The New Normal

With our move to the new house, we have started to settle into more of a routine.  We now feel more like we are living here as opposed to just visiting.  While we are still surprised and amazed by what we see and experience here, every day is no longer a major adventure.  The shock of the new is starting to wear off.

For the umpteenth time we've seen the ceremonial processions, the live roosters dangling from the side of a motorbike, the farmers in the rice paddies, the women transporting piles of rocks on their heads.  We still enjoy all the colorful variety, but we are also glad that they are becoming familiar.  On the weekends, we often relax at home for a long while before heading out for an excursion.

Lynn has a good routine each week including pilates, tennis, a women's discussion group, and afternoon visits to Green School to participate in the many programs there or to socialize and develop new relationships.  She just helped organize a small benefit for the Smile Foundation (an NGO that helps children who need cleft palate surgery) as a way for the parents to show appreciation for the art work that our kids have produced at an after-school painting class.

I often stay at home to catch up on work, but recently have been managing to attend yoga classes more regularly.  Since I am about as flexible as a board and have been getting little other exercise, the classes are good for me.  Plus by comparison I make everyone else in the class feel better about the shape they're in.

Having a pool at the house, more space to run around, and a more centralized layout makes it easier to have the girls' friends over to play, so that has been more frequent.  We even had our first house guests, a simpatico family from DC whom we connected with through mutual friends, who moved to Jakarta shortly before we moved to Bali.  They have two kids around the same age as Alexa and Charlotte, and they had fun running around and swimming.

"Helping" the wood-carvers with some sanding

Chillin' at Sari Organik

We still have a lot of exploring to do, but have enjoyed the transition to more of a domestic routine.

Photos by Victoria, editing by Lynn