Category Archives: Uncategorized

June 3, 2025 · 4:12 am

Rich in Socks

This is a beautiful photo called, “Echinacea” by @Livvylove.bluesky.social. This simply makes my heart bloom.

My day has been another good one. Brian and I did our workouts at the gym, ate breakfast, regrouped, then went to the mall called, “Maya” (pronounced May-YAH’-ah), getting there soon after it opened at eleven.

I had asked Brian if we could look for a teeny tiny sewing kit so that I could fix a hole in one of my socks. He asked me if I really liked my socks. I told him honestly that they were too much for Thailand, being long and thick, and that I wished I had some shorter, ‘footie-type’ socks that would be better for the climate.

So, off we went to the mall, not for the sewing kit, but for new socks! I’m now the happy owner of several pairs of footie type socks, black, white, and some colors, that should last me the rest of my life. 😃. He’s also asked me several times recently if I wanted some make-up (and I decided maybe I needed to try to spruce up a bit) , so I bought some new foundation, and will use a bit more make up when we’re going out.

Today, before he needed to go to work, Brian showed me how to back up the data on my phone, plus how to back up my computer. I made a lot of notes, and will hopefully be able to do this on my own, backing things up once a week from now on. 💪🏻

I had fun in my art alcove this afternoon, choosing a sweet drawing of a dog’s face peering out of a sheet that surrounded him. Today I used watercolor, but am also enjoying using my colored pencils. I enjoy others’ black and white drawings, but prefer to try to add color to mine.

Tonight Kuhn Nong cleans Brian’s condo, so we’ll make ourselves scarce while she works. We’re talking about either going out to try some of the blander Thai food (I’m a wuss – plus trying to eat low carb) or ordering in and eating at my place. If we stay in, Brian wants to work on strengthening some of my passwords.

I’m not impressing anyone with my progress on my owls jigsaw puzzle. But, as I stood there looking at it, I reminded myself that 1) it doesn’t matter if I only do this one puzzle the rest of my life and 2) it doesn’t bother ANYONE for me to leave it out! THAT makes me grin from ear to ear!

I just started an old Nora Roberts book that I somehow missed and just bought used. I’m already deep into her story, but our days are so busy that I find myself waking up with the book on my chest… (part of that is because I’m still without a sofa until Thursday, and so am spread out on the bed reading.)

Thank you, (cawp coon KAH!) for following my adventures as I learn to live by myself for the first time ever in a beautiful, fascinating country that draws me to it and intimidates me at the same time. What a wonderful opportunity it is to build a life for myself here!

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June 2, 2025 · 2:34 am

This Morning’s Adventure

My first ever pedicure was with my husband (also HIS first) just after we moved to Thailand, shortly before his stroke in April. This was followed by my first ever manicure in Laos, when we were in the country for other business.

Today Brian offered to take me to a place where I could get both at one time. Little did I know that when I was looking at prices, HE was telling the ladies to give me the total SPA experience.

The basic thing, of course, was taking off the old polish, giving me the mani/pedi (I’ve never said or typed that before!), but the ‘spa’ portion was the extraordinary adventure. There was a massage chair that really worked on my back until they started painting nails. I had herbal scrubs of my legs and feet, arms and hands, as well as massage of all. My feet were soaked in deliciously hot whirlpool water. Lotion was applied to feet, legs, arms, and hands.

The kindness was what struck me most of all. They seemed to sense that all this attention was new to me, and a gift from my son. They brought us each a bottle of water. They helped me very carefully from the door, into the special slide type slippers after we removed our shoes outside, and over to the chair, helping me get into it without incident, and back again.

They watched me to see if anything was bothering me, and seemed very happy when I smiled the whole time, my cheeks literally hurting by the end of my time there. I said my mangled version of ‘thank you’ in Thai, folded my hands together and bowed. Then THEY were smiling ear to ear.

This was truly a gift – an adventure – a total pampering of one old lady who greatly enjoyed every minute.

I also told Brian that this was over the top on pampering, and that in the future, I would greatly appreciate the joy of their removing the old polish, shaping nails, and applying new polish as the total wonderful service.

I am so lucky to have a son who tries to make his mom happy each and every day. Part of it is to try to make up for the agony of Harvey being in the nursing home – an extremely painful situation. Part of it is the joy of discovering each other as people – that we are growing closer and closer as the days pass, enjoying spending time together. He is sharing some of his favorite places with me. I’m delighted to have such a wonderful guide – seeing so many fascinating things without having to worry about getting lost, if I have enough money, getting transportation, avoiding any possible dangerous parts of the city, just concentrating on the absolute joy of seeing so many new things, the people, the traffic, the flow of the city, the culture showing right in front of my eyes, trying to learn a few Thai phrases, etc. I’m the luckiest woman on the planet!

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May 28, 2025 · 5:30 am

Additions!

Today the IKEA guys came and dealt with power tools and 46 gazillion pieces to assemble my chest of drawers.

The drawers not only have side rollers on each drawer, but one in the center of each. The piece is heavy, sturdy – though they did warn us not to have something really heavy in the top drawer and then have all four drawers open at the same time. DUH.

I used my new step stool yesterday to empty the high cabinets in my condo, taking a lot of what I found to the trash and the recycling area.

I spent most of today bagging up my husband’s things, carefully sorting, putting things in bags, labeling the bags carefully, and then storing them in two of the high cabinets I cleaned out in the living room. We will be able to find things needed at the nursing home quickly and easily now, plus it gives me more space to spread out a bit.

This freed up my closet area which I rearranged so I can find my stuff easily without a lot of standing on my head now. I then arranged things in my new chest of drawers.

I pooped myself out with all of this and ended up ‘resting’ for a few minutes, which actually turned out to be an hour’s NAP!

The changes continue, with my old people-swallowing sofa leaving this Friday between 2 and 3pm. This may collide with my wonderful housekeeper, Kuhn Nong; so we’ll be here, ready for the movers before 2, hoping they come and go before 2:30, when Nong is due to start. We will warn her if they haven’t shown up before she arrives.

I will be without a sofa until June 5th – 6 days where my living area will look extremely empty, and I will be moving around, trying to find another comfortable place to sit. 😃. I’ll send pics as soon as the new sofa arrives. This will be the last big change in the condo.

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May 26, 2025 · 9:38 pm

Tuesday, May 27, 8:50 am

This is the jigsaw puzzle I am trying to put together. I love owls, and the colors this has I think are wonderful.

The very BEST part is that I now have a “jigsaw puzzle table” and the puzzle is OUT, very close to the door, where everyone visiting can see it for as long as I am working on it! I may even coax a person or two to sit down and work on it with me. 🙂

Brian is coming down to pick me up to run errands around 10- 30-ish. We had to wear our “Thailand Rainsuits” again this morning to go to the gym and back for our workout. As we were putting them on before venturing into the downpour, a lady who works at the condo building came out to ask Brian how his dad was. From his gestures, Brian told her that some things were better, but that his dad remains very, very confused at the nursing home. I am so amazed and pleased that people all over the building are so kind and caring to ask. He has obviously made quite an impression here.

When we get finished with our errands, I’m going to spend part of the afternoon using my new step stool to see what is up high in my place. I will get it cleaned out and use it as good storage places.

I think I told you that I have headphones with my computer for the first time ever. Brian got a set for Harvey and me so that we didn’t drive each other crazy with sounds. I’ve told you I came out of the hospital with a large hearing loss for which we are now looking for hearing aids. My husband would drive me out of our office in the states with the high volume on the gory movies he loved. The headphones would make it possible for us to each watch a movie with volumes set where we wanted them, sitting side by side, without bothering each other, or one could watch TV and the other work at the computer with the headphones that canceled out the noise of the other. Even though I am by myself in the condo, I have neighbors who might not enjoy my choice of YouTube videos or TV movies, so I wear the headphones. Last night I tried it, playing a documentary of Jelly Roll! ☺️

I have been finding drawings I like on YouTube and Pinterest and trying to reproduce them in my sketchbook. I’ve been using regular pencils, colored pencils, and recently bought a set of watercolors. Since the whirlwind of our lives is calming down a bit now, I’ve been having a blast simply playing in my art alcove, enjoying the process under no pressure to try to make something I hope someone will like enough to buy. Can you see me grinning? 😁

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May 25, 2025 · 8:54 pm

Monday, May 26, 8:32 am

After my walking on the treadmill at the gym this morning, we again put on our “Thailand Raincoats” in the covered parking spaces just outside the gym. These are trashbags with sleeves and a hood with drawstrings. They really do a great job, where my tote got wet yesterday under my umbrella. I have the clever raincoat on my laundry rack drying now. I can fold it up and keep it in my tote for use the next time we have a good amount of walking to do, rather than simply getting into or out of a Grab. (Mine is purple, though it looks pink in this photo. Brian’s is blue. – we have a standing joke about him apologizing for not getting yellow – begun when MAC offered computers in that color that were simply hideous! I even LIKE yellow as a rule, but certainly not on my computer…)

Soon we’ll go see Harvey. He did have the nurse call Brian yesterday. He said, “Get me out of here,” about being at the hospital for tests. Brian assured him that the tests were over and that he, accompanied by Miko, would be on their way home soon. Miko thanked Brian, saying Harvey calmed down after talking with him. It will be interesting to see if Harvey 1) knows us, 2) missed us visiting yesterday, 3) remembers being at the hospital, 4) is still complaining about everything and threatening to do harm to the male nurse and the male physical therapy expert at the nursing home.

He keeps wanting to get out of bed. He thinks he can walk by himself, but it takes the PT guy with a strong belt that goes around Harvey’s waist to hold him up so he can walk, shuffling, to the wheelchair in the room or sometimes even to the front porch of the facility. He would certainly fall and hurt himself, possibly ending up in the hospital again if he tried. We have explained this to him endless times, but haven’t been able to get through to him yet…

Brian needs to work today, so he’ll do that while I do various fun things in my condo. We’ll regroup around 5pm and walk to a place Brian thinks I might find a larger tote I can use.

I wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day. I realize that as I type this, it is still Sunday evening for some of you. For others, it is already Monday evening. So a happy celebration to all who remember this day.

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May 21, 2025 · 8:54 pm

Fascinating Birds

Coucal – This bird and his/her partner fly around close to the gym every morning. The contrast of the black and reddish brown really catch your eye, as well as their soaring, fast flight. I thought they might be a member of the hawk family, but Brian just sent me a link that says they’re a member of the cuckoo family! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coucal

Brian orders breakfast for us each morning after our workout and cleanup, and lets me know when to go up to his condo. I can look out at one of his gorgeous views (from his 9th floor condo!) as we eat. One of my favorite things is the flock of pigeons that comes every morning to fly around. As Harvey and I used to do one summer, trying to keep our heads still and count the number of hummingbirds that were flocking around our feeders, I keep trying to count the number of pigeons that dip, soar, and dive bomb in the air space outside his part of the building. There are at LEAST 12 that I’ve counted at one time. They put on quite a show and surely add a beautiful quality of life to our breakfasts, though Brian now takes them for granted.

And finally, I assume that the birds outside the big window glass panes that line the front of the gym where Brian and I are (running – Brian) (walking – me), are different colors of pigeons. I’m not a bird person. I just know that one of the delights while walking on the treadmill is seeing various birds of all different colors walking around, as well as a dog or a cat sometimes.

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May 20, 2025 · 9:30 pm

Lots to Learn

This was the END of a wonderful Thai meal we had recently. Brian said it didn’t really have an official name, but it had chicken, some type of pasta, lots of veggies, salad ingredients, sauce, with a fancy dish of fruit on the side.

This was my first real Thai meal. Brian is trying to help me eat healthy, eat less, and avoid food that will blow the top of my head off. By the way, protocol dictates you DON’T eat the fern or the pretty flower…

Every day I learn more about how I should act, what I should and should not do to honor the culture and the people. The list is long and my life may not be long enough to absorb it all, but I’m trying my best to absorb as much as I can.

Examples:

  • Taking off your shoes in all private dwellings, some businesses, some doctor’s offices, etc. I am learning to LOOK for signs that shoes should come off. (shoes outside the door, a rack of temporary slippers to put on after shedding your shoes, etc.) That’s the main reason we bought the Skecher Step-Ins so we could ‘toe’ them off and then quickly step back into them.
  • Don’t point – ever. Thai people don’t want to do anything to get your attention. If you point for whatever reason, it means to THEM you think that something you’re doing is wrong somehow.
  • When you see someone, bow, smile, and fold your hands together in front of you. You can even do this partially – if you have something in your hands. Smiling, bowing and hands equal you are happy with them, and honoring them – something very important.
  • I am trying to learn to say, ‘hello’ (pronounced ‘sawat-dee-kah’) and ‘thank you’ (‘cawp-coon-kah‘) in Thai. We’re still looking for hearing aids, and Brian said my pronunciation is terrible. So, until I get my hearing aids and can practice, I have returned to smiling and speaking English.
  • For the same reason you never point, you never look around – say at seeing someone’s home for the first time – and smile and say something like, ‘what a beautiful home!’ You are just supposed to smile and say nothing. The logic behind this one still eludes me.
  • When you cross the street, you cross each half – one at a time. When traffic will allow you, you cross and wait in the center of the street. You wait until the traffic will allow, and then continue to cross. If someone is suddenly there in their car or motorcyle and allows you to continue to cross, you bow your head, thanking him for allowing you to cross. You NEVER – WHATEVER YOU DO – try to run across any part of the road. It is better to stand spread-eagled, blocking the whole road, making it all come to a standstill, than to run. Brian says MANY people are injured or killed because of not following street crossing protocol.
  • I have a Google search bookmarked on my phone now so I can figure out what something costs here. I see a price listed, and I can reasonably quickly type, ‘12,000 bht to usd’ on my phone to find out that it costs $365.74 U.S. dollars. There is no sales tax here. The price listed is the price you pay.
  • ‘You pays your money and you takes the ride.’ When you pay someone here to do a service, you are literally putting yourself in their hands, showing them that you value their expertise, judgment, and workmanship. I am going to a clinic tomorrow for an initial assessment of how I am doing since moving to Thailand. It would be insulting for me to TELL the doctor that I had my thyroid radiated for Graves Disease several years ago, or that I have a new pacemaker. You trust them to find that out, or ask you what they want to know. They finish their tests, tell you their assessment, and make their recommendations.
  • I’m going to have a haircut soon. It’s the same thing there. They have a good reputation, lots and lots of reviews. You go in and ask them to make you look better, and then cross your fingers…. 😳
  • I hope you’re beginning to see why I feel overwhelmed a lot of the time, combined with fascinated and thrilled. I make a LOT of notes!

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May 12, 2025 · 8:57 pm

55 Pound Sack

What comes in a 55 pound sack?

Lots of things according to Google, including malt for beer , chemicals, animal feed and more.

why am I talking about this? Well, another thing that came in a 55 pound sack was a lot of my fat. Today I finally hit another interim goal on my effort to lose the lard and get healthier. I am down 55 pounds from my highest weight.
I am setting interim 5 pound goals because they seem more achievable than the whole number at once. I still want to lose another 25 or 30 pounds (or so) but another 5 pounds sounds doable.

I’m eating breakfast and then dinner, both mainly low carb. I’m walking at the gym on the treadmill while my son runs, and doing a good session of old lady yoga stretches daily. Even though I am the definition of a stress eater, I am seeing results.

I will weigh and measure at the end of the month, but it seems like I am on the right path.🙂

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May 12, 2025 · 3:46 am

Belated Good Wishes

Sorry that my Happy Mother’s Day wishes are late. For some reason, I couldn’t get to my blog.

I had a delightful surprise – Brian’s friend and coworker and his whole family wanted to come by and leave something with me.

It was this gorgeous orchid as a Happy Mother’s Day present. This wonderful family lives in the same building that Brian and I do.
We had been invited to dinner at their condo but we had to cancel due to Harvey’s stroke. I had met the woman and her 9 month old (I think) daughter, but hadn’t met the rest of the family. They have a 3 year old son, too. They brought one of their Nannie’s and another friend.

I gave her a choice of a pair of earrings that I had wood burned. She seemed pleased. They have adopted Harvey and me as honorary grandparents! I about lost it when they asked if they could call me, “Nana.” 🙏

She is an artist and will invite me to see some of her work in her studio. I can’t wait AND they are going to invite me to dinner soon!

To say I am thrilled is the understatement of the century. I will try to earn my new name each time I see them.

I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day or showed yours how special she is.

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May 9, 2025 · 3:57 am

This’n That from Thailand

One view from my window.

The past couple of days have been challenging – good and bad.

One thing that has been getting on my nerves a bit is having to try to write to you here via my phone rather than getting on my computer. All kinds of problems associated with this, so even though I am doing the best I can, I appreciate your patience.

Our next delivery of IKEA furniture is the 14th and I have asked that we put together the computer table first and get my computer up and going as soon as possible.

Our visit with Harvey today was heart wrenching. He didn’t recognize us, care that we were there, and didn’t try to communicate, so it basically a wasted trip. The worst part of this stroke is the cognitive decline and lack of ability to communicate.

We stopped at the immigration office on the way home and got Harvey’s medical visa. This makes him legal! It is renewable every 3 months. We are still waiting for something on mine, but we are making slow, steady progress on trying to get my retirement visa which we can renew in one year.

The auction on our home in AR was yesterday. Mixed results on that. Brian is in contact with the auctioneer to find out what the next step is. After 37 years, it is hard to walk away, even though the upkeep on the place had become way too much for us. Part of me is relieved – the other part sad.

More good news – as of next Friday I will have a lady who will clean my condo weekly! She cleans Brian’s place and has just agreed to do mine. We got a bunch of cleaning supplies today. I have never had anyone come clean before 😀

I got a massage this morning. She found all kinds of knots in my back and neck. It was wonderful. AND she agreed to do weekly massages on Fridays at 10:00! Spoiled, happy me!!!

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May 5, 2025 · 9:57 pm

Cinco de Mayo

My friend Marsha sent me a really cute picture to go with the holiday, but the saved photo goes to la la land 😡

We went to the gym (day 2 for me). I walked for about 32 minutes and bumped the speed up from 3.6 to 4 in increments. I felt fine. The bottom line was I walked a mile. 🙂

We’ve had breakfast and I am waiting for the people to come install Internet service for me. When they finish, we’ll copy some stuff and send it DHL.

Then, if the time is reasonable, we will go visit my husband in the nursing home.

❤️ Shout out to Laufrain and David, who are celebrating an anniversary today!

I hope you had a great day today.

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May 4, 2025 · 2:54 am

Feast for the Eyes

We went to the hospital first thing this morning. Harvey was up in a chair. The first thing he said to me was, “I need to be in the chair.” He looked confused when I told him he was already IN the chair. The staff brought in a wheelchair and took him for PT. When he came back, they were trying to get him back into the bed. He clearly motioned for me to come help. It was funny and a hint that my guy is inside there somewhere.

Brian and I stopped at a clothes store that we recently found that has clothes good for Brian. He bought several things, then insisted I get two kind of silky buttons- down -the front blouses he thought were pretty. 😀

We went to another place for a coffee. I told him that I really love Chiang Mai because it’s a feast for the eyes. High rise really expensive buildings and then a group of little stores with colorful, textured roofs, straw basket lids decorating the ceiling or some other creative touch. It’s a good thing he holds my hand when we are walking because I am agog at all the wonderful sights around me.

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April 27, 2025 · 8:37 pm

Wired 4-28-2025

It’s Monday morning, April 28th, 8:35 a.m.

Chiang Mai has many beautiful, impressive buildings. This wiring is impressive in quite a different way to me. This is one of the neater ‘bundles’ of wires that are common here. Some are truly humongous.

I thought my husband and I ended up with snarls of wiring when we lived in the states, even though Harvey did a neat job at the beginning of a project. We would do something else that really replaced a prior generation of something, though, and he didn’t remove the previous wiring. So eventually, we had a snarl, neither of us remembering what the wiring was FOR…

Some of the bundles along the street are really amazing. I would really hate to be an electrical person trying to add to, or modify anything in these bundles.

Happily, the wiring in our actual building is quite neat. Even though we have had several lightning storms since we’ve been here, there have been no losses of power. Maintenance is taken quite seriously. All it takes is a phone call and someone comes up. I haven’t had to contact anyone since I’ve been in the air bnb. I have really enjoyed my stay here.

I love the way that businesses spring up around here. Real entrepenurship in action. One of these days when we’re not pressed for time, I want to walk around our neighborhood, taking some pics of the small businesses that are across the street at the back of the hotel and in the block surrounding the building. There are some food booths and other things I haven’t had a chance to identify.

There is a 7-11 near our building. That’s a big selling point around here. Thai people LOVE 7-11’s. There is a constant stream of people at all hours of the day and night shopping there. There is a glass wall with a door between the 7-11 – divided into pharmacy type stuff on one side and a regular 7-11 type place on the other side.

I don’t think I told you, but you have to have a special key card to use the elevator in the building. This is an added security thing. You can also use it to access a private bathroom off the lobby for condo people in the building. I feel quite safe here.

The lady who runs the office for the building in the daytime asks Brian how his dad is doing often as he is keying in a request for a Grab into his phone. She is so nice and everyone genuinely seems to care about him trying to take care of his parents.

We just had a breakfast of pork strips and a dragon fruit. Delicious! We’ll head for the hospital a bit later, hoping Harvey will recognize us and to monitor his progress.

I hope your day is good.

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April 27, 2025 · 6:52 am

My Head is Spinning

This is part of my beautiful room in Laos. This hotel was really well run. The people were friendly and helpful, and great places were within walking distance of the hotel.

We went to the hospital today, as usual. Sadly, Harvey didn’t recognize us. He was sitting in a chair, though, when we came into the room. A therapist was there with mental and physical small ‘games’ to work on verbal skills, hand-eye coordination, emphasizing use of his left, or weaker, hand. Then the big muscle physical therapists came in and took over, doing all kinds of chair exercises, then helping him walk down the hall with an aide on either side and a ‘belt’ for them to use to make sure everything went well. He walked down the hall to the therapy room and did more exercises. He was pooped when he returned to the room and slept through lunch. He has real trouble standing up straight and holding his head up.

We left about 3pm. Brian cheered me up, taking us to an art store in the mall. We got a big sketch book full of paper, two regular pencils and an eraser, and a plastic container of 24 colored pencils. I’m planning to use some of my time trying to draw some of the simpler ‘learn to draw’ images on Pinterest, as well as YouTube videos. I want to just work on it every time I get a chance, just delighting in the act of trying to create an image, rather than worrying about the result. I may fill all the pages of the sketch book and toss it in the trash, replacing it with another to try again until I show some improvement. It will be a joy. 😊

While we were out, we crossed the street from the mall and went to a church type building that was filled with shops. It was quite lovely, with way too much to see in one walk-through. We stopped at a coffee shop and both got citrus-y cold coffees, perfect for the temperature outside.

Brian will be here soon with a salad he’s ordering for us to go with the roasted chicken chunks and fruit we have left over from yesterday. YUM!

We are narrowing down the options for a nursing home for Harvey. We have two main candidates that look good so far. We plan on getting some more answers from each of them and then will probably go visit very soon.

Closing on the condo has been moved to Wednesday, cutting the timing really short. I’m supposed to check out of the air bnb on Thursday, so it the closing doesn’t go as we hope, I may be asking for people to pay me to STOP singing on the street in order to get another air bnb hopefully in the same building until I CAN move.

I am living in interesting times…

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April 26, 2025 · 9:13 pm

2 Little Birds Cafe

This was one of our favorite places to eat on our recent trip to Laos (pronounced “Lao”). It’s in Luang Prabang. It was within easy walking distance from our hotel.

“Small family owned cafe serving health conscious food, smoothie bowls, lao favourites and refreshing sodas. Base menu is 100% vegetarian with many vegan inclusions. Specials highlighting organic locally grown produce as well as vegan desserts. Chicken available as addition however is cooked separately.”

Our favorite, which was low carb, was called a “Brunch Bowl.”

There is a fried egg, roasted veggies, and some cauli-rice. Delicious.

The people were friendly and it was always doing a good business, though it closed at 5:30 each day. We went at 4pm so we wouldn’t keep them from closing on time. We went a couple of times. Wonderful place.

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April 22, 2025 · 7:30 pm

Elimination Plus

This is graphic, but I think this is an ingenious part of almost every public and private bathroom in Asia.

I’m not sure what the actual name of this is, but it is commonly known as “the butt blaster.”

As the name implies, you use it to clean yourself after a movement. This results in much less use of paper and a much cleaner you!👍

On the other end of the spectrum, we went to a fingernail salon yesterday. I had never had a manicure, so this was quite a treat.

When I was finished – I am so elegant now with fingers and toes pampered and painted – we found a bathroom. It was little more than the main part of a toilet, with no seat to sit on, and no toilet paper. I was glad I had some Kleenex in my tote. The flush didn’t work, and no place to wash hands.

There was a woman sitting outside. Brian paid her. When we got out of the area, I found out that it cost 28 cents U.S. money for both of us. This poor woman is trying to make a living. There wasn’t much traffic in the area, so her income couldn’t have been much….

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April 19, 2025 · 8:05 pm

Happy Easter 2025

Please forgive the quality of this photo. Pictures are a real issue on my new computer because I can’t go to a site yet and ‘save’ the way I have always done. It’s also quite a challenge to get the pictures I have finally managed to save to ‘open.’ Some images I save go off into the ozone somewhere, probably never to be found again😳.

Brian will help me with this, once things have tamed down, but my pictures are not the priority until Harvey is recovered enough to come home.

I do wish you a very Happy Easter, whether you are dying Easter eggs and then hiding them for your kids and the neighborhood children, going to church for a beautiful celebration, or just celebrating the day quietly at home.

Brian and I had breakfast earlier. We will do an errand and then head for the hospital, hoping to see an alert Harvey who will be glad to see us, able to swallow better today and not need to be reminded to swallow so often, able to feed himself a bit (remembering not to hurry so much), and able to sit up, with a straighter back and with his head up, enjoying the gorgeous view out his window for as long as they ask today. Hopefully he will be able to engage more of his muscles to aid in his standing with the help of the physical therapists, plus move arms and legs on command. I also hope his confusion is less and that he’s able to stay awake mostly during the day, rather than sleeping when people come to work with him. A lot to hope for, I know, but I would really like my husband back, feeling good, smiling, and able to enjoy life.

I wish you a happy day, surrounded by those you love, celebrating together in joy.

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April 19, 2025 · 3:39 am

More Good News

They removed Harvey’s feeding tube today!!!! HOORAY!!

Also, they did another therapy session while Bri and I took a break. We asked him if he sat up and stood up and he said “yes”.
He was awake and alert when we entered the room, and squeezed my hand, plus one other part I won’t mention which really proves he is definitely “in there”.😂

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April 19, 2025 · 2:15 am

Lost It Again

If you look VERY carefully, right over the mountains and beneath the clouds in the center of the photo is a rainbow!

I lost it again today. One of the nurses asked Harvey to sit on the side of the bed. It took two nurses to get him propped up, but they did it and he was able to straighten his back a little and lift his legs and right arm on command. Then they wanted him to sit like that for 15 minutes.
Brian set the timer on his phone and sat down beside him. We all talked (and Harvey nodded from time to time) about what we could see out the window.

Then Harvey moved his right arm again and that’s when I lost it. He put his hand on Brian’s back and started patting and rubbing Brian’s back. It was so beautiful it made me cry.

Harvey is now asleep. There is another session of therapy scheduled now, but I doubt anyone can wake him up now.

A nurse also asked about either trimming his beard or shaving him. Brian said “okay” but we aren’t really sure what we agreed to 😊😟🙃

Should be interesting.

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April 19, 2025 · 1:05 am

Weight

This is the real estate agent who is helping us. She is just one example of the slim, good looking people I am seeing on a day to day basis here.
The young women dress in a way that clearly show their slimness and style.

If you’ve read the blog for a while, you know that I am weight-challenged and trying to lose the lard.
I have no clue what I weigh now. Brian and I are eating low carb, and we have gotten the hospital to switch and do the same for Harvey.
When we move into our condo some time at the end of the month I hope, I will try to get some scales so I can see if I am making any progress. Since we are basically sedentary at the hospital each day, we are eating a healthy breakfast and then dinner. Hopefully this will result in less of me.
Update on Harvey – So far the low carb switch is helping. Harvey was alert this morning. He had a good swallowing therapy session this morning, following directions and even spooning a few mouthfuls himself. He does forget to swallow, though.

Fingers crossed that he does well on the other 2 therapy sessions today. Day before yesterday was a complete bust. Wanted to sleep, couldn’t follow directions. Yesterday was much better, though it was really hard on him.

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April 17, 2025 · 7:43 pm

Day 11 in Hospital

Today we have an appointment at the local visa place. We’ll then go to the bank, and then to the hospital.

We will talk about low carb with the therapist who feeds Harvey, plus the head nurse and the doctors who come to the room. It makes no sense to US to give him daily shots in the stomach to try to bring down his high blood sugar while feeding him a high carb diet both in the therapy feedings and the nutrient bags he’s still getting via the feeding tube.

We have seen the delirious behavior before in the states when he was drinking a bunch of chocolate milk and eating potato chips. This behavior wasn’t repeated at ALL once he agreed to quit cheating and we went to a strict low carb diet. Right after breakfast yesterday, he was out of it. He didn’t know we were there yesterday. He didn’t react to commands.

We have lots of details to handle outside the hospital and inside. We will try to do as much as possible on each of the areas.

Otherwise, the water festival is a thing of the past for another year. Workers were taking down the scaffolding used to protect the front of the huge mall Maya during the festival. I have truly never seen that many people in one place before. The Grabs are no longer having to detour around the area as much as possible to get people where they are going. There were still a huge number of people walking around, but that is the norm in Chiang Mai. I find it fascinating to see everyone, see what the people are wearing, where they are congregating, watch in amazement as the Grabs dart through the lanes of traffic as the motor scooters and motorbikes dart in and out, everyone seeming to know how to navigate, when they need to stay in there lane and when it’s okay to dart out. Only the motor scooters dart in and out. All others are very calm, taking every opportunity to change lanes when needed, but remarkably competent in getting where they are going.

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April 15, 2025 · 10:36 am

Focus

This is my husband being fed his first semi-solid food since his stroke by one of his physical therapists. She focuses on the ability to swallow reliably and safely. She has been working with syringes of water, for example, patiently asking him if he wants some. He opens up like a baby bird and she squirts it into the side of his mouth and then waits. Sometimes he swallows right away. Sometimes he just sits there with the water in his mouth seemingly ‘forgetting’ to swallow. She is working with him every day. He’s getting a LOT better. Today he pointed to the bottle of water, wanting her to give it to him. He’s not ready for that yet, but it made her laugh.

He actually enjoyed the yogurt today. He asked Brian to take a picture of him eating the yogurt. It really surprised me. I jumped up and took a quick pic, too, of his ‘baby bird’ imitation. He was also able to say ahh, oooh, eeeeeh, and la-la-la, plus sticking his tongue out, holding it out while she counted to five, then doing it again. He made her laugh again when he remembered the moving his tongue to the left and to the right and back again, doing it before she instructed him, showing off a bit.

Other physical therapists were there today, but the most difficult thing they had him do today was sit on the side of the bed. They worked his right arm and both legs, too. We are all protecting the site of the installed pacemaker on the left side, just under his collar bone. He’s supposed to keep his left arm down and keep the whole area still.

That’s like telling a two year old to be still. He is constantly trying to bring the left arm and hand up for some stupid reason. He usually can’t tell you why, but he does it over and over, causing either Brian or me to leap up and patiently explain to him again WHY he needs to keep his hand down and not to do anything with his left arm, protecting his wound. He nods, agrees to be still and then two seconds later, we’re explaining again. He’s also after his feeding tube. We keep explaining that the feeding tube can be removed when he shows good improvement in his swallowing. He forgets and tries to grab it again. And AGAIN, he flails his right hand around. The back of it has several IVs attached and needs care and being still. Yeah, right.

Anyway, the doctors are all pleased with his progress and he was moved back to his private room this morning. Brian and I were at the hospital in the ICU before 9 and didn’t leave until the night nurse we hired came at 8pm. We didn’t eat dinner until around 9.

While we were waiting for dinner to be delivered, I tried again to cancel our AT&T account. We lost access to our online account because the first thing they wanted was to send a text with a code to our phone. Since neither is a working number now, it was impossible to get past that in order to put in our user name and password. When I would CALL, the call would drop off mid call. ARRRRGH!. Brian changed the setting on my phone from local internet to Blue Tooth – slower, but possibly more reliable. I spent over 25 minutes talking to a total of three people before reaching Ruth, a truly wonderful lady. She asked to speak to my husband, and I explained our situation. She took pity on me and got the account canceled, plus gave us good wishes for my husband’s recovery. Mission finally accomplished!

The doctors were talking today about letting my husband go home Thursday. We politely said that we were in no position to care for him until he was able to eat something, make at least some intelligible speech so we knew what he needed, and could at least walk with help to the bathroom and back. I will still need to arrange for help in our air bnb for awhile until he is able to help me some. I’m trying not to worry about that now. My mantra is one day at a time.

It’s amazing how your focus narrows when your life is upended. Now I watch like a hawk to see if my husband starts to lift his left hand so I can jump up and stop him from hurting himself or the wound. I watch every sip of anything that goes down his throat, or when he coughs, to make sure he swallows and doesn’t choke. I strain to hear or try to read his lips to try to understand what he’s trying to say. I see every little bit of improvement from one day to the next. My world revolves now around the hospital, my husband and our son.

Thanks to all of you who have expressed good wishes or your prayers for his recovery. You just don’t know how much it means. ❤️

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April 9, 2025 · 8:52 pm

Day 3

Thank you to all of you who are bearing with me, only writing about my husband’s health lately. Please just skip over these and I hope I’ll be back soon with my more normal posts.

This is day 3 of my husband’s surgery for a stroke and fall. He is doing better. The surgery cleared the two arteries in his brain that were completely occluded and damage from the blockage was minimal, the doctors say. They are now focusing on his low heartbeats per minute and low blood pressure. This improved yesterday, and I’m hoping it will today, as well, so they will be able to take out the breathing tube

I long to hear his voice, hoping he can speak. I hope he is alert enough that we can explain his situation more clearly, see if he is able to walk without problem in the near future, and what the doctors recommend.

Our son and I are spending almost the entire visiting hours at his side, except when they are doing something where they ask us to leave for half an hour or so. There is a waiting area right down the hall. Otherwise we are watching the monitors, watching him, seeing the good care he is receiving, and are available if a doctor comes and wants to talk with us.

No one can no the future – even the good doctors.
We are all essentially waiting and doing all we can for him. We are there every time he opens his eyes, taking his hand, kissing his forehead, letting him know he isn’t alone. It’s sad that they are having to restrain his hands and feet, but it is essential now that he not disrupt the equipment. He tends to flail a lot when not restrained, putting himself and the equipment in danger.

Brian and I enjoyed a nice delivered breakfast of eggs and cheese, bacon, and a salad. We then took a walk to the laundry farther out, out by our koi pond, since the one in the building was closed. He showed me that he weighed the bag of laundry on a scale. There was a chart on the wall re the cost of the weight. He put the ticket with his name, phone number and email address and the payment in a bag and then put the bag inside the tied up laundry bag. Then there was a chute where you dropped your laundry. He says they will call or email him when the clothes are ready to be picked up. Interesting system!

We visited the koi for a bit and then continued our walk around the block. We will leave again in a minute to get a Grab to take us to the hospital for the day.

I hope to bring good news, and more regular blog posts in the coming days. Thanks again for bearing with me during this scary time.

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April 8, 2025 · 10:21 pm

turning on a dime

sometimes life turns on a dime.

we are at the hospital for day 2 since my husband fell in the bathroom and suffered a stroke. He had surgery to remove blockage in the arteries in his brain, thankfully before significant damage was done. I will update when I have more information

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April 6, 2025 · 8:12 am

48 Hours of Travel

I think I told you that the total time of travel from Greenwood, Arkansas to Chiang Mai, Thailad was 48 hours, but I would like to share more of the trip with you.

We drove to the Fort Smith airport and waited for the first leg of our journey. We actually went through a pretty good security check. I showed my magic card that gave information on my pacemaker implant, plus my ID bracelet and they skirted around some of the xraying. Apparently, the security check was good enough that we didn’t have to do more until we were in Bangkok, Thailand.

This was a short one hour flight to the Dallas/Fort Worth airport, where we waited again. We had to do a lot of walking we weren’t expecting to GET to the railway or whatever they call it that will whisk you to the next gate. It was a bit much for two old recently sick people.

We then flew the LONG flight – 14 hours – from DFW to Doha, Qatar. This was in the lap of luxury, our first ever business class flight. We had good food, comfortable recliners that eased into all kinds of positions for maximum comfort, including the makeup into a bed by the attendants, with a nice pillow and the best blanket I have ever slept under. I think I showed you a picture or two of the seats we had, with my husband and I sitting side by side and across from our son with the partition removed. We basically slept most of the flight after enjoying the amenities.

All of the airports were nice, but this one at Doha, Qatar, was spectacular.

This was followed by another pretty long flight, from Doha, Qatar to Bangkok, Thailand. Another nice business class flight, not as nice as the first one, but nicer than any other flight I’ve taken in my life, 2nd only to the one to Doha.

We were met in Bangkok by a team of experts hired by our son to meet us, handle the baggage change, customs check, security check, and all the other things required when landing in the main hub city in a country. Even with all that my husband’s energy gave out and we needed to find a wheelchair to get where we needed to go.

We left the Bangkok airport only minutes before the earthquake. The pilot came on saying that we would have to turn around and return to Bangkok because the Chiang Mai airport had closed. Our poor son was then trying to figure out what he would do for accommodations there, booking a new flight to Chiang Mai, meals, and more. The pilot came on again saying the Chiang Mai airport had reopened and we were resuming our flight there. Whew!

Now we find we MAY have to fly to Laos to the Thai embassy there, to get a magical stamp on our passports that the banks here will like so they will let us open bank accounts. Then we should be able to take the bank account information to the visa people and get a retirement visa. Fingers crossed!

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April 2, 2025 · 10:11 pm

Walks

This is my husband with the eyeshades our son Brian got for him. I laugh every time I look at him.

We have been trying to rebuild our strength after being sick for so long. We are essentially building up from nothing, so making it around the “block” this morning was really good for us.

We found a koi “run” on our walk this morning. It was long and narrow, with running water and nice shade, plus protection from things falling from the trees overhead. We rested and looked at the beautiful fish.

Most of them were about 16 inches long. There was a white one, several orange ones , and several combinations of colors. Lots of small ones, too.

We enjoyed them for quite a while. Such a treat!

Note- my son said I look funny typing on my phone with one finger, and that I should be using 2 thumbs. So this post has been typed with my 2 thumbs – still looking funny.😜

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April 1, 2025 · 8:42 pm

Water

You must use bottled water for drinking or cooking.

You must concentrate on staying hydrated. We drink water with every meal and then sip water constantly throughout the day.

There is only hot water in the bathroom shower. There is hot water heater hanging on the wall of the shower that you can dial to the desired temperature.

Tap water is used for all else, including washing dishes. I was kind of shocked, but our son Brian told us that is common here. He has been doing that for 9 years and is quite healthy.

Everyone washes dishes by hand. Much of what we are eating is ordered in, so very few dishes involved. Brian cooks for us and washes the dishes right away. This is to discourage any teeny tiny ants or other bugs. Brian said if he doesn’t wash and dry all surfaces quickly, he sees the tiny ants. I saw some on the counter around the sink in our air BnB, and quickly followed his lead. None since thanks for hanging in while I am laboriously using one finger on my phone to send you one post.

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April 1, 2025 · 2:26 am

A Bit of Drama

we went on our new routine walk this morning. Suddenly I was sweating, dizzy, and needed a bathroom fast. We got a Grab and got back to our Airbnb fast. After some time in the bathroom, drinking some cold water and resting in front of a fan, I was fine. I was amazed by how many people stopped, wanting to help.

Later we went to “the big mall” to try to get some 🙂Skechers Step-Ins for each of us. They have good cushioning and good tread for our walks. They will also be easy to take off and put on again when we leave them outside or just inside the door of a private home.

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March 30, 2025 · 9:28 pm

Trying to Adapt

We went to sign the contract at what will be our condo in about 3 weeks yesterday. I took several pics. I also finally managed to display a pic while trying to do the blog with one finger on my phone!

There are lots and lots of things we need to learn here. It is delightful and exhausting at the same time.

One thing is remembering to take our shoes off before entering a private residence. Mostly we either remember or our son reminds us.
My husband came up with a good idea for us. – we are going to try to find Sketchers Step In shoes for both of us. These are the ones you don’t have to touch to get them on or off, and don’t have to bend over. Then the biggest thing will have to do is REMEMBER!

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March 30, 2025 · 1:37 am

zombie Land

All is good here, except we tire in record time and need lots of rest. Today we went to a used book store store. We went to the mall to open bank accounts, but found the bank wanted us to have permanent visas before they would open an account. The visa people had told our son we needed a bank account in order get the permanent visas. He is going to try to figure out how to get around the problem.
Meanwhile, he meets with the realtor for our condo at 3. He will come get me so I can see what will be our place in 3 weeks! YIPPEE!!!😄

I am going to rest a bit before that. We just enjoyed homemade chili with cheese and sour cream from our son’s friend’s wife😋

Feeling lucky to be alive, with our son, and starting a new life in Thailand

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March 29, 2025 · 1:11 am

”Phone Home…”

We got our phones fixed today at the “small mall”. Which was humongous. We took a Grab (equivalent to Uber) and my son had figured out where the store was to try to make it easy on us. It is like a small, glittering very expensive city.
We had to show our passports, sit for pics, etc. We signed up for a data plan paying ahead, kind of like a debit card. I now have an account app on my phone. They will let me know when my balance is low so I can transfer funds to “top it off” when needed.

The best part is that the basic payment per month will be around 250 baht or $18/month. (We have been paying $159.00 a month on our
account.

We are pretty trashed, so we are going to rest now and then have dinner at our son’s place tonigh

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