"What, there's another one?" (How many trees are enough?)

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Mid week. Already. We set two little trees near the sliding doors. One starts as a mess of tangled lights in crushed branches, with few ornaments and a missing stand. Save or toss?

I think we can save it. W rigs up a stand and wedges the base into it. I strip it and start to fluff out the needles.

When the bells, ornaments, and lights are replaced, it gets a final straightening and a length of batik over the base. Looks good. Once upon a time, it was an expensive tree.

A still smaller tree on the table gets wrapped with silver tinsel garland, a few birds, and two stems of white berries. Random leftovers, in other words. This was last year's discard - maybe a tree topper? - until W drilled a hole in a block of wood and shoved the wire stem into it.

Then I putter, thinking through Sunday's talk and fielding calls. We letter Christmas ornaments for the "We Care!" giveaway.

"There's another big box in storage upstairs," says IbuS. There's more? Of what?

PakG hauls it down and the two of them set up the old-fashioned, big-needled pine inside. It's like the trees we had as kids. It has holes in a central 6' wooden pole. The branches have twisted wire ends that fit into the holes. The tree stand has 3 screws to hold the trunk in place, plus a red cup held by 3 green feet. Remember those? Over the weekend, we find missing branches here and there, including in a box in a storage basement at the hall.

I have no idea where we got this tree. The trunk is bare and ugly and I'm out of garlands. I root through the boxes we've returned to storage for a few ornaments, which we hang on the branches. Simple tree. It doesn't look too awful at the Porch entry.

I'm worried it will blow over when the wind kicks up. "Should we tie it to the porch railing?" I ask W. He says no, that won't work.

ChaCha and I meet at Ethnic for lunch. She's a follower of Jesus, a dear young friend, and a hard-working entrepreneur.

Thursday

It rained most days this week although today is dry. The hiking group decides not to risk the wet and slippery trails. W and I do a long loop (a few miles) with the dogs and I finish a few dozen more give-away ornaments.

Before lunch while the helpers bake cookies and bread, we run errands in town. W is replacing the hose on the hot water tank and getting the weedwacker repaired and replaced. (The yardman can't mow the lawn without it. He tackles the flowerbeds while he waits for our return.)

While W checks repairs, I browse ACE for something to cover up the bare wood of the 2 meter/6' Porch tree. I find 4 sparkly green garlands for the price of one: 75% off? My kind of deal.

After lunch, I wind the garlands up the trunk and around the bottom branches. I'm back inside when a gust of wind topples the tree. W finds 3 mossy bricks in the garden and puts those on the feet. Looks good and they should keep the tree upright.

For supper, we have "butter" avocados on IbuS's fresh-baked bread. The avocados from the corner fruit stand are finally ripe. W tries the new scoop/masher from the Dollar Store; woohoo, it works.

The windows rattle in the evening as the thunder rolls in. We hear the rain coming closer, hissing on the trees before it splashes onto the roof tiles. We're grateful to be inside and dry. So many are not so privileged in this city. Flash flooding is a hazard downhill as water from Bandung's mountains overflows catch basins and rivers.

Friday

Since I can't sleep, I pull out my computer and work on Sunday's talk. It's rare and frustrating when I have no clarity until the end of the week. But this is the second week of Advent so the topic is faith, which W defines as "trusting obedience." I have to trust that God will give us the message to communicate his love and care clearly. So I write in the middle of the night when that insight comes.

After about an hour's sleep, the sun's up and it's time to walk. W and I read and edit Sunday's talk together. Beside the gate, the vine clipped on a walk is blooming.

The neighborhood used to have modest 1-2 storey homes for elder scholars. The biggest shock is construction at the end of the small lane. Two houses on either side have already added rooms on top. Now this 4-storey apartment is rumored to become a rental for students from down the hill. That would change the neighborhood from residential to commercial. (With students come small food carts, loud motorcycles, and loud parties.)

Saturday

W's usual group is away today so we walk to Nara for breakfast. There's a company family Christmas party, complete with ear-splitting volume on voice and music. The kids play on the carpeted playground. In rainy season, that keeps the kids from getting splatted with mud.

See the managers in a team-building game (left)? Three people hold 3 balls. Two balls get wedged between the 3 people. One ball is held by the leader. The three run across the grass to their team members. Then the leader hand the ball he's holding to the first person in line. That person grabs the ball, drops to the back of the 3-person team with the ball on their stomach, snugging up to the middle person. They run across to do the same transfer on the other end. First group to get through every person in line wins. Too much proximity for me!

Dolly sent me an iris 2 years ago. Today it's blooming in the garden. 

The fish are happily swimming in the ponds. During sun breaks, the floating solar fountains circulate air back into the ponds. I grab handfuls of algae from the smallest pond and its pump kicks into gear.

The flowers from Monday's nursery run have been planted for a pop of color.

The green wall is regaining its plants after being accidentally stripped.

PakG brings down a patio table and chairs from the upper balcony = I have a desk overlooking the tidy garden if I am feeling extroverted. When I need focus, I sit the other way, with a laser-cut screen and plants on the wall. Both views are helpful. I rise to crush big ants carrying egg cases instead of setting an alarm to stand up. We don't need more ants!

My tasks are defining survey questions for my book; plus editing 2 more chapters of someone's dissertation toward their potential book. W heads down the hill to buy olive oil, get a long walk, and replace the light socket that burned out (perhaps during a lightning strike?) Electrical systems aren't grounded, though houses have a lightning rod on their roofs. Next week is our annual Christmas dinner-and-a-movie night so we're prepping that.

The worship team practices with me for two hours. My throat is raw and painful and I have a headache in the evening, usually the sign that I'm getting sick. I just got over the flu a few weeks ago. I pray for healing.

Sunday

It's the second Sunday of Advent.

Alice has spearheaded IES Bandung's fourth Art Sunday. People enjoy making bags and cards.

Some make ornaments. This one uses yarn I brought from my mom's stash in Chilliwack (Canada.)

After a meeting, some of the team eat lunch with us at Maxi's. My headache is worse so we rest in the afternoon.

Titik sends home this geometric arrangement - what art.

Monday

What! One more tree, found in a box. It's a crumpled mess.

Once unfolded and decorated, it's a lovely little thing that fits perfectly on the bookcases.

I take notes from the best books on Blinkest, sitting on the Porch at my new outdoor desk. W is getting his own headache, writing his book about women in ministry in another part of the house.

For supper, it's fresh bread and red pepper spread from a jar snagged last summer at Aldi in Missouri. Time to indulge. It's delicious on the hearty chia/flax seed slice.

Read more:

*Love truth and peace. Zechariah 8:19

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

Moravian Prayer: Understanding Savior, you are able to comprehend the message of our hearts, even when words fail us. We rejoice to be seen, heard, and known by you. Amen.

Cookies and banana bread, anyone?

Saturday, November 30, 2024

I wrote and scheduled newsletters yesterday. But it's another writing day. I've agreed to edit two book chapters so I try and fail. It's a multi-week volunteer (no-pay) process to rewrite someone's dissertation into their book. I've done it multiple times.

What's the process? The order of the dissertation is sifted, the information gets resorted and grouped, and then it's edited once or twice more for good flow and English. Doing a few chapters at a time? I send back a note to the publisher: either send the whole dissertation or it's a no-go. (They reply, "Please edit what you have." Ok, they've made a choice: I'll do it but let them know that I can edit it once, not multiple times.)

An academic journal contacts me. Do they have permission to republish my article from the last decade in an anniversary edition? Sure. We message back and forth as we consider whether they want future articles from me. I have the topics and curiosity. They have to be interested before I do the research and writing.

I trash old computer files, sitting on the Porch with mango slices and a cup of tea. The canary is whistling; somewhere on the hill roosters are crowing; next door the goats are bleating. It sounds like we live on a farm.

W's on a walk with the Hash group when it starts to pour. Meanwhile, I chill in my chair beside the Christmas tree. Among layers of garlands, lights, Christmas cards, and memories, it's easy to overlook this old handcrafted bear, wedged in the branches each year.

His pink companion rests a few branches away.

One of the fun aspects of the season is finding instructions for crafts. Even though I won't make most things, it's nice to know how. I fill up my memory bank for future creativity.

Sunday, December 1: First Sunday of Advent

W got sick at the Hash or caught something from a kid coughing on the angkot (little bus-taxi). The flu creeps up on him as we speak together. We enjoy meeting friends of friends who were at BIC 20 years ago.

People line up for selfies with the festive hall decor designed by Daniel and Della.

Titik has outdone herself with the Advent candles. Her husband built a table to hold her creativity.

After the Gathering, we head to Reuben's graduation-Thanksgiving lunch, along with dozens of others. We celebrate his accomplishment around a table groaning with food. Well done, Reuben!

When we get home, I hydrate the flowers Titik arranged for the hall. So beautiful!

Monday

W's definitely under the weather but does a loop walk. Later he rests and orders medicine online. It's delivered to the gate via motorcycle by afternoon. People dress warmly for the cool walk in the morning (70oF/21oC). When the temperature dips below 75F/24C, we're shivering.

A random piece of curved bark comes in handy as a stable for a nativity set in the nook.

Last week's bouquet is almost gone.

I strip it to fill 5 tiny vases. This is what's left.

Grouped on a Christmas plate, the little vases look cheerful.

The colors match the Batak cloth I was gifted in Medan for teaching professors how to write and publish academic articles.

I meet with Kim and get some clarity on this period of waiting. By the end of this week, W and I hope to be closer to an answer about future work. A fellow scholar and I WA back and forth about theology definitions and cultures. The push-and-pull of such discussions is informative and energizing.

I fold the tablecloth back and spread my books out. I can rest my eyes while looking out the sliding doors to the garden.

I head uphill to purchase plants before the new yardman comes Wednesday. PakG pulls over to call PakD, "Where is your nursery?" We've passed it so we turn around. He helps us choose bright-colored annuals. I'll place those and he can dig them into the ground.

PakG points out deep holes on both sides of the street. Bandung is getting rid of multiple poles and wires strung above the thoroughfares. These trenches are for electrical wires.

The workers are from a people group who are renowned diggers. They migrate wherever their skills are needed. PakG says, "They will probably not restore the paving afterward, just put mud over the holes. And then the road crews will have to come and fix the sides." We agree that it's inefficient but provides work for a large labor force. 

Will the overhead internet cables be pulled through at the same time? "Probably not. This work is from the electrical company. The companies don't work together. The others will dig the street up again for their cables."

Typically for office workers in Bandung, this group is dressed in uniforms as they walk by.

Supper is fresh-baked bread for W and mango and papaya cubes for me. It's healthy ... after the rosemary crisps I devoured while I was reading. Before we know it, the sun sets. It's 7:00 p.m. and time to wrap up the day.

Tuesday

It's a kitchen day for IbuA and IbuS. They bake 7 banana breads and several hundred cookies. I bought an extra dozen eggs and several pounds of butter yesterday. Gone.

Meanwhile, I work and guzzle tall mugs of jasmine tea. The house smells good during our meetings, those chapter edits (sent off, hurrah), and calls. I sign on for a year of Blinkest summaries at 90% off, the cost of one printed book. Getting short versions will help: my library card gets maxed out at the limit of books I can borrow from the Seattle and KCLS library systems.

The workers take banana bread home and deliver other baking. Kiki and Veronica gave us dozens of bananas a week ago that were ripe. Other friends request cookies for their Christmas hampers. Soon the ladies will fill gift bags for a friend's restaurant, too.

I used to bake hundred of cookies each August and September to fill two freezers. Then we would thaw them for Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings. That seems like a long time ago ... 

Read more:

*Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock. Isaiah 26:4

*Jesus said, “I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock.” Luke 6:47-48 

Moravian Prayer: Loving God, too often we seek stability in the shallow imperfections of this world. When they inevitably fail, we come running to you. Center our lives on your strength; with you we will not falter. Amen.

31 Days in December #7: Not fainting

For years, this verse hung beside my bathroom sink. I saw it every time I washed my face and hands or brushed my teeth. It still encourages me, sitting on the counter next to a pot of wintergreen berries.

Do you have a favorite passage of Scripture that gives you hope? That reminds you that God is with us?

In this Advent season, we look forward to the celebration with families, the reading of Bible stories, and the prayers together. God whispers, "Don't faint. Persevere, and you will be rewarded" ... in God's time.

The strangest things

We saw two very strange things today. I feel stunned. Am I on another planet?

First, a Christmas tree decked in "sitting Buddha" ornaments - at a high-end interior decor shop.

Second, a series of Advent calendars without a single Christian option - at two separate stores.

Are these not weird? What is the strangest item you've seen lately?

Read more:
*I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. Genesis 28:15

*Christ says, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses." Acts 1:8

Moravian Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for your promises to us. To show our appreciation, we promise to be faithful witnesses and help others come to know you as their Savior. Teach us to speak in the right time and way to share our faith with those we love. Amen.