A flood ... and losing a day

 Sunday, October 5, 2025

Driving home from Marysville reminds us how beautiful the Pacific NW is. In the afternoon, we schedule the week ahead, including travel and reentry. As the weather cools here in the north, we look forward to the warmer weather of home. It's been a wonderful month of meeting people, good food, long drives, and several flights. We've seen more than we thought possible, learned a lot, and eaten enough to gain a few pounds.

But when crowds and freeways tire me out? I drop out, putter or read, and unwind.

Monday

I'm still puttering this morning. Tidy up. Make the bed. Have breakfast. Do laundry. Wash dishes. Steep tea (and tea and more tea.) Read Melissa Gate's The Next Day. (So good!)

Messages come and go as we wrap up this season. The kids are at their homeschool co-op so the house upstairs is quiet. I play some piano, releasing the tunes and rhythms whirling through my head.

W is totally captured by a cold. We're praying that he gets well before we travel ... and that I don't catch it. Is anything more miserable than sinus-splitting pain at takeoff and landing, never mind the head pressure of flying when ill? We mask in the car and the flat, hoping he keeps it to himself.

Today's the day to fill four suitcases so they pass the airport weigh-in tomorrow. This chore takes the most effort on the final days of itineration. W kindly gives up luggage space for project supplies, housewares, and the chocolate we both enjoy. The remainder will have to wait until he returns in the spring.

We are schlepping heavy-duty dog toys as well. Standard poodle Anton is destroying things back home. He needs diversions - hence the toys. He thrives on long walks and a weekly hike that burns off his still-a-puppy energy.

I stick my feet into a foot massager and stretch my back on a massage pad, thanks to T's generous offer to send them downstairs.

Mid-afternoon I meet the woman whose invitation prompted our move to Indonesia. Col and her husband Randy lived on Java until 11 years ago. They asked our mutual friend if she'd be interested in relocating to connect with college students in their city. That friend wasn't - but that caught our attention. Her request opened the door for us to consider moving abroad. (We ended up in Bandung but have visited where they lived.)

After we landed in Indonesia, we attended a conference on Lombok island. On the last day, Randy pulled a packet of Boh Gold Cameronian black tea from his shirt pocket. "You like tea? Try this. Best tea ever."

It's still my favorite. We can only buy it in Malaysia so visiting friends bring it along. I hand over a box for Randy's enjoyment. Seattle's highly-chlorinated water re-flavors every tea but he's probably used to that since he's lived here for a while.

Kim shows up with the wonderful TJ dark chocolate bars that we smash up for chocolate chip cookies back home.

On the way home, I pick up 3 supper pizzas from Little Caesar in Shoreline, pre-ordered by W. We enjoy time with our kids and grandkids, talking about future plans and praying together. It's an early bedtime since we're storing up rest for the arduous trip ahead.

Tuesday

Today's the last day in our flat. Our son kindly vacuums away the year's dust andly spots before we return each time. I love to come back to a spotless place so today is cleaning day. (Our son kindly vacuums away the year's dust and fly spots before we return each time.)

Our bedding is washed and stored while the white concrete floors are steam-washed. The suitcases await their final additions, including goodies from Quiet Waters Bakery, like "almost 70" cookie candles for my next birthday. Thanks to Keelee for her thoughtfulness! (We ate 2 at her picnic tea when we met.)

The grandkids scoot down for a hello and a few stories from each side. L has designed and built a Lego-brick revolver that alternates shots between chambers. He's a young engineer, for sure. W heads out for breakfast with a friend, his cold gradually getting better.

We listed the oldest of our pianos on Craigslist when we arrived. Someone tried to scam us with a fake check a few weeks ago but W caught it. Well, this time it's cash only. Chris brings a friend who knows something about pianos; he happily buys the Weber. It's the best "old" piano I've heard in a long time and will bring much joy. Pickup will be arranged with our son.

I'm left with a small Kawai upright, with art propped on top. Good enough.

I remake the bed for K's visit coming up and wash a few blankets to prepare the flat for the next guests.

Except that one of the blankets disintegrates completely in the washing machine. It becomes a mass of foam "oatmeal" that needs to be scraped out of the drum, the door, and the gasket ... what a mess. The bedding washed with it is a loss. It takes us all evening to scrape the pices out with a kitchen knife. We run a rinse load, hoping the pipes don't clog and back up.

But they do. When W goes to clean the pipes, he has to unscrew the base panel of the washer. The water gushes out, along with great clumps of blanket pieces. We toss basin after basin of water and oatmeal-like clumps into the bush behind the house. We run one final load 

We pack up the frozen food and T drives us to the airport before 9 PM. The flight isn't until 1 AM but W likes to get there early and it's more convenient for drop-off.

Wednesday-Thursday

Enroute we lose a day in the air because home is 14 hours ahead on the clock. The total trip is 30 hours, the fastest it's ever been.

The hair-raising part comes at the end: spending three to four hours in a car, going 30-120km (20-70mph), 3-10m (10-30 feet) from the bumper of the car, truck, and bus ahead. Of course, everyone is accelerating and braking, weaving across the lanes on the crowded freeway.

I divert my terror as I notice my feet getting sore from "braking" on the back of the front seat. I open my phone and read the rest of the way home.

Friday

We sleep like the dead. W and I walk the dogs when we wake up. We tour the project to see what progress has been made. Several neighbors and the regulars who walk the loop howdy with us.

Jet-lag fogs the thinking. We've decided on 2 rest days until Sunday but that's more aspirational than real. Usually I unpack the day we return so the room is cleared when we wake up. However, this morning the suitcases are still half-full. We brought bedding and other project goods that I don't want to unpack and repack. Luggage clutters up the room while I puzzle out how to how to store everything.

After the walk, the post-travel massage is so painful that I ask IbuSiti to come back next week for another round. We hardly moved in the USA; driving takes you everywhere. My exercise tracker buzzes a warning: the last 31 days have seen a drop in activity (from 9,000 steps to 2,000!) On our first day back, movement returns: 3 1/2 miles (5 km) and almost 8000 steps, without any special effort.

I listen to a podcast on the Porch and write the talk for Sunday. The dogs sprawl nearby after playing with their new toys and squeaking the living daylights out of them.

PakG gets a text: his uncle has died. In keeping with Muslim rituals, he must be buried in 24 hours. So PakG heads off to help his family.

In mid-afternoon, we walk over to the project to consult with the contractor about what remains to be done. They'll be close to the finish line once the electrical and plumbing is done.

We have our own list of To-Do's before we can use the facility. One of the tasks is to move our garden over to the new place.

For supper, we order rice and sambal (spices) at Ethnic, returning to the flavors of Indonesian food.

Their garden is beautiful - it's nice to be surrounded by tropical foliage.

Back home, we read Sunday's talk together with energy flagging. Our goal is to stay awake until 6 PM (4 AM West Coast time). Let's see if we make it.

Read more:

* [Joshua said to the people:] “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. 

But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14-15

* Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Psalm 32:4-6

* Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds among mortals. Psalm 66:5

* Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour. Matthew 8:13 [Read the story by clicking on the link.]

Moravian Prayer: Astounding Savior, we give thanks for your bounteous gifts in our daily lives. We pray for open eyes, so that we may continue to see your transforming power at work in and around us. In your name, we pray. Amen.