Comfort ....

Motherhood by Pablo Picasso (1901)

Style: Post-Impressionism

Period: Blue Period
Genre: genre painting
Technique: oil
Material: canvas

Comfort Art .............

Sometimes something subtly renders a sweet contentment for you. So quietly it brings drops of joy to your heart and a pleasant smile to your lips. Such as these paintings by Pablo Picasso did for me on one rainy afternoon.

Pablo Picasso (1901)

Style: Post-Impressionism

Period: Blue Period
Genre: genre painting
Technique: oil
Material: Cardboard

Dimensions: 74.4 x 51.4 cm

Gallery: Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO, USA

And, in as much, so did quotes from ....... A Lantern in her Hand .....by Bess Streeter Aldrich!

"...... LOVE is more like a light that your carry.
At first childish happiness keeps it lighted
and after that romance.

Then MOTHERHOOD

lights it and then duty and maybe after that sorrow.
Yes, I think that

LOVE is ..............to a woman

.... a lantern in her hand."

Pablo Picasso (1902)

Style: Post-Impressionism

Period: Blue Period
Genre: genre painting
Technique: oil
Material: wood

Dimensions: 26.8 x 13.4 cm

As, so many times, in the deepest of the darkness of the darkest hours, the LIGHT from our mothers shines .......   and leads us through. 

Mother and a lantern of LOVE in her hand.

Pablo Picasso (1901)

Style: Post-Impressionism

Period: Blue Period
Genre: genre painting
Technique: oil
Material: canvas

Dimensions: 73 x 54 cm

Gallery: National Gallery, London, UK

For a mother, her child is her own heartbeats.  And.. 

For from the bottom of her heart, 

comes this cry:

"Because the road was steep and long,

And through a dark and lonely land,

God set upon my lips a song,

And put a lantern in my hand."

That is a real comfort a mother could render to her child.  

And that is a true art of comfort.

*************************

Credit:

A Lantern in her Hand (1928)

by 

Bess Streeter Aldrich, 1881-1954

For on-line reading: http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks05/0500521h.html

The Local

 "Trat by the Sea"

Trat was where I was born and bred!  Trat sits by the sea, and is abundantly loaded up with fresh seafood.

Here are some photos taken from my recent visit to my mother's.  May I present our morning fresh market?

These are few savoring ingredients from our sea, and a little more.  They have accommodated us great and wonderful dishes at home.

My mother gave us tips to look for fresh fish.  'Look into the eye,' she said.  Bright clear eyes give it away!

Now, if you go back and look at the eyes of the fish in these photos, you will find all guarantee freshness.

  

Stingrays

Please note that fresh stringrays are on the tray.  We love either grilled or fried with pepper & garlic.  The local serve each dish with 'nam-pick-geu,' which is our special hot & spicy dip made from chili, garlic, fish sauce and lime juice.

And, how much does it cost?

It is 20 baht and 25 baht a kilo.

It is half a Euro a kilo!

It is around 30 US cents a pound!!!!

Tofu ....

For vegetarians, fresh tofu awaits you.  The yellow and the white ones are hard tofu, the other ones are soft tofu.  They are made daily.

'Ku-Teiw'

Ku-Teiw is simply a soup noodle which is found at all times everywhere in Thailand.  Yet, in Trat, 'ku-teiw' features more than ordinary ones.  It is spicy and is served with crispy wanton, shrimp, fish ball, and roasted pork.

'Ka-Nom-Mud-Tai'

'Ka-Nom-Mud-Tai' is a simple snack known to most Thais.  Chinese Thais often have them prepared for special celebrations.

But, to us the local of Trat, we take it as simple as a snack!

The main ingredients are sticky rice, munk-beans, pork (from pig belly), garlic, salt and pepper.  Wrapped in banana-leaf, tied with bamboo strips and steamed!

A local snack .... locally called 'ka-nom-jang'

Basic ingredient is rice, specially prepare, wrapped in palm leaves, tied with 'bamboo strips,' and steamed. 

The content is brownish, but clear. The texture is 'gummy bear like.' To enjoy it: unwrap and dip in brown sugar.

'Leh'

Last but not least, Let me introduce our local hat, 'Leh.'  It is made of leaf from a special palm that grows along the canal which has brackish water.

My son & my mother by the sea in my hometown,Trat! 

And, this is my hometown where life is abundantly blessed with the sea and the sand and the rain and the green and all the warmth of family ties.

Raindrops .......

Coming Soon at the Raindrops Near YOU!

It has been rainy. The world greeted me this morning with grayish sky. The rain had just ceased for a brief moment. And, the whole world turned so very soft-looking. Everything was lovely calm and gentle.

Raindrops lingered on leaves and petals. They inevitably looked most subtly inviting. I gazed above and found the grayish sky, so heavy loaded with fat clouds .... as if it could generously pour down at any minute. Yet, it seemed still smiling down and urging me on.

With my good, old and faithful camera, I left everything behind.  I followed the call of the beautiful world, so much so ..... especially after the all-night rain. The world at that moment was so lovingly solitude and sweet … as it was profoundly enveloped with all precious sights, sounds, scenes and scents. Who could ever resist such a world!

I left without closing the gate nor locking the door. I thought I would be gone for just a few minutes.

What so little that I knew .... 

what was out there for me .... 

that would keep me for two hours! 

I thought of YOU ......

while I was out there, 

wishing you all were right there with me ..... to savor the moment together. 

Wondering how everyone was, ....... 

I decided to capture all I possibly could .... for you to see. 

Here they are .... coming to you all the way from Chiang Rai ... with hope that you too will enjoy them.

Sending you love and warm wishes ..... that you would be blessed with lovely things within arm’s reach.

Have a beautiful day!