Christmas lights

On New Year's Eve, there's much advice about cleaning one's house both literally and figuratively. So I spent the day cleaning, with frequent computer breaks. In the negotiations over rent, the last thing I remember is agreeing to accept $50 less if they do yardwork. I haven't heard anything since.
At 6:15 we left to deliver Michele to Tina's house to babysit. She got paid good money to sit and watch TV and play computer games. We drove Tina and her husband to the Navy Club, then dropped by the library and got a book. We lead such exciting lives! Then Chris suggested that we go get my camera and photograph the lights. I had been kicking myself for forgeting the camera. So it was a welcome suggestion. His next suggestion was to walk back for the camera since traffic was picking up. Ha! We did and it was COLD. The only reason I agree was that I needed some exercise to go with all the goodies I'd been consuming. Shivering burns calories, right? Then while Chris stayed in the car, I walked around photographing lights. I think my camera is better at daytime photos. We also drove to General Sterling's house to photograph their Seoul tower view, but the camera hardly caught any of that. So home we went. Tina's husband lent us "A Christmas Story" so we could see what the leg lamp joke was. We watched that and now that I know the story, it is much funnier.
We went to bed but I couldn't sleep. What with the noise from upstairs and rampaging thoughts, I was awake. About 12:30 am, I took a broom handle and rapped on the ceiling. They got the message and turned the music down. Later Michele called asking for a ride home. I let Chris handle that. Then blessed sleep....

Tenants!

AS usual, I went to the thrift shop to volunteer. We had so many donations, that all we did for three hours was to sort through them, passing all but the very best onto some other charity. When we left, there was a huge pile of garbage bags out back waiting to be picked up. Of course, more were coming in as we worked. We still have a huge pile of saved items to price and hang tomorrow. Sigh.
As Tina was somewhere with her husband, I went home to make a pair of dress pants. The first thing I did however, was to check e-mail. It is strange how I intend to do one simple thing on the computer and end up sitting there for hours. We got an e-mail about a prospective renter for our house. Yea! But they don't want to pay full price. Same old story. I responded to that, and then tried to work on making the pants. I kept getting distracted. Although by the end of the day, all that remained to be done was to handsew the elastic and hem them. I stayed up until midnight waiting to hear back from our realestate agent. In spite of all the consessions I made, they still aren't willing to pay the price. I responded again, and got up at 6 am the next morning to continue the 'discussion'.

Eeny, Meeny, Miney, DINNER

I got up early (I had forgotten what that's like) to make Chris a sandwich before he went to work. After answering e-mail, I packed a box of presents to mail (the last one) and decided to spend a few minutes on a computer game. That lasted longer than I thought. Then it was 11 am and Chris was calling to say he would meet us for lunch at the Katusa snack bar. We agreed, so he picked us up at the walk-in gate and we went to lunch. Michele had the cheese and ramen, I had the jabchai, and Chris had bibimbap. Chris dropped me off at the post office, where I waited in line for 15 minutes to mail the package. Then I walked to Tina's house. She wanted me to take her measurements so she could make clothes. The pattern-making system that she is using requires 20+ different measurements. After that, we decided to walk out gate 17 and look for a kitchen and sundries store that might sell a timer. We found it rather easily and bought a few things, like tape. Then I thought we were going back, but Tina said "Hey, what's over there?" "I don't know". "Well, then, lets check it out." I love the way she thinks. So we wandered about in that direction and others. We saw stores and restaurants, beauty shops and tailors. When she saw the frozen yogurt store, she was delighted, but it was too cold for it. So we wandered in search for a place to eat. When we had sat down, the waitress laid an order ticket on our table for us to fill out. It was all in Korean. Ramen noodles are a safe bet and I was able to make that one out (I know some letters like m,n, and e). So we checked that. Then Tina made some random checks, and we sat back to see what would be served us. We got ramen, a very large noodle on a stick, broth, kim bap (rice wrapped in seaweed), kim chi, and yaki mando (a small filled dumpling). Oh, and dish that looked like cheese manicotti, but the manicotti was made of rice. How they can reduce rice to a paste and shape things out of it is beyond me. Then we were full, but Tina decided that she was now warm enough to have the frozen yogurt. So back we went to the frozen yogurt place. What she ordered came with lots of fresh fruit and was really good, but I couldn't believe that we were eating it in December. Then, frozen inside and out, we went back home. She dropped me off. I got home to find Chris and Michele having dessert and popcorn.

Pictures

Today is not a productive day. I have been reading, which I plan to continue. Chris is at the commissary. I am adding pictures to some of my previous posts (because I use Chris' computer to do it and he's finally not here). So scroll down and check them out. Michele is applying to a college here in Seoul.
Later: I have uploaded 21 photos of my quilts to my Facebook account.
Much later: I uploaded a pic of Chrismas lights taken on Dec 31st.

Hyundai department store

I was a little nervous this morning as I remembered that I had agreed to 'teach' English to two groups of Korean kids at a culture center. All I had to do, so they said, was speak for an hour about winter. Ha! Chris drove me to the subway station where I met my guide. She didn't speak much English and I had a very hard time understanding her even though she had a digital dictionary. When we got to the destination station, I found out that she didn't know where the building was either. So we walked. And it was cold. Very cold. Because I felt I was representing America, I wore a skirt and a nice sweater. So my legs were cold.
When we found the building, it wasn't open for business, so we had to go in the back. Then up to the 10th floor. We were early, so we had some time to sit and admire the view. We found ourselves in a conference room. Then 15 first and second graders came and sat. They wanted to talk about Christmas, so we did. And winter, and snow, and warm clothing, and New Year's Day, Groundhog Day and Valentines Day and St.Patricks Day and anything else I could think of. When I invited questions, they asked how old I was and if I had children. Their English was quite good.
After they left, I was treated to lunch in the employee's cafeteria. There was Lunch A, and lunch B. I couldn't read either menu, but the sign indicated that both lunches had almost 800 calories apiece. I asked for whatever was traditional Korean. What I got was 4 kinds of kimchi, rice, and a soup that was mostly broth. Where did they hide 800 calories in that? One kind of kimchi had little bird eggs in it. After lunch, we stopped by the restroom to wash hands. The hand dryer looked like a microwave because of the hellish red light it put out. But it was just blowing hot air. After that, we went looking at 9 floors and a basement of merchandise. I thought to ask for pickled onions in the grocery section. Tina had been looking for them. But my rendition of spicy backfired. They were showing me RedHots and Altoids, etc. Even with her digital dictionary, it didn't translate.
So back upstairs for the second group. There were 3 4th and 5th graders. I had to cover even more territory to fill the time. When there was 10 minutes left, I asked for questions. One child asked me to tell her American history. In 10 minutes? Turns out I only know 10 minutes of history. I mentioned 1776 when we declared independence, 1864 when Lincoln freed the slaves, 1914 and WWI, 1929 and the Great Depression, and 1941 and the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I couldn't think of anything interesting past that so I dismissed them. (Later my daughter suggested 9-11 and I said "Oh, yeah!". No one has ever mistaken me for a history teacher.) When I finished, I was given a jar of pickled onions by the person in charge. Cool.
I thought the day was over, but my guide took me to a cafe on the 9th floor to exchange languages. I had a hard time hearing her words and she was not satisfied until I had pronounced each one correctly. It tired me out quickly, but she kept going. Finally I had to say "Subway, we go home." But on the way back, she kept drilling me on the phrases she'd taught me. And she made an apointment with me to exchange more phrases. I will bring Michele with me then, so she can help me interpret the sounds. When I got back to post, I called Tina and she drove me to her house. We ate a lot of chocolate and talked a good bit. Then she drove me home. I have been on the computer ever since. I think I shall sleep well tonight.
Soom cha da - short of breath
tahm tongue cha - person in charge
il gop she - 7 o'clock
ta zo tie - 5 months
Ha poom ha da - yawn
noon gam ta - close eyes

Day after Christmas

Intending to walk to the thrift shop, I left the apartment all bundled up. But a lady in the elevator offered me a ride to post. Isn't it amazing how things work out? Of course I could use a little walking after all the cookies I've eaten. I worked at the thrift shop for 4 hours and then walked with Gerry to Tina's house. But this time Tina wasn't home. (see pic of Tina and me) And it was too cold to wait, so I walked to the nearest bus stop. I stopped by the Collier gym to use the restroom. I mention this only because I was happy to see I wasn't peeing ice cubes, it was that cold.
I caught the bus back to the gate nearest our apartment. The elevator wasn't working so I got my exercise after all. After having a bite to eat, I cleaned up my sewing room and cut out a pair of pants. I am wearing them as I write, testing the length of elastic, which is good. All they need now is to be hemmed. I must admit they didn't take long to make. I also spent an hour with Michele on math and several hours on Bejeweled Two. One mode claims to be playable infinitely and I am testing that theory.

Christmas

Michele did NOT wake us up early to open presents. Instead I found her on her computer. I snuck up on her and yelled "Merry Christmas!". It was so funny, but I think it took 10 Christmases off her life. I insisted we sing some carols before we opened gifts. While Michele and I were singing, Chris secretly skyped his parents and aimed the camera at us. We had a nice visit with them and Marie. Becca skyped us, too. Then we opened our gifts, mostly DVD's and chocolate. I got Michele a Korean children's book. I thought it might be easy reading, like "Dick and Jane make Rice Cakes" or something. We spent the rest of the day watching DVD's, reading and playing on our computers. I do have a pic of our Chrsitmas tree, sad as it is.

It is hard to believe that Christmas is here. In the states, Christmas starts so early that I have to actively avoid it until the first week of December so that I won't be sick of it by the 25th. But here there are few reminders. Yes, there are lights on post. But I haven't been shopping in malls stuffed with decorations and surfeited with Christmas music. No radio or TV reminders since we watch mostly DVD's. I haven't had my Christmas fix yet.

Chris has sentenced Michele to one hour of calculus a day since she is not doing well at all in calculus. Being the resident calculus expert, I share in that sentence. It is a good thing I love math.

Christmas Eve

Tina had some last minute shopping to do in Namdemun, but we went to Dongdaemun also.
I bought 12 yards of brown flannel to make bedroom curtains so we can finally sleep in the dark. I also bought some dressier fabric to make a pair of dress pants. Tina bought fabric for pajamas and a skirt. In Namdemun we bought shirts and pants for the men in her family and socks for ourselves. I ended up wearing my new socks over my old ones for better protection from the cold. We stopped at a little restaurant for curry chicken and kimchi. Also,I bought three items that looked and felt like large cheese tubes. Actually they were rather bland, probably made of rice somehow, and hot off the grill. Tina and I ate one and I kept the rest in my pocket for the warmth.
The funniest thing was that Tina bought a leg. Yes, a leg. Like the ones used to display knee-hi's. So out came all the leg jokes. 'Need a leg up?', 'Have a leg to stand on?', 'Your leg seems a little stiff.', 'Here, hold my leg for a moment' etc.
We laughed so hard. She bought it as a joke gift for her husband, something about a lamp made of a leg appearing in a movie.
Anyway, we finally called it quits and took the subway home, or tried to. One of the subway gates is right by Namdemun Gate 1. But today it wasn't there. Like it had been moved. Just not possible and yet there it wasn't. I was expecting someone to shout "Candid Camera". So we walked to Gate 6 and took the subway from there.
Tina gave me a container of cookies she'd made. When I came home with it, it became very popular. Then we dressed for church and left. The music was excellent. Have I ever mentioned that the choir of about 10 is all Korean? Wonderful singers. We also had a clarinetist and a trumpet player, both military men. After the service, the entire congregation met at the Sterlings for treats and conversation. Some caroling ensued. She weaves, and does some needlepoint. Her house is fascinating. And their view of Seoul is breathtaking.
Michele is looking forward to a TV family Christmas where the children wake the parents up early on Christmas morning to open presents. So off to bed....

Korean pretzel

I spent the morning on the computer reading e-mail and checking out links. Kurt Skyped me and we talked for an hour. Then Laura called to say the item I had ordered had come in. She was at the thrift shop so Michele and I went to pick it up. It is Chris's Christmas gift. Michele wanted to buy a gift for a friend so she went farther on to the Dragon Hill. Once I was at the thrift shop and picked up tha package, I stayed to help out, which lasted an hour.
Then, a bit at loose ends and not wanting to return home so soon, I headed for the library. But just then Tina called and askedme to meet her at her house. So I did. She had seen PVC somewhere and wanted to check it out. Well, it was bitterly cold. Andit turns out they didn't have the right pieces anyway. Neither of us had had lunch so we stopped in at a restaurant and ordered by pointing at pictures. We were going to go on to Namdaemun and so entered a subway station. There someone was selling interesting little treats. Not at all unusual. What Ibought turned out to be like a slightly sweet pretzel. Pretty good, actually. But then it was getting late and colderso we shelved the trip for the morrow.
I forgot to mention our little trip to the library, where once again we didn't find what either of us were looking for. But we spent plenty of time at it.
When I returned home, I went back to the game I left the other day. Big mistake! Another few hours flew by with nothing to show for them. Then I went to bed, thinking to get up early to make a pie, but as it turned out, I reached for a book and lost more time. Then Tina called....

Mailing the packages

I awoke Monday to hear my cell phone ringing. Actually I wasn't asleep, but I just hadn't gotten up yet. It was Tina wanting to know if I wanted to ride to the post office. I have GREAT friends! Anyway, she picked me up and we went all over, the PX, the commissary, the library, the bank at Dragon Hill, etc. It is a relief to have the packages in the mail and most of the cards,too. (I'm having trougble with the space bar). One package didn't make it because Michele wants to add something to it,which she hasn't bought yet. I wrote several more cards after supper. The only other thing I did was play a few more rounds of Bejeweled and that must have taken quite some time. Chris finally hung the seascape picture over the kitchen table. I was so sure that would 'make' the room, but it didn't and I don't know why.

A car!

We went to church this morning, this time under our own power, now that we have a car. Chris mentioned that he has already had fixed all the reasons why it failed inspection. The bill was so reasonable that I suggested a tune-up. He said it had already been done. You really can't tell. Oh well.
After church I took its picture. Then I watched a DVD on creative ways to give cash. There were 10 suggestions on the DVD and a hint of more on the website, but I couldn't get the website to load.
I painted my potato necklace, which had gotten roughed up in the move. I cleaned up the kitchen. I started to clean the sewing room, but kept getting sidetracked. Then Chris, Michele and I wrote Christmas cards until we ran out of stamps. I meant to send all Korean cards, but where are they? I know I bought two packs, but could only find one.
Then, I sat down to play 'Bejeweled 2' a game that Tina lent me. I played the puzzle version first, where you have to clear umpteen planets. When I did that, it unlocked a secret level. But this level has levels of its own, but they don't tell you how many. Anyway, along about 1 am I tore myself away and went to bed. I am keenly aware that the game is waiting for me.

Decorating Tina's house

I planned to go to the thrift shop since today was the last day it would be open until next year. So, as long as I was going that far, I figured to mail presents, too. It took me all morning to find and wrap presents. When I was done, Chris informed me that the PO closes at 1, which is what time it was. So I walked to post, perused the Chosun gift shop (it was their last day too) where I didn't find anything I needed, then went to the thrift shop next door. All I got there was a children's book in Korean. Maybe Michele can use it. But I had a good time talking to Mary Ann. Then, as has become my habit, I walked over to Tina's house. I helped her decorate under the mantle, in front of the windows, and on her walls. Her house looks very holiday now. She lent me several computer games. Then she drove me home and we brought a grill (which we had 'acquired' some months earlier when it had been left behind). Now we (Chris) can grill steaks on the veranda! I showed Tina our apartment, especially my sewing room. She wants to make a quilt frame like I have. It was nice to have her visit.
Michele (who had been babysitting since 2:30) came in around 10:30 with $80. I think I need to take up babysitting. I remember getting $2 an hour as a teenager and thinking it was a lot.

Namdaemun and karaoke

Hyon came over this morning for a quilting lesson. Afterwards, her driver drove us to Namdaemun. Namdaemun is full of little shops. We started with a kitchware store. We looked at wrapping paper briefly then went to lunch. In America the health department would have shut this place down. The restaurant was very small and very crowded. So crowded that they were cooking in the alley. And we had to wait to get a seat. I was right by the open gas burners and was afraid of catching fire. When we did get a seat, we shared the table with two other people; there were no empty seats. They were serving only two entrees: egg something and fish. Hyon ordered us the fish. It was full of bones and we had to use our chopsticks to comb the meat off the skeleton. There were also several kinds of kimchis.
After lunch we had a ball picking out wrapping paper sold by the sheet, minimum of 10. It was about 17 cents for a nice sized sheet so we bought over a hundred sheets. We also stopped by the Alpha store and bought felt and paint and brushes.
After they dropped me off at the apartment, I used the large green sheet of felt to make a Christmas tree. But I made the cuts too long and narrow, so had to bolster the 'branches' a bit. I was disappointed with the outcome so I will try it again later.
We were invited to a barbeque by a Korean friend, so we had no idea what kind of evening we would have. First, we were late getting to the subway because of traffic. (We drove to post and parked by a gate near the subway) But we navigated the subway easily and arrived just in time. We were met and led to a small house. One other person I knew had been invited. Much food was set out and we had our fill. THEN, came the entertainment. Karaoke. Everyone was expected to participate. The Koreans, young and old, engaged eagerly. Apparently it is very popular with all generations. But we Americans were not prepared. However, in the spirit of the festivities we sang anyway. Hopefully no recordings exist.
During the course of the evening, Chris was asked to play Santa at a dapartment store on Christmas eve, and I was asked to 'teach' English to two groups of kids at some culture center on the 27th.
Karaoke ended at 10 and the party broke up immediately. We were led back to the station and even accompanied onto the subway train. The older man, Dr. Moon, showed me Korean characters on his cell phone, explaining which letters they represented. That was interesting, but I am not sure how much of it I remember. We rode several stops past theirs, then walked back to the car, and drove home. Too tired to do anything else, we went to bed.

Lotte Mart

Andrea came over this morning to make a pillow. It shouldn't have taken long, but we talked a lot and she also brought material for curtains. So it was 11 before we finished. She also brought me a CD on creative ways to give money, and some felt to make a Christmas tree, and info on some other things. She is so nice to me! She even gave me a ride to the thrift shop. I meant to volunteer, but there was no one there. So, I walked to the Embassy Center and bought sushi. Then I met Tina walking her dog. So we walked for a while, then went back to her house to eat the sushi. It was good, but not as good as the sushi from Costco.
Since her husband was still home recovering from his minor surgery, we went to the PX and the Four Seasons, both on post. She asked me if I'd ever been to Seoul Station and I hadn't, so we walked out gate 1 and turned right. We walked until we found a subway station, then took it to Seoul Station, which was only one stop. I guess we could have walked, but it was cold! Anway, there was a large store there called Lotte Mart. It was like Target, but with a grocery floor, and a 1000 won section. We had the best time shopping for little items and finding new snacks to try. I wonder what the cashier thought about our apparent food choices. They had clothes and shoes, but we could find them cheaper in the subway. Then we ate at the food court. The food court had a lot of food preparation places surrounding a room full of tables. But you order and pay at a central location and then they tell you which place will make your food. I don't know if each one is a different restaurant or not. Your order number appears above the restaurant that prepares your food when it is ready. We had Korean sausage with rice, and ramyen noodles. I don't know where the sausage was. The rice tasted like sausage and was wrapped in seaweed, then cross cut into sushi-like rounds. Nearby was a place that claimed to be a riceteria. I guess all their selections were made from rice.
After our meal, she wanted to try the fluffy ice cream stand in Lotte Mart. So we went back. She bought a blueberry cone for herself and a melon cone for me. It was good, but not as sweet, or as creamy as in the U.S. We talked for hours. Good, old-fashioned female bonding. I called Chris to let him know where we were. Michele answered, and said she had Calculus homework. I suppose I should have rushed home, but we were having too good a time. Around 9pm we decided to head back. We passed a man selling leather gloves in the subway for 5000 won. Everywhere else they were 15,000 to 20,000 won. So we got three pairs. Then we caught the train back 2 stops, the stop before where we'd gotten on. Turns out it is closer to the north gate. Which was good since it was so cold. She drove me home, and I found both Chris and Michele in bed already.

Window Topper

Andrea came over today. She wanted to make another baby quilt and we did. This time we sewed it inside out and turned it right side out. She took it home to slip stitch and tie. We talked quite a bit so she didn't leave until 1:30.
I washed and dried my window topper. I sewed paperclips to it so I could hang it up. I took a picture, too, but you can't really see the detail. And it is too short. Oh well.
While I was sewing paperclips on, we watched Nicolas Cage in Ghostrider. I also used that time to take apart the extra row on the baby quilt top. After the movie I sewed it on as another column, making it a 7x7 top. It is too cute to not have a binding, but that seems to be its fate since we just turn and tie them. Maybe I can sneak a small border on it to have the same effect.
Chris called after work to have me meet him at the commissary. We bought groceries and then DROVE home. Yes, he bought a car today. Well, actually, after having the car fail inspection, the guy GAVE it to Chris. Its a real winner, and I'll have to take a picture in daylight. I must admit it was nice to not have to carry the groceries all the way home. We'll see whether he and Michele take the bus tomorrow, or drive.

E-Mart

Today I went to the thrift shop at 9:30 to volunteer. But after waiting in the cold for 20 minutes to no avail, I walked over to Tina's house. Lucky for me it was merely cold today - little wind. Tina was glad for some company. Her husband had minor surgery and she needed some time away. So we went to the commissary and then parked at gate 19 and walked to E-Mart. They had a Korean grocery store there. I bought lots of Korean snacks to try, as well as a jar of kimchi, and 10 kinds of sushi. I also stopped by the bathroom and was glad to see a real toilet and not a squat pot. In case you don't know what that is, it is a miniature urinal laid flat into the floor. You squat over it to do your business. Seems rather primitive to me. Sorry, no pics.
Tina dropped me off at home, and I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening chenilling a 10 foot window topper for my new burgundy silk curtains. I still have to wash and dry it for the effect. Michele and I also tried all the snacks. Most were good. She and Chris tried the sushi, but they agreed that next time I can have it all to myself. I can live with that.
It is so dry here that the flowers that I bought almost 2 weeks ago which should be wilted have dried in their vases. It is so dry that my nose bleeds spontaneously.

Baby quilts

This being Monday, the quilters gathered. Pam was sick, so I had to take the bus. I was so proud of myself: I had taken home a set of blocks to make a quilt top at home. Well, when I got there, they had a production line turning quilts, and tying them because Ralu did 10 of them at home. Way to go, Ralu! Then, I discovered that they wanted a 7x7 top, not the 6x8 like I had made. So even my one top was not right and I had to bring it home to re-do. AND THEN, Ralu gave me 4 packets to do for next month: cutting AND sewing!
After we broke up, Cathi gave me a lift to the library. I was looking for 2 books and 2 DVD's. The first book was listed as 'checked in' but wasn't on the shelf. The second book they only had in Korean. The first DVD was also 'checked in' but not on the shelf. And they didn't even list 'Time Bandits'. Oh well. Then I went by the PX to buy a filter for the 'new' vac, and hopped the Post Run bus for home. Now that was an experience. A whole bunch of high school kids got on, and one of them was rapping. I couldn't hear exactly what he said, but by the reaction of the other kids, it was pretty bad. One guy remarked "That was sick." as though that were a compliment. I was glad to get off that bus.
I spent the rest of the day working on the silk window topper, occaisionally giving my machine time to cool down by helping Michele with her Calculus. For some reason she doesn't seem to enjoy math like I do.

Dinner Party

I looked up the manual for the vac on hoover.com. It was very enlightening and all I needed to do was change a setting. That was Friday. On Saturday we Skyped my in-laws, who are now in Brazil visiting my sister-in-law. After that I got a little sweeping done before Andrea came over to make baby quilts. Her machine was in storage so we used mine. We only got one done and she decided to do the others later. So I spent the late afternoon lining a panel of burgundy silk as a curtain. Michele and Chris went to the library and the movies.
Hyon had invited us to her apartment for dinner Sat evening. So the three of us walked to the street to catch a taxi. But though many passed by, they were all in use. We walked to the commissary then and had no trouble catching one. But we had to call Hyon and let her explain to the cabbie where to go. It was a huge building, over thirty floors. Very nice. The Lunds were also invited, as well as another couple we didn't know and a young relative who teaches English nearby. The apartment was nicely decorated with plants and candles. They served wine and Korean dumplings for an appetizer. For the meal, she served lasagne, broccoli, potato rolls, kimchi and something I can't remember 'cause he kept adding to my wine glass. For desert, we had apple tart and cherry pie, brought by other guests. Chris was quite the conversationalist. Hyon had a glass of slips of paper. Each one had a questioin on it and we had to pick one and answer the question. It was a way of getting to know each other.
When it was time to leave, we had no trouble getting a taxi, and only a little trouble directing him to our apartment complex. I was so full that the next morning I skipped breakfast.
The Lunds gave us a ride to church. On the way back I heard Chris tell them that he will take the drivers test on Monday and buy a car on Tuesday. Isn't that nice to know? I'm glad I was listening.
After church I had a headache so I read for a while. Then I had an idea for a silk window topper. To make it, I need to chenille a piece 10 feet by 8 inches. It took four yards of silk cut diagonally to make six layers. The color will be richer after the process is finished. So I am looking forward to the finished product.

Wall Quilt

Thursday morning I met Pam in the parking lot and we drove over to Hannah at the commissary. She is Korean and drove us to Dongdaemun. We bought fabrics, and jewelry, and thread. It sure was nice to have someone who speaks both languages to translate! We got back around noon and Pam dropped me off at the thrift store. I helped hang clothes on the racks for a few hours, then walked to Commisskeys to catch the bus. The next stop was the commissary. When we stopped there, a bagger helped an old lady onto the bus and put her grocery bags by the driver. I was sitting in the front seat, which I don't usually do since I leave them to older folks and people with packages. I patted the seat beside me to show her she could sit there. She smiled at me and sat down. I thought it was a shame that I was getting off so soon because I'd have to squeeze by her to exit. Well, she started talking to me and I changed my mind. Her breath was so bad I had to turn toward the window to take each breath, then turn back and smile and nod without breathing. As a child I was told to "be polite even if it kills you" and it very nearly did. The shame of it is that I don't remember a thing she said and she seemed so nice. After I got home, I mentioned her breath to Michele and she said it was probably kimchi breath. God bless South Korea.
That evening I put together the blocks for the quilt that inspired me earlier. It was a simple block and to use the large print so that it showed up well, it had to be a 16 inch block. I swear that quilt wanted to be a full bed quilt, but I only needed it to hang on the wall above the couch, so I limited it to 6 blocks. I had bought the dark green border fabric earlier, but it needed to be washed. I had to wait until the next morning to wash it because running the dryer means opening the window to hang the vent hose out. In the summer that lets in mosquitoes and in the winter it lets out heat.
So in the morning I washed all the fabrics I bought on Thursday. I added the borders, cut a strip of cardboard to hang it on, and stuck two hooks to the wallpaper in the living room. To make the wallhanging as light as possible, I skipped superfluous things like batting, backing and binding.
I also made rolls using my mother-in-laws recipe, but dividing it by three to fit into my bread machine. It made 18 rolls.
After that, I tried to use my 'new' vacuum from the thrift shop. Instead of picking up dirt, it left dirt. Very odd. Must be a new feature. I decided to circumvent the new feature by cleaning out the plastic bin and filter. When they dry, we'll see if it works any better.

I had plans for Wednesday which included leaving the apartment early to maybe volunteer at the thrift shop for a few hours before hitting the ACS building to beg to keep our chairs (they say we have had them for 90 days and they want them back) and to report items broken in shipment. Well, what with doing a little of this and a little of that, I didn't leave until 2:30. One thing I did was to take all the quilting fabric out of the closet, organize it in stacks by color and put it back. In the process I noticed that two fabrics, each on the top of its stack, went really well together, and so I felt a quilt coming on. But I had to get to post to run errands, so it had to wait.
First I went to ACS, where they told me to send a letter of exception regarding the chairs. (As my friend Tina says "What are they going to do? Break in your house and take the chairs back?") They also gave me the e-mail address for the shipping company and said we'd have to deal with them separately.
Then I went to the thrift shop because I expected Tina to be there and I had some DVD's for her. But she wasn't so I talked to a few people, bought some stuff and walked over to Tina's house. Tina was decorating for Christmas. All sorts of decorations everywhere! She asked me if I'd decorated yet, but I said we didn't bring much because we didn't expect to have room. Actually, I have two stockings hung. One came from the stocking exchange we had last week, and the other I made to go with that one because I decorate in pairs.
Tina told me that she'd tried the EFT website and was able to reduce her tennis elbow pain to almost nothing. She was excited about it and wanted to view my EFT DVD's. I was excited for her.
Then Chris called to say he was leaving the office for Commisskeys. On Wednesdays they have free horsd'oevres. Tina needed to go by the commissary anyway, so she dropped me off. Chris and I had a nice time there, drinking tea, eating snacks (the ham was good, the broccoli was sad), and talking about the presidential election and if there is a chance Obama is not eligible to be president and will the Supreme Court hear the case, etc. Michele declined to join us saying she had math homework. Well, I love math as much as anyone, but free food is good, too.
That evening, we watched a little TV. Chris hooked up the TV in my sewing room and I started the quilt that was coming on earlier. I couldn't wait to finish it, but finally had to go to bed. Pam and I are going to Dongdaemun with Hannah in the morning.
I know I should be shopping, wrapping, packing and shipping for Christmas, but I am just not in the mood. Long lines at the post office aren't helping. I don't know who died and left me in charge of it all. So, Christmas may be late this year.

Rag Quilt/Rug

Monday night after the tour of homes I sat down to watch "The Illusionist", our most recent Netflix movie. While I watched, I snipped. I was working on the rag quilt that we started that morning. I had almost finished it when the movie finished and it was past bedtime.
Tuesday, Pam picked me up for the AFSC luncheon. It was a dress-up affair this month so I wore a dress and makeup. As usual, we bought lots of fabric from the fabric vendor. There are a number of vendors that set up their wares for two hours before the luncheon. We could have bought purses, jewelry, Korean furniture, candles, etc.
This month's theme was a murder mystery. There were about 10 ladies who played a group of rich women aboard a yacht. The missing character was the mystic who was found dead. We were given clues, verbal and written. There was a newspaper page (fake) on each table. Some of the articles seemed irrelevant, but they weren't. We even got to ask a few questions of the 'suspects'. It was all very fascinating and our table won. Another table had guessed that the captain did it, but we had the best reasons. We each got a necklace for that.
After that, a group of us delivered fabric and batting to the ACS building - provided by the vendor for charity quilts. Then we all went home. I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening washing, drying and pressing all that fabric. In between, I finished clipping the rag quilt and washed and dryed it. Made of flannel and squares of dense batting, it is very warm. I will use it as a rug.

Holiday Tour of Homes

Monday is quilt day. Only today instead of making quilts for others, we had a demonstration of rag quilting and each made our own. Mine will be a rug since I need something in my sewing room to separate my feet from the floor. Turnout was light since a number of our members were involved in the Holiday House Tour. Pam and I were to go together in her car, but then Adele invited us to go with her, and she invited a few others and then we were all in somebody's van. We all met at the Dragon Hill Lodge. There were horsd'ovres, but I was too busy waiting to sign in, getting a map, running into people I know, etc to get any before we left. I did have a glass of water. On the way, Adele read the booklet blurb for each house we were about to see. Most houses asked us to remove our shoes. A docent or two was available to explain what we were seeing. I had thought we were going on a tour of Christmas decorations, but these houses had items from all over the world. It was fascinating. And they were beautiful. We visited the houses of colonels, and generals, all on post. We saw elaborate furniture, a functional suit of armor 3 feet high, antiques, tables set for 20. At General Sharp's house, they gave out chocolate in military shapes. We ladies had a great time. Maybe next year my family will come.

Arabian food is good

Saturday morning we stayed in because it was so cold. Then Andrea came by around 3 to bring me a door mat. Wasn't she sweet? We had looked at them in Dongdaemun and didn't find what I wanted. But she found the perfect one at the Px and delivered it to me. She wouldn't even let me pay her. And THEN she drove me to Tina's house so I wouldn't have to walk.
Tina was nice to me, too. She and I worked on the three quilts, finishing by 12:30 am. We watched episodes of "House" which she can download from the internet via an apple box. She fixed supper for all of us,(her family was home). She gave me her pointsettia. She gave me quilting safety pins. She had even dropped by the thrift store earlier and bought the vacuum I wanted, which we then transported to my apartment at almost 1 in the morning. Its great to be me.
This morning we went to church and then decided to walk into Itaewon (ee-tay-won) for a late lunch. Did I mention that it snowed? It was finally warm enough. But still COLD! We walked to an Arabian restaurant called The Dubai. It was all very good. For an appetizer we had flatbread and dips of hummus, sour cream, and eggplant. We all ordered lamb entrees. They were differnt. Michele's (which Chris ate) was extremely spicy, and served with coleslaw. Chris's (which Michele ate) was like a stew with potatoes and zuchini. Mine was a bowl of yellow rice with piece of lamb in it. We sat near a bar with a dozen hookahs displayed. I thought they were decorative until we noticed another customer using one. (It wasn't listed on MY menu.) So we speculated that the wooden box at the end of the counter was probably a humidor.
On the walk back, we bought a hat for Michele from a street vendor. We also stopped at the German deli for soft pretzels. The man in back saw Chris wearing the hat Michele crocheted for him and remarked that his grandmother would wear a hat like that.
After we got back, we were going to go to the commissary, but had had enough walking in the cold for one day.

SKYPE

Friday we got up at 5. Why? Our computer was 'ringing'. The night before we loaded Skype onto my account and then went to bed. Apparently you have to tell it that you are not there, otherwise it proclaims to the world that you are on-line. So we got calls all through the night, although we didn't hear them until the one at 5am. Thinking it was my brother, I Skyped him back. He said he'd called hours ago. So we hung up and went back to bed, but couldn't get back to sleep. At 6 the normal routine prevailed. Then Chris Skyped his parents, who had also Skyped us and we had a nice chat. We chatted for over an hour after Chris and Michele left. BTW, Skype lets you chat face to face using your computer for free.
After breakfast Kurt and I Skyped for a long time. At one point, while he was looking for some pics to send me, I played around with an options pop-up. When he said "How did you do that", I looked at my thumbnail (the image of me that the computer is transmitting) to discover that I'd grown elf ears. And they were moving as my head moved! It was so funny.
I also put the ingredients for persimmon bread in my breadmachine because the persimmons really needed to be used up. Then I wrapped my exchange gift for the luncheon, and ran to catch the bus.
The luncheon was very nice. It was at the Main Post Club, well decorated with good food. I brought a bottle of cider and ended up with a box of chocolate. Good trade. I also won the drawing for a black purse. I thought I was the only one there whispering "Don't pick me, don't pick me", but after they did pick me, it took a while to give it away.
Friday was cold, and I mean bitterly cold. The wind was cutting and it hurt to breathe the air. Tina and I had planned to go to Dongdaemun after the luncheon, but decided that it was just too cold. She was still working on that massive quilting project, so we went to her house and I stayed until midnight.

Toy Alley

I met Andrea at the commissary. We called a taxi to go to Dongmyo, which cost us 8000 won. I was a little surprised. Dongmyo is the home of Toy Alley, where each store sells toys or stickers or kids books etc. Andrea wanted stickers and found them without too much trouble. Anne Marie called and wanted to meet us in Dongdaemun, which was 4 or 5 blocks away, past the shoe streets. The three of us looked at several kinds of fabric, jewelry findings, fur, towels, etc. Andrea wanted Minki for the backs of three baby quilts she is making. I am not sure that is what she ended up buying, but we had fun pantomiming the question "Is this washable?"
Andrea and I came back by subway, and took the on-post bus to our closest bus stops. It happened to be the bus carrying kids home from school, so Michele was on it and surprised to see me. We walked home together. Soon after we got home, Hyon came by for a quilting lesson. I wrote down all the steps she would do for making the block that she chose. But of course, nothing beats actually hands-on experience. So we got started with the cutting. She picked it up fairly well. We marked some diagonal sewing lines, but then the hour was over. Normally I wouldn't care, but I had to be at Commisskeys 40 minutes later to catch a bus to a Christmas party. So I dressed up for the party, walked to the nearest bus stop, and decided it would be faster to walk all the way than to wait for the bus. Luckily I was wearing flats. I arrived in time to see Chris waiting for me to get on the bus. It took a long time to get to the party location. But it was so beautifully decorated. We stood around talking and having appetizers until all three buses had arrived. Then we toasted with eggnog before we all lined up for the buffet tables. The food was reasonable, but nothing to blog about. I didn't eat much considering that I missed lunch. You'd have thought I would be ravenous, but I wasn't. There were the usual after-dinner speeches, and an ELF-Yourself video using the faces of our highest on-post officials. Very funny! Also, a five piece wind ensemble from the 8th Army Band played Christmas music. Then we boarded the buses back to post. Chris' coworker offered us a ride back to our apartment. BUT, Chris elected to leave the bus as it was entering post and walk back. Thanks, dear. It was COLD and my dress shoes were rubbing the backs of my heels. I am not bitter, but NEXT time he WILL accept a ride, or be walking back without me.

Late night quilting

Wednesday: Got up with Chris at 5 because he had a videoteleconference at 6. I made his lunch and Michele's, then laid down for a few minutes until she got up. After she left, I had plans to do some cleaning and be over at the gift shop by 10 when it opened. But, I started reading a book and couldn't put it down. It was 2:30 by the time I got to the gift shop. I got some little boxes and some silk, then dropped in on Tina who was still working on the quilts. She had the second top finished, so I worked on the third. She had had some lazer removal of brown spots and her lower face was red. She didn't want to be seen, but it didn't bother me. Heck, I hadn't even noticed the brown spots before she removed them. She invited me to supper, so I stayed. I called Chris to let him know and my cell phone died. So she put it on her charger since she had the same phone. At 6:20 she and I walked to Adele's house for quilting. Tina kept on walking, but I stayed until 11:20. Toniette brought a basted quilt and we machine quilted it and put on the binding. Afterwards I caught a ride with Pam. Then I realized I had left my phone at Tina's house so we stopped by to pick it up. Poor Tina. If I hadn't needed it the next morning I would have waited until Thursday.

Christmas lights

Today I helped out at the thrift store. And I am so glad I did because there was a little Korean table for $3. I couldn't believe it was so cheap, even though it was chipped. So I got it. I also signed up for their Christmas luncheon on Friday. I'll have to come up with a small gift. Hmmm. I returned home to have lunch and do some cleaning. I also trimmed all the flowers and made smaller arrangements. Then I caught the On Post bus to the Christmas lighting ceremony. They were giving out free raffle tickets for an ipod and two plane tickets. (I didn't win). Several groups of kids sang songs, and then the lights went on! It was spectacular. There were lights all over the base. And of course Santa showed up riding on a decorated fire truck.
But it got quite cold. I was able to catch a bus to the library, where I checked in one book and checked out two more. But the book I really wanted wasn't there even though their computer said it was.
I caught the next bus back to the walk-in gate (I'm so glad I didn't have to walk around to the main gate), and found Chris and Michele at home. Michele was doing her Calculus. After that, we watched CSI and Chris re-loaded the printer driver so I could print out a quilt block. Chris retired early because he has a video teleconference at 6 am tomorrow. Better him than me :)

Quilters

Today is the first Monday of the month. That means we (the quilters) gather at someone's house to exchange Secret Sister gifts, eat snacks, share quilting magazines, see what each other is working on, and just socialize. We also had a stocking exchange. Each of us made a stocking and decorated it. Then we picked numbers from a jar to see who got which one. We had a marvelous time. From my secret sister I got a cut glass candy dish and a bag of m&m's. I also got to show off the two rugs I finished yesterday, see pic.
After our get-together, Pam and I went by the Px. She bought a card and I got velcro sneakers. I am tired of my shoelaces coming loose. Then she drove me home. Michele arrived soon after. I spent the rest of the day making another stocking (I needed a second one to go with the one I got this morning) and making earrings. When Chris came home, he had two packages that had come in the mail. One was a set of sheets from my in-laws and the other was a birthday gift from my parents. I have much to be thankful for.