Can you eat that?

I had a conversation with Mr. Nyoman Sadi the other night we were hanging out late at night by the swimming pool as we often do… and I was showing him some photos of the wildlife in Colorado. I showed him a photo of a bunch of cute deer and he said, “can you eat them?”, an Elk, and some foxes, eliciting the same response, when I got to the wild turkeys he said, “oh vultures… you can eat them!” The circle of life is so much closer here they all raise their own chickens and roosters and before each ceremony they gather the men from the Banjar to slaughter the pigs and chickens personally. I told him about my observations about the dragonflies flying in the rain and he said they eat dragonflies; as a boy it was a contest to see how long of a stick they could make… lining the dragonflies up on a skewer then they would roast them over a coconut husk fire. He went on to tell me they even eat the dragonfly larvae they spread it on bread like butter… ack! He wants to make me some eels to eat. He said if you catch them right from the rice paddies and grill them quickly they taste really good; however, if you buy them from the market swimming in a pool of water and then cook them they just taste like plastic. I’m not too excited and hope that he gets too busy and forgets. I would never want to be the partner on the adventure show “The Great Race” who gets stuck eating spiders, and bugs.

Last night John picked me up at 4 in the afternoon I was so tired I felt like I could fall asleep on John’s back on the motorcycle. It had been a very panas (hot) day. We went to Made’s where I picked up the last of his work, wee, he finished early! Seeing all of the pieces he had done woke me up. I now have the last of the earrings. I gave him a little more work since he got done early and was asking if we had anything else he could do… I gave a ring to make for my mom from an Opal my grandmother named Opal had been keeping in her jewelry chest for years. I will give this to her for mothers day, three more cuff style bracelets, and a custom copper hair clip for me. I thanked him profusely for getting done early and gave hi a generous tip.

Next we stopped to see Nengah and check the progress there. He has all items in the sanding and polishing stage however the compound of buildings he lives in does not have enough power going to it so when he runs the buffing wheel the power breaker trips ever other minute (he rents as he is from a village far away). They just stand by the breaker turning it back on. Crazy… the landlord will not let them order more electric. John offered to let them bring the buffer to his house to finish but he did not want to do it. We also offered to have him give the polishing work to Made. He did not want to give up the work. Living here I am constantly reminded of the things we have that we take for granted. They are rich in other ways…. I just love the lush green vegetation, vibrancy of wildlife, and beautiful flowers and spices. Nengah will have the rings ready for me tomorrow… they were all drying in a bed of rice when we stopped by. He was doing two styles for me one all silver and one design that was silver with copper bezels. I changed them all have copper bezels (the metal that surrounds the stone). I think they look better this way and it will help me on keeping my prices lower.

John decided to push his birthday dinner to another night. He wants to wait until we are done with the work. He has been working really hard to make sure that the smiths all do good quality work and get done on time… In between my visits to them he stops in just as many times on his own. I think he is even more stressed than me. I worry, but I have the attitude that what will be… will be. For him, he feels that it is his job, his responsibility (I did not put his on him). I expect him to help me with finding new smiths, making sure that they have good reputations and can be trusted with the large deposits for silver, to help me to make sure that they are happy with the work and the amount I am paying, and to be an extra eye watching the quality (my eyes are not so good anymore). I want to help John to get more work to build his workers and his foreign customers. I got him to make a facebook page and I am writing him a letter of recommendation. I’m also trying to help my bungalows by creating a web page for them. Two years ago I designed a brochure for them, which they are still handing out. In turn they give me a better deal on my room. We are friends. I always enjoy visiting with both of the owners Ms. Nyoman Sadi and I have been friends for over 7 years, I have only really gotten to know Mr. Nyoman Sadi well this year as we usually talk almost every night when I return from dinner or a massage. We have nice discussions about how he likes to be at the same level with his workers… he likes to work along side them not just giving direction. I really like the Sadis they are talented, hard working, creative, and kind. He told me I am the friendliest guest… different from the rest. This makes me happy!