Tiwi and Yusa.

A regular game of 7s with our buddies.

We arrived in Ubud on the 23rd of July 2013 with two suitcases and a bag full of trust. For ten days we looked for the perfect Villa to rent and one day in our search we stopped on the side of a road and rang a Real Estate agent, "Shanti" told us on the phone that she couldn't help us and I was about to hang up when she said "oh you could always rent my brother's house. I will get my other brother who lives next door to come and pick you up from your Hotel tomorrow morning and he will show you my brother's house". The next morning the most beautiful soulful/crazy character Yusa rocked up to take us on a wonderful journey that has lasted for over a year! We did not rent Yusa's brothers house (who just happens to be the world famous electric guitarist Balawan) but instead we packed up our stuff and moved into one of Yusa's villas. We stayed there for 3 weeks until our dream home became available.

Yusa and his wife Tiwi were Balinese Lawyers who met and fell in love at college, but their careers in law didn't last long as they found the bureaucracy and corruption too much to handle. They now run a complex of Villas on the outskirts of Ubud www.thecarikubudvilla.com. Tiwi is so talented she creates the most lovely Kebayas (a tradional Balinese blouse worn by women for ceremony) I'm gathering quite a collection as these pieces are so individual and specific ceremonies require you to wear specific colours (a good excuse for my collection) if you are interested in her creations just look her up on Tiwikebayasbali.weebly.com

 Tiwi and Yusa have three gorgeous kids GoGo, Ivy, and Keona. Keona is a gift from the Gods. Two years ago Yusa was sitting at a hospital in Denpassar waiting to visit his sister when out of the blue a nurse came up to him and asked if he would be interested in giving a baby girl a home. She had just been born and her parents could'nt look after her and nobody else would take her. Yusa said he'd go home and talk to his wife.....after their first son Gogo was born Tiwi became pregnant and unfortunately miscarried a baby girl at 5 months and now they both believed that the Gods had returned her to them in the gift of Keona. Says a lot about these beautiful people parents again at 45 trying to make a living to support two kids and without a blink they welcome with open arms a third. I just love these people Yusa has nursed his dying sister, bathed and cared for his aging mother who has a broken heart and has never spoken a word since her beloved husband died over 5 years ago.

So we catch up for our obligatory card game once a month , Tiwi brings out a plate of delicious Pisang Goreng (fried bananas) and Balinese Kopi (coffee) which is thick and black and surprisingly very good and we're off playing for hours chatting and laughing away....just another day here in paradise.
Love to you all.
J
PS: Look what Young Putri found in the pool yesterday morning, this little bat was flapping around trying to keep his head above water can you see he is missing some fingers poor thing. Well she scooped him out and as quick as a wink ba Pak Ken made him a bed and put him in the pool room (thats where the bats sleep during the day its under the house nice and dark) and this morning we happily found the bed empty....like I said just another day!

A sign from above.

Two little princesses Komang and Risma (tinkerbell).

Good morning, well I bet your surprised to hear from me so soon as maybe you think that Ken and I are sitting somewhere in paradise chanting the almighty Ommm. Thats why I thought I better post this blog we are not starting Virpassana today as something happened to change our minds....yeah another story!

Do you believe in messages from something more powerful than us?  I do especially since my brain tumour I am always picking up on day to day "signs" that come to me. I try not to over think them but if something happens that's really "out there" I know it's a message from above and I listen....

Last week when we told Wayan (yoga), that we were doing Virpassana in Kintamani he told us that the venue not only belonged to his friend but another "friend" a female teacher from his Yoga group had also booked in to do the retreat. Wayan invited us to his Yoga group on Sunday for meditation and to meet her but she said that she would like to meet us before Sunday and asked if she could come over for a chat on Saturday... sure we said.

Holy Shit! What do you think we thought on Saturday when a 6ft 3in Nun (from frickin Sweden) dressed from head to toes in an orange habit rocked up !!!!!

Didi who also plays the guitar is a lovely woman from Sweden who follows the beliefs of Ananda Marga, so much so that she became a nun who travels through Borneo and Indonesia helping locals. She has come to Bali to help build a centre for health education, Yoga and spiritual awareness. Before you guys freak out...  Ananda Marga is not a religious sect it just means path of spiritual bliss through meditation and Yoga oh and a bit of singing and dancing.
We talked about Virpassana and how Ken was having second thoughts, she too had second thoughts she said and had decided to cancel.
The next evening we went to a meditation and dinner with Didi and all the locals, it was lovely even the singing and dancing. I was so proud of Ken for having a go at it all, and no we're not turning into "mung beans" we just like being around like minded people plus all of the Yoga and meditation that we are doing is helping not only our bodies but I personally feel happier and more peaceful.
So after this amazing experience Ken and I started thinking maybe we don't need to do something as intense as Virpassana to connect with spirit and just maybe thats why "the Gods" sent this lovely woman to us.
Catch you later love J.