So much beauty each day

Saturday, October 10, 2026
My mom's Black Forest cake was famous at my brother's office. She used to bake the torte and send it along for all to celebrate him. Norm's admin used to send a note to the realtors: the cake is coming tomorrow, and everyone would show up for a slice.

Mom would cut a circle around the central whipping cream for the person being celebrated. Then she'd cut 3 pieces between each cherry. It went a long way and was so rich that each person had enough. The last time I had some was 5 years ago when she baked it for Canadian Thanksgiving.

I'm grateful for a good heritage. I bake bread in the air fryer since our ovens don't get hot enough. There's too much dough - it rises and we can smell the crust burning as it rises. Hey, I'll cut it off. Distracted, I reversed the ratio of water to flour (2:3) and put in 3X water to 2X flour instead ... so the loaf is bigger than usual. The crust is very crisp and the inside still damp-ish.

We cross the street for lunch ($4, below and $3) at Ayam Balarasa. I have a hard time remembering Indonesian restaurant and street names. W's better at it. This eatery is easy to remember because all 6 vowels are "a"s, interspersed with consonants.

When the kids arrive for English lessons, the Project fills with children's laughter, shouts, and chatter.

PakG parks the car away from the carport where the kids register. The group is smaller: 60-ish. It had grown too big to handle; the volunteers have split it in two, alternating weeks with the children. The moms' class is on one of the porches.

When you get up at 4AM, evening events are a stretch. By 6PM, W and I are winding down. Instead, I head for the IES Bandung worship gathering. We eat the fresh bread for supper. W stays home, relishing extra rest in recovery. As requested, I take along banana bread for the potluck.

A good group shows up.

The high school reunion at the hotel across the street turns its speakers to full blast (110+ decibels - as loud as a jet runway, if not louder). Talk about competition. Such volume is the norm. I put in earplugs any time there's music or someone speaking/shouting through a microphone.

On the walk home, I pass out banana bread to motorcycle taxi drivers and the security guard. There is abundant food on the potluck table for snacks after the evening's singing concludes.

Sunday
We grab the dogs from around the yard.

On our walk, a vining wall is a mass of red.

Vendors have begun to rebuild their booths -> shops -> homes where the government removed them last week. The rule is that stands must be portable. This one's already become a lean-to.

We schedule appointments for the week ahead before heading to the Gathering. Look at what Titik has created this week!

She drops it by after the Gathering.

W and I have lunch at NaraPark, where adults are getting horse rides around the courtyard. Usually it's just the kids who ride around the neighborhood. Horses and runners wait outside eateries and hotels for clients.

There's always something going on -  

After yesterday's evening out, I'm happy to stay in this afternoon.

Monday
The early call is just after sunrise so W walks the dogs by himself. He makes a cup of tea for me cooks porridge. The dogs flop outside the open window while I'm online, checking periodically to make sure I'm still there. Bruno has begun to come to the bedroom door, checking the handle to see if it's unlocked. he likes to sneak in and explore the house when we're not paying attention.

We're off to the wholesalers at 8AM. The first stop is for a new kitchen faucet. The one installed is such rubbish that it leaks from multiple places after 9 months of use. (W installs it when we get home.) Then we head to two food wholesalers. W gets a warm greeting from the second grocer, who hasn't seen us in months. We check out with everything we need for movie night, except the fresh food that I"ll pick up tomorrow morning.

Chacha comes by for a few hours, starting with a late lunch across the street, followed by tea and cookies on the Porch.

Read more:
* It is the Lord God who helps me; who will declare me guilty? Isaiah 50:9

* It is Christ who died, or rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Romans 8:34

* Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. Ephesians 1:3-10

Moravian Prayer: Gracious Savior, through your life, suffering, death, and resurrection, we are forgiven. Thank you for interceding on our behalf and for removing our sin. In your precious name, we pray. Amen.

Typical rhythms of life

Wednesday, October 7, 2026
The day ends with a meal at #WaerongEthnic, a neighborhood favorite. Lew takes a break from his studies and treats us to dinner. Thanks!

We walk by a new tourist destination. How many more can the hill support?

The groomers are just wrapping up. Bruno is making the transformation to a traditional poodle clip like Anton's. The dogs come by for hugs and pets - they know they look good.

I cut off Bruno's nose Mohawk so he could see, earlier this week.

The two guys give him a clean muzzle but don't wash or groom him. His topknot will grow in.

Thursday
Our first hike in a half-year? WONDERFUL. We take two dogs, Anton (black standard poodle) and Juno (labradoodle). Bruno, the tender-footed newcomer, hops in the car but he doesn't have enough muscle for a hike. Anton gets a quick hug from Evva before we set off.

While the rest of us tackle the tea fields, PakG takes Bruno on a short walk.

All 4 dogs hiking today are from the same breeder in Bali. The #BaliPoodleDoodle dogs are unmatched in temperament and athleticism. We highly recommend them.

The dogs are sure-footed on steps, trails, and bridges.

They splash in the pools under a waterfall to cool off. Juno finds ditches along the way to play in.

The views across the tea fields are stunning. The dust on the trail has settled with the occasional mountain rains.

Our dogs walk every day but haven't hiked for months, just like us. No problem. They know what they're doing. They run ahead and come back (sometimes reluctantly) to a whistle.

We eat at a roadside cafe which we call Warung Angie. Angie, formerly the hiking leader, loved to eat there so we nicknamed it in her honor. They have an innovative tap in lieu of a faucet: a hose, bent over a sink, stopped with a custom stick. To wash your hands, you pull out the stick.

I pack the fish scraps and chicken skins for a dog treat when we get home. (They love it.)

This is a major tourist road up the mountain to many resorts. It's barely one lane wide, plus shoulders. There are carts, pedestrians, little shops ...

and trucks squeezing by. And I mean squeezing by. 

We turn as far to the left as we can without hitting a shopfront. The driver pulls in the side mirrors for a few extra inches of room.

Vendors zoom by with their wares customized on motorcycles.

I shower off the hike before reviewing an article for an academic journal. The guys pick up the garden fences that are not yet stained or attached: it's supposed to rain today. The first mango drops off our tree, half-eaten by pesky squirrels.

We get news that a friend's coworker (24) has died after collapsing during a marathon. And we read that both parents of an acquaintance have died a quarter-mile apart, hiking in Death Valley. There's much grief to offer our Master, who understands pain and sorrow. May God console these families and friends as they mourn.

Friday
W is testing the setup for movie night, either this week or next. His stack of electronics is a marvel.

I read Lew's notes (excellent work) before he heads back home to celebrate Monica's birthday. You can't miss your wife's special day! Walking around the yard, I note things for the yardman to prune, to move, and to replant. 

PakG stains 4 of 10 fence posts and bamboo panels that they've completed. "It takes a long time to split the bamboo into sections," he observes, "but it takes even longer to sand all the edges so that they won't cut anyone." He goes to the mosque for an hour, something he hasn't often done since he started working for us.

Although this is technically a 6-religion country, schools, government offices, and many businesses close Fridays for Muslims to meet at noon. Sundays, it's business as usual. I don't know if employers are required to give Christians and Catholics equal time off for their religious gatherings. There are many public holidays since everyone celebrates the days off for everyone else's religions.

Saturday
It's a full day. The dogs sit near W, looking forward to their walk. 

When we come in the gate, Bruno gets a walk on the wide side, the woods in front of the Project. His feet are getting tougher. Juno walks along for the fun of it.

Even with a few rainfalls, plants have begun to erupt with flowers.

Purple 2" blooms are spread across the pavement as we walk by.

There's a pause at a 1 1/2-lane-wide crossroad. A big tourist bus is turning left from one narrow street to the other. People walk behind and around it. 

"Can you imagine pedestrians walking behind a moving bus in the USA like that?" I ask W. We shake our heads. When there's a niche, motorcycles zoom beside it as it swivels.

It reverses and pulls forward five or six times to avoid the trees growing across the limited paving.

Another long-tailed lizard has met its end. It's bright green skin begins to fade.

I cook porridge and cut the most delicioius! golden mango for breakfast. Replant orchids. Make calls. Review books. It's a quiet morning.

Read more:
* Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you. Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. Psalm 102:1-2

* Seek good and not evil, that you may live. Amos 5:14

* For there is still a vision for the appointed time. If it seems to tarry, wait for it. Habakkuk 2:3

* See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. 1 Thessalonians 5:15

* The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. James 5:7

Moravian Prayer: God of justice, as we face the evils of the world that threaten us, give us the strength to overwhelm that evil with the good that comes from you and your love. Let us seek your kingdom every day. In Jesus’ name, we pray. 

Lord, give us the patience that we need: patience to wait for you, patience to trust in you, and patience for our souls to be still and know that you are God. Amen.

Shoring up boundaries

Sunday, October 4, 2026
This week, my feeds become choked with Christmas information, inspiration, and magazines. Really? Already? A friend counsels me to reduce the decorations and leave some Christmas ornaments in storage this year. I take her advice seriously and will consider it carefully. Hmmm, decor and design are great fun for me and not a burden. The Project staff gets the boxes, trees, and lights and returns them to storage. (Last year, moving in a few days before Christmas was the exception!)

The morning at IES Bandung is a pleasure, as always. Meeting Family, hearing the scriptures, and Shibli's encouraging talk provide a welcome beginning to the week.

Afterward, Tota and Joanita take a group, including us, for Japanese food. So good.

And Chandra drops off Titik's beautiful Sunday arrangement.

We plan a restful afternoon, while a group of young adults hangs out on the Porch. With the addition of Epsom salts, my bathwater turns a nasty green. I read my book in the tub anyway, showering off whatever was growing beside me.

Monday
What a pleasure to wake up to this on the serving counter.

I make lunch for the yard guys, who weed and clean up in the morning and shift heavy logs from the back to the front of the property in the afternoon.

Three guys can barely lift the heavy wood. They roll them across the yard instead. Even so, they're exhausted by the time the wood is in place.

W is doing financial reports. I'm so thankful I don't have to keep track of expenses and income. Then he and PakG pick up white secondhand shelves for the entry. IbuS dusts them off. I'm not convinced they belong there. We'll see if they make good shoe racks for movie night and other events.

While the guys are gone, I bake another loaf of bread. There's no measuring, no recipe, and the work is quick. W has eaten only half the breakfast porridge (seeds, oatmeal, and nuts) so I toss the rest into the dough. I do a few shake-and-folds as the bread rises. There's too much dough for the small breadpan so I pull off 4 pieces for breadbuns. By lunchtime, they're done, still hot as they accompany homemade soup.

Mud and leaves block the drains a street up from ours. This happens when they're not cleaned regularly, even in dry season. During the rainy season, garbage and detritus wash into every crevice.

The gap between the new concrete blocks at our place is worrying. "It takes 10 guys to lift the grate," W notes. The cleanup underneath won't be easy if they don't make a smooth channel.

Then a city crew shows up and spends the day digging, cementing, and sloping the drain.

We walk out to an early supper and get this "welcome home" at the gate.

Oh no - the hedge is leaning out further after mid-afternoon rains. It's as dark as dusk at 2PM and then sunny for an hour or two. The owner promises to send over his yardman; with every rain, the hedge leans out more. "I hope it doesn't fall before he comes," says PakG, avoiding walking under it.

Tuesday
What a beautiful sunny morning. The clatter of drills and picks from the front gutter echoes through the neighborhood. One by one, iron grates are set in place. The road is extended to their edges to provide a solid parking strip. 

Today's excitement at the Project? The stinky horse poop that was destined for the flowerbeds? Not going to happen.

"Give it 2 weeks to finish curing," said the stablehand. The 50 kg (120 lb) bags have already sat in the yard for 5 weeks. (Burning the plants with "hot" manure is not a good option.) Looks like they have 2 more weeks to go.

Instead, the guys are building a barrier to prevent Anton and Juno from destroying the flowerbeds. Those dogs have no regard for plants, tearing through the borders or digging for rodents. The yardman orders 4-meter (17') bamboo. W and I are curious how they'll make a fence from the long bamboo canes.

PakD cuts the bamboo into 1m (36") lengths and the uprights into 60cm (24") lengths. Then he splits the short lengths into 6 pieces and starts building the sections.

The border goes from open and trampled to getting the first support posts.

Either the men have done this before or they've seen someone do it! They ask if they can stain the fence to make it last longer. W happens to have fresh wood stain on hand, from a windowsill repair last week. 

The ladder that broke (with someone on it) chipped the windowsill. That was repaired. The impact - or the man's hard sweeping across the roof - also broke a tile. We find out when the ceiling in the bathroom spouts a water stain.

Someone else climbs a bigger ladder to replace the tile but his adjustment has water pouring down the wall during the next rain. More trial and error in the works... Meanwhile, the tall we-almost-chopped-it-down because-the-leaves-look-weedy shrub has burst into bloom for the second time this year. The flowers last one day. With many buds, it blooms abundantly for a few weeks.

I write some book reviews and read an upcoming collection of poems by Deborah Garrison: I was a First Alto in the 1980s. If you grew up then, you'll enjoy her poetic memories as much as I did.

The helpers start baking thousands of Christmas cookies. Many will be eaten long before then. I show them how to make bread buns, bake a dozen, make lunch, and cheer on W, who is working in the pool.

By evening, W and I have eaten a few of the chocolate chip cookies have been eaten and some has been given away. The rest are stowed in the freezer. I throw together vegetables, broth, and dried gnocchi that is 2 years beyond the expiry date. Not bad. We finish the homemade crackers, too.

The dogs show up at the back door for their own evening treat.

The battery-powered candles glow in the entry as night falls and the Project is put to bed. I negotiate the purchase of commercial shelving from someone who needs to sell it to someone who needs the sturdy storage. Everything is about connections.

Wednesday
When the sun comes out, the solar fountains in the old plant pots chortle at full capacity. I contact a dear friend. We chat until W calls me outside to check what the workers are doing. Men typically don't like instructions or questions from women, so I avoid such conversations whenever possible. In recovery, W often passes those interactions to me. But I know the guys don't like it.

The house and yard are full of life. Inside, someone is cooking lunch for the workers and doing laundry. A doctoral student is hard at work upstairs. The leaning hedge along the driveway is trimmed and pulled back to the wall by the owner's crew. Our yardman splits more bamboo for the garden border. Boundaries are set and repaired.

Read more:

* But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as never to forget the things that your eyes have seen. Deuteronomy 4:9

* If you seek him, he will be found by you. 2 Chronicles 15:2

* A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. Proverbs 21:2-3

* The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.” John 4:25-26

* Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and she told them that he had said these things to her. John 20:18

Moravian Prayer: O God, you reveal yourself to all who seek you. Open our hearts to your presence, that we may recognize your voice and proclaim your truth. Fill us with your spirit, that we may follow the anointed one with faith and joy. 

Lord, we thank you for the wonders we have seen and the ways you’ve revealed yourself to us. Help us to always remember your faithfulness and proclaim the truth of your resurrection, sharing the joy of seeing the Lord with all we meet. Amen.