Tea, cookies, brunch, wedding ... a week with people and food

 Friday, December 16, 2022

Someone at the book group last week left their glasses behind ... but I don't hear from the owner. What to do with them?

Here's a typical morning scene as we walk our neighborhood loop. Walkers, sweepers, people who carry heavy burdens, and gardeners/security guys.

Several young families are arriving in the next months. We know some of them but not others. Some may stay with us while they search for housing. One house nearby has been maintained and looks good. (Don't judge the metal gate. The tropics are HARD on everything.)

The paper lanterns on the porch have completely faded and I consider replacing them. Except that I remember various colors of motorcycle paint from another project. A quick spray, holding a discarded box behind the spinning globes to catch the paint ... and they're bright as ever. 

The heaviest chore of the day is bringing home a restaurant case a friend is shedding. It's beastly hundred pounds or more and awkward. W rents a pickup and a few guys to bring it across town and unload it in our storage room. $13 includes the truck and tips for the workers. It's as tall as I am. We fill it with food containers, small appliances, and vases. The dining room hutch and kitchen cabinets feel more spacious when we're done.

Saturday

Chacha and I meet for brunch at Miss Bee.

We stroll around the corner to the craft and food bazaar at Green Gate. There are 22 vendors, including an artist who sells paintings on the street. 

We bought a few pieces from him over the years for gifts. This 2'X3' one hangs upstairs. 

The bazaar is buzzing.

At home, the lights are on, the house is temporarily quiet, and I'm ready for a snooze.

The termites are doing a number on the nook ceiling - chunks fall down on the shelves and there are piles on the floor. W sprays poison on the holes in the wood. I rearrange things on the shelves after cleaning. So much for a nap ...

Laural swings by for tea and cookies. She's good company. The dogs are delighted to be petted and stroked - they love her, too.

She's on her way home before the afternoon thunderstorms strike. I watch our friends' wedding online. Jamie is a good preacher; I enjoy the ceremony from a distance.

Sunday - 4th Sunday of Advent

We love the morning gathering, enjoying the carols and company. As always there are new people visiting - IES serves all English speakers. After lunch, we work until nightfall and toss ourselves into bed with a happy sigh.

Monday

Alice, IbuS and IbuA pack 170 bags of cookies. Most will be distributed on Thursday but a few land here and there today as friendship packs and thank-you in this final Advent week.

The fridges empty out - every possible space had cookies in it! until now. Now the counters and 2 big boxes are filled with finished bags. They look really pretty with Angie's graphics and the morning's careful work.

Afterward, the ibu-ibu show me the empty boxes. And more empty boxes. They've packed almost 3500 cookies into the bags.

"No more baking for a while, please!" they say. (It feels a little like asking a mom who's just given birth if she wants more kids.) We have just enough cookies left over for Christmas festivities.

My own task is to respond to questions to global partners. By the time I'm done, we have 6 pages of answers. They are detailed, but we want to be honest and forthright about how we are meeting our goals and how that fits into their non-profit vision.

Then we edit the Lessons and Carol booklet for Christmas Eve. I update it with current information. W spends hours moving things on the page to please his eye. Angie makes our work look better with graphics and readies it for printing. A great team ...

So far, on my to-do list before Friday? Prepare for the Christmas events and write 2 monthly newsletters. Sounds doable, right?

Read more:

*O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. Psalm 139:1-2

*For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:6-7

*In him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28

Moravian Prayer: God of compassion, you carry us as we journey through this life. You even know our thoughts before we do. Forgive us for our bad thoughts, and guide us through our good ones. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Celebrating people in the season

Monday, December 12, 2022

We stop in at Ambrogio for a quick lunch between checking off the grocery list. As usual, the brisket on sourdough is amazing.

We pass a flock of women strolling down the street. Indonesians like to dress alike to show solidarity. It's similar to a group wearing matching logo T-shirts in the USA.

We toss the groceries in the fridge - it takes me until evening to put things away and bake meatballs for tomorrow. The handy $1 gadget from Penang makes round meatballs in no time! How did I not know this? We put the freezer stuff in cold-storage bags. They'll be thawed by the time I prep for movie night on Wednesday morning. That will speed up the cooking time.

Tuesday

W is putting out glue traps each evening and overnight he catches the second rat in 2 days. Every once in a while, we get a plague of them in the house. No idea if they come from the garden or neighbors.

It's W's mom's birthday until 3pm today with time zone differences. She lives near Vancouver. We chatted with her yesterday, a day early for her and right-on-time for us.

It's another night when I'm up for a while so I'm sleep-deprived when I start prepping food at 6:00. The little potatoes need scrubbing before they go into the slow cooker. That takes a while but it doesn't take long to make spinach in cream sauce. The helpers cut up salad and heat up the meats I cooked yesterday. Today their main task is baking. There are hundreds of cookies on the counter when they're done.

The yard man has something going on with his kid so he's not here. Neither is PakG, who is ill.

We don't drive in this city for a reason. Coming out of the grocer yesterday, we hear an accident happen between car and motorcycle. We see the swarm of people shouting and running toward the motorcyclist as we leave the grocer's parking lot.

The car speeds away and the motorcyclist seems barely hurt. He has been taken off to the side by bystanders by the time we drive by.

"If the driver of the car tries to drive away and is caught, he will be mobbed and beaten," PakG tells us. "Sometimes people even die. You can't just drive off." But the guy does and we don't know if anyone gets his info. 

After scolding the helpers for their perpetual lateness, I realize I'm mean. I need a walk to walk off my meanness. It's inappropriate to scold or be direct in giving instructions. I feel hungry, thirsty, tired ... and crabby. When I get home, the house is quiet and everyone avoids me. I don't mind: I'm feeling kinder and less edgy.

The IES team comes at 11:00 for our annual Christmas dinner. We relax on The Porch as everyone arrives.

They're the best! It's a privilege to serve together. Each one feels called to serve uniquely from the others. We meet each week to check in, pray with each other, and gain encouragement.

The neighbors, leaving for the city, have turned off the whole-house water in the early morning. The water tanks are completely empty after the helpers wash the baking dishes. There's no water for washing up or using the toilet. They use emergency bottles of water to tidy the kitchen before they leave.

We can hardly wait for the incoming city water in the morning! How quickly we have forgotten the "out of water" norm before getting the plumbing and water-storage systems integrated a few months ago.

Wednesday

I wake at 1 a.m. and can't get back to sleep so I listen to Luke and some psalms (#29-57). I might as well get up and start cooking when the sun comes up before 6:00. Fifty are signed up with a waiting list for dinner-and-a-movie tonight. I post last month's menu on the fridge and get to work.

 I'm done by 9:30 a.m. and have a short nap. W and I walk to get mushroom pasta at Ethnic nearby.

Formerly a residence, this beloved classic eating spot is relaxing. W and I choose a table at the back of the yard, surrounded by ferns and vines.

I set the buffet and finished cooking. When the helpers arrive at 3:00, I leave the kitchen to them: they cook rice, chop salad and fruit, and do last-minute cleaning. 

Over 40 people show up, from 16 countries. About half are "Family" (here at least 3X) and the rest are here for the first time ("Guests") or the second time ("Friends"). First we eat supper. The line stretches out to The Porch.

We read the Christmas story and watch the movie. Then we break for intermission (dessert) and finish the movie. Afterward, the conversation picks up as people chat and meet each other.

We're in bed after 11:00, with a guest crashing upstairs overnight. She's gone back across the city to her university before we get up in the morning.

Thursday

After a drive into the mountains, the dogs as ready for the hike as we are.

We wait for everyone to arrive, watching a worker fill old rice sacks with leftovers from the tofu factory across the street. It will be fed to livestock.

We hike up a mile toward the tea fields with the city below in the distance. We rest to catch our breath a few times and I wonder if I'll have sore calves tomorrow. We usually don't feel a hike afterward but who knows. This 5km (3+mile) walk is steep.

There are deep valleys between the mountains north of Bandung. Today's walk is a loop upward over 2 km (280 meters elevation) and back around, skirting the rim of the mountainside. It starts to rain on the last 1/3 so we pull flimsy raincoats from our backpacks.

In the last kilometer, Angie and I are besieged by flies. Hundreds swarm us and settle on our plastic jackets. Some bite - all are annoying. We slap and flap them off after a while. The others, coming a few minutes behind us, don't see any at all. (They're all on us?!)

We have lunch together in town - it's a delight to sit around the table with friends. We're near enough to walk home, where the helpers have baked and reset the house from movie night. 

Ibu A and Ibu S are two petite Sundanese ladies but STRONG. The rugs are rolled out, the furniture replaced, and decor put on the tables. It's so "right" that I don't even notice when I first come in. I'm shocked when I realize what they've done. Wow.

Even the dining room is set! (I have no idea how they did this.) The Christmas tablecloth is spread, the chairs are in place, and the heavy DIY marble turntable in the middle is centered.

W and I stand the IKEA bookcase upright on its short end: we'll have too many people milling about at Christmas to lay it the long way. I set the Nativity scene into a shelf and rearrange the decorations for Christmas Day - 10 days to go!

We catch up on chores and reading. I have a 2-hr Mastermind at 10:00 p.m. with beloved colleagues and mentors. 

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Read more:

*How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life for evermore. Psalm 133:1,3

*For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. Romans 12:4-5

Moravian Prayer: Giver of gifts, we thank you for the presence of your Spirit within our lives. We thank you for the community of faith into which you called us. May we support and encourage one another in faith. Amen.

We're in hot water!

Friday, December 9, 2022

After the pictures are taken off the kitchen wall, W hoists the hot water heater into place. 

Art takes second place - the embroidered pictures from Vietnam bring back fond memories as I remove them. They go into the back hallway.

The tukang (plumber) is scheduled for lunchtime. The idea of hot water in the kitchen ... for the first time in 8 years? We gain an additional tap - a green plastic one. No elegance in this kitchen! I put a half-finished canvas on the wall to hide a nail hole.

The book group comes over to watch and discuss Pieces of a Woman, a prize-winning film. First, the living room is rearranged for comfort and convenience: we watch on the white wall. The sliders are open for air flow, too. These are not friends we'd seat on the floor.

The thunder starts to roll in as I make sandwiches and set the table. It's nice to take out the teacups for a small get-together. I look at the table with relief, actually. 

I miss few things (beside modern conveniences) from our life in Seattle. One of them is the monthly tea parties for 10 women that we hosted at our place. I usually knew about half the people around the table: I'd invite 5-6 friends, but the rest were women invited in the doctor's waiting room, the grocer's, or any other line. Today we all know each other.

The film is dark so I listen from the kitchen for much of it. I'm visual and don't need the images stamped in my head. The discussion is good as usual.

IbuS comes to work later and stays longer to help tidy up. When she's gone, W reminds me that it's the weekend - we have no help until Monday. We do the rest of the cleanup with hot water from a tap. Hurrah.

Saturday

W's in a study and heads into town for his usual appointments. Just after he leaves, I hear water running in the house. I go to explore. Did someone leave a tap on?

The big water storage tanks overhead in the utility courtyard are overflowing. "No big deal," W texts back. "That happened a few months ago, too. I'll take care of it when I get home." I close the all-house water valve outside and after a half-hour, the downpour subsides.

As I pull out the pantry box of dried fruit and baking goods, a herd of ants swarms me. Ah, they've managed to sneak inside a sealed bag of dried cherries from Trader Joes/USA. I knock them off my arms into the garbage along with the fruit. We can't leave any garbage bins open; trash bags are emptied daily.

The dogs lay themselves at my feet as I read and write. Gypsy hears the storms coming and paces on the porch. There are many "white elephant" gifts to wrap - I finish by late afternoon.

Sunday - the third week of Advent: JOY

A full day - the Gathering, lunch, and when we get home, people on The Porch.

Monday

After a broken night (up for 4 hrs), I'm ready to go at 6:00. IbuS brings down the last of the ornaments. The tree is decorated, the living room is done, and the lights are up.  Before the helpers arrive, the week is fully booked through Friday. It doesn't take long to set the table for the first event.

When I get onto the porch, Juno has been on all the tables overnight. The ornaments, candles, and wreaths are lying on the tiles. Muddy paw prints tell the tale. We've never had a counter-surfer and I must say it's an unpleasant trait. Every morning she's torn something apart. She also barks and chases small creatures at all hours of the night, disturbing the neighbors. 

Sigh, do we need to crate her at night? We'd prefer not to. Her days are full with 2-3 walks and a the big yard to run around and dig up.

Today's our big shopping day for tomorrow's team lunch and Wednesday's movie night. The shopping list is long with multiple stops and takes all afternoon.

Read more:

*Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. Isaiah 35:4

*Human ways are under the eyes of the Lord. Proverbs 5:21

*The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”—“a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Mark 1:1-8

*Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Luke 1:38

Moravian Prayer: God of light, you blessed Mary, that she could bless the world. This Advent season, we celebrate the virgin birth of our Savior, who walked this earth to show us how to live. Continue to guide us, we pray. Amen.

Relief and reflections

Sunday, December 4, 2022

In an international congregation, you are always saying hello and goodbye. Today, two people are moving back to their universities abroad.

Josh and Clau speak at IES Bandung. A few days later, I'm still contemplating the responses of various people to news of the birth of the Savior (from the scripture accounts of Matthew and Luke):

• Mary - submissive obedience to an uncomfortable calling (angelic visit)
• Joseph - protective obedience to care for his young wife and child (angelic visit)
• Shepherds - active obedience to see what the angels told them (host of angels)
• Wise men - an investment of time and resources to pursue the mystery of God-with-us (followed the sign of a star in the heavens)
• Herod the king - an ambitious attempt to kill off the threat of God's promise to his people (the wise men asked for his help)
• The scholars - were happy with information but no action (tasked by a wicked king, they had read the scriptural prophecies and only pretended to look forward to a messiah)

I'm thinking about it because I wonder how I react when God speaks to me - perhaps sometimes you and I have the same responses. Yet I want to be obedient rather than willfully antagonistic or merely cerebral about God's plans.

Teti has crocheted a lap blanket (or shawl). It has pretty pastel colors, matching the IES Christmas banner.

We invite those who are leaving and newcomers to lunch. A few with Nov-Dec birthdays come, too. The group swells to 19 people, including some who are strangers to us. The servers keep bringing chairs and tables and serving-ware.

Monday

Lisa comes for tea in the morning. The porch table says what happens here: games, food, insect repellant, and company. Today the porch is quiet.

For lunch, IbuS makes rice with meat curry, which I put on a salad as usual. (Have potatoes in that? You still need rice.)

Friends pick up supplies donated for the earthquake zone.

I don't often have time to appreciate the work of volunteers. The hall is quiet but beautiful. With last week's painting complete, both ends match. 

I love to pray in the spaces in anticipation of what God will do as people gather.

For supper we wander down to a student food court for dim sum and rice+chicken.

 It's good and cheap.

This little boy plays around us, ducking into the stalls with his ball.

It's definitely Christmas around here, a peaceful place with its lights and colors.

Tuesday

The yard man comes to clean up - the constantly falling leaves get caught in trees and plants. The ants have made hills where the doggie doo hasn't been scooped up. (We thought they were moles at first.)

As Christmas carols chime on my computer, the memories of Christmas past come to mind. Family - from grandparents to grandchildren, friends, and guests ... what a great celebration of God's love.

Wednesday

On date day, we walk down the street to Pino Terrace. I have HOT sauce, noodles, and vegetable broth.

We order some non-alcoholic rum balls to go.

It's a week of afternoon thunderstorms. Gypsy plants himself outside the sliding door, hopeful that we'll let him in.

The bromeliads are blooming red, just in time to look festive.

I find out that the big tree in the backyard is a bay tree. (Remember bay leaves in cooking? That's what it is. Hm. Who knew.)

I pull out a blank canvas and lay down a colorful backdrop, spreading a few drops of yellow and blue, plus 1 drop of red with a 2" housepainter brush. I squeeze some black acrylic from the tube onto the wet brush and dab in some tree-like shapes. I could have left it here.

Later in the day, adding more yellow and blue (=green), it turns muddy.

I daub on some white with the same flat brush. I pick out loose brush hairs from the acrylic paint: what a cheap hardware tool.

I can't think of what to do with it next, but I am wrapping gifts for the White Elephant exchange. Would have been nicer if I were a calligrapher. I'm not in the mood for more. That will have to do.

Leftover paint on the brush? Pull out a fresh canvas and start another (12"X16"). I don't know what I'll do with this yet - it's literally just brush-cleaning.

Along the street, there's a 5' wide wall being mortared in front of an empty lot. We continue to watch its progress, day by day.

Thursday

Walking day: I add 2 T of hot water to the scrambled eggs (2 eggs beaten with 2 T milk, 2 T flour, fried in butter) after I top them with New Zealand cheese. Cover until it puffs up = a fluffy breakfast.

The plumber comes by at 7:30 to have a look at installing hot water in the kitchen. We bought a point-of-use tank at a yard sale months ago. Later in the day, W measures the tank: the plumber will hook up water and power tomorrow. The helpers are as happy as I am. Though dish soap is formulated for cold water, it's easier to clean up with hot water.

At 8:00, it's time to leave for the walk. The dogs love it - Juno waits patiently for a drink partway up the mountain. We go over 8 km (5+ miles) up and down.

There are several wipe-outs on the trail where the mud is packed, overgrown with algae or moss, and steep. Luckily I'm not one of them.

The Dutch war forts on the hill are our destination, at the top of the loop. You can imagine the fear of the soldiers inside and out of these 12' (4 meter) concrete walls.

Unclear in the picture below is the damage that all-terrain Jeeps make in the mountains. This  road has eroded to 2-3 meters deep with high walls and pools of water in the ruts. We choose walking paths beside the trench. (I'm standing in the middle of the 9-foot (3-meter) -wide road.)

The reward as usual is lunch together. A few who had to skip the walk join us at Nara (Pinetta). today we are from Indonesia, Germany, France, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Canada/USA.

I'm in the mood for pasta with chicken and capers.

Paulina, one of the owners, treats us to strawberry-chocolate pizza. It's good! with cheese tucked into the crust.

We also sample a butterfly-pea coconut drink with a lychee garnish. Very refreshing.

It's mid-afternoon when we get home, tired but happy. We pull out our computers and get to work.

Read more:

*Woe to those who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent. Isaiah 5:22-23 NIV

*Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

Moravian Prayer: Lord, we sometimes struggle with our place in the world. At times, we haven’t done that which you would have us do. Forgive us, please, and guide us in what is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, and commendable. Amen.