MERRY CHRISTMAS!

to everyone,

 it may seem a little early, but today we start our Christmas decorations at home, first thing off to the Soi Bukaow Tuesday and Friday market,

Diana chose to go into the market using the middle entrance, almost opposite Friendship,

I took a short walk and went into the entrance that is in Soi Bukaow itself,

 the view looking back towards TukCom on Second Road,

 unusually no taxis in Soi Bukaow, there is normally a line of them waiting here,

 into the market,

 past the boiling oil, it always makes me shudder to think what could happen if some one blundered into it,

 bananas as always in season, 

I then bumped into this happy couple collecting for the Rotary Club, who meet every Wednesday at 6.30 pm. at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort,

 medium sized oranges are now in season, Diana bought some for us to munch on later today,

 'stack em high, sell um cheap!', I guess some one is hoping for a run on false eyelashes,

 the middle market live pet fish stall,

 gold, rubies, diamonds all for 100 baht each, I wonder if they are real?

when ever I see a rabbit I always think of our pet rabbit when I was a kid, we always went to Uncle Harry's who bred rabbits for not only show but for the table for our Christmas holidays, every Christmas morning at the side of my bed there would be a baby rabbit in a box, to replace the one we had brought back to Uncle Harry the week before Christmas lunch, all year I would look after Thumper as we called each one every year, giving him the best food and making sure he was big and healthy, it took me some years before I realised why Mum refused to eat any meat at Christmas lunch, when for the rest of the year she ate meat like the rest of us,

 moving on, I made my way to the plant section,

 and bought some tomato seeds now that the weather was cooler we were going to grow some more, the last attempt even though we found it was not the right time of year to grow them was a success and great fun too watching them grow,

 this is the live fish shop that is here permanently,

 a mobile towel seller,

 I have often seen these stalls advertised as the 'one million turn chicken'

 I am not sure that they woulds have turned a million times, but quite a few in any event,

 I thought these plant holders neat for youngsters to start them plant growing,

 especially the fish shaped one,

 drinks to go,

 then back to Second Road, we did some food shopping in Friendship,

 then home a shower and change for the weekend night market,

 on Thepprasit Road, the sky looking towards Jomtien a bit cloudy,

 for the past few weeks I had been trying to buy some slip on shoes I normally wear, today success, 2 pairs for 400 baht from this gentleman's stall,

 the sky looking inland decidedly a bit cloudy,

 opposite the bar this evening a 100 baht and a 50 baht stall,

 a rumble of thunder in the distance sounded a bit ominous,

 the 2 main food aisles,

 fairly crowded,

 but not so many shoppers in the new third aisle,

 or the pet section,

 I am not sure what these are,

 but I suspect pen or pencil holders looking at the two holes on the right hand side,

 I made my way back to the bar,

 the peanut seller waiting for customers on the steps that the bar is on,

 then some blur sky broke through the clouds inland,

 we were joined tonight by Brian, after chatting we said our farewells,

 after our evening meal it was out with the tree,

 Diana had bought some decorations in the market and at Friendship,

 so lights on first,

 then the tinsel,

 and the small hanging decorations,

 then a Father Christmas,

 or two,

 and the tree was ready,

 so,

lights on, 'Ah!',

 for our evenings entertainment we decided on a couple of oldies, made in 1955, This Island Earth, 

 and a lavishly made and produced The Fearless Vampire Killers, I have to say we really enjoyed watching this film again, a bit dated now but if you have not seen it give it a try,

to round off our evening a couple of episode of Sleepy Hollow, the television series, then for us we were off to bed.