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Hi,

We had pretty good weather over the weekend here in Chiang Rai. It kept looking like rain, but it never happened during the day. I tried a different kind of massage, we had a different kind of lunch, and enjoyed an intimate evening at the art gallery. Oh yes, Daku is getting a little better at frisbie.

'Old School Friday' brought lots of mail. It was "That'll Be The Day" by Buddy Holly and The Crickets. Wayne noted that they were an original 'Garage Band' from Texas. Now it's time for 'Easy Monday'. You know this one:
"Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, go sister (x 2). He met __ down in Old New Orleans, struttin' her stuff on the street. She said 'Hello hey Joe, you wanna give it a go? Gitchi, gitchi, da da? Gitchi, gitchi, ya, ya, here? Mocca chocolata ya ya, Creole __ __." Hint: Not sure if you really need one, but let's just say it's not about Ovaltine. (Ha) More like jam. Hmm.

Saturday was a day of light running around. We went to Bliss photo studio and hung out with Chalit and his brother. We told him about the art opening on Sunday, and talked about the grind of 'art promotion'. In the afternoon we went for our weekly massage. I finally got talked into trying the oil massage. I really enjoyed it. The Thai oil massage is gentler than the 'regular', and it left me very relaxed. I guess I'll be getting that from now on. We had talked about going to Walking Street, but we felt so mellow we just stayed home.

Sunday was a busy day. We had lunch with Atom at the Vietnamese restaurant that is owned by a local artist. There are paintings, and wooden sculptures hanging all around. It's quite a warm environment. Atom helped us order, to make sure our meal wasn't too spicy. Generally, all the dishes are 'Hot'. We had a wonderful visit, and as always, learned a little more about Thai culture. Until the era of Rama V (1853-1910), food was eaten with the fingers. King Chulalongkom traveled outside the country and one of the influences of the western world was the use of utensils. The spoon was probably the only thing used, and that was just for soup. Many people still eat in the traditional way. Now you know.

The exhibit at 9 Art Gallery was scheduled for 6pm, and our friend Deirdre met us at our house and we rode over together. When we arrived at the gallery they were still setting up and no one was there. We decided to go to dinner and then return for the show. The event at the gallery was a very laid-back affair. It was an impromptu presentation since the original artist had to cancel. The collection was beautiful. Most of the artists were there, just sitting around talking. There was no formal introduction, no ribbon cutting, just a mellow evening. We got to spend a lot of time with Khun Sompong, who owns the gallery with his wife. He had four paintings on exhibit and he told us of his motivation, and a lot more. It was a chance to really get to know him, not only as an artist, but as a person. After the show we went back to our house and talked about the experience, and learned more about life at the Sold Project Resource Center.

This morning we went to Makro and got a little refrigerator for our bedroom. It's very quiet, and now we don't have to do the stairs if we want cold water. I imagine there will be other items we'll keep in there as the mood strikes.

Daku has been 'training' with the frisbie and is totally into it now. He can catch it about half the time, and seems to love the work aspect. Of course, he gets a treat if he catches it so there's added incentive. After all, he is a dog. (Ha)

Have a Great Week.

Peace,
Danny

"It is never too late to be what you might have been."
~George Eliot

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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www.lisamosesgallery.com