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!👍🥳
Making progress on the owls puzzle. I’ll work on it again this afternoon.
We are still trying to decide whether to try to go visit Harvey this morning or not. My phone app is saying “Very Heavy Rain” basically from now through the rest of the day. We looked at a radar image of the storm coming toward us from Vietnam, and it looks like the worst of it is going to the south of us (thanks also to Sheila for this info.)
If it looks like ‘just rain,’ we’ll go. If it looks like our places may need bucket and towels and that we might get stranded at the nursing home which is a good 40 minutes away, we’ll cancel the trip for today. We’ll decide closer to the time.
I hope that good things are happening with/to/for you!
I’m having a good morning. I’ve had my workout at the gym, breakfast with Brian, washed and hung my laundry on the drying rack on the balcony, and have fun plans for the day.
I’m going to work on the owls puzzle. I may die of old age before I actually finish this, but I’m determined to do it, even if the very last thing I do is to put in the final puzzle piece before I croak.😋
I did some sketches at the cafe yesterday and will start painting them later today. I’m in the middle of “Mirror” Book 2 of a new trilogy, “The Lost Brides” by Nora Roberts on my Kindle. I found out that Book 3 won’t be available until November, but I now have a card I can use to download books to my Kindle from Amazon even though I’m in Thailand now. I’m thrilled.
I’m planning to do a good job on more exercising today. I’ll start with yoga stretches and see how I do with that. I’ve TALKED a good game lately, but have been sloth-like in my actual implementation…
I discovered some good videos about living in Thailand. I’m enjoying listening to those and trying to absorb all the good information.
I got an alert on my phone yesterday that we’re under the gun again from another humongous thunderstorm coming this way from Vietnam. We’re supposed to get it tomorrow, August 31st. ☹️ We were planning to go visit Harvey tomorrow, so we’ll have to look at what’s happening and the timing on what is forecast to see if we think we can get to the nursing home, have our visit, and get back before potentially bad leaking from our windows occurs again. (The round trip when we visit is about 3 hours, so we may have to just decide it’s too big a risk and stay home.) We’ll see.
We’re having a nice day today. The sun is shining. I’m having some time to myself before my wonderful cleaning lady comes, so I’m going to put in some time on my puzzle. 😁
My laundry is actually out on the balcony, rather than inside on the rack with a sheet under it today! There’s a good chance my stuff will get dry and I can bring it in and get it put away before I need to leave.
I’m looking forward to reading on my Kindle and doing some sketching while Brian and I are making ourselves scarce while Khun Nong cleans.
Did I tell you I really like my life here? I had my weekly massage this morning, the cleaning lady comes this afternoon. Puzzles, sketching, reading, napping, playing on the computer, going interesting places with Brian, working out at the gym, eating good food, or making plans to get out and explore my neighborhood some make up my days now.
We visit my husband at the nursing home every three days when things are going well. I’m so relieved he seems to be past danger with the pneumonia and low blood oxygen. The nasal tube is out, he is able to eat and had good appetite yesterday morning when we visited, and was sleepy from getting his tummy full. The staff there tries to arrange an outing in his wheelchair on all days the weather will permit, so he can get fresh air and maybe see a doggie or two.
I have a wonderful son who is doing everything he can to make sure things are going as well as possible for both of us. The latest challenge of leaking windows from the last major storm may be addressed as early as next week if the handyman can send crews. We’ll keep our fingers crossed they can at least improve the situation until it can be fixed more permanently when the weather dries out.
So this happy camper is very spoiled and counting her many, many blessings. I hope that things are going well for you, as well.
We went to see my husband at the nursing home this morning after deciding that we PROBABLY wouldn’t be hit by the awful thunderstorms that have been causing windows leaking in our condos. We didn’t want to leave our places any more vulnerable than possible, and we were ready with buckets and towels to sop up the water. Happily, we only had a regular rain this morning and none since – yet.
The good news is that Harvey greeted me with, “I missed you,” almost causing a meltdown in me. The nasal tube had been removed, and he was able to eat regular food. The owner of the nursing home said she had a doctor look at him before removing the tube, and that he ate a LOT when it was gone. He looked better, though he was really sleepy – probably from eating so well. We left after just a short visit, because he really needed the rest.
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The Telegraph
PROGRESS REPORT: I’ve lost 73+ pounds an 68+ inches from my heaviest now. I’m finally about 15 pounds away from my goal weight. At the gym, I’m concentrating on NOT holding onto the handlebars when I’m walking. This is causing my brain to really work hard, first concentrating on what I’m doing rather than holding on and rather mindlessly putting one foot in front of the other. Secondly, my brain is constantly having to adjust so I don’t lose my balance and fall on my head. I’m watching a video as I walk, and the paths twist and turn, making ME react to stay on the path. I can FEEL that I’m standing straighter and my weight is shifting differently than when I’m slightly bent over holding onto the bars. I’m hoping to retrain my brain and body to improve my balance over time.
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Brian contacted the handyman for the building, sending him pictures of the leaks in Brian’s place and mine during the last big storm. The man said he would contact Brian, but it looks like we might have crews doing some resealing next week! It may be that this is a temporary fix to be shorn up later, but I’ll be very grateful for anything they can do to make our problem less intense. Help may be on the way!!!!
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Today I used my phone for the first time to adjust my hearing aids. When we were in a Grab, being driven to see Harvey, the driver was on the phone with several phone calls. His voice was so loud he made my ears hurt! This is a first since I got my new hearing aids. I got my phone out, accessed the app, and was able to turn the volume down to a level that didn’t hurt! How neat is that!!! (What I didn’t figure out until later was that I inadvertently fat-fingered a toggle icon at the bottom of the screen, turning off the ‘voice boost’ setting that I like and need. When we got home, I found that I needed to turn the volume up again to hear Brian well, and we figured out that I hit the icon, too. We toggle it back on, adjusted the volume, and I’m fixed again. I’m delighted that I can adjust these the way I need (assuming I’m smart enough to use the app correctly….) 🤣
This morning I changed things up and took our son’s suggestion that I just walk using no incline and NOT gripping the handle bars as I have been doing to make sure I don’t fall.
I used a speed of 3.5 ( my normal walking speed) and just touched the handle bars with my fingertips. They were there if I needed them, but I didn’t have to grab them today. I DID notice that I held myself differently when NOT gripping the handlebars. I had to concentrate a LOT more, and I FELT muscles working in my back, my butt, and the backs of my legs. I may be sore in the morning, and that will show I’m waking up this old body and building new strength. I also am retraining my brain at the same time, so this is a really good change.
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The nursing home texted Brian with a video and some pics of Harvey in the wheelchair outside, getting fresh air and a bit of sunshine yesterday. He also was petting a couple of dogs we hadn’t seen before. The nurse said he didn’t want to give up the squeeze ball we brought him, so she just let me hold it as long as he wanted to. She said she thought it was a great toy for him. 😁
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Today we’re going to run a couple of errands. I’m hoping we don’t drown in the rain and I’m watching the skies to rush to get my laundry in before we go if the rain starts up again. So far, so good.
I hope that you’re finding something today that makes your face crack you’re grinning so hard!
Today I did 28 minutes at an incline of 12% at a speed of 3mph on the treadmill. Hooray!
At breakfast this morning, though, Brian brought up a great idea. I’ve told you that after my surgeries in February, I had a hearing loss that eventually required hearing aids. I also read that anesthesia for old ladies like me also has a possible side effect of balance issues.
Brian suggested that I slow the speed even more, NOT have any incline, and just rest my fingertips on the handle bars of the treadmill, rather than gripping them as I do. This would force my body – my legs, hips, back, and brain – to work together on balancing without having to grip anything. The bars would be right there if I needed them, but this practice might help resolve my problem. I’m going to try it!
This is a new toy Brian got for my husband at the nursing home.
It’s a squishy ball where the ‘bubbles’ come out through the mesh when you squeeze the ball. It’s super soft, very colorful, and mesmerizing.
The bubbles are different each time. It’s fun – much like popping the bubbles on bubble wrap, but doesn’t make any noise. We’re hoping he likes it. Brian, who knows me well, got TWO of them – one for Harvey and the other for ME! 😁
Other than visiting Harvey at the nursing home, it should be a quiet day. My laundry is out on the balcony drying – even though my phone weather app said it should be cloudy all day, the sun is shining brightly. I’m hoping that if my clothes aren’t dry by the time we leave to see my husband, they’ll be ready to bring in by the time we come home.
I did 25 minutes at 12% incline on the treadmill this morning! I used 5 minutes to get up to the 12% incline and then just walked the rest of the time. I think I will do the 12-3-30 method one day and the Japanese method the next to keep my body awake and working without hurting myself. 💪🏻
I will also TRY to do a better job of getting my yoga stretches in, as well as my exercises with water bottles, and my dancing to wonderful music. Since I’m a lazy woman, I think I will try for ONE of these things each day in addition to the treadmill and then try to incorporate more once I actually DO this – rather than just INTEND to do it.
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I’ve been working on my owls puzzle, and have to admit it’s still frustrating me, although I am DETERMINED to get it done eventually. I got the owl eyes in the middle recently, but they were running into pieces in place toward the top. When I looked super closely, I had to remove some pieces in the top owl to be reworked. 🤨
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Two sketches I painted recently. I really love trying to reproduce designs I find on the net the best I can and then paint them. I’m hoping to improve my ability to draw what I see. My progress is slow, but I have a blast trying and the time flies by so fast! 😄
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I’m very happy with my new hearing aids. I had one afternoon where I was overwhelmed by sounds all around me that I haven’t been hearing since my surgery in February, and then smooth sailing after that.
They are rechargeable, so they go from my ears to the charger. They are comfortable – in fact, sometimes I forget I’m wearing them! I can hear Brian now whether I can see his lips or not, whether I’m facing him or not, even though he is VERY soft spoken. I miss a word or two now and then, but he doesn’t have to repeat virtually everything he says anymore.
I can hear the traffic now, but the background noises don’t drown out someone else’s speech. If there is any problem with unduly loud background noise, I can use my phone to either increase the volume or use a thing called ‘voice boost.’ I haven’t had to do much fine tuning with my phone, but it’s great that I can do this myself, rather than having to get an appointment with the place that sold us the hearing aids to get an adjustment.
The critters we saw today weren’t nearly as ‘impressive’ or ‘regal’ as this beautiful tiger painting, but we enjoyed them thoroughly nonetheless.
We saw a frog that was HUGE sitting by a wall. We just stood and admired him, trying not to bother him. He was at LEAST 4 inches tall, if not more. He looked beige colored, but he was in the shadows, so it was hard to really tell.
We also saw a cat sleeping on the seat of a motorcycle in the parking garage. I spoke to him and he looked at me briefly, then stretched and got comfortable again. I’ve never seen a cat sleep on a motorcycle before. I don’t know whether it belonged to its owner or not, but the cats around the building seem to be strays that wander in and out. He was a pretty, gray striped cat.
Lastly, a rust brown dog with a collar was running down the heavily traveled street, barking occasionally, looking madly happy running after someone on a motorcycle. We have seen him before. He has a collar, so he has a home. This is apparently one of their ‘togetherness things.’ The dog negotiates the traffic really well, speaking of lots of experience. He certainly looks joyful as he runs.
We visited my husband at the nursing home again this morning to make sure he was continuing to improve from his pneumonia. He was resting comfortably and shook his head slightly when we asked him if he were hurting anywhere. He didn’t cough while we were there, but he wasn’t nearly as responsive as he was yesterday, so we just stayed a little while and then left.
I’ve been having fun painting a cats sketch I did recently. I’ll post it when it’s finished.
I’m trying to get closer to my goal of doing the 12-3-30 method of walking on the treadmill in the mornings. Today I used the first 10 minutes to go from 0-12% incline, then set the speed back to 3 kilometers per minute and walked for another 20 minutes. I’ll try to add another couple of minutes tomorrow, speeding up the incline gradations a bit. (The goal in this method is 12% incline at 3 kilometers per minute for 30 minutes.
It’s been raining off and on all day, so my laundry is on the drying rack inside. I have the fan turned to ‘medium’ and have it blowing on the clothes and towels, so I’m hoping things will dry by tonight, or at least overnight.
Very soon we’ll be leaving to see my new doctor in follow-up. 3 months ago we went for an initial visit, and my blood pressure was so high she prescribed blood pressure meds on the spot. Any other issues could wait. We went back in a month and things were better. She suggested I lose weight and exercise. (Surprise😜)
It is now 2 months later. I’ve been going to the gym daily with our son, walking a mile on the treadmill and then tweaking my workout in various ways that are supposed to be more effective. I’ve lost 8.55 kilos, or 18.85 pounds since we saw her last. She will be doing bloodwork, but I will have to wait a day or two for the results. I’m hoping we’ll see some improvement there.
I’ll have the afternoon to myself once we get back from that. My friend Marsha wanted to know if my art has improved. I’ve been trying to learn to draw better and then painting the sketches. I don’t know if I’ve improved or not, but I’m having a really good time trying. Here are some of the latest –
I charged my new hearing aids overnight with no problem and got them in this morning. Everything is still really loud, including my own voice. Thankfully, Brian installed an app on my phone that will allow me to adjust the sound, boost voices, and more. I’ll tweak it today, continuing to adapt my BRAIN to being able to hear things like light switches, napkins being crushed, water being sprayed, etc. 😃. It’s WONDERFUL to be able to hear again. I’m SO grateful to be trying to adapt to such a great thing!
creativeartworksblog 