Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Discoveries

Hi,

The weather in Chiang Rai was overcast this morning, giving way to partly cloudy with very light drizzles.  By late afternoon it was hot again.  Tonight we’re going to look for the meteor showers.

Well, ‘Easy Monday’ was remembered by many.  It was “Proud Mary” originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival and then Ike & Tina Turner.  It’s time to get wild with a ‘Zany Day’ song from across the pond.  We’ve sung this before.
“I live in an apartment on the ninety-ninth floor of my block.  And I sit at home looking out the window, imagining the world has stopped.  Then in flies a guy who’s all dressed up like a Union Jack, and says I’ve won five pounds if I have his kind of detergent pack.  I says, ‘Hey, you, __ __ __ __ __, hey, you, __ __ __ __ __, hey, you, __ __ __ __ __.  Don’t hang around ‘cause twos a crowd…”  Hint:  Obviously there’s some British influence here.  Space has been violated, the bliss destroyed.  Hmm.

We stayed home almost all day today.  Since it was a National Holiday, there was probably traffic anyway.  This morning we had a truck from the city come out and clean our septic tanks.  Big fun at The Big Brown House.  

Cat returned from her village this afternoon.  She and I went to see if our Sunday restaurant, The Bistro, would be open for dinner today.  On the way, she told me about going to visit her mother’s remains at what we would call a cemetery.  Typically, it is a quiet place with lots of stupa or chedi, which are, in most cases, small structures with pointed tops.  The one for her mother is in a grouping that sits on the edge of the forest.  She and her sister took food and water, talked to her mother and then poured the water on the stupa.  This is a difficult day for her, but she is able to express herself and that is good. 

I’m very curious to know how many people turned out to ‘Ride for Mom’, the bike ride in honor of The Queen on her birthday.  With all the promotion that was done, it should have been hundreds of riders.  It’s nice to see an event that had nothing to do with competition, just coming together.  There has been talk of trying to make Chiang Rai a bicycle-friendly city.  We do see a lot of people on bikes, some for transportation and others for recreation.  The one thing that is missing is real bike lanes.  The way most of the building is done here, there is little room to widen a street, so there is no room for a new lane.  The riders on the main roads are very brave, dodging cars, etc.  
In time, the awareness will grow and changes will be made where possible.  Meanwhile, biking is getting more and more popular.

Today’s photo shows a main corner in the Den Ha district.  The King and Queen can be seen in the panels.  It is always maintained and kept up by locals.  It’s one of the more impressive examples of detailed woodworking.


Lisa found a recipe for Snickerdoodles made with coconut flour and now there are cookies in the house.  I’m so jazzed.  Since I’ve been on my new eating regimen, cookies have been out of reach.  So grateful.

It’s time for a Wacky Wednesday.

                 Peace,
                           Danny

“One of the advantages of being disorderly
is that one is constantly making
exciting discoveries.”
~A.A. Milne

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