Red is the sunset on this rainy evening.

I mean a very nice red that started out kind of light and then just got darker and darker.

Photos below are in reverse chronological order. (Because Google does not give me a way to control sort order when importing photos.)

20221229

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

My partner put the tree up on 20221128. I guess she felt it. We'll just have to go dark on 20221207, Pearl Harbor Day. At any rate, I like seeing the tree. Next up is the yard, including a huge Christmas tree in front of the house.

It was easy to decide where to put the tree.

Only one location was possible.

20221128

Jingjoks: They sure do put themselves in unfortunate situations.

Disclaimer: Photos deliberately NOT provided.

This morning started with a bit of unpleasantness here in Nakhon Ratchasima. My partner found a dead jingjok (small gecko lizard) in the track of the sliding window. the one by the kitchen table. We share dirty duties depending on who is less freaked out by a particular situation. In this case, the duty fell on me.

Extracting the body of the jingkok was difficult due to the narrowness of the window track. Tweezers would have worked perfectly, but I wasn't going to pick up a days-old jingjok body (still soft) with any of our tweezers. Now that I think about it, needle-nose pliers would have worked well. Too late now.

The ants had already discovered the jingjok body, and were going about their business. Not so bad. Just ants. But what were those white things that look like grains of rice? They're moving? Oh, shit! Maggots!!! 

I finally got the jingjok body onto a paper towel using the blade of a thin box cutter. I took the body outside to its final resting place. Fortunately for me, while I was doing that, my partner went after the writhing maggots (not so many... only three or four... that I saw...). I am so glad I didn't have to do that part. 

It was a team effort. The entire area has been sanitized. Breakfast was completed. There are many and diverse creatures here--even in town. But let there be many and diverse creatures. So it must always be here on this plashy earth. This morning gives us promise of a glorious day.

Thanksgiving dinner in Nakhon Ratchasima

Thanksgiving dinner in Nakhon Ratchasima this year. I'm thankful. 

20221124

I thought: "There's something strange about that cloud..."

And I was right. Underneath the big white cloud were some very dark clouds, and it turned into a lightning show with a touch of thunder, followed by a brief windstorm, and ending with some toy rain. Still, it knocked the temperature down from 28 to 26 degrees, and I would normally be grateful for that, but it sure would be nice if the rain could hold off until the farmers finish harvesting this year's crop of rice.

20221117

First Christmas song heard on November 17th.

First Christmas song of 2022 heard in the men's bathroom at Central Plaza on 20221117. It was Brenda Lee's Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree. I shall strap myself in for a very long ride because they'll be playing this stuff through February at least. 

Maybe I'll get myself a modern-day Etch A Sketch for Christmas.

20221117

Last day of the 2022 Phimai Festival

Too bad, too sad for those who attended the Jayarvaman VII show on the night of the 13th. They got rained on!!! Not as bad as it sounds because it's so warm here that when you get rained on, you're not even cold--just wet. We watched it rain from the hotel window. It finished within an hour, and the party started right back up--until the next set of rain. 

Not dying fast enough?

Drink some of these.

Thank you (NOT!!!) 7-ELEVEN for exporting the idea of slurpees.

20221113

Phimai Historical Park in the daytime.

ปราสาทหินพิมาย / Prasat Hin Phimai was great at night with the special lighting for the show. But it is equally great in the daytime. Not sure how many times I've been, maybe three or four? It doesn't matter. If you come over here to visit me, you will be dragged up there. You have been warned, but the good thing is that you will probably like it a lot. How often do you get to walk around thousand-year-old buildings?

20221112

King Jayavarman VII show at Phimai Historical Park.

Like the show or not, you must admit the grandness of the production. The way they lit up the old buildings during the show was fantastic. The music and audio were clear. The dancing is not really my thing, but that's okay. I spent most of the show watching how they did it, and they did it very, very well indeed. 

Would I go again? Yes, I would. The light show at ปราสาทหินพิมาย / Prasat Hin Phimai is so special that it makes it worth braving the crowds.

20221112

Phimai Festival boat racing

We took a little trip up to พิมาย / Phimai for the annual festival that includes boat racing. For some excellent photos of the event, view Mari-Mo Photography's post if you can. For some Jerry-eye views of the event, see the photos (and one video) below.

I liked Phimai the first time I visited more than 10 years ago, and I like it even more today. It's a good town on a good river with good people. The Khmer Empire architecture that endures is from the 11th and 12th centuries.

20221112

As of November 11th, it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

20221111

I greatly miss my U.S. Veterans Day freebies.

Perhaps because I'm frugal at heart, I greatly miss my U.S. Veterans Day freebies. The one that first comes to mind is my Krispy Kreme coffee and donut. We have Krispy Kreme stores in the shopping malls here in Nakhon Ratchasima, and I did think about going in there and trying to convince them to give me a free donut and coffee.

But it would be too cruel. Mischievous though I may be, malicious I am not. Also, I fear that they would give me a free donut and coffee not because of understanding my Thai-language attempts to explain about freebies on U.S. Veterans Day, but rather because of feeling sorry for such a pathetic old bald foreigner guy. The degree to which they cut old folks some slack is truly remarkable, and it is greatly appreciated by me. I often need all of that slack--and more.

Let me take this opportunity on U.S. Veterans Day to apologize to all the good people of Nakhon Ratchasima for all the confusion I've caused over the last year in my attempts to speak Thai. It's possible that I will improve, but it could go the other way as a variety of glitches continue to occur with increasing frequency. At any rate, your kindness is appreciated.

Falling behind on the sunsets.

Falling behind on the sunsets. I guess this retired guy is not doing a perfect job as a chronicler of sunsets, but that's alright. Things get posted when they get posted--if they even get posted. The sun will continue to rise and set regardless, and if you keep your eyes open, you're guaranteed to see a rainbow or two.

20221109

Loi Krathong sunset / Loy Krathong Full Moon from eclipse

The sunset on วันลอยกระทง / Loy Krathong was nice. The Loy Krathong full moon from eclipse was even better. I won't disrespect the cosmos by posting photos. In fact, I didn't take any. It didn't seem right to me.

Since humans populated Earth, they have been watching the moon. We joined them full force tonight. When we first went out, the moon was missing completely due to the eclipse. But then, finally, there it was, all dark and red, right where we expected it to be based on where it was last night. We spent the next hour or so watching it come out of darkness into brightness, all the way until it was full. It was a splendid show, my first time ever watching a full eclipse from start to finish.

Note that this full-moon-from-eclipse viewing took place in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand (14.9707° N  102.102° E) at approximately 18:00 hours on 20221108 (GMT +7). Your moon show may be better or worse depending on your location.

20221108

Slugs of Northeastern Thailand

Continuing a post-Halloween parade of horror, I followed up our huge, green, plant-eating worms with my first sighting of some very big Northeastern Thailand slugs. I agree with you that each of these slugs looks like a turd on the sidewalk. But they are not. Notice the antennae. 

I regret that the photo does not show the mucus trail that was clearly visible with some of the other slugs. Regarding size/length, I can tell you that these things are about the size/length of a grown man's middle finger. I greatly desire to avoid ever stepping on one, but I am me, with a history of clumsiness, so it is more a matter of when than if...

Bonus: This evening's toad frog.

20221106

Bicycles are finally in pretty good shape.

In a previous post about how retirees have time for proper maintenance, I challenged you to check the chains on our bicycles and motorcycle. I claimed that they were all within spec--always. 

That claim was less than completely accurate. When I finally got around to checking the bicycle chains today, they were still sufficiently lubricated. The problem was dirt. The chains were less than adequately clean. No more. I cleaned and lubed them both.

Then I cleaned both bicycles, possibly for the first time. I take decent care of my motorcycles. I don't know why I felt like it was okay to neglect the bicycles.  They were covered with dust. They did not look very good. Now they look sharp. 

Hopefully, this is the start of me taking proper care of the bicycles, which continue to serve us well.

20221106

Wat Sala Loi visit. Always so many colors.

On approximately the anniversary of Mom's birthday, and at least two other family heavenly birthdays, a visit to วัดศาลาลอย / Wat Sala Loi was in order.

If you had told me that I was going to enjoy a man-made waterfall, I would not have believed you. And yet, I have greatly enjoyed my sittings in the man-made waterfall area at Wat Sala Loi. They have now added some mist/fog machines that add to the ambiance.

20221104

Garden proud? Mother Nature has something for that.

Spending quite a bit of time working in the garden now that it's possible to be outside. Sad discovery today--huge, green with a white stripe, plant-eating worms. An extremely worthy opponent, to be sure. At least five of them that we found were relocated. The ones we didn't find will inevitably continue their plant eating.

Bonus: Another one of the many toad frogs out and about in this season.

20221105

Sunset front and back views

Two views of today's sunset, one from the front of the house, and one from the back of the house.

20221103