Thursday, August 1, 2024
There's a sprinkle of rain in the afternoons, just enough to cool down the trees and gardens. Our houseguest leaves for a week or two in Ambon via Jakarta. Melvi, W, and I have a quiet house.
I'm scrambling to sort my calendar. Putting various appointments that have varied importance and urgency - while traveling in 5 zones last month, means the calendar is a mess. Back to a bullet journal, I think?
I hear a loud thump. Oh oh! the nangka (jackfruit) is ripe. The heavy 2'/75cm fruit can kill or injure you if you're under the tree when it falls. The yardman sets aside fruit for the house and helpers. He takes the leftover dozen or so outside the gate for neighbors to claim.
Friday - Happy 89th Birthday, Mom!
W and I walk after we call our moms. It's my mom's birthday on this side of the world, though she will celebrate "tomorrow," August 2 on her side of the planet. From my home office, I listen to the neighbor's three goats neighing as they chomp on their lawn. The kids have become full-grown lawnmowers.
A little girl is stoking the trash fire along the road with her dad. We wish adults would teach their kids to recycle plastic, food, and paper instead of throwing garbage along the road. (Then someone sweeps it together and builds a toxic fire.)
We have breakfast at #NaraParkBandung. It's like coming home to the spicy noodles I like. If we'd move, I would miss this taste and rendang (beef jerky in coconut cream and hot spices). There's a new platform - would you hang out on a terrace that's 2 stories above the ground? We'll let others try it first.
The neighbor's breadfruit is ripening. "The taste is more sour than sweet," explains the helper from the house next door. When fruit trees are potted along the street, the ripe fruit usually disappears into the village before the owner can pick it. These are still small and there are many.
W and I read Sunday's talk together and go to Rumah Mode (Fashion House) outlet to pick up batik fabric for a Seattle friend. I didn't have a chance to shop before the last trip and don't want to miss out again. She chooses two cottons - yay for online cameras and chats. The fabric goes into the travel cabinet.
Our dogs are being groomed today. They love hikes and a short clip is easier to clean after a mud bath.
Our black Gypsy acquired a mass of knots while we were away. W holds Gypsy's head while the groomers untangle and trim excess hair. Gypsy hates being groomed but is clean and soft when they finish.
Since he was a pup, Gypsy bites his skin when it thunders. There are gaps where he's torn his fur out. We've tried security jackets, calming pills, and other suggestions. He prefers my command: "Go to the back" which means he can slink through the house to the back bedroom. With drapes drawn and door locked, he lays down in the corner furthest from the windows.
He has fur while the 2 poodles have hair, which creates a different kind of tangle. Those two yip if their hair is pulled during their brush-out. Mostly grooming is like sending them to a doggie salon without leaving home. After, all three sprawl on the cool tiles of the Porch.
They enjoy the attention and getting petted afterward. PakG takes them on a walk to strut their stuff. Mr. Bailey is the smallest and oldest but the bossiest at 11 years of age. The other dogs don't argue, holding still or turning away when he licks their faces in dominance. They're a contented pack.
After lunch, I write
17 reviews of books in the pipeline. Seriously, if you're a reader, check the link for what's recently been published and what is coming soon. I've had my fill of reading and call time out on writing. I reward myself with a mini-Magnum ice cream bar. My eyes feel like they're bugging out after a week at the computer screen.
I call Mom but she doesn't answer. Norm (via Sandy's planning genius) throws Mom a backyard birthday party. She's surrounded by neighborhood girlfriends and Timo and Melissa's family. The great-grandkids play their instruments and sing for her, too - what a blessing.
Of course, Mom's all dolled up. Sandy has pitched a shade canopy since Mom's not great with high temperatures. Norm calls as I'm about to go into a meeting so we have a minute or two to talk. She looks good. I'll catch her tomorrow!
Saturday
Boy, how medical care and wellness medicine has changed over the decades! I check in with our daughter. We're praying that here experimental surgery yesterday will relieve the auto-immune symptoms. She's been sent home within 24 hours with 10 punctures and an implant.
Meanwhile, W has either food poisoning or the stomach flu. No, he doesn't want German herb tea. Or oatmeal. Or care. I leave him alone most of the day so he can rest, with occasional check-ins.
By 10:00, Ibu Siti has pressed away the travel kinks with a thorough massage. I organize kitchen cupboards, satisfying because who ever has time for that?
And then? a bit of play with soft pastels. Three A4 acrylic-painted canvases will become a series. This face is barely emerging and tells me nothing. So I leave it alone.
This one is on her way, with hard work still ahead. The asymmetrical outline is there but I'm wondering how far to push it. Most faces are not "even." Shifting an eye, brightening a cheek, shaping the lips, and broadening a chin would square the painting but is that what it wants? What about hair?
When I start to question moving ahead, I quit. Most paintings will gradually sort themselves out. I'm a messy painter and head for the sink after smearing color around the canvas.
I rewrite W's talk as a solo "just in case," before enjoying tea with Daniel and Della on the Porch.
Read more (and make this your prayer for today?):
How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
Praise be to you, Lord;
teach me your decrees.
With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word. Psalm 119:9-16
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