Chinese-ish food and a surprise house for sale (ours)

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Feels good to get the newsletters out on time and close out other month-end things. I've had a few rough sleeps, up for 3-4 hours in the middle of the night. "It is what it is," my mom says when she can't change things. Yes, this is that.

We hike with two dogs instead of three. Gypsy stays home while his nail heals. (We think he ripped it last week.) He hardly limps when we walk the neighborhood in the morning but this is a 3-4 mile trek. Another week ought to do it.

The mountain hike is part forest and part tea plantation.

There's very little old growth left in the forest. The big trees are disappearing. Our landlord is cutting down the jungle behind the house, taking out the old trees. We hear them crash within a hundred meters of our yard. Removing them without care could send floods and landslides onto the village below. We hope the workers are experienced at this.

The walk is windy, overcast, and gorgeous. There's not much uphill, which gives me a reprieve from a pounding heart. We walk through a cloud dense enough to feel like smoke. It whips across the path, driven by the mountain winds.

The dogs are happy to run ahead and chase away snakes or other critters.

Lunch is planned at Ima Kopi, where we used to order excellent sandwiches. Last time, the menu was pared down to a few things; our favorites were missing. Today we're told: "There is no food. Only the bakery." Nah, fat-saturated croissants and Danishes don't cut it after a walk.

We exit and head for Mandarin, a nearby Chinese-Indonesian restaurant. The food is excellent, served family style. The servers bring glasses of hot tea (free) and refill them a few times. In Bandung, refills are not common. Neither is free water or tea.

We enjoy the bubbling spinach and beef, vegetarian noodles, sweet-and-sour chicken, black-pepper beef, and other dishes. We are stuffed. It costs $6/person, including tip.

A hot shower feels good when we get home. We're not as dirty as sometimes (no rain! yay) but our shoes need a good scrubbing after the muddy paths. The many leaves on parts of the trail have kept our hiking cleats from clogging.

I settle into my chair to study Indonesian. The dogs lounge on the porch nearby.

A friend sends a photo of the house we are renting. It's listed for sale. The ad includes the new plumbing we had to install and other upgrades we'd take with us. How interesting.

The landlord has mentioned nothing to us. Apparently he took pictures while we were away since his car is parked in our driveway. The overhanging roof makes it seem enormous.

We'll see what PakH has in mind. We have 3 years left on our lease, ending March 2026. Many houses are standing empty since the pandemic. If the landlord returns our rental money, we have a lot to choose from.

Friday

W and I walk the dogs and settle into writing. Professor Tom B drops by mid-morning. We munch fresh banana bread and cookies and drink tea to accompany a good conversation. I learn a few needed things from Tom's story.

I'm so NOT prepared for language school. Feeling under the weather, I attend online. How bad can it be, really? (= How much can I forget in a day or two?) 

Saturday

After a massage, online meeting, and neighborhood walk, I forage the garden for tomorrow's hall arrangement. I've chopped down enough for 3 bouquets. 

The first is especially pretty up close.

The second is sits easily in a 24" glass vase (66cm).

There are leftovers for a little arrangement in the guest bathroom.

Maddie drops by in the morning. Juno pretends she's a lap dog as Maddie spoils her.

I cover the paint chips canvas in ModPodge. The squares start to lift up so I have to put Silpat baking covers over them.

I'll be happy when this project is done. The design is never the problem. It's the long trip to the finish line that wears me out. In this case, keeping the paint chips flat and in place is a challenge.

Sunday

There's a little clump of Christmas stuff remaining at the hall. The guys forgot to clear it into the boxes earlier this week. We drag it home to stash with the rest of the seasonal things.

W hangs the new posters of Matthew quotes (Lord's Supper and Beatitudes) in the hall. We'll add more posters in coming months as we dive deeper into Matthew's book about the Unpredictable Kingdom of God (Angie's graphic).

We host the annual congregational meeting after the regular service. IES Bandung doesn't have a lot of committees. Few people are interested in nitty-gritty details like how much was spent for youth supplies. Not many want to vote on anything. So we plan short reports for this vibrant community of faith.

IES is a family-style congregation. Last week, each member of the Ministry Team sent a short clip of who s/he is and what s/he leads to Angie. She compiled them into a video and made another one about the work the community has done the past year. Her videos are inspiring to everyone.

Our leadership team (board) is amazing and does a good job of chairing the meeting. Including a short financial summary, prayer, the reading of scripture, and a Q&A, we're done in less than half an hour. It's the business meeting I wish we'd had growing up, instead of hours of disagreeing on minutia and quibbling over pages of written reports.

As usual, everyone flocks around the Community Table afterward to enjoy the company and food. This may be the best group of people anywhere.

Lunch at #MaxisResto up the street is delicious.

Someone apparently thinks 80o is cold. He wears a down jacket as he strolls by the table.

We walk home to be greeted by laughter and games on the Porch. The Hangout is on today.

I need to study for tomorrow's language class. I feel more like taking a long nap. How about you?

Read more:

*Come and hear, all you who fear God;  let me tell you what he has done for me.

I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.

If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;

but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. 

Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! Psalm 66:16-20

*O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. Psalm 71:17

Simeon said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared before the face of all peoples.” Luke 2:29-31 NKJV

Moravian Prayer: Abiding God, you remain a constant source of comfort in our lives. We can see where your hand has been upon us in the past and we have hope for where you will lead us. We celebrate the promises fulfilled in our lives through your grace and love for us. Amen.