The early arrival of the rainy season has forced a few minor lifestyle adjustments. Sometimes I'll take an umbrella on afternoon walks with the kids, or only one of our two children will accompany me. I've been fortunate because I haven't been caught out in the rain with both children. Joanna and I have been stranded a couple of times already, and once we had to walk home from the swimming pool -- about 1.5 kilometers -- in a steady rain. Yeah, we were already wet from swimming .... and there was no thunder or lightning so it wasn't scary. But for whatever reason, whenever we're out in the rain we invariably get sniffles and sneezes the next day. Since Covid still lurks here, that's a mild concern. But with three shots and a couple of mysterious illnesses to my credit, I don't worry too much. I have enough other health issues to keep me occupied. And Joanna seems to have an iron constitution. Just to be safe, we wear masks everywhere and keep plenty of orange juice in the fridge, which we guzzle after long walks. There's always a warm bath or shower to finish things up.
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The shoes I ordered from Softstar Shoes in Oregon that are supposed to relieve tailor's bunion discomfort finally arrived via DHL They were stuck in Ho Chi Minh City customs for a while, so I called DHL customer service and the shoes arrived the next day. And the DHL driver's assistant or whatever he was gave me three DHL pens, which thrilled my ever-drawing daughter to the max. Good job by DHL. Anyway, I look like I have duck feet now -- hence, the Oregon ducks -- but so what; I walk pain-free on our hardest of hard floors. Walking barefoot or with so-called sports sandals in our house gave me nothing but pain. The duck shoes were pricey, and so were the customs fees, but worth it in the end. The internet suggested the shoes, ice soaks and pain relievers; all have helped. Walking is essential here, and I prefer to do it without pain.
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My wife brought home some sesame flower buds from the park and she says they have medicinal value, claiming that they help with skin issues. She put quite a few of them in Joanna's bath and the skin issues our daughter had after swimming in a pool -- I suspected chlorine as the cause -- have disappeared. The flower buds are all over the street and park. I'm a believer and will try them on the scars on my nose left by heat rash and infection.
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Joanna loves checking out the fish tanks at Mega Mart, especially the ones with sturgeon and lobster. A dad came up to the tanks with his son, reached in and pulled out a sturgeon and tried to hand it to my daughter. She squealed in delight, but didn't touch the fish. That struck me as funny since she touches fish whenever she can at coffee shops like Kim Koi or Gosanke. The guy also pulled out a lobster to more squeals of delight.
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I bought science text books at the local book store to assist with my homeschooling. The books aren't too corny and include stickers, which all kids like. We've had lessons on obesity and nutrition, diseases, planets and seasons. They're OK lessons. Joanna likes the books because they're her books, not random papers from the printer. They give her a sense of ownership and independence. We had a major breakthrough this week. I left the room and Joanna continued her work -- identifying singular and plural nouns, and verbs, in sentences -- by herself. That type of independent work was a first. She'll draw and color by herself all the time, but she's never done stuff like English and math without prodding and supervision ... until now.
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