A Busy Week...

Since I last blogged...

* I've finished my first term teaching here.  So nice to have 4 weeks off - and we're looking forward to our holiday in Thailand in a couple of weeks.  We'll be spending some time in Bangkok, then a few days on Koh Samet.

* We've had a couple of exciting visitors to the house, one by day - on the pondok,

and one on the window by night.

 * We've dragged out the Christmas decorations and filled the house with fairy lights.

* We've decorated the Christmas pot-plant (they don't sell 'real' Christmas trees out here, and we didn't want a fake one).  There's lots of old favourites on the tree...

But the new decorations for 2010 are my mosaic baubles, made by me at our mosaic classes run by Paula.

* We've also had our Loan Service Christmas Ball, this year with a Medieval theme.  It was a superb evening, the Community Centre was brilliantly decorated, and everyone had made such an effort with their costumes.  I adapted an outfit I already had (adding sleeves and a pointy hat) and I made Rob's.

It was a bit of a sad time too as we had to say goodbye to Paula and John.  Saying goodbye to friends and neighbours is an inevitable and all-too-regular part of military life - and this goodbye was tinged with envy that John and Paula are heading back to live in lovely snowy Edinburgh!

They'll be much missed here, but I know they'll enjoy their new life back in Scotland - and I'm sure we'll meet again!

Monkeys and Mosaics

Every now and again we wake up to hear loud thumping on the roof of our house.  It confused us for a while, but now we know it's just some of the neighbours coming to call!

The video's only 4 seconds long  - I hope it works.

This troop of macaques live in the jungle around the Base and are fairly regular visitors to our street.  They can be a real nuisance - recently they took the lid of our dustbin and threw the rubbish around the garden, and they have twice now swung on the wires coming from our house, causing us to lose the 'phone and internet connection...  and yet I can't help liking them!

They're fascinating to watch, like a bunch of mischevious children, and it's easy to pick out certain 'characters' within the group.  There's the boss, a large male variously known in the street as Big Al, or Big Mac, and then there's Doris, an older female who often hangs back from the rest of the group, hoping for you to throw her some food in sympathy.  Then there's a bunch of cheeky 'teenage' monkeys who are always play-fighting and throwing themselves around.  I particularly like the mothers with their tiny babies - they're so protective of them, but the babies really just want to go and explore.

Here's a group picking grains of uncooked rice out of the grass (I occasionally throw them a handful).

And here's Doris, whose baleful look earned her a piece of papaya when the rest of the troop had scampered off into the jungle.

Today there was no food for them though.  Instead I patrolled round the garden in my pyjamas, trying to scare them away from swinging on the phone wires.  It seemed to work and they ran away to cause havoc elsewhere.

I have a day off today - a Public Holiday for 'Teachers' Day'.  What a nice thought!  We teachers always like 4-day working weeks.

I even got cards from 2 of my class, and a little box of chocolates...  Although perhaps some more work is needed on my name?  Pleased to see he's spelled it correctly,  now we just need a 'Mrs'.

Success!

I've enjoyed a bit of a lie-in and am off out for a coffee with Paula later this morning.  Paula lives on the same street as me and runs mosaic classes which several of us attend.  I've been going along for a few weeks now, and last night I was delighted to finish my first piece - a mat for the table, or perhaps to use in the kitchen?  I haven't quite decided, but I love it and feel quite proud that I made it!  Thanks Paula!

I promised that I'd post it on my blog with a mojito on it, but as it's 9am I thought it was just a little early... so here's my breakfast on it instead!

Toast with peanut butter and sliced banana.  Not quite as exotic as a mojito - but I'm sure it won't be too long until I have one of those too.