Flowers and fruits

 Sunday, April 14, 2024

It's a good day of connecting. Titik has outdone herself with yellow flowers for the hall. We bring the arrangement home after the Gathering.

I move the coleus bouquets to other tables. Their pink stems are a pretty contrast to the light green and cream leaves.

 IES guests from Jakarta lived nearby before their move to the big city. We find friend in common as we chat.

A young Indonesian graduate who moved to Berlin is attending the IC we support there. I send our selfie to his pastor. The family of God is a closely-connected web across the world.

Afterward, we grab some cookies from the home fridge and attend Joel's birthday party down the hill. It's a feast of Filipino foods and warm hospitality. As soon as we've eaten, the downpour starts. In good weather, we could walk back up the hill. Instead, we wait 25 minutes under the rain canopy outside for a Grab vehicle. We're wet before we reach the car door. It feels good to change clothes when we get home.

Monday

If you struggle with motivation to walk, get a dog (or 3). Look at these guys, leashed and waiting patiently for us to change into street shoes. They're trained to one leash, which makes it less likely that we'll trip over them.

I start a syllabus for a class I'm teaching in July/August. Gail and Kim offer helpful resources from across the world (yay for good colleagues, online meetings, and texts). On my desk, the fish circle the tank. The solar-powered fountain floats under the LED lamp and bubbles air into the water.

W and I work with Herbert on his Sunday talk. IbuS bakes fresh bread and I hard-boil some eggs, so we have egg salad sandwiches for lunch.

I've been stressed for over a week -> hungry hungry hungry. I re-read my journal, which I seldom do. And yup, "that's why." The inner scramble reminds me of high intake seasons: studying in undergrad classes (when I needed to also read a novel) and in grad and post-grad courses (when I'd bring snacks or a sketchbook to help me focus.)

I snack all morning and stroke paint on 3 old canvases to harness the churning energy. Some faces start to emerge - we'll see who's there over the next few days. These have a long way to go.

Lew calls and works out direction for his dissertation proposal. It's fun to learn with someone who has clear goals and methodology. Even better is when the topic will be useful and applicable.

Tuesday

The dogs are barking up a storm as the helpers are back. The yardman's job is transferring the piles of composting leaves and twigs to the proper place. The house relaxes into clean bedding and mopped floors. The smell of baking cookies baking wafts from the kitchen. We used most of our baked goods over the Easter and Ramadan holidays. It's time to fill the cookie boxes for the next round.

One morning meeting leaves me with a page of notes and a lot of questions. They will work themselves out, I know - but meanwhile, I study what I am learning.

Lunch is good. IbuA makes a potato and chicken curry. Oh wait! we bought the potatoes this morning to make them for lunch tomorrow. Oh well ... my fault for not putting those off limits. I have to get used to giving specific instructions again after having the house to ourselves for the week of Lebaran.

Wednesday 

After our walk, I take food from the freezer and start to cook lunch. I set 2 places on the dining table, along with the rest of the plates and cups to replicate the models.

We transplanted a barely-alive, leaf-dropping Benjamina fig into the garden from its pot. We've had to trim it often to keep it at 5 meters: it explodes with growth in its happy place. It's growing so quickly that it shades the flower bed. I cut the bright green coleus under it into submission last week.

I want to plant a mango tree there. We have to remove the Benjamina before its roots disturb the sidewall of the yard The yardman's big job today is chopping it down. What a chore. Getting the deep roots out of the ground "can't be done." What?

 

Impossible is not in my vocabulary. I suggest a method for toppling the trunk that pulls the roots out with it. My dad dropped four 30-meter (100-foot) trees this way to clear space to build our Seattle house.

"Not possible," says W. Could they try? ... and if it doesn't work, try the old way? They choose what they're comfortable with. Leaving a 1' (35cm) stump and roots in the ground = hard future work for the yardman. Go guys, I guess.

I'll have to wait a few weeks to plant the mango, after the roots are pried out piece by piece.

We enjoy lunch with friends Chandra and Titik, Ofly and Angie and their two beautiful kids. The dogs love the attention, of course. Young Ben takes Bailey's leash and joins PakG on the afternoon walk with the dogs.

Titik leaves this arrangement behind. 

"You can store it flat," says Chandra. "It's made from one piece of wood." I put the fruit in the fridge away from the ants. Wow! who thought of this?

Read more:

*It is God who arms me with strength. Psalm 18:32

*I, I am he who comforts you; why then are you afraid of a mere mortal who must die? Isaiah 51:12

*God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. 1 Corinthians 1:25

*Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you. 1 Peter 3:15

*See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. 1 John 3:1

Moravian Prayer: O God, help us to prepare to live a life that is an example for others to follow. Help us to demonstrate to others through our actions that our lives are full of the Holy Spirit, and our hope and wonder is built on the solid rock of Christ.

God of power and might, we know that you give us our strength. Help us to be faithful to you and your son as we wait for his return. Amen.