State of the Union

June 14 - July 3, 2017

Layover in Incheon, S., Korea.  The symbols next to 10:15 say "Detroit" in Korean!

Storms over Michigan from above

It is an odd sensation to feel like a stranger in one's own home.  Yet this was our experience when we returned to our Michigan home after nearly two years away.  Our home looked tired, and I was faced with an accumulation of things the old me thought was important to keep.  Living in a smaller space and making do with little in the way of "stuff" has changed my view of what was really needed to live a good life.  I hope I can retain that new attitude when we're back in Michigan for good.

Some things haven't changed a bit...

But this time we were just back for a short visit.  Our nephew was getting married, and we were thrilled with the opportunity to be back with family.  I arrived in the middle of June, and spent some cherished time with our son who has been taking care of the house.  I enjoyed getting to know his dog, Sully, and dragged the reluctant canine out on a walk every morning.  He is definitely not a morning person/dog.

NOW I'm home!

Sully, AKA Sultan, AKA James P.

Being back in the states, I was excited to pile cartons of blueberries into my grocery cart at Kroger.  Oh, how I miss my blueberries when I'm in Thailand!  The multitude of options in the grocery aisles is dizzying; we Americans need to remember to be grateful for such bounty.  I made sure to stop in at Marv's Meats in Brighton to get some good ol' USDA beef.  Nothing like it.  (Most of the beef available in Thailand is from Australia, and just doesn't taste the same.)  Tim and I enjoyed some burgers on the grill - simple pleasures.

I got to have lunch with my sweet sister-in-law, who drove all the way to Brighton to pick me up, since I was without a car for much of the time.  I was also able to meet my Dad and his wife, along with my youngest brother and his family, for Sunday mass and lunch afterward on American Father's Day.  (Father's Day is in December in Thailand, on the late King's birthday.)  My Dad and his wife are struggling with the challenges of old age, but still managed a laugh or two.  Our family is so grateful to the siblings who are shouldering the burden of their care.

I enjoyed a trivia night at Cottage Inn in Ann Arbor with my son, Tim, and some of his friends - "When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Gelato!"™  Our team won both rounds, winning gift cards to make it a very inexpensive evening.   Tim and I also had the opportunity to meet Mike and his girlfriend for sushi in E. Lansing.  We stopped in at Iorio's Gelato and Caffe for some delicious gelato - yum.  I highly recommend the salted caramel!

When husband Tim arrived, we had some of his family over for pizza.  We got our signals crossed about who was bringing what, and had pizzas aplenty, pizzas galore!  It was actually fine, because we had several guests in and out of our house for the next week.  My brother and his lady arrived from Oregon that same day, and survived the onslaught of the Wagner brand of humor.

Several of us took in a Tiger game at Comerica Park - three of my brothers and their wives and kids, my sister and some of her kids and grand kids.  Many were in from out of state for the wedding, and it was doubly fun to spend time with them and watch Justin Verlander pick up a W.  Tim and I dropped in for a visit with my Dad earlier in the day, then made our way downtown.  We stopped up on the roof of Hockeytown for a drink before the game, and got our first look at the shiny, new Q-Line gliding down Woodward Avenue.

The new Q-Line

beautiful day at Comerica Park

I also was lucky enough to meet a few of my ex-colleagues for dinner, and get caught up on what's been happening in their lives.  It was almost like I'd never left, but I felt myself thinking about how divergent our lives had become, trying to picture myself back in their world.  It was odd to be having a conversation with friends using complex sentences and nuanced phrases.  I have become accustomed to simplifying my speech for the many non-native English speakers in my life.  It was like putting on an old pair of shoes that you haven't worn in a long time - it felt comfortable and odd at the same time.

My Oregon brother left to visit our sister in Houghton Lake, and shortly thereafter, one of my Colorado brothers arrived with his three kids and one granddaughter.  A bunch of us went to dinner at a brewpub in Ann Arbor, and I got to see my brothers in from Virginia.  The next morning some of us met for breakfast at our place, then headed en masse to Grand Rapids for the wedding festivities.  We all met for the rehearsal dinner at the B.O.B., where nine of my eleven siblings were reunited, along with their spouses and children.  This was the greatest gathering of cousins we've ever had - twenty of twenty-four!  And I finally had all my boys together again! 😍 One sibling arrived later that evening, and the final sibling zipped in just hours before the wedding - Hail, Hail, the gang's all here!  We all wished our Dad was well enough to be there with us.

My brother, Bob, at the BOB (Big Old Building)

cousins!

long awaited reunions...

sister-in-law with mother of the groom

RoBros

My only picture of the bride and groom :-(

Here's a better picture from their online wedding page

more cousins!

"Ring Security"

Two Lizzes and a Little Lady

The morning of the wedding, the second now-traditional "Cousins Breakfast" took place, at the behest of some of the younger cousins, who had such fond memories of the first.  The dining area didn't have room for everyone, so breakfast was procured from Starbucks and commenced in the lobby.  Our boys headed out for wedding party duties, and Hiustyn and I took a walk along the river in downtown Grand Rapids.  We saw people setting up for that evening's fireworks display on this Independence Day weekend.

Hiustyn and I ran into this giant button on our walk

The wedding was lovely.  The bride and groom were obviously so in love, and that love emanated out to all those in attendance.  It's such a joy to attend a wedding when it is plain to see that the couple are right for each other!  My sister, the mother of the groom, was beautiful, and I enjoyed seeing our three sons in their wedding party finery.  Small vials of bubbles were distributed outside the church, and the bride and groom received a bubbly reception when they emerged.  Such a blessing to be a part of this happy occasion.

Lucky me doing Great-Aunt duty!

Tim and I enjoyed breakfast with our three men, then said a sad goodbye to two, and headed back to Brighton.  We hosted one more set of guests that night, two nephews and a niece-in-law, and got to meet Tim's girlfriend for a quick minute.  Then we said goodbye to Tim, goodbye to our Brighton home, goodbye to the USA and got on a plane for the marathon flight back to Thailand.



via GIPHY

Sailor Song

May 28 - June 4, 2017

Fraser's is a very Australian restaurant not far from our place.  There are always many Aussies hanging out here, watching Australian rugby and drinking Fosters.  We like to come for the good western-style food.  This week they were celebrating their third anniversary with a special party, complete with free wine tasting and Aussie meat pies.  It was a good crowd, and quite lively, as Australians tend to be.

The following Friday, Mika and I met for lunch at a new restaurant in South Pattaya called The Greyhound.  Apparently this is a very popular restaurant in Bangkok.  It is just in front of a new, shimmering gold theater called D'Luck.  According to the literature, a multimedia show called Kaan is on offer here - a hybrid of live action and cinema, stage performance and technology.  The story is adapted from classic Thai literature.  At 1200 Baht (about $40) and up for a ticket, I can't imagine they will get much traffic from the locals.  I expect busloads of Chinese tourists might fill the seats.  In any case, the food at the Greyhound was nice, and the decor was eye-catching.  It was a nice place to get caught up with my friend.

pretty jellyfish sculpture

Had a pretty spectacular show outside our window that evening.  We have a great view of the cloud activity over the gulf.

Sunday is our driver's day off, but an afternoon concert in town inspired me to find another mode of transportation.  I walked about forty-five minutes, down the twisty road from the hill where our condo is located.  Hot and sweaty at that point, I was able to jump on a song-teaw, or baht bus.  For just ten baht (about thirty cents) I was delivered right outside the Royal Garden Mall where the concert would take place.

The United States Navy Seventh Fleet's Orient Express was performing, along with the Royal Thai Navy's band, as part of Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT), an annual joint exercise between the two countries.   I ran into a couple of US sailors when I entered, and exclaimed, "My people!"  I'm sure they were a bit alarmed by this sweaty, red-faced, crazy lady.

The Thai navy was already performing when I arrived - playing pop songs with a heavy brass section.  The band was all-male, but had a succession of female (and some male) vocalists that stepped to the front of the stage for each new song.  I recognized a few western tunes, like Beyond the Sea, Michael Buble's Feeling Good, and What a Beautiful World, complete with their own unique and charming pronunciations.  They even brought the cuteness factor with a little girl in a sailor dress singing a Thai song.

Next, the US sailors took the stage.  Theirs was a smaller band, with guitars, bass, keyboards, drums and four or five horns.  I was impressed with the quality of their music, and happily recognized nearly every tune.  It's kind of difficult to look the part of a rock star when sporting a crew cut and a naval uniform, but they put on a good show.  I especially enjoyed their rendition of John Legend's All of  Me.  I was thinking that although the Thai navy performed several songs in English, I doubted the Americans would reciprocate.  Imagine my surprise and delight when they belted out a song or two in Thai.  Well done, sirs.

Finally, the two groups joined forces and performed a final set.  It was encouraging to see the spirit of cooperation between the two countries' military units, especially in these days of so much isolationist rhetoric.  That alone was well worth the trek.