Halloween Decor - Thai Style!

Although Halloween is not celebrated in Thailand, because of the large American population in Nichada, it is not unusual to see some homes decorated for Halloween and Fall. 

The wreath near our front door.

Not a decoration but...this "little" (about 3 inches long) snail was hanging out on our front entrance wall this morning. Ick!

 

This year, the management of Nichada put up some very interesting decorations around the community. I don't remember these being out last year but I might have been distracted with worries about flooding and missed seeing them. These decorations are HUGE (some are as large as 8 or 9 feet tall) and are hung quite prominently along streets throughout Nichada. 

Let's start with the more traditional ones.

 

 These are still traditional but getting a little scary...

 

And, now, the bizarre and creepy ones! I was a little surprised to see that the decoration in the photo immediately below is hung right outside the entrance to a neighborhood that is home to quite a few little children. I can't imagine having to see that every time I drove in or out with my toddlers! 

 

 

 

Christopher and I decided that this one is the creepiest of all...It gives me the shivers to walk or run by it in the dark!

The decorations in the photos below are a unique (and R-Rated) take on Halloween, to say the least.

Have a great Sunday!

The Storm That Wasn't

An update to my post from last Friday about Tropical Storm Gaemi (the storm that was supposed to impact Bangkok over the weekend with a lot of rain and high winds)...

As you could probably guess from the title of this post, nothing happened. Nada. Zilch. In fact, the weather over the weekend was actually quite nice for this time of year. The rain showers that we did have held off until nighttime and were relatively light and short-lived. Even though it was hot and humid during the day, the skies were clear and there was a nice breeze so it was (somewhat) bearable. We had quite a bit of rain Monday morning (Kevin's golf outing was cancelled) but that is to be expected considering that we are in the middle of monsoon season. The amount and intensity of the rain on Monday didn't seem to be any more than what we usually have and certainly not what I would expect of a tropical storm. When I posted last week, there was another tropical storm following Gaemi and that was predicted to affect us today and through this weekend. However, I have searched all of my on-line news sources and can't find any mention of it so it must have dissipated or changed course. 

The kids each had school basketball games this week and, unfortunately, both of their teams lost. Christopher's team played an away game at a school downtown that is probably our biggest competition in Bangkok. It was a close game from the opening tip off through the final siren. They lost by only two points and were very disappointed. Hopefully, we will get a chance to play that team again in the play-offs in a few weeks and the outcome will be much better for us. Caitlynne's team was pretty much blown out of the water skill-wise and they were very lucky that they only lost by 9 points. During the second quarter, I don't think our team was able to get the ball over the half-court line once - the other team pressed really well and stole the ball before we could even get it down and in a position to shoot & score. 

Other than basketball games and practices, it has been somewhat of a slow week but we have a busy weekend planned with league basketball play-off games tonight (for Caitlynne) and tomorrow (for Christopher). Championship games will be held on Sunday so please keep your fingers crossed that we make it that far! Kevin is golfing tomorrow to make up for the rained out game on Monday. It is hard to believe that in a week from this Sunday, he will be leaving again to go back to the U.S. for three weeks. It seems like he just returned and, now that we have all settled back so nicely into our routine, he will be leaving again. He has a large contingent of official visitors next week and we will be hosting 16 of them here for dinner next Wednesday. PeePorn and I have been working on the menu and I can only hope she really understands what I would like for her to make. It is very rare for her to make something that we don't care for so, either way, I shouldn't be too worried. 

The week is ending on a not so great note for me. I have had a bad cough on and off over the last several weeks - I am fine for a few days and then cough for a few. Other than the coughing, I felt fine - no fever, head congestion or nausea - so I made sure I was getting enough rest and eating properly. However, Thursday afternoon - completely out of the blue - I began to cough and couldn't stop. It was from deep in my chest and I was very congested. I had pleurisy when I was in my early 20's (so, just a few years ago - Ha!) and it must have totally destroyed the lining around my lungs and chest because, every year, I get these horrible chest colds that just won't go away. I slept fine Thursday night but woke up yesterday still coughing - and with a very painful lump under my arm. The lump worried me enough to go to the doctor and I was diagnosed with a sinus infection, an upper-respiratory infection and an infected lymph node. This morning I woke up with an ear ache and have now been diagnosed with an ear infection as well. When it rains, it pours. The doctor prescribed me what seems like every medicine under the sun so I hope to feel better in a few days. 

My wonderful PeePorn made me the Thai version of chicken soup because I wasn't feeling well.

I don't know what this dish is called but it is delicious. One characteristic of Thai food is that it satisfies all four of the palate's principal taste elements - bitter, salty, sweet and sour. This dish certainly met that criteria - chilies (bitter), fish sauce (salty), pineapple (sweet) and lime juice (sour). It also has big chunks of chicken, cherry tomatoes, grapes and coconut milk in it - as well as other things that I can't remember. I added a few scoops of rice and made it my dinner. Fortunately the kids didn't care for it at all (so PeePorn made them beef & broccoli) and there was plenty leftover for my lunch and dinner today.

Have a great Friday!

What I Am Baking Now

I have been baking a lot of bread since we moved to Bangkok. The artisan bread we find in the local grocery stores is very crusty (like "cut the inside of your mouth" kind of crusty) yet doughy on on the inside. After a piece or two, the bread sits in your stomach like a big boulder. There is a baker downtown (Urban Pantry - I couldn't find a link to their website) who offers a nice selection of artisan breads and gourmet food items. He delivers to Nichada once a week but, at $3.00+ for a rather small boule, it can be very pricey after you buy two or three loaves.

I love to make bread and used my bread maker all of the time when we lived in Miami. There was nothing better than dumping the ingredients into the bread maker, pushing a button and having the lovely scent of freshly baked bread permeate the house about 3 hours later. In Bangkok, because of the difference in electrical voltage, I can't use my bread maker. Even if I used an electrical transformer, my bread maker would be ruined - not exactly sure why but it has something to do with the heating and rotating elements. It isn't a big deal to make bread by hand but it is a process and does require some advance planning. On the days when I make bread, I carefully schedule the timing of any outside activities so I am back at the house at different times to move things along during the dough making process. It is certainly not as convenient to make the bread by hand but the end result makes it totally worth it - especially when I consider the options here in Bangkok.

In Bangkok, I usually make french baguettes but I have made dough for pizza and tried a few recipes using whole wheat flour. Although everything I have made has turned out fine, I have never been happy with how the dough rises - or more accurately, doesn't rise. Most recipes call for the dough to sit for 40 minutes - 1 hour or "until it doubles in size". Well, my dough always seems to fall about 25% short of doubling. This doesn't affect the taste so I don't know why I obsessed over it as much as I did but I wanted my dough to double, darn it! I tried a number of things - using warmer water, letting the yeast proof longer, using more yeast... but to no avail. A few weeks ago, the Embassy food market was out of the usual (American) yeast that I use so I bought a jar of Thai yeast on the local market. What an amazing difference! The dough plumped up just like it should have and the bread had a great crumb to it - so nice and airy! I have made bread and dough several times since then and have had great luck with how the dough rises. Maybe the yeast was more effective because the Thai yeast is cultivated in the same environment that I am baking in? Maybe the change in temperatures during the importation process for the American yeast affects its effectiveness? I don't know why the Thai yeast gave me better results but I will certainly be using it from here on out. 

So, where is all of this going? I branched out a little this weekend and made dough to use for calzones.

The dough is covered and doubling!

The doubled dough. I should note that the dough in the bowl on the far right did not double but that was my fault for being distracted and adding the incorrect amount of yeast.

I made three different kinds of calzones (2 of each kind) - cheese (for Caitlynne), pepperoni and cheese (for Christopher) and cheese, onion, mushroom and red bell pepper (for Kevin and I). Yes, often times I do feel like I run a restaurant.

Pepperoni and cheese.

 Cheese. 

I forgot to take a photo of the veggie calzone being prepared but here is everything  assembled and baking in my "barbie bake" oven. 

While the calzones were baking, I noticed they had expanded and were sticking together on their edges so I separated them with a knife. Unfortunately, I must have cut through the dough because you can see where the cheese filling leaked out. They didn't look very pretty but they were delicious and I will definitely make them again.

I served the calzones topped with seasoned tomato sauce which was okay but I think next time I will use true "pizza" sauce as it is much more flavorful. A green salad and fruit plate completed our meal. I froze one of each kind of calzone for dinner one night while Kevin is gone.

Have a great Thursday!

A Big Win!

Christopher's basketball team had a major win yesterday in the community league. His team was playing the other 5-1 team (and the team that gave us our only loss) and this game would determine not only which team won the season but also got the bye for the first round of the playoff games next weekend. This was probably the most intense game he has ever played in and I was so proud of his team for ignoring the antics and the chatter along the sidelines and stepping up their game. 

We went into the third quarter with a 20 point lead (after being behind by as much as 11) but our three best players were in serious foul trouble. In the fourth quarter, we were ahead by 12 when our very best player fouled out - a huge loss. Christopher and our other best player then each picked up their fourth fouls...and hearts began to pound! With 5 minutes left to play, another one of our players fouled out - ironically, at about 4' tall and (maybe) 70 pounds soaking wet, he is the tiniest player on our team and maybe even in the league! He was playing his heart out though. The only player left on the bench to play was a boy who had never even played basketball until this season and really didn't have any other athletic skills. Well, he must have picked something up over the last few weeks because he came in and made some very key defensive plays in the last few minutes to thwart a last minute surge by the other team. We ended up winning by only 3 points. It was such a great game and, although it was unfortunate that we were in foul trouble pretty much the entire game, it did allow other boys to contribute in a pressure-filled and "must win" situation. At the end of the game, our team had 26 fouls and the other team had 21 - unbelievable! Between two seasons of league games and school games, I don't think I have ever seen a player have more than 3 fouls, much less foul out.  This was just that kind of a game. 

Caitlynne's school basketball team after their win last week.  

 Silly girls!

We planned to spend this morning watching the Catholics vs. the Convicts football game but Notre Dame is rolling right over University of Miami (34-3 in the 3rd quarter) and it is not much of a game at all - so much for a showdown. Virginia Tech is having such a horrible season that it is nice to have our "other" team doing so well. Amazing how a little defense can turn a team around. It has been a long time coming for the Irish!

No rain yet from Tropical Storm Gaemi.  From what we hear & read (which may or may not be accurate), it will begin to affect Bangkok sometime late tonight or early tomorrow. 

Have a great Sunday!

Wet Weather Ahead

And we thought we had left the hurricane & tropical storm season behind when we moved from Miami! 

According to the Bangkok Post (http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/315530/city-braces-for-tropical-storms), there is not one but TWO tropical storms that are on track to pass over Bangkok later this weekend and next week.  

The first storm has been named Gaemi and is predicted to affect Bangkok by the end of this weekend. The second storm has been named Phrapiroon and it is thought that Phrapiroon will be a bigger storm system than Gaemi and should affect Bangkok by the end of next week. As was the same during the flooding last year, I can't seem to get a consistent report of exactly what to expect from these storms and how the government is preparing for them. The radar on the weather website here is always 3-4 hours behind the "real" time so it is next to impossible to try and accurately track a weather system. I wasn't even aware that these storms even existed until a friend mentioned to me yesterday that they were building concrete barriers around one of the airports to prevent flooding. I really wish Bangkok had The Weather Channel storm coverage like back home - 24/7 with on the ground reporting. I certainly wouldn't complain if they sent Jim Cantore over here! The weather forecast for Bangkok predicts isolated or scattered thunderstorms for the next 10 days but this has been the typical forecast since the beginning of the monsoon season so who knows how much rain we will get and when. I guess we will just wait - never a dull moment, that is for sure. 

Caitlynne's team won her school basketball game on Wednesday by about 10 points. She had a good game with a few steals and rebounds. She is clearly a better defensive player than offensive. Christopher's team lost their game - the other team had a very tall player and no one on our team could defend him well. He was able to rebound on both ends of the court and then re-shoot any shots he missed offensively. We rarely had a chance to get our hands on the ball when he was under the basket. Our boys played an incredible defense though and held them to only 7 points in the second half (after they scored 25 in the first). We only lost by 5 points so they definitely put up a fight. In addition to Christopher starting and playing all but 6 minutes of the basketball game, he also finished first in the biathlon for his P.E. class earlier that day. He was one tired (and hungry!) boy by the time we got home! Team photos were taken after the game and I managed to get these on my phone. Christopher is in the front and holding the basketball.

Kevin arrived home late Wednesday night and, although we haven't seen much of him, it has been wonderful to have him home. Fortunately, he does not seem to be having too many issues with jet lag on this trip and has slept reasonably well the last two nights. We have a busy weekend with basketball games, baseball practices and activities for the kids which could be messy if we get a lot of rain and wind from the storm.  The Embassy is closed (but ISB is not) on Monday for the Columbus Day holiday and I expect Kevin will find a group to golf with.

I had to go out of Nichada earlier today to run some errands so I stopped by one of my favorite vendors to pick up some mango and sticky rice for our dessert tonight. 

Mango and sticky rice is an amazing dessert - light but so delicious! The mango is sliced, served over the sticky rice and then everything is topped with sweetened coconut milk and fried mung beans (which look a bit like toasted rice crispies). Since it is earlier afternoon here and we won't be eating dinner until well after I publish this post, I found this photo on www.realthairecipes.com to show you how mango and sticky rice looks when it is all put together. I will take some photos of ours this evening but be forewarned, I can never slice my mangoes that nicely! 

I haven't tried to make this at home and probably won't until we move back to the U.S. The sticky rice is tricky (and time consuming) to make and it is so convenient (and cheap) to just pick some up when I am out and about. 

Have a great Friday!

Cave In Rock

My transcontinental run mileage has been totally pathetic because of my sore knee but I FINALLY managed to cross from Kentucky into Illinois. This is where I was yesterday morning at 1,080.50 miles - Cave In Rock, Illinois. No offense to anyone who lives in Cave In Rock but this place looks so depressing. However, since depressed is what I feel these days about my running (or lack thereof), maybe it is good match after all...

Since I hurt my knee near the end of August, I have reduced my mileage by so much and it bothers me to no end. I ran 109 miles in August and most of those miles were run before my knee injury. I ran only 62.5 miles in September and this was the first time in over four years that my monthly mileage was less than 100 miles. So disappointing.  

Although it feels much better than it did a couple of weeks ago, my knee continues to ache and is still a little swollen. Some days are worse than others and there is no rhyme or reason as to why that is. I stopped taking huge quantities of Advil because it didn't seem to be doing anything. I ice the knee if it looks swollen and I will occasionally use BenGay which really helps but, boy, does that stuff STINK! Even PeePorn commented on the smell one day. I run a couple of times a week on the track at ISB which has a great soft surface but track running is so incredibly boring. I rely heavily on my iPod to get me through those laps!   

Right now I am running every other day and on the days I don't run, I walk Sonder for 3-4 miles. We have a recumbent bike and it is very convenient for me to hop on and ride for 45 minutes a couple of days a week. I was waiting for Kevin to return before going to the doctor so I will schedule an appointment for early next week and (finally) get the knee looked at. Hopefully, it will be a good diagnosis. Netball begins in early November and there is no way that I will be able to play with my knee like this.

Kevin is in the air and on his way back to Bangkok as I type this. We are all very excited to see him - 25 days was a long time for him to be gone. PeePorn is making a special dinner tomorrow night with some of his favorite dishes and I am trying to come up with some dinner menu ideas for the weekend. When he is on travel, he eats almost every meal out so I like to cook for him the first few days after he returns. (Yes, I will agree with you, I am a great wife). However, it is the exact opposite for me - when he is gone, I don't eat out at all so I am desperate to go out for dinner as soon as he gets back. Kevin has some official visitors arriving shortly after he returns and we will be hosting a dinner at our home for them one evening. As soon as he gives me some more details, I will start planning the menu with PeePorn and figuring out where everyone will sit. There will be about 15 people invited and our dining room table only seats 8-10 comfortably so I will have to get creative!

Have a great Wednesday! 

A Few New Things

But, first, the weekend wrap up... 

Christopher's team won his league basketball game yesterday by 19 points. Although you wouldn't know it by the score, it was actually a pretty competitive game and the other team definitely hung tough until the end. Next weekend, his team plays the only other team that is also 5-1. Unfortunately, that team is cause of the "1" in our loss column so it is a pretty important game and will determine our seeding for the tournament. No pressure boys. 

Caitlynne's team lost yesterday and it was just such a frustrating game. Our five starters played really well the first quarter and I had (reasonably) high hopes for the rest of the game. However, we were missing three good players to church obligations and we just don't have a lot of depth on the team to make up for the absence of their skills. Yesterday, when one or both of our very good players were resting, we lost a lot of ground and could not get back in the game. It could have been worse I guess...Caitlynne and our best player were both in serious foul trouble late in the 2nd quarter and I was in a panic about what to do if they fouled out or if someone was injured. 

Caitlynne and Christopher each have a school basketball game on Wednesday at home, at the same time and on adjacent courts so I will be able to watch both games. I am kind of bummed that Kevin will not be home until late Wednesday night and will miss seeing them play.  It is a rare treat for them to both have games on the same day and at home.

And now for the "new"...

Fresh cut orchids. I bought all of these stems for about $2.50! If cared for properly (I trim the stems and refresh the water every few days), these should last at least 2 weeks. 

 

Last week, I went back with a friend to Benjarong Village (which I previously posted about here).  Over the last few weeks, we had been to Chatuchak and a few retail shops around Bangkok to look at different patterns and pieces of Benjarong but she wanted to see what was available at the Village before making any purchases. As you can imagine, she did not have to twist my arm very hard (I rarely decline an invite to go shopping!) and off we went on a little "field trip". 

When I had gone to the Village with the Embassy in June, there were a few pieces that I really liked but wasn't sure I liked them enough to buy right there on the spot. Of course, the minute I left the shop, I regretted not buying them so this was my second chance! Fortunately, the shop still had the two beautiful blue and white porcelain garden stools (photo below) in stock and I snatched them up. Literally!

I sit in this chair every evening with a glass of wine and a book or magazine. I was always annoyed not to have a place to rest the phone, my glasses, etc.  Believe me, the floor is not a good place for a glass of wine! On Pinterest and in the interior design magazines I read, I have seen quite a few photos of garden stools being used as side tables and thought that would be the answer to my problem.  And it was.  

 This is Kevin's chair, just waiting for his return.

The garden stools are quite large (about 20" high) and the top surfaces are large enough (over 13" square) to hold all of my "stuff". I think they are a little too high for these chairs (Embassy-provided) but will be fine with what we have in storage back in the U.S.

The colors and artwork are beautiful.

 The top.

After I got home and set everything up, I was happy... for a few minutes. Originally, I had these pillows on the chairs...

but, once the garden stool was in place, the the pillow & chair combo just looked "blah" next to it.  So, I did some "shopping" around the house and swapped them out with the red paisley pillows (in the photos above) that were on our sofa.  Much better. It is only a temporary fix though as I found this fabric online over the weekend... 

 And am having it made into pillows like this...

I hope you all had a great weekend!  Have a great Monday and Happy October!