I woke up at a normal time so perhaps I'm on the right schedule now. Auntie made a batch of string hoppers for breakfast. They are puffy, little rice-flour cakes which are eaten with curry or onions. Making them involves quite an elaborate procedure as the dough is pressed through a hand-held device with hundreds of little holes. The dough forms tiny strands. Several resulting layers are placed on 4 or 5 inch pads and then the whole batch is steamed. Sring hoppers can be eaten for any meal or as a snack but they require lots of effort to create.
Another event this morning was the burning of 30 odd, mouldy videotapes. Back in Middle East days of the 1980's Jay had brought home many movies on tape. Unfortunately, his area is very humid. We took a look and all the tapes had developed lots of mould. There was really nothing to do except get rid of them. Of course, the future holds VCD and DVD as the medium of choice, so it seemed suitable to set the collection alight. It was the end of an era.
In the afternoon, we pulled a huge teak log up onto a wooden structure for cutting into lumber. Hired guys carefully turn the log into boards with an enormous 2-man saw. It is cheaper to hire someone to work for days than to buy the finished product. Here I noted one cultural difference: It was a lot of work and I thought, "Gosh, we need a tractor." On the other hand, Jay encountering the same situation, said, "I think this job requires an elephant."