so, i'm thinking that yesterday the red shirts were throwing a temper tantrum. because today has been quiet. we're still under curfew, but no bam-bam-bangs to be heard. i can smell something burning nearby and traffic is being diverted through our neighborhood from the main road closest to us. thai schools are closed tomorrow, but our kids' school will be open. i think it's easier to make decisions to close campus when it's the first week of school - which is what it is for the thai kids. finals week is next week for our kids and it's difficult to miss days. #3's class has a field trip tomorrow. i'm not sure how i feel about that. it's probably perfectly safe, but i'm still a little nervous about it.

i'm trying not to be all worst case scenario and alarmist, but it's hard to not play what if. i'm praying that the worst is over, but i've read reports and heard people say that it's only really just begun.

don't worry, i didn't actually take any of these. if by take you mean leave my house with my camera. but, if you mean to take what isn't yours - then i definitely took these. but i asked.

all these photos were taken within a mile of our house

as i headed to the school to pick up my kids this afternoon i had several thai neighbors tell me to "get my kids and get home. those are guns and bombs you hear."

there is a situation (i don't know what to really call it, other than scary) happening not far from us - less than a mile away. they've barricaded the bridge and are burning tires. there has been gunfire and bombs, but i don't know any more than that. the red shirt leaders turned themselves in in bangkok and this has led to rioting in bangkok - burning and looting. i believe it's possible that this is also the trigger to whatever is happening in chiang mai. as i type this there is a helicopter circling over head - i don't think their focus is our neighborhood, we're just close enough to the bridge. i don't feel like we are in immediate danger. but i have no idea where this is headed.

the two thai schools closest to our kids's school have already announced they that will be closed the remainder of the week. (our school actually sits in the middle of the campus of one of these.) our househelp's husband came by to tell us to stay in our house. and we have received similar advice from others. it's been strongly suggested we keep our kids home for the next two days.

we know just enough to be scared.

picture taken from chiang mai mail's facebook page

*update - school closed for tomorrow due to political unrest.*

leaving behind the old blog - and it's 2 1/2 years worth of posts - also means i've left behind alot of history. i've been trying to figure out what to do about that. i don't really want to link between the two blogs - that's part of my super duper evasive spy techniques - and i don't really feel up to moving the old posts over -that's not being evasive; it's being lazy. so i'm gonna give a brief history here. and if you wanna know more you can email me at leakingcrazy(at)gmail(dot)com or leave your email in the comment section and i will send you a link to my previous blog.

it all began in april 2002. we were living in texas and took a vacation for most of us -working holiday for the man - trip to colorado. we spent a few days in denver and then headed to colorado springs to spend a few days with my old college roommate. as we drove into the springs we felt, very clearly, that God had a home for us here. (for me this was a huge deal, my kids are the 5th generation born in the d/fw area). so, at the end of the week, we headed back to texas to see how we were to make this happen. at every step doors opened. we sold a house, we bought a house and by july we were in colorado.

october 2002

arriving in bangkok 13-01-2008

yesterday we test drove a car, it was good, bigger than what we are renting right now - but most important it was automatic. no more driving stick! we also made a trip to the store to look for fish sauce, the right fish sauce, the real fish sauce, and while there here's what we found for the kids to do...

and, yes, i did find the fish sauce...

then we test drove the car.

then we went to a ginormous mall, the central airport plaza. here's a picture of just one of the motorcycle parking lots - and it's not the whole lot - at this mall...

michael had to get a new fancy schmancy cell phone for work and chan needed new tennis shoes for pe. tennis shoes that will never, ever touch another surface other than the brand new gym floor at the school. while we were there we found this...

but we didn't have any :(.

then home and to bed.

today, i woke up and decided to get back on the horse... i cooked a thai meal. my confidence was renewed because i had found the fish sauce, and this recipe called for fish sauce. here's how it turned out.

and it was tasty. no one had yogurt.

yesterday evening i went nuts and volunteered for all the volunteer opportunities currently available at the school. thankfully, right now that is only 2 things. one is international day - they group us by our nationality, and i would think i could come in handy - fresh off the boat from america and all. and then they are getting ready to hold parenting with confidence classes. i volunteered to be a hostess - which really means hand out name tags at the school every tuesday evening a for 4 weeks. just glad they weren't looking for a volunteer grounds keeper cuz i would have been all over that...

other than learning to drive...

so thursday night we get a text message from the lovely folks at the office here in chiang mai - we had spoken with them earlier in the day about arrangements we needed to make for friday and they had a solution. they arranged for us to rent a car so i could drive #1 to school to meet with the high school advisor and arrange his schedule. meanwhile, they would send a truck to the hotel to pick up the man, a#2, #3 and all our luggage. sounds great? well, after i familiarized myself with a manual, drove around the round about the wrong way, stalled out a few times, i was ready to go - the only thing left was convincing #1 to get in the car with me. once we were off it took us 90 minutes to get to the school; it should have been a 20 minute trip - but we saw some things i hope to be able to find again. then we had to get from the school to our house. luckily, the office manager at CMIS knows just where our moo baan (neighborhood) is. and when we got to the house most of the unpacking had been done!! yeah, the man, #2 & #3! next to do was find something to eat. so we journeyed out - found a super store with a kfc. and look what they had -

and, of course, we had to do some shopping. but it's hard to figure out where to start when you have nothing! so, we started with some basic necessities. dishes, a pot and a pan, silverware. a clothes washer!! saturday and sunday were spent setting up house, finding where to get other furniture. stuff that works for us, but doesn't cost a fortune.

other highlights of the last few days... when you don't inform your credit card company that you've left the country they shut you down. when you make purchases you should remember that you no longer drive a minivan, but are currently renting a small passenger car. if here's what happens if you don't remember... (and don't worry, the kids really could breath and they are all still alive) -

this morning i was highjacked by motorcycle riders and couldn't get into the lane i needed to be in so took the long unknown way to the kids' school. and now i sit in a coffee shop - which is a little weird because it wasn't too long ago that i read about this very coffee shop here - writing this blog, wondering what normal will be like here.

we slept 13 hours last night and are all still a little draggy today. i took the kids to see the house, they all liked it. #3 wanted his own balcony, like a#2 and the man & me, but other than that all is good. they were thrilled with the amenities - swimming pool, tennis courts, badmitton, etc...

the lost luggage is still lost... and we're still waiting. but it's all part of it, right? think pigpen from charlie brown - only without the little squigle stink marks and with a real stink instead. but it is just the boys - #2 and i are great.

i think we're all feeling somewhat overwhelmed. #2 had a small break down at breakfast - i think some of the novelty is wearing off for the kids. or maybe they didn't ever feel it was at all novel. but nothing like a few tears in a hotel restaurant.

one of the things that my kids think is pretty cool is the wide array of options for after school snack. when we walk out of the gate of the school this is what we see...

and here are some of their options...

so far my favorite is the tempura green beans.

i did it!

i squatty pottied!

oh, yeah, baby, on one of these. go me, go me, go me. and don't ask for details. just know, i didn't fall in, get wet or make a mess. and i washed my footprints off the sides.

today is sight seeing day.

our first stop was doi suthep. a mountain that over looks chiang mai. the highest altitude of this mountain is 5498 ft. - not quite the altitude at which we currently live. on this mountain we stopped at wat prathat doi suthep, a holy buddhist temple. now, i don't claim to be an expert or anything but i had done a little research about how to behave when visiting a wat - no shorts, no sleeveless shirts, no PDA - and they even have printed on the ticket they give you to get in - no shorts, no sleeveless shirts, no PDA. and probably 2/3 of the other tourists we saw were breaking 2 or more of these simple guidelines. i found that very annoying and i'm not buddhist and i am a tourist. how hard is it to comply with a few simple guidelines?

next up was bhubing palace - the palace the royal family stays at during seasonal visits to the northern part of thailand. the palace and the grounds are beautiful. it looks like the romanticized vision i have when i think of living in thailand.

lunch break - all three of us, the man, me and our driver ate for under $4 american.

then we were supposed to go to a silk factory and ended up at a silk shop. i think maybe it was a communication issue. our driver speaks no english and we speak no thai. and so between the two of us we licked the platter dry... sorry, got carried away.

we did find the bor sang umbrella factory - by far my favorite stop of the day - to see how they make these beautiful umbrellas - all by hand. they turn the handles and the spindles for the top and use a very sharp knife for all the detail work - no special tools, just one really, scary sharp knife. then they finish creating the skeleton of the umbrella, cutting and trimming, again using those sharp knives. the material goes on. they are trimmed and if they have tassels they're added - than all the pieces are put together. next, is the painting. very quickly they paint all sorts of designs on the umbrellas. they are amazingly beautiful. as your walking by they will offer to paint your purse or your clothing. i had an elephant painted on the end of my pants and bh had one painted on his murse. it's very neat.

now we're taking a break at the hotel, waiting for dinner. we're going to khum kantoke later on - the description we've been given is it's cultural dinner and performances.

tomorrow we head to bangkok and again have one night in bangkok. then we head home. we leave bangkok at 8:45 am on friday and arrive home at 12:45 pm the same day. love the time change going that way.

and the most important thing to happen today? it's #2's birthday! happy birthday, #2! we miss you and will see you soon.