Day One & Two

Getting ready for Lola and Papa to arrive!

Boys head to school for just half the day...

Jana gets the room ready...

Pick up the kids for school, jump in the car and head to...

Jakarta!

Grabbing a bite to eat while waiting for Lola and Papa to come through the arrival gate...

They are HERE!  After a night's sleep we head to Bandung...

Middle School Basketball

Here is the Middle School Basketball team!  Kris coached and Aaron played.  They practiced once a week and played three games.  They played well in all the games but came up short in the first two.  The last game was a nail-biter.  They fought hard and won the game 36-35!  Go Eagles!

Aaron shoots a goal.

Our team and their competitors after a game.

The Spelling Bee!

Recently the elementary school hosted a English School Community Spelling Bee.  Seth tried out for the 5th grade competition and made the team for our school.  He competed against 3 other schools.  There were 7 contestants.  The last two "standing" were Seth and his fellow classmate.  His classmate missed a word, so Seth had to spell that word correctly and one additional word.  It was nerve-wracking for all of us!  Seth spelled that word and the following word correctly and won the competition!  He won a certificate, gift and a trophy!

Just had to show you...

 So, this is on the package of pills that our family took last week.  It cracks me up that we are swallowing pills that have this picture on the front.  Anyone want to make a guess at what the pills are for?

Here is a hint:  if you don't take the above pills, you may have to get lots of these!  Can you guess what this is for?  Yup, it's a receipt that you get each time you use a public toilet.  Don't worry, 1,000 Rupiah is not as much money as it sounds!  It's about equal to a dime.  Plus, you get a receipt!  Do you think we can claim this on our taxes?

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

 (sung to the tune of the famous song with the same name)

Cicaks on my walls and ants in my kitchen
Mosquitos are biting and my legs are itchin’
These are what  life of adventure will bring
So these are a few of my “favorite” things

Beaches and mountains, volcanoes and forests
Plants all around like I live at the florist
Rain every day like a “forever” Spring
These are a few of my favorite things

When the bugs bite
When my stuff molds
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad!

Chances to learn a new language and try it
Food here is awesome, you cannot deny it!
Even the traffic that’s daily a scare
Is just a chance to catch up on your prayer!

When the bugs bite
When my stuff molds
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad!

Tomato Paste

Tomato paste can only be found in a handful of stores in Bandung.  Each little tiny can costs several dollars.  Tomato paste is also the ingredient in about half my good recipes.  No wonder I remember eating pizza with ketchup for the sauce when I was a kid!  In the past three countries we’ve lived in, tomato has been a base for many of the national dishes, so it was never hard to find.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered I’d either have to find a solution for my tomato paste problem, or chunk half my recipes!  I did find some cans of tomato paste...with sardines!  No way.  So, today I made my own tomato paste!  I feel very Little House on the Prairie-ish, and also very proud of myself.  Should I be wearing a bonnet and a calico dress?  Do you know how many tomatoes it takes to make even a small amount of tomato paste?  It takes a lot.  But today, after boiling, peeling, cutting, blending, straining, stirring, baking and spooning two kilos of tomatoes, I have myself 2 small jelly jars of tomato paste!  Yum!  I think I’ll make a pizza!

10 Things

Just for fun, here are 10 things that are common in homes here that are probably not so common in homes across the USA...


#1 Wall lizards. We call them cecak (CHEE-chuck). They are everywhere. We have one in just about every room of our house. They eat mosquitos, so they are allowed to stay.

#2 "Squatty Potties"

#3 Fresh flowers delivered to our house almost every week. This arrangement cost me about $1.50 .

#4 A shoe rack just inside the front door. We take our shoes off before entering homes to keep the floors clean.

#5 Want to guess what the "shower head" beside the toilet is? Don't worry, we haven't "crossed over." We still use that handy roll sitting on the back of the toilet!

#6 These cool looking long pillows are standard in many bedrooms here.

#7 Drains on the floor of the bathrooms. Handy for cleaning with lots of water and also for draining when the shower pan overflows!

#8 Rice cooker is a standard kitchen appliance here. Rice is the standard food!

#9 Gas tank for the stove. I am not very comfortable with this. I don't like all the newspaper articles about them exploding, but we all gotta eat, right?

#10 And finally, sink in the middle of the living area (see it on the right)? I guess you just never know when you might need to run and wash your hands.