Beauty

Hi,

The weather is still dry.  Cold one day, warm the next.  Winter is still being held off by some kind of pressure somewhere.  We seem to be in a warm phase this week, which will only help to make our arrival in SoCal more dramatic (555).

The ‘Old School Friday’ song was “Drown In My Own Tears” as made famous by Ray Charles.  Time for an ‘Easy Monday’ tune.  “To lead a better life, I need my love to be here… Here, making each day of the year, changing my life with the wave of her hand, nobody can deny that there’s something there…”  Hint:  1966 from across the pond, on something that goes ‘round and ‘round.  

We had quite a busy weekend.  Saturday morning we went to a lecture presentation on the Mae Kok (our river) given by a friend from Chiang Mai.  She has lived in the region for most of her life and her well documented history of life around the river was very interesting and educational.  I now know what the ‘Pillar’ is.  You may recall how puzzled I was when I saw the sign on the highway referencing the Naval Pillar.  Well, a Pillar is a monument that signifies the place where a city was founded, and is the center of it all.  When Chiang Rai was formed, King Menghrai  let his elephant wander around.  The story goes that wherever the elephant of the king decided to rest would be the center of the Kingdom.  Menghrai’s elephant found a mango tree at the top of Doi Tong, ate all the mangos and then relaxed. That’s where the pillar is and it’s not far from our house so we’ll have to pay a visit.  

Saturday afternoon we went to a birthday party for three year old Dylan, daughter of Sandy and Ady.  The street was blocked off and the center of attention was a giant bouncy castle with a slide.  There was also a trampoline.  The kids had a blast.  We met some new people and had some adult conversations.  It was a fun time.

Lisa was invited to be one of 99 artists to contribute a painting about The King, for a new meditation center east of town.  Sunday, after lunch, we went to Art Bridge, where she was interviewed about her work and her inspiration for the new painting/collage.  Unfortunately, the opening is on 25 December, two days after we leave.  When we return in January, we’ll have some catching up to do since the annual ‘Artists Exhibition at Art Bridge opens on the 24 of December.  

Sunday evening we were invited to the home of Ajarn Nakorn, who is the curator of Rai Maefarluang Park.  He also invited John and Aye, a couple we met at the park a few weeks ago.  Just walking into his property at night was an adventure.  From the street, we never would have imagined we were entering a ‘wooded wonderland’.  Flood-lights at the base of the larger trees cast an eerie glow on the rest of the grounds as we walked along a path that snaked towards the house.  Today’s photo is of one of the trees that Ajarn Nakorn planted.  It is 30 years old.  I will tell you more about the evening tomorrow.

Have a Great Week.

                Peace,

                          Danny

"Love of beauty is taste.

The creation of beauty is art.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson