Celebrations

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Jenny hosted a lovely Christmas cookie exchange and at one point there were over 30 people mingling and nibbling the goodies! Pak Suwarto is always a fun part of any celebration.

Since baking is always a challenge here, this was a perfect way to make one tried and true recipe and then go home with 3 dozen different delicious cookies to keep everyone at home happy.

The BWA also hosted a nice Christmas lunch and Cindy got some great pictures of so many of the ladies enjoying the afternoon.

It's always fun when anyone tries to steal a gift from Claire!

The Booster Hut ladies also shared a lovely Christmas dinner together at Bistecca.

This bunch was a little rowdier than I expected and so much fun!

It may be December but you'd never know by looking outside.

Matt, Ben, and I shared a beautiful morning together at Pondok Indah Golf and were very thankful we weren't somewhere cold!

Lightning struck just as we finished hole 18 and by the time we sat down for lunch it was pouring. I love the rainy season.

Since we would be traveling over Christmas, we opened our gifts a little early. We also knew Ben would want to take his new earbuds on the plane in the morning!

Merry Early Jakarta Christmas! It never quite feels the same but it's Christmas wherever we're together.

 

Friendsgiving 2022

After feeling so cheated getting sick in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner last year, I was more than ready for a redo this year! We ended up with 32 people joining us for an evening of friendship, grateful hearts, and happy tummies.

Thank goodness Jenny helped me decorate this year because I was a little at a loss with so many tables and chairs and dishes!

We had a big, happy group together with kids from 5 to 18 years old.

It may not be in America, but this is the closest to home we'll get all year! Two turkeys cooked by an East Texas friend, dressing and gravy from our own Texas chef, and lots of other delicious sides from American, Dutch, and Swedish friends.

And of course, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without plenty of desserts and at least one beautiful cake from Amanda!

We even had real Cool Whip from embassy friends! Didn't matter that it was in the freezer since last year...it was perfect.

Our hearts were really full and we were so thankful our friends joined us for our favorite meal of the year.

 And in keeping with the times, 3 of us tested positive for Covid the next day! Clearly it was coming for all of us, so we're glad we got together and enjoyed ourselves. By the end of the next week, it had been through the entire high school.

Melbourne Cup

The Race that Stops a Nation is always a fun day in Jakarta! After being cancelled for two years, it was exciting to have Melbourne Cup return, even if it was a little smaller.

My streak of sitting with winners continues! We were so excited (but not at all surprised) to find out that Jenny won Best Dressed!

One big perk of a smaller group - lunch came to the table instead of a big buffet. Sudestada was pretty incredible and the portions were more than generous.

Our Melbourne Cup group from Bali last year and our reunion this year, minus Katrice, who was having an amazing day at the Turf Club in Singapore.

 I even won a few dollars on a horse! All in all a fun and fantastic day.

BWA 007 Ball

The BWA decided to put on an October ball and the 007 theme was tons of fun.

I was endlessly entertained with the toy pistols...

We had a great night and lots of fun with all the different Bonds! Too bad the music was terrible because the dancing could have been amazing, but it was still a memorable night out with our friends.

 

Happy Times

Lots to celebrate! Our driver Fitri celebrated his son's wedding and we always love seeing the pictures of everyone dressed immaculately on the big day. Fitri is in the white hat by the bride.

A pregnant mama kitty started hanging around our porch and I was happy that she liked her new little house to stay dry in the rain.

I discovered that you can order almost anything on Tokopedia.  Don't want to drive out to get a few more parakeets? No problem. Just order them and a motorbike will deliver them a few hours later directly to your door.

Tina thought it was hilarious and was so excited to put the new blue parakeets in their new home with our flock.

October Pokeeno went pink for breast cancer awareness and we had a really fun evening together.

In other bird sightings, this was a new one! This guy's cockatiel was happy to ride along with him on a busy street.

We were beyond thrilled to see the Houston Astros win their second World Series! Nevermind that it was a Sunday morning here and we had to watch it like this to see it live, it was so exciting to see them go all the way.