BLESS MY HOUSE!!

We were granted an exception to the Balinese Religion rule that states a house can not be slept in until the house is blessed and protected from evil spirits and has been made to come alive.  So after living in the house for a week the ceremony took place.

The landowner and his family asked for $650 for the ceremony, which really got us pissed off, even though we have heard of other westerners being taken for much more. I mean, they sometimes see us as dollar signs.

I can't figure out where $650 went--okay the priest is paid for his time, and there was tremendous of food and flowers.  Also these small wooden boxes are put on each structure and are called temples, so offerings had to be placed on each one.  Still--$650?

The ceremony was lovely and a few friends showed up to share with us. Bells were ringing, water was being thrown on us, rice was dropped on heads and flowers and food was placed everywhere. Our driver friend brought a delicious smoked chicken, and we had some fruit and eggs left for us to eat.

 We have hired a young, single woman to be our house manager and pembantu (one who cleans, makes food etc.).  She has worked for westerners (bouleys) in the past and so she speaks English fairly well.  We are going to trust her to not only keep the house in order, but also pay the bills and take care of guests while we are gone.  She claims to be a good cook and that is important because she will be making breakfast for guests. Neither Barbara nor I have big breakfasts these days but we will have her cook for us to see how good she is. because she will have to cook breakfast for guests.  There is always more to learn--we now discover we are expected to pay for lunch for people who work full-time--go figure!

The next event in our continuing education is the expectation that we pay for the daily and holiday offerings.  (Offerings--you should know by now are the small baskets of flowers, rice incense and fruit that are set out in front of every structure daily.) The landowner, Sade' says the offerings have to come from our village, which means he wants us to pay him to have his wife bring them over every day (she will also be working part-time for us).  Well, Made', our pembantu, who is from another village says she can bring them for half the price that Sade' wants, but Sade' nixed that idea because he says the offerings must be done by his family. We don't want to spend as much money as he wants, so we are going to offer half the price and he pays half. So the negotiations continue and we will have a meeting on Monday to settle the whole affair.  I feel like we're in the middle of a situation like US government budget crisis.


We hired a recycling company to pick up our separated trash every week, hooked up our stove-top to a propane gas tank, scheduled weekly delivery of bottled water, learned how to pay the government water bill (drive to an office and pay in person with cash) and .  We are now looking for a part-time gardener/ pool man/handy man.


We hear stories of all the problems here and people getting taken for their money and getting ripped-off and having medical problems and unhappy ex-pats.  Among the ex-pats there always a lot of negative talk, but through it all this is still a pretty nice place to live--great warm weather all year, fabulous food and all for a lot less than it costs to live in the States.  When our house is completed we will have  no mortgage (gotta look into insurance) and less than $500 in house costs per month.  The house is set up for easy rental and this will all be extra money for us so we can travel and there is still a lot of world to see. Air Asia has some very good deals that we hope to be able to take advantage of.


We finally got our sun beds (chaise longues) and had a two level fish/lotus pond with waterfall built.  The lack of full electric power prevents us from running the pump, but that will come in time. We have a gardener advising us and planting our garden--it is just amazing how fast the landscaping takes place. They come in with full-grown plants, shrubs and trees and in they go! You just have to stick a plant in the ground, water it and in a short time you watch your garden grow! Now we'll get cuttings from friends and plant ourselves. The lawn is planted in one day--and after a few weeks it will take hold and we'll have a lawn


Barbara has designed a web page for the house--see it at:
http://www.villasemuasuka.com/


Following are some pictures of the house.  What do you think?

 

MOVING IN!

The past couple of weeks has most definitely had its ups and downs. First we moved into the new house, even though it was not complete and still doesn't have electricity, but more about the juice drama later. 
During the first week of living in the house there were workers doing their thing throughout the day, which was disconcerting to say the least. But since then almost all interior work has been completed and all activity is outside involving the garden and landscaping. The stones have been set for the patios and now construction has begun on the two-level lotus pond.  We are at the end of the second truckload of topsoil which will be spread around the area so grass and all the various plants, shrubs and trees can be planted next week.  But all the ground within our property is dirt and often mud, which makes for a bloody mess, especially when taking Milo (our puppy Pug) outside to do his business.

Back to the ongoing drama with PLN, the electric company.  After waiting for months to get electricity we were told early this week that the first step has finally taken place--we would receive delivery of the three cement columns (telephone poles) which we would then have to move to the correct positions so the hole diggers could dig holes and then cement the poles into place. Well, all was going along swimmingly well as our men were carrying the poles when they crossed the corner of a rice field which did not sit well with the farmer who was out in his field.  He got very angry and told the men they could go no further as long as the rice was still growing. So that put a crimp in our plans because now we have to wait until the rice is harvested--another three to four weeks. There is nothing we can do except wait, and after harvest, proceed with the moving of the columns. Very frustrating, but as foreigners we have to adhere to their, sometimes weird, ways.
 
We are living with electricity borrowed from our neighbor, albeit not the full power we need for our house. So the refrigerator is running; we have lights, but can not turn them all on at the same time; we can't use the pool pump so no swimming; we are able to watch TV; we turn the hot water heater on for a few hours in the late afternoon so we can take showers; and we can run the overhead fans--one at a time.  Of course we have  gas for our stove so we can cook, but can't use the toaster-oven. We are really enjoying living in the house--it is light and airy and very comfortable, especially now that some of our paintings and art is up and about. So glad to be out of that two room place we've been living in for almost six months.

This coming week will bring the installation of kitchen cabinets, the last bed, a lot of landscaping, including grass planted around the stepping stones and some more furniture.

 
 All things considered we love living here, in Bali, In Ubud/Penestanan and in our little neighborhood.  We walk Milo a few times a day, run into people we know and  people who are here for a short time as tourists /renters, walk to the food market, ride the motorbike to town for restaurants, have a delicious coffee frappe at the Yellow Flower cafe down the path, watch a movie at night on our new TV, and--it is all within our living  budget. Our new favorite restaurant is a small, four-table cafe presided over by Siti, who has lived in Thailand, India and California and is a fabulous cook.  At Little India, her naan and stuffed parantha is as as good as you will find anywhere. Also her mutton qorma, eggplant with tomato sauce, and all of her Indian food is delicious.  Then there are her wonderful Thai dishes--so good! How does she do it in such a small kitchen?


I want to write briefly about our moving-in ceremony and some problems, but I will do that in a separate blog.

THE PARADOX OF CHOICE AND OTHER THOUGHTS

KITCHEN COUNTER & SINK

KITCHEN COUNTER & STOVE TOP BURNERS

OUTDOOR BATHTUB

Before I begin I must mention the passing of Owsley Stanley, a seminal figure of the San Francisco 60's scene and a very brilliant, influential and accomplished man.

The paradox of choice and what it means to us living in a third world country (in most ways.).  When we go into a supermarket or large store and want to buy a blender, toaster, detergent, shampoo or any item we are not confronted with a massive selection of choices like in Target.  We chose a Panasonic blender from a choice of two brands and were fine with that. And the same with a toaster-oven.  I have maybe 3 different brands of shampoo to choose from and guess what--my hair is just as clean as when I had to select from 15 brands!  Do we really need to choose from a plethora of brands when selecting a product to wash our clothes?  I always hated how much time I wasted standing in front of those shelves at K-Mart staring at all the various household cleansers hoping I'd pick the right one. No More!

STAIRCASE (DUH!!)

MAIN LIVING/DINING ROOM

We are into the final month of our building project and spending a great deal of time selecting basic household items. All of our furniture is being built to our specifications and everything seems to be ready now. We'll be spending a lot of time receiving the furniture as well as the large appliances, because of the difficulty of getting to our house.  I have said previously that we live on a path which is a 7-8 minute walk from where a car or motorbike can park. So we must give the supplier directions to the Bintang Supermarket (near the steps leading to our Path) and then the driver must call me, at which time I will walk down to the truck and lead the driver up to the house.  If the items are large I hope the driver has a helper or two or else I have to call up to the project to get some of our men to come down to help. Whew!

Oh yeah, the phone calls and the problems.  Most Balinese speak a limited amount of English (at some places none) and my Indonesian is the same (as is Barbara's), so if there is a problem or I must call to request delivery look out--communication failure!  Look--living in a nation  that does not speak one's native tongue is difficult, and add to that the cultural differences and you have a recipe for frustration. Something I experience often.  Simple things are just not done the way I am used to in the States.  

MASTER BATHROOM SINK

We have a bank account here and will be able to pay the electric bill online (I'm pretty sure),and we already pay the satellite TV company online through a bill pay program.  But not everything is quite so simple.  Drinking water and gas for the stove must be brought up and paid for in cash upon delivery.  And then there's the water company-two visits to the water company and I finally figured out how to do it.  I have to go in to a different office between the first and 20th of each month and pay in cash.  Okay, that doesn't sound so hard, but trying to understand the woman behind the counter was not easy.

OUTSIDE WALL

As for electricity, we have been promised the much anticipated juice on or about April 10th--but we all know how that goes.  To complicate matters we must be out of our present digs on March 31, so we have to move into the house at that time or find other temporary housing or get a generator.  We are going to buy a generator next week and, assuming the house is ready for us on the 1st, hook it up and run it for a few hours in the morning, afternoon and evening.  Hopefully this will be needed for no more than two weeks, or whenever the electric company hooks us up.  We have yet to figure out how we are going to get gas up to house to power the generator.  Any suggestions?

FAMILY TEMPLE

Now, in order to move in we must hold a ceremony which must follow age-old guidelines as to exactly where and when.  This is to assure the house has been cleansed of all evil spirits and the gods will be shining upon us.  We turned that over $650 to the landowner to purchase all the necessary fruit, vegetables, eggs, flowers, chickens, ducks and holy men to make the ceremony just right.  We are now waiting for the decision as to the most auspicious date.  There is a calendar listing just which days are proper for different life events, but this falls into the holy man's decision.


Wish you all could be present for this event, but alas, that is not going to happen, so wish us luck and good cheers! 

Since Barbara is now riding on the back of our motorbike we are getting around town much faster and easier, so we're trying new restaurants and enjoying most of them. Tonight is the night we go to the Fly Cafe for what is always a very good dinner and trivia night with friends--good fun.  Last week we won a bottle of beer for winning a  bonus round of 60's music! Wahoo!  Tomorrow night is the sixth week of our movie club--Dr. Strangelove, one of my all-time favorites.  And, last Tuesday we saw an excellent world music band at the Jazz Cafe which featured a young, wonderfully talented and beautiful female violinist from Hungary.  They'll be playing every Tuesday for a while, so we'll be back.  

Although we are 10,000 miles from home we both read the news every day--NY Times, Huff Post, Daily Beast et al.  Most of our friends read the news too and we are all grateful not to be in the States right now.  I think the political climate is the worst I have ever seen, what with the maniacal conservatives cutting funding for anything that helps people. But god help us if we mention cutting military spending!  The governors of Wisconsin and Michigan are unbelievable--with Michigan being even worse than Wisconsin, if that is possible.  If you don't know what is happening in Michigan right now read about it--you won't believe it.  We're not alone--the whole world is a mess.  (Recently read Half the Sky & Stones Into Schools--everyone should read these books.) Well, sorry about the rant, just had to get it off my tanned chest.

BALI NEW YEAR & OGAH OGAH NIGHT

 Last night was Ogah-Ogah night in Bali--the night that precedes Nyeppi or New Years Day. This night is a couple of weeks in the making as young people in every village spend their spare time making the Ogah Ogahs you see on this page.  This is but a small sampling just from our village--there are hundreds all over the island.  (This would make a wonderful picture book if one could travel all over during this time.)

They are made of papier mache', but very strong and sturdy as they are put on make-shift bamboo pole platforms and paraded thru the streets while much noise is being made banging drums and cymbals, and chanting--loud.  

They are meant to be scary in order to frighten away the evil spirits which fly overhead during the New Years.

This is a wonderful night with all the locals and tourists out taking pictures and having a great time--lots of food vendors selling corn-on-the-cob, tofu and rice dishes and toys for the kids.

At midnight everything and everyone quiets down in observance of the New Year.  For the next 30 hours--until 6am the following day all lights must be off, no one--cars, bikes, people can be out.   Even the big hotels down south keep all guests from leaving the property, and the airport and seaport is closed for the day. Silence is the key word and it is strictly observed.

 
The idea is that when night falls and the evil spirits fly over the island they will not see Bali--what a great and clever idea!  Why haven't we thought of that in the west?

I hope you all enjoy looking at these photos--we had a lot of fun taking them and being a part of Ogah Ogah night!

B ACK 2 BALI

PALMER ""CUCU" ALBERTER



Just back from 2 weeks in Seattle and Denver, visiting the kids, sister and the grandkid…but, happy to be back in Bali. Weather has been breezy since I’ve been back. Glad to be able to take the boots and sweaters off…and relax in just shorts and a tee.




GUEST HOUSE WITH POOL IN FOREGROUND

Lots of progress on the house while I was away…overseen by Henry. The finishing touches are going into place. Polishing and grouting the stone and pool edge. Doors and windows are now all in. Laundry room being finished including the ‘staff’  toilet which we neglected in the initial contract.                                                                   

BALE' FOR RESTING AND RELAXING




Water fountain in the entry way is now in place, and the small fountain in the outdoor shower will soon be plumbed in as well. The Bale….is finished except for a light fixture. Looks like we may be 3-4 weeks away from completion……but still no electric!!!!!!!!

WATER FOUNTAIN WITH POOL IN BACKGROUND

LIMESTONE WALL CARVING

Looks like we may have to purchase a generator if the electricity can’t be hooked up before we’re ready to move in. Noisy, but the only alternative that we have. Of course, no one can tell us what’s really happening. It’s like being in a Kafkaesque novel…lots of paperwork, lots of people involved, lots of offices to visit and officials to speak with….but, no answers regarding time frame or cost. This is very frustrating for us as you can imagine.

WASHTABLE FOR OUR BATHROOM



MAIN GATE WITH WATER FEATURE







We have heard horror stories of having to wait for up to a year for electric, of having to pay exorbitant amounts to bring it up to this area…to the benefit of us and our neighbors…but, what to believe? We’ll just have to take it one step at a time and see what happens.

FINISHED SWIMMING POOL

Have already had an offer on it for a 20 year rental…but, the amount wasn’t enough to make us want to sell it at this time….we haven’t even moved in yet!

Milo is growing as well. Still trying to toilet train him, and have been making a bit of progress. He has sharp little teeth, bites our feet and is a little devil…but, so cute that we can forgive him almost anything.


MR M THE 2nd



So…that’s life in the big city…we watch the ricefields grow, the flowers bloom, and the skies turn color as day morphs to dusk….

                          



SUNSET OVER THE RICE FIELDS





...AND THE BEAT GOES ON

OUR NEW PUG PUPPY--MILO

The newest addition to our family is an 8 week old pug, whom we named Milo.  He is a handful, and housebreaking him is a lot of work, especially right now, for me, as Barbara is visiting kids and grandson in Denver for 2 weeks.  We had to give him vaccination and worm shots, so we called the local vet.  He came to the house, checked Milo out, gave him the shots and charged us $25--not a bad deal.

KITCHEN COUNTER ISLAND WITH SINK

Meanwhile the work goes on at the house, with a lot of noise as the guys are cutting granite tile, sanding (electric sander) and using an electric planer.  The workers are great--we don't communicate much as only a few of them speak any English at all and my Indonesian is very limited , to say the least.  They are almost all from Java and eating and sleeping on the property.  They all do very exacting work--especially visible now as we are into the finishing bits.  The only problem is we can only get them to work 7 days a week!

LANDSCAPING ALONG BACK WALL

There are decisions to be made every day and also changes all the time as we visit other peoples homes and get ideas.  All these changes cost, so we must be very careful what we ask for.  We have made a few mistakes, but nothing we can't live with.  One mistake was of omission--we neglected to install a toilet for the staff.  So we have to build a small structure (like an outhouse, but made of cement) with electricity and plumbing.  It will go right next to the laundry/storage house and should be just perfect.  This had to be done because all of our house toilets are open and that would not be acceptable to the staff.  Our staff--we hired a woman who will be our house manager, help with rental guests and run the place when we're not there, and will also be the pembantu (the person who comes in every day to clean, cook, do laundry any all household chores).  

BUNGALOW OUTDOOR SHOWER

We also hired the wife of the landowner to come in for a few hours each day to help.  We were obligated to hire her as it is just the right thing to do in this culture.  Sometimes people are hired to do minimal work because us, as Westerners, must keep good relations with the locals.  We plan to keep them both busy, as we hope to rent the bungalow out as much as possible, and also the main house when we are not here.  We will also need a gardener 3 times a week to keep the garden and grounds looking good, green and colorful.

2nd FLOOR WITH RAILING

So much is happening right now--the air conditioners have been installed; ceiling fans are going in; light fixtures and outlets; plumbing fixtures; painting and varnishing; and more every day.  The terrazzo work is almost finished and it is an interesting process--day after day of laying down layers of cement with with colors, sanding and polishing.  The bathtub and 2 bathroom counters are terrazzo and they look just great.

Our guest bungalow will be finished by the end of this week so we can receive furniture and appliances and lock them up. 

I must mention one of my favorite meals here--ayam talliwang.  It is a dish that originated in the neighboring island of Lombok and it is simply delicious.  There are only a handful of restaurants that serve it here and that is all they serve--the only one near us is a half hour drive.  You sit down and food is just brought to you--a whole, but small chicken, not as meaty as in the States, but grilled perfectly.  The special part is the bowl of sauce that accompanies it--I wish I could tell what it consists of, but I can't, I only know it is slightly spicy and great.  You also get rice and a plate of vegetables.  And the cost? $3.50!  Can't wait for my next Ayam Talliwang!


I know most of the States and Europe is having a rough, cold, snowy winter, but here in Bali it has been hot and sunny.  We are in the middle of the rainy season and it has been a mild one with not much rain.  The evenings have been pleasantly cool here in Ubud but I wear only shorts and t-shirts day and night.


A few people including Barbara and I are starting a serious film club (altho we will watch comedies) to meet once a week, see a movie and discuss it.  One of the people has a giant flat screen TV and with the current availability of movies to download free the possibilities are unlimited.  We also go to Trivia Night once a week at one of our favorite restaurants and have joined a friendly group of old farts. It's very popular with older ex-pats like ourselves and a fun way to pass an evening.

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