The glass print of my owls jigsaw puzzle finally arrived yesterday.
This glass print of the personality painting my dad did of me when I was about 6 is still in the center – the place of honor – on my shelf. Our son had it made for me after we moved to Thailand when he saw how sad I was to leave it in Arkansas. He brought it to me soon after I moved into my place here as a housewarming present. It’s made me feel my parents are here, too. Isn’t he wonderful?
This print of a painting by a good friend is on the other side of my dad’s painting. I’m delighted to be able to display his work. He has sent us a print at Christmas for some 20 years. We had to leave those, too, so it was a delight to get a letter – with a card print – from him here recently!
My plan is to only have really meaningful things on this shelf. I particularly love the idea of preserving jigsaw puzzles when I finish them, since I give the actual puzzles away when I take them apart again. It’s kind of a “statement shelf.”
Only in America …do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.
Only in America …..do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet coke.
Only in America …..do banks leave vault doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.
Only in America …..do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.
Only in America ……do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.
Only in America ……do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” ~ Maya Angelou
University of Central Florida
Maya Angelou was such a wise woman. So many of her quotes resonate with me.
Harvey is being moved from the ICU to a private room this afternoon. He seems to be doing better, though was not alert. We talked to various doctors and then waited for the nurse from the nursing home to arrive before leaving. We were there about four hours.
I’m trying to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other, doing the best I know how to do each day, and then doing the same thing the next day.
Stressing about the situation doesn’t help. I’m trying to SEE what is going on as objectively as I am able, base decisions on FACTS – not emotions. I’m not being totally successful, but I’m doing better than I was.
I’m doing everything I can to relax when I can. This helps me stay calm when we’re having to really listen and make decisions based on what they recommend plus what we know about Harvey.
Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays.
Back in ‘days of yore” (1492 when I was young) we trick-or-treated. I got together with my friends and we walked down to the neighborhood close to us where the houses were closer together and people were wonderful about turning their porch lights on to show you were welcome to come knock on the door.
We didn’t have our parents with us. We roamed for a couple of hours, going from welcoming house to the next until our containers were absolutely groaning from the weight of all the goodies we loved and we were finally tired from all the walking. We made our way home again where we dumped out our goodies on our beds and dove in to eat at least a couple of things before our parents announced it was time for bed.
Back in the ‘olden days’ parents didn’t have to worry about their children getting hurt or abducted. They just said, “have a great time” and got ready to answer their own doors for visitors.
Now parents either go with their children from house to house holding their hands or follow the kids in their cars. OR they arrange parties in their homes or go to community parties overseen by trusted adults.
Gone are the days of spending pennies on a costume, gathering your friends, shrieking in delight when you got good things or were “scared” by someone in a frightening mask. All you needed was a flashlight, a big container for goodies, and your friends…
These images are all from Pinterest. I don’t imagine I could get my condo building to approve any of these water features, but I can sure drool and dream!
This is the haircut I got today. I got him to give me a good cut for my recalcitrant hair, blow it dry, and NOT put any sprays or goop on me!
Latest painted sketch.
This is the jigsaw puzzle I’m working on. I think it’s gorgeous, but it does have a LOT of black on either side, across the bottom, and in the middle, making it hard to figure out what I’m working on.
Here’s what I’ve done so far. I’m going really slowly, but I don’t get any prizes for doing this quickly. 🤪 I’m having a good time.
We had a hard rain storm necessitating rolled up towels in the window sills and my bucket again this week, but I have all the towels dry now, ready to go into action again. The rainy season supposedly ends the first of November. I’ll be happy to see this season go. The building is supposed to be painted on the exterior in November or so, with repairs done to the outside, so I’m hoping my problem will get solved then.
I’m hoping you’re having a good day wherever you are and that things are going well.
Just before we left to get my haircut, the nursing home texted Brian that Harvey was on the way to the ER. As soon as we finished the haircut, we headed to the hospital.
Long story short, Harvey has a high fever, low blood oxygen, and double pneumonia. He was treated in the ER and then admitted to ICU. He will be in ICU for a couple of days and then moved to a regular room.
I still have hope that we have some time left, but things are quite grim. We have pretty well made the decision not to put him through the surgery for the stomach tube. It wouldn’t have made a difference in what he’s suffering through now, for example, and he’s been through enough. Things could still change, but I’m trying to prepare myself.
His nurse from the nursing home was with him. When we were waiting and talking, she started to cry, thinking that maybe she didn’t do enough to avoid this problem. That made me love her. She has taken SUCH good care of him. She said she considers him her ‘dad.’ We hugged and cried together.
I showed her some pics I had on my phone of Harvey before the stroke, the animals we found new homes for, and a few more. I wanted to give her a sense of the man as he was before. She seemed to really like that.
So today was very different from the one we’d planned. I imagine we will visit the ICU in the coming days until he is transferred back to the nursing home. Sorry about the grim report, but some of you have expressed an interest. Thank you.
Yesterday we met my husband and his nurse at the hospital for his appointment with the doctor. Harvey was not having a good day. He hadn’t slept well, his nurse said. She had brought little bitty sandwich squares for him to eat because he had to have lab tests before he ate or drank anything. Our son and the nurse took turns trying to get my husband to eat.
He choked often, and the nurse gave him water with a syringe so that he would have an easier time swallowing the little bite of sandwich.
To make the story shorter, the doctor wants Harvey to have surgery again to put in a permanent stomach tube. This would allow him to receive his nutrients directly into his stomach, rather than having to eat.
We are researching the pros and cons of this. My husband and I have talked about death, dying, and hospital procedures over the years and we are in agreement. We both had DNR’s in the states, and we didn’t want ANY invasive permanent procedures to prolong our lives. We didn’t want to be in a lot of pain, but otherwise wanted to let nature take its course.
My husband’s quality of life now just isn’t there. I think he enjoys seeing what they’ll bring him to eat, enjoys rides in the wheelchair out into the fresh air where he might find a doggie or two to pet, and enjoys staring at the TV. I say ‘staring’ because the sound is in Thai and the subtitles are in Chinese, neither of which my husband speaks. I think he likes it when we come visit, but most of the time it’s hard to tell.
This will be a very hard decision. The tube won’t prolong his life. The surgery itself is risky for him, because of blood thinners and being slow to heal, plus anesthesia, and being antsy in bed, rather than lying quietly. Infection is a common problem. Pneumonia is a common problem. Aspiration of even saliva is a definite possibility.
We will see what his nurse thinks, plus keep researching. We want him to be comfortable as possible. A sad, difficult decision.
“Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.” Maya Angelou
Zazzle
At the beginning of April, we suddenly sold everything in the United States, found wonderful new homes for our pets, and were on a 24-hour series of flights that took us from Greenwood, Arkansas to Chiang Mai, Thailand to begin our real retirement.
I say ‘real retirement,’ because technically we were already retired. We didn’t work outside the home anymore. I had a shop on Etsy where I sold my artwork, but otherwise, we were supposed to be at the point where life got easier.
We lived outside the town of Greenwood on top of a ridge line southeast of town. We had a 650 foot+ STEEP driveway to get from the street to the house. It had trees on either side that made a habit of falling into the driveway with hard rain storms, ice storms, snow, etc. We were stuck up in our home sometimes for a couple of weeks at a time before things melted enough that we could chainsaw our way down to the road. Fire trucks and ambulances and other help could not negotiate our driveway.
We had 8 acres. We tried to keep an area around the house and out to the shop we had built ‘civilized,’ but even with a riding lawnmower and other tools, trying to keep the yard up had become almost untenable.
Working in the shop had become dangerous because of my husband’s decline. Even trying to get our mailbox decorations we had hanging on metal hooks to put out on the mailbox was an accident waiting to happen.
Life was getting more difficult – untenable – rather than easier.
Our son came when we were both ill at the same time and just couldn’t take care of each other. We both had Flu A. My husband also had pneumonia. I also had bronchitis and low blood oxygen, which the doctor insisted I needed to go to the ER to get treated. That saved my life, because my heart kept stopping and I had to have a pacemaker.
We flew to Thailand and moved into an Air BNB in the same building where our son had a condo. He was working on getting us a condo to buy so we could continue to live close to him.
Life gets in the way and my husband fell, had a stroke, and ended up in a nursing home. I moved into the condo.
Te tickets bought us a new life. We hadn’t really asked for one, but we NEEDED one. My husband is now getting the best of care at a place where the staff really cares about their patients. We couldn’t have afforded this in our former home. Brian is taking care of me, encouraging me to get healthier and BE HAPPY.
I am relishing my ‘second chance at life’ being amazed at how interesting Chiang Mai is. Even though I see the same streets over and over, I see different things every time. There are SO many shops. It’s really difficult to take it all in. There are SO many people going places. I sit at a cafe and simply people watch sometimes, marveling at all the people busily going about their lives on foot, on bicycles, on motorcycles and motor scooters, on tuk tuks, on buses, on Grabs, in personal cars…. The street is alive long after I’ve called it a night, having to get up at 5 to get ready for the gym. It’s a stimulating, WONDERFUL place to start a new life, with new interests, meeting new people, trying to learn Thai phrases and customs, trying to learn about their culture, trying to honor the way things are done here, eating new foods, listening to new music, and more.
Two tickets and our son gave us the best chance of enjoying the rest of our lives we could ask for. I never imagined we would end up here, but I’m SO glad we did!
“I had been told that the training procedure with cats was difficult. It’s not. Mine had me trained in two days.” – Bill Dana
@JohnathanSlater.bsky.social
“Cats are inquisitive, but hate to admit it.” – Mason Cooley
Celine 2409 – @cn2409.bsky.social
“As anyone who has ever been around a cat for any length of time well knows, cats have enormous patience with the limitations of the humankind.” – Cleveland Amory
@Zandra-b.bsky.social
“There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.” – Albert Schweitzer
@ianwaters78.bsky.social
“It is impossible for a lover of cats to banish these alert, gentle, and discriminating friends, who give us just enough of their regard and complaisance to make us hunger for more.” – Agnes Repplier
This is our reminder to make time for fun every day, making ourselves part of our priority list.
I’ve had a good day. I had my workout at the gym. Brian complimented me, saying I’m steadier on my feet, more agile, and he worries about me less. A SHOWER of compliments from my son!
I just got back from getting a mani/pedi. I’m having this done every two months. It gives me something to look forward to, and having professionals take care of my hands and feet is a healthy addition to my taking care of myself. The ‘polish’ is my FUN part. Brian has been goading me to paint my toenails and fingernails ‘cyan.’ I actually had to look it up, but it’s a range of shades of aqua.
Scheme Color
I’ve ignored his request up until today. Since he has introduced me to the whole idea of mani/pedis, found a place to get the service, and actually sits there and waits while I get it done, I figured today was the day.
When he saw my fingernails, his grin filled his whole face. He said, “All RIGHT!!! I’m not sure I actually LIKE this color, but his reaction is certainly worth spending two months with it. 😄. We followed this with a stop for chocolate – icing on the cake of the nice morning.
When I was coming back from breakfast with Brian, I met the cleaning lady who has been so, so nice to me. She was by herself, so I motioned for her to follow me out to sit on the bench in the foyer type area that is on each floor. (Happily, I remembered to turn my hand down and make a clawing motion, rather than the normal, “Come here” gesture, so I didn’t insult her suggesting she was an animal.)
She put down all her stuff and I got out the earrings I’ve been carrying around. I showed her, pointed to her ears. She looked really surprised, but I made as sure as I could that the earrings were for her. Her face split with a grin and she put them in her ears as we sat there. She stood up, did a little dance, and I helped her put her mask on again. I don’t think she got the idea that I painted the earrings, but the delight in her eyes showed she liked them.
I got home from our morning and quickly moved to the balcony to get my laundry in. Everything was completely dry with the exception of my socks, which were ALMOST dry. I brought everything in and was closing the balcony door when the rain started. WHEW!
It was a hard rain, so it wasn’t long before I needed to roll up towels to put on the window sills to contain the leakage. I have my bucket there to wring out the towels when needed.
Here’s my latest painted sketch. I love Halloween, and will see what I can find regarding creative costumes for kids plus wonderful jack-o-lanterns to share with you.
“Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of gratitude. If I insist on being pessimistic, there is always tomorrow. Today I am blessed.” – Maya Angelou
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February 11th I died twice one night in a hospital in Arkansas. I was given a second chance at life by caring people and a pacemaker.
In April we sold everything in the States and moved to Thailand to be with our son with his incredible love, strength, and guidance, having left our dear pets in the hands of people who would treasure them. We left the pressures behind and “retired” in the country our son loves.
Two weeks after moving, my husband fell and had a stroke. After one month in the hospital here, two surgeries and a lot of care, he was transported to the nursing home we had found. He is now receiving expert, loving care, being made as comfortable as possible.
During my husband’s hospitalization I moved into my own place in the same building as our son. He has helped me make it a refuge, a safe place, a place becoming my own a bit at a time.
Pro Pond & Lake
Gratitude for all I have now simply wells up inside me and spills over on a daily basis. I will not waste all I have been given.
My own health is improving now with daily visits to the gym, walking on a treadmill, daily yoga stretches, daily exercising with water bottles as weights and dancing to music on my computer. I’m trying to eat sensibly plus lose the rest of my excess weight. I now have hearing aids to correct a side effect of my hospital stay and I’m working daily on regaining my balance, stamina, and flexibility.
We travel 3 times a week to visit my husband. He has made the decision not to cooperate in physical therapy. We are just trying to make sure he is well taken care of and as comfortable as possible. Our round trip visit is 3 hours each time, and the visit sometimes includes a bit of conversation, shared memories, and always lots and lots of love.
I get to choose what I want to do with my days. I love to write my blog posts. I’m made an art alcove in my place where I can try to learn to draw better. I’m sketching and painting on a daily basis. I’m working on a difficult, beautiful, 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle that I MAY live long enough to finish. (We’ve ordered a glass print of the “Owls” puzzle I finished which should arrive any day now.) Reading downloaded books on my Kindle is a joy, sprawled out on my new couch with a lounging end. 😁. I share meals with our son every day. I listen to music, delighting when I find a new voice that makes MY heart sing, too.
SO – to say gratitude is my main emotion these days is an understatement. I almost wasn’t here to enjoy this. I’m doing something every day that brings me joy. I’m embracing all the wonderful parts of my life, grateful for each day I have. Today is what I have. “Today I am blessed.”
Kelly Sikkema – Unsplash and Tim Burnett – Mindfulness Northwest
Besides being so amazed at all there is to see in Thailand, the thing that stands out beyond all else in the 6 months I have lived here is the KINDNESS of people. I have never lived in a place where people went out of their way to be welcoming and kind to complete strangers.
123RF
Example: when Brian and I were walking today, we passed a man sweeping the street in front of a building. We immediately changed our path so we wouldn’t be in his way. As we passed, we smiled and bowed slightly to each other. He said something and Brian answered. Later Brian said the man said he was happy to see me in good health and happy. (A month or so ago I had opted out of the walk. The man had noticed, and Brian had told him I was a bit under the weather.) Imagine him remembering us, inquiring as to why I hadn’t been there, being HAPPY that I was there this time, and caring enough to say something to Brian.)
Innovecture
Example: we were calling a Grab to take us to visit Harvey. A woman from the office in the building asked about Brian’s dad, listened with great interest to what Brian told her, then came and put her hand on my shoulder. And then bowed, smiled, and wished my husband health and us a good visit.
Bangkok Post
Example: We were starting to get into the elevator. A woman came running over, thrusting a sack into Brian’s arms. She apparently picked and brought a kind of fruit that grows on branches here locally and thought we might like them. And then bowed, smiled, and wished us a happy day.
BoomBoom
Example: Whenever I go into a shop – either just to look or to have something done (manicure/pedicure/haircut/massage) whoever is inside rushes over, grabs my hand and leads me around, making sure that I don’t stumble, and then bows, smiles, and wishes me a good day.
Sometimes I find myself a bit teary and my cheeks hurt if we go many places. What a LOVELY “hurt” to have!
“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” ~ Maya Angelou
In our world today it’s harder and harder to keep a level head. The weather is causing catastrophic losses from which it’s hard to recover. People are hurting and killing each other, having been driven to extremes by events. We suffer losses in our families that leave us feeling hollow, devastated, and hopeless.
With all this, it’s really difficult to try to see the good in the world. Sometimes you really have to search, but there IS still good. People still love each other. Small acts of kindness will bring you to tears. People reach out in whatever way they can to help others.
We may feel helpless to find things we can do that will make a difference. We don’t have a huge amount of money to significantly help people in need. Eaxh of us is one person and there is so much that needs to change.
So what do we do? Throw our hands in the air and feel defeated? Get angry and lash out at the people we feel are doing harmful things?
I think it all starts way down deep inside each of us. We’re all in this world together. We all are overwhelmed from time to time and need to reach out to others for help, for listening, for understanding, for compassion. Others may reach out to us.
We need to act with intention. Start by recognizing all we have and being grateful for it. And then try to spread that gratitude all around us in a light that will surround and comfort others.
Maya Angelou said it beautifully, “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”
You already know I’m weird; but, as Elizabeth Barrett Browning said, “Let me count the ways….”
I’ve been trying to re-train my brain and body on the treadmill in an effort to improve my sense of balance that was impaired when I was in the hospital in February.
I can walk without holding on to the bars now – a big difference from when I started in June (I think) walking every morning for half an hour. I’ve increased my speed and I’m starting to tweak the incline %. The reason I say I’m weird is that I feel like I’m playing Mind Games.
Someone has gone to a great deal of trouble, time, and expense to provide videos on the treadmill screen you watch I guess to make the time pass more quickly or distract you from the fact you’re exercising. The videos are beautiful, shot in all different locations, made so you feel as if they are walking right there with you.
I’m probably more prone to react to the videos than others. I’m trying to figure out where the video was shot, trying to absorb the glorious views they provide, and more. They are leading me down various paths – some on city sidewalks, some deep in the woods, some on the beach…
Since I am walking without holding on to the bars, my brain reacts each time the location changes, or the path winds and turns, goes up stairways or hills. I find myself trying to mentally and physically avoid the rocks in the paths so I won’t fall on my head. I’m trying not to lose my balance as we go through a squeakily narrow place or are plunged into the darkness, or twist and turn. My brain and body react when the camera approaches a place where there is clearly no place to go, and THEN THEY KEEP GOING OFF THE EDGE WITH THE CAMERA!
The really good thing is I never get bored, even when the video is a repeat of one I’ve done before. I’m improving on looking ahead, rather than down at the path all the time, taking in what is BESIDE the path now. I’m learning not to panic when the camera angle changes, straightening out the path in my mind rather than grabbing the bar in knee-jerk fashion.
You would THINK I would be intelligent enough to remember that I am in a gym, walking on a treadmill, NOT in a forest, or walking off a cliff – but INSIDE this weird brain, I’m experiencing the places they’re taking me, holding my breath as I negotiate yet another several sets of steps built into the path, step over debris, around people, make another abrupt turn in the path that runs over a creek…
So, I admit I’m weird. And I’ll try to use that to my ADVANTAGE as I try to regain my stamina and my balance.
Dreaming of wonderful sanctuaries in your home is fun. If you’re going to dream, don’t mess around with it – dream BIG! Your fantasy should take you to another world, making you drool with longing.
I love the idea of using scrap metal, giving it new life and purpose by creating things from your imagination. Jason Heppenstall has brought this idea to an art form. You can check out his website HERE.
This is a real master and I’m so glad I found it to share it with you!
Brian was making our tea when all of a sudden, bubbles started floating up past his balcony! The sun made beautiful iridescent rainbows around them. I started to laugh in delight and caused Brian to turn. He came over to the table to watch them for a few seconds. We didn’t figure out who was causing them, but they sure made us smile.
The other beautiful sight this morning were swarms of white birds flying together across the sky and in front of masses of green treetops. They caught the sunshine just right as they flew, making the white glisten.
Bubbles and birds. A beautiful way to start a day!
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I just returned from getting my Friday massage. Khun Wey-o really understands what I need now. She zeroed in on my neck and shoulders today, giving them extra attention. I was really stiff and sore from all the towel wringing and hanging them to dry this week after the heavy rains. Guess who is loose as a goose NOW! I’m SO, SO lucky to have found a sweet, caring, competent massage therapist to make me feel good every week.
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I have to vacate my space this afternoon because it’s Khun Nong’s afternoon to clean. I’ve changed the sheets, gathered and put out the trash, put out clean towels and taken the sheets and towels for Brian to launder in his machine, so I’m ready for her to come. The laundry I did this morning is out on my balcony drying. I’m hoping everything will dry so that I can fold it up and put all away before she gets here. Brian and I will go to the cafe to stay out of her way. I have my sketchbook, Kindle, and sweatshirt ready.
This morning I went to get cash and stop at a 7-11 for a couple of things.
I tried twice to get cash from the ATM. I didn’t get cash, but at least I got my card back. I went back to my place and decided to regroup. It was hot, so I tried to turn the a/c down. I couldn’t get it to work.
I finally contacted my son, who told me the trick to getting the a/c to reset. I had tried exactly this twice before, but the third time, it worked. 🤪😜
He offered to come with me to the ATM. I need the money for tomorrow, so I said, “yes, please.” I did all my normal stuff at the machine, but Brian stopped me where normally I push “no,” that I don’t want a receipt. The machine said something different this time. It wanted to know if I wished to continue the transaction even though it wasn’t able to give me a receipt. I had been saying no to a receipt, instead of saying yes, I wanted to complete the transaction. Then I had to hit ‘end,’ another new thing. I hadn’t read carefully enough. It was in English, so I have no excuse, other than assuming I knew what it was asking me – had asked me every time before. DUH.
While in the 7-11, one of the sweet cleaning ladies from our building came over. I was trying to find bar soap for the shower. She showed me the stuff in bottles on the shelf. I pointed back to the several bar soaps I saw. I was having trouble deciding bec
ause none looked familiar and all the written stuff was in Thai. She showed me one and pointed to her nose and smiled. That was what I needed. I smiled back, was able to say, “thank you” in Thai!
Then she pointed to my ears. Then she pointed to HER ears, showing me she had holes for pierced earrings. I’m not at all sure what she was trying to tell me, but when I got back to my place, I got out a pair of wooden earrings that I had wood-burned a flower on, and I now have them in my carrier for the next time I see her.
Being inept is embarrassing, but with the help of others, I got the job done.
creativeartworksblog 