Photos are at www.rtsla.photofreeway.com

We are back from Thailand and we had a great time. When we got off the plane in Bangkok, hired a car and driver and went to our favorite temple to get a foot massage (they have a massage school at the temple) and to have our palms read. There were three palmists but we were surprised that the next available person was the man who has read our horoscope and palms the last three times we went. At any rate he was totally consistent with what he has said in the past. This time he mentioned we would have two homes in the future. Pretty funny since Nattawan’s house is just about finished. We then drove to Phetchaburi, had dinner and guess what, a full body massage. At $5. per person for almost two hours each, we couldn’t resist.

The next day we spent a lot of time at the house Nattawan is building. It is wonderful. It has lots of large windows and French doors so it is very light inside which is important to me. Nattawan loved the two paintings we brought. I’m not so sure if she liked the two wall hangings but one was a piece of left over fabric from some cushions we had made and the other one we can take to Vancouver. The floors are a medium range green tile so it looks and feels cool. The kitchen is tiny which is fine with me because it is just as cheap to eat in noodle shops and restaurants as it is to cook and there are places to eat in the neighborhood. There was one big mistake by the builder but apparently it was a mistake on the plans (we have not seen the plans). He didn’t put a door from the guest bedroom to the bathroom so you have to walk out of the bedroom through the kitchen to get to the second bathroom. Again there won’t be that many guests so it isn’t a biggie.

We decided we need a little more furniture for the Thai house, as the kitchen has almost no storage so we need a hutch or breakfront. The guest bedroom doesn’t have a closet so we will get an armoire and maybe a large chest for clothing storage when we aren’t there. We will also need some barstools that I priced today. I will go to a nearby town tomorrow to price some of the other items. The furniture we have will fit well in the house. Nattawan wanted the beds to have the headboards to the east but there would be no room for the nightstands in the master bedroom if we did that. So I think we have convinced Nattawan to put the bed on the north wall in the master bedroom. I’m sure we will come up with a workable solution.

We will have great fun landscaping it also. There is a lot of property in the family compound. Her aunt has a huge house at the front of the property near the road and one of her sons has a room off of the house that he uses when he comes to visit for the weekend. Then there is a large piece of land between the aunt’s house and Nattawan’s house that has trees on it so you can’t see one house from the other. Then another son has a tiny house right to the right of Nattawan’s house and he will be the caretaker as the house is right on the river and it would be easy for someone to come onto the property from a boat. So the actual yard that needs landscaping is pretty small. The builder put in some ceiling light fixtures that none of us were wild about but that will be another fun project finding something suitable.

We are going to try to leave here and go to Thailand in December to receive the furniture that we will be shipping to Phetchaburi, as it is a lot closer for us than for Nattawan. I will need to check with our airline to see how flexible our tickets are, etc. If all else fails, we will go to Phetchaburi when our furniture arrives and come back to Colombo to return to the states in December.

We are so excited about spending time in Thailand in the future. It is light years ahead of SL in terms of governance, infrastructure, commerce, etc. The shopping will be fun instead of a royal pain in the neck and just think how often we can get massages!!! Check out the pictures on the photo site: www.rtsla.photofreeway.com You can see that the river is right in front of the house!!!

Yesterday I paid our electric bill. It was $56.00, which is how much I pay Geetha every month. It made me wonder it she even had electricity. I know she lives in a place called “Good Luck Projects” but I don’t know anything else, like does she even have electricity?? Our water bill this month was $0.73. Seventy-three cents! That’s pretty amazing isn’t it?

Speaking of water, I was humbled today as I was leaving the neighborhood to go shopping. Near the end of our lane is a spring where many people bathe. I think I have described this before but in case I didn’t, it is a small spring that has been bordered by a concrete wall that is starting to deteriorate. Bathers stand outside the concrete wall, fill a bucket with water and pour it over their heads. They soap up and then rinse off with multiple buckets of water over the head. Many will then wash their clothes, using a nearby concrete pad. Mostly I see men there but occasionally I see whole families and sometimes a lone woman. Today there was a woman who had finished her bath and was standing across the road behind a tree that was in front of a residence wall. Almost all residences in SL have 7-8 foot walls surrounding their property. She was attempting to put on her bra while still in her sarong yet trying to preserve her modesty. What a chore! So I was humbled, thinking how we just turn on the tap with hot and cold running water and step into the shower not giving it a second thought. Here many don’t have that privilege. They have to walk to a place where they can bathe and then go through gyrations to remain clothed while bathing because they are in the public eye yet modest. Any time we travel within SL, we see people bathing in the streams and rivers, which of course are polluted. Usually they bathe with a sarong on but we have seen men bathing in shorts or their underwear. I always look away as we pass, assuming this isn’t a spectator sport and realizing I wouldn’t want anyone staring at me if I were in this situation. But sometimes bathers come into view and you see these things. It makes we wonder how many people throughout the world lack bathing facilities in their homes. I certainly wonder about how many people on the planet have safe drinking water. They say the wars in our future will be over water. And I’m not talking about a long way off. It is predicted that by 2025 there will be dramatic water problems on the planet. For all you North westerners who are thinking ‘we’ve got the mighty Columbia’, let me remind you there is a huge radioactive plume at Hanford that is heading right for that precious river. Gee this is depressing.

On a happier note, Ron is fully recovered from Dengue Fever. I guess he is lucky, as we have heard horror stories about people being sick for six weeks with Dengue or having problems with their joints for three months after a bout with Dengue. There are four strains of Dengue so maybe it makes a big difference which strain you get. All I know we run when we see mosquitoes!!

Tomorrow we head to Phetchaburi, Thailand, where a new home awaits our inspection. Our dear friend Nattawan has built a vacation home in Phetchaburi, about two hours south of Bangkok. She has invited us to be part-time residents there. So each year for part of the year, we can vacation there. We are so excited to see Nattawan, Thailand and the house we can hardly stand it. We need a break from Colombo and Thailand will be a great break. We will return late Sunday night so I won’t be doing a blog until our return. We are taking some things we have bought for the house: towels sets, wall hangings from SL and Kashmir, watercolor paintings from India and SL. It will be fun to see the house and think about how the furniture we bought here will fit into the house there. Hopefully all if it will go well there and there won’t be much else we need to buy.

Yesterday I paid our electric bill. It was $56.00, which is how much I pay Geetha every month. It made me wonder it she even had electricity. I know she lives in a place called “Good Luck Projects” but I don’t know anything else, like does she even have electricity?? Our water bill this month was $0.73. Seventy-three cents! That’s pretty amazing isn’t it? Speaking of water, I was humbled today as I was leaving the neighborhood to go shopping. Near the end of our lane is a spring where many people bathe. I think I have described this before but in case I didn’t, it is a small spring that has been bordered by a concrete wall that is starting to deteriorate. Bathers stand outside the concrete wall, fill a bucket with water and pour it over their heads. They soap up and then rinse off with multiple buckets of water over the head. They are standing on the ground so I am assuming their feet get dirty in this process. Many will then wash their clothes, using a nearby concrete pad. Mostly I see men there but occasionally I see whole families and sometimes a lone woman. Today there was a woman who had finished her bath and was standing across the road behind a tree that was in front of a residence wall. Almost all residences in SL have 7-8 foot walls surrounding their property. She was attempting to put on her bra while still in her sarong yet trying to preserve her modesty. What a chore! So I was humbled, thinking how we just turn on the tap with hot and cold running water and step into the shower not giving it a second thought. Here many don’t have that privilege. They have to walk to a place where they can bathe and then go through gyrations to remain clothed while bathing because they are in the public eye yet modest. Any time we travel within SL, we see people bathing in the streams and rivers, which of course are polluted. Usually they bathe with a sarong on but we have seen men bathing in shorts or their underwear. I always look away as we pass, assuming this isn’t a spectator sport and realizing I wouldn’t want anyone staring at me if I were in this situation. But sometimes bathers come into view and you see these things. It makes me wonder how many people throughout the world lack bathing facilities in their homes. I certainly wonder about how many people on the planet have safe drinking water. They say the wars in our future will be over water. And I’m not talking about a long way off. It is predicted that by 2025 there will be dramatic water problems on the planet. For all you North westerners who are thinking ‘we’ve got the mighty Columbia’, let me remind you there is a huge radioactive plume at Hanford that is heading right for that precious river. Gee this is depressing.

On a happier note, Ron is fully recovered from Dengue Fever. I guess he is lucky, as we have heard horror stories about people being sick for six weeks with Dengue or having problems with their joints for three months after a bout with Dengue. There are four strains of Dengue so maybe it makes a big difference which strain you get. All I know we run when we see mosquitoes!!

Tomorrow we head to Phetchaburi, Thailand, where a new home awaits our inspection. Our dear friend Nattawan has built a vacation home in Phetchaburi, about two hours south of Bangkok. She has invited us to be part-time residents there. So each year for part of the year, we can vacation there. We are so excited to see Nattawan, Thailand and the house we can hardly stand it. We need a break from Colombo and Thailand will be a great break. We will return late Sunday night so I won’t be doing a blog until our return. We are taking some things we have bought for the house: towels sets, wall hangings from SL and Kashmir, watercolor paintings from India and SL. It will be fun to see the house and think about how the furniture we bought here will fit into the house there. Hopefully all of it will go well there and there won’t be much else we need to buy.

I took Ron to a neighborhood doctor, as he still doesn’t feel well. He started flu symptoms on Thursday and today is Tuesday. He got dressed for work, came down to breakfast then went back to bed. Veena gave me the name of her doctor who is three blocks away and we got in first thing this morning. The doctor is probably in his 70’s and has a sign in the front office that reads “no charge for services between 9:00 and 12:30”. I about fell over. When we went in, he talked with Ron and told him there was a viral epidemic in Colombo right now and he thought he would feel better tomorrow. He changed his prescriptions and ordered another blood test. When he was finished, I told him we understood he didn’t charge for his services but we would like to make a donation for those who couldn’t afford medicines. He said he had everything he needed so why charge for his services. He graciously accepted the donation. Let me know when you find a doctor in the US who has a similar attitude. It is a lesson for all of us. Those of us with money to spare can afford to be generous to those who have to go without. My socialist attitude is showing.

Today’s paper has an article about SL government exporting rice (called paddy here) to India. Because the government here subsidizes fertilizers for paddy farmers, they had a bumper paddy harvest. The government also buys the paddy from the farmers for 17.50 Rupees per kilo. That is $0.175 for 2.2 pounds. The government paddy stores are filled to the brim. They need to sell some to make room for the next harvest. So they are exporting 50,000 metric tons to India.

It’s now Friday. Ron has had several trips to the lab at the hospital for more blood work. We have been to Dr Goonenarathne’s office three times now. He is a sweetie. We always go first thing in the morning because the way appointments are scheduled in SL is you get a number, like at Baskin Robbins. You are called in when your number is up that way unrealistic expectations are not created thinking you will get in at 9:15 if that is when your appointment is like in the US. We have all had the experience of a doctor being behind schedule and finding ourselves irritated. This way you only know where you are in the line up, not when you will actually see the doctor. Since we go a little before 9:00, we get to see the doctor enter the office. He usually arrives about 5 minutes after nine. When he enters the room, most of the patients stand to greet him. It is rather sweet.

So after all the tests we now know Ron had Dengue fever that is carried by mosquitoes. No wonder he felt so bad. One of his consultants from Vancouver WA also had Dengue while he was here. Bummer. There are four strains of Dengue and once you have had a particular strain, you are immune to it. We will only hope this is our last episode with Dengue. It is NOT fun. However since he didn’t have an appetite for six days, he has slimmed down to a weight I have never seen on him. Not my idea of how to lose weight however. The big conference that Ron has been planning for months ended yesterday and for the most part all went well and TAF is already talking about doing it next year. Ron is glad he won’t be here for that.

Four of his staff came by last night after the conference to see how he was doing and to tell him how the conference went. It was very touching that they took the time to come see him. Today after the trip to the hospital for more lab work, we stopped by his office. Everyone from the TAF director to the secretaries gave Ron a warm welcome and expressed relief that he was okay and getting better. I went by the lab this afternoon to pick up his results and his platelets count is up and within the normal range. YEAH!! We are relieved to say the least. His appetite is coming back and his energy is increasing daily. He hopes to return to work on Monday. Tomorrow we need to do something to alleviate his cabin fever so may go to a photography show. Nothing too ambitious.

Well that’s it from the land of mosquitoes, some less hostile than others.

Veena and I have been working on her career change. She spent over 20 years in the garment industry, ending up as a merchandiser with budgets between $40-$60 million USD. We have met four or five times to help her clarify what she wants to do next. She has expressed an interest in leaving the private-for-profit sector and moving into the NGO, service sector. On several occasions she has mentioned an interest in working for The Asia Foundation (TAF) where Ron works. She is particularly interested in working with children or women.

Last Saturday we went to a party at the TAF program director’s home. Two women from the US were at the party. They are working on a program that helps families of those who have been abducted and killed in the ethnic conflict here and asked Ron if he knew a woman who could do some interpreting for their program. Ron said Veena would be great but she didn’t want to do translation as he has asked her twice. I clarified that a translation was different from interpretation and we should check with Veena to see if she had an interest in doing interpreting. On Sunday morning I asked her and she said she would like to find out more about the job. I called Peggy to give her Veena’s telephone number. Veena was called on Monday and went in Tuesday to learn more about the job. She started work that day! HA! Networking is the best way to get a job, even here in SL.

Yesterday Veena came by to give us a gift she had bought for us with her first paycheck. She gave us a set of six wonderful woven grass placemats and coasters. Later when I saw her I thanked her and she told me that the tradition here is you buy your parents a gift with your first paycheck. She looked at me and said, “ You are family so I thought it was appropriate”. I was so touched and honored by this gesture. The greatest part of this adventure is the people we have met and the relationships we have built. It is a very special experience.

It is mangosteen and rambutan season in SL. Mangosteens are a small round fruit that is a reddish chocolate color. The rind is about a quarter of an inch thick and inside are creamy segments and a small seed. It is my favorite. The rambutans are ruby red in color, oval in shape and about the size of a small lemon. It is covered in red, green and yellow tipped hairs. Hence its name: rambut is Malay for hair. They are known for the irresistible sweetness and juicy flesh. They are a white translucent color. A beautiful tree lined major avenue near us is lined with stalls of vendors selling these fruits and I stop and get a bag of each every time I run out as they will only be available for a short time. Yes, the word pigging out comes to mind. There was an article about these fruits in today’s newspaper and I learned that the mangosteen has been around for thousands of years and is valued for its healing qualities. It wards off infections of all kinds (bob oh boy do I need that with Ron in his fourth day of the flu); it is a natural anti-inflammatory (great for my arthritis) and is known as a potent antioxidant. Gee, I’m not pigging out, I am taking care of my health! Eat your heart out Larry Brown. I am thinking of you with every bite!!

We are having another delightful day with a light breeze. It is hot but bearable. That’s it for today from the land of lush tropical fruits five degrees above the equator where the Bergman’s are having an adventure.

The flu in Colombo
Ron came down with the flu Thursday. We went straight to bed when he got home from work. On Friday he was miserable with a fever and slept most of the day. When I got home from my class around 6:00 he asked to see a doctor. To give you some perspective, I have known Ron for 25 years. In that amount of time I can remember three times he asked to see a doctor: when he cut himself before a raft trip and required stitches, and two times when he was passing kidney stones. I knew he had to feel really badly to ask to see a doctor. Since it was late we went to the ER at one of the hospitals. The first thing you do is pay to see a doctor. That fee was $1.50. Then you are given some papers and told to sit and wait until your number is called. The scene was so typical Sri Lankan it was laughable. There were two doors in the waiting area and it was obvious that behind those doors were the two doctors who were seeing patients. There were a number of chairs against the walls where we were to wait. However a number of Sri Lankans stood crowded in front of the door, blocking the way into and out of the room where the doctors were. They were not in a cue but hovering around the door. Somehow people here think you will get in faster that way but a nurse was standing guard to ensure that people went in according to their number.

So Ron went in and got asked questions regarding his symptoms and had a brief exam. The doctor ordered some lab work: blood sample and urine sample. He also wrote out three prescriptions. Then we were directed back to the cashier to pay for lab services. That was $3.50. Ron gave his samples and we came home. I got him back in bed and went out for the drugs. They cost $1.035 (that’s right one half of one cent). It is now Saturday afternoon. He is still feeling badly but better than yesterday. Around here when we don’t feel well, we always say we feel like dog doo. Ron today said he felt like cat doo, which is much worse than dog doo. He is tired of being in bed and not feeling well. I am hopeful that tomorrow will be a better day. His fever is gone but it could be the drugs and may come back when it is time for the next dose.

I’m not surprised that he got sick. He has a conference on Wednesday and Thursday that he has been planning for 500 invitees from the local authorities and others. He has been stressed and it has taken its toll. Having spent over a month fighting with WAMU hasn’t helped. Would you believe I still don’t have a PIN number to go with my card that I have had for several weeks? Of course you would after the episode with Ron’s card and PIN.

Medical care here is cheap but not the same as US standards. The desk in the examining room was ancient, with a stained and scarred top, which is all I could see. When I had my teeth cleaned a while back the office was small with one chair and the old-fashioned spit bowl. When I saw an ophthalmologist, her space was a closet and had very old technology. But the cost is certainly affordable. The best bargain is the medicines here. I had gotten at least five different prescription drugs over the counter for a fraction of the cost at home. Four of the five were the same brand as we use in the US. I may stock up when I leave here in case there is a gap in insurance coverage.

We are having a lovely day weather wise. It is relatively comfortable with a light breeze. The Temperature is 86 with 70% humidity. I can always tell when the humidity is lower than normal because it is so much more comfortable.

Well that’s the news from Sri Lanka where the men are handsome, the sun is almost always shining ad the Bergman’s are having an adventure.

The craziness that is Sri Lanka. Today I was out running errands. We have on department store, Odel’s, in the entire country and it is here in Colombo. I was buying some dried cranberries that I use in salads. They cost $9.00 for 300 grams, a little over a half a pound. I decided to look for a gift for my sister. I have not had much luck finding women’s clothes here. I found a beautiful claret colored London Fog jacket with a zip out lining and paid $13.50. Go figure. Then I went to House of Fashion, a clothing store where many Sri Lankans shop because it is so cheap. I went to look for towels for the Thai house. But I was inspired by my find at Odel’s so went to the men’s department because I have seen some good buys there before. I found three men’s shirts-a polo shirt, a heavy long sleeve woven shirt and a short-sleeved Dockers shirt. My bill was $12.15. I think I have outfitted just about everyone in my family with shirts and jackets. I have a stash of clothes for family to bring home in September where I can afford the mailing rates. I have been spending $70-$85 per package and decided I had sent enough gifts so stopped sending things a few weeks ago. Anything else will go with us in September or December.

Black Tigers
Black Tigers are a branch of the LTTE. They are the suicide bombers. The anniversary of the first suicide bomber was July 5th. Since 1987, 273 people had committed suicide for the LTTE. What a sad day it is. The faction that split off from the LTTE, called the Karuna faction, have issued a statement that they will launch a major attack on the LTTE in the east and have encouraged members of the LTTE to quit and go home or else risk their lives. On the 4th of July the outgoing US Ambassador to SL gave a speech and said there is no military solution to SL’s separatist conflict. He said that a solution to the civil strife would require “radical changes in the way the entire nation is governed”. We agree wholeheartedly. Until the government makes major concessions to the Tamils and undoes legislation that has limited their rights, there will be conflict. Since we have been here, a new administration has come into power. Although they talk about change, nothing has really changed.

Getting Old is Hell
Ron and I shower every night. On Tuesday I showered first. Ron came into the bathroom as I was drying off and got into the shower. He had laid his glasses in an area where they were likely to fall off the counter so I moved them. I went into the bedroom, got into bed and starting reading. I have glaucoma and cataracts so every morning and night I put drops in my eyes to control the glaucoma. I picked up my book and started reading and had one heck of a time focusing. I blinked my eyes, I moved the book further away, and I pulled the book in closer. I continued to read until Ron got out of the shower. He came into the bedroom and asked if I was having trouble reading. I looked at him, thinking the man is psychic! No, I had put on his glasses!!! Yikes, I am losing it!!! He couldn’t quit laughing at me. I was just so relieved to discover I hadn’t lost my eyesight. Getting old is hell.

We have been having three days of cloudy rainy weather. I haven’t sweated for two days and I loved it. Today the sun is back. When it was cloudy it was 78 degrees in the morning with 87% humidity so it felt cool. There is very little variation between day and night temperatures here. The low was 79 that day. Since we have been here this has been the only time where we didn’t see the sun for three days. Pretty amazing.

Compost
Shortly after we moved into the house, I purchased a compost bin. It is basically a meter tall tube, with perforations and a lid. It sits on a plastic dish. On one side at the bottom is a little door that slips up a railing and off the tube. This enables you to have access to the compost and to harvest it. We have been composting our yard debris and kitchen waste. I have been harvesting the compost and am impressed that you don’t have to turn it here. I am assuming the process works because of the extreme heat here. The only thing I don’t like about it is the harvesting is a little difficult because you have to squat down to ground level and the door is too small. But it keeps me flexible.

Wonder of wonders I found towel sets yesterday. I have lived here since October and this was the first time I have found towel sets: bath towel, hand towel and washcloth to match. I brought four sets for the Thai house. They aren’t as plush as I like but heck, I loved the fact I could have a complete set that matched.

Today is Friday so I need to wrap this up as I have been working on it for days. Ron is sick in bed with the flu. He came home from work yesterday and went straight to bed. He will emerge when he is feeling better. When we first got together, it took us over a year to discover how different we are in terms of being sick. I want someone to come in and fluff my pillow, bring me tea and say ‘there, there now how are you feeling?’ Ron wants to go to bed and be left completely alone until he is well. Imagine what our early experiences were: me fussing around, irritating him and him ‘neglecting’me. Ha! We did eventually figure it out. Ron has a huge conference on Tuesday that he has been working on for a month and I think his immune system decided he needed a break. I am hopeful this is a 24-hour bug so he can tie up loose ends between now and Tuesday. Over 500 people have been invited to attend.

That’s it from the land of sweat; yes the sun and heat are back. I did three loads of laundry to take advantage of the sun, my solar dryer.

The funeral for the slain general was on Wednesday and what a mess with traffic. We decided to skip language class and go to an Israeli film shown at one of the cultural centers here but when we got there it had been canceled due to the funeral. Bummer. We fought traffic all the way back home. As a result of the suicide attack, more roads are now blocked that makes it worse to try to get anywhere. This is an increase over the roadblocks that were set up in April when the top ranking general was attacked by a suicide bomber. Today I was out running errands and there was an abundance of armed soldiers in one area. Traffic came to a standstill and I noticed that the soldiers were holding even pedestrians in place. We sat there for over five minutes. All the sudden a number of military vehicles zoomed past us on the opposite side of the street, and they were flying. Obviously someone important was riding in one of the vehicles. I didn’t much care to be that close to someone who could be a potential target for the LTTE. However there was no way to get anywhere near the vehicles with traffic held in place and a gazillion soldiers around.

We are growing weary of the problems and strife in Sri Lanka. I personally am tired of breathing dirty air, having to deal with dirty water (you don’t rinse you toothbrush under running water here) and constant sticky sweat. The air is so dirty that the window screens turn your hands black if you brush against them. Yes, I have washed them just a couple of months ago but I reckon it’s time to do it again. My curtains are starting to look really grimy too. I took three showers the other day and within minutes I was sticky again.

Today there has been a reprieve. A rainstorm awakened us this morning. We hopped out of bed to close the French doors that are on the first and third floors as the wind was pushing lots of water into the house. It has continued to rain off and on and has kept it cool today. I have yet to put on my ‘uniform’-shorts and a tank top. I actually have on a long sleeve shirt and long pants, both are made from the thinnest cotton imaginable. There is a light breeze so I am happy. Ron is in the midst of planning a conference for 500 people. It was originally designed for the local authorities but somehow it got expanded to include a lot of politicians who keep adding to the invitee list.

He has three consultants here now working with Anuradhapura on how to handle large events, specifically traffic and solid waste issues. There was supposed to be a small social to introduce the consultants to local authority staff. Ron got the list late Friday and it had grown to 78 people, two-thirds of whom have nothing to do with the project. He went through the ceiling. This is yet another example of how political everything is here. The commissioner had extended invitations to include, we assume, everyone to whom he owed a favor. To add to his stress, we are still fighting with WAMU over PIN numbers. Ron’s has arrived but mine has not. He has called collect so many times that they have cut him off and no longer will accept his collect calls. HA! We discovered that there are six websites that have been created to complain about WAMU. Can you believe it? We can.

We had a good week with lots of dinner guests. On Sunday last week, I think I mentioned we entertained our language teacher, Chandini and her husband. I prepared a great Italian feast of lasagna, salad and bread. Ron did a beautiful antipasto tray. Then on Tuesday we had John Craig over. He’s a consultant on Ron’s project and has become a good friend. He lives in Croatia and is from the US. He has a new baby boy and showed us some wonderful photos. Then on Thursday I fixed dinner for three men from Vancouver WA who are here to serve as consultants on one of Ron’s projects. I made four salads, given how hot it was they seemed appreciative. Then on Sunday we had friends returning from the States so I made four more salads so they could eat as soon as they got here and then go home to bed after their 20 plus hour flight. Unfortunately I have ruined my average of cooking once every six weeks!!!

Pat McDonnell is one of the folks that are here from Vancouver. He is the City Manager there. I guess we have acclimated to the heat at some level because Pat is really suffering with it. Sweat was literally pouring off of him while we sat at an outdoor café. His shirt was wringing wet. For us it was one of the cooler days in Colombo. I pity him working with local authorities because they do not have air-conditioned offices like we are used to in the States. Tomorrow is the Fourth of July but not a holiday. I scheduled myself for a massage because it is way past time.

On Friday I had a representative from the USAID approved shipping company come to the house to give me information about what is needed when it comes time to leave. In case we have to leave before our scheduled departure in December due to the war resuming, I want to be as ready as possible for the event. He was wonderful. I showed him what was to go to Thailand and what would go to the US. He said we had about 17 cubic yards of goods to go to Thailand for a 20-foot container that will hold 30 cubic yards. I told him I had better go shopping! So on Saturday Ron and I went to look at chests. We found some we liked so now will wait until we go to see the Thai house before making any more purchases. No sense buying things until we know if there is room or if they are needed. But it was fun to get out and look. I love looking even more than buying. It’s free after all!

We also went to two art shows of local artists and found a lovely watercolor of a typical scene at the beach. It is almost monochromatic. It is lovely and a steal at $150 framed. We now have three pieces of original art work for the Thai house.

It seems we’re turning our attention and focus to what’s next. Certainly the Thai house will be a fun get-away. But we’re also starting to think about house projects in Vancouver (you know we have almost a year and a half of maintenance projects to catch up on), we need to re-do our side deck where the hot tub needs to come out because after 25 years it finally died. And most of all, we’re thinking of how we can reconnect with our family and friends!

That’s about all from paradise just 5 degrees above the equator. Happy Fourth of July! Be safe out there…