The interview

I followed my usual morning routine. Looking at my e-mail (which took until 1 to finish), I read that you are 35,000 times more likely to get sick from other foods than from raw milk. So why is banning the sale of raw milk such a big thing for the gov't? In the afternoon, I worked on making a few more blocks for my purple and green quilt. I took a shower and put on my best shorts and top. I turned on the AC so I wouldn't sweat. But then there was the walk to post. Chris picked me up at the gate. He was so nicely dressed in his suit, holding the car door open for me. It was like having my own limousine. He drove us to his office. He put my cell phone and camera in his office. Then we walked across another pedestrian bridge to the 8th army building. I had never been inside and wanted to take pictures. It is quite nice. But apparently that would be a no-no, and posting it to my blog would be A REALLY BIG NO-NO. When we got to the conference room, there were other people there. We were early so we waited a bit. Then a general arrived to ask us questions about how well the Army Family Covenant was working, what wasn't working, etc. I think Chris and I were the only civilians there. It was very interesting to hear what army spouses had to say and I got to speak my piece too. I had a little speech prepared but did not get to use all of it. I was nervous, but Chris said I did well. We walked out talking to ladies from 2ID. Then we went back to his office. I thought he was going to drive me to the gate, but it was 20 minutes to 5, so I read the latest "Community Connections". Well, something came up and it was almost 40 minutes before he was ready to leave. When we got home, we could smell something wonderful cooking. Too bad it wasn't coming from our apartment. Chris cooked chicken legs while I listened to a subliminal mp3 and Michele watched episodes of CSI. I was going to sew after supper, but watching the latest episode of TQS filled the rest of the evening.
* from unnamed quilt show in Seoul *

Weeding books

Like yesterday, I got up after Chris left. I dressed and went downstairs to read. However, this morning there was an old Korean woman sitting on a bench on the other side of the courtyard. When I sat on the bench nearest my building, she came and sat at the other end of it. She did not talk to me, but sat there watching my building. After a while she got up and sat on a third bench, facing me and talking on her phone. Then a young Korean woman came up to me and gave me an apple in a plastic wrapper. She then sat on the bench with the older woman, watching her as she talked on her phone. Thoroughly perplexed, I read past my usual hour and then went upstairs for breakfast. I cleared some e-mail, and took a shower. Then I went to the thrift shop. There were lots of children's books, but little room for them on the shelf. So I sat on the floor and went through every book. Many were not in good shape, or had been there a long time. I weeded out quite a few. There were lots of Korean kids books so Ella asked Ms. Chung to weed those. I had just enough room to put out the books I had time for. Then I went to the ATM for money to pay Ella for her machine on behalf of Sue. I got the one with no foot pedal too. When I put them in my trunk, I pinched a nerve, and sat in the car wondering what to do. I ended up going home. I had a late lunch which became supper. I cleared more e-mail, and fought the flight website to record frequent flier miles for Michele and myself. I finished the backing for one quilt top, and wondered if I should use the leftover batting from the black and bright quilt. Chris came home and had leftovers for supper. I put on a movie called "One Week". I think it is a Canadian film. Michele and I enjoyed it. Then I reviewed my remaining quilt tops in progress to see if another one would make better use of my leftover batting. A definite maybe.
* Another pic from the unknown quilt show *

The few, the proud, the quilters

I got up just after Chris left. I dressed and went downstairs to read. The bench was full of sand. I wondered what parent let their kid do that and not clean it off afterwards. I read for almost an hour when the guard came by to pick up trash and clean the benches. Not wanting to be in his way, I went upstairs. I fixed breakfast and ate it with e-mail. I took a shower, dressed a little better, and cut up some cheese for lunch, slicing my finger in the process. Michele finished it for me. I soaked my sprouts in water and put them in the fridge 'cause the fruit flies were after them. I packed my brights on black quilt in a bag to take to quilt guild so I could trim it on a big table. I arrived at the SPC just before 9:30. One lady was waiting for a mat (my last one) so her husband could take it to work where it would be away from the heat until they went home. She also bought two rulers. She brought her friend, too. Two other ladies who were new last week showed up for a bit, then had to leave. Apparently today is a training holiday and husbands have time off. Turnout was low. As you can see in the picture, there were only 4 of us for lunch. Judy brought her birthday cake from that really expensive revolving restaurant at the top of Namsan tower. It looked really good, and really small. We talked about buying some new sewing machines, but we fear for the future of the group if we don't get new people who are willing to be officers. Some of us worked on baby quilts, and some on QOV. Three baby quilts were finished and ready to be delivered. We were packed up and out by 1. I toyed with the idea of going to Dongdaemun to get fabric to copy my new top, but I did not have quite enough energy for it. So I went home and juiced up more vegetables. That helped a lot. But then I used that energy to check out the sewing machine MaryAnn left me. At first it seemed to have a bobbin-launching feature. Never encountered that before. But I switched the metal bobbin for a plastic one and that stopped it. I don't know why it comes with 4 metal bobbins that don't work in it. Then I had to release the tension in the bobbin case to the absolute minimum. The top thread was still too loose, and the tension was cranked up to 9. So I added the bobbin thread guide to the top thread path. That gave it the needed tension to sew a balanced seam. I thought I might have it threaded wrong so I went online to find a manual. No joy in mudville. But I did come across a diagram of a similar machine, and saw I had it threaded correctly. That took far longer than I anticipated. I went back to working on the backing for my latest finished top. Chris came home, fixed supper, and brought me the mail. There was a letter from Linda, one of my friends in Augusta. Seems we share the same feeling about Obama's term in office. After supper we watched "The Wild".
Then Chris got a call from our real estate agent saying Michele's proposed apt is not a bad deal. I checked my e-mail one last time, and now am ready for bed. What a hot, sticky evening!

Getting advice on an apartment contract

I woke up at 6ish. By 6:30 I was in the courtyard reading. After an hour I came up and climbed back into bed with Chris. Eventually we took a shower and got dressed. I ate breakfast. Then we went to church. We were told that our service might get canceled after September (the end of the fiscal year). We had a new family attend today, but they did not come in the fellowship hall for refreshments. Chris counted money after the service, and then sat with the choir members (who are Korean) to review the contract for the apt. Michele wants to get with her friend. They told him they thought it was priced too highly, among other things. Also, it includes a housekeeper. That means an older woman who cleans public areas like stairwells, and cooks breakfast and dinner for residents. So far so good. And she enforces a curfew and screens visitors. As a parent I like that, but how many college students would go for it? Anyway, after that conversation, we went to the commissary for groceries. Then home. Michele helped to put them away. She had folded yesterday's laundry, and I hung up Chris' shirts. Chris stripped the beds and washed the sheets. Then we all watched a couple of movies. I quickly checked e-mail, careful not to let it swallow my whole day. Then I spent some time working to put finishing touches on another quilt top. I was piecing the backing when I quit. I listened to a scratched CD that I brought home from the thrift shop. It played fine so I will take it back and put it out for sale. Chris and Michele watched episodes of Merlin on her computer. And now it is time for bed. *Here is another quilt from an unnamed quilt show *

Saturday

I spent most of the day clearing articles and podcasts in my e-mail inbox. I did take a few breaks, like taking out the recyclables, and juicing veggies, and cooking bison for supper. I looked online for a footpedal for a machine at the thrift shop. Everything I saw was too expensive. Michele told me that she had broken up with a boy in America. She was feeling down. I did not know they were an 'item'. I told her about one of my break-ups. She mentioned finding him on Facebook to see where he is now. But that turned out to be impossible. Too many hit.
Then Chris and Michele went to post to see "Fright Night". Michele told me it was a good movie but that I would not have liked it. No kidding? They had leftovers for supper when they got back from the movie. Then the three of us watched the two remaining episodes of Middleman. Sadly, there won't be any more episodes because the series was not picked up for the next season.
* This pic was taken at some quilt show *

Getting a few items quilted

I followed my new morning routine which begins by sitting barefoot in the courtyard and reading for an hour. Then breakfast and e-mail. But I had to cut the e-mail time short, take a shower and get dressed. I grabbed my quilt top and tablerunner top and backings and a square ruler and headed out. I meant to be at the AnC center at 9, but there is always that one last thing to do before I leave. Today it was taking my supplements. Also, I ran into someone on the way who wanted to chat for a minute. When I arrived at the AnC center, Judy was waiting for me. We had not seen each other in months so we had to catch up. Then I tried to start the longarm, but there was no power. I got Ms. Kim, who flipped the breaker. Then we were in business. Judy and I pinned the quiltbacking on and I was cutting a piece of batting when Cathy arrived. Although I could longarm without her, she makes it go so much faster and is willing to do the fancier stuff that requires a better knowledge of the software than I have. Between the three of us, we picked patterns and quilted the bright on black quilt top, and the tablerunner. Cathy pieced a snowflake border from a snowflake fill. It was so good we decided to save it in case someone else wanted to use it. It was almost 5 before we left. I dropped Judy off at the Hartell House, then I went home. Chris was already home because 'they' had let everyone go home an hour early. However he was not cooking supper. I was famished having skipped lunch and only having some nuts. So I ate leftovers. I did not see him or Michele have supper at all. But later when we sat down to watch 3 episodes of Middleman, they shared a bowl of popcorn. The last episode we watched had Kevin Sorbo in it. Still looking good. Michele and I did some muscle testing on each other. That was fun and informative. Then it was 10 pm and I was tired. So we went to bed. Chris had set his alarm for 8am, but I awoke much earlier. When I got up, it woke him up too. It was so hot, we decided to put on the AC. We had some private time, and then got up at 8. He sat with his laptop to wait for the 'voices' to start. I went downstairs to read. It was nice and there were no kids on the playground, but some kid in a nearby apartment was NOT happy. I did some tapping to tune that out. I also brought my ipod and that helped too. Finally I went back upstairs for breakfast and e-mail. There was a podcast about the benefits of proper hydration and good water. Municipal water is typically full of prescription drugs that were in waste water, but the processing plant is not equipped to filter them out.

Has Michele found an apartment?

Chris got up extra early (like before 5) to go to work, so I did not get up when he did. I got up at 6 when day light came in around the curtain. I dressed and went to the courtyard to read. There was not as much daylight as I expected, and I suppose there will be less and less each morning. At 7:15 I went upstairs for breakfast and e-mail. When I had dealt with all the new mail, I showered and dressed for the job fair. No, not for me, for Michele. I drove her there and we waited outside the meeting room for it to begin. Somehow a conversation started with the lady next to me. When I mentioned that Michele was my daughter, she seemed surprised. She thought we were friends. When Col. Huber arrived, we all went in and stood while he made his opening remarks. He kept it short and soon we were visiting different tables looking for someone who had a job fit for a college student with a busy schedule. Michele collected a few handouts and applications. Then I drove her home and I went to the thrift shop. The first item of business was to check out the donated sewing machine. I had been warned that it did not have a foot pedal, so I brought mine. It fit perfectly. I put the sewing machine through its paces and it did fine, but with a little hesitation. However, in order to sell it, we have to come up with a foot pedal for it. Hmm. There were a few books and I shelved those, and moved others to where they belonged. There was a lot of stuff out of place. There were also a lot of CD's. Half I threw into charity. The other half went into a bin in the electronics room. Having finished that, I counted a 1000 piece puzzle and put it out for sale. Ella had brought in her machine that she wants to sell privately. I looked it over and took a few notes so I could send an announcement to my 'list'. It is a Brother, kinda like my other machine, but lower end. Then we packed up for the day. I went to the commissary and bought veggies to juice. When I got home, I ate lunch first, then washed the produce, cut it up, juiced it, poured it into popsicle molds, and washed the juicer. The pulp went into the kimchi jar. Then I needed a break. I checked e-mail for awhile. Chris came home while I was reading a book, and he started supper. The Netflix offering came in: "My Super Ex-girlfriend". It took us all evening to watch it because Michele kept getting phone calls. First, it seemed like her friend had found them a wonderful apartment to share, but it was going fast and they needed to decide right away. After many questions, it finally came out that a $70,000 deposit was required. Dealbreaker! So we went back to the movie. Amazingly, her future roommate called back with another deal on another apartment. But this one is not moving as fast, so we have time to look into it. Finally finish the movie. At first I thought that I wanted her to stay with us until we left. But now I think if she moves out soon, we will have time to help her make it a home before we leave. Time to make the sandwich and go to bed.
* Quilttop of Valor *