How do you oil a camera?

I heard my alarm go off, already awake but not by much. I must have slept well because I don’t remember waking up in the middle of the night. I got up before 8. I drank a quart of water and looked at Swanson’s latest sale. I cleared e-mail and started reading the rest. One article suggested oregano oil for itchy patches of skin, so I put a few drops in the jojoba oil that spilled onto the bag and rubbed that into the skin above my ear. I rubbed the rest of the oil on my feet and then threw the bag out. I did today’s puzzle. I got my unread e-mail down to the 50’s. No summits this week really cuts down on the time at my laptop. I worked on the copy of my red dress. The fabric was extra wide so there was a chance of using a double fold and saving lots of fabric. It took extra time and it was really close, but I made it work. I had to turn all the pieces upside down, which meant I had to cut out the paper pattern first. There must have been another way. Then I fused interfacing to the facing pieces. I made and ate breakfast. Chris came home with two packages from Swansons, but they were from the same order. I took a shower and got dressed. I watched part of a video on charisma. I put Epsom salts in a container, walked to massage place, and handed over the salts. He put them in the foot soak while I changed into massage clothes. After I soaked my feet and relaxed, Mr. Kim gave me a lower body massage. I paid, and set up an appointment for next week. As usual, I had to guess what kind of massage I will want. I went to the market, and found a new fanny pack. The zipper broke on mine and now that it was full of oil, it is time to replace it. I figure I got my money’s worth since I bought it on a yardsale over 10 years ago. Then I went to Daiso to look for the hat Nela wants, but it hadn’t been restocked yet. I ended up buying elastic and dressmaker scissors. I wandered through the market. I noticed numerous booths with sewing machines and got to thinking that some of these ladies might make clothing to order. Then I walked home, past a man playing saxophone. I took a surreptitious pic, but my camera screen was so dark I don’t think it came out. I had a bite to eat at home. I emptied the old fanny pack and filled the new one. My camera was oily from being in the pack, and now it looks like a giant thumb print is on the screen, but it must be on the inside. I resumed work on the dress. I got out the serger to serge the edges of the facings, then I sewed them together at the shoulders. I drew and sewed the darts in the front. I had more trouble replicating the darts in the back because they were longitudinal and did not intersect with the edges of the fabric. I sewed the front to the back at the shoulders, then sewed on the facing around the neckline. I understitched it, but could not find pinking shears to trim. Chris was home and finished supper so I thought I had better eat so we could watch TV. I made a salad. Then we saw several episodes of Bones. Chris made a work-related call to the states and then went to bed. I stayed up to blog and clear e-mail again. I spent way too much time trying to find a Facebook post I meant to respond to. So I sent an e-mail. Then I posted to my blog and went to bed.
* I guess the pic is better than it looks on-screen. *

Sewing day

Chris got up early for PT. I heard my alarm go off at 7:30. I did some mental programming until Chris came home. Then I got up. I read e-mail and drank water. Chris put out the recyclables and went to work. Then I was reminded to put out cardboard boxes from the back porch. I did today’s puzzle while listening to an audio – a rather long audio. I ate some seed crackers. I gathered my stuff together for QOV, and walked to the chapel. I was a little late but no one else had come. The secretary had put our stuff in the kids classroom because the adult classroom was in use. I set up one machine, then sat and sewed binding. Suzanne came in later with her daughter and soon Anna was there with her son. The kids kind of played together. Anna worked on QOV blocks. Susanne wanted to line the patchwork pillow top she had made. But she needed batting to do it and I had not brought any. The secretary came in and asked if she could do some stitching on the QOV, so I said yes. I figured I could take it out if it was bad, but it was very very good. Danielle came and worked on a cathedral window project. Nela dropped by during part of her lunch break. Sometime after one, we cleaned up and went home. Anna dropped me off. I made and ate breakfast. I watched videos on making patterns from clothing. Then I worked on making a pattern from my red dress. Chris came home while I was working. Then I realized how late it was. I gathered my pattern-making things and the quilt and drove to the chapel. No one was there, so I moved everything from the kids classroom to the adult classroom. I used the seam ripper to remove the Velcro from the changing mat clutch and reposition it. As I was sewing it on, ladies arrived with their kids. Anna brought Janelle and helped her to work on a skirt with gathered flounce. Suzanne came with a friend who had never sewn before. I got her started on a baby bib. Her little girl and Suzann’s little girl played together, but not quietly or in one place. I played with them a little to help keep them occupied. It wore me out. Suzanne finished her pillow top lining (except for the quilting) and I helped her make pattern pieces from a dress she’d brought. It took us way over time, but Chris had gone to the movies so I was ok. I should mention that I had forgotten the batting and he brought it to me on his way to the theater. Helen came and worked on place mats while another Korean lady worked on her cushions. It was a full house with Nela there, too. One by one, they had to leave. Then we packed up. I found the front pouch of my fanny pack was sopping wet with oil. I could not figure out where it had come from. Most of the sewing stuff went into the closet, but I brought the pattern-making items home. As I passed Myra's place, I saw lights on. I was glad she was back. I parked the car and went in my house. That is when I saw the not-quite-closed bottle of jojoba oil. It was on a bag on the floor and my pouch must have been in it. Chris was home and ready to watch, so we saw an episode of Bones. Then he went to bed while I stayed up to write my post and drink ginger water with magnesium and salt.
* The baby's mom made the bib, but someone else is holding the baby. *

Baby change mat clutch

I went to bed about 11:30 last night. I heard Chris get up about 1 to get ready for the teleconference at 2. My legs were very restless, especially after he left. I did all sorts of yoga poses but nothing helped. Finally I drank some heavily salted water. That calmed it down a lot but not completely. I was still awake when he came home. I woke up before he did in the morning. I got up to shut my alarm off and check messages. Anna had sent me a pic of a skirt that she finished late last night. I went back to bed. He was waiting for me… Later I got up to start my day. I drank water and checked e-mail. I did my exercises and made coffee. Chris got up to get ready for work. After he left, I was meditating and heard spraying. I threw on some clothes and went outside to look. When I found the man, he was in back next door so he had already sprayed our house for centipedes. I was hoping to spare the vegetables but it was too late. I watered the potted plants. Then I went back to finish my meditation. Things went so well, that I was on time for yoga, but the leader wasn’t. She was caught in mandatory training, so we got a late start. Afterward, one of the ladies mentioned wanting to make a bag to carry her yoga mat. Then I walked home. I made and ate breakfast while reading e-mail, but there wasn’t much. I worked on the sewing project for tomorrow night. It was a baby changing mat clutch from Whatsmummyupto.com. Cute. I changed a few details of the process. But also sewed the flap on upside down and so the Velcro was in the wrong place. I posted a class reminder to the Facebook page. Chris walked home with the PAO, who wanted to take a pic of us with our Yard of the Month sign. Then they left. I did today’s puzzle. I looked at sewing videos since Jo-anns had a free class from Craftsy offer. Chris came home and made supper. Then we watched three episodes of Bones. I worked on the binding while watching. In the last episode, Bones and Booth got married. It seemed like a season finale to me, but Chris said it wasn’t. Then I posted to my blog and cleared out a few last e-mails. I have to collate the recyclables before I can go to bed.

To market, to market, to buy ... dress fabric!

I put a note in an envelope last night to go in the mail today. Then I drank water with magnesium in it. I went to bed expecting to get up in the middle of the night, but I did not wake up. I heard my alarm go off at 7:30. I did some tapping. I heard the sound of a text message on my phone so I got up to read it. Anna said she’d be here at 9 to pick me up. So I texted Nela and So Young. I drank a quart of water and checked e-mail, but there wasn’t much. I got my bag ready to go to the market. I washed myself from the washbowl, having read about the benefits of not using soap or shampoo because they disturb the skin’s microbiome. I got dressed and made the bed. I watered the plants. I counted the slugs without removing them from the plate. There were about 20 so the count is now 232. I ate some seed crackers, then put a baggie of walnuts in my bag. I grabbed my Xero shoes and went outside to put them on. But Anna was parked at the curb, so I kept going. I put my shoes on in her car while we picked up Nela. I gave Nela the coconut butter and she put it in her kitchen, then we got in the car. Anna drove us to So Young’s apartment complex. We were a little early so we waited. Then we were on our way to Busan, but the GPS was doing funny things. We had to stop for me to pee. Then when we got to Busan, finding parking was not fun. Anna’s son was very impatient. He said he was hungry but when I offered him walnuts, he refused. Finally we found a spot. We got out and walked across the street to the main building. First we looked for couch fabrics for Anna, but she gave up trying to find it as cheap as in Daegu. Then we were looking at dress fabrics. Yes, I bought some myself. I even got metal loops. They were for keys, but I think they will work for purse handles. Finally So Young asked around for lunch options. Someone recommended a restaurant and we went there. Nela and I had the eel soup. The others got bulgogi. There were a ton of side dishes. It was all good to me, but Anna’s son did not like hardly any of it. We paid and walked out. Nela showed us where the interfacing store was. I got some fuseable lightweight and stretch. Then we found the car and went home. The GPS was not a lot of help. We dropped off So Young and came back to base. We dropped off Nela and then myself. I took my bags inside and dropped them. I made breakfast and ate it while clearing e-mail. There was not much. I got out my fabrics and took a pic. Then I looked up a possible class project on the desktop. But it was running slow, so I moved to the laptop. Chris came home for supper. He fixed his usual supper. I threw today’s fabrics in the washer. When Chris was done eating, we sat down to watch The Emperor’s New Groove streamed from Netflix. Then Chris went to bed, before 9, so he could get up at 2 for a teleconference. I took my fabrics to the back to iron them. Then I searched for a coordinating set for the project. I brought two out to the cutting table to cut the desired rectangles. I took a break to watch a tapping video. It turned into a long break and I never got back to sewing. Now it is time to very quietly go to bed, allowing Chris to sleep until his teleconference.
* Auditioning a piece of fabric in the market. Wonderful feel, but not worth the $30 price tag. *

Another item off my to-do list

I woke up about 1:30, my leg aching. I heard Chris come to bed. It took me a while to go back to sleep, but then I slept until morning. I got up when Chris did. I checked e-mail and drank a quart of water. There is no Sunday puzzle so I briefly considered doing the Monday puzzle. Chris went to church. I read e-mail until 9:30. I put some homemade shampoo in a bottle for So Young, then took a shower. I used my new shampoo, but it did not get the coconut oil out, so I had to use some of the regular shampoo also. I got dressed and went back to my laptop. Chris came home. I put on my shoes and he dropped me off at church. I put the small bottle of shampoo in the fridge for So Young, and took my seat in the chapel. We had the usual service. A young man told me that Jane was not returning his messages so I made a note to e-mail her. I spoke to So Young about tomorrow. She told me that the needle had broken and she couldn’t get the new one to work so she wants me to come to lunch again one day. The pianist said she wants to take me to her massage place on Friday. Then Chris arrived to take me home. I changed into shorts. We walked to the commissary and ran into Adrian. She asked me to go to a plant place with her. Then we shopped for food and carried it home. I made breakfast. Chris put a second load in the washer. He folded the first load and went to work. I made a new mix of flax and chia. I ate breakfast while listening to an audio. I put together part of a Swanson’s order. I went outside to water the plants. I picked a hot pepper and blended it with water to make a pepper spray. I sprayed it on the lettuce and hosta and strawberries. I filled two water pitchers with water from the shower filter. I ate a banana for potassium. I took a top I made recently and sized it down. Then I went looking for the pattern to size it down, too. I got side-tracked when I saw all the dirt in the vacuum cleaner cup. I took the cup outside with a plastic bag. As I was cleaning it, Chris came home. We walked up the hill to see if anything was left of his spaghetti squash plants, but someone had used the weed eater on both sides of the steps, far enough to rip apart all the plants. We laid down for a space of time. Then Chris got up to cook supper – ground bison. I continued my search for the pattern and eventually found it. I took half an inch out of both sides. Then we ate. Nela called to see if I had heard from Anna about the trip tomorrow, but I hadn’t. I was going to try coconut butter with peanut butter, but the ingredients in the peanut butter were just too objectionable. So I tried it with Nutella, a little easier to justify. And they were good together. I put beer out for the slugs. The count is up to 212. I finalized my Swanson’s order by adding all the cedarwood oils to my cart and seeing if any were not deleted as ‘undeliverable’ to South Korea. Out of 4, two made the cut and I chose the brand I knew. Then I submitted it. I listened to two audios while Chris folded laundry. I also did the Monday puzzle. Then we watched two episodes of Big Bang Theory. He said we had seen them before, but those shows seemed new to me. He went to bed and I stayed up to post to my blog.
* Here Princess is showing off the matching burp cloth. *

Sun for a change

I looked up how to resolve a trigger point and left it on my screen before I went to bed. I used the grounding pad and slept really well. But when I woke up, my shoulders were a little tight. I put a tennis ball under my shoulder, but that did not help. So I tried various stretches in bed. Finally I just got up. I looked at more videos on trigger points. I tried the different stretches while drinking my quart of water.
I read e-mail, and watched tapping videos. I exercised, took my vit C, then made and ate breakfast. I shaved my thigh where the patch goes because peeling it off was painful. I blended up food waste in Magic Bullet and poured it on the garden. I ate several ripe cherry tomatoes. I noted how caterpillars had been eating my lettuce. I took the frozen shampoo out of the little stand-alone freezer and unplugged it. I popped the shampoo ‘muffins’ from their silicone mold and put them into a bag in the regular freezer. I finished the sample blanket, then put the blanket fabrics away in drawers in the sunporch. I cleared dirty dishes in the sink, and did today’s puzzle. I trimmed my Xero shoes. I wore them outside to find yard work. I dug up dirt from the ditch up the hill, and spread it on the flower beds. I dug up the five concrete squares that are stepping stones to the shed. I reburied them low enough so I could mow over them. The extra dirt from under the stones went into depressions in the front yard. I cleared more e-mail and then watched a video while I worked on the binding. I also watched a video about how to prepare a hotel room to be more conducive to sleep. Chris came home from work (yes, on a Saturday) and I made him a loaf of bread. I read about homemade quilt basting spray. We watched several episodes of Bones, ending up in season 9. I put a little bit of coconut oil in my hair because it was dry. Chris prepared to start a game with the voices online. But he used headphones so it would not keep me awake. Then I posted to my blog and headed for bed.
* This is Princess, showing the baby bib she made on Wednesday night. *

Shampoo and haircut

Chris woke me up early, then got up to shower and that is when I heard the alarm go off. I did some mental programming and then got out of bed. I unhooked the grounding wire. I was getting ready to read e-mail when Chris told me that Community Round-up was at 8:30. I told him I had seen it on Facebook yesterday for 9, the usual time. So he left for work. I got in the shower and used my new shampoo. I liked the way my hair turned out even without the vinegar rinse. But while I was drying off, Chris called to say that Round-up was definitely at 8:30 and he was on his way to get me. So I finished drying and put on pants and a nice shirt. My hair was still wet. He showed up and we left. Only a few people were at Round-up, not having got the word. So it started late. We did not go through 8 weeks, only about 6 I think. Announcements were made and then Yard of the Month was awarded. Our picture was taken and later I saw that my hair was not well arranged. I hung around a bit then decided to go home because I had stuff to do and did not need to be present for the reenlistment ceremony at 10. But on my way out, I ran into the family and friends of the re-enlister so I stayed. The ceremony was scheduled for the turtle ship but because of the rain, it was in the same place as the round-up. It was not a long ceremony, but his family came from the states to be present. Afterward, I rode home with Kelly. She gave me a haircut. I listened to her children shouting and was glad not to have young kids in my house. I paid her and she put my hair cuttings in a bag for my garden. She dropped me off at my house on her way to the commissary. I finished drinking my quart of water. I worked on So Young’s cushion zipper. We had gotten too many layers caught in the zipper seam. I inadvertently zipped it too far and the pull came off. So I took the whole right side out and finagled the pull back on. Then I handbasted the right side in place. I think I will let her sew it. Chris came home with a package while I was basting. Then I made breakfast while he made lunch. I unloaded the dry dishes from the dishwasher and scraped paper label remnants from a bowl. I ate my breakfast while reading e-mail. I worked today’s puzzle. I put together a Swanson’s order. I looked up the meridian that runs under my ear. I renewed my subscription to TQS, and got the free book they offered. I unpacked the package and added them to the supplement dosages for the week. I unloaded the rest of the dishwasher. I put on a tapping video. I was sweeping the floor when Chris came home. A centipede appeared in front of my dust mop, so Chris stepped on it and wiped it up. I finished sweeping the bare floors. I told Chris that someone told me if you crush a centipede, it releases a scent that causes other centipedes to come. But I did not read it on the internet so I don’t know if it’s true. Chris changed his clothes and recounted his day. He made himself supper and I made a salad. I watched an episode of TQS while working on the binding of the quilt. Then we watched three episodes of Bones. Dr. Saroyan did not wear anything I would want to copy in any of the shows. Chris went to bed and I stayed up to blog.
* I did not take any pics today, so here is another one from acro-yoga *

Shampoo

I slept well last night. The grounding pad was plugged into the socket by the bed. The leg it was attached to gave me no problem at all. I heard Chris leave to go running, fell asleep again, and woke up when he got back. I even got up before the alarm went off, feeling fully rested. I drank water and read e-mail. Kurt texted me on Skype, trying to send a picture. I heated water, added turmeric and salt and pepper, then called the gym to ask them to turn on the sauna. I prepared my sauna bag and filled three water bottles. I walked to the gym. When I went into the sauna, someone was there, but she did not stay long. I wore my headphones to play meditation music and I wore an eye mask. I drank two of the water bottles while sweating it out. I left a little early, not knowing what time it was. I took a cold shower, which was very refreshing. I got to yoga class early. We had a full class and kids participated. After class I stopped to talk. I was asked to teach music at the school. I went home and prepared breakfast. Chris came home for lunch. I wiped any sweat off, and changed clothes. I headed to my massage. On the way, I encountered the church pianist. She told me about a place that gives a cheaper massage which is across the street from McDonalds. I got to my massage a minute or two late. I soaked my feet in hot water while relaxing with a cold glass of tea. Then the masseuse took me to a private room to rub me the right way. For some reason, he rubbed under my left ear and it hurt like a son of a gun. But somehow he got it down to a mere discomfort. I wish he had indicated which meridian it was on. The full body massage did not include feet, so I made my appointment for next week for a foot massage. I headed for the market, passing McDonalds. I looked for a massage place but did not see anything obvious. Then I went to Daiso to get the hat Nela wanted, but they had not restocked it yet. Then I wandered, buying cherry tomatoes, nectarines, really long cucumbers, and a branch of aloe. Sadly, after such a good massage, I walked home lugging vegetables. I put the food away, and got out the lawn mower. In case there is an announcement tomorrow about Yard of the Month, I want it to look good. So I trimmed the yard, too. I came in for supper. I ate the last chicken leg. Then I made a salad, and included some dandelion from the yard. Chris came home while I was listening to an audio and eating. I poured some beer into a plate for the slugs. The count is now up to 202. I cut the sharp spines off of the aloe. I used a spoon to scrape out the insides into a small blender. It did not get the lumps out. I added the coconut milk and saw that it was too much for the container. So I poured it all into the kitchen blender. It came out like frothy like milk, and tasted good, too. The shampoo recipe called for it to be poured into ice cube trays, but we could not find any here. So I poured it into silicon muffin cups. It would not fit in the freezer so I put it in the fridge. I put the rest in a container. Then I cleaned up utensils and mess in the kitchen. We ran the dishwasher. We watched two episodes of Bones. I really enjoy seeing the different styles of dresses that Dr. Saroyan wears. Chris went to bed and I stayed up to blog and delete e-mail.
* This is Nela making two quilt blocks of her own, in the style of our hashtag quilt. *

Grounded

I had another long night. Chris helped me to get to sleep, but I woke up early because my right thigh was aching so badly. Chris went to PT and when he came back, told me that they did not do acro-yoga after all. I wrapped my leg with the heating pad for a while. Then I sat at my laptop, checking e-mail and holding an ice pack on my leg. Chris got ready and went to work. I drank water and took my three packets of vitamin C. I did today’s puzzle while listening to an audio. I cut out the pattern for today’s project – a baby bib. I traced the pattern, stitched on the line, then cut it out and sewed it up. I put the tools I used in my bag for later. I made and ate breakfast. Then I grabbed my bag and walked to the chapel for Quilts of Valor. No one was in the classroom, so I set up the machine. I put tables together and laid out the QOV. I pinned the binding on, but there was not enough. So I cut another strip and pieced it on. Then I sewed around the edge ‘till I got to the beginning. I joined the tails and pinned the strip in place. Nela came on her lunch break and told me the story of her friend’s visit. I took just enough time to stitch the remaining 12 inches and turned the machine off. While she was talking, Chris came in with the mail, but nothing important or even interesting. He left and she finished her story. We talked about going to Busan on Monday. Then she left at 1. I packed up most of the stuff and put the tables back, figuring that we would move it all to the other classroom tonight. I walked home in the rain. I read e-mail and looked at sewing videos. I searched Pinterest to find out how to keep other people from posting on my page. Finally I had to submit the question. I created another page and moved the pins in question to it. Later two people answered, saying that I had to delete any ‘collaborators’ listed on my page. I thanked them for their advice. I ate nuts and blueberries. I unpacked a box from days ago. It was the earthing kit I ordered. It contained a device to check grounded outlets. I checked a bunch around the house. I put a patch on my right thigh and plugged it into the ground socket of the wall. Later I made a salad while plugged into the socket in the kitchen. Then it was time to go. I got Chris’ keys and drove the chapel. At first I was alone, but then Princess came and helped me set up. We had to do it in the same classroom, because the people in our regular classroom left their books and papers at their seats overnight. I got her started making the baby bib. Then Nela came to work on a block. Mrs. Cho brought material to make cushions. I could not understand what exactly she wanted, but she seemed to know what she was doing. And then the needle broke. I questioned her on how, but she did not know. I rethreaded the machine, wound a new bobbin and put in a new needle. I helped Nela get her squares into her block. Anna came to make a dress. It was not a beginner project as it had lots of pieces. I measured her and we shortened the appropriate pieces. Then she laid them out. The AC kept blowing the pieces away so we got Mrs. Cho to turn it off. Finally she was ready to cut. And it was 8:30. So I helped her to hasten the process. Princess took the time to trace the bib again on new fabric. Then we all packed up. Actually, there wasn’t much for me to do. We turned off all the lights and closed the doors. The doors did not lock, but there was nothing we could do about that. I took Nela home and went home myself. Chris and I watched an episode of Bones, then he went to bed. I stayed up to blog and clear some e-mail because it had built up so much. I used the grounding wire while I typed. Then I went to bed.

Acro-yoga

I did not sleep well last night, probably because I was so hungry. Also, Chris was exuding a very sour smell. I did not wake him up, just took my pillow to the living room to try to sleep. I woke up early because of the daylight and went back to the bedroom. Later he got up to make breakfast and take a shower. Then I got up, swished and checked e-mail. Housing called while he was in the shower to tell him that he would be officially awarded Yard of the Month at the next community round-up. After he left, I drank water and did today’s puzzle. I cleared as much e-mail as I could while listening to an audio. It talked about how the GMO science is based on the idea that each gene has only one function. But now we know that the genes have interrelated functions so changing one gene can have all sorts of repercussions. I took a shower and got dressed. I posted to the community Facebook page about the QOV and sewing classes tomorrow. I left with my yoga mat and Anna appeared just in time to give me a ride to the gym. Today’s yoga was acro-yoga with partners. Anna was my partner and I thought I was too heavy for her since she is smaller than me. But we did ok. Joelle invited the class to come tomorrow to the 7am command PT with our spouses for more acro-yoga. Anna dropped me off at home. I spoke to Chris and changed my clothes. I grabbed the bug spray that I had made. Anna picked me up at the front sidewalk. We drove to So Young’s apartment building. She met us in the parking deck and showed us how to get to her place. There, we met Ma-nay from Chile. I spoke to her while So Young showed Anna around the apartment. After quite a bit of chat, So Young gave us plates and we filled them from the various bowls around. There were two kinds of kimchi, and four kinds of meat, as well as salad and mushrooms. We sat to eat while Anna’s son played with toys on the floor.

Then Ma-nay had to leave. She left her sewing machine behind. So Young told me it was new, but there were pieces missing so I guess Ma-nay did not bring everything. Still, there was enough to work with. I re-wound the bobbin and sewed a little, then showed So Young how it worked. I made her thread and re-thread the machine and wind the bobbin herself. That was harder than it should have been because of the touch-screen option. So Young learned it so that she could teach Ma-nay. Anna was impressed with the automatic cutter. Again, we chatted until Anna had to leave. So Young had us take extra food with us. She accompanied us to the parking deck where we thanked her again and went back to the base. Anna took me to her house and she picked me a huge bowl of lettuces and herbs. She dropped me at home on her way to the commissary. I put the bowl in the fridge after taking out enough for supper. Then I ate it while composing my blog for the day so far. I went outside to count the dead slugs. I pulled out 10 dead ones, but there were three who were still alive. So I poured out the beer and poured in some rubbing alcohol. I kind of felt sorry for them as they writhed about. Inside, I crushed two cloves of garlic and left them to age for 15 minutes. Chris came home from work and started making himself supper. I told him about the food I brought home. When the garlic was ready, I got out the hummus, but Chris said it smelled bad. So I made more hummus, and used the garlic. I ate some and put the rest away. I put the last bottle of beer in the slug plate after pouring out the rubbing alcohol. I bagged up the recyclables which had mounted considerably. I finished an audio. We watched the last two episodes of Castle on the Netflix DVD. Chris went to bed, but I stayed up to post to my blog. I downloaded pics from my camera. Since it was earlier than usual, I cleared out some e-mail before I went to bed.


Since my itchy ear still itches, I am assuming now that it is not food related. I did not experience the heightened clarity of mind that I had heard people do after days of not eating. On the other hand, my brain is as good as it normally is, and I feel good.

Could shampoo be the solution?

I slept well again. I awoke hearing Chris get dressed for PT. I laid in bed doing some mental programming. Then I got up about 7:30. I fixed the green pillow whose topstitching was coming apart. I boiled water for coffee. I did my exercises and rebounding and drybrushing. Chris came back from PT. He took his shower and got ready for work. He used his skype account to call my dad and then he left. I talked to my dad for about 50 minutes. We had a nice chat about his shoes and the power outage. Then I finished my coffee morning listening to audios and tapping. I decided I could go another day without eating. I drank lots of water and made ginger root tea. I cleaned in the bathrooms and kitchen. I got dressed to go walk the trail when Chris came home. He brought me a quilting catalog from the post office. I headed to the trail and it started to rain. I walked up to where the steep part begins and turned around, knowing the steep parts are not safe when wet. When I came back, I saw the water from the rain spout flowing into the yard. I arranged a plastic bag to shunt it to the strawberry patch. Chris was just leaving. I read e-mail and looked into homemade shampoo. I learned that shampoo that is not ph balanced can cause dry hair and itchy scalp. Hmmm. I found a recipe that called for aloe gel, which I had to order. I put together a small Swanson’s order for their free shipping over $15 offer. I consumed some beef broth. I watched the rest of the sewing class on Craftsy. I was waiting for her to show how to put in the zipper but she assumed her students could follow the pattern directions on that. I did today’s puzzle. Yahoo suddenly went half screen, cut vertically. The right side became some sort of preview pane, but the left side was no longer wide enough to see the message information. I could not stop it, even by exiting and opening it in a new window. I followed a link to Pinterest to see one little thing and then next thing I knew, Chris was home from work. He made himself supper. Netflix sent us the next Castle DVD, so we watched three episodes. Then Chris went to bed. But I called him back to look at the split screen. He clicked on the ‘settings’ tab and sure enough, there was a setting set to ‘show preview pane’. I would have called it a ‘preview pain’. We turned it off. I wondered how it got turned on. I drank some salt water and finished my blog post. And it was time for bed.
* One more yard picture *

Centipedes

I slept pretty well again last night. We went to bed late and maybe that’s why. I did not take the melatonin, but I did drink salt water. I heard Chris get up at 6 and go running. I went back to sleep. I heard my alarm go off and then Chris came in. I did some mental programming and got up by 8. I finished the audio from last night while drinking lemon water. I had plugged the flashlight end of my bug zapper wand last night and a red light was showing. It was still showing red this morning. I took it from the socket and plugged it into the wand. Still not working. So I went on Amazon and sent a message to the seller. At 9:30 I took a shower and got dressed. I listened to the rest of an audio. I went outside to look at the slugs, but did not count them. I found two ripe blueberries inside the mesh bag and ate them. It is doing a good job of keeping the birds from eating the berries on the bush. I had just found and slapped a centipede in the bathroom when Chris came home. He pronounced it dead and gave me a ride to church. The big fellow from last week sat in front of me this week. It was hard to see around him. He came with the supply pastor. First there was praise singing, which I had forgotten to review so I did not know one of the songs. Then communion, and the Bible reading. And a Father’s Day sermon. It broke through my veneer of calm and I shed a few tears. When it was over, I walked out. Chris was waiting, but he wanted to speak to the supply pastor first – some protocol thing. So I sat in the car and tried to compose myself. Then he drove us home. I changed my clothes while he put in laundry. He went to the commissary. I called to ask for ginger root.

When he got back, I was putting ingredients in the bread machine. I spilled the pecans and was trying to pick up all the pieces. I was still very emotional. It seemed like something was off. So I drank some ginger tea with turmeric and salt. I felt better. I decided not to eat today to get my mind back on track. I read e-mail. Akia posted to Facebook that she was bitten on the face by a centipede. Later she posted a pic of her swollen face. The bug zapper people e-mailed me that they were sending me a new one. I watched more of the Craftsy sewing class. My eyes hurt so I decided to sew. Not my best idea. I wanted to convert a crew-neck shirt into a v-neck shirt. Taking off the ribbing on the front of the neck was much harder than I expected. Then when I cut the new neckline, I rounded it without thinking. So I just sewed the ribbing back on, creating a slightly lower neckline. Chris and I went for a walk on the trail. We found some bamboo that might make good tomato stakes. I went to the strawberry bed to count slugs. The toll is now 180. I found three strawberries, one of which had been hollowed out by slugs. I spread a towel by the shed and laid down to rest my eyes. I took a trowel and spread dirt from the ditch on the garden. As I came in, I picked some lettuce from the flats. I could not resist eating it later. I drank more ginger root tea. I printed out the remaining block of the month patterns. Chris was ready early to watch Bones. So we saw four or five episodes. Then he went to bed. I refilled the slug plate with fresh beer and set it out. Now I am posting to my blog in anticipation of going to be myself.
* I could show you before and after shots of the t-shirt but I figured pics of the yard would be more interesting. *

Hot Springs

I slept pretty good last night, even without taking the melatonin. We stayed in bed late, just not wanting to get up. Finally I did because my brain was rehashing old grievances. I went outside to count slugs. The death toll is 164. I drank a quart of lemon water while I checked e-mail. Actually I spent most of my time watching sewing videos, especially the Craftsy one. She showed how to alter a pattern to fill a fuller arm, a fuller bust, a fuller tummy and a fuller behind. I stopped there to go outside and water the plants. I also took my shepherds hooks, which I bought to hang plants, and used them to stake the tomatoes. They needed it more. I picked a blueberry from my bush. The birds can’t eat them now that I put the fruited branches in a mesh bag. I ate some seed crackers. We had signed up for the trip to the hot springs this afternoon. But since the melatonin brought my monthlys back, today was not a great day for that. We talked about what else was available in the area. I packed my spa bag. I took a shower and got dressed. I made breakfast. I got tickle in my throat that just would not quit, no matter how I tried to cough it up. I tried to scratch it with chopsticks but that signaled my gag reflex. So I ate breakfast hoping that would resolve it. It did not. I paused an audio when it was time to leave. We walked down to the old Duffy’s parking lot. The MWR bus was there. We got on and waited for 15 minutes. Other people came but not everyone who signed up. Then we were driven half an hour to a town with a spa building. I don’t know what all they have available there.

Most of our group went for the public hot springs. I understand there were lots of pools at different temps and a cold pool. And the people were naked. Chris and I opted for the private room. It consisted of one bare room with folded blankets and pillows and a bathroom with a really large tiled tub. We filled the tub with water. It was supposed to be mineral water and maybe it was. I wished I had brought Epsom salts. I had brought a suit but did not need it because the room was private. We relaxed in the hot water for some time. I took occasional cold showers. Then we laid on our towels in the bare room with the oscillating fan on. Chris fell asleep. I went back in the tub and did yoga stretches. I tried lying full out as in a flotation tank, but when my ears were underwater, I could hear voices and running water. I laid out on the towel again. Chris’ set his alarm so we knew when to drain the tub and leave. Everyone else was ready downstairs. We got on the bus and went to a restaurant. One of our guys was three sheets to the wind. I guess there was alcohol at the spa place. We had a nice late lunch/ early dinner. Then we all got back on the bus and went back to the base. Chris and I walked home. I read e-mail and researched a new form of fermented turmeric. Then I made a salad because my salad fixings are getting old. I started an interview, but then Chris was ready to watch Bones. So we saw three episodes. And then it was way past time for bed.
* I did not get a pic of the tub, but here is one of the room, and of the floor in the main entrance. *

Admiral's visit

I was up late. I walked around the house to quiet my restless leg. Then I slept most of the night, until I heard Chris go to PT, then come back and get ready for work. I got up when he left. I went outside to count the slugs -254. I picked 4 strawberries, but two were mostly eaten, probably by the slugs. I cleaned up dishes in the sink. I started drinking water while listening to an interview on electrical and magnetic fields in buildings. She recommended using Sylvania LED screw-in bulbs rather than the CFL ones. I worked today’s puzzle. The interviewee recommended a movie called “Resonance Beings of Frequency. So I called it up on Youtube. It was very interesting but I paused it to water the potted plants and walk the trail. I watched more of the movie as I made and ate breakfast. Then I took a shower and dressed in my broomstick skirt and blue top. Checking in the mirror, I was dissatisfied with the look. Too casual. But there wasn’t time to change. I walked down to the gym. Uniformed people were milling about. I looked for assigned seating but did not see name tags. I sat and talked to Danielle. Then when I saw the CSO, I asked him and he pointed to my seat. So I sat by myself in the front row center, wondering why we were seated in the center. Later Anna came in, more nicely dressed than I. Suzanne came and I gave her the activated charcoal capsules that she requested for her husband. Then I sat down, and waited. Later she and Anna sat by me. After the 1pm start time, the admirals came in. Chris sat with me and the CO sat on the other side of Anna. Admiral Swift got up on stage and spoke at length about appreciating civilian sailors.

Then he took questions from the audience. I did not understand all the questions. But I listened attentively. Then he had to leave and it was just over. Everyone milled about and I asked Anna for a ride back to our quarters. She dropped me off and went to lunch with Suzanne. I iced my foot while watching the rest of the movie. I ate chicken and kimchi, which went really well together. I took pics of my yard. I blended up the food waste and poured that in the flower beds and watered the plants. I picked a tiny tomato from a tiny tomato plant, and ate it. I poured 1 ½ cups of beer into a spray bottle to go flat. I watched several lessons from the Craftsy class on pattern alterations. Chris came home after 7 and wanted to go walking. I paused the class and we went up to the CO’s house, then down the trail to the gym and around by the baseball field, and back home. Chris made himself supper. I decided not to eat. I started an interview while waiting for Chris. I poured leftover beer in the slug plate. Then Chris and I watched three episodes of Bones. He went to bed and I stayed up to blog.
* It was pointed out to me that I should provide pics of the yard of the month. So, here are two of the four. *

Yard of the Month

I got up several times to go to the bathroom during the night. After the last time, the restless leg sensations started up. No amount of stretching would quiet them. I drank some water and eventually I went to sleep. But it did not seem like long enough when I heard Chris get up and start coffee. I tried to go back to sleep but that did not work. I did some mental programming for a good day. I got up about 8. I swished and checked e-mail. I took my three packets of Vit. C. I heated water and made ginger tea. I did not water the plants because it had rained. I filled three water bottles with hot water and salt and minerals. I called the gym to heat up the sauna. I got dressed in my bathing suit and yoga clothes. I grabbed my mat and headed to the gym. I signed in and got a locker key. I asked them to turn down the music and they turned it off. I sat in the sauna with my mp3 headphones in the dark. It was really nice. When the session was over, I came out and could not find my locker key. I looked everywhere, as did the cleaning lady. The ladies from the front desk came and one of them found it wedged between the slats of the seating area in the sauna. Then I took a shower and got dressed. I was late for yoga but yoga was late, too because no other students were there. So then Joelle and I stretched until Diamond came. I wore my new yoga pants and discovered that they were hot. But we all sweated together. We had to stop at noon so that the staff could prepare the gym for the admirals’ visit tomorrow. When I got home, I saw the Yard of the Month sign in our yard. I wondered if Chris knew. I put my sweaty clothes in the washer and made breakfast. Chris came home with a package. He did not know about Yard of the Month. I ate and checked e-mail. I washed again and changed my clothes. I put Epsom salts and jojoba oil in my bag, Then I walked to the massage place. I had signed up for the Emperor massage: 130 minute, full body. The first part, lying face down, was really good. The second part, lying on my back was not so good. My lower back complained. The third part, stomach massage, made me forget my lower back. And then I sat up for the last part. He did a good job and I thanked him. I went home to drink the rest of my salt/mineral water. I had my blog post mostly written up to that point, but Windows crashed while I was gone and did not save my notes. I searched and searched, but had to recreate from scratch. I read lots of posts about RLS. I made some notes of things people had tried. Someone wrote not to eat sweet potatoes. I read that while wolfing down the dehydrated pieces. Chris came home from reciting the rosary. He made himself supper. He took the dehydrated pieces away from me. I worked today’s puzzle. I gave the slugs fresh beer. I made myself a salad (no slugs). I ate it while reading e-mail. I listened to an audio and engaged in FreeCell. Then Nela called to see if I was going to Ladies Night tonight. But I was too tired from the restless nights. While I talked to her, Chris set up my laptop to stream Netflix to the TV. Then we watched two episodes of Bones. Chris went to bed and I stayed up just long enough to post to my blog.
* This is a comparison shot of my two sweet potato slices (one is dehydrated and the other is still fresh) and one from the market. *


PF

Productive ladies

I slept through the night, no restless legs or hot flashes or itching ears. Chris got up early to go to PT and came home right after 7:30. I got up with the alarm and was in the bathroom when he came home. He stripped and laid on the floor, sweating. I won’t describe what happened subsequently but I did insist on a shower. So my day got started late. I cleaned up my sewing room and ironed a piece of fabric. I drank half the water and exercised. I had to reboot my laptop (again) because the cursor was acting crazy. I put the two sheets of dehydrated sweet potatoes in a jar, eating the ones that did not fit. I put the third sheet in the oven to dry. I watered the potted plants. I checked the slug plate but it was fairly empty. I made the baby burp pad sample for class. I was going to walk the trail but my ankle was feeling a little weak from stumbling yesterday. So I took a shower. I ate some seed crackers. I put one of the QOV quilts in my bag along with the sample and walked to the chapel. No one was there, so I showed the quilt to the secretary. She was impressed. Then So Young and Jackie came. They were impressed, too. Then Anna came with her machine. We set up the room for sewing. But there was a lot of conversation. So Young got one seam sewn and Jackie only did the corners for her baby blanket. Princess came and made a baby burp pad and was so excited. Danielle came at the end to drop off the fruit container that So Young brought several weeks ago, but So Young had gone. I trimmed the quilt, and Anna worked on a block for the next quilt. Because the room was empty for the rest of the day, we left everything there, set up and ready to go. I took the quilt and some fabric from last time home. I made and ate breakfast. I checked e-mail. I read answers to the question “What is the one bit of mathematics you are surprised isn’t taught more widely?” Fascinating stuff. Really. The sweet potato slices from this morning were dried, so I took them out and ended up eating them all. I decided not to make more because they just don’t last. I used a mesh laundry bag to cover the branches of my little blueberry bush to keep the birds from eating the berries. I was headed to Housing to complain about the hosta when I took another look and thought that they might have been eaten. So I tried to contact Chris to see if he might be of the same opinion. While waiting for an answer, I worked today’s puzzle. I listened to an audio while stitching on my purse. I saw some short videos on upcycling t-shirts. I made a salad for supper. Then I drove myself to the chapel, just in time for class. Suzanne and Princess were already there. Soon Nela came and Danielle and Anna. We each worked on something different. I hated to end it at 8:30, so we went until 9. Then they all helped to clean up. We put the stuff back in the closet, except for what I took home because it shouldn’t be needed anymore. Anna presented Nela and I with gifts from Thailand including coffee for our husbands. I took Nela home. Then I spent 10 minutes trying to park Chris’ car in our space. He likes it backed in and there is nothing to line up with, except the lines on the road. Chris was on his computer when I came in. I got some water to take the rest of my supplements and magnesium. We watched an episode of Bones. Then I checked e-mail one last time and posted to my blog before going to bed.
* Suzanne is showing off a pillowcase made as a Father's Day gift to her husband. *

Dried sweet potatoes, take 2

I did not sleep well during the night due to restless leg sensations. I kept stretching my calves but it did not help this time. Finally, after what seemed like many hours, I got up and drank some salt water. Then I was able to sleep, but daylight was starting up already. I got up about 8, not feeling well rested but hoping to be productive. I wet my hair and tied scarves over it to keep it down. I swished and rebooted the computer because the cursor was going crazy again. I steamed the sweet potatoes I bought yesterday. Concurrently, I made seed crackers and mayonnaise. Then I washed the utensils. I heard yard men next door. One man was mowing even though I had just mowed it yesterday. I counted dead slugs. There were only 15. Not that many today but I found strawberries that they had touched. I thought they like beer better. I moved the plate to another spot. I handwashed my new yoga pants and hung them up to dry. I turned off the crock pot. I scooped the fat from the bone broth: a long and tedious process. There must be a faster way. I sucked the juice from the bones, and put the broth in the fridge. I took my yoga mat to the gym where class was already in progress. It was a small class, and a good day, not too challenging.
I made and ate breakfast, then listened to an audio. I posted notices on the base Facebook page about Quilts of Valor and the sewing class tomorrow. I cleaned up in kitchen. I sliced all the sweet potatoed to dry, putting two of the three sheets in the oven. I took spaghetti squash plants to Adrian, but had to leave them with her husband. I went to the commissary for lemons. I stayed to talk to Nela and help her re-tag the shelves. I asked if they could carry Bragg Olive oIl and she pointed out an organic olive oil that they had, so I got a bottle of that. Then I walked home. I picked a cherry from the tree in front of Housing. I watered my plants, and saw that someone had weedwhacked my hosta. I was not happy. I took my bucket up the hill to gather dirt and worms from the ditch. I tripped on the way down and thought I twisted my ankle. But I tapped for a bit, then finished my walk down the hill. I dug up a pepper plant (none of them are doing well) and planted it in a pot of ditch dirt. I played an audio while folding laundry. I thought about Zumba, but noticed that it was half over already. Chris came home and I showed him the whacked hosta. He said to tell Housing. He made his supper and I fixed a large salad to eat in front of my laptop. I worked today's puzzle. I listened to audios from the anti-aging summit while I whip-stitched the ornamental strip to the top of my red purse. Then we watched two episodes of Bones. Chris put away his laundry and went to bed. I stayed up to post to my blog and hoped to be able to sleep through the night.

Five day market

I woke up but fell asleep again several times. I was tired from being awake in the middle of the night scratching my ear. Will it never end? I dabbed hydrogen peroxide on it first, and when that did not work, rubbing alcohol. Somehow I went back to sleep and did not get up until 8. Chris came back from PT and spread out on the bed, exhausted (and sweating on our just-washed sheets). I started the day with drinking water and swishing. I exercised and rebounded and drybrushed. I boiled water for coffee and added healthy stuff to it. Nela dropped by unexpectedly to pick up her serving utensils and to taste the coconut butter. I confirmed that she wanted me to order her one, since I did that yesterday. After she left, I finished my coffee morning. I swept the hallway. I cleaned the sink. I washed the coffee pot. I got dressed and grabbed my market bag and almost ran to the FRG meeting. I was late but they hadn’t started yet. It was sparsely attended. Kelly led the meeting. We voted on the date for the yard sale and talked about fund raisers. After the meeting, I pulled out my phone. Nela had just left a message so I called her. She wanted to me to wait at the ATM bench for her in 10 to 15 minutes. I hoofed it home to grab the seed crackers and to use the bathroom. I made it to the ATM in plenty of time to eat my seed crackers. Then she called to ask me to come to the gate. So I did and in a minute Kathy drove up with her. We caught the next bus to the five-day market. All I wanted was sesame oil. But I ended up buying bell peppers, kimchi, sprouts, yellow sweet potatoes (yea for translation apps), and oil. The list of what I resisted buying was much longer. As it turns out, fresh kimchi is more expensive than 5 day kimchi. Thanks to the bilingual lady who came by and figured that out for me. I think I will buy kimchi there next time because they keep it covered. Then we caught a bus back to base. I was loaded with food, but it was almost four so I ran to the post office to check the mail. They gave me two large but light boxes. Really loaded down, I walked to the Navy Exchange to buy a beer. But all the single ones were gone, and I could not handle a 6-pack. So I went home. I put the food away and laid down on the couch. I tried to fall asleep but that didn’t work. So I had a bite to eat, in fact, I had a chicken leg and made breakfast. I opened one of the boxes to find a pair of yoga pants and the electric bug wand. I checked e-mail and sent Chris a message to buy beer on his way home. He walked home and took the car to the Nex. I counted slugs (death toll is now 205) and mowed the lawn here and next door. Chris came home with cheap beer for the slugs and better beer for himself. I poured a new plate of beer for the slugs. I read e-mail and listened to audios. All of a sudden, Firefox started eating up cpu cycles and I had to restart it. Then we watched two episodes of Bones season 8. Chris went to bed and I stayed up to blog.
* these are the carnations blooming in the flower bed. *

Salt and magnesium

We got up by 8. I drank water and took activated charcoal and PectaPure. I read e-mail and watched two mind movies. I did my exercises while listening to an interview. My calves and feet felt swollen. I drank salt water and they felt better. Then I took a shower. I did not get all the oil out of my hair but it was nice and soft. I dressed twice, wishing I had brought more choices of church apparel. People here dress very informally for church, even the pastor. But it only seems right to wear a nice dress to worship God. (Come to think of it, the Koreans dress up.) Chris took the dried sweet potatoes and lemon rinds from the car. He dropped me off at the chapel and went to work for an hour. It was the usual service with all the music at the beginning. There was no suggested subject to discuss during communion. Then he gave the sermon, comparing the gospel to the life of a man he met in Tennessee. Chris picked me up and took me home where I changed clothes. Then we walked to the commissary for a few groceries. We carried the food home. I checked the slug hotel and picked two strawberries (looking nice with the slugs being otherwise occupied). I put soup bones in the crockpot. I read e-mail, including some articles on magnesium deficiency. One of the symptoms is restless leg syndrome, another can be clenched teeth. I figured I had it. I researched magnesium products and modified citrus pectin on Swansons. I finalized the order and submitted it, then went outside to water the plants but it had rained. I counted dead slugs, now up to 190. Sadly I was catching roly-polys, too. I worked on the strips of ornamentation for my red purse while listening to audios. Chris baked chicken and cauliflower. I ate a leg of chicken and some cauliflower with fresh crushed garlic. I drank water with magnesium in it. Later we watched “The Magic of Belle Isle” streamed from Netflix. It had Morgan Freeman in it. Then Chris and I put clean sheets on the bed. Did I mention that Chris did the laundry? I’ll fold it tomorrow. Good night.
* These are the dried sweet potatoes - kind of tasty, but a little hard to chew *

Chores

As I sit here at 10:30 at night, I am testing my memory of everything I did today since I did not take notes at any time. Let’s see how I do.
I woke while it was still dark. I heard what sounded like someone snoring softly nearby, but Chris was still out of town. Surreal. I tried to go back to sleep, but it dawned on me. As the daylight grew, I knew there was no dozing off. I heard my alarm go off and got up 10 minutes later, but it seemed a lot longer. I checked Hotel California, but the beer had mostly evaporated so very few slugs. I went around the house doing errands which I cannot now remember. I drank a quart of water with lemon in it. I sliced up the lemon peel into small pieces. I pulled some lemon rind from the freezer and sliced it up, too. I spread it on a pizza pan and put it in Chris’ car to dehydrate. I put all the food waste in the Magic Bullet and watered the flower garden with it. I spread the coffee grounds, too. I watered all the plants and even the ones up the hill. I went next door to get some plastic bags that were lying on the ground and I put them in our trash can. We had some trash out back as well, and I put it in the same yellow bag. (Anything not in the prescribed yellow bag will not be picked up.) I clipped off all the dead flower heads in all the pots and in the beds. I put coconut oil on my hair to moisturize it. I tried to read e-mail, but my laptop was incredibly slow due to the CPU maxing out on Firefox. So I moved to the desktop. I printed out the letter I wrote to the post office and put it in an envelope with the original missive from the post office here. I was going to take it to the post office, but I did not want to be seen with oily hair. I did the Sudoku puzzle for today. I made and ate breakfast. I made up another batch of spice mixture, and the flax/chia seed mixture. I made up supplements for the week. What was running out, I added to a running Swanson’s order. As I read articles in e-mail, I added a few more recommended products. I took some Megahydrate, but did not notice any effects. I did some tapping in the late afternoon. Chris came home just after 5. I opened the door for him. He set up his laptop and proceeded to read e-mail. Later he got cozy and we fell asleep. Then he made his supper and I made a salad. I drank some mint tea made from mint that I clipped from the front bed. I added fresh beer to the slug hotel. I listened to an audio on workouts and primal diets until Chris was ready. Then we watched “The Lakehouse”, a movie I used to watch several times a day when I worked at the theatre counting people. There was much I did not remember, but I did not forget how it turned out. We looked up several of the actors. And then it was time to blog and go to bed.
* This is a handmade quilt that Suzanne showed me yesterday. i forget what country it is from. There is no batting, but someone handquilted it every half inch or less. *

The exchange

I woke up just before the alarm went off, and got up. I gave my hair a good brushing, then wet it and tied scarves around it. I used to avoid scarves because they gave me flat hair. Now I need that for precisely that reason. I checked on the sweet potato slices in the oven. I had turned it off for the night, so I turned it back on, at its lowest setting. I opened the big box that came in the mail yesterday. It contained our two quilts of valor, now quilted. There was also a nice letter from the lady who helps Ruth Ann saying their funds were limited so next time we need to send batting and backing along with the tops. I wish she had given me her e-mail address to I could thank her. I drank a quart of water while checking e-mail. I got dressed. Not having a Father’s Day card, I picked an all-purpose one from my collection and put in a note for my dad. I left the house at 8:45. I re-tied one of the tomato plants that had outgrown its last tying. Then I dropped the card in the postal box in lower housing. I was on my way to the community roundup when a man from Housing caught up with me on his way to the same event. We chatted about bad experiences with luggage in airports. Then we went into the theatre and found seats. The ops officer went through the 8-week schedule. Someone talked about the Navy Ball and I forgot the date before I could write it down. After the meeting (which was poorly attended), I stopped by the bank to deposit a check so we’d have money in our account. Chris told me it took two weeks to clear and I needed money for a massage next week. They had a special on loans so I asked (jokingly) for a massage loan. But we worked it out that they could make part of the money available right now. I took out cash to exchange in town. When I got home, I called Sue to arrange an exchange. She gets a special rate from her bank. Then I watered my plants, using my new watering can for the small pots. I watered spaghetti squash that Chris planted on the hillside. I dug up some seedlings for Adrian. I pulled out more slugs from the plate of beer. The count is now up to 140. Two were still alive and trying to climb out, but I told them this was Hotel California. They can check out, but they can never leave. I jotted notes for my blog. I wrote a letter to the person who is reviewing the case of my damaged sewing machine. I was late, so I grabbed my jar of pickled eggs and headed to Kelly’s house. But Chaun was driving by and picked me up so I got there sooner. Kelly’s husband was in the car so I asked him if he was working in their old quarters (part of our duplex) at night. That would explain the porch light being on at night, plus the hammering and dog barking. But he said no. At the party, I put the jar of eggs on the table. Most people so far had brought desserts. And their young kids. The screeching and wailing was ear-splitting. The kids were fed first, but they did not eat much. Just as I offered to call Nela and picked up my phone, Nela called me to see if someone could give her a ride. So Kelly went off to get her. More ladies came. Nela brought potato salad and flan. I ate potato salad and eggs. I hung around for awhile, listening to stories of strange happenings in upper housing. Haunted, they say. Time to leave. I said my goodbyes, and headed home with my eggs and Nela’s serving spoons –she left earlier. At home, I ate some seed crackers. I walked to Sue’s house in town, then we went to the bus stop. The first bus passed without stopping. We caught the next one. She showed me where to get off and we walked to her bank. We both exchanged dollars for won. We got a special rate because of her relationship with the bank. She talked to the security officer whom she knew. Then we explored a nearby market. The man sold dried goods, like nuts and seaweed. I called Suzanne to see if this was the man she was talking to. But it wasn’t. Suzanne invited us to her apt nearby. So we stopped in. We had a nice chat and I saw the dress Mrs. Lee made for her. Then we left, and waited for a bus. When it came, the bus driver said the route had changed so we went to another bus stop. It wasn’t long before the bus came, but due to traffic, it was a long ride home. Sue got off first and then the bus stopped near the base. On my way uphill, I stopped at the ATM to get 10,000 won just to see the exchange rate. I calculated that I saved 26,000 won by exchanging at Sue’s bank, but it took me all afternoon and two bus fares. I wondered how it compared with rates in town. Akia’s husband stopped to give me a ride up the hill to my house. I checked on my dehydrated sweet potatoes. I ate most of them but they were disappointing. I made breakfast. Before I ate it, I went next door to pick up the two impatiens that Kelly left in the back. I put them in front of my place. Her front porch light was on again. I did not see anyone inside. I ate breakfast while checking e-mail. I worked today's puzzle and I gave in to the temptation to read funny Pinterest posts. It sucked up my whole evening. I had to google one of them to see why it was funny. Now it is time for bed.
* This is Nela's finished bag from Wednesday night *

Mrs. Lee

I woke up hearing Chris. He came back to get ready for work. Then I heard my alarm go off. I got up to get the house ready for Mrs. Lee. I picked up, put away, cleaned, wiped, dusted and swept with a broom. I even cleaned the front porch. I ate a few seed crackers. I watered a few plants. I wet my hair and tied a scarf over it. I always wondered why older women sported a short hair in a puffy, round style, and now I realize that older hair does that automatically and it is hard to stop it. Suzanne showed up around 9 with Mrs. Lee, the sewing lady. I invited them in and showed her my workspace. She said the table was too big and wanted the dining room table, but it was full of Chris’ stuff. So I took her back to my sewing room. I showed her a picture of MaryAnn and Bob and she recognized them with a big smile. Then she adjusted the height of the ironing board and asked for a different seat. Suzanne made her some instant coffee. Suzanne had pictures of what she wanted and discussed them in Korean. I did not think her fabric would do what I saw in the picture. Finally Mrs. Lee was satisfied and told Suzanne she could leave. So Suzanne and I talked in the living room, peeking occasionally to see what Mrs. Lee was doing. When we saw her lay out the fabric on the floor in that small room, we told her she could bring it out to the living room, but she declined. Suzanne’s daughter amused herself with a smart phone. I shared some of my superfoods. At 11 I said it was time for yoga. Suzanne had not brought yoga clothing so I gave her my smallest shorts and t-shirt. She drove the three of us to the gym. We worked out with Joelle. Then Suzanne dropped me off at home while she went to buy Mrs. Lee a tuna sandwich (her choice of lunch). Soon after I got home, Chris came home for lunch. I fixed breakfast and gave Mrs. Lee a snack to tide her over until her sandwich arrived. Suzanne delivered the sandwich and brought some French fries for her daughter. But her daughter was fussy so they walked down the street to get a fermented apple smoothie. I took a shower to get ready for my massage. I got dressed then called Suzanne to see where she was. She was on the front porch! I let her in and she offered to drive me to my massage appt. Yes! So she drove me out in town and came back. The clerk at the massage place told me that Mr. Kim, my usual masseus, was gone on an emergency. So I picked the younger of the two remaining people, Ms. Wong. I got the usual foot soak. The clerk remembered my container from last week. I sat and relaxed. Then Ms. Wong came to dry my feet and take me to the massage room. I sat in the chair and she made it lay back. Then she gave me a massage similar to the one Mr. Kim gives. It was a very pointed massage, digging deep into my feet. It seemed like reflexology. Afterward, I paid, but it was less than I thought. He showed me which massages were discounted in June. So I picked the 130 minute massage for next week. I walked to Daiso to get the small watering can. I wandered through the market to see if anything struck my eye. I called Suzanne to see if she needed anything, but she did not answer. I headed home. She called on the way to say Mrs. Lee was finished. So I quickened my pace. It was only 4, but the lady was tired so Suzanne was going to take her home. We discussed my picking her up tomorrow because Suzanne had a busy morning. I was going to have her make a pair of pants (which I could then use for a pattern). They left. I pulled out fabric and things I wanted copied to see what other things I could get made (into a pattern). Chris came home just long enough to gather his packed items. I packed up his laptop. Then he met the taxi waiting outside and got driven to Masan to the KTX station. He was on his way to Seoul. Continuing my project, I thought I had two pieces of coordinating fabric for a dress that I have always been afraid to cut into. But I could not find them anywhere. They must be in storage. I took a break to make a salad for supper. I considered more possibilities for my fabrics. I cleared Chris’ stuff from the dining room table. I sat to read e-mail, and found a message from Suzanne canceling Mrs. Lee’s visit for tomorrow because her car battery was dead. Oh well. I made ginger and rosemary tea. I mixed up some hummus with fresh garlic. I listened to an audio while doing the puzzles for yesterday and today. I cut up sweet potatoes and steamed them over a large pot. Then I sliced the pieces and put them on cookie sheets which went into the oven to dehydrate. I went back to my laptop to write today’s blog post.
* This is the lady who made a baby quilt in one evening as her sewing first project! (not Mrs. Lee) *

Another convert

I heard my alarm go off, then stayed in bed for some mental programming. I drank water and swished. I finished cutting the 36” square. I glued my watch band after it fell off and put another watch on. When I tried to check e-mail, the cursor was acting squirrelly and I had to reboot (which is tough when you can't get the cursor to go where you want). I worked on decluttering my sewing room. I got out Nela’s machine and tried it out. I ended up tweaking the bobbin tension to make balanced stitches. But there was nothing I could do about the really loud hum when stepping on the pedal. I ate a few seed crackers to tide me over.
So Young called to say she needed to be signed in at the gate. I was about to leave for QOV anyway, so I walked down there and signed her and her friend onto base. Thankfully they did not have to leave early from QOV. Jackie finished her bag from last week. She was so happy that she wanted to do the baby quilt that I advertised for the sewing class. Suzanne cut squares to make a pillow. So Young brought a cushion cover and some fabric to copy the cushion cover. It had a zipper with a flange that covered it. I could not remember how to do that. But I helped her measure and cut rectangles of appropriate size. It was very difficult because she had stretched the fabric so much when she ironed it. She brought zipper tape and some pulls. At first her seam allowance was too narrow to add the zipper so I sewed in a larger seam. Then I showed her how to pin and sew the zipper. But the flange got caught in it. By then it was time to pack up. Lucky for us, no one was using the room later, so we consolidated stuff but left the machines set up. Suzanne drove us to the gate. I signed the ladies off post. Jackie had to leave, but So Young came with us to the five-day market. So Young took us to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant there for lunch. We had kimbap and two kinds of soup. It was good and we had a nice chat. Then we went to the place where the guy was selling a sewing machine last week. He had two more this week. One was almost identical to the previous one, but it was clean. I used my little kit to put it through its paces. Everything worked but the light bulb. And eventually he got it to work. Then we found out that he wanted twice as much for it. We walked away. We looked at clothing, and honey and blackberries. Suzanne got a deal on two trays of raspberries and some blackberries. She gave me the blackberries. I bought some roasted beans that she said was a snack. So Young left to walk home. Suzanne took me back to post. I sat and snacked while catching up on e-mail. I had to force myself to put the beans down. I planted the basil someone gave me a while back that rooted in a glass of water. Then I got busy packing up Nela’s machine and clearing my sewing room and working table. I also worked on the dining room table and desk. Then I put Nela’s machine in the car. I drove to the chapel, which they left open for us. I turned on the lights and …there wasn’t much setup to do. At 6:30 I was alone, so I decided to do QOV stuff. But then Princess arrived. She was so excited to learn to sew. The CYP keeps her working during the hours of both the class and QOV, but she had tonight off. So she agreed to work on the baby blanket. I showed her how to make it. She wanted to use the pieces I had cut for the demonstration which worked well for me. I cut one corner and let her cut the rest. I sewed one corner and let her sew the rest. Then we nestled the center and pinned it. With a little help and lots of hints, she got it all sewed in. I'd never seen someone so happy to sew. Nela finished the bag she had been working on. Suzanne sewed her squares together while her daughter cut paper into a thousand pieces. At 8:30 we packed up. I gave Nela a ride home. Chris and I watched several episodes of The IT Crowd. Then he went to bed and I stayed up to write my blog from scratch – no time for notes today.

Zumba

I woke up early thinking Chris’ alarm was going to go off, but he had turned it off at 5:30. He did not exercise, or at least, he did not go out to exercise. I got out of bed when my alarm went off. I drank water and read e-mail. I called the gym to ask them to turn on the sauna. I rushed around getting ready. I wrote a post for Facebook for the sewing class tomorrow. Then I went to the sauna. I did my exercises in there. Then I put on my mp3 headphones to meditate. But the Korean cleaning women were chatting up a storm right outside. I thought it would be ironic to ask them to be a little quieter since Korean women are known to sush Americans who are talking normally. So I asked them, and they were quieter. In fact, they started cleaning. One lady cleaned the showers and mopped the floor. I was a little concerned when the floor did not dry out. After my hour of sweat, my watch band fell apart. I guess the heat affected the glue. I gathered my clothes and went to the furthest shower. The floor was so soapy I nearly slipped. I turned on the water to rinse it, but the drain backed up. I saw hair. I went to the next stall and showered there. I dressed for yoga and went in the gym. Joelle was talking to Linda. When I came in, she started the class. Then another lady came in, too. After class, I walked home to find Chris eating lunch. I ate some seed crackers, then made and ate breakfast. I made a slurry out of the food waste and water, and put it on the plants. I tried to finish the long audio from yesterday but it had become unreachable. I worked today's puzzle. I cleaned in my sewing room, trying to find a pair of scissors that I haven’t seen in a while. I cleared more e-mail. I read about the benefits of rosemary for memory. I put Myra’s machine in my machine case and rolled it to the chapel for tomorrow. Then I went to the post office for a memo they wrote, confirming that my machine was damaged in shipment. When I got home, I still could not find my scissors, so I used kitchen scissors to cut out some large squares of fabric for the demo tomorrow. Actually, the shears did not work well, so I laid a ruler on the paper template and cut along the edge. Before I finished, I realized it was 5:20. So I threw on some shoes and walked to the gym, late for Zumba. I hadn’t tried it before, but Nela kept telling me to come. Well, she wasn’t there. I tried to keep up, but the moves were too complicated and, frankly, sexualized. I did not go to ‘strut my stuff’. After it was over, I said “Richard Simmons is looking pretty good” and they gave me a blank look. Hey, I could follow his routine. Then I headed home. I ran into John and his wife and we chatted briefly. Then I went home and called Nela to see where she was. She came over with her extra machine, which needed fixing or adjusting. She also had a bucket. I took her up the hill to where I got my dirt from the ditch. We filled up her bucket and her son carried it to their car. After they left, I picked up my bowl of beer-drenched slugs. Some were still moving. I spread some salt on top of the air conditioner and dropped the live ones on it. Then I arranged the dead ones in groups of five for counting. There were over 70, from really big to very small. I laid the bowl in the vegetable bed to see how many I could catch there. Chris came home for supper. I started a loaf of bread. Then I made a salad and ate it in front of my laptop. I jotted notes for my blog and read e-mail until Chris was ready to watch TV. He hooked my laptop to the TV to stream IT Crowd from Netflix. We watched at least four episodes. Then Chris went to bed and I wrote my blog post, wondering what pic to post with it.
* I know it is not a very interesting picture, but it's all I could get at 11pm *

Slugfest

I was doing some mental programming when the alarm sounded. I finished and got out of bed. I looked out to see what kind of day it was. It suggested rain. I decided to do my exercises and have a coffee morning. I put on the second of two very long videos full of motivational speakers. I listened while I rebounded and drybrushed and made coffee. Finally I had to turn the fan off because it made hearing difficult. I meditated longer than usual and did tapping. For some reason, when I really relax and let go, a cauldron of sadness arises. Chris came home early for lunch. He gave me hugs, but no mail. I rushed to get ready to meet Nela. I ate some seed crackers. I met her near the ATM. I took out some won. Then we walked out the gate. We ran into Joelle who came back last night and will be leading yoga again tomorrow. I had a short list of things to get. First we went to the dollar store. I got spray glue. Nela got some things, too. As we wandered through the market, Nela spotted some sandals for sale in front of a shop that does anti-aging stuff for skin. She bought the sandals and he invited us in for what sounded like a facial with special water. So ok. But after he sprayed my face, he wanted to put some special cream on it. I declined. He kept saying it was from the Rexall company and all natural so it had to be good. I called up my phone’s translation app and typed in ‘list of ingredients’. But it was in Korean and I guess he couldn’t translate. We stopped at the fabric stand. I bought one piece and we looked at lots, but nothing else caught our eye. Then we went to Daiso. I got shoe strings for Chris and looked at watering cans. I needed a small one with a long curved spout for the little plants in pots. They had one and I should have gotten it but it was so small. We spent a lot of time looking around. On our way back to the dollar store, we passed vegetable vendors. She bought onions and potatoes and I got sweet potatoes. We went back to the dollar store to look at their watering cans. Then we went to Office Depot. They had the same can but for three times the price. Actually, it might have been larger, but I wasn’t sure. I bought a bucket to use for dirt. I put the potatoes in the bucket to carry. But it wasn’t comfortable. Nela wanted my bigger bag to carry all her stuff, but the nylon straps cut off her circulation. It did that for me, too. But we managed to walk back. We stopped at the new Paris Baguette for rice stick doughnuts. She really likes them. Then we stopped at the corner market and got four cucumbers for $1. As we neared the base, we stopped to get out our ID’s. After checking in, I offered to carry some of her stuff because she was so tired. We walked to her house and unloaded her stuff. Then I took my stuff home and unpacked. It was after 5. I put out a plate of beer for the slugs. I made and ate breakfast. Chris came home. I read e-mail and watched more from the really long video from the Superhero conference. I saw that a friend had pinned to my Pinterest page. I did not know she could do that. Since it is exclusively for items I have made, and it wasn’t a sewn item, I unpinned it. She is new to Pinterest and I think she did not understand. Then we watched a movie called The Addams Family. We had seen it a long time ago so it was entertaining. We looked up one of the actors who had been in the Jeffersons. Then Chris started the dishwasher and went to bed. I searched my Pinterest page to find a sewing project for this Wednesday. I checked my slug trap and pushed in the ones who hadn't quite taken the plunge. Then I posted to my blog and went to bed.