THE PROMPTS FOR THE
MONTH
WEDNESDAY 1st BLUE: This
is the Kep Gardens remork and it is brilliant blue. We ride our bikes here and
then at 8pm both our bikes and us return home in this carefully driven over the
rough dirt track and National Highway 33A by Rim
THURSDAY 2nd RED: A red
apple on the flash cards we used today to start our project to teach the monks
in a local monastery English
A couple of shots of the monks studying for the first time are also included as they were just so disciplined and delightfully enthusiastic. They have better concentration spans and are more attentive than most adults
FRIDAY 3rd GREEN: The
sea of green that is currently the ripening rice crop
SATURDAY 4th YELLOW:
This particular variety of hibiscus has a brilliant yellow flower with a deep
red centre. I always notice how many more are in bloom, when we are swimming as
the garden beds surrounding the pool are planted with several of them
SUNDAY 5th PINK: Among
the treats, toys and trinkets at the beachside in Kep these mobiles made of
shells are a popular choice and pink is certainly the most popular colour. Not
my style but still a winning product for the vendors
MONDAY 6th AQUA: It was
the iridescent aqua wings of this bug that attracted my attention and the garden
was teeming with them and all kinds of other bugs too
TUESDAY 7th ORANGE: It’s
not everyday you see monks disrobing on the beach and taking a dip. Love that
sea of orange robes. This was taken a week ago when I was delighted to spot so
many monks actually on the beach and swimming not just walking along the
foreshore
WEDNESDAY 8th WHITE: Kep
Gardens living up to it’s name with one white orchid blooming at the entrance
to the classroom
THURSDAY 9th BLACK:
Black clouds looming on the horizon and the sun turning everything to black
silhouettes as we cycled back along the shore in the late afternoon today
FRIDAY 10th PURPLE: I’m
not a big fan of purple but I am in preparation mode for our classes next week
when we will begin introducing colours. Don’t think I’ll start with this one
but... Primary colours -red, yellow and blue seem the place to begin
SATURDAY 11th GREY: I
was pondering this prompt while preparing to bake a banana cake when the idea
struck. Kitchen still life with stainless steel. It doesn’t get greyer than
that
SUNDAY 12th BROWN: This
tangle of brown aerial roots is suspended above the footpath at the end of the
beach strip on the main road in Kep. There are often monkeys in this zone and I
am wary of them but I do admire this tribute to nature and the fact that only
as much of it as was necessary to ensure access was removed
MONDAY 13th GOLD: The
spirit house at Kep Gardens is gold as are the vast majority in Cambodia
TUESDAY 14th SILVER: A
small sliver bowl usually used to offer water on a family altar but in this
case a local charity group makes delicious smelling candles in them. This one
is lemongrass scented and we had cause to use it when the power went out for a
couple of hours on Saturday night
WEDNESDAY 15th NEON:
It’s common to see kids wearing neon lifesaving vests at the beach here. Anyone
who can’t swim confidently goes into the water wearing one
THURSDAY 16th CIRCLE:
The circle of light in the sky as the sun sets over The fishing boats in the
harbour at Kep
FRIDAY 17th CURLY: This
one had me stumped all day but after a relaxing afternoon swim an ice cold beer
revealed the curly alphabet of the Khmer script
SATURDAY 18th LISTENING
TO: Not wanting to do the obvious (music) I opted for something I have always
loved listening to: the ocean. Whether it’s waves crashing on the shore in a
storm or gently lapping the sand as they were at twilight today it’s lovely to
be listening to nature. So glad this prompt inspired me to return to the beach
after a long hot day
SUNDAY 19th NOT MINE: I
first met these two in 2011 when I was their class teacher in Rangjung. We have
remained close and in contact and I often refer to them as my boys. In
truth they are not mine or even boys any more, but I love them dearly and miss
them terribly. This is one of the last photos I took of them before leaving
Bhutan. I hope to be blessed enough to see them both again and in the mean time
we chat on messenger as often as possible
MONDAY 20th HOBBY:
Cycling, photography, travelling, swimming and reading are all up there but experimenting
with flavours and creative cooking is probably the one I enjoy the most. This
is a sample of the weekend’s effort. Mushroom, spinach and tomato frittata,
roasted vegetables, pumpkin hummus and chocolate chip shortbread. I have a rule
that that I should give away at least half of what I bake, so 40 have been
shared with local friends and the rest are ours to enjoy
TUESDAY 21st POP OF
COLOUR: One of the littlest monks we teach. When you’re a Buddhist monk in
Cambodia there is only one pop of colour and that’s orange. I have no problem
with that. It’s my favourite colour too
WEDNESDAY 22nd UNDER MY
FEET: The bicycle pedals are under my feet and the rough dirt roads are under the
pedals. We ride these roads often but I did in fact fall off trying to take
this shot. Ian captured the shot for me and my injured wrist will recover
THURSDAY 23rd SQUARE:
After yesterday’s cycling accident, taking my PAD photo, this morning we had an
early morning run to the hospital for X-rays!! This square informing us we were
almost there was a welcome sight given the terrible road conditions and the
agonising 45 minutes of bumping along in a tuk-tuk I had already endured. Not broken but severely swollen and inflamed was the welcome verdict. Less enthusiasm for getting the shot might be the lesson
FRIDAY 24th CUT: I got a
well overdue haircut in the capital today and Ian snapped a shot of it in
process
SATURDAY 25th FRESH:
Today’s trip to the iconic Central Market in Phnom Penh was to load up with
fresh veggies we don’t see in Kep: snow peas, beetroot, lotus roots and eda
mame were all purchases. However I couldn’t leave without checking out the
fresh cut flowers. I resisted buying any as they would never survive the bus
ride home tomorrow but the scent was divine and it was a feast for the eyes
SUNDAY 26th MAN MADE:
These beautiful scented and naturally dyed candles and the packaging they come
in are man made or possibly woman made by a local artisans group in Cambodia
MONDAY 27th HOLE: That
delicious Asian vegetable that is full of little irregular holes: lotus root.
We came back from Phnom Penh with treats we cannot buy here in Kep and this is
a favourite
TUESDAY 28th TRIANGLE:
Tonight’s left over rice shaped into the delicious little rice triangles, known
as “omisubi” in Japanese, ready for our packed lunches tomorrow. Not that any
Japanese would make them with red rice and black lentils or the night before.
Fusion cooking works for me
Retake on yesterday’s
prompt as the little mouse that has taken up residence nibbled on each one over
night and we fed them to the hens this morning. Delicious little rice triangles
mark two. These are more traditionally Japanese flavoured and freshly made this
morning in the true Japanese spirit
WEDNESDAY 29th SUNFLARE:
The sunflare in the huge Banyan tree outside the local high school. I captured
this on Friday while we were waiting for the bus. It is a landmark in Kep
and directly opposite our driveway so useful for giving directions to our
house. There hasn’t been much direct sun recently and none today so I’m glad I
took it now. It has been overcast and windy for almost a week and we certainly aren’t
complaining about that
THURSDAY 30th COOL: The
weather is almost always hot and humid here. To be mindful of our ecological
footprint we installed blinds and use a fan to keep cool. How ironic that the
longest stretch of cool weather ended today and it’s hot again but yesterday
when I wanted to take a sun flare there was no sun insight. Gotta love the
vagaries of nature and climate change
No comments:
Post a Comment