Then I heard my 7:30 alarm go off. I wrote myself a list of what I hoped to accomplish today. I drank my lemon water while reading e-mail.
I listened to audios while finishing the cupcake. Chris called to ask me to go to lunch at the ROK base after 11:30. I agreed. I made a banded pillowcase with a french seam. Just then, Chris came home from work with a package from the post office. It had the elephant watering can in it that I ordered for Dynee as a thank-you for watering my plants. I exchanged my shorts for a pair of pants. Then We went to lunch at the ROK base, on the third floor. It was called Royal Marine. We stood in a long line as it was just noon. When we got near the register, we were handed menus with pictures. I read as many items as I could before it was our turn, and ordered the last thing that sounded good: cooked seafood with vegetables. Chris ordered, too, by pointing to the picture. After Chris paid, the lady handed two tickets to some man, then gave Chris the receipt tickets. We sat at a table with other reservists. Like us, they got more food for less money at the ROK base than on the Chinhae base. We had a nice conversation. There were food preparation areas at both ends of the cafeteria. We had to watch the digital numbers above the areas to know when and where to pick up our meals. After we ate, we scraped our plates and put the dishes in a sink (like every one else was doing.
Chris let me drive back. I only stalled the car twice. As I walked passed Dynee's house, she was sitting in the window. She called to me and we talked. To anyone else, it looked like I was peering in her window.
Dynee wanted to work on her quilt, and she wanted to see my pillowcase. I took it over and she held it up so I could photograph it. I also brought my spray glue and PVC pole. We rolled the batting onto the PVC pole. We laid the backing on her rug. She plugged in her iron and pressed a few spots. Then we pinned it to the rug. I sprayed it. We unrolled the batting over the backing and smoothed it. Then we spread the top on the batting, then rolled up half of the top. We sprayed the batting on that half and unrolled it. Then we rolled up the other half, and did the same thing. We each got a needle and basted the edges.
Then she set up her machine on the diningroom table. She did not have a quilting foot so I got my open-toe embroidery foot from my machine. I quilted long lines while she helped move the bulk of the quilt. When only three rows were left, I switched with her so she could get the full experience. She quilted while I shifted the weight and helped pull it through the machine. Then she finished ironing the binding. She sewed the binding on, with me watching and helping with the corners.
Her husband came home from work and they had to go somewhere, so I went home, leaving my favorite foot on her machine. I watered my plants, and the strawberry bed. I posted the pillowcase to the community Facebook page as the next sewing project. Chris came home just long enough to say the fire chief wanted him to come over for drinks. And he left.
I looked up sentiments for going-away and wrote a card to go with the cupcake for Chaun. Then I put cocobutter in a 1 quart measuring cup and set it in a pan of water to melt. I added a little beeswax so the resulting chocolates wouldn't melt in my hand. I practiced my trombone. I found two plantains in the fridge. I was going to slice them, spice them and bake them, but they were too far gone. One was soft like a banana so I ate it so. The other was hard in the center and growing mold on the outside. I threw it out. When the cocobutter was melted, I stirred in some cacao butter. Only a little of the beeswax was melted and I fished out the rest. I whisked in the last of my cacao powder and some cinnamon and vanilla. I got out the chocolate molds. I filled them, adding nuts to most. I started cleaning up. Then Dynee called with a question. So I went over to answer it. Then I called Chris, who said he was just leaving. He came home tipsy. He tried a piece of chocolate, but it wasn't hard yet. So he ate a banana. Then we watched one episode. He headed to bed. I hadn't written to my blog yet, but I kept him company for awhile (just talking). He admitted that he was worried that a job offer might come in while we are in China and he wouldn't be able to see it (since they block internet access to certain sites). Then he went to sleep so he could get up early for a 5am phone call. I went back to the livingroom to write to my blog, and check e-mail one last time.
* Latest batch of chocolate, including the teddy bear mold that Myra gave me. *
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