Centipedes and leaches and slugs oh my!

It's almost always late at night when you are tired and just trying to get through the teeth brushing and get to bed when you see them. For me it was last night, and what looked like either a centipede (bad), leach (also bad), or slug (the least bad of the three bads!) that was struggling mightily to squeeze through a drain in the floor and get me! Centipede, you might be thinking...how bad can that be?! Plenty I say for they grow here to near epic proportions (I once saw one that was a foot long), have a coat of armour like scales (a throw-back from some dinosaur era) making them nearly impossible to squish without some tool to help, and about a million tentacles that will latch on to you and inject you with a painful venom that requires a trip to the hospital for an anti-venom shot---ouch!! I did what I have often done in the past---sprayed it back into the drain with a water hose, shut off the light and slammed the door behind me exiting stage right.

Oh, then there is the snakes, spiders and lizards...but that is a story for another day!!

A hundred aloha shirts!

It is almost Songkhran---the Thai New Year celebration that occurs in mid-April each year. It is a nice touch that it comes in the hottest season of the year, as the tradition is to "play" water---short hand for "look out, you will have water dumped on, sprayed at, and generally thrown at you for the entirety of the daylight hours!! In years past, the Thai would dress in traditional costume, and with a bowl of jasmine-scented water, and a lei of flowers, they would seek out their elders, approach on bended knee, present them with a deeply respectful Wai, and offer their elders apologies for any wrongs committed during the previous year, and then both offer and recieve a blessing in return. While that surely continues to this day, the holiday has also become an excuse for what I call the biggest water fight in the world!! Moreover, the more traditional Thai dress has been replaced in large measure (or at least supplemented by) crazy Aloha shirts, making the sight quite colorful too. Today, in anticipation of the weeks' festivities (out in our area the local villagers will begin to "play" water this weekend), we piled some of the older kids into the van, and bought about 60 aloha shirts in all sizes and colors---to make sure we have enough for every child to get suited up!! I will actually be here for the first official day of the holiday (Monday), and am looking forward to seeing the fun once again. I promise to post some photos, although it is one of those events that really must be seen to be believed!

By the way, next week marks the beginning of the year 2552 in the Thai calendar--cool, huh?!?!

Scenes from a Tuesday!

What a nice day today---a bit of basketball with the boys, some work (finally got that proposal I have been working on finished!), time for some cute snaps of summer haircut time, and lots of hugs from dear friends, old and young alike. All-in-all a good day! Now if we could just get some relief from the horrible haze of pollution that is hanging over the Chiang Mai valley like a shroud. It is particularly bad these last few days, and blots out the view of the mountain as well as the sun. Not unlike a thermal blanket in winter, it also holds the heat in overnight, and renders the atmosphere pretty stifling.

A few more photos!

A couple more pictures for you all...

Excavating treasures!

There is a third floor at the Agape Home. It was not called for in the original plans, but due to improvements in the roof line, and the pitch, there it was, a third floor space. We made the decision early on then to put in steel beams and reinforce the area, and even put in a cement floor in the BIG middle section. Our hope was one day to turn this space into something useful, but from the beginning it has instead provided a little-known luxury in Thai homes---useful storage space. That being said, what began as an orderly storing of clothes, toys, equipment, files...whatever, whatever...labled and placed on rows of steel shelving...over time has turned into a HUGE mess!! That is not to say that there have never been attempts to keep it clean over the years, but you know how it goes..out of sight, out of mind!!

This week, that has changed. It changed because of a wonderful opportunity to see the potential start of something we have been dreaming about since our kids have been getting older---a chance for them to learn useful skills that will help them find jobs and successful futures. So, after several days of hard work, the third floor is clean, the stored items have been sorted and the important stuff kept and shifted to the roof spaces over the two wings of the home, and as of yesterday, freshly painted and now air conditioned. Next week a few of our eldest girls will begin work on a sewing project on new machines provided for this purpose, and will have the chance (during their hot season break from school) to try thier hand at filling orders for small sewn pieces, and getting them ready to ship to another organization doing charitable work all over the world. If all goes well on the trial run, t-shirts could be next...we'll see!!

As for excavated treasures, one of the boxes unearthed had my name on it, and contained all sorts of photos from my early years here at Agape. I had thought these lost (seems my photos, at least most of them and their were LOTS!) got lost in my leaving, and the ultimate disarray of the third floor! So, being reunited with one box worth was a treasure indeed!! As for the rest, who knows...they could still turn up. If not? Well no matter for the images are written on my heart forever!

"When what to my wondering eyes did appear..."

Loud laughter---from that place inside that laughter springs when something really touches you...that's what I heard first. "What's so funny?", I thought as I looked up trying to see...as the same laugh then burst out of me. There he was...a tiny little reindeer with his big shiny red nose leading the way, streaking across the front lawn as fast as his tiny legs could pump the pedals of his shiny red and yellow bike!! What a sight for sure, and one not only out of season, but out of place in this land of lush green and waving palm trees a LONG way from the North pole. Must have been practicing for his big night next December...

Miracle Pillow for Beautiful Dreams!!

Imagine my surprise when walking through the Chiang Mai super-store called "Carrefour" I came upon a sign advertising the "Miracle Pillow". Intrigued, I looked into the bin and saw stacks of vacuum-packed large, flat objects with a picture of someone enjoying a deep sleep on the cover. This is a pillow, I thought to myself...No, it can't be! picking one up for closer inspection, I began to read the fine print on the heavy plastic casing..."The Anatomic Pillow in Hygenic Vacuum-Packing. The anatomic of the Airlof Line is the pillow for Everybody. In fact its correct thickness and softness with Fascinating Unlimited. Its have been specially studied in order to fit always to the form of your head."

They had me at "Fascinating Unlimited"!! Unable to resist, I took my soon to be prize pillow to the checkout counter and paid the 190 Baht price. Pillow in hand, I drove home to see if it truly was "Fascinating Unlimited"! After I cut the bag open, and pulled the vacuum-packed pillow out, I carefully followed the directions to "shake it energetically at the ends exposed to air...", and waited for it to "...instantly take shape." Voila!! There it was, a beautiful firm, yet "springy" pillow that gently fit to the form of my head! Finally, a product that lives up to its name!!

You never know here what might catch your eye, and give you a good chuckle. The tortured English on this pillow bag reminded me of my favorite bakery where they faithfully promise to "Sample first slice for you!" Of course, it also reminds me of just how shocking my Thai likely sounds to the ears of native speakers! I would do very well to leave the Thai sign making to the experts!