NO PROMPTS: IT’S GRATITUDE MONTH
WEDNESDAY 1st GRATITUDE: I’m grateful for Ian’s avid interest in fermenting, pickling and preserving. We always have a supply of chilli options to spice up our lives
THURSDAY 2nd GRATITUDE: I’m grateful for the fact that we can still swim in this private pool and enjoy the solitude of the garden at twilight on a regular basis
FRIDAY 3rd GRATITUDE: I’m grateful for the beauty of language: the comfort it brings, the escape it provides and the hope it inspires.
This is the quote by Lori Deschene from my hand-written collection that I believe is very pertinent for these times
SATURDAY 4th GRATITUDE: I’m grateful to own this simple, single-speed, second-hand bicycle. It provides me with mobility and exercise and ensures I live according to my principles and in the slow lane. Win, win, win
SUNDAY 5th GRATITUDE: I’m grateful for this word game that we have played a few times lately after not having played for months, if not years. It’s a great challenge and much more social than the many different word games I play on line
MONDAY 6th GRATITUDE: I’m grateful I long ago gave up chemical dyes, I have a supply of henna and can colour my own hair at home for about 50 cents a treatment. Keeping positive while keeping up appearances
TUESDAY 7th GRATITUDE: I’m eternally grateful to this wonderful woman, who has had such an incredibly positive impact on our lives here in Kep. She is sincere, generous, kind, compassionate, fun- loving and a devout Buddhist, who embodies the principles in which she believes. It is a privilege and an honour to be able to call her a friend
WEDNESDAY 8th GRATITUDE: I’m always grateful for the mango trees in our yard for the shade they provide and the green environment they create but right now I’m especially grateful for the abundant crop they produce while they are in season. Our house owners made us this gift just yesterday
THURSDAY 9th GRATITUDE: I’m grateful that these hand-made, local products are still readily available in the market place and the skills to create them still survive. I can never resist purchasing and delight in their functional simplicity and beauty every time I use them. Today I can appreciate time-honoured, traditional design and natural materials
FRIDAY 10th GRATITUDE: I’m grateful I adopted a mindfulness and meditation practice a long time ago. I like to use an app on my phone and the irony of the first screen that popped up, in the lower part of this screen shot, was not lost on me today. However, I persisted and eventually the connectivity returned and as is often the case the daily quote was poignant and the guided meditation rewarding. Be grateful for calm and seek it out in these troubling times
SATURDAY 11th GRATITUDE: I’m not sure why these three were at the beach late yesterday afternoon but I’m eternally grateful that we spotted them when we were on our exercise outing and that they called out to us and chatted in English. It’s been over a month since our last class with the little monks of Kep but just seeing the smiling faces of these three made my day. Makara was in the van fast asleep. nothing new there LOL! Hoping to be back in the classroom before too long. We desperately miss them all
SUNDAY 12th GRATITUDE: I am extremely grateful for this private library containing many English titles and especially the book I selected yesterday and have already half finished. All the more so since I have almost exhausted my supply of free download books, most of which have been classics. I have purchased and read many new digital books in the past few weeks but a real book in hand is still a better, more satisfying option
MONDAY 13th GRATITUDE: Today is Khmer New Year and although celebrations have officially been cancelled, there were still flowers available in the market. It is the one time of the year we see these cut flowers available for purchase in Kep. Though, I’m sure, they are intended for altars, I couldn’t resist buying some for the house we are staying in. There are almost always flowers from the garden, displayed here so it’s perfect to honour that tradition and respect the owner with a simple offering. Time to be grateful for the beauty of nature and the little things that bring lasting joy
This is me arriving home from the bicycle ride in the rain to purchases said flowers. Grateful for the rain too actually
TUESDAY 14th GRATITUDE: Today I’m grateful for the ocean. I’m sure it was a big factor in choosing Kep as a place to live. It has always been my go to place both when I need calm and solitude and when I’m filled with joy and gratitude. Right now, I hope the oceans are healing. I took this shot on our walk just before sunset yesterday afternoon
WEDNESDAY 15th GRATITUDE: Today I’m grateful for the diversity of cultures I have been able to observe and live in. This is the little spirit house, which has been adorned with offerings for the Khmer New Year, in the garden. I didn’t even notice it until today but it must have been done a couple of days ago. I still have so much to learn about Khmer culture
THURSDAY 16th GRATITUDE: I’m always grateful for the beautiful Khmer people, who live life to the fullest, focus on the present and persevere with dignity, resilience and humour. At the moment I’m particularly grateful for this father and son duo, for the giggles and playfulness that fills the garden thanks to this young boy. He is quite the determined little character
FRIDAY 17th GRATITUDE: Today I am grateful for the flowers in this magnificent garden, which I could only showcase in a collage. All these and many more are blooming now. Not only does it provide aesthetic beauty but it also attracts so many birds and butterflies. Yesterday we saw the flash of brilliant aqua as a kingfisher scooted through
SATURDAY 18th GRATITUDE: Today I’m grateful for clear blue skies and natural vistas. On our bike rides we are fortunate to still be able to access long stretches of coastline still undeveloped and retaining majestic beauty. Not to mention actually being able to be outdoors and having the time to stop and appreciate
SUNDAY 19th GRATITUDE: For the past 10 days we have been house sitting this beautifully decorated and appointed property, which to belongs to a dear friend in Kep. I am very grateful for the opportunity to be in isolation here and the change of scenery this has provided us with but I will also be very grateful to return to our little home tomorrow
MONDAY 20th GRATITUDE: Today I’m grateful I love to bake and that this is the first thing I wanted to make when we got home. I baked zucchini, banana and chocolate chip regular and mini muffins for a sweet treat today. Now to give half away as that’s the rule in our house....
TUESDAY 21st GRATITUDE: Today I’m grateful for imported Thai mangosteens. These were sold for a very good price from the tailgate of a truck in the Crab Market this morning along with local rambutans and durians, which we didn’t buy. The local crop will be available soon but after checking the price of these for over a week today it was too hard to resist
WEDNESDAY 22nd GRATITUDE: Today I’m grateful for locally sourced beeswax. We have finally found and purchased natural Cambodian beeswax, so we no longer need to import wax to continue to make our eco-wraps. Payment made and delivery in Kep via the bus company in less than 36 hours
THURSDAY 23rd GRATITUDE: Today I’m grateful for the little things one buys and finds. The treasures that bring back memories and thoughts of travels, adventures and happier times
FRIDAY 24th GRATITUDE: I’m grateful for all those years I spent studying, reading and writing Chinese because now I can read these labels (and the ingredients lists).Therefore I can also tell which is the sesame oil, black vinegar, rice cooking wine or soya sauce, even though I feel I’ve forgotten so much and we get to make more authentically flavoursome food too
SATURDAY 25th GRATITUDE: I’ve always loved a market and I never fail to visit the markets when we travel. In these uncertain times I’m grateful for our local market with both domestic and imported produce still readily available and regularly restocked. It may not be the best or the cleanest but it supplies diverse range of goods to appreciative local and foreign customers
SUNDAY 26th GRATITUDE: I’m grateful for this little house we rent. It is surrounded by a garden with fruit trees, conveniently located, quiet and owned by the best Khmer family ever. It’s hard to believe we’ve been here over two and a half years but now more than ever we are grateful to be here and have no intention of moving on any time soon
MONDAY 27th GRATITUDE: Today I’m grateful for a spontaneous and unexpected invitation to stay to lunch with a dear friend. I am grateful for the taste sensation of homemade Tunisian style vegetables, couscous and harissa
TUESDAY 28th GRATITUDE: I am extremely grateful we got the opportunity to go up to the pagoda and surprise our little monks late this afternoon. Look at those smiles. They were pretty happy to see us but I think we were twice as happy to see them. This is the best thing that has happened in the last six weeks. After seeing their faces and in the light of discovering Khmer classes have started again, we have decided to recommence classes next week
WEDNESDAY 29th GRATITUDE: I’m grateful to the talented Koi for making this wooden resource box for us. Now all the games, puzzles, stationery, manipulatives, posters and workbooks we use with the little monks can be safely and securely stored at the pagoda and we don’t have to carry those we want for the lessons up and back all the time. Perfect timing with the rainy season just beginning and classes hopefully starting next week
THURSDAY 30th GRATITUDE: In the tradition of saving the best til last, for the last 37 years I have been exceedingly grateful that Ian has been my soul mate, my lover, my fellow adventurer, my sounding board, my travelling companion, my co-conspirator, my shoulder to cry on, my biggest fan, my support, my partner in crime and so much more. I simply can’t imagine life without him and I don’t want to try - taken at our picnic on the beach tonight
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