History in the Making .......

Home is where heart is!  And, home in Chiang Rai is what our family has dreamed of building for so very long.  We prayed and sought and finally were able to buy one piece of land many years ago.  That piece of property has been there waiting, waiting ... for something to be built on ever since.

Wild flowers my son gave & his newly bought hat ... in another dream country.

Many seasons have come and gone.  Finally, we are ready to start on making the sweet history ... of building our home in our dream land of Chiang Rai.

Kanit's capture of the raindrops on the windshield.

IngSong started working on the house plan.  Kanit and I went to the land office to sign up for the surveyors to officially measure the piece of property, which we had to wait for 120 days.  That was how it was supposed to be.

Kanit's capture of the world in the drizzles.

Eventually, the 120th day arrived!  The day we patiently waited for finally came. October 17, 2013!  

It was a glorious wet and rainy day.  Yet, our hearts rejoiced as we went early to the site and waited an hour for the surveyors.  We did not mind a bit.  Everything was so nice and green.  The flowers were especially fresh, bright, and blooming.

When the surveyors came, Kanit went to greet the leader with a big green umbrella.  

But it was this gentleman in plaid that got my attention.  He appeared to be very kind, and posted for me willing before going off to mind his business.  I  enjoyed hearing him speak softly in the gentle northern dialect.

Kanit and the gentle man with his tools went straight to the back by the water.  They were in search for the four important boundary marks.

To me, the world at that very moment looked so lovingly peaceful in the drizzle.  The sight of the greenery and water took my mind away from all else for a good amount of time.

The men were working hard.  They failed a couple of times.  But,  eventually, they found the first one....

And they went on and on .... looking for the rest.  The second was an easy found while the third and fourth were not.

At times, they wondered if the water welled up far too high and the marks were down under it!  The leader had to go back to his truck to check for extra details on his computer.

With just that little piece of detail from the computer, the men could spot the rest rather swiftly.

It was a piece of cake for them from then on.  The surveyors took measure of this small piece of land and finished the task in no time at all.

The surveyors bid their goodbye and were gone.  That left Kanit and I to admire the day alone.  It was our glorious day indeed.  Whoever would dream for a day like this to come around ... finally.  For us, after purchasing this piece of land, this was our first big step to realize our long time dream ..... of building us a home in Chiang Rai.

With hearts full of joy, all else went singing along .... sweetly.

Everything then became lively,  whatever we could laid our eyes on were utterly lovely and sweet.

No matter how or where we looked, every living color was soothingly brightening, and .... everything that moved seemed to orchestrate the song of our hearts.

It was a glorious day indeed!

What a Wonderful World after all! 

Though there will be many chapters ahead, we know very well in the depth of our hearts that this is exactly just the beginning of our 'history in the making.'  And, we would love to share it all with you, our dear friends, ...... every step of the way as well.

As of this very special day, it was just lovely to 'sing in the rain', together.......

Thank you for the joy of taking this journey with us. 

Revisit to ......

Time flies!  

And, we walk on, non-stop, toward the coming days ..... minding our business on the way.  Yet, from time to time we do look back to pay a little visit to the past, ..... yes, while living in the present.  That was exactly what I did this morning.

As the air is getting crisp, morning walk has become more and more pleasant.  However, walking round and round in a small neighborhood cannot last very long regardless of the fine weather, unless I could find something inspiring along the way ..... such as conducting a fun conversation with friends who join me here or live somewhere faraway over the phone.  But I did none of that this morning.  I just caught myself doing something utterly different.

Bidens pilosa L., known as Spanish Needles

Revisit to the Past!   

Back to the October of 2011, when life was about to take a sharp turn, and I was getting more and more of myself from a serious fall of health in the previous June..... I was once again gaining confidence to walk on my two-God's-given limbs, and was beginning to earn the distance each and everyday.  Every morning, I would wake into a morning which I determined to walk with Noot .... with small camera in my hand and someone very special on my mind.  

"I'll be Janie's eyes," I kept telling myself each day.  And, that was what I did.  I was most watchful for every little thing that was on our way ..... thinking, "What would Janie think of this?"

Such a thought made the all-around vital and every little thing matter.  My mind was alert and my eyes kept searching.  All in all I looked for something I could capture the image to later share with Janie who lives an ocean apart.  Excitement filled the air, and my strength seemed to elevated each step of the way.  Noot and I were stunned at how we simply overlooked and took so many things around us for granted.  Our eyes were gradually open to our own nature and culture, and soon afterward I myself realized that my camera did turn to be my precious 'diary.' 

My collection of our findings grew each and everyday. Meanwhile I waited and waited for my courage to get enough wind to get myself out of the shell and literally share the photos and stories with Janie.  But, very sadly, I did not get the chance.  No, it was not me entirely but the change of the 'season' that no man could put a halt to it did it so.  

The worst flood hit our community and our house.  We packed few belongings and left in haste on October 24, 2011.  First, we drove Noot and our three dearly loved dogs to another province west of Bangkok.  Then, my husband Kanit took me on the very same night to my mother who lives in another province south-east of Bangkok, and over 300 kilometers away from our home.  

Our house and the rest were under water for two months.  The water was about 3 meter high at our gate.  The first floor was totaled.  On December 16, 2011, Kanit, Noot, Sakchai - our wonderful furniture maker - and his men could eventually get the vehicles to the house. They quickly tore down all the built-in furniture and tossed the rest, to prevent any future damage from any mold or mildew.  

I remained at my mother's until March of 2012.  All the while I managed to keep my 'ritual' morning walk, all alone every single morning.  Walk, walk, and walk ..... rain or shine, I went out for a walk with either a cap or an umbrella .... I did so with Janie, Kanit, IngSong, Noot and God on my mind, ..... yet, without my camera which I did not have any piece of mind to bring along when I left home .... for I never ever imagined that I had to be away from my own home and family for that long, for such a length of five months.  

Sauropus androgynus, known as katuk, star gooseberry, or sweet leaf

Different theories, different interpretations!

Our house and community were absolutely different from when I finally returned.  Everything looked brownish and bare.  Our lush green garden was a history.  The first floor appeared to me as a total stranger.  Yet, a word of comfort came from our son IngSong, who was on the other face of the earth at the time, 'Mum, if we were to renovate our house, we had to tear down everything and it would look just like this.'   Isn't that so very true?  I gazed at boxes upon boxes of what who knew what was inside on the second floor, and gave up the idea of taking a peek inside entirely.  It was more than a miracle that my father's photos remained.  That was enough for me and I was most thankful.

Nothing mattered, especially how others with various beliefs would interpret the incident.  We ourselves found comfort in what God took us through.  Life on earth is a dot of eternity.  We cannot be in complete control of what seems to be feasible.  Life goes on.  Walk on ................... and gain strength along the way ................. there are so much more in store in this life carved out for us.  And, we have found it so very true when we came up to Chiang Rai for Kanit's interview just a week after my return to our house.

Heliconia psittacorum x Heliconia                          

 spathocircinata Aristeguieta cv., known as Golden Torch

A new season .... of life ...

Kanit had a new job at Chiang Rai International Christian School, so we moved up here on August 14, 2012 .... to a house that my older brother owns and kindly allows us to live for free of charge.  It is a smaller house in a far more smaller community than where we had lived for years and years, but we have found ourselves a home-sweet-home here.  The neighborhood is safe, friendly, and pleasant.  We have everything we would ever dream for, JOY!

"I'll be Janie's eyes!"

And, that was my revisit to the past this morning .....

With my old and faithful camera, I set off to see my beautiful world ... with the same question in mind, "What would Janie think of these?"  And, the morning flew by swiftly.  It was as fun, full, and exciting as ever ... as my legs took me around and my eyes found me so many beautiful flowers my neighbors have planted.  I captured them all for you.  Yes, all that you enjoy here came from this morning walk.. And, Janie, thank you for being with me in spirit throughout the walk.

Duranta repens L.; Duranta erecta L.; 

Sky flower; Golden dew drop; Pigeon berry; Duranta

Celosia argentea L. var. cristata (L.) Kuntze

Cockscomb, Chinese Wool Flower

Euphorbia milli Desmoul

Crown of thorns, Christ Thorn

Bauhinia purpurea L.

Purple Orchid Tree, Hong Kong Orchid Tree, Purple Bauhinia

Musa paradisiaca L. var. sapientum O. Ktze., M. sapientum L

Banana Blossom

Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Pers. 

Vegetable Humming Bird , Cork Wood Tree

Ocimum sanctum linn.  known as Holy basil, Sacred basil 

Allamanda cathatica L.
   Allamanda, Golden - trumpet

Allamanda williamsii known as Allamanda Double Yellow 

Coccinia grandis Voigt., known as Ivy Gourd

Alliumcepa var. aggregatum,  known as Green Shallot

Cananga fruticosa, known as Dwarf Ylang-Ylang

Pachystachys lutea Nees, known as Lollypops

Costus speciosus, Cheilocostus speciosus

Cane Reed, Crape Ginger, Malay Ginger, Spiral Flag, White Costus

Cestrum nocturnum Linn

Lady of the night, Night jessamine, Night  blooming  jasmine,  Queen of the night

Allamanda blanchetii, known as purple allamanda, violet allamanda

Gloriosa superba

Climbing Lily,Turk's cap,Superb Lily

Hedychium coronariumJ.G. Koenig, known as White Ginger

Averrhoa carambola L., known as Carambola, Star fruit

Abelmoschus esculentus, known as  Okra, Lady's Finger

Solanum torvum, known a Turkey berries

or

Devil's Fig, Prickly Nightshade, Shoo-shoo Bush, Wild Eggplant, Pea Eggplant, Pea Aubergine

 Solanum torvum, known a Turkey berries

or

Devil's Fig, Prickly Nightshade, Shoo-shoo Bush, Wild Eggplant, Pea Eggplant, Pea Aubergine

Solanum wrightii Benth.

 Brazilian potato tree, Potato tree

Caesalpinia pulcherrima

Poinciana, Peacock Flower, Red Bird of Paradise, Mexican Bird of Paradise, Dwarf Poinciana, Pride of Barbados, and flamboyan-de-jardin

Jatropha integerrima Jacq., known as Peregrina, Spicy jatropha 

Jasminum adenophyllum Wall.

Angle-hair Jasmine

Turnera subulata G.E. Smith 

Sage Rose

Mimosa pudica 

sensitive plant, sleepy plant and the touch-me-not

My heartfelt thanks our neighbors at Sinthani 2...... for all their hard work of planting and keeping their flowers beautiful, and our neighborhood very pleasant.