The Times are a-changing

January 27 Geez, where does the time go? We have had a great guy, Pake, who is Hawaiian, working like a Trojan on insulation, drywall and texturing. The week before last he worked six and a half days and this past week, he worked six days. I was glad that he finally took a full day off on Sunday. Today he is back. I asked him if he relaxed yesterday. He said he slept in and took his grandkids to the river for a barbeque. We are grateful for his work ethic. There was a meeting scheduled today with the missing electrician, the project manager, and Ron. The electrician said he had an emergency and the meeting got canceled.   Ron has asked that the electrician be fired and today the project manager said if the electrician missed the meeting tomorrow, he would fire him and get someone else to do the job. At last! Jan 28 The electrician showed up and did some work, promising to return tomorrow to do more. Let’s hope so. I had an acupuncture appointment this morning...

Jan 17 We arrived home Monday, Jan 13. The trip was shorter (28 hours instead of 34 hrs. when we went to Thailand) due to shorter layovers and a 150 MPH tailwind. In Beijing we changed planes and security was holy hell. He yelled at all the flyers and searched for items that weren't there.  The security person took every item out of Ron’s backpack and looked at his screen multiple times saying Ron had a knife. Not so. We had arrived 45 minutes late, and it took 20 minutes to get to our gate after we landed on the tarmac; I thought we might be driving to SFO as the Beijing airport is HUG.  Security took about 20 minutes because of the security person's sense of importance.  Then we literally ran to our gate and got there 15 minutes before the plane was supposed to leave. Fortunately, there was a long line to board the plane and we made it. However, there was little room for each of our two carry-on bags. I put my backpack under the seat in front of me and got my...

Jan 12 We arrived in Bangkok on Friday, Jan 10 th and after lunch and running errands we came back and rested. The air quality is awful. We couldn’t see some buildings in Bangkok due to air pollution. We wore our face masks. The heat and humidity are oppressive as well. That night we went across the street for a simple Thai meal and brought Leslie, our host, some grilled chicken back to the apartment. On Saturday we ran some errands, I got a mani/pedicure while Ron indulged in a foot massage. We walked a few blocks to one of our favorite restaurants, Cabbages and Condoms. This restaurant raises money for HIV/AIDS education and healthcare. Throughout the restaurants are full-sized manikins dressed in outfits made from condoms. They also have a gift shop filled with items made by Hill Tribes in N Thailand. I found two items I wanted. We called our friend Nuch who met us at the restaurants loaded with gifts for Nattawan and for us. Nuch is the mother of Nuun who was an exchange ...

January 8 I woke up with a cranky stomach so decided to skip our walk. Ron had a scheduled call with Mark, our oldest son, so he couldn’t go for a walk either. I took it easy all day. Stayed in a house dress and lazed around. I got teary-eyed when I thought about leaving. This wonderful family has been so good to us all these years. Since the day we stepped on the property we have been treated like well-loved family members and at times like royalty. I remember when we first moved in and wanted to clean up the construction debris that was littered in the front yard. The family was astounded that we would do that kind of work. I think there must have been some stereotyping going on about Americans. Ron and I have always been ‘Do it yourself’ folks. We enjoy the sense of accomplishment. As we age there are some things I now rather pay for like lawn care, cleaning out the gutters, etc. I no longer try to help move our bed which takes two gorillas to move. Ron believes in big an...

January 4 Lots going on today. The extended family is having a dinner party for us tonight. Lek, Ai, and Au are here from Bangkok and Lek is the chef. He sent us a sample of his spicy green mango salad with chili cashews. YUM! Later we were summoned to the big house for a photo with seven of us in a group and Hope pressing the camera button for the timer then running over to get into the photo. It will be hard to leave next Friday for Bangkok because we love this wonderful family. Everyone has embraced us since we were first introduced to the family. Pa Cha An raised eight children. None live on the property full time now. Noi passed away last year. His divorced wife, Linn, lives here along with her adult daughter Ai and her son Hope from the first marriage. Her current husband lives here part-time and never participates in family events. Ai and this man’s child live on the property also. Timm and her husband Tumm live in town and have a place on a lake about an hour’s drive from ...

Jan 1, 2020 Last night we were invited to a New Year’s Eve party by Timm and Tumm, one of the families that are part of the compound where we have use of the house. They live in town but also have a new home on a lake about an hour’s drive from here, near the mountains that separate Myanmar from Thailand on the southern peninsula. The drive was picturesque and the setting was spectacular. Their modest but lovely 2nd home faces the lake and the mountains. You can sit on the front patio and veg with great, calming scenery. I didn’t get a complete count of those who attended the party and I only knew six of the people there. Two were caterers I think. Timm and Tum have planted many flowering plants and fruit trees. Jack Fruit - not found in the US, but good Timm's Bromiad garden Anyway, there were over 20 of us there. I counted nine dishes on our table; for the most part, I had no idea for what I was eating and it was probably best since Thais ...