Cool, in more ways than weather

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

It's windy and cold but I refresh with a good walk along the Hope Slough. I cook and tidy up, but Mom and I get to spend most of the day together when she's awake. I stay awake until my last call at 11:00 PM for Mom's meds and seeing her to the bathroom. I'm asleep before midnight.

Thursday

We say goodbye to Mom when her caregiver arrives mid-morning. We are headed for Seattle. The mountains are capped with snow.

We make a brief stop for tea and coffee with dear friends LeRoy and Lynette. Lynette sends along a package of Spekulaas cookies. Yum - it's the Dutch version of German Pfeffernuss baking.

Lunch is Tex Mex in Burlington.

The restaurant is decorated with bright colors and sombreros (traditional Mexican hats).

We spend a few hours unpacking, doing laundry, and repacking at our flat. In the evening, we toss the suitcases into the rental car and head to the airport hotel: we don't want to miss our morning flight with a lousy commute from the other end of the city. W has researched the weather. It looks like ice and snow are coming overnight.

Saturday

Sure enough, the freeways are slippery with multiple vehicle accidents. Instead of fretting about getting to the airport on time, I catch the hotel shuttle in while W parks the car in an airport lot. We find each other at the check-in counter for the 4.5-hr. flight.

Kirsten picks us up from the Austin airport in the early afternoon. We watch her church service together, a practical and uplifting message on living with intention.

Her friend Chantelle comes for supper: Texas barbecue ribs with all the fixings. So yummy!

W sits with us but is busy, working on his manuscript.

Sunday

I sleep almost 10 1/2 hours. When Kirsten walks the dog, I trail along for some fresh air. A house is being constructed on the last empty lot on her street.

It's cool outside (60oF/17oC) so we layer up, coming in afterward to warm up with tea. K lays out a general shape for a new picture gallery for her hall.

As part of his dad-chores, W pounds no-dig metal spikes into the ground along a shared fence. K hopes to deter the neighbor's 3 dogs from burrowing into her backyard. They've trespassed and bitten her little dog.) We do some shopping and have a hearty supper.

Monday

K makes yogurt and granola for her dad and herself. I cook a Western-style breakfast, making an extra tortilla and bacon for W who reflexively says "no" but will want it after seeing my plate.

W checks the smoke detector batteries and shakes out the house's air filters, while K and I unwrap picture frames. We wash the glass or peel protective plastic sheets off the plexiglass in the frames. We trim the artwork, frame it, and make sure all is ready to hang.

W measures the wall, levels the angles, and installs the pictures ... before K takes him to the airport. He's off to work in Missouri. I have a few more days here.

We bake a pan of brownies in the evening, and enjoy the rich chocolate with a cup of tea.

A few evenings, we relax with a home improvement series. Both of us enjoy the imaginative designs as a couple works with a construction crew. 

In the episodes of Fixer to Fabulous, I'm struck by the husband response: "Yes." Whatever she (the designer) thinks up, the first thing out of his mouth is "Yes, we can do that," and then he figures out how. Pretty cool - and how uplifting to start with "yes!" ...

Tuesday

K and I do some shopping, eat good food, and rest together. The prayer times are precious. We contact my mom each day, too. We tweak the gallery wall put up yesterday and put up the last items.

I cut K's hair on the back porch. The rain and wind gusts make it hard to get an even grip on her locks.

For lunch, we try a Chinese noodle place - outstanding tastes, especially with their homemade pickles and chili crisp oil.

It's been a wet and gusty week. Multicolored leaves blow across the sidewalks.

This is the color I associate with Austin foliage. Grey-green suits the dry wilderness climate of summers and the tan-colored soil.

Wednesday

K and I walk the neighborhood in the late morning, redo the bedding and toss in some laundry, before having lunch and praying together.

In mid-afternoon, K drops me at the airport. I am refreshed and encouraged by the visit with our daughter. She's a mature and thoughtful person with strong opinions and a soft presentation.

The lounge has healthy options, including a delicious salad-in-a-jar. The woman next to me strikes up a conversation about what it means to live and serve abroad. She's on her way to becoming a global citizen.

The flight is uneventful from Texas to Seattle. W flies from Missouri to Seattle, arriving an hour after I land. We are grateful for heated metal benches in the shuttle waiting area. The shuttle picks us up to drop us off at the parking lot. We retrieve the car and drive to our flat. It's -1oF ... BRRRRR so cold. At least it's been dry so the freeway isn't slippery.

I toss my pajamas and the blankets into the dryer to heat up and soon we're fast asleep.

Read more:

*[Jeremiah prayed,] “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you."

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? Jeremiah 32:17, 26-27

*O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. Psalm 51:15

*Peter and John said, “We cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20

Moravian Prayer: Jesus, may we continually praise you in all we do: from our lips, in our hearts, and in our actions. May we declare your goodness to all whom we encounter. Let us live in such a way that every person we meet will feel your presence through us. In your name, we pray. Amen.

Bali and back

Friday, May 31, 2024

The e-news written last week drops. What a relief not to have that pressure today, our first day back from a seminar in Bali. W and I walk the neighborhood loop, start work, and make calls. The neighbor's Vanda orchid smells like heaven.

Along the street, a tall tree is draped with white flowers and beans.

This is my usual view: 3 dogs walked by W on one leash. The little poodle out front? He is boss. PakG has washed him and brushed him out to white perfection. Today Casey comes over mid-morning so that makes a pack of 4. We're dog-sitting while his people travel.

Usually I journal or paint but not this trip. I write down what I remember this morning about the people met and places explored. We met some dedicated and creative leaders and made new friends.

Monday, May 24 - off to Bali

Bali is one of the easiest places to get to in Asia for meetings, conferences, and retreats. Because it's a tourist center, flights from almost anywhere are possible without too many layovers. (Elon Musk hosted a conference here last week.)

PakG gets up early to drop us at the 6:20 a.m. shuttle to the "new" (5-yr old) airport 1.5 hrs away. The nicely paved double divided highway is as bumpy (side to side and going forward) as a gravel road with potholes. I'm not kidding. I have to sit upright with a pillow behind my neck. The wrenching is so bad that I have mild headaches all week from the base of my skull. Sadly, there are no chiropractors here.

The bouncing makes it impossible to take pictures. This is what I get when I shoot out the front window: a thrust upward ... and a shot of the ceiling ... or a dip when the phone points to the floor.

The airport is almost empty.

Curbside, there's hardly anyone either. We few clients from the shuttle toddle off into the terminal.

Inside, I find a passable ramen for breakfast.

W and I arrive at the hotel in Kuta within 4 hours, door to door. We check in; it's basic and clean @$81 for all 3 nights. It is near the ICC (conference center). The ICC staff is excellent - what a great place for meetings. The snacks and coffee are good and the catered meals are tasty.

The pool, beautiful by day, glows by night. 

W and I have stitches after biopsies so we can't swim or get the bandages wet. The doc's office emails that all is well; there's no sign of skin cancer. We get checked once every 5 years in the tropics. I'm in the mood to pull out the stitches which must be healed by now. But I am learning patience. 

We keep forgetting to take the costly antibiotics. "Night and day for 2 weeks," instructed the dermatologist. After a week, we've maybe remembered 4 times. Oh well, better for our stomachs without strong meds.

Bali tourists are back in full force. Next door, the massive souvenir shop is crammed with 2-storeys of reasonably priced crafts. Balinese are creative with natural and artificial materials. I buy a 6" bronze goldfish for $6. Compared to Seattle ($200 paid for a bronze mouse 15 years ago), it's a steal.

We pick up a few things for our grandkids, too.

Even the grocer has tourist goodies. This $10 vase has been handblown onto a piece of wood roots. The glass container lifts off easily for washing.

We buy Bali peanuts - spicy and plain - from the same grocer.

The vibrant colors of Bali are everywhere.

Trucks are piled high with goods. (See this going to a mattress shop from the factory?) Many storefronts are empty or graffitied - lost to the pandemic. Slowly things are returning to normal. But foreigners are back! so traffic is terrible.

We unpack and head across a few busy streets and follow a roundabout to the Dijon Deli and restaurant. It's always worth a visit to this Australian-style fresh foods eatery. W orders his usual gut buster. (I have 3 yummy bites.)

I order a salad with cashews, feta, roasted eggplant, red peppers, beans, and edamame. Both are delicious.

We walk 2 kms in the afternoon heat (90sF/32+C) to catch a bus that's scheduled every 15 minutes. Nope. We wait almost 45 min on the curb before it comes. Then we hop out to walk to the pottery factory I love. I consider getting a tall vase ($50). Nah. Pretty though!

Supper is excellent: ribs (skinny ones) with soup, salad, and dessert. Too much! A server comes by with a paper towel and calmly snags a huge roach from the wall beside the next table. Good catch.

Tuesday

Jeff Leake starts the sessions with wise counsel. Young to old attendees agree that Jeff is one of the best seminar speakers in recent memory.

After lunch together, we have a session with Ed (HK), who offers an orderly explanation of how organizations grow and multiply. W and I are glad we came. The information is practical and useful. And both speakers are inspiring.

Seven gals pile into Gigi's van to cross the island to a wonderful artisan jeweler. It's too high-priced for us but the display of beautiful workmanship, set among the best crafts in Bali, makes it a worthy adventure. Everything is handmade, whether in the jewelry cases or arranged on walls and floor. I resist these hammered earrings at $200. But I know what's trending after that stop.

The employees are gracious and it's a fun "girls-only" outing. Built into these meetings is time for conversation and peer mentoring. We've come from across Asia, China southward. We talk about a lot of things, whether women are chatting in the shuttle or when everyone is leaning in around meals or Q&As.

In the evening, the group meets on the Jimbaran beach. Tables are set up inside restaurants and flow out across the sand to the beach. There are horses for riding, surfboards for surfing, and fishing or tour boats anchored offshore

This beach is known for its fresh-catch seafood and fish. Each one gets a plate with bitter green vegetables and a white snapper, prawns, and a lobster. What?! Delicious, fresh from the source. Rice is on the side.

The big draw is the sunset. Again, conversation, understanding, exchange. A precious time together.

Wednesday

I have a hard time sleeping during the night so I sleep until 8:00. It takes 11 min to get ready for our walk to the next hotel. We want to say hello to our Indonesian "grands." (Their moms lived with us during college in Seattle.) Their parents, dear friends Indra and Livia, have their hands full and big smiles on their faces. The kids have the day mapped out already.

We walk back to our hotel for a quick breakfast before the sessions. It's a full and fruitful morning.

After lunch conversations, W and I take a taxi to Seminyak and walk around. My mission is to find a gift for an expat's wife in the Philippines. I asked him, "What colors does your wife usually wear? Nature colors? Pale pinks, greens, and blues?" (He doesn't know what I mean by "pastels.") And, "Does she wear scarves? Are her ears pierced?"

He can't answer most of the questions but that's ok. I get enough info and see her photo on his screensaver. He chooses pewter-silver-copper earrings via photos. We find a Bali sarong (a big fringed scarf) and hand over a bag of peanuts as well. "She'll really like this," he says. It's obvious he loves his wife a lot.

Orange marigolds are popular at temples and shops. First we pass these stems, popped through different-height wires.

A little further down the street, they are laid in front of a door. Puffs of wind blow them slightly off grid.

And still further, they are strung as a mobile over planted water pots.

Workers are framing a roof without safety gear, welding metal above the busy streets.

My eye is caught by mixed media art in a high-end gallery: bigger than life-size, it's 9.5X6.5'. Oh for a wall to hang it!

Dinner is at Naughty Nuri's, our go-to for ribs and more. Near the sink where I wash my hands, there's a tiny baby changing table - maybe 🤔 70X70cm (2X2'). Obviously babies are smaller and less squirmy here than in the West. Or maybe moms are just more flexible?

Besides the ribs, the quartered and roasted corn cob is good ... once I wipe off the cheese and sauces. W gladly takes those for himself.

Another Bali tradition for us two is Gusto's gelato, 250 meters down the street. It's dark by this time (6:45pm) but 4 cases of ices glow a welcome. We share a cup of gelato in the quiet back courtyard.

Thursday

After the final sessions, prayers, and conversations, W and I check out. Mario and Daniela take us to the airport in time to board an earlier flight. THANK YOU!

It's 1.5 hours flying. We wait almost an hour at baggage claim for our small suitcases. Then we catch a 4-hr shuttle home. I sit near the back, while W takes the only other seat: shotgun at the front, the least relaxing seat in the van.

Indonesians don't like long uninterrupted travel. So the van pulls into a rest stop after 2 hours. The menu in't very appetizing. In the cooler is a Korean-style ice cream sandwich (2 bites of the ice cream between 2 waffles and I'm done) but we don't find anything else appealing. It's late anyway.

The shuttle arrives midnight Bali time (11:00 here) and PakG picks us up. He's registered our vehicle while we've been gone, an ordeal that takes hours. W is very grateful.

Friday

It's time to trim the Boston ferns upstairs. As soon as the fonds touch the roof, the ants use them as bridges.

We start to distribute the books piled on the Porch today. There are some interesting ones that I want to read.

Read more:

*You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. Psalm 63:1-4