Tag Archives: family

December 17, 2025 · 2:47 am

Wednesday 12-17-2025

I hope that you’re not going nuts trying to do six things at once to get ready for Christmas. I realize that if you have kids, much of it is about the presents, but I HOPE that you take time to cherish those who are with you to celebrate, more than the presents, decorations, food, and hustle, bustle. You are building memories that will serve you the rest of your life, something that can’t be taken away

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We went to visit my husband, Harvey, at the nursing home this morning. He was pretty alert, and was following the pictures we were showing him and the things we were telling him pretty well. He seemed comfortable and pretty calm, although at one point, he asked where his gun was. We explained to him that he wasn’t in Arkansas now, he was in Thailand, and that we had auctioned off all the guns before we moved. He told us there was a male nurse who came to his room yesterday. He didn’t like him and wanted to shoot him. GREAT. HUH?!

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Brian and I stopped for a chocolate drink on the way home. There are lots of Christmas decorations showing up every day. It really lifts your spirits to see all the lights and happy decorations. There is a tall Christmas tree in the lobby of our building with colored flashing lights, presents under the tree, and two tiny reindeer in front. Really nice!

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It’s a beautiful day today. It was 66 this morning, so I didn’t wear a hoodie to the gym. I did, however, wear one when we went to see Harvey. The GRAB drivers tend to keep their vehicles cold, and the room where Harvey is is cold, as well, so I was glad I had it with me. When we got home, however, I was sleepy and wanting a nap. I opened several windows, pulled the screens across, turned off my air purifiers, and created a wonderful cross breeze that was perfect for a nice nap. Ahhhh! I now have everything closed up again, but it was a really nice interlude.

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Drawing – Penguins
Drawing – Frog 2

These are my two latest painted sketches. I have such a great time in my art alcove. It seems I barely get started and my alarm is going off that it’s time for me to exercise or go somewhere. Such a pleasure!

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My jigsaw puzzle is going very slowly, but I AM making progress and I DO love to do it.

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Enjoy the days leading up to Christmas. Try to remember to slow down and BREATHE, enjoying the process, the anticipation of the love you’ll share, the fun you’ll have, the laughs you’ll enjoy.

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December 14, 2025 · 2:38 am

Sunday, Dec. 14th, 2025

This is my latest painted sketch.

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Today was emotional, stressful, but ultimately we prevailed!

It was emotional because we visited my husband, Harvey, at the nursing home this morning. He ate the pineapple pie and drank the grape drink Brian brought for him, but didn’t say a word. We thought it was going to be a complete bust of a visit.

We showed him pictures and told him about what was happening in our lives, trying to include him. He nodded or shook his head, but otherwise wasn’t responsive. We weren’t sure that anything was getting through to him. Some questions we asked were totally ignored.

Just as we were leaving, he said, “Love you, Babe.” I lost it. He hasn’t said that since his stroke 9 months ago. I ran back in and hugged him again, thanking him for saying that. Totally unexpected, absolutely appreciated. I was tearful the whole way home.

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It was stressful because the new lock on my door was really hard for me to open and close. It’s a nice lock, a sturdy one, well made and fancy, but the arthritis in my hands, particularly my thumbs, was triggered each time I tried to open or close my door. It was just too much for me.

Brian came in to my place when we got back from visiting Harvey, screwdriver set in hand. He worked for over an hour on it. He would take it apart, it would work, then when it was put back together, it got tight again. He finally called the locksmith back for help.

Happily we only had to wait a little while for him to come over. He and Brian worked together. Brian was able to demonstrate the problem. The locksmith was able to see with his own eyes where the problem lay. He had to work on it another hour, but finally got it to work really, really well.

Best of all, when “I” tested it, we could all see that it was perfect. No English on his side, no Thai on my side, but we communicated that we were both really happy he had made it work so well. Best of all, he refused payment for today’s travel and work. So we prevailed to the satisfaction of all.

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Half the afternoon is gone now and I’m exhausted. I think I’m going to try to relax and take a nap in celebration.

I hope that you are having a great day.

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December 12, 2025 · 5:19 am

“Remember Me Laughing”

Jim Wheaton

Yesterday I told you that I didn’t feel ‘alone’ because I carry my memories with me. I’ve continued to remember my dad since I wrote that post.

My dad had an infectious laugh. He was an amazing storyteller.

He told one story of he and his friends (all dads, some granddads, NONE of whom had any experience at all) going ‘camping’ one weekend in Arkansas. They decided they would float down part of the Arkansas River in flat-bottomed boats, pick a spot along the river to camp overnight, cook dinner and breakfast over a fire, and then pack leisurely to hike back to their cars.

They stopped at the boat rental place. The renter asked if they had floated before. They hadn’t, but assured the man they wouldn’t have any problems. He made SURE they understood that the river was a little rough this time of year and that it was really important they wear life jackets.

They left their cars, packed up two flat-bottomed boats with their gear, and proceeded to get into the boats and embark. No one had experience in getting into boats, much less floating down the river, so immediately one of the boats dumped over with one of the men trying to climb in. They managed to grab all the gear that went into the water, got into the boats and headed off, their big adventure under way.

The group that was in the first boat lost patience with those in the second boat, so went ahead at their own speed. The big problem with this was that they had all the beer in their boat and so the men in the 2nd boat had nothing at all to drink. The sun was beating down and everyone got super hot quickly.

The 2nd boat caught up with the first, yelling about the beer. They proceeded to divide it up, all drinking until they didn’t care how hot it was.

To make a long story shorter, they couldn’t start a fire because they forgot matches and no one had a clue how to start a fire otherwise. They ended up having some crackers and the rest of the beer for dinner.

They got the bright idea of digging “butt” holes in the ground to make their sleeping more comfortable. All worked like crazy, using whatever they could find to dig with, trying out the hole to make sure it finally ‘fit’ their butts. They got into their sleeping bags, exhausted and hungry, but more than a little high. One of the men started cursing. When the others asked what his problem was, he yelled, “I sleep on my stomach!”

The next morning, still hungry, they were all up before the sun. They were wandering around trying to take care of business, get things together, when one of the men started cursing. He had been trying to brush his teeth – using his tube of Unguentine instead of toothpaste.

With no breakfast, they called the rental place to come get them instead of trying to hike all the way back to their cars, agreeing that this was the first and last camping trip.

Besides painting great mental pictures with his words as he related the story, my dad relived the tale as he spoke. He would break up, laughing helplessly, over and over, almost unable to go on, tears streaming down his face. It almost didn’t matter what he was saying, everyone around him laughed because HE laughed, totally caught up in the story.

He had several stories that we begged him to tell over and over, just to share his joy and fun.

I can see his face in front of me now, trying to catch his breath while attempting to go on with the story. It took me quite a while to ‘remember him laughing’ after he died, but I replay his stories in my mind and heart NOW, remembering how much he loved life and loved to laugh. I have wonderful memories of him to carry with me forever. He’s with me.

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November 30, 2025 · 2:59 am

Thai Wedding

Style Me Pretty

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Brian and I were invited to the wedding of one of my adopted family’s nannies yesterday. When we got there, it was a much larger event than we thought it would be. I’m not exaggerating much when I say there were about a gazillion people there. There were at LEAST 25 tables seating 10 people each, with other tables groaning under the weight of buffet style dinner food. There were games set up, a swimming pool, and the stage where the event was to take place.

Brian said I could take a few discreet photos if I saw others doing it, so I kept mine to a minimum..

There was the full wedding procession – honored guests went down the aisle to the stage, then criminally cute flower girls, followed by the parents of the couple, followed by bridesmaids and matrons of honor, followed by the groom, and then the bride and her father figure. The ring bearer brought the rings to the couple on the stage right before the ceremony began in earnest.

The Knot

This was not a traditional Thai wedding, though there were parts here and there honoring her background and that of her adopted family. There was a beautiful wedding ceremony, and then the more familiar first dance, first toast, cutting of the many-tiered cake (with a sword!), and beautiful tributes to the couple by various people.

Wags Down the Aisle

There was her father figure, a man who had mentored her while she was raised in an orphanage. I lost it when he started to cry. I didn’t understand a word he said, but that wasn’t necessary. The love between him and the bride was palpable.

MY adopted family came next in the tributes, since the bride wasn’t just a treasured nanny, she was a family member, having been with them during the birth of their children, helping care for them, and helping the family in all ways. She will be sorely missed.

Amazon.de

There was live music, games with prizes, and more. It was a sight to see. All was beautiful and I couldn’t be happier for the couple. I told the groom that I had been married 56 years so far, and that I wished them at LEAST 56 years of happiness together.

This was an outside event and it was chilly (50 degrees F.) Brian and I left ‘early’ after 4 hours! This was something I wouldn’t have missed. It took me a long time to wind down, though, and I’m still trying to warm up today!

Such a magnificent experience!

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November 16, 2025 · 11:07 pm

It’s Monday, Nov. 17, 2025

Newest painted sketch.

This pampered lady took her clothes (the largest part of it) to the laundry. It will be ready to pick up tomorrow a little after 9:00. Can you believe that? I have never been able to take advantage of a service like this before and I am loving it! 😊

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The repair men are due here around 1:30 to 2:00 this afternoon to see if they can fix my door. I sure hope they can do something so I can just walk out of my condo and back in again any time I would like without having to text my son…

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I lost another bit of weight, and now am 7 lbs from my goal. I may adjust that once I get there, but it seems like a good weight for maintenance purposes. It’s in the healthy range for my height on the BMI chart. More importantly, I am FEELING better now than I have felt in a long time. The combination of eating twice a day, watching my portions, not eating between meals, and then exercising are finally coming together.

I’m walking on the treadmill, doing online balance exercises, old lady yoga stretches alternating with exercises with water bottles for my arms so I do each every other day. I’m dancing to wonderful music on my computer, just to be moving around and grinning like an idiot.

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I am getting started on sketching and hand painting Christmas cards for the locals here. This will take me some time, so I’m trying to work on the project a bit each day so I won’t feel rushed toward the deadline. I will be giving them to people as I see them, so the distribution will take some time, as well. What a happy way to spend time between now and Christmas!

I did a little research on Christmas in Chiang Mai, and discovered though most people here are Buddhist, they like the idea of giving and receiving gifts, Christmas decorations, music, and festivals, so there are several ways to celebrate. I’ll be sharing some of that with you in the coming month.

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I hope that this is the beginning of a really nice week for you.

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November 5, 2025 · 1:27 am

Destination?

Pngtree

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“I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going. And I have trained myself to love it. Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight. And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to. But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings. You may not know where you’re going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.” – C. Joybell C.

    My husband and I were living in the house we built on top of a ridge line and lived in with our pets for almost 40 years, trying to keep up with all the house and yard work needed to keep everything afloat. It wasn’t easy, but we were managing. Then we both got Flu A at the same time. My husband also had pneumonia. I also had bronchitis and low blood oxygen. I ended up in the hospital receiving an emergency pacemaker after my heart stopped twice in the ER. We contacted my son and he said he would come to help us, flying 24 hours from Thailand to Arkansas.

    A month later, we each packed a suitcase and a backpack, found wonderful, caring homes for our dog and cat, sold everything we owned and flew to Thailand to retire where we could be close to our son. Then my husband fell two weeks later, spent a month in the hospital and ended up in a nursing home.

    Feeling a bit like “Stranger in a Strange Land,” – Robert A. Heinlein, we’re making sure my husband is getting the best care possible and I’m living in a condo in the same building as our son. I’m working slowly on learning Thai phrases, am learning how to honor the culture and traditions here, and am fascinated by all I’m seeing and experiencing.

    I’m determined to embrace my new life. I was given a second chance at life by the hospital staff in February, and I won’t waste a minute. I am lucky that I am truly able to retire here. I never thought I would be able to say that. With careful juggling, I am enjoying perks here I never could afford in the States, such as a weekly housekeeper who scrubs my place until it shines; a weekly massage that takes out all the kinks and allows me to truly relax; my first-ever mani/pedi I get every 6 weeks or so; a haircut at the same interval; and recently, taking my clothes to the laundry to have them returned clean and nicely folded the following day.

    My son and I spend a good amount of time together. We share meals twice a day, we go visit my husband three times each week, we go places together to run errands or just have fun exploring. We go to the gym every morning so that I can walk a mile on the treadmill, trying to retrain my brain to fix my balance issues, lose my extra weight. I’m doing yoga stretches, Internet balance exercises, and dance to fun music with water bottles doing exercises for my arms.

    I plan my day around writing posts for my blog – an activity I truly love. I really enjoy finding things I find wonderful and sharing them with my readers. I have met some wonderful people I now feel close to through the blog, something I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.

    I am learning to draw a bit better, sketching things I find on the net and painting them in an art alcove in my place. I read great books on my Kindle. I watch new and old movies on my TV, and love watching YouTube music videos. Music, new and old, is one of the treasures of my life.

    I have time to reach out to old friends and new now. I’m so lucky to have good friends in my life. Most of my family is gone now, but my friends are all around me, just a text away.

    So, I feel a bit suspended in mid air in a new country, with a different language, different customs, fascinating stores and food, learning new things each time I go out.

    I embrace not knowing any of the answers. I am learning to go with the flow, just enjoying all the differences and trying to fit in as best I can. The people are so nice here, so welcoming, so forgiving of my bumbling efforts to say a few things.

    As I learn, my wings are unfolding – I am learning and growing – grateful for the chance to build a whole new life – close to my husband and son.

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    November 2, 2025 · 9:34 pm

    Monday Thoughts 11-3-2025

    This was sent to me by my good friend, Nora, today. Wow. What a stunning image!

    It’s still raining here. I have my drying rack inside today, trying to dry the towels that were rolled up on my window sills to try to contain the leaks with all the rain. The rain has stopped now, so hopefully the fan on the drying rack will get the towels dry enough at least to roll up and put back on the window sills. I’m thinking of lending my hearing aids to Mother Nature, as she obviously hasn’t heard that “The Rainy Season” is over…

    We have been doing a bunch of things to watch money since we moved here, due to the fact that we didn’t expect the medical emergency, month-long hospitalization and then move to a nursing home for my husband. It’s taken us a few months to get things in order and figure out where we are financially.

    Yesterday Brian insisted that I start taking my clothes to the laundry downstairs rather than hand washing things and hanging them out on my drying rack on the balcony. I have been taking sheets and towels to Brian because he has a washing machine. I will continue to do that. But starting today, I’ll take my clothes to the laundry! I’ve done this a couple of times when we first moved here, and they do a really good job, handing you back a neatly packaged stack of nicely folded clean clothes. And the perks of being retired in Thailand continue to grow… 👍🙏🏻

    My husband’s 82nd birthday is November 18th. Nothing that I would normally do, such as bake his favorite pineapple upside down cake, make a special dinner or take him out to dinner, is appropriate now. He doesn’t read or look at magazines anymore. SOOO – I’m going to try to draw a poster type picture wishing him a happy birthday that I hope the staff will allow to go on the wall somewhere he can see it. We’ll try to figure out something else special we can do.

    I’m enjoying a quiet day today. Besides taking stuff to the laundry, I’m using a jewelry cleaner to polish the jewelry I brought with me to Thailand. I just got the jewelry cleaner a couple of days ago, and many of my pieces are in need of attention. I have the timer set on my phone so I can keep things going at a reasonable pace. (Each thing is supposed to be in the solution 3-5 minutes. Wish me luck!

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    November 2, 2025 · 2:54 am

    November 2 – 2025

    Happy November! This is the mailbox decoration we put up each year at this time to celebrate Turkey Day.

    And this is the ‘yard critter’ who stood at the base of a big tree toward the top of our steep driveway all year round.

    Some of my relatives and friends are saying it’s cooling off in the states. The trees are starting to turn beautiful colors. Fall is in the air!

    I always started trying to get the civilized part of our yard (the part right around the house) in shape for the coming winter. Mowing was usually over about now, but there was a lot of weed whacking and edging to be done to neaten things up. I weeded the flower planters and gathered leaves to grind up and put into the planters as mulch to protect the plants as much as possible. You wouldn’t believe the amount of leaves we got each year. It’s too bad no one wanted crushed up leaves. We could have had quite a business.

    As the weather cooled, I started making us hot chocolate. We might have a fire in the fireplace, not because we needed it for warmth, but because of the FEEL of having it going. We would sit on the hearth with our backs close to the fire, absorbing the lovely warmth and good feelings. Our dog, Amber, and our cat, Jet (aka Monster Cat) seemed to ‘come to life’ as the weather cooled, taking crazy runs around the house, zooming around like their lives depended on it, making me laugh every time. It was so nice to have a nice warm home we loved, enjoying a peaceful evening with good food, good entertainment, and lots of love.

    Officially “The Rainy Season” here in Chiang Mai is over and “The Cool Season” has started. Brian says it’s the ‘winter’ here. That means the constant rains have stopped officially and cooler temperatures are here. (Translation: a high in the 80’s). Mother Nature is laughing at us. We got caught in a really hard rain just after lunchtime today. It was really blowing and the rain was pretty serious. When we got to my place, I immediately started rolling up towels to go on all my window sills and got out my bucket. (I had a leak last night, but only a small one). So far, the rain has stopped for the moment and no leaks yet.

    The building repair crew is officially starting repair of the exterior of our building, resealing windows (hooray!!!!) and other things before a repaint. I have no idea when this will actually start as the rain is supposed to last all week. It’s nice to know, though, that help will be on the way soon.

    We saw Harvey this morning. He said he was glad to see us, but that was the only thing he said that made sense. We will have to be satisfied that he is comfortable, not upset, and we simply sit on either side of his bed, each of us holding a hand, trying to let him know we care. We will meet him and his nurse at the hospital Tuesday for his routine appointment for blood work and to see the doctor.

    I’m trying to come up with some way to celebrate his birthday on the 18th. Cake is probably out, since he has a nasal feeding tube and probably won’t be able to eat bites of birthday cake, though we will think about it again closer to the date and see how he’s doing then. I may make him a birthday poster, just to show him I’m thinking of him. We’ll try to come up with something else special. He will be 82 this year.

    I finished these thank you cards for Khun Nong, my housekeeper, yesterday. I give her one each week, along with her payment, to show her how MUCH I appreciate her work for me.

    I hope you make this a happy day.

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    October 26, 2025 · 2:40 am

    Sunday, October 26, 2025

    This is my latest painted sketch.

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    We went to visit my husband at the nursing home today. He didn’t say much. He has a nasal tube and a catheter, plus he had big plastic gloves on today to keep him from pulling out tubes. The nursing home sent us two videos yesterday. One was him trying to peel a hard boiled egg. I cried when I saw how hard it was for him, and I’m not at all sure he knew what to do with it once the shell was off. The other showed him eating very small bites of fruit with a chop stick-looking implement. He was slow, but he WAS eating by himself, and REAL food.

    He actually thanked Brian for coming to see him when I was in the bathroom just before we left. We had taken the gloves off his hands so we could each hold a hand while we “talked.” He said very little, but he squeezed our hands.

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    I’m making progress on my jigsaw puzzle. I’ve taken a picture of it to show you I might actually live long enough to finish it! I’ve also started gathering pictures of puzzles I might order when I finish this one. I LOVE being able to have a “puzzle” table where I can leave it out as long as it takes for me to finish it – and then enjoy looking at the finished puzzle before dismantling it and giving it away. Brian will take a picture of it and we’ll have a glass print made.

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    I’m reading “The Last Happy Summer: A Jake Moriarity Prequel” by RG Ryan on my Kindle. My only problem with it is that I don’t want to put it down! I’m having to be an adult and get the other things I need to do done before allowing myself the luxury of sprawling on my couch and diving into it once again…

    I hope that your day is full of grins.

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    October 20, 2025 · 3:09 am

    Monday, October 20-2025

    @vegipower.bsky.social

    We got back not long ago from visiting my husband, Harvey, at the nursing home. Today’s visit was a good one.

    As always, there are good and bad parts, but the good started when he looked welcoming, rather than affronted or disturbed, when we opened the door to his room. He looked much better and more alert than he did on Friday.

    He started by announcing he had fathered several children on Mars….

    But then it got better. We got his agreement to turn off the TV because we wanted to talk with him. He followed what we were saying and actually wanted to know “what we were up to!”

    I told him about my idea of getting a tattoo and showed him a picture. I asked him what he thought about it and he said, “Fine.” He then decided HE wanted to get one too – one of a screaming eagle honoring his time in the Marine Corps. Of course, that will never happen, but it was fun to fantasize.

    He was very impressed when I showed him a picture of the flowers Khun Nong, my housekeeper, left for me Friday.

    He was able to drink the grape drink Brian brought and enjoyed it. At one point, I had to ask him to swallow. He finally did, and then asked, “Are you worried that the grape drink will turn my tongue purple” I told him I didn’t care what color his tongue was – I just didn’t want him to choke. The nurse wanted him to eat a Thai banana and also some Thai “cake” from a package. He turned up his nose at both, but might have eaten them after we left.

    I left encouraged for the first time in a long time. It was good that he recognized us, seemed free from pain and was comfortable, actually participated in the conversation some, and looked happy to see us. 😁🙏🏻

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    October 16, 2025 · 8:59 pm

    Full Friday

    I’ve been to the gym, showered, eaten breakfast, and will soon go to get my Friday massage. This is truly a gift that I am giving myself. Khun Weaw is a master. She knows without words where I’m sore, where my tensions have settled, how much she can do to help without breaking me me each week. I consider her time and care part of my new health regimen.

    The image above is the card I painted to show her in a small way how much I appreciate being able to come to her each week. I know how to bow and SAY “Hello “(and best wishes for a blessed day for you) and “Thank You” now – in awkward Thai, and say these each time I go, but I have no idea how to WRITE “Thank You,” so just had to write that in English.

    Brian told me something I hadn’t realized before. He said that when I give someone a gift, I should bow 🙏🏻 and present the gift with BOTH HANDS so that the person understands it’s a gift, so I’ll be sure and do that this morning. I hope it makes her feel special.

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    When I finish my massage and get dressed again, Brian and I will go visit my husband in the nursing home. I’m hoping he’s alert and more comfortable than the last time we saw him. He’s having more trouble eating. There are various options, none of which we like. We’re taking this one visit at a time and making decisions as we go. Going to visit him is a 3-hour round trip.

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    When we come back from visiting my husband, we will gather the things we need from Brian’s place and prepare to spend the rest of the afternoon at a cafe where they make you feel comfortable to sit as long as you would like. I get an iced mocha, and sometimes Brian and I get a fresh lemonade for the last bit of time we’re there.

    I take my sketchbook and supplies, and sit there happily trying to draw images I find on my phone that I’ll paint later on in the week. I also take my Kindle, where I’m in the middle of a book from an author new to me.

    Finally, if I’m lucky enough to get the seat at the front of the cafe, I can watch the activity on the big street outside. I’m fascinated to watch the many lanes of vehicles – cars, buses, trucks, Tuk-Tuks, a gazillion (give or take one or two) motorcycles, motor scooters, and bicycles zipping in and out of the lanes of traffic almost without slowing down or stopping. Finally, the pedestrians walking on both sides of the street, crossing the road (some carefully, using good sense – others waiting, then RUNNING full speed, hoping they make it to the other side.)

    It’s intelligent chaos. Everyone is used to the flow. They know what to do and not do (except for the runners.) I’m fascinated, and VERY glad my husband and I don’t have to try to drive in this.

    (Brian and I use Grabs for wherever we go. It’s amazing how fast they come and how expertly they drive, using their GPS’s to take you right where you want to go, whether they have been there personally before or not). PLUS, I get a lot of practice trying to say “Hello” and “Thank You!”

    We’ll get home around dinner time, and then I’ll end the busy Friday lounging on my couch, wearing my headphones, and listening to and watching YouTube before bed.

    I hope you have a fun time today. Make yourself a priority for at least a while during the day, doing something you truly enjoy. It’ll fill up your heart and have your smile spilling over onto all around you!

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    October 14, 2025 · 2:29 am

    Tuesday, October 14th

    Freepik

    Getting visas renewed in Thailand is a master class in understanding the laws and gathering what is needed and submitting it before the deadlines pass.

    Thank goodness we have access to a company who handles this for us. It doesn’t cut out a lot of hassle, but it makes it possible to get it done without tearing out ALL of your hair.

    We went this morning, taking our 90-day reporting paperwork, plus the papers from the hospital and Harvey’s doctor in hand. Brian’s and my paperwork still requires an expert, but it’s very straightforward compared to what is necessary for Harvey medical visa renewal. We got an appointment for Harvey to be evaluated at the hospital and the main doctor to fill out the two sheets of paper required. Today the lady gave us about 20 sheets of paper (I don’t think I’m exaggerating) that she needed to have thumbprinted by Harvey. We already had pictures of Harvey at the nursing home to prove he was there.

    We had to go to the nursing home after seeing her to get the sheets thumbprinted. It took Brian, me, and the nurse to get it done. Harvey kept trying to rub the blue ink from the stamp on his face in-between thumbprints. We managed to avoid that, but not by much. We got it all done, visited with Harvey briefly, and then had to leave to get the stuff back to the visa place. (I was glad to see Harvey, apologize for not being able to come see him yesterday. I got two kisses from him. 😊

    Just after we walked into the door of the visa place there was an explosion nearby and the power went out in the office. We were able to complete what we had to do with our phones and were good to go. She will call us when we can pick up Harvey’s visa and get the stamps for ours.

    We left at 10 and didn’t get home again until 1:30. Whew!

    That was our big thing for the day, so I’m relieved we got it accomplished. When we get things back, we’ll be legal for another 90 days!

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    October 7, 2025 · 8:39 pm

    Difficult Day

    A. A. Milne – Winnie the Pooh

    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.

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    October 6, 2025 · 2:51 am

    Ticket

    “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!

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    October 5, 2025 · 1:07 am

    Today

    Freepik

    “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

    __________________

    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.”

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    October 1, 2025 · 3:13 am

    Happy October 2025

    Happy October 2025! I miss being able to drive down with a mailbox decoration from the shop and my husband and I changing out the one there for the new one twice a month. It was particularly wonderful when someone would start to drive by, stop, and get out of the car to tell us what a kick they got out of our decorations. Several people told us they drove by often just to see if we had changed the decoration yet. How wonderful is that! 🤗

    _________________

    This morning I was up at 1am wringing out towels from my leaking windows with a hard storm from Typhoon Regasa. I got back to sleep, back up again at 5 in order to check the towels again and get ready for the gym. I had to wring them out again, but that has been it for the day. I got the towels on my drying rack out on the balcony, and everything is almost dry now. I have rolled up towels in the window sills again, in case we’re not finished with the remnants of the typhoon, but hopefully, it has passed us now.

    ___________________

    This is the latest painted sketch.

    ______________

    We went to visit Harvey at the nursing home this morning. This is a 3 hour round trip we make three times a week to show him we love him and make sure he’s getting the care he needs. At first we thought he wasn’t going to talk to us at all. I had almost given up after about 25 minutes of our asking questions or making statements with no reaction from him at all when he suddenly said, “I’m trying to remember where I got your engagement ring. I want to get you a “better” wedding ring.” I sat there with tears running down my face.

    _________________

    Today has turned out to be a beautiful day with lots of sunshine. Dark clouds are looming, but they haven’t won yet. I’ll take it! 👍

    ________________

    When we got home, Brian walked me to my door. A couple of minutes later he was back with a small package in his hand that had arrived downstairs. I opened it and found two new squeeze balls! When he ordered the original for Harvey, two came in the package. He gave one to Harvey and the other to me. I have to admit I keep it on my computer desk, reaching for it and squeezing it whenever I’m here. It’s mesmerizing. Sadly, about 3 weeks ago I punctured mine inadvertently with a fingernail. I told Harvey about it when I was handing him the ball, encouraging him to practice with his weaker left hand. Brian quietly ordered another set. I’m thrilled! I have my toy back! We’ll take the other one to swap out for the original one the next time we visit Harvey. This new one is actually better than the old one.

    _____________________

    I hope your day/evening is filled with giggles and grins..

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    September 25, 2025 · 2:31 am

    Great Morning

    Phyllis Harris – @PhyllisHarris on X

    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.

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    September 22, 2025 · 1:02 am

    Making Fun a Priority

    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.

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    September 14, 2025 · 1:24 am

    Thoughts on Sunday, 8-14-2025

    I’m going to see if I can draw and paint this, just for giggles. I took the owls puzzle apart this morning. It is now neatly in a gallon baggie with the picture. I’m going to put it in the area where – if you want it – you can take it. Brian ordered the glass print of the finished puzzle today! 🥳

    I started the new puzzle this morning. Impressive, isn’t it? 🤣

    This is the new puzzle image. I just love the calmness and fantasy of this. And, it has water, of course, one of my favorite things, plus purple!

    Brian took a break from working and came to see how I was. We went for chocolate – always a wonderful thing – and we’ll meet later to share some dinner.

    I made some more thank you cards for my housekeeper yesterday.

    Meanwhile, I’m writing posts for the blog and then I’m going to paint some of my latest sketches.

    I have to tell you that I really love my life lately. I can move from one fun thing to another, spending my day grinning from ear to ear, whether working a puzzle, reading on my Kindle, working in my art alcove, listening to music, watching a movie, writing blog posts, playing on the computer, taking a short walk, taking a nap, and more. I’m totally spoiled and loving every minute of it.

    We go to visit my husband at the nursing home tomorrow morning. The last time he wasn’t hurting, had no complaints, and made sense much of the time. He’s still playing with the squeeze ball. We brought him the book he said he wanted, but we don’t think he’ll read it. At least he knows we love him and want to do whatever we can to make him happier and more comfortable. Hopefully tomorrow’s visit will be a good one.

    I hope that you are finding joy in your life. Life is too short to be taken up only with have-to’s. Really work to set aside some time for YOU. Tell the people you love how much they mean to you as many times as they will let you. 🤗

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    September 10, 2025 · 1:11 am

    Thoughts on 8-102025

    Tina Ann

    I just love Tina Ann’s artwork and sense of fun. I just can’t find enough of her work to satisfy me. 😃

    My day has been a bit of a mixed bag. It started out with my feeling woozy with low blood pressure and opting out of my gym workout, to be closely followed by POURING rain and some leakage of my windows, necessitating towels and my bucket. I did my laundry and set up to have it dry on the rack inside. I then rested.

    Now I’m feeling fine, my blood pressure is almost perfect on half of my BP pill, and the sun came out, causing me to move my drying rack out onto the balcony. I’ll watch closely to see if the weather changes….

    Brian and I are at work on getting an image of the finished owl puzzle printed on glass by a company called FractureMe.com who made the wonderful image of my dad’s painting Brian got me as a housewarming present for my new place.

    My idea is to do this for each of the puzzles I finish and put the glass images on the shelf in my living area with the painting my dad did as the centerpiece of the display. I love the idea of my vision growing and making a special statement. I took a pic of the owl puzzle earlier and sent it to Brian. He said it sucked (not in those words) and will take a better image for this project when he comes to my place later.

    I’m going to concentrate on doing some sketches this afternoon. While I was typing this, though, I was distracted by birds singing their hearts out outside my window. I hadn’t heard them before and now CAN – because of my new hearing aids! What a delight!!!!!

    (By the way. although each of us is different, if you’re in the market for help with your hearing, the brand I settled on is Oticon Intent 3. I love them because they are so comfortable I forget I’m wearing them. (an example of this is that I started to put my headphones on the other night to listen to YouTube on top of my hearing aids!) They have rechargeable batteries, so I take them off and put them in the charger until I want them again. There is a phone app so I can adjust them to suit conditions, making them louder or softer or using the ‘voice boost’ feature – when I’m needing to quiet the background noises. End of commercial. 😂

    I hope that you’re having a wonderful day or evening, depending on where you are and that you’re finding beautiful things to enjoy.

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    August 28, 2025 · 3:42 am

    Thursday Thoughts 8-28-2025

    Freepik

    We went to see my husband at the nursing home this morning after deciding that we PROBABLY wouldn’t be hit by the awful thunderstorms that have been causing windows leaking in our condos. We didn’t want to leave our places any more vulnerable than possible, and we were ready with buckets and towels to sop up the water. Happily, we only had a regular rain this morning and none since – yet.

    The good news is that Harvey greeted me with, “I missed you,” almost causing a meltdown in me. The nasal tube had been removed, and he was able to eat regular food. The owner of the nursing home said she had a doctor look at him before removing the tube, and that he ate a LOT when it was gone. He looked better, though he was really sleepy – probably from eating so well. We left after just a short visit, because he really needed the rest.

    ___________________

    The Telegraph

    PROGRESS REPORT: I’ve lost 73+ pounds an 68+ inches from my heaviest now. I’m finally about 15 pounds away from my goal weight. At the gym, I’m concentrating on NOT holding onto the handlebars when I’m walking. This is causing my brain to really work hard, first concentrating on what I’m doing rather than holding on and rather mindlessly putting one foot in front of the other. Secondly, my brain is constantly having to adjust so I don’t lose my balance and fall on my head. I’m watching a video as I walk, and the paths twist and turn, making ME react to stay on the path. I can FEEL that I’m standing straighter and my weight is shifting differently than when I’m slightly bent over holding onto the bars. I’m hoping to retrain my brain and body to improve my balance over time.

    ________________

    Brian contacted the handyman for the building, sending him pictures of the leaks in Brian’s place and mine during the last big storm. The man said he would contact Brian, but it looks like we might have crews doing some resealing next week! It may be that this is a temporary fix to be shorn up later, but I’ll be very grateful for anything they can do to make our problem less intense. Help may be on the way!!!!

    _____________________

    Today I used my phone for the first time to adjust my hearing aids. When we were in a Grab, being driven to see Harvey, the driver was on the phone with several phone calls. His voice was so loud he made my ears hurt! This is a first since I got my new hearing aids. I got my phone out, accessed the app, and was able to turn the volume down to a level that didn’t hurt! How neat is that!!! (What I didn’t figure out until later was that I inadvertently fat-fingered a toggle icon at the bottom of the screen, turning off the ‘voice boost’ setting that I like and need. When we got home, I found that I needed to turn the volume up again to hear Brian well, and we figured out that I hit the icon, too. We toggle it back on, adjusted the volume, and I’m fixed again. I’m delighted that I can adjust these the way I need (assuming I’m smart enough to use the app correctly….) 🤣

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    August 24, 2025 · 9:16 pm

    A New Week

    Tina Ann

    giphy.gif

    Today I did 28 minutes at an incline of 12% at a speed of 3mph on the treadmill. Hooray!

    At breakfast this morning, though, Brian brought up a great idea. I’ve told you that after my surgeries in February, I had a hearing loss that eventually required hearing aids. I also read that anesthesia for old ladies like me also has a possible side effect of balance issues.

    Brian suggested that I slow the speed even more, NOT have any incline, and just rest my fingertips on the handle bars of the treadmill, rather than gripping them as I do. This would force my body – my legs, hips, back, and brain – to work together on balancing without having to grip anything. The bars would be right there if I needed them, but this practice might help resolve my problem. I’m going to try it!

    This is a new toy Brian got for my husband at the nursing home.

    It’s a squishy ball where the ‘bubbles’ come out through the mesh when you squeeze the ball. It’s super soft, very colorful, and mesmerizing.

    The bubbles are different each time. It’s fun – much like popping the bubbles on bubble wrap, but doesn’t make any noise. We’re hoping he likes it. Brian, who knows me well, got TWO of them – one for Harvey and the other for ME! 😁

    Other than visiting Harvey at the nursing home, it should be a quiet day. My laundry is out on the balcony drying – even though my phone weather app said it should be cloudy all day, the sun is shining brightly. I’m hoping that if my clothes aren’t dry by the time we leave to see my husband, they’ll be ready to bring in by the time we come home.

    Have a wonderful day!

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    August 22, 2025 · 3:11 am

    Updates – Friday, 8-22-2025

    @DavidJSalter on X. – isn’t this a wonderful drawing?

    ___________

    My husband Harvey was transported by ambulance to the Intensive Care Unit at Bangkok Hospital in Chiang Mai two days ago for fever, cough, pneumonia and low blood oxygen. Thankfully, they were able to get him on antibiotics for the pneumonia, and clearing that up will take care of the fever, cough, and low blood oxygen. He was released to go back to the nursing home last night.

    We went to see him in the hospital the two days, and then in the nursing home this morning, so we could see for ourselves that he is better. He was more alert. He wasn’t talking much, but he was nodding at the things we were telling him, explaining what had happened to him, reassuring him that the antibiotics would make him feel better, plus filling him in on news about the family, etc.

    ____________

    I got the results of my labwork from the doctor via email yesterday. When I first saw her in May, the BIG concern was my sky high blood pressure – into the stroke zone. They took my blood pressure so many times I lost count, and she put me on a strong combination medicine to try to bring my pressure down as quickly as possible. She told me I needed to lose weight, exercise, and was also bit concerned about some of the numbers on my lab work.

    When I went in follow up this week, she was SO pleased with my weight loss, blood pressure under good control, and my lab work, she said I didn’t need to come back in follow up for six months! The only suggestion she had for me was to drink more water. THAT I can handle! 😛

    My goals between now and my follow up are –

    • to get to my goal weight and start maintenance habits on eating that will keep me there.
    • to continue to exercise to get stronger and improve my balance. (I’m working on getting to the “12-3-30 method” on the treadmill where I walk on a 12% incline at a speed of 3mph for 30 minutes. This morning I used the 1st 5 minutes to get the incline up to 12%, then walked for 10 minutes, then took it down to 11% for the rest of the time. Hopefully, I’ll be with the program completely tomorrow morning. I’m watching my heartbeats-per-minute carefully to make sure I don’t overdo.) I’m also doing a session of yoga stretches daily, plus exercises with water bottle weights.
    • to get into the habit of drinking enough water daily so that my uric acid number next time will be in the normal range.

    All in all, though my husband’s adventures for the week were pretty scary, the results on both of us are good, and for that I am very thankful.

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    August 21, 2025 · 4:56 am

    Stressful Couple of Days

    Dr. Jamie Hardy

    Harvey is on his way back to the nursing home after being taken by ambulance yesterday to the intensive care unit in the hospital for pneumonia and low blood oxygen.

    We went to see him yesterday and couldn’t be sure he knew we were there. Today he knew us, but didn’t communicate. His caregiver from the nursing home was there today when we arrived. There was a nasal tube and I.V.s everywhere. He did open his eyes. The bottom line is that we okayed another medicine and are paying yet another huge bill for hospital services. They did put him on antibiotics for the pneumonia.

    I was upset because it seemed to me that they were criticizing us for not going for everything they wanted us to do. Brian said I was overreacting, but I guess I’m sensitive when we know Harvey better than anyone and know how he would react to many of their suggestions.

    The good news is he will be back at the nursing home this evening with his full time caregiver and familiar surroundings. We will wait to see what happens as far as our next visit.

    My stress level is through the roof, but I’m glad that the pneumonia seems to be solvable and that he didn’t seem to be in pain.

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    August 6, 2025 · 2:31 am

    Wednesday 8-6 Thoughts

    As we were out walking this morning, Brian pointed up into this tree. At first I was distracted by all the incredibly lush leaves. Then I noticed the beautiful pink blossom. And THEN I noticed the bunch of bananas! I guess I never thought about bananas. I knew they grew in bunches, of course, but I hadn’t gone beyond that. These are the small bananas grown here, rather than the giant ones we had in the states. Sad to say, for many reasons I don’t eat bananas anymore, but I can sure appreciate seeing them grow!

    Our gym was without power today so we found a park to wander around in. There were lots of people walking, jogging, or just strolling, so we had a lot of company. It was getting ready to rain, so it was cooling off some, a thing I really appreciated. The last time we visited this pretty place, I had to stop and rest several times. This time, I didn’t need to stop at all, so I must be making progress in my exercise efforts.😁

    We just got home from visiting my husband at the nursing home. He was more alert than last time, but was spouting a bunch of stuff about needing to get to the airport to go back to Tulsa. (This is from around 50 years ago.) He DID look at me and say he was grateful we came to visit and that he loved me. He also said “I’m sorry I’m a mess,” and I almost lost it right there.

    We brought him this wooden cube toy today. He showed some interest in it at first and we thought it might give him something fun to do with his hands. We said our goodbyes and were waiting for our Grab ride when his nurse came out and said he was calling for us. We hurried back to his room. Apparently he wanted us to take the cube home with us. We almost missed our ride, and we’re not sure what was going on there. I have it back on my shelf and we’ll try it again later. We have more toys on the way we hope he’ll like.

    We had 3 minutes or so of real communication in the over an hour we spent there, but I live for those moments now.

    Two of my latest drawings/paintings. I’m having a lot of fun trying to draw fun pictures I see on the net.

    I’m slow, but I’m having fun trying to work this jigsaw puzzle. I am determined that before I croak I will finish it and post it on the blog. My son has said I won’t finish it, in effect daring me to give up. 🤪😜

    It has been raining off and on all day. I didn’t have a lot of laundry this morning, so I’m just trying to finish a few things up, moving them back and forth between my rack on the balcony and hanging from various places inside. I must be adapting at least a little to the weather here. I fell asleep this morning before we were due to leave to go visit Harvey. I woke as if someone had nudged me, went out to the balcony, brought my few things inside, and then the rain started as soon as I shut the balcony door.

    I hope that you are finding some fun things to do today.

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    July 31, 2025 · 3:50 am

    2nd Chance

    Very few of us get a ‘second chance’ in life. Usually, it’s ‘one and done,’ before we get a chance to feel we got all we wanted, did all we wanted to do.

    “There is always a second chance. It’s called today.” 

    I’m definitely one of the lucky ones. I died twice on February 11th in Fort Smith, Arkansas at the hospital where I was being treated for Flu A and bronchitis, plus low blood oxygen. My local clinic insisted I go to the ER and get checked out. My friend, Carla, drove me there. That night my heart stopped twice. I woke up to my bed surrounded by nurses, all asking if I was okay. They transferred me to the ICU and the heart people took over. I ended up with two surgeries – a temporary and then a permanent pacemaker.

    Dying got my attention. My priorities changed in an instant. We contacted our son in Thailand and asked that he come home to help us, since my husband and I were both really sick and unable to care for each other. We ended up selling all we owned and moving to Thailand to be with our son.

    Beginning a new life in a new country is overwhelming, particularly since our retirement plans were upended when my husband had a stroke April 8th and is now in a nursing home. I have a wonderful place that our son found for us in the same condo building where he lives.

    I am determined to make the most of my 2nd chance at life, filling every day with joy. I am thoroughly enjoying my retirement, spending as much of each day as possible doing things I love.

    • I’m trying to improve my drawing skills. I choose images from the net and try to reproduce them the best way I can, using pencils, colored pencils, and watercolors. I am under no pressure to produce artwork to sell anymore. I can embrace the simple joy of trying to do something better.
    • I am trying to learn some Thai phrases. Since my hearing is impaired, this is moving pretty slowly, but I have some video clips with which I practice every day, saying, “Hello,” and “Thank You” over and over, trying to capture the musical nature of the phrases and perfect my pronunciation. I will add new phrases as I can, trying to do as well as I can on each. I want to honor the culture here and the people I see daily by TRYING to speak their language and show how much I appreciate being here.
    • I am trying to improve my health. A little late, I know. I’m 78 and died twice, but I’m still kicking, so it’s not too late. I had a baseline clinic visit a couple of months ago to see where I was and what I needed to do. The doctor was concerned about blood pressure and weight primarily, and wanting me to exercise. I’m doing all that and am making pretty good progress, walking on the treadmill at the gym daily, doing yoga stretches, stretches my son showed me, and ones that my doctor showed me to strengthen my back.
    • I’m spending time doing silly things that I truly love, like trying to work a jigsaw puzzle. My husband hated me having one out and ‘in the way’ no matter where I had it, so I gave them up for several years. Now I have an owls puzzle that really intimidated me at first, but now I’m making reasonable progress. It’s on a table in my living area, right in the middle of everything – not bothering anyone. I love it.
    • I’m devoting some time daily to watching and listening to YouTube on TV. I wear headphones so I don’t bother anyone, but I’m a sucker for all the voice competition shows. I love spending time right before bed hoping people get the break they need to do what is important to them.
    • I’m taking the time to read. I have a sofa with a lounge built in. I sprawl – sometimes under my throw – and dive into another world for awhile.
    • I’m reaching out to friends and family, making sure they know how much they mean to me. I’m grateful for email and phone chat so that I can keep up with the people in the states.
    • I’m writing posts for my blog every day. I love finding things I think are wonderful and sharing them with my readers. It’s a high point of my day to write and then get feedback.

    I am embracing my second chance at life, trying to wring every drop of joy out of each day that I can. No one is promised tomorrow, so I will make today count.

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    July 31, 2025 · 2:57 am

    The Last Day of July, 2025

    @weskrntz.bsky.social

    When we left to go visit my husband this morning, there was a cat sleeping on some of the packages on the pick-up table in the condo building. He isn’t as cute as the one here in the picture, but his coloring is similar. Apparently he comes and takes a nap here often.

    Today’s visit with Harvey was sad, as my husband is quite frail and was essentially non-communicative today. The only thing he said was we needed to buy a hospital bed. After many questions, we finally figured out that his bed squeaks when they crank it up or down.

    Two concerning issues – 1) we bring him a no sugar grape drink he likes. He would sip some, then just hold it in his mouth. We told him to swallow, and eventually he would, but only partially. His mouth was still full of liquid. After a lot of coaxing, he finally swallowed it all, taking about 5 minutes per sip. We did this several times before deciding he/we had had enough.

    2) He needed to spit soon after we got there. We found that he had been holding a pill – or maybe more than one – in his mouth. He spit it out. We have spent lots of time getting more affordable pills, and we have seen him do this once before. Brian wrote to the management when we got home. They said they would now crush the pills. Less pleasant for him, but at least the meds will get down his throat. We’re also worried about him choking with the pills, since he isn’t being cooperative.

    One nice thing – he did pat Brian’s arm at one point, almost making me fall apart.

    Tomorrow will be a better day for me, with a trip to the gym, a massage, then my place getting a thorough cleaning. I’m almost ready for her to come. I’ve changed the sheets, changed the towels, gathered the trash, and straightened up a few things. Her money and thank you card are out and ready.

    Saturday I’m getting a haircut! I’ve ‘gone to seed’, it having been two months since the new person I found cut my hair. Another really pampering thing coming up is a mani/pedi. It’s been two months there, too, and my nails have grown out. Amazingly, the gel polish they use still looks good, though there is about 1/4″ bare nail between my cuticle and the polish.

    If things work out right, we’ll get Brian some new sneakers. He has worn all the tread off the pair he wears to the gym daily. He’s doing some research, reading reviews, etc., before he decides what he wants.

    We’re going to try to take advantage of a promotion that the hearing aid group we like are starting tomorrow. I’ve had a hearing problem ever since my hospitalization in February, and hearing better will be a very welcome thing. I hate that the hearing aids are all so expensive, but I’m hoping they will essentially last me the rest of my life. I won’t wear them all the time, though – basically wearing them when I’m out with Brian. I’ll leave them off when I’m at the gym, and at home alone, especially in the evenings when I wear my headphones to listen to YouTube on TV and not bother my neighbors.

    Brian and I are making a gradual switch to eating more Thai food. We’ve been eating “Western” type stuff because I’ve been trying to avoid carbs in an effort to lose my lard. The Thai meals also have a lot of hot and spicy ingredients that are a bit difficult for me to handle. This switch is a good move for us, though, allowing me to learn to love the cuisine here, improve my tolerance for the hotter stuff, and also save money. We had a bad experience earlier in the week and both suffered through digestive problems, but we’re over that now and ready to experiment again.

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    July 19, 2025 · 8:57 pm

    Sunday, July 20, 2025

    This is one of the ‘robots’ Harvey and I made when we lived on top of the ridge line in Arkansas. His body was a former propane tank. The rest was scrap metal. We decided what parts to use together. Harvey did the welding and I did the painting, plus added work gloves, fireplace tools, and his bow tie.

    I was a bit ill yesterday morning, and we had to rush our walk home from the gym. By mid afternoon, though, I was fine again. I was a bit worried I might have a relapse this morning, and so got up early, but all was well. I walked my mile with no problems and feel fine today.

    We will leave at 2pm to go to our appointment with one of Harvey’s doctors to get the paperwork needed to extend Harvey’s medical visa. Brian was on the phone much of the day with them yesterday, making sure they knew what we needed from this appointment. They wrote back, saying Harvey would have to be at the appointment. After several back and forths, Brian contacted the nursing home, asking for Harvey and a traveling nurse to be transported to the hospital in an ambulance to meet us and the doctor. After several MORE back and forths, the hospital wrote that Brian could act in Harvey’s behalf and that he didn’t need to be at the appointment. THEN Brian spent the rest of the evening trying to reach the nursing home to call OFF Harvey’s trip to the hospital….

    I think that big corporations of one type or another are trying to drive Brian and me crazy. It all may be for the best of reasons, but it sure stacks everything against us in our efforts to get important things done. Hopefully we can get what we need for Harvey’s medical visa extension today. We will also try to see if there is a way around all this ‘stuff’ for the NEXT 90 days…

    We’re having a really nice morning here in Chiang Mai. It actually felt refreshingly COOL this morning as we walked to the gym! The humidity is coming up fast and the ‘feels like’ temperature will be in the 90s this afternoon, with a thunderstorm predicted for around 6pm, but we can enjoy it now. Hopefully my laundry will get dry before any storms hit. 😛

    I’m planning to tackle my owls jigsaw puzzle today, plus enjoy time in my art alcove.

    I hope that your Sunday is a very pleasant one.

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    July 19, 2025 · 12:18 am

    It’s Saturday

    I’ve been having fun doing little images to say ‘thank you’ to my housekeeper, Khun Nong, each week. I also try to do little stuff to ease her way, like change my sheets, put out new towels, empty the trash, etc., because she concentrates on things like mopping or scrubbing floors, dusting EVERYTHING in my condo, even straightening up where I may be sloppy. (She prefers things to be extremely neat, all in a row, where I tend to leave things spread out and ‘askew.’ My place is stunningly clean and neat once a week, so if you come to Thailand to visit me, please come Friday evening. 😃

    This week, this is what I found in my art alcove! Hopefully, it will be happy with the amount of sun it gets there and I can enjoy it for many years. I’m simply thrilled. I’ve never had a housekeeper before, but I feel sure that not many people have one who brings GIFTS, as well as doing a stellar job.

    The sun is shining today! That means I could catch up on my laundry. I did some last night, leaving it on the drying rack on my balcony overnight, hoping it wouldn’t rain. I gathered up the dry things and put them away this morning after I got home from breakfast, plus did another load of laundry that is out there now.

    There is a whole “army” doing my wash – I do mostly the small stuff. I take sheets and towels to Brian once a week because he has a clothes washer. If I have some of my nicer stuff, I bag it up and we take it to the laundry in the lobby of our condo building. A bit complicated, but it all works well.

    I’m having a quiet day today, much appreciated after the “jumping-through-hoops” days we’ve been having lately. There are so many details to handle when moving to another country. We have a humongous list – trying to make progress on all these things in priority order, while trying to not lose anything in the shuffle. Thank goodness Brian is super organized, thinking for both of us. I’m just trying to go with the flow, be up for whatever happens, and be helpful if I can.

    Make this a fun day!

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    July 17, 2025 · 8:49 pm

    Friday Thoughts 7-18-2025

    Last night at dinner Brian gave me flowers! Aren’t they beautiful? I thanked him from the bottom of my heart for making me feel special. 🤗

    I’ve been to the gym, eaten breakfast, and will soon go for my massage. I look forward to it every week, as Khun Wey-o seems to be quite adept at finding and kneading out my sore spots.

    We are going to visit Harvey as soon as I get back from the massage. We are jumping through hoops on renewing passports and visas. Since Harvey was at the hospital last time and is now at the nursing home, we are, in effect, starting over with some of the requirements for him. We have to take several pictures of him while we are there, documenting his bedridden status and getting a closeup of his face. Then there is a several page document, front and back, with several places he is supposed to sign. They will accept thumb prints, so we are ready to get those.

    We also need a doctor’s certificate of his status. The nursing home cannot provide this, so, when we leave from our visit, we will go to the hospital, where we have requested this document. We may have to wait some time for this.

    Then we will go back to the visa office and give all this to the lady who is handling this for us.

    Depending on the time when we finish all this, we will either regroup for a bit before getting out of Khun Nong’s way for her to clean this afternoon. If it’s time for her to already be working, I have left the things I need in Brian’s condo to spend a few hours at the cafe next door while Brian works there on his laptop.

    Many things on the list today. Wish us luck that all goes well instead of things blowing up in our faces. I wish YOU a wonderful day!

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    July 17, 2025 · 3:44 am

    Thursday, July 17th

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    We’ve had a pretty exhausting day already. We spent since 10 this morning attending to details about renewing our visas. We are closer to doing everything we need to do now, but we are having to jump through lots of hoops in order to accomplish it. I guess we can call this “good exercise” or “a character-building exercise… “

    I now have an emergency call button! When my husband had his stroke in the middle of the night in April, I had to take the elevator upstairs to pound on Brian’s door, waking him up, for help. It got me thinking that I could get in trouble and not be able to get help. This button arrived today. I have one end in my pocket. The other end is with Brian in his condo. It won’t matter if he has turned off his phone or gone to bed. The call button emits a loud, obnoxious sound that will get his attention if need be. He has a key to my condo, and so can get to me. I feel more secure now, but hope I never have to use it. We’ve set it up for monthly checks to make sure it’s working properly.

    Today would have been my mom’s 102nd birthday. I honor her for being an intelligent woman who could stand up in a room and say what was on her mind. She was basically self-educated, though she attended a two-year womans’ college in Missouri, leaving one class shy of graduating in one year. (Her dad didn’t think a woman’s education was important, and so gave her one year.) Most of her education came from her reading and working the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzles. She ran the office for my dad, who was a one-man advertising agency in Tulsa. She loved baby animals above anything, melting into a puddle whenever she saw one. I have so many good memories and am grateful I had such a great mom.

    I’m using part of this afternoon to prepare for my cleaning lady (woo HOOO!!!!) to come tomorrow afternoon. My laundry is hanging on my drying rack (INSIDE today, since it’s rainy.) I’ve changed the sheets on my bed, put out clean towels and emptied the trash – otherwise just trying to make sure she can get to things to clean.

    I’m planning to use the rest of the afternoon to play. I’m making a bit more progress on my owls puzzle, and I plan to spend time in my art alcove trying to reproduce an image I like.

    I hope you’re arranging for some fun in YOUR day, too!

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