Yellow frogs, beetles and the ants who clean up

Tuesday, March 26, 2024 (Lent Day 36)

A short night. A long morning. A huge dead beetle right by the entry as I open the sliding doors. It swarms with columns of ants reclaiming it as food.

My sum of creativity is swapping out a muted beige table cover in the nook for a brighter one. The sun's out in the morning but the rest of the day is rainy and dark.

Meanwhile, W is miserable, 5 days into the flu. If he stays on track, he'll be through the worst by Friday. If he talks and moves a lot, he'll set himself back and will still be coughing his lungs out on Easter Sunday. (I'm on the third day of overhang after Sunday's exertions.)

It's a prayer day for people who are sick, accompanied by a chocolate 'n coffee cookie to keep me alert. Laurel lets me know the prayer group has almost polished off the baking in the IES office fridge. The helpers bake new cookies and some banana bread.

My big chore is assembling "stuff" for Sunday's Easter potluck. Others are leading it. My part includes keeping it on track and resourced - plus a whack-load of cooking before Sunday. I work as far in advance as possible since W and I are speaking that morning, too.

This morning, I drag the supplies into my office and outside the door of the storage room. The piles include recycling pails, 100 rattan plates and liners, cutlery and serving pieces, tablecloths, a rice cooker and rice, and folding tables. Two of our crew take the load to the hall. Now that I can see the rug, I can breathe again. Back to work.

I manage to write a partner e-newsletter for the end of the month. My head is fuzzy so hopefully it makes sense. We're not hungry at lunch - this bug depresses the appetite.

Wednesday (Lent Day 37)

Out the door. Yellow frogs now? I ask the yardman about it. He says these are non-toxic.

Walk. I pass only one couple on the mile-loop. Muslims harbor their strength for the long day ahead without food and water.

Writing. Calls. And a walk around the yard to see what needs doing. Oh oh ... the cushions have been out since last Friday? Usually they're set on the rattan hanging chairs when we sit in the lower yard. They're put into storage bags when we're done, to keep animals from sitting or pooping on them. "Put the cushions into the storage bags" was on the Friday checklist. That's not good. PakG assures me he has taken them in every evening. Thank you! (and today I show him where I tucked the storage bags.)

W and I indulge in fruit and banana bread (thanks to IbuA) and drink the herbal throat-soothing tea Martin brings by on his way to work. Thanks, Martin - going out of his way, for sure! It's rare to find a couple where both are care-rs, but that's Martin and Sayaka. They bless many people.

A quick trip to Setiabudi Market yields groceries and the box of mac and cheese I've been craving. I make a lunch tray for W, who is sitting in the sunshine.

Our northern friends are posting pictures of snowstorms, snowdrifts, and ice. Brrrr. I've blocked out how short the growing season was in Canada and the USA. The gardeners are dreaming through seed catalogs and tamping down their eagerness to plant impatiens and other spring flowers. (We pluck impatiens out of our Indonesian flowerbeds and toss them into compost; they grow like weeds all year long.)

Our friend Mary sends a daily forecast about 4:00 a.m. The weather usually looks like this: nights of 19oC = 66oF; days of 30oC = 86oF. When temperatures drop under 21oC/70oF, we don sweaters or coats. We don't need air conditioning though a fan is nice if the day's been hot and the drapes left open.

Thursday - 68th Bday (Lent Day 38)

W brings out the back-to-back batiks that my friend Kim quilted into a lap quilt. What a lovely gift!

Each side is beautiful.

Her handwork feels like love. When you make something for a crafter, s/he knows what it cost you. Thanks, Kim, for this and years of friendship and mentoring.

Another very special treat is the chocolate-coffee cookie sent along by Keelee, who owns the #quietwatersbakery. Yum.

I put my feet up as the sun shines in the morning. (It pours rain in the afternoon.)

My mom and I call in her evening and our morning, 14 hours apart. She corrects me, "Today is not your birthday. It's not until tomorrow. I did not have you on the 27th." haha

First stop after breakfast is the food wholesaler. I'll make 3 dishes Saturday but the meat stays cold in the freezer bag until then. The owner of the wholesaler asks about W and wishes us the healing power of Jesus. Thanks!

I love the improvements, small and large as we drive through the city. The round concrete balls, spaced just off the curbs to keep motorcycles from ruining the sidewalks, have been painted. (Wish I'd gotten a better shot, but this made me smile.)

I stop at IKEA's As-Is and pick up some building blocks and a few odds and ends in the sale bins. I'm in KBP for another quick stop so I'm here and gone.

The evening falls as we wrap up a lovely day. I'll read the birthday wishes in my friends' timezones "tomorrow." Meanwhile, I read a #FutureMe note I wrote last year. Not much has changed.

Good Friday (Lent Day 39)

W and I walk to #NaraPark for breakfast: W's feeling better. By the time we get home, he's wobbly and ready to lay down. Yup - this is a nasty flu.

Along the way, we check the progress of the building project nearby. It's strange to see supporting pillars and walls go up outside the original structure.

From the side lane, we see gaping holes in the original house; maybe they tear it down bit by bit? 

I talk to most of my family and am delighted by a video of my Uncle E, who's been my "Best Uncle" since childhood. Thank you, Ruth - brought tears to my eyes. Uncle Erich, in his 90s, still lives in Winnipeg and I miss his face. I last saw him in person at my "Best Auntie's" 80th. Good thing that Mom and Ruth pass messages between us. He can no longer hear my voice (wrong timbre).

It's a day of remembering the utterly unfathomable love of God for us. Who would have thought of living as human, dying to pay our sins to bridge the distance between us and our Creator? Only God. "The cross is foolishness to those who are dying," says the scripture, "but it is the gift of God for eternal life to those who are being saved." Amen.

Read more:

*You have blessed it, O Lord, and it shall be blessed forever. 1 Chronicles 17:27

*Jesus said, “You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven’.” Mark 14:62

*Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 24:34

Moravian Prayer: God with us, you were not content to dwell in heaven afar or be confined to a temple built by human hands. You chose to come among us in human form to be God with us and God for us. You came as a humble servant and redefined for us our fitting response to you as being the loving response to the needs of your human family. Hosanna, blessed are you who came in the name of the Lord. Amen.