Happy Holidays and other Lampang News!

Well we are getting ready for the holidays here. I've already sent a package home and put up a few decorations around the house. However, we are having a hot spell and so it's not even cool weather yet (very un-Christmas-like). Happily, I will be off from Dec. 24-28 because of midterms at Yonok. Karen will be hosting a Christmas Eve party and there will be some sort of "family dinner" on Christmas day. Then it will be my birthday, the annual "boat trip" and then New Years! Lots of fun in the upcoming days.

Oh and Hilary and I have decided to move into another house on our street. It's owned by the same people but it's much bigger and has a lovely garden, a bathtub, an oven and air con in more than one room. Trust me, these are very exciting developments for us. The rent is only about $30 more a month so we couldn't pass it up. Plus we're just ready for a change. There are plenty of rooms so we have the possibility of other roommates in the future (especially since Hil is probably going back in May).

So here are some pictures I forgot to post of Loy Kratong:
Me and Otto with our first kratong together....


Playing sparklers with Yui:


Karen and her "boyfriends":


and the whole crew at the Riverside...check out Rick's funny face in the back!


And these are some photos from our friend Nong's birthday. Nong and Troy have a gorgeous house with a huge garden, a bonfire pit and a kiln for baking fresh bread. Their daughter Katerina is very bright and rambunctious. Plus she loves glowsticks and stickers so you can bet we are already good friends.

Me and Nong (the birthday girl!)


Otto and Kirk


David was drinking a strange brew that involved dry ice...


Parn, Nadine and Hilary were getting silly around the fire...


Dee, Me, Dave and John per usual...


La and Nadine were cuddled up together


and finally Hilary, Becky and Shawn were chatting the night away.

Loy Kratong!

We had so much fun at Loy Kratong festival this year. i'm really glad we decided to stay in Lampang and enjoy the holiday with our friends. Before the festivities began, we had drinks and played with sparklers at I Love Coffee.

The sky was filled with these lanterns. You can see strings of them rising into the air. It's breathtaking.

here's otto and i setting off one of the big lanterns:

and may and nick (who are expecting another baby!)

we had a kratong-making party at our house. my friend yui's mom taught me how to make them one afternoon and she also hooked us up with all the supplies. we are working away!

this is the jungle kratong hilary ended up making:

and here are the crazy decorations that you see outside of temples and local businesses:

and i love this picture. this was at the Yonok celebration and they made these little kratong boats. they were so pretty! it really is my favorite thai holiday!