Monday, May 20, 2013

Enough


Hi,

I had a great weekend.  After an overnight stay in Chiang Mai, Daku greeted me like I'd been gone for weeks.  There was a morning swim, an afternoon shower, and an evening dining by the river.  

'Old School Friday' should have been easy.  It was "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf.  Here comes your 'Easy Monday' tune:  "__ __, put on your red shoes and dance the blues.  __ __ to the song they're playin' on the radio.  Let's sway, while the color lights up your face.  Let's sway through the crowd to an empty space..."  Hint:  This easy one came from across the pond and it's all about moving feet across the floor in a rhythmic manner.

Saturday morning in Chiang Mai, and the thought of mango waffles was enough to get me out of bed.  In the little garden cafe I was the only patron for most of the time.  The server kept wanting me to eat more food.  It's a Thai thing apparently.  I convinced her that the waffles would be enough.  The view from my corner table was beautiful plant life with the hint of the swimming pool through the leaves.  I noticed that the smaller tables were recycled sewing machine tables, complete with the big peddle underneath.  I think there must have been some kind of 'dumping' a long time ago because you see these tables all over Thailand.  

     The Garden Cafe at Shewe Wana Boutique Resort

The hotel sent me back to the bus station in an air/con van.  As soon as I got adjusted to the overwhelming heat, I spotted a familiar face.  It was one of the artists from Chiang Rai, waiting for a bus to the Golden Triangle.  He speaks English so we had a long conversation about his travels and his upcoming trip to Europe.  

I arrived back in Chiang Rai in early afternoon, just in time for the next chapter in the 'air/con soap opera'.  Our bedroom unit was still not cooling like it had before the heatwave.  We thought it might need Freon or something.  The techs came and used a pressure wash to clean out the compressor, then attached gauges to measure who knows what.  When they left it didn't seem to work any better.  We have to set it colder to get the desired results.  We've been told that it's because it's so hot.  Hmm.

Sunday morning was so hot that we swam at 9:30am.  It was great, and a good thing because in the afternoon the sky got cloudy and we finally got the much needed rain.  Everything got a good soaking and the temperature dropped a little.  In the evening we met our friends Stephan and Claire at Art Bridge for dinner.  They had just returned from a week in Chiang Mai so we had lots to talk about.  We watched a colorful sunset and got interesting feedback from Stephan on the logistics of the layout of the restaurant.  He's in the hotel business so he sees things with that in mind.  

This morning we went back to Art Bridge to deliver some of Lisa's tote bags with silk-screens of her 'Dancer Series'.  They are now on sale in the gift shop.  We had to go to our main post office, which is north of the city.  All of a sudden three lanes became one as we approached a re-paving project.  It wasn't as bad as it looked, and we didn't have to sit too long.  Bit by bit the highway is getting smoother and smoother and that's a good thing.  

Have a Great Week.

                       Peace,
                                  Danny

"To do the useful thing,
to say the courageous thing,
to contemplate the beautiful thing:
that is enough for one (person's) life."
~T.S. Eliot

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