Movie night is about the Bad Guys

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

I can't get over ... "November." Already? We buy some tree stumps from the trees cut down next door for extra seating in the back of the yard. We'll soak them in salt or something stronger to prevent termites and ants from enjoying them before we do. And then they have to dry out.

Our helpers had yesterday off so it's their first time to work since our return. They tackle 2 sinks full of dishes, wash floors inside and out, and start laundry, including bedding. There's movie night preparation and it's the time of year when they bake Christmas cookies. We need about 7000 this year for various events. Today's cookie flavor is chocolate.

W and the guys disassemble the living room, creating a storage room of my office. I do some academic research for upcoming courses before the team meeting on the Porch. It's so good to see everyone again. Several members are in transition so it will be interesting to see what emerges in the next few months.

The second "tea and cookies" event happens in early evening. Immigration officers drop by for an in-person interview. 2 men and a woman represent their office well and take home a bag of cookies. The house rule is if we plate something, our guests may share it as takeaway. We try not to bring anything back into the house.

We're almost through getting a 5-year visa. We missed the deadline by 2 days in early 2019 and had to restart the process from year 1. Whaaat? In 2019, our flight to the USA left 2 days before our visa interview so we've waited another 5 years for our KITAP. This time it's moving smoothly due to better communication and hard work by RJ, an exceptional immigration processor.

Wednesday - movie night

I wake at 2:30 with 7 hours of sleep since we crashed at 7:30pm yesterday. I read in bed and listen to scriptures until 5:00. It's the best pace of preparation today: slow, relaxed, and organized. For flow, it's easiest to cook a sauce plus 2 main dishes at once, adding another as each one finishes and is put away for later.

I scrape the sauce and pan juices into the spaghetti and basko water - curry, barbecue, hot, cream, and black pepper. It flavors a delicious broth for lunch plus the helpers' households and ours. I cook "clean," putting things away and washing as I go so I can reuse our commercial pots multiple times. The last dishes soak in the sink for the helpers to wash up.

By 8:30? 3 kg (6.6 lb) spaghetti plus spaghetti sauce, 200 black-pepper meatballs (basko boiled in leftover spaghetti water, then marinated and baked.) Also under wraps for reheating later are +200 sausages in curry sauce and 3 kg of creamed spinach.

Between calls and emails, I bake spicy chicken wings and butter the bread Ibu S baked yesterday. That replaces the high-effort Brazilian cheese balls everyone loves. Since we got back Saturday from a month away and have had a busy week,  we streamline what we can. I tape food signs in place, grab the seasonings (can't have dinner without spicy hot sambal), and make sure there's enough cutlery.

The Bagotte robot vacuum sweeps and mops the kitchen floor. What luxury is this gift from our daughter last year! Thanks, K. She's also suggested this month's movie: The Bad Guys. I avoid animated movies as they drive me crazy. The students will love it.

W hangs and tests the projectors by mid-morning. Yesterday, he and the guys hauled away carpets, grabbed seating pillows from upstairs, and shifted furniture inside and on the Porch. He finishes setup with pictures of previous placements; I'm finally out of the setup loop. Takes a load off my mind not to be interrupted as I track what is cooking, needs mixing and stirring, or is finished in the kitchen.

I treat myself to a long nap before the helpers arrive at 3:00 to cook rice, chop salad and fruit, and make deviled eggs. By the time guests arrive, the kitchens are clean. The ladies replenish food as serving bowls are emptied.

The Porch fills with conversation and food. First-timers are always nervous but the "family" (+3X attendees) knows their job is to make everyone feel welcome. Soon there's a buzz of friendship, new connections, and updates.

The movie questions of the night are: "What assumptions have people made about who you are and what would you like them to know about you instead?" and ... "What does it mean to be truly good?" People hang around for over an hour after the movie, chatting, meeting new friends, and sharing their stories with us.

When everyone leaves, the Bagotte robot vacuum zooms around the main room for a few hours. It's hiding under the sofa in the morning and the floors are delightfully clean.

Thursday

W heads off for a hike. I'm not yet acclimated to the altitude and weary. I stay home.

You can't host this kind of event if you're the person whose sofa is placed "just so" and not moved for 10 years. Here "everything is everywhere" as the floors are mopped. Extra chairs and seating pillows, chafing dishes, big pots, and serving bowls are sent back to storage upstairs. Carpets come back into the room, along with the dining table and shelves. (Soon I'll have my office back - hurrah.)

I attempt a Christmas-y mood because there's no sense in pulling the house apart twice in a month to decorate later. If we put away non-festive items now, we're closer to preparing for the season. But I admit to just going through the motions.

Purple sofa cover and pillows are swapped with festive red. The woven orange Pakistani carpet is exchanged for a black-and-white stripe.

I start the morning with a cup of tea at the picnic table overlooking the deconstruction. My perch returns to a dining room within a few hours.

My actual chores should be updating a syllabus for an online January class for Singapore students. The registrar sends a reminder that it's due next week. I also must schedule a July in-person course in the Philippines. My head's not in the game yet. Patience, Rosemarie. Give yourself some grace.

We meet Doug to discuss mentorships and future partnerships mid-afternoon.Maxi's is a welcoming restaurant a few blocks away from our neighborhood.

Read more:

*I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High. Psalm 9:1-2

*Your way, O God, is holy. Psalm 77:13

*Jesus said, “I came from the Father and have come into the world.” John 16:28

Moravian Prayer: God of all, since the beginning of time, you have provided for your people. Let us never take you for granted. May we always feel your presence, which upholds us and leads us to eternal life. Amen.