Friday, December 1, 2017

oNe PhOtO a DaY NoVeMbEr 2017


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



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