I was born messy. My hands sometimes look like this. Argh. And that's after a good scrubbing.
It takes a few minutes with a canvas, gesso, and black acrylic paint
The same strange thing happens to me when I garden. I'm naturally a hands-on mess. It's probably because I don't want to break momentum by pausing to pull on gloves. When in motion, let's go.
I play with lines and colors on the phone, tipping it this way and that. Coloring, erasing. For now, it stays as it is.
We wade through the stream below going one way,
The second waterfall is a short climb down a steep path stitched with tree roots for less slip-and-slide.
The moss and lichens glow along the path.
And the dogs are happy to cool off in the pools below.
We all stand back in wonder. What a gorgeous country.
But first, lunch. Down2Earth is closing later this month - it's off the beaten track for us so we don't get there often. The food is delicious as usual. I have a fajita.
When I get to our place, I circle the garden. Papayas grow in two kinds: fruiting and flowering. You can see both edible versions - the flower is bitter and cooked with other leaves. I love the taste. W doesn't.
Cocoa is a princess who needs time to relax after.
The Bandung Book Group discusses a fairy tale about American life and slave history, expectations and exploitation. It has all the elements of a good super-hero tale, including fantastical powers and rich narratives, action figures and villains, dangers and rescues. (Ta-Nehisi Coates' The Water Dancer)
I haven't decided if I'm done with the canvas. The oranges and blues are coming through - and I like that. It may sit for a few days or months. I might even turn it on its side a few times. W looks at it and says, "Oh my." HA ha. That's no compliment. But I like it. There might even be some faces in it. Who knows?
I took my first adult art class in my 40s. Session One: which brushes were used for what? The instructor let us use only black and white paint. I was quickly and completely absorbed in play.
I pulled the car over on my way home and cried because it was so much fun that it was overwhelming. (I was a musician since childhood, not a painter. How could a brush in the hand evoke such energy and emotion?)
And I cried because I regretted the years that I hadn't known to pick up a paintbrush. Junior high school art class left me cold. It was so much of a nothing that I never considered drawing or painting until we needed something on the wall of our new house. How about a painting?
We were out of money and I didn't have a clue where to start, so I signed up for that community center art class. I didn't expect to like painting or even learn much. I just hoped to find out what paint and brushes to buy for one big painting for that tall blank wall.
I never painted that picture, though. Instead, I fell in love with paint, paper, canvas, and brushes. Once in a while, when I have a blank or broken surface, I still go crazy. Like today.
A friend drops by to pick up a few copies of Alkitab for her study group.
Thursday
I wrenched my knee yesterday but go on the mountain walk anyhow. It holds up just fine. Look at what I would have missed ... 2 waterfalls, tea plantations, and good friends. We start by avoiding the watery ruts that the dogs love to splash through.
We're very hot to start with as the sun beats down but soon the clouds roll in and it cools down. Good. There's no shade in the tea. The workers wear big woven hats to shade head and shoulders.
The tea is cut and bundled up with burlap drop cloths at the ends of the rows of shrubs.
The first waterfall ...
and scramble over the stream lower down, returning.
Afterward, the dogs are dirty but happy as they jump into the car for the ride home.
Friday
6:00am-8:15, the first meeting kicks off with decades-long friends. After that, we talk to granddaughter Makenna on her 4th birthday. And to my mom. That's a lot of visits, first thing in the morning.
Angela and I try some new routes through the neighborhoods, down to the river. The steps are uneven and steep. Some treads are 15" high.
The old dirt path has been nicely paved. If it weren't for the steep drop-off on the canal side and the rotting ropes on the river cliff side, it would be disability-friendly. The pavement is smooth, which is rare in the city.
There are new educational activities like koi ponds, with signs promoting environmental care and consequences of littering and pooping in the river.
To get around the dam, we used to hang on to the dam machinery and shuffle around the side on a 1' concrete ledge, holding on tight not to fall into the water. Recently someone has made a bridge across. We cross one at a time, but the woven bamboo sinks with every step. Angela wonders how long it will last. It's already worn and cracking.
As we wind our way back through the stairs and paving up the hillsides, we spot a tennis-volleyball-and-what-else? court below. (The man is knocking an ants nest out of the door he has taken off its hinges. Ants swarm in every direction as we walk gingerly by.)
The court is well-maintained though you'd have to climb down another way to get there.
We spot a beautiful series of star-shaped weed flowers. What do gardeners say? "A weed is a good plant in the wrong place." This one's gorgeous and elegant.
I'm not sure where this 12' bridge leads (besides "to the other side") after you climb down the steep bank to the drainage canal. Would you cross it? It made of woven bamboo strips with a few bamboo poles top and bottom. No railing.
On the other kind of tree, the fruit ripens before being split open, seeds scooped out, and enjoyed.
The monster plant is blooming in a back corner. The flower is about 3' tall.
The thick stalks are 5-7'' long and the leaves on top are the same. For scale, the nearly daylily leaves are about 2' long.
The green wall that borders our property is in its best season. 3-5' fern fronds droop to catch the rain. Beside it, the tropical fish pot and grasses frame a statue found next door.
In the bathtubs holding the goldfish, the lotus blossoms are opening, one after another.
After some work in the office, I walk back to find the groomers are almost finished with the dogs. The poodles are frisky and love to play once they're done. Here Bailey whirls around to tear his bag apart - it's full of his favorite toys so he works hard to get them all out.
Meanwhile the shaggy boy Gypsy barks and growls as the groomers come and go. He never likes to let strangers into the gate and warns them off. Good boy. He hates to be trimmed and today's his day off. Lucky dog.
We meet once a month and the conversations are always lively. If you're a reader who wants to read with a group that doesn't mind controversy and disagreement (in a polite and respectful way, of course) get in touch with me. Next month we read Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun.
A 5.7 earthquake off the west coast of Java is noticed by friends in Jakarta. 100 miles further away, we don't feel it in Bandung.
Read more:
*The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced. Psalm 126:3
*For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God. Eccesiastes 5:7 NASB
*Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Ephesians 1:3
*Do not allow yourselves to be condemned by anyone who claims to be superior because of special visions and who insists on false humility and the worship of angels. For no reason at all, such people are all puffed up by their human way of thinking and have stopped holding on to Christ. Colossians 2:18, 19 GNT
Moravian Prayer: Oh Lamb of God, we are faced with moments of pride, ambition, and selfishness in this life. When those moments arise, remind us of your generosity and grace, so that we may offer these blessings to others and follow you humbly and selflessly.
Thank you, loving Father, for all the many blessings that you have bestowed upon us, especially your Son, Jesus Christ, for Christ is our joy and our life. Amen.
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