Bursting Shelves & Busting Jeans

Mom, I think you must have thrown my new jeans in the dryer when I was there. Seriously, I have to blame someone that my jeans are tighter now than when I left Indo. And NO, I'm pretty sure it doesn't have ANYTHING to do with the fact that we ate every 2 hours whether we were hungry or not.

Speaking of food, I just returned from a hair appointment in Jakarta (it's nice to get out of town now and then!) and was very, very pleasantly surprised by the amount of goods in stock on the shelves. When we first arrived in Indonesia, there was a good amount of choices of a few things, like 2 or 3 types of mayonnaise, 2 types of ketchup, stuff like that. After a while, when the elections were brewing, food stayed on the docks (variety of reasons) and we had very little choice, if there was even the item at all, on the shelves. Today, I found things that I brought from home because I haven't seen them here ever, or at least not in the last year. A few of the items that I found that I got excited about were (price included): corn meal ($4.30 for Red Mills bag); Lay's Salt and Vinegar chips ($5/bag); whole flax seed ($3/250 g); Trident gum (variety of flavours even, $1.40/package); reasonably fresh bagels ($.80/each); Cranberry Almond Crunch ($6-7/box); microwave popcorn ($2/pouch) and lots more that I can't remember. Quite often we pay 1/4 to double the amount that we'd pay at home, but the cost of living here is pretty reasonable, especially things like movies and eating out, so food at home can be a little higher. So, if I keep finding new items from home, these jeans will NEVER fit and we have no dryer to blame!!!

Thanks for reading.

Memories of Summer 2010...Summer-ized

So here we are, "back in the saddle," so to speak. Of course, there aren't really any horses around to speak of, and those that we do see are so skinny I couldn't imagine putting a saddle on them, let alone hopping onto one. What I mean is that we're back in Indonesia, school starts tomorrow, uniforms and school supplies are purchased, organized (Abby) and ready to go. I was told that when I returned back to Lippo from Canada I'd suffer culture shock and that it would be a difficult transition. I have to say that we've been here a week tomorrow, and I haven't regretted our return. Of course I LOVED visiting our family, friends and hiking/walking/fishing/camping/canoeing/swimming (NOT...way too cold), but seeing that we've signed on for at least one more year, I'm not dreading it in any sense of the word. In fact, I've been thrilled so many times over since returning, just to see our community and how it's changed with the arrival of newbies and the departure of some good friends as well. I was a little worried that I'd pine so terribly over the ones I left back in Canada that I wouldn't be able to readjust here, but all is well.

I have admit though, I had a lovely summer and the highlights were definitely those spent with my beautiful, hilarious, talented and rambunctious nieces and nephews. It's those memories that will carry me over to our next visit next summer. There are so many things to think on, to turn over in my memory and savour, to smile about and even chuckle now and then (like when Elijah, 5, asked my mom, "Grandma, are you over 100 years old yet?"). I've wondered how I will record those memories on this blog and am not sure that it is possible. With over 25oo photos and about 7 slideshow/movies, I have visuals to last me at LEAST 11 months.

I can't believe it, but there are actually things we didn't do this year, like lay out and watch the stars (it took too long...we go to bed too early!), swim in a lake (tooooo cold), eat a roast ham with mashed potatoes and creamed corn (forgot!), and eat a peach. However, we did so many other things that I am going to list those I can remember off the top of my head, just for posterity sake.

WE: played mini-golf; rode tandem with Poppa; tore down Paul & Laura's drywall (renos); had weiner roasts at the Big Rock; took "cousin" photos at White Rock; rode a gondola and stood where Olympians stood at Whistler; ate ice cream on the pier; toured UBC (too many changes for my liking. Does this mean I'm getting old??); watched a parade; ate lemon crunch cookies and bought more to bring home; visited the Vancouver Art Gallery (a date Tris and I have promised each other for almost 20 years); witnessed my girlfriend officially become a nurse; picked out and am now wearing a 40th birthday diamond ring; hiked 8 km up and down a mountain, with an incredible ocean view at the top; visited little Zoey and her brother Zak, and older sister Eliana (Zoey's the one we've been praying for); picked berries; learned a few words to Justin Bieber songs; swam in a man-made pond; Ikea; ran into Indonesian friends in YVR; took morning walks along a river; checked out a few antique stores; met old friends; ate enough to feed an Indonesian family of 3 for a year; celebrated my 40th (many times over); golfed into the ocean (and searched unsuccessfully for those golf balls later); ate s'mores (many times); visited family in Port Alberni; dressed up special for a breakfast with the Devries cousins; rode bikes; walked the beach; slept on the beach; ran into Miranda in Port Alberni (how unlikely and how serependipitous ~ sp?~); visited Coombs (Goats on the Roof); hung with brothers and sisters; hung with cousins; hung with grandparents; played fetch with Willie (how sad the poor little guy was when we left!!); camped in really cold weather; camped with my girlfriends (Kim); canoed; kissed Fisher's fat cheeks; fished (ate a trout!); cooked meals over a fire; gained weight; celebrated our niece's "coming of age" at a very special party; cleaned out our storage locker; ate a 14A at the Saigon Noodle House (yum!); saw Fred and met my namesake for the first time (she's 9!!); visited dear friends; ran into wonderful friends; shopped on 5th Street; played bocci; had a water fight; rode a motorcycle for the first time (Matt); saw a coyote; saw a mama bear and 2 cubs (barely saw them through the telescope but I'll count it); saw HUNDREDS of deer; saw oodles of eagles; saw my first salamander; DIDN'T SEE A WHALE; learned the moves of a Jedi warrior (from a professionally trained 5 year old who knows them ALL); ate raspberries off the branch; folded dryer-fluffed laundry; heard frustrating news at our home church; met baby Benjamin who wasn't supposed to be born until after we left; sat on the back porch and listened to Gipsy Kings; scraped a blackberry pie off the walls, floor and suitcase; met my nephew for the first time; met my sister-in-law for the first time; chopped wood; cried when I left our families; ate at Dick's Fish and Chips; got my skirt sucked up into a leaf blower (hilarious...skirt is toast; I'm ok); o dear, what else did we do, or rather, what DIDN'T we do???

I'm out of breath, my computer is blinking red (no power left) and Matthew is insisting I turn out the big light so that he can go to sleep. I guess that's it for tonight.

Thanks for reading

Communal Living

It’s been so long since I’ve posted, I don’t know where to start. I have options galore: things I’ve learned in Canada lately; people we’ve visited; places we’ve seen; a list of animals we’ve had the pleasure of stumbling across (no whales or bears yet!!); favourite moments; what we’re doing right now. Laughter is good for the soul, and so that’s where I’m going to go. May I add, as a ‘pre-script,’ that as I write this I am sitting on a balcony at Whistler (where the Olympics were this winter), surrounded by the phenomenal beauty of God’s creation. It’s breathtaking, the still-snow-topped grey mountains in the distance, the closer ones covered in a variety of coniferous trees, a mesh of green that can only occur in nature. I can barely see my computer screen if I turn my gaze a little to the right and over the top; the sun is preparing to set, and as it slides down the sky the reflection in Lake Placid below is like a brilliant diamond. Kind of like the ring that Tris bought me for my 40^th but THAT is another post altogether. I’ve got Van Morrison (Astral Weeks and Best Of) partially masking the sound of the highway and the swoosh of the breeze up here is doing the rest.

If I ever write a book, I think I’ll call it “And I Disgress…”

For those who have sat and chatted with me for some length of time, you’ll know that it’s been my dream/vision/momentary lapse of sanity to buy a huge chunk of property and divide it up among some chosen individuals (they’d pay me back, of course). We’d live in “community,” share ride-‘em lawn mowers, cut fire wood together, build a work shop and communally own the tools, can fruit and veggies for the winter, look after each other’s children and probably take first aid courses annually in our raised-in-a-day gymnasium/barn. During the last week we’ve had opportunity to practice a little of this “community living” as we have stayed at my in-laws’ house. Laura (Tris’ sister), her husband and their 4 children have recently moved in as well, as they work on renovating their home. Along with the 10 people there are also 4 dogs, two of which are becoming very hard of hearing. Needless to say, between children singing (Justin Bieber??? What happened to Raffi???), dish & laundry washers churning, dogs competing to see which deaf dog can bark the loudest, parents gently chiding (“Bullfrogs out of the house!” “Don’t poke your sister in the eye with that weenie stick again…” “Willie, you silly dog, you’re all wet. Get off the white sofa!!!”), it’s quite hard to hear what’s actually under the noise. Like the time I forfeited knocking on the downstairs suite door because I knew they wouldn’t hear me anyways. Ooops.

That morning I was in a rush, and so I barged in. Unfortunately, on the other side of the door, next to the bathroom, stood my quite-undressed brother-in-law (I promised no names. Do the math), who, upon seeing me, whipped his left leg up to protect my virtue and, so it seems, to hold up the tiny facecloth he was apparently using as a towel. It wasn’t this image that caught my attention, nor was it the flash of never-sun-kissed white. Rather, it was him yelling “Hold on! Hold on! I’m naked! I’m naked!” This stopped me in my tracks. I turned around and shut the door behind me, chuckling. Later, when I returned to the suite, apology in hand, I learned that my brother-in-law had been answering a business call when I walked in. It was then that my chuckling turned into guffaws, complete with snorts and tears. The only thing that the man on the other end heard was “Hold on! Hold on! I’m naked! I’m naked!” I never did find out if the business deal was successful.