A Variety of Activities with B and J!

We found goalie gloves that, with a little slicing, fit Jim! So he could practice football with Boy. Whew! What a workout!


















Finally, after much waiting for the "5:00" practice, around 5:30 Boy had some Indonesian SLB guys to practice with. By 6:00 p.m. all had arrived. By 6:20 the sun was setting and the scrimmage ended!













Our nauseating travels in the little van!












Out and about in Balikpapan!













Everywhere we go we meet friendly Indonesian workers. It's especially fun to have Boy with us 'cuz they are baffled by him -- is he dumb? Cuz he sure looks like he should be able to speak their language. When we tell them that he's from Thailand they are shocked.











At an antique/used furniture shop. Musty. Dusty. Stinky. But very museum-like!













We took the guys to the batik factory/shop so that they could see it and we could pick up our finished projects. First photo is a work in progress. Then, a shot of some stamps on a shelf.
















Jeri's finished project. Isn't it regal?










My practice sheet.











My finished project -- gonna get it framed next week!









Jeri's practice sheet!

Even More Fun with Boy and Jeri!

Some local kids having fun -- sand football!






















My favorite local band -- jazz!













Intense pool competition!
















Jeri's enjoying her first frozen Capri Sun in about 8 years. Boy's not quite sure about it! It's a routine she loved way back in school in Alaska!














Croquet!!! Boy's first try at it! Jeri was the champion!

A Memorable Experience with Jeri ... Batik Making!

First, we tried our hands at free-hand drawing with the wax pipe. We dip the pipe into the melted and steaming wax, fill it with about a teaspoon of wax, blow on it a bit, and then draw. It cools quickly so you have to continue dumping and dipping. It can easily drip drops where you don't want them! And it must be held at a 45 degree angle. Very tedious! Requires a steady hand!

The charming older guy is the owner of the factory and he was a great tutor -- cheerful, encouraging, patient, and full of ideas! The woman with the headcovering is his sweet wife.

After filling up practice fabrics with trial lines, we worked on painting our stamped images. Both of us chose Kalimantan prints. Each island/region has it's historic, distinctive prints -- recognizable by those in the know. These prints have been used for generations.

After we finished painting, a slow and detailed process, we got to finish our practice fabrics. This proved to be therapeutic! We could throw caution to the wind and just splash on the color! Then, we sprinkled baking soda on it and it ate away at the colors, causing a tie-dye effect.

Thursday we'll pick up the finished products. The people have to do the final steps -- fixing/staying the colours, washing, boiling off the wax, blocking, drying.

We are very hopeful that our finished products will be frame-able!!

Easter Weekend with Boy and Jeri

Easter Sunrise at the beach just next to our house! All of the "sunrise service" photos are from Jeri's little camera -- great shots, aye?

















































At another beach on Saturday!






























Easter Dinner (yes, if you look closely, you'll see turkey, dressing, and the typical Thanksgiving meal! Because they can't find it in Ubon and because Boy's never had turkey before, we thought it'd be a fun treat!) and then the famous candy hunt! Not real Easter candy because it cannot be found here but real candy! And it was a first for Boy -- the sunrise service, turkey and all of the fixin's, candy/egg hunt, ... The hunt got highly competitive and rather intense ... and rather long ... we're still missing 3 pieces of candy. The ants will lead us to the missing pieces ... soon!!!

Fun with Boy and Jeri!

So, our fun has begun! This first picture says it all --- when they arrived at the Jakarta airport, Jeri was exhausted, Boy was in shock, and Jim was just plum happy!









Even with our ACs off, in honor of Boy, he was still very cold because the ACs had been on earlier in the day! How will he ever survive in Alaska????





We got a new toy -- Wii!! So the boys are having fun racing their cars!






We walked along the beach to one of our favorite restaurants. Here's Boy, a Thai, eating Mexican food, in a restaurant in Indonesia! What a world!





These are what we've always called "Jesus clouds!" cuz they're what we always picture will be around for the second coming of Christ --- based upon old-time flannel graphs! ;-)

A Thought-Provoking Tale

Every morning a husband and his wife sit at the breakfast table, looking out the window at their neighbor’s wash hanging on the line. And every morning, the wife comments about how dingy the neighbor’s laundry looks.

“She really should do a better job,” says the wife. “Obviously she’s using cheap detergent, or filthy water or some such thing. My own laundry is so much whiter, so much cleaner. Yes, obviously, she must be doing something wrong.”

Then, one morning, the husband gets up early, way before the wife is out of bed, and washes the kitchen window. He scrubs and scrubs, until the window is spotless.

Later that morning, the husband and wife sit at the breakfast table and look out the window at the neighbor’s wash hanging on the line.

“Oh my,” says the wife. “Look how clean and sparkly our neighbor’s wash is today! Obviously she took my advice and finally learned how to do her wash properly! Doesn’t it look so much better? So much cleaner? Yes, she’s finally doing something right.”

-source: Written in a blog I happened upon, no source provided.