Movies, decorating, and angklungs. It's an artistic week

Sunday, July 31, 2022

What a great Sunday - we get to discuss difficult questions around the tables at BIC. The last Sunday might be my favorite day of the month. We call it Round Table Sunday, because we borrow Green Gate's tables for our morning gathering. But how can it be the end of July already?

Here's what I remember about the past week: The first half, we are gearing up for the reset of movie night, the most fun we have at our house. It's a soft launch, so only 45 people are permitted to attend. 

To take the pressure off preparation, I signed up for a free internet "botanical journal" class - 5 sessions about drawing, painting, and dying plants into a self-made journal. I start hopeful. I follow the instructions to bind a journal with various papers, scrap fabric, and leftover pages.

My journal takes days to dry. The cover starts to mold, though I put it on a stand and flip the pages to dry the inside faster. Ugh. 

It looks like organic garbage, cobbled, collaged, and doodled together. Page after page is neither interesting nor particularly artistic. (It's a mess, I admit it.) I'll complete the classes to acquire some new skills, but - wow - so far, this is nothing I'd want to keep.

Monday

W sends out the invitation and 80 sign the movie-night guest list before we know it. It's a long waiting list.

The BIC team comes over for lunch. We're welcoming Shibli and Herbert and saying goodbye to Kristi. She's been involved in so many events - it's hard to imagine that she's going home to the USA soon. We'll miss her!

Wednesday

The list is sorted out and we open our house -  after tearing apart the living room and dining area. My office is crammed with furniture and accessories. Our folding dining table gets rolled against one office wall.

The evening event is as much fun as we remember, though 45 people sound a lot quieter than the usual 70.  "We were going to come, says one friend, "but the list filled up so quickly. We decided to let others have the chance to attend." Nice guy.

I start cooking at before 7:00 a.m. and finish by 10:00. I cook a menu of dishes that people say are their favorites. Curried sausage. Spicy chicken. Peppery meatballs. Because I'm a mom, I also make sure there's a salad and vegetables, along with rice.

The rest of the morning is spent setting out cutlery, plates, condiments; planning the order of the buffet; printing signs with portion limits ("Curried Sausage, max 3, etc.) I cook the main dishes, and take a nap. 

IbuA and IbuS are lifesavers. They make rice, cut fruit and salad, and clean up. The old-timers can't wait to see them and waltz into the workspace to say hi.

It's fun to gather on the porch and in the house with the movie-night family and strangers. Bella introduces her fiancé; someone is saying goodbye before she moves to Kyrgyzstan; others update us on their jobs after graduation. Newbies sign the guest book so they'll know when they first came.

We eat dessert at intermission and hang out when the movie is over. It's almost 11:00 p.m. by the time the last people leave. Well worth staying up, I must say.

Friday

I know, I know, we skipped Thursday. We walked Thursday through the rice paddies and a forest to a waterfall - and back. It's a hard hike and we were weary. Here are a few pics. 

We even pose, just in case we need a pic for our upcoming (Sept) wedding anniversary.

People are working along the way, harvesting rice and selling snacks and souvenirs.

The group crowds into a little gazebo mid-field and ate a delicious lunch, prepared by a Sundanese  cook - delicious, esp since she's feeding about 15 of us.

On the way home, we spot this full pickup of workers. Forget safety gear - these guys are doing well to have bars around them.

Oh yeah, back to Friday. This is what the main room looks like once the people-hurricane passes.

Movie night provides a whole-house reset once a month. I've missed that in the 2.5 years we have been waiting to resume.

The helpers scrub down the floors, wash pillow and sofa covers, and put away stuff we won't use this month. Waldemar and PakG place the rugs and furniture, while IbuS hunts down the purple slipcover we haven't used in years. She wraps the big sofa pillows in bright purple sarongs from Bali.

I ask W not to take the keyboard out of its storage case. Let's see if I miss it. We purchased a good-quality keyboard when we arrived in Indonesia, against my better judgement. It's no piano and I have no inspiration to play it. So it sits there, waiting for someone to flip the switch on the back and the speakers to bring it to life. We'll get rid of it if it's just using space.

We need a break by noon, so W and I walk down the street to eat lunch at Ethnic. I crave a high-fat, high-protein hash-browns dish that's usually too much for me. I guess we've burned some energy this week!

When we come home, the dining room evolves from formerly green decor to blue and black.

Even the nook gets a shake-up with new rugs and a Papuan woven tablecloth.

Saturday

It's a full morning of writing August newsletters, finishing edits of someone's academic article (which I'm happy to send back to the journal editor), and talking on the phone. I fall into bed for a quick nap before we head out in early evening.

Robin's invited us to the reopening celebration of Angklung Udjo. This display of local music, dance, and tradition is outstanding. We start the evening with a delicious meal, eaten outside with Robin, Roy, Laura and other international and Indonesian friends.

It's full of gorgeous color and musicianship.

A cadre of policewomen dance a choreographed pattern, shaking the bamboo angklungs and stepping back and forth to a back-up band. We Westerners try to picture the response of Canadian, American, or European policewomen, asked to do the same thing. (Can you imagine them practicing and performing a dance for an audience on a night off?) Um, maybe not. It's a display of cultural harmony and cooperation. We enjoy it.

Due to Sunday obligations (to BIC at 7:00am), we have to leave the event early. We're not home until after 10:00pm and don't get to sleep for another hour.

Sunday

The dogs are always hopeful when someone pulls out the leashes. Our two sit near W so he can fasten the leash onto their collars. Sorry, guys. We're taking Casey back to the next dog-sitter this morning so W uncouples the two small leashes from each other.

Casey runs around Green Gate, trailing a leash in case she tries to run out the gate and we have to catch her while we're setting up. She has fun: most of the kids know her and she's got her own fan club. She naps in her crate during the BIC Gathering. Josh and Clau take her along to pass to her next family later this week.

Having an international community means welcoming strangers and letting friends go on their next journey. Today we say goodbye to Ibrahim, who's been a wonderful part of the BIC community. 

We congratulate Ibrahim on finishing his masters degree with lunch together after.

I plan to relax but work until almost 7:00pm. It's time to wrap up the day and do some reading. Maybe watch a Korean drama?

Read more:

*The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey. Joshua 24:24

Jesus answered Pilate, “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” John 18:37

Moravian Prayer: Gracious Father, you sent Jesus here for our sake, and we are so thankful. We cannot repay you for what you have done for us. We pray that, when we begin to witness to others, you give us the zeal to continue and inspire hearts. Amen.

A lumberjack to tame beautiful Indonesia

Thursday, July 21, 2022

The garden continues to surprise and delight. This morning, a pink chandelier flower fits behind some tea branches that I'm rooting..

Today's hike is through thick shrubs. The wet clay trail is barely visible in places. We slog through - the views over the tea plantations are worth it.

Thousands upon thousands of pink impatiens have seeded themselves between the rows of tea. The dogs love the romp as usual. Bailey's never far from my side but the others run ahead.

We're in the thickest overgrown part of the mountain trail when our granddaughter calls from the USA. She puts special effects on her phone and we talk until the call drops. It sounds like she had a wonderful birthday. We love you, Miss K!

2 boys are along and it's fun to see how differently they approach the walk. They run, back-track, leap, fall, and get up. One clambers up a 4' (1.3 meter) stump and takes pictures of us all. (That's his beautiful mama below.)

It's a good-sized group. We're missing a few regulars who are on summer holidays.

Our destination is a waterfall.

From the biggest wonders to the tiniest moss flowers, it's a beautiful short trek, only 5 km (3 miles) of hard going. Much of the track is rocks of all sizes and shapes. Our ankles and knees have to be sturdy - and the soles on our hiking shoes must be non-slip.

Young M spots a banana flower lying beside the path. As we walk, he gradually peels layers back. Between each tightly closed petal is a set of tiny bananas, waiting to be revealed and ripened, one row after another. See the yellow row of banana "fingers" that M has exposed under a purple petal?

Lunch at the Mandarin (Lembang) is delicious and quick for 7 walkers. We order 6 family-style dishes plus rice. It disappears from start to finish in 20 minutes! (Can't believe we ate the whole thing.) We must have been hungry today.

"Eating is our reward for walking," says Kiki.

Driving home on our last stretch, we pass a pickup truck full of young people, chatting away with their friend who is following behind on his motorcycle.

IbuS and IbuA are baking for movie night next week. IbuA's cookie experiment today is mostly vegan - flour, tapioca flour, and more, but no eggs. She breaks coffee-candies into pieces and puts them atop peanut-butter cookies. = Basically delicious.

We always seem to be squeezing food into in our kitchen fridge. I dread coming home with groceries because boxes of cookies and baking ingredients take up at least half the fridge. While we're gone, the ladies have scrubbed down the new "movie night" cooler in the back room and moved the cookie boxes into it. 

That's going to be a life-saver, coming at the right time. It's almost full already, with water jugs in the bottom. Thanks, Sam!

Friday

It might be a red-letter day (holiday) for us today. At the very least, it's a game-changer. While I'm comfortably working in my rattan chair in the back garden, W and a handyman are fixing the water systems in the house.

It takes several trips to the hardware store for supplies, besides the pump and other items W has already purchased. That's pretty typical for a job this big, combining random existing pipes into one system for water all day.

What luxury! For 7 1/2 years in this house, we've lived with incoming city water and water pressure only in the morning. If anyone dared to shower or wash clothes after lunch, they'd have to manipulate all kinds of plumbing, levers, and pumps. W decides enough is enough. Our friend Kiki recommends his handyman.

By the end of the day, the hardwire store is closed and the job is wrapping up. The handyman cobbles leftover ends of pipe together in the powder room. There are pipes everywhere, across the walls and across the window. We'll paint them in bright colors to make it look intentional instead of a patch job. On the other hand, this is what a "fix" looks like in Indonesia so few locals would even notice.

IbuS is getting pretty good! at arranging flowers, too. This sits over the back sink.

Saturday

W ripped half of his big toenail up while moving a box. He's limping around but undaunted. He has the good sense to cancel his usual trips around town.

Lunch? W orders noodles for us and friends who live nearby. A portion is $1 including delivery, and comes with pangsit (deep-fried dumplings). The place is becoming famous for its delicious taste and low prices. There's always a lineup at the door.

This week, the 3'- (1 meter-) tall BIC flower arrangement is simple. I walk around the garden and cut a few tall leaves and flowers. We drop it off on the way to grocery shopping.

In the afternoon, W chops down 5 flower-only papaya trees that came out of nowhere and are shading the garden. The trunks are soft, wet, and hollow. Could one make vases like the ones from the tree ferns? (last week)

See all that open sky? Yay. And here's the lumberjack with his trusty machete. I happily working on the porch - and watch with a smile.

It's a shame to waste the edible flowers and leaves, but by Monday when the help comes, it will be spoiled. Luckily two neighbors come by for leaves and blooms. "We'll make a dish with salty sardines," says one.

Read more:

*Do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

*The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Psalm 34:7

Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists. Acts 12:7

*Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10

Moravian Prayer: Surround us, O Lord. Wrap us in your arms and give us comfort. We are weak as humans, but you are our source of knowledge and power. There are so many things we are unsure of, but you are all-knowing. We lay our troubles before you and allow you to move through our lives. We leave it all at your feet.

Father, thank you for sending your angels to help us align with the lifestyle you have chosen for us. Steer us in the right direction. Amen.

Birthdays and sensory awareness

I'm a sensory person. I like the mild growl of the aquarium pump, the sound of someone's feet in the hall, and the hiss-hiss of the rain that starts today at suppertime. The dogs have eaten so they run for their crates and curl up.

Senses? I can't sleep with lights on. I cook by smell. I naturally surround myself with beauty - nature, art, kind people, and animals. W and I like to try new foods, too.

The exception is that, though I grew up as a musician in a musical household from age 4, I never play music unless it's techno-buzz or heavy metal for work focus. Music messes up the tunes and rhythms always running through my head.

A picture ledge lets you move art around. If you're a restless occupant like I am, it saves the house from becoming a pincushion of nail-holes. The new Bail birds look best with other bright paintings. That means moving every other painting. I like the new views in the end.

Fortunately, W is a gadget genius and general handyman. We agree that I dream things up and he builds them. After I assemble an IKEA chandelier,  I want to hang it in 3 places around the porch. He screws in the hooks. (I paint the hooks to blend into the ceiling first. Why else have a can of auto-paint in every color, if not for such emergencies? hehehe)

The chandelier has 4 candles and a central bulb. My goal is to light it without an extension cord. I want to rip out the electrical components inside. And I'm looking for an emergency bulb like those used for sconces and other "inconvenient" lamps. (The bulb charges in a regular lamp.)

"What's that?" W asks. "Never heard of it." But he finds the bulb, figures out where to buy it, and researches how to turn it on. He strips out the electrical components and rigs a tiny on-off switch (below) that short-circuits a remaining stub of wire. It works great!

We eat supper outside without the usual attack of mosquitoes. Between the four candles, the bugs stay away.

For supper, W orders an $8 (incl delivery) sample pack from down the hill. There are 3 kinds noodles, 3 appetizers, and a whole lot of fried wontons. We put a little of every kind on our plates and close the boxes. = Way too much food. 

The noodles, ordered at levels 1, 2, and 3 from a spice index of #1-9, meet our tongues as "Normal," "Hot Enough to Create Steam," and "Face on Fire!" I like spicy food but I can't imagine a #4 or #5, never mind a #9. We put the fire out with mango juice.

The whole house smells marvelous as evening falls. Last Sunday, Hela gave me a 2' (70cm) stem that unleashes its fragrance as soon as it starts to get dark. "One of my favorites to share with you," she says. I think it's called "Queen of the Night." Yummy.

Today Leo and Doris have birthdays. The team sings "Happy Birthday" to Leo on his 12th. (No leaking Doris' age, though.)

Since she lives in Europe, we wait for the day to send greetings. "It's considered unlucky in Germany to wish someone a happy birthday before the day," my brother informed me a few years ago. What!? We were traveling that year and anticipated his birthday. Not a good thing apparently.

Wednesday

Cultural question: do you harvest the fruit on your side of the fence when the tree is on the other side? "Yes, certainly," says a neighbor. But you have to clean up the tree once it's harvested. Ok. We can do that. There's a small clump of bananas ripening in the side yard. The helpers will share it with us.

The walk is beautiful today. The flowers I thought were white spires on the hedge are actually veined with green. 

And the neighbor's lilies are in bloom again. They put out flower heads a few times a year.

Less attractive but more useful are the dozens of chickens picking at the garbage along the street. The little chicks have grown up into busy hens and territorial roosters.

It's date morning so we go out for breakfast . We make unusually boring choices: pancakes and waffles to counter the spicy food of yesterday. After that, we call dear friends and family members.
I find a book that might interest our book group.

 "It's controversial," cautions one member. "Do you want to lead it next month?" Sure, why not.

The prolific orchid on the porch has 4 new blooms.

W and I walk out of the neighborhood to Baby Dutch for lunch. Sometimes it's cheaper to eat out than cook at home. Their specialty is Dutch Baby pancakes.

At the gelato place across the street, this multi-colored flower catches my eye.

So does this "Christmas tree" bloom - at 1' tall, it's one of the prettiest things around.

Vilo Gelato has a lot of places to sit: little houses and booths.

You can even climb up to the treehouse to eat. W and I split one scoop of Almond-Brittle flavor and skip the circular staircase.

The neighbor's wall is bright yellow at the bottom and dripping with flowers above.

Thursday

Our eldest grandchild turns 11 today. Happy Birthday, Miss K! One of the costs of living abroad is missing family milestones. We caught the first two birthdays and then flew away from Seattle July 1, 2014. We haven't been at her birthday since, one of our regrets.

11 is the most vivid childhood birthday for me. I got a pair of nylon stockings, a binder to write in, and a 5-year diary, among other things. I started writing seriously then, without thinking about it. I sometimes wonder - if I'd been handed paints and an art pad ...

Read more:

*The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:9-10

*You are my hiding-place and my shield; I hope in your word. Psalm 119:114

*The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed.” Matthew 8:8

Moravian Prayer: Lord, we turn our hearts to you in praise for the safety of your shield. We know we are safe in your presence and we are thankful for your protection. Our lives are dedicated to you in all that we do: sharing your love for us with the world, knowing that we are not worthy of such great love. May our words speak your truth to all who can hear. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.