Laundry

The mundane chore of laundry...

I really don't do laundry any more...  I know, lucky me right??!! ;) With all the kids gone to boarding school or college, there really isn't a lot of laundry to do... Well that, and I do have a maid.... ;)  That may be why I don't do it ten months out of the year. ;)

For the last few weeks, I have kind of been in a funk... I mean, I really shouldn't be... It's CHRISTMAS TIME!!! My kids were all coming "home" and now they are here for almost a month!  I should have been ecstatic!  I should have been on cloud nine!

I couldn't really figure it out until the other day when I started to gather up all the kids laundry... Let me tell you, there was A LOT!!  Then it hit me... I really am missing the mundane things of life.  Missing being at my house.  Missing my home.  Missing my friends.  Missing my routine.

We were figuring it out the other day, and I have only been on site for one month out of the last seven, and I'm still not home.  First I was in the US for the summer.  Then back and forth to Penang for multiple reasons.  Then the "forced exile" until mid January.

Look, before I go any further, I just want to say, I am not complaining.  I'm just figuring things out and writing them down for memories. ...and writing feels good sometimes.

We do live a crazy life.  We are good rolling with the changes and obstacles this expat life brings.  The only thing in our life that stays the same is change.

We get a lot of comments about our "exciting, fun-filled" life.  Traveling all over the world, seeing things I never would have imagined.  Meeting some of the most fascinating beautiful people... I can't disagree with them. Our life is out of this world crazy awesome!  But it does get old. Well, the traveling and living out of suitcases gets old... Never the people... Just like everything in life, to much of a good thing really isn't a good thing...

So when I was doing laundry the other day, it felt good.  Actually it felt really great!  I was doing something "normal".  Believe me when I tell you, when the kids were younger, laundry used to be one of the things I disliked with a passion! But as I was doing it, I started to feel better.  I had figured it out.  I was missing my "normal" life...

I know "this too shall pass".  It always does... The women and children will be able to go back to site in January, providing everything stays quiet.  I pray it does!  

So I guess the moral of the story is just to embrace life.  The crazy.  The mundane. Funny how doing laundry had to remind me of that! ;)

I just couldn't pick my favorite one... So you get all four.  :D  I read these daily to remind me...

Soon I will be back in Tembag, itching to go again. ;)

Now for the really interesting part....  This is what I used to wash clothes!  I'm not exactly sure how old the machine is, but I'm guessing it's hitting the 50 year mark, if it can be that old. lol! ;)

It was actually quite interesting... First you had to turn the water on to fill the tub to the needed level, then shut the water off!  I knew I needed to set a timer for this step or I would have gotten busy doing something else and would have completely forgotten to turn off the water!!  I'm good like that. ;)  Once the water is at the lever needed, you set the wash for whatever length of time needed.

Once the washing is done, you need to turn the switch to the drain option.  Once drained, you have to turn it back to the wash option, so all the new water for the rinse cycle doesn't run out.  Then I set my timer and filled the tub up again to rinse.  And because Gabby is STILL allergic to normal laundry detergent I had to do this step twice. :)

When the washing, rinse and drain cycles are done, you need to transfer the clothes to the spin side. Spin for 10 minutes and you clothes come out practically dried!  I'm telling you, if the clothes are unbalanced in here, it moves the whole machine all over the room!! lol!

After this, then you just move the clothes to the drying rack sitting in the sun and shazam!  The clothes are baked dried in minutes!

Christmas Eve Bali Style

Christmas is my favorite time of the year, for many reasons, but one of those reasons is because I love to decorate the house for Christmas.  So knowing that we would be spending Christmas in Bali, while I was in Penang and Singapore this last month, I did a little shopping to gather up some Christmas decorations for our villa.  Here are a few of what I came up with... the rest, didn't get photographed, because I'm to lazy to get up and go take pictures... ;)  But these are my favorites...

The Tree.  Brought in a suite case from Singapore.  Oh, and tree skirt too...  Not traditional, but I guess that's the theme for Christmas 2017!

Stocking, brought from Penang.  Note: Dental floss makes great string in a pinch. ;)

A tree I made in Penang... I had time on my hands.  Yes, this was also packed in luggage and put on a plane.

These little things, bought in Penang for a buck.  I had no idea what I would use them for, but I knew the villa would need a little sparkle/bling...  Just this morning I got a wild hair and knew they belonged in the trees by the pool. :) Yes, I'm in my pj's... when I get an idea, I just have to go with it until its finished. :D  It's a designer's imagination curse. ;)

The picture does not do the tree and decorations justice.  They jazzed the place up nicely.

Decorating done, now on to the pool party!

We were fortunate enough to have friends from Penang and from Tembagapura join us for pool time, dinner, and great conversation.  I should mention, between the three families that were here, there were 11 children!! :)  Love it!!

Before dinner swim.

The girls were to cool to get in the pool before dinner. ;)  Teenagers! :D

The guys... Now if you have read this post: A Very Small World, you will recognize the family.  The dad went to school, for a couple years, in my hometown!

The ladies...

The boys... They go to school with the kids at Dalat.  Five very awesome boys!

Yup, 11 kids... requires lots of snacks...

These two beautiful ladies have been taking care of us in the villa while we have been staying here this last week.  They also were in charge of cooking dinner for us tonight.  It wasn't traditional oyster stew and sloppy joe's, but the traditional Indonesian food that they made was outstanding!

That's A LOT of food!!

Believe it or not, the only food that was left was a bowl of fried noodles, a bit of white rice an a few snacks.  Boy, those kids can eat!!  Well, truth be told, the adults had their fair share too.  The spring rolls were by far the best I have ever had!

Our company has now left and we are just passing the time hanging out waiting for a decent time to go to bed... No, 8:00 is not ok! lol!!

No, this was not the traditional Christmas Eve party that we have had in Tembagapura for the last few years, nor is it anywhere close to the Christmas Eve celebration I grew up with, but for this year, it was just right.  Just right because we have all our kids here.  Just right because we spent the afternoon and evening with friends who have become family, because of this life we live.  I am missing not being home in Tembagapura for Christmas, but I know this, God has me in the right place at the exact right time and I will enjoy every minute of what life serves up!

So as I sit here and reflect about the day, I may not have gotten my Tembagapura Christmas party or my Schlomer oyster stew, but I did have my family and some good friends and a beautiful evening together.  God always provides.  Christmas Eve may not have been what I envisioned it, but my Bali Christmas Eve gave me a whole new outlook.... Christmas is any time, any place, and any where in this world with the people you love and the people God has put in your life! 

I truly love Christmas! 

Bali Tour

Poop coffee, an unseen volcano, and eight hours in a car with four teenagers....  That was our day Friday. :)

Before we went on this tour, I was thinking that it would be the first tour we had done in Bali, but then I remembered and that would have been a lie.  We obviously don't do them often for the above reasons... It takes FOREVER to get anywhere in Bali and my idea of fun is not riding in a car for either hours with four children!  Anyway, we did it because we needed to get out of the villa and away from laying around by the pool... Yes, I am rolling my eyes... ;)

After two hours of car time, our first stop was a Balinese temple.  Everyone had to put sarongs on to cover up their naked legs... The boys looked really pretty in their dresses! ;)

The gardens were gorgeous!

Inside the "mouth" of the first picture posted. Some offerings.

Strike a pose... (rolling m eyes...) ;)

Back outside...

Pictures with Wayan.  He has been our driver in Bali for the last 7 years!

Temple tour over, dresses off, on to the volcano... Back in the car for another hour or so...

And....

This is what we get...

Ten minutes later, we left... :) 

I was ready to go because it was all of 60 degrees up there and it was FREEZING!!! lol!!

Back in the car and down the mountain to tour the coffee plantation... the POOP coffee... otherwise know as Copi Lewak.

Although this was a coffee plantation, many other plants are grown here... vanilla, cocoa, pineapple, ginseng, and cinnamon to name a few.

The interesting part...

These beans...

Eaten by these civet cats and POOPED out!  The poop is gathered up and that's when the fun begins...

Ok, just a second... WHO THOUGHT OF THIS?!?!?!  I mean really... One day you're just sitting around and this animal drops some poop in front of you and you think to yourself "I think I will just roast up these poop morsels and make coffee out of them."  That is a little bit of CRAZY!!  :D

I am always fascinated with stuff like this. ;)

Our tour guide explaining the process after the poop. ;)

Red rice that is grown there.

Overlooking rice fields and new construction of a resort of some sort.

Chris trying the Kopi Lewak.  I will admit, so did I, but it was sooooooo strong that I'm pretty sure hair grew on my chest!! LOL!! :D  Don't need to do that again!!

Testing all the different flavors of coffee and tea they make at this plantation.  My favorite was the chocolate flavored coffee.

Then we ate a very late lunch and then back in the car for a two hour drive "home"...

Favorite picture of the day... They really do love each other! :D