Long Weekend at Casowasco

The third weekend in March I was lucky enough to spend a four day weekend at a Sewing Retreat with the Tompkins County Quilt Guild in Casowasco on Lake Owasco in the Finger Lake Region. Carol, at the table of four, began by working on a project started in a Nancy Crow class.
There are a lot of pieces I am going to show that have no name which I can connect...they were hanging on the walls or on tables and chairs.
I put some trim on a three block mola piece I had started months ago.
Maureen displayed some beautiful snow dye fabric.
Casey started a Civil War Quilt and Carol worked on a wonky log cabin from another class.
Maureen spent a couple of days on a project from a Pat Pauly class.

And another interesting composition.

Casey's Civil War quilt.

Trip to Thailand, Laos & Bali- Thailand TV

Every evening at either 7:30 or 8:00 pm, depending on the station, there is a review of the events which members of the Royal Family attended. I haven't seen the King or Queen on TV in a couple of years...due to their ill health. The Crown Prince is often seen giving out diplomas at graduations and at other events, often accompanied by his wife and young son. And the second oldest sister, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn who is very popular with the Thai's, is often shown.

This is Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn the youngest daughter.
born in 1957. She has a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Mahidol University, Bangkok where she is currently a professor. She is often shown going overseas and lecturing to various groups.

This is Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya
who was born in 1951, eldest child of the King and Queen. After finishing her education in the United States of America, (an MBA at M.I.T.) she relinquished her royal title to marry an American commoner. She has lived most of her life in the United States with her then husband, Peter Jensen, and their three children,
After her divorce, the princess has moved back to Thailand, and has embarked on many activities for the betterment of the Thai people. One notable project is the "To Be Number One" project which deals directly with the drug problems in the kingdom. She is very interested in the arts and starred in a movie last year. She is very fashionable. She is also just a Princess and not a Royal Highness because of the divorce and giving up the title. Her son died in the Tsunami in Thailand a few years ago.
There is always an entourage and red carpet for the royal.

And usually some sort of entertainment and/or review or a facility or ribbon cutting.
And lots of sitting time looking interested.

The Crown Prince's ex-wife is also on the tour. She is revered as the mother of the King's first grandchild and is also the Queen's niece. And several granddaughters also are frequently seen.

Trip to Thailand, Laos & Bali - Bangkok

In Bangkok I settled into a different hotel on the street where I usually stay. I had to change hotels as my usual one didn't answer my email reconfirming my reservation. That hotel now has a street cafe. The street has more and more street tables every year.
I booked a large room with a balcony right on the street. There was a 7-11 right in the building. How handy is that.
Okay. Okay.....I know you have been waiting for the banana split photo. I found several restaurants which had them on my travels but decided a real banana split needs to be made in a real ice cream shop so I held out for my usual Swensens in Bangkok. It was worth the wait.

In the evening the streets fill with food vendors.

In front of my hotel you can see the tables for tonight folded up on the right.

And later you can see the people dining right smack in the road with cars going by.
A rolls royce in the hotel lobby of an upscale hotel on Khao San Road...right next to McDonald's.
The "scene" on Khao San Road. Its always interesting but gets a little old after two or three evenings.

Trip to Thailand, Laos & Bali- Trains to Bangkok

After the Museum I was off to the new train station in Laos near the Friendship Bridge and the border with Thailand. This station just opened last March and there is a morning and afternoon train across the bridge. It is a handy way to get to the Bangkok train in Nong Khai...the first town over the bridge. You go through Lao immigration at this station and Thailand immigration at the next station.
The train has just four cars. In Nong Khai you have to transfer to the Bangkok train.
Inside the train.
I had to take a second class sleeper this trip as it was the only type I could reserve online. Actually it was quite comfortable with single seats across from one another on each side of the car. And there were racks to store your bags on the side which also served as ladders to the upper bunks. A porter came along and made up the beds and each bed had a curtain for privacy. Not bad at all.
Yikes. The only drawback was that there was only a squat toilet in this type coach. There are western toilets in the first class coaches.

Trip to Thailand, Laos & Bali- The Vientiane National Museum

On my last day I had a few hours to kill before taking the train to Bangkok so I decided to visit the National Museum again. Its right in the center of town and I hadn't been here in several years since I visited it with my friend Phonesay who was a monk at the time. This huge elephant is in the lobby.

This huge brass drum was just unearthed within the last 10 years. It is around 2000 years old.
A jar from the famous Plain of Jars.
Stone monoliths.
A schematic of the etching on the side of the brass drum.
A royal chair about 200 years old. For an elephant.
Life under the French.

The revolutionary era.
Drums and gongs stuck in a hallway.

Trip to Thailand, Laos & Bali - Walking Around Vientiane

Monks with umbrellas seem to be everywhere in the afternoons. The Joma Restaurant on the left, with a bakery and outside tables is one of my favorite. Pumpkin soup , quiche and banana splits. Yum.
Fried fish waiting for customers on a streetside stand.
The Cultural Center. I attended an Indian/Laos Fashion Show here a few years ago.
This is a new building with a high end craft shop which never seems to be open.
I would guess that that is a bar.
Hmong textiles made into fashionable clothes.
The fountain in the park up the street from my hotel. A favorite area in the evening when it is lit. Vientiane is an early town and the streets are pretty quiet after 10 pm.
There are always lots of tuk tuks here at the end of the park. They want huge fees to take anyone anywhere so I always wonder just how much business they have or are just there to chat with each other.
Ahhhh. The Scandanavian Bakery. Croissants in the morning and cinnamon buns to die for. Never mind the delicious cakes and cookies. Always busy.