Friday Funnies

Hi,

Chiang Rai had another outstanding day.  The high was in the low 90s, going down to the low 70s.  It’s enough to spoil me.

So, the ‘Zany Day’ song was “Get Off of My Cloud” by The Rolling Stones.  There’s nothing left but ‘Old School Friday’.  This one should be easy:  “Well, since my baby left me, I found a new place to dwell.  Well, it’s down at the end of Lonely Street at __ __.  Where I’ll be, I’ll be so lonely baby, well I’m so lonely.  I’ll be so lonely, I could die.”

Hint:  It’s from 1956, but some of you will still know it.  The title is a place.  The singer was in his prime.

This morning, while we were playing with Daku, Natcha and Neechanon hung out after the morning kitchen thing.  Neechanon was experimenting with different ways to walk and run.  Then she discovered the joys of jumping down the incline in the lawn.  It’s only about three little jumps, but it’s different than doing it on a flat surface.  Hearing her little laugh in the morning is a great way to start the day.

The excursion for the day was a trip down the Super Highway to the Amway store.  We only go there for one thing: filters for our air purifier.  It always ends up being some extended thing when we go there.  Since it’s usually over a year between visits, we have to renew our membership to get the discount.  Today the cashier couldn’t find the product in the catalogue.  Eventually, we got what we needed and went home.  

This afternoon Khun Jin came over and Lisa got a long massage.  I went to the mall and met a friend for coffee.  I can’t remember being in the mall on a Friday afternoon on a sunny day.  It was packed with shoppers, tourists, and school kids.  Luckily, we had a table at Starbuck’s and didn’t have to negotiate the interior of the mall.  From where we sat, we could see that a big food faire was being set up outside in the parking lot.  There’s always something happening there.

Today’s photo was taken at Work@Home coffee shop.  It’s Katai modeling her new white tiger ring. 

Have a Wonderful WeekEnd.     Time for the ‘Funnies’.

              Peace,

                        Danny

This ‘Funny’ photo was taken at Central Plaza Mall this morning. 

Quality

Hi,

We seem to be in that boring, redundant, same same weather pattern.  Oh, it’s beautiful, but how many times, how many ways do I tell you?

The ‘Zany Day’ song still has some friends out there.  “The telephone is ringing, I say, ‘Hi, it’s me, who is there on the line?’  A voice says, ‘Hi, hello, how are you?’ Well, I guess I’m doin’ fine.  He says, ‘It’s three a.m., there’s too much noise, don’t you people ever want to go to bed?  Just ‘cause you feel so good, do you have to drive me out of my head?’  I say, Hey!  You! __ __ __ __ __….”

This morning Mr. Daku got a bath.  He did his usual resistance routine, but got bathed anyway.  During the final rinse, Neechanon and her parents came inside the yard after their morning street kitchen adventure.  Neechanon was quite surprised to see her furry friend getting the hose put on him.  When Natcha explained that he was dirty and needed a bath, she seemed to understand.  She doesn’t like dirt.

After coffee at Work@Home, we went to one of the local helmet shops and got a helmet for Natcha.  We have been after her to wear a helmet, and when Gong told us that the one she had was no good, well…  Now we have to get them to put one on Neechanon, even if she fusses.  

It’s that time of year when the registration on the van had to be renewed.  That meant a trip to the Thailand Department of Land Transportation.  First, we had to purchase the Compulsory Insurance, kind of a liability policy.  Then we went to a window where things were stamped, more money was given, and that was it.  We were there for about 15 minutes and it was all done.  In order to get there and back, we had to drive on that newly paved road with the awful drain dips.  Today it looked like they were working on making the lids of the drains even with the road surface.  Maybe in a few weeks it will be useable again.

Natcha sent us a video clip of Gong’s sister, who takes care of Neechanon during the day, teaching her little ‘student’ to pronounce a series of words.  Gope would say a word and Neechanon would repeat it.  She really paid attention and repeated until she got distracted.  For an almost 2 year old, she’s doing great.  

Today’s photos are from Siam Paragon in Bangkok.  The blue patterns you see are water.  Somehow, the water is released in such a way that it can create many different shapes.  I stood there for a long time trying to understand, then just enjoyed it.

Have a Thrilling Thursday.

              Peace,

                        Danny

“To affect the quality of the day,

that is the highest of arts.”

~Henry David Thoreau

Improve

Hi,

We had another day of postcard weather here in Chiang Rai.  Now we just need some overnight rains to water the lawns.

The ‘Easy Monday’ song was “A Hard Days Night” by The Beatles.  This week’s ‘Zany Day’ song comes from the same era, and also from across the pond.  I’ll bet you remember this:  “I live in an apartment on the ninety-ninth floor of my block.  And I sit at home looking out the window, imagining the world has stopped.  Then in flies a guy who’s all dressed up like a Union Jack, and says, I’ve won five pounds if I have his kind of detergent pack.  I says, Hey! You! __ __ __ __ __ (repeat 2x), don’t hang around ‘cause two’s a crowd…”  Clue:  The singer is feeling crowded by the outside world.

This morning Gong and Natcha set up their portable kitchen on the driveway apron in front of The Big Brown House.  We went out to be ‘customers’ just as Natcha was cooking up the egg-fried rice that was the main dish, for their first sale.  She put it in a foam container and the young man drove off on his motorbike, with his breakfast.  Lisa ordered a plate and while Natcha was cooking it up, Gong brought out a little table and two chairs.  It felt strange to be sitting right on the edge of the busy road, in morning traffic, watching Lisa eat.  I didn’t have any because they use soy oil and sauce.  I can tell you that it smelled delicious.  We’re hoping it catches on and they can build up a regular clientele.

Our adventure today was a drive to the country and a visit to the frame factory.  Lisa has a four panel art piece that will be one image when it is framed.  It was nice to see the countryside.  It’s rice harvesting time, which means the great expanses of green are gone.  The rice is now a yellowish-green color and we could see where they started cutting and stacking the shafts.  There was a lot of activity at the factory.  Khun Todd and Lisa went over the details of the framing and we’ll pick it up next week.  It will be in her solo exhibit next May at 9 Art Gallery.

Since we were in the ‘neighborhood’, we went to Doy Din Dang for coffee.  This is the ceramics complex of Khun Somluck.  He wasn’t there, but we had a nice visit with his wife, Tamako.  We had an interesting conversation about ‘art business’ and it’s complexities.  

On our stop at Browney’s Pet World for kibble and treats we saw a big display of assorted cages.  It’s an uncomfortable thing to see, but I guess some animals have to be confined at times.  With the rise of apartment/condo living some pets can’t be left to roam the house all day.  Hmm.  

Here’s a bit of trivia for the next dull moment:  During the Loy Krathong festival this year in Chiang Mai, 78 airline flights were canceled over a two day period in order to avoid collisions with the lanterns that are released into the night sky. 

Feels like a Wacky Wednesday.

                  Peace,

                            Danny

“How wonderful it is that

nobody need wait a single

moment before starting to 

improve the world.”

~Anne Frank

Heroes

Hi,

The Chiang Rai weather was about the same as yesterday.  It was very warm in the afternoon, with a new batch of puffy clouds and a vague promise of rain.  

For some, this really is an ‘Easy Monday’ song.  For others, it happened many days and nights ago.  Here’s verse 2:

“You know I work all day to get you money to buy you things.  And it’s worth it just to hear you say, you’re going to give me everything.  So why on earth should I moan, ‘cause when I get you alone, you know I feel OK.  When I’m home everything seems to be right.  When I’m home, feeling you holding me tight, tight, yeah.  It’s been __ __ __ __, and I’ve been working like a dog….”  Clue:  There was a clue given already. 

This morning, after our normal routine around the house, we had coffee at The Wanderer.  Technology has a funny way of making us laugh sometimes.  Even though we got our high-speed internet working, we went to The Wanderer because we had to pick up coffee for the house.  We figured we’d just call Joe in Palo Alto while we were there.  It turns out their internet was down, so we called Joe.  His Skype was not working, so we ended up having an old fashioned phone call.  

This afternoon the technicians from our telecom company came and relocated the two devices that make it go.  We wanted to move them out of the room where we spend the most time, just to be away from the ‘rays’.  Apparently, it’s not healthy to be in close proximity with the waves that emanate from such devices.  

Yesterday, at Big C, I was mildly impressed with the stacking job someone did in the rice section.  When bags of rice are not stacked too high, it’s easy to walk by and take it for granted.  When it’s stacked high, and it’s like a little wall, you notice.  Yes, it’s all rice.   

Neechanon has been in a great mood lately.  She has been practicing her jumping, adding the word ‘Tookay’ with every jump, letting us know she’s over her fear of the lizard.  Her waving has also been taken to the next level and actually looks like a wave.  Here is a photo of her as she approached the exercise bike.  It’s still too big, but she’s working on it.

Now that the rainy season appears to be over, the city is repaving and renewing the streets with gusto.  I saw the big asphalt machines on another street yesterday and we have new traffic signals at several key intersections.  Maybe all the lights will shine and there will be no guessing as to what to do.  When everything is finished, it will be fun to ride around (555).  I can give them a list of streets full of potholes if they need something to do.

Have a Happy Tuesday.

                  Peace,

                            Danny

“We relish news of our heroes,

forgetting that we are 

extraordinary to somebody too.”

~Helen Hayes

Start

Hi,

The weather is still beautiful.  Blue sky with a border of puffy white clouds and a thunderstorm ‘nearby’.  Yeah, that never happened…again.

The ‘Old School Friday’ song was “Sweet Little Sixteen” by Chuck Berry.  The ‘Easy Monday’ song is from 1964.

“It’s been __ __ __ __, and I’ve been working like a dog.  It’s been __ __ __ __, I should be sleeping like a log.  But when I get home to you, I find the things that you do will make me feel alright.”  Hint:  Title is a great play on words by those four lads from across the pond.  There was a movie of the same name.

Saturday evening we went to ArtBridge for the opening of a watercolor exhibition.  All of the work was landscapes with lots of pastel shades. As usual, we met up with our friends from the artist community and had some interesting conversations.  We learned that there is now a weekly 'art walk' style street fair at Wat Rong Khun.  We’ll be going to check it out on a coming weekend. 

The recent detour to avoid a landslide was set up again, but for one afternoon.  The house that was teetering on the edge has been removed.  Now there’s is just a pile of small boulders at the bottom.  As one drives by, it still looks a little fragile.  

One of the most heartwarming stories this week was about the solo fundraising efforts of a Thai rock and roller.  Bodyslam is one of my favorite Thai Rock groups.  Its lead singer ’Toon’ Bodyslam is running from the south of Thailand to the north, raising money for more hospitals in areas that need help.  He’ll be coming through Chiang Rai sometime in December.  I hope it’s not before we leave.  We want to see him run through and make a donation.  So far, he has raised millions of Baht, with donations from corporations and school children alike.  Here’s a link:

https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1359019/rockers-run-can-inspire-a-whole-generation 

Sunday evening we went to the Night Bazaar for dinner and did some holiday shopping.  The ‘High Season’ has begun and the place was crowded.  Some vendors were doing business, while others were plagued with visitors just looking.  Cruising through the Bazaar, a few of our friends asked us where our daughter was.  They had become used to the three of us on Sunday nights.  It’s quite acceptable in this culture to be nosey about peoples personal lives.  We’ve adjusted to most of that pretty well.  

The Internet drama may be over.  Today we had a visit from one of the fluent English speaking techs who is more like a ‘boss’.  He brought a couple of guys who installed a bigger router.  We now have ‘5G’ WiFi and not only is it very fast, it hasn’t dropped the signal.  The world is changing and we’re trying to keep up.  

We were very surprised to discover that Starbuck’s at the Central Plaza Mall has Holiday decorations up already.  Couldn’t resist sending you some photos of the results.  Since Thanksgiving is not celebrated here, they don’t know the ‘rule’ about waiting (555).  Let me know if your local Starbuck’s is already ‘dressed up’.

Have a Great Week.

                Peace,

                          Danny

“Start where you are. 

Use what you have.

Do what you can.”

~Arthur Ashe

Friday Funnies

Hi,

Chiang Rai weather today was nearly the same as yesterday.  Cloudy, a little warmer, and dry.  It seems like every day is getting a little bit warmer.  Hmm.

The ‘Zany Day’ song was “Little Old Lady From Pasadena” by Jan & Dean.  Congrats to all  who got it.  See if you know this ‘Old School Friday’ tune:  “They’re really rockin’ in Boston, in Pittsburgh, P.A.  Deep in the heart of Texas, and ‘round the Frisco Bay.  All over St. Louis, and down in New Orleans.  All the cats wanna dance with __ __ __.”  Hint:  There is a number in the title.  

Yesterday we got to important bits of information regarding the land around us.  The lot next door to the west, will not be developed for 3 or 4 years.  That’s great news.  The lot behind us is getting a house, and building begins in January.  That’s not so good.  The owners came visiting yesterday to inform us of the project, and that we will have to change the location of our drain pipe.  We think there is a solution, just have to walk out in the weeds next door and see if it will work.  I hope it’s a little house.

This morning we went to the nursery to get new plants to place on one side of the waterfall.  There are lots of pipes that were hidden by some bushes that got pulled out.  Now it’s time for a cover-up.  Gong did a good job of placing them the way Lisa pictured. 

We went to the mall to complain about our internet...again.  It takes a few tries to convey the message to someone without a full understanding of English.  The customer service rep at the mall seemed to have a better understanding.  When there is more than one problem, if there isn’t complete understanding, the first problem is all that is mentioned to the tech guys.  Today we had two men at the house by the time we got home.  They did some reconfiguring, blah blah and produced very fast speeds.  Now we’ll see if it continues to drop the signal.  That was problem number two.  Stay tuned for the continuing adventures of ‘Internet in Thailand’.

Tonight it is quiet outside.  Not a hint of bass drum, off key singing, or things exploding.  Just a beautiful, still Friday night.  After nine days of music blasting from 6pm to 11 or 12 midnight, it’s refreshing.  I did find out who the singer was a few nights ago.  Cat had a schedule of all the performers and she filled me in.  The band is called ‘Clear’ and I went to Youtube and sampled a few things.  I plan on listening to more.  

Today’s photo was taken from one of the escalators at the mall today.  When the day just started and no one is buying desserts, TV on the telephone is a way to pass the time.  

Natcha informed us that Neechanon calls Daku.  It’s still in her language, but it translates to ‘Daku come’.  She says ‘Koo Ka’.  There you have it.  I suppose only a mother would know, but she understood.  It won’t be long before we’ll all understand what she’s saying.  She is practicing all the time.  

Have a Wonderful WeekEnd.    Stand by for the ‘Funnies’.  Also, Formula One is in Brazil this weekend.  Zoom.

                  Peace,

                            Danny

Light

Hi,

We had another overcast day with mild temps.  Late afternoon attempt at rain fizzled.  The yard could use some watering (555).

A few of you knew the ‘Zany Day’ song right away.  It was sung by a duo in 1964, back when car songs were big.

“And everybody’s saying that there’s nobody meaner, than the __ __ __ __ __.  She drives real fast and she drives real hard, she’s the terror of Colorado Boulevard.  It’s the __ __ __ __ __ (go granny, go granny, go granny go!)”

Hint:  The title is a phrase that used to be used to refer to a slow driving senior.  

It was another whirlwind day in Chiang Rai.  We drove up to Ban Du and had coffee at Shong Cafe, then we dropped down the highway to Makro for odds and ends.  Our next stop was in town, at the fruit market vendors and then home.  We ate lunch early so we could be ready for Cat and the film crew.  Things were working out just right.

Cat arrived on her motorbike just ahead of Rachel and the film crew.  The ‘team’ consisted of two documentary film makers and their respective sons.  They already had a concept in mind, so after introductions and a tour of the house, they went to work.  The idea was to show Cat coming home and us greeting her at the door.  Then we walked through the living room and out to the poolside area where we sat and talked.  After they were satisfied with the film shots, they did some ‘family portraits’ of the three of us by the pool.  They were a cool bunch and it’s a shame they had to leave so soon, but they were off to Cat’s village for lunch and a shoot with her sister.  That’s a wrap.

After a brief nap, we went to Immigration for our 90 day check-in.  To our surprise, the place was completely empty.  We handed our friend at the counter our passports, sat down and waited a few minutes, and we were done.  That had to be a record for the quickest check-in.   

On our way to Immigration, the road we normally take had just been repaved.  The asphalt was smooth and it would have been a great ride except for the fact that it was higher than the storm grates that are evenly placed in the road.  This meant that every 20 feet or so, the van would rock from the wheel dipping into the lower level.  When there was no oncoming traffic, I drove down the middle and avoided the problem.  We came home a different way, it was so annoying.

Today’s photo was taken at ‘Napa’s Shoes’, the new store we visited yesterday.  

We contacted our former gardener, Khun Keck, to see if he could help us with the bees that had nested behind the waterfall.  His only suggestion was to kill them.  Still looking for a humane way to deal with them, Lisa sent a photo to our friend Tye to see if she knew anyone who could remove them safely.  She said we should keep them as they are good luck.  So, it looks like we’re keeping the bees.  As long as we give them a wide berth and don’t upset them, all will be well.  Hmm.

Have a Thrilling Thursday.

                     Peace,

                               Danny

“Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world.

All things break.  And all things can be mended.

Not with time, as they say, but with intention.

So go.  Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally.

The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.”

~L.R. Knost