Friday, June 5, 2026
K and I cannot believe how quickly time has flown by. We have a few more days together. She puts together a meal for Hope, her grieving friend has just lost her mother. K prepares chicken, salad, carrots, sweet potatoes, couscous, cookies, and more.
Meanwhile I walk Mika. I want to see if I can find a "Pride of Bermuda" shrub in Bandung. This one has constant 10" stems of flowers. It's 5' tall but the homeowner says it will double in size by the end of summer.
Another neighbor's front flower garden is coming along nicely.
We drive south to drop off the food K made and check that she's ok. "Is there any way we can help you?" K asks.
Hope's mom collected Pen Delfin figures, just like I did in my early 20s. It's the first time I've seen PDs in years and I recognize some of them. They'll be decluttering the collection soon. Mine might still be in a box under the stairs. oh oh.
On the windowsill, K's vine from Kari is growing quickly. There are new flowers on the stems, too.
We do a bit of shopping, including some returns. Then we speed home to rest.
We pick up Karen for supper. I spot up to 4 finishes (siding, brick, stone, wood) on the front facade of houses in one suburb.
The restaurant that we've chosen in northwest Austin is closed for maintenance. We head to another Szechuan Chinese restaurant. The food is good. The company is wonderful.
SaturdayI'm awake after sleeping for 3 hours. Since I can't fall asleep, I listen to scripture - 1 and 2 Kings. Wow, how the kings of Jerusalem go their own ways, the same we want to disobey with "do it my way" today.
Every time I read the stories of the kings, I want to say, "Nooooo. Don't do your own thing! Please lead your people in God's ways. You're about to send your country's history in a terrible direction." Those men weren't listening to the warnings of prophets God sent to them, so they're sure not hearing our cautions from the future.
After a walk, Kirsten chalks new hemlines on 7 tops (one of them is mine.) My job is to shorten the t-shirts. The first one takes over an hour as I figure out K's sewing machine. It has limited settings. I'm spoiled by my 30-year-old Bernina. The hem pulls and wrinkles on the first shirt. Once I know what I'm doing, it takes a few hours to zip through the rest. We also shorten a pair of trousers. I'm happy to pack up the machine and put the accessories, scissors, threads, and bobbins, as usual.
Supper is mostly foods we rarely eat in Bandung. It's delicious and snacky enough to feel like a special treat.
On our evening walk, the sun is going down and the wind is kicking up, making temperatures more comfortable. Some of the pickup trucks are so big that they take up the entire driveway. This one is over 5m (16') long.
K tries to comfort two young girls who are wailing on the sidewalk. What's wrong?
"We're being chased by a big bug," they point up. K explains that the dragonfly is not harmful and won't bite them. Their grandma comes out but she's not that sympathetic to their plight. We have a good laugh once we're back at the house.
The water catchment areas of this neighobrhood are beautiful. This one looks like a park.
In the evening light, the
Pride of Bermuda shrub glows orange.
SundayK's neighbor Kat and I finally find time to walk together. We meet at 7AM to check out a neighboring trail. Bikes whiz past but mostly it's quite empty. It's an easy loop walk, pavement on a gradual uphill for a few miles.
We return clothing and shoes that are "not quite right" in a final shopping trip. We have a relaxing day, eating and doing last-minute chores together. The sign beside her door always makes me smile.
I finally pack. There's not room for one more thing in the suitcase. Southwest charges $45 for the first suitcase. It feels strange to be paying for basic luggage. And if it's overweight? A hefty fine. I'd pay $55 for a second bag. Whhhhat?
Monday-Wednesday
Kirsten drops me off at the airport on Monday morning. I check a carry-on bag at the gate. It's heavy: full of shoes and art supplies. No, I did no art in Texas. Maybe in Montana in the coming weeks?
K's fridge quits shortly after I leave. She orders a new one, complete with installation and hauling away the old one.
I meet W at the airport in Orange County. He's spent the past few days with family and friends near Seattle and Vancouver. We've missed each other, apart for over a month.
We're at a scholars conference hosted by Vanguard University in Santa Monica. The pretty setting is near shopping and cafes. We have no time for such things, but before we leave, take a half hour to walk to see what is nearby.
We never make it into the pool.
During a break on Wednesday, we catch a bus to Aldi, a German-owned chain that carries our favorite chocolate. The double-length bus is linked with a central circle that rotates as the bus turns.
We greet people we know and meet others whose books and articles we've read. The publisher includes W's new book in the scholar's goodie bag.
It's a delight to meet Dr. Alaine Buchanan, a dear friend who serves on the conference committee.
Dr. Lisa became a historian after taking a Church History class from W. She's best friends with Kelly, who started in my PhD cohort over a decade ago. We send Kelly a photo and hello.
Dr. Frank Macchia is a retiring professor and well-known author. I've edited some of his work but it's the first time I've met him in person.
W and I eat breakfast in the hotel before heading out each morning. It's typically American food.
Lunch on Wednesday is a Tex-Mex bowl: rice, beans, chicken, and ground beef, topped with lettuce, hot salsa, and shredded cheese. Not bad! Hispanics and Caucasians each make up close to 35% of the population. The rest are immigrants from everywhere so we feel right at home. We hear many languages spoken around us.
I leave the sessions with renewed energy for research and writing.
Alaine closes the conference with participatory prayer.
We haven't rented a car so we catch rides to the conference in the mornings and back to the hotel at night with Geroge, Esther (a Puerto Rican American nurse-scholar), Jonathan, Deseree, and others. Thanks, everyone! We appreciate the lift.
ThursdayI'm up early. Might as well have a bath before W wakes up. The water is so chlorinated that I'm breathing bleach fumes for 1.5 hours.
Prices in Southern California are a shock. A burger and fries are "specially" priced @Rp.300.000 or more with mandatory tipping, sales tax, and government hospitality fees.
Getting ready to return to Seattle, the airport bookstores are full of people reading, browsing, and hanging out.
* The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:9-10* Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! Psalm 27:14
* I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. Psalm 145:1-3
* Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 40:1-5
* Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” John 11:21-22
Moravian Prayer: Lord, thank you for sending us your son. Jesus is always here to hear our prayers and to help us to be people after your own heart, loving you and generous to others. We await the return of Jesus to bring us to God, face to face. Amen.
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