a perfect day ....

started with yoga on the deck at utopia overlooking the river nam khan, listening to the sounds of nature and having a stretch

then a fun and relaxing trip up the river meekong to the pakou caves with 11 fantastic novice monks, loved chatting, laughing and bruno mars!

and finished by cooking dinner with luurrvvely friends - mohitos, home baked food, yummy and nattering away, ah, bliss

Lao Friends Hospital for Children update

the grand opening is 11th February 2015, 3 months to go !
the hospital building is now 75% complete
this week the clinicians are being taught by health leadership international
a charity from seatle, they are teaching practical skills with manikins.
so back in the office we have had time to prepare for the next series of lectures, tutorials and seminars
we finalised the order for the hospital's equipment
the provincial health department approved our drug formulary and it's now in Vientiane for the ministry of health's approval
and we are recruited more members of the team, a director of nursing from New Zealand, 2 Lao administrators, first round interviews for nurses, pharmacists, accountants and an expat director of administration. if anyone would like to work with us get in touch!
another busy week!

love helen and her boys

i love having visitors to share this beautiful town with,
to be part of a gorgeous family for a while,
and to see their sheer joy spending an afternoon talking and reading with the novice monks.
i love you helen, loved chatting and often saying the same thing at the same time, we are wavelengthed, love your boys.
i really enjoy watching my friends being wonderful parents
and i liked helen's concern that i might be lonely here, don'y worry i'm very happy, i've made some great friends.
and on a trivial note my chocolate store is overflowing and i have new birkenstocks, the town is a more fragrant place!
the house is so quiet now, missing you guys heaps

a visit from kris

5 boys! 1 grown up and 4 children
they're beautiful
great to see you kris
and lovely to see inside the amantaka
how the other half live!

i love australia

a well deserved holiday for mikeey
wonderful to see my friends in great form, happy and enjoying life
lovely to chat and to acknowledge how lucky we are to be living a charmed life
thanks guys for all the fun and hugs
and thank you for helping me to regain some of the 10Kg weight I've lost since leaving London at the end of May, yummy flat whites and cakes

and fantastic beach, harbour and bush walks

heaps of walking with my pals chatting and appreciating the stunning scenery

australia is looking magnificent this spring