Foundations

After the excitement of the digger, there was not much action last week. However, the guys were back on site yesterday and have started to mark out where the concrete footings will go...

Last week I had quite a few social engagements. On Tuesday, I went to the Quiz Night at "The Elephant & Castle (yep, an English pub) with the crew from the hill. The pub puts on a BBQ & Quiz Night every month... but this was the first one for me (since they stopped during the quiet/Monsoon season). It was a good start - because we won!! :-)

Then on Wednesday, I went to the monthly "Sisters on Samui" lunch with the ladies. This time it was at an African restaurant.

Ian was home again on the weekend, and we spent most of Saturday lazing on the beach! Our friends Viona, Wendy and Roger came around for dinner on Saturday night - and we tested out a few new recipes... Chicken marinated in a Mango Lime sauce, Greek Salad, and Feta Cheese in a Lime, Garlic & Oil Vinaigrette (all ingredients fresh from the market). Yum!

On Sunday, we drove out to Bang Po... on the north west of the island (around 30 minutes away), and had seafood lunch on a quiet beach: crab cooked in a light curry sauce, steamed fish with lime, and veggies! Aroy Mak (which means 'very tasty').

The Thai people who manage the complex where we live are really friendly... and have started to cook some tasty Thai food for me. Last week I had dinner with 'Mom', 'Nut' and 'Sai' - we had spicy Gang (hard to describe, sort of between a prawn-langoustine-moreton bay bug), and some curries. This morning, 'Nut' brought me some crab with glass noodles (leftovers from their breakfast). They are even teaching me some Thai phrases, which I will hopefully remember.

The security guard in our complex is also really nice, his name is 'We'. He does odd jobs during the day, and is the 'security guard' at night. He has a cute little nickname for me 'Tamalin'... which is actually how the Thai's pronounce 'Tamarind'. He's such a cheerful guy, works so hard, and has very little. The other day I saw him shaving in front of his motor bike mirror... puts everything in perspective. Life is good!

T.