She has 3 bananas and a bag!

Learning to speak Thai has started in earnest now. However there is not much you can say when your only vocab is a few fruit & veg and basic numbers! Of course, we have very important stuff like the the consonants (please Bob), vowels and, vitally, tones to learn. To be honest, anyone listening in on our lessons, would think we were enrolled on a farmyard noises course; rather than language lessons but that's our poor pronunciation of this beautiful language!
We have been enjoying getting to know our local area too. We have walked past a bar/restaurant near

to the Juniper Tree called the Antique House. It is along side the river and looked quite authentically Thai but accessible to Westerners. We called the other day and were delighted to find that there was live music just starting. The performer was about our age and was tuning an electric guitar. He had a keyboard player behind him who was clearly controlling some backing tracks through the system.
He started with some folky sounding songs in Thai but then went into a variety of classic tunes including "The minute you're gone" Cliff Richard, the Bee Gees, various Elvis numbers and so on. He sang very well and played an accurate, if sparse, counter melody against the track. It was amazing and very enjoyable. Some phrases in the lyrics were strangely re-interpreted but compared to our efforts to speak his language we were humbled! We returned on the evening of our day off to eat and there was a  young female vocalist singing with them, this time all Thai songs but wonderful entertainment all the same.
We went to visit some waterfalls this afternoon. We walked, supposedly, 1 kilometre up a track to eventually find amongst a deeply wooded area a gorge with waterfalls cascading through the trees. Luckily for use the area was devoid of snakes and such like, it looked like it should be teeming with
beasties!
Concerning our work here, we have to be circumspect in what we say. However it is true to say we have found ourselves plenty to do and some work with the guests who have been in very difficult circumstances has been much appreciated. We have enjoyed fellowship with people from all over Asia and beyond and found that attentive listening and friendship has been the key to helping many of these people to find their way to a "better place" than when they arrived here.
One family we have got to know well have 2 wonderful children; a boy and a young girl. The Dad is a university teacher and she a speech therapist. The whole family light the place up and have that wonderful gift of seeing the best in every circumstance. When we had the power cuts they were first to offer to help in any way they could. Another couple we have found inspirational run an employment agency for Phillipino girls in Hong Kong. They provide safe, legitimate jobs for many girls who would otherwise be at risk from exploitation and they have such a positive, loving attitude to their work. Joan has found many avenues to allow her to gather a group of eager learners around her, most recently revamping a world map to show the places all the visitors here have come from. The kids have loved to talk about their home countries and their adopted homes too. They have printed out flags, population statistics and all sorts of interesting facts, whilst at the same time giving their Mums and Dads a few minutes peace and quiet!
Another nice event was the Staff Christmas Treat! Khamsi, the handyman, had sold a load of scrap wood for 3,000 Bt (£62) this was used to pay most of the cost of all 20 of us to go to the Holiday Inn in Chiang Mai, where they do an excellent buffet lunch. The dining room seats 100's in great style and there is a massive range of hot and cold food. (Eat as much as you like!)  As it was the King's birthday many people were wearing yellow or pink (The King's colours). It is also Fathers Day in Thailand, so I suppose we were fortunate to get in! Everyone agreed this was an excellent way to enjoy the run up to our busy season before it gets too hectic. We are virtually ram-full through Christmas and until March now.
I have been gradually updating the electrical wiring of some of the houses on the site and also installing a system for the Site Watchmen to use on their patrols to record their rounds and any issues with them like open windows, intruders or water leaks etc. Both Day and Night Watchmen can now be seen strutting around the site with an air of great purpose as they log their visits to the security tags at strategic places. They both seem to have grown a couple of inches taller!
Simon and Melanie the long term managers here go off home to the UK for Christmas soon and we will be left in charge. It's very hard to believe it's so near to Christmas, given the unbroken sunshine and heat here and even though we have a Christmas tree in our house and sang carols at Church on Sunday it is very bizarre!
Tonight we even spent an evening eating Christmas cake (a gift from a guest) to help us get into the Spirit.