I don’t look this good today. With the two big doses of Vitamin C my son mixed up for me in orange juice yesterday, my sore throat is relieved, but I seem to have degenerated now into an old fashioned common cold. UGH.
Brian and I went to visit my husband, Harvey, at the nursing home this morning, and I was very careful not to touch him, hoping I wouldn’t give this to him. When we got home, Brian mixed me up another dose of Vitamin C and I took a long nap. I hate being sick…
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These are the latest painted sketches. Painting today is helping distract me from how yucky I feel 😁
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I signed up for Substack about a month ago. I am really enjoying looking at the articles on there and meeting new, interesting people.
Sheila Murrey – @sheilaspiralsister is my friend, and she writes articles for Substack. She is a multi-talented lady I am proud to know and I’m happy to recommend that you look for her there. She just included a chapter from a book she’s writing that discusses sounds and frequencies and how they affect us.
R. G. Ryan – @rgryan is an author I met through reading his Jake Moriarity books via X, and then he decided to start writing serious opinion articles on Substack. I followed him there and was happy I did. Now he has changed his focus from opinion pieces to ones such as, A Lot to Carry Pain Is Not Passive, where he is focusing on what we as ordinary people are carrying around on our shoulders that is affecting our ability to live life to the fullest and to interact with others.
AND there are several people who post pictures and videos that make me laugh or bring me to tears, or both. Very talented artists and photographers post there, as well. I find this platform well worth my time. I thoroughly recommend it. Substack.com
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I hope that Mother Nature has decided to give you a break now, and will let the ice and snow melt, raise the temperatures, and allow you to enjoy your days more.
I have vague memories of being bored when I was a child, but that’s the last time I ever had that feeling. When I was working full time, being a wife and mother, animal caretaker, and housekeeper, I didn’t have time to be bored. I was too busy trying to keep my head above water.
When I was semi-retired, I was trying to carve out time to spend in my art room, where I could learn new techniques, trying to make more things to list on my own website, Creative Artworks, for years, and then Etsy. During that time, I was also trying to get Square Foot Gardening to work, including building and maintaining a greenhouse, learning to mix up soil alternative, keeping the plants fed, weeded and watered, etc., then harvesting our ‘crop.’ I was also taking over more and more of the yardwork, plus taking over things my husband had formerly done, such as programming the automatic watering systems in the well house.
With our full retirement and move to Thailand, I can honestly say that I never have enough time and energy to accomplish what I would like to do on a given day. I’m NEVER bored.
I move from one fun thing or chore to another, trying to vary sedentary stuff with movement, and purely joyful stuff with more challenging things. I try to keep a good mix and just keep going until I’m out of time or energy, call it a day, and then start again where I left off the next day.
I guess curiosity is at the base of not being bored. I love playing on the c0mputer, trying to find out answers to my questions or find things I want to share. I was planning to paint one of my sketches today, but I’m also needing to put in some time super stretching to get rid of some painful muscles in my back. I only have about an hour to do both, plus get my dry things gathered off my balcony. And my poor puzzle awaits – neglected.
Being enthusiastic about being in a country new to me, with customs to learn, finding out what’s happening each month and deciding which to try to participate in, trying to learn phrases in a new language, and more is a full time activity by itself.
I hope y0u never lose your curiosity and enthusiasm for the life you have. There is only so much time to try to cram joy into your life. You need to be conscientious about it or the day will pass and you won’t be able to savor one thing that made you smile.
I’m trying to check on my friends and relatives as quickly as I can today to find out how they are doing in the awful weather that is sweeping across the U.S.
I think it was 2020 when we were iced and snowed in on top of our ridge line in Arkansas. We stood on our front porch, listening as the branches of trees snapped off, sounding like gun shots. Our trees never did recover.
We lost public power and public water for 14 days that year. We had a Chinese diesel-powered generator in the well house that blew a gasket during the storm, causing my husband and son to go out every half hour and cool it down with water to keep it going and from melting down completely. We had a well, so we switched to that when we lost the public water.
It took us 3 days with a chainsaw to saw and haul our way down our 650+ STEEP driveway when the rest of the area had been able to return to normal. (The driveway was on the north side of the property, so it was the last thing to thaw.)
From the weather maps, it looks like we may be having a repeat of that awful storm all the way across the U.S. It will take people quite a while to get back to normal even after the storm has passed. I’m hoping that power is restored as quickly as possible and that people have stocked up on what they needed to weather this.
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Anti-tension Squeeze Ball – We got one of these to encourage my husband to gain strength in his fingers and fists. (We got one for me, too, just for giggles. ) He was kind of intrigued for a while, was able to squeeze it a bit with his right hand, but not at all with his left. (I kept my ball on my computer table, just picking it up and giving it a quick squeeze or two when my fingers give me twinges or lock up after typing too long at a time..)
The balls that come out when you squeeze are small gel-filled balls that come out in quite satisfying colorful displays.
I have just added to my exercises for today because my quick squeeze today resulted in a complete ERUPTION of the ball, sending small gel-filled balls all over the computer table, my keyboard, the floor under the table, all the way to my front windows, and some even under the couch! WHAT A MESS!
I’ve checked a couple of times now, finding a ball or two hiding from me. I THINK I have them all picked up now and discarded…😳
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It’s 82 degrees F. right now. (I know. I’m hanging my head in a bit of shame telling you this when so many of you are in the deep freeze) but I’m having a throw-open-the-windows-afternoon to celebrate my finally being warm enough to shed my hoodie in my too-chilly place. I really never realized how spoiled I was to be able to set the thermostat in our home to a comfortable level, and then lower it a few degrees in the winter to save on the electric bill. We also had a wood burning fireplace that we usually burned just for the creature comfort aspect, rather than really needing the extra heat. We had a nice hearth you could sit on to warm your back…
I’m trying to adapt to the fact that there is no heat in Thailand. They simply endure being chilly for “The Cool Season” (Nov. 1st-Feb 15th or so – 50 degrees F. for a low and low 80’s for highs), concentrating on spending money on a/c for the 3/4 of the year when it’s hot, hotter, and hottest. I’m constantly wearing a sweatshirt, my hoodie, or a jean jacket, and then covering up with a throw while sitting on the couch. My nose and fingers stay cold. I have finally had my son order a “weighted blanket” for my bed. I had put the throw on the bed because wearing pajamas, socks, and sometimes my robe under the duvet were needed. That left me in the living room under a towel. 🥶. When I get the new blanket, I’ll put that on the bed and bring the throw back into the living room. It’s hard to imagine being too cold in Thailand. Brian is telling me it won’t be long before I’ll be griping because I’m too hot – Right now, that sounds really good…
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Stay safe and warm the next few days. You will be in my thoughts and prayers. ❤️
This is the only ‘to do’ list I will ever have anymore. I’ve spent my life completely overwhelmed by endless lists that never got accomplished, no matter how long or hard I tried. The weight of them sapped my strength and I promised myself that as soon as I finished, “______” I would take some time to do something I enjoyed. That time rarely, if ever, came. I felt guilty when I took time with my art. I gave up jigsaw puzzles. I read for pleasure, but only after a reasonable number of things had been marked off for the day.
I loved my life in Arkansas. We had a beautiful home we had built in 1987. We had planned to have an earth-sheltered home, with only a cupola above ground. We found 8 acres of woodland on top of a ridge line that faced the south, perfect for our desires, and had FHA approved plans in hand. We couldn’t find ANY builders who would take up the project, though, due to all the rock on our land. We finally found a plan above ground we could live with. We had to use dynamite to put in a septic system, more dynamite for the basement, and even more for the backyard swimming pool. (We ran out of money for the pool, so it just remained a fond dream.)
We couldn’t afford to hire much done, and we both worked in Ft. Smith, so it was tough to get things done. Our time outside of work was raising our son, who kept us hopping – bright, eager, curious, and full of mischief, plus taking care of the house, our ‘yard,’ and our pets, running errands, doing chores…
By the time we moved to Thailand last April, it had become impossible for us to keep up with everything, though we gave it our best shot. It was a bittersweet ‘relief’ to sell what we could, auction the rest, re-home our beloved pets, and walk away.
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Now, in Thailand, with my husband in a nursing home due to a fall and stroke 2 weeks after we arrived, I have given up the traditional list of chores in favor of Nanea Hoffman’s list above. I am SO much happier for it. I find joy each and every day in small things – things I see, like a squirrel in the tree right outside my window –
to the bird standing on someone’s a/c unit out one of my front windows –
to the ‘decision’ of whether I want to research for more blog posts, start painting one of my sketches, read another chapter in my latest book, work on my ‘turtle’ jigsaw puzzle, do an exercise session, or take a walk around the block, enjoying the sunshine…
I’m listening to my body. I’m trying to get healthier. I’m feeling better now than I have felt in a long time. The kindness of the Thai people makes my eyes fill up. I’m getting a lot of practice saying, “thank you,” (sounds like “cawp coon ka’-ah”)
I know you’re busy and probably are saying to yourself – “good enough for HER. She’s retired now, doesn’t have to work all day, take care of the house and kids, only cooks when she wants to – while “I’M” buried alive in ‘have-to’s…”
I HEAR YOU. I’ve been there and I REALLY do hear you. But I hope that you can give yourself permission to allow yourself time at the beginning or end of the day – maybe on a lunch break or even while taking a quick shower – to FEEL. To listen to yourself and just acknowledge what you’re feeling right then. BREATHE. RELAX. And take the time to plan 15 minutes a day when you can do something that makes you smile – even giggle. I hope that one day you can adopt Nanea’s list as I have. You deserve it.
It’s very satisfying to know what you want – to simplify things in your life to the point where you can just sit back and smile as it becomes more and more like what feeds your soul.
I used to plan everything. I had lists that explained other lists. And I never reached the end of a to-do list in my life. I was constantly overwhelmed, feeling ‘less than’ most of the time, feeling that if I just got up earlier, tried harder, I could cram more into my day, feeling that I had really accomplished something.
I didn’t realize this, really, until my husband and I got sick in February with almost disastrous results. Our son flew in from Thailand, took care of us, convinced us to basically walk away from all the stress of what we couldn’t keep up with anymore and retire in Thailand where we could be close to him.
We moved here the first of April and we both felt the stress falling from our shoulders almost immediately. We started making plans to get healthier and build our lives around more restful pursuits. My husband had his stroke two weeks after we moved, so our lives have changed in ways we never imagined.
After making sure we were doing all we could do for him, I decided to concentrate on what my life would be like going forward. I decided to build the rest of my life around –
Lack of stress where possible
Finding and embracing joy in the little things I can do during my days and evenings
Delighting in trying to fit into a new country, trying to learn the language, learning the customs, taking advantage of opportunities to meet new people, learning new things, and more.
Letting go of anything I can that I can do without – that includes a minimalist style of living – but giving myself permission to buy something that means a lot to me; enjoying spending my time on things that give me a challenge and personal joy – such as trying to teach myself to draw and painting the sketches, working on a jigsaw puzzle, listening to music, reading wonderful books, learning things on the computer, watching favorite movies on the TV…
Staying in the moment – soaking up all the feelings, enjoying people who mean the world to me, both here, and across the world from here, reaching out to let them KNOW how much they mean to me. I have learned first-hand how quickly life can be taken from you. I just plan for the day now. I may not be given tomorrow. And that is enough.
I received permission from R.G. Ryan, the author of this, to share it with you. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read.
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The first time I heard it, I was six.
I was standing on the third stair up—high enough to feel brave, low enough to run—when the house made a sound it had never made before.
Not a creak. Not a settling groan. A clatter. Bright and sudden, like something important had arrived and tried not to announce itself.
From the bedroom, my father muttered something about raccoons. My mother shifted under the covers. But I didn’t move. Because I knew what it was.
I leaned toward the living room, peering into the dark, and whispered what the poem had taught me. “A rose suchek ladder.”
Behind me, my mother’s sleepy voice floated down the hall. “What did you say, honey?”
“It’s the ladder,” I said.
“What ladder?”
“The rose suchek ladder,” I repeated patiently. “From the poem.”
She smiled in her voice. “Oh. You mean ‘there arose such a clatter.’”
That version sounded wrong in my mouth. Like a coat that didn’t quite fit.
“No,” I said, softly but firmly. “I mean the ladder.”
She didn’t argue. She never did on Christmas Eve. “Well,” she whispered, “come sit with me. If it’s a ladder, let’s listen together.”
So, we listened. And there it was again. Another careful clatter, followed by a hush so complete it felt like the house itself was holding its breath.
I knew then, with the quiet certainty only children have, that something had arrived.
Years passed. I learned the correct words. I learned to say them cleanly and properly. But I never forgot the other version. Because children don’t hear language the way adults do. They hear possibility first.
And sometimes—often, I think—they hear the truth before we train it out of them.
This year, it came back because of my grandchildren’s laughter.
They were all piled on the couch, wrapped in blankets, cocoa balanced dangerously on knees, watching that old Christmas movie where Santa falls off a roof and the world tilts just enough to let magic leak in.
Then the line came up. Twisted on purpose. “A Rose Suchek Ladder.”
They laughed and repeated it immediately, tasting the words. “A ROSE SUCHEK LADDER.” Saying it like it meant something.
And something in me—old and patient—sat up and listened.
Later, after everyone was in bed and the house had settled, I found myself alone with the Christmas lights glowing softly. I don’t know why I stayed up. Practical people usually don’t.
But Christmas bends practical people toward wonder whether they approve of it or not.
I was standing near the fireplace when I heard it. A clatter. Clear. Familiar.
Then another sound—lighter this time—like a rung being set carefully against brick.
My heart did something it hadn’t done in years. “A rose suchek ladder,” I whispered.
The air shifted. Not dramatically, not enough to convince a skeptic. Just enough to feel remembered. And, for a moment, I saw it. A ladder, yes but not wood or metal. Pale and delicate, as if braided from winter itself. Its rungs looked like rose stems, stripped of thorns, smoothed by patient hands.
And down it came—slowly, carefully—the shape of a man. Not the noisy version. Not the cartoon. Someone older than hurry. Someone who still treated the moment with reverence.
He stepped onto the hearth as gently as snowfall. He noticed me. I know he did. For a second, I expected to be scolded. Adults aren’t supposed to be here for this part.
Instead, he nodded. Not as a king to a subject but as a craftsman to someone who recognized the tools.
Then he lifted one finger to his lips. Not in warning but in invitation.
I didn’t speak. I didn’t move. I just stood there with my hand on the mantle, feeling my heart thump like a kid’s again.
Santa turned slightly, and I saw it then: the ladder wasn’t just for him. It was a way in and out of the thin places. The places where belief still mattered. The places where words could still become doors.
And I realized something that made my throat tighten: Adults don’t stop believing because the world proves them wrong. Adults stop believing because the world trains them to stop listening.
He moved quietly, leaving gifts where gifts belonged, the way someone tends a garden in the dark; without fanfare, without ownership.
When he returned to the fireplace, he placed a gloved hand on the ladder, respectful, careful. Before climbing, he glanced back once more, and though he never spoke, I understood.
Don’t explain this away.
Don’t steal it by trying to prove it.
Just keep the doorway open.
Then he climbed. The ladder shimmered and vanished, rung by rung. One pale rose petal drifted down and settled on the hearth.
Morning came the way it always does—noise, paper, joy in all directions at once.
Then my granddaughter stopped and pointed. “What’s that?”
I followed her finger. The petal was still there.
I picked it up gently. “That,” I said, smiling, “is proof the ladder was here.”
She leaned closer. “What ladder?”
I knelt so we were eye to eye and whispered the words the right way—the way that opens doors. “The rose suchek ladder.”
Her eyes lit up. And somewhere deep in the house, old and patient and listening—
there arose such a clatter.
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
R.G. Ryan
Christmas 2025
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R. G. Ryan – R.G. Ryan is a novelist, musician, and essayist whose work explores the intersection of faith, culture, and human responsibility. A native of California’s Central Coast, he writes about the places—and the values—that shape us.
@rgryan on Stubstack and. @RGRyan777 on X
Author of the Jake Moriarity Series that I love and highly recommend.
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.
We can never thank our veterans enough for all the sacrifices they and their families have made.
We used to live in Greenwood, Arkansas, a community of about 9,700 people. In the center of the ‘square’ is Greenwood Memorial Park where lots of events are held each year. On Veterans Day, U.S. Flags are placed behind the stones of veterans who served us, bought by their families to honor them.
I wanted to get a stone for my husband, Harvey, because he served 4 years in the Marine Corps. He refused, saying he wasn’t in an active fight (although he was on ships offshore several really hot spots ready to go ashore if ordered), but he didn’t consider that enough to warrant a stone.
Memorial Park looks so pretty for this day we honor our Veterans. Assemblies at the schools honor our men and women in uniform. Local veterans attend these assemblies, allowing us to thank them in person with lumps in our throats. A parade goes down Main Street, around the square, and back up to the high school. Bands play and crowds cheer. It’s a beautiful thing to watch.
Veterans Day from Thailand seems weird to me. It’s the first one where I haven’t been in the U.S. to participate. I even had to remember when to write this post so that it would arrive on Veterans Day in the U.S., rather than November 12th, as it is in Thailand now.
We visit my personal hero tomorrow in the nursing home. I don’t know how alert he will be. I would like to be able to talk with him about his service. He joined the Marines when he was 17 and I was 14. We dated on all his ‘leaves’ for the 4 years, letters flying back and forth as fast as we could write and send them. (No texting or social media accounts back in the Stone Age.)
Even the mailman got into the act. If he saw there was a letter from Harvey for me, he would break the rules and put the red flag up on the mailbox because he knew I would be in the house, face plastered to the window, watching him. If the red flag came up, I would dash out of the house, running to retrieve the mail, smiling like an idiot. We would smile at each other, he would tip his hat and drive off.
Harvey won a medal for his sharp shooting in the Marines. He was proud of his service, but always downplayed it in honor of the ‘real veterans.’
“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.
I have always been impressed by black and white images taken by skilled photographers, but I’m drawn like the proverbial moth to a flame to color. The more of it the better.
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Halloween is almost upon us. I have a couple of sketches ready to paint that have a Halloween theme. They make me feel as if I’m celebrating a bit, even though I’m in Thailand now. 😃. I’ll work on those today.
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Today I took a virtual treadmill vacation to ‘nature’s paradise’ I’ll call it. Maybe it was Oregon, but I enjoyed walking along wooded paths, across icy patches on hilly slopes, beside rushing streams, seeing some glorious waterfalls, mountain-top ponds and lakes, and finally up to huge boulders in the middle of a flat plain then down a path across the sand to the ocean! Not a person nor building to be found. Lovely!
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After breakfast Brian and I went to get cash for my massage and cleaning lady tomorrow. He followed me back to my place so he could take pictures of my finished jigsaw puzzle to order a glass print of it for me. When I told him about loving to FEEL the finished puzzle, he looked at me with his eyebrows raised. He said he would “leave us alone so we could have some privacy.” I laughed my head off. 🤣. I call myself a ‘puzzle pervert,’ but my friend Marsha suggested a much kinder term, a ‘puzzle appreciator.’
I will leave the finished puzzle on my table until the new one arrives. Then I’ll take it apart and leave it in a gallon-sized plastic bag with the picture that came with it in the recycle area in the building so someone else can enjoy it.
I’m looking forward to starting my turtle puzzle.
Remember to include some fun in your day. Laughing is great exercise, you know. 😂🤣😛
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.” — ZIG ZIGLAR
Freepik
There is a big difference between being “motivated” and actually carrying through with goals, ambitions, dreams. And as the quote says, achieving your goals is basically a daily thing.
I made a list of what I wanted to achieve when we made the huge decision to sell everything we owned and move to Thailand to be close to our son.
I wanted to really retire – as I hadn’t been able to even THINK about, much less DO in the states. My responsibilities just continued to grow even though I was no longer employed by others outside my home..
My husband and I were sick as dogs. I wanted to do everything possible to regain my health so that I could enjoy my new life in a new country.
I wanted to learn about Thailand – try to learn as much as I could of the language, culture, geography, etc., so I could fit in as much as possible, showing the people how happy I was to be here.
I wanted to live each day as if it were my last. I had been surprised in February when I COULD have actually breathed my last, and almost did. I wanted to do everything in my power to make my second chance count.
I wanted to celebrate being close to our son.
There is more, and there are subsets to the list above, but you get the idea.
So I had a list. I had the WISH to make this stuff happen. I was ‘motivated,’ but how do you actually get started? How do you keep the motivation going strong? How do you change wishes to actions?
There are external and internal motivations.
I used to do good work in grade school because my teacher gave us gold stars. Even when I became older than dirt, I bought some gold and silver stars from Amazon to reward myself when I met a small goal. Silly, maybe, but whatever works!
I made lists and checked things off as I did them. It still motivates me to some extent, but when the list length becomes overwhelming, it can make me throw my hands up and decide getting everything done is impossible.
The best motivators, to my mind, are internal. I still have my list of what I would like to accomplish, but I find a strong push from way down inside to make each day count. And that means accomplishing something on my list each day for each of my goals.
I feel satisfaction when I’m making progress, and that means a lot to me. I feel more calm and peaceful because I’m using my time well – INCLUDING deciding to do something completely fun and maybe useless in the grand scheme of things, but makes me smile.
I’m taking 5 minutes each evening to sit and FEEL gratitude. I may think of one thing and just feel the ‘good’ fill me. I may think of more than one thing or several on a given night. One of the things for which I am grateful is my strong motivation to accomplish things on my list.
My motivation also remains high because of comments from YOU on something I said or did that resonates with YOU. Compliments, kudos, kind words are deeply motivating.
This is a complex subject, but I wanted to get started – to share what’s keeping ME motivated in the hope that it might help YOU in some way to stay motivated, as well. We’re all in this world together, you know.
This is one of the 3-D metal pieces my husband and I made and hung in our shared office in Arkansas. The half moon was raised from the rest of the piece.
Yesterday I did my afternoon exercise of dancing to fun music while holding water bottles as weights and doing arm exercises. I think I got a little bit too enthusiastic because I was sore when I woke this morning. The walk on the treadmill at the gym helped a bit, but I’ll do an extra long, slow session of my yoga stretching this afternoon to see if I can get completely stretched out.
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Today was delightful for letting my laundry dry out on the balcony. It’s been nice and sunny all day, so I could be almost lackadaisical about checking the dryness before bringing it in.
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Speaking of that, now that the “Rainy Season” is coming to an end here, I may be getting the leaks in my windows fixed next month! It will be super nice not to have to worry every time it rains hard, running around with bucket and towels. Next rainy season, I may just be able to look out and say, “Wow, it’s raining hard!” rather than getting so personally involved in the wet. 🙏🏻😃
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My puzzle is coming together more quickly now. It’s fun to work on it, seeing the gorgeous image emerge from the pieces.
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I’m trying to divide my time between working on the puzzle, doing a bit of art work, and reading my book. Such a difficult choice for such a spoiled and pampered retired lady such as I!
I hope you’re consciously arranging to put some fun in your life. Having almost died in February, I realize that if I hadn’t gotten a second chance, I never would have experienced the joy of doing something I truly love each day. We’re not in control of how long we have, but we ARE in charge of carving out little spaces of time to do something that makes our lives richer.
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” ~ Theodore Roosevelt
My mom was a smart lady, and she said a lot of smart things; one of which was, “Attitude is all.” That really resonated with me and is a cornerstone of my life.
Instead of looking at things happening and immediately assuming the victim – poor me – attitude, I’m really trying to look at each thing as a problem to be solved one step at a time. It may take a long time, try my patience, try to overwhelm me, but I CAN break most things down into pieces and try to do what I can to resolve them. Some of the things here in Chiang Mai have been trying to drive me nuts since the end of March when we first arrived. Piece by piece I (with Brian’s help) am solving them one jagged, frustrating piece at a time. I have finally moved two things off the LONG, LONG list on which I’m working. I will continue to do what I can on each remaining thing until I get a handle on each.
While I’m working on frustrating stuff, I’m embracing my new life here in Chiang Mai. I’m finding more and more to like, feeling more and more at home. I’ve concentrated on trying to get healthier; losing my remaining lard;, eating less, but healthy food; learning more Thai phrases, having a healthy routine to my days, and finding joy EVERY DAY, in my jigsaw puzzle, my sketches, my paintings, my books, my blog posts, the friends and relatives that mean the world to me, and much, much more.
I’m realizing all I have, and am very, very grateful for all of it. I have a chance to build a new life, new friendships, new hobbies, discover things I didn’t know existed, but most of all, to change what I can, make the best of what I can’t change, and keep my focus sharp.
“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” — Leonard Cohen
I have read so many things about people ‘looking for happiness.’ If they just have _______________ (fill in the blank), they’ll be happy. They look to someone else to provide it for them. They look everywhere and unfortunately don’t find it. Their lives end with them still reaching for it.
One thing I have learned is that – as Leonard Cohen has said – a crack lets the light in.
As we all know, life is not perfect. We are all surrounded by life’s ‘cracks,’ things that might even bring us to our knees, thinking there is no way we’ll have light in our lives again. The thing I’ve learned is that the light comes from within you – as your strength does to live with life’s cracks. I can always see or sense people who have learned this. There is a deeper, more knowledgeable, more forgiving look in their eyes. We communicate immediately, acknowledging that knowledge and strength with no words needed.
When we discover we have ‘something’ inside that helped us so much, we must do several things: one – recognize the light; two – do everything we can to make that light shine brighter and brighter within us, making us grateful for all we have; and three – share that light with others. Offering it is the important thing. They may not be ready for it, but the fact that you’re there, and you care, IS the important thing.
My former mother-in-law was the role model for me.
When she and my father-n-law were in the process of moving to an assisted living facility, we were driving there together. I asked her how she felt about the move. She immediately answered, “I’m going to love it.” My surprise must have shown on my face, because she went on to say, “This will be my new home. I will make it mine. I will meet people, join activities, make it a wonderful place to be.” AND. SHE. DID.
She brought the light within her to all she met at the assisted living place. People were drawn to her because of her loving nature, her wide smile, her enjoyment of each day. She embraced her light, made it burn brightly, and passed it on to others.
Goodman Family Dentistry
“Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.” – Maya Angelou
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! 🤗
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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.
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This is the latest painted sketch.
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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.
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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! 👍
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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.
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I hope your day/evening is filled with giggles and grins..
I am in the process of doing a lot of changing since we moved to Thailand.
Some of them are health-related:
I used to drink coffee by the pot full. I would start a pot in the morning. My husband and I would drink a cup and then I would finish the pot. If dinnertime came and the pot was empty, I would make another pot and drink most of it, if not all. Coffee didn’t keep me awake. It was like drinking water to me. – now we drink mushroom teas (various) with bone broth mixed in. This is a very healthful drink. It’s supposed to do all kind of wonderful things for us. The bone broth is supposed to help with hair and fingernails. We drink one cup with breakfast. Now many times I have an iced mocha in the afternoon as a pick-me-up. I never liked iced coffee, but the ones I’ve tried here are all wonderful, and the ‘iced’ helps me ‘weather’ the weather better…
Exercise – I used to do yoga stretches and various exercise videos on my computer at various times when we lived in the states. I THOUGHT about them more than actually DOING them. – Now Brian and I go to the gym every morning at 0-dark-thirty to use the treadmills for half an hour. Brian says he can tell I’m healthier. I also make it a point to do at least half an hour of yoga stretches daily. I also dance with water bottles in each hand at least every other day, trying to work on my arms and back, as well as have fun moving more.
Eating – I used to eat what I liked and too much of that. I belonged to the “clean plate club”, practically licking the plate before I finished stuffing my face. Sometimes I went back for seconds. We always had high carb, salty snacks on hand. Now I eat breakfast and dinner. Brian and I share whatever we get. He eats 2/3 and I eat 1/3. I try to drink LOTS more water than I did before. If I get hungry, I chew some sugarless gum.
Using my day – In the states I was trying to handle more and more of what my husband used to do, but couldn’t do anymore. I was overwhelmed by to-do lists that only grew. I felt guilty when I went up to my art room, even though I sold much of what I made up there. By the time I had handled enough of the list to do a little bit of something fun, I had run out of time or was simply too exhausted to do it. Now I can put myself at the top of the list mentally. I still have ‘to-do’ lists and a list of errands we need to run, calls I need to make, etc., but I make a conscious effort to include something FUN in my day while I still have energy and actually ENJOY the doing. Now that I’m officially ‘retired,’ I am moving from one fun thing to another any time I’m not needed elsewhere. My attitude is one of improving my quality of life. Getting a second chance at life changed me forever. I am worth doing something fun now. 👍
I stayed up especially late last night listening to YouTube singing contest videos. I’m a sucker for someone gathering their courage and trying to sing in front of a huge audience and critical judges. I tear up when they’re successful, cry if they actually win. (I know, I’m hopeless ) 😋
When my photo alarm went off at 5 a.m. this morning, I checked to see if there had been a mistake. I must have set the alarm incorrectly – but, NOOOOO! It was time to get up and get dressed to go to the gym.
I was sitting on the couch, still trying to wake up when Brian texted me that he wasn’t feeling well and wanted to skip the gym today. I decided to go ahead and shower and dress for breakfast and going to visit Harvey at the nursing home.
It’s quite cloudy and my phone app says it will be cloudy and rainy all day. It lies, though, so I decided to go ahead and put the laundry I had washed out on the balcony on the drying rack. I may regret that later – if we’re out and the rain starts – but it won’t be the end of the world.
It’s a perfect day to take a nice nap. I’m fighting that, but I’m not sure for how long. I don’t know what it is about a cloudy day that makes me sleepy, but it works every time. Then if I can hear the rain (and it’s NOT leaking around my windows), I can really rest well.
Brian tells me that once the rainy season is over around the first of November, then it will get HOT and the sun will be super strong, and no rain will fall for weeks at a time. All this is completely new to me. It’s like I have been dropped onto a different planet at times. By the NEXT rainy season, I’ll feel like a veteran. Hopefully, my window leaks will have been fixed and the bucket and towel brigade can be retired.
For now, I’m getting up from the computer every few minutes to keep alert…
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.
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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.
One of the things I miss about our former home in Arkansas is my book collection. We had bookshelves in every room and all of them were overflowing. That didn’t keep us from buying more or downloading more onto our Kindles…
We brought our Kindles to Thailand, and Brian pronounced them ‘ancient,’ as soon as we were settled. After my husband’s stroke and eventual placement in a nursing home, Brian bought him a new, simplified Kindle without all the bells and whistles that we thought he could operate. That turned out not to be the case, so we brought it home for me to use.
It’s very straight-forward and I like it a lot. Brian transferred the books I had on the old one to the new one. This is faster, easier to read, lighter weight. I stopped paying for the Unlimited plan, since I was paying more for that monthly than I would if I bought the books outright. I’m not reading as much because I simply run out of time. I can still find some free books to try, when I don’t know the author and am not interested in showing my support yet.
I put it in my carrier when we go to the cafe to get out of my housekeeper’s way on Friday afternoons. I switch between reading and sketching, and the time passes quickly.
Right now I’m enjoying the latest book in the “In Death” series by J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts. It’s called, “Framed in Death,” and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. (This is book # 61 in the series. #62 will be available in February.)
I learned to read when I was 5 because I had the wonderful example of my parents and older brother reading all around me. I’ve been a voracious reader ever since – except for while I was pursuing my Master’s Degree as a Reading Specialist. THAT is a program designed to kill anyone’s love of reading! It took me two years after getting my degree to be able to pick up a book to read for pleasure without tensing up and feeling I would be ‘tested’ on all the details of the book when I finished.
One of the things I tried to do when I ran my own reading clinic for several years in Tulsa was to get my students to realize what joy they would find when they unlocked the key to reading well. Once we figured out the skills they were missing and what kinds of things interested them, we used their interests to fill in the blanks and they were on their way, grinning. It’s amazing how hard a boy will work on phonics, figuring out how to chop up a long word into a word he could pronounce and use, when it’s tied to reading a comic book starring one of his favorite characters. Some of our girls enjoyed reading about clothes available in teen magazines. Everyone seemed to get a kick out of reading cartoons of any kind.
I consider reading one of the many gifts we humans have in life. We can learn things we need or want to know. We can follow directions to make things we can use or can give as gifts to others. We can dive into a world filled with intriguing characters who live in a world totally different than ours, making our problems fade away for a while.
Thankfully, there are ways to enjoy reading without spending a lot of money or needing a lot of space to store books. I love the idea I saw about people building library boxes on poles in their neighborhoods, putting books inside they thought others might like. These are completely free. The idea spreads, others bring books to share. Everyone wins. 😁
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. 🤗
Time to ourselves is a luxury few can manage for most of our lives. We have SO many demands on our time – chores to do, people to see, a house to run, children to supervise and love, spouses asking for our help and companionship, have to’s, and more. The time just whizzes past our heads and we just try to keep our heads above water, doing the best we can.
I never thought I would ‘retire.’ My lifestyle was such that even when I managed to work from home, I was so busy just doing the basics that my hair was blowing in the wind of time whizzing past again. We had a good life, but we couldn’t afford to have someone come and help with cleaning or yard work, workmen to repair things, etc. I saw myself just continuing swimming as fast as I could until I dropped. I wasn’t unhappy, just kind of resigned to my reality.
When my husband and I both got so ill we couldn’t manage, our son came from Thailand, cared for us, helped us make the decision to sell what we owned and move to Thailand to be with him, then helped us get set up here. When my husband had a stroke, we managed to find a caring nursing home so we can visit him several times each week. I’m living by myself in the condo that we thought we would share.
I have to tell you that retirement is great. I have so many wonderful things I want to do that are only limited by time and my energy. Each day I wake up, actually looking forward to going to the gym. Our son and I go interesting places or take care of errands, share meals. I now have a person who not only comes weekly to keep my place spotless, she also brings me flowers now and then! I get a massage weekly, too, and that is a luxury beyond price.
I have found a man who does a great job of keeping my hair looking civilized, and I go every couple of months to get a mani/pedi. I had never had this luxury, either, and I just love figuring out what color I’ll have each time. 😀
I have the time and quiet to read. I am downloading books onto my Kindle and can take that anywhere we’ll have to wait a long time, or just enjoy sprawling on my couch and enjoying someone else’s world for a while.
I love finding and sharing things with my friends who find my blog interesting.
I’m enjoying trying to learn to draw. The challenge of trying to draw what I see and then the fun of painting the sketches grounds me. I’m challenged and having fun like a kid at the same time.
I’m working on a jigsaw puzzle that is the best kind of frustration. 😜 I have headphones so I can listen to music, or even take an afternoon and watch a movie! I’m gearing up to start taking walks in my neighborhood.
I can choose to do whatever I would like (within reason – I AM in a new country and am learning every day about how things are done here.)
I relish having time to myself – whether it’s an afternoon, or most of a day and evening. I just grin like a nut and choose what I want to do next…
I’m having a good morning. I’ve had my workout at the gym, breakfast with Brian, washed and hung my laundry on the drying rack on the balcony, and have fun plans for the day.
I’m going to work on the owls puzzle. I may die of old age before I actually finish this, but I’m determined to do it, even if the very last thing I do is to put in the final puzzle piece before I croak.😋
I did some sketches at the cafe yesterday and will start painting them later today. I’m in the middle of “Mirror” Book 2 of a new trilogy, “The Lost Brides” by Nora Roberts on my Kindle. I found out that Book 3 won’t be available until November, but I now have a card I can use to download books to my Kindle from Amazon even though I’m in Thailand now. I’m thrilled.
I’m planning to do a good job on more exercising today. I’ll start with yoga stretches and see how I do with that. I’ve TALKED a good game lately, but have been sloth-like in my actual implementation…
I discovered some good videos about living in Thailand. I’m enjoying listening to those and trying to absorb all the good information.
I got an alert on my phone yesterday that we’re under the gun again from another humongous thunderstorm coming this way from Vietnam. We’re supposed to get it tomorrow, August 31st. ☹️ We were planning to go visit Harvey tomorrow, so we’ll have to look at what’s happening and the timing on what is forecast to see if we think we can get to the nursing home, have our visit, and get back before potentially bad leaking from our windows occurs again. (The round trip when we visit is about 3 hours, so we may have to just decide it’s too big a risk and stay home.) We’ll see.
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.
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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.
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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!!!!
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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….) 🤣
I had a lovely day yesterday with a massage in the morning, time in a cafe sipping an iced cappucino while drawing in my sketch book or reading a book on my new Kindle while my housekeeper (woo HOOO!) made my place spotless. These were topped off by a trip to a street market and beautiful dinner.
Brian had bought the new Kindle for Harvey to use in the nursing home. My husband has always been a voracious reader, reading paperbacks plus books downloaded on to his Kindle at the rate sometimes of a book in one day. Since his stroke, the old Kindle was too much for him to handle, so Brian ordered a new, simpler one which only had the reader without any other bells and whistles. It turned out that the simpler one was too much for him, as well, so we brought it home with us last time. Brian wiped the books off, downloaded all of MY books onto it, listed it on Amazon so I can continue to download books from Kindle Unlimited, and synced it to the Wifi in my place, as well as an alternate if needed. Is my son a keeper or what! 🙂
And the pampering continues today! Two months ago we found a hair stylist who looked at a picture I brought in on my phone and tried his best to emulate it – taking into account that my hair won’t do ANYTHING on its own. It’s thin, fine, and totally uncooperative. I came out looking as if ‘someone had a plan,’ rather than an exploded mushroom. I’m hoping he can work a miracle again today.
After my haircut, fingers are crossed that Brian will be able to find some tennis shoes to replace the ones he is using now which have the tread totally worn off. I hope he finds something he is happy with today at the big mall.
I hope that YOU are being pampered, too, or that you figure out things you can do for yourself that make your face explode into a wide, wide grin today.
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.
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.
Brian and I have been straining our brains to think of things that may help my husband adjust to being in the nursing home after his stroke.
We are all making a bit of progress, in that he is not actively hostile at this point and is finding a few things to NOT complain about. 😋
One of the things he has asked for is a newspaper. He didn’t even care if it were in Thai or English. I’m not sure what his thinking is, but we decided we would try to bring him one tomorrow when we visit. It also occurred to me that he might enjoy thumbing through a magazine for the pictures.
So after breakfast, we walked to a bookstore that Brian said was close to the condo building and had magazines. (I was happy, also, to get a bit more walking in. It’s cloudy today, so the sun doesn’t immediately bore right through your brain, particularly at around 10am in the morning.)
We got to the bookshop. It was a nice place with lots of good looking Thai books, but not a newspaper or magazine in the place. Some of the reviews we had read had mentioned magazines in particular. We asked the clerk, and she looked at us as if we had two heads. She didn’t have any.
Brian looked quickly on his phone and managed to find another bookstore close by that might have what we were looking for. We got there, only to find it was closed.
SO – we went to have a chocolate and regroup.
It is obvious that at least in Thailand, magazines have gone the way of the dodo bird. Paper newspapers might still exist, but they are not in the hotels close to our condo building, and we didn’t see ANY of the newspaper boxes where you put in quarters and pull out a newspaper, as there are in the states.
I got online when we got home and looked for both newspapers and magazines. Again, there probably ARE some, somewhere, but this is making me feel really old and that this ship has definitely sailed.
People either find what they want to know on their phones or laptops. Paper magazines and paper newspapers are SO old school…
Brian is going to search again and see if there is a way he can order either one, but it doesn’t look like we’ll have anything to take with us tomorrow. 😒
It’s funny, something I thought would be easy and inexpensive turns out to be almost impossible to obtain.
On a good note, though, the nursing home sent us photos and a couple of short videos of Harvey enjoying a wheelchair ride. He has refused to do any more physical therapy, and gets actively hostile about it, but he really seems to enjoy being wheeled out onto the front porch and the front yard.
Yesterday the nursing home sent us pictures of him petting an afghan hound that someone had brought to the front porch. The short videos were of him outside the fence in the front yard, interacting with three beagle type doggies, offering them treats through the fence.
We will continue to look for other things that will bring him some comfort and enjoyment. Today’s efforts were a bust so far, but we will come up with something.
Having a 7-11 in your neighborhood is a huge thing in Chiang Mai. They are very popular and a lot of them are open 24 hours. We actually have one just outside the lobby of our condo building. This is very convenient to lots and lots of folks in the building and in the area.
I’m still finding it a bit of a challenge, though, because of my own limitations. The 7-11 in our building is divided into halves – one on each side of the outer lobby. One part is mainly food and drink and the other is more geared toward medical and general supplies.
You would think you could walk into a 7-11 anywhere in the world and easily find what you’re looking for. It’s a bit more challenging here.
The photo above shows some of the everyday things we have bought downstairs. Sometimes the picture on the product helps you with what it is. Sometimes a brand name can give you an idea what it is. Most things require some study, as – you guessed it – almost every word is in Thai! Imagine that! 🤪
Since I don’t have a payment app on my phone tied to a bank account yet, I have to try to make sure I have enough cash for what I need. That means I look at the bahts listed and then either do math quickly in my head to get a rough idea (35 bahts to a U.S. dollar) or get out my phone and find a conversion on Google. (142 bahts = $4.37 USD)
I asked Brian if he would pick up some toothpaste for me recently. He filled my request very quickly, handing it to me as we came in from other errands. For some reason he was grinning at me. I finally asked what the deal was. He wanted to me look at the toothpaste. I couldn’t tell anything, so went into the bathroom to squeeze a bit out.
At that point, Brian let out a belly laugh – something he almost never does – at the horrified look on my face. It WAS toothpaste, but it was BROWN. It has been marketed as a joke here as something to the equivalent of ‘turd paste.’ It’s a test to see if you’re ‘manly’ enough to handle toothpaste that looks like it came out of the other end of someone.
He laughed even harder – telling me I was ‘cool’ – when I stood there and brushed my teeth with it… (It’s the tube on the right of the photo above.)
Yesterday was Friday, so I went for my massage with Wey-o. Mostly, it was the exquisite massage I’m getting used to – but NEVER taking for granted.
About 2/3 of the time in, a man came in the door of the small, quiet shop, asking in a loud voice if he could get a massage. No, he didn’t want an appointment. He wanted it NOW. A foot massage.
How did I know all this? Wey-o and I were in the cubicle at the far corner of the shop, but there are only curtains between the cubicles and it is assumed people entering will be quiet and respectful. This man obviously didn’t care about anyone but himself. He had to be asked to take his shoes off, when there is a sign and a rack of slippers right at the front of the shop.
The masseuse told him the cost and he started grousing. “The man he had talked to last week had told him 50 baht. She had told him 70. ‘Wellllllll, allllll right!!!!!!!'”
The other lady in the shop agreed to do his foot massage ‘now.’ As it started and continued, he kept up a running commentary on the massage, why he needed it, the fact that he was going for a pedicure across the street when she finished. When she didn’t reply, he said it again, louder, 4 times! He asked if the shop was open every day…
At this point, Wey-o was turning me over on my back. I pointed out to where he was, mimicked a duck quacking with my hand in front of my mouth, put my hands to my ears and shut my eyes. We grinned at each other. She doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak Thai, but no translation is needed when someone is being the epitome of the “Ugly American.”
He got on his phone in the middle of the massage, talking to someone named Mark!
I came out when I had dressed from my massage. I drank my tea and turned to bow and thank Wey-o for a beautiful massage (only managing a probably badly accented, “cawp coon kah!” (thank you.) The other lady stopped the massage, stuck her head out of the curtain and we repeated the thank you and bow and the confirmation for next Friday.
This man embarrassed me. I thought about confronting him, but decided it was probably a waste of breath. If he was boorish enough to ACT that way, my quiet words would have no effect. I’m sorry that he makes it worse for all other Americans or other foreigners, making Thai people cringe at “having to put up with rude foreigners” in order to make a living.
We use the Grab App on Brian’s phone to travel anywhere we are not walking. I’m truly impressed with this system, where you use the app on your phone, tell them where you are, where you would like to go, and pay for it before they get there, which is usually 5 minutes or less from when you call.
I’ve been amazed at all the ‘decorations’ in the vehicles. Brian pointed out to me that a lot of them are religious. Some have paid monks to paint symbols on the interior roof fabric of the vehicle to try to keep it safe from accidents. Others hang all kinds of really pretty icons and religious symbols from the mirror for the same reasons.
Another thing they do is have small plush animals on the dashboard. I think this is more a personality thing. A small dog or cat will be sleeping on a bed in one corner or the other of the front dash. A small cluster of really sweet animals will occupy one side or the other, or range all the way across the front of the vehicle.
My phone itched for me to take some pictures to share with you, but Brian said that would be rude. You’re not even supposed to SAY anything – even when you think the collection is wonderful. So my mouth stays firmly shut and my phone stays in my carrier.🤗
I just love it when we enter a Grab whose owner has really shown his/her personality.
Some are very business-like – I guess the riders have warranted this – where there is a sign listing things you should NOT do in the vehicle – smoking, drinking, yelling, etc. I almost laughed aloud at a cartoony picture of a drunk obviously throwing up in the vehicle. It is prohibited, of course, with a fine of 5000 baht ($153.11 USD) per violation.
This is being delivered here Wednesday morning, and assembled by IKEA people, since they have the tools needed and we don’t – AND the things with drawers have a gazillion pieces.
Brian got me a floor fan for the bedroom so I wouldn’t have to unplug the one from the living area and carry it to the bedroom to plug it in. Moving air is very important to your comfort level, no matter what you set a thermostat for. I was happy to HAVE the fan to carry back and forth, but I was delighted when he knocked on my door and brought another fan in.
When he set it up and showed me it had a remote, he said, “You need a bedside table.” I told him I had been doing just fine, but he wasn’t hearing any of it. He said, “You need a table for your night light, the fan remote, your phone plugged into the charger, a bottle of water, kleenex, a book, your glasses….”
I couldn’t sleep last night because I was unable to turn my brain off. The biggest problem as my sleep-starved mind saw it, was, “What if the drawer table we ordered is too wide to go beside my bed?”
I looked up the table and found out the dimensions are 40×55 cms. Our notes didn’t specify which was the width. Since I don’t speak Thai, centimeters, kilograms, celscius or baht, and have to look each up to convert until I learn the new-to-me systems (duh), I ended up at my computer doing the conversions, opening my closet door and measuring again, then doing it over again because my brain function in the middle of the night is less impressive than during the daytime. 🤪
The table is 55 cms high (21-5/8″), by 40 cms wide (15-3/4″), by 48 cms deep (18-3/4″). The spot I have for the bedside table with the closet door open is 50.8 cms (20″). I had to go back AGAIN to make sure that the table is 15-3/4″ wide and we have 20″ available. WHEW!
This is probably the last piece of furniture we will buy for the condo, and we almost messed up. AND – if any of the measurements are wrong, we CAN scoot the bed over toward the outer wall some. WHEW again.
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