Lace, games, and the plague of avoidance

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

The bride-to-be chooses lace from a big cardboard box we've been storing. There's still plenty of lace left over. Someone finishing a dress design course gave it to me when we arrived in Jakarta, 11 1/2 years ago. 

No sense in saving it when it can be used. 3 others are in line for what's left.

We check what needs to be moved in the garden. This Bali statue is still sitting on a crate.

Kristi says goodbye as we're heading off to lunch with Evan and Rico. She's flying home tomorrow. Everyone who met her this week exclaims how special time with her is.

#Homeground restaurant is a hit.

A dozen new books in my Kindle are ready to be reviewed. Seems everyone is writing and everyone has something to say. For the curious reader, many pages hold the joy of discovery. I can't wait to read some of them. Others I'll skim.

I make some of tomorrow's sauces in the late afternoon. Ohohohoh. The 2 new woks are excellent - nothing burns in them though; they heat up quickly and evenly. The second-hand kompor, the 2-burner gas stove that is normal here, works well.

I'm getting used to where things are and learning the flow of the U-shaped kitchen. Marble counters on each side run from the door to the window wall. There's a separate pantry for the fridge and freezers next door, so I still get my steps in.

I hang some German placards from my grandma and some I won in Sunday School years ago.

The last meeting of the day is with Alaine, my spiritual director. It's a new kind of exploration: how the body processes what we are feeling. I learn a lot as usual. 

During the night, I plan the layout of the rooms for tomorrow's event. We never know how many are coming; if it rains, as many as 30% of those on the list won't show up. We'll harvest tables, chairs, and floor cushions from around the house. We'll see how it flows tomorrow.

Wednesday

After the walk, we start the water boiling for 3 kg (6 1/2lb) of spaghetti noodles. The U-shaped kitchen is efficient. No more running back and forth like in the old house with a bunch of timers so I didn't scorch the dishes cooking in another room.

I skip the chicken wings but make the usual rest: baby potatoes (cheaper than the regular size), black pepper meatballs, curried sausages, and cheesy creamed vegetables. The yardman and PakG are my tasters; they grab a hot sausage and dip it in the curry. They like it = also an energy boost as their workday begins.

W and I do a walkthrough with the room sketches. We bring chairs and tables from the bedrooms upstairs and set up serving tables in the conference room.

The serving kitchen was not bad but not really interesting either after we placed the appliances and lab cabinet. The cabinet is 7' tall X 4' wide and blocked some of the bland backsplash. I wonder what they had on that wall before.

We picked up 7 used bamboo shelves last year. W put up 3 of the shelves last week. It's a good start.

He climbs the ladder to mount the rest today. The scale is daunting; anything that's not big looks silly on the 12' wall. He helps me haul some art on the highest shelf. I add a few accessories and green vines and it's done. Looks like it's always been there.

I schedule a repeating task on the calendar: "wash the plants." Few things look dowdier than fake plants that are dusty. The bright colors on the propaganda poster we picked up in Vietnam spice up the wall.

It rains off and on but about 70 show up for a games night. Tech isn't set up for movie night yet, but we haven't seen most of these "family" members since November. We miss them so we schedule games instead.

We start with a dinner potluck. Gabi comes early. She's a godsend, setting up the plates while the helpers prepare salad, cheese balls, and rice. Most guests bring food to share. The buffet tables are full but there's hardly anything left by evening's end. Every snack bag is opened, every container looted by hungry young adults.

Some of us sit outside, while others spread around the house. It's the first time at the Project for most people.

It's customary for Indonesians to move around a space; they'll sit here, then get up to sit elsewhere several times during a visit.

We leave windows and doors open and run several fans. The breeze is steady and cooling.

Many newcomers tell us: "We've tried to sign up for movie night for the past months but the list is always full. We're happy to make it today!" We're happy to welcome them, too. I especially love when our longtime "kids" make an effort to "come home" from where they're living to spend time with us. (Yes, you, Donny from Toronto!)

It's a slow and quiet start until they choose games from our growing stash. W and I don't enjoy board games or cards (or any games, really). However, former guests have left behind more than a dozen games, which we heap on the kitchen island. It gets noisy. The room fills with laughter as everyone gets into the spirit of play.

It's usual to take off shoes (even houseshoes) when there's a rug.

This is the first time I've seen young people this absorbed in artwork. I ask them what they see in the abstract paintings and get unexpected insights into their hearts and interests.

The last guests leave about 10PM. But wait!

"There's someone upstairs in the library," W exclaims. MissC loves books and is an introvert. She found a corner and is happily reading, curled up in the library chair. She borrows 3 books to take home.

Thursday

There's been steady rainfall. Last week, a landslide took away 50 houses and killed over 50 people near our usual hiking area. We agree not to hike until the ground stabilizes.

W and I get soaked as we walk the dogs. We turn around partway. It's short: 2500 instead of 6000 steps. My limp hair is due for a color treatment so I start with that. W heads back over to do more packing.

The Project comes back into order. Rugs are vacuumed. Floors are washed. I return the games to the library shelves and toss spent candles. Laundry gets thrown into the washer. Furniture is put back. 

Lunch prep is easy since we snagged food from the almost-gone buffet yesterday. IbuA starts on the next round of banana bread after I shop for eggs. Veronica sent up bananas when she got back from Australia on the weekend. We used up our last 2 loaves last night. Perfect timing. She and Kiki come over for a visit and take some home.

Friday

We're at the old place off and on, retrieiving less-used items. A leather clutch is ruined by careless tipping of the dehumidifier; we don't know if it happened now or has been sitting in water for a long time. 

I post things we haven't used in a year on Yard Sale, our Bandung WA group. A DVD player with a hundred? DVDs is going for $15.

Among things buried in a corner that wasn't accessible, I find a roll of canvas. I unroll it to find a crumpled oil painting. Back in our apartment, I find a frame and a backing board big enough for most of the canvas.

After deciding how to center the painting, I mark its edges. White glue gets smeared on the backing before the canvas is set on top. The wrinkles in the canvas smooth out easily with pressure from a foam paint roller.  When the glue dries, the frame goes around the painting. I'm happy we found it: it looks like it might want to go above the bathtub, doesn't it?

Madeline drops by for a chat. She brings 10 kg of homegrown ubi (sweet potatoes).

"Where do you get these?" I ask. She decided to grow pumpkins and sweet potatoes on her family's fallow acreage. They're delicious when slow-roasted. I WA friends that good ubi is available and several order their own.

"Are you having an event?" Maddy asks. "You ordered 10 kg 2 weeks ago and another 10 now." Yeah, we do have a lot of people over. And everyone who's tried them loves their caramel-sweet flavor.

Saturday

"Ok. Get to work!" I have to force myself to the task I've avoided all week, the monthly update. I enjoyed writing the newsletters in MailChimp, which felt easy and intuitive. When the app monotized to a ridiculous amount, W switched us over to MailerLite. I find it frustrating (not him, the app). It's difficult to insert photos, move around blocks, etc. I have no idea how, even after a half-year.

Every month's newsletter is a struggle. Groan. W's had to rescue me when I get stuck. Well, he's keeping the computer from being thrown and trampled. He set up a template last month, which hopefully will help.

The sun feels good on my face as I write. The green trees and growing garden provide a peaceful and soothing setting. Here we go.

What task have you been avoiding? Is it something you must do? (If not, toss it off the list of to-dos.)

Read more:
* For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. Isaiah 55:8

* Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.” Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:13,15

Moravian Prayer: Lord of all, forgive us when we doubt your word and fail to trust in your power to deliver us in times of danger and distress. Forgive us when we feel alone in a world where cruelty seems to prevail and our faith is tested—even by those closest to us. Thank you for the blessed assurance of your word, which reminds us that we can rest in your unfailing protection. Amen.

Stop and sit - on autopilot?

Saturday, January 24, 2026

"Raining? Again?" That's what my brain processes first thing. I head out to feed the dogs with a mild drizzle going on. No need for a raincoat. Whatever dog comes first to the leash gets to walk this morning = no surprise: Juno and I walk the neighborhood and say hi to our former neighbors. This dual-toned flower comes in two colorways: red and pink / white and red. Cool.

The rain pelts and abates so that I'm only mildly damp when I get home. The African pen stand makes me look twice. Nope, that's not a creature outside the window by my desk, just a carved piece of wood my parents brought from Kenya or Tanzania in the 1970s.

I head for the kitchen, now fully in use. It's a comfortable space; the library bookshelves are fixed overhead and the former cabinets were rebuilt under the old marble countertop. The enamel paint on the cabinet doors still stinks. We always open all the doors and air it out overnight. Gradually, the smell is fading.

I'm hungry for a sweet potato. Paired with a Costco apple/chicken sausage, it's a perfect breakast.

I see this breadfruit branch, loaded down and breaking. It reminds me that seasons of over-production can bring burnout and breakage.

W's knee is sore from carrying his heavy office boxes down the stairs at the old place. His article on women in Christian ministry leadership has been published. Click here to read it. 

W puts up kitchen shelves. We got a bunch of secondhand shelves in the months before we moved. I'm almost done figuring out where they go. I take a before -

and an after picture. Well, it's after today's work. We run out of the proper screws and have to wait or them to be delivered. The antique rice bowl sits beside the flowers.

When we return the dogs in the evening, 15 motorcycles are parked at the airbnb down the street. I'm glad we don't live across from that!

The hedge, which has bloomed continuously for months, is glowing in the dark.

Who knew? these microfiber cloths (Daiso) are perfect for face cleaning (first side) - and foot cleaning (second side) - no soap, no creams ... just a quick rub and everything comes off the skin = clean. Another shortcut. Hurrah.

Sunday
The creatures are happy to see us every morning, but it's been dark the last few days when we feed them. The season is changing. We get to sleep in a half-hour longer until 5:30, shifting the walk to a bit later. I pray around a finger labyrinth and enjoy the moments of quiet before we head off to work and worship. 

The bouquet at the front stretches high. (Good work again, #TitikBadudu!)

The tables are set with lovely little bouquets.

I like the matching batik cloths, too.

It's Round Table Sunday, a time to reflect on the Holy Spirit with those gathered. Several of our young adults are back from studies or back from their countries for further studies here. I'm wearing earrings made for me by Sarah, who studies in Australia. Happily, she shows up today on her school break.

We have lunch at Maxis with friends who are traveling and evaluating investments in SE Asia.

Monday

Kristi joins us for a loop walk. It's raining and I'm wet enough to need a change of clothes after getting home. W and Kristi attend the morning study. After a few Zoom meetings, I'm off to Toko Setiabudi for eggs and milk.

I've started writing a physical letter a week to the grandkids, addressed to "Name" + family. How do you connect to a 14-year-old, or an 8-yr-old? When I dredge up memories from those seasons, it's amazing how much expectations have changed for childhood and teen years.

With dogs guarding the yard the past ten years, we haven't had break-ins or robberies like many of the nearby homes. The animals are big, swift, and loud, running from one end of the yard to the other in seconds. The dogs bark at strangers, but mostly they run up to see what's going on with guys they've met before. 

Our first neighbours lived in the next house for over a decade before we arrived. They were quiet and courteous. They liked dogs and the critters liked them. The people who moved in a few years ago were a different story.

First a family arrived. Then various groups of young adults started living and working there. Their early morning phone alarms ring for a half hour or more. Their music blares at all hours. Night and day, motorcycle traffic zooms through the shared gate that opens a few feet from our (old) house.

This morning, W gets an angry message that the dogs have ruined the gate separating their property from ours. oh oh. We've seen their guests leave their gate open or badly latched many times. Their gate has disintegrated; I've tied the center posts shut with twine when it's been left open or leaning, just to keep the dogs in our area.

In the meantime, the animals have figured out how to get into their yard. Juno goes in, chases down a cat, and rifles through their garbage, making a mess. Ugh. It's not a good point in our mutual forebearance.

Then at midday we get a message from another neighbour: "Your dogs are loose outside." Like most local Muslims, many LIPI residents are afraid of dogs. We try to be good neighbours because the dogs are walked through the neighbourhood several times a day and we need them for security.

Oh oh. They only get out when the next-doors leave the gate unlocked, usually at night and when we are traveling. (Then PakG must chase down and return the dogs.) Once again, PakG finds the dogs and puts them back inside the yard. 

W checks the security cameras to see what happened. Some young guy walked over to the gate, unlocked it and took the lock, and even lifted the drop-bars. Of course, Anton, who often stands on hind legs to look out of the gate, pushed it open and went wandering with the others.

W replaces the lock and sends the security footage to the responsible party, along with a heads up about the new lock. Happily, our lease ends in a month. Probably the next-doors feel the same relief that we do :-). 

I'm hungry at 4:30 and W wraps up an hour later. We walk uphill to #Homeground for something spicy. We bring a dog to the Project as satpam (security guard) helper. The rest guard the other house as usual.

Tuesday

I send a video hello to Mom before Kristi joins us on a walk. I take Anton for a training day: W usually walks him but I'm tired of his pulling ahead on the leash. He's a smart boy who needs quick and consistent commands. (Herding 4 kids toward adulthood is good prep for dog training; you notice right away if something is off.)

Today Anton and I do lots of turnarounds, along with abrupt stops with "sit" until good behavior is automatic again. He does very well, resigning himself to no pulling. He almost ignores the cats we pass with a preemptive "leave it!" and post-operative "good boy!" When he lunges at a kitten, I keep going. We turn in a loop, walk by it again, and do a third round for good measure. "Good dog."

A new kind of bulb is blooming at the neighbor lady's - looks like freesia but has no smell.

In the stuff brought over yesterday is a box of lace given us 11 years ago by someone completing a fabric design course. I post it on Yard Sale and have 3 hopefuls right away. I choose the bride first; if she doesn't want it for the dress she's creating, others can pick it up.

There are bags of high-quality lace in the box ... but no use storing it.

After talking to Kirsten and the grandkids online, Kristi and I enjoy scrambled eggs for breakfast. Then it's time to get to work. The sermon doesn't write itself.

The yard man is here, plucking weeds from the flower beds that are perpetually re-greening. W picks up a small used fridge for the conference room and food for tomorrow's recipes. The team agenda arrives for a meeting this afternoon. Hopefully, by then I will have finished cooking the sauces for tomorrow's potluck.

On the calendar, the last meeting of the day ends at 9PM. How about a nap between tasks?

Read more:

* My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? Psalm 42:2

* So we are always confident, even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:6-7

Moravian Prayer: As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. We thirst, and you provide a spring of water gushing with eternal life. Quench our spiritual yearnings with the Savior’s presence and peace. Amen.

A commercial mop for $1.50? you talked me into it.

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

It's a wet morning out there. With my raincoat on and W's umbrella in hand, we're dry-ish - and the dogs don't care about rain as we do the usual loop.

I talk to Mom before breakfast. I guess I'm in the mood for scrambled eggs and sausage. Except that the andouille sausage is local and unimpressive. After half, I cut the rest up to flavor soup or put on a pizza.

Then it's off to work in my office. It has sufficient light but is not bright since we're on the "wrong side" of the Project to catch the sun.  I love the tall windows that overlook the green side and back yards.

The solar lights we strung yesterday glow until morning. While W picks up a wardrobe and replaces his cleaning tools, I edit a book chapter for a publisher.

W chases snakes and frogs out of the pool - this humungous space will be partly filled with chest-high water in the deep end. The shallow end will be left for sitting. It's too dangerous (and expensive) to fill the whole thing. The shade cloth, which W strung overhead to keep leaves falling into the water from the overhanging trees, must be swept every week or two. Because it's black, it also heats the water - which is nice when nights get down to 65o/18o.

The path that splits the yard is coming along nicely. The white stripes of the spider plants outline a clear line as dusk approaches.

We make a late stop at Homeground for some $3.00 noodles. Delicious.

We get our first letter of the year from the kids. A motorcycle drops off their Christmas card. Fun seeing the pictures! Mail is not a thing here; if we get 5 letters a year, it's an extravagant year.

W's book is still not ready. It's the first in a series by a publisher restoring their press. They've had the manuscript since August. The chance to promote it earlier this month came and went. The next event - where W is a breakout speaker - is in question: will they get it done in time? W spends a half-hour with the marketing team late at night, answering some of the same questions as they asked last autumn.

Thursday

It's rained off and on for days so the hikers choose to take the day off. We haven't had a major injury in years, but the clay trails will be slick. It sprinkles in the morning as we walk the dogs. It clears up to an overcast and cool day with some sunny periods. The mountains and clouds are visible across the back forest of the old house.

I sit overlooking the yard, editing two more book chapters. They're sent off when completed. One more to go! Whew, by supper time it is done! Hurrah. The rain pounds the yard as I send off the last file.

Editing isn't the most exciting work but I learn something from each manuscript. And the publisher promises me a copy of the finished book.

Friday

I talk to Mom, who has two little kids and their parents over for a visit. She loves babies! The dogs and I walk the double loop while W rests a sore knee. Then it's time to work. It's so gloomy that I turn on the lights in the living room.

There's rain and more rain most of the day. But who cares? We're off on an exciting expedition for mops and entry rugs (office style). Ok, not really exciting. The kitchen wholesaler is closing at the end of the month.

60c for utensils? Sure, we need to replace a few after hard use. A doormat is 50c (Rp7.500). Everyone wears house-shoes or goes barefoot inside the house, but those little rugs snag a lot of dirt.

Non-skid serving trays are a dollar, and a very nice new wok is $2. We fill our cart with about $800 of commercial kitchen and cleaning supplies for under $100 (including the helpers' purchases.)

Back home, we stash things in the kitchen and have lunch. Then we read and revise Sunday's talk in a quiet corner. The rain continues to drip.

Tomorrow is full of studies, meetings, and more. But today I can focus on the letter I want to write, schedule speakers for the months after we're done, have back-and-forth online conversations, and ... if I'm lucky, I'll still get to read the next chapter of a good book.

Hope your day is going well, too.

Read more:

* Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Psalm 90:1-2

* With many dreams come vanities and a multitude of words, but fear God. Ecclesiastes 5:7

* For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. 2 Peter 1:16

Moravian Prayer; Protecting God, when the whole world feels out of control, your power never waivers. You are the source of our strength and our divine leader. Help us to place our trust in you and only you. Amen.