Welcome

Hi,

Coming to you from Valley Village, CA, where it’s 46°, looking to climb to a sunny 63° for the high.  Last night it went down to 39° and that deserves a ‘Brrrrr”.  In Chiang Rai it’s a bit warmer, with highs in the high 70s on the way to mid 80s later in the week.  That’s my kind of weather.

The ‘Easy Monday’ song was “A Hard Days Night” by The Beatles, but you knew that.  ‘Zany Day’ is next, and it’s a bit of a Soap Opera:  “(yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. [repeat])  When you left me all alone at the record hop, tole me you were goin’ out, for a soda pop.  You were gone for quite a while, half an hour or or more.  You came back and man oh man, this is what I saw:  __ __ __ __, told a tale on you.  __ __ __ __, said you were untrue.  Bet you bottom dollar, you and I are through. ‘Cause, __ __ __ __ told a tale on you, yeah.”  Hint: The dated lyrics tell us this happened a long time ago.   

In yesterday’s message, I used the wrong words to designate when things would happen.  What?  Yes, I said ‘tomorrow’ we would be going to the valley, when it should have read ‘today’.  I know you probably scratched your head and thought, ‘he’s just a little sleep deprived’.  You may have been right.  Anyway, I wrote those words the night before and my brain has gotten used to writing in the morning while on this side of the big lake (555).

Yesterday we saw the beginning of the Rose Parade, but then we had to go.  I never did see the rest of it.  We drove out to Northridge for a therapeutic visit with our friend Alan.  He worked some magic on Lisa’s ankle and she stood up and walked without any pain.  Then he showed Lisa a bunch of things to do on my back to ‘release’ the muscles that are affecting the nerves, etc.  It was like a master class.  We both left feeling good and ready to meet the world.

We arrived in Valley Village in time for lunch.  Nowell and Jennifer are the consummate hosts, making sure we were comfortable in every way.  As we were getting up to speed on life stuff, a neighbor of theirs came by and a new voice was added to the chorus.  A little later, Cousin Martha and her youngest daughter, Sofia, arrived.  Sofia is 14 and was born on Lisa’s birthday.  So now we had several generations seated around the table and of course, the conversation changed at a moments notice.  It was a stimulating afternoon.  Somewhere in there, I manage to slip away and get in a much needed nap.

In the evening, we went to a ‘Left-overs’ party a few doors down at a neighbors.  It was a new thing for us, and turned out to be fun.  There had been a party the night before and what better way to deal with extra food than to have another party, with no new food.  So there we were, sitting in the midst of a neuropathologist, an air-traffic controller, a TV executive, to name a few.  Discussion ranged from deep to shallow (555), and it was all fun.  

Today, Wednesday, we’re going to the San Gabriel Valley for lunch with Frank and Linda and then to Alhambra for a visit with Lisa’s childhood friend, Debby.  Whew!  We will return to Valley Village, where we will connect with Cousin Laurel, who stayed with us in Chiang Rai.  Her mom Ellen, also spent time with us at The Big Brown House.  

Today’s photo is a cute little tractor that is also a thumb-drive cover.  I thought it was pretty clever, especially since it belongs to our friends Towan and Katai, who happen to own a large tractor business in Thailand.

It feels like a Wacky Wednesday.

                   Peace,

                             Danny

“And now we welcome the new year. 

full of things that have never been."

~Rainer Maria Rilke