"Don't hate me because I'm thin....

Hate me because I'm beautiful." That was the response I wanted to give Ella when I walked into the thrift shop and she said, "Look how thin you are. I hate you." Thankfully we are good friends and can say stuff like that to each other.
I had the usual morning, including sandwich-making, going back to bed, having breakfast and showering. Chris left his phone at home, so I took it to him in exchange for a ride to the thrift shop. I also had the usual thrift shop experience - lots of books and DVD's to shelve. But I got it all done, and some shelf arranging too. I was supposed to go to Dongdaemun with Cathy, but she couldn't go, again. So I worked late, then walked toward home. I stopped on the way to sit on a rock and read a book while resting my bare feet on the ground. If you are wondering why I posted a picture of my feet, it's because they must be very interesting. The ants had a ball climbing all over them. (In deference to one of my readers, there are no ants in this picture.) I was trying to read "The Slow-Down Diet". So far the main point is that it isn't what you eat, it's your emotional state while you eat it. And when you take the time to really taste your food, you will start making better choices.
So I finished my walk home. This time I went over the pedestrian bridge and even up the stairs to the apt. I didn't think my legs could make it after the hike yesterday, but they did. I read through my e-mail. I learned that dentist offices are the number one source of mercury contamination of water. Silver fillings are 50% mercury. It is delivered to the office with a skull and crossbones. If the dentist takes a filling out, it is considered hazardous waste. But it's OK to put it in your mouth?!?
Chris came home and fixed leftovers for supper. Michele came home at 6. After supper we had grapes and I fell asleep on the couch again. But didn't stay there. After not sleeping so well last night, I made an effort to stay awake.

Labor Day

Normally I would go to quilting on Monday, but the South Post Chapel is closed due to the holiday. I spent the morning on my computer: first running through e-mail, and then talking on Skype. I talked to Kurt until after lunch. Then Chris and I took the subway to a spot near the Seoul Art Center. It is build into a mountain, and we went hiking. An idea hike for me would not have included so many steps up. But trails tend to go up a mountain, not around a mountain. We saw many downed trees, and some exercise stations, benches, and even wilderness bathrooms. It was nice to be out in nature, away from the city (or at least it felt like it). I took my shoes off and walked barefoot for awhile. At the end of a trail, we found a shrine and then walked down the mountain. I feel fine now, but wonder if I will be sorry tomorrow. At the bottom of the mountain we saw a cool pond and waterfall. We came out by a what-ya-may-call-it. I had seen it once before with water running through it. But it was off when we came through. Within 10 minutes the water started up, but I was in no shape to climb back up the steps. We found a nearby restaurant called Californian Pho. It was Vietnamese. We ordered by pointing at the menu. First she brought us a bowl of hard plastic discs, then a bowl of hot water. Turns out the discs are not plastic. You dip them in the hot water and they become soft and elastic. Then you can wrap veggies in them and eat them. When we had finished it, the waitress was pointing to other things on the menu, but they weren't desserts. Chris called a coworker who speaks Korean to translate, and we found out that more food came with our meal. So, we got bowls of soup, too. Then, full as could be, we walked to the bus stop, and caught bus 405 back to our apartment. Because of rush hour, it might not have been faster than the subway, but there was a lot less walking involved. At home, I sat on couch to decide what to do next and found myself asleep. Michele came home at some point, and then Chris shuffled me off to bed. Later I woke up, knowing I had to finish an on-line order I had started yesterday (sale runs out at midnight). I need to take a shower, too.

Their last sunday here

Today was the Lund's last Sunday here in Korea. They fly back to the states on Saturday. I'm kind of jealous. Anyway, before church started, Nancy said they'd like to take us out to eat on Friday night. After church, we had a catered buffet in honor of their leaving (and Rick's retirement). The choir sang for them, too.
On our way home from church we saw more devastation from the storm. I hear there were no injuries, but the tree toll is close to 150. Scary!
Chris and Michele spent the afternoon on their computers with movies running on the TV. I found a skirt in my sewing room that I got at the thrift shop in order to cut it up. But since I have lost weight, it came close to fitting me, so I altered the waistband to fit me. (I seem to have an unusually high waist-to-hip ratio). But neither Chris nor Michele like the fabric. Oh well.
I also spent time choosing fabrics for a blue quilt, but an all blue quilt seems kinda bland, doesn't it?
We had leftovers for supper. I made another glass of vegetable juice, then washed the juicer really well. I also added some whey to the sauerkraut. It is finally tasting like sauerkraut should. But it keeps trying to mold on top:(

Storm Damage

Because it was Saturday, no one got up early. Chris and Michele began their day on the computer, playing an rpg. I prepared breakfast, which is becoming a longer process all the time. I got on my computer too, to clear out e-mail etc. I forgot to take my supplements again today and wonder if my body is telling me that I don't need them any more. After lunch Chris and Michele did laundry while I sewed pieces of batting together to make one larger piece. I don't need it yet, just being prepared.
Then Chris and I took our apartment tomato plant over to his office where the others are planted for a conjugal visit. Hopefully the flowers will get pollinated and set fruit. On the way over there I noted some drastic storm damage. Many large trees have been uprooted and some buildings damaged. On the way back we stopped at the commissary for groceries. When we got home Michele helped put them away. Chris then made a vegetarian curry with potatoes and hard-boiled eggs. Romaric came over for supper and gaming. He brought grapes this time. I made him and I glasses of freshly juiced vegetables. I also added some fresh soy milk to my fermented soy to continue the fermentation process. And I added the pulp from the juicer to the sauerkraut. I put in a little of the soy whey too. I went back to my computer to look up things related to detoxification, like zeolites, green clay, chlorella, white tea, and clathration. I started putting together another Joanns order but couldn't find enough items to fill the basket to where the coupon will cover the shipping. Then I went back to my sewing room to take a picture but forgot all about that and started pulling fabrics for another project. I happened to turn on the TV, and discovered that there is nothing good on Korean TV either. Finally I settled on a Bill Gates documentary. Somehow I think he funded it. Then all the channels that usually show American programming switched to French with Korean subtitles. Actually I think they were American movies, dubbed in French, and translated into Korean.

Topless coconut

I made Chris a sandwich before he went to work. I got on the computer (which had mysteriously recovered), then later had breakfast. Michele left about 10 for college. I finished cleaning the porch. The dirtiest part was emptying the vacuum. I watched some Youtube videos on how to open a young coconut. It wasn't too hard. Not like when I was a child. I think we spent hours trying to open a coconut. The top popped off, and I poured out the water. It was SOOO good. Forget shoe-shopping good, this was fabric-shopping good! And the meat inside was soft. I was able to scrape it out with a spoon. I put the water and the meat into the blender to make coconut milk. Then I poured it all into a previous batch of fermented coconut. I plan to get another one 'cause this one was so tasty.

The other big thing I did was to finish the mixer cover. You may think it looks like a just a quilt (pic later) but consider the source. By then it was almost midnight.
Let me just mention in closing a few things that I read on the internet. One is hydrogen peroxide therapy. It is relatively inexpensive, and is very good for colds, infectious diseases, etc. But not a big money maker for the drug companies. The other thing is thermography. It is more effective than mammography and uses no radiation. Most mammograms use 1000x the ionizing radiation used for a chest x-ray.

Blowin' in the wind

I did not sleep well last night because of the wind. We had the windows open for airflow, and the gusts rattled the vertical blinds all night long. It was the typhoon coming through. By morning the wind had lessened, and had settled before noon. We stayed in bed until 8:30. Chris stayed home because base was closed (the storm was earlier than expected), but Michele had to go to college. I found myself cleaning the tile porch.
This is quite a novel thing because for two years I have put it off. I tried it once, but it was so dirty that I had to change my wash water every two feet. Not good for my back. I often think "I will be happier when it is clean", but usually don't have the energy. But when I am already happy, somehow things just get clean. This time Chris carried all the boxes out and we sprayed it down with the hose that is out there. There is a drain, too. I used a mop to scrub it (the dirt out there blows in from the city and sticks, like grime). That worked for a third of the porch. The center section is higher than the ends, and the other end doesn't have a drain. So I vacuumed the center section with a brush attachment, and that worked well enough so that I could wash 4 feet to a tub of water. The sponge came off of the mop, so I had to do it by hand. Here is a picture showing washed floor in the foreground, swept-only floor midground, and untouched floor in the back. I usually look at it and think I would be so happy if it were clean.
For lunch I made more vegetable juice. My sewing student came early, about 1:30. She had a lot she wanted to work on because tomorrow is some kind of show that she wants to enter her items in. After she left, I swept inside the apartment, including the silk rug. I hate to think that the dirt which is on the porch is also all over the apartment and our furniture. Like they say, it's blowing in the wind.
God bless Blogger! The power just shut off for the third or fourth time, but lucky for me, Blogger saved most of what I had written!
I went back to washing the center section of the porch and finished just as Chris finished making supper. We had sausage and rice. I made some veggie juice later, and saved a bit to try fermenting. I also went into my sewing room to make something. What I decided to make is a cover for my mixer, since it has to sit on the porch. I hadn't finished it yet, when the power went off. Chris and Michele still had computer power (laptop batteries) but no internet. Chris went to bed. The power came back on, and Michele took her shower as I got on to write my blog. Then it went off leaving Michele in the dark, but thankfully not for long. It took longer for my computer to boot up again than it was out.
Even though the day seemed uneventful weather-wise, apparently there was damage on post and sections are out of power. So Chris has to go in tomorrow, but might come home early.
@#!$%#%! Power went out again. This time my computer won't reboot and I am on the old computer, the one from last century. I am going to publish this and go to bed.

Juicing experiment

Sandwich-making happened at the usual time. Then I got on my computer to read and delete e-mail. Finally I pushed myself away to make breakfast. I checked on the soy milk that I set out to ferment, and it was done. See pic. The kitchen was a mess, which is not unusual. And I found myself wanting more counter space. So, after breakfast, I filled a plastic tub with hot water and peppermint soap. I washed the large items that don't fit well in the dishwasher, cleaned the oven and countertops, wiped down the cabinets, and removed the marble slab to the porch area. I had to wash that too, before I could put the slab there. I committed a really big neatness! Even Michele noticed and was impressed. Then I got out the juicer I bought at the thrift shop, washed it thoroughly, and made a cup of fresh juice. I used celery, cabbage, and part of a red beet. What started out green ended up red. I offered Michele some, and she did have a sip, but didn't want any more. So I drank it all. I took the pulp (I never throw anything away), and added it to the sauerkraut, sparking a rush of new fermentation. Then I re-washed the juicer. I sat back at my computer to await Cathy's call to go to Dongdaemun, but when she finally did call, it was to postpone to a later date. So I took a Ken-Ken break. It was almost 5 when Michele left to go to her first college course of the semester. Chris came home a little later. He had leftovers for supper. I wasn't hungry so I read a book, "The Coconut Diet". Michele came home about 8 complaining that professor didn't show up. He send a replacement instead, who ran over the syllabus and dismissed the class. I don't know if she has to go in tomorrow because Seoul is expecting typhoon weather. The base will be closed to all but essential personnel. The thrift shop will not be open, and I had to cancel quilt class for tomorrow night. Chris will be home all day, so I guess I can sleep in. Sort of.
Oh, forgot to mention that I had a glass of vegetable juice for supper too (along with sauerkraut, kimchi and a slice of baked mac and cheese). This one wasn't as good because I put cayenne pepper in it (per the instructions in the diet book). Guess I put in a little too much.