New Bali cat update

Before we left, my newest Bali cat recovered from her operation and finished her meds. She started to feel like her old self which meant her wild side showed. She would spend much of the day as close to us as possible, but that meant our other cat was at risk. I realized that she would have to go back to the Bonsai Cafe where she has lived most of her life. She has food, shelter and lots of human contact, but now she will not have litter after litter of unwanted kittens.

Her last night at the villa, I let her sleep curled up at my feet. In the morning, she got a can of Friskies, I put her back in the totebag and in the basket for the 3 mile bicycle ride back to the Bonsai Cafe. At the cafe, I let her out and she scampered off never looking back. She is back where I first found her, sleeping on one of the chairs at the cafe, curled up in the eaves of the thatched roof or having some food from the kitchen or at one of the tables on the beach. I will check on her when I go back.

A dark and stormy night

It started to snow last night and continued through most of today. The city is now blanketed with 12 inches of fresh snow. Last night, I sat at the dining room table in front of the fire watching the snow and messing around with pens, paint and crayons.

I don't love snow or actually this painting much. Both are a bit of a mess!

It's cold here

We are back in Maine and on top of serious jet-lag we are seriously cold! It was 6° the other morning. I am having a bit of a time trying to find my creative muse in my new surroundings. My palette of colors for sketching is quite different here. Gone are all the rich greens and bright warm tropical colors and back to wintery blues, browns and grays.

From our deck we can see the sun come up over the Casco Bay, so I can sneak in a bit of orange. This is a very quick sketch looking east yesterday morning.

EDM #253 Draw your socks. Now that we are back in Maine I have dug out the hats, gloves and boots. Digging through the sock drawer I found these fleece socks. I curled up in front of the fire with Sophie and sketched these.

Sampai jumpa Bali

I put out my last offerings this morning. I doubled up on the incense enjoying the floral smell that fills the air in Bali. I have devised a way to make daily offerings in the US with a little help from my Bali friends. So, very soon my offerings will be perched on a snow bank.

Sampai jumpa Bali

Bali—"Island of the gods"

We were taking a hike with a friend in Bedugul, Bali and we stopped at four temples nestled in the mountains, connected by a trail, deep in the jungle. I pondered and then asked "how many temples do you think there are in Bali?" Of course, the answer in hundreds of thousands. Bali has more temples than houses as every house shrine is actually a temple. From large sacred temples to the smallest temples or shrines they are everywhere. It is why Bali is called "island of the gods".

This walled-in temple is at the end of our street at the mouth of an estuary. A little rundown and overgrown, but quite beautiful in the early morning light. Everyday I see people placing offerings at the statue in the center under the umbrellas.

This small temple is at the base of a waterfall in Bedugul. In amongst dense vegetation there is a small statue with two old weathered umbrellas.

Canang sari

A few weeks ago we had our priest/friend Pak Astika and his wife Made come to the villa to perform a purification ceremony to banish the evil spirits that were hanging around. This was done with offerings which are a small square palm leaf basket filled with flowers and other goodies, a stick of incense is then lighted to allow the offerings to float up to the gods.

I needed to get the five elements for the ceremony—fire (incense), water (new), flowers, fruit and rice. So off I went to see my friend Suni at "So Clean Laundry". She does 35 offerings a day so I knew she would be able to help. She went to the local market and the next day I picked up incense (everyday and special) and the lovely smelling special full moon flowers. The rest I had. That night Astika and Made presented 7 offerings at strategic (most holy and/or important) points around the villa.

Statue outside our bedroom in the garden with the canang sari (offering).

Since then I have been doing four offerings a day. I get on my bike and ride to see my new friend Ilu who makes and sells the canang sari. I enjoy the act of placing them, lighting the incense and thinking about the spiritual aspect of thanking the forces of the invisible world for their gifts to our human society. It is peaceful.

One Cat, Two Cat, Old Cat, New Cat—Part 1

Kuging manja (spoiled cat). My first Bali cat brought to the villa last April by our friend Uul to take care of our mouse problem. I had her spayed two days later when a herd of tomcats were pacing the walls checking out the cute new young girl in town. A bit of a “cranky fur pants” she has her moments of being loving and sweet, but it’s on her terms.

Kucing baru (new cat). I found this cat at a Bonsai Café on the beach. With all four paws she was standing on the edge of a garbage can eating. She came by our table later for handouts. I asked who she belonged to and everyone shrugged their shoulders and said “the café”. I fretted about her for several days. Two days ago I jumped on my bike road three miles to the beach, put her in a totebag and then in the basket on my bike and road back three miles to the vet to have her spayed. She is upstairs recovering, eating canned food and drinking Evian water. She is very sweet and loves attention. Because of her scrappy life, her fur is a bit of a mess and she doesn’t have all her teeth.

She needs a name.

Kucing malas (lazy cat). We named our tiny mouser Tikus, but we now call her Howard. She has this Howard Hughes cleaning phobia. Spending an inordinate amount of time cleaning after a day of sleeping. So far she has caught one mouse and was quite pleased with herself so she just fell asleep at the scene of the kill basking in her glory.

Kucing Baru (new cat). Managed to climb up into the ceiling rafters, over the AC unit and slide down the wall onto Jerry’s desk and computer. So much for recovering from surgery and isolating hissing cats. Now they stare at each other through the glass doors. She has put on weight, her fur is getting smooth and she is settling in to her new life—JACKPOT!

One Cat, Two Cat, Old Cat, New Cat—Part 2

Kucing manja (spoiled cat). Before a day of sleeping and cleaning she insisted that Maria, our housekeeper, hold her while she swept.

Kucing Baru (new cat). Unbeknownst to Howard she slept on the couch in the living room this afternoon.

Blue moon over Bali

December 31, 2009 was a full moon and that is always a celebration for the Balinese. Add New Years Eve and and a rare blue moon occurrence and it was a celebration like I've never seen. The entire island was celebrating. Flowers, fireworks, noisemakers, champagne and dancing to the wee hours of 2010. I haven't stayed out that late in decades...

Selamat Tahun Baru

Christmas in Bedugul, Bali

View from Jeff and Yanti's house where we had an traditional English dinner—turkey and the works. Hard to believe but there was no rice. This is a view from the outdoor dining area across the lake.

Got up early Saturday morning to sketch the view before we took a hike. Everyone else was asleep.

Jeff and Yanti have beautiful gardens and Jeff is an "orchiholic". This is the rare Black Orchid of Kalimantan that just bloomed. Done in a cheap journal that didn't scan at all well.

Borneo Bob

First stop on Christmas Eve, the Kalimantan Restaurant, to have a glass of wine with our friend Bob. He is the proud owner of that Christmas tree from the previous post. Then it was off to the beach for grilled fish and phone calls to our families in the states.

Merry Christmas Everyone

To my family and friends

I wish you all a very joyful holiday

Happy Holidays from Bali

A few quick sketches of Christmas in Bali.

A classic

There are many beautifully renovated Vespas here in Bali. We were tempted to buy one, but the clink and clank of the two stroke engine quickly changed our minds.

Now that's a tree!

There is always a Christmas tree at the entrance to the Kalimantan, a popular ex-pat open-air cafe and watering-hole. The owner, our friend Bob, an ex-pat from Colorado, got this year's living tree from his yard. It is haphazardly strung with strands of blinking multi-colored lights, hanging from the branches are little white cotton snowmen ornaments with red hats and the the whole thing is draped in colored tinsel garland. It's quite a sight.

Happy Holidays

For the birds

A couple of exotic birds we met in Ubud, named George and Nancy. At one point I had one standing on each arm. They were so beautiful, quite gentle, but very heavy—"quick take my picture"!

Legong dance

From a quick sketch I did at the Barong dance on our cultural tour. The two Legong dancers mimic each other in synchronized movements snapping their heads from side to side. They are quite beautiful and traditionally quite young. I told Jerry and Pak Astika it reminded me of voguing. They both gave me that "what" look. You know Madonna, guys.

Cast Away

I have no idea what these 2" long beetles are, but they usually fly through the outdoor living area, hit the wall, land on their backs where they lay until Maria or I sweep them up the next day. Usually when they are on their backs they are faking it. They are like giant cockroaches—hmmmm, maybe they are cockroaches. I have just never asked because in the evening we have bats, geckos, tokay and frogs wandering around.

Yesterday, I found this guy in the pool hanging on for dear life. He managed to grab hold and climb onto a floating Frangipani flower. He was like Tom Hanks in Cast Away only he wouldn't survive because Jerry was going swimming soon.

Grilled fish on the beach

We love the simple way they grill fish over coconut husks, so on Friday nights, we usually find ourselves sitting at the waters edge eating a pile of grilled fish. They know us there because Jerry, being in the seafood business, is always looking under the gills and smelling the fish for freshness. I usually find the sweet restaurant cat who is so close to being put in my totebag and taken to the vet for spaying and shots. Every night I go home fretting about her, however, she doesn't have such a bad life. Every morning on my walk I find her sound asleep in a chair at one of the restaurant tables. It's just that she will have kittens, again and again. The other night one of the waitresses, Lelek said to me "ambil?"—you take? Oh man...

Cumi cumi bakar (grilled squid or cuttlefish) my absolute favorite.

Buah-buahan

Durian—the fruit of kings—HA!

Our pembantu, Maria, asked me "durian in USA?". I gave her that "what the hell is durian look". So, off we went to the English/Indonesian dictionary. Well, the definition of durian is durian—no wonder. "It is good" she said "tomorrow I bring". Okay. So a durian arrived the next day. I said to Jerry "the durian is here" and he said "yes, I can smell it!". It has a very strong odor which I found quite startling. Some say it smells like bad cheese or stinky socks. Whatever, it is really bad. Maria asked if she should cut it up and put it in the fridge. Okaaaaaaaaaay....

The next morning, we needed to at least try it. Jerry took a bite and quietly placed is fork in the sink and walked away. I sniffed, licked and then said "I'm done". I tossed the rest of it over the wall into the jungle in the back of the villa. As I was flinging it over the 12 foot wall I didn't realize that my reading glasses were on my head and flew off. I spent all weekend looking for them. On Monday, I had to tell Maria that I didn't love the durian. Her husband Pakalis then found my glasses in the garden near the wall and handed them back to me. I thanked him and said "I wonder how those got there"...
Buah-buahan

They sell fruit everywhere in warungs and stands along the streets and the beaches. There are even people who have a big box on the back of their bikes with a sign that says "buah-buahan" selling portions of mangos, bananas, pineapple, coconuts, watermelon, papayas, mangostines and many other fruits I don't recognize and lots of that stinky durian.

Day 3—Tour of Bali with Pak Astika

Our final day started out with breakfast on the beach and Pak Astika explaining the day’s itinerary. First stop, the local temple for morning prayer before we go over the mountains again.

The local priest sprinkled holy water on our heads. The right hand is then cupped in the left and filled with holy water, three times for drinking then three times to wash the head and face. This is followed by pressing grains of rice to our foreheads and throat.

We were good to go!

On our way to Pura Luhur Batu Karu we drove through the large area of Tabanan, which has the most fertile land in Bali and known as the "rice basket". The landscape is green with rice terraces streaming down the mountains and as far as the eye can see. Pak Astika said Tabanan was famous for its red rice which is nutty and delicious. There were many people working the fields that day, so Astika took Jerry down to cut some rice with the locals using their sickles or handheld knives.

A quick sketch of the rice terraces looking back towards the mountains we just traveled over while sitting in the back seat of the car.

Pura Luhur Batukaru—Balinese temple ceremony

Pura Luhur Batukaru is one of the six temples sacred to all Hindu-Balinese. Built in the 11^th century it is one of the most ancient sacred sites in Bali. It was here that we experienced our first Balinese ceremony. Pak Astika is a Pemankgku which is a type of priest so he preformed much of the 2 hour ceremony. It was necessary for us to wear the appropriate temple clothing so we were suited up over our clothes. Man, was it HOT!

Following Pak Astika’s wife through the dense jungle vegetation to the first temple. She easily carried prayer offerings and our "after praying snack" on her head.

Here I am following Pak Astika's wife wearing the traditional kebaya, sash and sarong (over my clothes!!!) not carrying offerings on my head—I tried though. We passed this shrine in the center of the lake honoring the goddess of Lake Tambligan and the god of Mount Batu Karu.

Praying at the second temple. Hands were always with thumbs at our brow line holding flowers in our fingers. After each prayer you toss a flower to the alter and put one in your hair.

We got sprinkled, drank and washed with holy water at each temple site along with pressing rice onto our foreheads. We prayed at four temples. By the end of the day, I had flowers stuck all over my hair, rice stuck everywhere and after trying to sit crossed legged in a sarong for two hours in the heat, I decided it was a lot of work to be Balinese.

It was truly an amazing experience.