adele

my newest crush…a voice to captivate…and she’s gorgeous too!

days fly…

they do…

the past weeks have been a whirl of family and work. visits with family from near and far warmed my heart, and i got to spend some time with my two favorite eight year olds in the world.

i’m back at work on the hill now. and i am still working full time for another job, so i always feel like i am trying to catch up on what i have to do. somewhere along the way i just decided that what i get done will have to be enough. how did i become so zen ?

this weekend one of my closest friends is coming to visit for the week-end after not seeing each other for over a year. spending time together is like wearing a pair of my most comfortable slippers.

during the family time i stole away with my mom and aunt for a quick trip to coupeville. we stopped for few pix at the breath-taking deception point on whidbey island…

bangkok

tuk tuks

tuk tuks, a common mode of transportation in the central chiang mai and central bangkok are notorious. the drivers are aggressive in trying to convince tourists to hop aboard. alas, once aboard, getting to one’s chosen destination is a challenge, as the drivers will commonly take their passengers to the tuk tuk driver’s shop of choice (where they will receive a nice little commission from the shop owner of course).  tuk-tuk drivers in bangkok take it even one step further. as we walk from the river to the grand palace, drivers along the way try to convince us that the wat is closed for the morning for special ceremonies, and no tourists are allowed. they offer, graciously of course, to take us to other sites instead…..

 buddhas

we ignore the tuk-tuk drivers and arrive at our destination, the grand palace. next to it, in the wat phra cetuphon (aka wat pho), lies the impressive “reclining buddha”, designed to depict the passing of buddha into nirvana. the gold plated statue is 46 metres long, and 15 metres tall, and has eyes and feet engraved with mother of pearl decoration.

the ”emerald buddha”, much smaller in stature, holds more interest for me. made of jade rather than emerald, this buddha was rediscovered in the 1400′s when its mud plaster covering chipped away to reveal the jade statue underneath.

unfortunately, this buddha is perched high atop a large alter, far from the people who come to see it. this buddha was once encased.  i sit  on the temple floor a while…thinking…

the emerald buddha (stock photo, as no cameras were allowed in the chapel)

the elephants

through the window i catch a glimpse of elephants climbing out of the river and an involuntary “ahh” escapes my lips. there is something special to me these creatures, and this is the first time i have seen one in real life.

i had been under the impression that we would be visiting the elephant hospital/conservatory, but this is not to be. instead we are visiting a “working” elephant farm. previous to 1990, elephants were used to log the rain forests of thailand, and in 1989 a ban on logging displaced numerous elephants that had once been used as work animals. the farm we visit is a tourist attraction to show how these elephants once used their size and remarkable trunk agility to move and stack timbers.

i sit away from the others as we watch the mahouts guide the elephants into the river to take their morning bathes. the sunlight dappling through the trees, and the seeming pleasures as the elephants spray themselves with the cool water tickles my heart. what i would give to be able to be in the river playing with them….

afterward the show commences with the mahouts guiding the creatures through the routines to demonstrate how the elephants would have been used in the logging process. i pay little attention to the show, preferring instead to watch the littlest one off to the side scrounge through some branches and leaves with its trunk in search of some edible goodies.

later i purchase some bananas and feed a couple of the pachyderms through a fence. i laugh at the warning “if bananas drop in front of the elephant, so not attempt to pick them up”. seeing the voracious appetite of the animals, i could just imagine what would happen should a human reach for the food at the same time… 

k. feeding a little one some bananas

definitely one of the highlights of the trip, the visit to the farm leaves me conflicted. seeing elephants used as performers, even in this context, is somewhat saddening. this unease is even more pronounced around the creatures who have chains attached, and whose mahouts carry sharp-bladed guiding implements. yet, if not for places such as these, what would become of the numerous elephants displaced from the work they once did?

i ask myself why it concerns me that these animals are used as work animals when the use of oxen or horses doesn’t bother me at all. i don’t know the answer. it has to do with an inexplicable feeling deep inside. i do know that i do want to visit the animal hospital/conservatory    www.elephantnaturepark.org/index.htm   one day.  founded by a young thai woman with a deep love of these creatures, this is a place that gives me some joy, not as much as seeing the creaures returned to their natural habitat would provide of course, but that is not an option these days. there is not enough forest left for them to return to….

candle light procession and an orchid farm

the procession

one of the highlights of the trip comes early during our time in chiang mai.  on an early evening walk we encounter a candlelight procession. hundreds of school children and monks are on their way to a buddhist site on a nearby hill to commemorate “saga dawa duchen”, the tibetan celebration of the birth, enlightenment, and death of buddha.   young monks, no more than school boys walk by and smile as they see us.  the unplanned nature of this encounter makes it all the more special for me.

orchid farm

a day site-seeing lead us to an orchid farm and a butterfly farm. the orchids are, as they always are to me, sensuous and ethereal.

dragon lore…

in chiang mai

in chiang mai

i love the dragons and there were many to see…. the detail was exquisite.

thailand – architecture…

chiang mai

chiang mai

chiang mai with k and m

chiang mai

whidbey island

peace...

evening solice...

 

bizmark

i’ve been there twice now, to the house down the lane bordered by forest shrubbery, with the view of the ocean….

it’s quiet, only the sounds of the birds to wake me in the morning. there is little to do, and whatever it is can be decided after the morning coffee taken on the porch…

j makes me the coffee usually (i claim to not be able to use the expresso maker).  somewhere around lurks baby-girl, who, while being a girl cat, is definitely not a baby (think 72 year old crochety woman witha touch of arthritis). she is still leary of me… muffin, on the other hand (paw) is an attention slut, and is always willing to jump onto any available lap for a scratch. j is working on convincing her to not bring any more rodents (dead or otherwise) into the house, but she is a hunter at heart…

the evenings are quiet, j, me,, the cats, and occasionally, a’s special friend – that a picture of him above. although to be thruthful, he might be a she. biz was seen with a baby racoon a few months back…..

i hope to spend more weekends there. it’s a tonic to the noise and bustle of my new home. the three hour drive south is worth it to sit on that back porch, listen to the morning birds, stand out in the rain, watch the lightening, or talk to biz as he/she comes to help himself to the remains of the catfood.

oh, ya, and there is j too of course..

peace…

ahhhh……

what is it about cupcakes? their delicacy…? sweet beauty in minature?..the icing to cake ratio…?  all of these i suppose….i just love looking at these pics so thought i’d share….

beauty in the small things..

the grandness of a french palace does not eclipse the beauty of this found treasure