100 happy days: week 13.

I am totally cheating this week and next week because there are only 16 days left and I'm not doing a 2-day week as the finale. So! Behold the latest installment of the 100 happy days project...

Day 16

Day 16: when this scene greeted us from the back porch/living area/dining room of our WWOOF hosts' handbuilt stilt house in a small Karen village in northern Thailand.

Day 15

Day 15: when I got to help in the family's organic garden for the first of many days. My job was to find tiny pumpkins and cover them with fabric so that fruit flies didn't attack them. It was a detailed, tedious task - and I loved it.

Day 14

Day 14: when I finally remembered to take a photo of the family cat, Cat. We ate on the floor of the porch and Cat would wander over meowing for food, so he would be put on a loose leash. Cat could easily slip out of the leash at any time, if he wanted to, but he never did. He just waited patiently until we were done with meals. It cracked me up every single time.

Day 13

Day 13: when we got to help in the family's rice field. I think our "help" was more symbolic than anything, as we didn't really do much. But I'd been wanting to get up close and personal with rice fields since we first saw them in Hoi An. Squishing barefoot through mud doing the backbreaking work of edging the paddies was a really cool experience and I have a whole new appreciation for that little white grain now.

Day 12

Day 12: when the wife cooked instead of the husband, and we got to eat something other than veggies with chili paste. Don't get me wrong - his cooking was amazing - but hers was a little more thoughtful and creative, even with the use of just one pot, and therefore hers was more delicious to me.

Day 11

Day 11: when another volunteer made a clay elephant sculpture after we spent a few hours working on the clay hut. The work was messy and repetitive but this guy, a regular who visits from the city on weekends, sang and smiled and generally had a good time for the two hours we worked. His cheerful mood was contagious.

Day 10

Day 10: when we stumbled upon The Curry Shack after a long day of buses and windy roads, and I got to eat the most delicious khao soy curry dinner. Super spicy, freshly prepared, worth the wait.

Day 9

Day 9: when we hiked to Mae Yen waterfall and found all these magnificent trees with green bark and umbrella-like branches. I want to know what they're called...