REMINDERS OF WILLI - EVERYWHERE

Thailand - as I see it.

REMINDERS Of WILLI - EVERYWHERE - I'M SO SAD, I'M HAPPY

As soon as I wake up in the morning, his painting is on the wall in my suite.  It is a beautiful painting of a beach scene with palm trees and a sailboat.  I look to my left and there is another beautiful painting of a bouquet of flowers.  When I enter the bathroom, the wall has a mural of a naked woman.  Rob and On wanted Willi to feel at home so they had exotic tiles made for the wall.  The living room and dining room also are a stunning reminder of Willi as there is a large mural that he painted in the hall, and other paintings on the wall.  The four of us, dressed in formal attire, are pictured in the living room as a remembrance of our cruise from Sydney to Bangkok when Rob proposed to On.  There are also two frames with five pictures of Rob, On, Tyler, Willi and me when we went to the Hill Tribe exhibition and we wore the tribal finery.

When I look in the kitchen, I am reminded of how much he loved fruit and especially smoothies which he made every day from bananas, pineapple, and any other fruit available. 

Whenever we ride anywhere, there are bananas being sold as well as papaya.  He loved the fat short bananas which were very sweet.  He also wanted to stop for fresh papayas whenever he saw them.

When I walk out in  the yard,  see the wall around the house that he pressure washed and painted in green and white for On, Rob's wife.  I see the metal gate in the front that he painted.  The flower pots with flowers he carefully planted with On.  Speaking of pressure washing, every time we went out for a ride, he would mention that he could work a lifetime pressure cleaning the walls and the buildings.

When I ride on the back of On's motorbike, I remember that Willi rode with her whenever we all went out.  At first, he was skeptical of the motorbikes, but the last year we were here, he got off and on without any qualms.  When I ride in the new car that Rob bought for the family, I think of how Willi wanted them to have a car.

Chiangmai is full of remembrances of Willi that I am so sad, I 'm happy that I have those wonderful memories to be with me the rest of my life.

Marcia Cutler Weis

DINING EXPERIENCES IN CHIANGMAI

Thailand - as I see it.


DINING EXPERIENCES  in Chiangmai,Thailand

MK - a unique dining experience in Chiangmai

There were 5 of us plus William, the baby.  We dined with a large pot of soup in the middle of the table and they bring numerous sauces, a soup bowl and a plate for all the different foods.  Small baskets of eel, octopus, shrimp, steak, pork, chicken, mussels , clams, mushrooms, beef, squid, carrots, shrimp balls, flour balls with filling, noodles, cabbage, different leaves, corn on the cob, baby corn on the cob, raviolis with various fillings and other items I didn't recognize we're brought to the table for us to put in the pot.  Beef and pork which were sliced very thin were brought for us to eat while we were waiting for the food to cook. They refilled the green tea as soon as the glass was half full.  We ate for almost two hours.  

When the bill came and I treated to this feast, it was less than $45 for all of us.  Everything was fresh and prepared beautifully.  

Then we went to the ice cream shop and had ice cream plain or dipped in chocolate for less than $2 for all five.  What a deal.

In the evening, On made smoothies with fresh oranges and pineapple and went out to a street stand and bought us all roti.  Roti is a crepe cooked on a large griddle with sweetened condensed milk on it, powdered sugar, honey and bananas if you wish and then all rolled up and folded in a piece of waxed paper.  They are delicious and cost between 30 and 50 cents each.

The next day we ate at Shabushi, another excellent Japanese Restaurant where the food comes by on a conveyer belt and you take what you want and cook it at your own cook pot.  They also have rice, fried shrimp, sushi, vegetables, fruit, ice crem and desserts.  It is a dining experience.

A MEDICAL THAI MASSAGE - not your normal massage

A THAI MEDICAL MASSAGE - Not like any massage I have ever had

The small woman talked with me about my back and said you won't like it but I can help you.  She also said she would be easy - NOT -.  Oh well, she had me lie down on a wooden bed with a cloth on it.  That was the first problem as I can't lie down flat.  She had to put many pillows under my legs just to get me in position.  She felt like 2-ton tony when she massaged, not like a little woman.  She started at my feet and covered every inch from the bottom of my feet to the entire legs, which took an hour.  Then she worked on my buttocks and back and this took an hour.  Then she worked on my shoulders and neck and head for at least half an hour.  She then said that she should put tiger balm on me so I could move.  She said sit up and that was a joke, I needed help with that task.  Then she said stand up and that was the second joke.  Wow was I tender.  I didn't know I had so many problem areas until she started pushing.  She would laugh and say oh oh, no problem when I flinched or pulled away. She just kept on and said that there were a lot of problem areas.  She said when we were done that I may not want to come back because she hurt me but that I needed it so much she hoped she could hurt me again. Wow, no soft touch with her hands or her mouth.  I took Tylenol and today I am not as sore as I had been.  I can't believe that that torture could help but I going back for more so maybe I will be able to walk and stand without so much pain.  On, Rob's wife, paid for the massage and she said that she didn't think I would want to pay for so much pain.  That was so kind of her.  

Well today we are going to get a soothing facial and a soft foot massage.

So that I can get ready for the next pain session.

The next blogs should be more cheerful but I think she has helped me already.

Bye for now from Chiangmai, Thailand

Marcia Cutler Weis

A NEW LITTLE ONE NAMED FOR WILLI

Thailand - as I see it.   A NEW LITTLE ONE - NAMED FOR WILLI

William - Willi 's namesake is so cute.  He is 5 months old and already is on his own in the walker, just like his brother, Tyler.  He just came into my room and smiled and checked out everything.  He loves to go for rides in his stroller around the house.

It is so cute to watch Tyler and William on the webcam.  Tyler talks and William smiles and listens.
This blog entry was written one year ago.


William is now 1 year and 5 months old and he is running around all on his own trying to keep up with his big brother who is an excellent big brother.  He also loves to be held which is great for me.  He is a snuggler when not exploring on his own.

More to follow.  It is fun beng called Yah and Grandma.

Grandma Yah Marcia

Chiangmai revisited - I'm so sad - I'm happy

Thailand - as I see it.

As I flew into the Chiangmai Airport last night, I recalled what my grandson Tyler says sometimes, " I'm so sad, I'm happy.  This is just the way I felt as we were landing in this beautiful country of Thailand.  I am visiting it alone this time - no more Bu as Tyler would say.  Willi and I visited On and Rob in Chiangmai 4 times together and each time was an exciting adventure.  This time, I am on my own and meeting my grandson William, 5 months old, who was named in honor of Willi.   He was able to see William on the webcam before he passed away.  When I first saw him, he just looked and looked at me.  After a few minutes he gave me a smile and then let me hold him.  What a thrill.  I am so sad, I'm happy.

After a five hour nap, we went for a massage and it was just as wonderful as I had remembered.  It was two hours long a full 120 plus minutes and I am looking forward to the next one.  It cost $20 including the tip.  The motorbike ride was fun too as we weaved in and out of the traffic.  Rob bought  On a beautiful new car and it even held all my luggage from the airport to their home very nearby.  On is as good a driver of the car as she is of the motorbike.

I am just getting back to blogging so this first one in 2013 is a bit rambling but I will continue next time and even include pictures.