Open Base

Steve had said he would get up at 6 to go to Busan. But when I got up soon after 7:30 to take out the food waste, he was talking to Chris in the kitchen. When I came in, he started talking to me, and Chris ducked out. He talked to me until I told him nature was calling. Then he left for his trip. I checked e-mail, and got dressed. It was a nice day so I went walking up the trail. I went slowly and made it to the top. Then I walked around and down using the road. At the bottom, I saw people out and about getting ready for Open Base. I walked down to the tennis courts where MWR was setting up inflatables for raising money. I heard they were going to sell hotdogs, pizza and fried oreos. The chiefs were setting up to sell sloppy joes. The Korean band was warming up. I talked to Kelly then went up the hill. I stopped at the PTO booth where they were setting up to sell root beer floats. But the commissary said the ice cream hadn't arrived yet. Then I went home. Chris was there doing laundry. He went to the commissary and I started making breakfast. Jane called to say she and her aunt were waiting to come through the gate (with all the other Korean nationals for Open Base). She wanted to visit me and I said yes. When Chris came back, I told him and he talked to the MA across the street to tell him to let the ladies come up. It hit me that the MA's were telling people not to approach the residences. So then Chris went down the hill to escort the ladies. I finished making breakfast and started eating. When I saw them come near the door, I quickly put my bowl in the fridge. Chris let them in. They had brought small bits of food for us to share together. I brought out seed crackers and chocolates. We ate and then they left. Chris wanted to see the Korean band so he walked down there. I noted people walking up and down our street looking at the cherry blossoms. I listened to audios and tried to catch up on my backlog of e-mail. I printed out a recipe for Kelly. Then Myra stopped by. She was out and about and hadn't seen me so she was checking. We had a nice talk and decided to go out and see the festival after dark. Soon after she left, Chris came home. I was working on the quilt block that I sprained my back over last Saturday. He asked if I still wanted to watch the movie which started at 7. Yes, so I called Myra to tell her I already had plans to see a movie and had forgotten. I worked on the block until Chris announced supper. He had made a vegetarian Thai curry. I ate some but wasn't really hungry. Then I finished my block just as Chris got ready for the movie. It seemed like perfect timing, but when I picked the block up from pressing it, one corner was on in the wrong direction. O h well. I put on my jacket and we walked down hill. Myra and Scott waved to us from their balcony. We went to the third floor to buy tickets. I read all the MWR events posted while Chris stood in line. Then we sat in the theatre to watch Gods of Egypt. I think it was a good movie, but I was so awestruck by the costumes that I might have missed a few things. Myra would have loved it. Anyway, after the movie we walked home, noting how cold it had gotten. When we got home, Steve was here. He had brought packages of nuts, olives, home made jams, etc. It seemed to mean a lot to him that we should taste it, so we did. And he talked. When he suggested we sit, Chris went to bed. So for hours I sat there and listened. Finally at midnight, he went to get ready for bed. I wrote to my blog as quickly as I could knowing I still had to put the food away before I went to bed.