I took a 2.5-week break from blogging. The spiritual discipline of "not-doing" can be harder than the rhythms and habits of work and play. I remember my life by writing. I still hand-wrote morning pages in my journal and wrote Sunday talks and newsletters. But no blogs.
"Writers write," they say at writer's conventions. Yes they do. Just like artists sculpt or paint or draw. Just like musicians make music.
I missed it. Mind you, I've been sick since returning from a convention. That'll teach me to ignore the Voice in my head, especially when it's that loud and persistent. I knew I was warned to stay home. This week, my cough started to subside. Serves me right for not obeying.
I snapped pictures to remind me of where we'd been and what we'd seen. The hoya on the Porch is bursting with flowers. Every other one I've had drips with sap, while this one is fragrant but dry.
Friday, September 1, 2023
Sigh. September! with influencers posting fall preparations in the northern hemisphere. Some people love the colors, but how can they ignore that the leaves are dying, with grey cold and drizzle to follow? Here, I'm thrilled NOT to experience autumn. Oh my - "summer all year" is my best dream come true. I never get over the pleasure (or the wonder) of it!
I happily get back to blogging. First thing in the morning, I take myself on a double loop walk. No dogs and no W; the dogs say hi to me when I come out the door ... and then wait for him to leash and walk them. No luck today, you three. I have only recovered energy and breath to push myself around the 2 miles of gentle slopes.
W stays home all day. Our friend Eki has meetings in town and drops over for a few nights. W and I will try to minimize contact and the spread of this unhealthy whatever. Eki's at home here anyway.
I just have to get out of the house. I wander IKEA for a few odds and ends and meet Clau for lunch at the outdoor courtyard of the new KB Ambrogio. We split a dish of mushroom pasta.
And each of us orders a tomato soup. I've mostly cooked for myself the past 3 months (low-fat and high carb) so the heavy cream and fat is filling. The best thing is time with Clau.
IbuS leaves a loaf of bread rising in the bread machine when she waves goodbye for the weekend. It's tempting to cut into it before it sets for a half hour - but then it will be damp and squishy. I resist and it cools. Spread with lingonberry jam and cut into bite-sized pieces, it's a perfect supper.
What else is new?
Hurrah! the Porch is clear again. The house has settled down after the last books and bookshelves went out on Saturday. Shibli, Agung, and Hanny have created a village library as part of an English project. We sent along some brightly covered pillows and a rug, too. It always comes together ... somehow.
We still need a room divider for the library tent; half will be used by farm staff and half is for kids' books. What if they string new bedsheets, donated by my mom a few years ago, on a wire with IKEA clips? I think the supplies are in my office already.
I kept the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books found in the 50+ bags of books. The young sleuths are waiting to be discovered in a guest room. Last year, I picked up some floating shelves at a garage sale and W installed them above the desks in the guest bedrooms. The books fit perfectly, of course.
I toss the faded maidenhead ferns plucked from beside the porch.
While I'm outside, I cut a zig-saggy branch with pink blooms. It spreads 3' (1 meter) across the glass coffee table. What an interesting plant!
Our big project of the last 1.5 months has been cleaning and sorting IES Bandung storage. During COVID and since, things started piling up here and there. It was a mess. The music closet went from this catch-all
to a functional workspace.
The media room and prayer room got cleared out, wiped down, and put back into use. Before:
... and after.
Something about ordering spaces settles my soul. When I walk into a room, I often get a sense of movement and possibility. Usually what it needs is already there, like the rolled up plastic mats that became a rug for the prayer room.
Another truly worthwhile project has been spearheaded by Rotary Club president and friend DrH. The septic tanks donated by generous friends are being installed into neighborhoods that had no sanitation.
On a more personal note, last Wednesday, W and I dropped by #EtherealCafe for lunch while running errands. That was a special treat. His burger looked as good as it tasted.
I enjoyed the British-style fish and chips made by Alan and served by Yani. We ran into watercolorist Sioe and her husband there and had a nice conversation.
Then W catches the flu. It progresses quickly from a scratchy throat in the morning to pure misery by night. (Can you be contagious for 3 1/2 weeks?) Hopefully he recovers more quickly. Hacking and breathlessness gets old, that's for sure.
Thursday morning, the masseuse dropped by to press my feet and back this way and that. That reduced the cough somehow. My throat irritation is tamed by a foul-tasting Canadian cure: Buckleys cough medicine and lozenges. I'll stock up again the next time we're in Vancouver.
W and I dropped by NaraPark for breakfast since we weren't hiking. Their little owls have a new perch and are cute!
I love to open the doors at home during the cool mornings. It's dry season, without rain for over a month. A few miles away, the main Bandung garbage dump has been on fire for a few weeks. Air pollution is awful by noon. At least it's windy on the hill much of the day.
Sometimes we are shocked by magnificence close to home. This neighbor's 3-meter-tall (9') hedge was on fire when we walked by.
What's amazed you lately?
Read more:
*Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24
*Share your bread with the hungry. Isaiah 58:7
*Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Hebrews 13:16
Moravian Prayer: Today, God who gave us everything, may we not cling to what we have but share with those who need what we can give. Let us give freely as you have given to us. Amen.
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