Spilling my guts onto paper

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

We spend the breakfast hour with Seattle kids and grandkids and are treated to another performance. The grandchildren are preparing their acts for an upcoming family camp. We close up the suitcases, wrapping up another trip. This was mostly a working trip: we usually don't get to enjoy summer in the north.

Kim shows up before 10 to take us to the airport. We chat about current ideas, have no trouble checking in at the Japan Airline counter, and relax in the airport lounge before takeoff. It's our last "American" food for a while.

The flights and transfers are uneventful - that is to say, it's the best possible travel experience. After a 10-hr flight, we land in Tokyo for a few hours. It takes another 7-hour flight to reach Jakarta before midnight. It's before 1:30 when we get through customs, retrieve our luggage, and are picked up by the Bandung shuttle.

Thursday

We haven't taken this shuttle brand before and end up at a station closer to home after the driver forgets to drop us at the first stop. Middle of the night, there's no traffic. Middle of the day, it would have taken an extra 1/2 - 1 hour ... With relief, we unlock the house gate at 4:30, treated to a raucous welcome by our dogs. We shower off travel grime and unpack one suitcase (food needs to go into the freezer but why stop with that?) ... before falling into bed at 5:30.

I wake feeling rested until I look at the clock: 6:45am. HA that wasn't very long. I finish unpacking, tidy everything into its place, and go for a walk. The neighbor is building a second storey atop the first: look at that bamboo scaffolding.

The poinsettia plant along the road has grown to 4' tall (1.3 meters).

W joins me for a late breakfast at #NaraPark. His gout flares with travel and not drinking enough water. His feet are too sore to walk far. I leave the dogs behind for a loop-and-a-half.

Competition among eateries is fierce; there are always new attractions. Today, Nara has opened its state-of-the-art playground and built a new viewing platform over the property. They celebrated their 6th anniversary Monday. Sorry we missed it!

We are hungry for spicy foods. Before I can take a picture, we've emptied our plates of noodles and spicy sambal. Sigh, can we admit that we didn't enjoy the bland Japanese airline food inflight or at the airport lounge? It seemed to have no spices at all. Plus most of it had seaweed or fish in it, neither which are my favorites. But Indonesian ramen and rica (spicy chicken sauce) - oh yum! It hits the spot.

A flock of employees arrives for their meeting. It's a "thing" to wear company uniforms at team-building events.

One of the benefits of keeping a household going (besides providing a safe place for guests while we travel) is that we land in motion. Sure, we have disrupted sleep patterns, eat at weird times, and we need to unpack and unload. But we can jump into work without finding new helpers or scrambling for a house or resources. What a blessing.

The helper begins to transform my $8 thrift store find from black

to silver, with the help of really old (25- or 30-year-old?) Hagerty's Silver Polish. I popped the polish into a suitcase coming from Seattle ages ago. A few more sessions with a toothbrush and soft rag and it will gleam. What is it? Not sure - it's hollow. I'm guessing it had a glass insert for flowers. Why is it here? We'll find out.

 

I am not hungry at lunch and nap soundly from 1-6. W goes to town in late morning to replace a credit card number (his card # was stolen in Missouri) and runs errands. Then he crashes into a long nap as well.

I check on him twice but he's fast asleep in his office. I toast a slice of Levi's homemade bread for supper. I have no idea (what/if) W eats since he's sleeping when I eat, but we fall fast asleep together at 8pm.

Friday - Happy birthday, Doris!

Rested? Get up. It's 12:30am when I pick up the Morning Pages journal. I write pages and pages of ... What I do remember? What did I learn? How do I feel - then and now? What I do wish for or not care about? I write some prayers.

And my soul unclenches. Writers write, they say. Whoever "they" are, they're correct. I hurl my innards onto paper with a pen. It gives me the capacity to take a hard look at lessons learned and things brought or left behind. Then I can read the classroom books I could not read and start on work due this week.

I intentionally did not journal this trip. I brought a new journal and carried it with me. Yet every time I looked at it, my heart said no. Not yet. Don't write. I took fewer photos, too, leaving my phone behind at meals and meetings. I left the blank pages behind when we left Seattle.

The weeks slipped by. Normally, part of every day includes writing so I wondered if the days would expand. Would we do more significant things and build more memories? Nope. We had wonderful meetings and meals and did worthwhile things. All I remember is a rededication to God, warm feelings in connections, being proud of our adult kids and lovely grands ... and what little I recorded.

After a week or two, I blogged cause I must write something. (Perhaps subscribers read the posts but I didn't post the links.) I wrote down prayer requests during a meeting. And I wrote 3 phrases spoken over me, in the little Scout notebook in my purse.

I remember the first two items: 1. Don't fear. 2. Don't take responsibility for what belongs to God. (But #3? I can't remember it. I have to look it up - again.) 3. Let God serve you as Jesus did for his disciples when he washed their feet. (Explained to me as: "Don't always think you have to act for the benefit of others or do things for God. Perhaps ask 'what does God want to do for me?'")

What we don't remember is often one of our blind spots. I've had to look up the last point several times. I sit with #3, asking: why does it disappear? Don't I like being served by God? Am I resisting what he offers me? Am I letting him work out maturity and changes in me? Or do I only want to accept things I understand? Do I accept the kindness and love he offers? Or do I limit his access?

Hmmm. After a brutal look inside, I sum up my meditation with prayer for more capacity to live with ease, acceptance, and gratitude for every moment. 

About 7:00, we walk 1.5 loops before settling down to work. We're shaded by the tall trees that line the streets.

I take a second look at the neighbor's house. It is getting a metal roof, the walls are brick, and the building supplies are heaped inside and outside: sand, gravel, and mud. All is hand-mixed in place.

Mom calls with her updates before W and I get basic supplies at the Borma grocer. Oh look, they've restocked my favorite Indonesian cheese snacks. I buy a few extras to give away to friends on our next trip.

I make eggs and sausage for breakfast but have no appetite at lunch: I eat a cookie, some papaya, and a bit of cucumber salad. A nap is also unsuccessful. We have a late afternoon meal at #WaroengEthnic ($4 rice dish for me, $8 steak for W). We admire the lush vines blooming at the restaurant.

We meet Cora, the guest staying upstairs. She's on a trip through the land of her grandparents and her mom. Her great-grandparents founded a school in Indonesia. Leonard and MaryJane Lanphear were among the oldest alumni of NU ('46) when I was alumni director. What a great connection and legacy. Once again our house becomes a meeting place.

By 3:30, I've cleared emails and am taking notes from a new textbook for the upcoming class. I collect a temporary library for my students as well. 

Bailey is a mess but gets a fine cleanup today.

Looking good! Thanks, PakG. Someone's sheared his topknot above his eyes; the groomer will fix the flathead and trim his muzzle next week.

Saturday - Happy 13th Birthday, Kinsey!

Our eldest grandchild becomes a teenager today. I've left her a card.

Lucky us: we got to celebrate her birthday with the family earlier this month in Montana. She's always been an adventurer and leader of the grandkid pack.

On our walk, I spot a vole or mole prone on the street. Looks like it keeled over in shock.

I pluck flowers from the garden for tomorrow's bouquet. This arrangement is simple (staghorn ferns, mosquito plants, and anthuriums) but big enough for the hall. The Italian vase, collected by Mom a half-century ago, is 12" tall.

IbuSiti presses the travel kinks out of my sore muscles in a long massage. What a blessing she is. After lunch, we change the aquarium water, do chores, and write a few proposals to partners.

It's a quiet start to the weekend as we celebrate the mercies of God at home.

Read more:

*I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.

Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare. Psalm 40:1-5

*Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am first and will be with the last. Isaiah 41:4

*Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last and the Living One. Revelation 1:17-18

Moravian Prayer: Everlasting God, you have always been and will always be. You remain amazingly present, available, and steadfast while so much in our lives is adrift, fleeting, and senseless. We trust in your abiding presence in every moment of our lives. Thanks be to you. Amen.

Stepping toward the future

Friday, May 17, 2024

We walk through a property with the owner, checking out future possibilities. Then IbuSI pummels the kinks out of me before heading over to Lisa's to administer the same treatment (or was that torture?). To save her hands from carpel tunnel, she's found a wooden "scraper" that shoves deep into muscle tissue. Ouch and very effective.

It turns into a quiet day of general work.

Saturday

We walk. The street seller has jicamas today. They evolved from a kaki lima (pushcart) to a little stall - into a shop and eating area that's attached to a 2-room house.

There's great squawking in the neighborhood. A big parrot sits 10 meters up on the tall tree in the next lot; it looks like a yellow-crested cockatoo. It has a million-dollar view of the hillside and neighborhoods from there. Every morning it comes by and every evening it returns to its owner for food in its cage. 

Our birds should be so lucky. The lovebirds have a big cage (+ 100 x 80 x 50 cm/39X32X20") on the Porch. As they scatter seeds, sparrows and pigeons come for free food. 

When the wild birds perch on the furniture, they make a mess. We moved in to a yard without birdsong due to the domestic cats. But our dogs chase cats away. So the birds have happily returned and sing for us all day.

 

W joins his weekly study while I make calls. Someone knocks at the gate: she told us earlier that it was her birthday, so she has come to ask for money. We check with mutual friends and her special day is not until August. Hmmm. No birthday gift today.

Meanwhile Bailey lays down at my feet. Wherever I am, he's nearby until the dogs bark. Then he's off like a shot to "help" guard the gate. It's a poodle thing.

I'm in the mood for thought-less work. Shall I make some yogurt? I mix milk and "live" yogurt for the bread maker on the 8-hr yogurt setting. Ugh - what's crusted on the bottom of the appliance? I scrape it clean before adding the yogurt mix into the cooking bowl.

I boil potatoes for a quiche-like lunch. My recipe is easy to make and tastes good. We serve this with hot sauce on the side, but barbecue sauce or ketchup works, too.

---------SKIP DOWN IF YOU WANT--------

RDK Eggy Brunch Recipe

Ingredients

• 1T oil or butter
• 2-3 large or 10 small potatoes, skin scrubbed or peeled. Cut large potatoes into 1.5"/4cm chunks.
• 6-8 eggs
• 1/2-1 c each, ricotta cheese and plain yogurt (or sour cream)
• 1 T salt, plus 2-3 tsp spices
• 2-3 c chopped vegetables (onions, garlic, mushrooms, green peppers, etc. - your choice)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F/175C.
2. Thoroughly grease a baking pan* with oil or butter.
3. Cover potatoes with water. Add 1 T salt and boil 10-15 min until soft enough to mash but not mushy. Drain and flatten them into small-ish chunks. Spread them like a "pie crust" in the oiled baking pan.
4. Heat oil or butter in a pan. Saute chopped onions, green pepper, garlic, and sliced mushrooms, letting each ingredient fry a little before adding the next ingredient on the list.
5. Season with herbs and salt. I used 1/2 tsp each: salt, pepper, sun-dried tomato powder, Greek seasoning, and a French mix (rosemary, thyme.)
6. Spoon the seasoned vegetables over the potatoes.
7. In a medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs with ricotta cheese and yogurt. Pour them over the vegetables in the baking pan.
8. Bake 25-40 minutes, depending if *your pan is flat or deep. (Deeper takes longer.)
9. Cool 5 minutes, then dig in. Or cover and freeze for up to 3 months. 

Freezer tip: Precut leftovers into 3" squares and freeze them overnight, separated on a cookie sheet. Store the pieces in a freezer container. Lift out as many pieces as you need when there's no time to cook. Microwave the piece/s, covered, for 1:00-2:30 minutes. (Adjust time, depending on the microwave strength and number of pieces.) Let sit 1 minutes before serving so it heats through.

----------END OF RECIPE---------

We walk up and around to the Art Deco building to see if their restaurant has a good menu. "We hired a new chef 2 months ago," says the server. "That means a new menu." And it looks good. We'll have to try it when we host someone.

Sunday

Daniel speaks today, his first time in front of a congregation. Great job! with his wife Della interpreting.

We share a celebration lunch at #Maxis, a short walk from the hall.

It's special to have their family and friends gather round.

While I walk home, W drives the car from the hall with the flower arrangement Titik made. He sets them in the back hall for watering.

Two guys are working atop a wall, high above the street. "Hati-hati (be careful!)" I call to them.

Read more: (A prayer for the wanderer)

*Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.

Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.”

What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears. Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth—then my judgments go forth like the sun. For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:1-6)

Prayer: God, we are faithless. We come close and then wander away. Help us to return to you with our whole heart. Help us to revel in the love you provide, in the forgiveness that washes away our sins, and the mercy to others that we learn in your Presence. Teach us to trust you, no matter what is happening to us or around us. In the name of Jesus the Messiah we pray. Amen.

A week of movement and sitting

Monday, April 22, 2024

After W teaches at the English Center in Jogja, it's midafternoon. It's great meeting the Jogja team.

We head back to the hotel during the break. Supper leftovers and an evening of "Stump the Professor" round out the day. I'm theoretically on call during W's sessions. 

In practice, I sit around all morning (4 hours at the back of his class until 1:30) and spend 2 more hours in the evening at the back of the hall where W's dumped our stuff. I plug in my iPods and listen to books until he's done. Reviewing lectures I've heard before or hanging out with nothing to do exhausts me. 

Tuesday

We have a quiet morning and a pleasant breakfast. The restaurant heats up as the sun shines through the overhead windows.

The 6-hr train ride goes from Jogja to Bandung (12:00-6:30 p.m.) I plug in the iPods again. Outside our window, farmers burn rice husks after harvest.

Many villages are lined by rice paddies. It's a quick and hot commute to work for farmers.

The workers wear triangular sun hats as they cultivate the paddies near their homes.

The rain floods the terraced rice. The government shifted the staple food to rice near the end of C20. Now no meal feels complete without it. Simultaneously, there is every season of rice cultivation, from planting new plugs to harvesting rice stalks.

Bamboo is common scaffolding and structure for new buildings. This one will get a corrugated steel roof before the walls are filled in with brick or woven rattan.

It's stormy much of the day. The rivers are swollen and muddy with the heavy rains.

Sometimes the sun breaks through. These houses and sheds are built on piers to extend buildings over the water, especially in swampy regions with high populations.

Our driver picks us up at the train station. We unpack, check for urgent messages, and fall into bed.

2 years ago today, our beautiful Cocoa (standard poodle) was found in a Dutch irrigation shaft. She disappeared during a hike in the mountains. We were told our reward for finding her was "too much!," but I've never regretted it.

The villagers kept looking during that week before Ramadan, when money is scarce and it is mandatory to give gifts. On the fourth day, an old man found her, took off her collar as requested, and buried her in those beautiful hills. I kept her collar and still miss Cocoa.

I take a sleeping pill (usually only for long flights of 12+ hours). What a mistake. It's a quiet night but I'm dopy all the next day.

Wednesday

I don't get to my main to-do between catching up on the missed weekend, a foggy head, and a trip to town. 

I rearrange Titik's IES flowers from 2 weeks ago - they lasted through Sunday while we were gone. There are a lot of mums left for a new bouquet this morning.

We re-home a white board and finger puppets to a neighborhood English Center.

Then we drive to town. W's looking for some Tek screws. The store below is the closest thing to a "Home Depot" nearby: the door hides a crammed shop of hardware. You have to know what to ask for. No browsing the jam-packed aisles and shelves that stretch to the roof.

Ambrogio is a beautiful lunch setting. The fish swim right up to our table.

I choose a smoothie bowl, which turns out to be an icy blueberry drink sprinkled with granola. Oops, I want a breakfast bowl. I order homemade mushroom soup that's pretty good for $2.50.

Thursday

The hike is cancelled because it's rained all night. Too bad; the rain holds off until late in the day. It thunders all morning. I guess we could have gone, though some hikers were killed by a lightning strike up there a few weeks ago.

Instead, W and I walk up the street for breakfast at #NaraPark. This morning's order includes 3 kinds of crackers and 3 kinds of sambal (hot sauce). Yum. Good thing our stomachs are healthy.

We round out the walk by dropping in at a pharmacy. Over-the-counter and prescription drugs are available if your doctor tells you what to pick up.

Pak G delivers food to a newborn baby's family while W takes apart some tables from home. GG's round tables are being used elsewhere this weekend. PakG makes a few trips to the hall, delivering our tables for Round Table Sunday. Titik is doing flowers for each table. 

What? I have a sermon to write and deliver (with W) but no more? Wow, that's almost a "day off" compared to other last Sundays of the month. Haha and Hurrah.

W is restless at home. He takes an angkot (little city bus) to town. I'm happy to stay in to work on my class syllabus and Sunday's talk. God is good. The cicadas chirp all day long in the tall trees outside the office.

Read more:

*You are my portion, Lord; I have promised to obey your words.

I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.

I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes.

I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.

Though the wicked bind me with ropes, I will not forget your law.

At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws.

I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts.

The earth is filled with your love, Lord; teach me your decrees. Psalm 119:57-64

*Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed. Isaiah 54:4

*The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised [from the dead].” Matthew 28:5-6

Moravian Prayer: Loving God, you continually whisper to us to not be afraid. Still, our very human selves often give in to fear. Tune our ears to hear your voice of assurance. Embolden us to serve bravely. Open our hearts to receive your peace. Amen.