Art and Gardens

 

(J's most recent project, learning about Frank Phillip Stella.  S was sick this day.)

 

(Watching beans grow)

 

(The kids love catching Baka-Baka in and around the garden.)

 

(Overcast view from our most recent hike.)

Another One Bites the Dust

It's been another full week here in Northern Luzon.  A week full of sickness, that is.  S and J have been passing different head colds back and forth since Christmas, so it's no surprise that they are still hacking and coughing like champs.  In the village around us, chicken pox is still making its rounds.  Most recently, a charming little stomach virus has started blossoming in the pits of unfortunate stomachs. 

I fell victim to the stomach bug Tuesday evening.  Never before have I experienced an illness quite like it, so I naturally held the vomit back long enough to Google my symptoms.  About ten minutes before the diarrhea or vomit, my stomach would boil with a tangible heat.  It felt like a flesh eating slug was trolling the inside of my stomach.  Only when the heat became unbearable, my stomach would unleash a watery Armageddon.  Google, of course, told me that my stomach lining was being destroyed and, in any case, I was experiencing a severe allergic reaction.  Truth be told, unless I'm allergic to Filipino potatoes, it really was just a bug and I was fine by Wednesday night.

Whether it is due to sickness or prepubescent mood swings, S seems to love me one moment and hate me the next.  She has adopted a charming mute condition whenever I ask her questions about what she is working on.  Fortunately, she miraculously regains her power of speech whenever throwing her pencil does not properly communicate her frustration.  Of course, there are just as many moments when she is practically an angel.  Go figure.

J has a thousand questions lately.  Most recently, there have been lots of questions about "the good H" and "the bad H."  She also wants to know "Why do we call it saved?"  It has been an honor to be able to experience this part of her growth.  Her head cold has also made her slightly more emotional.  When she discovered that the multiple illnesses would prevent a "real party" for B's birthday, she burst into tears because "it isn't a real birthday without a party."

Which brings us to B turning four.  It seems like she has transformed over night.  Now all she wants to say is, "I CAN DO IT MYSELF!"

In the village, it is almost time to harvest corn again.  This is causes mild concern because the constant rain has prevented the previous harvest from being sold as of yet, so the price for that corn is dropping tremendously.  Prayer that both harvests will make it to town and be sold would be greatly appreciated! 

TTFN (Ta-ta for now!)

The Garden and The Pig

Outdoors version of today's photo update:

The first sprouts of sayote, beans, and cucumber have made their appearance.  Next to the garden, Adobo the pig has a new bamboo shelter.  I snapped a photo of her chowing down on her second favorite food to apples: left over green beans.

 

(Cucumber sprouts)

(Close up sayote sprout)

 

(Adobo getting her greens)

(Adobo's hut)

Teaching Pop Art

Just a quick photo update with a little blurb because I have some time AND internet this morning.

In honor of Valentine's Day, I taught a lesson on Jim Dine's heart art.  The girls got to experiment with pop art and repeating patterns.  We liked the results so much that we decided they needed to be shared!

 

(J's masterpiece and the artist at work) 

 

 

(S and her finished product)

 

(My example piece)

Photo Update

(Adobo, 2 month old piglet)

(Grindelwald, before his habitat was built)

 (New garden, pre-planting)

(The first seedlings of pechay)

Water, Water Everywhere

There is a reason they call it rainy season instead of winter.  Winter implies a lovely blend of wintry weather.  Rainy season doesn't have variety. It's rain all day, every day. Cheers.

Despite the drumming rain and swelling river, life goes on.  We joke that we're starting a petting zoo at the house.  When I arrived in November, the only animal residing with us was Jojo the dog.  Since Christmas, we have acquired several additions. The first addition was technically a pair of lovebirds, Elvis and Mango.  Within a week of their arrival, however, they saw a chance to escape and took it.  The kids were sad and I was...not.  Next, Adobo the compost-eating pig arrived via helicopter with a second pair of lovebirds. These lovebirds have yet to receive official names, but I call them Hansel and Gretel, mostly because a witch locked their namesakes in a candy house to die. (Can you guess how I feel about keeping pet birds?) The most recent addition is a turtle.  He hasn't been christened yet, either, so I'm calling him Grindelwald.  My feelings on keeping a turtle are pretty similar to those on birds.  I'll add pictures by a separate post, sans birds.  The only thing more depressing than a caged bird is photographing a caged bird.

Personally, I have acquired acid reflux for the first time in my life.  It isn't a very pleasant life experience.  Any ideas on how many times the word sphincter is used to describe the symptoms? More than a few. And I still laugh every time I see it.  The hopeful cure for the malfunctioning sphincter?  No coffee, which is basically like saying no oxygen.  I'm not complaining, I just hope it actually works.

Missionally, the guys are translating the story of Joseph.  Eddie, one of the tribal language helpers, has been told up to Joseph's journey to Egypt.  At the end, he said, "What's next? It can't end there!" Pray for the preparation of his heart and the hearts of the village to hear the Good News!

In the words of Porky Pig, that's all folks! (For now, at least.)

Get the Hint

I know I can be a space cadet sometimes.  If my picture had to be placed by a single word in the dictionary, it would be next to "oblivious".  That's okay.  It just takes me a little longer to get the hint sometimes.

That is my preface.  Now, to the story.

When I moved to the Midwest, one of my friends gave me a canvas with a verse painted on it.  The canvas, I'm sorry to admit, sat in a box of yarn for a year until I moved again.  Once in the second apartment, the canvas managed to find itself hung above the kitchen sink, because there were two random nails protruding from the wall.  There it remained until I moved again.

Unfortunately, the third move left the canvas in yet another box in an attic. (Sorry, Nicole.)  But really, who brings a canvas across the Pacific when she's trying to fit her entire life into one bag? Call me a minimalist, but no one will be complaining when I bring  an extra duffel  of gifts home. 

So this Christmas, I opened my Christmas package from home and amongst the sprinkles and candy canes, was a brand spanking new canvas with a verse painted on it.  Any bets that it was the same verse? Of course it was.  I don't even think Mom knows I have a double of it in her attic.

So, after a few weeks of contemplation, I think I'm finally getting the hint.  The verse reads, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in You." (That's Isaiah 23:6, for anyone who was wondering.)  Maybe it's a coincidence, but I'm willing to bet if a verse follows you via canvas across the world, whether or not you leave it behind, you should probably meditate on that sucker. Like a lot.  So I am.

In other news, while I was writing this post, I was called outside to witness some coconut harvesting.  Naturally, I forgot to take pictures.  Suffice it to say, I drank fresh coconut water, ate the spongy seed pod from inside a browned coconut, and ate enough coconut meat for a small army.

Life is good.  A life of peace is fantastic.