"TIMBER!"

Tuesday, August 4, 2026
For the first time in weeks, it rains. People twirl, hands out, celebrating. We send the yard man home so he doesn't get sick. Most illnesses here are attributed to masuk angin (lit. entry of wind). When there's strong wind and rain, you know the flu is about to strike.

Sadly, it's just a quick shower. Our garden is as dry as ever. We do our evening walk after supper and turn in early. W, the techie, got Ember mugs years ago on Kickstarter. They keep tea warm while we read and relax.

Wednesday
We are up and around the neighborhood before 7:30, the time for W's speech therapy. Agnes is excellent at what she does. I walk by a few times as they're hard at work. W's determined to recover his speaking skills. We know from our own kids that most don't speak until they've done a year or more of vocalizing. There's no rush.

While he's hard at work, I make myself the breakfast that W is supposed to avoid. The dogs are happy with the scrambled egg scraps. The Porch is chilly. It's always colder with a brilliant blue sky in the morning. Clouds keep the warmth in. Lucky Waldemar gets porridge for breakfast again.

A tree removal expert drops in. He'll trim up the huge palm next to the house and remove the durian tree that's been dropping the small unripe fruits on the roof. They make a big bang already, night and day.

"This kind of Durian gets huge," the man tells us. One hit would smash the roof tiles; there are dozens and dozens of durians up there. The fruit falls when it's ripe and is picked off the ground. (For export, it's picked off the tree.) Can you spot the spiky balls on the ground?

Dozens have fallen. What a shame!!! If we could have kept the tree - any way! - we would have. This feels like such a waste of fruit but dozens of 5-8kg (10-20b) "bombs" falling from 10 m (30') above the roof wouldn't have done any good.

Alice comes by to get the meat fat I'm rehoming. Stored in the fridge, it lasts indefinitely. Usually, I fry a whole Costco package of strips at one time, collecting the fat in a jar. The crispy slices can be taken one at a time from the freezer. No more of that for a while for W ...

When a friend leaves you rooting hormone and the internet talks you into the "easy rooting system," what could go wrong? The baggies with cuttings and the tip of a paper towel in water may or may not be filled with roots in a month or two. Let's see.

Lew takes us and Alice for supper at Nara Park.

Thursday

The dogs wait at the back door for their walk and then for treats. They're still spiffy from grooming yesterday. I guess it's too dry for Juno to roll in the mud the way she usually does after she's clipped and clean.

The new-to-us mattress is finally aired in the guest room, so the bedding goes on. These wonderful helpers make it possible to use the Project, whether someone drops in or stays for a day or longer.

Once the tools and leftover projects are removed, this will host guests who cannot manage the stairs to the guest wing. The quilt I dragged from its start in England, to a-work-in-progress in Seattle and Montana, to completion in Bandung? It finally finds a landing spot.

I bought a floral sheet and curtain set off Craigslist when W was finishing his doctorate at Tyndale Library in Cambridge UK. The flat sheet became the backing of the quilt. The fitted sheet and curtains are still at the cabin in Montana.

A few trees have "widow-makers" (as we called the dead limbs in Seattle) and need trimming. The one leaning dangerously over the Project roof needs attention. Four 30' (10m) branches have grown toward the sun and can't be removed in one pass. The spikey pine marks a few feet from the roofline on the other side of the Project.

The trimmer climbs up and cuts long pieces back to the trunk. He explains that if he takes off an entire branch at once, it will swing down and smash the roof. This job is not for the faint of heart or someone afraid of heights!

While the tree crew is here, a 25' (8m) branch falls on the other side of the yard (below). A similar branch broke off last week, ripping a shade cloth. These trees are old!

Luckily, no one was underneath either time to be speared by the 1 m (3') sharp breaks. 

The branches have green leaves but the tree is infested with carpenter ants as well as galls rust fungus.

Scott and Ruth arrive from Jakarta to visit and pray together. They're caring regional directors for the company. We have some Indonesian food together before they go back.

W inspects the process, marveling at the skills needed. The guys cut 3m (9') trunk sections for benches and lay them across small logs to dry. They work a long day before heading home.

They also trim the long stems from the palm tree. It's a gorgeous addition in the garden but it can be tricky to communicate instructions to Indonesian staff. Some months ago, I asked the yardman to remove the spiky stems of already-dead fronds. He cut 5 healthy fronds off the trunk instead.

Friday
It's quieter still since the staff is off to a family funeral today. Lew and I sit down to review the week's research and writing before he heads to the train station. W's Saturday study group drops by to say hi and gift him with a fruit basket.

Lunch is colorful. Most Indonesian-made meals lean toward tan, brown, and beige, unlike the rainbow (sans blue) we prefer on our plates.

The birds are happy with the leftover corn kernels as well as the wormy leaves of the bok choi. I just can't make myself cook them. I wash what I can and feed the birds the rest, along with the ends of carrots and beans.

There's another speech therapy session in midafternoon. What hard work! W's communications on paper are getting faster, too.

Read more:
* Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and glorious habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? Isaiah 63:15

* Jesus said, “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.” John 14:18

* But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:22-23

Moravian Prayer: Wonderful Savior, you have promised to never leave nor forsake us. Your love for us has caused you to humble yourself from your heavenly throne to the dust of the earth. You also promise to raise us from the dust of the earth to the foot of your heavenly throne. May we remain ready for this miraculous transformation. In your holy name, we pray. Amen.