Crafty ladies

I listened to the BWE CD last night. I must have fallen asleep because I woke up with silent headphones on. I took them off and tried to go back to sleep, but I was having RLS sensations. I had to get up and do yoga stretches for awhile. Eventually I went to sleep.
I am not sure when I woke up because consciousness is such a gradual process. It was just after 8 when I got up. Chris was getting dressed for work. He took out the recyclables when he left. I drank a quart of water while reading e-mail. I called Myra but she didn't answer. I got dressed for yoga and called Myra again to be sure she knew about yoga. She said she'd get dressed and come. I bundled up and took my mat to Housing. I turned on all the lights and the heat. Anna showed up a little later. She turned off half of the lights and played with the heat settings. I don't know why. Soon Myra came. Anna was the leader and we did stretches and flows. Myra said the right side of my back was tighter than my left and it was affecting my ability to do yoga. They both rubbed my shoulders and back. It was very nice. We went way over time, what with talking and all. Instead of quitting at 10, I left at 10:45 to get supplies for sewing class, and returned just after 11. Myra and Anna were setting up the room and Ms. Chong was there. Suzanne was not far behind. Ms Cong worked on her binding, then made two Christmas Crackers. I explained about sewing a strip down the center of the square of fabric first, which she did. But she did not stop there. She wrapped it on the tube and tied the ends with ribbon. I did not have a chance to tell her how to sew it on the tube, but she was ok with the way it turned out. Suzanne's little girl pinned scraps of batting together and cut snippets with scissors. I think she's three years old. Not sure what she thought she was making. Suzanne needed bigger batting for her project so I ran home for more. I found some strips that could be pieced together. As I was attempting that, Chris came home for lunch. I decided to do it in class, so I kissed him and went back. The ladies were all talking and they kept on after our scheduled time to leave. So I left them there and went home. I found a birthday card that Chris left for me. It was really sweet. My back hurt, so I laid down on the couch and listened to a BWE CD. I fell asleep and woke up while it was repeating itself. I roused myself to the kitchen for a bite. I made a batch of lip balm, putting some of it in a small jar for Linda's going away present. I washed some tiny containers and filled those for later. But most of it went into jars in the bathroom. I did try coloring a small bit with some red spice. But it was peppery and too strongly flavored to use as lip balm. Then I made and ate breakfast. After eating, I made seed crackers. While they baked, I jotted notes for my blog. Myra texted from the gate. I texted her back, knowing my time was short. I turned off the oven. I looked for my class sample, but could not find it. And then it was time to go.
I arrived at Housing at 6:35. Myra was there with the two Korean ladies that she signs on post for class. Several other people came as well. Anna worked on her folded star Christmas ornament. Kelly and her three daughters came to sew. One proudly showed me three things at the end of the evening that she had made. Actually Myra made two of them and she tied bows on the third. I helped Kayle with a small quilt she wanted to make. Suzanne finished her placemat except for the binding. Another lady finished a folded star potholder except for the binding. The Korean ladies made Christmas crackers and some fabric flowers. There was a lot of cleaning up to do and stuff got put away a little chaotically. But at least everyone pitched in. I got home about 9. I took the seed crackers out of the oven and put them in a bag in the fridge. Then we watched an episode of Castle. Chris went back to his game. I wrote up my blog post for the day.

Needled again

I listened to the CD again last night. I was still awake when it was over. But eventually I fell asleep. But I woke up early with a hot flash. Then Chris' alarm went off and he was already up. Later I heard my alarm went off and I heard him turn it off. But I was up before 8. I drank lemon water. I laid on the couch and listened to a different CD which happened to be in the DVD player. On the second track, it would pause occasionally. I moved the CD to the CD port and it played without skipping. Chelsea came by to return my heating pad. She said it saved a kitten's life. I gave her the last lip balm and some styrofoam and bubblewrap. After she left, I went through the Black Friday e-mails to see if there was anything I was going to buy anyway. I made a donation to Heifer project. I placed an order for vitamin C with Swanson's. I took a shower and got dressed. I made breakfast but only had time for a few bites. I put the rest in the fridge. I called Myra to say I was on my way. I put on my coat and brought my bag with her yoga blocks in it. I walked down to her place. On the way I uncovered the eggplant. The plastic on the tomatoes had blown off. Myra wasn't quite ready, but said she could drive so we did not have to take the bus. We walked to Security to get the car keys from Scott. Then she drove us to Home Plus and parked on the top deck. We took the elevator to the first floor. She stayed while I walked out to see the acupuncturist. They took me right away and this time put me in his office. I enjoyed the leg massage. Then the doctor came in. He told me that I was taking too many supplements and that I should not take more than three. But he could not tell me which ones to take. He put needles in my leg, stomach and head. Later he came back and took the needles out. I guess his nurse had left. He said again, no more than three because we don't know how they work in combination. I went to the desk to pay. I had to wait for him to take the money. When I went out, Myra was coming up the hill. We met and walked back to Home Plus. We were looking for reading glasses but did not find any. We did find Christmas cards. Then we went back to the car and drove back to post. She dropped me off at the Navy exchange. I looked for a short charging cord for my phone. I had seen them at Daiso but did not know whether I needed a 5 pin connector or an 8 pin connector. Last night I checked and counted 5 pins. The ones at the NEX were $10 so I made a mental note to get one at Daiso. Then I walked home, or almost. Anna stopped to give me a ride but we ended up going to Housing to sign out the big room for yoga tomorrow. I also got a new light cover for the bedroom. Then she dropped me off at home. I finished my breakfast. I ate the last turkey leg and saved the bone for making broth. I read e-mail and jotted notes for my blog. I looked for ribbon and lace in my sewing room to see if I had what it takes for the folded star Christmas ornament project. But what I really needed was in storage. I took a break to practice my trombone. I went to the internet, looking for alternatives. Chris came home from work. He made himself the usual salad and burrito. I had some fruit. I looked at lots of Christmas craft projects online to find one for tomorrow. I decided on one and looked for a long time for the right photo to post. Then I posted the announcement and photo to the community page. Chris and I watched the last episode of Season 1 of The Last Kingdom. Then we watched the first episode of Season 8 of Castle. Chris went to bed and I stayed up to blog.
* This is the picture of tomorrow's project. *

Preparing for cold weather

I listened to the CD again last night, after we changed the white, crusted batteries for new ones. I think I slept through a few hot flashes. I got up about 8:30. I swished and drank water. I exercised, rebounded and drybrushes. I made coffee. I meditated and tapped. I cut my finger while washing my hands. It was like a sharp edge on the soap, but I could not find it afterward. Myra called just as I was finishing. She wanted to walk out in town. I said I would call when I was ready. Chris came home for lunch with three boxes. They were all supplements. I quickly cleaned up the kitchen and dressed warmly. Chris said it was very cold. I called Myra and headed to her place. We walked out to the market. I looked at pomegranates, but did not buy any. We went to the fabric place and both got some of the fine white cotton, and some snaps. Then we went to Daiso and I got a whisk and pins. Then we stopped at the junk store where I found ice cube trays that would work for chocolate molds. Then we walked back to base, the temperature dropping. I left her at her place and kept walking up hill to my place. I got a large box and placed it over the eggplant plant to protect it from the cold. I pulled the large sheet of plastic over the tomato patch. Then I read e-mail for awhile. When I noticed it was 5:30, I put some chocolates in a baggie and my ripest tomatoes in a bag. I dropped them off at Myra's house. I had told Chelsea she could have them if she came today, but she never did. And I did not want them to go bad before I could eat them. I watched a video on the importance of sulfur in the diet until Chris came home. He made himself supper. I filled the food waste container and left it by the front door. I was still reading e-mail when Chris was ready to watch TV. I had meant to practice, so he waited while I played Christmas songs on my trombone. Then we watched two episodes of The Last Kingdom. I brushed my hair almost continually. Then we looked up one of the actors. Chris went to bed and I stayed up just long enough to post to my blog.


* We saw these little guys for sale in the Christmas section. Reminds me of Cousin It.

Our first eggplant of the season

I listened to a Holosync CD in bed last night. It almost put me to sleep. When I did sleep, I slept pretty well. I heard Chris get up after my alarm went off. I got up after Chris left for church. I noticed I had my normal hair back (after several nights of brushing it constantly while watching TV). Yea! I listened to an audio while I did my exercises and stretches. I paused it while I took my shower and got dressed. I put away my laundry, then finished the audio and ate some seed crackers. Chris came home so he could drive me to the chapel. Jane was not there, so I sat alone. After the singing and communion, the chaplain talked about the advent wreath. But there was no greenery on it, only the 5 candles. His sermon was about the candle of hope. After the service, I asked him if he was going to do a Christmas sing-along and he said yes, just before the Christmas eve service. Chris came by to pick me up. We went home to change clothes. I ate a turkey leg. I think eating meat is contributing to the hot flashes, but I don't care. It tasted so good. Then we went to the commissary for groceries. We got coconut flakes because they did not have any coconut flour. When we got home, I looked up how to make coconut flour. I soaked a cup of coconut flakes in water for several hours. I broke down boxes for recycling and popped all the plastic puff-its. We walked the trail, sweeping off leaves as we went. When we got back, I watched a video presentation from a brain summit. I blended the coconut flakes and water with a hand blender. It kept overheating, so I sent the timer for 6 minutes. Every six minutes I blended for 30 seconds to a minute. I finished another video presentation that way. I put the mixture through a sprout bag (almost as good as having a nut/milk bag). But the pieces were still too large. Finally I tried the Magic Bullet. It did not have the volume of the hand mixer, but it did the job with less water. I should have tried it hours ago. I squeezed out the milk and added it to the jar of fermented coconut milk. Then I spread the remaining pieces on a baking tray and popped it in the oven at 170 for 4 hours. I cut up a pineapple and ate half. Chris sliced and fried our first eggplant. He also fried some onion rings after that. I practiced Christmas music on my trombone. I jotted notes for my blog on my new laptop. I had been using my old laptop all day, but it doesn't have blue light blocking software on it any more. The sound on the old laptop is better quality but so soft, even turned all the way up. Is it Ubuntu or VLC media player? We watched two episodes of The Last Kingdom. Then I posted to my blog and we went to bed.

More t'maters

I had hot flashes last night and wondered what I didn't do that I was doing, or did do that I wasn't doing. I stayed in bed after Chris got up. I heard him take out the food waste. Later I got up to drink water and read e-mail. I ate some turkey wings with butter. I read more e-mail. There was tons of it for Black Friday and I deleted most of those. I took a break to reorganize the empty jars and plastic tub containers. Nor sure why. I looked up a formula for determining the eyeglass prescription for the distance of sheet music. But I could not identify all the inputs. I searched high and low for my oldest pair of glasses, thinking they might be better for intermediate distance. I was looking at an article on making body butter. They mixed hibiscus tea in with the oils to color it. I wondered how the tea (water) mixed with the oils. Online searches led me to articles on how to make de-gassed water, which WILL mix with oil. Who knew? I finished sewing Velcro on a gift. I did the weekend Sudoku puzzle. Chris did laundry. I watered the plants inside the house and outside. I pulled the plastic sheet off of the tomatoes because it had started to rain. I found two large tomatoes and some cherry tomatoes to pick. We took a nap. I made breakfast. I looked at Christmas projects online, hoping for easy, cute projects for sewing class. Chris found something on Netflix for us to watch while I made a salad. I ate it while we watched The Last Kingdom. We had each seen an episode, but not the same one. We watched three of them. Then we put the freshly washed sheets on the bed. I wrote up my blog and we went to bed.
* This was one of a set of monuments near the temple complex at the end of the hike on Sunday. *

The best leg is the one leftover

Chris got up before I did. I slept reasonably well, not having any hot flashes until morning. I got up about 8:30. I read e-mail and drank water. At 9 we called Chris' parents on Skype. Then at 9:30 we called my dad and Kurt. At 10 I had a face-to-face EFT session with a lady over Facebook. Sadly the Windows 10 sound made it hard to hear her. Groan. But it went well. Then I made and ate breakfast. I bundled up and walked to Kelly's house to deliver Housing-issued trash bags. (We have more than we need.) I made a donation. She gave me a bag of turkey wings and legs plus a plate of leftover side dishes and a piece of pecan pie. When I got home, I put the plates in the fridge and ate a turkey leg. It was so good. Within 2 minutes, Chris got out the plate of side dishes (mashed potatoes, potato salad, cranberry sauce, turnip greens, noodle something, and stuffing) and put it in the microwave. The piece of pie did not last long either. I texted her to let her know how good it was. I read more e-mail, then went outside to bring in the fabric from the garden. I unrolled some plastic and covered the biggest part of the tomato patch and put rocks on the edges. Chris helped me fold up the big fabric pieces. I called Myra to see if she wanted to go walking, but she and Scott were sick, and she wanted to clean her sewing room. I pinned Velcro to my last project. I listened to an interview while I did my exercises and stretches. I did today's Sudoku puzzle. I made up 10 days worth of supplements and placed a Swansons order for more. They are running a special of $10 off a $50 order, but their prices seem higher than the last time I ordered. I practiced playing Sleigh Ride on my trombone. But I had trouble with some really high notes and needed to re-write that part lower. I did that at the keyboard, then forgot about it and found myself making a cucumber salad for supper and taking my supplements. I watched several episodes of Scrubs. But Chris was not interested in it. So I searched Netflix for something he might like. I came across a movie/documentary on the life of George Takai. Chris did not watch it with me, but I think he was listening. He loves his game. I decided it was time to blog and go to bed.
* No pics today so here is one from the hike on Sunday *

Thanksgiving

I woke up hearing the wind blow fiercely. I thought about my plants and wondered if the fabric blew away. But I did not get up until I realized the fabric might be depriving my plants of sun. So I quickly got dressed and went outside. The fabric hadn't blow away, but neither was it covering the plants. I collected the pieces and brought them inside. I checked the weather - it was 34 degrees outside. I hoped the plants were going to be ok. I filled my pitcher with water, citrus pectin and Bio-Sil. I drank that while I read e-mail. I also caught up on my Sudoku puzzles for the week. Then I rebounded. I played a meditation from Oprah's current series and did my exercises, then meditated for the rest of the time. I jotted notes for my blog. I distracted Chris from his game for a little while. Then I took a nap. I made a salad with hummus and fermented soybeans. I ate it while listening to an interview, which as it turns out, I have heard before. I compiled an Amazon order to replace some powders I have run out of. Then I took a shower and dressed nicely. I put chocolates in a bowl. We ran next door, trying to be on time. Denee had gone to the gate to sign someone in, but the lady had forgotten her ID. We had to wait while thee lady went back for her ID. We watched her son play with toys he had brought. Then a man and 2 boys showed up, plus a lady from the main office. We lined up for food from the buffet and then we sat down to dinner. We had a nice chat all evening. The boys ran around, yelling and waving Lego swords. Finally the group broke up. We came home to get tomatoes and I ran back next door to deliver them. I came home and put on a heavier coat. I went out to put fabric on the garden again. This time there was no wind. I jotted notes for my blog. Then I watched two episodes of Scrubs. Then Chris sat beside me and we had to choose something to watch now that we finished House. Netflix suggested Dexter, so we watched the first episode of that. We decided to watch something else next time. I wrote up my blog post, wondering why the text keeps scrolling up and down as I type. Annoying. It was way past my bedtime.
* This is a pic I took on Tuesday, looking for origami paper. *

Frost warning

I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. What was unusual was that I wasn't having a hot flash. And I went back to sleep. Chris' alarm woke me up and I heard the Korean national anthem at the same time. It must have been very loud to carry from the ROK base through our walls and be clearly heard. I am not sure if I went back to sleep after that. I heard Chris putter around for awhile, then take a shower, get dressed and leave. All at once it hit me that today is Wednesday: recycle day. It was quarter after 8, so I threw plastics in one bag, glass in another, paper in a third and cans in a fourth. I put on my longest coat to cover my pajamas and took the bags out to the curb. Then I poured myself a quart of water, using up the last of it. I collected three containers full from the shower filter. I sat and read e-mail while drinking it. I had trouble trying to load a video. I had to go into task manager and end Edge because all its windows were frozen. I played the video on the desk top. While it played I did my exercises and stretches. I sliced sweet potato. Not having a toaster, I put them in the toaster oven. But it took a long time for them to bake, maybe half an hour. But they were tasty, especially with butter. I tried to finish the weekend Sudoku puzzle. I washed dishes in the kitchen sink. Finally I got dressed and went to sewing class. I brought a quilt to work on. But I needn't have. Someone arrived at the same time I did. She helped me set up the room. Then others arrived and I was busy advising them on their individual projects. Kumi gave me a piece of Korean Red ginseng candy. I realized that my hot flashes had simmered down quite a bit. I wondered if it was acupuncture, eating fermented soybeans, or upping my dosage of melatonin. Myra went through the fabric baskets and weeded out those that were unlikely to be used, and reorganizing the rest. At 12:30
so many ladies were waiting for a machine to come available that I went home and packed up my daily machine. I also pulled the mail-ahead machine from its spot under the desk. Chris, who was home for lunch, carried the heavier one and we headed to Housing. Kelly's husband was walking by and offered to help. So he carried the mail-ahead one for me. We deposited them on the second floor of Housing, and the men left. With the addition of those two, we had five machines running. It was quite a class. It ran overtime. Denee wanted to stay to finish her centerpiece. So I left her and Myra talking. I went home to drop off the fabric that we weeded from the class baskets. Then I headed to the chapel to get my hexecontahedron which Linda reminded me of in class. But Kelly came along driving a borrowed car and offered me a ride. So I accepted. I was going to give her some money towards all the food she was preparing, but I discovered that I left my fanny pack in the classroom. I went to the chapel, got my 60-sided ball, and walked home. I went back to Housing and got my fanny pack. When I got home, I put cacao butter on the stove to melt. Then I fixed breakfast. But just as I finished, Myra called. She said she got the car and was willing to drive out in town to the 5-day market. I could not pass it up. The cacao butter was on low and would take a long time to melt. I put two tomatoes in a bag. I walked down to her place, and gave her the tomatoes. First we went to pay her internet bill. Then we went to Home Plus, parked, and walked the street of the market. I only wanted kimchi but I ended up getting lots more stuff. As did she, who said she did not need anything. But it was cold, so we did not linger. We got back and she dropped me off at my place. I dropped everything on the kitchen floor. The cacao butter was completely melted. So I quickly stirred in the chocolate powder and honey. I was supposed to use a whisk, but did not have one. Don't know why. I took it off the heat and put in cinnamon and vanilla and stevia and lo han. I poured it over cashews in the the little brown molds. I poured it over walnuts in the mini-cupcake mold. And I poured it over pecans in an old ice cube tray. Then I put it in the fridge and finished my breakfast. And then it was time to go back to sewing class. My poor tomatoes were still uncovered, and freezing temps were expected. Myra and I arrived at the same time. The room was still set up from the earlier class. No one else was there, so I went home to get a project to work on. I checked the Facebook page to see if anyone posted that they were coming. I was tempted to post “Myra and I are sew alone here at the Housing center.” But I didn't. I grabbed two pieces of fabric and went back. We chatted as we worked. Then about 7 Anna came. A little later two other ladies came. So we all worked together. At 8:45 I called time. We packed up. Anna gave me a ride home so I wouldn't have to walk with my daily machine. I came home all bundled up. I tasted one of my chocolates. I popped the rest into a container, except for the walnut ones which were in the sewing room. I put them in the fridge to really harden. I pulled some big pieces of fabric from my collection and spread them over the plants in the flowerbed. Having done all I could, I came in. I went into the guest room to play my trombone. I was playing Sleigh Ride when there was a crash, and not at the appropriate moment in the song. The light fixture cover lying on the bed somehow came into contact with the slide. Yikes! I set it aside and kept playing. I had to mark some of the notes since I was playing treble clef and the ledger lines got confusing. Then I ate four little red fruits that the lady in the market said I should freeze and eat three a day. I sat down to record the events in my blog. The left side of my neck was sore, so I heated a sock of rice and held it to my neck. Chris and I watched the last two episodes of House. It was after midnight, so I posted to my blog and went to bed.

Acupuncture AND a massage

I heard my alarm go off but had no wish to get up. I heard Chris take the food waste out and it made me smile because I have been forgetting it for two weeks now. Sometime before 8:30, I got up. I put lime in my water before I drank it. I read e-mail. I rebooted the desktop, hoping it would be faster. I listened to an interview on progress treating Alzheimers. While it played, I did my exercises and drybrushed. The next interview was about the brain. He reminded me to use my Holosync CD's. I paused the video to take a shower. Actually, it paused itself for some unknown reason. I had to refresh the page when I got back from my shower.
I called Myra to see if I could borrow her yoga blocks. We kept talking as I put on my shoes and left the house. But then I realized I hadn't gotten the sheet. So I went back inside to print off another copy. It was a good thing, too, because I had also forgotten my fanny pack. I put it on before I went to Myra's place to borrow her yoga blocks. Then I walked to the bus stop. I caught 317 and actually got off at the right place. The bus was a little early and I got to the office nearly 30 minutes ahead of time. But in 10 minutes, the nurse had me on a bed with the air pump leg massagers. It was the best part. When the doctor showed up, I gave him the sheet I printed out. I asked about which meridiams were too strong and which were too weak. He wrote them down for me, in better handwriting than my own. Only one word was in Korean. He read the symptoms and told me they were from eating the wrong diet. He scanned the list of supplements and foods. He told me matcha tea only added to the hot flashes. Good to know. Then he stuck needles in my leg, stomach, arm and head. And he left. I laid there with the yoga blocks under my thighs, trying to relax. I was relieved when the nurse came to take the needles away. I put my fanny pack back on and paid at the front desk. Same time next week. I headed to the bus stop. I tried to make sense of the bus routes posted on the back. The lady waiting next to me asked “where to?”. I said Navy Base and she indicated 305. Actually I knew that, but was hoping to find other buses that would take me sooner, if not to the base, then to the CU on the corner. But the bus showed up pretty quickly. We both got on. When she got off, she held up fingers to show how many stops until mine. I could not tell if it was 3 or 4. But I knew the stop. From there I went to the corner market to buy sprouts. On a whim, I also bought pomegranates and fermented soybeans. I went back to base and climbed the hill. I ran into Denee coming down. I don't remember what we talking about. Then we each continued on our way. At home, I finished the video from earlier. Then I put some Epsom salt in a container, and a bottle of apricot oil in my market bag. I left our quarters and ran into Denee leaving hers. She was going to pick up her car. The repair shop was on my way so we walked together. Then I left her there and continued on to the Chinese massage place. There was a different guy there. I wanted the foot and body massage, but I only had enough for the back and shoulders. He showed me to a room and left a change of clothes. I put them on. Then the man I usually get walked in the door. I was happy to see him, but apparently he wasn't there for me. He manned the desk while the other man did the massage. He was not as good, but at least he didn't hurt me. After paying, I walked into the market. I went to Daiso for styrofoam balls for our next project. They did not have any. I figured on going to Office Depot next, but happened to pass the little everything office/school/toys store. All I saw were tiny balls, but that was enough for me to hold them up and say “bigger size?” He had to go upstairs, but he did have ornament size ones. I bought 3 packs of two. Then I walked home. I stopped at the ATM for dollars. I checked e-mail again. Then I laid down and listened to a Purrification CD (from Holosync). It was supposed to last an hour, but for some reason near the end, it kept stopping. When it was finished, I got up and saw the daylight was gone. Soon Chris came home from work. I made a salad. I brought in two plates of lettuce from the front porch just in case of front tonight. I looked at postings from a quilt place on Facebook. Then I made myself stop and post a class reminder to our community page for tomorrow. Then Chris and I watched two episodes of House. He went back to his game as I wrote up the events of the day.

Missed out on the pumpkins

I did not hear my alarm go off. But when Chris came back to take his shower, he told me it was after 8:30. So I got up to drink water. I realized I had a sore throat, so I took 3 packets of vitamin C. I threw out all the used tissues and q-tips and such. I checked e-mail, looking for an audio to listen to. The desktop was really slow, but it is the only computer that will play loud enough to hear in the kitchen. While I listened, I exercised, rebounded (but taking it easy on my ankles) and drybrushed. I learned that affirmations work better in the presence of scents - like essential oils. I made coffee. I listened to two Oprah meditations and did some tapping. I texted with my new tapping buddy. I texted with an old friend. I cleaned both bathrooms and the kitchen. I played Christmas songs on my trombone in case they have volunteers play Christmas music instead of caroling. I worked on the vacuum cleaner but the part just won't bend back into position. I swept the floors, the foyer and the front porch. I watered plants inside and out. I tried to find out how to boost the base on Windows 10. Still no joy as they say. I planned to fast today, but got really hungry. So I made and ate breakfast. Kelly called to ask for a food chopper to work on her Thanksgiving meal for anyone and everyone who wants to come by. I offered her my Oster Kitchen Center. I searched high and low for the extra blades. Then I packed all the accessories I could find, in a box. I put the box and the motor part in the car. Just then Chris was coming home, so he drove us over to Kelly's place. We carried the parts inside and dropped it off. After a short chat, we went to the commissary for 99 cent pumpkins. But the pumpkins were gone, and so were the lemons. We shopped for other things. The manager told us she donated the leftover pumpkins to the chapel because she was allergic to them and running out of meds. We came home with our groceries. I made a salad with lettuce, tomatoes from my garden, a bell pepper, garlic, fermented soybeans, and sprouts. As I ate it, I read e-mail. I looked at sewing projects on Facebook. I checked e-mail on the new laptop. I watched two episodes of Scrubs, and then Chris and I watched two episodes of House. He went back to playing his game. I wanted to see how soon after I got to Korea that the hot flashes started. So I went back and read my blog. I thought it was November last year, but I did not see a reference until late January. I posted to my blog and got ready for bed.
* Myra and I are sitting on a very high rock overlooking the city. *

O Ship

I woke up way too early in a sweat. Nothing unusual. I heard the alarm go off at 7:30. Chris was already up so he came back to make sure I was awake. I got up not too much later. I checked e-mail and drank water. There was a tickle in my throat so I took three packets of vitamin C. Then I showered and got dressed. I ate a handful of nuts. I packed some seed crackers in a bag, along with two bottles of coconut water. I also put peppermint gels in my backpack. Last, I put on my sneakers and we left. We walked down to the parking lot formerly known as Duffy's. The MWR bus was waiting and Scott and Myra were in the front seat. So we sat behind them. I felt fine until the bus started to move. But once it got off the base, I felt ok again. Chris talked to Scott and the other Chris most of the way. I ate my seed crackers before we got there. Then I talked to Mari, the kindergarten teacher. We stopped in Busan to pick up one person. At that stop, several of us went to the restroom. Then we drove up into the mountain behind Busan, which took almost an hour. I felt fine until the path up the mountain switched back and forth. Finally it stopped and we got off. We walked through what is called the East Gate.

Just an old arch, really. Then the hike started. Mostly we walked on bare ground or stones on bare ground. There was a lot of walking up. I was panting heavily and thinking I was out of shape. Chris would not leave my side and we lagged behind the rest. I wished we could have walked slower, but Chris was worried about holding up the others. Turns out he needn't have worried. We did catch up to some of the group, stopping to take pictures on a rock. From then on, Myra stayed with me. She said I wasn't out of shape, just having hot flashes which were shooting up my blood pressure, perhaps dangerously. I did have a headache at times and she said I looked flushed. With her support, we took breaks. Myra mentioned that the Korean word for 50 is 'o ship'. Good, 'cause any Korean hearing me struggle up the mountain probably thought I said "50". We stopped at the North Gate for everyone to catch up. But there was one man who wasn't there. Eventually we found out that he (for whatever reason) ended up back at the beginning point. From the North Gate there was a lot of walking downhill over rough rocky terrain. Great for the brain, but not so much for the ankles. We came to a temple complex. Our tour guide's friend took us through and explained about the three Buddha's and the Mother's Love Buddha. Then he showed us a pagoda which presumably held the charred remains of Buddhas. We walked down lots of steps to the front entrance. He explained the signs written in Chinese characters. Then he had to leave. We followed our tour guide ever downward. We stopped at a trinket shop. Then we walked down several streets to find the bus. The place was crawling with hikers and visitors and I wondered how the monks at this temple complex could meditate, which we were told was their main job.

The bus was going to go back to the starting point to pick up the man who went back. But due to traffic, that would have prolonged our trip. So the tour guide had someone call him and tell him to take a bus to the botanical garden. But when we got there, he was not. We drove down the whole street. We were going to stop for kimbap, but both places were closed. Finally the guide asked the man to take a taxi to meet the bus. The bus pulled over by a subway stop. The tour guide got off along with the lady from Busan. I thought they left, but they came back when the missing man finally showed up. Then the guide and the lady disappeared into the subway. The driver took us back to base. Scott and Myra gave us a ride home. Myra reiterated that I should have my hormonal blood levels checked. She thinks I should be on hormone meds like she is. Chris got on his laptop. I ate some fish, and then mixed hummus, fermented soybeans, sprouts and raw garlic together. I used my old laptop to read e-mail. I also watched videos on stretching the psoas muscles. The volume was very low for some reason. Then I got on the floor and tried some of the exercises. After that, I wrote up my blog post to that point. We watched two episodes of House. Chris checked me for ticks. He folded laundry as I downloaded all the pics and typed up the rest of my blog.
* I found out later that the temple is fairly low on the mountain. Most of the hike could have been avoided. *

Old laptop up and running

I got up around 9:30. Chris was in bed so I tried to be quiet. I read e-mail and drank water. I added some citrus pectin to the water. I washed dishes in the sink. I made tea with the mint dried in the oven, and the with the mint dried without heat. The second one was better. I put away the quilts and fabric from the show. I did yesterday's Sudoku puzzle. I typed up a list of my supplements and symptoms on the desktop and printed it out. It did not print the first time because the black ink is gone, so I changed the color to brown and got a good copy. I did my exercises. I meditated. I made and ate breakfast. I watched a documentary called “Unacceptable” about the number of chemicals and contaminants in our food and water supply. Chris wiped my hard drive and loaded Ubuntu. That was rather quick. Installing all the updates took hours. I put oil in my hair and watched my laptop work on installing Ubuntu. I took a shower and got dressed. I watched videos on facial yoga. I rehung the left curtain to match the one on the right. I watered the plants inside and some outside. I tried out my old laptop under Ubuntu. Chris had to load more updates to get it to go on the internet. I juiced two cucumbers, a pepper, and a broccoli stem. I ate some of the leftover food from the talent show. I mixed some hummus with raw garlic, several kinds of sprouts and some fermented soybeans. I read e-mail and looked at toilet paper tube crafts on Pinterest. I ate a frozen banana. I looked at t-shirt modifications on Pinterest. We watched two episodes of House. Then I posted to my blog and went to bed.
* this girl did an amazing Hawaiian dance at the talent show *

Talent Show

I woke up early as usual and tried to go back to sleep. I don't remember if I did or not. Finally I thought I heard something so I got up and walked out to the living room. Then I poured two cups of water to drink. Then I heard Chris come in the door. He was tired from his trip and went to bed. I went to the master bathroom to get water from the shower filter. Chris was apparently tired, but not too tired. After that, I got dressed and put the three quilts in a bag. Myra called to say someone had given her four warm rolls of kimbap. So I threw a jar of kimchi in my market bag. I walked to the chapel and dropped off the quilts. I went to Myra's place for breakfast. She gave me a roll of kimbap and I ate it with kimchi. She was still working on the dresses. I cut open the buttonholes on the blush dress and sewed on the buttons. She worked on the christening gown. She invited me to eat another roll of kimbap and I did. I picked up threads from her sewing room floor. I snipped threads from the dresses. She kept thinking of things to add to the dresses. So I got ready to leave. She gave me a third roll of kimbap to take with me. I walked home, stopping to chat with Carolyn who was getting acupuncture too. When I got home, I was expecting to see Chris at his computer, but he was still in bed. I ate the kimbap with a hot pepper from our garden. Spicy! Then I cut up several small garlic cloves and left them in a dish so healthy compounds could form. I took snippers outside and cut a bunch of mint. I pulled off all the leaves. I brought them inside and washed them, and then put them in the oven on 170 to dry. I ate the sliced garlic with hummus.

I read e-mail. Chris did not feel like going to the post office. So about 3:45 I walked down there and picked up two letters. Instead of walking home, I ducked into the chapel to see how the set up for the talent show was going. They asked for another quilt to cover the whiteboard, but in pond colors. I invited Linda to come by my place and pick one out. We walked back to our quarters. She picked several possibilities. Then she went home. I put the quilts and some pond-colored fabrics in a tote bag. I untied the hexecontahedron from the diningroom light fixture. Then I ate an apple. I sat at my laptop reading e-mail until she texted me. I took the bag and polyhedron out to our car, which was in front of her house. She got in and I drove us to the chapel. It was raining. She took the bag of quilts in. I parked at the FFTC and took the polyhedron in. She and Kathy chose and hung a quilt over the whiteboard. Then Kathy hung the hexecontahedron over a table of origami that the kids had done. I got compliments on the giant dahlia quilt. I walked around admiring all the art. I took the unchosen quilts back to the car. I called Chris to see if he was coming and if I should pick him up, but he said he'd walk. So I went back to the chapel. I found a seat in the pew with Amber so we could talk. The place was packed. But the show started fairly soon. First the kids performed in groups and then singly. There were kids from the school and from Jinhae Hope Home. There was singing, dancing, piano, and synchronized taekwando. The kids were adorable and played amazingly. And then a young adult played the theme to Halo on his electric guitar. It wasn't exactly a tune you could hum. It went long and then when people clapped, he played another tune, even louder and more screechy. It was too metallic for me. Then we were told to take a 30 minute break to eat in Classroom 2 where MWR had set up some fancy food, and to view the artwork and bid on those items up for sale. Well, it took longer than that to get such a big crowd through the food line. I ate, then wandered about talking to people. Eventually the group reconvened for the adult portion of the show. The crowd was much reduced. A group of teenagers from the home played a classical piece for cello, violin and piano. It was lovely and they did an encore which was more lively, but also nice. Then the chaplain read an amusing piece he wrote about kids while the CSO played light music on the piano. And that was all the adult entries they had. I wished I had brought my trombone. Even if I did a bad job, the setting was informal enough that I wouldn't care so much. But there was the issue of music and a piano player. The crowd was instructed to get food to take home. I put some in a foam container. As I stood talking to Danielle, Chris talked about the amazing grilled veggies so I gave him the container and he added that to the contents. We hung around until the quilts came down. The fish quilt only had one bid and Kathy got it. I was happy for her. The CSO was interested in the QOV. And several people wanted to bid on the giant dahlia quilt, but I wasn't ready to give it up. We walked to our car and I drove us home. I called Myra to tell her about the show. She and Scott had taken Maria out for supper. We decided to let the CSO buy the QOV since he was in the military and the funds would go to the PTO. I texted his wife and she texted back a bid for $200 which I thought was great. Then Chris and I watched two episodes of House and looked up several actresses. Chris played a game on his computer and I sat down to recreate the day in words.
* This is one of the dresses Myra made. *

Two more quilts have labels

I listened to the CD in bed with a mini CD player. It was not as good but I did not have to get up again. I woke up early from night sweats. I must have fallen back asleep because I remember finding an amazing sauna, but when I got my stuff and showed up, it was closed. I got up to take my vitamin C because yesterday I felt like I might be coming down with something. I drank water and cleaned in the kitchen (such a mess from yesterday). I checked e-mail, then called Myra to go walking. There was no answer. I watched a yoga video but did my own exercises because he was clearly far ahead of me. Then I started listening to an interview on the after life with an ER doctor. Chris called, sounding terrible, wanting me to text the taxi driver to pick him up tomorrow. So I did, and got a text back and e-mailed Chris. I resumed the interview. I paused it to go walking. I called Myra from the trail. She was trying to make buttonholes so could not go walking. I walked to the post office and picked up the mail (no packages), then stopped at the commissary for garlic. I walked home, pausing at the tomato patch. I found a bunch of tomatoes at the very back by the wall. I came in and ate the large one that was cracked. I put some in a bag for Myra. I checked e-mail to see if Maria sent me a message back after I suggested we walk out to the massage place when she got off work. I jotted notes for my blog on e-mail because it saves periodically automatically. I put tomatoes in a sack and headed toward Myra's. She was coming up the hill to get her machine from Housing. So I went with her, and then to her house. I watched as she made attempt after attempt to use the buttonhole attachment on her home machine, and then again on her electronic machine from Housing. She was looking it up on the internet when I left. I came home and washed up, changing my clothes. I had a bite to eat and made breakfast for later. I checked e-mail to see if Maria had sent a reply. I listened to an audio on memory. Apparently aerobic exercise builds new brain cells. esp coupled with affirmations. Also, so does the olfactory sense so experience new scents. I headed out to my massage. The young man had said this was my free massage after filling up the card. But today he said it was worth 50,000 won and the massage he told me was free cost 60,000 won. So I had to pay 10,000. It was supposed to be a dry massage so I did not bring oil. The masseuse asked me for my bottle of oil which I had not brought. She used whatever it is they have. I would have brought oil if I had known. When it was over, there was no one to book the next appt with, but it would have fallen on Thanksgiving anyway. I went to the other shop but they were busy with two people. I walked to base and on the walk I tried to access my e-mail on my phone but it seemed to want an app for that. I tapped on "install" but nothing happened. When I got to the base, I walked to the FFTC to sign us up for the hike on Sunday. Then I walked to the MWR bldg where I could watch the front gate. No one that looked like Maria came. I walked out to the outer gate at precisely 4 and asked the guard if someone was waiting. No. I went back, waited, then walked home to see if she had e-mailed me. I walked back to the MWR bench and waited a little more but it was getting late. I needed to be at the FRG meeting at 5:30. I walked home to eat breakfast and checked e-mails again. I sent her a message that we could try again tomorrow. I finished the after life interview. I saw that the FRG meeting got canceled yesterday but the announcement was only on the FRG page, not the community page where it was advertised. I got a call from Myra giving me Bernie's phone number. So I called Bernie. She talked about hanging quilts at the talent show with binder clips. I realized that neither of the other two quilts I wanted to hang had labels. I wrote on paper what should go on the quilt labels. Then I procrastinated by catching up on Sudoku for the week. I listened to rest of an audio, then put onion soup with fermented soybeans and juicer pulp in the toaster oven. I tried to clear e-mail which has been routinely over 100. I ate the soup. I turned the oven on for a minute to dry the mint a little more. I did not feel like making labels, but the thought of my quilts leaving home unlabeled scared me. I spent too long choosing fabric for labels. I tried sewing the letters with the embroidery machine, but they were too large. I did not want to hoop, so I found my Pigma pen and painstakingly scratched the letters onto the fabric. Then I sat down and watched two episodes of Scrubs while I sewed them to the quilts. I wrote up my blog and was ready for bed.
* This is my homemade reed diffuser. Good for building brain cells through the olfactory sense. *

The quilt is labeled!

Last night I changed the setting from continuous play on the computer before playing the CD. I laid on the couch, listening, until it was over. As I got up, I heard the opening statements reply. So I punched the 'eject' button and went to bed. I had a hard time falling asleep, but eventually...
I heard the alarm ring at 7:30. I did not get up until 8. I didn't think it was too late to put the recyclables out, but they weren't ready and I wasn't dressed. I made a to-do list to keep myself from being distracted by e-mail. I meditated because that is when I best remember what I should be doing. I knocked out several right away. I drank water and checked my e-mail for an audio. I found a video on preparing healthy foods. As it played, I exercised, made and ate breakfast, and worked on a Sudoku puzzle. I paused the video as I selected more fabric to cut strips from. I cut strips and arranged them on my placemat sample. I sewed the first two seams. Then I rolled everything up and put it in a bag. I found the label for the quilt. I took the quilt, label and strips to class. Chantel was waiting for me.
We opened the windows. I almost lost a screen, trying to let the bugs out. We sat and talked while she nursed her baby. Then others came. Denee showed pics she had taken at the market of items we could not identify. Chantal was able to read the signs and tell what they were. I don't remember now how the conversation went, but the take-aways were: Asian women don't get hot flashes because they eat soy products. Kumi said Korean Red Ginseng was good for every problem, even hot flashes. She gave me a piece of Korean red ginseng sugar-free candy. I muscle-tested strong to it, so I ate it, saving the label. Denee said she showed the project pic to a lady in the bank who knew the lady in the photo was MaryAnn. That was a long time ago. I worked on getting the label sewed onto the quilt while answering questions and rethreading machines. Then I pinned strips to the placemat batting and stabilizer. We left about 2. I ate a pomegranate and cashews with butter. I finished the video and jotted notes for the day. I called Myra, then met her by her place. We walked to the post office. I went in while she went to 606. No mail. We met up again and walked off post to the corner market. I picked up different kinds of sprouts and a chang gug chung (fermented soy bean patty). We looked around for red ginseng items but did not find any (that we could identify). We came back to post. Suzanne pulled up while I was talking to Myra. I asked her about the bean patty. She read the package and said it had no artificial ingredients. Then I went home where I made seed crackers and put them in the oven. Then I put a bowl of onion soup in toaster oven with some of the bean patty. While making hummus, I realized we had no garlic! Chris must have used it all in the onion soup. So I put in the organic garlic powder that I forgot to put in the seed crackers. I watered the plants. I picked mint to dry. After the crackers came out, I put the mint in still-warm oven. I ate a piece of cracker with hummus, mmm! I went to check e-mail and found out my laptop had rebooted and lost all my notes - again! I looked it up online: the fix is to notify Windows of the PC's active hours. But I had already done that, 8 am to 12pm. Thinking it might be unclear, I changed it to 8am to 1am. I re-wrote all my notes as best I could remember, but there was far less of them. I wondered if there was a word processing program that would save automatically when Windows reboots. I checked e-mail. I cut some paper templates for the placemats. I ran down to the Housing center where Myra was talking to the two Korean ladies that come from off-post. We talked about the fermented bean patty. I started sewing strips to the place mat. Four other ladies came, each with her own project. I noticed the thread kept jumping out of the top thread guide. Then I ran out of bobbin thread. I wound the bobbin with the 50 weight thread that I was using on top. I knew I would have to adjust the bobbin tension, but even fully tightened, the thread just slipped through. I eventually used a bobbin with a 40 weight thread and had no problem with that. I noticed that the Korean lady who did not speak English was making rosettes for corsages. I remembered seeing her make maybe 10 of some stuffed pillow thing last time and I thought it was for her class room. So I tried to explain to her friend that that fabric we provided was for class projects, and that people who work on their own projects need to bring their own fabric. I felt bad saying it, but did not want to run out of the Christmas fabric that I brought - which is what she used both times. Her friend explained that she felt it necessary to make lots of stuff in class to show honor to the teacher. So I apologized for not understanding. We apologized to each other, over and over. Then the class pitched in to help clean up. One lady was making flannel stockings and donated all her leftover fabrics. With people piling it in the closet, it was unorganized. But the ladies swept up, we turned the lights off, and Myra locked up the building. Myra took the Korean ladies to the gate, and everyone else went home. I took my supplements with an adrenal reset tea. I sat down to read e-mail. Myra called to tell me that the Korean ladies explained again how they felt it necessary to work industriously during class. We went on to talk about renting a bus to Daegu, cleaning up the fabric situation and the FRG meeting tomorrow. After the call, I sat down to look at red ginseng on Swansons and Amazon. I read an article on spotting fake reviews. I made my choice based on ingredients and submitted the order. I wrote up my blog, with plans to listen to the CD again and go to bed.

Unusual advice

Last night, I drank the tea and it got rid of the rumbling in my stomach. I laid on the couch to listen to a BWE CD. When it was over, I went to bed.
I am not sure when I woke up, but when I got up, it was 8:40: too late to put out the food waste. I swept the floors, and re-heated what was left of the tea. I took three packets of vit C. Atfer 15 minutes, I ate a handful of nuts. I put a curtain rod in the window at half height and draped the curtain over it. That let the sun come through the top part but I had privacy on the bottom part. I put oil on my hair and covered it with a shower cap. I looked into chlorella online trying to find one not from China. I found some other things I needed and placed a Swansons order. I heard about face yoga listening to an interview while exercising and trying out puff-its for support under my thighs. I jotted notes for my blog. I blew up an exercise ball with the hand pump. I took a shower, and washed the oil out of my hair but the red mark from the shower cap was still on my forehead. I put four puff-its in my bag. I combed my hair and walked out to the gate where I ran into Denee who invited me to her bible study. Then I walked to the bus stop. While waiting, I was approached by two Korean ladies talking about God-the-mother, like it was all one word. They wanted to talk but I had to watch for the bus. I was going to wait for bus 305, but just then bus 317 arrived, which was the same bus I took last week. Last week I got off one stop too late. This week I got off one stop too early. Not that it mattered, because I was still 15 minutes early when I arrived. There were several beds open so they took me immediately. I enjoyed the leg massaging cuffs, but as usual, they felt like they were creeping downward and falling off. Then the nurse came to remove the cuffs and take the heating pad. I sat up and took a pic of the sheet she laid down. It had all the dates on it, with writing just after. But as I clicked, the doctor came in and got in the way of the shot, so I had to take another one. He took a lot more time with me today. He had me stand up. He had me lay on my stomach. He put needles in my spine, and then took them out. I rolled over and he put needles in my stomach, shin, arm and head. He also put one in my neck, but then removed it. I asked him to type the word from last week into my phone. I had it set to text me. He thought it was a translation app. He asked me if I would like a rice cake. I said I did not eat them. He asked what I ate. I replied nuts and berries, seaweed and vegetables. He had more to say, so I called Jane, but she did not answer. Same with Suzanne. Then I called Sue. They talked and then she told me he said I did not have enough starch in my diet. But that if I ate some now, I would crave it. So he would try to treat me without it. After I thanked Sue and hung up, he started talking about fats and proteins creating energy and uric acid. I was not sure if he was telling me I ate too much of them or what. After he left, Jane called. I thanked her but said the doctor was gone. Later the nurse came to take out the needles. After I got myself together and went to pay, she spotted another one in my neck. I guess he put it back. After I paid and scheduled next week's visit, the secretary gave me a rice cake. Maybe it was 'rice cake' day. I slipped it in my bag and traded the slippers for my shoes. Then, on the walk to the bus stop, I decided to eat two bites of it. I did not crave it, but it was tasty. I waited about 20 minutes for the bus. On the way back, the bus stopped and an old lady tried to get off. But the door closed early. She made it off, but the door was imprisoning her arm, and the bus started rolling. She gave the driver a full paragraph in amimated language. He opened the front door and said something conciliatory. I could hear the whole bus talking about it. The rest of the trip was uneventful. I discovered I had a scrape on my arm, but could not think how it happened. I got off the bus in front of the base. I checked in at the gate and walked up. I decided to stop at the gym to check my weight. I called Myra but she was busy. At the gym, the scale said 143, which means I only have one more pound to lose to meet our goal of 5 pounds by Thanksgiving. When I got home, I juiced two cucumbers and two peppers. I also took half of my supplements and ate a tomato. After not eating yesterday, it felt good. I jotted notes for my blog.
I read some e-mail. I headed to the post office. Kelly was driving up the hill and stopped to talk. Then, when I had continued, I saw Anna and Lily at the playground, so I stopped to say Hello. But then I did get to the post office. There were two packages and some bills. On the way back, I called Myra. She wanted to walk off base to get tomatoes. I went home to drop off my packages and saw that I had two tomatoes. So I took them to her place. We talked as I watched her sew a dress for the talent show. Her husband came home. He had a list of all the places they could go next. He made Guantamo sound really good. I made a mental note to ask Chris if there were any jobs there. Finally I came home. I ate some seed crackers. I scrubbed my juicer. I heated a bowl of onion soup in the toaster oven. I went to my sewing room to make a sample for tomorrow. But I noticed the fish quilt and just wanted to check the label. There wasn't one. I looked all over for it, but had no luck. Maybe it is with the class materials in Housing? I plugged my old laptop into the router but was unable to get online. I wasn't sure if it couldn't do that, or if I just did not know how under Ubuntu. The soup was hot, so I threw in some of the vegetable solids and ate it. MMMMM. I ate the rest of the rice cake. I finished yesterday's Sudoku puzzle. I forced myself away from the next audio to work on the sample: a placemat in fall colors. First I had to locate some batting in the right size. I cut several pieces. Then I figured a paper backing would help stabilize it until it was turned. Then I had to choose a focus fabric and some fabrics to go with it. But choosing colors is hard without daylight. I cut strips from the ones I selected. I tried laying them out but without daylight it was hard to tell if I liked the result or not. Finally I gave up. I selected a pic from years ago and posted that with the weekly class announcement on the community Facebook page. I boiled water to soak nuts for tomorrow. I put away the juicer. I looked at sewing projects on Pinterest. I watched two episodes of Scrubs. Chris skyped me. At first I had trouble hearing him because the headphones were plugged in. When I put them on, I could hear the CD from last night still playing in an infinite loop. I shut it off. Then we talked for a little bit. He said there are no positions at his level in Guantanimo. Now it is time for bed. I think I will listen to another CD.
* This is seaweed at the market. I thought it would make a nice wreath. *

Where's the music?

It was a coffee morning. I swished and drank water. I made coffee. I got an e-mail from Chris that he moved the missing hanging basket to the office so it would not die. Good to know. After the exercises and meditation and tapping, etc., I cleaned the kitchen countertops and the roaster pan. I did a load of laundry. I started making up supplement doses. I ran out of time and submitted an order anyway. Then I finished the job. I looked into ordering eucalyptus oil (mine is missing) but Swanson would only ship them to locations in the 48 states. When I was ready to leave, I called Myra. She wanted to come, but wasn't quite ready. So I decided to go to the post office. I lost control of the car pulling out of the parking space. Then I readjusted the seat and had no problem. But I had no problem yesterday and who could have readjusted it since then? I drove to the post office. I picked up two boxes and a packet. I brouoght them home, parking the car and leaving the packages inside the house. As I walked towards Myra's house, Kelly stopped to show me the furniture closets she just got at a thrift shop. I met Myra and we walked out in town. We stopped at a bank to exchange dollars for won. The lady took a lot of time looking at my passport, but the result was worth it. I got a better exchange rate than on post. We walked through the market, and looked at the fabric booth. I bought some black chiffon to make a scarf like the one Denee had lent me. Then we went to the junk store. I bought a tension rod, some hangers and a pair of arch supports. We walked back to base, and got caught in the rain. John and his wife gave me a ride home. I opened the packages: one was for Chris (oops) and the other one contained yoga blocks. I laid down with them under my thighs and they were uncomfortably high. Then I opened the packet: my blue-blocking glasses. Because it had the far prescription, I could not use them with the computer. I listened to an interview as I did some yoga stretches and then looked up the exchange rates on and off post to see how much more I got for going off post. As I was reading and deleting e-mail, Pinterest told me I could toast sweet potato slices in the toaster. I kinda wished I had one just to try that. I thought I should practice for the talent show. Since it was so late in the game, I figured on playing When The Saints Go Marching In. I wondered if I could play a verse on flute so the kids could hear two instruments. The key of music I had was not in a good range for flute so I looked up another key and came up with F, which worked. But then I got out my trombone and realized the page of music I had was part of a rough copy and did not have verse 4. I looked high and low but the final copy was nowhere to be found. I looked through other books of music but nothing jumped out at me. I put on some tea to heat. I jotted notes for my blog. I watched several episodes of Scrubs. Chris skyped me and we talked for awhile. Then he went to bed. I finished my episode of Scrubs and deleted another e-mail or two. I prepared for sleep. I wanted to listen to one of my brain wave entrainment discs which I had seen just the other day. But I could not find them. I looked through every stack of CD's several times. I was about to pick something else when I noticed something wedged between two DVD cases. There they were. I selected one and popped it in the desktop player. I plugged in the heavy headphones. I put on my eyecover. I laid on the couch and started relaxing. THEN I remembered my blog. So I paused everything to post to my blog before going to sleep.
* These are the two little poinsettias I got at the market. *

Five day market haul

I woke up early and Chris was out of bed. I laid in bed for quite awhile, thinking he would come back to take his shower. But when I got up at 8:40, he was gone. I called him and he said he kissed me before he left. The taxi was scheduled for 8 am, so I don't know what happened. I read e-mail and drank water. I drybrushed and did part of my exercises while watching an interview. I paused it to take a shower and get dressed. Then I played some more until 10:15. I filled my Sunday purse with the essentials and headed to the car. On the way I noticed that one of my hanging baskets was missing. I looked over the rail to see if it had fallen, but no. I drove to the FFTC and parked, and walked to the chapel. I sat by myself, thinking Jane wasn't coming, but she was just late. I think Bible study got out late. The sermon was on two verses from second Timothy. It was short and we got out early. I asked Mrs. Kim if she was playing for the talent show and she said yes, so I asked if she would play for me. But she had to run. I talked to a few other people, and then went home. I tried to call Myra, but she did not answer. Finally I texted Denee and said I could go to the 5 day market after lunch. I ate lunch and then was ready to go. Just then Myra called. She wasn't ready, but said I should go ahead with Denee. Denee drove us to Home Plus but it was not open so we could not park there. She found a place on the street. We walked up and down the market street, finding all kinds of things: pointesettias, sweet potatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, sesame seeds, persimmons, pomegranates and bananas. Imagine going grocery shopping without a grocery cart. We were loaded down by the time we got to her car. The trip back was uneventful. I put all the groceries away. I took her a sweet potato plant in a coconut shell, and some ginger plus mint and rosemary from my garden. I ate a banana and a persimmon. I read e-mail and watched some video clips. I fell asleep. Later I made myself get up and water all the plants. I put another plant in place of the missing one. I watered the plants inside, too. I made and ate breakfast. I took my supplements. I read more e-mail and got caught up watching Youtube videos on hacks with recyclables, and such. I meditated. I played several games of Mahjongg. I wrote up my blog post. I listened to an interview on the future of Alzheimers. Something new they mentioned was investigating the nasal microbiome. While it played, I played Mahjongg. Chris sent me an e-mail saying he was at his hotel and going to bed. And then it was time for me to hit the hay.
* This pic is from the jewelry making class last week *

It's beginning to look a lot like Fall

I had finally gotten to sleep last night, when Chris came to bed. It was almost daylight. Jetlag is a pain for both of us. I got up at 9. I read e-mail and drank water. I put on an audio and did my exercises, drybrushed, and rebounded. Then came the yoga stretches and planks. I asked Chris to write a check so I could get cash from the bank to exchange in town on Monday. It was around noon when I called Myra. I wanted to go walking in the sunshine. But she was out with her husband. So I texted Denee, but she wanted to wait until tomorrow for the 5-day market. I psyched myself up to go alone. I walked down to the front gate and proceeded straight ahead, passing the girl's high school. There were large banners announcing something. I wondered if it was the art fair we heard about last week. But I continued on. I passed a shop selling pomegranates. They were $3.50 each but I really wanted one. I passed a CU store. I went in and put $10 on my bus card. From there I walked across the bridge to the big GS25. I found my way to Office Depot. Upstairs was the craft section. At first all I saw was felt on a roll and there was no one to cut it for me. But then I found it by the sheet: large sheets for 0.80. I bought 7 colors. Victorious, I walked back to base. I stopped at the ATM for won for the 5 day market. I decided to go by the bank to see what their hours were. I was surprised to see that they were open. I deposited the check Chris gave me and took out some cash. The lady remarked that it was a cold day. I told her I thought it was hot. I walked home, to find Chris getting the laundry started and emtying the dishwasher. Then he left for the office. I read e-mail and made breakfast. I kept the laundry going. I watched a documentary. (actually I listened to it while I played Mahjongg which is a Windows95 game) I watched a news show about President-elect Trump. Chris came back from the office. He made onion soup. He helped me change out the shower filter. He packed for his trip to Singapore. Later I ate some soup. I looked at turkey crafts on Pinterest. I looked at healthy desserts. Then we watched 2 episodes of House. Chris went to bed and I stayed up to blog.

If the foo shits...

I had a difficult time getting to sleep last night. Chris' snoring did not help. Eventually, I donned a set of earplugs and soon fell asleep. In the morning, I rushed out of bed, hearing my phone ring. It was wrong number, but it did alert me to the fact that it was 10am. I went back to let Chris know and he wanted me to get back in bed... So the morning got off to a slow start. I drank a quart of water and read e-mail. I gave Chris some vitamin C packets and took one myself. I listened to an interview from the fat summit. I had to pause it so I could wash up. Kelly texted me needing some yellow garbage bags. I left some on the porch for her. I got dressed and added cash to my wallet. I walked down to the gate. I ran into Mari who seemed talkative. Then I hurried to the bus stop. Bus 317 was on the electric sign but there was an unusual arrow flashing next to it. I was anxious because I did not know what that meant. It arrived between 11:48 and 11:53, which was when I had to reset my watch on the bus. It missed my stop, so I and two other ladies got off at the next stop and walked back to the previous stop. Then I walked downhill to the acupuncturist office. I was early, but I needed to use the bathroom. Then I was shown to a tiny bed and they put the constriction sleeves on my legs. I just loved that part. Can I put them on my Christmas list? Lying there, I realized I had forgotten to borrow Myra's yoga blocks for my back. I texted Suzanne and asked her the word for 'brain fog'. She texted it back. Later the nurse came for the sleeves and the heating pad. Then I sat up and stretched my back until the doctor came. I showed him the word that Suzanne texted me. In addition to needles in my stomach, leg and arm, he put lots of needles in my head. We tried to converse. I believe he said I had a 'condition' not an allergy and could eat whatever made me happy. The points on my head were on the gallbladder meridian. He asked me if I knew the word 'com mung', but it did not sound like anything I had heard before. I resolved to go home and look it up. He left. I laid there, quite uncomfortable without the blocks under my upper thighs. After what seemed like a long time, the nurse came and took out all the needles. It hurt to sit up but I managed it. She dabbed my head with cotton and showed me the blood. I went to the front desk to pay. Then I left. As I walked toward the bus stop, I felt something land on my head. I looked around and saw nothing. But I guessed that a bird dropped it: the foo. What are the odds? I did not have to wait long for the bus. When I got back to base, I met Mari on her way out. I walked home. Chris was playing a game on his laptop. I ate an apple and drank some water. I read some e-mail and then put on an interview while I laid down. I expected to be tired like last week. I looked up acupuncture on the internet to see if I could find that word he used, but no luck. Later we went to the commissary for groceries. When we got back, our next door neighbors were standing on their sidewalk. Chris stopped to speak with the man. I put my bag of groceries away, then came out to speak to Denee. She was trying to hang a wreath on the door with magnets, but the door was too thick. She got a Command hook then, but it had to go up above the glass, so I got some twine to hang the wreath a little lower. Then she came over to pick fabric that went with her wreath. I cut her two strips so she could decorate it. I also took her a piece of goat meat so she could try it. And two vitamin C packets. She gave me a tension rod for my other curtain. I made and ate breakfast. Chris hooked the backup library to my new laptop to download what was copied from my old laptop. Due to the problems I was having with Windows 10, I really wanted my old laptop to work in some fashion. I looked high and low for the Windows 7 disk that supposedly came with my old laptop. Failing that, I had Chris show me how to use it in Linux. But it would not connect to the net. Booting from a disk instead of the hard drive may have had something to do with it. I wasn't sure if I was ready to wipe the hard drive or not. We watched several episodes of House. When the backup library finished loading onto the new laptop, I looked through it to find my EFT files and my quilting pics. Eventually I found them all. Then I copied a CD of Windows 95 games to a thumb drive and from there, moved them to my new laptop. Surprisingly, some of them were playable. And it was after midnight, so I posted to my blog and went to bed.
* This is what I saw at the bus stop after the one I wanted. *

Empress massage

I turned the heat off last night so the room would be quiet. I still had a hard time getting to sleep. So it wasn't surprising that I did not wake up until 9:30. I did the usual: drank water and read e-mail. And the less usual: exercised, drybrushed, and rebounded. I worked a Sudoku puzzle (which I could not finish because something went wrong) and did yoga stretches for tight hip flexors. I put away the box of supplements by combining the remnants of the old bottles with the new ones. The curtain on a rod fell down and I wedged it back in place. I took a shower and got dressed. Myra called to talk about renting a bus to go to the fabric market, and to invite me to the comdedian show this evening. But when she reminded me that it was adult content, I declined. But then I had to run. I hung up with Myra. I threw on a coat and grabbed my umbrella. I walked quickly in rain to the massage place. As I sat there, soaking my feet, he offered me an upgrade from the 80 minute oil massage to 150 minutes Empress massage. It was the same lady as last week. It was going to be a long one for her. I brought apricot kernel oil for her to use. I liked the way she massaged my stomach and my feet. When she was done, I thanked her. As I paid at the front desk, I asked how his baby was doing. The clerk showed me a picture. Cute baby. I handed over my frequent massage card. He stamped the last two spots and told me next week would be free. From there, I walked to the jewelry shop. I handed him my watch and he replaced the band. Then I walked through the market. I saw pomegranates, but bought apples. I walked home, my feet cold and wet. Chris called while I was between the main gatehouse and the visitor center. No electronics are allowed in the area, so I let it ring. When I got past the gate house, I called him back. We talked all the way home and into the bathroom. Then we hung up. I ate carrots while I read e-mail. I made and ate breakfast and re-worked the Sudoku puzzle. I did internet searches to fix the tinny audio on Windows 10 but discovered I don't have the tab for the solution given. Maybe there is something old about the version of Windows 10 on this new laptop. I watched three episodes of Scrubs while holding a hot rice-filled sock on my right hand. I wrote my blog post so I would be done before Chris came home.
* This is a pic from the coffee shop last Friday. *

Khaki-giving ran out of food.

I got up some time after the alarm and got the recyclables out to the street just after 8. I read e-mail, and drank water. I exercised, and then ate seed crackers and goat meat. I called Myra to see if she needed help, but she was about to take a shower. She said the food all done, and she had cooked and mashed another large pot of potatoes. I listened to a podcast on the dangers of 5g technology. I listened to an interview from the Fat Summit as I did two Sudoku puzzles. I made a rod pocket in one of the curtain panels. At 11 I went to sewing class with my QOV. I turned on all the lights and the heat. I got out a table and sat down to work on the binding of the quilt. Presently Chantal came in with her baby girl and then Suzanne with her little girl. As I worked on the quilt binding, they worked on folded star potholders. But the kids interrupted them often. Then Suzanne left to give Anna a ride to the pavillion to take her contribution to khakigiving. While she was gone, her little girl found a pair of scissors and started cutting up her project. We rescued it as best we could. Suzanne came back with a plate of food and told us (Chantal and me) to go get some food. It sounded like there was plenty so we went. But the plates had run out. Chantal and I split a foam tray. There was some of Anna's turkey and Myra's ham. The potatoes were gone (all 60 pounds that Myra cooked), but there remained a little salad. There was lots of pies and cookies and such, but those I did not touch. We got some food to take back to Housing since the seating area at the pavilion was quite full. We ate when we got back. Then we continued sewing. Anna came in after the pavillion was cleaned up. Then I realized that Roundup was at 2. Anna wanted to go AND she wanted to take Chantal's baby. So we walked together toward the theatre. But when we got close, the baby realized that mommy was not there and began to cry loudly. So Anna went back and I went to Roundup. I sat beside Myra and settled in to hear the schedule. At some point Anna came in with the baby, but had to leave when the little girl started crying again. The CSO announced that I was in the talent show. Um, maybe not. After the meeting, I went to the post office to check the mail. Because tomorrow and Friday are training holidays (why?), there will be no mail again until Monday. There was a package from Swansons. I took it home and opened it. I checked e-mail. I tried to put the rod in the curtain pocket, but the pocket was too small. I sewed another line, and ripped the first one out while listening to another audio. I put the rod in the larger pocket and wedged the rod in the window. I made a mental note to get another tension rod. I made and ate breakfast just before heading to sewing class. I was early, but Myra and Kelly were right behind me. Chantal and Suzanne had cleaned up from earlier. We turned on the lights and brought out more tables and machines. I tried to get people started on their projects but stuff was missing, like someone's project in progress and the bag of stuffing. The fabric bins were in disarray. Amber had taken Jadyn's project home so he needed a new one. He decided to make a Christmas tree pin cushion. So I helped him, not quite knowing the best way to do it. I also helped Kelly to make a potholder since the mitt pattern she wanted was at Myra's house. I had to rethread several machines, not quite knowing how the thread kept jumping out of its pathway. My watch fell off my wrist. I ran home to get some stuffing for Jadyn's pincushion. After he stuffed it, I sewed it shut on one of the machines. Then I started organizing the fabric. I did not get finished before it was time to close up. Some ladies stayed to help and sweep up. At the end, Myra handed me the iron Mari had donated and I put it in the closet. I walked home. I found a movie from Netflix called Inside Out. But there was no DVD (or CD) player in my new laptop. So I tried it in my old laptop, but I had to take out the Linux CD and then it wouldn't work. So I watched the movie on the TV using the DVD player. It was pretty good for an animated film. But my computer must have rebooted while it was playing and it lost my notes for the day. I wondered how well I could reconstruct my day. I guess I will never know. The movie replayed itself as I wrote up this post.

Peelings..., nothing more than...peelings...

It was little after 8 when I got up to take out the food waste. As I was coming back to the house, the food waste truck came along and picked it up. I read e-mail and drank a quart of water. I ate some seed crackers. I did some lymph exercises and drybrushed. I ate some goat meat. I rubbed my body with apricot kernel oil. I did not do the bottoms of my feet because then I would leave oily spots wherever I went. But my hands were oily so I could not touch anything. I dried my hands in my hair. I called Myra and we decided to go walking. So I took a shower. When I got dressed, I looked for my fanny pack. It was still in the sewing room so I quickly stitched it. I was ready to go when Myra arrived. We walked half the trail and came back down on the road. We went to the gym to weigh ourselves. Then she went home to get ready for a meeting and I went to the post office. I got up on a stool to look in my box. There was nothing there, so I did not bother opening it. On the way home, I stopped by the commissary to look for sesame seeds. They were still out. The Korean lady who stocks the shelves offered to bring me some from home. I thanked her but said I could wait for it to come in. I walked home. I ate a tomato. Using a trowel like a pick ax, I created a hole in the side flower bed. I planted the blueberry bush in it. I moved the potted plants from the porch to nestle in the flowerbeds between plants. I did not want them to freeze overnight. I put the papaya plant in a bigger pot. I watched Youtube videos on waheguru meditations. Nearly put me to sleep. I called Myra to see if she was ready to peel potatoes. She was at the commissary picking them up. 30 minutes later she said she'd be home in 10 minutes. So, I put an extra line of stitching in my fanny pack. I played my trombone and then walked to her place. I met her as she was carrying groceries from her car. So I helped with that. I had gone over there because I felt sorry for her having to peel 30 lbs of potatoes. When she showed me the 100 lbs they gave her to make potato salad and mashed potatoes, I felt sorry for me. I washed about 20 lbs of potates while she put her groceries away. Then we sat outside to peel them. Her husband came home from work and brought more potatoes in from the car. Then we went in. I washed red potatoes and we cut them into chunks for potato salad. She was getting ready to cook supper, so I went home. I ate my daily dose of nuts. I checked the latest e-mail. I looked at pin cushions on Pinterest, especially cupcake ones as a possible class project. I ate a persimmon. Then I watched a bunch of Scrubs episodes. And with that, it was time to post and go to bed.
* I hope it won't freeze tonight. *

Testing the instruments

I made a reed diffuser using the vodka. I set it by my bed. I woke up while it was still dark and watched the daylight appear. I was up by 8 for a coffee morning. It always gives me the urge to clean, but today the feeling arrived before the coffee was ready. While I swished, I folded the dark laundry and swept the floor. I drank lemon water while I read e-mail. After the exercising, rebounding, meditating, and tapping, I cleaned the kitchen. I made breakfast. I noticed that the sun was blocked by the curtain. I considered bubble wrap because the light would come through but not coherently. But it would look bad from the outside. I ate breakfast. I listened to an audio on menopause. I read that commercial battery chargers recharge to half a percent less each time as part of planned obsolescence. The site had plans so you could build your own battery charger. I re-pinned the curtain so it would not lay flat on the window. It did not look any better but it might blur images behind it at night. I got dressed and went to the post office. They gave me four packages. Then I went to the school to meet Mr. Sharpe. We went through the donated instruments together. They needed slide or valve oil and reeds. When I got home, I opened three packages. I installed the new light bulb in my HappyLight. I listened to two audios on Foundation training while doing today's puzzle. Chin back, chest forward, it said. I watched the untold story of Bewitched on Youtube. I made a salad, and put the food waste by the door for tomorrow. I ate two figs, and a persimmon. I looked high and low for a piece of fabric, gave up, then decided to sew on my fanny pack. I tried to melt the fraying edges with a lighter but it didn't melt. Looking for a black patch, I found the fabric I was looking for. But it was brown. I used dark purple instead. I had just pinned it in place, about to take the first stitch, when Skype rang. It was Chris. I answered on the desktop. The video wasn't good. He wanted me to open his package so he would know what it was. After we talked, I got on my laptop and listened to an audio from the next fat summit while playing solitaire on line. Windows 10 doesn't come with Free Cell or Solitaire. Then it was time to go to bed.