A blooming best

Saturday, January 10, 2026

Between the walk, calls, and making appointments, +7000 steps track on the watch long before noon. Papers, waiting on my desk for a week, get sorted, put away, or tossed, hurrah! On the Porch, the orchids are blooming.

   

Our two wayang puppets finally come out of storage. 

We bought them the first year we were in Indonesia. 

Last time they were put away, someone roughly crammed them into their original boxes. Some jewelry is missing and damaged because the brooches and metalwork are frail. Sigh. W thinks he can glue the platemetal pieces back together. I hope so.

A neighbor's vines are glowing with red blossoms 4m/12' above the ground.

Another neighbor is setting up for a wedding today. The grounds are immaculate and the style is typical from the Dutch and post-Dutch era. Tall ceilings draw the heat up, while white plaster walls, and a red clay roof complete the architecture. Flying into Bandung, you see a sea of such red roofs.

Breakfast is a sweet potato, baked for hours yesterday. So good.

We get a few dozen star fruits off the tree; the worker roughly shakes the branches and a few fall into the picker basket while others hurtle onto the ground (is that good for them?!) It's surprising to see what is already growing here, besides the garden we transplanted from the old place.

In early afternoon, the kids' team comes over. They're planning the coming semester of teaching English to village children. English improves their chances for good jobs and a better income for their families. Usually moms and kids come, learning in separate classes. The progress is incredible for serious students; for others it's a fun social time.

Sunday

We cherish every week with this community of faith. Della brings spices: nutmeg and cloves. How kind of God to create us with senses that can appreciate beauty. Titik makes a creative surprise of flowers.

"You can eat the top ones," she offers. It's bitter ginger.

We feel so blessed to have these flowers shared each week. The wayang puppets keep watch from their tall perch.

Dina sends along 10 plastic mats for the upcoming kids' English days, very pretty!

Whether I work in the kitchen or other rooms, I'm surrounded by green. The 10'/3m hedge outside separates us from the busy traffic lane into our old neigbourhood. It not only refreshes the eye but dampens the sound of motorcycles and cars.

W transfers some of his old office into the new. I make soup with old (5 years?) turkey broth and vegetables. I cut in homemade spaetzle noodles, just like I saw a lady make in Austria 51 years ago. Some things you don't forget - especially if they're delicious. It's so good - we've almost forgotten the taste of turkey since it's prohibitively expensive here ($70-100US for a mid-size one).

Monday

W meets his study group and I attend meetings after we walk the dogs. But first, a stunning sunrise on our way to get the dogs.

A bulb reaches for the sky beside the street.

These little berries are bright against the dark green hedge.

And the night-showoff, the beach spider lily (Hymenocallis littoralis) is doing its thing.

I go to the grocer for vegetables and dog bones - at 20c/knuckle, bones are a weeklong bargain that keep those teeth busy. Juno's dug almost to China, flinging soil out of the planter, putting orchids on the pavement ... she's bored.

This guy didn't make it across the street. He's about 2'/70cm long, including his tail.

Some days are better than others, right?

Read more:

* Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD and turn away this day. Joshua 22:29

* Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4:16

Moravian Prayer: Our ultimate Teacher, we thank you for giving us the words to speak when we struggle to express ourselves. Thank you for walking with us when we are tempted to walk away. Thank you for always being near us. We pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.