Saturday, October 30, 2021

oNe PhOtO a DaY oCtObEr 2021:


OCTOBER 1st I AM…. An Aussie, a teacher, a reader, a sister, a cyclist, a wife, a swimmer, a vegetarian, a photographer and a foodie but right now, I am in our favourite eatery in Kampot


 

OCTOBER 2nd I LOVE: Well today is our wedding anniversary so what more can I say! Many of these were taken on the day and as our style is to travel instead of giving gifts, seven countries are represented and the centre shot is our wedding day. I love Ian


 

SEPTEMBER 3rd I MADE THIS: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rosemary and honey roasted cherry tomatoes, capsicum, onion, garlic and fresh straw mushrooms as a side dish for an anniversary dinner with friends last night. It was yummy

 


OCTOBER 4th I WORK HERE: I am actually retired but for the last four years I have been volunteering teaching English to the little monks in this pagoda. Although in the last six months classes have been on again off again, we are going to start classes again in the middle of this month when all the boys will have been vaccinated and we are super excited about it



OCTOBER 5th I LOVE THIS COLOUR: Orange forever

*I was surprised to see that this shot was selected by admin for the Facebook Fab Four on the day it was posted

 


OCTOBER 6h I WALKED HERE: I am using an archive shot taken on timer as yesterday there were 26,000 visitors to Kep and we are staying indoors and out of the traffic, crowds and festivities of Pchum Ben! After fracturing my patella (knee cap) ten months ago, I have been focusing on recovery and climbing stairs and especially going down stairs is still a slow and tenuous process. I imagine this place - Takshang or Tigers Nest, and being strong enough to do that hike again when this is all over. It’s over three thousand metres to the actual monastery and the number one tourist destination in beloved Bhutan. So, this is a shot of one of the five times I have done that hike. I’m still hoping it will be possible to do it one more time and focusing on how far I have come already

 


OCTOBER 7th I HELD THIS: mechanical pencil which, I’ve owned for over ten years, to record today’s Chinese lesson in my notebook. We are being recluses as Kep is currently over run with domestic tourists celebrating Pchum Ben

*This shot was unexpectedly selected by admin for the Instagram Fab Four on the day it was posted

 


OCTOBER 8th I LIKE TO: cook for friends and have casual gatherings at home


 

OCTOBER 9th I STOOD HERE: in a newly opened cafe in Kampot while a dear Bhutanese friend took this photo for me today



OCTOBER 10th I DO THIS ON SUNDAYS: Actually, being retired I don’t really have any specific routine which is a luxury I love but I do often bake on Sundays and many other days of the week too



OCTOBER 11th I WROTE THIS: at about this time a year ago when the pandemic was beginning to seem overwhelming and never ending. I’ve always been a writer but I don’t write poetry much anymore. It’s the only piece of my own writing in a book I keep of quotes and maximums

 


OCTOBER 12th I LIKE TO DRINK: Well that’s a true statement but I do especially like to drink Australian Sauvignon Blanc. This is a rare treat as it is not so easy to find in Cambodia but we arrived in the capital for a short break today so yay, yay, yay! Let the party begin



OCTOBER 13th I LOVE THIS VIEW: from the Palace Gate’s Sky Bar over the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh. Even when the sky is dark, those rooftops are impressive

 


OCTOBER 14th I ONCE: lived in the ‘apartment’ at the top of these stairs and my partner fell down them too! In Samtengang, there were many of this kind of traditional rammed earth house and they were still building them


 

OCTOBER  15th I NEVER: imagined that fried tarantula would be a part of anyone’s diet but it is always on offer in Central Market Phnom Penh. As a vegetarian I am not in the slightest bit tempted by this or the other offerings of crickets, larvae or offal all available at one stall in the sit down and eat area!!

 


OCTOBER 16th ON WEEKENDS I : like to get out, people watch and see the sights. Being on a short break means there are lots of interesting street scenes too



OCTOBER 17th I SAW: these two Great Hornbills feasting on fallen fruit in the street in downtown Phnom Penh yesterday morning



OCTOBER 18th I DON’T LIKE TO: complain but our capital city break is over!

 


OCTOBER 19th I WENT TO: the pagoda today to recommence classes with the little monks of Kep after a two-and-a-half-month break. They are working in groups racing each other to assemble the alphabet in the correct sequence

 


OCTOBER 20th I SAT HERE: to take a selfie, once the Physio session was done today. And I feel soooooooo much better.  Showcasing that post op scar before they open it up again



OCTOBER 21st I READ THIS: on the menu at our lunch spot in Kampot yesterday. We used to eat here more often and now I’m glad it’s back on the playlist again



OCTOBER 22nd I DID THIS GOOD THING: Warning long story! When we left Bhutan, we made the decision to sponsor this young man’s tertiary education. It was a complicated process to achieve this but we persisted and paid up front for all three years before departure. He was a former student of mine in high school in Rangjung and one of many who we knew would need assistance to continue their studies.  I would have loved to have been able to do the same for all the others but we had to make a choice and Lhendup was selected. The last trip we were able to make before travel became impossible, was to attend his graduation ceremony in Bhutan. This was the official college celebration. Well done Lhendup

 


OCTOBER 23rd I LOVE THIS TIME OF DAY: just before sunset when the light is forgiving and the setting looks magical. I also love this season. As the monsoon weather winds down and the rice ripens it seems to inspire new beginnings and hope

 


OCTOBER 24th I WATCHED THIS: video clip several times this morning. A bit of musical nostalgia with an Aussie- Khmer vibe

 

NB *I ran afoul of admin with this shot and it was taken down, as screen shots are no longer allowed according to the groups’ rules. Oops I did make an effort to put it together in a collage app and make sure it was obvious that the three separate images were taken from a video clip but rules change!! This was the first serious infringement since I began doing this challenge almost 10 years ago, so I forgive myself 

 


OCTOBER 25th ON MONDAYS I: usually swim. Today we tried out our newly purchased sun-safe swim tops too

* I only just noticed the goggle rings around our eyes. This shot was taken immediately after we had completed our 50 laps in the pool! That's real life wrinkles, ring eyes and blemishes and all 



OCTOBER 26th I LIKE TO EAT: healthy, home cooked, vegetarian food and mushrooms are my favourite

* random highlighting which will not be removed despite my best efforts LOL



OCTOBER 27th I CAN: climb up and down these stairs at a dear friend’s house to work on improving strength, balance and range of motion in my knee. After almost one year, stairs are the final remaining hurdle to complete my recovery



OCTOBER 28th I CAN’T: say no to these little ones and I can’t resist taking photos of them either. Also, he has such focus and concentration and let’s not mention those eyelashes

*this one was the third section for the Fab Four for the month of October 

 


OCTOBER 29th I WORE THIS: new tropical print face mask, gifted to me by TRUNKH, to ride my bike out shopping this morning



OCTOBER 30th I HAVE TO: find the time to remove the old, faded photos from our walls and replace them with these new versions I recently had printed in Phnom Penh



OCTOBER 31st I BELIEVE: actions speak louder than words

 

 


THE PROMPTS

*I seem to appear in 10 shots this month, so that's a record and I'm finally succeeding at getting in the picture more 
*3 selections in one month for Fab Four is also a first
* Running afoul of admin is also a first and I will try to avoid it in future

 

 

Friday, October 1, 2021

oNe PhOtO a DaY sEpTeMbEr 2021:

 

SEPTEMBER 1st WHAT I’M READING: “The Bell Jar” by Sylvia Plath. I actually can’t believe I’ve lived this long and never read it before, especially as I distinctly remember buying it many, many years ago



SEPTEMBER 2nd TASTY: One of my favourite dinners is a build your own Buddha Bowl with a base of cold soba noodles and a coconut peanut sauce

 


SEPTEMBER 3rd I USE THIS DAILY: Insect repellent incense sticks are an absolute must where we live

 


SEPTEMBER 4th FAVE JEWELLERY: These handwoven rattan bangles are currently my favourite piece of jewellery and my most recent jewellery purchase created by rural women in Cambodia

 


SEPTEMBER 5th FREE CHOICE: The sunset vista taken last night in Kep

 


SEPTEMBER 6th BEST PART OF MY DAY: was definitely taking a late afternoon stroll along the strip of coast we frequently ride

 


SEPTEMBER 7th MAILBOX: One of the only two mailboxes I have ever seen in Kep. Since there is absolutely no delivery of mail and in many cases no actual mail coming in or going out, it seems the postal service is about to become extinct. There has been no service to or from Australia for over eighteen months now! It’s high cost international parcel delivery companies or go without

 


SEPTEMBER 8th 4 O’CLOCK: on the cuckoo clock in the entrance to the home we are currently house sitting on our staycation in Kep



SEPTEMBER 9th BEGINS WITH M: Monsoon me- dripping wet after our bike ride to the market this morning

 


SEPTEMPER 10th WHAT I’M WATCHING: Having never owned a television in my life and only signing up to Netflix a couple of months ago, (thanks pandemic) there are a lot of choices available but this is the current viewing



SEPTEMBER 11th HOW I FEEL TODAY: Productive and useful! We are preparing a dinner to deliver to friends who are participating in a working bee. This is our contribution to the cause. Dinner for 10-12 is shaping up and the house smells so I enticingly delicious



SEPTEMBER 12th THIS IS USEFUL: a collapsible coffee banet- for all your coffee needs while travelling. Before discovering this the awkward plastic cone, I used to carry always found a way to dig into me from my backpack

 


SEPTEMBER 13th ON MY WALL: We are actually house sitting at the moment so it’s not my wall but it is my favourite zone in this magnificent house, even though the frames are not straight and I have resisted the urge to straighten them

 


SEPTEMBER 14th HAPPY: to be home again and we got there under our own steam too!! Intrepid cyclists return

 


SEPTEMBER 15th A PET: We don’t have a pet so this is an archive shot from when we first started teaching the little monks of Kep back in 2017. Gam is one of only two of our original class who is still with us and he befriends every cat and dog in the pagoda treating each with love and care and often feeding them with his own food

 


SEPTEMBER 16th BEGINS WITH E: This cute, little, made in Cambodia elephant, I bought as a baby gift, begins with E



SEPTEMBER 17th PLANT: A couple of cuttings from the garden that I am trying to strike to re-pot


*Amazed to say that this shot was selected by admin for the ‘Fab Four’ on the day it was posted! 



SEPTEMBER 18th MESS: I’m a great one for decluttering the house but that unfortunately means there is a mess lurking somewhere out of sight! This is the “lost souls’ drawer” where all homeless items go but where you don’t dare go searching for anything for fear you will be lost forever in the “I wondered where that went” discoveries

 


SEPTEMBER 19th CHAIR: or is it a bench? A stopping point on our bike ride yesterday. Just wondering, why it doesn’t actually face the view though

 


SEPTEMBER 20th I BELIEVE: 

Like a lotus flower we too have the ability to rise from the mud, bloom out of the darkness and radiate into the world 

And this quote and prompt were the inspiration I needed to buy the lotus flowers I spotted at the market this morning



SEPTEMBER 21 A PILE: of homemade potato chips served with mayonnaise of course. What could be more tempting than that



SEPTEMBER 22nd HOBBY: My two longest standing hobbies are cycling and photography but the last time I attempted to take a photo of myself while riding my bike I fell and almost broke my wrist! So, I’m not trying that again. Instead this is an archive shot taken by Ian almost ten years ago in Myanmar. One of those times when I was so distracted by what I was seeing, I didn’t use the camera despite it being in my hands. Only my passion for teaching exceeds my passion for photography and I’m watching a class taught by monks in a village temple school

 


SEPTEMBER 23rd MIRROR: playing around with a compact mirror and a black and white filter - this month’s selfie done!

 


SEPTEMBER 24th SAD: This is an archive shot that I went searching for as it is what came immediately to mind. Meet Sophie daughter of one of the workers at the school we volunteered at in Tanzania. She was always such a happy child, despite spending all day in a high school with her working mother but something happened on this particular day and she was screaming and sobbing, until she saw my white face and that stunned and silenced her



SEPTEMBER 25th ROWS: of golden devotee statues line the entrance to the pagoda where we teach the little monks of Kep



SEPTEMBER 26th BEHIND ME: Living in Cambodia means it’s hard to go past this selfie with the iconic Angkor Wat behind me for this prompt

 


SEPTEMBER 27th PORTRAIT: We visited the pagoda today and the last remaining boy from our original class was the first to see us, speak to us and proudly show us he is vaccinated. Hooray! We can now commence classes in mid-October with some completely new novices, several who have had a smattering of classes over the past five months and one consistent attendee for almost four years. Red letter day for us and the little monks of Kep


*Delighted to say that this shot was selected by admin for the ‘Fab Four’ on the day it was posted – woohoo second selection for this month!



SEPTEMBER 28th LANDSCAPE: The view from the giant Buddha platform at the pagoda yesterday. Does anyone else think the cloud formation looks like a Buddha head??

 


SEPTEMBER 29th MY DESK: Long story warning … I’ve never had a desk except in schools, so this is an archive shot of my last desk in the last school in which I taught in 2016. It is also the youngest grade level I ever taught - class VI! They were all waiting for their mid-term exam and overall term results and crowded around my desk. I have never been a fan of the exam system but I do love the joy in this photo. Of course, they are the few that stood a chance of being highly successfully. They are poring over my marks book with a keen eye for detail and hoping for mathematical errors in their favour - not unlikely in my case. The girl in the centre has just discovered she won that coveted first position by only a few percentage points over the girl pointing at her nose!! The boys are losing interest fast now the race is won

 


SEPTEMBER 30th ACHIEVEMENT: Today’s achievements have all been decidedly domestic- roasted whole cauliflower with parmesan, honey and balsamic roasted veggies, oatmeal, raisins, seeds, fresh coconut, banana and chocolate chip cookies and a makeover for some coasters



THE PROMPTS

 

A few records set this month with:

*2 shots selected for the Fab Four

*5 pictures of me in one month 

* 5 archive shots I do try to take them on the day so I blame the pandemic 

* the same monk and our favourite appearing twice in one blog