I wonder if we've had the rain we were promised? We had some lightning and thunder in the late evening yesterday and a sprinkling of rain. This morning the sky was dull so I'm hoping there's more to come.
It's amazing the thoughts that come into my head when I do a simple task I do most days. Today it was removing the lid from the top of the toaster. I presume it's to keep things out but what those things are I don't know. Lifting it off today reminded me of way back in the 1960s when I lived in Calgary. Friend Maureen worked for Agness Hammond who owned a large ranch and also kept hundreds of pedigree dogs. Maureen had a small cottage on the property and one year her mother and others visited. To say that Agness was overwhelmed by having so many dogs is an understatement. They were well cared for, happy, successful in shows but they had taken over her life. Her home was as messy as the kennels. I remember her scrubbing the top of a stool with a Brillo pad because a dog had pooped on it. Agness had been given two huge South American monkeys and one day Maureen saw one of the monkeys sitting and peeing on the toaster. Later that day, Maureen brought over her mother and friends to visit with Agness. It was afternoon tea time so Agness did the usual and asked them if they'd like some toasted raisin bread. Mother was all for it but Maureen tried her best to dissuade her, saying she'd just eaten and maybe didn't need any more food - she lost. Mother did survive as I met her a few years later.
I was fascinated by the news that an American aeroplane manufacturing company is working on a totally electric plane for EasyJet. Norway has decided that no solid fuel aircraft will be able to operate from that country or even fly over it by 2040. So I have a feeling that things are moving along, even if we don't know about them.
The morning went well; in other words it's been a day with nothing happening. My suitcase is open on the spare bed and I pop things into it as I think about. This morning I read about someone with swollen feet because she travelled to Greece and didn't wear compression stockings; that reminded me to get mine out.
I've been looking at flights to the UK in case I have to make a trip; it's amazing to me that it's a bit cheaper to go from SE Asia than it is from Edmonton. Maybe it's partly because of landing fees at Canadian airports but I'm sure it's also because there's a lack of competition in Canada when it comes to airlines.
When the two young men came over at 12.30 for their English lesson I put on a shirt so that I looked professional; today it was an elderly shirt made of nylon. It was nice and cool when they arrived, with the ceiling fan whirring away. After a while I started to feel a bit flushed and Phearak started to waft his exercise book in the air. Srun looked up - no whirring fan, the power had gone off. That's the second time in six months - what's the government playing at? When I asked the men if the power goes off where they live they told me it went off for the entire day and many times during the week. Apparently, the situation in the country is very bad because people are using more electricity with it being so hot. The country is even buying electricity from Thailand which makes its use more expensive. The first thing I did, when they left, was to remove my shirt and get back to normal. Luckily, it's been a cloudy day so I was able to sit on the balcony.
