Chinese New Year

Journey

Hi,
Work on the house began this weekend, fireworks also started going off, and travel plans were made. The pool got a minor makeover and friends from America called from the road.
The song we were humming this weekend was "What's Love Got To Do With It?" by Tina Turner. See, you knew that one.
"Well, make a wish baby Well and I will make it come true Make a list baby Of the things I'll do for you..." Hint: This mid-tempo ballad from 1980 made a big impression. Group is also the name of a dish. Today's line is from the bridge. Hmm.
Saturday morning the workers arrived to start sealing the cracks in the plaster on the walls around the house. The whole job is supposed to take about a week. Fortunately, we saved all the paint and it's still useable. We have many different colors and it would have been something to replace it all. Whew. The pool leak has been traced to the lights and Johan and his crew filled and sealed so we can hopefully keep the water in the pool. It should be ready for swimming in a couple of weeks. That's about how long it should take for the 'new' water to warm up. The air is getting warmer by the day so we're getting mildly excited.
This Thursday Boot and Rene will leave for a week in Rayong. That's where her mother lives. It's been a little over a year since she's seen her. Lisa, BamBam and I will be on our own for a new adventure. (Ha) Rayong is south of Bangkok and it takes about a day by bus to get there.
Some of you may remember that one of our favorite eating spots in Culver City was Thai Boom. The owners, Woody and Sunee told us that they would be coming to Thailand for the Chinese New Year. We gave them our number since they planned to come to Chiang Rai. Well, they called us from the highway today and said they'd be arriving this afternoon. We thought they were coming over for dinner and quickly made plans for more food. A later phone call revealed that there were seven people in their party. They had made their own plans for dinner and we breathed a sigh of relief. We'll talk in the morning and maybe they can come out and visit us at the house. We're still getting used to communication differences. One thing we realize is that just because someone speaks English does not mean they understand everything you say. Even if they say they do. Hmm.
Speaking of friends in America, our dear friend Blue has just published a book of his photography of the Hill Tribe People of Thailand. You can see a preview at: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/378955/b5206baeaff1cfa263d3886e315ae894
The book can be ordered directly from the website. It's a beautiful collection of the diversity and uniqueness of the indigenous tribes of the Kingdom.
Today is Chinese New Year. It's the year of the Ox and there seems to be a lot of celebrating going on. I don't recall it being like this last year but I may have not been paying the same attention. Anyway, there are lots of fireworks, decorations and traffic. Happy New Year.
Have a Great Week.

Peace,
Danny

"The joy is in the journey,
The destination is always changing."
~Unknown


Gettin' Funky, Thai Style

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