Sunny and Tris Arrive Safely

They're here, safe, happy and right now, resting. Tris and Matthew went to the airport last night and pickup went without a glitch. It's funny how when you finally get to see someone (it's been 1 1/2 years since we've seen Tris and Sunny) it seems like a bit of a dream for a while, and then it's like you've not been away from each other at all. We're looking forward to showing them our 'bubble' of a village in the next few days, possibly introducing them to the 'life of spa' and also a bit of Jakarta tomorrow after a run into church. They've come from wintery cold Germany with one bag each, so we have to go clothes shopping tomorrow to get them outfitted for the next 5 weeks. Thank goodness for reasonably cheap outlet shopping!

I received a gift from Germany, and as basic as it is, it's one of the best presents ever. "What is it?" you might ask. It's a pine bough, stuffed into a suitcase and as green and fragrant as ever. Every few minutes after receiving it (thanks Jennifer!) I would go and smell the branch, and I plan to do so until the needles drop off and the branch dries out. I might just save all the dried needles and put them into a sachet, smelling them until I've sniffed out all the fragrance molecules. Sunny also brought a bag of lavendar from her garden, which I plan on spreading throughout the house in order to ward off mosquitoes. Again, it smells beautiful.

Today is Saturday, a great day for the first day in Indonesia. We'll eat, sleep, drive around, shop a little, and then probably eat and sleep some more.

Thanks for reading!