Christmas week Part 2

I love the space between Christmas and New Years Eve. When the kids were home, it was my custom to pack up the tree and decorations on Boxing Day, December 26. We'd clean and reset the house. I still do the reset but with many people in and out, the dash for post-Christmas order takes more time.

Tuesday, December 27, 2022

We have two quiet days because W's caught a cold and is not going anywhere. The helpers and I tidy and wash up after Sunday's crowd. The beds are refreshed with new linens as usual on Tuesdays. With all the leftovers, no one has to cook. IbuA bakes banana bread from the fruit basket J sent over.

My to-do list this week includes planning next year's IES talks, writing 2 newsletters, and reviewing the Indonesian we learned April to June. When the hard drive stalls, I get diverted from language study.

Soon, I promise myself. Soon. I look through pictures from Christmas events.

These people make life interesting and wonderful.

I write a review for a friend's book and putter, waiting for inspiration. PakG spray-paints a canvas black for me. I brought back 533 paint chips (2.2X3 cm) from a USA building supply. I don't know what will emerge. (If this attempt is awful, I'll leaven something for next time.)

The math is a pain; it used to take a quick minute to figure stuff out. I end up with a choice between a grid of 16 (3 cm edge) X 33 (2.2 cm edge) --or-- 20 (2.2 cm edge) X 27 (3 cm edge). Once I figure out the maximum number of rectangles that fit, I'll calculate the spacing and mark the canvas.

I draw two grids in a RocketBook and send them to the printer. I scribble outlines and patterns over the copies and pull out illustration markers. The canvas will move itself along in whatever direction it chooses. The end result is rarely what I originally imagined.

Wednesday

Sam's clearing out his food business in preparation for returning to the USA. We drive to south Banudng (1 hour) for some folding tables, totes, kitchen supplies, and small appliances.

As I make supper, a rat runs into the kitchen and back out when it sees me. Ugh. W puts out glue traps. When I go back into the kitchen, one of the traps has slid a few feet away from the door. After two hours, I hear flopping around. W goes to check if it's caught. Nope, it's running around in the ceiling. Ah, life in the tropics.

It's our last night with every memory on the Christmas tree. I love the glow of lights in the dusk and miss it each year when the tree is packed away.

Thursday

We skip the mountain walk, though W is improving. It's Bandung's cool and rainy season before the summer winds of Australia warm us up again. 

"We gained a day by not walking," W says optimistically. Actually, we're home for other things, which is a treat. But not restful.

We start by checking the IES hall, where Alice and helpers have taken the Christmas trees down. I strip the lime green off the bulletin board. By Sunday, it will have a New Year's theme: red and ? .

We missed our date breakfast yesterday so we walk to #NaraPark. The big wall for the new house is emerging, stone by stone. It's now 8' high (with 2-3' below ground anchoring it.)

W and the guys won't hoist the big Christmas tree upstairs until next week but the helpers and I pack away garlands and fragile ornaments ... everything but the tree. This beautiful centerpiece on the terrace?

Without the Christmas silks, it's a well-known counting game that children play.

Set upside down, it could be a stand or base. Can't wait to use it ... though what it becomes depends on the day.

I write 2 newsletters, have W check for edits, and schedule them for tomorrow. That monthly chore doesn't take much time but can't be omitted. I scan FB and see that a "writing friend" has died of cancer. She was full of encouragement through our last exchange.

Many people pass away at year's end - including W's dad and mine. Christians anticipate a joyful welcome from our Savior and the certain reunion with loved ones. Jesus said,  "Do  not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for  you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:1-3) Now that's hopeful!

It's the ones left behind who grieve.. Yet, the Apostle Paul writes: "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him." (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)

And so I look forward to seeing Judi again in the presence of God, along with my grandparents, Dad, and friends who loved Jesus. What a blessed hope, especially in the Christmas season when we've celebrated the coming of God among us.

In the afternoon, Angela invites me for tea at her place. When they built the house, there were rice fields behind it. The village across the valley has sprawled; those fields are gone. 

However, the back balcony feels enclosed and private: her passion fruit vines and mango tree have grown tall. Look at the 2' blooms on this 15' shrub beside the porch railing. They glow like miniature red Christmas trees. She shares a classic Christmas taste: Lebkuchen. Oh yum - it's the taste of my childhood: the German version of gingerbread.

Her 10-yr-old orchid is flowering again. It looks like the tail feathers of an exotic bird or speckled kite.

Dr Hanna, Alice, and Esther with her husband and son drop by for a visit after I get home. We drink tea and share a few sweets, including IbuA's banana bread. DrH is planning her 80th birthday, a special occasion for her family and many friends.

In the kitchen, frozen broth is thawing. I needed the freezer space earlier in the day so put it in a pot. I toss in a can of creamed corn, stir in 4 T soy sauce, 2 beaten eggs, chopped lettuce, and a minced leftover potato. I let it simmer for 4 minutes. = Supper! (egg drop soup?) Tastes great with a bit of sesame oil at the bottom of our soup bowls.

Thunder rolls between the mountains in accompaniment to the evening chants echoing across the valleys. Someone is reciting a long version. Maybe it is a religious holiday?

Read more:

*Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God. Psalm 42:11

*Just as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. Jeremiah 31:28 

*Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. James 5:7 

*Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness. 2 Corinthians 3:12 

Moravian Prayer: Gracious Lord, hear our prayer for trust and patience. Help us to trust the promise of your presence, and to patiently wait for your guidance. Forgive us when our impatience takes over, and renew our faith in your guidance.

God of hope, when our spirits fall and our hope is challenged, remain with us. Send your uplifting Spirit to lift us to a new awareness of your love and grace in all matters. Be with us, we pray. Amen.