I don’t know for sure if it’s the law that motorcyclists and motor-scooterists and bicyclists must wear helmets or not. If it is, it doesn’t seem to b enforced. I’ve told you before that my unscientific count is that for every car, bus, tuk tuk, or truck there are 14 motor scooters, et.al. On these are anywhere from one person to four people and a dog that I personally have seen, with boxes, bags, and building equipment (!) hanging off in all directions.
I would estimate that 1/3 of the riders have no protective gear at all. Almost all wear long sleeved shirts and/or hoodies mostly to protect themselves from the strong sun. A rain suit is added when appropriate, if the rain isn’t simply ignored.
Of the 2/3 that DO wear helmets I’ve been amazed at all the different designs and looks. I’ve tried to find representative images of some of the different styles I’ve seen. It’s fascinating.
I hope you’re learning – as I am – to enjoy the little joys as they come.
___________
Super Typhoon Regasa is hitting Vietnam today. This will cause the storm to downgrade before it comes here tomorrow and the next day (our Sept. 29th and 30th). I will have my bucket and towels ready to keep window leak damage to a minimum and we’ll keep going out to a minimum.
____________
This is the latest sketch I painted yesterday. I plan to paint more this afternoon.
____________
We just got back awhile ago from visiting my husband in the nursing home. He was more alert than he has been. It took him 30 minutes to laboriously eat a small bowl of mandarin oranges, but he seemed to enjoy them. When he got to the packaged chocolate-covered, icing-filled cookie on his tray, he turned up his nose. He said he had eaten two of those and they sucked. Now THAT sounds like my husband! 😋. He then talked about buying a BMW motorcycle and a house with a marble front porch – both things he had seen on TV. He said some other stuff that didn’t make sense, and still more we couldn’t understand at all, but it was a better visit than we’ve had in awhile.
_______________
The sun is shining, so there is a good chance that I’ll get my laundry in dry later. I’m particularly glad to get all my towels dry for the coming weather and leaks.
______________
Do you have something fun planned to do today? I can’t decide between painting another sketch, reading, or working on the jigsaw puzzle. Maybe I’ll do some of ALL of those! Have a wonderful day.
I am in the process of doing a lot of changing since we moved to Thailand.
Some of them are health-related:
I used to drink coffee by the pot full. I would start a pot in the morning. My husband and I would drink a cup and then I would finish the pot. If dinnertime came and the pot was empty, I would make another pot and drink most of it, if not all. Coffee didn’t keep me awake. It was like drinking water to me. – now we drink mushroom teas (various) with bone broth mixed in. This is a very healthful drink. It’s supposed to do all kind of wonderful things for us. The bone broth is supposed to help with hair and fingernails. We drink one cup with breakfast. Now many times I have an iced mocha in the afternoon as a pick-me-up. I never liked iced coffee, but the ones I’ve tried here are all wonderful, and the ‘iced’ helps me ‘weather’ the weather better…
Exercise – I used to do yoga stretches and various exercise videos on my computer at various times when we lived in the states. I THOUGHT about them more than actually DOING them. – Now Brian and I go to the gym every morning at 0-dark-thirty to use the treadmills for half an hour. Brian says he can tell I’m healthier. I also make it a point to do at least half an hour of yoga stretches daily. I also dance with water bottles in each hand at least every other day, trying to work on my arms and back, as well as have fun moving more.
Eating – I used to eat what I liked and too much of that. I belonged to the “clean plate club”, practically licking the plate before I finished stuffing my face. Sometimes I went back for seconds. We always had high carb, salty snacks on hand. Now I eat breakfast and dinner. Brian and I share whatever we get. He eats 2/3 and I eat 1/3. I try to drink LOTS more water than I did before. If I get hungry, I chew some sugarless gum.
Using my day – In the states I was trying to handle more and more of what my husband used to do, but couldn’t do anymore. I was overwhelmed by to-do lists that only grew. I felt guilty when I went up to my art room, even though I sold much of what I made up there. By the time I had handled enough of the list to do a little bit of something fun, I had run out of time or was simply too exhausted to do it. Now I can put myself at the top of the list mentally. I still have ‘to-do’ lists and a list of errands we need to run, calls I need to make, etc., but I make a conscious effort to include something FUN in my day while I still have energy and actually ENJOY the doing. Now that I’m officially ‘retired,’ I am moving from one fun thing to another any time I’m not needed elsewhere. My attitude is one of improving my quality of life. Getting a second chance at life changed me forever. I am worth doing something fun now. 👍
The “Bucket and Towels Brigade” was activated at 3:15 a.m. when I heard rain pelting my bedroom window. I got up to find one of my window sills absolutely full to the brim with water and ready to spill over down the wall. I managed to get things under control, but couldn’t go back to sleep. This situation will hopefully be solved in November, when the ‘rainy season’ finally ends and exterior work on the building, including repairs window seals, will happen before repainting. I now have the wrung out towels hanging on my drying rack inside with a fan on them. (I just noticed the sun has come out, so I have moved the rack outside, to my balcony.) 😁
Yesterday was wonderful, starting with a massage that relaxed me SO much I took a nap when I got home. Khun Wey-o is truly an artist, and she now knows exactly where I keep the worst of my tension and knots and zeroed in on them beautifully. I’m so lucky to have found her, and also the prices here are such that I can afford to have a massage each Friday.
Khun Nong, my exceptionally nice housekeeper, brought new flowers to put with what was left of the old to make another stunning bouquet for me. My house is now sparkling (except for the areas that are still wet from the leakage) AND I have gorgeous flowers to keep my spirits high!
I did lots of sketching yesterday at the cafe, so I have plenty to start painting later today. Brian is working, but said he might text later and we can go for chocolate – always a favorite thing in my book. 😋
We got a short video of Harvey sitting in a wheelchair eating a meal! I think this means that he was wheeled to the dining room of the nursing home for the first time since he’s been there! We will see him again tomorrow and find out for sure.
Have a wonderful day. Find something special to do that makes you happy.
I have always been pretty pathetic when it comes to geography. I’m particularly bad the farther I get from the USA. So I decided to start researching the subject so that I won’t be as dumb as I look….
We went to Laos as a part of getting my retirement visa, so I knew where that was. I didn’t know “Laos” is pronounced, “Lao”. We visited Luang Prabang. What I saw was beautiful and it was a nice trip.
I was really ignorant about what countries surrounded Thailand. I didn’t even realize that Thailand used to be called “Siam.” There is a place called, “Siam – Celadon” on the way to the nursing home. Maybe we’ll stop and see it one of these days. This map is a good one as far as basic information on the countries around me now.
This is a closer look at Thailand. I am in Chiang Mai, which is in the northern part of Thailand. It’s quite mountainous in this area, making for some spectacular views. Chiang Mai has a population of approximately 1.2 million people. (As a comparison, Greenwood, Arkansas, (my former home) has a population of approximately 9,730.)
You can see here that Thailand goes all the way down to Malaysia. I was also interested to see Cambodia, with whom their are skirmishes from time to time over boundaries between the two countries.
I hope I haven’t bored you to tears with this ‘geography lesson.’ I just suddenly felt intensely stupid to know almost nothing about my new home. I hope to collect new information from time to time so that I have a better understanding of where I am.
My great morning started with our normal trip to the gym. I’ve told you I’m working on trying to regain my normal sense of balance which took an enormous hit from the anesthetic when I was in the hospital in February. I’m am definitely getting stronger and steadier. I spent my 30 minutes today changing the incline % so my brain and body would have to keep adapting and correcting. Brian said later this morning he thought I was definitely healthier. 👍
___________
We went to visit Harvey this morning. When we first went into his room, he was lying in the bed in an odd position and we thought for a few moments he was paralyzed. Gradually he straightened out. We cranked up the bed a bit so he would be more comfortable drinking the grape no-sugar drink Brian brings him each time. The highlight of the visit was he turned to Brian and said, “I love you.”Needless to say, we both melted into a puddle.
____________
On the way home from the nursing home, we stopped at Index Living Mall. Brian needed a replacement sheet set. I got two extra pillowcases, and we got a frame for the print of a painting we received in the mail.
I just love this. Jon paints these and sends prints every Christmas. I have saved them over the years, treasuring them, but the collection was one of the many things we had to leave behind when we each could bring only one suitcase and one backpack to Thailand.
Here it is – displayed on my mantle/shelf in my living area. I’m so delighted to have a painting I can proudly display with my other treasures. Thank you, Jon!
_________
We topped off the morning by stopping for a chocolate drink.
_________
Yesterday I spent much of the afternoon watching “Dead Poets Society” with Robin Williams. Today I’m doing the prep work for my housekeeper to come clean tomorrow. When that is done, I’ll reward myself spending time between working on my jigsaw puzzle and trying to do some sketches.
I hope you’re having a wonderful day, as well, doing something that brings you joy.
I stayed up especially late last night listening to YouTube singing contest videos. I’m a sucker for someone gathering their courage and trying to sing in front of a huge audience and critical judges. I tear up when they’re successful, cry if they actually win. (I know, I’m hopeless ) 😋
When my photo alarm went off at 5 a.m. this morning, I checked to see if there had been a mistake. I must have set the alarm incorrectly – but, NOOOOO! It was time to get up and get dressed to go to the gym.
I was sitting on the couch, still trying to wake up when Brian texted me that he wasn’t feeling well and wanted to skip the gym today. I decided to go ahead and shower and dress for breakfast and going to visit Harvey at the nursing home.
It’s quite cloudy and my phone app says it will be cloudy and rainy all day. It lies, though, so I decided to go ahead and put the laundry I had washed out on the balcony on the drying rack. I may regret that later – if we’re out and the rain starts – but it won’t be the end of the world.
It’s a perfect day to take a nice nap. I’m fighting that, but I’m not sure for how long. I don’t know what it is about a cloudy day that makes me sleepy, but it works every time. Then if I can hear the rain (and it’s NOT leaking around my windows), I can really rest well.
Brian tells me that once the rainy season is over around the first of November, then it will get HOT and the sun will be super strong, and no rain will fall for weeks at a time. All this is completely new to me. It’s like I have been dropped onto a different planet at times. By the NEXT rainy season, I’ll feel like a veteran. Hopefully, my window leaks will have been fixed and the bucket and towel brigade can be retired.
For now, I’m getting up from the computer every few minutes to keep alert…
“Hallo, Rabbit,” he said, “is that you?” “Let’s pretend it isn’t,” said Rabbit, “and see what happens.” ― A. A. Milne
Patrick – @watchinthesky.bsky.social
“Owl,” said Rabbit shortly, “you and I have brains. The others have fluff. If there is any thinking to be done in this Forest–and when I say thinking I mean thinking–you and I must do it.” ― A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner
This is the “bouquet-that-keeps-on-giving.” My wonderful housekeeper left this for me last Friday. It was fully in bloom the nearer you got to the vase, with lots and lots of buds going up the stems. As the days pass, more and more buds have opened up. This is truly an amazing flower. It has brought me such joy!
This sweet little guy greeted me this morning on an a/c unit that belongs to my neighbor, I guess. He wasn’t upset when I got my phone and took a picture of him. He looked at me briefly when I tapped lightly on the glass, and then flew away.
Two new sketches/paintings from yesterday.
We were planning to go visit Harvey at the nursing home this morning. Brian isn’t feeling well this morning, so I’m not sure if we’ll actually go or reschedule it.
I hope you have a beautiful day and evening doing something you love.
Like I admitted recently, I have to stay away from places that sell baskets, getting incredibly creative with reasons why I should buy another one, I’m also a wooden box freak. I absolutely love them. I’ve never had a really fancy one, but I see them and simply drool. I’ll share some of them with you here. 🤗
“A wonderful bird is a pelican, His bill will hold more than his belican. He can take in his beak Food enough for a week; But I’m damned if I see how the helican.” ~Dixon Lanier Merritt
Embla Munk Rynkebjerg – Unsplash
“The pelican is best known for its impressive diving skills and its large bill, which it uses to catch fish.” – Unknown
Matt Bango – Unsplash
“Goal: Clean air, clean clear-running rivers, the presence of Pelican and Osprey and Gray Whale in our lives; salmon and trout in our streams; unmuddied language and good dreams.” – Gary Snyder
Matt Bango – Unsplash
Zazzle
Nathan Dumlao – Unsplash
“I particularly enjoy the great synchronized skeins of pelicans that fly above the waves in summer. How, being animals, they know how to write the letter V just so in the sky is anyone’s guess.” — Sol Luckman
I love these drawings by Tina Ann. I love her lust for life, her gift for making you smile. Some people frown because it says, “AI modified,” and discount it as ‘not art’ or ‘not real.’ I say, “Bah! Humbug! to that.
______________________
I honestly didn’t realize how bogged down I was getting while we were in Arkansas. We lived in a home we loved on top of a ridge line on about 8 acres outside of the town of Greenwood. We built the house in about 1987. We had the house and the shop we built, (then doubled the size of) where we made our ‘yard critters’ out of scrap metal, our decorations for our mailbox out of 4×8 sheet metal, I etched glassware, did mosaics, etc.
We had an absolutely wonderful life for many years, but as we got older, we became less able to take care of it. We didn’t have the money for renovations or huge repairs. We just had to keep up the best we could. My husband continued to ask me to take over technical stuff he had always handled but no longer could. Our health was deteriorating.
Now that I’m in Thailand and am actually fully retired now, a huge weight has left my shoulders!
I start my day with a trip to the gym to walk on the treadmill with concentration on improving my stamina plus my balance that was affected by the anesthesia in the hospital in February. Brian and I share breakfast and then we decide what we’ll do with our day.
Three times a week we spent 3 hours going to see Harvey at the nursing home.
Other than that, unless we have errands to run, I have the rest of the day to myself or a whole day to myself. I am having a wonderful time deciding how I want to spend my day – what I’m going to do for FUN once my laundry is done and my place is straight.
How wonderful is that! I can make doing something fun a priority!!! Whoopeeeeee!!
Today I’ve spent some time in my art alcove after getting my laundry out on my balcony. I’m keeping an eye out for rain, since that is predicted, but the sun is shining brightly now so I may not have to leap up to rescue my stuff. 😁
Brian keeps reminding me that it’s no trouble for him to order an iced coffee for me, so I’ll probably do that a bit later. I may watch a movie, or I may listen to music, work on my puzzle, read my book, take a short walk, do a session of yoga stretches, bop around the room to dance music with my headphones on and my water bottle in each hand, or take a nap, depending on WHAT. I. WANT. TO. DO. Can you imagine that!🤪
I wish that someone had suggested – no, TOLD me – how important it is to your frame of mind and well-being to purposefully include something fun in each and every day possible. It makes you happy when you are a priority even for a few minutes, when something makes you grin from ear to ear or do a happy dance. When you’re happy, you can be a kinder, gentler person to those around you. It’s simply contagious.
Now this is the attitude I love. The whole idea of doing something for someone ELSE on your birthday, rather than being the center of attention shows a desire to make a difference. This cheeky lady is showing she has a great sense of humor and wants to give others a special day. How refreshing is that! Talk about an inspiration!!! I will try to be more like this amazing lady.
We went to visit Harvey today at the nursing home. It was kind of sad because Harvey wanted to watch TV rather than talk to us, but we wanted him to be interested in something, and that’s exactly what he was doing.
The lady who picked us up to drive us home spoke with Brian much of the way home. It was in Thai, so I didn’t understand any of it, but she smiled warmly at me when I tried to say, “Hello, and wishing you a nice day,” in Thai. Roughly speaking, it sounds like, “Sawat Dee Ka’-ah.”
She took us to a stationery place so I could buy more heavy paper for the cards I make and then we got another Grab to get a chocolate. While we were at the chocolate place, I asked Brian what he and the lady had talked about. It turned out she recognized us, and has driven us out to the nursing home a couple of times now. She asked how Brian’ dad was doing and how I liked being in Thailand. Isn’t that amazingly nice?
I’m enjoying the afternoon now, with time by myself to do whatever I would like. The morning’s rain stopped, so I moved my laundry out onto the balcony. It’s supposed to be rainy all day, and there are some ominous looking clouds, so I’m keeping a watchful eye on the skies as I type.
This is the latest drawing. Those of you who follow the blog know what my ‘inspiration’ for this was. 🤪😜 I’m having a good time trying to get an initial handle on the new puzzle.
I have two more sketches that I did at the cafe to paint, also.
I’m having a great time in the evening listening to YouTube music. There is a search feature where you can talk into the remote, telling it a musician’s or singer’s name and it comes up with videos you can enjoy. I just LOVE that. I’m making a master list of favorite people, plus people I want to listen to to see if I like them or not.
I’m also enjoying watching a favorite movie if I have a totally free afternoon. I’ve watched two so far and look forward to enjoying more. I’m also interested to see what fare Netflix offers in this regard as time passes.
As soon as I finish blog posts for the day, you can giggle at the mental picture of me bopping around my living area with a water bottle in each hand, headphones on and grinning like a nut as I ‘dance’ to music with a heavy beat from the computer. It’s a really fun way to move a lot, exercise my arms and back with weights, all while not seeming to be exercise.
I showed you the flowers my housekeeper left for me last Friday. I think I told you that there are buds all the way to the top of the stems on this glorious display, so it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Here it is this morning!
I hope you’re having a fabulous day and evening, doing something that gives you loads of pleasure.
I would LOVE to have this for my dining area table!
“Even the simplest wicker basket can become priceless when it is loved and cared for through the generations of a family.” ~ Sister Parish
Matt Tommey – YouTube
A new basket is justified by its utility in personal or professional gifting, the convenience and value of a pre-packaged gift, or for retail use as a tool to encourage larger purchases and improve the customer experience. You might also justify buying a new basket to enhance the aesthetic of a space or for practical home organization needs. (I could go on, but you get the idea – there is always a reason to buy another basket.) 🤪
Musgrove Willow
Storage and Organization: Baskets are functional for various purposes, including storing clothes, furnishings, or other household items.
Aesthetic Enhancement: Baskets can be used to add artistic or decorative elements to a living space.
Cultural Significance: The creation and use of baskets have deep cultural and artistic traditions, and incorporating them into your home can be a way to connect with these practices.
Wabanaki Basket – Jessica Hamilton-Jones, Fine Artist
Personalization: You can customize gift baskets to suit the recipient’s tastes and preferences, making the gift more personal and meaningful than a standard store-bought item.
Presentation: A gift basket provides a special and memorable presentation that enhances the excitement of the unwrapping experience.
Versatility: Baskets can hold a wide variety of items, including food, cosmetics, or other goods, offering immense possibilities for a fantastic gift.
Convenience: Gift baskets can save time and offer a cost-effective way to give a meaningful gift.
These, of course, are works of art and well beyond my ability to actually buy them, though I’m drooling.
AND you begin to see why I banned myself from going into basket stores. I MAY be able to justify buying some for my NEW place, though….
Harvey is behind the couch. The fat lady on the right end of the couch is me in May of 2013, according to the date stamp.
This was taken about a year ago when we still lived in Arkansas. I had lost weight; but as you can see, I needed to close my mouth and move a LOT to get things more under control.
I don’t know if you can tell any difference here. It’s hard for me to take a selfie.
Here’s a view from the side.
And here I am, looking at you.
The milestone is that I’m under 130 pounds today for the first time in years. When I saw the scales, I measured twice to make sure, then decided to go ahead and do measurements for the month, since I won’t change that much in 10 days.
I’m down 73 pounds from my heaviest weight and there is 74-1/2 inches less of me now than at that time.
I’m still trying to watch my carbs, but we are limited here because of several factors –
Brian is trying to work full time plus take care of his dad in the nursing home plus take care of his mom. He likes ordering food and having it delivered rather than our cooking together or me cooking at his place.
Choices for delivery are limited as to how far away they are and whether they participate in Grab Delivery. Also, Thai food is not low carb. We can GET low carb, but it’s more expensive and usually the food here is spicy.
I have decided not to worry so much about how many carbs I’m eating, but limiting my meals and my portions. We eat breakfast and dinner. Sometimes I get an iced coffee mid-afternoon. We share our order for meals, with me eating 1/3 and Brian eating 2/3.
I’m walking at the gym most every morning. I’m concentrating on balance by not holding on to the bars of the treadmill, but the main thing is the moving every day. I’m doing long sessions of old lady yoga stretches, breathing into the stretches so I feel really loose by the end of my practice. I’m putting on headphones and bopping to dance music on my computer while holding a water bottle in each hand, doing exercises for my arms and back.
I am finally able to see a new beginning sometime soon where I stop the concentrating on losing weight and start concentrating maintenance and on getting more fit. I figure that 10 or 15 more pounds will get me where I will feel the healthiest.
I am having difficulty REALIZING that my weight is down, even though I just had to take in my jeans again. I want to wait and get jeans that FIT when I reach my final goal. I got some sweatshirts recently, and Brian had to insist I not get the one I had in my hand. I was used to having to go really large to cover my bulk. I went down two sizes and they are still quite roomy over another shirt!
I am trying to make the most of my second chance at life by listening to my body, trying to get as fit as I can, and showing discipline in my eating. 😜
This is a towel and bucket day here. We skipped the gym this morning because it was raining REALLY hard. I’ve been wringing out towels into my bucket all morning so far. Hopefully, this will become a more gentle rain that won’t pelt into my windows, causing leaks. Update – later – the SUN has come out now, but I’ll still keep my laundry drying rack inside. Dark clouds are looming.
__________________
Otherwise, things are good here. I’m about to have breakfast with Brian and then plan to enjoy the day, moving from one fun thing to another – assuming the rain calms down enough. 🙂
Besides having a sparkling clean place, this is what greeted me when I came home. My wonderful housekeeper left these gorgeous flowers for me! When Brian received a text from my thanks to her, he read it to me. It said, “It is good ‘Mom liked the flowers.” What a sweet lady. I LOVE it that she calls me ‘mom’!
_______________
When I was in the cafe yesterday killing time, I enjoyed watching the traffic outside the window. I’m in awe of the motorcyclists! Brian says they have all been riding on, or driving motorcycles for years and have lots of experience.
The riding gear varies all over the block. Some wear helmets, others don’t. Almost all wear long-sleeved shirts, jackets, or hoodies. Some wear health masks.
I saw a father, his child, his wife, and another child on ONE motorcycle yesterday. I saw a mother with her toddler in front of her on one. Lots of people are carrying things, too. I’ve seen people with big boxes between the driver and the passenger. Bags of food and drink hang off to either side. Backpacks are full. Some actually carry pipe for repairing plumbing, pictures in frames, animals, and more.
The sheer number of motorcycles boggles my mind. For every car – and there are three lanes of traffic going each way – there are a dozen or more motorcycles zipping around and between vehicles. There are few stop lights and no cross walks. I wouldn’t call it ‘aggression,’ but more ‘quiet insistence’ that vehicles will ease into traffic or change lanes. It is utterly amazing.
“Everything is made out of Magic, leaves and trees, flowers and birds, badgers and foxes and squirrels and people. So it must be all around us. In this garden-in all the places.” ~ Frances Hodgson Burnett
One of the things I miss about our former home in Arkansas is my book collection. We had bookshelves in every room and all of them were overflowing. That didn’t keep us from buying more or downloading more onto our Kindles…
We brought our Kindles to Thailand, and Brian pronounced them ‘ancient,’ as soon as we were settled. After my husband’s stroke and eventual placement in a nursing home, Brian bought him a new, simplified Kindle without all the bells and whistles that we thought he could operate. That turned out not to be the case, so we brought it home for me to use.
It’s very straight-forward and I like it a lot. Brian transferred the books I had on the old one to the new one. This is faster, easier to read, lighter weight. I stopped paying for the Unlimited plan, since I was paying more for that monthly than I would if I bought the books outright. I’m not reading as much because I simply run out of time. I can still find some free books to try, when I don’t know the author and am not interested in showing my support yet.
I put it in my carrier when we go to the cafe to get out of my housekeeper’s way on Friday afternoons. I switch between reading and sketching, and the time passes quickly.
Right now I’m enjoying the latest book in the “In Death” series by J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts. It’s called, “Framed in Death,” and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. (This is book # 61 in the series. #62 will be available in February.)
I learned to read when I was 5 because I had the wonderful example of my parents and older brother reading all around me. I’ve been a voracious reader ever since – except for while I was pursuing my Master’s Degree as a Reading Specialist. THAT is a program designed to kill anyone’s love of reading! It took me two years after getting my degree to be able to pick up a book to read for pleasure without tensing up and feeling I would be ‘tested’ on all the details of the book when I finished.
One of the things I tried to do when I ran my own reading clinic for several years in Tulsa was to get my students to realize what joy they would find when they unlocked the key to reading well. Once we figured out the skills they were missing and what kinds of things interested them, we used their interests to fill in the blanks and they were on their way, grinning. It’s amazing how hard a boy will work on phonics, figuring out how to chop up a long word into a word he could pronounce and use, when it’s tied to reading a comic book starring one of his favorite characters. Some of our girls enjoyed reading about clothes available in teen magazines. Everyone seemed to get a kick out of reading cartoons of any kind.
I consider reading one of the many gifts we humans have in life. We can learn things we need or want to know. We can follow directions to make things we can use or can give as gifts to others. We can dive into a world filled with intriguing characters who live in a world totally different than ours, making our problems fade away for a while.
Thankfully, there are ways to enjoy reading without spending a lot of money or needing a lot of space to store books. I love the idea I saw about people building library boxes on poles in their neighborhoods, putting books inside they thought others might like. These are completely free. The idea spreads, others bring books to share. Everyone wins. 😁
“Celebrating my life for everything that it is” includes being grateful that I can visit my husband, hug and kiss him, tell him I’m glad to see him, and be happy that he’s not hurting, even though he wasn’t cooperating with the nurse on taking his medicines and made little sense when we visited today.
It also includes the fact that on the way home from the visit, we went to an arts and crafts store called, “Chunya Art & Craft” where everything in the store was handmade by the owner/artist.
I bought two things: a handmade notebook and a tablecloth.
The photo doesn’t do the notebook justice. The painting on the front is very subtle, but shows an elephant with a beautiful cloth on his back walking in dense jungle of green, blue and purple. The rope that ties the pages together is done in an intricate, lacy pattern that allows you to open the book, lay it flat. I thinks it’s wonderful.
The tablecloth is batik. The card that came with it says, “Each piece of Batik painting has a unique feel as a result of endless combinations of the dye coloring., wax effects, the fabric typs, and most importantly the story-telling of love and joy we want to pass on. Hope you love our Batik!” – Nisa C. Tanakorn.
I think it’s a work of art. I LOVE the way it brightens up the whole end of the room.
The owner/artist of the shop could not have been nicer to us. She answered questions and was honestly thrilled I was so happy with my purchases. I can’t recommend her shop more highly. I left a review with pictures on Google Maps that I hope will send more appreciative customers her way.
I’m getting my place ready for my housekeeper to come tomorrow. I’ve changed the sheets, will change out the towels and empty the trash, trying not to leave a mess (other than my puzzle table, where there is only so much I can do to neaten it up.)
I’ve been sketching, working on the puzzle a bit, and reading, since I haven’t been able to get to my computer until now because it was in the middle of doing an upgrade. It turned out that it didn’t work the way it should and Brian said he would try to get it to work again later.
This has been a good day. We’ll share some dinner soon and then I’ll enjoy listening to music on YouTube. I like it that I can use the remote on my TV to request music by people I like or want to hear for the first time, just relaxing with my headphones so I don’t bother anyone. 😁
creativeartworksblog 