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Christmas dinner at Chez Toy Boy. It was only me and the GF and the dog this year, the young neighbours were going to come but they decided they had a better offer elsewhere. A shame as it was very good and there was far more than we could eat. This is the Butterball turkey crown I bought in Friendship after it had been warmed up in the oven for 90 minutes. Hassle-free and excellent, perfectly cooked. My dinner, I think the Yorkshires were trying to sail away on teh sea of gravy, lol. The GF enjoying herself, she loves a cooked dinner, I've been making them for her for years. That's my glass of Breton Fils she's holding, she was on the Baileys. And, at the end, the pooch was out of luck, no leftovers. Though there was still about 70% of the breast left in the kitchen so I cut some up for her and she wolfed that down. Afterwards we took a Bolt cab down to the bars at Rompho in Jomtien and had a few drinks down there, so all in all a very pleasant Christmas Day indeed. It will be Boxing Day dinner this evening, the same thing but just warming up the meat and veggies and gravy from yesterday, I always do lots of extra to make an easy second dinner. I'll have to cook some more peas as they all went, and make the Yorkshires fresh too, but that's about all the work involved.

Hangover food, chicken fajitas in Monsoon soi 8 Bkk.

Club sandwich at Viva Soi 8. Very nice and hangover sorted.

I am currently 250km away from work at my holiday shack but am supervisor on call for work still. Spent at least 12 hours on the phone yesterday organising different teams to try and keep services going. Today I have a cable team pulling in 400m of underground fibre optic cable to replace the damged aerial cable. At first light we have a team walking 2kms up a mountain to manally start a generator as trees are everywhere across the access road. Another team will be on generator refuelling duties. I wasn't supposed to be on call over Xmas as I gave them 6 months notice I was going away. Due to a few issues they were not able to cover my call so they said I could do it remotely. Good being able to wear a pair of shorts drinking a few beers directing traffic from afar.

Wifey got me a new camera, try reading the fucking manual with a font size of 2 LOL! Will download the PDF file so I can look up a few things.. I am STILL a good Catholic boy down deep inside....although when I was in the confessional last night, the Priest finally asked me "Jesus Christ Yessongs, are you done yet"? 😇 Happy Holidays friends...

Nice little buffet laid on by the Dark Horse in Tree Town last night.. Used to be the smaller of the 2 Matador bars.......Chap from Norwich and his wife run it....shame about the sound level in that part of Tree Town......

It appears all of us have been effected by cancer at one point during our lives, be it ourselves or a loved one. Seeing a loved one suffering, wishing you could take their pain and suffer it yourself is traumatic. I like others, lost a loved one to it, my Mum to liver cancer. For her it was quick and she didn't suffer, and she went peacefully in her sleep. I remember having a coffee with @Nightcrawler in a bar in Pattaya shortly before I was due to fly home to be with her, and he was great, just to be able to lean on and as a mate he was able to help me get my thoughts processed and prioritised. I'll never forget that. Now, I am watching my Dad suffer from cancer and the other issues associated with old age. Cancer is the most evil, indiscriminate and damaging of conditions . It does make me question as to the existence of a benevolent god sometimes. @galenkia My thoughts and prayers are here for you and your sister. We always think we're prepared, we always think that when the inevitable moment comes we will be strong, but it seldom happens like that. You're always there for your sister, you are such a decent, caring and good person mate, and Jan is aware of how much love you have for her. There's never a good time to suffer the loss of a loved one. When everyone else is out getting pissed and celebrating, being happy and enjoying the "joyous time of the year", some are suffering grief and loss, or going through a traumatic time. These days I just look at this time of year for what it is, "silly season". There's also no timescale on dealing with grief and loss of a loved one. My Dad is still grieving 5 years later. We are all here for you mate, at this difficult time.

Butch, Your words here are beautifully written. Golden, even though they brought more tears. My father lost two wives to cancer. My sister's (who I consider as the most wonderful person in the World) mother. And, my mother. He (my father) also lost his mother to cancer. He somehow pulled through and was able to continue on. I have never been able to completely understand where the strength came from that enabled him to hold it together. Other than the love that was still within his heart for them all. Or maybe it was also his God damn stubborness, and innate will to survive that nature has given us (whether the will to survive is a curse or a blessing..... is another thing I haven't figured out yet). He passed away a few years back at the age of 96. Cancer is the common cloud that hangs over all of us.

"After being married for 50 years, I took a careful look at my wife one day and said, ‘Fifty years ago we had a cheap house, a junk car, slept on a sofa bed and watched a 10-inch black and white TV, but I got to sleep with a hot 23-year-old girl every night. Now, I have a $500,000 home, a $45,000 car, a nice big bed and a large screen TV, but I'm sleeping with a 69-year-old woman. It seems to me that you're not holding up your side of things.’ My wife is a very reasonable woman. She told me to go out and find a hot 23-year-old girl and she would make sure that I would once again be living in a cheap house, driving a junk car, sleeping on a sofa bed and watching a 10-inch black and white TV. Aren't older women great? They really know how to solve an old guy's problems.”

For @galenkia

Urban camouflage

Christmas dinner,just the missus,my mum & me....just another Sunday really except the bird was bigger & my nearly 94yo mum was half pissed before she got to the table,fantastic meal & my mum loved it....

Tesco's were marking stuff down yesterday, previously 15 pence bags of carrots to 5 pence only, bread, basically anything perishable with the 25/26 dates was going for pennies. I managed to get some chicken fillets and beef mince, but when talking to the nice girl with big tits who works in the biscuit aisle, she told me the skip around the back is almost full of stuff, and this is in a small Tesco, not a big one. (My offer of giving her a gift of a pearl necklace for Xmas was turned down, ungrateful cow)/ It does annoy me that there are numerous charities that could make do with this food that is just binned Your average homeless person wouldn't turn down bread, veggies or fruit even if it is on the sell by date. Not only that, seeing people with 3 bags of carrots , parsnips and spuds in their trolley seems a bit daft, I mean, how many people are you cooking for ?. I had just one bag of each and it went into the roast veg and did for 8. The other bags I purchased are now part of a load of frozen stew that I made yesterday. Seeing what I did yesterday reminded me of the panic buying during Covid. I also recall a saying that "we're only 3 missed meals away from anarchy". It's shocking how society is so "throwaway" these days, not only in food but also in material items. My trainers literally last me until they're falling to bits, then they get binned and I buy another pair of cheap slazengers from Sports direct for £25. Has the generation behind us (most of us here at least) lost the understanding of value of money?. Saying that, selling veg for 15 p a bag in Tesco is only going to encourage people to buy more than they need, so can anyone be blamed?.

Wife's taco Tuesday special and daughter's kielbasa mac & cheese. My enchilada plate and remnants of our buffalo wing starter.

Just my Dad and me for dinner , the bird was huge , enough for six or seven , lots of leftovers for the rest of the week 555

Just as described

Turkey Madras 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Tuesday 26th December 2023...21.00 hrs... Soi Buakhao......

I've found just drinking a lot of water before I turn in, and every time I get up to pee during the night eliminates the worst of the hangover symptoms.

Yesterday (Christmas Day) I took my usual bike ride to the gym. There is a Thai guy (same age as I am) that owns a meat shop around the corner from the gym. Over time we have become good friends (along with a soi dog who hangs there). So, after my workout I sit on a bench in front of his store and we shoot the shit for a while (and I get to scratch the ears of the dog who friggen loves me). So.... yesterday as we were talking the shop friend tells me he used to work in a hospital (I had always thought up to that point that he was just in the meat shop biz). I asked him what he did. He said he had been a nurse for forty years (my jawed dropped because I had not yet known this. And, as I have mentioned before I have the greatest respect for nurses). I think he may have been a little reluctant prior to yesterday to tell me this (probably because there is still some stigma regarding male nurses). The conversation continued. I then asked him what area of nursing did he work in. He said he was a chemo nurse. I just started balling tears. It took me a few minutes before I could even talk. It was just one of those moments. I pulled it together. We had a few laughs and then I went home. ---------------------------- It is Dukkha. Defining Dukkha The Buddha taught there are three main categories of dukkha. These are: Suffering or Pain (Dukkha-dukkha). Ordinary suffering, as defined by the English word, is one form of dukkha. This includes physical, emotional and mental pain. Impermanence or Change (Viparinama-dukkha). Anything that is not permanent, that is subject to change, is dukkha. Thus, happiness is dukkha, because it is not permanent. Great success, which fades with the passing of time, is dukkha. Even the purest state of bliss experienced in spiritual practice is dukkha. This doesn't mean that happiness, success, and bliss are bad, or that it's wrong to enjoy them. If you feel happy, then enjoy feeling happy. Just don't cling to it. Conditioned States (Samkhara-dukkha). To be conditioned is to be dependent on or affected by something else. According to the teaching of dependent origination, all phenomena are conditioned. Everything affects everything else. This is the most difficult part of the teachings on dukkha to understand, but it is critical to understanding Buddhism. --------------------------------- Some really thoughtful, well written, genuine and heartfelt posts here.

Many homeless people are not there by choice, more often by a run of bad luck, poor life choices or a simple refusal to be accepted by society. My biggest heartache is when seeing former Veterans homeless and uncared for. The Govt will give human filth migrants from Africa or wherever a room, heating and money upon arrival in a boat, yet guy who took the Kings Shilling and stood fast fighting for our Country yet end up homeless, are ignored. It is absolutely disgusting.

That does look really good.

Presently 3:00PM here and snow is coming down in thick flakes - my Xmas-crazy Aussie sister-in-law would be creaming her jeans to be here for this right now, she has such romantic notions about "White Christmas". As for me, I just woke up a couple of hours ago, had a normal breakfast but with a good cocktail as well - it is Xmas, after all, even though I have to go back to work in four hours. About twelve hours ago I was out on one of my security patrols in our downtown area and the only thing moving was an old street bum out scrounging for empty cans - got talking with him and he seemed a decent sort so I gave him a few bucks and wished him the best - more Xmas spirit than I usually show, lol...

My turn to cook the Christmas dinner and I’ve just polished off a rack of lamb with all the trimmings with my son, my wife had salmon as she’s not a big meat eater, although she stole one of my lamb chops when I wasn’t looking. Sticky toffee pudding and clotted cream and sauce followed. 👍 Now I’m in my recliner and moving for no one or nothing, unless it’s red and in a bottle marked Merlot. BURP 🥹

In Penny Black again pissed drinking Guinness.

Forgot to take a picture of the poured beer, but I have just drank out of this lovely Samuel Smith's bottle. Every year they produce a Christmas beer, this year it celebrates the centenary of the building of the Flying Scotsman. Supposedly, the labels are collectible. I certainly enjoyed the 6% beer.

I was with you until you said cheap Slazengers from Sports Direct. Just ....No 🤣🤣🤣

Cracking game if your not a Geordie !!!! I sold Gordon for Richarlison too !

Back in 1979 I saw a very good band do this song in a bar called "Hanger 9", Carbondale Ilinois (Southern Illinois University, SIU). I can't remember the name of the band. It was the first time I had heard the song. I do remember how much it impressed me. It was powerful.

The queen of all queens, with her friends.

Certainly one of the best things to do in life. A good piss up, in a good club with a real good band makes for a real good vibe.

I feel the same way as you - after reading and enjoying all of the Bosch books, I just don't see the book Bosch coming across well with Welliver. I haven't seen any of the Reacher movies so can't comment on that but can't imagine Cruise as Reacher either. Yeah, she's great and I too enjoyed the series - I haven't seen the latest season yet, must get after that. Here's what I have just started, looks to be a good read:

Yes, a demon has 2 horns. 😉

Sat in a street bar drinking G and T.

Merry Christmas guys and gals.

Went out for Christmas meal, was expensive, but wonderful. My mum's in her 70's, too old for making a Xmas Dinner, krapow was a non starter, so out we went.

Pizza from Otto, Soi 8

Xmas Dinner

Just sorting out my Christmas presents for all 24/7 board members in the sale today.

7pm now! My day went much as expected, twas pretty boring but I bought a load of french fries, hot dog sausages and knom for anybody that wanted them.. My mate cooked them all up and plated them into good size portions and laid them out on a table outside.. All the kids were around singing and dancing. I have to admit that it was quite emotional for me seeing The Gang so happy! Also ex Gang Members that are now 14/15 years old had a good time eating sitting on the back of a pick up. A wonderful night! So time to hit the wine !! Merry Christmas !!!

Cancer can befall any of us, and perhaps 1 in 2 will get it in one form or another. Some are cured and many are not. I remember when I was first diagnosed with cancer. It was a massive blow and I was not prepared for it. Who ever is ? In my case, the treatment was worse than the symptom but treatment began straight away . 6 weeks of daily radiotherapy and intermittent Chemotherapy. I was lucky and got the all clear soon after treatment had stopped, but that's not the case for everyone. I still have 6 monthly check ups and shit myself everytime before I attend, in case it should return. Treatment knocked the he'll out of my body, but at the same time nocked the he'll of of the cancer. It felt like a sledge hammer, cracking a walnut. I feel lucky, as like many others, we have lost people close to us from this awful disease. It is hard to watch then deteriorate knowing that there is nothing you can do about it, especially when the diagnosis is terminal When I was being treated at the Royal Marsden, it was heartbreaking to see children so young, around the hospital who were having treatment. I thought, no matter what, at least I have had a life, and theirs could soon end in some cases. Cancer treatment has got a whole lot better over the last 20 years or so, but there is no cure, only treatment. At least these days, morphine can deaden some of the physical pain but not the mental anxiety of knowing that your days are numbered. I know it's a depressing subject, especially at this time of the year and my heart goes out to Galenkia watching his sister slip away. I watched over my father in the same way and it affected me greatly, even to this day None of us know when our time is up, so I guess we should relish life whilst we have it, although easily said than done.

It is hard , the time of the year probably adds to that as well ... my mate passed earlier this year on Fathers' Day , had cancer for over five years before it finally took him , he didn't eat for his final 60 days , as you say , the worse part was watching him waste away ... my Mum died 12 years ago from Bowel cancer , she was treated for a couple of years , once she went into hospice it was just over a week before she passed .. the Chemo treatment can be terrible though , and I sometimes think , is that worth it , for a little extra time .. everyone's situation is different though and sometimes it can cure .. 🤷‍♂️ The care people receive in Hospice is fantastic, the relatives as well as the patients The only "good thing" about cancer is normally it gives you time to process what is happening and prepare yourself and say goodbyes , both for the person with it and family / close friends My Mum gave away some personal items to the people she wanted , she also had time to choose the hymns and readings she wanted for her funeral and decided what she wanted done with her remains ..., her ashes were buried at our local church ... which was a comfort to my Dad as he had somewhere to visit , especially early on .. Same for my mate , he was able to get all his financial affairs in order , to make things easier for his wife and children... and he could make decisions about his funeral etc my thoughts with you and your Sister as you go through this

Do it after 2 days of rich food especially Brussels I think I can enter the farting competition …..and win it 😂😂

Good to see that I am not the only one who likes these guys...Dec 2021, 2 years ago, took wifey to see them at SAP Arena in San Jose, Calif. These guys blew the roof off the place.....Thai dinner before the show and one hell of a night. 4 Guitarist, countless other musicians and a stage production that rivals any other band I have ever seen.....seriously. "The Carol of The Bells" was second to none.

Outside of the L corner in boomerang is taking shape Builders are working at Heavan Above... according to the manager the 2nd floor is being developed into a venue similar to the old upstairs at Dollhouse...