owl sees all

Sorry to hear that CL. I've had very mixed results when growing from seed or even little saplings. My grape-vine died. Mrs Owl's durian trees died, and a couple of other trees too. But on the upside, the avocados are OK. Except for that poor one in the pic. I've also managed to grow a really nice mango tree from the seed. I'll get a pic when I go to the farm this afternoon.

I was tempted to go with Iran.

Owl Log - 13-11-2022 - Sunday morning. The rice season is in full swing. Two machines at work in the village and one in the farm next to us. And that's just one afternoon. Som - the hubby of the big mango lady - had brought over a load from the small farm next to us. When the rice machine arrived the rice cart was towed just down the soi. Then it was a matter of lining things up. Wait for it!! And they were good to go. vid rice sorter.mp4 And just round the corner at the same time; more action. Got to the last one at the farm just at the end of proceedings. vid rice machine.mp4 It's certainly been a busy week. What with the incident, when a guy was killed. My trip to Udon, and farm activity everywhere. This is Tong Ann's farm. It's next to us. Have a 250 metre border with them. Would like to buy it. 22 rai. Put it in Mildred's name. vid lay sugar.mp4 Must get a couple of jobs done next week. One is sorting out the rice store before it starts filling up. The mice get into the store through the floor. I'm thinking either a fine wire mesh covering or cover the floor with ply-wood. The other job is to get the water pump fixed up. No rain for 33 days now. Last year we went 119 days without rain. Could easily be the same this season. Need the water for the garden part of the farm. I do give my avocados a bucket when they look as though they need it though. The other one is not nearly so bad. Have a very sturdy replacement at home if this one goes belly up. Planting small trees is so uncertain. Plenty of youngsters at the village. And the twins. And the young lady's mum is selling her goodies. If you was a chicken, this particular soi must be the best in the village. They are everywhere. Life as a buffalo is very repetitive. Go to sleep under the house. Wake up, walk to the grazing area, before eating and wallowing in the nearest pond. Then back home to rest after a hard day in the mud. Had a job to do at home. Mrs Owl bought a hanger at the 20 baht shop. She wanted it fixed to the wall with screws. Like I did in the kitchen. I wasn't keen on drilling into tiles. So I sorted it another way. Now does this bit of construction/engineering meet with approval? Will I get those little things that I crave for? Sort of! Got a nice cup of rosy without a 'big' moan. But she still has the TV sound miles too high. "Terak! Can you turn the sound down a little?" "Your ears bad. Getting old. I not do." One of the farms next to us has dozens of birds. Ducks and chickens living in harmony. On the way back from Udon I spotted a cute sign. Our number eight pond water level is subject to the water table. Although it has been a decent wet season the water table is still low. At this time of the year, in years past, it would have been at least a metre higher. Visited 7-11 on my trip to Ban Dung. Wanted to see the carp. Gone! None to be seen at the other one either; at the opposite side of town. A bit of compensation with a pretty tree outside Amazon Coffee. How lovely. Certainly gives the tree a bit of character. Had a couple of deliveries. Mildred finally got her birthday pressie; the set of books by Lilin. I think the stories are about Lilin herself living in her dreams. And the Mrs got her new shoes. I am informed that they are too big."You make mistake; order. Want smaller." So I ordered again a size smaller; a 4 instead of a 5. Fortunately the ones that were delivered fitted Mildred. The Buddha st Sum Sao is looking good. They have started to build a massive structure at the rear. Had a good look around (pics later today). Footy round-up. Well done The Bees. Orient march on towards the Champions League. Owls win. Irons lose. Those Geordies mean business. Toffeemen doomed. Lampard next to go. Leeds score three and lose. World cup starting soon. I think Germany will lift the trophy. England third place. World focus. David Icke banned from travelling to Europe. The US Mid-terms are on a knife edge. What happened in Arizona? Getting cold in Ukraine as winter sets in. Sorted out my visa on Monday. No problems. Mildred has to learn this Buddha stuff in English. Then - if selected to represent the school - it's off to Bangkok for some sort of competition. I don't want her to go. Maybe she will fluff her lines!? My urine challenge is just fantastic. Cleaned up my head. Not moving on to phase two. Might go straight to phase three if I cam get the necessary kit. Been chipping away at my Rubik Cube record. Last evening set a new personal best of 4 minutes nine seconds. I showed Mildred how to do it on Thursday, and she has achieved 2 minutes 58 seconds already. Have ordered another cube, and also a nice chess set on Lazada. Really must sort out that wall. Went into Big C on Friday after picking daughter up from school. Mildred spotted a hat and wanted one. This hat is special. It has dangolly things, and when you squeeze them, the ears of the hat shoot up. Only 299 baht??!! Dear me! I notice in Big C, that all the water coolers have gone. All of them! Want to get a glass container; that is suitable for holding hot soup. I like the chicken-foot soup that some food stalls have, but don't like it being put into plastic bags. If I get a glass holder they can put the soup straight in there and it will be OK in the fridge at home. That chicken-foot soup is the nuts. Only one thing left to say; bye y'all.

The Argies to beat The Lions in the final? It's the end as we know it.

01 = Germany 02 = France 03 = England 04 = Argentina Kane the man

Anyone tried 'Payoneer'? Could it be an alternative to PayPal?

One of my favourites. He's been gone well over 20 years. Music misses him.

Yes, yes yes! Rubik Cube arrived a couple of days ago. Super fast bit of kit. Solved it for the first time ever on Wednesday. Gradually got better since. Got to the point where i can do all the eight sequences without making a mistake. Timed myself this morning. 5 minutes 41 seconds.. I'll show Mildred how to do the cube at the week end.

It's getting worse! Went to the farm as usual yesterday. On the way back I could see from distance there was a problem. I managed to squeeze past. What a shock! It looked like a motor cycle had whacked a post. It was serious. Found out that there were two young guys from a village some 10 km from ours. No other vehicles were involved. One guy had been taken to hospital before I arrived on the scene. The other unfortunately did not make it. RIP fella.

You are right as usual Owl. That's how 'french kissing' started. Vous is useless at the sport.

One of the more recent Fannys was a tv cook. Fanny Cradock and her doting hubby, were always showing the mums what to do in the kitchen. Keeping their men happy, attentive and loyal don't ya know. Worked too! Beer! My first pint cost me 2-8 1/2 pence. That's the 'd' not the 'p'. In old talk that is two shillings, eight and a half pence (d).

Lovely story; albeit sad. I'll have a look at the www you refer to Bannork. Isaan Farang (Kev and Pook) are like that. Trying to help the unlucky, unfortunate and downtrodden. With my own daughter Mildred, the one thing thing I try to teach her is;;;; 'Treat others like you would like to be treated yourself'. I think she will grow up to be a caring human.

So what's wrong with being 'Corrupt, lazy and uneducated'? Sure there is corruption, Don't know many places where there is not any. But for the farang it's mostly their own family. Lazy? Would you want to work in the hot sun after a meal of snails washed down with a bottle of Lao Khow? Some are uneducated. But they know how to look after buffaloes.

I'll take a look too. Not that I'm keen to spend dosh sharpening a knife that only cost me around 50 baht. I'll keep trying things; but I will have a butchers though.

I bought mine over three years ago. Only recently has it gotten a little dull. Tried to sharpen it the same way as a metal knife; with a electric stone. Definitely got sharper, but not as good an edge as when I first bought it. Read on the internet a couple of years back that they were best 'chemically' sharpened. That poster suggested using vinegar, and leaving the knife in the solution for 24 hours. I've not tried that as yet. Not sure if it would do any good anyway. But going back to your question GT. It was on a special in Big C; wish I'd bought two more.

On a different note. What is the best was to sharpen a ceramic knife; anyone?

I'm not one for lucky numbers. As long as they are a palindrome that'll do for me. The Mrs - on the other had - ready numbers into everything. Marks on the floor, elastic bands on the table; stuff like that. But there is something in what you say HP. Someone has to win the 'biggie', might just as well be me. I'm going to the farm in a while. I'll look around for Chinese looking debris. If I find any; my abacus will come in real handy.

You are bang on the money as usual HP. Can I look into the future? Wish i could; but no! So why did I jump forward a couple of days in the last Owl Log? For anyone reading the post and adjusting their watch, thinking it was two days out; it is the 6th today, not the 8th. Sorry! Very sorry! The American Mid-terms are not today. They are on Tuesday. That's Wednesday to us clued in people. Can't wait to get my new cube. Being Thailand Speed Champion on the Rubik Cube would really give Mrs Owl something to brag about round the village.

Just goes to show how the mind can play tricks. I was sure that it was the daughter (recently died) that walked over to the shop front when the mozzie spraying was in progress. . I was wrong it was her mum. mozzie kill.mp4

Owl Log - 08-10-2022 - Sunday morning The activity due to the passing of the poor lady next door to me has virtually ended. Started packing away this morning, but still have the important job of giving a final blessing. As Mrs Owl puts it "sending her to the moon." Earlier some guys were busy constructing a delicate item. And the number one craftsman, cutting the polystyrene. All was revealed some time later. I quite liked it all for a change. No dancing girls or really loud music. Just a respectful expression of love. Time to pack away. And with that it was out of the soi and into the village store a further 100 metres away. I can't help thinking that the lady - just 42 - deteriorated very quickly. Going back into my memory bank and there was an event that that I was concerned about a couple of months back. They were doing mozzie spraying and she walked into a cloud of the poison. I'll try to find the vid. The big mango lady's big mango tree is no more. Gone forever. Mildred has been working hard with the art. Latest painting. www.mildredart.com This is George! And he has gone missing. Can't say I understand it. I'm trying to get Mildred to practice the art rather than just produce one every week. Artists say that hands and faces are the most difficult to master. When we went to Ban Dung on Friday, I bought her some small art pads. She has taken to them OK. Already produced a couple of faces. Really must sort out the avo' trees. The big one is as tall as me and has the biggest leaves I've seen on a avo' tree. I have done the Rubik Cube twice now. But in the week; a calamity. Sent away for a really good one. Should be with me this week. then I'll go for the Thai Allcomers Speed Record. Also found a shop that actually had all Lilin's books, that Mildred wanted for her birthday. We got one from Shopee and one from Lazada. But 'Siam inter shop' had all 4 in the series. Had to pay up-front. Don't like doing that here. Hope they are delivered soon. It's the chicken season. The guy opposite - Bella's husband - breeds the super-chickens at the farm. I've probably been feeding them every day. Then they get sod to the guys that enjoy this fighting spectacle. That's the chickens not the guys. Selecting a champion. These chickens are absolutely beautiful. I was informed that a good prospect goes for as much as 3k baht. Next door's garden was open for the food preparation. Had a sneaky look at the failed rat business. Another venture that bit the dust. All the children back at school. Mekongs thriving. Rice harvest is gradually picking up pace. Some already been cut. A small farm next to us, saw action last week. Weekly look at the delightful twins. The village Buddha's roof is finally painted up. What's next? Bought some crabs and as usual let them go. vid pond 7.mp4 The sad event next door took precedence towards the end of the week. Rightly so. Everything back to normal this week. Plan to buy some stone this week and sort out the farm road. Also I need to think about making the floor of the rice store rat-proof. Thinking of wire mesh or plywood. Footy round up. All the English clubs got through the initial stages of their Europe competitions. Great game in Sheffield yesterday. Two top teams in the Championship getting stuck in. Blades 5 - Clarets 2. Another 7 goal game in the Premier. Leeds 4 - Bournemouth 3. Fulham unlucky in Manchester. Orient knocked out of FA Cup, but Dagenham go forward. My favourite Highland League team - Bank's O'Dee - score 7 away. World focus. The western world in recession. Dollar US, Euro and Pounds all slip against the almighty Baht. Have to go to Udon this week to sort out my visa. I'll leave early and visit a couple of my favourite places. My urine programme is yielding spectacular results. Better than I ever expected. Still on stage one, and I'll keep there until I want to progress to the next level. Only one thing left to say; bye y'all.

Daughter set me a challenge in the week. "Dad, could you say 100 Thai words, or phrases?" "Phrases like what; 'dem tung'." "Yes!" "Of course I could dear. Want me to start?" "Yes, but no numbers." Oh dear! That was my 'joker'. Got to 28 though. "More important I teach you English." I said.

My mate's girlfriend.

Also dry as a bone. But you'll not let that bother you for the next 20 years. Fantastic!!! Thanks for sharing Bannork. Good luck to all concerned in this new life.

Thanks for that Andy. Interesting. Lidl had sets for sale one year in England. Cheap they were. Didn't last long on the shelf. Popular. Could it be an Olympic sport in the future? After all we have synchro swimming - which started out a men's sport - and all that horsey stuff. I think darts and snooker too. Wasn't there a drive to make 'sex' an Olympic sport a few years back? There was a UK television programme called "This is the year of the sex Olympics - sex Olympic year." I remember it well. Not that I'd be in favour of anything like that. But then again; artistic gymnastics could be merged in. Perhaps I'm over-thinking.

So, if it does hit you on the head, who can you moan to? On the upside. If it lands in ya farm; what a fantastic tourist attraction in the future.