Hazel Ceej

Three cousins wrestle a mountain of clothes in the flea market. An hour or two in they proceed to the food section. It's been awhile since the girls had s omtam , or green papaya salad. So it is high on their list of dishes to have for supper. Joy is finding a vendor whose somtam combo is exactly one's taste.    xxx xxx   This is the state of the coffee table the day after- a mainly fruit breakfast to offset the effects of coke drunk during the somtam supper which cost just $4.50. And this is how fruits in the tropics are enjoyed: ten mangoes for $1.61, a kilo of rambutan for $0.60, two kilos of mangosteen for $1.30, durian for $3.25, a dozen pieces of jackfruit for $0.65. Joy is spending less for healthy food. Somtam is everywhere in Thailand and popular among locals and foreign visitors alike. The Thai variation is no. 46 on CNN Go's World's 50 Most Delicious Foods . Here's a recipe by Maangchi Kim . Visit these sites: Creative Homeacre * Inspire Me * Create it

It helps that the building around where life revolves at work is also a venue for offshore company meetings, seminars, sitcom shootings, press conferences and wedding receptions. Once in awhile I learn something new from the flower world.  Blue chrysanthemums? I thought the arranger sprayed some of them for variation. But I took a step closer and found they were real natural blue. Not trusting my eyes enough, I dashed off to Google.... ah! there are indeed blues of them. And their middle is just what I need for the mellows. Hope we all have a great week.  Visit these sites:  Favorite Things *  Our World * Sally's Blues * Mellow Yellows

As Lewis Carroll's neologism in his Through the Looking Glass , an u nbirthday is "an event that can be celebrated on any day that is not the person's birthday." People who love celebrations may be into unbirthdays regularly. I am. It keeps me counting blessings and looking at life positively. "Statistics prove that you have one birthday, just one birthday every year. But there are three hundred and sixty-four u nbirthdays. And this is a reason to gather and cheer."  An unbirthday is also "when you acknowledge that it is, indeed, the date of your birth, but refuse to acknowledge that you have aged." and to you!   ~ Sally's Blues and Maiylah's Food: sticky rice sweet coconut balls ~ It is also suggested that an u nbirthday is "the day of a sibling's birthday where you also receive presents/money in order to keep the peace."  I didn't know about this before but I have been buying gifts for my fur kid when the biological o

There is tension between Taiwan and the Philippines over the recent shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by a Philippine coastguard. Taiwan retaliates; rejects apology from the Philippines, impose sanctions , threatens Manila with naval drills in the South China Sea, goes arrogant, eg. compares themselves to a golden retriever, the Philippines a chihuahua in the event of an attack. Wait. I love dogs. My ears are on alert mode, though I didn't have time to find how the shooting took place, there's an identical twin of my wondering through an FB comment by Mike San Agustin Mccrea :  "if a vessel is required to stop for a coastguard inspection in its national (usually 12mile) limit, and refuses to do so the coastguard is entitled to take such action as is necessary to stop the vessel. If it does not stop after a warning [shop], it seems fully justified to fire on the vessel.... If someone gets shot it is the fault of the skipper of the offending vessel.... So if this is t

This whole tea idea was unplanned. Things were hectic at work. Besides, the son is with Grandma in the home country. But a friend was greeting her Mom friends on FB, I was tagged on cards a couple times and it looked like people were bent on making the day something you wouldn't forget easily.  Well, they show me. I love celebrations so it didn't take long for me to decide that I was having tea after all. I picked Coffee Beans by Dao , a posh cafe in a posh mall to celebrate Mother's Day with a girl friend. She's not a Mom but her niece just had a baby and that according to her makes her a Grandma. Sweet. I believe in treating the self from time to time, and of course it is such joy to have a friend to celebrate special occasions with. The Moroccan mint tea (on collage) was a welcome taste as it was my first since 2010. Blueberry cheese cake is the specialty of the house and that's what I had. Yum! Why does food look so inviting right after work? Yeah... work hard,

I always fancied parasailing (or parascending or parakiting) . Usually a boat tows the person harnessed to the parasail. I was towed by a jetski, as were the others who took this fun ride. The tour started in Pattaya where we took a boat to Coral Island. About 15 minutes out in the sea we made a stop to parasail. xxx   xxx   xxx xxx ABC Wednesday * Our World * Blue Monday

The museum at King Narai palace in Lopburi closes half past four.  We were late. But the ruins outside the inner palace gate were perfect for the time we arrived- less than thirty minutes to five. Sunset was approaching. We were among the few visitors who loitered behind. We couldn't have chosen a more wondrous time to be there. A resident mystique envelopes relics of the past, especially those that enjoyed splendor in their day. We explored in peace. Trying to get an idea of what was in store the next day, I peeped through the slit on the huge gate: outlines of edifices even bigger than the skeletal remains standing on the outer grounds, still proud. The shadows lengthen as the sun hurried west. Waxing meditative is easy when ruins speak to you I imagine a wedding here at night aglow with fireflies. Lotuses gliding on the pond, chimes in the soft breeze, real fairies for bride's maids.... ABC Wednesday * Ruby Tuesday * Our World

While wandering around Siam Paragon waiting for a film premier, I found a display of what I thought were toy cars. They turned out to be some of Thai businessman Jesada Dejsakulrit's antique cars. The decade-old collection of practically all means of transport includes "a helicopter, a London Bus, and very soon it will have a Russian-made U194 submarine." Mr Jesada enthuses, "apart from rare cars, I began accumulating other means of transportation such as boats and airplanes. At the time being we have about 400 cars, including an assortment of old tricycles from all corners of the globe; military and commercial aircrafts and land vehicles, and a whiskey-class submarine coming in from Sweden." According to an online source, Mr Jesada conceptualized Thailand's very first museum of exotic cars after a trip to Hanover, Germany, famous for the Bubble car. He wants to 'offer school children the opportunity to see these rare and exotic vehicles' up

"Let us make, instead of war, an everlasting peace...." ~ Virgil, The Aeneid  Book 4, lines 130-136 For years I wondered why my father liked green. I didn't mind that he bought Mama a pair of high-heeled glass slippers with a light green tint until he bought me a dress that was military green. Of all colors! He was a typical man of few words and when he passed away, I realized I would never be able to ask him why he favored green so much. I resorted to guessing. There are instances when I ask myself why I do certain things. It was most probably Father why I colored this girl's dress green. She's around books and I relate to that. Father gave me The Aeneid when I was in 6th grade. I didn't understand the gift and wished he gave me the normal Nancy Drew instead. Why The Aeneid ? Of all books! Could it have been his Jesuit upbringing? (which reminds me of the new pope right now) I vaguely remember him mention they were grilled in classical poetry during his Notr

Fourteen years ago a small field of lilies was abloom right on the spot where that condominium stands. Remember Big Yellow Taxi ? "... they paved paradise, and put up a parking lot?" I call this building The Invader . As I walk by every morning I daydream of that lily field. This Spirit house is my side view as soon as I reach the computers to sign in at work. If the wind blow s my way I get a whiff of incense. It's easy to get used to the fragrance, not the high rise. Incense sticks perpetually burn in temples too. I took notice of the one behind this part of the highway as it's where my boss's Dad will be cremated come March 30th. I was on a moving bus opposite this lane. The teapot is a serendipity :) Students in their scout uniform pass by the temple after school. The yellow and green vehicle is a government taxi. You can ride the red bus all day for free. Guy with a blue tie is running for Bangkok governor. Election time is around the corner in my world. AB

Patty patter  goes the chatter  I burnt some patty  while the rain was pattering  and I was turning  off the AC  and saving electricity More than two centuries ago a certain grain was generally given to horses in England but in Scotland supports the people. It's the grain I used two days ago to make these patties to celebrate the rain. Bangkok has been searing hot for too long that when it finally poured, I thought a celebration was in order. Although patties are originally made of meat, sometimes I concoct meals and I'm happy doing that. Tuna instead of beef. I mixed in minced purple onion, honey maple syrup, evaporated milk, soy sauce, salt, sugar, a large egg and butter cake flour. If you're wondering about the taste, well, it was similar to the one I concocted two years ago with mackerel. My son kept stuffing himself with those as soon as I piled them on a dish from the wok. There was almost nothing left for me when I finished frying the last patty. At least

Research papers or PhD proposals don't count, right? Yeah, I write those and sometimes a speech to kick off a university business meeting. The rest of the time I play with recreational haiku, and that's that. So I'm no writer, but once in awhile I date some daiquiri. When the calendar showed 1-1-11, I headed off to a beach town, the Thai Royal family's summer home. I did balance the table with something healthy. Now we don't play with our food but we certainly can have fun: Guess which writer loved daiquiri: Edward Thomas, Randall Jarrell or Robert Frost  Clue : " The land was ours before we were the land's..." Read at JFK's inauguration .  *More on writers and what they love to eat here .* Someone once said 'it takes four men to dress a salad. One for the salt, one for the pepper, one for the vinegar and one for the oil."  Can you name which men? Here are your choices: a . yeoman, barman, monk, gamekeeper b . wiseman, madman, miser, s

"Bangkok on the cheap," says one site about a series of free concerts in Lumpini Park. The Bangkok Symphony Orchestra performs Sunday afternoons in January. Most concert-goers are picnicking at the same time: families and couples twittering and applauding in between bite-size pizzas, sausages in bamboo sticks and oishi tea. Like always the Thai government provides mats for people to sit on. For 'soloists' who come late, well they just have to grab a stone. I did. The guy in blue probably got tired of squatting on the grass with guy in red so he sat on my stone when I stood up to take a photo - Since it was my first time to watch this concert I had to find it by asking people along the way. This was by the sky train route -     Inside the park; sweet hues by the wayside - Lumpini Park lake - Silom side, Bangkok's financial district, in the distance - A park guard told me to 'trong pai' (go straight) and pointed me to a gazebo from which speakers with