From plain to good - options, options.

I'm working on a few big projects. The week fills with normal virtual meetings, a wonderful week-end homemade-pizza party (social distancing on the porch with Dr H and Alice), and a trail of checkmarks on my to-do lists.

I'm needing to jazz up something in my space. I try a few options but put it all away again.

Then I remember the little lanterns we brought to Indonesia from the USA ... 5 years ago. Most of the clappers are worn off the bamboo wind chimes on the teras. Air flow is constant on our hillside, whether it's a breeze or a stiff wind. I replace the missing and broken clappers with ribbon and hang the colored spheres from them.

When we moved here the porch was long but dreary.

Now it's the perfect place for studies, pizza parties, and movie night.

During their visit, Laura Bunda mentioned an easy focal point for the yard: "Why not paint the swing red." She was right. It helps that we moved the satellite dish and planted a flowerbed along the wall, too.

My office is the former side entry to the house so there's no separation: if someone comes in the door, they're at my desk. W mounts a curtain rod to the ceiling and I find the curtains from my Seattle office among the fabrics on the shelf. Perfect - it pretty much disappears until I draw the curtain when I don't want to be disturbed.

Thursday

Veronica texts, do we want to walk? YES please! I take the dogs, put two others in my car, and Veronica takes another in hers. We're hiking to the "mountain of the stars," a popular tourist destination. most people drive up and walk a couple of hills to the metal stars.

Not we! we hike through coffee plantations - gloriously green, red, and gold berries everywhere.

Lembang is famous for vegetables and flowers, exported to nearby mega centers and internationally. The mountains are cleared and terraced in broad strips of crops. These, seen across the valley today, are probably 40-60 feet (14-20 meters) wide or wider. The air is hazy so the city far below is almost hidden.

It feels wonderful to be out. W stubbed his toe on a bench earlier this week, taped it up, untaped it and walked on it, taped it up again, and is limping with a very sore foot. He stays home. Smart man. It's a challenging walk.

We see "USA-houseplants" (that we try to grow indoors) flourishing in wild abundance along the jungle trails.

You have to duck sometimes, and climb over fallen trees at other times.

We pause for a breather. The trail winds along a steep drop-off. We have to be very careful where we put our feet. Sitting down is a good thing occasionally.

Our two dogs race around. They love trotting the path ahead of us but come when I whistle. They chase a few monkeys and take alternate paths, too. But they always find us again. Getting out is good for them as well as for us!

Much of the trail is completely overgrown. That's not the best thing when a misstep could send you down the bank 10-30 feet (3-10 meters). The walking sticks sure help.

One of the coffee harvesters warns us the trail has washed away with a landslide. In a few places, we help each other across a break in the trail.

The coffee plantations are being harvested under tall pines, planted by the Dutch before they were ousted in the mid-1900s.

It's shady and cool. Once we're away from the mini-trail, we walk well-worn paths in the hills of coffee. Sacks of harvested beans rest against the pine trunks.

We walk for almost 3 hours, starting in morning coolness at 9. We beat back the shrubs across the trail, trying this path and that. Finally, Veronica decides that we are completely lost. However, I've never met anyone like her for homing in on where we are.

Wonder of wonders, going down the second or third steep hillside (of course, we've gone up up up for the privilege of going down), voila!

"Oh look, we're back at the car!" says Judy. We think she's joking but she's gone around a corner we can't see. Sure enough. Surprise! from woodland path to clearing, we've come out exactly where we started. The drivers have the cars airing with trunks and doors open. It's very warm at noon. Everyone is happy to see each other.

 And I'm happy for lunch at home. Ibu A has cooked chicken and rice.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
The yard is full of flowers again. I bring a few inside for a 4'-tall arrangement.

It's a cooking and food-sharing kind of weekend. IbuS makes bread that we send here and there.

W fires up his pizza oven for the final Saturday meal and we enjoy a visit from friends. Alice brings fermented cassava rounds with coconut sugar. "Eat it with condensed milk," she advises. We put it in the fridge; too much pizza! and a few cookies made by Ibu A.

Sunday is the Gathering online. It's wonderful to hear Josh's talk on a spiritual discipline. (Check it out at the link if you like.)

I journal during the calls. The scribbles depend on whatever is at hand and what people are talking about.

This week I take fat Sharpies to outline the 5'X7' mural on the blank wall in the nook. I'll fill in colors in the next weeks.

Sunday lunch is leftovers and a steak that looks freezer-burned. I run cool water over it, marinade it with this-and-that from the cabinet. Betting it tastes fine.

W grills the steak in the pizza oven. It's his first try and turns out delicious. It may be black and crispy on the outside but it's luscious inside. We're not used to so much meat; a 2-person steak will last us a few more meals. The table is full. There are

• spaetzle that I froze weeks ago, refried with butter and vegan "bacon" (marinated potatoes)
• Asian-style sesame noodles
• chopped cauliflower
• dessert is Alice's cassava (SOOO good)

DrW texts that there's a potato pie on the way. Oh oh. We try it anyway. Her food is always yummy! We put the rest in the fridge for tomorrow.

We get a warning text from a friend: "IbuS is working in her weekend market shop, exchanging money and goods with millions of people." (Well, maybe hundreds buy at her stationary shop?) "Do you feel safe having her over?" I appreciate the care and caution in the message.

The helpers mask and sanitize their hands as they come in the door. They wash their hands many times during the day. They no long cook for us every lunchtime. They need the income but our floors, walls, and porches also need constant cleaning. (Alternatively, I could spend 6 hours daily removing lizard poop, upside-down roaches, farm dust that blows over, birdseed, and garden leaves - hmmmm. Nope.)

Our doctor neighbor suggest that we give IbuS plastic gloves for the first days after the weekend. "The gloves are cheap and any food handling or touching your things should be with gloves on, please." Ok, we'll add that to the precautions.

I clip my hair in the back before crawling into bed. So easy when you cut your own!

It's been a good weekend.

Monday
Starting the week, we're working on the porch. The paper lanterns move in the breeze to make the bamboo chimes clatter. The dogs nap at our feet and the lovebirds squawk. Our internet is improved from last month. The mornings are cold at 65ºF (16C) so we wrap in blankets and work from 7 onward.

The people at the Monday study are happy. All in all, it's a satisfying and productive life in Bandung.

BUT how are you doing? And where are you doing it from? I'd love to see your view, too.

Read more:
*God, turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your custom toward those who love your name. Psalm 119:132

extras—OT 1 Kings 3:5-12; Psalm 119:129-136
NT Romans 8:26-39; Matthew 13:31-33,44-52

*Whoever is kind to the needy honors God. Proverbs 14:31 NIV

*Jesus said, “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:40

Moravian Prayer: Benevolent God, help us share our possessions with those in need, blessing them by sharing our blessings. Help us see ourselves in the eyes of the needy, so that we may truly be generous with our lives and our wealth. Amen.

Start with a swing, end with a pizza

Monday, July 13, 2020

There's nothing like starting a week with a list of "hope to get it done." The list is mostly checked off by the weekend. Feels good.

During the Monday study, my internet connection is awful. I can't join so I go to the back of the yard with my computer file open and start on the "must-do" list. I work while I swing and enjoy the garden. Can you see the swing tucked under the trees?

Tuesday

Wonderful to see our team in the morning - online. I'm almost used to meeting screen-to-screen after 4 months. But it will be nice to meet in person. I'm working in the BIC office for the first time in a long time. It's so orderly and tidy. It's also pretty quiet except when there's a seminar going on outside my window.

Weather has been wonderful - hardly any rain. Not a lot of sun. So it's mild and dry most of the time. As we walk the neighborhood, most of the big homes have their gates locked.

The streets are still mostly empty other than during the school break, when Jakarta guests come to eat and holiday.

The garbage dump along the way is almost empty, compared to high tourist season.

The side parking lot of the big hotel has a new construction conduit. Villagers have hacked a steep trail into the side of the hill. Little trucks of stone and sand come by, men swarm the top with shovels and make piles. 

Then workers use their shovels to fill pails and dump the building materials down the mountainside to the building site below.

 One of the podcasters I listen to says, "Delegate everything you don't enjoy or cannot do yourself." So the helper washes sheers and drapes.

The sun makes the silver palms glow as I walk by one evening.

Wednesday

You know how you sometimes get a surge of energy? And you know how sometimes a job finds you and it's a whole different ballgame?

This week the big shoe rack at the back door collapses. Totally falls down. Oh well, it is time to wipe the shelves anyway. The tumble takes down a shelf with garden fertilizer and walking sticks. What a mess.

I just leave it alone for most of this week. I have no capacity to think about what's next. The helper washes the porch around the heaps of shoes and gear. I don't have clarity so I don't move.

Thursday

We made a kitchen cart last week. On it, we put desk trays to corral recipes, cutting boards, and receipts. I dumped all the old papers from the trays onto my office desk at home.

That big pile of pages doesn't seem to move itself. Hmm, at the BIC office, I'll have a clean and restful space and a big desk. Let's go - I need a diversion from the porch mess. It's called avoidance!

I bring a new 2" clutter pile with me day after day and churn through it. I write down information to keep, file a few pages for later, and toss the rest. Whew. (It is good to re-read what I had saved: ideas on management and leadership, church, non-profits, friendship, art, creative ways to serve ... )

I finished 3 weeks of seminary teaching last Saturday. This week, I compile 20 years of teaching Acts and send it to the printer, complete with a homemade cover that I'm not very happy with. For the first draft of the book, it's a placeholder.

Writing, editing, and sorting, I use up all my free Focusmate appointments. I've work across the screen with employees in Belgium and London, as well as students in Brazil, France, Dubai, and UAE.

It's fascinating to hear who is doing what. At the start of a Focus hour, we declare our goal/s. Then we click mute and get to work. At the end, we update the other person: "Did you or did you not hit the target?"

I am boggled by how much we accomplish in a focus hour. At the end of the week, I'm left with a short stack of filing. That's it. Yay!

The facility manager and I talk about returning to groups meeting in person. None of us is in any hurry - the virus is just hitting the city. We have 3 green zones in Bandung neighborhoods. All the rest are red (high alert). That's not a "come-back-together" sort of metric. 

Our partners donated funds for a special-needs school last Christmas. This week, the final project came together in a playground for special-needs children. Isn't this amazing? The kids will love it. Their school opens next week.

To feel nature when inside, we slide open the front doors. The LR to porch connection is wonderful.

Saturday

I'm up 4 hours (midnight to 4) to connect with people and listen to livestreams. I need the information - and for one, I just need to see the faces of our colleagues and friends.

There are only 2 "day-off" jobs on my list: 1. clean the fish tank in the office (I fail) and 2. clear the porch.

 My brain is on high-possibility, which is perfect for rethinking storage. My eyes roam the yard. Hey, what's that big "closet" leaning against the carport wall? It's an old wooden lemari (wardrobe) full of junk. W empties it and hauls the big box onto the porch. The organizing begins.

First, I have to sew 3 shoe shelves to replace the ones that tore. Ibu S already washed the cotton cover. The shoes go back on the shelves. And the wooden wardrobe is ready for a good wash-down.

Delegate. Delegate. I bring a pail of soapy water to the porch. The driver has taken Kirsten into town for socially-distanced outdoor lunch with friends. When they return, he washes down the wood and leaves it to dry while he walks the yard dogs.

I like the cut rounds of nangka (jackfruit). It's such a pretty gold-colored wood. We stand them up on the entry table, enjoying them when we enter the house. That lasts two week before my restless interior decorator needs a change of scenery.

In the garden, the frangipani is getting tall. I snap off a 4' branch. We enjoy the natural perfume in the house. The tree will send out 3 shoots at the break. It's the strangest plant: the few leaves keep yellowing and falling off. It has thick sappy branches with bundles of fragrant flowers.

Friends come over for a pizza party in the evening. W bakes the individual portions in his oven. It's so strange to eat, sitting apart on our porch. Feels so good to have people over. Casey, our little doggie friend, comes along with them and rules the dog pack as usual.

At the end of the day, at the end of the week, I'm content.

Read more:
*The human mind may devise many plans, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established. Proverbs 19:21

*Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it? Isaiah 43:13 NIV

*For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe. Deuteronomy 10:17

*Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8

*All of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:10

*Therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another. 1 Peter 4:7-8

Moravian Prayer: Wise Father, you make everything work together for our good and for your will to be established on earth as it is in heaven. Help us always remember that your perfect plans give us hope and love for one another. 

Perfect Lord, sometimes it’s hard to have a soft heart in a world full of anger and despair, of war and unfairness. Help us see the way you see, love the way you love, and help us to stay pure-hearted. In Jesus’ name, we pray. 

Merciful Judge, who are we to be loved so fiercely by you? You judge us with mercy and love, that no one can contradict. You pardon us with your own sacrifice and tell us we are loved by you. Help us realize the immensity of your love. Amen.

Class in session, no walks, and greens galore

Now we really are isolating. After 3.5 months of social distancing and working mostly from home, we've had a serious outbreak of covid on the hill. People hopefully will take due care. Most have no masks or wear masks as chin straps.

The garden is in the quiet between times. There's enough rain and sun, abundant growth, and no pests in sight. Perfect. The succulents in an IKEA tray (above) do fine as long as we don't water them too often.

 Orchids hang from the trees, waiting for the time to bloom.

 The frangipani tree carries huge globes of fragrant flowers just off the teras.

Even the bamboo has popped sprigs of color. When I wasn't looking last week, the yardman chopped every single branch off the mango tree that was just coming back from the last brutal incident.

I ask the driver to make clear that we LIKE the mango tree: would he please ask the yardman to let it grow? (We asked him to prune it 2 years ago when it was bumping into the shed roof. The tree has been trying to put out branches ever since, but I don't know that it will survive this latest assault.)

Meanwhile, the betafish, platys, and guppies swim in the 5-gallon Bali bowl on the porch table. It is relaxing to watch their lazy laps around lush aquatic plants. No heater, no filter are needed. We wipe the outside of the aquarium, drain most of the old water every week or two, and dump in fresh filtered water. I feed them every morning that I remember. That's it.

I'm wrapping up 3 weeks of teaching 15 Masters and Bachelor students. Most are based in Singapore. Zoom is a marvel. Instead of commuting to Singapore and then to work from an apartment, I sit down at my desk at home, click a few links, and the class appears. Wow.

Our team continues to meet online - and we have fun. But it's not like sitting around a table in the office and laughing together.

As I wait for quilting thread to finish my quilt, I make marks in my art journal. A 5-min sketch of a friend's son at the tide pools emerges from pen lines and a few dabs of paint. I'm using such a lousy waterbrush that I have almost no control of line or where the paint flows.

In a blotchy spread of acrylic paints, I look for faces and find 2 dozen in the marks. How many can you find? Dogs, cats, birds, humans ... turn the page, and then turn it again.

For about 2 years, I've been staring at the blank 7'X4' wall of the nook. Pencil in hand, this week I sketch out a mural I want to paint. Can I can do it? Will it look like anything? If not, the great eraser (white paint) will take care of it.

I take pictures of leaves in the yard. I already have leaf shapes drawn but need to understand the colors.

Tuesday
We have to run an errand. W remembers a vegan restaurant - Rp20.000 ($1.40US) for rice, 2 "meats" balls, and 3 veggies - plus a sate made of seiten. So good.

The kitchen counter is cluttered with a microwave, jars holding bay leaves, kombucha, and kefir, and cutting boards. I see a movable island for $200. Could stash everything there but it's too much money. I've given W the shelving from one bedroom to sort his office. What if we use half a shelf for an island? (=1/5 the price plus I think we still have 4 wheels somewhere.)

We buy another set of shelves. W screws in a 2X4 strip and puts castors on the base. He found the wheels in the collection of "stuff we buy for use later."

I bought casters a few years ago, knowing eventually they come in handy. Here, it's a pain to try to find anything in a shop when we need them. (Last year, we raised a very low kitchen prep counter with casters. The right height saves my back while chopping and cooking.)

I wipe down the new shelves, measure clearance for the microwave, and after W assembles it, stash things in their place. Works ok. We push the counter across to one side to plug in the microwave. I'm still wondering if I want "that industrial look" in the middle of the old teak kitchen.

Every time we run errands, we pass villagers with jobs that are new to North Americans. The street-sweeper below leans over from the curb to sweep up the always-falling leaves and any rubbish tossed into the street gutters. He'll make little fires with the heaps, burning the plastic and leaves away. (Ugh, open burning = pollution.)

Our tires need air, so we stop at a neighborhood lean-to. The driver pulls over, talks with the manager, and is satisfied with a job well done.

Later he tells us that the man under the makeshift canopy is "the guy everyone on our hill goes to. We all know him." There's always someone with a motorcycle, bike, or car pulled over as we walk or drive by. They're getting their tires and gossiping as only men can do. "He knows tires. He can repair them and pump them to the right pressure." The man is mute but communicates with hand signals.

Wednesday
When we change the bedding, there a jumble of patterns on the bed. With helpers coming and going irregularly, everything gets mixed together.

We have another four-footed guest at the house this week. Casey rules the roost. She's the boss of our dogs when she comes over, which is pretty funny. She brings me a feather - or maybe  that's just a canary feather just dropped from the cage and caught in her mouth? Gypsy's always bringing a leaf or stuffed toy to say hi. When we go to the office located on her home property, the little one chases Gypsy around and around the big yard. We can't believe how fast she is and her stamina.

I finish edits for a friend and submit edits for my book chapter on Women in Religion. W and I miss the interaction with others in the office.

But at home, there's dill and floral shrubbery in vases. All is quiet and well.

I teach online three night this week. Though class ends about 9pm, the recording has to be uploaded, student papers graded, and prep finished for next session.

I don't fall asleep until after midnight. Night classes throw everything off schedule, but they allow working adults to finish their education.

Thursday
W and I eat breakfast on the porch. The sun shines through the guava trunks to the old sofas where we sit.

Right after, I'm ravenous. I eat and eat. And make a stale-bread, eggs, orange juice, milk, sausage, and cheese casserole. Good.

We're not doing the mountain walks for a while. With covid sweeping through the neighborhoods, our leader says, "Let's stay home." I'm happy to build up my knees with a Costco's supplement in preparation for our steep-and-deep hikes. (Recommended by friend Wilhelmina.)

I teach one final evening class tonight. Saturday, we have our final hours together. The class presentations have swallowed a lot of class time this week. We move quickly through the remaining information.

Friday:
It's a quiet morning of grading and writing. I think someone is dropping off lunch but it's dessert instead.

So I toss together a noodle stir-fry with olive oil, curry powder, peanut butter, Braggs Aminos, soy sauce, onions, turmeric root and garlic. lost its edge, I add broccoli, carrot, and cabbage. It's what's in the fridge and it tastes ok. A bit too much curry, maybe? There's just enough left to send home with a helper.

The sky seems bluer most days. Dry season is coming and the palms stretch up up up toward the high clouds scudding by. We still have rain every day or two to keep the fields hydrated.

Read more:
*You have made the Lord your refuge. Psalm 91:9

*Once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish. Isaiah 29:14

*Many who heard Jesus were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands!” Mark 6:2

*Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness. 2 Corinthians 3:12

Moravian Prayer: Beautiful Savior, even though you have the power of the heavens, you live as a servant to others. May we follow your example of humbleness as we serve those around us and spread your love to the world.

Like an oasis in the desert, gracious Lord, you protect and shelter us, and give us courage so that we may boldly go into the world to proclaim your love and mercy for all. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.