A Village In Botswana

Hey, how about that? It is leap year...the 29th of February!!

... and it is Friday!!

"Africa Week" Break...for a house update

There was some big stuff that happened this week on the house. We had some work done in the "kebun" (garden)...we moved some earth from the back yard to the front yard to give us a more level yard...grass planting will come later, but we do have some nice trees that are growing fast...

The roof of the Gazebo was installed...later they will cut the overhanging grass to make it level...I really like this kind of roof...very "Balinese"

...and finally, the "wet" kitchen was installed. This is the kitchen in the back of the house where most of the cooking will be done. The nice kitchen is being worked on now...it will be much nicer than this one with teak cabinets, and island, and granite tops...it will be very nice. Tika was very happy today as the kitchen is her domain...I don't make ANY decisions in that area...it is HER room...

(sorry about the bad photo...I was rushed, and the lighting was bad)

That's a BIG CROC

While taking a boat ride on the Zambeezi in Zimbabwe (I love saying that), we saw this huge croc sitting on the side of the river. I wouldn't want to meet him outside of the boat...

A Herd Strolls By

We were unbelievably (and dangerously) close to this herd of elephants in Namibia. Later, when leaving the scene, we were chased by an angry female (bottom photo)...yes, it was scary.

More From Savuti

I like the peacefulness of the photo below...

The lion (below), I almost missed....he was very well hidden in the brush. He and his pride of females were stalking a herd of buffalo nearby, and he just popped his head up over the brush when I snapped the shot...it is one of my favorite lion photos...

Savuti Lions

These two photos were taken at Savuti National Park in Botswana. Savuti was made famous by the National Geographic Channel when they aired a special about a few prides of lions who teamed up to kill elephants...we did see some lions there, but we didn't see them stalking or killing elephants. A very cool place never the less...

Stuck in Customs

For over a year now, I have been visiting a blog called Stuck in Customs.
It is authored by Trey Ratcliff, who I believe is the KING of HDR photography. He has a huge following, his photography is really good, and he is as well traveled as I am (if not more so).

Anyway... recently on his blog, he announced a new tutorial he had written about using textures to enhance one's photography, and after reading his tutorial on HDR (click on the link to his site above), I was eager to watch his new video tutorial on using textures. However, the tutorial was bundled along with a hundred custom made textures he had collected over the years, and it was quite pricy. Since I have my own textures, I was really only interested in his tutorial, so I left a comment in his blog asking if it were possible to get ONLY the tutorial. He emailed me the very next day saying that he will have the tutorial as a separate download for me.

Trey is one class act, and his tutorials are outstanding. If you are at all interested in HDR photography or honing your skills as a photographer, I highly recommend his site, and his tutorials. I am now tempted to get his textures as well.

Trey, if you are reading this, thanks very much!!

Africa Week

I was looking through my Africa photos I took while on safari a few years ago, and decided to post a photo a day from Africa this week...and if I find more than seven good ones to share, I may just have "Africa Week Two" next week...

This one was taken late in the afternoon in Chobe National Park in Botswana...

Happy Friday

It's Friday, and Friday's are great....ah, sleep-in tomorrow...

Memories of Botswana

Who could forget the laid back days while in Africa. It was the perfect routine. Get up early, eat some breakfast, go out shooting (photos of course, not hunting) for three hours, eat lunch, take a nap, and then back out shooting again until sunset....dinner, reading, story telling, and a good night's sleep....ah, those were the days...

Nature Takes Over

I got a nice update from Dad today. When I was a kid, my grandmother sponsored a Cambodian refugee during the Pol Pot times. His name is Sireyvudh, and he became part of our family. He lost all of his family in Cambodia, but married a Cambodian girl many years ago, and settled in Oregon. I have not seen him in many many years, but he was present at my Grandmother's funeral. Dad told me that he was asking about me and if I had been to Cambodia. I hope to someday make a trip back to Cambodia with my long lost adopted brother...so, this photo is for Sirevudh...

Back to Photos

Forgot that I really wanted to channel this blog towards being more of a "Photo blog" rather than just a "what is happening" kinda blog...but maybe a mixture of both is good. It is actually easier to go completely "photo blog" than it is a news blog cause there are so many days that go by that are your regular mundane days...like today. So, unless something really newsworthy happens, I will stick to just posting a photo every day that I like...

Actually, I do have one thing to report...the ceremony for my grandmother occurred this past weekend. The entire family met in DC where my grand mother was buried with my grand father in Arlington National Cemetery. I heard from my Dad that it was a very nice ceremony, and a great family reunion. A very BIG drawback to living overseas is missing events like this...

Been Over a Year Now

We broke ground on our house on February 1st, 2007. It is now been over a year since we started building, and things are looking good. Still not sure when all will be finished, but we are making the end of April our goal. We might even be able to move in before all is done...in fact, our contract for the house we are renting now is up at the end of April, so we will be moving in at that time whether the house is done or not...

Anyway, our architect met us at the house, and we talked about some things we want done. The photo below is looking from our front gate. That gate has to go... it is old and ugly. We are going to replace it with a wood gate...

Here at the front, we will build a privacy wall, so you won't be able to see the entire house when you drive into the driveway...

This is the master bathroom...or WILL be the master bathroom...

The gazebo is being built....we decided to go with a grass roof...balinese style.

All the wood for the doors and windows are now installed...the glass should be coming soon...

after changing our minds many times, we have finally decided on these colors for the main rooms...what do you think?

My Birthday Present

Today, I turned 46...ouch...only 4 more years until the dreaded Five-O is upon me.

When I came back from the "Jamie Trip", my volkswagon was not at home. Tika told me that it had broken while I was away, and it was at the shop being fixed. I didn't think much of it.

Today, the car arrived from the garage while I was out doing some errands. When I came home, I saw the car in the car port. I opened the doors, and SURPRISE!! Tika had the entire interior of the car re-done...new seats, new door side panels, new ceiling, new carpet, the whole deal!!

Wow....how lucky I am to have such a great family...!!

Silly Girls

This week, we had all the rest of the wood delivered from Solo to our house. Tika's brother-in-law did all the work of searching for the best teak, drying the wood, and then building the doors and windows. He did an excellent job!!

On this trip up to Jakarta, he brought along Tika's sister and one of their daughters, Tasha. Tasha is two years older than Kayla, and they have a blast together. They run around the house playing, dress in different clothes, play with their dolls, and well....they are just plain silly. Below are the two "silly girls"...

Tasha leaves on Sunday, and we are all not looking forward to the tears that will surely flow when they have to say good-bye to each other.

Happy Valentine's Day

As I wrote a card for Kayla and Tika today for Valentine's Day, I couldn't help but remember the smiling kids of Nepal as well. I wonder if they celebrate Valentine's Day...??

The marketing holiday has certainly spread to Indonesia...you would think that living over here would make a guy exempt from buying chocolate and flowers, but NO....still gotta remember this day or women get upset...

That is OK...I never forget...working as a teacher, it is impossible to forget. Anyway, hope you all had a great Valentine's Day...and here is to the kids in Nepal...

Last Two Photos From JT8

The trouble with a short vacation is that I can only get a limited amount of photos. I took about 200 photos which is not much...out of the 200, I got about 15 or so keepers...these are the last two of the keepers...

Busy Again

Ok, the trip is over, and now it is time to get back to work...Yuck!!
Softball has started, so it is the time of year when I will have two night games per week, and practice every day.

I am still trying to catch up with my sleep. We didn't arrive back in Jakarta until after midnight on Sunday, and I am still paying for that.

Elephants in Thailand

Early in the morning, the elephants are taken to the stream for a quick bath...

After watching the elephants, it was time to do a little shopping from the ladies in the village...

Then, it was time to hike out, and head back to Chaing Mai...

Vacation over...bummer

More Portraits

The village was a great place for some portraits...

Happy Birthday Kathleen!!

My sister's birthday is today too!! Kathleen, I didn't forget about you, but it was tough to get a hold of you when in the mountains of Thailand. Anyway, Happy Birthday!!

Some Shots From the Village

We arrived in the village just as the sun was going down, so Jurrien and I walked around the village to get some shots before we lost our perfect golden light...

Here are a few...

JT-8 Begins

This is our 8th "Jamie Trip".
Jamie's last name is Wellington, so it sure was fitting to find a pub named just that. A perfect place for our group photo to start the trip...

That is Jamie on our t-shirts, by the way. Jurrien had the t-shirts made before we left, and surprised us with them when we arrived in Bangkok...

Here we are on our trek to the hill tribes of Northern Thailand...

Some puppies taking it easy in the village...

Off To Thailand

We are off to Chaing Mai, Thailand tomorrow for the 8th annual "Jamie Trip". The "Jamie Trip" is a trip that seven of us guys take every year in honor of our good friend Jamie Wellington who was killed in the Bali Bombing years ago. It was Jamie's favorite thing to look forward to each year, and so the tradition continues...

We will go trekking in Northern Thailand, and will be gone until Sunday night. I won't have the chance to blog while I am gone, but will have plenty of photos when we return...

The photo below is of Bangkok from my hotel window last time I was there...

An IASAS Legend Ends His Career at JIS

My good friend, Gene Magil, has been coaching the girls' team since the early 80's. He is an IASAS legend. He has lead the girls to the championship game 13 times, and has 8 silver medals and 5 gold medals. More than that, though, he has touched the lives of hundreds of girls that have played on his teams throughout the years. He not only coaches, but is a great friend and teacher of life skills. He is a legend, and will be missed BIG TIME.

He turns 60 this year, and that is the age limit to work at JIS. He will work at TAS next year.

IASAS Basketball Ends

It was a fantastic weekend of Basketball at JIS. Some very exciting games from all six teams that participated in the event. We had huge crowds to come watch the games, and the spirit and sportsmanship displayed by all the athletes reminds me why I am working at this wonderful school. These kids rock!!

Both JIS Boys and Girls Make the IASAS Finals

A great day of basketball...some "must win this one" victories by both the girls and boys lead both teams to the finals. The boys played SAS (Singapore American School), and the girls played TAS (Taipei American School). Both teams lost in the finals, but the spirit in the gym was incredible with a packed house. The boys came in last place last year, and ended in second place this year, so that is something to be very proud of...

The photo below is from the exciting game with Manila that we won in overtime...