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Awsome Arrival To Canada
2009-04-10 16:34:00
April 1, 2009: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Aw has arrived back to Canada after spending the last two and a half months in Thailand. Her flight took 24 hours. She left 40 degree temperatures in Bangkok for the cool sunny spring days of Ontario.She told her relatives that I would have roses for her at the airport. It's a good thing I did or her family would 'Keeel me'. Welcome back Aw! I missed you and your cooking!xxStevie

Aw Tomato
2009-03-21 00:48:00
June 15th 2008, Waterloo Ontario CanadaAw loves to go shopping at the Farmer's market here in Waterloo Ontario. When she is in Bangkok she shops at the largest market in the world; 'JJ Market' where she is joined by one million other shoppers. There are only a few thousand people here but she likes it just he same. Aw is my little tomato!
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Aw Canada At Last
2009-03-20 01:07:00
October 28, 2008It's Thursday afternoon and Melbah Toasty arrives at our home looking very excited. "I have a letter for you A-w-w-w-w-w-wsome!" It's from Immigration Canada . We have been waiting for the last six months without hearing a peep from those guys. We applied for Aw to become a landed immigrant just after we got married. We mailed out 62 pages of documents by the time we were done. My favorite part was when they asked us to send photos to prove we have actually spent time together. the captions to the photos read: "and here we are in front of the Taj Mahal"...and this is us at Angkor Wat...and this is us at the Banff Springs Hotel... and here we are at the CN Tower... oh and this one was during our Camel Safari in Jaisisalmer..." I have dated Aw on 3 continents and 7 countries.I really didn't think we would get all that paperwork correct the first time. I expected there would be revisions to make. And every month or so I would call Immigration and ask if they had any w...

La ville du Québec est très belle
2009-03-18 14:07:00
July, 2008, Quebec City, CanadaAw is not the only Thai who loves Canadians. Her cousin May is dating a French Canadian, Phil. They met the same way Aw and I did, while Phil was touring Asia. May and Phil take turns visiting each other's country. So Aw and I decided to travel from Ontario to see them.This is Bernard (May's boy friend's dad). Bernard took us on a walking tour on this beautiful sunny day.This is the heart of Old Quebec. It is the oldest city in Canada. You can see from the look of the shops that the people take tremendous pride in their city.He wanted us to experience the sights (and sounds) of this beautiful place.This woman is a History student from the Univeristy. She and many like her are hired to dress up and become the characters of Quebec's past. Okay, I realize I'm into a canon theme here but you have to remember that Quebec City was responsible for keeping pirates from entering Canada through the Saint Lawrence River.Bernard et Diana, Merci infiniment de...
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Shopping With Mum
2009-03-17 01:47:00
Just another shopping day for Mum and Aw. They started trying on hats at Value Village (or Wal-you Willage as Aw would say) and things just got out of hand. (I hope some day they get over their shyness.)
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We Miss You Aw!
2009-03-14 20:59:00
Sawadee Krup sweet Aw-some. We all miss you here in Canada. Come back from Bangkok soon!Pom Rak khun! Stevie
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My Happy Return
2008-06-16 21:34:00
June 16, 2008: Kitchener, Ontario, CanadaHappy Birthday to MEEEE. My sister, Melbah Toasty is holding this party in her fabulous sundeck garden and pool. My loco local family are here to celebrate the event. I am wearing my Songkran shirt from Chiang Mai Thailand. Melbah marches outside with this beautiful home made cheesecake. As I blow out the candles they tell me I don't look a day over 80. Thank you everyone for this very happy return to Ontario.
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Happy New Year From The CN Tower
2008-01-01 02:50:00
Aw and I decide to spend our New Year 's Eve in Toronto. We walk for miles along the huge maze under the City Centre called 'The Path'. We look through the underground shops and and enjoy a snack in one of the coffee shops. It's a cold wintry day outside today. By the time we arrive at the CN Tower it's just beginning to get dark so we get this tourist photo done when we arrive. Last year I took Aw to the Calgary Tower on one of the hottest days of the year. Now I take her to this tower on one of the coldest. Happy New Year from the (second) highest building in the world.
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Ho Ho Ho Kah!
2007-12-25 15:27:00
Waterloo, Ontario, December 25, 2007Santa has arrived from Thailand to say "Happy Holidays and Sawadee Kah!"Here's wishing you all the best from our Timeline to Yours!love,Aw and Steve

AWTERLOO
2007-10-21 14:00:00
Waterloo, Ontario, October 15, 2007Aw arrives in Waterloo after a grueling 23 hour flight around the world from Bangkok Thailand. When she gets here we invite my Mom to dinner so that she can meet Aw. We have steak dinners at a local bistro and get acquainted. When Aw first meets Mom she says: 'you look young than your photo'. We raise our glasses in a toast. I say: 'So nice to have my two favorite people in the same place at the same time.'

Bus To Udaipur
2007-10-13 02:26:00
We take this deluxe sleeper for our ten-hour journey to Udaipur . The bus is very dirty but it's comfortable up in our top bunk once we put down our own sheet. There just doesn't seem to be anywhere in the schedule for cleaning. This looks to be a pretty comfortable journey for us but not everyone gets it so easy. As we settle in, we hear and young American student trying to get the bus driver's attention. He brings the driver over to his bunk and explains that someone has thrown up in his bunk and the mess is still all over the window. He shows the driver the mess on the outside of bus. He asks to be moved to another berth but the driver mumbles something as he waves his hand in dismissal, sits down and starts up the bus. My heart goes out to this guy. I have to admit though that my first thought is: 'thank God it was him and not us'. And so it goes in the dog-eat-dog (no beef or pork) world of Rajasthan India. No matter how well you try to prepare, you never know what curv...

What Was I Thinking?
2007-10-12 00:00:00
Waterloo, Ontario, October 11, 2007I keep getting strange jobs to do in Waterloo. I've installed paving stones and shower tiles. I've patched the peak of a roof. I seem to do every trade but carpentry. But hey, it's a living. So here I am, building scaffolds so that I can install aluminum soffit and fascia on this 1905 home. Fortunately, I have a harness on for protection at these heights.You see that vent up there on that gable? I have to install vented soffit over it. As I stand up here reaching as far out as I can; holding myself in place with one foot while reaching out with the opposite hand, I find myself asking myself the question over and over again: "What was I thinking?"
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Camel Safari Tips
2007-10-11 04:27:00
From My Recent Journey In IndiaJaisalmer, January, 2007When you talk about Camel Safari s in India, you're talking about Jaisalmer.It's a quiet place compared to Jaipur but what I really notice is the underlying tension here. We are very close to the Pakistan border and the police are always on the lookout for terrorists who want to slip over the border to India. I learned here that you don't fool around when you fill in those boring three pages of forms to sign in at a hotel. The manager told me they can be fined five hundred rupees if the forms are filled in wrong.Our safari costs $45 each per day, each plus another $15 for beer and chicken. The beer is ice cold when it was packed but after a day in the hot desert it's pretty warm. Also you should consider the fact that it is shaken all day as it rides on the camel. So the only time it really is good to drink is in the morning when it has had a chance to cool down and stay still. Unfortunately, I'm just not a drink -beer-in-...
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KW Mecca
2007-10-09 23:39:00
Kitchener, Ontario, October, 2007I'm lying in a cold bunk on a very cold Second Class train across the Rajasthan Desert of India. Do I think of the Maharajahs from the ancient world? Do I consider that this is the place where much of the civilized world began? Do I think of the adventures that lie ahead? No. I think of 'KW Surplus'. It was here that I got the sleeping bag that is keeping Aw warm. Mom took me here just before I left for Asia and on a whim, I picked up some items that ended up saving my bacon on my trip. And the things I bought were sooooooo inexpensive. So here's my salute to you, KW, and of course here's to you Mom!
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Desert Goats And Children
2007-10-09 03:33:00
From My Recent Journey In IndiaJaisalmer, January, 2007As we pass through a desert village these children lead us in. They are proud of their small community and they want to share it with us. There are very few building materials out here so the corrals are built from rocks, with a dried up branch and some straw for shade and protection from the rain (if it ever comes).As we come closer, the goats come to us to see who their visitors are.Aw creeps up to a goat to see if she can make friends. This is just like having our own private petting Zoo.We have been traveling for three days. We have seen very few people or creatures of any kind so this is really fun for us."Na la Kaw", as Aw would say; 'So cute".
More About: Children , Desert , Goats , Oats

Terry O'Reilly Confusion
2007-10-07 22:47:00
Anyone who listens to CBC radio, knows about O'Reilly And The Age Of Persuasion. This show has become the benchmark for quality programming. Mike Tennant and Terry O'Reilly put these great shows together each week. But there seems to be some confusion about Terry's past. CBC listeners keep asking: 'Didn't Terry O'Reilly play NHL Hockey for the Boston Bruins back in the seventies? I hope this clears up the confusion. Go Terry Go!
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Yohoo Camel!
2007-10-06 22:35:00
From My Recent Journey In IndiaJaisalmer, January, 2007We Arrive at Nourah's village on the last day. He asks if I had a good time. Yes, I sure did Nourah, but there is one thing I never had a chance to do. Just once, I would like to see how fast a camel can run. He gives me a sideways look as if to say: 'you asked for it." He puts me on my camel 'Journey' and he gets on behind me. We head to an oval track on his property and away we go.
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Truck Learning Curve
2007-10-06 03:22:00
This is my new (old) construction truck. It's a nice looking truck and it has a powerful engine. If I push on the gas pedal the wheels squeal and burn rubber. But I wasn't sure I would actually get it on the road. Melbah and I answered an ad on the Internet. We both had the feeling that this was the truck to buy. We make an appointment and drive an hour and a half to a farm on the banks of Lake Huron. A young Dutch couple; Eric and Petra, meet us and we take the truck for a spin. The driver's door doesn't close properly and I see rust spots but we make a deal to buy it for just under two thousand dollars. The only problem is that it needs a safety inspection to be legal on the road. Eric tells us he has had it inspected just six months earlier. He promises me it will pass again and implies that he will take the truck back if we have a problem. This is the moment of my fateful mistake. I should have refused to proceed until he completed the inspection and paperwork, but I didn't...
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Nourah; Camel Driver
2007-10-05 03:14:00
From My Recent Journey In IndiaJaisalmer, January, 2007This is our third and last day on the Safari. We arrive in a small settlement made up of a few brick buildings and goat corrals.Nourah did a great job of guiding us through the desert. Here he is with his (my) camel 'Journey'. Many people think of camels as being unpredictable and snappy, but Nourah says that most are very docile and friendly because they are used to being around people.Nourah wants to buy his own camels and do his own Safaris. We are thinking of investing in a camel with him. Camel s cost about $300 to buy. At the end of the journey we arrived at Nourah's village in the desert. The only people who live here are his own family and brothers and a couple of aunts and uncles; about fifteen people in all. That's his wife in the green and his brother next to her. You would never know Nourah and his wife were married from looking at them in public. Indian culture does not allow public shows of affection. Muslim c...
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Healing Moment
2007-10-03 08:39:00
Vancouver, BC, Canada, September 16, 2007It's my last full day in Vancouver before I head back to Waterloo. My brother Pete picks me up from Scott and Judy's and takes me to his home in White Rock. This is Pete with two of his daughters; Millie (holding) Sasha. I make a point of spending a bit of time with Millie. She and I have both studied the same Spiritual path and I always enjoy the chance to talk to her since we share many of the same beliefs. As we're outside in Pete's back yard, I am drawn to this statue of Saint Francis of Assisi, who is mentioned in the Eck Teachings. He reminds me of a blog story Melbah wrote a while back about a Saint who showed up in a tree trunk. While I'm talking with Millie it's like we're in a different world. All these elements make up something greater than the talk we're having. It's a magical meeting and I have a strong sense of healing around us.
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Desert Life
2007-10-03 02:52:00
From My Recent Journey In IndiaJaisalmer, India, January, 2007We settle into desert life very easily. It's quiet out here and very peaceful. Every so often I turn around and snap a photo of Aw on her camel. We each carry one bag of personal stuff on the camel's saddle horn.We come across a lot of these large green bushes as we travel. These are all that break up the landscape for most of our journey.Our camels only eat once a day. Nourah spreads out some grain on a blanket for each of our pals. We carry the feed with us.Nourah makes us dinner from scratch. He brings rice and vegetables and the ingredients for chapattis. There's nothing better than the smell of a meal cooking in the quiet of the evening just before the sun goes down.We sit on our camp blankets and watch the sun set through the bush. For me, the Safari is all about this kind of moment. To truly enjoy the experience, we slow ourselves into the moment and enjoy what is, right now.
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I Saw It On The Radio
2007-10-02 03:44:00
Toronto, Canada, June 11, 2007I'm a shameless fan of the CBC Radio program: O'Reilly And The Age Of Persuasion, so when my brother Mike, invited me to watch a taping of the show at Pirate Radio, I was thrilled. A few weeks ago I was doing some carpentry at Mike's home and I got a chance to see him preparing the script and sound bites for the show. I am in awe of how much care he takes and how much work he does to give the show the extras that put it above and beyond most other shows on the air. And now I have a chance to see the show being made.I show up at the Pirate Studio in downtown Toronto. Terry O'Reilly is one of the six partners of this Advertising agency. It's a very inviting building with a relaxed atmosphere and lots of comfortable chairs and a small cafeteria with many jars of candy on a counter for anyone to sample. I arrange to meet my mom and Mike's wife, Lorrie here at Pirate. As it happens, the three of us meet right outside the building as if on cue. Mike ...
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Desert Watering Hole
2007-10-01 03:45:00
From My Recent Journey In IndiaJaisalmer, January, 2007Life in the desert is very simple. We come to this oasis and Nourah, our camel driver takes us the sandy banks of this lake, to give our camels a good drink. Aw's beast has her head deep in the water as soon as we arrive They suck up the water like vacuum cleaners. A camel can go up to three days before needing water again. And just in case you're wondering where they store the water; it's not in their hump. We come upon this father and son filling up their water storage tank. People here are very friendly and open to strangers. The little boy calls to us and I reply 'salaam alekum'. In India you can be sure that the greeting is almost always: 'namaste' or 'salaam alekum' depending if you are in a Muslim or Hindu area. Either way, I enjoy this kind of meeting the best.
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Chris's Eagle Feather
2007-09-30 03:15:00
From My Recent Journey In IndiaJaisalmer, January, 2007My friend from Canada, Judy, lost her son a couple of years ago. Both of us have had some very interesting signs of Chris to show us he's okay. When I find feathers, I think of him. Today, as we walk through this ancient village, I suddenly spot an eagle feather at my feet. There are many eagles out here flying around as we travel. Then I hear a strange squawking sound and the three of us look around a corner and see a beautiful sight. There are several peacocks standing nearby. They live wild in the desert here. They are quite skittish so by the time I get a photo of them, they are pretty far away. This is the wonder of the Jaisalmer desert; so barren, then suddenly, so beautiful.
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Vancouver Boat Tour
2007-09-29 03:46:00
Vancouver BC, September 18, 2007After our visit with Amy, we head out to the lake for a day at Scott and Judy's SECRET SPOT. You can torture me to death, you can tear my fingernails out, you can even tear Scott's finger nails out! We will never divulge the location. NEVER!!! Okay, I give up. Here's where we are.Scott launches the boat at this man-made lake near 'Golden Ears' Park, where I went hiking with Pete last year. A Hydro-electric dam was built here so now this whole area has been submerged. If you were to swim down you would see the trees still there below our boat. We take the boat along the lake for ten minutes until we arrive at the spot that Scott and Judy have dubbed: 'Rattlesnake Point'. Scott and Peter first found this spot 25 years ago when they came canoeing along here. What a great site. We pull out our portable chairs and our packed lunch of beer and sandwiches and just hang out for the afternoon. Finally, around 3pm Scott declares he is going swimming. J...
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Aw's Desert Travel
2007-09-28 04:36:00
From My Recent Journey In IndiaJaisalmer, January, 2007Nourah loads up up camels as we head out for another day exploring this wondrous country. He walks ahead of us leading the camels and guiding us along the route effortlessly.Now I can carry out my secret plan. I know that it's just a matter of time before I wear Aw down. I'll show her who has the real endurance in the desert.Look at that desperate look in her face. I mean, let's get serious. She's just a tiny Thai woman. She is no match for a big strong (Yai jing jing krup) man from Canada. She can't possibly be having a good time on that Camel, hour after hour, trudging along the hot desert. Sure, she has that smile on her face and yes, I hear her laughing as if she's having a good time out here. But she's not fooling anyone. And tell that camel to get that smirk off his face!
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Bob & Amy's New Old Home
2007-09-27 03:53:00
Vancouver, BC, September 15, 2007Scott and Judy invite me out for a ride in their boat. We have a nice breakfast together and head out. On the way, we stop off to see Scott's daughter, Amy. It's good to see that Scott and Judy are finally starting to act like mature adults. Amy and her husband Bob have just bought a home in Haney. The house itself is old and a bit rugged, but the lot is fantastic. They are in a neighborhood that is up and coming so they will do very well in the future when they decide to sell. Amy says they expect the house to be torn down by whoever buys it next. In the meantime, they are making it a cosy place to live in. You can see the uneven roof from the two additions that were added over the years. One of their first orders of business will be to seal the leaks in this roof.Here's the view as you come in the front door. The home is small but it still has a spacious feel to it. Amy says they are going to put hardwood floors throughout the house to give it ...
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MBT Desert Trial
2007-09-26 02:54:00
From My Recent Journey In IndiaJaisalmer, January, 2007They say 'never judge a man til you walk a mile in his sandals. Nourah walks the whole journey through the desert. He leads the two camels like this for the three days, walking in his old black shoes. After the first day, he shows me one of his shoes. The sole is split open and it has thorns in it. Fortunately I have a second pair of sandals so I give him my best pair to wear for the duration of our trip. The irony is that these are very special sandals. I got them through my friend Vivyan in Toronto Canada. They are MBTs.These shoes were designed by studying the Masai tribe in the African desert. The shoes are bow shaped so that the we must unconsciously adjust our posture to walk straight. It is a total body work out but after a short time it causes you to walk in a healthier way. So here we are in the desert of India and our guide is wearing the exact footwear that was designed by people in his exact situation. They costs a...
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Vancouver Deck Garden
2007-09-25 04:09:00
I wake up after a wonderful night with Scott and Judy at a local pub. I am at their home in North Vancouver . For you X-File fans, they used to film many of the scenes from that show, just up the street from here. My biological clock is really out of whack so I am up at 6am. The air is cool and fresh. My brother and his wife have very tall Douglas Fir trees around their property. Once in a while, a wind will gust and a huge branch will come hurtling down. a couple of years ago, this tree dropped a branch and it fell like a spear on the hood of Judy's car. It didn't puncture the metal but it did make a hell of a dent. The insurance company tried to argue that the damage was an act of God. But once Judy explained that the insurance company could expect the wrath of God if the claim was not settled fast, they seemed to see the light and finally did repair her car. They have a great assortment of plants and flowers on their deck railing. I love the smells and colors but my favorite thi...
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Camel Safari: Desert Children
2007-09-24 03:20:00
From My Recent Journey In IndiaJaisalmer, January, 2007We wake up to the smell of Chai boiling on a cooking fire nearby. What a great way to start the morning. It' cool and clear in the desert and we are very relaxed. It just happened that Aw and I are the only ones on this Safari . We were told there would be eight or ten other travelers with us, but we don't mind at all. It's as if we have the whole desert to ourselves. After a delicious breakfast of jam and toast, we pack up as our driver loads everything back onto the camels, and off we go.This village family comes out to meet us as we travel. We walk around and see goats in corrals and some chickens wandering loose. The woman on the right was making butter by hand as we approach. Our camel driver, Nourah, says these villagers welcome us and although they hope we will give them a bit of money, they are happy just to see us. There are only three of four families living here. The huts are clay with thatched roofs. S...
More About: Children , Camel , Desert