April Fool's must be early this year

I listened to a sleep audio on Youtube last night. It did not put me to sleep, but I think I slept ok when I went to bed.
I got up at 8am, still feeling tired. It took a while for my eyes to focus. I checked e-mail and ate a few seed crackers. I got dressed and walked to the FFTC for Community Roundup. Myra was not there yet. I sat with Kim. During the presentation of the 8 week calendar, I spoke up for the sewing class. The Ops officer said he removed it because the schedule might change. During the rounds, I also spoke up for the FRG yardsale, but was told it wasn't approved yet. I was confused because I had seen it posted on Facebook. Terry Parker questioned it and was told that approval had been rescinded pending an amended document. After the meeting, Terry asked me if I had heard approval had been rescinded and I hadn't, of course. I asked the CSO what paperwork I needed to sell quilts on post and was told I did not need any. Myra asked if we could sell to Korean nationals, and he said yes. Even the hair cutter did not need paperwork to cut hair on base. That did not make sense to me. I walked back with Myra and went to her house. She gave me a jar of citrus tea to give to Chris. She showed me the poses she learned in Korean yoga. She started making monkey bread, so I went home. I was making breakfast when Chris came home for lunch. I told him what I heard about not needed paperwork (hence permission) to sell things on base. He said that was not right and he would talk to the CSO. But then when I asked if I could sell quilts without paperwork, he said yes. ???
Terri was gone for the day, but Myra and Dynee wanted to go walking with me. So Dynee came to my house, and then we walked to Myra's place. A new lady, Allicyn happened to be walking past and Myra invited her to walk with us. I gave her a lip balm as a Welcome to Chinhae gift. The four of us walked into town, up and down the streets. We stopped at a coconut vendor and I bought a coconut. The lady drilled a hole in a coconut and stuck in a straw. I drank the juice as we walked. We saw lots of food vendors and jewelry, socks, umbrellas, and covered hammocks. We ran into Jane who was so happy to see us. She got someone to take our picture together. We went by Dr. Juice but did not see anyone there to serve customers. I stopped by the bank, and then we headed back to base, admiring the cherry blossoms and speculating whether they would still be in good shape for the open base event a week from tomorrow.
Dynee and I talked in her yard for awhile. Then I went inside my house. I ate a banana cookie with butter on top. I cracked open the coconut and ate some of the meat. I tried to take a 20 minute nap. I listened to an audio on Hashimoto's Disease.

I bagged up the back support thingy that Cory had lent me a year ago. I took it to his wife's office and thanked her. Then I went to the FFTC. I signed up for a painting class called Corks and Canvasses. While there, I saw the poster for a trip to the Daegu fabric market. I tried to sign up for that, but the sign up sheet was labeled for the Jin Market which is in Busan. I didn't have enough American money anyway. On my way home I stopped at the ATM for dollars. When I got home, I called Myra and told her. She said the MWR people were already aware of it, and the trip was definitely to Daegu.
I checked my phone for messages. I checked the kombucha. It was just right: not sweet and a little fizzy. I scooped out most of the kombucha tea into smaller jars for fridge. Then I boiled half of the water, adding tea bags and sugar. While it cooled, I boiled the rest of the water. Chris came home from confession. He made himself supper. I practiced lip exercises on my trombone.
I listened to a tapping audio. It was hard to hear, so I went into sewing room to listen in the quiet. I took a break when fireworks came up. I ran out so fast I didn't have time to put on my shoes. I tried several vantage points, trying to see them through the cherry blossoms. When they were over, I came back to listen to the rest of the audio. Then I went to the kitchen to make a smoothie. I asked Chris if he got the message about the earthquake. Mine was in Korean. He did, but when I asked for details, he snapped at me. I felt so sad, then mad. I blended up a cucumber and a pepper and some cucumber kimchi. I took it to my sewing room to eat while I tapped furiously. I thought of many things I wanted to say to him. When I felt more composed, I went back to the dining room to tell him what I thought. It went better than I expected. Then we sat on the couch together and watched 4 episodes. Chris went to bed, and soon I shall as well.
* Covered hammocks (creepy?) and potato tornados *

More blossoms, more people

I got up before 7. I prepared a quart of water with lemon, salt, Biosil, and vitamin C. I drank that while reading e-mail. I put on a video and listened while I did some yoga stretches. I made a smoothie with cucumber and red bell peppers. I caught up on my Sudoku puzzles.
I called Myra to see if she wanted to go to the sauna, but she didn't. Neither did Terri. So I packed my sauna bag and went alone. As I stood in the sauna, watching the temperature rise, and exercising to get the sweat started, I wondered why it was so difficult when I could sweat in a instant with a hot flash. Sadly, no hot flashes in the sauna. I put on my mp3 headphones and wrapped a towel around my head to keep them cool. The music was not loud enough to drown out the blaring radio station in the gym. I drank two water bottles of filtered water and vitamin C. And I sweated it out.
After the hour was up, I washed off a little, then got dressed and went home to take a real shower. Chris was just leaving the house. He came back in and asked me to sign the tax forms so he could mail them. Then I took a shower. When I finished and toweled off, I looked in the mirror and saw that my face was green. I felt fine, but wondered what could make my face green. The green faded after a bit. I got dressed and made breakfast.
Then I walked out in town. The streets were well populated with vendors and tourists wielding selfie sticks. The opening ceremony isn't until tomorrow!
I went to the massage place, arriving a little early. As I sat relaxing in the hot foot bath, Terri texted me asking if I had gone to the bank yet. I invited her to join me afterward, but she was going out later with her husband. After a nice massage, I walked to the back of the market to buy lettuce plants. I got two different kinds, but she did not have the darker kind I most wanted. Then I walked back, using a different route. I did not go to the bank because I was saving it as a reason to walk when I had no other reason to walk. Also, I wondered if it was selfish to get money from the ATM's when so many tourists probably needed cash for the vendors.
I went back to post and walked uphill to my house. The cherry blossoms were more evident than yesterday. They will be in full bloom by Saturday and our open base event is not until a week from Saturday. I finished the video I started earlier. I looked up a list of things red eyes could be a symptom of. I have been noticing it for a few months now, but not remembering to look it up. I hope it is just lack of sleep. I jotted a few notes for my blog.
I read an article about training your brain to go to sleep on command. It recommended setting a 20 minute timer and lying down for a nap. The importance of getting up after 20 minutes whether or not sleep came was emphasized. So I laid down and listened to a 21 minute Youtube hypnosis session. I got up as soon as I realized it was over. I am not sure if I slept or not. Then I practiced my trombone, playing 4 verses of On Eagle's Wings.
I was reading e-mail when Chris came home from work. We talked about the upcoming activities for Cherry Blossom festival this weekend. Then he went to change his clothes. I planted the lettuce in trays and a basket. A black cat sat and watched me, but would not come near.
I came in and washed my hands. I put a bowl of bean soup in the toaster oven. I set the timer for 20 minutes, then worked on adding the second sleeve to my Easter dress. When the timer rang, I came out to get it. I added fermented soy beans, sunflower seeds and powdered fiber. Dynee texted, asking if I had Epsom salts. I did and she came over to get it. She said my front yard smelled like cat pee. I promised to not to pee in the front yard any more. Ha. I went back to eating my soup and reading e-mail. I transcribed all the Daily Mantra e-mails for 2017 into one file. I sent a note to my tapping buddies.
Chris sat with me and we watched two episodes of Once Upon a Time: the season ender and episode 1 of season 2. Chris went to bed and I stayed up to blog and listen to another sleep hypnosis audio on Youtube.
* Here is the basket I made for next week's project. *

Bag ladies

I got to sleep sooner last night, so I guess the reading helped.
In the morning, I heard my phone alarm ring. I did not feel like getting up, but I knew the recyclables had to go out. Eventually I got myself out of bed, and dressed. I collated the recyclables into plastic bags and dropped them at the curb. I saw people walking their kids to school and was glad I took the time to get dressed. I made a quart of lemon water and drank it while watching “Let me be Frank”, a documentary about a 54 year old man who lets three young men from a raw vegan restaurant help him change his diet and life in 42 days. I also did some yoga stretches. I paused the video to juice the remaining half of purple cabbage. I paused it again later to make breakfast. When the video was over, there was another one that was just an interview. I watched/listened to that one, too.
I took a shower. I practiced my trombone. I cut some pieces of fusible stabilizer for the next project. I packed my bag and took an umbrella to walk to the chapel for sewing class. Two ladies had arrived early and were setting up the room. However, someone had reserved the room for the afternoon so we moved to the other classroom. That someone never showed up and has reserved the room for next week also.
Anyway, three ladies said they wanted to make the bag project. Then a fourth lady came in, also interested in the bag, but couldn't stay. All three picked the same outer fabrics: a set Myra picked up at the Jungang market. So I cut the squares they needed while they picked out lining fabrics. Eileen worked on a previous project while the three worked on the bags, then made one of her own. Tammy worked on her quilt a little bit. Chantel made a bag that ties to the back of a headrest to carry kids toys. She had the tutorial on her phone and I helped her decipher the instructions.

Myra had to fetch a long ruler from home to cut the squares. We went half an hour over so that Chantel and Eileen could finish. I fused rectangles of interfacing to the back of a 15 inch square for next week's project. Then we all cleaned up and put the machines and baskets back in the closet. I walked Myra home, then walked the trail as far as the first exercise station, and came back. It was yucky weather so I didn't want to walk to the bank, but I did want to get a little daily exercise. I had a bite to eat then sat to catch up on e-mail. I filled a jar with coconut water and added some probiotics to it. I tried to take a nap, but couldn't quite fall asleep.

I continued work on my project: I selected an outer fabric and cut a 15 inch square. I put it with the stabilized one. I made a handle and inserted it between the layers. I cut pieces of pink ribbon and put them at strategic spots between the layers. Then I sewed around and turned it right sides out. After top-stitching, I had a flat basket. I drew up the corners and tied the ribbons, then photographed it. It was after 7 and Chris wasn't home yet. I called his office and did not get an answer. I called his cell and he said he was on his way, having attended a second victory party. I put a bowl of bean soup in the toaster oven. When he got home, he had a bottle of ginseng beer that one of the Koreans had given him. He put on Once Upon a Time. He opened the bottle and we both tasted it: interesting. Being a fermented beverage, I figured it was a health food, right? But one taste was enough. Then he got out the apple-something bottle from the freezer. I ate my bowl of soup as we watched and he gave me sips of the apple-something. It made me sleepy. After two episodes, Chris went to bed. I stayed up to blog and see if my tapping buddy was on line. But she did not respond, so I just went to bed.

Walking around the bloomin' city

Last night I read a book for awhile, hoping it would make me sleepy, but it did not. I blamed the lighting – too much blue light.
In the morning, I heard Chris get up and take his shower. I stayed in bed after he left, and was surprised to see that it was only 7am when I got up. My hair seemed really dry so I put a very small amount of jojoba oil in my hands, rubbed them together and ran them through my hair. I was thinking I needed more, but I combed my hair first, and discovered it was too much. I hardly see how I could have used less. I guess there is a very fine point between dry and oily hair. I went into the kitchen to make my quart of water. I re-assembled the juicer to get the parts out of the way. I put lemon, Biosil, salt, and Vit C in the water. I drank it while reading e-mail. I took a break to put the food waste out at the curb. Then I settled in for a morning of articles and videos. One interview talked about how detoxing while having a root canal present is like showering in dirty water while someone keeps handing you towels. Unless you turn the dirty water off, you never get really clean. The interviewee told the story of having a tumor that kept growing, no matter what treatment he tried. After a year, he had his root canals removed and replaced his fillings with something more compatible. The tumor disappeared in 7 weeks.

After drinking the water, I juiced half of a large purple cabbage. I rinsed off the juicer parts and sipped the juice. After that, I made and ate breakfast. I carried my laptop with me as I compiled a stack of fabrics to match my Easter dress. But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a blue bag would be a better match for items in my wardrobe. I pulled out a few blue fabrics, too. But for some reason, the purple won. I auditioned several combinations and took pics of the best ones. I cut a square from each of three purple fabrics. I also cut three squares of a light purple wavy stripe (for the lining.)
I made a bag with the purple fabrics. I wanted it to keep it's shape so I interfaced the center part of the lining. That turned out to be a mistake. It made it awfully hard to turn right sides out. And it kept the center part from collapsing inward so that the two outer points would connect. It just didn't hang right. I also wanted it to be reversible, so I zigzagged the open seam on the first side instead of sewing it RST. But that was difficult and I could not sew all the way into the corner. I did the other side by hand and finished the first side by hand.
During the process, Chris came home for lunch. He brought me a package from Swansons. It had lots of vitamin C in it.
I pinned a yellow strip to serve as a makeshift strap and photographed it. I texted Terri to see if she wanted to go walking. When I didn't hear from her, I called Myra who said she could be ready in 10 – 15 minutes. So I got ready and walked down to her parking lot. I waited a bit, then walked to her door. I knocked but there was no answer. As I was waiting, Terri came by with her dog Lulu. Then Myra came out, so we all went walking toward the front gate. We stopped at the ATM. Dynee was texting me about batting so I called her and we had a short chat. Then Myra got cash from the ATM. Terri turned right and went another way, so Myra and I walked out alone.
We went to the bank as usual. I had trouble with the ATM. Usually you can count on computers to be consistent. But this one wasn't. I kept trying until it gave me what I wanted, following the same procedure each time. Then I rejoined Myra outside.

We walked to the Dr. Juice, but discovered it did not open until Thursday. We wandered around, looking at pansies, tulips and cherry blossoms. We walked up and down unfamiliar streets. We looked for the pier/wharf/whatever, but all access to the ocean was blocked by the ROK base.
We walked back to our base. We went to the FFTC. We met a man looking for a drink and we thought he was in the wrong place. I believe he was a merchant marine. After all our walking, we decided it was ok to take the elevator, but it was out of order. We walked up the steps to the second floor and out to the commissary. Myra shopped for a few things while I waited for Ms. Oh to get my plastic bowl back. It was the one Chris used to deliver brownies on Sunday. I bought coconut water. On the way back, we parted at the trail since she did not want to use the steps.
I went to my house. I got out the last coconut water to drink and put the two new ones in the cupboard. I put the remaining several grams of vitamin C in the water. I cut a piece of purple fabric to made a tube around the strap. Myra called to tell me that we had walked 4.89 miles in town.
Chris came home from work just as I finished the strap and took a new photograph. We talked for awhile and he told me the merchant marines made more than he did. I told him to forget the admiral and go work for them. He said then I wouldn't see him for months. I had to bite my lip in response.
So then he made himself supper and I heated a bowl of bean soup. I read e-mail and looked at fabric baskets online. One reminded me of a basket I had made long ago. So I drew out what I had done before and added a strap to it. I wrote directions to go with it. The directions needed testing, but I did not feel like making one just then. But the very next basket tutorial I saw but pretty simple, too.
I posted the pic of the shoulder bag to the Facebook community page. I read more e-mail. Then Chris sat with me and we watched two episodes of Once Upon a Time. He was going to bed and wanted company. So I went for awhile, then came back to write to my blog. I left the bluer lights off so I tried reading again to see if it would make me sleepy.

Kimchi day

I got up about 8, seemingly long after I heard Chris leave for work. I had the usual Monday coffee morning. All the exercises and meditation and tapping gave me the energy to clean the bathrooms, and all the dishes in the sink.
Chris came home for lunch while I was cleaning the kitchen. I made him a loaf bread. I washed the remaining lip balm pots and filled them with balm. I saved 4 and put the rest in a baggie to be handed out.
I checked my phone and found that Dynee did not want me to help with her quilt this afternoon because her husband was home. I wondered if all husbands but mine were home today, and if anyone would want to go walking. Chris and I looked through some boxes to see if we had any checks left. Fortunately we did, but not by much. Chris went back to work. I wanted to avoid eating to allow my digestive tract to rest, but I was hungry. So I ate fruit because it was easy to digest. I checked e-mail, and looked for my Swansons order list. I found it but got sidetracked by articles online. I juiced a purple cabbage, twice, and drank it. I texted Terri to see if she wanted to go walking. She texted back that her husband was sick and she needed two cloves of garlic to make chicken soup. I packed the garlic, some Himalayan salt and the shoes that didn't fit in a bag. I walked up towards her house. She met me by the parking lot. I gave her two essential oil beads for her husband. Then I went to the bank. There was no line inside the bank so I exchanged the smaller bills for larger ones. Across the street from the bank was a new store called Dr. Juice. When I got home, I texted the picture to Terri. I put the purple cabbage pulp in some kimchi juice and left it to ferment.
Anna dropped off some cucumber kimchi on her way to Taekwando. I looked like the same one as at the cook-out yesterday. I tried to take a nap while sort of listening to a tapping audio. I was hoping to fall asleep when Chris came home from work. It seemed early since he was on time.
I spent time on Pinterest looking for a sewing project for the week. I saw the triangle bag and decided to make one. I figured I needed a purple and yellow one to go with my Easter dress. I moved the excess fabric from cutting room to sewing room and put it away. I pulled some purples and yellows, but the daylight had faded too much to get good matches.
I looked at fabric basket tutorials, taking notes on each one for later review. I ate an apple, and watched two episodes with Chris. He went to bed. I stayed up to blog and look for better baskets.

Community cook-out for marines

I got up around 8:30 when Chris came back to take his shower before church. I read e-mail and drank water. Chris left for church. I read an e-book on vaccines written by an immunologist. About 9:40 I took my shower and got dressed for church. I finished reading the e-book. Chris came home to get me. I put on my shoes and we went to the car.
He dropped me off at the chapel. I sat in my usual pew. When the praise singing was almost over, Chantal came in and sat with me. The chaplain introduced communion by saying that he wasn't a biologist but he thought every living thing ate or consumed something. He allowed that there might be some organisms that don't. I wanted to point out that the definition of living organism was one that eats and excretes. The lesson was about plagues 7 – 9.
After the sermon, the chaplain announced the the potluck was being moved to the commissary because of the community event for the marines was already prepared. So ladies took their food from the chapel to the tables in front of the commissary. Chris came to get me, but we just walked over to the commissary. There were bouncy houses for the kids, and a blow-up boxing ring for adults. Wearing a dress and heels, I could not do any of that. I stood around while Chris talked to one of the marines. Then we got in line for food. I found a few things I could eat. We sat at one of the metal picnic tables with more marines. It was cold and a little overcast.
After eating, we went inside to shop for a few more things (like lemons). Then we came out. I said goodbye to Myra and Katelyn who were helping to serve food. Myra said she was up until midnight peeling the 50 lbs of potatoes. Then Chris drove us home.
I found a bag on the front porch. Terri left me a pair of shoes she couldn't wear and my scarf. I tried on the shoes but they were too narrow. Chris put away the food while I changed into pants and a top. I read a little e-mail, and looked up the plagues and then took a nap.
Then Chris and I walked to the bank and back. We got rained on for awhile. Before we went home, we stopped at the commissary for the bowl he delivered the brownies in. But he didn't see it. I called Myra and she said it was in the break room. Oh well. When we got home, I finished reading about the plagues. One scholar said they resembled the creation story, as if God was uncreating Egypt. I looked for fabric Easter basket tutorials. Chris plugged his computer up to the TV and we watched episodes of Once Upon a Time all evening. Then he went to bed and I stayed up to blog.
* I did not get any pics of the cook-out, but here is one from the baby shower where we passed around 'dirty' diapers to guess what kind of chocolate bar was melted inside. Did I mention I am not a fan of baby shower games? *

Operation Shower

I woke up from a weird dream. I got up and discovered it was 9:30 already.
I called Myra to see if she thought we needed a gift for Bernie since we had already given her two quilts. But she did not answer. Chris put two loads of laundry in while I made a hooded baby towel. Myra called back to say she didn't think we should give Bernie another homemade gift. Chris went to work, telling me to run the dishwasher as soon as the washing machine finished. I finished the towel project. I made and ate breakfast. I made banana cookies and ran the dishwasher. I discovered that my towel was in the wash and the dishwasher was still running, so I did not take a shower, just washed up and got dressed.
At 1:30 I packed a sewing kit and went to the baby shower at Carolyn's house. I ran into Akia on the way, so we walked in together. The blue and yellow quilt was draped over a chair. I sat down to sew a label on it, but discovered that I had forgotten the thread. Carolyn's husband found me some white thread and I sewed the label on. Myra arrived just as I started. She had a quilt that needed a label, too. Then the pregnant mothers began to arrive. I got up so one of them could sit down. Myra and Anna and Dynee were deciding which quilts to put in whose basket. When everyone was there, the pregnant women were encouraged to start the food line. After we all ate, there were the inevitable games. One was a multiple choice games – my team did not do so well. Then there was a name that tune in which all the song titles had the word baby in them. But I did not know any of the songs; too recent. Then someone melted different chocolate bars in disposable diapers and passed them around for us to guess which. Tammy (next to me) got all five right. Then the pregnant women lined up by their baskets (from Operation Shower which sends baby gift baskets to military moms)for pictures. Then they sat in the livingroom and the baskets were set at their feet. They were given the go-ahead to examine the contents. Then they were each handed a note from their husband, and given a vase of flowers. It was touching. Myra told them that we had extra quilts if they wanted to trade out, but no one did. Mostly they did not look at the quilts we had given them. We all chatted a little longer and then I decided it was time for my walk.
On the way back from the party, I ran into Terri. She was walking her dog. She had me give treats to Lulu. Then she went home to drop off Lulu while I went inside to drop off my quilts and get ready for my walk to the bank. I looked out the window for her. When she arrived, I went out. We walked to the bank and back. We felt a few raindrops. I saw my pea plants on the front porch and asked Chris if it was ok to leave them there overnight. They are getting so tall.
I put some bean soup in the toaster oven to heat. I ate some strawberries and pineapple. Chris made brownies while I wrapped prizes for tomorrow. I did not want to use the good red ribbon that my sister sent but I had no other. I looked for the cheap ribbon I bought in Masan, but could not find it anywhere.
We watched several episodes of Once Upon a Time. I finished one Sudoku puzzle while watching and two more afterward. I read a little e-mail and wrote my blog post. And then it was time for bed.

Last minute quilt

I got up at 8. I got dressed. I drank water while finalizing the rough draft of my blog post from yesterday. I took a picture of the scoby and made the post I should have made yesterday.
I read a few e-mails, and then my tapping buddy called. It was technically her turn to be the client, but she'd just had a session with someone else, so we worked on something from my past. It went about an hour and a half. Then we hung up.
I made and ate breakfast. I listened to an audio while reading e-mail. Chris came home for lunch, surprising me because I did not realize it was so late. I looked at fabric basket tutorials online. I auditioned the purple strips I had cut to see if they would look good as piping. Meh. I decided to do it anyway. I trimmed the batting to half an inch and the backing to 2 inches. I ironed the purple strip in half. I sewed it to 3/8 inch away from the edge, so that when I folded it over, it would just barely show on the top of the quilt.
I needed a break so I called Dynee to see if she wanted to go for a walk. But she did not answer. I called Terri, but got the same result. I called Myra. She was in the middle of mopping her floor but agreed to go in half an hour. So I went back to sewing the piping to the back of the quilt. I started pinning the sides in place. Terri texted me that she was in the sauna and invited me to join her. But I had to defer because I had plans.
When Myra called, I dropped everything and walked to her house. She came out and we walked into town. Somehow we took the wrong street and ended up in the wrong place. But we headed west and found ourselves at the clock circle. We walked toward the tower and found the place that she could pay her internet bill. Then we went to Woori bank. I made the usual ATM transaction. Then we walked back to Admiral Yi circle. She wanted peppers, so we went to a new little store. I got strawberries and a pineapple. We brought our purchases back to the base.
But instead of going home, we went to Security to get her car and then to the commissary. She wanted potatoes to make 50+ pounds of potato salad for Sunday. But the potatoes weren't here yet. We got other stuff she needed. Kim asked me to make man-gifts for some boxing contest. So I bought some Slim-Jims and stuff like that, plus two large purple cabbages for me. There was lots of talking and standing around. I was exhausted. Finally we checked out and got in her car. Scott was on his way home from work, so he drove us. First we went to their parking lot. Kim was delivering eggs for the potato salad. Then they dropped me off at my house. I carried the stuff inside and left it on the kitchen floor.
I finished pinning the sides in place. Getting the corners folded right was a real bear! I sewed the corners of the quilt by hand. Then I stitched down the piping to the front of the quilt, completing it. I called Myra to see if now was a good time to pick up the labels. But she was making supper. So I ate some pineapple and read e-mail. She called and talked to me while she walked over here. She handed me two quilts and 5 labels. I showed her the finished cat quilt. She had to leave. I got a needle and some thread. I sewed on one label. The timer rang on my bowl of bean soup, so I took a break to eat it. Then I did another one. Chris sat with me and put on “Once Upon a Time”. I finished two more labels while watching. He went to bed and I stayed up to clear a few more e-mails (and post to my blog).
* Cat quilt. Can you see the purple piping? *

Scoby comes to live at my house

I got up after 8 to start my day. I drank water and checked e-mail. I was making breakfast when I needed a piece of paper to write what I was running out of. I thought a scrap of Sudoku paper would do. I found myself woefully behind on Sudoku, so I did lots of puzzles. About 10:15 Kathy knocked on the door and handed me a large jar with a massive scoby in it. I sat down at my laptop to look up the tea recipe for feeding the scoby, but I got sidetracked. I made and ate breakfast. I finally did find a tea recipe. My sauce pot would not boil 3 quarts of water like the recipe said, so I boiled 6 cups, putting in all the sugar it asked for. I did not have black tea, so I put white and green tea bags in it. When it was boiled, I turned off the burner and added the rest of the water.
Dynee came over to get some elastic. We looked at the fabric choices for the cat panel. She told me what she liked best. Then she went home.
I walked to the massage place. I chose the fourth massage listed. I wasn't certain what it was. I put on the garments they gave me and played classical music on my phone. It turned out to be a whole body massage (though not the tummy). Over an hour later, I got dressed again. I thanked him and bid them goodbye. I walked to the bank to get the daily amount of cash. I had to wait in line because some of the machines were out of order. Even the machine I used, was kind of wonky. I chose English, but it gave me screens in Thai(?). Nevertheless, I had done it so many times that I knew which places to tap no matter what they were labeled. After getting the cash, I decided to take a new route home. At times I felt lost, but had no trouble getting to base. When I got through the gate, I called Myra to check in. She was sewing labels on quilts. The tea was cool, so I slid the scoby into it. I covered it with a paper towel and put it in the cupboard to ferment.
I cut and sewed borders on the cat panel, just as Dynee had laid them out. I took a pic and sent it to her by text. I cut a piece of the coordinating fabric and sandwiched the layers. I pinned and fused the top.
I left it on the ironing board while I heated up a bowl of bean soup. I ate as I read e-mail. I did two more Sudoku puzzles. I googled how to take a video. It seems Windows 10 has a built-in screen capture. So it could potentially record a skype call. It still wouldn't let me do a demo video. I contacted my tapping buddy on Messenger to call me on Skype so I could test it. Chris texted that he was on his way home, tipsy. He had been at the Victory party for the concluding exercise and had taken the firechief out for a beer. I closed my laptop and went back to get some quilting in before he got home. I got in two rounds before I heard the front door. He was in a very friendly mood and easy to talk to. I wished I had compiled a list of difficult subjects. But there was only one subject on his mind. So we ended up in bed. But then I heard Skype ring. I rushed to the living room to answer the call without video. She was sending video though, so I tried Win-G to record it, but it didn't work after all. Then I went back to bed, and my blog did not get posted.
* It's a huge scoby. I wonder if she gave me the mother. *

Happy Stitchers

It was another low sleep night. I got up at 8:30. It was too late for recyclables. I heard the men cleaning the ditches. So I got dressed and dug up two buckets of dirt from the upper ditch. But then they only cleaned the lower one. I drank lemon water, and checked e-mail. I listened to an audio on marriage and relationships while I sewed yellow borders on a cheater cloth panel. I made and ate breakfast. I looked for fabric for the next border. Anna called to invite me to an early lunch. I declined because I was still full from breakfast. And besides, I had stuff to do. I took a shower, then went back to auditioning. I procrastinated by sweeping the floor with the dust mop. I ate an apple, and put vitamin C in a large container of coconut water to take to sewing class. I changed quilt ideas, and looked at pics online to find a way to use the new set of fabrics. I jotted notes for my blog.
I went to the chapel. Suzanne greeted me warmly. We went into the chapel classroom and started setting up. Other ladies arrived and helped. So Young made a oven towel and appliqued a butterfly on it. Ms. Chong worked on the quilt binding. Myra snipped her rag quilt. Sue made an apron. Lacee showed us the dress she made and made plans for another. Tammy made a backing for her quilt top. Anna worked on binding, too. Suzanne worked on a cushion cover. We chatted about keeping the group going after Myra and I leave. We packed up at three but did not finish until 3:30. I walked home with Lacee. I called Dynee to see if she wanted to walk to the bank. She did, so we headed downhill. We saw Myra going into her place so we asked her. Her husband was just driving up. He asked me to call my husband and give him the phone. So I did. Then he told Chris that I was hanging around, being a bad influence, etc. He walked away to talk in private for a few moments. When I got my phone back, the three of us went out to the bank. It took three ATMs, but I finally got the cash. We walked out to the tower and Dynee led us to the bagel place. On the way back, they found the place where the tea ceremony was held. Then we headed back to base. I was exhausted after all the walking and of course standing for three hours during sewing class. I nearly fell asleep on the couch. Chris came home from work. I made a batch of hummus. It turned out bland because I had to keep adding more chick peas to thicken it. I put it in a big jar and ate what didn't fit with leftover celery. I drank coconut water with vitamin C in it. I picked out something to watch since we finished Merlin. It was called Once Upon a Time. We watched three episodes. Chris looked at his laptop one last time and went to bed. I brushed my teeth and brought out my nightgown. I wrote up my blog post for the day. I saw that Kim invited all the ladies to have lunch on the 3rd deck tomorrow to talk about the BBQ on Sunday. I did not want to go. Then my newest tapping buddy called. We talked for two and a half hours. She asked me to send her pics of the cherry blossoms this year. It was past time to post to my blog, so I did and went to bed.
* Sue's apron *

A new friend

I did not sleep well last night and got up early after being awake for some time. Chris was already up. I drank my lemon water and looked at e-mail. I made a batch of seed crackers. While they were baking, I made breakfast. After eating, I auditioned some more fabrics for the quilt binding. I could not decide, so I called Myra. I told her that what looked good with the front did not look good with the back. She said it didn't matter, just slap something on there. We talked for some time. Then I cut strips from a red print and sewed them together. I made binding and sewed it on to the top of the quilt. I called Myra back to say I was going to eat some strawberries, then get dressed to go to the bank. She wanted 20 minutes to get ready. So I called Dynee and Terri but neither one answerd. So I got ready and walked down to her parking lot eating an apple. She came out and we headed down hill. But then we met Charlene. She wanted to come along. So we waited for her. Then we headed out. When we were almost at the corner market, Myra got a phone call and raced back to post, waving us on. Apparently she had forgotten a previous commitment. So Charlene and I walked on. After stopping at the bank, I showed her the massage place, then we went to the traditional market. She got broccoli and green onions. I bought socks and apples. The lady wanted to seel me the whole box but it was too heavy to carry so I bargained for half the box. Tammy was there at the time, but she didn't want any apples. I showed Charlene the won store as well. Then we walked back to base. We passed Myra with kids in her car. I am not sure what was going on. I took my apples home and put them in the fridge. I read e-mail and almost fell asleep. Then I stood up to get my blood moving again. I decided to add more quilting to the blocks in the quilt. Then I started handsewing the binding. Ms. Chong asked to finish it but I wanted to get it started. Then I put it aside for class tomorrow. I also cut more butterflies for the applique class. Chris came home and made himself supper. In the process, he turned on the wrong burner and scorched my cookie sheet. I scrubbed it in the sink and left it to soak. I had a bowl of bean soup and then pulled out some cheater panels to make a cat quilt. I cut out one panel. It was kind of small. So I auditioned borders, then cut some yellow strips. Chris was ready so we watched the last two episodes of The Librarians on the DVD. Chris went to bed. I followed for a time, then got up to write to my blog so I could get some sleep.
* The unfinished binding *

An Unexpected Find

I got up soon after my alarm went off. Chris had already left for work. He had bean soup cooking in the crock pot. I swished and drank a quart of water. I exercised and drybrushed. I detoxed and tapped and meditated. That gave me the energy to clean the kitchen and bathrooms. I sat to check e-mail.
Chris came home for lunch with a Netflix DVD. He stirred the bean soup and got splatters all over his white shirt. I brought him a basin so he could soak it in soapy water. Then I put on an audio and went into my sewing room to work on the quilt. I quilted the first block by sight and overshot the corners. So I decided to pin the locations of the corners on the subsequent blocks and that worked much better.
Chris went back to work. After two blocks, I called Myra to see if she wanted to walk to the bank with me, but she was at a yoga studio with Anna. She said she'd call when she got back. I quilted two more blocks. I hadn't heard from Myra and I needed a break. So I called Dynee and she was ready to go. So I put on socks and shoes and my coat. As I came out, she was coming out.
Then we walked together to the bank. I had to try the machine several times, but I was able to get it to give me large denominations instead of small ones.
I thought we were going back, but she spied the rail car going up the side of Jinhae tower mountain. She wanted to check it out so we walked over there. Then she wanted to climb the 365 steps to the top. So we did, stopping to rest and stretch several times. We walked around the top twice and started down the other side.
We found ourselves on Owl Road. There was all kinds of artwork featuring owls. We felt a rain drop. We headed back but passed the soap making shop. She took me inside and showed me the essential oils. I asked the lady for citronella. She had it in a big bottle, so I asked for a small one. She decanted it and labeled it. For 5,000 won, it was a good deal. Then we walked back, through the security check at the front gate, and home. It was starting to rain. I thanked her for coming along, thinking I would be sore in the morning.
Suzanne had left me a message saying they were going on an easy hike in the morning and then to the Korean bathhouse, which had a variety of heated pools and everyone was naked. Since Dynee wasn't going, I would have to catch the bus to meet Suzanne and I did not know the early morning bus schedule. I didn't really fancy spending hours naked in the hot tubs, so I declined. I finished quilting the blocks.
Chris came home from work as I started on the border. I told him about my day and he said his was fine. I finished the border and looked at choices for binding. I couldn't decide so I brought the quilt to the cutting room which has better light. The bean soup was ready and I hadn't eaten all day, so I put some in a bowl and ate it in front of my old laptop. I watched several tapping videos. Then I went into a dark room to tap more specifically. After awhile Chris came back to brush his teeth. He said he was ready to watch TV. So we watched two episodes of The Librarians. They were very good, but so action packed that I had a bit of trouble following. I also found the dialogue difficult to make out. Chris had no trouble, though. About 10, he put the bean soup in the fridge and went to bed. I stayed up to write to my blog and choose a photo.
* Wherever I go, owl take a picture. *

Will I reap what I sow?

I got up soon after my alarm went off. I trimmed the corners of the quilt top. I wanted the blue flannel for the back but there wasn't enough. I laid the last of the green flannel on the floor. I covered it with the fusible batting, then laid the quilt top on it. I pinned it, then fused it. Then I sat down to check e-mail and drink a quart of water. The lemons were gone and so were the limes, so I put some vinegar in it.
At the appropriate time, I got ready for church. Chris came home from the Catholic service and drove me to the chapel for the Protestant service. I sat with Ms. Pae. She told me that she had changed her mind about people of two different religions getting married after seeing that Chris and I go to different services. Then the chaplain started the service. We sang the praise songs and I realized I hadn't practiced them this week. The chaplain talked about the communion meal being comfort food. After communion, we read the Bible passage about the second three plagues. He talked about them and then gave the announcements for the week.
I had noticed through the glass doors that Chris was waiting in the narthex. He came in and talked to people while I went to the restroom. Then we walked to the commissary for groceries. I drove us home. We put the food away and changed our clothes. I called Myra to see if she wanted to walk to the bank, but she was helping her husband clean a table. I made and ate breakfast. Then I texted Terri but did not get a response, so I called Dynee and she didn't answer either. So I asked Chris and he went with me. On the way back, we stopped at the corner market and bought strawberries, cucumbers and a cabbage. We carried them home and put them in the fridge.
I read e-mail for a bit. I made little pots out of toilet paper tubes to plant the sprouted pea seeds in. I filled a seed tray with dirt and planted more seeds. All of this went into the entryway to encourage growth. Then I raked leaves in the front yard. I put them into the large planter and stomped them down. I added more leaves and more. When it was almost full, I picked up the pots of dead plants from last year and upended them into the planter. The dirt seemed to be sifting between the leaves so I covered them with packing paper. Then I filled it up with the reclaimed dirt. I planted 5 yellow pansies in the front and two yellow and purple pansies in another container nearby. I tidied up the flower beds and watered them. I sprinkled seed heads into the back of the planter. I put all the tools away.
I washed up and checked e-mail again. I found myself looking at pics of modern quilts, wondering where the next inspiration would come. I remembered our project this week was supposed to be applique. I hadn't been able to decide what to applique when the thought of a butterfly came into mind. So I picked out a piece of fabric with butterflies on it. I cut one out and pinned it to a cheap towel with a piece of paper under it. I straight-stitched around it and removed the pins. Then I zig-zagged around it and added antennae. I took several pictures of it. I posted it to the community page with a blurb that said I would provide the butterfly but students needed to bring their own towel to class. I found a round glass and traced around a butterfly and cut it out. The next butterfly was cut out in a square. Although I had stitched around the insect itself, I thought some people might find it easier to sew around a circle or square. Then I went back to reading e-mail. Chris roasted eggplant in the oven. I ate it with a chicken leg and some roasted cabbage. Later we watched two or three episodes of Merlin, finishing season 5: Merlin admits he does magic and Arthur dies. Kind of a downer. Chris and I dressed the bed with fresh sheets. Chris went to bed while I stayed up to post to my blog.
* or shall I rip what I sew? *

Visiting the Carl Vinson

I got up before 8, read e-mail and drank water. Chris ran the dishwasher and went to work. I started the laundry. I listened to an audio while I made up supplements for 12 days and washed the dishes that would not fit in the dishwasher. I ordered more supplements. I made up more spice mix. I ate nuts and an apple. I cut borders for the quilt top and auditioned piping but decided against it. I sewed the borders on. I got a text from Terri. Her hand was doing better. I invited her for a walk to the bank. She declined. I called Myra. She was getting ready to go to the event in Busan. I didn't want to go but decided I would go to support her. Chris came home from work and put on a suit. I took a shower and investigated what to wear. I looked up what I wore last time. I changed several times, opting for a red top with black pants and a red/black scarf with a black jacket. I folded the dark laundry. I put my fanny pack in my Sunday handbag and we went to the car. Chris drove us to the 606. We parked and joined the people waiting for the bus. We chatted until it arrived and then we all got on. Myra sat with Anna and I sat with Chris. The bus stopped outside the base to pick up people who were not from the base – Koreans nationals. We waited for the CSO to arrive and then we headed out. There was no one for me to talk to so I fell asleep on the way. It took a long time just to get out of Jinhae because of the traffic. I woke up before we arrived at the ROK base in Busan. We were waved through security at the gate. Then the bus dropped us off at the pier. It was windy and I was glad I had a wrap in addition to my light jacket. We walked down the pier and up the steps to the air craft carrier. Inside the bay, tables of food were set up and drinks were on the far side. I felt quite dry so we went to find water. We also got some small skewers of meat and veggies. Then the ceremony began. It was hard to hear because the mikes kept shorting out. There was a line of important men and each one said a few words in his own language which were then translated afterward. That concluded the ceremony, but then a drum band started to play. It was impossible to hold a conversation. We got another small plate of food and Chris brought me more water. Then he joined all the people on the flight elevator for a ride topside. I did not join him because I had gone last time and it was windy and cold up there. I walked around the room because there was no place to sit. I talked to Chelsea. I saw Myra and Anna briefly. I said hello to Mandi. She wanted some cake but the first tier was gone and the second hadn't been started. I found someone to cut the cake for her. Then others came to get more cake. That cake was at the end of a table which held a really LARGE cake shaped like the ship. I met Commander Suchiya and his wife. He told me all about the ships and how the spaces are labeled so you can find your way. When I noticed it was after 7, I got worried. We were supposed to meet the bus at 7. But Chris hadn't come back from the flight deck. So I called him. He said the elevator had broken and he was taking the steps. I found someone to show me where the women's bathroom was. I would never had found it on my own. Why is the bathroom not near the hanger bay? Anyway, there was a line and I had to wait, hoping I wasn't holding up the bus. When I returned, Chris was waiting for me in line to leave. I joined him. He said I had made the commmander's day by listening intently to his talk about ships he had been on. Then we followed the line, shaking hands with the Admiral as we left. The commander took me aside to point out the numbers which told you where you were on the ship. Then we exited the vessel, taking the steps down to the pier. We walked back to the bus area. We met Paul of MWR who had tents set up to sell food to the sailors on shore leave. Soon we boarded the bus with the last of the others. Once it was certain everyone was present, we left. The ride home was shorter with less traffic. I listened to the men talk for a bit, and then they were silent. As we neared the base, I made certain to look for the door of the Foot Shop. But it was still locked up tight. I showed the picture of their new sign to Ms. Pae, but she said it was just proclaiming a discount; nothing about a re-opening. Then we paused at the gate while the Korean nationals got off. A guard checked our ID's and looked under the bus to see that nothing had been attached. The bus took us back to where we started. We got in our car and came home. We changed our clothes. We finished the episode of Merlin from last night and watched one more. Chris went to bed and soon I shall join him.

My muse has spoken

I got up around 8 I think. I drank my quart of water and got dressed. My hair was a fright and I tried to tame it. I checked for my tapping buddy on Skype. Due to the time change, she was on an hour early my time. I was ready early and so was she so we started at 8:45. We had a nice session with her acting as the practitioner. After the call, I texted Dynee in case she wanted to come over, but she was busy. So I got out fabrics, looking for something that would work for a baby boy. I looked at boy quilts online. I went back to the fabric and finally my muse spoke. I decided to do a 3-D quilt with train fabric for the big blocks. I chose a really dark gray for the shadows. I worked out the numbers on a sheet of paper so the quilt would not turn out too big for a standard backing. Then I did some cutting, and then started sewing. I ate some seed crackers during a break. I saw that Dynee had texted that she would be available after 2. It was already 1:30. Where did the time go? I saw Terri had texted me 4 times, going for a walk by herself when I had not responded. So I texted her back and we decided to walk to the bank. I went out to the curb to wait for her. Dynee drove by and offered us a ride into town. So we waited until she dropped off Carolyn. Then we climbed in the back seat behind Anna. Dynee dropped us off near the train station. Terri and I walked down the street to the bank. The ATM was much more cooperative today. But the lobby was too full to exchange the 10's for 50's. We walked back, discussing tapping, law of attraction, speaking good things into existence. We saw Danielle in Cafe 502 and stopped to say hello. Then we went back to base. On the way to my house, we passed the kindergarten class looking for treasure left by the leprechauns: gold chocolate dubloons and Ferraro Rochet. The teacher offered us some then remarked that I don't eat sugar. Terri was surprised at that. When we got to my house, I put some expensive honey on the cut on her hand. It had been over a week and was still looking ragged. I also gave her a chocolate to try, and a lip balm. She liked the chocolate but described it as not sweet. Then we went to her house. She got me a glass of water and a homemade peanut butter cup. It was the size of a cupcake. I nibbled at the peanut butter but the rest was still frozen. We had a nice chat, oft interrupted by remonstrances to her dogs as they barked or refused to sit or growled at each other. Then her husband came home. The dogs were so happy to see him. She introduced us and then I left because they were going out to eat. I walked home. I put the peanut butter cup on the countertop. I intended to have a bite once the chocolate softened. But no more than a bite since sugar was present. I went back to sewing pieces together. I was almost done when Chris came home. We talked a bit as he changed clothes. Then he made himself supper while I sewed a few last seams and laid the quilt top on the cutting table to audition border fabrics. I did not find one I liked. I made and ate breakfast, then checked e-mail. We watched two episodes of Merlin. Actually we did not finish the second episode because my new tapping buddy called early. Chris paused the video. He got on his laptop while I talked to her. At first she seemed to be saying that she forgot about the time change and could we reschedule? But then her daughter fell asleep and she asked what I wanted to work on so I told her about something that happened at Crestar. We discussed that and she wanted me to think of an earlier event that had a similar feel to it. Anyway, Chris finally went to bed. She and I went on talking for almost 2 hours. She showed me her Facebook site for her new business. We decided to trade sessions in the future. Then she had to go. I wrote to my blog and went to bed myself.
* We saw this beautiful flowering tree in town. *

Puppies and paw prints

.

I must have gotten up early again this morning because I remember hearing my phone alarm go off. I drank my quart of water and continued work on the quilt. I matched some green fabric to it and cut strips for borders. I sewed them on. Then I chose some green flannel for the back. I sandwiched it with the same soft fusible interfacing as the Dr. Seuss quilt. I pinned the layers together and pressed the whole thing. Then I started quilting it in rows. I stopped when I heard the doorbell. It was Suzanne. She apologized for getting me out of bed. But I told her I was so excited to quilt that I did not bother getting dressed. She brought me lunch because she thought I didn't have time for it. I thanked her and showed her the puppy quilt in progress. I was going to show her the Dr. Seuss quilt but I lost it. She asked me to spray the back of her neck with magnesium oil. I warned her that it would sting, but she was ok with it. Then she went next door for Bible study. I continued to quilt. When the quilting was done, I trimmed the backing to ¾ inch and turned it over to be the binding. While I was sewing that down, Myra called. She was back from her appointment and was ready to walk. I told her I would call her when I finished. She had a binding to finish also. After I finished and got dressed, I called her back. I walked down to her parking lot with an apple. We got sidetracked talking to Carolyn who was at the park with her little girl. Then we walked out to the bank to get cash. The ATM was not fully cooperative. I could not get 50,000 won notes. But the lobby was empty so I took the cash in there and the teller changed it to larger bills. Then we walked to the fabric store we saw yesterday. There wasn't much left in the outdoor display so I asked about inside. The lady let us in. She had more fabric inside, but not in one yard packages like outside. We could see rows of little kids items she had sewn for sale. Myra bought 6 yards. Then we went to Office Depot for felt. Afterward we walked back to the base. I went home to have a bite to eat which included the pork chop Suzanne had given me. I started a loaf of bread for Chris. Then I took a shower and got dressed. I looked at my fabrics to see what would look good in the next quilt. But time ran out. So I grabbed a container of Epsom salts and headed to the massage place. When I had paid and handed over the Epsom salts, I changed into shorts. Then I sat down and he placed a bucket of hot water at my feet. I soaked and relaxed while he put on some music. I thought about how grateful I was in that moment. Then he pulled up an ottoman and dried my feet. He started the massage and I closed my eyes again. Presently I heard the door jangle. It happened a number of times. He had so many walk-in that he had to turn people away (or tell them to come back later). The lady at the shop took one customer and another sat soaking her feet. I was glad I did not order the back massage as well. When it was over, I thanked them and left. I walked to the traditional market to the sock seller. So many of my black socks have holes, or won't stay up, or are too thick. I rummaged around and found options that might be good. I bought one pair of each. Then I headed home, but stopped at the GS 25 supermarket. Carolyn was looking for cilantro. I looked through the herb section and found some packages that might have been it. I used the translation app on my phone to decode the words on the front, but I realized I could not see vowels on the Korean keypad. Then I tried tying in 'cilantro' and converting that to Korean, but it just translated it phonetically. I gave up. I walked home, getting there just before 5. I pulled out all the fresh vegetables to juice them. I found a kiwi that was soft, so I ate it. I washed all the leaf lettuce and various sprouts and carrots, cucumber and celery. I juiced as much as I could, running the pulp through a second time. Some of the celery was too much so I put it back. I put the bone broth on the stove to heat up. I did not have time to clean up before I had to run to the FRG meeting at the chapel. But I did grab the packet of pea seeds that I promised Carolyn. When I got to the chapel, six people were already there for the meeting. And more came in later. We discussed the projected events for March and April, including the baby shower, marine grill out, and a yard sale for Open Base day. Then we were dismissed and Dynee took me home. Chris was already there. I turned up the heat on the bone broth which was only warm. I cleaned up the juicer and threw the pulp outside. I had meant to cook it in the bone broth but forgot. I drank some of the broth and left the rest to cool. I typed up my day so far.
I read e-mail for the first time today, deleting most of it. Then Chris sat with me and we watched two episodes of Merlin. He went to bed. I finished the bone broth, and took magnesium and melatonin. Then I posted to my blog and went to bed

Another day, another quilt

I woke up even before Chris' alarm went off at 4:30. I got up to drink some water and noticed the stove top light was on. I turned the dial until it went off. Then I went back to bed and told Chris. He got up to put his rice away. Then he got ready and went to the gym. I tried to go back to sleep but heard him come back around 6:30. The other guys did not show up so he worked out alone and it went faster. We sat together for awhile. I packed up the fabrics I would need for sewing class today. Then I started cutting fabric for a quilt. I drank my quart of water. I checked my e-mail to see if anyone responded to the sewing class post and got sidetracked reading articles. I made breakfast and ate it while reading more. I checked out an ad for EEG headphones for neurofeedback.
I took the cut pieces and ironed them. I sewed them together in a large nine-patch configuration. Then I laid a piece of blue flannel on the floor. I covered it with light weight fusible batting. I laid the top on and pinned the layers together. Then I fused it with the iron. I started quilting it in straight lines across and down. I ran out of bobbin thread. While I was filling the bobbin, the winding slowed, even as I pressed harder on the pedal. I stopped and grabbed the hand wheel. It would not move. I removed the bottom plate but could see nothing wrong. I replaced the plate. I took off the top of the machine, which I had never been able to do before. But again, I saw nothing wrong and the wheel was still stuck. I was afraid the motor had seized, in which case the machine was unfixable. It was my first machine and the most reliable. I cried. But then I realized it was almost time for class. I washed up and had a bite to eat. As I walked toward the chapel, I met Chris on his way home. I told him about my machine and he said he would look at it after work. When I got to the chapel, Suzanne was there and was so happy to see me. She said I looked great after our visit to the charcoal sauna.
We set up the classroom with sewing machines and stuff. Then other ladies came. Myra was late because she was sewing and forgot the time. Several ladies made the billfold project. Others had their own projects. I helped when I could. They liked Myra's quilt which Anna was binding. They didn't say much about mine, which I brought to give to Anna to bind. Chris stopped by to say he had put a little pressure on the hand wheel and it was moving freely.
We finished up pretty much on time. I went home to eat. I looked my machine manual online to see where to oil it. I oiled those places and a few other moving parts. I put the machine back together. I finished quilting the Dr. Seuss quilt. I trimmed the excess batting away and all but 1.5 inches of the backing. I trimmed the corners and sewed them together. Then I wrapped the backing up over the edges to bind them. I sewed the binding down and the quilt was finished.
I ate some fruit and looked at e-mail. Then I cut strips of dog fabric and paw print fabric. I sewed the strips together into one piece. I cut it across the strips and sewed the subcuts together to make a checkerboard effect. Chris came home from work. I talked to him as he changed his clothes. I shared insights I had from all the ruminating I did while sewing.
Then he made himself supper and I ate leftover chicken and cabbage. I went back to my sewing room to find a border for the checkerboard and a backing. It seemed best to wait for morning light to make the choices of what looked best. Then we watched an episode of Merlin. He went to bed. I was very sleepy but stayed up to post to my blog.

Another day at the market

After I finished writing my overdue blog post, I tried finishing the quilt binding by machine. But from the top or from the bottom, it just did not do a good job. I also auditioned threads for the quilting and narrowed it down. I sat for a moment to read e-mail. Then I called Myra. She was finishing up a quilt and wanted me to see it. I wanted her to walk to the bank with me. So I ate a chicken leg, then walked to her place. We talked as she finished trimming her quilt (we are trying to make 7 baby quilts by the shower next week.) Then she gave me back the fabrics I lent her. She did not use any of them. Then we walked out to the bank. I had a hard time getting the machine to work. The touch screen buttons were almost unresponsive. The first machine kept kicking the card out after a few screens. So I tried another ATM. It was frustrating as well, but did not kick the card out, so I was able to get the money. Then we walked to the market. I checked out a store near Office Depot that sells essential oils, but it was closed. Then we found a store selling sewn items and some fabric. I bought two pieces and Myra bought one. We went to the fabric shop where I found fusible stabilizer. We looked at the pre-quilteds, but they were more expensive than I liked for charity quilts. We went looking for styrofoam Easter eggs for a project, but did not find them. We also went to Daiso. Along the way I got sesame seeds to replace the ones I spilled. And strawberries. And bell peppers. And kimchi. We headed back to base. We passed a place where Myra likes to buy heads of lettuce. I got a pineapple. Myra helped me carry stuff. When we got on base, she gave me my bags back and she went to the commissary while I went home. I put the food away and left the kimchi out to ferment. I ate my last tomato from 2016. It just ripened this week. I read e-mail for a bit, then I heard the dog next door. I went outside and saw Chris talking to Dynee and Ryan. They had just bought big bags of dirt marked fertilizer. Chris opened the bag to make sure it did not need diluting. Then we went back to our place. Chris talked to me as he changed his clothes. He did pick up the visas. He doesn't think he'll get a job through PPP. His return rights will kick in 30 days after his two year tour is up and that means being sent back to the army as a GS14, probably in Texas since the job in Huntsville went away. He made himself supper. I ate some fruit. I auditioned shamrock fabrics for a billfold. Then I made the item, and posted it to the community Facebook page as the project for tomorrow. Then Chris sat with me to watch an episode of Merlin. Then he went to bed. I stayed up to take supplements, read e-mail and post to my blog. Finally my headache is gone.
* The last tiny 2016 tomato to ripen. *

Korean sweat lodge

I got up around 7, but not on purpose. Since I was awake, I started my day the usual way by drinking lemon water and deleting e-mail. I made a batch of seed crackers to take with me. I read some e-mail, then realized I did not have time for that. I got dressed and packed my sauna bag. I made some adrenal reset tea and divided it up among three water bottles. I added filtered water to fill them up. I put on my coat and was ready to go. But I still had 5 minutes, so I thought for a moment, then grabbed some eucalyptus oil, sea salt and vitamin C powder. It was exactly nine. I walked out the front door and saw Dynee's car parked outside her house. I thought she was waiting on me, but it was empty. In a moment she came out of her house. We got in her car and drove to Chong's apartment. She and Sue were waiting in her car, but we decided we could all travel in Dynee's car. As soon as Suzanne arrived, we put our bags in the back of the SUV and were on our way to the chimjilbong. Basically it is a Korean sweat lodge with a charcoal theme. Susanne was directing our trip with her phone GPS. God bless Dynee because I would find such driving uneasy. Anyway, we arrived at a rustic looking building. Inside, we paid our 9,000 won per person entry fee. We put our shoes in a locker. Then we traded the shoe locker key for a locker room key and a one-size red outfit. We went upstairs and around the corner, down the hall to the ladies locker room. We put our stuff in the lockers and put on the outfits. We took our drinks and went down to the 'kilns'. They were small rooms clay in clay and heated to different temperatures. Most had a wooden floor or wood on the floor, but the hottest one was stone. We left our water bottles and snacks on a rest area where you could lay down on a heated mat if you wanted to. Then we went into the room heated by a charcoal fire. This was supposed to be the best for healing and detox. The seating was close to the fire pit and was so hot I had to cover my face with a towel to avoid burning. Some people had their backs to the fire. Eventually we left this room to find a slightly cooler one. I am not sure how the other small enclaves were heated. We found one that was just right for sitting on the wooden pallets and sweating as we chatted. No one sushed us. Over time, we circulated through the rooms, except for the one labeled 193. We tried the salt room, which involved laying down on the salt-rock covered floor. Eventually my back complained so I got up and the others followed me. We found ourselves back in the fire room. There was a lady there who had terrible scarring on one leg. It was black, bubbly and crusty. I thought maybe she had been burned in a fire. Or leprosy. But she and Suzanne talked and Suzanne relayed that no one knew what caused it. Maybe something about her large intestine. She had tried surgery but it didn't work. The only thing that helped was sweating in the fire room.
When we left that room, we went to lunch at the restaurant across the hall. Suzanne recommended the seaweed soup for health so we all got that. It came with a side of rice and lots of little dishes of kimchi, seaweed, condiments, anchovies, sprouts, etc. Our phones were still locked upstairs so I have no pictures. We prayed before we ate and mentioned the poor lady with the scarred leg. After lunch, we went back to the heated rooms. Then we tried the seating area with the charcoal water foot soak. It was cold! We did not have much time left, and I did not want to leave without trying the hottest room. Now the temp had gone down to 171. Like the others, it had an 'airlock' of sorts to keep the heat in. But it was so hot that wooden clogs were provided. I put them on and entered the small passageway. But the walls were scorching hot. And the clogs were way too large. Just inside the room I found the air burned the inside of my nose. I decided the safest thing to do was to slowly back out, hoping the clogs did not fall off my feet because the stones were WAY too hot to walk on. Even the tarp covering the entrance was burning hot. I made my way back to the fire pit room that was reportedly so healthy. I did some deep breathing to take best advantage. Now the group was spraying themselves with charcoal water. They smiled at me and sprayed me too. I felt like one of the tribe, standing around the fire. Then a jar of charcoal was passed around with a little spoon. They were putting it in their mouths and nodded at me. I asked “mashysoyo?” wishing I knew more Korean. One lady put a spoonful in my mouth. I was expecting a fine powder but it was more like small pebbles. I could not tell if they were swallowing it. But the lady in front of me started talking so she must have. I nodded and went back to my group, still soaking their feet in charcoal water. I crushed the pebbles into slurry. They asked what happened because my lips were black and I pantomimed. Suzanne thought it was safe to swallow so I did. They laughed at my black teeth. It was the source of amusement for some time. We went upstairs to the locker room. Suzanne took a pic of our group and made sure my black teeth were showing. I drank some tea, but the charcoal did not diminish. With my toiletries, I went into the public shower area. At first being naked did not bother me, but over the next few minutes, I became more self conscious. I scrubbed my teeth with my cloth to get most of the charcoal off. I washed my body and hair. I dried off and got dressed. When we were all ready, we went downstairs and out to Dynee's car. She drove home trying to follow Suzanne's directions, but the GPS wasn't fast enough and we missed some turns. But we got back to Jinhae by 3. Suzanne had to pick up her kids. Dynee and I went back to post.
When I got in, I noticed a headache starting. I thought about doing my coffee morning, but did not feel like it. I ate some more seed crackers and drank the rest of my tea in case I was dehydrated. I called Myra to see if she wanted to go walking since I had to make the daily trek to Michele's bank. She did, so I walked down there. But then we went to her place to see the quilt she was working on. There was one fabric she did not quite like, but had nothing better and I said I had some pawprint fabric that would do the job. Then we walked out through the front gate. There were some street stands selling oil paintings, jewelry boxes, knickknacks, shirts, etc. Myra really liked the oil paintings but they were BIG and unframed. Cost about $70. We continued on to the bank where I made a withdrawal from Michele's account. Then we walked back. We ran into some men from the base looking at the oil paintings. We stopped to talk, then headed home. We ran into Myra's new neighbors, coming back from the commissary. They talked about how small the quarters were and how Housing could not show them quarters in Upper Housing because there were no vacancies. One place was only being used temporarily, however. So I offered to show them my place so they could see if it was worth waiting for. My place was a mess because I had not done my Monday cleaning yet. But I swallowed my embarrassment and let them see how large it was. Then they thanked me and went home to sleep off jet lag. Myra came over for the pawprint fabric and took some others to find a coordinate. I planted some of the pea seeds that had been soaking for several days. But the ground was really hard so I did not plant them all. My headache was much worse. I assumed it was from swallowing so much charcoal. I had heard that ememas are good for headaches and I was ready to try anything. But afterward, I did not feel any better. I laid down in the guest room as it got dark. When Chris came home, he asked what was wrong and I told him. His guess was that the charcoal pit room was not properly ventilated and I was suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. (I guess the deep breathing was not such a good idea) He suggested soaking my feet in hot water. He filled a basin and I sat and soaked my feet, but the headache persisted. I tapped but that didn't help either. When the water cooled off, I went to bed. Later, Chris came to bed. I stayed in bed all night, sleeping when I could. Chris got up really early, but not early enough to work out, so he just had breakfast and got on his laptop. I got up to have some water and went back to bed. Later he took a shower and went to work. Daylight was streaming through the blinds so I got up. It was only 7am. My headache had mostly receded. I decided to have the coffee morning so I would be in the mood to clean. For some reason, it went by quite quickly. I was done by 10 and then cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms. Housing called to say they would pick up our visas when they were delivered to the front gate unless I wanted to do it. I did not feel that energetic, so I thanked them for being willing to do it. I called Chris to let him know that it was being taken care of and he wanted me to call them back and tell them to notify him at his office number when the visas were delivered to the front gate. So I did that. Then I sat down to write to my blog while I still remembered event from yesterday.
* This is the place we went to sweat. *

Quilt in a day

Chris got up early. I didn't even realize he was out of bed until I heard him coughing from far away. The daylight was weak so I stayed in bed awhile. When I got up it was almost 7:30. I prepared lemon water. I drank that while listening to the episode of the Thyroid Secret that I missed. All the interviews are available over the weekend. I am hoping that the Tapping summit will do the same thing since I missed one interview despite listening every day. Chris took his shower, and got dressed for church. I pulled fabrics from my stash to find sets of three that coordinated to make a 6-hour quilt. I took a shower, got dressed and went back to looking. Chris came home from church. I put on my shoes and he dropped me off at the chapel. I sat in my usual pew. Two Korean ladies then sat next to me. They must have been new. We sang songs, shook hands, had communion. I talked to Susan about going to the sauna tomorrow. Then we had the Bible reading and the sermon. It was about the first three plagues. The chaplain said he wondered about the Pharoah's magicians conjuring up more frogs. Why did they do that instead of getting rid of frogs? And how did they know their frogs from God's frogs? In my mind a voice said they licked them. But I did not say that out loud. He also said the plague of gnats might have been up to a year after the plague of frogs. But I figured it was all the dead frogs that brought the gnats. Anyway, after church I called Chris and he came to pick me up. We went home so I could change out of my dress. I had heard some stitches break in church. Then we went to the commissary. We got food and talked to Kim the manager. She even checked us out and her husband and the district manager bagged our food. That was because the commissary was so busy today. We finally remembered to bring bags from home so we could reuse them. Then we carried the food to the car and I drove us home. After putting the food away, we walked out into town to Michele's bank. We got as much of her cash out as the ATM would allow. We brought it home. I went back to matching fabrics. I decided on three and to use them on both sides. I cut the 6 ½ in strips needed from all three. Then I pieced together leftover strips of batting to make matching 6 ½ inch strips. I started in the center with a sandwiched batting strip and from there just sewed and flipped until it had sides, then tops, then sides again, then another row at the top. Chris made chicken legs and roasted a purple cabbage in the oven for supper. I had told him I wanted to eat only cooked food this week to see if it was easier to digest. That zucchini last night did not go down well. So after we ate, I auditioned fabrics for a binding. Finally I selected one and cut strips. Then we watched an episode of Merlin. Chris went back to his computer. I answered a few e-mails and went back to working on the binding before going to bed.

Looking for an Easter project

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Chris got up early after clearing his throat loudly and often. He sounded like he should have stayed in bed. I got up later thinking it was 8, but it was more like 7:30. I put vitamin C in my water and gargled as a preventative measure. I swished with coconut oil for 20 minutes, and then drank the water and read e-mail. Chris took a shower and got dressed, so I did, too. We walked out to the bank using the path I took yesterday. Chris thought it was the long way, but I liked that the street crossings had lights. He used Michele's bank card to withdraw the daily ATM limit of cash. Then we came back Chris' way. It was faster but we had to really watch traffic when crossing. Instead of going straight home, we went to the parking lot of the Nex to see the stands set up there. It was protein powders, shirts, blankets, little trinket boxes, jewelry, etc. One place had a bracelet that would go with my Navy ball dress, but not a necklace or earrings. Then we walked home.
We rotated the mattress. We were going to flip it, but the underside was not the same as the top. I told Chris I needed some socks for cuffs. So he gave me all his old socks. Then he got the laundry started and went to work. I made some cuffs out of a dark blue knit. I sewed them to the arm lining in my green coat so the cold air won't travel up my arms.
I checked e-mail and looked at fabric baskets on Pinterest, hoping for a good, easy, cheap project for the sewing class. I hung up Chris' shirts when the white load was done and moved the colored load over, putting the sheets in the washer. I spent more time on Pinterest. I took breaks to drink coconut water with vitamin C. Chris came home from work long enough to make and eat his supper. Then he went to the theater to watch lego Batman, or something like that. I put away fabrics from my recent projects. I cut the scraps into small segments for making rugs. I took more vitamin C and read e-mail. I ate some strawberries and some cashews. I updated my Pinterest page. I listened to an audio on fibromyalgia. I listened to the songs for Sunday. I closed the windows and turned the heat back on. I sat down to clear more e-mail. I called Myra to talk about the next sewing project and to see if she wanted to come on Monday. She told me she was making quilts for all the pregnant women at the base-wide shower. While we were talking, Chris came back from the movie. After the call, I sat with Chris to watch two episodes of Merlin while I ate the rest of the zucchini. Then he went back to his computer. I looked at more baskets on Pinterest. I also looked for quick quilts for the upcoming base-wide baby shower. I decided to write to my blog so I could get some sleep and worry about making quick quilts later.
* Not a good pic, but it was a nice quilt in person at the Tokyo quilt show. *

Like Christmas in March

I got up about 8. I heard the text message sound and found a text from Myra who was on her way to Busan. We texted back and forth. I did some cleaning in the back left corner of the bedroom. That spot has some feng shui significance. I drank a quart of water and put on the next installment of the Thyroid Secret while reading e-mail. I paused it to start making breakfast. I got sidetracked and called Suzanne to ask if I could go with her to the chimjilbang on Monday.
As I was talking to Suzanne, I heard the text message beep again from my phone. After the call, I checked and found two messages from the Chinese Visa Application Center. One had an account number for me to transfer payment by 1pm. The other was to confirm our mailing address. It was in Korean. I decided to compare it syllable by syllable with the address Chris had given me. The second syllable was different. So I sought help. I headed to the chapel to ask the Korean lady there. But as I passed Housing, the head man came out and asked where I was going and why. When I explained, he said he could help me. He read the messages, then went inside to ask another man to call the message sender. I waited while he talked to the visa lady and made some sort of arrangements for the visas to be sent to the front gate where we could pick them up (probably next week). I thanked him and went home. I called Chris to say I needed to go to the bank and he suggested taking Michele's card. I resumed making breakfast.
Chris came home for lunch about 11. He handed me Michele's bank card. I was in the middle of making breakfast, so I finished the making and commenced with the eating. He also left two packages by my laptop. One was from Swansons and the other from my sister. It was full of Christmas gifts, mostly not wrapped. I pulled out a calendar and immediately hung it on the wall. I reached in again and pulled out another calendar, but I did not know where to hang it. Reaching in again, I pulled out a roll of Sudoku toilet paper. I thought it was very funny because when someone finishes a puzzle, they are probably ready to wipe. In Korea it is a good idea to carry toilet paper with you. And they don't flush the paper; it goes in the trash basket. So everyone will know that someone brought Sudoku paper.
I realized that I was getting distracted from my primary mission. So I put on a light coat and a scarf. I headed off post and turned right. I walked to the circle and crossed to the diagonal street. I walked until I got to the next circle. Fortunately the bank was on my left so I did not have to cross the street. I walked inside and found the teller machines. I scrutinized one carefully until I found a button market “Foreign Languages”. I pressed it. I won't list all the attempts I made to gain access to the account, but in the end, I exhausted the choices and it kept spitting out Michele's card. I walked into the lobby and looked around for help. Presently a lady came forward. With little explanation she understood that I wanted to withdraw cash and transfer money to an account. She had no trouble getting cash from the machine with Michele's card. She filled out a form, then had me wait for the next teller. She went with me to explain about the account number which I showed her from the message on my phone. But they needed the name of the account holder and “Chinese Visa application center” was not quite it. So I called the message sender and handed the phone to the lady. A short conversation later, she had the info she needed and the transaction had taken place.

I left the bank and walked east to see where the street came out. It was at the little park by the train station. I found a seat in the sun near the building. There was classical music playing from somewhere. I had an enjoyable time reading my book in the sunlight. After reading so many pages about the benefits of vitamin C and how the higher the dosage, the greater the benefit, I could not resist walking home to get some. Lately my strategy has been to take a gram here and there during the day rather than one huge amount just in the morning. On my way up the hill, I got a text from Dynee. She wanted to return some quilting items I had lent her. So I knocked on her door when I got home. She let me in and asked me how I was feeling. I said I was sad and she said she was sad, too. Come to find out, we were both sad about our stay not being extended. We had a nice chat about that, how it must be part of God's plan. We also talked about going to the chimjillbang to sweat on Monday. She also said there were ladies on post who wanted to buy a quilt from me. I said I didn't think it was legal and she said all I needed was a letter from the CO.
I went home to have lunch. I listened to the second (and last) tapping audio for today. The situation with Chris not getting extended reminded me of an incident long ago at Crestar. I spent quite some time tapping for that. I looked up one of the people I used to know. Chris came home from work. He asked how things went at the bank and I told him the whole story. Then he changed his clothes. He made himself supper. I put a bowl of bean soup in the toaster oven to heat, then made and ate a salad.
I used the sync and charge cable from the gift box to download pics from my phone. It also allowed me to upload a pic to the camera. Then we went through the box together, opening the items that were wrapped and guessing who they were for. There was a lot of chocolate for Chris. I didn't touch it because it would have melted in my hands. Gotta love those hot flashes.
We watched two episodes of Merlin. Chris went to bed. I took more vitamin C with melatonin and magnesium. I typed up my blog, which seemed unreasonably long. After posting it, I went to bed.
* This is where I sat to read in the park.*