Adding to my stash...

I got up soon after the alarm went off 'cause I didn't want to be late. I showered, made breakfast and read through some e-mail. Then gathered all my stuff for today, including cheese, and headed out to post. The gate guard was talkative, but I was early enough that I had time. Then I drove to gate 17. The young man from Happy Quilt was there with another man who has a quilting business in Osan. I signed them both in. They followed me in the van to the SPC. Cathy was already there setting up tables and washing them. The room started to fill with ladies as the men set up the fabric packets. And then we attacked. I mean, we started shopping. Lots of ladies came by to shop and I certainly did my part, but when they packed up, it seemed like there was almost as much fabric left as when they started. As I told Cecily later, it was ok for me to buy a lot 'cause I told everyone it was for her. Not that anyone bought that story. Ha. It was almost 3:30 when I left the SPC. I thought about finding a place to sit and read, but I had to get that fabric home and washed. Upon getting home, I had a snack, and then proceeded to empty each packet, clip the corners, and place it in either the light stack or the dark stack. I decided to wash the dark stack. I checked some e-mail while it was washing, and then hard-boiled some eggs while it was drying. I took it out, loosely folded it and placed it on my bed. Supper was right around that time. Then MaryAnn came by with her son. She had packed out today and brought us two large bags of food from her fridge and freezer. She also gave me her sewing machine. I hope that means she'll get a new one after they move. After supper I went into my sewing room to start the ironing process. Matrix 2 happened to be on TV, and I watched it as I pressed each piece dry. I still have three pieces left, but they can wait 'till tomorrow.

Another project

We were up by 9. I showered and dressed, and had breakfast. We left at 9:40 and were there by 9:50. I told Cecily we were early. Ten minutes may not seem early, but only one person was sitting in the sanctuary then. Not that we had a big crowd by 10. The sermon was about how God will be with us even on days when we don't know how we will survive another day. After the service, we ate fruit and kimbap. Then we stopped by the commissary for pork and a few other things. I ran into a few people I knew, but Chris was in a hurry to get home. First he and his mother fixed brunch, including scrambled eggs, english muffins, bacon and orange juice. After that, they started cooking a sauce for pork ribs. I cleaned up my sewing room and did some vacuuming and mopping. I called MaryAnn while repacking my kimchi in glass jars. But our connection got severed and I was unable to call her back. At 3, a lady came for a sewing lesson. She was willing to start at the very beginning, sewing on paper. She wants to work up to tailoring clothes. By the time she left, I could smell the ribs cooking in the oven. Having a clean sewing room inspired me to start another project. I was looking at some quilt magazines and getting inspired, when I remembered that I wanted to make another snap-close pouch for the lady who helped me buy the metal tape measure. So I did that. I used the leftovers from the one I gave Faye so it looks similar. Then it was time for supper. The ribs were really good. There was broccoli, potatoes and apple crisp to go with it. I had a few blackberries for dessert. Then we sat and talked for hours. I brought out a needle and thread and darned the hole in my sprout bag. I threw out the remaining beans. If they haven't sprouted by now, they aren't going to. And now it is time for bed. I have a busy morning ahead of me.

Quilt for Chippy

It was a good morning. Chris woke me slowly. Then he let me sleep while he and Michele started their Saturday morning game with the voices. I got up later and cleared some e-mail before breakfast. But there was more e-mail to delete afterwards. Michele left when her game was over. We had lunch, then Chris drove us to post. He dropped me off at my car and went grocery shopping with his parents. I drove over to gate 17. I walked to the organic market and bought kimchi and eggs. On the way back I passed an itinerant sock seller, so I bought 5 pairs. I went back to my car, drove back to the parking lot and sat down to read until Chris came back. It wasn't long, and then we all went home. I was finally able to decide on a pattern and colors for Chippy's quilt. I put the top together, and pieced some batting. Then chose a paw print backing 'cause he is a chipmunk. I quilted it, and sewed on a binding. I was handstitching the back, when Chris and Cecily had supper ready. So we all sat down to eat. When Michele arrived, she was not hungry. She'd been to Everland, riding the rollercoasters. I finished the binding after supper. Then spent some quality time on a 3-tiered Sudoku puzzle. And now it is time for bed.

Friday June 3rd

Alarm went off at 7, but I went back to bed for another hour. Then I had breakfast, e-mail, blah, blah, blah. The elevator was scheduled to be out of service from 9 to 5, but it was still working when Michele went to college at 9:40. Then the plumber (who was supposed to come yesterday) showed up to fix the leak. He taped it. Well, gee, I could have done that myself. Didn't speak English. I spent what seemed like a long time entering Saturday's blog entry. I did a few Sudoku puzzles. I worked on pattern pieces for the next Thursday night class. I wrote a set of instructions for that project, too. We had planned to go to Namdaemun, but didn't really need anything so we didn't go. When it was too late, I remembered that I wanted to go to the organic market for kimchi and eggs. Around 6, when both Chris and Michele were home, we walked into Itaewon to the Thai restaurant. It was ok. The service was not up to par, like there was no manager, or just an inexperienced one. On the walk back, we passed a young Korean man with a sign marked "Free Hug". Michele hugged him, and so did Cecily. So I did. Then two Korean girls who were watching us, got up and ran to hug him. I tried to get a pic, but it took me too long to find my camera. Then we stopped by the commissary. Chris and Cecily went in to get a few things while Al, Michele and I sat in the car and talked. The rest of the evening was quiet. Everyone had a computer or a book. I tried to access the MWR Arts and Crafts contest for 2011. That AKO website is so hard to use. And you'd think an Army site would have a proper web certificate. But it doesn't, so my browser keeps saying "Are you sure you want to go there? This is bad site. A proper site would have a proper certificate. This could mean trouble. You should leave now."
* Here are some pics of our vacation in Jeju *

Saturday May 28th

I packed last night after posting to my blog. Deciding what to take (or not) was hard. I recharged my batteries and the MP3 player.
I got up this morning at 7, showered, ate, and added a few things to my pack. We drove to the DHL, and got a taxi to Gimpo airport. It was a good thing that Chris sat up front with the taxi driver, because I couldn't understand what the driver was saying. He was the most reasonable Korean taxi driver I have ever met. He even complained about the crazy Korean drivers we encountered. The day was hazy and warm. Gimpo turned out to be a very modern airport, but not nearly as large as Incheon. We checked some of our luggage, went through security, and found gate 10. I did some Sudoku for awhile, and then we moved to closer seats. That is where I met Leslie. She recognized me from the thrift shop. I invited her to our next sewing class. As luck would have it, we were seated next to each other on the plane. We talked during the one hour flight to Jeju island. In the parking lot we found a shuttle bus labeled "Hertz". It is an office for renting cars. Chris rented a large black Opirus. We think it is a chauffeur car 'cause you can recline the back seats, and control the radio and AC from there. Chris brought his GPS system, so he set it up, and plugged in the hotel's phone number. It took 45 minutes, and I saw lots of things to do along the way. The hotel turned out to be a HUGE 5-star hotel. It was beautiful inside and out. It was too early to check in, so we went to the lounge eating area. They offered light meals and tea. But it was horribly expensive. Cecily ordered the tea 'set'. We shared that amongst the 4 of us. Then we went back to check in and get keys. The walk to our room was long and seemed to get longer every time I had to walk it. It took 12 corridors to get there. But it was a very nice room. The toilet seat was heated. And it had a beautiful view from the balcony, so I took pics. We settled in, then went for a walk in the landscaped courtyard.
We walked all the way around to the front, and stopped at the concierge desk for maps and brochures. We rested from our walk. I( did Sudoku on the balcony while others checked out the restaurants in the hotel to see which one we should choose for supper. At 6 we went to the western restaurant, because the Korean and Japanese ones were soo expensive. Still, the meal was over $200. I ordered the seafood plate with abalone. Everything was outstanding! We decided that we would have the leftover bread for breakfast tomorrow so we could head out early. I walked to the 7-11 to see if they had hard-boiled eggs, and they did. But no cheese like Cecily wanted. On the way back, we stopped at the bakery stand in the hotel. They didn't have anything we wanted. We went back to our rooms (too far). I worked a Sudoku puzzle, brushed my teeth, and wrote down my blog entry. Then I tried the bidet. The seat was heated, but the water wasn't. What an eye opener! Chris turned up the temp for the water, and then I went to bed.

Zippered pouch class

Woke up on time. Alarm did its job. Since Cecily wasn't up yet (she usually is), I tiptoed around getting breakfast ready. Then I spent some time cleaning my inbox. I showered, dressed, and prepared a sheet of directions and photos for class tonight. I had a little trouble getting it to print out, but eventually I was victorious. Then I headed over to the thrift shop. On the way Maryann called and asked if I could pick her up at the pet center. So I did, and then we went by Moyer rec to get some stuff out of her car. She was giving me her in-line skates, and cans of pineapple ('cause she's moving). I dropped her off at DHL, and then arrived at the thrift shop. There were books everywhere: inside, outside, in the aisles, etc. I dug right in, but people kept chatting with me. It was hard to make a dent 'cause more would come in from outside. Finally the bookroom was full. So I had to take a large box of old books OUT of the bookroom to make space. And still we had boxes left over for charity. Another volunteer helped with the videos and DVD's. I meant to leave at 2, but worked until 3:45. And STILL, we didn't finish them all. But we did make a dent. I was too tired to go over to the organic market like I had planned. So I sat on the grass and read a book that I bought this afternoon about happiness. So far it says that we spend our present moments doing things that will make a better life for our future selves, but our future selves rarely appreciate all our hard work, and often wonder what we were thinking. At 4:30 I went home. Michele was already there. That is when I remembered that I had to teach class tonight. So I checked my e-mail to see how many kits I needed, and only two had been requested. I cut those, and two more (just in case) and one for me to demonstrate on. I did not have time to cook the bison that I had defrosted for supper. After Chris came home, I left for post. But I had to come back 'cause I had forgotten my model. I arrived later than I had planned. I started setting up, and others arrived and helped. However, the lady that had requested the class did not show up. And I specifically asked her last week if this week was convenient for her and she said it was. Oh well. Those who came had a good time and almost everyone finished their zippered pouch. I sold all four kits AND the one I planned to use as a demo. Three girls showed up again, and made two pouches between them. One plans to make the purse next week, but I think it is beyond her. But she wouldn't accept that.
We packed up and said goodbye to Melanie, who has taught a number of the classes in the past. She leaves on Saturday. We will miss her. Then Heidi followed me home 'cause she wants me to give her lessons. I am glad she mentioned it because I had totally forgotten. We exchanged phone numbers in the parking deck. Then she left and I went to the apt. Cecily had saved some food from supper. I ate that while the others watched "Invictus". Then I sat and watched too. And now it is time to blog and say goodnight.
* Here are some pics from the Glass Castle *

Going out to eat...

The alarm was not set because the electricity went out several times. I was in the middle of a dream about being late for school, when I said to myself "It is just a dream." That is when I woke up and realized I was late. I quickly showered, dressed and had breakfast. I would have left on time, but I couldn't find my car keys. So I had to take the bus, and it arrived at 8:32. So I was late for math rotations in second grade. But it was a good day. The kids enjoyed the card game, and many students were missing. Since I did not have my car, and did not want to wait for the bus, I walked home. In the rain. Cecily was reading in her night gown when I got there. She dressed and I found my keys under a piece of paper in the computer room. The three of us went to post, took my car to the commissary, bought groceries, drove back to the parking lot, and carried the food home. By then it wasn't raining, so I am not sure why we needed the car. Anyway, I spent most of the rest of the day clearing e-mail. When Chris came home, he had a box of gifts from my sister. He said we should open them later since we planned to take Michele out to eat to celebrate her birthday. But before Michele arrived, an electrician came to fix the circuit overload. He discovered a plumbing problem where the dishwasher was leaking water onto an electrical connection. So he left, promising a plumber would come the next day. While he was working that out, Michele opened her gifts. She got a scarf and 4 umbrellas! Then we drove to post, parked at gate 12, and walked to the Indian restaurant in Itaewon. Michele picked the place. Cecily was able to order lamb. Chris got the palik panir. I had chicken curry, and Alfred got barbequed chicken. It was all spicy. We spent almost 2 hours there, and then stopped by Paris Baguette for desserts. Back at the apt, we shared the desserts. Well, not me because I don't eat that stuff anymore. Chris opened his present which was 5 DVD's and a pair of socks. I kept repeating "Now how did Faye know you wanted that DVD?" He liked them all. But it was almost time for bed so we didn't watch any.