Cut. Cauterize. Stitch.

Monday, May 20, 2024

We call our eldest to wish him a happy 44th birthday, still in yesterday's timezone. Mt. St. Helens blew up the day before he arrived. I was ready for him to be shaken loose: he was born 15 days overdue (doctor's estimate, so who knows.) I remember the fun of a beautiful baby and the hard work of caring for an infant with a milk sensitivity. 

We ignorant young parents (and the doctor) didn't know what was wrong until he was 9 months. Poor kid pulled his feet up to his stomach and screamed on the half-hour or hour until then - night and day. My mom was a blessing: she answered my baby-care questions and took him overnight a few times when I needed a rest.

After a morning walk, our 3 satpams (security guards) curl up inside the gate to rest.

W and I start our morning meetings with a strong pot of tea. After, we stock up at the grocer. And I cook some giveaways.

Tuesday

Chacha and I meet for coffee in town. She's a sweet and ambitious entrepreneur. I encourage her to follow her heart as well as her mind.

Finally, she gets the floral arrangement made for her salon last year! We haven't seen each other in person for 9 months.

In the team meeting, Shibli presents his talk for Sunday. He gets encouragement and suggestions from the others. He's at our place; the others are online. Hybrid meetings may be a pain but they are new normal.

Angie leads her last workout session before she moves back to Europe at the end of the month. We aren't a big group tonight, but it is good exercise. Angela and Veronica picked out a pretty farewell gift: a silk batik scarf.

Angie's husband sends home some plants with us - everything from durian and grape to peach seedlings. He's a true gardener; he's multiplied what he has. We'll have to prune the peach small enough to fit into our fridge once a year. It needs cold to fruit and thrive.

Wednesday

At date breakfast after our walk, W orders toasted bread and sugar. He scrapes off most of the sweet pile. I have my usual noodles.

I haven't looked forward to this appointment at the hospital. The dermatologist cuts for biopsies of skin tags and moles. At each site, she uses several needles of anesthesia. Numb. Cut. Cauterize. Stitch. Bandage. She is utterly professional, her staff is efficient, and it hurts less than expected.

When I say thank you, the doc replies: "The staff and I like you because you are so calm." What she doesn't know is that I count breaths for each surgery to distract me: 13 breaths for the first, 24 for the second, and 33 for the third. Mind you, I'm taking 1-2 slow breaths per minute. I sit up afterward, feeling relaxed and sleepy.

"What took so long?" W asks when I get back to the waiting room. (He went first.) We are handed antibiotics and sign releases before paying and exiting. It's efficient and stress-less, unlike the hustle and bustle of American doctor's offices or hospitals, where every part of a procedure is handed off to the next person and you have to keep coming back to finish what the first few people start.

One day, 2 hours, one ordeal. Not bad. They'll email us the results and we'll return to get checked and remove the stitches. We admire this arrangement in the foyer.

Thursday

We walk the dogs because they can't go with us on the River Walk later in the morning. This beauty is on the road but we don't touch it: some caterpillars have hairy tips that sting like poison ivy.

By the hedge, the half-rotten jackfruit is sitting where the yardman left them yesterday. He forgot to throw them out. We move them away from our new plant pots so the worms don't spread.

I rescue the hydrangeas from Sunday's bouquet for the entry.

The 10"(25cm) tropical leaves sit in a carved vase on the glass coffee table.

And then we're out the door for a hike downstream and through the River Walk.

Read more:

*Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5

Prayer: Thank you God for the living hope of Good News in Jesus. We know we are purchased for you - we are your own possession. That you for your kindness and affection for us, as well as the promise of being with you forever. You are powerful. And you are good to us. We worship you in the name of Jesus. 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.

Naming a hike: Angie's Walk

Sunday, May 12, 2024

When I lay down for an afternoon nap, I crash into 3 hours of solid sleep. After, I bake some easy power bars. They're just right; not too sweet. With an unstoppable ant parade in the kitchen, we store our baking in the fridge.

The 5-ingredient POWER BAR recipe (to which I added a pinch of salt):

• Blend 12 dates and 1/2 c peanut butter into a thick paste.
• Stir in 1 1/4c oats, 1 c. smashed almonds, and 1/3 c seeds: sesame, chia, or poppy, etc.
• Pack the dough into a baking sheet and bake 10 minutes at 350oF (180oC). 
• Cool 5 min in pan before cutting.

Eki and Lyong stay over - they have a peaceful night.

Monday

I am up 3 hours at night. Sometimes something comes into the house after a crowd. It disturbs the peace and restfulness of the house. We pray and it leaves. When I wake at 6:30, W's already taken the dogs for a walk. We make breakfast and eat together. 

I call Mom for Mothers Day in her timezone. She epitomizes this:

We're happy to chat every day. I also call my brother Norm to howdy.

Between scheduling appointments and answering messages, we pray for our friend Alice who is in surgery. It is a success though the recovery may be painful.

The rose from Mothers Day is opening. I sleep another 2 hours after lunch.

Tuesday

I take the second morning meeting in the nook and knock over a big mug of tea. It's fortuitous. I spot frass on the tile as we wipe up the spill. When I lift away the bench in the nook, there's frass on the carpet, too. The pellets signal that there are termites in the wood - and you can see the holes the bugs are eating into the wood. Yum yum.

W gave up on the top of the bench and fastened a strip of thin Tri-Plex over the holes. We spray when we see the pellets on the floor ... but the termites keep coming back.

I find another comfy (and dry) spot to continue the online meetings, relaxing on the sofa with my feet up on the glass table. Technology makes global connections easy.

The garden is massed with growth. The ground is wet from overnight rains but the sun is out in full force by day. These candy-cane blossoms are seeded from pretty weeds along our walk.

A neighbor planted bulbs along her fence. They bloom all year and today's stunner is a Porsche-red flower.

This little vine, just outside the gate, is new to us.

The fish fry are growing in the glass cylinder atop my desk. Growth is a natural progression. Why is it so hard for us to sustain growth? And why do we fear death, when that is the normal rhythm of life? Somehow the human soul knows there is more; we yearn for freedom and eternal life that animals never long for.

Team meeting is mostly in person. Nowadays, we end up with hybrid meetings (online and personal) because of scheduling issues. Daniel is leading the talk Sunday so he does a dry run for us. Very good. 

Wednesday

At #NaraPark, the servers know what I will order: spicy noodles and an extra hot pot of oolong tea. It's the only place I eat the same meal every week.

After our date breakfast, we're in a mandatory organizational meeting online. The subject is conflict resolution.

Next, I meet Nancy to debrief on the past month. Then it's off for a skin checkup. Living under the hot sun, it's a good thing to check in every few years (5 years for me ...) as a healthy preemptive routine. The Executive Clinic doesn't accept our $10/mo insurance but that's ok. The full checkup and blood tests are about $60 per person.

We check in on Alice, who is asleep. A return trip to the hospital later in the day takes us past a parade of wheelchairs outside the entry.

On the sidewalk, a frog has desiccated itself by landing in the sun and not finding his way back to shade.

The neighborhood tree-cutter chopped an enormous Benjamina ficus back to bare trunks a few months ago. It has  begun to regenerate.

Oh oh - when I pull out a bowl, it's another casualty of stone counters and sinks. Chip. chip.

Thursday

What a beautiful hike. When a beloved walker repatriates, we've begun to name a trail after them. Today, "Angie's Walk" is named; she returns to Germany in 2 weeks. As a measure of her friendship, it's a big turnout: 16 walkers today, plus 7 dogs. "Doggie daycare," mutters someone. Yes, the dogs love to run around.

This hike includes a descent and climb back up - but the waterfall at the base is worth the hill. The dogs splash in the cool water. The shiba yelps without pause whenever she stands in water - it's ear-piercingly loud. Two dogs get to close to the little lip and get swept into the pool a few feet below. We pull them back onto the mossy rocks at the side of the stream.

It's hot in the tea fields but slightly breezy while we're in the forest. Most of us wear hats and slather on sunblock against the sun and heat.

Angie brings us to a cafe she and Amy discovered in the tea fields up the road.

Veronica (hike leader) had a brainwave. She and her daughter Tessa made a photo collage of the hikers of the past years. They included the names of the places where we've tramped.

Everyone signs the back of the frame.

This should provide Angie with a few memories. She'll be missed.

We cruise around a winding mountain road, looking for the hydroponics store. It has closed. However, after crossing the hills above the city, we're on the opposite side of north Bandung. We can drop Melvi (our passenger) near her apartment. No need for her to order a GoJek motorcycle home.

Read more

*Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, says the Lord. Jeremiah 31:16

*Jesus said, “You have pain now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” John 16:22

[Here's the definition of true LOVE:]

*If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 

If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13

Moravian Prayer: Our God now and forever, we believe that when we die, when pain and troubles are over we will be with you for eternity. Until that day, while we are on earth, remind us that you are still with us, even through pain, tribulation, and grief. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Bake a cake already!

Thursday, May 9, 2024: Ascension Day

The daily help shows up. The one paid monthly takes the day off on another government "red-letter day". Since Muslims don't believe Jesus "really" died and was resurrected, they give Good Friday off. But not Easter Sunday. However, Ascension Day is a thing. So interesting to us.

I try to add these berries to arrangements but they are fragile and roll off the stems at the slightest touch. They're pretty in the garden beside the path to the backyard.

I check the bathtub ponds, where one turtle, a group of frogs, and a school of fish live. The grasses and water lettuce are thriving.

W rigged a pump on the hydroponic system to push water through a few times a week. Everything is planted.

The garbage piles are growing along the walking loop.

The worms are making swift work of the avocado tree's leaves.

We cancel the mountain hike and join 2 friends going down the hill along the river. 

"Berhenti! (Stop!)" says the man to the motorcyclist below. But the guy driving up the hill pays no attention to the shouts as another bike descends on the steep and narrow "road." He gooses his bike and flings it up and around the pedestrian and cyclist, from the houses below to the walkway above. Drivers have amazing skills.

Someone is setting up a growing space. Quickly, a handful of 9-10" (20-25cm) spiders take up residence. How many can you spot?

To our left is a plunge to the river and on the other bank, the mountain houses are stacked wall to wall. Most neighborhood drainage on our side runs through this canal to the right of the walking path.

There's every variety of handmade bridge over the drainage canal. This one is bamboo and reclaimed wood.

A little girl sits in her stairwell beside the canal. Some residents build concrete bridges across.

Down below, pre-teen boys are jumping into the river from the other bank. Yay for school holidays.

We cross the busy Siliwangi Road to the Treetop Walk near ITB university.

The old banyan tree is a mass of roots along the sidewalk.

 In the distance, you see the university swimming pool.

The trail loops around through the forest, sometimes 10 meters high as the terrain rises and falls beneath.

Isn't it beautiful? 

Below are many trails through the forest floor.

We walk back to Dalaraos for $2 and $2.50 meals from their Sundanese buffet. We're there just before lunch - by the time we're done, there's a waiting line for our table.

The flavors are intense and mostly spicy. I wrap the hottest vegetables in lettuce and dip them in sambal (more hot sauce). So yummy. I can feel my stomach warming up with the spices.

W goes to sort out some storage at the hall while I come home to edit and write for the weekend. Meanwhile, IbuA and IbuS bake Sunday's chocolate cake.

"I'm making this for my grandchild's birthday party tomorrow," says Ibu A. It's quick and easy and tastes rich and delicious without expensive ingredients like butter or vanilla.

Friday

Walk. Then Gail and I sort out the syllabus. We're getting closer to what we need. We're having lunch with friends, our first time at #TinySeed in KBP. The food is fresh and refreshing.

We pop into another friend's house to pick up IbuS's purchase: a big rice cooker. IKEA has a cheap wall clock to replace one that broke. I find some tablecloth hangers in As-Is, but it's a quick trip and we're back by mid-afternoon.

Saturday

I sleep in because I'm up 3 hours at night - the books of Hebrews and James are interesting listening, though. We walk and W heads to town as usual while I hang tablecloths, sort cabinets, and work on a few other things. I'm wrapping up when he gets home at noon.

 

The syllabus for July's class is sent off. Finally. 

 

A neighbor comes for tea and discussion on how to serve the community. He makes an "impossible" proposal but asks us to counter with something closer to our capacity. "We'll be in touch."

 

Sunday

It's International Mother's Day. Moms are celebrated with roses (thanks, Ibu Titik!). Angie compiles a dozen submissions about our moms are into two videos. What joy to remember how special our moms are to us. We say thank you to a couple serving here for the past years, too.

 

Lunch with friends is a pleasure at Miss Bee, a short walk around the corner from the hall.

We come home to a hangout on the Porch.

The young people laugh and talk and eat together, many cultures and many languages.

Read more:

*God wounds, but he binds up; he strikes, but his hands heal. Job 5:18

 

*For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:36

Moravian Prayer: O divine Healer, we come to you with sickness and infirmity—some obvious and visible, some invisible or hidden. Help us to recognize our illnesses and frailties, and to take what steps we need to restore ourselves to wholeness, so that we may fully worship and praise you forever. Amen.