Tuesday, April 14, 2026
We haven't had a breakfast date at #NaraPark for almost a month so we toddle over. I have my usual spicy noodles while W orders white bread buns heaped with palm sugar.
Titik drops off a gorgeous birthday orchid which finds its home on the Porch. I admire it as I work.
Meanwhile, W picks up a repaired vacuum cleaner downtown. The church used our vacuum when we served there. Sweeping wasn't getting the hall clean. When we ended our term, many of our things found their way back to us, including the vacuum which was urgently needed at home.
WHEN W found the same model used online @$40 (reg. $275), he snapped it up. It's been in the shop for a few months. Repairs cost $3. (We are astonished. Yay.) We donate the repaired one; it's ready to do its job.
We send a book over to Chandra. It was insightful when I edited it last autumn. I edit a friend's proposal and resume. You learn many things from reading what others research and write about. Lucky curious me!
The thunder is stunningly loud and close by. "Flash Bang!" The helpers jump but I remind them, "Isn't God powerful? How strong he is!" Yes, he has everything under control.
I play one song a day on the keyboard. I'm working my way through dozens of books of piano solos. (Who gave us those?) Gone are the days when I played for an orchestra and had volumes to practise each week. Now, playing is recreational and mostly by reflex. = Slip on headphones. Click on the keyboard. Sightread something new. Occasionally improvise. Click off = done for the day.
Wednesday
Waldemar's book is available today. Many have asked about it - click here to see more. And please leave an honest review if you read it! It's very helpful in making it available for others.
Waldemar's book is available today. Many have asked about it - click here to see more. And please leave an honest review if you read it! It's very helpful in making it available for others.
My first online meeting is at 5AM. At 8:30, PakG and I head to the plant nurseries in Lembang, the city to the north of ours. Up to now, we have only used plants from our previous place. Many transplants died because the crew left on more leaves than the rootballs could sustain.
Seeing them shrivel in the hot sun and the leaves turn yellow, I asked the yardman about pruning it.
There was a shrug: "They'll be okay." (Nope, the ones with abundant foliage died off.) I ponder planting a few prickly "crown of thorn" shrubs to keep the dogs from running through the flower beds.
We need color and texture to complete the garden. I draw 3 maps, one for each area of the Project's yard. Shade/sunshine/border/bed are sketched in. The yardman meets us at the nursery. I show him a gardening website's photo of multi-layered British flower borders. "This is what we're aiming for."
He helps choose plants that should thrive. I'm not entirely confident in most workers' gardening skills. Yardmen prune, cut grass, and water. Few know where best to grow something or the kind of fertilizer each plants needs.
Because "everything grows," there's little need to be specific. "A lot dies off but since there are so many plants, no one pays attention," is also true.
I ask the nursery about the rooted fragrant rose cuttings I handed over a few months ago. I figured if anyone could make them thrive, it should be a nursery. "Those have died," too. WHAT? Next time, I'll take care of them myself.
Local roses are without fragrance. A gardening friend explains, "The smell has been bred out of them. The old roses had many fragrances." What a shame. I still sniff every open rose, just in case I get a pleasant surprise. (Never yet.)
I pay for the plants we've chosen for the Project, asking the nursery to keep them until next week. PakG arranges to drive up on Monday to pick them up. The yardman will plant them the same day.
The variety of tropical leaves is amazing. These "houseplants" in Seattle grow like crazy outside in the yards.
I'm home by 11 and haven't yet eaten. W and I decide to go to #Ethnic: I'm suddenly hungry for Nasi Oncom (flavored rice) and theirs is good. We are a half-block away when we're stopped by construction trucks and workers blocking the street. They are trimming trees and felling tall ones that began to lean in the storm 2 weeks ago.
Huge branches crash onto the street ahead. A man with a machete is chopping branches 75' (25 m) up the trunk. He is barely visible, climbing above every lopped-off limb.
Can you see the branch he has just cut? It is starting to fall away from his perch.
We briefly consider another eatery but decide to loop around to our original destination. We order and chat, waiting for our food. Suddenly, I remember the calendar, full of appointments.
"Oh no! I have an online meeting at noon," I exclaim. I have 10 minutes to rush home through the village alley, set up the computer, and log in. It's an important conversation and offers new information we need.
W brings my meal home as takeaway. I'm hungry by 1:30PM and devour as much as I can. He finishes the rest for me.
The dogs come running for a late afternoon walk. Though the sky glowers and the thunder rolls, we make it home without a drop of rain. There's one last evening meeting online. I'm ready to sleep when I hang up.
Thursday
We haven't hiked the mountains in a long time. There's no hike posted for the day but we can't go anyway. The dog groomers and the construction crew are expected. The crew is a no-show. I send a photo of the kitchen sink. It definitely needs grout or calk. It's a pain to keep clean.
We haven't hiked the mountains in a long time. There's no hike posted for the day but we can't go anyway. The dog groomers and the construction crew are expected. The crew is a no-show. I send a photo of the kitchen sink. It definitely needs grout or calk. It's a pain to keep clean.
Our neighborhood walk is early and a mere 4000 steps/2 miles. At the end of every rainy season, cicadas keep a steady hum with their wings. After mating, you find them lying dead. This one landed on the road.
The ceramics from Jogja arrived earlier this week. The delivery fee from mid-island is $5 for a huge vase, a lamp, and an 18"/45 cm plate. W and I divide labor. I worked hard to pick out the pieces. He he unboxes the items. I set the lamp on a table and plug it in. The company tossesdin a little lampshade and a plate hanger.
W gets a ladder, a drill, a few other tools, and hammers a nail into the concrete wall to hang the plate.
Miniature Jenggala pitchers from Bali sit on the kitchen windowsill. Plants are rooting in them, along with gardenias from the garden. Smells good in the evening.
I'm in the mood for breakfast crepes. I show IbuA how to make them, using two little saucepans simultaneously. When we have a crowd, three or four 7"(15cm) saucepans are bubbling at once.
To start, we pour melted butter and coconut oil into one pan and swirl, tipping excess fat into the next pan/s, and finally back into a glass measuring cup. The warm fat is used for the next round.
After greasing the pan/s, the first saucepan is hot enough to fry a few tablespoons of batter. We tilt the pan to cover the base. By the time we get to each pan, the first crepe is ready to be upended onto the serving plate. It's quick and easy; crepes cook only on one side. (Recipe below.)
The clouds are so low that the next mountain ridge is almost invisible. A peek of sunshine shines between the clouds in the morning but most of the day is overcast. Just as the helpers get set to leave, the heavens open and water gushes down. Either they took shelter or they were soaked within seconds.
There's a 12"/30cm rip in the chaise cover after sitting outside for a few years. I cut out the new chaise cover but lose focus and cut one side 6"/15cm too short. Ugh. What a difference between this and look-think-zoooooom-iron-done, the way I sewed in my 20s-50s . I think about measurements longer and make mistakes because I rarely sew.
W plugs in an electric adaptor to accommodate the 930 Bernina that's still chugging along after 40 years in Canada, the USA, and Indonesia. The amateur cutting mistakes take a long time to patch. At least I can still figure out how to repair things! I note the size of the piece I have to attach but leave it for tomorrow. I will sigh with relief when it's done!
Veronica sends over bananas for the next round of banana bread. That's tomorrow's job as well.
* David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, I pray you, take away the guilt of your servant.” 2 Samuel 24:10
* Indeed, the LORD our God is right in all that he has done. Daniel 9:14
* Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory? Luke 24:26
* If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Moravian Prayer: Merciful Savior, sometimes we see nothing but spiritual failure when we look in a mirror, while you see in us a humble, open heart. You suffered for us on the cross, loving Christ. Your love for us is incomprehensible. At other times, we see righteousness in our souls while you find nothing but self-delusion.
How do we say thank you for this? Patiently guide us into humble repentance. We live a life worthy of being called children and heirs of God. We live a life of love. We offer our heartfelt thanks. Amen.
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EASY RECIPE for Basic Crepes:
INGREDIENTS
- DRY: Mix together 1 part flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1 T sugar. (Skip the sugar if the filling is savory.)
- WET: Separately, beat together 1 1/2 parts milk, 1-2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1 T oil, melted butter, or bacon fat.
- COMBINE: wet and dry ingredients in a bowl, whisking until just combined. Let it sit while the saucepan/s heat up.
COOK:
- Swirl fat (mix butter and oil, or use bacon fat) in the saucepan/s. Dump the excess into a small glass container.
- Pour 2-3 T batter into one side of the pan, tilting to cover the base with a thin layer of batter. (If you have major holes, add a few drops of batter into them. Keep the crepes thin!)
- When the crepe looks dry on top, lift one side with a spatula before turning the pan upside down over a serving plate to remove the crepe.
- Repeat, stacking the crepes on top of each other until all the batter is used.
SERVE: fill with savory or sweet fillings. (We put a streak of 1 tsp marmelade or jam along the middle of a crepe, topping it with a thin ribbon of whipping cream.) Roll it up and enjoy it!
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