kandahar

IF you decide to do it yourself, I have the ONLY fence post auger in CR that I know of. Hand operated, works well. I built it myself. You're welcome to borrow it. Makes pretty quick work of post-holes.

yeah, could do with some 'cream of tomato' Soup to wash this Donner down

I suspect you need more than Soup, sounds like you have a curculation problem. I'd recommend a Massage

One cup hot water

1/4 cup ketchup

Two table spoons Coffee Mate

Enjoy!

For those of you who were there but might not remember the titles I asked about.

My Name Is Nobody

Lonesome Dove (First and then) Return to Lonesome Dove

Legends of the Fall

Once Upon a Time in The West

Send a PM to mellofello. Sounds like he knows a bit more than some of us concerning this item. I don't know if cricket is available or not.

I think if the location is the same and have it approx.every month it will take off.

Trying to please everybody will be difficult, so come up with a date and we'll try to be there.

That's right.

Scea, it is difficult to share body heat when I get up and start getting around in the morning. She can't keep up with me. And, I don't have a dog, except this borrowed one and I probably shouldn't get in the habit of taking someone else's dog for a walk.

jubby, it will cost a bit but no more than it cost to run it all summer for the cooling.

As you can see, he is VERY picky about hired help. But I think the highest ranking guy he had on that job was a corporal.

I woke up to 20 degrees in the BR this morning. Turned on the inverter style AC/heater and enjoyed much warmer temps in minutes. Great to come out of the morning shower into a warm room. Probably one of the wisest purchases I have made here.

Two of the guys who did most of the building of my house were quite competent in most of the building trades.

I doubt they would travel far though and, to be honest, I'd be reluctant to recommend them to another farang.

It's my experience that many have a pre-set opinion of the standard of workmanship in Thailand and are extremely difficult to please.

It's a bit like a recent visitor who mentioned to my Mrs he'd like to meet a nice Thai lady.

She said she'd think about it but told me afterwards only idiots got involved in matchmaking.

I'm thinking we already discussed your house on this forum.

Where are you?

He is in Chiang Rai.

SH1, I can't think of anyone I have had here who fits the bill. Each guy seems to know what he is doing in one area and will claim to be good at the other areas but pretty much makes a disaster of things outside his specialty. Just because one guy works well with concrete in the production of a nice block wall doesn't mean he can pour a nice two meter square concrete pad or a decent sidewalk.

For my last tiler, I asked the folks who sold the tiles to me who they recommended. They named a guy, who turned up shortly after that and did a nice job on the tiles (outdoor, patio style). He then volunteered the same quality work on a concrete job and botched it from beginning to end. So, the best advice I can give is, find a big shop that sells what you are installing and ask them for some referrals. They seem to know the best workers for their products.

I have also learned not to ask an installer of one product if he knows a guy that is good with another. The answer is always yes and the outcome is usually a relative that desperately needs work and certainly lacks the skills for what he has shown up to do.

The tiler was recommended to me by the staff at the big shop on the super highway, near the old bus station street. The shop has the huge blue and white American Standard billboard in the front.

I'm not sure I'd want a travelling companion who disapproves of a little misbehaviour...

I didn't say I didn't approve of a little misbehavior. But there may not be room for two misbehavers, so it is better if you behave for both of us and just let me have my fun.

Official answer from Mae Sai immigration office on saturday was that border closes 5pm for foreigners and 6.30pm for Thais.

Thanks for that Paul

Looks like it will be a quick trip after getting into Mae Sai from Chiang Mai, by bus.

We do it a little different normally. Get into Mae Sai, check into the hotel, eat and shop on this side of the border. Next morning, check out of hotel, store our stuff with the hotel staff, do the cross-border thing in a relaxed way and then head for home n the afternoon.

I remember a few weeks ago about opening a high quality restaurant. The complaints and disadvandices about opening times, distance and surroundings were so many that I decided not to even give it a try. So you all complainers, look at yourself first

Just do what I do... cook yourself a quality meal yourself!

Your point is hardly valid here. No matter how much cooking we do at home, most of us tend to want to get out once in a while and have something good while we're at it.

An out of the way restaurant ISN"T a good idea for the owner, in most cases here. Places that are centrally located and do a decent job are struggling, as it is. If you're so sure of your idea, jump in with both feet; don't complain about the sound, honest, respectful advice that you ASKED for in your originally post. Rude behavior, on your part.

Thanks, Scorpio, for persisting in your endeavor to bring us together. Great job. I think this is the first time that I have witnessed someone sticking with it long enough to have success. And a success it was.

There was a lot of food left over. Everyone brought enough to feed themselves and a small army. Great food, too. Quite the variety. Meats, veggies, desserts, casseroles…….. There was so many entrees, I couldn't try them all and I only took a bit of each one, hoping that I could try them all. I won't try to list all of the dishes that were there. If you really want to know what type of dishes turn up, you just need to show up at the next one and see what arrives. I enjoyed bringing what I brought but I'll bring something different next time, just to change things up. And the Harsu gang shamed me with several dessert dishes. I realize I had better contribute at least one dessert next time. And it had probably better be apple pie, since my wife made the mistake of asking who wanted apple pie when the meal was finished. Everyone decided they needed apple pie and that is when she let slip that she wanted some too and was sorry there wasn't any available. That girl has a sense of humor.

A small propane camp stove showed up in case anyone needed to reheat their dish before serving but it wasn't needed. I suspect it may be needed for the next one though, if only for making a nice pot of coffee or tea after lunch. I suspect the weather will be a bit cooler. I didn't see any alcohol of any type at this gathering but if coffee enters into the menu on the next one, I'll likely bring along a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream. Great stuff in a cup of coffee on a cool afternoon.

Good company, nice conversation, some laughs. One small child was in attendance. Too bad. More kids would have had a great time there. But the one that was there had a great time anyway. Lots of room to run and be a kid and so he did and was.

Most of the attendees were TV forum folks. I think only one couple wasn't regular culprits here and came as invited guests of other forum folks. I think after hearing the forum tales, that couple may be forum outlaws in the future.

Not sure how many nationalities there were. But it wasn't a nationality thing. Everyone got on well and I think that everyone enjoyed all of the dishes they tried. The Thai wives seemed to enjoy the dishes just as much as the rest of us. I believe there were as many Farang ladies in attendance as there were Thai ladies. Unfortunately, no Thai men accompanied us.

The afternoon sun, accompanied by a nice breeze, made for perfect weather and even invited a bit of napping on a mat in the shade after lunch. Perfect snoozing weather for a guy with a full stomach. Glad my wife insisted on bringing a few pillows.

I met some folks that I hadn't met before. I think I already knew half of the attendees. We even had one family who drove from CM to attend this thing with us. I'm glad they did.

There was no fee for use of the facilities. The grounds were clean and all that was needed in the way of facilities was already in place. As much as I liked that place, it makes me wonder how many other secret gems are out there, waiting to be discovered. I'll start asking more questions of the government workers in my family about what is available out there.

Bocci ball and peytong were mentioned as games that are suitable for such an event in the future. Maybe next time. I might even put together a horseshoe set. Not sure we're ready for all of that yet, though. The conversation in the shade between all participants was probably more rewarding than being divided into opposing camps for a match of any kind.

All in all, a great, long, pleasant afternoon. The meal ended, conversation began and continued for several hours and then a rush for seconds on the food as the sun began slipping into the trees on the horizon. Packed it all up and headed for home just before the mozzies arrived and the temps began to fall. Looking forward to the next one.

Just got too much going on right now. These are things I have to accomplish before I can consider a lengthy trip. Keep me in mind next year for the train trip, though. I might be available to come along and make sure you behave.

If I were to take a vacation and be a tourist, this is a place that sounds like it is worth the effort. Nice article. Makes me itch to become a traveler again.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/31/travel/31vietnam-ha-giang.html?pagewanted=1&ref=homepage&src=me

Drove out to Don's yesterday to buy a bag of tortilla chips. The bags contained about 50 percent broken chips, so I bought two bags to make one of full chips. 142 baht each bag. Tried them out with some dip this morning. Had big plans. They were soft and tasted ancient. Checked the expiration date. Both were July of this year, one the 7th, the other the 29th. Aggravated. Drove back out there to exchange for new or get a refund. Rang the bell quite a few times; obviously the place wasn't abandoned but nobody would come to the locked gate. Will try again another day. Will have a total of 45 kilometers of back and forth driving tied up in the chips at the point. AGGRAVATION!!!!!!!!!

Reading this has put me firmly back in the GRUMPY CLUB with mr Scea! And has done nothing to change my mind about burgers -

I hate the buggers! ( NB: not the eaters the burgers).

Sorry i can't get together with all you chaps at the barbi but gotta teach today.

As you can see, I got a little grumpy myself.

Sorry you can't make the picnic. Next time, I hope.

ooooohhh.........

Looks like someone bought the CR forum from George and we now have a new proprietor. I didn't even know it was on the market.

George is my other name !! Beware Kandahar, im watching you !!

Join the crowd. It has something to do with me being easy on the eyes. It bothers me that men are affected by it almost as much as women, though.

Nah. Rob has it covered for me.

And, I am pretty sure I already told you once today that you're a wise-ass. Don't make me and VF come out there.

They're a pretty fickle lot here Don, show them a new sausage and they're anyone's.

I had visitors last month and served up your steak and mushroom pies with onion and bacon gravy, mashed potatoes and beans and carrots and received a standing ovation.

Don't despair, purists... we had Thai food on the other days.

I haven't abandoned Don. He just doesn't sell what I'm looking for in a sausage. No one in town does.

And, here we go again. Speaking of.......

Deep fried. One of the best sellers for appetizers in restaurants in the home country is deep fried mushrooms. They are golf-ball sized or larger, meaty, have a wonderful batter, are frozen and ready for the fryer and are served with a little cup of dip, typically ranch-style salad dressing. Great stuff. Rob, if you get into those, let me know.

Hotels near Makro- Not familiar with any in that area but I would guess there are some good ones.

Speaking of chairs, I have three picnic tables that will seat a total of 20 that can go if they are needed AND if someone has pickup trucks to take them in. My Suzuki isn't large enough to haul them.

Sorry, SH1 We already have a couple of good day, bad day threads.

I dont speak Thai and talking English to a Thai is like talking Russian to a German .

If the management had been there in the times I was in the place I would have discussed it with them , however , it wouldnt stop me posting my thread.

All well and good to eat in a good place but not so good when they serve crap and charge you for it.

Next time you have a bad meal , try refusing to pay for it in English !! unless of course you have no money problems and like being ripped off ?

Experiences for everyone are different but it gives us both spectrum's of the dining experience, good and bad.

Okay. Now I'm beginning to understand your way of thinking. You just kind of decide what people mean when they write, instead of understanding what they actually write. I don't think I mentioned anywhere that it is a good idea to accept a lower standard without doing something to try to rectify it. But somehow, you understand that I have said it is okay to just pay up and keep walking. Also, you infer I might have a little more cash than I have places to spend it. So, the level of understanding and common sense here is lowered from that point on. You have done more disservice to your "serious" thread than all of the other contributors combined.

Next, I see that you prefer Rico's pizza. In that case, you will really like Blue Sky and you will absolutely love Corleone's. Beer is served in all three places and two of them seem to be filled with good folks, enjoying some social time. I mistakenly thought that you were truly interested in good pizza. My beer days are long gone and I seem to find I like the quality of food for the quality of food, not atmosphere or good company. There is absolutely nothing wrong with going out for beers and pizza. Just, next time, don't confuse that activity with "dining" for the sake of dining. You're misleading us, if we were to take you seriously. I won't be, from here on out.