June 16, 2012

Dear Tehja and Taylor,

Since it is nearly summer-time in Canada, you probably aren’t spending much time reading blogs from the computer. When Grandma and Grandpa were your age, there was no such thing as a home computer. In fact, for the first few years of our lives, we didn’t even have a television! Or a stereo! We did have telephones but it wasn’t until we were married and Dylan was in school that we had a cell phone.

Right now, we have two computers on the go, have just uploaded photos from our digital camera, and the battery for our cell phone is charging alongside our DVD player. Times have changed.

Our June Sweet 16 Day was a “flash from the past”. In our condo, we enjoyed homemade cheese and bacon hamburgers and then had chocolate ice cream. We read a little, worked out in the gym, went for a bicycle ride, worked on some logic puzzles, had a game of chess, and later went for a stroll along the beach where we saw a beautiful sunset. There was no technology involved (oops – I forgot about the digital camera), and it was a day that could have happened in the 1900s.

Other things we have done since the last Sweet 16 day:

·        Got a new air pump for our bikes (no more soft tires!)

·        For the second time, helped the staff of the Dewa resort clean up the beach.

·        Played a lot of Chess.

·        Visited CanKata a few times to make sure she is okay.

·        Celebrated Grandpa’s 59^th birthday.

·        Survived a very bad storm, but the beach has suffered a lot of erosion (that means a lot of the sand was washed away and many trees fell into the sea).

·        Used Skype for the first time – nice talking to you!

·        Asked you guys if it was okay to spend the summer of 2013 with you. (Yes!!)

We’re looking forward to chatting with you on Skype again, and we hope you enjoy your last few days of school.

All our love,

Grandma and Grandpa Sailor

An artsy shot by Grandpa - a buried tree on Nai Yang beach.

Grandpa reading on the balcony.

Grandma working on a logic puzzle.

What should we have - chocolate or chocolate?

Grandma reading on the top deck.

Grandma playing Chess.

Grandpa on Nai Yang Beach at sunset.

Grandma on Nai Yang Beach at sunset.

Thai children enjoying the surf at Nai Yang Beach.

Grandpa checking out the coconuts in the Dewa grounds.

Grandma in the gym - not really working out.

Grandpa in the gym - also not really working out.

Our daytime view of the pool.

Our night-time view of the pool.

And that's all for this month. G and G xx

May 16, 2012

Hi Tehja and Taylor. We just heard that a “strep bug” is visiting your house. We hope it doesn’t stay long!

We are doing our best to stay healthy and fit. Grandpa still does push-ups and Grandma still does head-stands. We love swimming and going for bike rides. We hate strep bugs and hope they don’t come to visit us.

Grandma standing on her head



Grandpa doing push-ups



We eat well. In fact, for this Sweet 16 day we once again caught the bus and went to “Wine Connections” and had some red meat. It was a rainy day (we are in the “wet season” now) so we had to use umbrellas and our ponchos.

Grandma on the bus

Grandpa on the bus

Our friends Julie and Steve from “Aqua Dreams” joined us again. Afterwards, we worked off our meal by taking the escalator up a couple of flights and enjoying some ice cream at another restaurant. Like I said, we eat well.

Grandpa, Steve and Julie toasting Sweet 16 Day

Grandpa getting ready to dig into the lamb shank

Grandma enjoying her tenderloin

Waiting for our ice cream.

We then said good-bye to Julie and Steve and then went computer shopping. We are now the proud owners of “Toshiba III” – our third Toshiba Satellite laptop. Our other two, which are both suffering from computer strep (they’ve been sick for a while), are no longer reliable. But they gave us many years of good service so we aren’t complaining.

Other things we have done since the last Sweet 16 day:

-        went to the dentist to get our teeth cleaned

-        ordered two Kindle e-book readers

-        went sailing and actually sailed (there’s often not enough wind here)

-        enjoyed Loretta’s homemade Key Lime Pie

-        tucked CanKata into a marina and moved into our condo unit

A different boat in Phang Nga Bay, after the winds calmed

Now that it is spring in Canada, you are probably spending more time outdoors and riding your bikes. When you do, just imagine: Grandma and Grandpa will probably be riding their bikes that day, too!

Grandma in the Nai Yang park

Bye for now!

All our love,

Grandma and Grandpa Sailor

April 16, 2012

Dear Tehja and Taylor,

Today, we had another exciting Sweet 16 Day. We joined up with four friends, caught the bus to the mall, and enjoyed a delicious lunch. We have made it a tradition that on Sweet 16 days, we try to get out for a steak dinner.

While we were eating, we noticed that the mall windows were shaking a little. The last time we were in the mall, we had to evacuate because of earthquake tremors. Well, today there was another small earthquake but we didn’t have to evacuate. Good thing – we didn’t want to leave our steaks unfinished!

After eating our big meals, we went shopping … for more food! There was a large bakery nearby with yummy-looking stuff, and we couldn’t resist. Then, because we had some time before catching the bus back to Nai Yang Beach, we did a bit more shopping.

The ride was comfortable in an air-conditioned bus, but after we got off the bus, we had a bit of a walk to get back to the beach. So we made a detour and stopped to get fruit shakes at a beach-side restaurant. They were cool and yummy. We were tired when we got back to the boat, so enjoyed a quiet game of chess and the beautiful sunset. And we thought of you.

All our love,

Grandma and Grandpa Sailor

A toast to the Grandkids.

Grandma cutting into the tenderloin.

Another toast to the Grandkids.

Grandpa buying baked goods.

How could we resist?

Feeling happy after our delicious meal:
Peter and Lyn of "Mandella II",
Steve and Julie of "Aqua Dreams",
and Grandpa

It was a very hot day, but a few clouds
provided some protection from the sun
while we waited for the bus.



There is a saying "You should stop and smell the roses".
Grandpa did stop to smell this flowering bush.



Comparing purchases at the bus stop.

The bus was on time ... always is!

It's a pretty walk back to the boats ... but hot.
(Julie is leading the way).

We even saw some deer on our walk.

There was a long list of shakes to choose from.
It felt great to relax and cool down.
(Peter, Lyn and Grandpa checking the menus).

Someday we'll enjoy a beautiful sunset like this with you at our side.
Hugs and kisses, GG Sailor xoxo

March 16, 2012

Hello Tehja and Taylor. Just five more days until spring – hooray for you guys. It doesn’t make much difference here because the weather is much the same all year round, and the amount of daylight we get is much the same all year round because we are close to the equator. No doubt you have noticed that these days, you are getting more and more daylight – more time to play outside!

On this Sweet 16 day, we played outside with our friends Jenn and Ralph from the yacht El Misti. They had just returned from a 3-1/2 month bicycle trip through Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. They cycled 7100 kilometres! Some nights they stayed in guest houses, but many nights they camped in their tent. We are pretty amazed at their accomplishment.

When we met up with them here in Nai Yang, we went for a swim in the sea and had a small picnic in the park. We invited them to stay on CanKata for the night, but they said they preferred to sleep in their tent. True campers.

We wonder if you cycled on March 16, and we wonder if you had a picnic. We wonder about you lots, not just on Sweet 16 days. And we love you ALWAYS.

We are still in Nai Yang
and we are still enjoying beautiful sunsets.

Nai Yang is close to the Phuket airport
and sometimes we get a good view of the jets landing.

Jenn, Jenn's bike, Grandma and Ralph
in Nai Yang park.

Jenn, the tent, Grandpa and Ralph.

We enjoyed watching some children playing on the
beach at the Nai Yang park.

The next day, we took the bus to Phuket town,
then when we got back to Nai Yang we had
milkshakes at the Dewa (where our apartment is).
Someday we'll do that with you!

February 16, 2012

This was a busy day! Grandma and Grandpa sailed for five hours on CanKata. Well, actually we used one of the motors because the winds were very calm and the sail just flapped around, not knowing quite what to do.

We are on our way back to Phuket from the northern end of Thailand, where we spent a couple of weeks getting to know the area. It is very pretty and peaceful there, but the water is nicer at Nai Yang, where we usually hang out.

We ended our sail at Ban Thap Lamu, where there is a Navy base and LOTS of fishing boats. We had a yummy lunch at the Navy Club Restaurant with our friends Julie and Steve from the yacht Aqua Dreams. Then we walked through the village – everyone was friendly and said hello – stopping at a hardware store for a fish hook, an ice cream stand for Magnum bars, the boat yard, and then the 7-Eleven for a few supplies.

We spent the rest of the day resting on CanKata, watching a movie and eating popcorn, and thinking about our sweet grandchildren.

The ring shows the area that we sailed today,
from Khao Lak to Thap Lamu.

On this cut-out, Thap Lamu is at the top, and Phuket is
at the bottom See the airplane in the red box?
We hang out near there.

These are our friends Steve and Julie from Aqua Dreams.

A fishing boat in the Ban Thap Lamu area.

"In the Navy ..."

Grandma and Grandpa in the boat yard.
Julie took this photo with her phone.

Movie time in the cockpit - with popcorn!
Loads of love, Grandma and Grandpa Sailor xx

January 16, 2012

This day started out the way we like Sweet 16 days to start: there was a rain blob in the northern sky. It wasn’t shaped like a rainbow, but it had the colours of a rainbow. It was definitely blob-shaped, with one jagged side. Oops – we forgot to get a picture, so here are photos of a drawing of the blob by Grandma (she could use some drawing lessons from her grandkids!) and a blob made by her prism in CanKata’s galley.

Yes, drawing lessons definitely needed.

Funny thing - the colors go the opposite way of the rain blob.

 

It's very pretty when the prism catches the sun.

Grandpa did a good deed on this day. There was a swamped fishing boat on shore, and he helped rescue it. Lots of people came to help, so it was nice to see that there are so many good people around.

Big waves kept dumping water into the fishing boat.

Moving the fishing boat's motor to safety.

January 16 was also the day of a big “dinghy drift” (where we tie our little boats together and drift around in the anchorage). We had ten boats for this drift, and we had lots of good snacks to share and lots of visiting, but we also had a bumpy drift. The sea had a bit of surf so it wasn’t as calm as we would have liked. But if you would have been here, we probably would have gone body surfing instead! (Remember body surfing in Costa Rica?)



Grandpa driving us to the dinghy drift.

 

Some of our friends at the dinghy drift.

January 16 was the day that Shaylynn and Louis arrived in Thailand! They got here late – nearly midnight – so we let them sleep in and then we met up with them the next day for lunch and a tour around Nai Yang. It is so great to have our niece and her husband visiting us!

Lovely trees, lovlier people.

And guess who turned 60 today … Auntie Marleen. Happy Birthday, Marleen!

Marleen & Larry

Until next time,

bye-bye from

Grandma and Grandpa Sailor

Taylor is Seven!

Poem by Grandpa:

Today you leave another year

So now you are no longer six.

Will you wear your karate gear

And practice doing kicks?

If you do, please watch your rear

Because it’s hard to fix.

In any case we want to send

This Happy Birthday Cheer.

Love ya, Taylor!!

Poem by Grandma:

It will be absolute heaven

When our grandson who’s seven

Comes to visit us on our yacht.

We won’t be zip-lining

Or be mountain climbing.

But will we have fun? – Yes! A lot!

Happy Happy 7^th Birthday, Great Tate!