Friends, new friends, and accusing stares from the dogs

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Breakfast on the porch means we have 3 pairs of accusing eyes staring at us. We have a small dog-free zone on our porch as many Indonesians are afraid of dogs. Only Bailey is allowed into the seating circle - when we invite him in, which is nearly always, let's face it. But not when we're eating. We share scraps with the dogs when they sit and wait politely. So they plunk themselves down and watch unblinkingly whenever we eat outside.

We skip our usual date at Nara restaurant because we'll be there with guests later today.

After a morning in the office, I pluck flowers, dill, and leaves from our garden and pop them into a tall vase. The vase is huge, a $14 find at a moving sale last year - which means the arrangement is almost 5' tall. Within a few hours, the dill - picked just before noon in the hot sun - perks up and stands straight.

Propped on a clay stand, the bouquet makes a good partition between the living room area and the music area. [See the little table lamp beside the flowers? It will come up later in this post. I've had my eye on it since last week.]

When Scott and Ruth arrive from Jakarta, we eat lunch at Miss Bee.

Yum. My beef fajitas are tasty.

Next door is the sister campus to their former language school in Salatiga. They meet with the administrators and say hello. Then we tour the Green Gate campus and the BIC office.

Back at the house, they ask W to scan books they need for travel. Scott cuts, Ruth separates, and W scans. I nap in our room, falling fast asleep in a heartbeat. Our late supper at Nara is delicious, too.

Thursday

It's a new walk around Lembang, the city to the north of us. One car breaks down on the way up the steep incline and the driver waits most of the day for a tow, while his passengers walk around and back down to home. No AAA here.

The rest of us skirt the ridges of mountains overlooking lush valleys dotted with villages. There are a lot of dogs along the way so ours have to be leashed between wild runs where there are no people. At one point, Cocoa and Gypsy disappear back into a little kampung (village) to chase a dog who barks at them. They return after a few whistles and a lot of shouts from the walking group.

The trail narrows with dropoffs on either side. In places, we walk between greenhouses filled with rose bushes. Lembang is a garden city, with good weather for vegetables, trees, and flowers. Farmers send their produce across Indonesia, especially to the big city of Jakarta a few hours away.

We often find a log to sit on after a particularly steep section. This one has been partly eaten out by ants, and they swarm out as soon as we bump it. Nope, not sitting here.

See the little 2-bamboo bridge across the ravine? The handrail is another piece of bamboo. Would you cross it, one foot on each bamboo pole and one hand on the rail?

The total elevation of today's walk is 25 flights of stairs; that doesn't include ups and downs. It's a hot day and we're relieved when parts of the walk are shaded by trees.

We start and end at the Mandarin Restaurant. The food is good as usual.

Scott and Ruth meet us there; we enjoy some time together before PakG takes them back to their hotel downtown.

I read a variety of magazines through our Seattle library. A letter written about my longterm friendship with the WPPRs is included in the March/April Victoria magazine. We used to get $100 for such a letter; now I'm happy with a print-copy in our Seattle mailbox.

Friday

Angela and I walk a loop around the neighorhood before I start calls from the porch at Green Gate.

Before 11, Maddie and Max come to the office. They put together 100 cardboard bricks in preparation for a BIC "Ezra-Nehemiah" talk in February. 

The BIC kids will "build a wall" while other kids read the story of the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem thousands of years ago. 

W picks up his repaired Keens from town. It's cost $7 for materials and labour to resole these favorites. We both enjoy lunch with Maddie and Max - nasi goreng (friend rice) and salad. It's a simple and common menu here. Except for the salad.

Saturday

The mornings are peaceful. The sun rises early - first light is at 5:30 and wakes me no matter what time I fall asleep.

We pick up a wall shelf. I mark out 3 possible locations. Anything we acquire has to have at least 2 places or uses. We try to shed at least as much as comes in.

I'm writing 2 talks for BIC today - so my mind needs some creative energy. Hmm, what about that beige lampshade? Is any paper left in the bag of leftover scrapbooking supplies, gifted by friends 5 years ago. I find some I like.

I drape the lampshade in pleated paper and notice afterward that it matches the room. Who knew!

As a visually-prompted creative and a follower of Jesus, I'm reminded to pray for people whose things I touch or see. I feel privileged to ask God to care for others, whatever is happening in their lives or relationships. And today I'm praying for Trudi, Garry, Ron, Lorraine, and their families, with a smile on my face and a heart of thanksgiving.

Outside, the "curtain" of plants from the 2nd floor is finally thick enough to shade our bedroom. Such passive cooling is a must in the tropics if you live without an air conditioner.

It's time to write - Saturday work, here I come. Sunday is a-coming! (The new talks are for Sundays in February of course, not for tomorrow.) Have a great weekend, everyone.

Read more:

*Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born. Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:3-4

*A prayer of Moses the man of God.

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”

A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by or like a watch in the night. Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—they are like the new grass of the morning: in the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered.

We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. 

If only we knew the power of your anger! Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due. Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Relent, Lord! How long will it be? Have compassion on your servants. Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble.

May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalm 90