It's always great to see you in the coffee thread, my friend.
Phoenixkh: An Old Man's Continuum....
- Thread starter Phoenixkh
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You'll see me there this weekend because I love weekend coffee.
Indonesian teak wood furniture is very nice. Not for the whole house - it’s a bit dark and heavy - but it’s lovely for a few accent pieces.
My wife always wanted a carved Balinese gargoyle as a reminder of our first trip their on our honeymoon. Nice idea, but then you think, do I really want it enough to carry it home, and where would we put it?
So, I guess the prevalence of "phallic" art is actually alive and well and not the "Phallacy" we might have expected...BADABOOM!
See what I did there? Fallacy/Phallacy? Here all week guys
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There used to be several shops in Florida that imported Indonesian furniture... we have two Rotan and Teak chairs in one of our sitting areas.... They are surprisingly comfortable.
We're taking the square roughly 5" square flower carving my wife did... with 3 other ones the local guy, Duka did, home with us. And we bought this small black wood (could be ebony, I'm not sure. There are several dark woods available here) statute of a guy folded up into a ball in a yoga pose. That's one of the motifs at the place we're staying so it will be a nice reminder. Duka also included 3 blanks, drawn out, with the cut-outs already completed, for my wife to complete at her leisure when we get home... along with a larger one of a grape vine design... All included for free. He liked us..... The main reason is because my wife is such a lovely woman.... The second? We bargained for the price... in US dollars... We did the Rupiah conversion... and I rounded up instead of down... He was shocked and quite pleased. The teak blanks he included were worth a Lot more than the few Rupiahs I added to the conversion numbers.
One other note: Monday at 6AM, the whole island of Bali closes down...... No one is allowed to leave their house... The airport is closed....The harbors are all shut down. All the restaurants, other than the hotel resort restaurants, are closed... all the businesses, shut... No cars or people on the streets.. for 24 hours: until Tuesday morning at 6AM.... Our hotel has two restaurants... one will be closed for that time period... The other will be open to hotel guests only.... and about half the seating, the part across that beach walkway I mentioned, will be off limits because the beaches are all off limits. No lights will be turned on in any of the houses... At least, that is what we were told. We've never experienced anything like this.... the new moon.. and their New Year. If the skies are clear, the stars should be something else with zero light pollution... The hotel has requested we keep our room lights off as well. I have no idea how they'll be able to serve food but I know, the evening meal is buffet only. We plan to avoid that mayhem and eat early... before the 6PM buffet starts. You aren't supposed to cook for those 24 hours, but I'm guessing, since Bali's economy is now tourist-centric, they've bent the rules a bit, so the buffet is allowed. They probably prepare all that food before the sun goes down to semi-comply.
I'll try to bring you along on that journey on Monday as best I can. We are looking forward to it. We got some extra water and a few groceries today just in case we need them.... I made sure I had enough coffee making supplies and my wife got ingredients for a couple kinds of tea concoctions she's had here and loves. I think if we embrace it, it should be a rewarding time.
Looking forward to your updates, Kim.
There is a very nice Indonesian furniture store in Nashville called Jalan-Jalan. It off Nolensville Road not far from Eric’s old stomping grounds. We have bought a few things over the years, including this boat seat:
Yep, that's not far from my new place on Edmondson Pike as well, Howard.
That sounds like an awesome experience! Can’t wait to read about it! Enjoy sir!
I'm looking forward to the updates, and I'm enjoying you taking us along virtually on your trip.
Speaking of "wooden things" do any of you remember that episode in Creepshow 2 where the wooden indian came to life and started killing people?
Sorry but I "Wooden" know what you're referring to...Small badaboom!
Yes, thanks for having us along,
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I'm a bit disappointed with this report from Bali..... The day of silence here was very nice... Quiet, most of us tourists wearing black or other subdued colors to respect their traditions.............. the big "But" is... We have a cloud cover tonight so there is no way to see the stars shining so brightly in the zero light pollution atmosphere.
The hotel restaurant had a buffet that closed down at 7PM and they dimmed the lights along all the paths running through the place... By 7:30, they shut them off completely. It's almost dark with just a few scattered rooms with their lights still on.... I wish they'd turn them off or at least, pull the heavy curtains so the whole place would descend into total darkness.
It's the quietest I've ever experienced in Bali. My only experience to top this one was at Cooke City, Montana one winter. It was -40F or so... no moon... and the stars were so bright, you could have read a book in the starlight... it was just that bright.. High elevation, no light pollution... crystal clear skies... and I couldn't believe how many stars were visible. I was hoping for something close to that tonight, but that's the way things go.
Tomorrow at 6AM, the island will come back to life. We only have 4 days left until we fly back to the States. I've been paying cash for everything so we'll have no Rupiah left when we return. I have around 600,000 left... Isn't that funny.... That's about $42. LOL
No shave today. I'll finish up my Feather Professional trail tomorrow as it's on its 3rd use. I'm pleased it is working so well, but the Kai Titan Mild "Pink" is just a touch smoother for me with the same sharpness, at least as far as I can tell.
So... sorry for the dud post. I was expecting to thrill you all.
The hotel restaurant had a buffet that closed down at 7PM and they dimmed the lights along all the paths running through the place... By 7:30, they shut them off completely. It's almost dark with just a few scattered rooms with their lights still on.... I wish they'd turn them off or at least, pull the heavy curtains so the whole place would descend into total darkness.
It's the quietest I've ever experienced in Bali. My only experience to top this one was at Cooke City, Montana one winter. It was -40F or so... no moon... and the stars were so bright, you could have read a book in the starlight... it was just that bright.. High elevation, no light pollution... crystal clear skies... and I couldn't believe how many stars were visible. I was hoping for something close to that tonight, but that's the way things go.
Tomorrow at 6AM, the island will come back to life. We only have 4 days left until we fly back to the States. I've been paying cash for everything so we'll have no Rupiah left when we return. I have around 600,000 left... Isn't that funny.... That's about $42. LOL
No shave today. I'll finish up my Feather Professional trail tomorrow as it's on its 3rd use. I'm pleased it is working so well, but the Kai Titan Mild "Pink" is just a touch smoother for me with the same sharpness, at least as far as I can tell.
So... sorry for the dud post. I was expecting to thrill you all.
The peace and darkness must be nice. Bed early because it seems later than it is, and you’ll sleep well. A pity you couldn’t go for a walk along the beach under the stars, but I’m sure it is still very relaxing.
I have an old friend who lives in a small village in the south-western tip of England and it’s so quiet there, with almost no light pollution at night. You can see so many stars and the band of the Milky Way bright across the sky. It’s nice to know there are still some places like that. I was very interested in astronomy when I was a kid and I still think there is nothing more beautiful and mysterious as the night sky.
We once stayed in a small B&B about 10 miles outside of Mancos, Colorado (population 1200). There was no light pollution: the sky was full of bright stars. Truly astounding. I’ve never seen anything like it since then.
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Well, I got up early... around 5AM... to watch the sky lighten and check to see if any stars were out.. no such luck.
Bali came back to life more slowly than I had imagined... No fireworks, the streets came to life slowly...at 6AM... We had breakfast at our normal time here, right around 6:45 as they open at 6:30.
We had one surprise today. I checked our flights for the trip home and we leave Friday rather than Saturday. That would have been a big "whoooooopsy daisy". We had the resort credit the extra day we had booked onto the AMEX card, so no problem there.
I need Guido's help... My Etsy Canada Pre-war Tech seems to be stuck in the Netherlands.... They are estimating delivery now around March 26th instead of tomorrow, March 12th... I never know if these dates are accurate as things often get to the States without being scanned by the USPS personnel... and just show up. It might be there when we arrive... if not, it isn't like I don't have enough other razors to use. <eg>
I'm going to do some laundry later in the shower.... as that is one thing about Balinese laundry services... they tear up your clothes and deliver them back to you with a faded look like they are ancient. If you want to age your clothing prematurely, it's a great place to get the laundry done. We bought some gentle baby detergent at the grocery store and I washed my clothes by hand for the two years I spent here in my youth. It takes a few minutes and that's it... and I always shower before I shave anyway. <eg>
My wife just let me know... it's time to walk to lunch. There is a great place about a kilometer away or so that we just love. I'll probably get around to posting my next shave results later this afternoon or evening, our time.
Bali came back to life more slowly than I had imagined... No fireworks, the streets came to life slowly...at 6AM... We had breakfast at our normal time here, right around 6:45 as they open at 6:30.
We had one surprise today. I checked our flights for the trip home and we leave Friday rather than Saturday. That would have been a big "whoooooopsy daisy". We had the resort credit the extra day we had booked onto the AMEX card, so no problem there.
I need Guido's help... My Etsy Canada Pre-war Tech seems to be stuck in the Netherlands.... They are estimating delivery now around March 26th instead of tomorrow, March 12th... I never know if these dates are accurate as things often get to the States without being scanned by the USPS personnel... and just show up. It might be there when we arrive... if not, it isn't like I don't have enough other razors to use. <eg>
I'm going to do some laundry later in the shower.... as that is one thing about Balinese laundry services... they tear up your clothes and deliver them back to you with a faded look like they are ancient. If you want to age your clothing prematurely, it's a great place to get the laundry done. We bought some gentle baby detergent at the grocery store and I washed my clothes by hand for the two years I spent here in my youth. It takes a few minutes and that's it... and I always shower before I shave anyway. <eg>
My wife just let me know... it's time to walk to lunch. There is a great place about a kilometer away or so that we just love. I'll probably get around to posting my next shave results later this afternoon or evening, our time.
What happens is that your package needs to clear outbound customs. That’s either a quick or a slow process depending on factors outside of my knowledge. And tracking is first based on Dutch delivery times before shipping abroad.
I have a package en route to the US and it said delivery tomorrow but hadn’t left the country yet.
Usual two weeks is a better estimate than the 4-5 days they report on their website.
Guido
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Yeah... The shipping cost was pretty pricey and they gave a one week delivery... I thought that was in keeping with the cost, but I know how expensive it is to ship from the US to our northern neighbor... around $30 to ship a $20 shaving brush... Stupid me, early on here...
The delivery date is now posted as March 26th.... so 3 weeks. That might be the norm... who knows? It doesn't really matter, as I said above. According to one tracking system, the package has left the Netherlands on the way to the US... on another, it's still in the Netherlands but it in a postal holding facility of some kind. My bet is it will show up unannounced, as the USPS has geared down from the Christmas rush.... and is back to being understaffed at the moment.
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I just had a glorious shave with my SS La Faulx, other than a small misstep when I was going against the grain. I nicked up upper lip again.. this time on the other side. It was cut a tiny "ouch", I didn't think it would amount to anything but I had to use liquid styptic again to stop the carnage. This is the second nick I've given myself with a Feather Professional blade. It's retired now and I'll have one more Bali shave, this time with a Kai Titan Mild "Pink" unguarded blade (2). We'll see how I do.
I did get a happy note from USPS. My Canada Pre-war Tech made it to US Customs in Miami and should be at our house by the time we get home on Sunday... or by early the next week, at the latest. I will have the Rocnel Elite brass and it for some fun times right after we get home.... Though I am going to try to tame the SuperSlant base plates I have one more time each to see if I can get one of them dialed it sufficiently so it can make my Top Razor list. I have high hopes for this next round of experiments, but I've had those shipwrecked on the reef a few times, so we'll see.
I did get a happy note from USPS. My Canada Pre-war Tech made it to US Customs in Miami and should be at our house by the time we get home on Sunday... or by early the next week, at the latest. I will have the Rocnel Elite brass and it for some fun times right after we get home.... Though I am going to try to tame the SuperSlant base plates I have one more time each to see if I can get one of them dialed it sufficiently so it can make my Top Razor list. I have high hopes for this next round of experiments, but I've had those shipwrecked on the reef a few times, so we'll see.
