Riverside Market and a Great Time with The Collyers

Sunday 29, 2008

Thai food at Thai Orchid restaurant was just what the doctor ordered on a Friday night. Judy her family and I had dinner for our get together after she came back from Thailand. The food, I thought, was good, but the atmosphere was even more incredible, I guess most of all it has to do with people you are having dinner with. The place was packed after we got there for about 10 minutes. The Thai Orchid Restaurant is on Logan Road, Upper Mt Gravatt not far from the University. The prices are resonable. The dishes we agreed that we liked the most were Orchid Prawns, deep fried coconut coated prawns served with their special sauce,
Spring Rolls, and Massaman. Until we met again on Sunday.

Waking up early while others are still snuggling in bed in the nippy morning, this is what I would call it heaven. Taking a walk has become my weekend routine and I just love doing it. Spending alone time with yourself permits you to be with yourself, to learn the Self within you , to allow yourself to be in the present, and to appreciate things around you when you slow down.

I walked for about half an hour before Judy and her family picked me up to go to the River Side Market. Once we got to the Centre City, we saw the march of warriors who just returned from the services in Iraq. Off we went to the market, it's very nice there with stores selling different kinds of things from food to clothing. We walked for a while and bought some bread and had a coffee on the deck over look the river. I purchased some gifts for friends. We spent some time there and we moved to another mall. Then, we visited Judy's parents at a nursing home. At the nursing home, it's very functional and homey. I wish we, Thai people, have better welfare and management regarding retirement plans and facilities for retired people. As the Sunset was approaching, we left Judy's parents' house after we finished catching up and afternoon tea. Grandma's baking was somewhat out-of-this-world. Generally speaking, most grandmas are great at treating their grandchildren and children. Too bad, I never have a chance to get to know all my grandparents, not even my own father! Fortunately, I have other great host families, grandparents and friends from pretty much around the world. We visited Aunt Sue, Judy's sister-in-law, to appreciate her beautiful garden filled with vegetables, flowers and native trees. I was aesthetic to see her garden and hoping that some day I would love to have my own little nuke with a nice garden, love, warmth and happiness.

By the time we got home, it was already dark and we all were drained of energy. We however did not hesitate to treat ourselves with a home-made apple pie. I baked apple pies on Saturday for the landlord's family and for us to have for dinner. It was a great day, we thought. We talked and exchanged opinions (more likely I learned a lot from Judy's extensive knowledge and experience)about working and other things.