Earth

Hi,
It was a busy weekend here in Chiang Rai. We continued to fend for ourselves, Napa christened the 'new' pool, and we attended the first night of a Buddhist service for a dear departed matriarch.
The weekend song was easy for some. It was "Dance To The Music" by Sly and the Family Stone. This may be harder to get:
"You walk into the room with your pencil in your hand. You see somebody naked and you say, "Who is that man?". You try so hard
but you don't understand, just what you'll say when you get home." Hint: It's by a self-proclaimed poet who entered the scene in the 60's and is still going strong. The title of this song is not in the lyrics. Very mysterious.
Boot and Rene returned from Rayong late this afternoon. They were glad to be back and we were happy to see them. With the exception of the night we went to dinner with Johan, we ate at home for the whole time Boot was gone. We figured we'd be eating out a lot but Lisa did a masterful job of preparing delicious meals. We watered, took out trash, ironed our clothes and did all the things grown-ups do. (Ha) BamBam was very happy to see her 'mom'. She was a little beside herself for awhile. Now things can return to normal. We learned that BamBam has an internal clock that tells her when it's 7:00 a.m. and that means 'get up and feed me'.
Sunday was the busiest day in a long time. Tay and Napa came over for a ballet lesson. After Napa finished dancing she changed into her swim suit and, without even testing the water, jumped right into the pool. She was determined to go in and when asked if the water was cold, answered with an emphatic 'No'. I suspect this will be a normal occurrence from now on. The temperature is creeping up about one degree per day. We'll probably hit the water next week.
We got a call from Sutheera telling us that Nukoon's mother has passed. Just to bring you up to speed, 'Loh Ma' (Grandma) as she was called, was the matriarch of our 'Little Family' that looks out for us and is Ming's great-grandmother. She had quite a colorful life and, at 93, was loved by everyone in her village. When the members of the village found out, they gathered at Nukoon's house and took care of everything. Sunday night we went to the first night of services that will end on Thursday. We'll go back for that one as well. On Friday she will be taken to the cemetary. It was explained to us that this will be a combination funeral. The services are at a Buddhist temple but since she was Chinese, she will be buried and not cremated. We're learning something new with every turn. We were asked to participate in the Sunday night service by taking banana leaves filled with rice and placing them in front of the one of the monks. There were four monks presiding over the ceremony. Each night there is a service and then socializing and game playing.
Tomorrow we go on our search for a puppy. Now that Boot is back and can look after BamBam, we will begin the 'baby-sitting' for 'our' dog. (Ha) We've settled on looking for a Golden Retriever or a variation on that theme. Part of the adventure will be in the communication with whoever has puppies.
Lots more to tell of course, but that's all for now. Have a Stupendous Week.

Peace,
Danny

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors,
we borrow it from our children."
~Ancient Indian Proverb


Gettin' Funky, Thai Style

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