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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Loy Krathong at Central Plaza Korat

Ten days of Loy Krathong festivities at Central Plaza in Korat. For me, the best part was watching kids feed the pigs and baby pigs. They feed the pigs using baby bottles of milk provided by vendors. Lots of good food on offer for humans as well, of course.

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