Kwaibill

Nice rain most of the day in Bang Phli, Samut Prakan. Temps down below AC requitement.

When I lived in Bang Saray I used Lotus delivery for the bulk of my shopping. They had pretty much all I needed, and there were a number of small shops and a nice local market in easy scooter distance. Traffic was not too bad in those days.

Now married and live up Bang Phli way. My wife often orders delivery meals locally. I have ordered a few times from Makro which delivers free with a minimum order.

I used to walk to the local Lotus and the fresh market next to it, but not quite recovered from broken bones yet. I did try an expedition the other day and made it about half way there before having to turn back. Soon!

M Thai wife does have a “thing” about not stocking much food. She would rather run out.
I used to grow, can, keep goats and chickens, and make almost  everything, but then I lived way off grid and it was a good half hour drive to anything. I cannot physically do it anymore.

Making sausages and charcuterie now is my “ fill-in”.

5 hours ago, Thailand said:

Still waiting for the rain that was supposed to arrive a week or so ago!

Had a couple hours good rain in Mae Rim.

38C+ here now in our area of CM. Turned on the AC set for 27C and having a lie down.

I was used to hotter in AZ, but that was a few years and a couple of medical emergencies ago.

Not quite ready to shuffle off to Buffalo or elsewhere.🙂

My Thai wife has been turning on the AC while complaining about the electric bill.

I enjoy the AC though I moved here from AZ where it can get hellish hot, and can get by with a fan usually.

Been years since I visited a Big C food court, but found nothing much objectionable. OK food at reasonable price is always good by me. 
Latest experience at hospital food courts which were good and cheap.

I am reminded of my service experience where many bitched about the grub, but I am sure it was as good as they ever had “ on the block”.🙂

Same same for me with Makro. Previously no trouble ordering online, but last week suddenly a no go. 

On 3/16/2024 at 11:23 PM, puck2 said:

 

1. In my comment I added "???". That means I wasn't sure, if from Australia. I checked the package and could not see, where it comes from.

2. I guess you know better than me, which cheese I like most. It doesn't depend on where it comes from, but only on my OWN taste. Or do I have to ask you, which cheess I like most

 

 

I largely agree. I have found the Mainland cheeses to be quite acceptable, and I come from a family that started the Grafton, VT. cheese co. Silly to try to import that however excellent!

1 hour ago, rexpotter said:

 

Thanks to all of the contributions

1 hour ago, rexpotter said:

 

Thanks to all of the contributions

Makro sells ground pork, frozen, for less than 90 TB/ kg. A kilo makes a bunch of breakfast sausage!

17 hours ago, bunnydrops said:

For breakfast sausage. It is easy enough to make your own using ground pork. Many recipes are on the web.

16 hours ago, KhunLA said:

I don't bother with sausage casings, just make patties.   Casings is way too much hassle, buying, cleaning, before & then after using.  Too much clean up for me.

I do use casings. Pretty cheap from Lazada, and my stuffer is a small hand crank job that was about 200 baht, also from Lazada.

My #1 hobby as I don’t frequent the bars☺️

1 hour ago, doctorbailey said:

Hi, You will need to visit the SSA website and carefully read. Benefits depend on length of marriage, age, children, and work history. Other people have posted some good links such as collecting Social Security abroad. I have attached a link geared toward women but would apply to widowers as well. In Thailand you have to go through the US Embassy in Manila for benefits and they don't take calls despite saying Tuesday and Thursday mornings. You have to email them and then they will set up a time for a teleconference in the months ahead. They are stretched beyond thin...

 

A friend recently passed and his widow is 55 years old. She is eligible for the $255 lump-sum survivor benefit now and a widow's monthly benefit of 71% of her husbands benefit when she reaches 60 years of age. She is also a dual USA Thai citizen and worked 40 units in the USA. She will be able to collect the higher of her own benefit or her former husband's starting at 62+, I believe their is an increase at age 67 for the surviving widow's benefit. It would have been nice for her if they had continued to pay into a life insurance plan to get her through until then. Something folks might want to consider. You wouldn't need a crazy expensive and dangerous policy, just something to hold folks over until benefits start if a significant age gap.

 

I recommend all Americans and their wives get an email account in their name, set up a SSA online account with address and bank details, learn the multistep verification processes, and log in regularly to see what the benefits are and when they become available (IDme and Login.gov). It takes a fair bit of effort but that is the only way.

 

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10044.pdf

 

https://ph.usembassy.gov/services/social-security/

<fbu.manila AT ssa.gov>

I have found I’d Me nearly impossible to register with from Thailand. They require proof of residence in the US. They rejected my voter ID ( one of their listed proofs) because it has both my US address of record and my Thai mailing address. Impossible to reach a human operative.

On 12/31/2010 at 7:20 AM, jaideeguy said:

Where to get the casings here locally?? and what kind are used??...pig?

I recently bought a kilo of hog casings from Makro  Price was okay, but haven’t opened the package yet. I’ve bought sheep casings several times through Lazada, mostly sent over from China. Pretty variable quality, but my production is small so an occasional hole is not too awful.

Would like to learn a local source for beef casings.

Always been a concern of mine, and aghast at the number of drownings I see in the Thai media. As a former Red Cross Water Safety Instructor it especially horrifies me.

Do they not have similar programs here? A dearth of visible evidence suggests not. Ring buoys for example should be available at all swim venues. The swimming pool in my village e.g. has no signage or access control beyond the ubiquitous orange cones across the car park entry at “ closed” times.

When  building a pool in the US  it is usually required by statute to control access via some barrier such as a chain link enclosure. One of my PT jobs was to lifeguard a condo pool for a few hours in the AM before the regular guard came on duty.

Opening such positions to foreigners, even as volunteers, might have a salutary impact. But TIT. Thai people COULD do such if there were any mechanism to do so, but it is evidently easier to just have more children than preserve the ones on hand. One of the few instances along with traffic safety issues where I will engage in “Thai bashing”.

For some reason the image of squirrels crossing streets comes to mind.

To wai is polite. It cost nothing and is usually appreciated as an indicator of one’s willingness to be a member of this society.  Some obvious areas are that it is never amiss to wai to a monk. I always wai to one of my ( too many!) doctors. I wai to immigration and police if I have occasion to interact with them. I have achieved sufficient grey hairs to usually be the initial recipient, and have no problem with returning a below the chin wave, as I am usually encumbered with my cane.

Really not rocket science. I also wave to folks I know who are beyond wai distance and always get a return wave and a smile.

Pretty much daily. My Thai wife does most of the cooking, or orders in what she thinks I SHOULD eat. Once in awhile I am allowed pizza or a burger.😉

Spaghetti from 7-11 is allowed, too.

I came to Thailand to experience Thai people and culture, not hang with the same old crowd.

14 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Why does a Weather Warning have a photo of a train?

Arctic Express?

In my you younger years I smoked my share. I eventually quit as it was having a notable effect on my cognition. That contrasts with a friend who earned a Phd in analytical chemistry despite living in a veritable cloud of ganja smoke.

There is no “ one size fits all” approach to the conundrum.

3 hours ago, Thailand J said:

To deposit a US check, I open the Schwab app on my phone linked to my US brokerage account.

Enter amount of the check.

Take a pic of the front and back of the US check.Submit.

Done.

Check will clear in one or two days.

 

Clear to where? I need to deposit the funds to my BKK account, not having access to any fungible accounts in the U.S.