Making ice and getting ready

With the fan and AC on, I slept pretty well. I was dimly aware of Chris getting up to go running. I would have gone back to sleep, but when he opened the bedroom door, a mosquito came in and made a beeline for me. I tried to hide under the sheet, but had to come back up for air. Finally I raced out to the living room for the electric racquet. I must have let more mosquitoes in, because lying in bed, waving the racquet, I eventually killed 4. After that, I think they were gone, but the buzz in my ears remained so I was not able to sleep again. It occurred to me that if you could tune the buzzing and use it as music, it would be the most irritating music in the world. Chris came back from running and played on his laptop. At 7:30 he came back to get ready for work. Again, a mosquito followed him and found me. After he left for work, I got up out of frustration.
I emptied and refilled the ice cube trays. I drank a quart of water. I sent info to Kelsey to advertise our open base fundraising on the community page. I looked up mosquito music on Youtube and discovered that there is mosquito repellent sound. I listened to part of an interview on 5G and the biological effects.
I paused it when my tapping buddy called on Skype. It was her turn again because I had two turns. The call went almost 2 hours.
I finished the interview and called Myra. She picked me up and we went to the NEX and then the commissary. I got some lemons and pink lemonade (since the yellow lemonade was sold out). It turns out that the Navy Ball committee is selling lemonade tomorrow as well.
Then we went to the gym to get ice. But they said their ice machine was broken. Myra didn't believe it. I asked to pick up the 10 gallon dispensing cooler, but they did not have one, so they gave me two 5- gallon ones. Myra thought that was better, but I thought it was going to be more work and take up more space on the table. She took me home.
I washed the two coolers. Maria came over with a borrowed ice chest from Bernie, plus tablecloths and aprons from the PTO.
Lacee walked with me to Daiso. I bought more ice cube trays in different shapes, like stars and circles. She got a toy for her son. Outside Daiso, I bought two begonias for Dynee's front yard. We walked back to base. She went home and so did I. I drank some water with ginger ice cubes in it. Also some coconut water. I emptied a set of ice trays and refilled them. I washed all the new trays. I went next door for some Berkey water. I filled the new trays and put them in the little fridge.
I drove to the Nex and got a bag of ice. Only one bag would fit in my insulated carrier. I brought it home and put it in the freezer. Then I went over to Myra's place to give her two limes (for Scott). She gave me a pitcher of lemonade and a frozen can of the same. I took them home. I poured the pitcher into 6 or 8 small plastic vessels and they went into the freezer. I mixed up the frozen can with Berkey water and poured it into plastic vessels to freeze overnight.
Then it was time to water the plants, even though it was getting dark. It rained last night, but I wanted to be sure the potted plants were hydrated. When I came in, I made another set of ice. Then it was time to watch TV.
Because Chris has a midnight call, we watched extra episodes. We chose to quit at 11 because the next episode is of a two-parter. I posted to my blog, not sure if I was going to bed or waiting up to hear the call.

Tag-team massage

I slept fairly well last night and did not want to wake up. But I could hear Chris getting ready for work. I tried to go back to sleep.
I got up a little after 8. I drank some lemon water and called Myra to see if she wanted to go for a walk. She asked where I was this morning. Apparently there was Indoc and I missed it. She said she gave them both the ombudsman speech and the FRG speech, adding that the FRG needed officers to keep it going.
I finished the 6 minutes of remaining video from last night. Then I got dressed and called Myra back. I went over there with the glass dish from the bulgogi she had given me. Then we went walking on the trail, running into so many spider webs that Myra said she was never walking the trail again. We picked up a magnolia-type leaf and she said it was perfect for decorating the table because it would not wilt easily.
When we got back, we ran into Terri. Myra showed her the garden at the quad. After she left, we went to Myra's apartment. She gave me back one of the water jugs. On my way home, I saw Maria and gave it to her for Saturday.
I emptied the ice cube trays into a plastic bag. I refilled them and put them in the freezer. I read some e-mail, and then cut strips and did a little sewing on the QOV project. Chris came home for lunch. I spoke to him a little. I finished making an order from Swansons.
After he went back to work, I took a shower and got dressed. I texted Christine about picking up the lemonade and she said to meet her at the commissary. Myra called just after to say she was coming to get me. So she did and we went to the commissary. I talked to Christine while Myra got cash from the ATM. Christine handed me two packs of cups and 6 lemonade packages. I was so ready for the open base event to be over, but then I decided that the worst that could happen was that we ran out of lemonade or ice and the world would not come to an end in either case.
Then Myra drove us to the market. We parked on the street and walked to the massage place. I explained as best I could that Myra wanted a shoulder massage now and that I would be back at 3 for my massage. They took her back and I went to the market. I bought tomatoes and plums. On the way back I thought I saw the narrow pleated pants I wanted. But those were skirts. Still, right next to it was a top that looked interesting. The lady indicated that I should try it on inside, so I did. I bought the top and she put my tomatoes and plums together in a larger bag. I did not like them on top of each other, so I waited until I had walked away from her booth to take the plums out.
I walked back to the massage place. Myra was getting her massage and it wasn't 3 yet. But the lady sat me down and brought a tub of hot water- really hot water. She kept saying quen cheniyo, which means no problem. But I could not put my feet in it. So she added some other water to cool it down just a touch. I called up some classical music on my phone and relaxed in the foot bath. The lady brought me a cup of cold tea. I did not realize how long I was sitting there. The man finished up Myra's massage. The lady took the foot tub away and dried my feet. Then the man sat down in front of me and started my massage. Myra came out from the little room, dressed. The lady had Myra sit beside me and gave her a cup of cold tea. I went back to being blissed out. I think he was a little tired from her massage so did not press as hard on my feet.
After the massage, we walked back into the market. Myra wanted cucumbers and carrots. We stopped in a pottery place and she made a mental note to get the fish-shaped platter on another trip. I looked for gallon-size bags, but did not find any. Myra got her produce and some footies. Then we went back to her car and rode back to base. She dropped me off at my house.
I put the tomatoes and plums in the fridge. I brought Dynee's garbage bags inside, I ate watermelon. Chris came home from work while I was noting my day so far. He brought me a box of gallon zip-lock bags. I filled them with the next round of ice cubes and started another batch.
I ate some leftovers. I watered the plants. I worked on the red and teal project until 8. I was glad to see the rain outside. Chris and I sat down to watch 2 episodes of The 100. Then he went back to his laptop and I finished my blog and thought about going to bed, even though it was only 9:30.
* Part of the pottery shop. *

Popular class project

I was sleeping pretty well when I woke up hearing Chris talk on Skype. He was talking to our renters who told him a tree fell on the house and needed money to fix it. The conversation was taking place about 6:30, so I went back to bed.
I got up about 8:30, drank water and read e-mail. I called Myra for a few minutes. I listened to an interview from the Lyme summit: using ultrasound to get the bugs out of the cells and into the urine so they will show up on tests. All his breast cancer patients also had Lyme disease. People can get Lyme from cat fleas, ticks and spiders. Lyposomal herbs could help.
The next interview focused on parasites: They cause lots of things usually attributed to other things. Try artemisinin, fig and ficus, mimosa pudica, garlic, rosemary, eucalyptus, etc.
I made and ate breakfast. I cut strips for QOV. I tried to call Myra to see if she wanted me to bring the glass dish, but she didn't answer. So I headed to sewing class without it. I brought a set of cutting tools so I could work on QOV, and I did, but I ran out of the kind of strip I needed so others used my tools. I would have sewed what I had, but all the machines were in use and had I brought another one for me, it too, would have been used by the class.
Lacee prepared a bowl warmer project. It was very popular. I guess it is useful if you microwave food. I thought it would be a quick project and that I could use a machine after ladies were done, but they all made multiples. So it took all 3 hours.
When I got home, I read e-mail. I saw a recipe for a bug/fungus spray. So I made up a batch and sprayed it on the roses. Then I ate some steak. I listened to audios on food sensitivity and fell asleep. I woke up when Chris came home. I ate some kimchi. I went outside to water the plants. I added Epsom salts to the water for Dynee's flowers. I used up the rest of the pesticide/fungus spray on the dark patches on the lawn. I read e-mail and ate watermelon. I listened to an audio on women's health over 40. I got my unread e-mail down to 50. I typed up my blog.
We watched three episodes of The 100. Then I downloaded pics from my camera and posted to my blog

Bad coconut

I did not sleep well last night. Worries about the craft and Open Base kept going through my mind. Whenever the night sweats hit, I went to the kitchen to get cold water or ice cubes.
When I got up, it was after 9. I drank some water and washed my hair. I called Christine to make sure they had the supplies on hand at the CYP.
I assembled the fish craft supplies I wanted for me. I glued the pattern to a beer box to make it easy to trace around.
I listened to a tapping audio. The sound quality was poor so I found myself distracted and folding laundry. I decided mine was too wrinkly, so I put it in the dryer with a wet wash cloth. When I pulled it out, the wrinkles were mostly gone. I put my clothes away, then made and ate breakfast.
I opened the coconut that I bought yesterday. The water did not taste good, so I ran it through a coffee filter. That made it taste a little better. Then I ate some of the meat. It was not good so I threw it all out.
I started cutting up the watermelon so it would fit in the fridge. Myra came over to get a little stool that was a match to the one she had. We chatted for a bit. I gave her some blueberries from the first bush on our fence line.
After Myra left, I finished cutting up watermelon and sealing chunks in a bag. I scraped all the remaining red pulp from the green part and ate it. I read some e-mail, and texted a bunch of people.
I got texts back as I was leaving for CYP. Somehow I forgot to take the sample fish. There were three kids, but only two wanted to do the fish kite craft. Christine gave them some colored paper. I helped them trace and cut. Christine cut out tissue paper squares and streamers. I tried to use my glue pen to glue their fish halves together, but it didn't come out well, and dried too quickly. Christine put out a coffee filter and poured some glue in it. The kids preferred glitter to tissue paper. So I helped them apply glue and glitter and to pour the excess glitter back in the bottle. Then the third one decided he was ready to make a fish. It was getting late, so I read them a sequel to the story of the Rainbow Fish. I helped clean up. We talked briefly about lemonade. Then I left, without saying “See you next week.”
I went home and dropped off the fish stuff and picked up the empty gallon water bottles. I walked down to Maria's house and met her coming back from the doctor. We sat in her living room and talked about the logistics of lemonade for the open base event. We talked until her husband came home from work. Then I left.
When I got home, I checked e-mail. It wasn't long before Chris came home from work. We ate some leftovers. I went outside to water the plants and do some trimming. I ate watermelon when I came in.
I jotted notes for my blog and resumed a tapping audio. I remembered some red and teal scraps I wanted to use for a small mat project. I found the bag of scraps in my sewing room, but they were not uniform sizes like I had remembered. I went to my Pinterest page to find out when I made the blocks. Then I went to my blog to look up how I made the project that the scraps came from. But apparently I did not write the process down. I took the opportunity to update my Pinterest page with my latest projects.
Having jointly agreed not to watch Turn again, Chris chose Schitt's Creek from a list that a coworker gave him. We watched part of one episode. It was not for us. I suggested The 100, a shot in the dark. We watched two episodes of that and felt like we had something we could watch until the episodes ran out.
Afterward, I emptied all the ice cube trays into a bag, then refilled them with water (as opposed to ginger tea). Then I sat down to finish my blog and go to bed.
* This is a fish one of the kids decorated. *

The party store

I slept fairly well, waking to the sound of my alarm. My mind was ready to go back to sleep, so I did. It was almost 9 when I got up, feeling well-rested.
I had my usual coffee morning. It seemed rushed because I knew Myra was waiting for me to call so we could walk out in town. But I found a deep-seated issue to work on so I did a little extra tapping.
I called Myra and she was cleaning her utility room after the drain backed up. Yuck. So she needed some extra time to finish. Chris came home for lunch while I was cleaning the kitchen. I had a bite to eat. Then Myra called to say she was ready. So I cut a sliver off my green silk from China and I put on my shoes and walked to her parking lot.
On our way to Office Depot, we passed a place that had been closed for 6 months or more. But it was open today so we stopped in. It seemed to be a second hand shop, but they also had packages of food and supplements. We just looked around, then proceeded on to Office Depot.
We looked for cups and tablecloths and pinwheels for next Saturday and yarn and tackle boxes for her husband. I bought a long pipe cleaner and a glue pen and some yellow paper to try pinwheels with. They had cups but not the size I wanted, and no tablecloths.
Then we went to pay her internet bill. We had to take a number and wait. There was a TV screen showing men playing some kind of card game with pictures of fruit on the cards.
Nina from MWR called to say she'd heard of a party store. She gave me the verbal directions given to her. Myra thought she knew where that was. A few minutes later, Nina called again to say she was e-mailing a pic of the map from their website.
Then we went to the junk store. Not finding anything there, we went to the fabric booth and I bought a green zipper to go with the silk. Then we went to another junk store. She got feathers there. Daiso was around the corner so we checked their inventory. No cups in the right size. But I got sticks that hold up balloons and a 10 pack of clear plastic tablecloths. As we left Daiso, I discovered they had free wi-fi. I connected with my phone and brought up the pic of the map. My phone was dying so I plugged it into the spare battery. The map showed the party store as being on the road to Lotte Mart. So we headed down the street to follow the verbal directions: turned left at the hospital, the store will be on the right before a pedestrian bridge.
We turned at a hospital and walked, and walked. No pedestrian bridge. We crossed to another street. More walking. We turned to follow what seemed to be the road to Lotte Mart, but turned out not to be. We were lost. I stopped to ask an old woman for directions. I knew how to ask where the bathroom was so I substituted the store for the bathroom. Not surprisingly, I did not understand her answer. But she seemed to be telling us to cross the railroad track, so we did. Then we could see the road to Lotte Mart. We walked along it until we saw a pedestrian bridge. So we turned right, looking for a store. We walked down, left, up, right, up and left. Had we just continued past the pedestrian bridge, we would have found it much earlier. I was exhausted. We walked around the small store. There were balloons and helium, costumes, banners, a few decorations. Myra liked the yellow balloons with white dots. I got three since they were 70 cents each. Helium was 1.50 so I skipped that, knowing the balloons would be flat long before Saturday.
From there, we headed to the 5-day market street. We walked down it, heading for Home Plus. I stopped to buy a roll of kimbap. I finished it just before we got to the main door.
We went to the third floor to search. She did not like the tackle boxes. They did have balloons, but I didn't think I needed more than the three I had. No feathers. On the second floor were paper cups, but too expensive. I did buy a coconut, and that resulted in lots of change. I got lots of change today, which I figure will come in handy on Saturday.
We walked across the street and caught the bus. It took us to the front gate of the base. We walked up the hill to her house. She gave me some leftover bulgogi she had. I took it home. Chris put steak in the oven when he saw me. I sat down to rest my feet and read e-mail. When the steak was ready, I took half a piece and several spoonfuls of the peppers and onions. After eating that, I went outside to water the plants. It had rained this morning, but not that much. Still, they did not need as much water as usual. I also did some trimming of the petunias, pansies and geraniums and Dynee's roses.
When I came in, I ate the other half of the steak. I put the other steaks away and the peppers and onions. I cleaned up the pans. Then I made a cucumber salad.
I checked Netflix for something to watch. Nothing seemed interesting, but Bloodline seemed to be the least objectionable. So I mentioned it to Chris and he was willing to try it. We watched two episodes. It was just ok, mildly interesting but bad language. I told him I would look for something else tomorrow.
He went back to playing his game and I recharged the spare battery and typed up my blog post for the day.

Food near and far

I slept ok last night, but still had night sweats. I decided to go off progesterone cream for the week.
I got up before 8 to grate ginger for a detox bath. But Chris had other ideas. So I got a late start. I looked up the recipe and decided on the half cup one. So I dissolved half a cup of sea salt, half of Epsom salt and half of baking soda in the tub of hot water. I put half a cup of fresh grated ginger in a mesh bag and let it soak in the water. Then I got in for 20 minutes. The ginger was supposed to promote sweating, but it did not work.
I washed off and got dressed nicely. I put on earrings. I crushed some garlic and mixed it with hummus. It was good on seed crackers. Then it was time for the service to begin.
I went to the chapel Facebook page. The Catholic service was still showing as a replay. I refreshed the screen until the Protestant service began. I watched it live all the way through.
After the service, Chris and I drove to the commissary for groceries. Elizabeth was there and said if no one else stepped up for the FRG positions, she would take one. Chris and I picked out some cuts of meat to spend our coupon on. Then we checked out. The clerk did not know how to ring up the coupon so she called someone and asked. Jadyn was learning to bag groceries and handed me three, Chris picking up the rest. I drove us home.
We put the groceries away. Then we walked out in town to the traditional market. Lots of stands were closed, but we found watermelon, and cucumber for me and onions and peppers for Chris to cook with the beef. As we walked back, Chris pulled ahead, even though he was wearing a backpack with a watermelon in it.
As I passed Myra's parking lot, she was coming out of her apartment. So I waited to speak to her. We decided to walk back to town tomorrow. Then she left for the commissary.
When I got home, I put the cucumbers in the fridge. I read e-mail and listened to an audio. I paused it when it was time to go to the movie. We walked to the theater. Chris paid for the tickets and I asked about getting helium. The clerk wrote down a cell phone number for me. Then we went into the auditorium to wait for the movie to start. Nickie and Ron were in front of us and we talked to them until the lights dimmed.
We saw Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. We sat through the credits to see the teaser for the next movie. Then we hit the restrooms and walked home.
I finished the audio. It was an interview with John Gray about his new book. By then it was getting a little dark. So I ran out to water the plants. It takes a lot longer now that I am watering Dynee's plants, too.
When I came in, I ate the last of the previous watermelon. I also made a cucumber and tomato salad. Then I read some e-mail and finished the fish kite. I started another audio and listened until Chris was ready to watch TV. We tried something new called Turn. It was about rebels and loyalists in colonial times. I found it very gory and a little confusing. Chris promised that we could watch something else tomorrow night.
I typed up my blog, ready to go to bed to get an early start to my day tomorrow.
* Auditioning a bowl to display lemons at the event. *

The last episode

I got up around 8, having slept medium well. Chris had gotten up earlier to take out the food waste, and did not come back to bed.
I drank water and checked e-mail. I listened to one interview from the Lyme summit. I wrote a list of things I might do today. I crushed some garlic and mixed it with hummus and ate it on seed crackers. I printed out a fish kite pattern and glued the two pieces together. I took a pic of the outdoor shelving unit that we salvaged from the dump. I looked through my fabric collection for lemon prints. I tried to remove some tape stuck above the mantel, but it would not come off. I listened to another video. I wanted to use headphones, and tried 4 pairs, but the sound would not come through, so I had to turn up the volume to hear it over the washer. I made and ate breakfast.
I worked on the fish kite, cutting out the halves and gluing them together. I drew fish scales. I started a loaf of bread for Chris. I ate some dates.
I went outside to mow the lawn. But I found tiny marigolds growing in the backyard. I don't know how they got there. I dug them up and planted them in pots in the front. I also pulled some weeds, then mowed the lawn. I watered Dynee's plants and my own. I clipped the flower heads as I went. Kathy stopped when she saw me. She needed Mrs. Lee's sewing machine. Dynee had given me her code so I went in her house and got the machine and bag of thread. I gave it to Kathy and we talked for a short while. Elisa was with her and I encouraged her to have some blueberries.
After they left, I finished watering, and came inside. I ate some chicken and kimchi. I sat down to look at e-mail and rest. By text, Terri suggested yellow helium balloons for the lemonade sale. We didn't know where to get helium so I googled how to make your own helium. What I found were videos on how to fill them with hydrogen.
From there, I went on to gardening videos. Then we watched TV and ate popcorn. We finished the last Miss Fisher episode. Then I helped Chris make the bed. He found black grit around my neck and washed it off. I couldn't think what it could possibly be from. He went to bed and I stayed up to oil my hair and post to my blog.
* I posted this pic of my shelving unit to the community swap page but no one asked for it. *

Taking care of business

I had lots of hot flashes last night and did not sleep well. I decided it was because of all the spicy food for lunch.
In the morning, I heard my alarm go off but did not want to get up. Chris kissed me jut before he left for work to make sure I was awake. So it was almost 8 when I got up.
I went into the shower to collect some filtered water. There was a centipede on the tile and I washed it to the drain.
Then I drank some water and ate some nuts. I dustmopped the floor in case there were other centipedes around. I washed up and got dressed nicely. I read some of my e-mail. I could not find my phone. I headed for the theater. I thought Myra would be there ahead of me, but she wasn't, and I sat with Christine. We had a little chat about kids serving lemonade for the open base event. Myra came a little later.
The three of us sat together and listened as the schedule for the next 8 weeks was read. I did not see the sewing class on any of the schedules. But no one has seemed to mind bumping our class whenever they want. And those who come know it is still going on. The chaplain made a plug for the FRG saying there were lots of pregnant women on post and the FRG was needed to throw them baby showers. At the end of the meeting, the CO presented me with the award for Yard of the Month. Someone took our picture.
Afterward, I headed out with Myra. We walked to Security to turn in her ID. Then I followed her as she talked to some people. We headed back up the hill. We chatted a bit in her parking lot. Chelsea wasn't home, so we walked over to Lacee's house and handed her the MWR bucks that came with Yard of the Month award. I asked her to give it to Chelsea next time she saw her. The MWR bucks are good for childcare and I figured with a new baby, Chelsea could use it more than we could. Then Myra and I went home separately.
I changed my clothes. I swept the kitchen floor and filled a bucket with hot water and soap. I mopped the kitchen and parts of the utility room. I left the mop and water there so I could do the hallway after lunch. Chris came home and made his lunch. The floor had just dried. I ate something too. I texted Myra to see if it was ok for me to drop off some empty water bottles and she said yes. I was going to go, but noticed my feet got wet when I walked through the utility room. The bucket of dirty water had overturned and I hadn't noticed. What a mess. I mopped up what I could, then got an old towel for the rest. I dried off the water bottles and threw them into the hallway until I was finished. I went outside to pull some weeds that had been bothering me for days. I had never seen them before but they had long roots like they'd been growing for years.
Anyway, then I walked to Myra's house with three gallon-size water bottles. We had a long chat about how to dress the table at the open base event, and maybe a few other things. Then her husband called, so I rode with her to the commissary and she continued on to Security to pick him up. I was going to buy lemonade mix and bigger cups. But I was stunned to discover that a canister of lemonade mix cost $3 and only made two gallons. And the cups came in 9oz and 16oz sizes. The 9 oz seemed too small and the 16 too big. So I left empty handed. It was too cold to think in there.
When I got home, I realized that I'd meant to go to the third floor (above the commissary) and rent a table and chairs. I did not feel like braving the heat again so soon, so I ate some watermelon and drank the rest of my water. I checked e-mail too. Then I walked back to the FFTC.
My rental transaction came at just the right time. They were training new people to run the desk and needed something other than selling movie tickets. I filled out a form to rent one table, 4 chairs, and a 10-gallon dispensing cooler. They looked up the answers to all of my questions and allowed me to get the cooler a day early so I could wash it. I was given a receipt to show on Friday to pick it up.
Then I went home. I watered all my flowers. Ryan came home from work and took the dog for a walk. I watered Dynee's flowers while he was gone. I even watered their herbs out back.
When I came in, Chris was home from work. I made and ate a cucumber salad. I also mixed up a batch of seed crackers and put them in the oven. I checked my e-mail. I looked up craft projects for next week.
At 8, Chris left his laptop, made a bowl of popcorn and called up Netflix on the tiny laptop. We watched Miss Fisher solve murders. Chris' laptop registered a skype call. But by the time he silenced the TV, the caller hung up. He tried calling back, but the lady at that number said she didn't call. He kind of fumed about the caller not leaving a message. I took my seed crackers out of the oven and put them away. Then the skype call came through again. I listened as a man asked him if he could be interviewed on Monday at 3. When Chris hung up, I asked if it was the job in Germany and he said no, it was for the DGC in Belgium. I needed a moment to let that sink in. Chris did not sound enthused but maybe he didn't want to get his hopes too high.
We finished the episode and he went back to his laptop. I of course sat down to type up my blog.
* This is a pic I took of the drink mix display to remind me that we could mix the Countrytime lemonade with the cheaper raspberry tea mix for a raspberry lemonade. *

A going-away haircut

Last night there was a mosquito in the living room. I suspected it was from the bottle of essential oils and water that I use as a diffuser. It used to be in the bedroom and there was a mosquito in there, too, but not since I brought the bottle out to the living room. So I poured it out into the kitchen sink and placed something over it to block access.
I slept ok last night with the door shut to keep out the mosquito. I woke up in the dark with my left hand numb. To my right hand, it felt like a plastic hand. I pumped my left fist until all the blood came back in. I went back to sleep but soon it was morning.
Chris got up when my alarm went off and got ready for work. After he left, I got up and drank a quart of water. A mosquito buzzed around my head and I caught it. When I opened my hand, it got away, but I caught it again later. I hoped it was the last one.
I read e-mail and listened to an audio. I washed up and got dressed. I put away fabric until almost 11. Then I texted Dynee to see if she was ready. I went outside and saw Alycin walking by but no Dynee. So I started walking with Alycin. Then Dynee came by to pick us up, and had a carload of people with her.
We went to Chong's apartment for lunch and my going-away party. Dynee took a large watermelon from her trunk. The seller had wrapped it in strapping, but it fell out in front of the apartment building and cracked on the pavement. She picked it up and Myra handed her a bag to put it in. When we got to Chong's apartment, Dynee got a bucket of water to rinse off the sidewalk downstairs.
Chong showed us how she had re-covered her couches and chairs. She had a nice meal laid out buffet style. We filled our plates and sat around the table. There were four kinds of kimchi and all were spicy. But mixed with the acorn jelly, it was quite good. Chong also had two kinds of kimbap; one with spam and one without. I ate the one without spam.

After we had eaten the meal and lots of fruit, So Young cut my hair out on the balcony. I felt so much better with shorter hair. Then I left with Dynee who had a nail appointment. I decided to sit in and watch. I was surprised that it went an hour.
Then we went to the massage place. She saw it, then went back to her car. I went in for the usual. The lady gave me an outfit to wear for my back and shoulder massage. But the man was not there at the moment, so she gave me a tub of hot water to soak my feet.
When he came back, he dried off my feet and I went into the little side room with a massage table. It was a good massage, and I played classical music on my phone.
After the massage, I went to the market nearby. I bought a piece of green fabric to replace the one I used up. I also got some nail polish to use as craft paint.
At another place, I bought a pair of $5 pants. Finally I scored a baggie of peeled garlic and walked back to post.
As I reached the lower end of our street, Clay offered me a ride. I sat in his car talking about FRG. He did not think the FRG was going to make it and that the command was ok with that.
I went home, and ate some chicken. Chris came home and told me that he got an e-mail: we now have official word that the army hasn't decided yet where we are going to go.
Myra called and asked me to come outside. I did and she drove by, handing me the leftover kimbap from lunch. I thanked her. We chatted and she left.
I went inside and ate the kimbap with some kimchi I had. I also ate a lot of watermelon. Then I watered the plants. Clay came by with my bag of garlic which I had left in his car. I finished watering.
I read e-mail for a bit and jotted notes for my blog. I posted the date of the next and possibly last FRG meeting to community facebook page. Chris and I watched two episodes of Miss Fisher. Then he went back to his laptop and I wrote my blog post so I could go to bed (sans mosquito).
* This is Dynee's technician rubbing polish on her fingernails. I had never seen that technique. *

Sewing class and a surprise

Last night I stayed up late looking at projects on Pinterest. But when I went to bed, I must have slept well, because I did not wake up early. If I had nightsweats, I slept through them. And I did not hear my alarm go off. I woke at 8:30 and knew Chris was gone because his suit hanger was on the bed.
When I saw that it was 8:30, I got dressed and put out the recyclables. There was a pesticide truck across the street. But I did not see any spraying around our housing.
I drank a quart of lemon water and checked e-mail. I also ate some seed crackers. I took a shower and got dressed. Myra called to say she'd turned on the AC and was going to get Chantal. I packed up the sewing machine that now belongs to So Young. I put the donation fabrics in my bag along with ribbon and the class sample. Chris came home for lunch. Then I rolled the machine down to Housing. I started setting up the room. Dynee came in to help and soon the others were there as well.
We set up all the machines. So Young showed off the outfit she had partially made. Someone else showed me a pic of a quilt she had made and sent off. Chantal made last week's project while I helped the others make the drawstring bag. Myra went through all the baskets of fabric and sorted them by size and type. She handed me some items that were mine to take home. I warned So Young to take it easy on the machine. She said she had another with the same problem. Myra told her to bring it in sometime, and she replied that we could fix it when we go to Ms. Chong's house tomorrow. ??? As it turns out, they were planning a surprise going away party for me, but few knew about it.
We were all packed up by three. As we filed out, I told Myra I needed to speak to her in her official capacity and she promised to call later. I went home and ate the sweet potato that So Young had given me. I also ate a LOT of watermelon. Myra called and we talked about letting the kids serve lemonade at the open base event. We both tried to look up the appropriate Op Nav instruction but could not find it.
Then Dynee knocked on the door. She had an unfinished zippered pouch that she wanted help with. I went over to her house to advise. It was not going as expected. Then we sat outside on her doorstep drinking Berkey water and waiting for Myra. She and Ryan showed up about the same time. Myra said she went to Medical and they said it was ok (to let kids serve and sell lemonade). Then we all talked about going to Ms. Chong's house for the party tomorrow and getting back for Dynee's appointment at 2 and mine at 3. Alicyn joined us for awhile.
Then the group broke up. I checked e-mail and listened to an interview from the Lyme summit. Chris came home from work. When the interview was over, I ate some chicken, then went out to water the plants. The sky was overcast, but I didn't trust it to rain.
When I came in, I cleared more e-mail and did some tapping. Then we watched three episodes of Miss Fisher, finishing the first season. Chris went back to his laptop and I typed up my blog, intending to go to bed afterward (and hopefully sleep really well.)

Reading to kids

I got up early because Chris had already gone to work. I got dressed and took out the food waste. I saw Korean men in our back yard digging up weeds.
I made tomorrow's project and took pics. Then I made up 12 days worth of supplements.
I made breakfast and ate it while checking e-mail. Chris came home for lunch. After he left, I listened to some tapping audios. I ordered more supplements.
Then I put on nice clothes and the potato necklace. I had the unpainted chunks in a bag with some other supplies. I walked to the CYP and arrived 10 minutes early. I signed in. There were two kids playing on a computer. There was nothing set up. I set up my part of the craft. I asked about paint and drop cloths. I was handed large placemats and told the paints were in the corner. They were jugs of paint with pump spouts. Finally she gave me a paper plate to put paint on. But many of the spouts were dried shut. I had to open and pour them. I set up the project, then called the kids over. They paused whatever they were watching on the computer but a soundtrack continued to play. Since they kept glancing over at it, I tried to stop it, but could not find what was playing. So I searched the desktop until I found the volume and turned it down. Later I found out that it was a mac, so no wonder everything was in the wrong place.
I showed the kids how to paint the potato beads. The boy only wanted to paint three. So while the girl continued to paint, I had the boy pick out a book for me to read to them. It was a long book and the kids had to quit early to go to swim lessons. I stopped reading and had them start stringing beads. But her beads weren't dry and he wasn't enthused about the project. I cleaned up the stuff I brought and talked to the director. Then I headed home.
Dynee texted me wanting to walk. So I changed clothes and we walked the trail.
Then I watered the plants even though it looked like rain. I ate some chicken for supper. Chris came home and handed me the coupon for meat that I won at the commissary.
I posted the sewing project to Facebook. I ate a big bowl of cucumber. Then I changed clothes, and we headed out to the theater for the town hall meeting. Dynee and Ryan were just driving by so we caught a ride with them.
But the town did not show up. I sat with Myra and Dynee and Nickie, and met Nina. I gave Myra her bobbin back, and then the meeting started.
The CSO went through two lists of events. Lots of people spoke about their event. There was lots of stuff coming up that we won't be here for. The CSO went around the room and invited each of us to speak. I mentioned the FRG. Then Ryan spoke. Finally the CO talked about a few things. He read my note to the whole gathering: the one that I put in the suggestion box about getting the pews back. Then chaplain made his rebuttal; talking about how the chairs make the chapel more versatile in serving community functions as well as chapel functions. Then the meeting was over. I spoke to Scott, and to the CO. Then we went home with Dynee and Ryan.
I made a big bowl of watermelon to eat while we watched TV. We saw two episodes of Lucifer. Chris went back to his laptop. And I wrote up my blog post before going to bed.
* drawstring bag for sewing class project *

Sewing like new

I got up at 7:30 to start my morning early. I boiled water for coffee while Chris finished his shower and got dressed. I was swishing and exercising when Myra called just after 8. She wanted Lacee's number and she told me about an exclusive meeting I should attend, and who else should be invited. She promised to stop by with a spare bobbin and case.
I went on with my morning. I played soft music while meditating and tapping. Myra stopped by with the bobbin case, but she did not stay to talk because she got a phone call. I finished the meditation and texted with Kurt on Skype. He sent me a sound file from the stream behind his house. It was nice but not loud enough to be heard outside the livingroom.
Then I started cleaning. I began with the kitchen in case Chris came home early for lunch, which he did. But I was mostly finished by then. While he made lunch, I cleaned the bathrooms. Then I worked on the sewing machine. I used Myra's bobbin and case. I used the original case with her bobbin. I traded out threads, and tried plastic bobbins. As it turned out, the machine sewed much better with a plastic bobbin. But I'm pretty sure that's not what it came with. However, we did buy extra metal bobbins in Busan and perhaps the original got traded out for one not quite the same. The machine sews so well now that I just might want it back.
I called Myra to tell her. But she was busy. I checked e-mail until she called back. She said the meeting was on hold until it could be sorted out that everyone should be invited. She hung up, but called back in 10 minutes to say she had gone to DBIDS and there was someone in the office who renewed her card. So I got dressed and went down there. I met her coming back and we chatted. Then I went to get my card renewed, at least for 2 more months, which should be plenty of time. On the way back, I stopped at Housing to reserve the meeting room for the next and possibly last FRG meeting.
I ironed all the rest of the fabric and cut a yard of one for donation to the sewing class.
I sat on the front porch and ate a very large carrot. Chris came home from work.
I watered the flowers with Epsom salt water. I cut some twine to tie up one of the tomato plants, but forgot to do it. I came in for some chicken, and a cucumber. I played 2048 on my tablet. Then I looked at Lacee's Pinterest page. I spent way too much time. I noticed it was after 8. Chris sat with me and we watched several episodes of Lucifer. During the first episode, we ate dehydrated fruit snacks.
After watching, he went back to his computer game and I tried to remember all I did today.
* I didn't take any pics today, so here is one from Office Depot. It would look great on my piano. *

How in the world did that happen?

I slept ok last night except for a pesky mosquito. The cucumber seemed to lessen the severity of the hot flashes.
I planned to get up when Chris went to church, but he didn't. When I got up, he was still here. He asked me if I wanted to call my dad. He used Skype to call the mobile number. At first it was almost impossible to talk to my dad. He couldn't understand a word we said. But then he asked if he should put on his hearing aids. (Hmmm. Let me think...) It went much better after that. He told us he was staying up late trying to eat enough calories. He was planning to get implants to hold his dentures in place.
After that, we called Chris' dad. We had a nice chat with both his parents. Al said he had implants and highly recommended them.
Then I took a shower and put on a nice pair of pants and top. I wore my purple jade earrings. While waiting for the church service to begin, I started a loaf of bread for Chris in the bread machine, and I ate some seed crackers.
Then I sat on the couch to watch the service on Facebook. It got off to a rough start, but after that, it was ok. I sang the songs. I couldn't hear Connie give the intro to Communion or the announcements after the service. But the guest pastor was very easy to hear, and very animated, too.
When it was over, I drove to the chapel and parked by the school. I went inside and found So Young. She assembled the sewing machine in the small classroom. Then she had to practice, so I took the machine apart to find out why it would not do a full rotation any more. But it wasn't the thread, or the needle. I took off part of the housing around the light. Aubry came in and just stared at me. I asked her what she was holding but she didn't answer and soon left. Ms. Pae and Ms. Sung and Ms. Kim all stopped in to say hello. Then Suzanne came in and sat with me. We had a nice chat. I called out to Connie to tell him I could not hear him on Facebook and he said he did not wear a mike because he thought the Facebook feed wasn't working. So Young came back and said they had to be off base by noon. So I told her to leave the machine with me and pick it up on Wednesday at class. I stayed a little longer, but then the chapel needed to close up so I packed up and left.
I wheeled the machine to the car and drove home. I brought it inside the house. I called Myra and explained the problem: the take-up lever was not attached. She said she'd come over. While I waited, I watched sewing machine repair videos. Kim called from the commissary to say that I won the raffle yesterday and to pick a prize. I chose the beef gift card. Then I fiddled with the take-up lever and got it reattached, but it still would not rotate.
Myra arrived. She took the machine apart more than I ever had. I brought her tools and the tiny flashlight on the phone battery charger. Handy little thing. It took a long time and a lot of head scratching, but we finally figured out where it was hitting. It was a little circle around a piston that had rotated out of position. She pushed it back and tightened the set screw. Then we reassembled the machine. (phew) We threaded it and it stitched but the tension was off. For some reason the bobbin thread unwound fine from the case when it wasn't in the machine, but would get very tight was it was inside the machine. ??? We both wondered what she had done to the machine to cause all these problems.
Dynee texted that she wanted to go for a walk. Myra wanted to along until she heard about the steps. Then she decided to go to the pool with her husband.
After Myra left, I ate a few nuts, changed my clothes and put on my shoes. I met Dynee outside. We headed to the Chinhae tower, talking. She said she had been to the five-day market this morning to get dried fruit. I said I needed some, too, so we walked there instead. It was a three mile walk and she walked fast. The market was crowded when we got there. I filled up a basket with dried fruit, and some nuts and went to check out. The man said 21, but when I handed him that much, he indicated 12. It was a good deal. I bought cucumbers from a nearby vendor. I snacked on the way back to base. After going through the front gate, we sat at the bench near the MWR office. My feet were sore and my back hurt. Dynee texted her husband to come get us with the car. I was relived to not have to walk up the hill after walking 6 miles.
It was a good ride home. I laid on the couch. Chris said supper would be ready soon. I got up to check on the sewing machine tension issue. Then Chris said bok choy was ready. I filled a bowl with chicken, bok choy, and carrots, onion and cabbage from under the chicken. Then I cut up a big cucumber and drizzled it with oil and vinegar and Italian spices.
After eating, I went outside to water the plants. When I came in, Chris had finished eating. He put away the chicken and bok choy. We got out the watermelon and sliced off the top. He ate some but I ate most of the slice. Then we sat on the couch to watch two episodes of Miss Fisher. Afterward, Chris went back to his computer game and I wrote up my blog post for the day.

Bagging the berries

I was not bothered much by hot flashes last night and I put it down to the big bowl of cucumber slices.
I heard my alarm go off this morning and noticed Chris was not in bed. But I stayed a little longer. When I got up, I drank some water. I put the first load of fabric in the washer. I got dressed and went outside to water the plants. I put the fabric in the dryer and did another load. I ironed some smaller pieces dry. I tried putting glue on the ends of a piece of thread to see if it was easier to string potato beads. But it wasn't good enough. I tried a piece of tape and that worked better. I went outside to measure the blueberry pots. Dynee was out sweeping so we talked for a few minutes. Then I made two netting bags to go over the blueberries. I ironed a large stack of fabric.
I was folding fabric from the dryer when Anna knocked on the door. Ryan was beside her with a big box of cups and spoons and leftover paper goods from the PTO. I invited her in to see what I bought in China. I told her she could have her pick of the extras and she took a kite. As she was leaving, she mentioned her blueberries were being eaten by the birds, so I gave her the two netting bags. I made two more. I ate a bowl of coconut milk, flakes and oil. I had an apple earlier. I sat for a minute to check e-mail.
I put the bags on the blueberries. I strung the beads Christine had given me with the potato beads that I made. I tied it around my neck. Then Chris and I went to the commissary. Christine was there so I showed her the necklace. I also talked to Kim, and later to Clay. He seemed to think the FRG wasn't necessary, and trying to keep it going was more trouble than it was worth.
After we checked out, I drove us home and we carried the groceries inside. After we put the food away, I told Chris that I wanted him to go to the corner market with me to get a watermelon. (I had heard they were good for hot flashes.) He was amenable so we left after stripping the sheets from the bed and putting them in the washer.
On our way down the hill, Dynee texted me wanting to go for a walk. I told her I could go when we got back. Chris and I continued to the market. Watermelons were $15. We also got a red cabbage and cucumbers. Chris carried the produce home in my bag. I followed behind, not able to walk as fast. I waited in front of Dynee's house. Soon she came around from the back. We went to the trail and walked all around, switching back and forth to make it longer. As we talked, I realized she also thought the FRG was not terribly necessary to the base.
After we got back, she asked me for some more lip balm and handed me two small containers. I took them inside and washed them. Then I filled them from the jar. I took them back to her.
I went inside for a break from the heat. I drank some water and read some e-mail. I ate some chicken with mustard because only the white meat was left. I also had a bowl of cucumber slices. Then I watered the flowers again, trying to get them back on an evening schedule. The yucca was blooming so I took a pic of it.
I read more e-mail and lost track of the time. It was after 8 when we started watching TV. We saw three episodes. Chris went back to his laptop and I tried to write my blog post. But the word processing software was putting bold lines everywhere the cursor went. The underline function was not turned on. I copy/pasted to a new document, but the lines came with it. Chris opened a whole new processor called Notepad and the lines did not transfer with the text. I finished typing my blog post and posted it to Blogger.

Shopping and planting and skyping

After drinking a whole beer last night, I hoped the hot flashes would subside. And I guess they did, long enough for me to get to sleep. But later they all came back and woke me up.
I got up around 8. I got dressed and had a bite to eat and some water. I watered the plants because I forgot yesterday. I was ready for my skype call at 9. It went for two hours but I felt like we made real progress.
Then I started making breakfast. Myra called to see if I wanted to help her get pinestraw. I promised to call back after breakfast. I read e-mail while I ate. Then I called her. She came up the trail toward my house and I went outside with the rake. We met on the trail and walked to just past the exercise station. We took a breather there. Then we proceeded to the top of the hill and took another break. Further down the path we found fallen pine needles that weren't pulverized. I raked and she stuffed them in bags she had brought. Then we walked down the street from the water tower and came out behind my house, hoping there was more pinestraw there. I left my rake by the shed and carried one of her bags to her house. We left them by the shed and went up to her place for cold water. She also changed her clothes. She had to take her husband somewhere but decided we could make a quick trip to the market beforehand.
So we headed out. We saw the new executive director waiting for a cab and spoke to him until the cab arrived. We wished him a good trip.
Then we walked to the plant place on the canal, but didn't see anything she wanted. Then we went to the plant place across from Daiso, but again, nothing she wanted. We went into Daiso to see if they had plastic tablecloths. We saw Dynee in there and greeted her warmly. She wanted to know why we hadn't invited her. I did not know how to answer that. She left quickly. Myra shopped for potting soil and I looked at tablecloths, but they weren't the right color. She also wanted tomato plants, so we went to another plant place around the corner from Daiso. The tomato plants looked really good, with nice, thick stems. I was tempted to get some myself, but I resisted. Then we went to another corner plant place. I bought some pepper plants. She got peppers and some more tomato plants. Then we stopped in the junk store for tablecloths, but they were not the right color either.
We windowshopped as we headed home. I walked with her all the way to the quad. She showed me where excess marigolds were coming up in the grass. So I pulled some of them for my flowerbed. She helped me. Then I went up the steps and headed uphill to home. I needed a break from the heat so I drank water and read e-mail. I laid down, listening to a video. Sleep would have been welcome, but it did not quite come. I got up to have a bite to eat. Then I went outside to plant all those little marigolds across the left flower bed. At the end of the bed were lots of little four o-clock seedlings. I uprooted a bunch of them and put them in the right flower bed. The remaining marigolds got planted in the big planter tub to replace the pansies when they die. I also filled the water jugs.
I took another break, opening all the bags of fabric from Wednesday. I located the purple piece that Christine requested. I headed to the CYP to give it to her. On the way, So Young called to say the machine I sold her was not working. I made a few suggestions, then said she could bring it on Sunday and I would look at it after church.
When I got to the CYP, I gave the fabric to Christine. She was happy with it. She paid me a little more than it cost. We talked about the kids making lemonade for the Open Base event, and their helping to sell it. We also talked about me reading to the kids on Tuesday and doing a craft with them.
While I was talking to her, Housing called. They asked me to come to Community Round up on Friday so they could award Yard of the Month. I agreed.
When I got home, I pulled out my paints and the dried potato chunks. I painted four or five of them to make a sample necklace for the kids' project. Christine had given me some beads to add as well. But I left the chunks to dry and never got back to them. I made myself a cucumber salad and ate it in the kitchen.
Then I sat on the floor in the entryway and cut corners off the yards of fabric, sorting them by light and dark. I finished just as Chris pulled up Miss Fisher on the TV. We watched three episodes. I thought I had another Skype call at 10:30 but there were no messages so I waited until the third episode ended to send her a message. She called me shortly after. We talked for some time, but the upshot was that she had to take the summer off because the kids were out of school. We agreed to try a new concept: tapping statements with friends. If I send her a synopsis of a problem, she would respond with a few tapping statements whenever she gets a chance. And vice-versa.
After the call, I wrote my blog post while Chris played his computer game. And then it was time to go to bed.
* I didn't take any pics today, so here is one Anna took last night. *

So much for the FRG

Once again, my internal temperature control was a problem and kept me from sleeping properly. I was awake before my alarm went off, but stayed in bed hoping to get some sleep when the sweating subsided. But the need to do stuff got me first.
I got up at 10 after 8. I did some Sudoku while writing notes for the day. I drank a quart of water while checking e-mail. I listened to a video on how to feed your garden for free. I wanted to post a reminder to Facebook for the meeting tonight, but I needed a photo to go with it so people would notice it. Since it was scheduled to be at Housing, I walked down there with my phone and took a pic of the front entrance. Then I went inside to ask if it would be open so we could get in after hours. They showed me how to work the code lock, and gave me a handout. I thanked them and went home.
Terri was walking down the street with her two dogs so I greeted her. We talked for a bit while she tried to enforce their training: getting them to sit and stay. Not so easy. Dynee came out and said I could visit her anytime to discuss the Open Base fundraising event.
After Terri left with her dogs, I posted to the Facebook page. Then I got my FRG papers together and went next door. We discussed how to transport and serve the spaghetti and keep it warm and who could be called on to help. I didn't think I was there that long, but it was noon when I got home again.
I made and ate breakfast. I watched a tapping video. I designed a sign-up sheet. I got together the paper copy that Paul wanted of the permission form. I was looking for my market bag to put it in when I remembered that the bag for Kim wasn't finished. So I rushed in there to finish it. It looked so much like my bag that I almost put the papers in there. I took its picture and wrapped it in yellow paper and put it in a gift bag from the hotel in China. Then I put the papers in my bag and a container of Epsom salts. I jotted notes for my blog.
At 2 I went to the MWR office to turn in the form, but Paul wasn't there. Then I went to the third deck to ask about rentals. I asked questions, and they gave me copies to keep in my folder. I went back to MWR, and turned in the form to Paul. We discussed how he would keep and serve spaghetti.

From there I went to my massage. The lady brought me a cup of hot tea while I soaked my feet. Then she woke up the man to do the massage.
After the massage, I went to Home Depot to look for decorative tablecloths. None. I went back to base, and ran into Nicky and Ron. After talking to them, I went home, and ate a cucumber. I watched more of the garden video and a sewing video at the same time. Chris came home just as I stopped to collate my meeting notes and write another diagram of the jobs that needed doing.
I put on my shoes and went to Housing. I used the code to get in. I cleaned the white board and set up tables and chairs. Then I wrote my diagram on the board. Maria came with chocolate cookies. Myra and Dynee came, as well as Alicyn and Sue. We waited for Clay but it took too long so I started without him. It did not take long to explain about the tasks that needed doing and our need for officers. I passed out the sign in sheet and the sign up sheet. All signed in but no one signed up. Clay showed us and started eating the cookies. Myra brought up the possibility of dispensing with the FRG. With much discussion, we decided to go ahead with the lemonade sale but drop the spaghetti part. Sue offered to help with the lemonade. We also agreed to have one more meeting, the first week of July. If no one came forward for the office of president or treasurer, we would disband the FRG and give the funds to the Navy ball committee to fund child care for the Navy Ball.
Then everyone helped to put up the tables and chairs. Maria cleaned the white board. I took the leftover cookies for Kim's going away party, already in progress. I locked up the building and walked home with Dynee and Alicyn. I gave Alicyn poster boards to make signs for the sale. She said she would be willing to be vice-president but did not want to become president when I left.
After she left, I took the cookies to the fire chief's house. I said hello to Nicky and Ron. I went out back to see Kim and give her the bag. She loved it. I got a plate of food in the kitchen (kimbap!) but Chris told me to leave it on the table so I could meet his replacement outside. Hakeem was very nice. I said I hoped he enjoyed his stay and would like the job here. He said his week here was very eye-opening. I went back inside to eat my food. I sat with Anna and the others to hear Chris tell stories. Anna was holding a six-week-old Korean baby. When she had to get up to take her medicine, she gave the baby to me (and took pics). I held the baby for awhile. It got fussy but quieted down. Soon her parents came to get her and give her a bottle.
Then we had to clear out so they could set up the tables for beer pong. I had no interest in that. I found Chris talking in the kitchen. He handed me a beer to try. It tasted terrible. But he said it was the hops that made it taste like that. Since hops are supposed to be good for hot flashes, I made myself drink it. Blech!
Cake was passed out and Chris had some. It smelled like coffee so I had no interest. When he was done eating, we went home. I was a little off balance.
We watched one episode of Miss Fisher. Then he went to bed and I stayed up to blog.

Big day at the fabric market

Last night, I collected the recyclables and put them by the door. Then I went to bed.
I woke up early, but it was only 6:20. I had been having a dream about going on the fabric trip and forgetting to bring extra money. So I put money in my wallet and went back to bed. I tried to sleep, but my internal temperature control was waxing hot and cold. I was thinking to get up to shower when my alarm went off. But Chris got in ahead of me. So I waited. And waited. Finally I was able to get in. After my shower, I got dressed. I put snacks and some coconut water in my market bag.
I took my market bag, duffle bag, and rolling cart outside to meet Dynee. I saw that the birds had ripped apart one of the recycle bags. I gathered up all the paper and shoved it between two other bags. Dynee came out and we got in her car. She drove us to the commissary, where the bus was waiting for us. We found seats and then Myra did a head count to make sure everyone was there. Then the bus pulled out. When it went out the front gate, it stopped again to pick up two more people.
It was an easy, if long, ride to Daegu. I sat with Terri who was drinking a cup of watermelon juice. We exchanged health care tips and talked to Nicky, who has been in Korea less than a week. God bless her for coming along. I ate some of my snacks.
When we got to the market, the driver stopped at the back rather than the front. But that was good because the restrooms are closer to the back. And that was our first stop as a group. Then we headed up to the third floor.
There were too many of us to all shop at the same place. So I went to the stall where the man makes paper patterns. He wasn't there, but So Young borrowed my phone and called the number posted on the stall. Then she told me he would be there in five or ten minutes. As I waited, I picked through the fabrics at a nearby stall. When the man arrived, I went over to talk to him. He handed me a pen to draw with. I sketched a dress front and back, like one would see on a pattern packet. So Young helped me translate again. He gave me a price and I paid him. He measured me and wrote down stuff in Korean. Then I decided to ask for a cowl neck pattern with sleeves that were one piece with the front. I paid for that, too and he double-checked the sleeve length and bottom edge. Then he told me to come back in an hour. So Young's phone had died, so I gave her the phone charger battery and cord that I keep in my bag. She was so happy and promised to return it.
I finished shopping at the nearby stall and wandered around the perimeter of the floor, looking for a stall I had seen last time. But I came all the way back around without finding it. I called Lacee but she didn't answer. So I called Myra. I found her on the fourth floor with Lacee. I started looking at the fabric, but the lady was tied up filling Lacee's order. So I left my cart there and went to see the pattern man. He showed me the patterns he had made. The cowl neck was not what I expected. It had pleats at the shoulders. He indicated how I should sew it together. So Young was nearby so she helped translate again. He marked the dress pattern for me as well. I asked about zipper length and he made a mark on the paper and labeled it. So Young wrote next to it 'end' to make sure I knew what it meant.

I went back to where my cart was. Myra was shopping by herself. We picked out some things. The lady let me go inside the booth and examine fabric I couldn't see very well from the aisle. I picked out some more and paid for it. My rolling cart was full so I put it in the duffel bag. Lacee had given me the numbers for two $2 a yard places on the third floor so I went back to find them. She was there and ordering a yard of almost everything (it seemed). I spied a few colors myself and got some of the same pieces. After she left, the next stall caught my eye and I got a couple pieces there. Then I found her again upstairs. That lady had cheap remnants and some Hawaiian floral on rolls. Lacee took a pic of it with her phone and ran it through the oneblockwonder software. When we saw what it would look like cut up in hexagons, I ordered two yards. It came in blue as well as orange, but the effect was better in orange.
When we left there it was after 2. We took the elevator to the basement where the food was. But we went to the juicing stand and got watermelon juice. We had to wait for it, and when it came it was mostly ice. But it was good and we enjoyed it. I ate more of my snacks. I called Myra to see where they were. Then we stopped by the restroom, and more of our group showed up. From there we went to the first floor entrance. The rest of our group joined us. I looked at some of the fruit vendors outside. The cherries looked good, but I did not want to pay $10 for a bowl. Lacee and Eileen got some interesting sandwich at the next place. I followed in the wake of the rest of the group and found them at the street corner waiting to cross. Then our bus showed up, so we crossed. I was afraid Lacee and Eileen wouldn't make it but we only waited a second or two. Then we were on our way home.
This time we were crammed in with all our fabric, though not everyone bought as much as Lacee and I did. Terri and I talked all the way back. Some people slept on and off. About 4:45 we arrived at the front gate. The two off-base people got off there. The guard checked the passes of everyone else. Then the undercarriage was inspected for … contraband? Explosives? Idk.
The bus continued on to the commissary and let us all off. We unloaded our fabric bundles. Dynee had bought an entire roll of decorator fabric. She put it in the back of her car. Lacee and Terri and I got in with her. She drove to Lacee's house first and dropped her off. Dynee noted a Yard of the Month sign in the yard across the street. Then she took Terri home, keeping an eye out for Yard of the Month in upper housing. And then she parked in front of her house. We unloaded the car. She let her little dog out to potty. Then she spotted the sign in my side yard. I did a happy dance. We retired to our respective homes.
Once inside, I dropped the bags of fabric and headed to the kitchen for some chicken and onions. I ate an apple, too and some nuts and apricots. I tried to read e-mail, but my laptop would not connect to Yahoo. But the desktop had no problem. I plugged in my phone battery charger. Chris came home from work just as I started an audio. When it was over, I went outside to water the plants. I picked some lettuce and ate it. Then I rebooted my laptop. It took so long that I went back to working on the bag.
I made the handles to match the ones I did last time. I suspect there was an easier way to get the strapping inside. I pinned the handles in place between the inside and outside layers and sewed. Then I understitched it. Next, I pinned the outside to outside and lining to lining, leaving a space at the bottom of the lining. I sewed around, twice on the outside part. With difficulty, I turned it inside out. The stabilizer on the bottom part was too stiff. By then it was after nine. So I put it up for the night and came out to watch TV with Chris. We saw one episode of Miss Fisher. My laptop still would not connect to Yahoo Mail, so Chris sat and played with it. What worked for him was signing out of Yahoo and signing back in; something I rarely do because it usually leads to an infinite loop. My guess is they fixed the loop and created a different problem, but only for Windows 10.
Anyway, so then it was time to blog and go to bed.

Two walks

I had trouble sleeping again last night. When the night sweats faded, I fell asleep. I was having a most interesting dream involving Michele. I was trying to rescue her from an abductor and I stumbled upon a retreat for aging people, including quilters.
But then my phone rang and woke me up. I went out to the livingroom to answer it. It was Myra asking if I wanted to go walking. She was already on the trail. So I threw on some clothes and joined her. We walked up and around the base and down the other side and back. Then we stopped at her place for a drink of water. She changed her shoes. Then we got in her car and went to the five-day market. As we walked around, I got the tumeric balls that I've never seen anywhere else. I also got dried fruits and roots. And kimchi. She got plants and veggies. It must have been garlic season, because there were large piles of it everywhere. I had a taste for kimbap. When I ordered it, the lady had us sit down to eat it. So much for taking it along. Myra had some and I ate the rest.
Then we went back to post. We went by the post office and she picked up a large box. She dropped me off at home, then went back to her place to slide the box down the hill and roll it up her stairs. She wouldn't let me help.
Chris was home for lunch. He asked if I could think of anything to get Kim as a going away present. All I could think of was that she often admired my market bag.
After he left, I texted Dynee to see if she needed anything. Then I assembled the materials I used on my bag. I made piping, I interfaced the thinner fabric. I sewed strips, and cut the shape. I selected a lining fabric and cut it, too.
Then Dynee texted asking if I wanted to go for a walk. I was surprised that her sewing lady was gone already. I went over there and she showed me the pillows and skirts that Mrs. Lee had made. There was one top that she had altered that did not come out right and I promised to fix it. Then Dynee came to my house and I showed her all the stuff I bought in China, including the green silk that I thought about having Mrs. Lee sew into a dress, except that some people warned against it.
Then we headed out for a walk and ran into Roy and Nina (or Nicky). They were new and we had a nice chat. They wondered what housing on post was like so Dynee showed them her house.
After they left, we walked the trail and wound around the base. We saw Myra outside planting tomatoes and asked if she wanted to go walking to the ATM to get money for tomorrow. She did, so we all went. They got won and I got dollars to pay for the bus ride. Then we went home. Dynee promised to text me at 7:40 to make sure I got up for the trip.
I went home and discovered Chris was already home from work. I sat down, exhausted. Soon Chris left to take his replacement to the beer and chicken place for supper. I put out the last can of beer for the slugs.
I watered the flowers and it started to rain. I made seed crackers and hummus. I played on my tablet for a bit.
I had just started an audio when Chris came home. I finished the audio, and tried to start another one, but the desk top wasn't cooperating. So I moved to the laptop. It didn't want to play the audio either. I noticed it was 8, so I mentioned watching TV to Chris. I posted to the community Facebook page that there was no sewing tomorrow.
Then he sat with me and we saw two episodes. He checked his e-mail one last time and went to bed. I stayed up to post to my blog.
* No vampires here with all this garlic for sale. *

Finishing the flyers

I had a hard time sleeping last night. The night sweats left me cold and shivering. I heard my alarm go off at 7:30. I waited for Chris to go to work. By then I had fallen asleep so I did not get up until 9.
I wanted to play relaxing music on the desktop, but it had turned itself off and it took a long time for it to reboot. I boiled water for coffee. I drank water and did my exercises. I swished. When the computer was ready, I found something on Youtube that sounded relaxing. I meditated and tapped for more than an hour. Then I started cleaning the kitchen. And Chris came home for lunch, which meant I was in his way. I finished the kitchen, then sat on the front stoop and ate seed crackers in the sun.
Lacee texted me to come over and help her make a list of what she needed at the fabric market. I contacted Myra to see when she wanted to finish handing out flyers. We agreed to meet in half an hour. I put away laundry and counted my flyers. I printed out one more sheet – which made two flyers. Myra still wasn't here so I started scanning instruction sheets into the desktop and printing them out for Lacee. I don't know why it took so long for the printer/copier to scan and save and print. It made copies very quickly. Finally I called Myra and she was involved in a conversation. She came over when she was done. While I was waiting for her, Dynee came over with her quilt. She had found holes in it: places where the stitching let loose or didn't catch. I sewed one up just as Myra arrived. Dynee took her quilt home.
Myra and I walked down the street, knocking on doors and leaving an FRG flyer if no one was there, or handing it to the person who answered. Kelsey showed us her new baby. She was so sweet. Myra held her but I didn't, just in case I had caught something in China.
Terri was also home. We had quite a chat with her and she agreed to come on the market trip. Bernie was also home, and being visited by Elisa. The four of us talked about things the FRG could do.
Then Myra and I walked down the other side of the street. We ran out of flyers at the end. She went home and I went to print out one more flyer, cut it in half, and left it on the last two doors. Then I went home to grab a bag of fabric. I walked to Lacee's house. She showed me the fabric that she had and asked what I would buy to go with it. She also showed me a book that she wanted to make a project from.
I went home to have some chicken. I saw my tablet charging on the counter top. I started playing 2048 again, continuing the last game. I watered the plants, replaced the hanging dahlias with purple petunias, and put out small red petunias where the purple ones used to be.
I played 2048 until Chris came home from work. He made himself supper. We didn't start watching TV until 9. I got a plate of frozen strawberrries from the freezer. I ate most of them while watching the two episodes. They made me very cold, but at least I wasn't having hot flashes.
After the show, Chris checked e-mail one last time and went to bed. I put away the last few strawberries and checked my e-mail, mostly to delete stuff I wasn't ever going to read. Then I typed up my day. I realized that I had missed breakfast, but I felt pretty good. I posted to 8my blog and went to bed.
* This was a picture in one of Lacee's books. *

Ginger bath

I woke up to the sound of my phone alarm ringing at 7:30. That meant I must have slept fairly well. I tried to go back to sleep, but there was an odd high-pitched sound that kept me awake. Eventually Chris got up and took his shower and went to church.
I looked up a Ginger Detox bath. I collected the ingredients from the kitchen and took them to the bathroom. I ran hot water and mixed in the Epsom salts and baking soda. I poured in the ginger tea and a sachet with the ginger pieces in it. I forgot the essential oils. I turned on some music.
I had a small dish of bentonite clay, made into a paste. As per the instructions, I rubbed it over most of my body. As I was letting it dry, of course the phone rang. Thinking it might be Chris, I gingerly hopped out of the tub and found my phone in the coffee table. It was Myra. I swiped the phone, leaving a streak of clay. I said hello, but there was no answer. After another 'hello', I went back to my bath.
I relaxed into it. The instructions said the ginger would induce sweating, but it did not. When the music ended, it was time to get out. I let the water out and put some jojoba oil in my hair. After a few minutes, I took a shower in the master bathroom. I got dressed in a nice blouse and pants.
Chris came home from church. I sat down with my laptop and called up the chapel on their Facebook page. The Catholic service was there already and started playing. But I had to wait for the Protestant service to stream live.
While I was waiting, I discovered that there was a blueberry spot on the silk carpet. Argh! I got some soapy water and two wash cloths. I dabbed water on the spot and patted it with the dry cloth. Over and over. The spot got a lot lighter, but did not come out completely. The service had started, so I paid attention. Well, mostly. Between songs, I dabbed at the spot. There was a lot of singing, and I felt like a trombone piece would have added to it. But there was no comfortable seating in the chapel anymore.
When it was over, I made and ate breakfast. I checked e-mail. I wiped up the clay footprints from the bath to the living room. There was also clay on the coffee table. But it came off easily. Then I drove us to the commissary for weekly groceries, including two chickens. They were small.
I called Myra back, and she said she had called to see if I wanted to go walking with her and some other ladies. They were still out, stopped at a bakery, but on their way back.
I texted Dynee to see if she wanted to go for a walk. She did, so I changed my clothes and we went. We walked down to the Eco park, around twice, down by the canal, bought flowers, then down a back street, where we got vegetables, and then home. Her phone app said we walked 4.8 miles. We sat on her doorstep and drank Berkey water, having a lovely chat.
I went to my house and put the tomatoes in the fridge. I ate the largest one. Chris put spices on the chickens and covered them with pieces of carrot and onion and garlic.
I sat on the front porch and played 2048 till my eyes crossed. I had managed to get one 16384. I put the tablet down, and proceeded to water the flowers. I did a little weeding, too.
When I came in, the chicken had just come out of the oven. I ate some with chopsticks. Then I put some on a plate so I could eat, sitting on the couch. I listened to an audio from the Women over 40 summit. I started the next one, but did not get far before Chris came over to watch TV.
We watched three episodes of Miss Fisher. Then Chris played on his laptop while I tried to piece together my day.
* Part of the bridge at the Eco park. *

A day at home

I slept so well last night even though I got to bed late. And we slept in. It was 9:30 when I got up. I drank a quart of water and checked e-mail. I finished the video I was watching when my skype call came last night. I did some yoga stretches and realized the floor was dirty. So I used the dust mop on all the bare floors. I dusted off the mop outside. Then I vacuumed the livingroom rug and emptied the Hoover. I also cleaned the filter. Then I read e-mail again. I had hoped there would be some word about where we are to go next, but Chris had no e-mail on that subject. So much for the promise that we would find out this week.
I got dressed and boiled water for breakfast. I added water to the ginger boiled last night and put it in the coffee pot. I e-mailed Chris the FRG permission form so he can submit it on Monday for the CO's approval.
I posted the FRG meeting to the Facebook page with a silent prayer that people will step up to the tasks and positions needed. I ate breakfast outside in the sunlight.
I spent the afternoon reading e-mail, then breaking down boxes, rifling through my sewing patterns, and doing yardwork. I played on my tablet for while, but it was running out of battery power. No matter where I plugged it in, it said it wasn't charging. Finally I turned it off. I sewed a netting bag and put it over one of the blueberry bushes. I watered my plants. I looked into detox baths, trying to find a recipe I had seen last week or the week before. But I could not find it. I posted the last two months of sewing photos to my sewing album, and the last of the cherry blossom pictures.
Chris did the laundry and I was so absorbed that I did not stop to fold it. He did it. He also made his usual supper. I washed and ate what was left of the lettuce, plus a tomato and sprouts and the rest of the hummus. I read e-mail until after 8. Then Chris sat with me and we watched three episodes of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. We had some couple time after that. Then I posted to my blog and went to bed.
* The petunias are doing well, in spite of needing bigger pots. *

Signatures and flyers

I got up at 8:30. I started drinking my quart of water and deleting e-mail. Then I got dressed, ready for my tapping buddy at 9:15. She needed a few more minutes and then we skyped. She recorded the session for the mentoring program she was in. I felt a lot lighter after the session.
All the tapping made me hungry. While I was eating breakfast and listening to the first part of a long audio, Myra called and then came over. We worked on creating an FRG flyer. I printed off one copy. We went to the Nex to get the manager's signature. No problem. Then we tried to make copies of the flyer in the FTC computer room. But no, not with a hard copy, and not with downloading it from my e-mail account. So, we talked to Brittany about the bus for the sewing group. Paul came in, too. He said the FRG could have a space by the laundry building with access to electricity for Open Base day. We also asked about the longarm machine at Yongsan. He said he'd look into it. We went to security to talk to Scott, but he was nowhere to be found. We tried Ms. Kim to print the flyers but no one on that hall ever showed up. So we each went home for lunch. I printed 15 sheets of flyers, 2 per sheet and cut the sheets in half. I put a tomato and sprouts and lettuce through the Magic Bullet. I drank that for lunch. I called Chris for the e-mail address for the JAG. He sent it to me. I scanned the permissions form and sent it to her. Then I met Myra at her parking lot. We knocked on doors and handed out flyers all through lower housing. Mostly we left the flyers stuck in the doors. Then Scott texted Myra that he was ready to come home. So she went to get him and I went home. I drank some coconut water and Dynee texted me asking to walk the trail. So I laid down for a few minutes to cool off, and then met her outside. I brought the electric bug wand and we walked the trail. She enjoyed zapping the little bugs that flew around her face. She asked if I knew where we were going and when we were leaving, and I said no, not yet.
When I got back, I drank some more and listened to more of the audio. I noticed the JAG had sent the permissions form back already. It's next stop is the CO's office and it was too late for that today. Chris came home from work. He said he would take the form to work and drop it off.
It was hard to hear all the words of the audio while Chris was making his supper and walking around in his hard-soled shoes. At one point, I paused it to go outside and water the plants.
Then I listened to the rest of the audio on sunlight and mitochondria. Basically we get too much artificial light and not enough sunlight. Light quality is more important than what you eat. The more sunlight you get, the more safely you can eat carbs and not gain weight. The doctor wears blueblocking glasses all the time indoors and gets as much sunlight outdoors as possible, wearing special clothing to let more light in.
I listened to an audio that would finish a little after 8 and we could watch TV. But then Chris picked up his hat and something else, and headed out to the airport to pick up his replacement. I had no idea, but he said he had mentioned it.
After he left, I laid down until the audio was over. Then I went to bed, but sleep would not come. So I went to the kitchen and got out the ginger roots. I washed one clump, then broke it up and peeled it with a spoon. I sliced it thinly into the tea pot and put it on to boil. I sliced up more and put it in the coffee pot, then went back to reading e-mail.
I discovered a blueberry stain on the couch cushion. I looked up how to treat stains, then dabbed it with soapy water and blotted it with a clean cloth. After several repeats, it seemed to be gone, although I wouldn't know for sure until it dried. The clothes I had soaked last night still had stains. So I looked up more solutions. One made almost 4 cups of stain remover. I kept the ratio but reduced the amounts to tablespoons. It called for ammonia. There was a jar of clear liquid under the sink. I opened it and sniffed carefully. It smelled a little like ammonia, so I used it. I made the solution and spooned it onto the stains.
I sat down to jot notes for my blog. Chris came back from getting his replacement settled into one of the housing units. He played on his laptop while I jotted notes and waited for the concentrated ginger tea to cool so I could pour it into ice cube trays.
Then my tapping buddy called. We talked and tapped for over an hour. Chris went to bed before it was over. The call ended suddenly, but we were done. I went into the kitchen to pour the cooled concentrated ginger tea into ice cube trays, which went into the fridge. Then I posted to my blog and went to bed.
* Another picture from the great wall of China *