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A glorious day of relaxing at home. I am delighted that Grace likes spending time at home as much as I do. It's such a relief to hear her say "Stay at home" when i ask her what she wants to do. I've always loved just being at home where I can pursue my thoughts, endless research and infinite appetite for distractions. I am quietly pleased these days that I am not longer a slave to a video game that has had me wrapped up for months and now can enjoy TV shows again and educate myself.

Today I have downloaded some fantastic shows from bolt.org. This Scottish historian Neil Oliver is great fun to watch. I am collecting all his shows. I just finished watching the first part of his new one on Vikings and it had me longing to venture to the frozen North. It flashed through my mind if I might ever have the opportunity again and realiszed that it probably wouldn't ever happen, to venture to Norway on my own, discovering Viking burial grounds. I'm glad I had an incredible holiday in Iceland back in 1997.

Thailand is great, of course. I still think it is a great place to live, especially with the global position shifting that is occuring at the moment, but I could also be happy living in the remote Scottish highlands too.

Yes, my thoughts have been changing lately and I suppose with Grace growing slightly older we have been granted a tiny amount of time to follow our own interests again. That game Stronghold Kingdoms has a very nasty aftertast in my mouth about how it sucked the life out of me until I very quickly grew to despise even the very thought of it. I shudder with the painful memory and I will do my best never to waste so much time on something that really tired me out again.

I'm still a news junky and am watching the big story unravell wondering what the Hell is going to happen next, but also of course I can see lots of people doing cool things. Glad I got out of UK though. I think I would have been stuck in a death sentence job in Facilities Management in outer London. It would have killed me. The driving, the work.

Thailand has not been perfect, but it has a nice random element to it that anything can happen, and Hat Yai has been a wonderfully authentic place to live. My Thai language allows me to joke with the locals when I go shopping and the folks are always very real people, working hard and enjoying a laugh. It's a bit like Zorba the Greek in a way. Lots of toothless weathered farmers here, and the host of beautiful Asian ladies that I see every time I go into town always impresses me. Of course, Oi is wonderful and our relationship has nicely settled down to us both pottering around the house and enjoying healthy meals together. I have made efforts to splash some cash about lately too so we can improve our lives. We have had small holidays quite regularly now, and will the move to Chum Pon back on the cards, it could be an exciting year.

The countryside around Chum Pon is pretty impressive. Good for bike riding I am sure, and easy access to both coasts and some excellent islands. It could be grand there. As this will be our final destination for a while we can build up some ties there and the family near by will be a huge boost too. Oi's brothers nearby will be fun, both of whom are exceptional people, and there might be more available transport too. I can't wait to go back to Koh Chang in Ranong and lose it on the island for another week. It was glorious there. Up that way too are some inland nature parks with some pretty amazing sights I believe.

Things have been dry in Hat Yai for a while now, especially on the social side. I'll be glad to see fresh fields.