2014

I hope all is well with all of you, whoever you are out there!!!, and that 2014 is a Happy New Year. And a healthy one. Boy that "healthy" is becoming more and more significant and meaningful for us as we grow older. I don't ever want to go through whatever it was I went through Dec '11 to Feb '13. It was brutal. They say you always forget the pain, and I have to some degree, although I do remember that it rang the pain bells, I saw white, and groaned at the thought of simply moving. Opening a door? Brushing my teeth? Holding a beer? Cooking supper? Going to the beach for supper? Blah Blah. I do remember all those things that hurt.

And out of that I have a constant appreciation of being able to do things easily. Getting out of a cab? Stepping up in to a bus? Chopping vegetables? Getting out of a chair hands free? I am constantly appreciative of being able to do tiny little everyday things easily. I hope I never lose that appreciation.

I faithfully sweat away in my yoga  class. Anyone who thinks yoga is easy is not doing it properly. I wondered at one point if I burned more calories in a class because EVERYTHING was so hard. But the whole thing with yoga is you take a position to that point of discomfort. I was at the point of pain, because of my stiffness. I now see the point at which you take the stretch without that pain. At the point of stress (the limit of the stretch) we are to relax in to it. The metaphor for life. Life has discomfort. Live with it calmly, with focus, with deep breathing and calm. HA. Well that is the idea.

My last post I had said I would report on the bridge in Langkawi. IT WAS CLOSED. I was so disappointed. I knew about it from an attachment someone sent me titled WOLRD'S TEN MOST DANGEROUS BRIDGES. Well I guess that is why it is closed. We took the cable car up the mountain to where the bridge was. The ride up was good and the view of the islands and volcanoes, of Indonesia breathtaking. The bridge looked great. To another peak.

But it was closed for repairs. There were redoing the walkway in glass !!! Now that would be cool! But it has been closed for a few years. And I didn't actually see any workmen working on it. I was very disappointed. Tim was not. He, a pilot, is afraid of heights. Go figure. Plane doesn't count. You are in something very safe. But the edge of our balcony? No. "Dangerous bridge"? No way.

Our hotel was less than fantastic. I am getting used to the standard we have had often. A tough standard to maintain. This place was probably wonderful 30 years ago. But it is a tired old lady now. But I did have a very interesting conversation with the concierge to help with planning things to do. She wore a head scarf, but had green eyes. Her accent was tough to place. Well after fun chatting we learned she was German and married a muslim form Langkawi. I asked her how she felt about wearing the hijab. She was very forthright. I had heard that women find it very freeing. The opposite of what I would think. She agreed. She pointed to my gray hair and said "you see I don't have to worry about that!" She was a red head going fray. I bet she would be a very interesting person to talk at length about the many questions I think about now, about life in the Middle East. (Ever notice the men wear long WHITE dishdash, the women are covered in a BLACK burka. In the heat!

At one point we rented a motorbike. Now I had gone for a ride in Lambongen. But the driver, a kid, knew how to drive the bike. I went with Tim. He said he was learning. It was hair raising. I had this ridiculous helmet that wobbled all over, and often over my eyes. I felt like a little kid, in a great big oversized helmet. Driving on the left hand side always made left turns easier that right turns. But a great way to see around. I think of Tim as pretty cautious, but I admired his adventurous spirit on that one.

We met Rod and Nancy for a supper. A beautiful place Bon Ton. If I went back I would stay there. The rooms are refurbished small homes from around the island. The meal was great, the desserts to die for. As Tim and I were waiting for the cab after dinner, I chatted with the maitre d'. I asked how many times he had been asked when he was going to publish a cook book. Well didn't he start printing out his recipes for me. He handed me a bundle of maybe 20 recipes. Then we wandered through the gift shop, and as I ws getting in to the cab, he came running out, "you can't leave yet. I am printing you more. " And I was given another bundle. "Recipes are to be shared" he said.

I guess this is winter at the equator. The last few weeks it has been warm but with a breeze.  A good strong one. A breeze is what makes the difference. A hot day with the sun, 80' can be a lovely 75' with a breeze. And that is what it is these days. (Of course if you take a very cold day, say -20' and add a breeze/read wind it will be a lot colder. So it does make sense.)

For Christmas I did a turkey Christmas Eve. Our dear friend Norm, the reason this whole adventure happened, was over, Rod and Nancy, a young Canadian captain and his lady (Joel Ford who  when he went home to Canada just before Christmas and came to customs, the guy read is name. And guess what he asked? Are you related to....?) Because we had been away until the day before I ordered a roasted turkey. Tim picked it up 3 hours before our dinner, it was roasted,  cold and in vacuum wrap. I had no idea what to do with it. It turned out fine, but the stuffing was with fine bread crumbs and was like a sausage stuffing/pudding. The gravy was "turkey sauce" HA. Not gravy. But it was a great evening.

New Year's Eve, we had a progressive evening. Nancy (Rod flying) Norm an  hour later,  Olga (another pilot) an hour later, and friends from downstairs later so by midnight we were 9.  Midnight was quiet. Last year all the ships in the Straits let off flares. This year instead of hundreds. there were maybe 20. And no fireworks from Marina Bay Sands. Not sure why.

So 2014 is the year we come home. Just a little excited. Looking to plan a few more trips before April. Have Myanmar and Vietnam with a girlfriend in Feb. Tim and I are undecided about January 12 days. Would like to do volunteer in Philippines but don't know how to sign on.  But looking at Dubai, Great Barrier Reef, Maldives, Philippines diving, Laos, oh my.

I was to come home for an AGM in BC January 8, but we voted to waive the AGM. SO not gruelling short trip home, but then I won't get to see the kids and friends and sisters, as brief as visits would have been. So more time to plan trips. HA

Happy and HEALTHY 2014.