Stuff!!

Doctors visit tomorrow (Monday).
Roxanne goes on a business trip. (Tuesday) So if your a crazy psychopath who reads this bog waiting for us to give you that one opportunity to come turn us into dinner (some fava beans and a nice Chianti). come get some...I have "Mad Max'ed" my crutches.
Brenna goes back to school, Friday...isnt that the weirdest thing...First day of School is a Friday...Why not just add a day to the end of the year and start them on a Monday?? Brenna is a little excited for school, I think her friends and her new teacher (1st male teacher, should be interesting!) is part of that...she will miss her summer of doin nothin!!
Rainy season seems to have arrived here in Penang, every day for the last week it has rained for long periods of the day...Ugg!! (one reason i can be glad I cant train 4 days a week).
Well that's it for today, goodnight all!!

Recovering...still.

So it has been a few days since we have updated anything, and in that time not much has happened. Brenna continues to have a very boring summer...I feel bad for her as that was not the plan going in, we planned on traveling this summer and seeing some of Malaysia, but its not going anywhere. This weekend Rox and Brenna went to a moving sale in our building, a family that has been here 20 years, was headed to Hong Kong, so they were thinning stuff out. Rox picked up some plants and some books, Brenna got a hamster cage, in preparation, we have given up on killing fish at this point. we have not been able to keep anything alive, even goldfish! So we have promised her a hamster when we get back from our trip home in December. The only thing of note, was the 1st annual I-Run dinner, which I will cover in the running blog, and my newest wrist infection. I had a horrible night on Saturday night and woke up thinking that the surgery site was infected, rested the hand all day Saturday and most of Sunday, I mean limited movement if any at all, went to the dinner Saturday night, and Monday morning we were back at the hospital. The wrist was VERY infected, so the Doc removed the last wire, cleaned it up and put me back on anti-biotic. So the wires are gone, and once the infection is out,I can begin rehab on the wrist at least. The hip still has another 2 months or so. So we are still adjusting to our new home, getting more comfortable every day, there are still things we miss. We all continue to wish that someone from home would visit, there is so much here we would love for people to see!! Anyway, that's a quick update, hope everyone is well...see that hurricane season is cranking up, stay safe everyone!! Goodnight!!

Hungry Ghost Festival

Throughout this month, we have seen the many stages and offering tables set up as part of Ghost Month.  The Ghost Festival actually occurs on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month in the Chinese calendar, but events are held all month.  During this time, the gates of Heaven and Hell are opened and the spirits of the departed wander the earth.  Many ghosts or spirits return to their homes where family prepare offerings of food, clothing and money to ensure their ancestors are well cared for in their other world.  Hungry ghosts are those who have no home to return to, so wander the streets in search of sustenance.  Believers set up offering tables to appease these hungry ghosts and prevent them from entering their homes or businesses and causing havoc.  As part of the offerings, public performances of Chinese opera, puppetry or other arts are also performed.  These are often at maximum volume as the sound is thought to attract and entertain the ghosts.  If you attend a performance, you will notice the front row consists of red chairs or benches...these are not for the live audience, but are reserved for the ghosts and should not be used!
Brenna and I were able to attend a performance just down the street from our condo last weekend and although we could not understand the performance, it was fascinating to watch.  Such elaborate costumes and music and great facial expressions from the performers.  We hope to catch one or two more performances before the end of the month!

Almost every major Chinese neighborhood or business area in Penang also has an altar featuring and effigy of Phor Thor Kong, King of Hell, where offerings are made and devotees pray.  We had an opportunity to see how these effigies are made by local craftsmen, then visited a nearby altar and then proceeded to one of the opera stages for a "behind the scenes" tour.

The effigies are constructed from a bamboo frame, then covered in newspaper and eventually the beautiful colored papers and trim.  Kind of like a parade float in the US!

We'll send out more photos through Shutterfly.  Now, on to the opera stage.  Two of the troupe members played a brief song on the traditional instruments and allowed us to go back and look at the costumes.  We asked if Brenna could put on one of the head-dresses and here she is...

The interesting thing is that this year, the Ghost Festival is during the same month as Ramadan.  Ramadan is the month of fasting for Muslims and, accordingly, they avoid excesses during the evening hours which is in stark contrast to the loud, festive performances for the Ghost Festival.  The two communities seem to respect each other's needs and it's interesting to see how other countries deal constructively with cultural diversity. We hope to visit one of the markets to see some of the traditional foods prepared during this time of fasting and post about that soon.  Hope you enjoyed this post and let us know your e-mail address if you'd like to see more photos!

Wrist is almost healed!

This was a busy weekend for us all, After Thursdays bad news and some pretty stressful weeks, Roxanne decided to take Friday and Monday off! We decided to do the Penang Butterfly and Insect farm on Friday, despite being a difficult process on crutches, it was amazing!! tons of butterflies, neat insects, cool reptiles!! Rox got some great pictures, and will blog the trip separately when she has time. Saturday I was exhausted, and a little sore also. Rox and Brenna did some clothes shopping, Roxanne got some nice stuff, it was much needed. Sunday was to have been our going downtown day, I was still sore and I hate to say it a bit unmotivated.Roxanne suggested that we go to the movies instead, the new Harry Potter was still in the theaters and we both wanted to see it...Brenna did not though, and with some talk about doing things as a family she agreed.It was a fitting end to this film franchise, well done in both of our opinions, and Brenna was not too bad about it...she did guarantee that she would have nightmares, but slept like a log!! Love that Brenna boo!! Our washing machine died, and the repair guy came and checked it, and said he would be back with the part on Monday (today), however he did not show up...hopefully tomorrow, we need to do some wash!! So Monday (today) ended up being a day to rest for me...ok, I slept in, I have not slept until 9AM in a while, so I guess I needed it!! Rox went grocery shopping, and at 4pm I had another DR appointment so that the Doc could check the infection he treated on Thursday, It was much better, but i have to say the medical tape he used to cover the bandages is not the newfangled no pull tape its the old really sticky stuff and it ripped what little hair I did have on my arm off!! holy crap..ouch!!So 2 weeks from now he will take out the last wire and I should be able to start my rehab on the wrist at least. Progress is good!! The maintenance guy did not show up to finish the washing machine repair so wash is piling up...we may need to try a plan B, if he does not show up tomorrow!! Good day in Penang!!

Cast came off today!!

So I woke up this morning, and checked my cast, because it really hurt last night, when I checked it the one pin, was REALLY infected, I called Rox to let her know and we got in to see the Doc this afternoon. I could have waited till my regular appointment tomorrow, but figured better not risk the infection. Well when we arrived we met another couple from the US at Gleneagles, the husband had a case of whiplash.We did not have long to wait and they sent us right away for x-rays. I had x-rays done on my wrist and hip, then saw the Dr. His assistant took off the cast, and the doctor came in to take a look. with the cast off the swelling was not as bad and seem more localized to the places where the pins were put in. The Dr. decided to take one pin out and leave the other one since the ulna had knit most of the way...he just wanted to make sure it had healed completely...The taking out of that pin was excruciating...no local anesthetic, just a pair of pliers...holy crap it hurt!! Once that was done there was no re-casting, he put me in a wrist brace, and gave me some anti-biotic to treat the infection. Back to see him Monday when he may take out the last pin. The last bit of good news was that the hip looks good so far, looking at the x-ray the bone density is equal between the femoral head and the rest of the femur...that is awesome news, but he said i will need a bone scan, in another 2 months just to be sure, but for now the news is good!! Good day in Penang, despite waking up, thinking the worst.

Relaxing weekend...sort of.

So this weekend was very laid back for us, Rox desperately needed to catch up on rest as she is shouldering the work of two right now, and she deserved a break. The only busy thing was a trip to the fish store on Saturday for Brenna and Rox...we have lost all the fish at this point and as Rox said in an earlier blog, "fin rot" and "ick" seem to be the culprits. so they went to find some medicines and possibly water treatments to counter the conditions. They returned with wonderful stories of all the animals...this pet store we go to is much more than a normal pet store, it is like a zoo with more animals and fish than you can imagine, and the selection of food toys and misc products is huge. the last time we were there we fell in live with the cats (we miss ours). They had some American short hairs with beautiful gray markings, Brenna loved the hamsters and this time got to pet some guinea pigs that were being purchased by another family.So they had fun and got the supplies we needed to counter the diseases and also a PH kit and a new thermometer...hopefully with all this we can keep these two goldfish alive!!My busyness was confined to Sunday, and the 54th Annual Penang Chung Ling 8km Cross County Run. More on this in the other blog! Great weekend in Penang!! goodnight!!

 

Catching up...Bon Odori Festival

So the night before Chris' accident, we attended an outdoor festival on the Esplanade in Georgetown called the Bon Odori Festival.  This festival celebrates Japanese culture, which tells you just how cosmopolitan Penang is....you see, being a British protectorate (not a full colony), Penang was occupied by the Japanese during WWII, yet there is still an enthusiasm and acceptance for Japanese culture today.  The weather was terrific with a nice breeze off the water to cool things down.  The food tents were incredible - so much to choose from, we struggled to make a choice and were then so hungry we took whatever we came across and didn't bother to take any photos.  Ladies and men in traditional kimonos were quite common and lovely to see.  This lady was one of my favorites - traditional kimono, modern accessories!

There was an opera singer and children's drum team to start things off.  Then the lovely ladies (and a few men) took the stage for several dances.



Brenna Boo had looked forward to this festival for several weeks once she found out there was a game in years past where kids could win goldfish!  Indeed, there were several games, but all she was interested in was the goldfish scoop.  You are given a flat rice paper paddle and can "scoop" as many of the fish into a cup as you can before the paper tears from getting wet.  We had to do it twice and she ended up with 4 goldfish.  One (the largest) was already upside down before we even left, but the other three did just fine.  Even through all of our long days back and forth to the hospital, these little guys hung in there and ate like little piggies.  Eventually though, they started to die off and sadly, none made it past two weeks.  However, we did determine that they developed "ick" and possibly "fin rot" (which one of our previous batches suffered from), so today we headed back to the aquarium shop and picked up some medicine to kill the parasites that cause those diseases.  So, two more goldfish have joined our family and we are hoping this time, we can keep them around for a while!

We also rescheduled our trip to Krabi, Thailand for Brenna's mid-term break in October instead of next week as we had originally planned.  Instead of Maine lobster, we will be dining on prawns and sitting on the beach this fall (we hope).  Chris should be getting off the crutches by then, so this will be cause for celebration!  It was a nice, relaxing day in Penang!

Getting stronger...still bored to tears!!

I am indeed getting stronger, getting more movement back all the time, still taking it easy most of the time though, no more 3-4 hour days at the mall for me anymore, but I can get out there for an hour or so...so that's good, it gets me out of the house...I think next week I might try the pool for a bit. So I am getting better but still not in any way healed...that process is a long one, and one i am looking forward to. So there are Hungry Ghost festivals going on, and we are going to try and catch some of that. For those of you that may not know Ghost Day In Chinese Tradition the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month, in which ghosts and spirits including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm. (thanks to wikipedia for that.) There are performance stages around Georgetown and there are operas and plays in celebration, and the temples are very active, so that might be a plan for the day. We also have to go down the fish store (again!!) and get medication for our water to get rid of the "ick" and the "fin rot". so hopefully we can get that done and actually keep some fish alive for more than a week. Anyway, its been a blah kind of week, mostly do to my inability to go anywhere and do anything. Love Penang, just not on crutches!! goodnight!!

Better.

So its been a few days since I have sat down to write, I have been taking it easy after the weekend, and my foot continues to swell really bad. So there has not been much happening as of late, Rox has been working long hours but that is nothing new. My sleep pattern is still disrupted at best... I tend to toss and turn from 4 AM on most nights and sleep until 6 or so, everything is cramping so bad by then its time to get up. I continue to get stronger on the crutches, but as much as my leg seems to be swelling I am taking it easy going out. My wrist has also been driving me nuts...it hurts so bad sometimes...hopefully that means lots of healing going on. So I got two more phone calls for deep tissue massage stuff, had to turn them down, but they did say that once I am strong enough they would be back. Today was my sports day with the kids at SE (soccer experience) its going well, but the turnout is poor...everyone said it would be over the summer, but you have to begin somewhere, right?? So Rox will be posting about the Bon Odori Festival that we went to the Saturday before my accident...My memory is a bit fuzzy yet so I will let her speak on it...i know we had fun and ate great food, my memories of it are vignettes though, not a stream of memory.Rox also has an idea for the top 10 reasons why I crashed...she has not shared them with me so it will be fun to see what she says. Things are going as well as expected...I wish this swelling would go away, but for now it is what it is. A great but exhausting day in Penang today.