reflections on large, sharp objects...

I (Mike) have a firm belief that specific tools are made for specific jobs...I could be one of two people in the world that thinks like this...but there it is.

Now... my beautiful wife and I do not agree on this...at least in practice. It is not an issue we would fight about...but if I get an ulcer someday it will be the result of repeatedly walking in on Caryn using a machete (such as this...) to chop garlic while she holds the garlic with her fingers...or from repeated exposure to watching her use my pocket knife to open a package by pulling the knife TOWARDS herself...

(...in her defense...she can throw a football and play catch with the baseball and if she really had to, I believe with all my heart that she would in fact take a fish off the hook...)

The picture you now see is one such example...your eyes are NOT decieving you...she is using a pair of hedge clippers to open a bag of dog food...I have no further comments on this...

P.S...she has actually never used a machete...technically speaking...to cut garlic...but I submit it is because I don't keep it in the kitchen...

back to basics...

This thing is so cool...we don't have a big yard and I spend a bunch of time in front of a computer these days. So I was thinking about exercise and a yard that was growing out of control...so I decided to get a "reel" mower...is that what they are called in the states? It is simply an engineering marvel...one of my favorite parts is not having to buy gas, change the oil, or pull that string...

Little did I know how difficult it would be to find one...the Thai shop owners kept telling that I would not find one because the Thais do not like exercise...I don't think that is entirely true, but it was difficult to find one.

women's Bible study

we've been studying the book of Isaiah. today we discussed chapter 42... how Jesus was a servant (as prophesied many years before his coming), & how that enables & encourages us to serve others.

the last puppy

...went to our friends Bet(pictured),Ben, and their son, Andrew.
His name is "puppy".

We thought Ginger had been feeling a bit lonely, so yesterday we took her down to see Rita who has 2 of the pups. Caryn enjoyed it, because she met Rita's housemates -- 2 girls around her age from the States who are teaching English here. The puppies almost immediately reverted to their puppyhood and started chasing Ginger around, trying to nurse. A good time was had by all, though Ginger was ready to go by the time we left.

fish & chips

(click for a bigger image)

watch out for these girls

you may remember from a previous entry that -- much to caryn's excitement -- we bought a vespa from a local art student some time ago. actually, it wasn't very exciting at first, as she couldn't quite get the clutch thing down... riding along was fine, but stopping & starting was a big problem. mike thought there might be some mechanical issues, & after some fine-tuning on this fine machine, she's been having a great time! the scooter is perfect for getting around a town with narrow streets & limited parking. a thai friend who owns a local coffee shop says it suits her.

mail

someone made a request for our mailing address....
i thought, "i'll post it, in case others want to mail us handwritten notes, good books, green beans from cracker barrel, or anything else i long to get from the states."

very thai 3... songkran

here it is...
a national waterfight in action...
and we were right in the middle of it...

photo taken from the (dry) cab of our pickup by my aunt rosanna
pictured: caryn's cousin alyssa in foreground with goggles...caryn in the hat... our friend catherine squinting from a good dousing

chaos in the streets

fun chaos

my uncle Chris, encouraging the chaos

chaos in the backs of trucks

in on the chaos with friends

for background on songkran... click here & read the article in orange

the great puppy giveaway

last family pic... at the vet getting their vaccinations.










"tiger girl" is going to a man we met at the vet.










our friend, catherine, from the uk is taking this little girl she named "cebu", after an island she recently visited.










annette, the american flautist, is taking "blue".










"o", kassem, and namtan (friends from work) are taking these cuties.










rita is taking "tipper" & her brother, "red"... we're excited because she lives in our neighborhood!











we have one more little boy at home after today... he goes to our friend, ben, & her family....

we're a little sad.. no more puppies to trip us & bite us & eat our shoes & stink up our yard.... seriously though, it was a lot of fun & we got more than a little attached!

snapshots

click on a pic to see it bigger...


a monkey standing on Mike's shoulders (as promised).


really cute puppies at 7 weeks.


my cousin Alyssa & my Aunt Rosanna at a royal orchid nursery.


almost finished painting our stairwell... the green goes on into the downstairs entryway of our house & the grey continues into the living area upstairs....


need to hire someone with a really big ladder to paint the white wall...in the meantime, i did something fun in the area i could reach.


hand-stitched pillows.

driving....healing....songkran.... family

a quickie on what we've been up to...

caryn is excited to be driving all around... getting used to driving our big truck on the little roads & even her riding her vespa short distances around town.... very fun to feel a bit more independant...
mike's heel is healing nicely... he even had a foot massage today & was not in pain :)....
songkran -- thai new year -- has started here... on the outside, it just looks like the whole town is in a water fight (no exaggeration), but there's deeper meaning, of course... if you are interested, there’s a short article on the holiday below....
we are SO excited to have Alyssa & her parents (caryn's Uncle Chris & Aunt Rosanna) visiting from michigan... it's been fun to take them all around & enjoy some more "touristy" stuff with them... today we went to a monkey training school and walked around some beautiful gardens.... we think they are enjoying themselves, too -- maybe they will help convince caryn's parents to come now :)....
pictures to come (including one of mike with a monkey standing on his shoulders) ...

***
Songkran - Chiang Mai, 13 - 15 Apr 2006 (annual)

Thailand's New Year, known as Songkran, is celebrated with enthusiasm and ceremony in the temple-studded city of Chiang Mai. The new solar year is also celebrated in Burma, Laos and Cambodia with a similar focus on water splashing and mutual drenching. Don't wear your best clothes.
Chiang Mai knows how to put on a good festival and Songkran is a highlight of the year here as licence is given to everyone to spray one another with water, from buckets, water pistols, elephants' trunks or any other receptacle that comes to hand. At the early stages, a Queen of the Water Festival is chosen, bands play and the female folk go about in processions. Meanwhile, the water splashing becomes more animated and vigorous as the festival progresses and people go so far as to wade in the Ping River, scooping up water in containers to dump over friends and strangers alike. It's a great chance to cool off. The night before Songkran, homes across Thailand are given a good spring-clean, as anything old or useless is thought to bring bad luck. On the first day of the festival, Thais dress in their best clothes and take food to their local temple. Buddha statues are bathed during the afternoon. Young people respectfully pour scented water into the hands of elders as a show of gratitude. A curious feature is the releasing of caged birds and captured fish to accumulate merit. The water splashing, although it can get raucous at times, is supposed to highlight this day of family binding and love for one another in a playful and respectful way. The Thai Tourist Authority is keen that the original values of the festival are respected so it is important that you act accordingly and don't get carried away.Chiang Mai is considered the place to witness Songkran in Thailand, but book early because this is no secret. Try The Pae Gate for a good viewpoint and don't be afraid to get wet and get involved in the festivities - chances are you won't escape them anyway!
http://travelmax.kilroytravels.fi/sisp/index.htm?fx=event&event_id=31939
***

Baan Rai Lanna

Don't we look relaxed & happy?
Here we are at our new favorite place to go when we need to get away... It's called Baan Rai Lanna.
We discovered it in a local magazine, & they were advertising a special winter package... so we decided to try it. It was a bit out of the way up into the mountains surrounding Chiang Mai, & the last kilometer was unpaved -- great for us, as we were craving quiet & Mike got to enjoy his truck to a fuller extent :). A very peaceful place with private cottages surrounding a rice field...
Another plus was getting to meet the owners... Scott & Lorna are a really sweet couple from the UK who moved here about the same time as us to make a go of their wonderful resort. We're hoping to go again soon!

heel update, etc.

the "heel update" is that mike is out climbing again this morning... still feels the bruising, but has full range of motion with his achilles...

the "etc." update is that we have been busy this week doing a great personality/performance potential assessment as part of our staff development... it's called the Birkman. Not only did our ministry pay for us to take it, but arranged for a staff woman certified in going over the assessment to meet with us here to go over it. Randi took time to go over many dozens of pages of our assessments, as well as a special section comparing our results with one anothers' -- explaining & answering many of our questions on how our personal & work relationship would be affected by it. We feel loved :).

Anyway, for those of you familiar with the test, Mike is RED & I am BLUE. Basically that means that Mike is "Operations/Technology" oriented, while I am more oriented toward "Design/Strategy"... a great compliment :).

If you've taken it before, we'd love to know.... What color are you?
If you have not taken it & ever get the opportunity, go for it! As a result, we had a lot of insights into who we are and the special strengths & characteristics God has given us.

heal heel

not one of ginger's new tricks, but a hope we have for mike's right foot...
thursday night while bouldering at our favorite artificial wall with curt & janna, mike got to the top of a sweet climb only to decend on an unexpectedly unforgiving surface. the "crash" pads beneath him had separated in the precise spot that his right heel made contact with the ground.
while i am a complainer & will take any sympathy i can get out of the most slightly painful situation, mike is quite the opposite. so when he didn't get up right away, looked a little pale, & mentioned that his heel really hurt, i know there was a problem. when he wanted to go home right home right away & asked me to drive, i thought something definitely had broken. after i started the truck & he casually mentioned that maybe we should stop by ram 1 (the hospital), i figured we were in for a long night.
to make a long story a bit shorter, nothing is broken, the doc said mike is "very lucky", and we made it through the night with some trauma to mike's achilles, a doctor bill for $65 (including emergency room care, 3 xrays, meds, & crutches), and a little loss of sleep. mike has even been hobbling around without his crutches most of the day today (i think he's probably still in a lot of pain, though he'd never complain).
side note -- i JUST got comfortable driving early last week -- VERY thankful, as it could have been a bit scary getting him to the hospital in our big 4X4 with a standard transmission on the left side of the road in the busiest part of town... so thankful.

puppies at 1 month

brotherly affection

with curt & janna

blue (our favorite)

bathtime

still being weaned