The Changing Seasons – February 2018

I came across this challenge from my friend, Sarah, at Secret Art Exhibition and hosted by Su at Zimmerbitch. I was eager to do this, but, at first, I thought I hadn’t really done that much during February, but turns out I was wrong.

I started the month with an obligatory moon photo during a break at work. Not the best shot, but I liked the light that’s  emanating from it.

The next day was my day off, so I cooked myself a vegetarian chili, washed down with a bottle of red. Since coming home from the Uk and Sri Lanka, I vowed that I was going to try and become vegetarian, so I have been making an effort to find veggie recipes to cook. Years ago, I tried it, but I really wasn’t committed enough and got fed up with beans or eggs on toast. This time it’s different, and I’ve manged to find and cook a variety of recipes each week, some of which turn out as I expected, some don’t, but I think that’s the fun of it. I love cooking, but it’s so expensive to do in Bangkok. Most of the ingredients I need are imported, so that means they cost more, things like cheese, butter, fruit etc., my lasagne costs about 900 baht, which is around £20. If you compare that to a Thai dish on the street, which costs as little as 35 baht, around 80 pence, you see my point.

The same day a proof of my book arrived, so I was feeling quite proud of myself. “Flying Solo-A Woman on the Wings of Life” is my second book and it’s full of my travel tales and life experiences over the past 13 years. I’ve already had it edited, but I am currently going through it again and, still, I am finding things to change. Self-publishing is hard, but it’s also very rewarding, knowing that you’ve had to undergo all the tasks associated with writing a book yourself. Writing it in the first place, then proofreading and editing. It really is a one-woman job! But, as I said, I find it so satisfying and I just love writing, so that’s all that matters to me.

Time was well spent with my friend, Chris, and usually we drink cocktails! To celebrate hump day (Wednesdays), Sundays, and any day we get together! If I’m not drinking wine, my second fav drink is G&T and Chris, a.k.a my personal mixologist, will add some wonderful fruits, fresh mint or rosemary with ice to go with my (our) double shots of alcohol! I think I’m becoming quite immune!

This month also included my second photo exhibition. Actually, it was the same photo exhibition but a new venue. On The Trail of Bangkok’s European Heritage is an exhibition about a few unsung attractions in Bangkok that have European connections. I have been meaning to do an exhibition for ages, and after the first one at Dialogue Coffee and Gallery in November, I found a new venue willing to show my work. It was another proud moment to be able to display my work and for people to give me positive comments about it. I have yet to write a post about these exhibitions, so watch this space. Check out my book of the same name.

On the day we set up, we had an unexpected turn of events. Chris and I took everything over to the gallery, said hi to the manager, Mongkol, and started to put the photos up. Mongkol kindly brought a hammer and some nails in case we needed them and offered us a drink, water or beer. With a slight hesitation, thinking it was far to early in the day to start drinking (it wasn’t), we got a beer each. It didn’t take us long to finish setting up and we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sunshine and a few more cold beers.

5 or 6 beers later, Mongkol asked if we wanted pizza, and as we were having such a fabulous afternoon, we thought why the hell not, we really didn’t want the day to end. I love the fact that Mongkol ordered the food from a nearby restaurant and they delivered it to the bar.

I quite like these spontaneous days out, and just going with the flow. It doesn’t happen often in my life, I am usually a creature of habit, but when it does happen I love it. And we didn’t pay for a single thing! We went home very happy that evening.

The opening night went well, my friends and I had a few drinks and I networked and schmoozed with a few folks who came along. We ended the night down Soi 4, in Silom, a fun gay street with lots of colourful signs, and people partying the night away. It’s always the same, have a few drinks with the intention of going home, but ending up somewhere unintended. Another spontaneous night, although the hangover was not so great!

I spent another day off writing about my trip to Sri Lanka and when I’d finished I spent a relaxing evening with my book. I always make time to read a book everyday, even if it’s only an hour. I’ve usually got 2 or 3 books on the go at once and last month was no exception.

First of all, I finished Glue by Irvine Welsh. It’s a really fabulous story about 4 boys growing up in Edinburgh who are into the drug and club scene, and how their lives intertwine with other people and the experiences they have.

I started reading Salt Creek and I’m more than half-way through. It’s a story about a Australian family who fall on hard times and end up living in Salt Creek, in South Australia. That’s all I’m saying for now, apart from it’s a really good book and I can’t put it down. I acquired this book from a lovely lady from Australia, that I met in the dentist of all places, and she recommended it.

I’m also reading Jaya, an illustrated retelling of the Indian epic, the Mahabharata. I bought it about 3 years ago, in Dehli airport, and it’s been collecting dust on my bookshelf since then, so I thought I would get round to reading it. I’m glad I did, although it’s quite hard going because there are so many characters and stories to it, but I’m enjoying it none the less.

I love being creative and last month I made a video of the animals I encountered in Hikkaduwa, Sri lanka. I didn’t have to go any further than my friend’s garden. I just love it in Sri Lanka, it’s so beautiful. I really look forward to my trips there. This first one is called “Beautiful Nature.”

 

The app I use for editing and enhancing my photos is fairly basic, but recently a new feature has been added and I am now able to make videos from my photos, so I hope to make more use of it in the future. I am sure there are more sophisticated tools out there, but this one serves my purposes just fine for now. The second one is called “Life on the Madu Ganga.”

 

February also saw me have a sleepover at Chris and Pond’s house, Pjs and all!  We had been planning to do this for a long time, but we weren’t able to fit it in for one reason or another, but, finally, we did it. The evening consisted of our mandatory cocktails, one of the best pizzas I’ve had in a long time, DVDS, chocolate, more cocktails, and more DVDs. It was such a fun night.

Chris is not only my best friend, personal mixologist, go to person for venting and ranting (he does the same!), he’s also very hospitable and sociable, not to mention, a domestic goddess and an amazing cook. The following morning, feeling tired and a little hungover, he made this delicious full English breakfast, fried bread and all. I hadn’t had a full English brekkie for ages, so this was definitely a scrummy treat!

So, that was my February! And, actually the 13th marked the 4 year anniversary I have been back in Thailand. Where does the time go? It’s positively scary and here we are racing towards April! Make the most of every day, life is so short!

If you would like to join me and the others in this challenge, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic):

• Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
  
• Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

• Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
• Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.