The “good was there” at the gym this morning because Ugly American wasn’t there to distract me. I was able to walk without holding on to the handlebars on the treadmill for the entire 30 minutes. Yea. I’m trying not to hope that he was visiting and has now gone home; because Finagle’s Law of Dynamic Negatives indicates that he will show up again tomorrow and I will discover soon that he is, in fact living here and will just become the bane of my existence.
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I’m going to start writing a new article for Substack – this one about the Thai peoples’ reverence for trees; the reason behind it, how they show it, how they protect the trees, including some of my tree sketches.
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This is my latest painted sketch –
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Brian and I had a really interesting, tasty dinner last night. I asked him what it was called and he said the name, showed me the name on his phone, and I still don’t know. I’m hoping that it will be put in our regular round of dinners, though. It was a really dark brown rice, nutty in flavor, with chunks of pumpkin and chicken. Absolutely delicious comfort food type meal.
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I’m starting to feel better since Brian and I went ahead with my new morning regimen plus the change in dosage on my thyroid medication.
I’m alternating between a dosage of 100 mcg and 50 mcg of my levothyroxine, resulting in an average of 75 mcgs daily. According to our research, “perfect” would be 78 – so we’ll see how this goes. I take this first thing when I get up in the morning.
I let the thyroid med ‘settle’ while I’m getting ready for the gym. Then I drink electrolytes with a full glass of water. (They are more effective on an empty stomach according to the directions.) I mix chia seeds in a full glass of water just before we leave for the gym, leaving them soaking all the time we are gone. I take my shower, dress again, and then take my spoonful of olive oil and drink my glass of chia seeds before I go up for breakfast.
I take the rest of my meds when I come home from breakfast. And that’s it.
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Today I have a quiet day, so I’ll make sure to make time to practice my guitar, work on my jigsaw puzzle, and read more of the “Fury In Death” book I started a couple of days ago. I’ll also base paint my sketch of “Bob” the ugly frog this morning. I’ll take this to the cafe this afternoon to add the details. I’ll also continue trying to draw an old movie theater.
Here you sit, bored out of your mind. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go. Frustrated. Unhappy.
AND to compound this, you may have read my posts about beating boredom and STILL sit there, unconvinced.
In Part 1 – I suggested you take a walk – that you concentrate on NOTICING all that was going on around you. I suggested you take your time – feel the freedom of being outside on a nice day, with no particular destination in mind, just stopping to NOTICE people, flowers and trees, the songs of birds, the butterflies flitting, toddlers discovering things for the first time – a look of wonder and delight on their faces, animals playing. I encouraged you to use the walk to start feeling the freedom of reshaping your world to get out of your rut.
In Part 2 – I asked you to re-introduce yourself to yourself as if you had never met, getting out paper and pencil, your tablet, your phone, and writing down what makes you smile, things you enjoy doing, what you used to do as a child that brought you joy, things you’ve had to give up because they were too expensive, took up too much space, aggravated family members, and more. I suggested you really take this seriously, leaving space so you could add to the lists from time to time as they occurred to you – taking inventory of you as an individual, in total honesty – knowing that no one else would see your list, judge you. (The Gift – That No One Cares.)
In Part 3 – I suggested the practice of Gratitude – not a litany of things you’re ‘supposed’ to be thankful for, but deep-in-the-gut things that bring tears to your eyes when you think of them. Sitting quietly, eyes closed, feet flat on the floor, thinking of ONE THING for which you are grateful. Maybe nothing has happened with this yet. Please don’t give up on it. It took me about a month of night after night sitting there, sometimes dutifully ‘practicing,’ rarely actually feeling anything until one night that changed me forever.
Today we’re going to talk about Mindset -Yours. I’m going to be really blunt here because I’m trying to cut through the rut you’re digging deeper and deeper each day.
You have created this mindset to be bored and it’s very powerful, pervading your whole life. Consciously or unconsciously, you contribute to this, making it stronger and stronger daily. In a kind of a perverse way, it’s a comfort blanket for you – a reason for not going out, not considering new ideas, not meeting new people, not learning anything new. You can crawl up under your blanket and sleep the day away with no one to bother you.
My mother-in-law was a role model on mindsets for me. She and my father-in-law needed to move to an assisted living center in Tulsa OK many years ago. They were giving up their home built in the 1950s and their lives there. Her husband was giving up the shop where he fixed things and spent much of every day.
We drove them to the new place. On our way, I asked her, “How do you feel about going to your new home?” She smiled and said, “I’M GOING TO LOVE IT!” When I looked surprised and obviously wanted to hear more, she added, “I’m going to fix up my room, meet people, join activities, eat in the community room, and be a part of everything that’s going on.” She was determined to make this happen and worked every day in small ways to do just that. And she DID love it, and was LOVED in return.
Have you thought of one thing that makes you smile yet? Let’s say, for example, funny animal videos make you smile. This is an easy one. You can search the net and find them, watching them as much as you want. But let’s say something that makes you smile is the idea of your doing “underwater glass blowing.” (Yeah, I KNOW this is weird, but bear with me, okay?) You look up this term on the Internet and get nothing.
You DO get the following, however- “Actual glass blowing cannot happen underwater because molten glass requires extreme heat (over 2,000°F or 1,093°C) and water would instantly shatter the hot material and flash-boil. Instead, “underwater glass blowing” refers to artwork inspired by the ocean, glass sculptures of marine life like coral reefs, or virtual gaming activities.
If you want to get into it farther you CAN look up information on learning to scuba dive, maybe actually getting to DO that at some time in the future. And you CAN watch YouTube videos on glass blowing. Maybe there is a glass offered that you could attend.. My point is that maybe you can’t get ALL you would like, but that you can make parts of it open a door to something that you might get a real kick out of.
The key to changing your life is to decide you want to change it, that you DON’T enjoy being in the rut you’ve created. Then decide ONE THING that makes you smile and go for it in small steps to see what you can find. If you run into a dead end on one thing, choose another and see what that brings. One crack in the rut can show you that you DO have control over your life and how you live it.
If you have questions or comments about this, please feel free to comment. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks for reading.
I opted out of the gym this morning due to huge trucks stopping in the street last night around 9pm and commencing to jack hammer the street. Brian said this morning that he thinks they were doing something with underground power cables, but wasn’t sure. Anyhow, the noise was really loud. I awoke at 4:30 feeling woozy and unsteady and needing more rest. I’ll catch a nap before I go to the cafe today.
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Women’s Health
Shout-out to ML, my wonderful sister-in-law, who celebrated her wedding anniversary on the 7th. (At 45 years, they have a good start now.)
Tina Ann
Shout-out to my adoptive family here in Thailand who delivered an addition to their beautiful family yesterday, making Harvey and me honorary grandparents now of two boys and a girl (Brian is honorary uncle). All are doing fine and we couldn’t be happier for them!
“There are two means of refuge from the misery of life — music and cats.” ― Albert Schweitzer
“Meow” means “woof” in cat.” ― George Carlin
“Time spent with a cat is never wasted.” ― Colette
“Arise from sleep, old cat, And with great yawns and stretchings… Amble out for love” ― Issa, Japanese Haiku
“A house isn’t a home without the ineffable contentment of a cat with its tail folded about its feet. A cat gives mystery, charm, suggestion.” ― L.M. Montgomery, Emily’s Quest
We went to visit my husband this morning. He was largely unresponsive, which is becoming more and more the norm. He is gradually withdrawing into himself and his own little world. There are a few exceptions to that. He did reach out and take my hand today and just held it for much of time we were there. His usual response now is “no” when we ask him something, like a small child – a knee jerk reaction. So I just got my phone and started showing him things, even though he said he had no interest, and he did show some interest, though didn’t say anything. When we left, he again said, “Get me out of here.” But when we asked him if the people were treating him well, he nodded. When we asked him if he hurt, he shook his head, “no.” He couldn’t answer any of the questions about HOW we would go about getting him out of there or what we would do if we DID get him out of there, so it’s another knee jerk reaction. He wants to be with us, wants things back the way they used to be. So do we. So.do.we.
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Brian and I spent time at the cafe this afternoon and just came home. We had a good time – Brian working on his computer, me finishing some sketches and starting others, both of us having a nice drink.
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I thought it was going to rain on us, but it only sprinkled on the way home from the nursing home, and didn’t do anything at all while we were at the cafe.
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I learned another ‘perk’ of getting older – that of bruising more easily. ‘Something’ bit me around the time we were going to the cafe. It was itching, so I scratched it, more than once. I looked down at my arm later and saw a BRUISE where I had been scratching. That’s the first time that has happened. I’ll have to put “do not scratch hard” on my list now…
I’ve told you that I’m concentrating on exercising now that I’ve finally lost my extra lard and have wrinkles on my wrinkles now. This is what I look like now – except not nearly as cute…
Amazon.ca (I think the name on this photo is Nina Pastova, but I could be wrong.)
Yesterday I tried doing a ‘squat’ like my friend Sheila has been doing. She is doing hangs and squats and getting good results, strengthening her upper and lower back and already has lost an inch from her waist!
I found, after going down for the squat, that this is not the exercise for me. I have always had bad knees (got cortisone shots in my knees when I was 12) and I have had to be careful with my joints, particularly now that I’m becoming ancient.
CoolFunnyQuotes.com
Just as in medications, everyone is different. A medicine that is great for taking away pain or a headache in ME does nothing for someone else, or makes them sick, or they find they are allergic. Everyone is different on the subject of exercise, too.
CoolFunnyQuotes.com
We each need to try different things on for size when we’re deciding what to do to make up our routine in the first place, and then what to add to our routine later.
I follow Mike, an Australian exercise guy online who specializes in ‘seniors’ and I have found his exercises to be helpful without causing me any problems. I also found a man yesterday who makes videos for people over 60. (Did you ever notice they seem to stop counting after 60? I have never seen a title about ‘flexibility in your 80’s,’ or something similar. I kind of resent that.
CoolFunnyQuotes.com
My point in writing this is that what you do with your body – whether it’s trying different eating styles, ways to get healthier, ways to lose weight, ways to exercise to make yourself stronger, with better balance, and more stamina, are all individual decisions that will be different for each of us.
Thank goodness we have lots of options, lots of suggestions, plus information we can research to learn what is right for us.
Keep sharing things that you find help you. They may help others, as well.
Kudos to all of us for TRYING to be the healthiest we can be!
We visited Harvey at the nursing home this morning. He was calm. He wasn’t hurting. He seemed glad to see us, but didn’t have much to say, other than asking if I had gotten the guitar when I mentioned that I was trying to learn the chords again. Other than that, we held his hands, hugged him, and sat with him.
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I’ve just come back from spending a very nice couple of hours at the cafe sketching. I got my favorite spot, enjoyed an iced latte (with reduced sugar) and spent my time between sketching and watching life outside the window.
These are my latest painted sketches. I did two sketches at the cafe today, plus started one where I’m trying to show some ladies scrubbing the porch and steps area of a building. They were down on their hands and knees with scrub brushes, rags, and buckets.
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One Green Planet
I played with the incline on the treadmill today, increasing it every 5 minutes for about half of my walking time. It makes me work harder, but didn’t bother my balance, so I was happy. Before dinner, I’ll do my water bottle exercises to work my arms and back.
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When I left my clothes at the laundry yesterday, I gave the lady a “thank you” card. She has been very patient with my efforts to understand the system, try to give her the correct change, etc., so I wanted to show her I appreciate her kindness. She seemed happy with the card, and indicated she would put it in a special book she had on her desk. :0)
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Pattaya Mail
We are forecast to get a lot of rain the next 10 days. Unlike Arkansas, when rain comes, you basically need to reschedule the whole day, here it’s like a faucet was turned on. It rains like crazy for a bit, then the faucet is turned off and the sun comes out. This may happen over and over, but it usually isn’t cause to change your plans. If this happens when I’m at the cafe, for example, I just wait until the faucet turns the water off and go home between showers. I carry my umbrella and my rain suit this time of the year wherever I go, plus take my hoodie if I only need a bit of protection from the rain.
Elana Weust via Mark Donaldson – @markdon.bsky.social
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This is my latest painted sketch.
We have been to the gym, taken my laundry, and will go later to pick up my renewed visa and have Brian sign something for his 90-day reporting. Otherwise, my day is free.
This little guy with the long, long tail, was on the rocks outside the window when I was sketching at the cafe yesterday. I’m going to see if I can draw him. (I’m not sure if this is the same one who lived in the pot or not, as the light is really different.)
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I’ll do my yoga stretches, practice my guitar, do some base painting on some sketches in process, and do some more research on the computer. Happy day!
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I hope that you are enjoying your Sunday – Father’s Day for many – surrounded by loved ones, cherishing dads everywhere – having a relaxing, fun-filled, smiley day.
Happy Mother’s Day for those in my time zone. (We’ll celebrate for everyone else again tomorrow. :0) )
“When you’re a child she walks before you
To set an example.
When you’re a teenager she walks behind you
To be there should you need her.
When you’re an adult she walks beside you
So that as two friends you can enjoy life together.”
—Unknown
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Harvey didn’t smile, but he took the painting in his hand, looked at it a long time and said, “Good.” I asked him if he wanted me to add it to his wall, and he nodded. I am planning to take him another cartoon character every other week, unless there is a holiday or other special day to celebrate instead. Harvey wasn’t making a lot of sense, otherwise, but he seemed content and comfortable. He did tell me he loved me when I told him and hugged his head. A good visit.
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Newest painted sketches. I will finish one sketchbook today and have started sketchbook #3. Between sketching, painting them, writing blog posts and researching to find more things to share, I have such a happy life. Both of these things are challenging, fun, and fulfilling.
And THEN I add trying to re-learn to play my guitar and sing, working on a beautiful jigsaw puzzle that lives on my puzzle table ready for me to come work on it whenever I can make the time, listening to music, reading, doing my exercises, taking short walks, going to the cafe, I’m a lucky, spoiled-rotten, very happy and grateful lady.
I just finished a very short session of trying to learn and get my guitar sounds to sound clear. I remembered that I thought I had a picture of a drawing a friend of my family growing up drew when he and his wife came to see me perform at “The Dust Bowl” in Tulsa, OK when I was starting high school and continuing through college. The date hanging from my foot says, November 2, 1964, so this was in the dark ages. The next summer I would meet and fall in love with my Harvey and he would soon join the Marines for the next 4 years.
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We will leave soon to go visit Harvey. I have “Mr. Natural” ready to take to him and put up on his “Happy Wall.” It would be nice to get a smile, but we’ll meet him where he is and try to brighten his day a bit. We’ll probably stop for chocolate on the way home, regroup, and then spend some time at the cafe.
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Brian opted out on the gym because he’s still coughing hard. Hopefully, in another couple of days we’ll both feel like resuming our normal early morning schedule. He did find some cough medicine that seems to be loosening his cough and helping him get rid of the problem.
Khun Nong cleaned Brian’s place yesterday and left him these flowers. He showed them to me this morning, said, “You like flowers more than I do,” and insisted I take these home with me. He didn’t have to twist my arm. They are sitting in splendor on my dining area table now. 🤗
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We went to the gym this morning with no repeat of the biting treadmill handlebars. Brian is truly enjoying every minute of teasing me about it, saying things like, “Wow. It’s been 5 minutes and you haven’t punched anyone or anything,” or “It’s good to know you have now renounced violence.” 💪🏻
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Freepik
I’ve been painting one of my sketches this morning. I should be able to finish it sometime day. I am hoping Brian will invite me to go to the cafe with him this afternoon. On Fridays we have to stay until Khun Nong finishes. The other days I go I can leave after a couple of hours and finish up things at my place, take a nap if I want to before dinner, or whatever else occurs to me. This adds a nice touch to my day and I love it.
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Yogalishes Ana
I’m going to finish this post and then do my yoga stretches for the day before they get lost in the shuffle.
“There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven’t met yet.” — William Butler Yeats
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We have just returned from visiting my husband at the nursing home. Today was a good visit, in that he was calm, comfortable – except for a sore throat – and made sense most of the time. He was happy to see us today, too. We told the manager about the sore throat as we left, so hopefully they have something that will bring him some relief.
An interesting thing – Harvey had a swath of talcum powder in the middle of his forehead and stripes of talcum powder on each cheek. We’re seeing if we can find out what that means, if anything –
We stopped at the chocolate place on the way home, always a nice part of our outing. Brian has hot chocolate – plus they bring him a tiny cup of hot tea. I always have a cold chocolate drink, and they bring me the tiny cup of hot tea, as well. Brian drinks my tea and we share a little cookie. We talk about our visit and then head home.
I picked up my laundry on the way back and now have it put away. SUCH a nice luxury. My laundry is a bit complicated: I do my undies and other incidentals in my bucket in the sink, then hang them on my drying rack on my balcony. I take Brian my sheets and towels on Fridays because he has a washing machine. I take my regular clothes to the laundry. It works for us. ____________________
This is my latest painted sketch.
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Brian found a video about the bird WE call the “Fur Real” bird! It turns out its name is a Koel bird. The people in Singapore describe its sound as “uwu” but we can’t figure out where they get that. I’m including a short video on the bird and its sound and you can decide what sound YOU hear…
NOW we’re trying to find out about a bird WE call the ‘woop woop’ bird…
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I’m hoping that the people who are being buried in this March snow, as well as the people under the threat of severe weather today and tomorrow, come through it well. I’m keeping an eye on all the news I can find and wishing everyone well.
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“Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.” ―Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
Sometimes our minds are our own worst enemies – worrying about things that MIGHT happen, imagining awful scenarios. I think this quote is so refreshing, so different, so optimistic. I like it. A LOT.
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This is my latest painted sketch.
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The Chiang Mai Air Pollution Index is in the ‘good’ range now, so I have the windows open, enjoying the breeze. It’s also funny that I can hear what’s going on down on the street better. There is a vehicle that goes by every half hour or so this morning. It goes slowly down the street, with a loudspeaker blasting out a woman singing a song in Thai. Brian tells me that this is a way of advertising things. I hope that SOMEONE likes this woman’s voice and the tune enough to buy whatever she is selling. It’s pretty awful to my uneducated ears…
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Leavitt Group News and Publications
I’m going to try to find a nice image for St. Patrick’s Day to sketch next. I want to sketch and paint something to go on my husband, Harvey’s, wall at the nursing home. I’ve been moving slowly on this, since I didn’t know if the staff and owners would be upset with me or not. Now that they have shown me it’s OKAY, my intention is to build a “Happy Wall” that he can see from his bed, reminding him that he is loved whether Brian and I are there that day or not. – This is the wall so far.
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BBC
I’m getting my place ready for Khun Nong to come clean tomorrow. I have changed the sheets on my bed, putting on a clean duvet (having taken the one that was on there to the laundry this morning.) I’ve gathered trash, and will put out fresh towels, leaving things so that she is able to clean as easily as possible.
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The Vision Gallery Edmonton
The only thing my doctor recommended from my last check up was that I drink more water. I’m sipping at a bottle of cold water as I type. I feel as if my eyeballs are floating and I’m getting added exercise from having to get up and go to the bathroom. I hope I’ll adjust to this in time.
It seems to me that Mother Nature is having a belly laugh watching so many in the U.S. trying to navigate through the snow and ice and havoc they create. She definitely has a taste for causing problems, particularly if you’re dreaming of spring…
Stay warm and safe, dry and comfy, wherever you are. Snuggle down and take care.
“The sound was the first thing that hit me. Not the thunder of artillery, though that was a constant, grumbling backdrop. It was the screaming. A high sound that cut through the dusty air of the clinic. I was a surgeon, but out here, in this makeshift hospital in a reclaimed school basement in eastern Ukraine, I was everything. And that scream meant someone’s world had just ended.
I threw down the clamp I was sterilizing and ran. The corridor was a labyrinth of sandbags and pale, scared faces. Our volunteer driver, Dmytro, was stumbling through the entrance, his face ashen. In his arms, he carried a woman, her clothes dark with blood.
“Doctor! Doctor, please! The market… the shell hit the market!”
He laid her on the first gurney we had, a creaking hospital hand-me-down from the 80s. I saw everything at once. The unmistakable swell of her pregnant belly, maybe seven or eight months along. The shrapnel wound in her shoulder, which was bleeding badly but was manageable. And then I saw her legs, the pool of blood rapidly spreading beneath her.
This wasn’t her blood. This was the baby’s.
“Operating room! Now!” I yelled, my voice a foreign, sharp thing in my own ears. “Nadiya! Prep for an emergency C-section! Maximum units of O-neg, go!”
My hands were moving before my brain fully caught up. We had no real operating room, just a storage room we’d scrubbed clean and flooded with surgical lights. No perfect anaesthesia, just ketamine and vigilance. No team of specialists, just me, Nadiya our fierce, experienced nurse, and a terrified young paramedic named Oleksiy.
The woman, her name was Oksana, her papers said. She was conscious, her eyes wide with a primal fear. Not for herself, but for the life inside her.
“My baby,” she whispered, her voice a dry rasp. “Please. Don’t let my baby die.”
I held her hand for a second. It was cold. “My name is Alex. We are going to fight for you both. But I need you to fight with me. Can you do that?”
She gave a tiny, desperate nod. Nadiya slid in the IV, her movements sure and swift. The distant crump of another explosion shook the building, dust sifting from the ceiling tiles onto our sterile field.
We couldn’t move her to a proper hospital. She wouldn’t survive the journey. It had to be here. Now.
The ketamine took the edge off her pain, but she was still with us. I made the first incision. A Pfannenstiel incision, the same one I’d made hundreds of times in my clean, quiet hospital back home. This was nothing like that. This was blood, and urgency, and the muffled thud of war outside our door.
Oleksiy held the retractors, his hands shaking. “Steady,” I muttered, more to myself than to him. I worked blindly for a moment, my fingers finding their way by touch and memory. The uterus. The source of the bleeding. A piece of shrapnel, no bigger than my thumbnail, had pierced the uterine wall.
I got the bleeding under control as best I could. There was no time for finesse. I had to get the baby out. I extended the incision into the uterus. The amniotic fluid gushed out, mixing with the blood. And then, I saw it. A tiny, perfect foot.
A footling breech. Of course. Nothing about this was going to be easy.
I reached in, my heart hammering against my ribs. I found the other foot. The cord, I could feel it pulsing—a frantic, beautiful sign of life. With infinite care, I began to guide the baby out. Hips, shoulders, and then the head, delivered slowly to prevent injury.
And then, a tiny, limp body was in my hands. A boy. Covered in vernix and blood. Silent.
The world stopped. The shelling, the shouting, the smell of antiseptic and copper—it all faded away. There was only this silent child in my palms.
“Come on, little one,” I whispered. I tilted him slightly, clearing his airway with a bulb syringe. I rubbed his back firmly with a sterile gauze. Nothing.
Oksana was watching, tears streaming down her face into the surgical drape. “Please,” she breathed again.
I bent down and covered his tiny mouth and nose with my own. I gave two gentle puffs of air. I felt his chest rise and fall.
I did it again.
And then, the most beautiful sound I have ever heard filled that bloody, desperate room. A thin, reedy, indignant cry. It was a sound of pure life, a protest against the cold and the shock. The sound of a soul declaring itself.
I placed the squalling, wriggling boy on Oksana’s chest. Nadiya was already there, covering him with a warm towel. Oksana’s good arm came up to hold him, a look of such profound relief and love on her face that it felt like a physical force in the room. It pushed back the darkness.
My work wasn’t done. I turned back to Oksana, to repair the damage to her uterus, to tend to her shoulder. My hands were still steady, but now they were filled with a quiet, humming energy. The energy from that cry.
Hours later, I sat outside on a broken step, the night air cold on my face. The fighting had moved further east, the thunder now just a distant grumble. I was exhausted, drained to my very core. My scrubs were stiff with dried blood.
Dmytro came and sat beside me. He handed me a chipped mug of hot, sweet tea.
“The mother?” he asked.
“She’ll be fine. Strong woman. They both will be.”
He nodded, sipping his own tea. We sat in silence for a while. Then he looked at me, a question in his tired eyes.
“Why do you do it, Doc? Why are you here?”
I looked down at my hands. The hands that had held a dying woman and delivered her son into a world at war. They were just hands. A doctor’s hands.
I thought of Oksana’s face. I thought of that cry.
“For that,” I said quietly. “For the chance to bring something into this world that isn’t destruction. Just for that one sound.”
And in the darkness of a broken city, with the taste of dust and tea in my mouth, that felt like enough.”
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This is a true story. When I read it, I simply sat, so moved, all by myself in my place, tears in my eyes. This is one story. It has a happy ending, thank goodness, but this is happening in so many places in our world – the ending maybe not so happy. Wonderful doctors and nurses are putting everything on the line, doing the very best they can under horrendous conditions, to try to do good in a world full of violence. There is no pay high enough. They do this because their hearts force them to use their skills when others would be running in the opposite direction. There is no way to thank them for this labor of love. They work when they are so tired it’s amazing they can stand up, much less perform life saving surgeries. They work when they are hungry, when they have to be scared out of their wits with bombs going off all around them. They work when the outcomes are not good, when there was simply nothing they could do, and then go on to try to help someone else.
I’m so thankful to these men and women. I’m proud to share this post with you. I want you to read and feel and absorb, and then hope you will share it wherever you can so that people are aware that people are living and dying in places all over our beautiful world. Please don’t forget that. Don’t get so caught up in the details of your world that you forget the wonderful things that are happening in the midst of violence and hatred. Do whatever you can to support these medical people, plus the military people in the middle of harm’s way, as well. Thank you.
Happy Valentine’s Day! May you spend the day with your special someone swamped by love and affection!
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My orchid plant now has THREE blooms plus another three buds! (This was given to me as a condo-warming present when I moved in in May. The blooms promptly fell off and I thought I had killed it. 😢 I’ve been holding my breath, trying to continue following the directions I was given ever since and am THRILLED it finally bloomed again.)
I’m hoping for a bit more before I send the photo to my wonderful adoptive family here to show them it still lives. 😁
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I’ve been to the gym, showered, had breakfast with my son, Brian, have my laundry out drying on my balcony, and have answered emails and chat posts.
I’m starting to write blog posts and then I’m looking forward to spending some time painting some sketches. It’s the usual for this time of year – windows open to the breeze, beautiful sunshine and warm temperatures, and me grinning as I type…
I’m sorry for the quality of this image, but I think the message is important enough that I’m asking you to overlook it. (I’m not a subscriber to Instagram where all of the images are larger and clear.)
My son, Brian, asked me to start giving myself 5 minutes each evening to “feel gratitude.” He said to sit on something comfortable, put my feet on the floor, close my eyes and simply think of something for which I’m grateful. He suggested that thinking of a mental image or picture might help. I pictured him kissing my husband on the head at the nursing home. Nothing happened the first night, but the second I felt the emotion rise up inside me, flooding my system and grateful tears began to run down my face.
My husband and I had thought that we might not see Brian again. We were getting older and time was moving faster. He lived across the world from us in Thailand. It took 24 hours of traveling, with flights and layovers, to get from Thailand to us, so we wouldn’t ASK him to come unless we really needed it.
That time came in February of 2025, when my husband and I got really sick at the same time. Brian took care of us in Arkansas, convincing us to retire in Thailand to be close to him. Now my husband is in a nursing home here in Thailand. We are all together now, as much as we can be. When I think of Brian hugging my husband, Harvey – kissing his head and telling him how much he loves him – my heart fills up and spills over. “Grateful” is just not a strong enough word for what I feel.
My “5 minutes” now takes a half hour or more each evening before I go to bed. I feel at peace, taking the time to FEEL the gratitude for the changes we have made, getting to be close to Brian, living in a new exciting country with wonderfully kind people who have welcomed us. I find new things for which to be grateful on a daily basis.
As Nanea says here so beautifully, “FEEL IT – BREATHE IT”. If you only have one minute every day, you’ll feel yourself slowing down, calming down, filling up with appreciation and love.
This is a re-post of an article written by Larry Edge of Substack. I related to it so many times that I asked him for permission to share it here with you.
I hope that wherever you are, you are having a happy day, either doing last-minute shopping, wrapping presents, decorating a tree, hugging a loved one, listening to Christmas music, enjoying a walk outside, or relaxing with a hot drink in your favorite chair.
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I’m back from the gym, showered, breakfasted and ready to make the rest of my day a good one. I’ll write my posts for the blog first, since I love reaching out to you, and then I’ll decide whether to paint another sketch, work on my jigsaw puzzle, or read my book.
Cromarty Arts Trust
I’m also shortening and hemming the sleeves of three stretchy tops I like. (There is less of me now, and while I don’t mind the tops being long and loose, I don’t like to have to keep pulling up the sleeves. I have cut off each of the sleeves and am hemming them so I can continue to enjoy wearing them.) I did one two days ago, and will tackle the 2nd of the 3 today.
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Live Science
I have gone from being a person who almost never used my phone in Arkansas to a person who HAS to have my phone here in Thailand. Brian is teaching me a lot of things I use constantly now – like Google Maps; a chat program he likes where he, I, and my adopted family can contact each other; a weather app, Pinterest, notes, lists, alarms, and on and on. I’m still not, and will never be, a ‘techie,’ but I’m delighted in all the things I can use it for now.
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Freepik
Brian will bring dinner to my place tonight, and we’ll back up the data on my phone and my computer as we do each week. I love our visits on Tuesdays, where we discuss everything in the world and he makes me laugh until my stomach hurts…
We went to visit my husband at the nursing home this morning. As visits go, this was a pretty good one. He seems to be comfortable, and was happy to see us. He made sense most of the time, except didn’t remember that we were in Chiang Mai, and thought the trip here was still ahead of us. He was confused about a lot of things, but not upset. He seemed interested in what we were telling him and liked looking a pictures on our phones.
He pulled out his nasal tube three times yesterday and his hands were in hard plastic ‘bags’ to keep him from pulling it out again. We tried to explain to him that if he eats and drinks enough without choking, they probably will be able to remove the tube. It’s heartbreaking that he will probably never be able to ‘come home,’ barring a miracle, but I’m very grateful that we found a place who calls him, “Pa,” and his nurse thinks the fact he is stubborn is an endearing quirk.
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KinderCare
I’m back to painting the sketches in my sketchbook and having a great time. I’m carrying the Christmas cards I painted so that I can give them out as I see people. The rest will be given when we will go to a party hosted by the family who ‘adopted’ Harvey and me as honorary grandparents. We keep showing Harvey pics of their son and daughter, but he probably won’t see them in person. By the end of the year, I may fill up this first sketchbook. I think I’m making some progress in trying to learn to draw what I see better. I have a lot of fun trying, and I have a 2nd book to start when this one is finished.
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My dolphins jigsaw puzzle may be more of a challenge than I can handle. I’m making extremely slow progress on it. The change of my chair to one that rolls around, though, is great. I can now roll up to one side or the other and see better what I’m trying to do. Brian is happy I’m slow because each time I finish a puzzle, he takes a picture of it and orders a print made of it on glass that I put on my ‘statement’ shelf in my living area. He teases me, griping about the cost of the glass prints. I have two so far…. 😛
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Today is ‘old lady yoga stretches’ day. I did my mile walk on the treadmill at the gym this morning, and will spend a good long time (30-45 minutes) with the yoga stretches. I’m adding a couple of new moves to my practice, as Brian has suggested some things that concentrate on my core more. I will also do the Internet balance exercises and may dance a bit, if I don’t run out of time…
Pngtree
I’m finally within about 5 pounds or so of my weight loss goal. I hit a new low this morning (hoooooraaaaaaay!!!!!!) I will see where I am and how I’m feeling with the loss of 5 more pounds and then decide if I want to go for 5 more. I want to be to the place I can maintain my eating, being able to splurge at times without guilt, enjoy getting some jeans that fit (I’ve taken in the waist of the ones I’m wearing three times now), and concentrate on my exercising – working on flexibility, balance and core strength, as well as trying to build up my arm strength.
After getting back from the gym, our day had a bit of a scary start –
I was waiting for Brian to text me to join him for breakfast. All of a sudden someone was trying to get into my place! I was worried it was someone drunk who was at my door by mistake. I yelled ‘who is it?’ and it was BRIAN.
He had texted me on our usual phone app, but I had not answered and had not appeared as usual. He got worried and came to my door. He discovered the extra key he thought worked on my door DIDN’T. I knew he thought I had done something to my phone that caused the problem.
We had breakfast and then he looked at both our phones. I’m kind of doofus and was afraid I had it set wrong somehow. It turned out that the problem is in the APP, not ME! It wasn’t sending audible signals as it always does. Brian is trying to figure out the problem and see if he can get it fixed. Meanwhile, I will get a VISUAL signal if I’m at the computer, or I can check manually about the time he usually texts for one reason or another and get a message that way. I hope it gets fixed quickly, as we rely on it.
It is on the maintenance guy’s list to change the locks on Brian’s door and mine, and they will have the same key, so at least we will be able to get in and out of each other’s doors, if needed.
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We are having a quiet day today. Brian will work at home until he has to get out of Khun Nong’s way when she comes to clean his place. He’ll work at the cafe and then bring dinner here.
I’m planning to finish blog posts, and then puzzle, paint, and read. 🙂🧩🎨📖
I did 3 more Christmas cards, just in case. I have one more person on my list I haven’t found yet. The rest are for people I SHOULD have listed, but didn’t or who might be at a Christmas gathering of some kind.
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I’m enjoying the ‘great window opening’ at my place this afternoon. It’s 82 degrees and slightly overcast today. It’s a wonderful day for opening up, airing out, and enjoying the beautiful weather. The cross breeze is really energizing and I’m loving it!
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I got a haircut this morning, so I’m looking less like a dandelion-gone-to-seed than I was. This man does a good job. He’s getting the fact that I only want to quickly wash it in the shower each morning after my workout and blow it dry. No rollers, no styling, no gels, no spray. Just clean hair that looks like someone had a plan.
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We’re having some trouble getting around the past couple of days. There is no holiday as such happening now. The tourist season is in full swing, but it has been since around the first of November. I’m not sure what’s going on, but we’re having to build in more time to get where we’re going, since we have to wait longer than usual to get a GRAB.
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The visit to Harvey yesterday was pretty good. He seemed to like the picture I painted for him. I was going to replace his birthday picture with the Christmas picture, but his nurse insisted I just add the Christmas picture to the wall. She indicated that I could cover the whole wall with pictures in time if I wanted to. Is she a wonderful person, or what!
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I hope that you’re having a fun day wherever you are, that you’re safe from ugly weather, and that you’re surrounded by those you love.
We are going to visit Harvey at the nursing home this morning. Brian is taking some grape drink and a pineapple pie (Harvey’s current favorites) and I’m taking the Christmas picture above. I’ll replace his birthday picture with this one.
I also painted this sketch yesterday. I’m really enjoying the new chair Brian got for me. It’s really comfortable. I scoot around a lot, reach for things, move things around as I sketch and paint, then refine the sketches. The chair is wonderfully comfortable and makes my time in my alcove even more enjoyable!
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My jigsaw puzzle is coming along slowly. I’m having a good time working on it when I can make the time. I especially love being able to leave it out ready to work on, rather than having it ‘bother’ anyone to have the ‘mess.’
I’m also delighted that I’m safer and much more comfortable since I moved the old art alcove chair to be my puzzle chair and we got rid of the older wooden one. I can actually roll around two the two sides of the puzzle now. It makes it easier to see that I don’t have the piece I need and say a couple of bad words… 😜
Brian has dubbed me “Goofus” of the “Goofus and Gallant” cartoon series that appears in Highlights Magazine for Children. I had never heard of it and so looked it up this morning. I’ll explain more in another post. Suffice to say that I’m loving this part of my relationship with our son. He insults ME and I tease and tickle HIM. We have so much fun
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.
Isn’t this the cutest thing ever? I laughed when I saw it and had to share.
One nice thing that happened when we were at the visa place this morning was that the lady who always helps us said a bunch to Brian in Thai. Of course, I didn’t understand, and just smiled at her when she smiled at me.
Later, when we were outside waiting for our ride, I asked Brian what she had said. He told me she said that I looked good. She saw that I had lost weight. She liked my haircut and said I looked happy. 😊
Later still, when we were at the nursing home, the manager of the place spoke to Brian. I assumed that she was telling him something about Harvey, but it turned out she had noticed I had lost weight and said I looked good.
Two people there asked if I was feeling better, showing you how NICE Thai people are.
Makes me want to redouble my efforts to lose the last of my extra lard and continue exercising! 💪🏻
