A Finished Project

I've been working on a couple of small projects and just finished up my first confetti quilt. Kim took the class and explained how it was to be done. Great concept and great fun, if you don't count all the small pieces of fabric you have to arrange with tweezers or the confetti I'll be picking off the floor for weeks to come.

What Next???

Now I don't like to sound like I'm getting worried here, but just about every year we have been in Bangkok, something has happened.  We've had an airport takeover, civil unrest, floods and now...

we have the haze.  This is the scene from one of the balconies this morning.

PENANG PART II

Some more photos to give you a flavour of Penang.

All the rickshaws had a little bunch of artificial flowers and a flag or two.

PENANG

Alan and I last visited Penang about 15 or so years ago, way before it became a World Heritage Site.  George Town today, is unrecognisable from the city we vaguely remembered.

So many of the buildings are either under or have been renovated.  This beautifully restored building is now the Penang Heritage Museum.

Last UFO

I came home from Thailand with five unfinished quilts. Three of these were tops I had taken with me to Thailand eight years ago. (Good grief, it was eight years ago February we went over to check out apartments!) I just finished the last of five and the last of the three I took over. My conscience is now clear and I am free to move on to new and varied projects!

Last Days in Thailand

With Kim and Alan heading off on their holiday, I have been left to finish up our Chiang Mai blog. Just a few items left and I have to leave Thailand behind. As I doubt I will be back, at least in the near future, it's been fun reliving my trip through the blog entries. Thanks Kim for all you did it make it memorable.

After we left Susan's home and almost right around the corner, we came across the parade for the Umbrella Festival held every year during the end of January. Now that was timing! Thai dancers with their long fingernails, floats and beauty queens greeted us. Poor Khun Chiaya did not get an early end to his day.

Caves, Cattle and Flowers

After lunch (and a very fine lunch it was , diet coke and all) we set out for the Phra Non Cave at Wat Tum Chiang Dao. Luckily, I had saved my entrance ticket or I couldn't have told you that! I've been to quite a few caves throughout Thailand and they normally include a short walk and a few large caverns where Buddha images had been placed. This one still included Buddha images, but the walkway was much longer with exits from time to time that would take you into total darkness. During times of flooding, water rises and the cave becomes part of an underground river. Kim will have to add here, since these two and maybe one more were the only ones I took that were semi in focus.

A Lovely Lunch

If you have never travelled with Janice, then you may not know this but...

It is Cold in Utah!!

I thought I would take a quick break from the wonderful holiday we had in Chiang Mai and bring us (well, as least me) back to reality. It's cold in Utah!

On To The Next Village:

OK, before we start this narrative, remember that EVERYTHING Kim says must be taken with a huge "grain of salt" and the fact that she got eaten alive and I didn't get a bite, says quite a bit!!!

A Bit Ticked Off!

Yeah, yeah, wonderful trek, blissful afternoon, great sharing experience.  Now let ME tell it like it really was Janice!

Janice didn't quite get that the trek was to be of short duration.  Apart from her well stocked handbag (where was she going to need all that make-up in her bag?), she had two, yes TWO cameras that she was snapping away on.

Let's Go Trekking

We had so much fun on our holiday to Chiang Rai, that we wanted the same type of experience on our days out of Chiang Mai. We called up Khun Chiaya, who contacted Khun Donut and we were off. After lunch, Donut dropped us off for the trek (hike) down to the White Karen village. It was supposed to take 1 1/2 hours by Khun Chiaya's estimation. Sadly he hadn't figured Kim and myself into the equation. We did, however, enjoy, almost, every minute of the 2 1/2 hour trek.

A Mountain, A Guide And A Donut!

We hired the same guide to take us around as we had used in Chiang Rai.  Funny how the passage of time removes from your memory a person's more irritating habits.  In this case it was our guide's (and to a lesser extent the driver's) usage of the phrase "Ooh la la".  Let me tell you, I was ready to stuff this phrase down his throat after three days of hearing it when we were in Chiang Rai, and it hadn't grown on me in the interim period!

Here is Khum Chiaya, whom if you can ignore his verbal Tourettes, is a very useful guide.  Standing with our driver.