Thank you for coming along with us! The flannel sheets have been exquisitely comfy in the chill of a Portland February-March.

Another fantastic journal! Thank you for sharing. I love your insights and observations about all the smaller things of your every day. So relatable and so beautifully articulated. I’m such a fan.
Enjoy those flannel sheets!

Shoe Goo to the rescue! Bruce has repaired the errant Keen and it's all lined up and ready for the next trip.

I had the same thing happen to my very well-worn Keens! While walking in Honolulu Chinatown I kept hearing this slapping noise whenever I took a step but did not immediately recognize it as the sole flapping! Finally went into the nearest store and asked the clerk for some rubber bands for a temp fix. Then I discovered Shoe Goo and the restored Keens made it on our Vietnam trip!

It really is. I've never been willing to spend $200 for a night anywhere but this place might be the one where it would be such an experience that it might be worth it. Comes with breakfast too!

Wow. That place is amazing.

Yes, that's exactly right--September of 2020.

I’m so happy you made it home safely. It was such a pleasure to join you on your trip. I was always checking your blog for new stories! Thank you for coloring my German winter!!! I really like your way of telling all those “stories”!

Tom and Jerry and Mister Bean are so popular in SE Asia that long haul buses will put pictures of them on their doors to let people know what will be on offer on the video screen inside. We've seen hill tribe kids on buses who have seen the Christmas Mister Bean so many times that they start laughing in anticipation even before each little skit starts, which is so baffling because what in the world would these kids know about Britain or Christmas or anything else they see on the video?

Was that in September of 2020? We had the same numbers here in Portland because of forest fires, it was quite traumatic. Air quality in SE Asia gets really terrible as the dry season progresses. Rice fields are burned after harvest and those who slash-and-burn in the mountains of Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia add to the mess. It's a real problem and those governments have not done anything serious about it. We also have heard that corn growers are drying their crops with 10x Roundup products so they can harvest it in the field using combines. Then they burn the stubble and stalks, now laced with glysophates, so the resulting smoke is extra toxic. It's an awful situation.

Tom & Jerry, Heckle & Jeckle, Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd, Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote, Popeye and Bluto, Pink Panther and Inspector Clouseau--it's all the same slapstick action. I LOVE ALL THOSE CARTOONS. I'm glad you got some sense of relief from the driver's Tom & Jerry efforts.

Holy crap! The last time (only time) I've seen a sun and sky like that was in Spokane, where the Air Quality Index was an incredible 483. I still remember that number because it set some kind of record for the State of Washington. How lucky was I that I just happened to be visiting the in-laws during that record-setting time? There were forest fires all around Spokane, and somehow the winds were carrying the smoke in from every direction. What was going on around Bangkok?

Could be model hair cuts too

Excellent! The love knitted into every stitch, and the colour, add extra warmth.

My 93-year-old mother knitted me a new red sweater this winter and I wear it every day. All is well.