Meanings

Hi,

We’re in that phase of weather when the temps have a range of about 30 degrees.  Waiting for the firecrackers to begin piercing the quiet evenings.  

The ‘Easy Monday’ song was “It’s Too Late” by Carole King, with notable covers by The Isley Brothers and Gloria Estefan.  Now it’s time for another ’Zany Day’ song.  “Hello Mudda, hello Fadda, here I am at __ __.  Camp is very entertaining.  And they say we’ll have some fun if it stops raining.  I went hiking with Joe Spivy, he developed poison ivy.  You remember Leonard Skinner, he got ptomaine poisoning last night after dinner.”  Hint:  It’s the name of a place.  

Here in Chiang Rai, the celebration of Chinese New Year began today and will continue until Sunday.  I had seen the dates on a poster, but it wasn’t until we set out to run some errands that we realized what all the traffic was about.   On some streets it felt like we were in Chiang Mai.  We skipped several stops because it was just too congested.  

This is the year of the Fire Rooster.  The actual day is January 28.  About 14 % of Thais are of Chinese heritage so it’s a big deal in Thailand.  In the north, the percentage may be even higher due to this region being where the first Chinese settlements were formed.  It will be interesting to see just how many people abandon the black clothes they’ve been wearing and put on red this Saturday.  Apparently red clothing is important because it scares off the mythical monster Nian.  Now you know.  

We had lunch at The Wanderer today.  While we were waiting for our meal we saw the owner of Chivit Tamma Da.  She said she liked to come over for a ‘break’ from her busy place.  

Today I got to spend time with Neetchanon.  Natcha has a very stiff neck after a fall, and while Lisa applied hot compresses, I entertained the little one.  Or should I say, she entertained me.  She is really interested in practicing her walking.  When she’s in our house there are big areas for her to stretch out and she loves it.  There were many new sights in our bedroom.  The bookcase was one of her targets, along with the bathroom.  At one point she figured out how to climb out of the bathroom, which is about 6 inches lower than the bedroom, and then proceeded to find a way to get back down and do it again.  In the kitchen, she picked up one of Daku’s toys and was walking around with it.  He jumped up, walked over and proceeded to take it from her.  Hmm, hasn’t learned to share yet.  We like the fact that Natcha and Gong let her try things on her own, with a watchful eye close by.  

Later, she was outside with her little shoes on walking around.  When Daku and I went out on the lawn, she followed us, like a pro.  She’ll be running soon.

Today’s photo is Neetchanon in the kitchen.  It’s hard to get a photo of this one when she’s constantly on the move.

It feels like a Wacky Wednesday.

                   Peace,

                             Danny

“The language of friendship 

is not words but meanings.”

~Henry David Thoreau