Christmas presents early!

Yup, we opened presents early this year. We're leaving for Thailand on the 20th so the girls voted for opening presents early rather than late after we get back home on the 28th. Kinda figured they'd vote for that.Sherilyn, your books and calendars were a big hit. Thank you! I made Sara a hugging pillow in the shape of a kitty, just like Tia's doggy hugging pillow I made her for her birthday in Sept. The theme of their other gifts was musical instruments. Awhile back our maid, Ibu Anis, gave them an Anklund so we thougt we'd add some more. The big item in the picture is a Gamlang and we've been listening to a concert all evening. :-)

Quyen and I bought ourselves a WII so we all had fun playing with our present too. Paula

Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas from Indonesia!!
This year WE are writing the family Christmas letter. Tia and Sara

At school we have lots of fun festivals. On UN Day everyone dressed up in clothes from their home country. Sara (60 countries were represented. Mom)
In the Festival of Lights, I sang one song with my class and played the gamelan anklung
with the other song. Tia

At Sambolo we played in the humungous waves with our friends. I caught hermit crabs with my sister and we had a pet octopus. Sara
My best friend, Nicole, usually went with her family too. Boogie boarding was fun with my Dad. Our boogie boards had killer whales on them. Tia

We saw lots of Buddha’s inside huge bells at Borobudur. Most Buddha’s were about as big as my Mom. Sara
I thought the Mendut Temple was the prettiest one. Tia

Pondok Indah Water Park has really big slides. My favorite slide was the biggest one but it was really tiring to climb all those stairs. Tia
We never wanted to stop until we got hungry. Sara

We went home to Washington in the summer, and we played with ALL 23 cousins. Tia
We rode in an inner tube behind Granddaddy’s boat and it was SO fun. Sara
I learned how to stand on my head and my Grandpa Del made stilts for us. We learned how to walk on stilts. Sara
I was so good at walking on stilts that I used the tallest ones. Tia
We all went crabbing in Grandma’s boat. My Dad got bit on his finger. Sara

Dad played golf on some Saturday mornings and played with us after he came home. Sara
While Dad was off golfing, we swam with Mom. Tia
My Mom was the leader of our Girl Scout troops. Sara

Ho! Ho! Ho! Sara
Merry Christmas! Tia
We wish you a new year blessed with a loving family, close friends, and new experiences that fill your heart with happiness and peace.
Love, Quyen, Paula, Tia, and Sara

Making cookies

Yes, Tia and Sara have been busy making Christmas cookies this season. Eating them with their friends about as fast as they're baked. :-)

Yesterday was frosted sugar cookies.

Monday I'll be in helping 1st graders frost MORE sugar cookies as part of Sara's class Christmas party. The class made sugar cookie dough together last week. Tia and Sara baked the cookies over the weekend along with their own to frost.

I think we'll be going to the Pondok Indah Water Park this afternoon.

.

Thanksmas

Well, Thanksgiving isn't a recognized holiday here in Indonesia (surprise, surprise) and most everyone leaves town over Christmas so many of us were expecting to miss that big turkey dinner this year...Then our friend, Steve, had the great idea of celebrating "Thanksmas" together.

We hosted at our house so I even got an excuse to break out my good dishes. I'd found a nice recipe to cook a 17lb turkey in only 2-1/2 hrs, and we all added some yummy side dishes. Tia and I even made rolls with Grandma Burke's recipe and yes, of course we had black olives. :-)


The 6 kids were entertained swimming in the pool and making their own gingerbread houses while we adults had a relaxing visit. It was fun!

Jamu Gedong

On Friday I finally got up the nerve to ask for a photo of one of the Jamu Gedong ladies.

These industrious ladies carry a bamboo basket of several "Jamu" drinks on their back a circulate through their neighborhood every morning peddling their herbal drinks. I see this specific lady most everyday after dropping off the girls at school as her route must be in that neighborhood.

Another funny INDO experience:While shopping for some last-minute items for the Thanksmas meal, we walked through the toiletries section of the store. A lady approached me with a tray of various deodorant and asked me if I wanted to try one. "Waah!! Put on one of your deodorant right here in the store? No thanks." In hindsight, she probably just meant for me to try a sniff or two but with our language barrier, it didn't come across that way. :-)

P.S. Here's something I copied off the Internet:

In Java these ladies tend to sling the basket on their backs and carry it somewhat like a backpack. They are known as Jamu Gendong. The word gendong means to 'carry on the back'. Early each morning well before dawn the jamu gendong prepares several litres of three or four different of jamu in her home, having purchased the ingredients from a local market. After the conclusion of the preparation, jamu gendong pours the fluid into empty plastic Aqua bottles. These are placed into a large round bamboo basket. The jamu gendong then hoists the basket on to her back and sets off on her regular jamu route.The word jamu covers a vast range medicinal drinks for various diseases and are available in ready-to-drink form as well as in powder satchets or capsules. Renowned brands of jamu include Iboe, Sido Muncul, Jago, and Meneer. Some people say to avoid buying jamu from the street as the water quality is dubious, but I have not had any problems from it in over 30 years!

Here are a few of the most requested jamu:

Galian singset — weight reduction)

Beras kencur (from rice, sand ginger and brown sugar) — cough, fatigue

Temulawak (from curcuma) — for liver disease)

Gula asem (from tamarind and brown sugar) — rich in vitamin C

Kunyit asam (from tamarind, turmeric) — for skin care, canker sores

Of course there are many more varieties available and include assisting impotency, improving sexual prowess and for women, helping with the monthly cycle.