just a quick note of being thankful

Thankful Lori in front of Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat as the sun was coming up

I am so very thankful, on this most unusual Thanksgiving of my 52 years of life. Thankful for my children, who are living their own thankful lives and building their own happy families. Thankful for my sweet husband, who (among all the rest) organized this amazing trip for us, and who (still among all the rest) got up with me at 4:25 this morning even though it wouldn't have been his first choice, and who (still among all the rest) stays patient with me when I overheat and need to stop and drink water. Thankful for my relative extraordinary wealth that allows me to fly to the other side of the world and see this incredible place, and meet these sweet people. Thankful that I'm healthy enough to do this.

I just keep thinking of Cat's Cradle, The Books of Bokonon (Kurt Vonnegut, of course):

God made mud. God got lonesome. So God said to some of the mud, "Sit up!" "See all I've made," said God, "the hills, the sea, the sky, the stars." And I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud. I, mud, sat up and saw what a nice job God had done. Nice going, God. Nobody but you could have done it, God! I certainly couldn't have. I feel very unimportant compared to You. The only way I can feel the least bit important is to think of all the mud that didn't even get to sit up and look around. I got so much, and most mud got so little. Thank you for the honor! Now mud lies down again and goes to sleep. What memories for mud to have! What interesting other kinds of sitting-up mud I met! I loved everything I saw! Good night.”

Lucky me, lucky mud.

I have hundreds of photos.....wait until you see Angkor Thom. Our Thanksgiving dinner was great; we ate at The Touich Restaurant and Bar. We started by sharing two appetizers: beef salad "lab" battambang and banana flower salad with dried fish, and then I had sauteed chicken ginger from battambang province and Marc had sauteed chicken with spices and lemon grass.

Tomorrow we fly off to Laos, to Luang Prabang. I can't wait to see it, even though I'll be sorry to fly away from Cambodia.