Ribbons

Hi,

The weekend was Jet Lag and getting reacquainted with a few things. The most obvious was the proper hand to use for the turn signal. Yes, the wipers went on a few times.

The 'Old School Friday' song was "Daddy's Home" by Shep and The Limelites (an answer song). They were actually the same group that sang "A Thousand Miles Away", but then they were called The Heartbeats. Now you know. Let's see if you know this 'Easy Monday' song: "Here come old flattop he come groovin' up slowly, he got joo-joo eyeball, he one holy roller. He got hair down to his knee, got to be a joker he just do what he please..." Clue: The title is in two words, and it's by a fab group from across the pond. It's from 1970.

Saturday we took our filthy little car down to the car wash but they were too busy for us to wait. We decided to go into Doi Chaang Coffee and just relax and have some coffee. As we entered we saw four guys we met last month at a party. It was a nice 'welcome home' feeling. After we ordered our coffee I spotted our friends Kevin and Rachel, from The Sold Project. We joined them at their table and discovered they'd just returned to Thailand a week ago. They had also been in the states. We shared experiences and feelings about being gone and how it felt to return. We're going to have them over for dinner on Wednesday.

The afternoon found us taking the required nap so we could stay awake for the opening of the art exhibit in the evening. When we arrived at 9 Art Gallery got a warm greeting from all the young artists who always attend the openings. Everyone wanted to know if it was cold in America. The answer was of course, yes. The exhibit was a solo show by a woman who is not from the area. Her work was in oil paint and it was beautiful. Mostly landscapes, but with a surreal aspect that had everyone smiling. We had many interesting conversations with our friends and even though we had to leave early, we were glad we went.

Sunday we went to Big C for some much needed shopping. We had lunch at the Black Canyon coffee shop before we tackled the store. Sundays are always a busy day in the whole complex, with families and groups of teens milling around. When we left we got a chance to see the progress that had been made on the Central Plaza across the highway. It's huge and they've made lots of progress, though it doesn't look like they'll be done by March.

In the evening we went to the Night Bazaar for dinner and got a warm greeting from the owner. Her daughter, who is 6, greeted us with the confidence of a seasoned restauranteur. After dinner we did some strolling around and a little shopping. There are lots of tourists in town, but many merchants were not present. We found out there is a trade show going on at the old airport. We had to get a battery from the watch guy and we saw Atom and her mother. Another nice encounter.

Today we went out to the 'factory' where Lisa's cast acrylic prints are being framed. The work looks absolutely beautiful. We left 25 pieces with Tod before we left and he has done an incredible job. On the way home we stopped at Doi Chaang to pick up some coffee and saw another friend from the states who told us about Chiang Rai back in 1995 when he first arrived. Then Khun Newt, the owner, came out and seemed thrilled to see us. She gave us each one of their new T-shirts, and told us she's planning to open a sandwich shop on the property, complete with turkey as an option. That was wonderful news. (Ha) We also saw her daughter, our friend Kwan.

In the afternoon Sutheera and her husband Nukoon came over and we hung out for a bit. They brought their little dog Charlie. He's a brown Chihuahua and he was a bit shy in the strange surroundings. Daku was ready to play, but also a little over-excited. BamBam was in guard dog mode and they both ended up in the pen. Charlie didn't quite know what to make of these 'big' animals. Sutheera held him for most of the visit.

We've had many warm encounters from all our friends and it's good to be back. Now we have to get our sleep schedules back to normal. It just takes time.

Have a Great Week.

Peace,
Danny

"Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons."
~Ruth Ann Schabaker

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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