New life

I used up the last of the bread making Chris's sandwich so I left the bread maker lid open to remind me to make more, and I went back to bed. I wasn't in bed long when some thought got me up and going. Too bad, because I didn't sleep well last night. Anyway, I didn't have to go anywhere, so I worked on e-mail and put my sewing room in some semblance of order. I added a 6 ft plank above my sewing table to take up some of the clutter that always seems to be in my way. I also checked on my tomato seeds and was very pleased to see that they are up already. Sadly most of them will not make it because I only have one pot to plant in. Right now it has a pointsettia that is on its way out. I miss having a garden to plant in. Sigh. I wonder if tomato sprouts are edible?
I spent the afternoon making a baby quilt top from extra squares for class tomorrow night. Oh yes, and I did remember to make another loaf of bread. I finished reading the Silva pdf thinking it would contain a word-for-word script so I could record it in my own voice, but it didn't. So I spent the evening transcribing several mp3 sessions. I am doing this to increase my brainpower and problem-solving ability.

A walk in the park

I finished the thrift shop banner, then asked Chris to drive me to the store. Ella, the manager, was quite pleased with it. I spent almost 2 hours shelving books and DVDs. Although they told me there were more books outside in the bin, I signed out at noon to meet Julia at the subway station. Along the way I stopped at the Shoppette for natural peanutbutter for my next batch of fudge (which I will take to the quilt meeting). I met Julia coming out of Ichon station and we walked past the National Museum of Korea to Yongsan Family Park. The flowers were just getting started. We walked all around and even tried out the exercise machines. Lots of Korean kids were there, playing around after seeing the museum. Then we walked back to post and I signed her on. I showed her the gym, the cinema, the thrift shop, the post office, the ACS building and the Dragon Hill. Then she went home and I took the bus to my gate. I spent some time on e-mail and Youtube. Chris had pork in the crock pot, and we ate it for supper. Being tired from all the walking, I had to lay down for awhile to get up the energy to write this post.

A few good ideas

I took the remaining avocado mixture from the fridge and slathered it on my head. This time I had the full 30 minutes, and then showered as usual. (I hope I don't have to explain to some Korean plumber why the drain is full of avocado chunks.) I gathered everything thing I thought I needed for the day, and headed out. I met Pam at the gate, and we drove to Annette's house for show-and-tell and the secret sister exchange. Cathy J did a demo on cutting up a floral stripe into triangles to make a tablerunner. It was very cool. She and Annette also made some quilts together (see pic). We had planned to catch the subway to the Mad for Garlic restaurant, but so few people were going that the few of us left decided to walk into Itaewon to an Indian restaurant. The food was very spicy and the waiter didn't speak enough English for us to get what we wanted, so we probably won't go back. I enjoyed my lunch though. We walked back, and Pam took me by the post office to mail my mother a gift. Then she dropped me off at my gate. I spent the rest of the afternoon checking e-mail and listening to interviews (and a little cleaning). Then I retired to my sewing room to work on the thrift shop banner. I got all the letters sewn on and the rod pockets made.

Easter Sunday

When I got up, I looked to see if Michele had found her 'eggs'. She had already eaten the golden nugget, and had found more than half of the chocolate balls. I put on the blue dress I made for church. Unfortunately I didn't think to make a matching belt so I wore one of Michele's scarves. The church was full of lilies and I should have taken a picture, but I didn't. Here is the after-church spread. The chocolate bird's nests don't show, but I hear they were very good. There was an egg hunt after church. Although no age limit was specified, I figured I wasn't invited. After church we stopped at the AnC center for a 6-foot board to build more shelving in my sewing room. It just gets harder to fit all the fabric in. (I don't see how we can stay here another year. There won't be any living space left.)
We also stopped at the commissary for groceries. We were back in time to put them away and get to the theatre to see "How to train your dragon". It was a cute movie.
I worked on my e-mail then until supper was ready. After supper we watched some DVD's and I gave Michele some hints for finding more chocolate balls. There is only one left. Then it hit me: wouldn't it be funny if I re-hid the ones she found while she is sleeping? What a mean mother I am! Bwahahahahaha!

Pre-Easter preparation

Last night after writing to my blog, I saw my seed starter kit. So I soaked the little pellets, and planted tomato seeds in them. Then it was off to bed. In the morning I got up to have breakfast and get ready for the game. We all played with the voices today, but this game was different. Instead of having a team quest, we were all individuals going to a three-day competition. So each person had fight their own battles. That left me time in between to work on my dahlia quilt and the thrift shop banner. Unfortunately the corners were too small (or the dahlia is too big). For the banner I made templates and cut large letters out of white denim. The background is a work in progress. It sounds so simple to satin-stitch the letters on, but in reality moving a LARGE piece of fabric through the machine in all different directions is a recipe for frustration. The game lasted until 5. I started on the backing, and then Chris had supper ready. After supper I cleared some e-mail and tried to finish reading a pdf. When Michele went to bed, I got out the basket and plastic grass. I have one piece of chocolate that looks like a golden nugget. I put that in the basket. It looks like the Easter bunny's version of coal-in-a-stocking. Ha. Then I hid Ferrero Rochet balls all over the living room and its general area. After all I don't have any colored eggs and some traditions must be preserved.

Productive day

I tried something new this morning - avocado hair conditioner. I mashed up an avocado, an egg yolk, and some olive oil. I spread it on my hair. 30 minutes is the recommended time, but by the time I got the mixture ready and spread, I only had 10 minutes to spare. The avocado wasn't as ripe as I thought and I had chunks falling off of my head. They were everywhere: on the floor, in the sink, and in my ears. I looked like a mate for the Jolly Green Giant. Then I showered, removing it all. I dressed and met Chris at the gate. He drove me to his office where they were gathering to go to the mushroom restaurant. Ms. Yi helped me learn some Korean. Then we drove to another walk-in gate, and walked to the restaurant. We sat on the floor and they brought us their specialty, cooked in the middle of the table. I had been taught not to leave food behind, so tried to eat my share. But Chris was able to clean up for all of us. I read recently that in Korea if you don't leave some food behind they think you are still hungry and that they were bad hosts and didn't make enough. See the tissue box on the table? It's a joke. What you really need is a roll of papertowels.
Then we walked back. Chris dropped me off at the PX, where I was able to buy an egg coloring kit, and a high-cocoa chocolate bar. I walked to the DHL, and examined the walls for a place to hang a quilt. I did the same thing at the ACS building. My thought is that instead of a quilt show for a day or two, we could hang one quilt, changing it out periodically, with a small sign advertising our group. I just don't know how to make it happen. Anyway, I stopped by the commissary and got coconut milk. When I got home, there were several hour-long interviews in my e-mail. I attempted to listen to all of them, but cut one short. When Chris came home and Michele was still out, we had some alone time. Neither of us were hungry for supper, having had a big lunch. I made a recipe of Healthy Chocolate Peanutbutter Fudge. It uses chopped dates instead of sugar. Instead of commercial peanutbutter, I made my own by washing some mixed nuts and putting them in the blender with a little oil. It also calls for coconut milk, wheat germ and fiber. When I was finished, I tasted it and put the rest in the fridge to harden. It is good because it isn't so sweet that you can't taste the chocolate.

Dying for colored eggs

This morning I stayed up after making his sandwich. I cleared out much of my e-mail, and almost finished the binding on the floral quilt while listening to some audios. Then I walked to the thrift shop. I was able to get in 3.75 hours. Part of that was Ella asking me to go with her and some others to get lunch at the Katusa snack bar. I ordered the bean paste soup, but when we got back and sat down to eat, what I got was the bean curd soup (with tofu). After working, I walked with Gerri to the commissary. I wanted to buy egg dye, but they didn't have any, nor any food coloring:( I want to protest! As an American I have the right to color my food!
Then I went home. I was able to finish the binding listening to another interview (makes me feel productive). When Chris came home, I was almost ready for class. I grabbed my keys and copy of the project directions, and headed for the SPC. This time I couldn't steal tables from other rooms because they were in use. So I got the stack of leftovers from the big room. I made copies for everyone, and started setting up the room. I had hoped to do a little maintenance on the sewing machines, but ran out of time. A fair number of people showed up to make the baby quilts. We got as far as we could in one night, but will have to do the batting and backing steps next week. Everyone helped to clean up. I drove home and decided to make things easy on myself by parking nose first in the parking deck. I listened to another audio interview, and then it was time for bed.