Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!  Well, that was a month ago, but time and lack of turkey dictated that we eat our Thanksgiving meal a little later than usual. It IS almost American Thanksgiving, so technically we're doing ok.  When my kids were little it was lots of fun to decorate the table with dried leaves and ceramic pumpkins, but things change, and it's harder to remember Autumn when it's a humid 70% and 31*C outside.  The grey skies add a little to the long-weekend feeling, as well as the fact that we have Thursday and Friday off for Islamic New Year.

As I write, turkey's in the oven, cheese cake and apple pies are on the counters, veggies are cut, and I'm procrastinating doing any coursework.  Company is coming at 6:00 and with a few hours left, I'm just going to sit and enjoy the smells of the kitchen.  I might even haul out a few ceramic pumpkins and a candle or 2.

No matter what time of year, what season or celebration, my family is always on my mind.  I miss sitting around the table with the ones I love, participating in all the "kibbitzing" as my mom calls it, and I even miss the rat-tail tea towel whips that my brothers make, even to this day (does this ever stop? Like, once they turn 50 or something?).  At least those rat-tails mean that they're doing the dishes.  I especially miss the kids.  They're growing big without me, and that is the hardest part of being overseas.  All of our nieces and nephews are incredible, and we miss the time that we're NOT getting with them.

I remember a saying that used to make me chuckle as a kid, and it's "you can pick your friends, you can  pick your nose, but you can't pick your family"...or is it "you can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose"...Silliness aside (thanks Poppa), I am thankful for my family, both my childhood one and the one I married into (plus those lovely extras that married my brothers).  If I pine after one thing about Canada, it's my family.

One thing I am thankful for here is that when you do live in a community like ours, you CAN pick your family.  We have friends coming over to share our Thanksgiving meal, that we consider our 'Indo relatives,' and we have others who help us care for our kids when we need a hand.  We are surrounded by people who love us and who we love like family, and for that I am thankful.

It's been a while since I've posted, and lots has gone on, but this is what's up today.

Thanks for reading.

Company's Coming!

They're almost on their way!  Tris' parents are heading here for their 2nd visit (first was Dec 2009) for almost 5 weeks and we're really excited.  This time will be a little different as last time it was over Christmas break and this time it's over April break (no Spring Break here...Spring doesn't exist!), so we don't have as much visit time.  However, we plan on making the best use of our time and hopefully they'll have a lot of opportunity to just relax.  One of my mom in law's favourite Indonesian things:  having her dirty clothes picked up in the morning and delivered the next day, washed, dried, ironed and folded!

March is flying by so fast it's making my head spin.  My days are full of books, reading, writing and lots of editing of papers and assignments.  I'm learning a lot in my first class, and am looking forward to learning in the second one that I just started last Monday.  It's a research/statistics class, and that kind of scares me.  It's kind of fun working alongside my kids, as they work on essays and projects, and meet school deadlines.



We still have fun around here, it's just more intentional.  Our school held it's annual Soccer Carnival a few weeks ago, and Tris and the kids were really into preparing for it.  Our house team (Merapi...named after the volcano) was going with a military theme, and so our family went along with another Merapi family, the Comries, to some shops far, far away in Jakarta to buy military garb.  Once all was said and done, they looked great.  Abby, our friend Sophie, and a few other girls did a cheerleading dance to get our team going (all-school assembly just before the carnival started).

I thought matt was going for 'sasquatch' but apparently this is military camouflage.

Report cards came out and the kids did really well.  It's neat to see what areas they're really developing into, and what gifts God has given them.  Abby loves to write, and it shows.  Matt loves art, especially photography, and it shows.  Below is a photo that he took for a lighting lesson in digital art.  He was supposed to use lighting to show emotion.  Here, it's hopelessness.  

Thankfully, this is just a staged photo.

We're off to Bali in April, something that we haven't done since Tris and Sunny were last here, and so we're really, really excited.  

thanks for reading.

Abby's 14

Yes, I know.  It's January already.  Our family was too busy relaxing and holidaying for me to blog, and so this is Abby's Official Birthday Blog Post.  My birthday baby was due December 25, but thankfully was born Dec 18.  The 15th would have been nice since that's the date of all the other big events in our home, but Abby likes to do things a little independently and that was her way of introducing that part of her personality to us.  We've come to the conclusion that 18 is a nice number too.

For her birthday, our lovely girl had a few friends over, they ate pizza, and they 'slept'. The next morning they were served a white-linened breakfast of french toast on fine china.  It was the first official day of Christmas break, and so the girls were able to bring in the holiday with fun and style.  

Included in this post are a few photos of Abby, since pictures say so much more than words.  On Christmas Eve we had an open house, just like the ones we used to have in cold Canada.  There are a few families here with kids our kids' ages, and they happen to be great friends as well.  I love that they're all so goofy.  It's fun having them around.

On Christmas Day we took a bike ride into the rice fields, and Matthew shot this one of his sister.  

After Christmas ran its course, we had 2 weeks left of finding wonderful things to do.  Most of our friends went on some kind of holiday and so the kids were left with the next best option:  their parents.  My favourite day was when we visited the largest mosque in Indonesia, and then headed across the street to the Catholic Cathedral (where, on a Tuesday, a wedding happened to be taking place).

This final photo wasn't taken during the holidays, but I love the way it has captured Abby's thoughts.  If I tell you that she's watching a cow being slaughtered during Idul Adha (Muslim holiday), does that make knowing her thoughts any easier?

December already?

Time is flying by and my baby is 14 this Friday and Christmas is almost here and that same baby I mentioned earlier is now wearing high heels and is almost my height AND gulp...(breath), we're heading into holidays next week.
Nice.

This year, for Christmas, we're not heading anywhere.  We've got 2 days planned "for sure" for the 3 weeks we have off, and the first is heading into the mountains (Bandung) for one day, and spending another reading ALL DAY in our living room (just like camping).  Besides that, we're really not sure.  This is our first Christmas we'll spend in our Indonesian hometown: we've been in Lombok, Bali, and last year, Bavaria (Germany), and so it will be nice to stick close to home.  The house has been decorated for about 2 weeks now and we're full swing into the holiday theme.  I still say that one of the best gifts anyone has ever given me is the 'Yule Tide Log' dvd that just plays a burning log on the tv screen.  My parents brought it the first year we were here and it's become a "Canadian tradition" ever since.

One more week of school for Tris and the kids, then we'll decide what to do.
I've been waiting to say this, and it doesn't get said often in this nation...
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

301 Posts: Time to Update!

It's a good thing when you're too busy to blog, because it means that you are, well, busy.  I like being busy, depending on how to define the word.  To me, it means not waking up and wondering "I wonder what I can do today" and instead wake up thinking "excellent, first I will meet with this person, then I'll go there for a bit and do that errand, and then I'll tackle this project at home or cook/bake that...."  For all of my children's lives, up until living in Indonesia, I've taught them that you can't be bored, you're just being boring (need to use some imagination, get creative, find something to do!!).  That changed when I got here.  I got bored.  Many times.  You can only paint so many rooms, bake so many cakes (then later find out that those cakes are poisoning your body and now you need to learn how to make new versions of those cakes), and study so many pages of language or whatever the study of choice is for the week.  After 3 years of living here, I finally feel established.  I do things.  I'm beginning to have a better understanding of what I like to do, what I'm good at, and to be able to admit those things I'm not good at.  It's been stretching living here, but it's all good.  Right now we're on holidays (Lebaran) and have days of plans ahead.

The kids have headed off to Ruff Camp, which is being held in the 1000 Islands.  Trivia for you:  these aren't the same 1000 Islands that the salad dressing is named after, at least that's what we've heard.  Tris and I have 4 kidless days ahead of us, and we're kind of just wandering around our house trying to figure out where to start.  Is this what it's like when empty nest sets in??

Time of departure was 6:30 am and so at 6:31 we were waving goodbye to a carload of kids. At 8:00 Tris and I headed off with 2 other families to an orphanage that our family goes to about once a month (we're on a rotational schedule).  My favourite part of our morning at the home was when a little guy, Aditya, stood up, looked around, saw that my legs were crossed in sitting position and unattended, and came and plunked himself into them.  After a few moments he grabbed each of my arms and wrapped them around his little body.  And I was worried I might overstep by side-hugging the little ones.  These guys are used to visitors coming in and loving on them, and I can't think of a better perspective for them to have:  hey, you're here to love me, wrap your arms around me and let's sing together!

Thanks for reading.

Settled Once More

We're back.  In Indonesia, I mean.  It was a full, fun, short 6 weeks (5 for Tris) in Canada, but we're glad we went.  I can't imagine NOT returning to Canada at least once a year.  Not returning in those first 2 years was very, very difficult for me.  This time, as noted earlier, we went on a road trip, so those 7 days used up some of our 'normal' visiting time, yet we were able to see my brother Darren and his wife Chrystal in Red Deer, Tris' cousins in Calgary, and our friends Jamie and Sheldon in Idaho.  It was a beautiful, sunny trip through the Rockies that our family will never forget.  Thanks to those of you who fed us and put us up for a few days:)

This time, while in Canada, we tried to keep it low-key.  When asked "so what would you like to do?" we usually responded, "sit and visit".  Mostly we just sat on back decks, back porches, couches and in restaurants, and visited.  It was just like we wanted.  Time and circumstance always take a few things away, and we weren't able to go fishing or canoeing, but the way we see it is that we did travel 7000 kilometers in our van, and you can't do everything.

Tris left one week earlier than the kids and I, and while he was getting his classroom ready for school, he was spending his home time preparing our new place for us.  He got our cable hooked up, internet ready, and he unpacked almost every one of the 60 plus boxes we had shoved into one of the bedrooms of our new home.  Between him and Ami, our helper, our house was almost perfect when we walked in the door.  Of course, by us walking in the door, perfection occurred as we were back as a family again.  I must admit, I have "rearranged" perfection since then, and made a few things a little easier for me to find.  When we said yes to moving into this new home, I had only seen it twice, and really didn't know what I was in for.  This place is absolutely wonderful.

There are things in my life here in Indonesia that I just accepted because of our circumstance, like having to fetch hot water for dishes from the main floor shower. We now have hot water in our kitchen and in our bathroom sinks.  We also have a great kitchen that looks out over a nice, tropical garden, and I have enough drawers in my kitchen to successfully store and eventually FIND any of my cooking or baking tools.  There are a lot of bonuses to this house that are well-suited to our family of 4, 2 of whom are teenagers.  It was the landing at the top of our stairs that sold me on moving into this house, and now the kids are using it just like I had imagined.  It holds our big desk, a sofa bed, and a lamp, and it has become "The Pad".  It's a real treat to know the kids are upstairs hanging with their friends while we are downstairs watching a video.  Before, whenever kids came over, Tris and I would usually hang out in our bedroom and watch a movie on his computer.  This wasn't a problem in any way, but it's now a treat to be able to watch the big screen while the kids make their noise upstairs.

It really is good to be home, although it's amazing how quickly I began to miss my Canadian family and friends.

Thanks for reading.

Hiawatha Rail-Trails in Montana/Idaho

 So much has happened on our road trip, and there's a lot of interesting things to write about.  However, today was a pretty cool day and I'd like to share it with you.  We're here in Couer D'Alene, Idaho, staying with our friends Sheldon and Jamie Nord.  They're friends we met in Indonesia, who moved away last year, and who, honestly, I thought I may never see again.  Thankfully I was wrong, and they are the last visit on our 2 province, 3 state road trip.

This morning all 6 of us woke up early, ate breakfast, and piled into a bike-laden GMC truck.  We drove 1.5 hours up into the mountains, right along the Montana-Idaho border, and rented 3 more bikes so that we could ride the Hiawatha Rail Trails.  We knew a few things to expect, such as we needed to bring a jacket, and that we'd be riding through old railway tunnels.  There were a few things we weren't aware of and, if you're planning on heading to these trails, should really know.  They are:

#1.  The first tunnel is very cold and dark (ie/  you cannot see).  You are given bikes lamps with the rentals but make sure that you bring your own if you're riding your own bike.  Also, a headlamp is a great idea.  One guy we saw had a spot light tied to his bike and we were all jealous.

ready to go through the first tunnel:  1.7 miles long

#2.  Bring warm clothes for the first tunnel.  The temperature was an even 35 degrees F (2.5 degrees C) throughout, and apparently that temperature doesn't change throughout the seasons.  I'd suggest thigh covering shorts.

#3.  Bring a small pack to carry the extra gloves you may want for the first tunnel, and a good amount of water and snacks.  You will want to stop and snack because it's at least 2 hours down the mountain (yes, down...wonderful for the knees!).  Once you're at the bottom you have the option to wait for a shuttle ($9 per adult and must prepay), and if you're hungry it's a bit of a bummer if the shuttle line up is long.  Fortunately our wait was minimal today.

a deer drinking from dripping water

#4.  I cannot wear contacts and so I had to stop at each dark tunnel and change from rx sunglasses to regular glasses.  If you wear glasses and have either flip-up sunglasses or magnetic ones, I suggest you wear them.  It'll be less frustrating for the rest of the gang.

The ride itself was about 2-2.5 hours if you keep a steady pace.  We stopped a lot for photo opportunities, snacks, breaks for our sore bottoms and wrists (rather bumpy sometimes).  I was very impressed with the range of ages that were there.  We saw some grandparents and some really little guys, too.

Apparently today was a record day for bikers, yet we still enjoyed a peaceful ride.  Unfortunately our first ride through the 1.7 mile tunnel was rather disturbing because just behind us rode a group of screaming teenagers.  They screamed the whole 1.7 miles.  On the way back you get dropped off just outside of this tunnel by the shuttle bus, and you return to your vehicle after one last tunnel ride.  The second time through was peaceful and it even seemed a lot warmer, although it is said, like I mentioned before, the temperature doesn't change inside the tunnels.

 We saw a lot of wild animals on this trip, and Matt and Sheldon actually saw a mother moose with her brand new calf walk right in front of them.  She was about 30 meters away and by the time Matt whipped out his camera they were gone.  On the shuttle ride home we saw one in a marsh but it was too far away for photos.  We also saw a deer, a chipmunk, some beaver dams, and a few waterfalls.  If you look at the chipmunk photo, we crossed the trestle in the distant background.

We did it!!

The ride was 15 miles long, with 10 tunnels (some only a few hundred feet and a few others you need a light on to see in) and 7 trestles.  It pretty much took us the whole day to get to the rental shop (at the Look Out Pass ski resort), rent bikes, get to the Hiawatha trail, ride the trail, eat lunch, return the bikes and head home.  We did stop over in the small historic town of Wallace (an interesting history if you'd like to google it) and had a look around and an ice cream.  Apparently, it's the center of the universe.

What a perfect day!

Thanks for reading.

O Canada, here we come!!!

O Canada!

Our home and native land!

True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,

The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Canada, we're almost there.  Just a few more sleeps and we're on the plane.  There's a lot to do until then, with moving into a new house (new to us) just down the street, finishing up school, finalizing some paperwork and of course, going for the final travel touches...manicure/pedicure for Kim and whoever else in this family who wants to come along.

Tomorrow is a busy one.  We're moving some of our things out of our house tomorrow, school parties are planned all day long, I'm seriously booked for a salon visit (!), and tomorrow night Tris and I get to be part of a 'relationship' discussion panel held by the Senior School students.  I'm quite excited to be a part of this panel, and am impressed by the questions that have been asked (we get a preview of what they are...thank goodness).  I think it's good we have packed our days full, because I'm too excited to just sit around staring at my already packed suitcase.

On our Cdn agenda:  a good friend's wedding, a quick trip through the Rockies, a visit to family in Red Deer, in Calgary and on to stay with friends in Idaho, an open house at my parents so we don't miss seeing anyone on the island!!!, camping, and of course, just hanging on the porches at our parents houses, visiting with family and friends.  What am I most looking forward to?  Visiting, and showing my kids the Rockies.  I can't believe they're born and bred in BC and have yet to see them.

So, until we climb onto the plane that will land us safely in YVR (Tris is hoping we land the same time that the Canucks are passing through the airport...fingers, toes and all else crossed...), we will buzz around here, keeping busy, saying our sad goodbyes and looking forward to next week.

Thanks for reading.

Tomahon, North Sulawesi

Ok, one month later, life gets going fast, it's almost time for summer break and I still haven't written anything about the second leg of our North Sulawesi journey into the mountains.  It was a 2 night stay, cooler than on the island, and the landscape, outside of 'overall tropical', was completely different.  My favourite landscape photo was of a volcano we stayed near.  In the early morning the moon was slowly sinking down the blue sky while the sun worked its way upwards, and I attempted to get a nice, clean shot of it all.  In doing so, I intentionally kept out a plume of yucky brown smoke that just made the photo a little 'dirtier.'  Later, as I looked at our friend Jeff's photos of the same mountain on that same morning, I realized I had missed out on an opportunity to photograph the volcano smoking...I thought the smoke was from a nearby village.  Duh.

Our transfer from Bunaken to Manado's port was quite uneventful, which is always good when you're on water, but we did see a unique sight at the port itself.  Yellowfin tunas were being transported from a boat to a small truck, and it was quite something to see young guys haul 100 kg frozen tuna onto their shoulders, skirt up a skinny, worn wooden plank and plop the frozen fish into the truck.  I've seen big salmon and West Coat fish, but these were BIG.

Once in the mountains, we took advantage of the terrain and went white water rafting.  That, by far, was my favourite part of this trip.  I think I grinned the whole way down the river and then some.  That was a first for me, as was peering over the edge of a volcano into the crater below.  That didn't thrill me nearly as much as the hike up the volcano, with the fields of varying crops on all sides, in various shades of greens and browns.  Absolutely lovely!

Of course, how can you get the full feeling of a place unless you go shopping?  Just before our trip up the volcano, we needed to find 3 year old Caleb a pair of shoes, as he lost the only ones he had.  As his parents and the rest of the gang dug through shoes, chose the perfect pair, and dickered for a good price, Matthew and I wandered around and took a bunch of photos.  My favourite 'person' photo was this one of an older woman in the market.  She was quite willing to pose for me, although it's the candid shot of her than I like the best.  If ever I had to take a survey, I think that Sulawesi is by far the most friendly place to visit in Indonesia (with Jogjakarta a close 2nd), and this woman epitomizes that for me.

There was more to our trip in the mountains, with a hike into a waterfall, free massages for each cabin, dinner with friends and even a movie channel in the villa!
It was a super "Spring" break for our family, and traveling with other families was a great way to go.  Indonesia is such a huge country and we'd like to experience a bit of every part of it, so who knows if we'll ever go back to Sulawesi.  I hope that sometime in the future we'll have another opportunity, and if you're thinking of visiting, I highly recommend it.

Thanks for reading.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving one and all! We celebrated last night, just the four of us, with 2 chickens, stuffing, marshmallow salad, turkey gravy (you can buy the packets here) and even cranberry sauce. We started our meal with a great pumpkin soup recipe and cute little personal-sized loaves of bread. The soup is worth a try, especially if you can get your hands on fresh spices (like whole nutmeg rather than powdered). Most pumpkin recipes are a bit on the plain side, but this one has some pizazz. You can omit the coriander if you'd like, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Try it for yourself:

2 tbsp oil (olive oil if you don't heat it too high)

3/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup finely chopped leek (or spring onion)

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 medium-sized pumpkin, seeded, cut into chunks

1 large potato, peeled and diced

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

1/2 zucchini, chopped into large chunks

4 cups chicken stock (or 4 cups boiling water with 2 1/2 tbsp chicken bouillon powder)

1/2 cup whole milk or thin cream plus set aside 1 tsp milk/cream per bowl as well.

Place pumpkin, potato, carrot & zucchini in roasting dish, pour in 1/2 cup water, and place in oven @ 350 degrees (or no. 4 on your gas oven). Roast until pumpkin is almost soft. Cool and then remove skin from pumpkin.

While veggies are cooling, heat the oil then place onions, leek and garlic into pan. Cook until onions are almost clear but not brown. Add spices and cook for about 1/2 minute, then add the veggies and stock (and any remaining roasting juices). Bring to boil and then simmer until all veggies are soft. Cool the soup base and then blend in blender. Return blending to the pot, add the milk/cream and stir gently while the soup heats once more.

Once the soup is ready, ladle into individual bowls, pour a dab of cream in each bowl, stirring only once to create a swirl. Serve!

Thanksgiving isn't the same without a bigger family crowd, but we did our best and enjoyed. We are thankful:)

Thanks for reading

Fish & Loaves...and Beef Vindaloo

Holidays are almost here. Ramadhan, the month of Islamic prayer and fasting, is almost over, ending with Idul Fitri. Idul Fitri is the closest thing here to our Christian Christmas, where people all over Indonesia journey home to their families. Our helper and our driver will be heading off for about 2 weeks each to spend time in Central Java and in nearby Bandung, respectively. If you'd like a better, recently written perspective on this time of fasting and then celebration, look to a few of the blogs I have at the right. Both the Weedas and Joel & Amanda cover the month of Ramadhan.

It seems like we just came home from Canada and now we're heading into our holidays already! Kids in Canada are just returning to school this week and THAT's weird. During our time home we've had a few "productive" moments and I'd like to share some of them with you.

One of the things that I am particularly aware of, being a mother of two and having a maid who cooks, cleans, irons and will even put away my

children's clothes if I let her, is that I need to prepare my kids for "the real world." What that may be is always a matter of debate, but in my eyes, it's being able to figure out how to turn on a clothes machine, how to iron a dress shirt, and how to survive in the kitchen. As a result, we've had a few kitchen sessions and have had a good time learning how to do things like make fried eggs, grilled cheese and french toast. We've even had a few 'yeasty' sessions of pita bread and white bread. The kids are doing great! I've included a photo of Matt's bread that he made, and if you look carefully, you'll see my new "40th birthday" ring that Tris bought me. Strategically placed, I admit. I like how it glitters.

When we returned home from Canada, there were reports of lots of rain and cold weather (guffaw!) here in Lippo Village. The result of that was that our grass died in the backyard and left a huge muddy patch. After planting some grass, our yard needed a little something more. I've taken some of my birthday money that was given to me in Canada (thank you!!) and bought myself a water feature. This nice chunk of cement cost me $45 and it has brought a lot of fun to the backyard. It's inspired me to expand and fill in our garden area, as well as buy some fish and water plants. I intended on buying only 2 fish but who can say no to 6 fish for 20 cents!! Another 30 cents for a huge bag of food and I was set. The last 2 weeks has been full of dealing with a tilting water feature (we must be having mini earthquakes or something because the thing tilts every couple of days) and finding the ideal location for it.

One really weird thing that happened today was that while Tris and I were lounging outside, enjoying the sound of falling water, our fish started to jump. Seriously, there was this one that would line itself up just under the waterfall and then jump

through it. We watched this four times before he stopped. It was quite the show, and I wondered if maybe we'd bought a small salmon-type fish that needed to spawn or something. Sadly, a few hours later I went out to feed them and one of the fish had actually jumped OUT of the water onto dry land. The ants had gotten to him and chewed little holes in him, but when Tris returned him to the water, he began to swim around. Not sure if he'll live, but since I was going to name the six fish after Snow White's Seven Dwarves (minus Grumpy), this particular fish will be called Dopey.

About a week ago we had friends over for dinner, and Indian was on the menu. I've never cooked an Indian meal before but with the help of a few pre-packaged items and sauces in my freezer and cupboard, I was up for the challenge. One of the things I did make from scratch, though, was Beef Vindaloo, and it

was fun to make. I had to take a photo of the spices I needed to grind together, because they're so beautiful and colourful together. Some of the ingredients were chili powder, garlic cloves, grated ginger, turmeric, salt, pepper, black cumin seeds, dill seeds and coriander powder. After grinding the spices, I had to marinate the meat for 2 hours in them and then cook for another 4 hours. It was very nice and I'd definitely make it again.

Finally, the ultimate in productive for me, was that two weeks ago I spent 5 days, 6 hours a day studying Indonesian language with a friend. We hired a tutor and learned some good solid grammar. Still, I feel like with all the money I've spent on language classes and learning and all the hours I've invested, I should be able to speak better than I am. It's very frustrating.

That's it for productivity.

Thanks for reading.

With the passing of Easter weekend and all the significance it holds, I've been thinking about life, material wealth, health and how they're all so temporal (uh oh, here comes a deep post...). Admittedly, I find it easier to contemplate wealth and lack thereof living here. We are finding that with our situation here it is actually easier to enjoy the 'finer things in life,' which we usually link up to food and good fun. Maybe that is why it's easier to experience the sense of guilt that comes with driving through poverty-stricken areas (which, honestly, is pretty much all of the Indo I've seen, with the odd pocket of upper class neighbourhoods tucked about). We sit in our nice, new (first time for everything) car, a/c blowing and usually, a cd playing, and we drive around the streets between Lippo Village and Jakarta. I have to admit, I love the drive, except when it's a turtle's pace. No matter where we are, there's always something to look at, but again, it usually has a sense of poverty attached.

For example, you can tell that the highways ran right through some villages years ago, because right next to the 6 lane byways are farmers ploughing their fields, harvesting their rice, and shepherding (huh?) their caribow (cattle that look like buffalo). Ragged bits of clothing hang on sticks shoved into the rice paddies, to help keep the pesky birds away. You can see decrepit little bamboo huts spotted throughout the fields. They are usually leaning over so far that you wonder how anyone can keep out of the rain and stay dry in them. What is particularly interesting are the Charlie Brown trees that hold myriads of torn kites along the side of the road. It doesn't matter how little money you have, you can always make a kite!

So there's the poverty along the roadside. It's more evident in the city, and I've posted a lot over the last 2 years on what I've seen there. However, there's also another kind of poverty here, and it's worldwide. It's the kind where people strive to look good, whether it's financially or physically, in leadership or employment, in making a name for ourselves while we're here. Here in Indo, presentation is everything. I don't think it is much different in North America much of the time, even if it is a subtler idea. Ultimately though, who cares? I know that I put years of paint, scrubbing, sewing, trim (well, that was Tris), and finally we put in new floors and windows into our house. It looked good for a time, but there was always something else to change, to fix, to improve upon. We're no longer in that house and I was still spending precious thought time (which I have a lot more of here) thinking of those horrible metal sliding doors we had in our bedroom. WHY? I still want to change them and we don't even own the house!!!

As my thoughts swirl and spiral about, it comes down to this: all is for naught, if you don't know why you're here. It's not to look good. I am a Christian, I believe that I have been put here, as God promises, for a purpose, and although I don't always know/believe what that is, I still trust that He knows what's going on and that if I give Him control, He'll give me direction. I still strive, although I'm not sure why or for whom. Probably myself most of all. As I age, as each Easter passes and I contemplate the death and resurrection of Jesus, I hope that I will one day get it, understand it to the core, that He really is the only reason I exist, and that He's the one who is in charge of 'looking good,' not me.

Thanks for reading.

Spring Break (but where's Spring???)

The holidays are here and you'd think I'd have spent some time blogging on my computer. We chose not to go anywhere during this Spring (?) Break, in order to save for our upcoming trip to Canada. It has been a quiet time for us, full of sports, shopping, food and some fellowship. Most people went away for at least four days to places like Thailand (Phuket, Phi Phi Islands), Singapore, Hong Kong, Bali and other Indonesian locations. Before most families left, we had a game of softball, and it was a great way to start off the holidays.

Our family headed once again to Anyur Beach, about 1 1/2 hours from our front door. This time I didn't take my camera, but I did take some prints of photos I'd taken the previous visit. I was able to distribute these and in doing so, realized that some of the best photos I could have taken were the smiles on the faces of the Indonesians receiving a photo of themselves. I've been instructed to bring my camera next time so that we can take a group photo of myself and all of the ladies working on the beach (massages, mat rentals, banana & food sales).

There is a place in Jakarta called Mangga Dua, and in it there are some excellent, truly

Indonesian spots to shop. Rebecca and I shopped there when she was here, and I've been a few times with friends. This holiday is a bit unique in that most of Indonesia is not on holidays, our school is, and my

family hasn't gone anywhere. I realized that this may be the one and only time my family may see Mangga Dua without the crowds, and that's the only way I'll ever get Tris to agree to go along. To me, it's a great "Indonesian Experience." We headed out with Haris, and our friend Jamie came along. Our very favourite purchases were our wigs: Matt bought the white one for a skit he and his friends are wanting to do for YouTube. We were also able to find really inexpensive jeans for Abby and some other odds and ends.

This Wednesday Abby and I had the privilege of heading for the second time to some slums. These ones are probably the worst I've been at here,

with the children and their families using the filthy river water for their bathing and washing. We're not sure about cooking, but it's not a healthy situation, regardless. It was one of our first times riding in an Angkot, a typical Indonesianmode of transportation that most foreigners don't get a chance to experience. One of the reasons we stay away from them is that we really don't know where they're headed!

This is a photo of the teachers who have allowed us to come along with them, and of the regular Angkot driver that they hire each week to deliver and pick them up. What is most exciting to me about this trip, and the last, is that Abby has had opportunity to teach English to some of her peers. I helped with the little ones next door, but stuck my head around the corner now and then to see her in action. She's a great teacher! Other than watching Abby, one of my other favourite things about visiting this area is the greeting, or 'salam,' that the children give us each time we arrive and depart. Regardless of their age, the children take your hand and place either their lips or the side of their face on the top of your hand, and bow a little when they do so. It's a very humbling greeting.

Surprisingly, we haven't spent much time swimming, but we have taken advantage of the empty tennis courts, and Abby's been practicing her basketball shots as much as she can. She received some wise sports advice from her coach, who told the girls on her team to bounce the ball around the yard, the neighbourhood and even in the house as much as possible. Unfortunately, although she's a very obedient kid and does as the coach suggested, I disagree, but my opinion doesn't go very far in that area because, well, I'm married to the coach.

In one way this has been an odd holiday for me, because my kids are getting older and doing much more of their own thing. Although they're growing and Tris and I seem to be shrinking, when Tris and I went to an few outlet stores to buy some clothes, the kids didn't want to come. Imagine that, not wanting to buy stuff! They preferred to stay home by themselves. *Sigh*. On that note, remember Mr Plaid? We've made a deal. Tris was allowed to buy a whole bunch of good quality shirts (really inexpensive, too!) IF he got rid of his plaid shirts that he's been wearing for years. I think it was an easy decision for him, especially since he wore his plaid shirts constantly during the time he struggled with his shoulder pain (they were easier to get on). Now he's Mr Golf Shirt.

So, all in all, not a terribly exciting holiday but definitely a relaxing one, and one where we got to explore the Jakarta area a bit.

Thanks for reading.

So many things to say...

I guess it's time. Looking back, I realize I've neglected my blog quite significantly, and so I need to sit down and organize my thoughts. There's so much to update and oodles of photos that I'd love to share. Let's see what I come up with:

This weekend, beginning on Thursday and ending on Monday night, is a holiday. It's Idul Adha here in Indonesia (muslim holiday somehow based on the story of Abraham--or Ibrahim in Islam--and Isaac, or so I believe. I wrote about it a year ago, where hundreds of thousands of goats, sheep and cattle are sold on the side of the road, purchased by wealthier families, and slaughtered/sacrificed in the mosques. The meat, once cut into pieces, is distributed in the not-so-wealthy villages) and it so happens to coincide with American Thanksgiving. As well as Idul Adha, our school has given staff and students extra days off, and I'm not complaining! As a result, a few of us got together and organized an "International Thanksgiving Family Potluck." It was held in a room at the university and 105 people attended, with each one contributing money towards the turkey, as well as a dish or drink. There wasn't much of an agenda, except that we sang a song of thanks around the piano just before grace. We've had positive feedback and although I missed having Thanksgiving...AGAIN...with family, it was really nice just to chat with people who we see around but are always too busy to talk with for too long. It was also nice to eat turkey:)

Yesterday (day after Thanksgiving dinner) a bunch of families headed to the beach! Although we live quite close to the ocean, the areas we COULD swim are not particularly pleasant, so we drove an hour and half southwest and ended up at Anyur Beach. It's my first beach experience on the island of Java, and it was quite nice. The roads on the way there are a bit of a laugh. Janet Weeda had me take a photo of the holes dug right next to our lane; they went on for kilometers. I had a good chuckle at how Worker's Compensation would feel about how close the traffic was to these holes.

Once there, we hung out, ate and swam. Oh, and fended off the vendors. Once they figured out that we weren't interested they backed off, but only to the perimeters. This hasn't been unusual in Indonesia, and I think it's similar all over the world. I'm sure each one of us has the same stories from various beaches around the globe.

Unfortunately, just before we left for the beach Matt suffered a bout of stomach illness, and decided to stay home. Of course, he felt fine after we left and regretted having to stay all alone, just he and the tv...for hours...and hours. He would have played Wii but he'd left part of it at the dinner the night before. He did have company, though. Our driver Haris stayed behind to deal with the construction guys who came and built a roof over our back garage area. For those of you who have stayed with us, you'll be happy to know that Ami and Haris now have a covered area during the rainy days. Ami also has her room, but the extra dry space is necessary and I think will be appreciated. When we returned home that evening, Haris had washed all of our dishes I'd brought to Thanksgiving and also lent out. There was a whole counter full and I sure was happy to come home to a clean kitchen. Weird, but Matt says he never heard a thing the whole time!

The photo is of Sophie and Abby. Tris brought his body boards for the kids to ride the waves close to shore, but I'm pretty sure they've been retired and will be soon replaced by a set of golf clubs. As for his rehab, he swam a kilometer today using both front crawl and breast stroke. That's wonderful, especially knowing he can do a full rotation of his right arm now.

As for me and my blogs, I think I've been putting it off because of lack of energy. I haven't said too much but since last April I've been quite nauseous in the mornings (no pregnancy here!!!) but because it lasted only a while I would forget to see the doctor later in the day. In the past 2 months it has gotten worse and has lasted throughout the day, with me always needing at least an hour nap during the day. We were concerned and local doctors didn't have much to say on the matter (except...'are you depressed?' because of my being tired. My answer "No...but I'm homesick. Does that count?"). Last week Tris took me to a hospital in Jakarta and we had a variety of tests done, and then last Thursday the diagnosis came in as a high content of e.coli. Not pathogenic, so all is well. I'm not going to take any antibiotics because they'll just kill all my good bacteria, and we'll fight it with vitamins, lots of water and acidophilus. I had started taking all those items last week and I think my immune system has kicked in or something. I'm not nearly as tired and I was even able to play ultimate frisbee today. I'd missed it for 3 weeks! I've had bouts of nausea but not nearly like it was before last week. So there you have it. E coli (which we all have in our systems, beginning at about 40 hours after our birth), and that's it. Some have asked if it is related to the dengue fever I had in January, but there's apparently no co-relation.

Well, that's it for just this weekend. Life has been busy. Lots of celebrations here lately, and Christmas holidays are fast approaching. Tris and Sunny arrive in less than 2 weeks and we're very, very excited. I do have to end this posting now because the main lights have been turned off, the new plastic Christmas tree is up (never thought I'd appreciate a plastic tree!!!), and the Christmas music is cranked. Time to decorate!!

Man, it's hot here. Christmas music seems funny, especially Frosty the Snowman.

Thanks for reading.

Holidays are almost over

I've lost count of how many days into holidays we did what, and now the holidays are rolling to a close in a few days. However, although they're coming to an end, we've had a great run of things. We still haven't done anything terribly exciting but we've had some great times spent with friends. Someone will put the word out that an event is going to happen and then a bunch of people show up at the meeting place. This week, after our swim-in theatre night, we went to a waterslide park called Waterbom (we don't say the word 'bomb' here, so it's pronounced 'boom'). I went on some pretty scary-drop rides and still lived to tell about it. Everyone came home a bit on the red side, but other than that we had a great time in the sun and water.

Yesterday a large group of us (including at least 10 kids under the age of 5) went skating at the only ice arena that I'm aware of. It's on the third floor of an incredibly decadent mall, where when I was there last December there was fake snow falling the length of 6 floors from the ceiling. After 2 hours of skating the gang all went to Pizza Hut for lunch, except I must admit, a friend and I (we both have older kids) snuck out to a great Thai restaurant for the lunch hour. I don't get much opportunity to try out new restaurants because usually when I'm with someone they have a favourite they want to go to, so this was fun. The food was awesome and the price was right, so if you plan on coming for a visit this is a place I'd love to show you.

Today we did housework for the first few hours. I still haven't touched a toilet in a year because I've now delegated that to the kid during the holidays:) It takes hours to do laundry, especially for it to dry, and then we usually have to iron it afterwards. The weather has been incredible and hot, so we don't have to worry about drying out the clothes with the iron at this point. When there's ironing to be done, Abby loves the chore so it's hers. Me, I like floors and all the kitchen related stuff.

Because most people head home to their villages during the holidays, the traffic has been very light. You plan to get somewhere in an hour and it actually happens. Incredible! I am wondering if the lack of vehicles in the city has contributed to a lack of pollution and that's why the sky has been blue everyday of the entire holiday. Sounds like a great theory but I'm not sure of its accuracy.

Thanks for reading.

Swim-In Theatre

Day 5 of our holidays, yesterday, was yet another wonderfully relaxing day. The kids slept in really late, read before getting out of bed, and then did those things that make kids happy...hung with friends, watched a movie, etc. Tris has been doing physio in the school pool and yesterday I joined him. Actually, I walked over to the pool with a hat and a book in hand, and while he walked the pool and did his resistance exercises, I laid precariously on a cafeteria bench someone had dragged into the pool area. While I read I listened to both Tris' ipod and to the silence of no one else at the pool. Wonderful. All against a blue sky backdrop.

Sometimes I get a little antsy with all of the 'hanging around,' and so I began to bake. I made flour tortillas (if anyone has a recipe that doesn't cook crispy, I'm looking for one. I want my tortillas to roll, not stiffen up) and an apple/blackberry pie. Fresh apples but canned blackberries. Not quite the same but we will enjoy it just the same.

The highlight of day five for me was a pretty spontaneously planned gathering of about 5 families to play soccer. I love playing with all the ages...kids love playing soccer with their dads. Moms were on the field, but there's just something about kids kicking a ball with their dads that's fun to watch. After the game most of the gang headed to the pool to cool off while another mom, Alyce, and I headed to the mall for buckets of fried chicken. After a swim, everyone had dinner and then we watched Napoleon Dynamite on a projector screen next to the pool. It gets dark at 6 and so it's easy to have a dinner theatre by the pool and get home in time for a good sleep. I've never watched a movie from the pool before (I got a later swim in because I'd been at the mall buying chicken) and it was quite a magical experience. Of course I tried to capture it on film but it didn't work all that well. Sometimes things are best left in the corners of our minds rather than on film.

Today's plan? Water the garden, eat pie, read. We'll head out for dinner tonight and the kids are thrilled...no dishes! To me it's about the food; to the kids it's about the chores:) I am really hoping that our house help is having a good time with their families. Our driver, Haris, only had a 3 hour bus ride (no a/c, no bathrooms on the bus) with his family, but our helper Ami had an 8 hour ride. Potentially, because of traffic, her ride could take up to 24 hours. I thank my blessings when I'm in my nice litte a/c-cooled vehicle and I see a huge bus next to me, with arms and heads hanging out the windows. People always look so tired in those buses. I have nothing to complain about.

Thanks for reading.

Day 3 of Holidays

Day 3 of a very low-key holiday. This time last year we were in Bali for the first time, and this year we've stayed home, mostly due to Tris' shoulder pain. It's kind of fun being home without school/work, especially since for some reason a lot of people have not gone on holidays anywhere. We finally get a chance to socialize and get some down time together. This morning we headed to the olympic pool to exercise and then to the family pool to chat with others. What a nice way to spend the morning!
Big news here: McDonald's in the next city sells breakfast!! With many people away to the outskirt villages of Java (the island we live on) or further, traffic is minimal and it would only take 10 minutes to get to that McDonalds. Speaking of driving, both Tris and I got our Indo licenses last weekend. Tris renewed and I got one for the first time. Now I can drive around without trepidation of being pulled over by the polisi. A friend of mine was driving without a license (not uncommon, licensing isn't a big deal...costs $8 for a license and you don't need a test or anything) and was let off when she burst into tears. No longer do I have to save up my tears just in case...sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

On our first day of holidays I headed into Jakarta with Tris for his physio. What would take 1 1/2 hours in Courtenay took us 4 hours because of traffic. Everyone is trying to get out of town.

Yesterday, Day 2, I had lunch with a friend. She found a loaf of REAL pumpernickel bread and some sauerkraut and so of course, we had Reubens. O yum! Because Idul Fitri (the partial reason for our school holiday) is similar to Christmas, many businesses are closed for the week. Because of that my friend, Coral, and I headed to our favourite salon and I got a massage while she got a facial before they closed for the week. That was a GREAT way to start the holidays.

That's our holiday. Very different from what we'd usually be doing...camping, gardening, swimming at the lake, but a good holiday nonetheless.

Thanks for reading.