Daily doings and stuff.....

We've got a good thing going on! I get my man ready to start his work day after he's had breaky in bed. Then I do a few chores around the villa, hand wash our laundry, (there are many places we could drop it off at but hey, why pay someone to do what I can and have the the time to do), it also gives me my upper body workout. Quickly learning not to use too much soap as then it needs multiple rinses. Sometimes a little wifi time (when it's working) and most days a little 10 minute ride to the nearest fruit and veggie market. In the afternoon it's usually a bike ride to the beach or a little countryside pedal surrounded by rubber tree plantations. It's such a cool vibe in there. Some days just float in the pool and watch the clouds go by. Gotta love it! It is so great to have this time for me, myself and I. We are all getting along very well and enjoy each others company! Ha ha ha!!! Our neighborhood is such a sweet spot, the more I get to know it the better I like it. Kinda in the country, yet close to so much too! Our two security dogs and the various security guards are nice and friendly. The dogs are the friendliest as I give them many leftover treats and some days I just cook them up a little snack. Every once in while I give the security guards a pop or juice, gotta keep it a bit more even. Well now Doi the grey pooch with his stinky, greasy, flea ridden fur loves all the rubs he gets from me as I don't think many others give him the petting that he so desires. Then there is Thob, she's a beaut, no fleas with a soft brown and white coat that you would see back home sported by our precious BC pooches, now how she maintains that look I am not sure, but I know she is not sharing her beauty secrets with dirty Doi. But I still love them both. When Steve gets home from work they are happy to see him as they know he brings home the bacon so I can cook it up in a pan, and feed them whenever. We go out for dinner a few times a week. The Thai food is delicious, but it is nice to have dinner at home too. Steve picked up a typical Thai style bbq and we've had some yummy old school briquettes style grilling. So far the pork tenderloin has been our fave. You get a huge slab for about $1.50 Cnd. Found other cheap tricks like lemon grass skewers for roasting veggi kabobs. I let them marinate with the veggies all day and wow what a flavor! Nothing like our friend Tom's foodie blog, (tomsculinaryride.blogspot.com) but tasty all the same! I've enjoyed trying out some of the different veggies and there's some crazy fruit here too. Mostly good, some a little weird, but hey ya gotta try new things. Steve is great for pushing the eatery envelope. The other day he brought home this wild whole fried small fish and we ate is all up literally, bones and all. They dry it and then fry it, something similar to what our Native Indians do with their salmon? Thanks to Gloria and Lucy for sharing a bit over the years. Better pass on thanks to their brother Wayne also! Same same but different! The fish that is! Not their brother! On Steve's day off and some evenings we hit the beach. In the late afternoon and evenings you will see families showing up coming for a cool down whether it be to swim or to enjoy the ocean breeze. We love this time of day and hangin with the locals. There are many lifeguards on duty with it being early monsoon season bringing heavy currents. We do take direction from them as to where and when to swim. They will walk up to tourist for two reasons, to make sure your not loaded up on cheap beer and also to visit and practice their English. Always super friendly and kidding around. At Layan beach there are days when only a few people are around but always something to see. I've watched an events crew set up for a few weddings in the national park. What a gorgeous setting with the ocean and an island for a backdrop. Each day is the same same but different!

Jolly days, and baby Claudia

Well it sure was nice to have some down time with Steve, we rode our bikes around the neighborhood, and found a beautiful little spot appropriately named Banana Beach, a short steep hike into a hidden cove. It's about an hours pedal with lots of uphill and close to home. Hardly anyone! It's their quiet season and we love it! We found a mega store that Steve was taken to by one of his office gals. A local shopping secret. Ahhhhh "Super Cheap Company"! We love it and the name too! It's the Thai version of Costco. This building is massive. I have yet to see it all. Just like at Costco, same same but different. You can buy anything and everything here. We needed to get a comfy office chair for the many hours I sit and skype, email, or plan the next adventure. We picked up jars of mustard, canned tomatoes, tuna, sauces and Big Buy items like that. While we were there we got a call from our buddy Dave telling us that New went into labor at the Bangkok hospital in Phuket city. Oh how exciting as we have known this couple since it all began! Grabbed a pink little outfit for the baby as we knew it was a girl and happily shopped while waiting for details. Claudia and Mom are both fine and resting. We waited a couple days before we went to see them. Now this hospital is stylin, when you have a baby there you pick your package for your stay. Now Aussie Dave being from the western way of life, had bought a wicked one. This pad has two rooms with two huge bathrooms, one for the bed and crib along with a big couch for Dave to sleep on. Extra large as he is a big man. The other room had a full kitchen, dining table, couch and loungers. Talk about class. No wonder people come here to have surgery, the treatment is really like... a spa. The place is spotless and you honestly could eat off the floors. In hindsight I wish I took a picture of the glossy reflection below my feet, probably like how our hospitals were in the good ole days! New (the Mommy) even gets to pick her meals off of a full on menu that you would have in many of the finer restaurants here. First class! Dave wants to stay there forever! It is so wonderful to see new life and a fresh little baby! They smell so good! Makes us miss our grandson Henry! Later in the week we hooked up with our friend Jasper. He's from the Vancouver area but met him in Cambodia. Jasper's girlfriend Lindsay is our friend and Anne's niece. She is back in B.C. and he is here in Phuket working on a refit for a wealthy yacht owner. Jasper is a character and a ton of fun to hang out with. He speaks, Khmer and Thai, which is great and makes communication with locals easier. Wish I had that talent! He works with a few Philippinos and some of their friends were playing in a band that night, so off we went to Patong. What a fun time, sitting in an Irish pub in Thailand listening to a Philippino band belt out hits from the western world, and just nailing it. No breaks, they played for hours. My feet were so sore from dancing! That night Jasper stayed and was our first overnight house guest! Next day, beach day in his neighborhood and played some bocci seaside. Good times! Steve is back at work and adjusting to his role in the new job. He does a lot of supervising using sign language. They sent him to Coconut Island to oversee a big job (106 hot tubs) that went a little rough. It's about a half hour boat ride and many hours wandering around making sure the crews are doin it right. They had put in over 40 hot tubs with tiles popping off due to procedure. So he walks around, checks a few things, and plays the role of management. Without being able to talk to the crew and there are many, mostly good workers but a few slackers in every group. So we came up with a little trick, I would call him a couple times a day and Steve call me Moose (owner) while looking serious. They would immediately start working harder, or start working period. Steve also used the camera and fake clipboard trick. What a system, but it worked. "Go team Debowski"! And you guys thought I din't contribute to anything here, ha ha ha !