Wow looking back over some of my old post geez what a crazy life. Turning the corner of 2014 I can only look ahead and hope the ride is just as fun. My parents have been visiting us since December 18 and the fun hasn't stopped. Enjoy!
Cheers!
😘 M
Since it's hard to send out Christmas cards from Thailand here's our photo!
Hope everyone had wonderful holidays and Happy New Year!
May your year be filled with love, laughter and tons of fun!
My mom has taken over and she is my first guest blogger. Woohoo!
Holy smoke!
That is what goes on when you visit the Shrines. Our first shrine was the Sanctuary of Truth. Amazing – read Maggie’s earlier blogs. Apparently the day of the week on which you were born is very important. I’m a Friday. We took pics with our individual Buddhas and lit incense. We ended up on an elephant ride with Ryan riding shotgun. We then fed our elephant a batch of bananas - just a normal day in Pattaya.
No, we haven’t converted. We went to St. Nicholas the Sunday before Christmas. The English Mass was very nice, if not liturgically correct – the Pattaya orphans sang Christmas carols and every inch of the church was decorated. There were large stuffed snow men, Santa in his sleigh which was full of presents, lots of silver and blue and hundreds of twinkle lights. As far I could tell, the only bow to the last Sunday of Advent was the absence of the Christ Child in the manger, but who’s going be a stickler for regulations when thirty or so darling orphans with the sweetest faces on earth are belting out Jingle Bells.
Christmas Eve Mass
None of this prepared us for Christmas Mass – we went to the English Mass on Christmas Eve. The church is lovely – open-sided with Thai-type carvings and lots of gold leaf. We arrived a half-hour early and the place was jammed. Extra parking was available at the Muslim Mosque next door (the minorities stick together). We grab some of the extra seats (plastic chairs) on the side “porch.” As we walk through the parking area, there are native dancers, a raffle for the orphans, loud music, souvenirs and snacks. The crowd for Mass included more than a few May-December couples and several “lady-boys.” Everyone is talking loud and visiting – this doesn’t let up. Because it’s Saturday, about half way through Mass we also pick up some chanting from the Mosque. The rest of the world needs to learn how to behave like this. Father gives a very welcoming sermon to those that do not attend regularly and invites them to return. As we leave church we notice that the fun has just started. It wasn’t the most reverent or the most uplifting Mass I’ve attended, but you don’t often leave church and say, “That was a blast!” Last Sunday it was back to normal.
Carol (Maggie's mom)
Some photos from some of the many lunches/ dinners we have had.
And this is a classic
Gangster Gamm'ma and Andrew!
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