A Thailand beach surprise

As I promised in my previous post, we had a big surprise while visiting the Thai Islands.  Our son from Utah, Alex, and his girlfriend, Sam, planned to meet up with us for several days while we were staying in Ao Nang, Krabi.  But that wasn't the surprise.  Alex had been to Krabi before and thought what better time than to come over again while we were there.

Alex and Sam stayed over in Railay, only accessible by boat, which was a short ride for us from Ao Nang.  Railay is surrounded by a warm sea, lush jungle and limestone cliffs.  Perfect for the adventurous, like Alex and Sam.

Of course, there are others who would prefer just to chill out 

and have a wonderful Thai massage.....

.... or hang around reading ....

.... or sleeping .....

or like this kitty ....

watch what others come here to do, 

from all around the world

... rock climb ...

But rock climbing wasn't what Alex came to do.  Alex had other plans.  

As an experienced BASE jumper, he planned to do several jumps on this visit, as he had on other visits.  If you are not familiar with BASE jumping, it is an extreme sport of jumping from fixed objects with a parachute. The name BASE is derived from the fixed objects that are jumped from:  buildings, antennas, spans (like a bridge) and earth (like cliffs). 

One has be in great shape to endure the climbs 

up the backside of these cliffs.  

It took Alex about 3 hours to climb through jungle and sharp, knife-life rock 

to reach his jumping off point.

And he lands ....

The jump was awesome to watch,

but even more awesome was what happened

after he landed!

He got down on one knee in front of Sam and said:

"I thought I'd take the plunge and ask you to marry me."

Well .....  you can see what her response was!

It was wonderful to share such a memorable moment

with family.

Congratulations Alex & Sam.

Looking forward to your Utah wedding in March 2015!

A side note:  One must be alert when packing one's parachute.  You never know when some Thailand kitty may try to rearrange your lines!  Might not make for a pleasant landing!

Ode to King Kitty Kramer

His chest moves rhythmically as he sleeps.  Aside from my computer, I'm keeping close company with Kramer today. He lies at my feet and purrs away my sorrow as I reach down and stroke his soft fur.  Today is my last day with him.  Kramer has been living with a chronic illness for a while now and today we will say goodbye to him before his illness turns to suffering. 

Kramer was a rescue kitty along with his sister, Zoey, who passed a number of years ago.  He was never a lap kitty, but more dog like in his behavior, sitting at our feet under the dinner table or lying bedside in the evenings.  Cautious and careful, Kramer would hiss at brooms or vacuum cleaners and run from heavy footsteps.  Always affectionate, he loved head rubs and would greet me in the mornings with a kitty mew hello or a pawing at the sheets to inform me his food dish was empty.  

Other times, I would awake to the gift of his fave toy, a little yellow duckie by my bedside.  He taught us to throw water in the shower for him to drink, to never let his food bowl go empty and that persistent head bumps should be met with a kitty massage.

Kramer will enjoy his last breath in our backyard surrounded 

by chatty birds and the sounds of mother nature.  

As it should be.  

He will feel our love as his heart stops. 

Kramer. King Kitty Kramer.  Kitty Kitty. 1997-2013.

My heart aches with your loss.

Kitty love

You know, Lady Mom, I haven’t been feelin’ the love 

coming my way lately.

 I wait and wait in the bedroom each night, 

but you remain in your office working on some BLOG thing. 

*Urrrrmph*

I don’t really ask for much.  Food in my bowl morning and night.  Clean litter box.  Peace and quiet.  

Vacuum cleaners hidden away. 

By the way, whoever thought it a good idea to put the vacuum cleaner 

near my litter box, 

not good, Dude.  

 

It really stressed me out !

So sorry for that accident and it won't happen again as long as you keep that thing away from me!

Lately I have to place myself in the shower just to get your attention.  

Also, please tell The Professor to give me a bit more notice to get out before he turns it on.  

Jeez ... you KNOW I can't move that fast with my arthritis.  

You haven't even noticed how I sit in the hallway each evening, 

wondering when you will come to bed.  

Kitty-willing you to come to bed.

I’m just a kitty lookin’ for love

from you 

*Meow*

~ ~ ~

A repost from two years ago.  

Our Kitty Kramer is 16 years old and not a well kitty these days.

We love him endlessly and clearly

he has loved us back as well.

Our journey together, I fear, is nearing an end.

We'll continue to shower him with love

until he tells us

it's time.

And the beat goes on

The weather has been so dark and dreary here lately.  I am so ready for some sunshine but I don't think we are going to see any for a few days.  Today, it's a remarkable 60 degrees!  But it's not going to last long.  Temps are taking a dive later.

Since I was bed-bound this past weekend, I spent a little time organizing my photos (an endless task!) and signed up to use PhotoShelter to backup my most favorite photos.  I used to use SmugMug but I find PhotoShelter so much more attractive and customizable.  And the best part is that there's a plug-in to export photos out of Aperture straight into PhotoShelter!!  Awesome!  You can find my new site at Reena Walkling Photography.

It was a huge task to sort and figure out which images I wanted to store there.  After losing 6 months worth of photos (including over a 2,000+ from our Istanbul and Alaska trips ~sigh~) due to my hard drive crashing, I never wanted to have that problem again.

But on to more pleasant thoughts!

Critters ....

All the critters have been super active in the backyard in spite of rain and snow and cold.  My little Carolina Wren comes almost daily now so I'm thinking she may be here to raise her young.  All your comments were quite interesting about the multitude of places you have seen the Wren's build their nests. I'm hoping a little bird house will be enticing to her.

We also have had a new visitor around lately!  This kitty was sitting by our back door the other morning watching the birds.  Breakfast must have been on her mind.  I captured this quick photo of her expression "WHAT THE HELL" before she quickly scurried off upon seeing me.  I hope she has a home somewhere.

Thanks for all your kind comments on my recovery.  

I'm almost back to normal.

Well as normal as I can possibly be at the age of 60!

Normal would be having knees of a teenager.

Later, my friends!

Coast to coast

I don't know what it is about water

but I just love it

how it changes from day to day

even hour to hour

the rise and fall

ebb and flow

of its presence

charms me

 

as do the boats who

who dance and shimmer

on its surface

Yep.  Just can't get enough of this.

So .....with that said, over the next week, The Professor and I will be taking in a view of another coastline ... Seattle (for business) and then .... (drumroll) .... Alaska (for fun)!  I'm hoping to get some spectacular shots of all kinds of scenery and critters!

Keep your fingers crossed for good weather.  We've got a 9-hour boat tour planned off the southern coast of the Kenai Fjords National Park south of Anchorage.  Should be awesome!

 Of course, 

there are other family members who could care less!

Huurrrmmmppphhh!

~ ~ ~ 

Later, my friends,

Key West, Hemingway & polydactyl cats ...

It seems I have been talking about Key West forever and probably worn the subject thin with all.  

I wouldn't say Key West was my favorite place to visit.  I always find it a bit crowded, touristy and overpriced unless you get off the beaten path and explore beyond Duval Street.  

Which was pretty much our style.

But there are some sites you just have to go see and when it involves either 

the beach, birds, sunsets or kitties, I'm there!  

We had been to the Hemingway house years ago but I needed new pictures of the cats.  Not much had changed.  The house above is still delightful to photograph as are the grounds.

This is an old olive oil container.  Nothing remarkable about it.

But what is remarkable is the urinal trough below which came out of Sloppy Joe's when they

were updating their bathrooms.  Apparently Hemingway wanted a reminder
“of just how much money I have pissed away.”

I was mostly interested in his writing loft behind the big house.  This is where

he did most of his writing.  I'd like to think that is his original typewriter, but who knows.

Lots of cool artwork.  I especially liked the cat painting.

 : : :

And then there are the cats.  

All 47 of them at my time of visit.  

Of course, I probably saw only a handful of them.  Most are off sleeping somewhere.  

Under a chair, in a bed, in the garden or on the lawn.  

Once in a while, you would hear a cat scream at some indignity imposed by another. 

 Isn't this guy handsome.  He gave me a few moments before becoming bored with my presence.

 Take a close look and count those toes!

All but 4 of the cats are neutered to maintain a healthy population.  There is a fence around the property that keeps them in and imposters out!

There is also a cat cemetery (and hopefully nothing like Stephen King's "Pet Cemetery"!)
with a few old headstones.

As you can see, there are some pretty

famous kitties buried here!

 Being a polydactyl kitty requires some paw maintenance ...

and a little attitude for the crowds ...

But once maintenance and attitude end, the posing begins!

 : : :

Now a final wrap up of some views I enjoyed.  Most of the shots above were SOOC, 

but sometimes I just love using Topaz 

and making ordinary pictures pop.

Thanks for coming along with me on our journey.  

We will now return to our regular scheduled programming.

Like shopping for a turkey!

Egads!

How can it be Thanksgiving already? 

Until tomorrow, friends,

~sharing with~
The Creative Exchange