Eating again

I slept well last night, not waking with sweat until 5. Chris got up early for his church service. After he left, I got up and drank water while listening to an interview from the Fat Summit: diabetics treated with a high-fat diet got better. Too much animal protein will turn to sugar in the body. I paused the video to take a shower. I boiled water to clean the nuts, but the video was louder and the pot boiled dry. I got dressed and finished the video. I ate a seed cracker. Chris arrived to take me to church. When I got there, I showed Jane 5 Korean messages on my phone. She said to delete them. I thanked the song leader for sending me the songs last night. He asked me to sing loudly to get the congregation singing. (classical hymns, anyone?) Jane spoke to one of the choir members and brought her over. She wanted to sew. So I asked for her e-mail address but could not find paper in time before the service began. We sang the three songs I heard last night. Then we had communion, which meant that we gathered at the back to pick up a piece of cracker and a cup of wine. We were supposed to answer the question “Who is Jesus to you?” I wasn't going to volunteer an answer, but I got asked directly so I told him 'hall monitor'. Other people had better sounding answers. But when I explained, someone else said 'yes, me too'. Then the chaplain gave a historical, geographical and cultural explanation of the events on palm Sunday. I did not know that waving palm fronds and shouting Hosanna was like a battle cry. The people expected Jesus to ride into town and oust the Romans. After church, I got the lady's e-mail address. Chris had come back to drive us home so I could change clothes. Then we walked to the Korean church for lunch. Some food items were gone already. But the kimchi chigae was outstanding. I ate like a starving person and my stomach was ok with that. Then we walked back to base. We stopped at the commissary for food. When we got home, I checked e-mail and search the web for how to make lotus tea. The info was hard to find. I listened to another interview while I made chocolate. But when I put the honey in, it started clumping up and even with more heat, would not return to a smooth batter. I wondered if the honey had water in it. I used my hands to press it into the chocolate mold. The rest I pressed into squares with my fingers. I ate one and gave one to Chris. I put the cubes in the fridge to harden. I used packing paper to make pattern pieces for the backpack. Lots and lots of pieces. I took a break when Chris loaded the movie “Get Smart”. As we watched, I ate the last pomegranate. After the movie, I put the last Fat Summit audio on and made seed crackers. Then I drew and cut out more pattern pieces until I had a separate piece for outer and inner fabric, as well as anything that called for two of. Then I went through my stash looking for an appropriate lining fabric. I could have asked her to choose what she wanted, but I did not want to risk my stash since I brought my favorite fabrics. Then I searched high and low until I found the rest of the outer fabric she picked. I spent a while ironing it. It got late, so I quit to post to my blog and go to bed.
* This is the picture I have been coloring. *

Backpack on paper

After posting to my blog this morning, I checked e-mail. No one had mentioned that my blog post hadn't come out last night. I listened to an interview on how fat came to be unfairly vilified. I called Myra to see if she was sick, but she did not answer. I called Nela and she was fine. Later Myra called back to say she was fine, also. I did my exercises, then made and ate breakfast, or at least part of it. I looked up how to make a backpack. I worked the weekend Sudoku puzzle, then went back to looking at patterns, trying to find one with all the features Suk wanted for her backpack. I took my supplements. I printed out the 3 new blocks of the month that Beverly sent me. I spent hours trying to put together an instruction plan for making the backpack, taking info from different tutorials and my own imagination. Then I worked on putting numbers to all the sizes of pieces. I took a break to clear e-mail. I resumed work until I had a plan. I composed a message to my QOV group and sent it out. Later I saw that the place was incorrect so I published the correction. I gave up on finishing breakfast and ate an apple for supper. I cleared some more e-mail. Then I posted a notice of our next QOV meeting to the community Facebook page. I watched a short tapping video. Then we watched Titan AE. Soyoung's husband e-mailed me the songs he chose for church tomorrow and I listened to them on Youtube so I won't be lost tomorrow. He also sent me the sheet music, which was nice. Then it was time to post to my blog and head to bed.
* These are the cannons in the turtle ship. *

A Wasted Day

Chris got up early to go out of town for the day. I stayed in bed hoping to stop sweating and fall asleep. I might have at some point. I dreamed about signing someone off post. Finally I checked my watch. It was almost 8 and I wondered why my alarm did not ring. I got up and drank a quart of water. I called Jane but there was no answer. I posted to my blog. I did today's Sudoku puzzle. I put on another interview. I learned that the body needs cholesterol (from fat) to make hormones. Start your day with fat. So I did. After the swishing and exercise, I ate some seed crackers. After a space of time, I made and ate breakfast. I did it because it is part of my routine. I had been having a nagging feeling of nausea, and it got worse. I listened to audios while lying on the couch under a quilt. But I could not get warm. Where were my night sweats when I needed one? I put on my heaviest winter coat. I tried some yoga poses. I drank some hot tea. I colored in the book. But the feeling would not go away and the afternoon was wasted. I had planned on making hummus, chocolates, and seed crackers. But the mere thought of food (even knowing I wasn't going to eat it today) turned my stomach. I sat in the bathroom to read a book. That turned out to be unnecessary, so I retired to the living room to read, but the light wasn't nearly as good. When I finished the book, I realized that I did not have the energy to check my e-mail. And that was when I knew I was sick. I drank a little water. I worried about Chris until he came home at 8. He made me some tea and I took only a sip, but it did not sit well. About 9, my breakfast came up. I wondered how it could have sat there all day and not digested. I felt better then and tried to clean up the bathroom. Chris drew me a warm bath. I added hot water and got in. Strangely I felt worse after the bath than before it. I got in bed. Chris brought me a tissue of vetiver and lavender oil. I slept pretty well until sometime in the middle of the night. I had started sweating again. I got up to have water twice. Finally I went back to sleep and when I woke up, Chris was already up and on his computer. I convinced him to come back to bed. Later, he took a shower and went to the office. I drank the cold tea from last night and posted to my blog.

First QOV meeting

Chris got up at his usual time. I got up soon after my alarm sounded. I drank water and cleared my e-mail. I took a shower and got dressed. I struggled with Excel to print a sign-in sheet. Then I added to the notes for the meeting and sent them to the desktop to print out. I put all my strips and papers in my music tote. I bundled up, picked up my yoga mat, and headed to the chapel. SoYoung called to say she wasn't coming because she needed someone to sign her on to the base. Myra and Nela were waiting inside the chapel, while the classroom was being heated. Anna joined them while I reserved the room for next Wednesday. Then we went in together. Myra had brought her cutting tools which she laid on the table. Linda came and so did Ivy, with her cute new grandson. Ivy brought me two middle blocks and the extra fabric. No one came from Busan. I used my notes to make sure I covered all the points. I demonstrated how to straighten the edge of fabric and cut strips and sew them, and cut blocks. We talked about meeting weekly, etc. Then 4 of us headed to yoga. The man who reserved the room for me flagged me down to say Command was using it next week so he would put us in the other room. Then we walked to the gym. Joelle led us in new yoga poses. Anna was very good. She could do the twisted crow. I couldn't even do regular crow pose. I did do a half-head stand. I could not do the back bend: When I put my hands flipped back beside my ears on the mat and pushed up, there was no strength in my arms. Gotta work on my triceps. As we walked toward home, I suggested going up the mountain, but then there were rain drops, so we didn't go. Once home, I made and ate breakfast. I listened to an interview from the Fat Summit: Separating Fat from Fiction. I put away all the fabric lying out in my sewing room. I studied the Korean lesson from last week. Jane called to say her base card had expired so she could not sign in until 5. I did not want her waiting for an hour and a half, so I took two umbrellas and walked down to the gate to sign her in. We walked back, and I gave her the usual glass of milk and slice of bread for a snack. She does two hours of line dancing on Thursdays so she was hungry. Then I showed her how to do the quilt blocks. While we worked together, she told me Korean words. Then when Chris came home, I told him I had signed her in and would have to sign her out after Bible Study. He told me I had to go with her to Bible Study because that is part of signing someone on base. She wanted to go at 6:30 for the free supper. But Chris was cooking salmon for me. So Chris came up with the idea of signing her out right then and letting her sign back on through the Bible Study list. It was raining as Chris drove us to the gate house. I signed her out, but she could not sign back in because her name was not on the list. She called the chaplain and he said he would send someone down for her. She told us not to wait to go back home. Since there wasn't a good parking space, we left. The salmon was ready when we got back. Chris said he did not like salmon, so I ate one piece and he put the rest away. We read e-mail, and I watched videos of life hacks. That led to a top 10 inventions list. On that list there was a pen that can write in any color after scanning it. In the photo, the pen scanned an orange, and then wrote an orange line. I searched Amazon but could not find it. Then I chose Entrapment for our nightly movie. I had seen it before, but did not understand how it all fit together in the end. And I still didn't seeing it again because I fell asleep during the movie. Chris got me up and I went to bed without posting to my blog. I slept well at first, but then the night sweats started. With all this sweating, who needs a sauna?

Indoctrination class and tour

I was going to bed when Chris came home at almost 11pm. He had been at Turtle Cove in a meeting and had his phone on silent. We had a 'discussion'. Eventually I fell asleep and slept pretty well.
His alarm went off at 6am. We stayed in bed until 6:15 when my alarm went off. I drank a quart of water, and washed up. I ate seed crackers with butter while listening to an interview from the Fat Summit: Fat in the diet does not equal fat on the body. Same amount of calories from fat or carb is digested and used very differently. A carb-heavy diet can slow metabolism by 350 calories a day. We don't gain weight because we overeat, we overeat because we are gaining weight. On a high fat diet the cravings disappear.
I paused the video to dash off. I bundled up and put out the recyclables. Then I walked to the classroom at the FFTC. My next door neighbors were just ahead of me. Although we walked in at 7:31, we were not the last to arrive. Eventually there were close to 20 of us. We were given a survey sheet to complete at the end. I sat with Nela and Myra sat behind me. The CO spoke first. Then he left and someone else took over. That man had each one of us get up and say who we were, where we were from and what we were interested in. The new kids on the block gave their name as they stood up, chair squeaking on the floor. So I did not catch any of their names. Mostly they talked about why they went into the navy instead of going to college. I gave them a short story of my life, but did not mention Chris' position. I made a plug for the quilt group. The survey sheet listed all the talks we were supposed to have from the different services on post. But two of them did not show up. And two others sent subordinates instead of the leaders, so their talks were less informative than they could have been. Dan Olsen talked about culture in Korea. About 10:30 we boarded a bus and went to Changwon. We were shown a old-style Korean enclave, including the men's quarters and the women's quarters. The husband was supposed to sneak out in the middle of the night to visit his wife, giving the appearance of virgin births for the kids. Then we went to a museum, which I took some pics, but was not interested in except for the 3-D map. Then we walked to a buffet for lunch. I ate stuff that agreed with my dietary restrictions (as far as I know) and was unusual – like jellyfish, snail, raw something grey and skinlike, lychee, etc. I enjoyed my meal except for something that tasted like they pulled it from the sea and did not wash it off first – very fishy and salty. I might still have eaten it, but my first (and only) bite had bits of shell in it. We were given an hour. Then we walked back to the bus and were taken to the train station in Masan. It was like a fly-by. I don't know how we got there or back and we did not stop to see how to pick a train or order tickets. Then we went to the ROK base. The maps we were given of Jinhae, Changwon and Mason included a mag of the ROK base. Color me surprised. We were allowed to climb on a beached sub, but not to take pics of the ones in the water. Like iceburgs, they were mostly underwater. From there, we rode to the other side of the base to a turtle ship. It was cold outside and even colder inside. We looked all around and a Korean sailor came to talk about the various things to see. Then we went to a military history museum. Not that interesting to me. And it was freezing in there. Finally we went to the gift shop next door. I got a t-shirt. Other people bought mugs and shirts and gifts. I thought we were done and heading back, but only so we could head to the bus terminal. Myra, Nela and I got off. I went to the post office, sliding in just before it closed. I collected our mail, then proceeded to the classroom. Nela was there and Myra went home and came back – but not before the others returned from the bus station. I filled out the survey. The lady who accompanied us on the bus asked what Korean words or phrases we wanted to know. Ironically, she had to rush because it was almost time for the Korean language class to start. Some people stayed for class. I took my mail and went home. I brought in the recycle tub. I dropped my extra trash bags next door. I ate the nuts and cranberries. I put water in the humidifier. I called Chris, who was on his way out of the office. I told him Nela raved about the fresh salmon from the commissary, so he stopped to buy some. I made and ate breakfast. Chris came in with the salmon. I showed him the mail. We talked about our days. He told me that the people who did not show up for the indoc were at the off-site conference with him. I cleared e-mail one last time. I worked on what I wanted to say at the meeting tomorrow. Chris picked out the musical Cats for us to watch. I jotted down a few thoughts that came to me while the movie was playing. When it was over, Chris went to bed. I posted to my blog, not sure if I was going to stay up and make sample blocks, or just go to bed.
* This is the reproduction turtle ship *

Shopping

It took a while for the magnesium to kick in. Even then, I had to turn off the heater in the bedroom because something was making a high-pitched whine. The night sweats started and I let them come. I did not try to cool off, thinking maybe my body needs to sweat. Detoxification? Anyway, when daylight knocked on the window, the sweat subsided and I got chilly. My heat source (Chris) got up to have breakfast and turned the heat back on. I got up a little while later and drank my usual quart of water. I answered e-mail.
I called Myra to see if she wanted to do yoga. I called Nela, too, but she could not make it. I vacuumed in the living room, for all the good it did. Myra came over with her mat. She led us in yoga poses. She rubbed my back because it was too stiff. She said it was very tight, and the mid-back muscles were trying to support lower back muscles. She left in an hour. I took a shower, then made and ate breakfast listening to audios from the Fat Summit. Myra called after attending the ceremony to say she was ready to go walking. I finished the audio while coloring more leaves in the coloring book. I went to Myra's place and Nela was there. The three of us walked out into town. I bought zippers in the everyday market. We perused a number of stores. Nela had us stop for lunch. We had fish noodles on a stick. There was something fried that Nela and Myra ate. Myra paid, and it was only $2.50 for all of us! At Daiso I got markers for the coloring book, and at another place, a tea pot, and a small humidifier that looks like a flower and has a usb plug. At the little store near base I bought some spinach. The weather was ok when we left base, but the temp dropped after that. We stopped at the ATM for cash. Nela went home. Myra walked with me as far as her house. We met the new couple who moved in last night. They had already been to see the Korean vet for their dog. She sews so I invited her to our quilt meeting. Then I went home and dropped my stuff on the floor to race to the bathroom. I made a salad for supper, then ate half a sweet potato all while listening to an interview from the Fat Summit. I colored in the book. I washed dishes. I read more about CRISPR. I read something about mice breathing it in and their DNA was changed. Given that I have been reading a story about a man infected by an omega-class virus getting aboard an airliner and the virus being spread by the ventilation system – well, it is a pretty scary combination. I cleaned the floor in Chris' bathroom. Then I tried out the new humidifier. It is also a night light. I was going to use it in the bedroom, but I don't want a light on all night. I used the new dust mop to do the floor. I tried out my new markers in the coloring book. I did some tapping for tomorrow – the indoctrination class, which will include a museum and other history. My favorite part will be the buffet which is supposed to serve jellyfish. I tried out the peel-n-stick hair collectors. I stuck one on the drain in the shower. I sat at the desktop computer and wrote a reminder message to the QOV group-to-be. I tapped until I was satisfied with it, then hit send. I got my book from the bedroom and laid down on the couch to read, hoping to get sleepy. I got up at 10 to post to my blog, wondering why Chris wasn't home yet. I drank some tea and decided to go to bed anyway. I needed to get up early.
* IS it a night light or a humidifier? *

Showing off my sewing room

I woke up while Chris was getting ready for work. He kissed me and left. The air in the bedroom seemed cold, so I waited for a heat wave to get up. I answered an e-mail, and called up the coffee detox page on the desktop. I did a salt cleanse and then the detox. I put Gold Bond on my ear. It worked last night, but it did not work today. One of the videos I listened to talked about homeopathy. So I put some arnica on my ear and it worked for awhile. I boiled some chrysanthemum blossoms. I bundled up warmly and walked up the trail, stopping at the exercise stations to work on my arms. When I got home, Chris was home for lunch. There was no mail. After he left, I made and ate breakfast, and checked e-mail. I drank some chrysanthemum tea. I was going to walk to the everyday market, but it was too cold. I put recyclables in bags. I found some moldy food for the food waste container. I moved kimchi from a bag to a jar. I worked on today's Sudoku puzzle. I put up Command hooks in the bathroom. I read and deleted e-mail. I discovered I was working the wrong puzzle, but I finished it anyway, saving today's puzzle for tomorrow. I went to my sewing room to pull out the reds and the blues for Ivy to look through. I put some in a drawer that were my absolute favorites. I ironed a piece that got wrinkled. Kristen called to ask if they could come over and I said yes. I made the bed and decluttered the master bath. I spiffed up the living room and dining room. The doorbell rang and they came in: Kristen, Ivy and the baby. I showed them the living room and the sewing room. We had a nice chat. Ivy picked some fabric to make blocks for QOV. I showed Kristen the master bath since she showed me hers. Upper housing has much nicer master baths than lower housing. Chris came home, and mentioned how cold it was. So they put on their coats and pushed the stroller home. We made and ate supper. I took extra magnesium and sprayed mag citrate on my arms. Tonight's movie was “National Treasure 2”. Then Chris checked something on his laptop and went to bed. I drank some chrysanthemum tea, and deleted new e-mail. It felt so good to get it under 100 unread again. I decided to mix up some essential oils for sleep and go to bed. Just for giggles, I also colored a leaf in the coloring book Faye gave me for Christmas.
* This is Soyoung playing the drums while her husband leads the singing. She is a very talented lady. *

Hoping to sleep

I woke up hearing Chris on the phone with his parents. I got up to protest: that he should either invite me to the conversation, or be quiet enough that I did not awaken. I saw that it had snowed, though not so much as back in the states. I went back to bed until he left for church. I deleted e-mail, and put on an interview. I drank water, swished, and emptied dishwasher. I started a loaf of bread. I broke up pecans with my hands to add when the bread machine beeped. I went to take a shower and noticed how dirty the toilet was so I cleaned the toilet. Then I took a shower and got dressed. I ate some seed cracker. Chris came home. I bundled up and he drove me to church. I sat with Jane but then she jumped up to help someone. So I did not get to give her the piece of seed cracker that I wrapped up for her. The service started with three songs, but they were all modern and I did not know any of them. Then we gathered around three small tables in the back to have communion and talk about how we can use our gifts to serve. We came back to our seats for the sermon. It was very historical. I learned more about the story of the servants with 10 talents than I imagined was there. After the benediction, the chaplain gave announcements and asked if there was anything else. Jane nudged me and talked about sewing class, so I had to stand up and explain. Then the chaplain talked about how glad he was that FON was having a gathering at the chapel in their new classroom. His wife corrected his pronunciation of my name and it got to be funny. As the people started milling about, Someone asked if we needed fabric. She also asked who was coming. I spoke to Kathy for awhile. Then I called Chris for a ride. As I was walking out, I met the man who leads the singing. I asked if he could throw in a hymn once in a while because I did not know the modern songs. He replied that he would send me a list of the songs so I could learn them at home. :[ Then I remembered the bag with the watch and deck of cards that his kids left at our house close to a month ago. I handed it to his son. Then I walked out just as Chris was driving up. He brought me home. He told me Faye had called. I made and ate breakfast. I checked the obscure Facebook message file for the message Linda said she sent. There I found other messages from people who were interested in quilting, but apparently Facebook was not interested in telling me. I put together another Swanson's order. I checked into Dong Quai. According to the reviews, it relieved night sweats, but promotes menstrual cycles. The great and the terrible. I did not order it. I looked into chatavari, but it had the same results. Next was DIM. It seemed a better option, but I have tried once before and it had an uncomfortable side effect. I looked into that and it was not mentioned as a side effect. I decided to take a nap, figuring that I would not be awakened by night sweats. I got in bed, and Chris joined me. I think he fell asleep, but I did not. After he got up, I tried reading a book. Sometimes that works. But it was an interesting story and sleep evaded me once again. Chris came in and I realized it was dark outside. He offered to heat up a bowl of soup for me. I read another page, then got up and went to the diningroom for a late supper. I finished my Swansons order by choosing not to order anything I don't already have. But I had to order items I don't need yet in order to qualify for free shipping. I wondered if it was really saving money to do so, since I seem to do it every week. Then I finished the task of entering new names for the QOV list. After running endlessly for hours, it hadn't saved so I canceled it and tried again. When that was done, we settled on the couch to watch “Shakespeare in Love”. Then Chris went to bed. I swallowed three capsules of magnesium and made chrysanthemum tea. I mixed vetiver with lavender and applied it to the back of my neck. Thus prepared, I went to bed.

Fun with Power Point

We stayed in bed late because it was so cold. Chris took out the food waste. Then his phone rang and it was Michele, so we stayed in bed talking to her. Then he checked his e-mail on his phone. I got up to drink water and get dressed. We walked up trail together. I stopped at the exercise stations to do arm exercises. Then we walked home, passing the crude but sturdy shelving unit someone had thrown out. Chris seemed very skeptical about my wanting to bring it home. When we got home, I made and ate breakfast. I made myself stop procrastinating and designed some notices to put on bulletin boards. Chris helped me use Power Point. I printed them on photo paper and I thought they turned out well. I put them in a bag, along with instructions for our first quilt which I happened across while planning the notice. I bundled up and walked to Kristen's house to deliver the instructions. (Her mother offered to make the two most involved blocks. Then I went to the FFTC building to post one on the community board. Then I went to the chapel to post on their board, but the building wasn't open. I tried every door. I considered trying the windows too, but figured I could get in trouble that way. When I got back, I composed an e-mail announcing the meeting. I called the admiral's wife to see if she wanted to be on the list of people who received it. She seemed excited about the idea and said she would forward it around to the wives in Busan. I also called SoYoung, but all I got was an impersonal voice speaking in Korean. I added extra info to the e-mail, and then send it to the list. Soyoung called back, escited to be on the list. Then I spent the afternoon listening to interviews on my laptop. I remembered that yesterday the neighbors told me our wifi shows up as Damour laptop, but to them it looks like dam our laptop. Ha, ha. I made up a new round of supplements, identifying those that need replenishing. Chris did the laundry. We stacked the dishwasher and ran it. I made a bowl of chicken soup for supper. I jotted notes for my blog. I read e-mail until Chris was ready to watch a movie. We watched Sharpe's Peril. It was in two parts on the DVD and we watched both of them. Then, we went to bed, and …. I got up in the middle of the night to post to my blog.

A good start

I got up a little after the alarm went off. I swished, and exercised, read e-mail and listened to interviews. I dressed up a little, and bundled up warm. As I was walking down toward the FFTC for the community roundup, I met Myra and Nela walking up the hill. They were going to help Anna cook for the fire department. They asked me to fill them in on the meeting. As I got close to the FFTC building, I met the chaplain coming in also. I asked him about signing up for the classroom at the chapel and he told me to talk to the RP1. (Huh?) I sat near the front, with Kristin, who was taking notes (that's her job). The Ops officer went through the schedule for the next 8 weeks. A lot of it went over my head, like alphabet soup. Then several other men spoke and answered questions. That's when I realized Chris was in the back. The commander asked each person in the room if they had anything to add. I was not expecting that and just shook my head when he called my name. I did not realize we were on a first name basis. After the meeting, I stayed to talk to Kristen about how to advertise events, the shuttle to Daegu and the indoctrination class, which I never got to go to. But she said there is one next week, so I planned to go to that. She showed me the community bulletin board across from the elevator that I can post events on. Then I went to the chapel. I signed up for the classroom for next Thursday at 10. I went home to get a pad of paper. Then I went next door to get her e-mail address and phone number for the QOV list. I stayed to chat for a bit, then walked to Anna's place to get her info, but she wasn't home. I went back to our place and Chris was there having lunch. He handed me a box from the post office. I finished today's Sudoku puzzle Then he left, and called a few minutes later. He said he met Anna on the way and that she would stop by. So I was listening for her. She arrived with her younger son. We had a very nice chat and I showed her my sewing room. We talked about getting a group together.
After she left, I made breakfast and ate it while listening to an interview on biogeometry. There was something about having a group of 9 and a group of 16 to protect from negative electrical energies. It gave me ideas for a quilt. I called Myra to tell her about the chapel room. She invited me over. So I went over and watched Nela stack fabric squares while Myra sewed them together to make a rag quilt. After Nela left to go home and cook, I sat down to cut seams and promptly pierced the base of my thumb with her sharpest scissors. I spent the rest of the afternoon holding an ice cube to stop the bleeding while she finished sewing. Then her husband came home and I figured I might as well go home to mine. But soon after I got home, Chris called to say he was going to be late and that I should go over to Kristen's house by myself. So I printed out a pic of the quilt and walked over. I met her mother and baby son for the first time. They even let me hold him. But he was fussy so I gave him back. Her mother told me about the wonderful new sewing/embroidery machine she got for Christmas. Since she quilts, she offered to make some blocks for the QOV. I gave her the hardest ones and a few numbers to go by. Chris came by and we talked, and then Tom came home. We traded stories back and forth and had a wonderful time. But I had heard they planned to go out to eat, so I nudged Chris and we made our goodbyes. On the walk home, Chris told me that they were not going out to eat after all. Oh well. When we got home, I put a bowl of chicken soup in the toaster oven. I ate some seaweed and some hummus with fresh garlic. We read e-mail for some time. I wrote one, too. Then we watched Flash Gordon. Chris went to bed and I stayed up to blog.
* This is Jane, after teaching me Korean letters. *

Ha ma

Last night I got very drowsy after using the lavender and vetiver oils. I still laid awake for awhile, but I think I woke up less during the night and it was easier to go back to sleep after Chris left for work. I got up at 8:45 and used my new HGH spray. I drank water with coconut vinegar in it. I deleted e-mail. I read a few e-mails and then got sidetracked reading the answers to a question on Quora about how to answer students who ask why they have to learn geometry or Shakespeare. When I finished swishing, I took a shower, but avoided cold water. The cold water treatment was lowering the frequency of my showers. Nela called to see if I was going to yoga. I rolled up my mat. I put castor oil on the skin above my ear. I bundled up and walked to the gym. The instructor and Myra and Suzanne were there, stretching to music. I put down my mat and we stretched while waiting for Nela. Then we followed the instructor as best we could. Even though I could not do what she was doing, she would tell us how to make the movement or stretch even harder. I felt so bad. I told myself that someone has to be the person who makes everyone else feel like they are not the worst in the class. It's a public service, right? That did not make me feel any better. After class, we talked on the way up the hill about the QOV group. I want to communicate with everyone by e-mail, but they were telling me that their e-mail doesn't work so they use Facebook. The last thing we need around here is another Facebook page. I laid down for awhile, listening to an audio. It ended and soon Jane showed up. She brought a child's book of Korean letters and we studied together, learning sounds, and days of the week, etc. Then Chris came home from work. We talked to him for a little bit. Then we looked at the Korean bus site to see if there was a way to see a bus' route. Chris drove her to the chapel for Bible study. We ate supper and read e-mail, etc Then we watched two episodes of Castle. Chris went to bed and I stayed up to post to my blog.
* 'Ha ma' is the word for hippo *

Another cold day

I got up late, thinking that the recyclables could wait until next week, and trying to get a little more sleep. The night sweats had kept me awake again. I got up before 9 and heard the recycle truck come by. I weighed myself and I was 5 lbs lighter than last week. I drank water and cleared e-mail and then I swished while listening to an audio from the Heal Your Gut summit. I exercised. I dressed warmly and went walking up the hill. I did not take the trail because I wanted to stay in the sun as much as possible. When I got back, I took three vit C packets, and made breakfast. But I ate seed crackers instead. I made more mix and put it in the oven. When it was cooked, I turned the oven off and left it to crisp up. Chris came home for lunch. He brought me two boxes. One had castor oil. I put it on the skin above my ear. I put the other supplements away. Swansons was offering 25% off their brand so I placed another order. I tried to order thyme essential oil, but they would not ship it. I bundled up and put three sets of yellow garbage bags in my handbag. I walked to Elizabeth's house to drop them off. She was not home so I just left them on her porch. Then I went to the post office to mail the latest package. I was shocked when it cost almost $1 more than last week. Apparently the price of flat rate boxes has been raised. Did anyone know about this? Or did the post office just raise prices on a whim? From there, I walked home. I read more e-mail and studied the image of the quilt I chose as our first QOV. The dimensions don't seem to fit the requirements on their site. Each block is made of 5 strips. If they are cut 2 1/2 inches, then the top is 40 by 60 before borders. But the minimum size is 55 by 65. That means the border would have to be at least 8 inches. The border looks to be 3 x (width of strips). If the strips are cut to 3 inches, the whole thing works out to 78 by 108, exceeding their cut off. I chose 2 ¾. I spent over an hour filling empty capsules with a mixture of turmeric and pepper, and a little coconut oil since that is supposed to make it more absorbable. I also made up some capsules of N-AC. Chris still hadn't come home. I heated up a bowl of chicken soup for supper. I read e-mail and listened to an audio or two. I was listening to a meditation when he came home. When I was done, I found him polishing his shoes in the bedroom. I laid in bed and read a book while he ate supper. Then we watched three episodes of Castle. I applied some lavender oil and vetiver to the back of my neck and went to bed.
* Here is a third picture from the market *

Water fasting and yoga class

I had a long night, full of sweating vs shivering. After Chris left for work, I decided to do a water fast, assuming I could remember not to eat. I drank a quart of water sitting in front of my laptop and watching a video and reading e-mail. I did today's Sudoku puzzle, confused because I thought I had done it last night. I checked the outside temp, and it was below freezing. One of the e-mails was a tribute to David Bowie, so I listened to some of his music, but I did not feel a connection. I drank more water, and watched part of a documentary on how big oil conquered the world while I exercised. Nela called to ask if I was coming to yoga at 11. I had forgotten and did not want to go because of the weather, but she said if no one came, the class would be rescheduled for 7am. I drank more water, then dressed warmly and packed a bag. I went to yoga, and there was only one person there other than the three of us. The instructor said we could sit out any pose that got too advanced and I did a lot of sitting. I was not sure I survived it, tomorrow will tell. I came home. Chris was here with two packages. I unpacked them. One had two boxes of vitamin C packets and both had the tape slit. One only had 29 packets in it. I watched the rest of the documentary and read the comments. Very depressing. I did some tapping for guidance. I drew some sketches for the backpack. I sent an e-mail and sketched out a Facebook post for QOV. I was cold and could not warm up, so I ran hot water in the tub and mixed in some epsom salts. It felt so good on my feet that I ran more water in the tub and laid back with a book. Sadly I had not thought to bring my glasses into the bathroom. When the water cooled off, I got out and went to bed, with the book and a pair of glasses. It helped me warm up. Then the phone rang. Chris was calling to say he was walking home from work so he could drive us to the town hall meeting at 6. I did not feel like getting dressed and going outside, but I did want to hear what was discussed. So I got dressed by the time Chris came home. I drank a mug of hot water. Then we drove to the theater. We met the CO in the hallway and were the first persons there. Myra called to see if I needed a ride, but I told her I was already there. When she and Nela came, they sat behind me. But most people came late and sat in the back. The assistant superintendent of military schools in Korea came to answer questions – most of which were about being short on staff. Then he left for Seoul and the CO fielded questions on other topics. After the meeting, I spoke with the ladies behind me. Nela is starting an after-school knitting club and wants Myra and I to help. Then I stood behind Chris in line to talk to MWR. After we spoke, I went back to the ladies until they left, and then Chris was ready to drive home. When we got home, he fixed himself supper while I finished listening to an interview. He recommended eating resistant starches, one of which is banana peels. I made up another package to go in the mail. I read Chris my proposed Facebook post on QOV and then posted it. I made a cup of chrysanthemum blossom tea and drank it while we watched episodes of Big Bang theory. Then I posted to my blog and we went to bed.
* Here is a pic from the market yesterday *

Chrysanthemum tea

We slept late. I thought Chris was going to work, but he got caught up in e-mail at home. I got up at 9:30 and started my coffee morning routine. It was after noon when I finished. Chris put soup fixings in a pot on the stove and finally went to work. I called Myra about going to the five day market. She called Nela and then said Karen was going, too. So I got dressed and called Suk to tell her I would be gone for awhile and would call when I got back. I met Myra at her house and we collected Karen and Nela. Then she drove us to Home Plus and we parked on the top deck. We had to go through Home Plus to cross the street to the market. We stopped to shop and I got Command hooks. Myra and Nela got stuff, too. Then we walked outside to cross the street. It was bitterly cold in the wind. I wished I had worn my scarf. We could have been shopping for frozen food. We wandered up the right side and down the left. I was looking for dried chrysanthemum blossoms. The normal seller wasn't there but we ducked into a shop where Nela typed the word into her phone for a translation. The man pointed to a bag of dried flowers for $10. Eeek. But I bought them. With our market purchases we headed back through Home Plus. Nela stopped to get a bucket of fried chicken for her family. Then we headed home. When I got back, I called Suk and she came over. She brought me kimchi and some honey to try. The honey was from her friend who keeps bees, and it is very expensive. I thought it tasted like normal store-bought honey, not with the flavor that mine (from the market) had. Then we went to my sewing room. From her description I drew a backpack and labeled the dimensions. She wanted pockets and a matching wallet. While we were discussing it, Chris came home. She talked about expensive clothes that she had to give away because they no longer fit. I gave her Mrs. Lee's number, so she could have more clothes made. After she left, I read e-mail until the chicken soup was done. I called Jane to find out how to make the tea and how much to use. She said to boil water and pour it over 3 blossoms. After supper, I peeled a pomegranate. I put some of the arils in a bowl for Chris. I ate mine rather quickly with a spoon, and listened to several audios. Chris ate his one at a time, spitting out each tiny seed. I did tomorrow's Sudoku puzzle. We watched The Jewel of the Nile. I drank my chrysanthemum tea. And then it was time for bed.

Two movies today

I got up after Chris went to church, thinking it was after 10 but it was just after 9. I heated water for tea. I read some e-mail, then took a shower and got dressed. I ate seed crackers for breakfast. Chris arrived to drive me to church. He dropped me off at the chapel. I sat with Jane, I pulled a small baggie of nuts out of my bag so she would have something to eat since she did not get breakfast. Then I walked to the back to give Kathy the valerian root that I borrowed. Jane went to the classroom to get some tea and I saw the nice video screen they have in there. Then we sat in the pew, listening to Soyoung's husband playing guitar and singing as prelude music. Then the chaplain said a prayer and we sang songs. I did not know any of them and the electric keyboard was so loud that I could not hear myself or the man singing. After that, the chaplain explained the new communion procedure: he gave us a question to talk about and told us to gather around three small but tall tables in the back, laden with the host and wine. The question was something about how to foster peace with the new sanctuary. Of course my answer was quilting. There was an offering plate on each table and we went to our seats to get money and drop it in. Then we sat down again for the service. His sermon was short and historical. Then he showed slides of the chapel's renovation and explained the history. When the service was over, I called Chris to come get me. Jane told me Soyoung was in the hospital, but coming home tomorrow. I spoke to her husband about it. Then I went to tell Jane I was leaving. I passed Kelly, so I asked her if she would like to quilt with us. She said yes and could I look at her machine which was damaged in shipping. Chris came in to get me, unhappy that I was not waiting for him outside and had not heard him call my phone. He took me home and I changed my clothes. He had started the laundry. We walked to the Korean church for lunch. The hall was packed. Jane made people move over to accommodate us. It was a good lunch. On the way out, two Korean ladies introduced them selves and practiced their English. Sadly the noise was so loud that I could hardly make out what they were saying. We walked home. I made breakfast and ate it while reading e-mail. Chris asked me to cut his hair. He wanted it short and I could not cut it that short with scissors, only with the razor, but it did not go well. I guess after 20 years the blades are dull. I was in tears over the result, but when Chris looked in the mirror, he said it was fine. I swept up the hair and then helped Chris fold the laundry. I looked for my trombone cleaning rod so Chris could see if the hose to the hand held shower head was blocked. I used my solar puff as a light source and saw that the hose was clear. Chris reattached it to the faucet. Not much water came out through the wand, but I think it due to some low-flo adjustment that Housing installed. I read e-mail, then got up to make hummus but we did not have lemons. We walked to the commissary in the rain and bought lemons and a few other things. When we got back, I made hummus, and then tried it on seed crackers. I added some black pepper because it boots absorption of nutrients. I also made a loaf of bread. After clearing more e-mail, we watched Suburban Commando, which was not the movie I thought it was (something with Vin Diesel). Then, since it was still early, we watched Romancing the Stone, then looked up some of the characters. I got caught up on reading about how the Rockefellers took over the oil industry and then medicine and automotive, agriculture and on it goes. It was way past my bedtime when I took a break to post to my blog and go to bed.
* I did not take any pics today, so here is one of my sewing room. *

Star Wars

Chris got up first and gave me a coconut oil massage. Then he took a shower. I stayed in bed to keep warm, but finally got up, too. I read e-mail and listened to an interview. Chris got a call from work and had to leave. I exercised and listened to a second interview. Nela called to invite me to an early dinner with a group of women at a restaurant at Lotte Mart. Then I got bundled up. I noticed the zipper was tearing out of my coat. I quickly re-threaded my machine and sewed it up. Then I walked up the mountain, stopping at exercise stations. When I got back, I made and ate breakfast. Swansons was running a one-day special so I made a small order. I washed some dishes and wiped the counter tops. I vortexed the water in several containers. I screwed a handle onto a long ruler that I bought more than a month ago. I swept the floor. I filled three containers with water from the shower filter. I took a shower. I tried on several tops trying to decide which one to wear. Korean places tend to be warm inside so I chose a short-sleeve top, but paired it with a scarf since the neck was scooped. The scarf was a panel that I bought in Masan. There wasn't time to hem it, but it looked ok anyway. I put on my coat and shoes, and jotted notes for my blog. I walked down to the corner and saw Myra coming from her place and Chris coming home from work. I kissed him, and then followed Myra over to Nela's place. Alica was waiting for us. We picked up two more women and then headed off post. Driving to Lotte Mart, we passed a car of other women going to the same place. We parked on top of Lotte Mart and walked to the restaurant inside. There were little tables arranged in two's and three's but the ladies put them in a big circle so we could all sit together. Then the staff put them back, claiming it was a firehazard because an exit. In the end, someone got permission to move the tables again, this time in one big unit which we sat around. Then we waited for a few more people before heading to the buffet. I was expecting Korean food but it wasn't, really. More of a mix, and not an impressive one. I took a little bit of what seemed safest. I had a good time chatting with the other women. I found out that it was a good-bye party for someone I hadn't met yet. The party started to break up about 6:30. A number of ladies wanted to go on to karaoke, but I was meeting Chris to see the new Star Wars movie. So I caught a ride back with the wife of the projectionist. We parked at the theatre which was so convenient. Chris was waiting for me and we sat in the theater to wait since I was a little early. And it was worth waiting for, if a little long. Ok, very long. But it was good. Although they need to bring back one of the guys who died. I mean, there are two more movies. After the movie, we walked out to Chris' car and drove back to our duplex. I got online to look up Carrie Fisher because her voice sounded odd in the movie. I did not find anything about that, but I ended up watching an HBO special she did, humorizing her life. It was over an hour long, so I did not watch it all. We dressed the bed, which Chris had stripped earlier to wash the sheets. He went to bed and I stayed up to post to my blog.
* Here is one of the offerings on the buffet. *

Going out for dinner

I woke up with Chris. I stayed in bed while he ate breakfast. When he took a shower, I brought in the three water jugs to fill from the filter. Then I went back to bed. When I got up, it was almost 10. Ugg. I drank a quart of water and Myra called. She said she would come over and we would go walking. So while I waited, I read e-mail and put on an audio from the menopause summit. I made buckwheat tea. When she arrived, it was ready. We drank some tea and I showed her my sewing room. Then we went down the trail and up the mountain, stopping at the exercise stations. Then we came down the mountain behind my house so I could pick up my package and hit the restroom. We walked to the MWR building and up to the third floor where we found out that the Osan trip for tomorrow was canceled because one too few people were signed up. Myra talked to another lady and they agreed that they'd be willing to pay a little more to keep the trip from being canceled. We talked to the person behind the desk and she said she would talk to her boss. Then Myra went home and I went to the post office to mail my package. When I got home, I could see Chris had not come home for lunch. I read e-mail and finished the audio and listened to a second one. I made and ate breakfast. I boiled water to add humidity to the air. I threw in some quinoa that had been soaking for two days. I cleaned the bathroom and the water boiled down. I added more but some of the quinoa was burned. I rescued the rest and put it in the fridge. Chris came home from work early. He helped me formulate a post for the community facebook page for generating interest in a QOV group. I looked through years of my blog posts to find a good pic of a Quilt of Valor. Then he had to run to work for a quick something while I took a shower. I got dressed and was reading e-mail again when he returned. I bundled up and we went to the car. Burt got in the front seat with Chris. We followed his wife with their three kids in their van. They stopped in front of a Korean restaurant. Parking was easy, much to Burt's surprise. We were given a room to ourselves, although it was open above chair height. We ordered in 2's since I guess the meals were all to be shared. Anyway, the table was soon filled with plates and bowls. I could not tell what belonged to who and most of it was side dishes to be shared anyway. I ordered octopus skewers, which is what the two older boys got. But there was only plate of them. Still, there was plenty of food, plus rice and soup. The adults talked, or tried to. The youngest son was not happy, probably tired. He needed lots of attention. Finally she took him out to the car. We finished our meal and paid. Then we followed them up the mountain to Jinhae Dream Park. But it was closed so we turned around and headed back to base. When we got back, we checked the latest e-mail. I was hoping for responses to my QOV post, but all I got were 4 likes. No one said they wanted to join in. I messaged back and forth with Myra. I read e-mail and had some strawberries and chocolate. We watched “The Thirteenth Warrior” with Antonio Bandaras. I got one last message from Myra, and I posted to my blog and went to bed.
* I wish I had taken the pic before we ate. *

Cleaning

I took some valerian root tincture in a glass of water last night. After tapping, I looked up QOV requirements before composing a message to the community here to ask who wants to participate. One of the requirements is that the quilts not be tied or stitched in the ditch. Hmmm. So I sent a message to Yongsan Quilters yahoo group to see if they still longarm quilts of valor. Then I went to bed. I was almost asleep when Chris came home from picking up the latest arrival from the airport.
So I slept late and did not hear my alarm go off. When I got up, it was after 9. I read e-mail and swished and drank water. I printed out the QOV requirements. Then I called to see if the ladies were already walking. Nela said they were at EM's house, cleaning and she invited me over. So I got dressed and walked down. There were four of us cleaning and organizing. I worked with Tia in the diningroom, while Nela and Myra worked in the kitchen. We had a successful morning, and carried out bags of cardboard and plastic for recycling. Myra brought her car around to carry it off. Then Myra and I went walking up the trail. We stopped at the exercise stations. We talked about the sewing group and QOV group that we want to start. Then on the way back, we ran into Kristin, whom we were just talking about contacting. She was walking with her newborn and her mother. We had a productive chat about posting on the various Facebook pages. Then Myra went to her place and I went to mine. I made breakfast. Before I finished, Jane called to ask if she could come over while she waited for the Thursday night Bible study to begin. I was still eating breakfast and listening to an audio when she arrived. As I finished breakfast, she chatted with me. She requested a slice of bread, so I gave her one from the loaf I made for Chris. She REALLY liked it. She showed me how to make tea from the buckwheat that I bought in the market. And I thought it was just a crunchy snack. We ate some strawberries, and I dipped one in cocoa powder. She was interested in the ingredients of my breakfast and the supplements I took with it. So I let her watch me make up the next weeks' worth of capsules and gelcaps. She told me she had seen a doctor here who tests for food sensitivities and I said I wanted to do that, too. Then we spent over an hour on my laptop. She showed me a Korean website that she posts to. She combines pretty pictures and classical music on a background. She was so thrilled when people commented on her posts. Then she had to go to Bible study. I heated up some chicken soup. I made a salad with greens I got at the market. I had no idea what they were. Then I ate a piece of chocolate while finishing the interview. Chris came home late. We talked about what I learned today, and then he had to leave again. I went through a few more e-mails. I worked with a picture of me and my friends from Augusta. But when I had it the way I wanted it, it still would not fit I the hutch with the other picture. I made a mental note to find nails and hang pictures. I did tomorrow's puzzle. Chris came home and signed in to a conference call. I did the puzzle for the weekend. Then I put another package together to mail tomorrow. Then we went to bed.
* These berries from the market are sweet and too-perfect. *

Meeting new people

Last night just before I went to bed, I took two pitchers into the shower to fill from the filter. I forgot to shift the water from the hand held wand to the overhead shower and got soaked. I had to change my night clothes. The dripping water woke Chris up, but he went back to sleep.
I did not hear my alarm go off the next morning. But the increasing brightness of the room alerted to the time. I checked my watch and got up. I assembled the most voluminous of recyclables and took them out to the curb. The people next door had put out lots of boxes and I happened to notice one marked 'sewing machine'. Good. Another seamstress. Then I sat at my laptop with a quart of the water I got from the shower. I deleted a lot of mail, then got sidetracked on Quora. I spent some time with my phone, trying to assign a special text tone to the number that keeps sending me Korean texts. I typed the link into my laptop and it is some sort of Korean online market, possibly like Amazon. I was tired of jumping up to answer texts from a friend only to find spam – 4 or 5 times a day. I did not find a way to do that, but I was able to assign special tones to my friends. For some reason I could not assign a special tone to Chris, but then he doesn't message me so it's ok. I exercised to another audio in the Menopause summit. I messed with two wall units beside the heating panel. One of them controls humidity, but I have no idea what the other one does.
Listening to a second menopause audio (on perfectionism), I made and ate breakfast. I was mixing up a batch of seed crackers when Chris came home for lunch. I washed up, and worked today's Sudoku puzzle. I lost track of time. It was almost 1:30 when I put on my coat and shoes and grabbed the package. Soon after I walked out the door, Nela called and said they'd meet me at the ATM. I went to the post office and mailed my package. I talked to Kathy about valerian root. Then I met Myra at the ATM. We chatted a few minutes, and then Helen pulled up in her car. Nela and Karen were already there. It was my first time meeting Helen and Karen. Helen is Korean and she drove us to Home Plus, parking in the top deck. From there we walked to the five-day market. I did not need anything, but came away with a lot of stuff. Helen bought some rice crackers and gave me some – they have no sugar but are nice and crunchy. Then we stopped at the book store in Home Plus. We dropped Karen off to pay her cable bill while we checked another book store. Then we picked up Karen and came back to post. Helen dropped me off at my house and helped me bring in all that I had bought. Then I was faced with the task of putting it all away. I wished the fridge was bigger. I ate a pomegranate so I would have room to put the new ones in the fridge. The seed crackers in the oven were not crisp, so I turned the oven back on. I cooked up the rest of the mushrooms in butter. When the mushrooms were reduced, I added two eggs and covered the pan to cook. When it was done, I ate that and then cooked up the mushroom 'roots'. After eating, I read e-mail and jotted notes for my blog. I was listening to an audio when Chris came home from work. I told him about my day. I took the seed crackers out of the oven to cool. I watched videos on creating a vortex in water. Soon Chris had to leave to go to the airport to meet someone and escort them to the base. After he left, I called Kathy to see if I could borrow some valerian tincture. She said yes, so I bundled up and walked over to her street. I had some trouble finding her house and knocked on Kristen's door by mistake. But her husband redirected me to Kathy's house. I gave her a piece of seed cracker and she gave me a bottle of valerian. I walked home and put the valerian on the counter for later. I worked on the red project. About 10, I put it up and came out to drink water with valerian and vitamin C in it. Chris sent a message saying the plane was late. So I decided to do some tapping and go to bed.
* I saw this in the market. It looked like a loaf of bread but it was soybeans. *

The car has come

I woke up in bed alone. My heat source was up. Then I heard him skype his parents to wish his mother a happy birthday. So after a little while, I roused myself and came out to say hello. They are coming for a visit, either for Chris' birthday or for the cherry blossom festival. Chris got dressed and went to meet the van to Daegu to pick up his car. I drank water, then swished and exercised. I listened to an audio on exercise in menopause. I spritzed water all over the house. It was very dry and I thought maybe my throat is not sore so much as dry. Nela messaged me that we would meet at 10 to go walking. The temp was below freezing so I had my doubts. I ate the rest of the seed crackers. I read about a new baby item called Taggies, There was a tutorial so I saved it to my file. When the audio was over, I washed up and dressed warmly. I met them walking up towards my house. We walked the trail up the mountain, then around and down. We saw a place where the wild pigs dug up the ground under the trail. When we came around, we stopped to see the MWR classroom. It seemed like a good choice for a sewing class. But it is usually busy. We also checked upstairs (round tables) and in the chapel. The chapel classroom was very nice. The chaplain was there so we talked to him about the room and he was in favor of us using it. Then we looked in the MWR office building, mostly just to see what's there out of curiosity. Duffy's was having a sale on all their fixtures and stuff since they are moving. One young man proudly bought a huge fish head mounted on the wall. He couldn't wait to take it home and I figured he wasn't married. I wish I had taken a pic of it. We looked at all the glasses and wall fixtures and decorations, etc. I was somewhat interesting in the large beer umbrella but there was no way to make it stand up in the middle of a patio table. We saw Paul who is in charge of MWR so we talked to him and he was excited about our idea since he wants to start a program of leisure arts classes. Then we went to our respective homes. I made and ate breakfast, and listened to more interviews. I read e-mail. I finished one priority mail box and took it to the post office. I picked up our mail while I was there and came home. I did the Tuesday Sudoku puzzle but made a mistake somewhere. Chris came home from Daegu and then went to work. I spent the afternoon working on the red project and listening to selections from the Nutcracker. When Chris came home, I told him all about my day. Then we ate supper and read e-mail. I tried the Sudoku puzzle again. I prepared a box to go in the mail tomorrow. Chris ran the dishwasher. We tried to watch a VHS tape, but it wouldn't play. I took the case apart and back together, almost. Then we watched a movie called Johnny Mnemonic. A little gruesome for my taste. Chris went to bed and I tried to finish the puzzle but could not see well enough so late at night. I posted to my blog and went to bed.
* This is the part I assembled today. *

Alphabetizing the movies

I put some lavender oil on the back of my neck hoping it would help me sleep. But I guess the vetiver is an essential part of the falling asleep effect. I woke up early and my throat hurt but I realized it had something to do with breathing. Everyday the pain goes away while I am drinking water and does not come back until the next morning. I got up right after Chris left. I drank water with vinegar and ginger and turmeric. Maybe some vit C, too. I boiled water for coffee. I exercised and drybrushed. I read e-mail, and listened to audios. I found some vetiver on Amazon but did not complete the order, hoping to find something else to order to qualify for free shipping. When my Monday routine was finished, I cleaned up the kitchen. I called Myra to see if she wanted to go walking. She came to my house and I gave her some chocolates. We walked up the mountain and around to the post office. I picked up some priority mail boxes. We went to the Bx looking for Command hooks, but there were none. Then we stopped near her house, talking to her neighbor. When I got home, Chris was here for lunch. I swallowed 5 packets of Vitamin C, then made breakfast. While eating breakfast, I read about flax seed and pumpkin seed for balancing estrogen. So I ate a bag of my seed crackers. I looked up the lowest temp for cooking eggs so next time I bake my crackers I can apply the least heat necessary to the seeds. I watched a Quilts of Valor episode of TQS. It was very interesting. Three quilt 'coaches' taught three newbies how to make one QOV. I wondered if we could do something like that here.
I tried to put together an Amazon order of essential oils for a sleep formula I read online, and a detox formula. But even though each item was marked free shipping, when I went to check out, some shipping charges were still in place. So I figured I needed to get the same brand of each. But then I ran into shipping restrictions. How in the world is it ok to ship rosemary oil, but not geranium oil?
I assembled one priority mail box and put stuff in it. As I was deciding what else should go in, I got distracted somehow and ended up alphabetizing our entire movie collection. Chris came home from work just as I finished up. He made his usual burrito and I heated up a bowl of chicken soup. I filled out a customs slip for my box, and wrote some checks. Then we watched Footloose. It was hard to hear all the dialog, possibly because it was a VHS tape. But I liked the music. By the end, I was up and dancing. Chris would not dance with me. Then I sat down to write up my blog. I ordered the oils that Amazon would permit and e-mailed Chris about the geranium oil. He says his coworker might be able to get it. Finally I was ready for bed.
* I did not take any pics today, so here is one from the market in Masan. *

Staying home to rest

I woke up with a sore throat. I had not slept well. I stayed in bed when Chris got up for breakfast. It was frustrating to be sick. I knew Jane would be disappointed if I did not come to church, but I did not want to spread germs. Also I thought about Soyoung, who was expecting us for an eel soup dinner. I did not want to miss that or to disappoint her. I felt miserable, but more emotionally than physically. When I did get up, I swallowed 5 grams of vit C, followed by a tablespoon of colostrum. Then I settled down to watch an interview on menopause and essential oils. That prompted me to mix some oils together with jojoba and dab it on pressure points around my face and chest. The speaker mentioned that she uses a mixture of lavender and vetiver on the back of her neck and she can fall asleep in 5 minutes. I immediately put vetiver in my Swanson's basket.
I listened to another interview in the menopause summit. I made and ate breakfast. Chris came home from church. He said Jane would call after her service to see if I wanted to go to lunch. I laid down on the couch to rest. Jane called and Chris told her I was napping. So he said he would go to lunch with her. From there he expected to go to Soyoung's place. So he got out the brownies to take along. He insisted that I try a bite and they were rock hard. I think he invented brownie brittle. So he microwaved them to get them out of the glass pan, and he put some in a tupperware container. Then he walked to the Korean church for lunch. Soyoung called to see if I wanted to reschedule and I said I did, not wanting to miss out. Then Jane got on the phone to say she grabbed a rice cake from the church lunch for me. Chris said they were all going for a walk in the park, and then he would go to the commissary. I put down the phone and continued to rest and meditate. I felt like something should get done around here but I did not feel like getting up. I did a couple of meridian passes, then got up and got dressed. The wall basket in the bathroom had fallen down again. Thinking Command strips might work, I looked through my bag of Command stuff, but all I had were strips, no hooks. And the strips were not marked with how much weight they would hold. Chris came home after walking in the park with Jane and then going to the commissary. I spent the afternoon in my sewing room sewing red scraps together. Chris made chicken soup (at Jane's suggestion). I ate two bowls of it and it was very good. I checked e-mail, and one had a link to a clip of fireworks taken by a drone. That led to other videos of fireworks. I enjoyed them and wondered if they'd be even better on a larger screen. For our movie, we watched Ivanhoe, then looked up several of the actors who looked familiar. I finalized my Swanson's order before going to bed. I was dismayed to see that the vetiver was deleted from my order due to shipping restrictions. Grrr.
* The red project *

The Brownie experiment

I woke up with a really sore throat. But Chris did not, which surprised me since he had a tickle yesterday, and as far as I know, he did not do anything to treat it. So I drank my usual quart of vinegar water and added clove and ginger essential oils. I boiled my toothbrush before using it. I swished. I listened to an audio while sucking down 5 grams of Vitamin C. I made and ate breakfast. I saw a news story on adult coloring books craze. Firefox announced an update. So I let it update. But then it would not run. So I had to reboot my computer. We took a walk down by the gym and then up the mountain. I did not want to push myself too hard while being less than 100%. When we got back, I listened to an interview on grounding. Chris took the tree out to the shed, without folding it back in the box. Chris gave me a coconut oil massage. I stayed in bed, holding the grounding cord and dozing. When I got up, I could smell pork in the oven. Chris stripped the bed and washed the sheets. I ate some pork with black pepper (having read that it is good for congestion). I meditated. I drank some ginger/turmeric tea. I worked in my sewing room on the red project, sipping water. Chris decided to make brownies for tomorrow. But we did not have enough butter, so he used coconut oil. When he took the brownies out of the oven, the cake part was swimming in chocolate coconut oil. Chris poured it off. What was left looked not so good. We left it in the kitchen and got bundled up to go to a movie. Chris said that Star Wars episode VII was playing. Well, when we got there, no one was there. Chris went to the ticket counter and they told him that it was next week. Tonight's movie was The Secret at the Heart of the Sea. Chris did not want to see that. On the way back, I told him that if I died of pneumonia I would never speak to him again. He seemed to think that was ok, so I tried to think of something he would not like. I threatened to come back to haunt him as a mushroom. That struck us both as funny.
When we got back, we checked on the brownie experiment. It tasted fine, but the look and texture were really off. I checked e-mail for a little while and then decided to sew again. I did not get very far before he was ready to watch the rest of Arabian Nights. When that was over, he used my laptop to play a DVD with episodes of Big Bang Theory season 1. After a few of those, he called up some dueling cello's on Youtube playing Star Wars music. Ha, ha, but I still want to see the movie.
And then it was bedtime.

First FRG meeting

I woke up with a full-on sore throat. So I stayed in bed long after I would usually get up. It was 9:30 when I boiled water for making warm salt water. I skipped the vinegar because it might be loaded with histamines. I also heated up the coffee pot with ginger and turmeric. I drank 2 quarts of water. I deleted a lot of e-mail and started reading the rest. I put hydrogen peroxide in my ears. There was no crackling. But it did crackle on the skin outside my ear. I massaged the lymph nodes under my arms. A man from our church in Huntsville sent out a message telling everyone that none of his cancer treatments worked and that he is contacting hospice. I felt so badly for him and wondered what to say. I did some tapping. I started watching The Vitamin Movie. Chris came home for lunch. He had two boxes from the post office. One of them held what I ordered for Christmas presents. He showed me how to run the dishwasher. He went back to work and I took a shower. I got dressed and called Nela. I met her halfway down the street. She handed me two strawberries from the market. They looked just barely ripe but they tuned out to be sweet. We went to the FRG meeting at the Housing building. Roughly 8 people showed up, including the commander and executive officer and their wives and young kids. It was very interesting to hear what was going on, and what could go on, and finding out how things worked. After the meeting, a few us talked while walking out. Someone mentioned that shopping online is a problem here because the sites can detect that our isp's are not in America and we are shown a reduced selection and higher prices, even on Amazon. I was shocked and concerned. Am I paying more on Amazon because I now live in Korea?
When I got back, I emptied the dishwasher, and ate lunch and Nela's strawberries. I checked e-mail, and finished and closes windows in my browser. I finished watching The Vitamin movie. I checked out Chinhae-related Facebook pages. There are at least 8, no wonder I am so confused. I opened the Swansons box, and put the items away. I did the weekend Sudoku puzzle. I went to my sewing room to try the technique I saw on Pinterest, but worked on the red project instead, sewing red scraps together to make larger pieces. It got dark. Chris came home late. We discussed things I heard at the FRG meeting. We continued talking while Chris prepared a burrito and salad for supper. I listened to an interview on essential oils, but Chris did not like what the man was saying, so I put on headphones.
When it was over, Chris still wasn't ready to watch a movie. So I checked Target online. I was surprised to see a pop-up welcoming me as an international customer and giving the prices in Korean won. Maybe we do need a VPN. I'll have to get a recommendation.
I drank another quart of water. I read e-mail, following links to sewing projects. I was waiting for Chris to finish with e-mail, but it got late and I just went to bed.
* Since I did not take any pics today, here is one of me noticing that I match the 'flooring' of the exercise station. If I died here, no one would find me. *

Yard work in January

Last night, I slept well at first, but woke up early and could not go back to sleep. But I did not feel like getting up either, because my throat was a tad bit sore. I heard Chris get up. Then I heard my alarm. I heard him leave. It must have been after 8 when I got up. I boiled water. I went to the bathroom to put hydrogen peroxide in my ears while the water heated. When I came back, the pot handle holder was smoldering. I took the pot off the burner and mixed it with room temp water and salt. I drank that then made more warm water and put clove and ginger oil in it. I drank that too. I swished. I read and deleted a lot of email. I exercised to a short video. I put the bread away and washed the bread pan. Chris came home for lunch. He had two boxes from the post office, both marked Swanson's. One of them was in a large plastic bag because something was spilling out of it. When I opened the box, I saw that the bag of hemp seed had a hole in it. I put all the other items away, then put the hemp in another bag. After Chris left, I read e-mail and drank tea. I did tomorrow's Sudoku puzzle. I raked leaves into a box and transferred some to the flower beds and the rest went into the forest behind the duplex. As much as I could stuff went into a hole in the front yard where a tree used to be. When the leaves were gone, I could see that the grass needed trimming. So I went into the shed to get the lawn mower. But there was a bolt missing on the handle. Before I could mow, I had to tape and twine the handle in place. There was charge in the battery so I used it to mow the front yard, such as it was. The trim wasn't as good as I wanted but I figured it would cut better with a full charge. I put the mower back in the shed and hook the battery up to the charger. I also put the rake in there. I guess Housing will call me if they desperately need their rake back soon. I had just sat back down to e-mail, when Jane called. She was coming early for bible study and needed a place to stay. I said sure, but then wondered how I was going to entertain her for two+ hours. I jotted notes for my blog. I picked up around the place, and started cleaning up in kitchen. Then the doorbell rang. I invited her in. I needn't have worried about entertaining her. When she heard about my hair, she offered to cut the back. And she did a good job. She remarked on my Sudoku half ball and I let her have it. She was thrilled. She wanted to know how Sudoku worked and I explained it. Then we sat on the couch and studied Korean. She explained how to type Korean words on a phone keypad. We talked until 6, when she got ready to leave for bible study. After she left, I washed up half of the mushrooms that I bought at the five-day market. (I just love these mushrooms because they look so interesting. I would love to be a little fairy living in Mushroom City.) I fried them in butter. Chris had gone to dinner with a group from work. I savored the mushrooms, and then minced some garlic into hummus and ate that. I made and drank some ginger/turmeric tea. I read e-mail and saw a quilting idea that I wanted to try. Just then, Chris came home for the dinner. After changing his clothes, we filled the water containers from the shower filter. Chris stood on the shower seat while I handed him the pitchers. Then we selected Arabian Nights to watch. But it was a very long movie so we paused it at 10:30 to go to bed.

First block done

We turned off the heat in the bedroom to see if I could sleep in a quieter environment. It was blessedly quiet all night, but I don't think I slept better and I still got hot and cold, not in flashes. Chris got up early. I turned the heat on while he was eating breakfast so it would be warmer for him to shower and dress. I listened to the heater as it came on. There seemed to be two settings: blowing on high and blowing on low. No off. Eventually the grating noise came back. I got up to shut off my alarm and went back to bed. I might have dozed. I got up just after 8 to assess the recyclable situation. There were not many of any, so I put out two of the four: paper and plastic. I swished with an herbal powder. I drank salt water after reading yesterday that it is used to reduce histamine levels. I read more about high histamine. It is recommended to avoid fermented foods for several weeks. I stood on the shower seat to fill containers with filtered water. I had to turn the water on and off with my foot because the filter head was so far above the handle. I sliced up some ginger and turmeric and put them in the coffee pot with water. I exercised and listened to an audio. I got dressed to go walking. I noticed that the ceiling heater was not blowing. So there is an 'off' setting. I set off down the trail. I stopped at the usual exercise stations. But I took the longer way home so I would pass Housing. I stopped in to ask for a rake, but there was no one there. I called out and no one answered. I came home. I made and ate breakfast as I read e-mail. Chris came home for lunch. I finished the Wednesday Sudoku puzzle. I put on some Christian music. I filled and started the bread machine. I made up a week's worth of supplements and made a list of those that needed refilling. I re-ordered those that weren't already on their way. I filed a postal inquiry on the Christmas presents that I ordered. I took a shower. I finished the block that I started yesterday. I worked on the red project. I noticed that 4 o'clock was coming soon and that might be when Housing closes. So I bundled up and walked down there. I did not see anyone, but when I called out, a young man came out to help me. He was happy to lend me a rake and leave a note for whoever was supposed to know about it. I raked immediately when I got home. I did not realize how much I missed raking. I raked everything to the right side of the sidewalk and piled it in the flower bed to decompose. I hoped that removing the leaves from Chris' pathway would cut down on the sweeping I have to do in the foyer. When I finished, I came in to check e-mail. My fingers were cold and the computer keyboard was nice and warm. I could smell bread baking in the kitchen. I made supper. Chris came home late and made his own supper. I made some herbal tea. We watched Top Gun on VHS. And then it was time for bed.

Yoga we did

I got up after Chris did. I drank water, swished and exercised. I checked e-mail. I printed out two copies of the BOM. Housing called to say someone would come to fix the bathroom sink. I made the bed and moved everything away from the sink area. Then I got dressed and put a few things in a bag, including my yoga mat. I went over to Myra's house and Nela was already there. Myra showed me the quilt she was finishing up for the doctor (who is going home to attend the birth of his child). I gave her a copy of the BOM. Nela did not want one. Myra led us in some yoga exercises. We saw it snowing outside, then turn to rain. I gave Myra the chocolate M, the only piece that would come out of the mold. We walked to the gym to see if the sauna renovation was finished, but it wasn't. On the way back, a lady stopped and offered us a ride. I accepted. As she drove up the hill, I decided to bite the bullet and admit that I did not know her name. But then she thanked me for the turmeric that my husband gave her husband and I realized she was the CO's wife Ana. She dropped me off at our quarters and told me where she lived (temporarily) in case I needed anything. When I got inside, I dropped everything and made breakfast. I ate it while reading e-mail. At 1:30 two Korean men knocked on my door. They had come to fix the slow sink in the bathroom. They were plunging it when I decided I had better things to do than watch. I am not sure if they did anything else. I got out the fancy black fabrics that I bought in Masan. I opened the pattern and saw that it called for three fabrics (and I only had two). I found something that kinda worked with the two I bought. But when I laid the fabrics out, there just wasn't enough of the one that would make the lower front and sleeves. I packed it up. I copied the grocery list from the fridge. I took a little round purse with me. I tied a scarf around my head to hide my unruly hair. I walked to the commissary in the cold. I kept my scarf on even inside, but somebody recognized me anyway. I picked up the few things on the list, finding pumpkin seeds only at the last minute. I paid for my groceries and opened the purse into a backpack. The bagger was impressed. I put the bag of groceries inside and wore it home. I left the groceries on the counter and went back to the master bathroom. I cut the front, top and sides of my hair. It wasn't great, but it was better than before. Then I went to my sewing room. I selected fabrics for the January BOM and got started. At first I followed the directions, but then I did it my way. The directions called for cutting triangles amd sewing them together. I prefer to sew first, then cut. So I did. Chris came home and made himself supper. When I got the middle together, I stopped for supper. I minced two garlic cloves into some hummus – the only way I can swallow raw garlic and not have my stomach mad at me for hours. I ate some quinoa, seaweed and bison. I measured sunflower and pumpkin seeds into a mixing bowl. I rinsed them well, then added the sesame and flax and spices and eggs. Mixed well, it went onto parchment paper on a cookie sheet. When the oven was preheated, I baked the mixture for 15 minutes, then left it to dry out in the oven. We watched Mission Impossible and drank ginger/turmeric tea. Chris patiently paused the movie and explained what was going on whenever I asked. When it was over, he went to bed and I stayed up to blog and put the seed crackers away.

Too hot to handle

I woke up several times during the night. Chris got up not long before my alarm went off. I got up to shut it off and went back to bed. But sleep would not come, so I did some sit-ups and that gave me the energy to get up. I boiled water for coffee. I exercised and swished. I listened to audios and guided meditations. Nela called to go walking but I wasn't ready so they went without me. When I finished with my coffee morning routine, I cleaned the kitchen. Then I got dressed and walked up the mountain, stopped at the exercise stations on the way. I returned in half an hour. Chris arrived for lunch just after I got back. He had two packages, both held powdered health foods. I made and ate breakfast. I was listening to an audio when a man from housing arrived. Chris had requested a new light bulb and he came to replace it. He replaced all the bulbs in the fixture with 40 watts. It was dimmer. But I checked one of the old bulbs and it looked like 40 watt but I could not be sure. Then I showed him the light in the sewing room which was so dim. I requested higher wattage bulbs but he said it wasn't rated for that. He replaced the old bulbs with new ones and it was brighter. Then he checked the sinks and found a slow one in the master bath. He tried to get the stopper out but it would not come. Then he asked if I wanted the filter to go in the other shower and I said it was ok in the master bath. I thanked him and he left. I swept the bare floors with a broom. Then I damp mopped. There was still dust. Sigh. I put peppermint oil on the skin above my ear. It cooled the itch down a bit. I watched a video called Your Second Fifty (years) while cracking and peeling acorns. I threw the shells outside. I tested the batteries in my CD player, but the tester wasn't working. Then I cleaned the CD because it looked dirty or scratched. I cut two pieces of quilted fabric together, and then stitch-and-flipped strips over top of it. I put binding on one end, then folded it in half, sewed around it and turned it right side out. Turning it was a real bear. But then I had a pot handle holder (see pic). I moved some items to the shed. I tapped on being uncomfortable with productivity. Seems odd, but something about being too productive is scary for me. I plugged headphones into the computer tower and played a guided meditation. Chris came home just after I started it. When it was over, I got up to greet him. We ate supper. I tried to google what I had copied in Korean from the market, but could not find those 'letters'. Later we started watching a movie neither of us remembered seeing: Molly and Lawless John. But it was not good, so we stopped it and put on Patriot Games (with Harrison Ford). While it played, I got up several times to refill my mug with ginger/turmeric tea. Chris asked me how it tasted. Well, it doesn't seem to matter whether I put slices of ginger, or turmeric or both in. All tastes the same. I hope it is doing me some good. I put a delta wave CD in the player to help me sleep tonight.

The best surprise

Chris got out of bed first and had breakfast. I got up later and drank a quart of water. At 8:45 he jumped in the shower. Since the Catholic service is at 9, I was surprised. After he left, I was reading e-mail and the land line rang. I thought it must be him, but it was Michele! What a wonderful surprise! We had a nice chat and she said to tell Chris to call when he got back from church. So I wondered how I was going to remember that. I sent him an e-mail. I read e-mail for awhile, then took a shower and got dressed. I ate the last of the seed crackers. Then I put on my coat and walked to church. I arrived in six minutes, passing Chris in the stairwell. I told him Michele called. Then I snuck into the theater where prayer was already in progress. I sat with Jane. The sermon was on 10 suggested resolutions gathered from the third chapter of Proverbs. After the service, Jane went on to the Korean church. I went hone to change clothes. Chris put on his backpack and we walked to the Korean church to meet Jane. Lunch was already in progress, so either the protestant service went late or the Korean service got out early. After lunch, Jane walked with us to the nearest bus stop. We caught 305 to the five-day market. We got off but Jane went on. First I went to the turmeric stand. I wanted roots but all they had was powder. I wrote down the symbols at the top of the sign thinking it meant turmeric. I showed it at other places in the market that had roots for sale. But they all shook their heads. I wondered if I had written down the wrong thing. Then we found the stand that sells sweet potato 'gummy worms'. I bought the red and the yellow ones, thinking the red ones were beets. We bought a basket of apples, which Chris put in his backpack, God bless him. We did find turmeric root and had to buy a whole basket. Chris called the CO and asked if his wife would like to have some. On the way out, I stopped for the strange little mushrooms that taste so good. Then we waited at the bus stop for some time to catch 305. When we got back to our quarters, I tried the red gummy worms. Chris said they tasted like sweet potato. So both red and yellow are sweet potatoes. I read e-mail, ate an apple, then pulled blue scrap fabrics for the BOM project. I jotted notes for my blog. Chris helped me filled water containers from the shower filter. I cut up some turmeric root and boiled it on the stove.
I sat at the desktop and looked up chocolate recipes until I found one just right. I typed it in below my seed cracker recipe and enlarged them to fit the page. Then I printed it out and taped it to the wall in the kitchen. I started the process by measuring seeds into a bowl. But when I discovered that we only had half of the amount of pumpkin seeds, I put it all back. The commissary sells pumpkin sees, but is closed on Mondays. I drank turmeric tea while we watched Zorro the Gay Blade. It's a funny movie. And then it was bedtime. If I made resolutions, one would be to get to be earlier.
* Sweet potato 'gummy worms' are not as sweet as hearing from Michele. *