threads of a tread...

Birds and the bees? er... flowers?

2010-06-21T01:21:00.000-07:00

I haven't been taking as many pictures recently... Partly because we are more in a day-to-day routine of life and less seems "interesting." Partly, too, because the camera I usually use decided to have a spas attack and hasn't yet recovered. :( So these photos are all compliments of our pocket-sized point-n-shoot digital camera!

A nice, quaint centerpiece at our table during a coffee outing with our friend Christine, who recently visited us from the U.S.

We were feeling a little snacky, so we ordered up some grilled bananas -- served with the ever-popular Indonesian pairing of cheese and chocolate. (And a maraschino cherry...)

The centerpiece again, in full color...

I liked the combination of these pretty purple flowers growing their green vine up the harsh barbed wire at the top of one of the three concrete walls surrounding our house. (Click on it for a bigger pic!)

Interesting railing at the spa where Major took me for my 28th birthday.

We had a second trip to the bird market recently... Didn't bring home any pets, but there were some interesting and lovely creatures there! (Some strange and ugly ones, too....) :)

~@ Papua @~

2010-04-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

We recently had the opportunity to visit Indonesia's eastern-most province. IT. WAS. BEAUTIFUL. Here are a few little glimpses of life I captured there...

At the entrance to a local grocery store, a lady sells ants' nests for medicinal purposes. She had a sheet with a long list of things the elements of these nests are known to help.

Cute lizard in a tree.

We watched a Persipura soccer game at the arena in Jayapura. (Final score 2-1 Persipura, but this moment was my best opportunity for a shot of the fans near the scoreboard.)

A beautiful black-sand beach near sunset.

Just off the main road, we enjoyed fresh young coconut "milk" with strawberry syrup.

Someone decided the drainage ditch was a good place for a clock they no longer wanted...

The fresh young coconut with strawberry syrup I mentioned... YUM! (And a beautiful view to enjoy while we had our snack!)

Flowers at sunset.

Cute kiddos playing at the beach.

I love the vibrant green of this tree's underside.

A young fan enjoying his ice cream at the Persipura soccer game in Jayapura.

This and That...

2010-04-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

Ants that decided to take up residence on a banana tree flower. (Now if I could just convince all the ants in our house that banana flowers in the great outdoors are the way to go...)

This twig and river debri sort of made me think of a little SOS flag.

Somehow, a chili seed made it's way into out concrete wall. And somehow, it found a way to reach itself out into the sunlight to finish growing. Maybe this should be on one of those "Perseverance" or "Despite All Odds" inspirational posters?

One of our favorite nearby hikes takes us through tiers of rice paddies. These ladies are collecting the new shoots to replant in other terraces...

Not sure why someone tiled the outside of this building, but it makes for a fun shot.

You should have seen the size of this old lady's calf muscles, as she steadfastly treaded past us, carrying a heavy load up the hills...

Just one of many shops in Yojakarta's Bird Market, where you can purchase lizards, bats, chickens, pigeons, owls, ...

We recently discovered that this spider, who took up residence off our front porch a few months ago, is female. (ONE spider, OUTSIDE, is no big deal, but we weren't so keen about the egg sacks she produced.)

Offerings like this one - banana leaf containers holding flowers, incense, fruits, and vegetables - are outside and inside most shops and residences around the city of Sanur in Bali. While Indonesia is majority Muslim, the island of Bali is largely Hindu.

My mom's lunch came with volcano-shaped rice, complete with fried onion smoke/lava.

Strange and interesting foliage...

Ancient temples (Buddhist & Hindu)

2010-04-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

Catching up on posting some pictures from recent adventures... I'll get the rest up over the next few days!

BOROBUDUR ancient Buddhist temple... Built in the 8th or 9th century, this UNESCO World Heritage Site has nine levels (6 square ones at the base, and 3 circular ones near the top), and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. Seventy-two of the statues are seated inside stupas around the main dome. Borobudur is Indonesia's most visited tourist attraction, and is still used for pilgrimage by Buddhists who come here during an annual celebration at the temple.

Some dancers with Borobudur in the background...

Prambanan ancient Hindu temple complex... This 9th century Hindu temple compound is dedicated to Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Sustainer (Vishnu), and the Destroyer (Shiva). Prambanan, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia, and one of the largest in southeast Asia.

Pantai Siyung

2009-12-07T01:31:00.001-08:00

Local fishing boats on the beach in the little cove where we camped (for free!).

One of many, many tiny, beautiful shells...

More local fishing boats, beached for the day.

A crazy-amazing, fire-y sunset in our little beach cove.

A small, colorful shell fragment and shard of green sea glass.

From one of the quieter areas of the cove...

This is a crab.

This is a crab throwing sand at me. Any questions?

Vacation: Gili islands near Lombok & several spots around Central Java

2009-11-12T20:53:00.000-08:00

A coconut playing in the gentle waves off Gili Air.

View from our "hilltop villa" on Gili Gede at sunset.

Major snapping a shot of the waterfall while Scott hangs out behind it.

pretty flowers

View of the rice paddies we just hiked through on Central Java.

Sunset off Gili Air

Mie ayam "ceker" (chicken noodles w/ claw)

2009-10-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

es kelapa mudah... "iced young coconut" A delightfully sweet and refreshing treat!

Did you know that pineapples grow as single fruits on a ground plant? (FYI.. their spiny leaves are just as prickly as the spikes on the fruit!)

Roti bakar... "grilled bread" -- toasted buttery outside with chocolate, fruit jam, or cheese (or all of the above) inside.

Taking a short trip around our bathroom floor. From a top-view, when this little slug (about 2-3 in. long) retracts its little sensor-feely extensions, it looks like a turd.

House pets & Gunung Gaja

2009-09-30T23:56:00.000-07:00

Lounging on our window bars one morning... I named him Herbie.

flowers baskin' in the warm sun at Gunung Gaja

some sprigs of rice reaching harvest-readiness...

a lady whose ability to peruse these hills and carry large loads puts me to shame!

resourceful use of flora to shade the bike seat and paint....

a backyard visitor

A plethora of PUMPKIN...

2009-08-31T23:55:00.000-07:00

This weekend I embarked on the adventure of cooking a pumpkin (given to us by a friend), and all the subsequent baked goods that about 7 cups of puree can make. Here's my pumpkin just after slicing it in two...

The seeds I collected while removing handfulls of inner-pumpkin glop. With some butter, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and salt, these roasted up nice and yummy...

My post-baked pumpkin flesh and puree...

Twin towers, hot potatoes, woodwork, friends & a swamp

2009-08-19T00:56:00.000-07:00

Twin towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malasia

Crispy/chewy outside, soft and sweet inside... Oven-baked sweet potatoes for dinner. Amazing just-baked; no toppings required.

One of the ornate benches being made at our friend's family's woodworking company. They make wood furniture that's exported all over the world.

Two of our new Zambian friends, Boston & Febby, at our picnic dinner halfway up a dormant Indonesian volcano.

Retired riverboats at a swamp in Central Java.

Misc

2009-07-23T00:47:00.000-07:00

Jakarta Airport, with its shiny slabs of tiled flooring.

The user-friendly smoking lounge...

Airport restaurant where we had dinner.

Our staple Sunday evening dinner place where they serve varieties of "nasi goreng" (fried rice). Here, the owner wastes no time whipping up the first orders in his large wok... Yum, random chicken parts goodness...

One of the centerpieces at a recent "farewell dinner" for some friends headed back to the States.

Anniversary vacation on Gili Air

2009-06-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

Sunset

Sunset off the south part of the island... We walked the circumference of the island in less than 2 hrs... That's Bali in the distance...

Again, sunset off the south part of the island, Bali in the background.

Crazy shell, still inhabited. Some kid was hurling large chunks of dead coral at it, in attempt to break it open and look at the creature inside.

Breakfast with a view... Fruit salad (fresh papaya, pineapple, and banana or watermelon), toast with butter and jam, and Lombok coffee. Mmmmm.

Local kids playing in the waves...

Where we enjoyed many of our meals throughout the week...

Sunrise

My temporary footprint.

Hotel greenery at sunrise, our hut in the background.

One of many interesting shells strewn across the sand.

Low tide.

We took a boat similar to this one from Lombok to Gili Air. (After 2 plane rides, a 1 km walk, a 45 min. bus ride, a 2 hr wait and many, many price negotiations!)

View of East Java from the plane.

Srunung Gunung

2009-05-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

A few shots from a village in Central Java where we visited a friend a few weeks ago...

beautiful Indonesia... A view of the desa (countryside), complete with palm trees and rice paddies. I'm ashamed to say that this view is becoming "normal," so I occasionally have to stop and remember what unique beauty I'm surrounded by on a daily basis!

Flowers for tea... These will be dried (see below) to make a tea that has a light, fruity taste.

The dried flowers for tea are on the upper right. At the bottom are drying mushrooms, and I'm not sure what's in the upper left...

Weekend in Jogjakarta

2009-04-29T19:57:00.000-07:00

silver is mined in Central Java, and we had the opportunity to visit a jewelry store where the jewelry is actually made on-location. this is a near-finished ring...

the gamelan is a traditional Javanese musical "instrument" (or, collection of gongs, really) that requires many people to play

a chandelier at the sultan's palace

every afternoon at the sultan's palace, someone sings traditional Javanese songs. if you zoom in on the picture, you can see the Javanese script he's singing from...

Language class "field trip"!

2009-04-28T19:40:00.000-07:00

did you know that bananas grow "upside down"? new to us! and sometimes people cook and eat the large red flower hangin' under these green bananas

this spider (about the size of Major's palm!) was eating breakfast when we passed by and snapped his picture

transport via river. we briefly walked through a community where these river boats are made, often by family-owned and -run businesses.

mud farming? ... groups of men fill the boats with the fertile mud from this river; others fill the baskets and load them onto men's heads; those men walk up the bank and drop off the mud in a holding area, where it waits to be loaded onto trucks and shipped to other, less-fertile areas of the island.

coffee cherries ripening on the bush. ironically, Java is a huge exporter of coffee, but most people here drink instant coffee. hmmm

like hot? try these peppers, served "on the side" of several dishes... small bite of pepper, large bite of food

many, many foods are fried. here we see a "sampler" platter at a cafe near the coffee plantation we visited. fried cassava, fried banana (yum!), and fried veggies

duck herding? actually, yes. the herder is hidden behind the vehicles, but will take these ducks to feed in a certain area off the road... is that the ugly duckling I see there in the middle? he looks a little different...

Intro to Indo...

2009-04-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

man fishing the waters off Java's north shore, near Japara

rice, rice and more rice!

Japara, Java

this little guy was waiting for his dew to dry before attempting flight, outside our room

ancient Hindu temples near Badungan, Central Java

a friend enjoying the hot springs near the temples

skinks are about as common here as squirrels are in Oregon...

rambutan ("rambut" = hair)... hence "hairy fruit"

a mobile tire being patched along the road from Banyutowo to Japara, Central Java

sunset at some fishponds near Banyutowo, Central Java

New York, New York

2009-04-26T20:03:00.001-07:00

which part of the cow do you want your new bag from???

under the MAC store's glass staircase

New Orleans

2009-04-26T19:06:00.000-07:00

candles inside the Saint Louis Cathedral

Saint Louis Cathedral, the oldest continually used Catholic cathedral in the U.S.

dining area at Cafe Du Monde, where the specialty is beignets and cafe au lait (see below)

oh, the soft, chewy, sweet, pastry goodness... mmmm

freeloader searching for lunch treats

outside the Saint Louis Cathedral

Home sweet Oregon... Mountains

2009-04-26T03:28:00.000-07:00

the great and powerful Mt. Hood, which Major still claims is a hologram

again, in all it's glory

someone's abandoned fishing hook tangled in a tree at Trillium Lake, near Mt. Hood

shuttle boat on Crater Lake

Home Sweet Oregon... Willamette Valley

2009-04-26T02:58:00.001-07:00

they look confused...

corn field near Scholls

along a hiking trail

pulled off Glencoe Road for this one, on my way home after a nice day at the beach

this uncaged critter made his home at the Oregon Zoo

North Falls (I think) at Silver Falls State Park

along a hiking trail near Sun River

Home sweet Oregon... Coast

2009-04-26T02:24:00.000-07:00

central: the seagull was an unplanned bonus

central

north: Peter Iredale shipwreck near Fort Stevens

central

north

central

north: Battery Russell

central

Home sweet Oregon... Columbia River Gorge

2009-04-26T01:26:00.000-07:00

view toward Portland from Crown Point

dew drop preserved by the incessant fog

foggy hike up to Angel's Rest