Tag Archives: my latest sketches

September 15, 2026 · 4:28 am

Tuesday 9-15-2026

Tina Ann

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I’ve had a good day.

I felt more energetic on the treadmill this morning. I think drinking the electrolytes first thing in the morning is helping me. Plus the lesser dosage on the thyroid hormone should be kicking in now – though that is a really gradual thing. Ugly American wasn’t there – YEA! – so I was free to walk without distraction and could relax fully.

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We visited Harvey this morning. Though this wasn’t the best of visits, he seemed glad we came. His hands were in the padded gloves when we walked in. When I questioned him, he admitted that he was trying to get out of bed. I again tried to explain to him that he’s not strong enough to do that and will fall and probably break a bone if he tries it. I don’t think he can grasp that, though. He wanted me to take the gloves off. I refused. He said he had been chewing the ties, trying to get them off himself. Since he couldn’t do it, he wanted me to do it. I again explained that his nurse was trying to keep him from being injured. He rolled his eyes at that. He wanted us to ‘get him out of here,’ too, so that was heart-wrenching. We spent 30 minutes with him saying nothing, just holding his gloved hands. When we started to leave, he said, “You’re leaving already?” and wanted to talk. When Brian leaned in to listen, it was a rehash of wanting the gloves off, wanting to get out of here, wanting to get up to pee, etc. He was calm when we left, and so we’re calling this a good visit.

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I have two new finished sketches to show you –

I worked on two sketches at the cafe today – one of the rattan chair I covet that we see on the way to the gym, and the other a sketch of a cafe area built around grown trees.

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I had a lady on Substack contact me, suggesting that I do a series on living in Thailand, including my sketches and explaining what I was trying to do with each one. I haven’t seen anything like this on Substack, so I’m going to try to write the first article in a series that I hope people will enjoy.

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Luvze

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August 25, 2026 · 4:16 am

Tuesday 8-25-2026

Mind Shift Musings on Substack

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We went to see Harvey at the nursing home this morning. He was ‘with us’ part of the time, following things we were telling or asking him. The important thing was that he was calm, comfortable, and was NOT upset about the physical therapy session yesterday. The therapist is just moving his arms and legs, trying to prevent them from freezing up from being immobile in bed. We were afraid Harvey would strongly object, but he hasn’t, and said the man is NOT hurting him. Big relief. He DID tell us he opened the window, paid someone to come and get the suction machine and throw it out the window and burn it.😜. He said he worried all day yesterday because we didn’t come. I told him I was sorry, but that today was Tuesday and we were here now.

When we got home I had a text from Heidi, my new friend who made the butterfly collage for me, saying she was at the cafe. I immediately went to join her and we enjoyed coffees and some good conversation. I will miss her when she has to leave soon.

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These are my latest sketches.

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I’ve told you we’ve had some challenges from the card reader that gives us access to the gym. One day a Thai man was checking in before us and used a facial recognition feature to get the door to open. He then let us in. We saw him again today. He went in, and then Brian used the QR code to get us in. The man was waiting for us with some Rambutan that he gave to Brian.

Credit: Getty / Karl Tapales

Rambutan is a fruit aka “Cow’s or Dragon’s Eyes” a really sweet fruit that’s delicious. We enjoyed some with our breakfast today.

Contrast this with an American who got there after we did yesterday. I was on the treadmill and Brian had finished his and was doing other exercises. The man rang the doorbell repeatedly until Brian stopped his exercises and let him in. (This is a big “no-no” in gym etiquette. If you can’t get in, you go do something else. You don’t bother people in the middle of their workouts. He didn’t even bother to thank Brian for letting him in. Brian went back to his exercises and the man proceeded to walk the length of the gym talking loudly on his phone – another no-no and highly distracting. I had to grab my handlebars as he kept going back and forth and I couldn’t keep my concentration. This is the example of why we are called “Ugly Americans” in so much of the world. An attitude that the rules don’t apply to you, that common courtesy is not important, and that you’re the only one that matters. It’s embarrassing. I thought about biting him in the leg and then telling him I hadn’t had my rabies shot…

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Ellen Buesgen

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