January 19,

I didn’t sleep well… I kept thinking of the Chiefs – of all things!!! We got up at 0430 and were able to “stream” the game on our phone’s app. I put stream in quotes, because the watching was very choppy. Jeff thinks this is because of having to use a VPN to view the games over here. But we were able to follow the game… How About Those CHIEFS!!!!  We then had our Javas and breakfast of Muesli, yogurt and milk. We were able to take in some of the Commanders as they surprised the Lions.

Then we went to a church here. It is another international church, simply called Koh Samui International Church. The Minister is a transplanted South African living here with his Thai wife. He is very outgoing. We also met a fellow American – he was from Washington, and retired early from the military. There were other foreigners: couple of Americans, a Canadian, one from Greenland, some German, and some Russian… that was all I remembered, I am sure there were others. The worship band was all Filipino. There were also a number of local Thai’s.

The minister had all new people get up and introduce ourselves. Then church started with the Worship Service, which was great; next an Offering was taken; and then the message: To Be or Not To Be, and how we are to be children of God. It was a fine service for God. We did not stay long after and went to get physical food after our spiritual banquet.

We went to Chicken Run Rotisserie. Jeff had found it online – having great reviews. We arrived and were greeted by the enthusiastic owner, a French man. We ordered a ½ of a Rotisserie Chicken with two sides and two sauces. We chose Potato Salad and Papaya Salad with two sauces of ginger and garlic aioli. We also had a mango shake and a pineapple shake. The whole meal was excellent, and one of the best herb rotisserie chickens we’ve had since Morocco. The salads were awesome and the sauces – especially the ginger one – were superb. The bill was 640 Baht ($18.65).

Now we went to the Big C mall. I bought some swim shorts here. We went to a couple of other places to find a swim top without any success. We also bought a few items on our list and returned back to our place. Relaxed and ate a light supper of cheese, tomato, cucumber, crackers, and a mango.

We talked with my mom and then with our church family back home. It was a really good day.

January 20,

We awoke at 0630 in time to watch the Bills and Ravens. That was a good game. We had our Javas and breakfast of Muesli, yogurt, and milk. We discovered this morning we did not have water. Around 0830, the tanker truck came as he does every day. But this was earlier than normal, for a good reason. He did this twice more. It’s crazy that this is how we get water. I have questions??, of course.

Anyway, I went to our beach overlook and called my sister, and showed her the views. But went back inside our townhouse, as there were people out at the beach and I didn’t want to be that person that is talking loudly on their phone. My sister said it was 9 degrees F. back home! BURR!!! 🥶 I gotta say… I don’t miss that, but I felt a little bad that I was enjoying my temperature so well. Then we talked with Jeff’s sister and showed her our beach view as well. Again there were people out there so we went back into our place. Jeff’s sister said they don’t see the fires anymore, but it is not all contained yet. Still praying for that whole situation.

When we finished our WhatsApp video calls, we went out for lunch. We wanted burgers. One of the highest rated places, Homemade Burgers & Sandwiches, was where we went. I actually got a Salmon Burger with Onions, Tomatoes, & Pickles; an order of Fries; and a Thai Lemon Tea. Jeff had a Beef Burger with Cheese, Garlic, Grilled (&raw) Onions, & Pickles; Onion Rings; and a Coconut Shake, that was colorfully decorated. The burgers were great (even-though I did not have a true hamburger) with the buns toasted and crispy outside. We were given ketchup, mustard, and mayo condiments. It was good. When we finished we saw some Choc. Chip cookies and bought one as take-away. Our bill was 750 Baht ($21.86) total – with the cookie. We loaded up and left for a grocery store for items for a light French supper.

Back at our place we relaxed. I blogged as Jeff read. Around 1800 we went out to watch the sunset and thank our Savior for it. Then we had our supper, watched some Youtube, and listened to worship 24/7. It was a couple more great days in Koh Samui!