Time to come back to the blog

It has been quite a while since I have blogged.  The main reason being that I am in need of a camera.  In the next few days I plan to get a simple digital camera and begin again.  We have missed so much in the mean time.  The biggest event we have missed is the annual water festival.  It lasted here in Udon for 3 days.  For the entire week all business stopped here in this town while wild eyed Thais filled the backs of pickup trucks with people and barrels of water.  They drove around town and doused anyone that happened by.  The people on the streets also filled barrels with water and threw water on the people in the trucks.  What a spectacle.  Everyone was soaked to the bone.  It is appropriate because April is the driest and hottest time of the year so the water was welcome relief.  Temperatures here have hovered around 100F with some days getting up to 104 and 109.  It is hard to believe that MOST people here do NOT have A/C.  Some can not afford a decent fan. But all that will change soon.  The rains will begin in May.  It will rain almost everyday for about 4 months.  That is when we grow the rice.  We have already had a few thunderstorms and really VIOLENT storms at that.  2 nights ago we had the most violent thunderstorm I have ever been in.  It was VERY frightning and that just does not happen with me but we had so many lightning strikes with in 100 meters of my house is was unbelievable.  I would have to say that there were dozens of strikes so close that they shook the house.  We were without power for about 3 hours.  I watched the lines flailing around on the poles during the hurricane like winds.  Trees broke and toppled in some places. 
   Anyways expect to see more traffic here soon.