Chickenpox

PJ has got Chickenpox and he is not too happy about it. His playmates have been banned from calling round. I first noticed the spots on Saturday, so he probably has already infected the other children at the nursery. I will find out on Monday. William is showing no sings of infection but in all probability he will get it soon.

Snowy Ramsey

The last few days has seen frequent snow showers over Ramsey. Sometimes there was a significant amount for it to lay, but this amounted to no more than 1cm. Our first snow this winter, well I say winter but it is now spring! I doubt whether we will see any more snow until next winter, maybe not even then.

Coughs and Sneezes

I've finally got to the bottom of why I have been continually catching chesty coughs, colds, flu and chest infections - Asthma!

The winter of 2004/5 saw me with a very bad viral infection which took many weeks to clear. After this I was noticeably asthmatic. I was prescribed a preventer and a reliever, though I had little understanding of asthma or of the use of these inhalers in controlling it. During the rest of the year I felt ok. I had an irritating cough but then I have had this for years. I put it down to my heavy smoking in my youth.

Thinking back over those years now, I believe that it was not the smoking that gave me this cough but asthma. It would seem that I have been suffering from asthma for decades! Now with proper use of both the preventer and reliever inhalers my cough is finally under control. Hopefully, I can look forward to future years with fewer colds and sneezes.

William is now crawling

Today William finally got the hang of crawling. I sat him down and turned my back and when I turned back he had moved several feet. So I thought I'd test him. I sat him down again. I moved to the other side of the room and called to him. He again crawled the few feet towards me. I think he will improve rapidly now. He can also climb up to a kneeling position. Soon he will be climbling to a standing position. In a few months I am sure he will be taking his first steps unaided.

Jeep and the Co-Op

Jeep has finally got the job that she wanted. Jeep was invited to an inteview at a Co-Op mini-market a couple of weeks ago and was very excited to have been offered the job of Sales Assistant. It is working part-time about 30 hours per week. The hours compliment mine, so that when I am working Jeep is at home and when I come home Jeep is working. Jeep works 3 evenings per week and on Saturday and Sunday. It works well for us and saves us a lot of money with child care costs.

Two weeks into her new job, Jeep is enjoying the experience very much. It gets her out of the home. It gives her a break from the boys. She meets new people daily. Is able to practice her English in a real environment. She also gets on well with her colleagues. Just like my job, it is only a few minutes walk from home. So we can reveal that Jeep is extreamly happy with her new job at the Co-Op.

More Winter Whoes

I don't believe it! More time off work.

Last week I was struck down with a cold. Not too serious, I could cope with that. Four days into my could and I was hit with a fever, which lasted all of last Sunday afternoon. By evening my chest was sore and I had an earache. I didn't sleep much that night and by morning the pain in my ear was unbearable. I contacted the surgury, and was diagnosed with an ear infection and a chest infection. More antibiotics for me!

My ear has cleared up now but I still have a chesty cough. This should clear up by next week. William has cought the viral infection that has been going round the island. PJ had this too, but his cleared up a week ago, so I am expecting William's infection too follow the same path. Hopefully, we will all be well again after the weekend. Roll on the spring!

Viral Infection

I hope that this is the end of my ails for some time! I have just got over a horrible bowel viral infection. It kept me off work for a few days. Nasty piece of work! I think I caught this one from William but apart from the high temperature, he didn't seem too effected. PJ doesn't seem to be effected by much. He gets down for a few hours and then bounces back with gusto! Apart from the odd cold, Jeep has avoided ill health this winter.

My blood test for my indigestion and acid reflux has proved negative and since taking the acid pump tablets I haven't been effected by excess acid since. I am hopeful for the future.

I am now looking forward to spring and a healthier outlook for the rest of the year.

Indigestion and Acid Reflux

If anyone out there knows of a solution to this horrible problem then
please drop me a line. This has plagued me for too long.

Chest Infection

Almost a year to the day, and I have a chest infection again! These cold and damp winters are not good for my health. I am surprised I did not write about it last year, but then I was very bad. At the moment my chest is not too bad. Maybe it is the flu jab that I had this year that is reducing it's effect, maybe not. Someday I will be able to live and work in a dryer, warmer climate.

William's first tooth

One of William's lower front teeth has made an appearance. Very sharp it is too. He will be feeding from the bottle very soon I think!

Sitting Up

William was 7 months old yesterday and he sits up by himself now. He is a a happy little baby. He spends many hours chattering away. Baa baa baa baa baa baa... Cute eh? Oh! And blowing rasberrys!

What's New

I have added a link on my family website for Jeep's recipes. So far we have only published one: Spicey Thai Salmon - delicious. Click on the Evans-Amsri home page link on the right to visit our home.

I have also uploaded many recent photos of William and PJ, all taken during November. Click on the Flickr banner on our home page or the menu link 'Photo albums' also from our home page.

This month sees a 15 day festival that takes place every year from the 1st Decmber in Udon Thani called 'Tung Sri Mueng'. The festival's purpose is to promote local produce and enterprise, as well as to have fun! It is a very colourful and noisy affair. Here is a link http://web.udru.ac.th/event/gallery/tung_sri_mueng/ displaying a slide show of many photos of this festival.

Loi Krathong 2005

Loi Krathong is an annual festival in Thailand.

On the night of the 16th of November, Thai's all around the country make elaborate floats, usually made from banana leaves, decorated with flowers, candles and sparklers. The candles and sparklers are lit and then the whole decoration is floated down river. Some Thais will even attach some of their hair or finger nail, so as to float aware their troubles.

To see some photos of this years Loi Krathong festival please visit http://travel.sanook.com/bangkok/bangkok_08545.php?? Though this site is in Thai, the pictures more than make up for it.

First Frosts of Winter

We had our first frost of this winter last night, and again tonight. Perhaps a sign of the winter ahead?

Flu Jab

I received my first ever Flu jab yesterday, free, courtesy of the NHS. Last year I had a bad case of Flu, and subsequently a severe chest infection. This left me asthmatic, hence my entitlement to a free NHS Flu inoculation. Hopefully, I won't suffer to the extent that I did last winter.

Version 2 of our Website is launched today

Well, finally I have launched version 2. Not yet complete, but it does give me plenty of options for the future. I have avoided using Javascript, Tables & Frames for markup, relying on HTML/CSS only. I am in the process of learning Javascript. I am looking forward to adding extra functionality using Javascript. There is also much more content to be added too. Our new website can be found at: http://www.amsri.co.uk . Please pay us a visit and sign our Guestbook.

William turned himself over today

Today William finally managed to turn himself over onto his stomach by himself. Once he realised he could do this he did it many times.

Today he is 5 days short of being 5 months old.

Eric Meyer On CSS

I've discovered Eric Meyer - http://www.meyerweb.com - the man is pure CSS/HTML genius!

I bought his two books - Eric Meyer On CSS and More Eric Meyer On CSS . They are both worth the money if you are interested in designing and writing your own website. Both books are full of practical examples.

Now I must get on with my family website. ;-)

Autumn (Fall) Gales are here

Boy! I'm having fun!

I have almost completed my first month in my new job. William is growing fast and is now 4 months old. Version 2 of my website is coming along. I have found some interesting links, more on this later. Finally, in this last week, I have stepped into the Internet Marketing arena again. I was looking for a site to host my website and I found this - http://www.website.ws/evansamsri/ . Website hosting AND a money earner. All for US$10 per month. Another site, more for our Thai readers really. Not sure how well it works but it should get better with time - http://suparsit.com/index1.php . For all you Thais out there, try it. It's free! Please let me know how you get on with it.

34' Sailing Dory 'Badger'

While walking towards the swing-bridge in Ramsey harbour, there ahead of me and to my great surprise was 'Badger' waiting to enter the inner harbour. 'Badger' is a Benford designed 34' sailing dory, made famous (in sailing circles) by Annie Hill in her excellent book 'Voyaging On A Small Income'.

The new owners of Badger - Alan and Gloria Parsons - were sailing her to a Junk Rig Association meeting in Scotland. On route from their home in Cumbria they decided to have a short stop-over in the Isle of Man. I am pleased they did. Having already read both Annie's books, I was keen to see this wonderful boat first hand. Here she was sailing into my home town!

I quickly made may aquaintance to Alan and Gloria. They stayed for a few days in Ramsey before continuing their voyage, and I was fortunate enough not only to make new friends but to go aboard 'Badger' and admire her fully. What a week!