Mommy Dearest

Having spent the better part of the last two years scheming ways of stealing adorable Thai babies from their unsuspecting mothers, I finally made the decision to get my own "little one" the old-fashioned way--buy it.

And so I headed off last Sunday morning to the mother of all markets in Thailand, Jatchujak Market in Bangkok. JJ has everything you could ever look for--of both the legal and illegal variety--from kitchenware to snake's blood, clothing to endangered animals. Surely I'd be able to find an adoptable offspring.

One hour into the mission--success. Having to negotiate through the claustrophobic maze of narrow alleys amongst a mass of shoppers whose presence made the heat stifling, I found the dark, near-empty shop sandwiched between reptiles and dog grooming. After waking the shopkeepers from a peaceful nap, Laura and I chose our new loves at the exorbitant price of 50 baht each (less than two dollars).

The busride home was interesting, as we had to sneak them on and muffle their cries with loud chatter. The gods were on our side that day, as we made it home in record time. And so we welcomed Aroon (Thai for 'Dawn') and Eliza (named after Laura's sister).

Say hello to our darlings...

Sabai House

One week later--and more baht than I care to mention--Laura and I are completely set up in our new pad. We've purchased new crockery (Aussie for 'dishes') and have given names to our "major" appliances--Frieda Fridge, Wendy Wok, Katie Kettle, and Toby Toaster(oven). Give us fifty years, and we'll still be reminding each other that Frieda is hungry (i.e. we need to go grocery shopping) while knitting sweaters (because it's so cold here) and whining about our arthritis. For now, we come home from work and park our bicycles, welcomed by Pahlo and Nahm Daeng, our neighbour's geese. A bridge connects us to our porch and house, both of which are build over a canal where fish, birds, and turtles make their homes. The house is made entirely of a dark wood that goes nicely with the surrounding greenery, including a few banana trees, whose fruit we are anxiously awaiting to ripen. We now have the opportunity to lay in the hammock, practice yoga, make dinner, or entertain friends whenever we want. Now all we need are pets...