A Maryland Snow

An Evening Of Contrast

Ah, black and white photographs.

There are times when I walk about and say to myself "that composition is begging to be captured..." even if it means weaving my way through café tables to get a shot of the ceiling.

Mildly curious customers glance in the direction of my focused camera as I mull over the choice of portrait or landscape.

But in the end it is the latte steaming on the table that captures their frame of mind as I vanish from the scene.

Traffic...

You know, I think my blog should have a little more traffic...

The Sentimental Things

When packing for my stay in Thailand, I tried to be entirely practical but some things slipped through.

I brought the dozen fresh roses from my brother given to me the night before my departure.

The origami cat from a young lady at my church enjoyed a window seat on the flight over.

I have an electronic copy of the Bible, so deciding to bring my new hard copy study Bible was settled when I remembered its dedication.

My favorite type of pen (so far) is always close by, ready to journal or take notes.

I have long worn one ring for no particular reason other than I like it. My father bought the first as a birthday gift and the second is one I found in Thailand. My youngest sister wears an identical ring as the first.

Lastly my tag.

My youngest brother and I went to an air show and had matching tags made that had our name and the meaning of our name written on them. I wear it everywhere, the same as my ring.

The Sentimental Things

When packing for my stay in Thailand, I tried to be entirely practical but some things slipped through.

I brought the dozen fresh roses from my brother given to me the night before my departure.

The origami cat from a young lady at my church enjoyed a window seat on the flight over.

I have an electronic copy of the Bible, so deciding to bring my new hard copy study Bible was settled when I remembered its dedication.

My favorite type of pen (so far) is always close by, ready to journal or take notes.

I have long worn one ring for no particular reason other than I like it. My father bought the first as a birthday gift and the second is one I found in Thailand. My youngest sister wears an identical ring as the first.

Lastly my tag.

My youngest brother and I went to an air show and had matching tags made that had our name and the meaning of our name written on them. I wear it everywhere, the same as my ring.

Christmas - This Side Of The World

Christmas activities this year included:

Skyping and calling my crazy family in the morning

And...

Ice Skating at the mall

Photo credit: Khemjira Peekaew

A non-traditional dinner of pizza. That was just me and Pookie, everyone else got the ham or turkey dinner.

And store browsing with Pookie...

And after getting home, I opened my present from the church gift exchange (it was neat to have unintentionally drawn the gift from Pookie!)

This has been a lovely Christmas of contentment!

The Eve Of Christmas

On the eve of Christmas I look back on the past few days and realize the many lessons I've learned while in a foreign land away from my immediate family.

Christmas is a wonderful time of cookie baking, meeting friends, exchanging gifts...

None of that has changed, but the freeing thought amongst the soulful wishes to be home for the holidays is that I'm right where God wants me and he has given me His family to celebrate His birth.

An added blessing is the cold weather that has drifted over Chiang Mai. I've been drinking hot cocoa and wearing a bulky sweater that transports me into the climate of my home town in the US... but alas, no snow to show for the chill.

My good friend who shares many of her spontaneous adventures with me, has kept us on our twinkle toes with laughter as we share a Christmas away from home. 

My eldest sister has sent multiple packages containing paper surprises that I must detail later but show the cutout Christmas tree now.

I quite adore my festive little paper tree. I think the presents I taped to this board are some of the best presents I have ever received!

So while the world is abustle with shopping and cheery hellos and well wishes, I shall be in Thailand soaking up the warmth of my sweater and the presence of my caring Savior who I have remembered as...

The Reason For The Season