Marulaon Woman's Daybook

Just for today, Monday, December 30 

Outside my window...cherry tomatoes ripening in my little canoe garden patch and Chinese cabbage dying like crazy in the same little canoe. 

From the learning rooms...we're in the mid 1800's when so many amazing people lived.  I've pulled out some picture books about Henry David Thoreau (“Henry David's House” edited by Steven Schnur, “Henry Hikes to Fitchburg” by D.B. Johnson), Ralph Waldo Emerson (“Mr. Emerson's Cook” by Judith Byron Schachner), Fannie Farmer (“Fannie in the Kitchen:  The Whole Story from Soup to Nuts of How Fannie Farmer Invented Recipes with Precise Measurements” by Deborah Hopkinson), Emily Dickinson (“Emily” by Michael Bedard), and Gregor Mendel (“Gregor Mendel:  The Friar Who Grew Peas” by Cheryl Bardoe).  This period in history is so much fun to study! 

On my bookshelf... “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot.  Fabulous book suggested by my friend, Christine. 

I am hearing...lots of Mendelssohn as we learn a little bit about him in school this week.  I have such great memories of playing his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra and The Hebrides/Fingal's Cave Overture.  Though I've never played it, his Octet in E flat minor makes me smile, too! 

From the kitchen...more Pakistani Kimi today, almost finishing off our precious onions.  I doubled the recipe so I could take some to Walter as a thank you for serving as Marulaon's catechist in December and to return some in Naris' bowl which she brought with fish yesterday. 

Praying for...my friend, Kiko, who has “red-eye”, what we would call pink-eye.  I noticed Saturday evening after church that she was holding her head in her hands like she was in pain, so I asked her, “Ngo vat lau?”  Does your head hurt?  She said it was her eyes again, her extended family all deal with recurrent pink eye.  So, yesterday, I took over some antibiotic eye ointment, antibacterial soap, and clothes washing detergent and explained what she needed to do to heal her eyes and to keep from getting these recurring infections.  My neighbors just use the same dirty rag to wipe their eyes over and over.  They don't use soap to wash their hands, either, so I'm hoping and praying that these little things will make a big difference! 

Pondering these words...”We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.  God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with claims and petitions....It is part of the discipline of humility that we must not spare our hand where it can perform a service and that we do not assume that our schedule is our own to manage, but allow it be arranged by God.”  ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

Around the house...our wooden spiral is almost full of candles as Epiphany approaches 

One of my favorite things...the radio working again.  Our colleagues sent another radio on the Kosco.  It arrived this afternoon, and now we can check e-mail and stay in touch again.  Happy, happy, happy! 

A few plans for the rest of the week...New Year's Day breakfast with some other families, hoping to do some back translating on the story of the boy Jesus in the temple later in the week.