The colors of rice and batter - and a pineapple pie

She's scolded me a few times: "Don't just write about things that you enjoy. You should share some of the hard things, too. Or people think you're just having fun and not working."

Admittedly, I've gotten in trouble over the years by not worrying too much about what people think. But focusing on hard things? I think not.

Why not? Everyone - including you - is busy. Everyone has hard times. The past year or two may even have been brutal for some of you.

Around us, many people are just hanging on, like the cool beetle skeleton we found in the garden. And yes, of course I snagged it to show the grandkids some day. When I was a kid, that would have been more interesting to me than 10 plastic toys. (W says, "Ugh., no thanks. I wouldn't have touched it.")

We've had both covid and vaccines. It hasn't been easy to keep working and adjusting, we admit it. We've had floods - in the house.

We've done maintenance, inside and out.

We've been surprised by the weird and unexpected this past year or two, just like you have.

But how beautiful the world is! How blessed W and I feel to be in surroundings that take our breath away. Just because some things (like these trumpet flowers) are poisonous doesn't mean they're not pretty.

Just because they're prickly (like these Crown of Thorns) doesn't mean they're not worth a second look.

Saturday

We live among people who are kind and generous. A neighbor's grown kids stop by with their son to pet the dogs and say hi. They are amazing bakers and leave us a gift - a loaf of REAL organic sourdough bread. You can't imagine what a treat that is!

We live in a city known for food that is both spicy and tasty. The saté ...

The curries ...

And the noodles. Oh yum. (Now, if it came in colors other than rice, deep-fried, and battered ...  What? You didn't realize those were colors?) The hot chilis add a touch of color, as do the banana leaves that act as serving plates.

Sunday

Claudia comes to sit on the porch for BIC Online. W, Melvi, and I eat breakfast with her and chat. She's briefly in town and staying nearby.

It's more meaningful to have people watching the online service with us ... W and I agree that we'll do this more often. One or two people (or a family) for brunch and the online Gathering would be very special and it would be safe. Now to schedule it! (Let us know if you want to be on the list, ok?)

We stayed up late last night for a special treat to arrive from Jakarta - and it did. We could not wait until morning so sampled it, but today we share it for breakfast.

Thank you, Micha. He's a creative "star" in many directions: art, music, architecture, graphics, etc. - and now he's mastering baking. Woohoo! We are the happy recipients of his generosity.

Wow, the pineapple pie is outstanding! It reminds me of Mom's apple pie - not too much dough and lots of fruit = just right. It has a flaky crust, with a perfect blend of cinnamon and other spices. Because we share our best things, we send a slice to our neighborhood "taster," DrW. She agrees. Delicious.

We meet with the BIC leadership team before a late lunch, too. Today our numbers are reduced by family visits and time zones; family takes priority. We record the business for those missing.

It's a treat to work from home. I've been enjoying lighter colors all year but am looking forward to the deeper palettes of November and December. The colors define an artificial and warm winter for me. Last year, because we flew to Canada for Dad's funeral in December, we did no Christmas decorating. It was nice not to have to put the tree and ornaments away, though.

We're hoping Indonesia gets back to Level 1 or 2 (from current 3 and 4) in Covid restrictions so that we can host friends for the celebration of Christ's birth.

Tuesday

After an online meeting with some very dear mentors, I'm in the office. We've planned Advent bags in advance.

"Will there be cookies like last year?" everyone asks. "Those were our favorites." Yes, there will be fresh-baked cookies. If you live in Bandung and want to be part of BIC's annual Advent celebrations, let us know.)

Alice is assembling the packets with volunteer help - if you want to help (either with assembly or delivery), contact her. Should be fun.

Why plan for Advent (Nov 28) now? I prefer to do early what can be done in advance. W and I are packing for an annual itineration (partner meet-ups). The whirlwind trip is a blessing for us and others, who live at our house and will take care of the dogs. They get to enjoy the windy hill we live on. Some will invite friends or extended family to enjoy the stay with them so the dogs always have company. The dogs keep out anyone who doesn't belong.

On our end, it saves money. (We don't have to negotiate rent or buy a vehicle on the other end. And we don't have to put things into storage). It saves time. (We don't pack up life to be away for months or a year; a long time away means a hard reset when coming back). And we return with good energy. (We hit the ground running.) It's nice that most things are online; we're not on vacation, that's for sure.

Lunch is at a young friend's new cafe. #miesopdelia

She makes us mango milkshakes as a starter.

We look over her menu: nothing is over $2.

Delia makes us the most delicious honey roasted chicken. If she lived nearby, I'd have this every week.

We pray with her and her friend ChaCha that God will bless the cafe, will bring customers and blessings to the whole neighborhood through Delia. Then, our stomaches and spirits satisfied, we come home. The kitchen smells like baking - there are chocolate-covered ginger cookies

IbuA has worked for us for 7 years, Sept 15. She is a marvelous baker and cook, the backbone of the kitchen for our guests and for movie night. (O Lord, let that happen again soon!) We are so grateful for her gifts of hospitality. And those cookies! 🍪

We take several boxes of cookies to the office fridge in preparation for making the Advent bags. The new baking goes into our home fridge. "Keep baking! while we're gone," I tell the helpers.

Supper is the most traditional dish in Indonesia: nasi goreng (fried rice). Yum. What's on your plate today?

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*Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart—they do no wrong but follow his ways. You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.

Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me. Psalm 119:1-8

*Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation may spring up, and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also; I the Lord have created it. Isaiah 45:8

*He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 2 Corinthians 9:10

Moravian Prayer: Creator of all, the earth is full of your glory. In your infinite wisdom, you formed the seasons for seedtime and harvest to ensure the supply of daily food. Forgive us for the times we are not good caretakers of the earth. Refresh and renew us for your righteousness sake. Amen.

A real fish and river walk

Monday to Wednesday, September 6-8, 2021

 "Now that's a real fish." My brother sends a pic of the fish he and his friend (pictured) caught last weekend off Canada's West Coast. 

Now you know why I have no appetite for small lake fish. Grandpa used to take us fishing every weekend.  We ate a lot of baked and smoked sturgeon, salmon, and other fish that size. Grandpa even put future finned food in a kiddy pool to keep them alive if the smoker was full. 

After a few years, I grew out of my enjoyment of crossing the Fraser River in a little aluminum boat with 2 motors to push us through the wild currents. I grew out of like for hot days on the gravel bars with Grandpa asking us to hush so as not to chase the fish away. I got over drizzly days where we warmed up by a driftwood fire with a tarp pulled overhead. But one of my younger brothers kept going along, and he caught his love of fishing from Grandpa.

There's one last hurrah for the roses remaining from last week's anniversary arrangements. The palm fronds have dried up so they're discarded. I snip some dill and a white-leafed vine to round out the little bouquet.

Thursday

We go on "Mariska's walk," the last trek for Gypsy's first owner before she returned to the Netherlands. Mariska was an ardent and faithful hiker. Parts of the walk are steep, like this hill. (Looking up after we get to the bottom.)

We descend at another part of the trail to homemade bridges across a series of waterfalls.

It's pretty spiffy, actually. They've put handrails on one side! We used to cross a log to the center rocks. Then we'd pull off shoes and socks to cool our feet in the upper pond. Today the dogs wade in the ponds. We keep an eye on them so they're not too near the waterfalls where they can be swept away.

Once you're in the mid-stream, you can see where you've come from.

To get to the other side during rainy season when the water was high and fast, we used to hold hands not to get swept downstream, wading the slippery algae-covered rocks.

Now there's an iffy log with a handrail before the last bridge. It's sure easier than before. Instead of a muddy trail up the other side of the canyon, we now have more uneven steps. Here's Sweety, the golden retriever, about to balance on the log before crossing the last bamboo bridge. The dogs develop amazing balance, as do we.

There's a sign on the other side in the forest: Be careful. Live Firing Area. Written in Indonesian, it's quite clear: the army uses this area as a practice range. Why would you put tourist trails through the middle of that? we ask someone later.

"No problem. When they are shooting, the army will close the trail so you can't pass through." The sign stays up, regardless.

It's quite dry on the walk today. Some stream beds are empty of water but full of leaves. We look over the edge and think, Wouldn't this be a perfect time to pull heaps of dry bamboo and branches out of the channel?

That doesn't matter to locals. They know that eventually the hard rains return and everything gets washed downhill. They'll unblock the stream then, if they have to.

The contrast of dry ground and stuff falling on the trail is eye-catching.

These trumpet flowers first caught my attention years ago at a Seattle nursery.  The shop priced a 5' tree at over $100. Here they grow wild beside the hiking trails, 20' tall in the middle of nowhere.

The red coleus that someone planted has reseeded, growing wild and free up the hillside.

A little further, we encounter these puzzling steps - watch your feet. I think there was a narrow, uneven course before they were "improved" with a second set of steps to the side.

Every tread width, depth, and surface is unique. Another challenge is that some steps are 4" high and others are almost 24". Your feet zig zag back and forth: there's no good route straight down, and there is no way you're running this staircase! At least there's now a railing to mark the edge so you don't fall into the fields beside.

Great swaths of kale fields lie between us and the next ridge. Some workers send us back to the main trail. "You can't get through this way," they insist (though we have done so before.) "There's no path to where you're going." They're scared of the dogs.

We go back to the main trail and loop back to see the waterfalls we would have passed. If the workers are away next time, then we'll take the trail that "doesn't exist." See the white stream of water falling into the dark canyon?

Our lunch stop is set in traditional houses among vegetable and rice fields.

The entry is wonderful; high unpainted beams under traditional thatching.

I especially like the way they've combined dry palm leaves with growing water grasses in an enormous planter. For perspective, the arrangement is taller than we are.

From our table, we look over the small paddy field.

We ask for extra cushions so we can sit more comfortably cross-legged or with feet to the side.

Every hut has a carved statue suspended from a rope. you take the stick and hit the open-backed figure when you need to order. The tok tok of the stick on hollowed wood is quite loud and calls someone over immediately.

In one corner is a traditional thatched house.

We order a package of traditional foods - rice with chicken sate, mushrooms, rujak (sort of salad with peanut sauce), coconut chicken, tempeh and roasted fish.

A slow-moving stream flows by as we eat.

I'm interested in buildings and local architecture and design. This bathroom is beautiful.

Even the simple lock on the bathroom stall is clever - a stick tied to the door with a string. You slide it between wooden holes on either side - and the doors stay shut.

Friday

Isn't this a lovely vine? one or two flowers are white: they mature into clusters of red blossoms. I stop to take a picture on our morning walk.

Once I get to the office, it's meeting after meeting. I don't have a chance to take Mom's call.

The day is warm and God is good. In the afternoon, we meet as a book group, discussing Jojo Moyes' The Giver of Stars. What an adventure - worth reading.

But first, Alice delivers the mooncakes we ordered last month. Mooncakes are an annual traditional Chinese pastry, filled with beans or seeds or other things. My favorite? lotus paste, which I first discovered in Singapore 20 years ago.

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*God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Psalm 46:1-7

*Take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord; work, for I am with you. Haggai 2:4

*We are co-workers in God’s service. 1 Corinthians 3:9

Moravian Prayer: Faithful are you, Lord. We thank you for never leaving nor forsaking us. Your constant presence reassures us. Continue to equip us for the work of ministry. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.