A day away - and a slippery slope

Monday

Need a transition from Thanksgiving? Let's change autumn's batiks to the bright cheer of Christmas.

A change of tablecloth should do it! I bought 5 meters each of fabric at the wholesaler a few years ago and sewed them together for table toppers. Easy remix.

Tuesday

W and I need a day with just the two of us. Of course, it's mostly a working day because we have so many "floating" pieces with the soft launch of BIC and member care. Our usual meetings are postponed to another day.

We start with an early breakfast at Nara - a simple meal of noodles and 2 kinds of dim sum ... that comes with 5 kinds of hot sauce. Whew. We try them all.

At the gate to the Nara courtyards, the vines have burst out with orange blooms.

Here's a close-up for three floral clumps.

W needs to buy cables in town so I go down with him. My quest is for lights and a wreath: Christmas decor. Much of my personal stuff is old and in use at the meeting hall. The old BIC light sets are worn out as well.

W drops me off at a wholesale building supply mall. I cruise through and find light strands for $1.50 each. Sold.

At the back of the lighting store is a whole room dedicated to assembling massive chandeliers. See, there's a job for everyone! I snap a photo when the worker goes around the corner.

I pop into a furniture supply shore as well. With so much sitting for online meetings and video communications, my back's hurting. I need a new chair so I try a few.

We head for the biggest ACE Hardware, which actually has a Christmas section. They find 2 plain wreaths for me.

Here, there are no returns if something doesn't work. [The reel lawnmower that was assembled incorrectly by ACE and broke the first time it was pushed? Too bad. It sits beside the replacement we had to pay for.] Every light and electronic item is tested before leaving a store. 'Sold and done' is the motto, not 'service with a smile.'

When we get to the "test" station, W sits down to wait. I tell him he's in his happy place ... NOT. Typical spouse, waiting for the other to finish shopping. (= Me, in an electronics or gadget mall.)

Around the corner is a tile shop with a clearance section. That's my favorite kind of shopping: curiosity and, "what could happen?" At 35c, this sheet of 36 mosaic tiles reminds me of little islands. Aren't they pretty? For next year's prayer campaign: hang an ornament to remind you to pray? (Ribbon, fabric back, tag: "Pray for the Islands of Indonesia.") Thinking out loud here.

By 1:30, we're ready for lunch. This is Ambrogio: with my hot date.

It's crowded but we find a seat beside the pond and the cooling breeze. See the 2-foot joy and all the 6" little fishes against the wall?

I'm in the mood for a sandwich. This one, with brisket, pesto, and salad, is $5.

At the checkout, the Christmas hampers are ready to be sold. Gift baskets are a thing for many special occasions. These are beautiful.

W's happy when they bring out a freshly baked Queen Atman (different name here). It's a heart-attack in a pastry, so much fat and sugar. His favorite taste - thankfully we live far enough away that it's not a normal indulgence. 

The toilet floors are not the only thing you have to watch - this ceiling was clogged with webs, larvae, cocoons, etc.

We stop at some aquarium stores for plants and guppies. Every year or so I refill and refurbish. The pot of plants are 25c each. I take a bunch to beef up the oxygen in the fishbowls since we rarely use filters or air stones.

Back home, all the lights are on. Lanterns.

The tall vase of pine cones also has cinnamon sticks, nutmeg pods, and cloves for scent.

I open the new wreath from ACE around the this-and-thats cluttering the dining table. It's suddenly an arrangement. 

The dill flowers have completely dried so we tuck a few ends into the wreaths hanging on the kitchen window.

I drape a 2-meter garland over one of my favorite paintings and hang pinecones from one end.

Lunch is on the way - a delicious pizza.

The high-tech ordering process doesn't go through. The server comes over to look at W's screen and takes it down by hand.

Moms and kids can ride around the mall in these little "train" carts.

We find a few 70% closeout Christmas pictures and take one home.

Thursday

After a long working day yesterday, I can't wait to get into the mountains. We drive behind many motorcycles, all of them delivery or passenger riders. That's the way goods move around the city's narrow roads.

Our walk's not long but it is up and down on wet clay trails.

We encounter two surfaces today: grassy and overgrown like above, or narrow, slick, and wet clay. There are steep drop-offs much of the way. 

A few of us wipe out on the slick path as we go down, stabbing our walking sticks into the mud. As much as possible, we avoid the deep ruts made by motorcycles.

There are a lot of dogs along with us walkers. The valley views are exceptional.

This bike looks like an Indonesian "dinosaur" through my lens.

The fields are full of potatoes and other new crops. On the steepest slopes, the farmers heap the rows to drain them and drape them in plastic so the soil and seedlings don't wash away.

The mountains are curves of fertile volcanic soil.

If you click to zoom in on the pictures, you'll see the diversity on every mountainside.

Houses perch above and below the narrow streets. You can see how the hill slopes down and away. I'm not sure I'd feel safe sleeping in one of these, especially in an earthquake-prone volcanic region.

Some of the buildings are legal. Others are crafted as temporary restaurants out of whatever material is at hand.

Most of the streets are lanes - we try to find somewhere to pull over if traffic comes from the other way.

The mountain roads are rough but well-travelled. on the weekends, there will be bumper to bumper traffic and hours of creeping along as tourists head for the sites that we hike around.

I can't imagine this U-turn over the ravine, packed with cars.

Lunch is along the way, traditional Indonesian food. We sit out of the sunshine.

Our friend Melvina has finished the final round of application for government jobs - thousands apply for a few positions, and this was the third interview.

On the drive home, we spot this tall gate with doves on it.

We're happy to be home safe and sound, though muddy. A shower is our first order of business, before hitting our computers to catch up with the day's messages.

Read more:

*Truly the day of the Lord is great; terrible indeed—who can endure it? Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart. Joel 2:11-12

*Be like those who are waiting for their master. Luke 12:36

Moravian Prayer: Forgiving God, we open our hearts to you this day. Dwell within us, make straight our paths, sustain in us a willing spirit, and may all that we do be pleasing to you. Amen.