What did you eat today?

What do you know about other cuisines? Are you an adventurous eater? Or do you like the food your mother made and nothing else? We're eating interesting and tasty dishes in Indonesia. Learn something about Indonesia below. (Note: I wrote this and didn't send so the days are unsynched.)

Thursday, April 30, 2020
Wasn't it just April Fools? I'm wondering if this diver is making a fool of us - he filmed this exquisite little creature under the Antarctic ice and posted it in a nature magazine. Doesn't it look otherworldly?

In the last 2 days, I record almost 20 hymns on the keyboard. I can't get inspired on a keyboard, no matter how "realistic" or "pianistic" it claims to be. I'm spoiled by having 2 Bösendorfer grands in our Seattle living room for a decade, I guess. Either of them were inspiring. Our keyboard is not.

 A friend sends over Chinese-style dumplings for lunch Tuesday, which taste great.

 He also sends some pastries, which disappear over 2 days.

When we walk down the neighborhood lane, a cadre of 4 women chit-chats while they stop people without masks from passing. No, they're not wearing masks. Sigh. Neither is the guy taking people's temperatures if they want to enter the next village lane.

I pull out a quilt made of British and American fabric. The backing is a bedsheet I purchased off UK Ebay in 2004 (while W was finishing his doctorate in Cambridge.) I pieced it together 10 years ago, took it to Montana, quilted about 2/3 of it ... and last year brought it to Indonesia.

Time to finish the thing. Hand-quilting is time-consuming and boring, even when you love the colors and the quilt top. I'm ready to have it done. The stitches are tiny - so I don't want anyone else to work on  it.

One of the ways to support small business is to eat good food. Our friend Ruth has restarted her catering company, though her restaurant has to stay closed.

 This is what she sends - and it's one of the best meals I've had in ages. #ruthsribs #ruthsrise

She includes a rose for each menu item. I tuck the three pink roses in with a branch that's already in place in the entry. Pretty.

I bake homemake pretzels, with chia seeds, oatmeal, and a few other additions today. I boil them for a minute to give them the rubbery skin of bagels. But they need a hotter oven than ours to bake properly. In the end, they taste good but I'm not happy with the texture or color. W says he likes them.

May 6 Wednesday
The walk yesterday was beautiful. Flowering trees and tree trunks full of moss.

Ruth sends a hand-crochet card holder. Artsy friends are best!

And I'm on the second-last unit of the Growing Gills workshop. That has been a lifesaver during the pause of regular activities. "Build habits that move you toward deadlines." That's the gist of it, but working through a project with a group has been great. The quilt has 5 new squares finished in 2 sessions. Yay!

I'm taking notes to capture the seminars I'm listening to. I've also gone back into old notebooks and begun color-line the sections; helps me find things quickly and reference information I need or want. (Above, deliberately dark and blurry. You need your own notebooks!)

This isolation time has offered me some of the most productive hours - and some of the most restful - I've experienced since we moved to Indonesia nearly 6 years ago. Wait! has it been that long?!

Read more:

*Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God. 1 Chronicles 22:19

*Run in such a way that you may win the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24

Moravian Prayer: Dear God, it is delightful to seek you in all that is beautiful. It is delightful to serve you by using the gifts you have given us. It is delightful to be alive with you, here and in the life to come. Thank you! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.