Got Spoiled!

"Nasi Tumpeng"

Yes I got spoiled on Monday! Tia, Anna and Yanti and her little girl Cecilia (goes by Lia) came over for the English lesson with her hands full on the motorbike!  Oh a mountain of goodies!

Look closely - 

The yellow rice is rice mixed with tumeric - very tasty and healthy too - freshly grounded of course!

Then there is chicken and to the left is shredded beef very finely shredded with it seems with  coconut and spices in it as well!  Then we have to the left of the chicken peanuts with a little crunchy something in it also with sambal (chili paste) and next to the peanuts there is strips of friend egg!  Do you see the tomatoe in the back and how pretty Tia made that?  And then on top of the mountain chili peppers cut in stripes so that it looks like flames - of course a eruption! 

Hey and did you see the "17" you probably wonder what that is about???

Tia thinks I turned 17 ---of course she's right! 

....and that is how I feel---of course!

Ha! Thank you Tia for your hard work and effort and thank you dear friends for making it so' special with your presence!!!!  

And to think that Tia was sitting on the back of Yanti with that plate in her hand (very heavy!) and little Lia too, on the motorbike!  Such a sweet effort ...YES! I was spoiled!

 Yanti and her husband have two daughters, Shirley and Cecilia - Little "Lia" looked at us...so' tall and different..with those beautiful dark brown eyes...wondering I am sure about what to think about those very different kind of people! and so tall...ha! 

                                              It took her a little while to get use to us!

 So here we are Yanti & Lia, then Anna who works out of her home for a factory - and Tia who is also from the beautiful hotel we stayed at!  Tia and her husband have a little "Veda" who is 3 yrs old.  Veda and her grandmother went to visit family in Jakarta..and was planning to stay another 2 week BUT she misses her Momma!  So today Veda is coming back and I know both parents are very very happy to get their little girl home again!  

A cozy group we are!  Nick & I enjoyed out time together talking with one another and going back in forth in English and Indonesian is very helpful indeed!  We appreciate our gracious friends and so enjoy our special time together weekly!

 Nick was asked to make a doll house - so he is measuring & drawing the pieces on the plywood and .....

always doing such a good job - God has gifted him with such creativity!  He is able to get all the pieces he needs on this one board!  

He has had the experience making them for his 2 daughters Stephanie and Charlotta, years ago!  Go Nick!

It is fun to see the steps - our neighbor Pak Jono came to hear what all the 'noise' was about - Nick did it with an electric saw he purchased!  

I will keep you in the loop of the progression!

Here is a caterpillar...again a very different one...bet he

 will turn into a beauty one day!  There are some really beautiful butterfly's around here too!

So the plan is to wake up "early" (our neighbors do that at 6 am!) but - well - we still go to bed way too late!  But closer to 6:30/7:00 am we start to clear the head and get up...and try to go for a walk!  When the Sun is out in the morning - it is surprising pretty hot already out there!  So the best time is really earlier!

Across from our house is this pathway we take and we enjoy walking down this road because of the beauty we see all around us!

Nick & I try to walk a good stride....you know..to keep that heart rate going and pumping hard! But his morning I did take the camera with me so you all could enjoy this walk with us too!

Here is a fence made out of bamboo...oh it is used for everything here...so strong and hardy!  Look how it is weaved in and out -

This might be an average house in the area...the lot is cleared and opened up and then the house is built!

 

Nick suggested I take a picture of this palm tree...see how there is those cuts in the tree trunk?

Look closely....that is how they climb up to the very top to get the coconuts!  

Untouched the foliage is so thick - so many plants and trees just grow wild...and if you DON'T keep thinning it out...well you have a jungle again!

Can't get over the little plants I always enjoyed having in our house...those climbing ones...and to see how BIG they can grow here is still amazing for me!

 

This home was cute with the colors and gate/iron work!  The yards were nicely maintained too!

Nick looks up to the palm trees - how very very tall they grow!  Oh it is so Nick! They grow so tall!

Two men are building this house...every time we walk by - now the roof is almost complete!  Cute roof!

The owner of a plot clears it and then grows what he wants on it....but the above pictures shows you how thick the shrubbery is normally!

 Remember this cactus growing in our front yard on the pillar?

  

Well now we know what comes out of these cactus'!

Just a stroll through the neighborhood and you see so much!

Sweet huh?

Well now you have been on our walk with us too!  Did you have fun?  

The name kampung (village) - let me try to explain something.  We are not away or separated from town...we are in town...but there is all these little neighborhoods off any main street and when you turn off into one...you have these smaller streets with homes lined up.  They call these kampung and they have a name - so that men can easily figure out where you are.  So our address is 

Jalan (Avenue or Street said first) Antasena in the Kampung Dukuh area RT 06 RW 01 and these are the sections they are divided into.  Most people will say Dukuh RT 06 RW 01 -

Helpful to know and understand!  

So now you too can come and visit us!


Oh by the way - today we have been in the house already 4 weeks...can you believe it?
No sirree!