Generosity

Hi,

Well, it’s still cold to us.  There were times during the weekend, when the sun was bright and the wind died down, that felt rather pleasant, but that didn’t last.  Mid-morning temp in Chiang Rai was in the high 70s.  

The ‘Old School Friday’ song was “Frosty the Snowman”.  Time for a real ‘Easy Monday’.  “Why do birds, suddenly appear every time you are near?  Just like me, (__ __ __ __) __ __ __.  Why do stars fall down from the sky every time you walk by?  Just like me (__ __ __ __) __ __ __.”  Hint:  Really?  The part in parenthesis is part of the title, but you know the line.

Christmas morning we woke up very early, just like every morning so far.  When I was a kid, it was to take a peak at what Santa left under the tree.  Now, it’s because our old friend said it’s time to wake up.  Bah, humbug.  At a more civilized hour, we went into the main house and we had coffee and cinnamon rolls, which has become a tradition.  Anna played Santa or Santa’s elf and passed out the gifts from under the tree.  There was lots of laughter and joking as the gifts were opened.  The dogs, Peaches and Lola, got into the act, sniffing around and finally receiving their stockings.  At one point, Peaches had her whole head inside her stocking.  

In the evening we all went to Pasadena for dinner with my mom, her sister, my brother and his family, along with the Karp family.  What a great time.  We dined at the Pasadena Hilton and after dinner, that’s when I discovered an amazing dessert.  It was called ‘Deconstructed Lemon Merengue’.  It was the inside of the obvious, with no crust, just graham cracker crumbs around the edges.  Our waitress brought extra spoons, knowing everyone would want a taste and she was right.  I asked my brother, who lives in Colorado, how he liked the cold weather in Southern California and he told me it wasn’t cold.  Ha.  They get cold when it reaches around 30 degrees.  Oh.

Saturday our Culver City family had dinner at Emerald Thai, one of our favorites.  This time last year I couldn’t eat there.  This year was totally different and I thoroughly enjoyed my meal.  Our friend Nid was very happy to see us and it felt like old times.  Lisa and I will go back and visit with him in the afternoon one day so we can talk about Thailand.

The mechanism of home delivery of food is quite different here in the U.S., compared to Thailand.  Over here we see cars with a sign on the roof, designating them as a delivery vehicle.  When you order pizza, for instance, you call the store near you and they deliver.  In Thailand, there is a 3 or 4 digit number that connects you to the order desk.  When the order is ready it is sent out on the vehicle in our photo for today.  Quick delivery.

We now move into the ‘visiting’ phase of our journey.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner and coffee will be the focal point for the next few weeks.  The adventure continues.

Have a Great Week.

                    Peace,

                              Danny

“Generosity gives assistance,

rather than advice.”

~Marquis De Vauvenargues