THE PROMPTS FOR THE MONTH
FRIDAY 1st SOMETHING PINK: My least favourite colour
so I'm going with this iridescent pink dragon fruit as the only something pink
in the vicinity. Does anyone know if or how you can tell the internal colour of
a dragon fruit before you cut it open?? I love the wow factor of the pink ones
even though the white ones taste exactly the same
SATURDAY 2nd BREAKFAST: often looks like this on
Sunday but thanks to PAD our weekly "Full Monty" breakfast arrived on
Saturday. Homemade and Fusion cuisine- poached duck eggs on toasted baguette
spread with chilli jam, red capsicum humus and Vegemite and fresh tomatoes on
the side. Breakfast ala Kep
SUNDAY 3rd I MADE THIS...... : fusion dish tonight for
dinner. It's a cross between sweet potato rosti and an omelette: a new
invention meal with a twist. Not glamorous but spicy and delicious
MONDAY 4th ON THE ROAD: We saw this on the road right
in front of our house today. It's the second time we have seen this team and
I'm sure they must pull the last remaining bullock cart on the road in Kep.
Beautiful docile beasts evoking a bygone pace of life
TUESDAY 5th GRASS: Just yesterday the grass
surrounding the Bamboo House was meticulously cut and the edges trimmed.
Perhaps it was in response to the many snakes we have recently spotted here. It
certainly looks very neat now and any remaining snakes will be easily spotted,
so a win-win
WEDNESDAY 6th BALL: These delicious little falafel
balls were my lunch at Café Espresso in Kampot today. After a few hours
stomping from market to furniture store to supermarket and second hand stores
they were an absolutely delicious and necessary treat
THURSDAY 7th SURPRISE: A collection of small, homemade
gifts to surprise our lovely Cambodian friend Chantou on her birthday today
FRIDAY 8TH THAT’S FUNNY: There are 10 ducks that live
on the property adjoining ours. We can often hear the clack of the ducks’ beaks
as they catch insects in the rice paddies surrounding the house without
actually being able to see them. If we imitate their quacking all their heads
pop up just like this one, who happens to be a loner. I think that’s funny
Quack! Quack! Quack!
SATURDAY 9th SWEET: Homemade, sweet, roasted, red
capsicum humus prepared from scratch today. Yum
SUNDAY 10th LUNCH: About once a week lunch looks
exactly like this. Cambodia is blessed with excellent coffee and
patisseries due to its French colonial past. Locally baked baguettes have
become a staple in our diets
MONDAY 11th SOLO: One speaker, one amplifier, one
rider and one deafening sound advertising who knows what. Riding solo through
the town and villages this man seems to enjoy his job
TUESDAY 12th EMOTIONAL: This little cutie pie is the
granddaughter of our neighbours. It is often difficult to guess her emotional
state but she rarely cries, sometimes squeals and is usually very excited to
see us and exercise her two-word English vocabulary- "hello goodbye"
WEDNESDAY 13th SCENIC: Our regular bike rides often
take us past scenic seaside views like this. Thanks to this prompt we stopped
to take a shot today when returning from Kep Gardens Association
THURSDAY 14th MESS: The mess that's left after the
sugar cane juice has been extracted. At least it's organic. It's the
polystyrene food containers littering the streets and coastline that really
need addressing. But that mess was just too ugly to photograph
FRIDAY 15th SPOON: An Asian style spoon suitable for
noodle and soup dishes. We always seem to need a couple of these whenever we
set up house again in Asia and that exactly what we are doing today. The lease
on our new house begins today and it's all go with furniture arrivals and
cleaning
SATURDAY 16th PLAYING TOURIST: Kep is still quite new
to us having lived here less than 3 months so we regularly take shots of this
beautiful location in order to appreciate the blessing that being able to live
here is. Although we still haven't done all the tourist things because we hope
to do them with friends and family when they visit, and we have been too wound
up sorting visas, houses, and volunteering options. Nonetheless never a week
goes by without us playing tourist and being mistaken for tourists. Torrential
monsoon rain here at the moment so this is a shot taken a few days ago
returning from swimming and grabbed by the sea views
SUNDAY 17th MY ADDICTION: would have to be coffee. I
do not function in the mornings until black coffee has been consumed. I'm
thankful to the French colonialists who left a legacy of coffee in Asia and the
new entrepreneurs, who continue the tradition with innovation and style. Rumble
fish in Kampot, is in a class of its own when it comes to roasting, brewing and
packaging and we always have a supply on hand
MONDAY 18TH OUTTAKE: Having already posted a duck
photo this month, this is my choice. I knew this one was an outtake immediately
as the bougainvillaea photo bombed my shot at the exact moment this quartet of
ducks were looking right at me. I love their quirky ways and observed
them often until they mysteriously disappeared a few days ago …….. We fear they
have been rotisseried now so they are quite definitely outtakes and possibly
someone’s take out dinner! (not ours we are vegetarian)
TUESDAY 19th OUT OF FOCUS: The homemade fermented
chillies Ian made are completely out of focus because of the salt in the brine
and the ridges and condensation on the glass jar they are stored in. BTW they
are also way too hot for me. I'll stick to his chilli jam thanks
WEDNESDAY 20th DINNER: Last night's dinner actually.
One of my fusion favourites- cold noodles, steamed and raw veggies, Thai basil,
fried tofu and omelette strips with spicy peanut sauce. Take a bowl select your
combination drench in peanut sauce and eat. Repeat, repeat, repeat
THURSDAY 21st BETWEEN: the Bamboo House where we are
currently living and the modern Bungalow we have rented for the next 12 months
lies this modern take on a traditional Khmer style house that we would love to
build a copy of for ourselves one day. Located between the mountains and the
sea facing the paddies it has the best of both worlds. That's us living
somewhere between reality and dreams......
FRIDAY 22nd CARE: There are a great number of things I
care deeply about. I try to reflect that caring in my lifestyle choices
and am committed to sustaining a healthy balanced and active life which
respects and protects the environment and offers hands on assistance to those in
need. I sold my last car in 1989 and have walked and / or cycled daily as a
commitment to the environment ever since. I eat locally produced vegetarian
food for my own good health and that of the planet. I support local grassroots
charities and causes whenever possible. I am dedicated to a philosophy of
kindness, gratitude and compassion, which is why volunteer teaching has brought
me so much happiness in the past and present. I try to show how much I care by
how I live
SATURDAY 23rd RULE OF THIRDS: First twilight run to
the beach from the new residence. Living in the new 'School House' begins
now...
SUNDAY 24th EVERYDAY ADVENTURES: We have now relocated
to what I have dubbed the School House due to its proximity to the largest high
school in Kep. Our new house is at the end of this laneway and it's an everyday
adventure to get in or out if the turkeys and geese are ranging. I am in constant
fear of them biting my legs as we whizz past on our bikes. The male turkey
running in the background is the real aggressor but this shot is severely
cropped because I was too scared to get close on foot and with good reason
because seconds after I snapped it from a distance the two geese stated chasing
me
MONDAY 25th CLEAN: The living space of our new home
was spotlessly clean when we moved in two days ago. I can't exactly say it
still is but it's tidy and when we get a mop I will endeavour to keep these
very unforgiving floors as clean as they are in this photo
TUESDAY 26th SHAPE: That unmistakable shape of a coconut
palm silhouetted against the beach sky at sunset
WEDNESDAY 27th BUBBLES: left behind on the sand and
rocks as the waves retreat and the sea foam clings to the shore at Kep Beach
THURSDAY 28th TRASH: One person's trash is another's
treasure. Today's purchase from the Japanese second-hand shop in Kampot is my
latest treasure
FRIDAY 29th DESSERT: Although I love to bake, we are
not really dessert kind of people unless we hold dinner parties. However
today’s prompt inspired me to buy a tub of ice cream- something I have not done
in living memory!! ....So instead of our usual mango smoothies mid-afternoon,
we had mangoes and ice cream with peanuts as a dessert tonight. (Forgot to add
the passion fruit as I panicked with the rapid melting going on in this
tropical monsoon weather)
SATURDAY 30th SELFIE: That’s me warts and all. No
makeup, no pretences, no second agendas, just my eager beaver face and a touch
too much sun...
