And now the race begins...

Woke up at 6:30 in a cold apartment. Michele was still sleeping, so I started cleaning her bathroom. Did the sink, tub and outer part of the toilet ( I did not bring toilet cleaner). Also wiped the washing machine nearby. The drain hose just sits on the floor. I guess doing laundry keeps the floor clean. I took another swipe at the grease spots behind the gas stove top. And then I was going to UV wand the mattress, but it wasn't charged, and I didn't have the cord. Finally Michele's phone alarm went off and woke her up. She dressed and then we walked back to Gate 12, and drove to gate 37. We walked back to my apartment for breakfast, and a shower for me. When I thought I had everything for quilting, I went back to post. But I had forgotten the transformer that needed a fuse. I wanted to return it to the thrift shop. So Michele brought it to me on her way to the bus stop. I arrived at the SPC to find Cathy and Amiee cutting Christmas fabric for the exchange. Other ladies arrived later. I had three kinds of fabric - one for Helle and two for me to choose from in case someone else brought the same thing, which did happen. But we cut our yardage, and made our little piles, and picked a fat quarter from each one. Then we worked on baby quilts, and QOV blocks. I scrounged in the closet to find proper sewing feet from the machines we don't use 'cause the whatchamacallit is missing. And we had another delicious lunch. Quilters can cook. Although, I just cut up cheese. Michele called about 1:20 to say she'd be at the gate in 15 minutes. I packed up my stuff, and said goodbye to the group. They were very nice to me, and we took a group picture with Ana's camera. I may never see some of them again. Very sad. I miss them already. Anyway, I went over to gate 12, got Michele and went to the LG phone store on post to get our accounts exchanged. The man said he could not do it 'cause we were foreigners, etc. We also wanted to schedule two phones to be cut off on Sunday since we are leaving Korea. He couldn't do that either. I called Chris and he came over to hash it out. The man assured us that Michele could call on Monday with our account numbers and get the phones turned off. He also said that as long as she had a photocopy of my ID, even if it was expired, she could get a new phone or whatever even though her phone is in my name (and my phone is in her name). From there we went home and Chris went back to work. I let Michele go ahead to the apt while I parked. She met the man from the moving company who wanted to see what was to be packed tomorrow. She said he was amazed when he looked at my fabric closet. He said it would take two days. One day for UB and packing HHG. Another to move HHG and ship it. Michele stayed to help me go through things and separate out the good from the bad. She selected things from her room to go to the thrift shop, but did not throw the rest of the 'stuff' away. Left it for me, I guess. She asked me to save a piece of fabric to recover a chair seat in her apartment. So I saved the staple gun, too. Don't know when I am going to have time to do that, though. Chris came home and went through his clothes, even as I did mine. I put some in the suitcase, some in Unaccompanied Baggage, and some left out for HHG. A few pieces will go to the thrift shop. Chris wanted to go to bed at a reasonable time, but I figured I would be up all night going through the apartment. He took Michele to her place and helped her carry more stuff up. When he got back, he put the just-washed sheets on the guest bed in her room. He soon went to sleep there because I was sorting in the bedroom. I finished the bathroom, and powder area, then went to the drawers in the night stand. I also printed out a copy of my vacation packing list and am in the middle of that, but I needed a break, so here I am. I found the cord for the UV wand and am charging it now. Also found the quilt Michele wanted, but it needs binding. How can I possibly accomplish all of this? Sadly, my future self is very demanding, and will ask questions like "Why didn't you pack that?', and "Why didn't you leave 'x' for Michele?" "Why did you wait so long to start sorting?" "Why did you take that on the plane when you could have left it in UB?"

First night in Michele's apt

First thing this morning, I got on VMIS to enter hours and certify submitted ones. I don't know why it wasn't working yesterday. I had breakfast, showered, and dressed for church. Michele had promised that she would pack today, but she was watching a movie when we left. We arrived on time. It was a normal service. Afterwards, the pastor had us and another couple come up to receive prayers for traveling. He gave Chris a chance to speak, and Chris spoke eloquently. For my turn, I said "What he said." We said goodbye to people individually. Then we met Hank, and Sinja and her husband at the Hartell House for lunch. It was an excellent buffet. We had a marvelous time. When that came to an end, we went to the Four Seasons to get a fuse for one of the transformers that we bought for Michele. No luck. We went to the commissary for a few groceries. No sense in stocking up. At home, Michele helped put away groceries. I changed to cleaning clothes. Michele had selected some jeans for me to use to patch her other jeans. Now!?!? Oh sure. So I spent part of the afternoon patching two pairs of jeans and a top. Any other mother would have told her to buy another pair. Six holes means they are worn out. But she picked out special fabric for the bigger holes and loves the effect. The movers arrived at 3. Chris and Michele pointed out what to take. I went around asking Michele if she wanted this or that. Chris left with them to let them into the apartment and show them where to put stuff. Then he walked home. I was preparing for Monday and also to spend the night with Michele in her new apartment. She and I had supper, but Chris was too full from lunch. Chris went through stuff, throwing some away and making a stack for keeping or donating. He put the 'get rid' pile in the car, and then the 'give to Michele' pile. When we were all ready, he drove us to post. I drove my car to gate 12 for access in the morning. We went to his office to use the bathroom, and then to Michele's apt. We carried up loads of stuff. Chris hooked up the Tv and VCR before he left. Michele and I cleaned her shelves, put up books, and threw out stuff left behind by the last tenant. Then I started cleaning in the kitchen while she folded her clothes and put them away. The backsplash was really greasy and I had to take breaks from scrubbing it. I sat beside Michele as she folded. When all her clothes were put away, she was ready to turn in. I wanted to blog so got out my laptop, but the signal wasn't strong enough in the livingroom (although Michele had no trouble). So I went into the 'other' bedroom where the router was. Then blogspot would not accept my password. The help page was in Korean which didn't help at all. However, Michele used Google translate and somehow we got in, but I had to change my password to do it. Hope I remember the new one. Now it is late and we need to get up early. We did not bring breakfast stuff so have to go 'home' to eat, shower, dress, and get the Monday stuff for quilting. I meant to take pics of the apartment after we cleaned it up a bit, but that moment never arrived, so here are pics from yesterday. I also meant to use the UV wand on the mattress in the guest room, but there wasn't time for that either. Guess I'll sleep on the couch. Michele said she warmed it up for me.

Last quilt on the longarm

We heard the alarm go off at 7:30 but stayed in bed a few extra minutes. I showered, sewed an extra strip onto my quilt backing, ate breakfast, and skimmed e-mail. Cathy called to say she wanted to finish her quilt when I was through, and I asked to buy some of her batting. She arrived at the AnC center at the same time I did. I went upstairs to finish last week's quilt. Chris, Michele and Romaric came by. They were on their way to the thrift shop, but it wasn't quite open yet. Michele and Romaric were impressed by the longarm. I answered their questions and let them watch it at work, but then gave them the bum's rush 'cause the people in charge don't like crowds around their expensive machine. When I finished that one, I put on the latest (and last) one. It took me almost three hours to set it up, baste the whole thing, choose thread color and pick a design. But after that, it went really fast. Each row took about 10 minutes, so was done in a hour. I called Cathy several times, but she did not answer her phone. I went to the thrift shop and bought a 220 microwave from Debbie. It was raining. Still couldn't get ahold of Cathy. Nor Chris and Michele. I found out later that they had gone to the movies. So I went to the salon to get my hair cut. There was a 30 minute wait so I went to the PX for coconut oil. Still, I sat and waited for some time. She shaved several tufts of gray hair from the back of my neck. We agreed that I am too young for gray hair. (Michele says I still look 30) After she cut my hair, I tipped her really well, and we hugged and had a pic taken. Then I went to the walk-in gate and parked. Finally I got through to Chris. They were home but planning to go to DHL. So I walked home with my emergency umbrella. Ready for the trash it is. When Chris was ready, we went to DHL to amend our phone contracts. But the clerk said we had to do it during weekday hours. So then we went to Michele's apartment. Driving up such a steep hill scared me. (But driving down was worse.) She is on the 4th (and top) floor of a building with no elevator. It was dirty and food had been left in the fridge. We threw it out. Chris bought a gas burner stove top to replace the old one in there. He hooked it up and got her on the internet. I took a few pics, and marveled at the stuff that was left behind. She won't need any furniture or glassware. She is taking her futon even though there is a bed in one room. She is claiming the other room with all the closets. There is a bathroom with a washing machine. Outside, on the roof is a short clothesline. Good luck, Michele. We came home for supper. We watched a TMNT movie. I mentioned that we might have more important things to do, but I seem to be alone with that thought. I fell asleep during the movie, wrapped in a quilt. When the movie was over, I trimmed my eyebrows and packed the implements. I took two boxes from my sewing room and labeled one PLANE, and the other UB. I selected items for both. I tried to enter my volunteer hours on the VMIS system, but it won't let me in. Then I answered some e-mails, and decided to write this post and then try VMIS again.

Party for Chris

It was the usual morning routine and some sewing. For some reason, one block in my quilt was but smaller than the rest (years ago). I had added extra sashing to it to make it fit with the others, but that solution stuck out like a sore thumb. I knew if I quilted it, I would have to give it away so I wouldn't have to look at it. So I took that block off, cut the sashing to the same width as the others, and built the other two sides up from leftover scraps, matching the angles. It worked really well. At 11:30 Michele and I walked through the rain to meet Chris at the walk-in gate. He arrived with his Katusa in the front seat. Michele and I sat in back. He drove to the walk-in gate on Camp Coiner. We met other co-workers there and walked through a gate to a restaurant. Chris had sent out a menu so we could choose what we wanted ahead of time. The restaurant had the meals ready and handed them out as people arrived. But I kinda wanted the bulgogi, which had to be ordered in pairs, so Chris changed our order. It was really good. There were so many side dishes that I could have done without the entree. Chris' boss arrived late because of traffic. When most people had eaten, he stood up to say a few words about Chris. He praised Chris as an employee and as a family man. Then others stood up to say a few words. They all but said he walked on water and I asked him later how much he paid them. Ha, ha. But seriously, I was very proud of him. And then Chris stood up to speak. He must have thanked everyone in the room individually. And there were upwards of 25 there. Again, I was impressed and proud. He was given an award certificate, a shirt with an IMCOM patch, and a Korean tablerunner (actually it was handed to me). It was obvious how much he will be missed. After lunch, he dropped Michele and I off at our gate. We went to the apt. I packed an extra shoulder bag and grabbed my thread cone and denim scraps in preparation to go to Dongdaemun one last time. But when I got to my car, I could not find my keys. And I was supposed to meet Ruth Ann at D in a few minutes. I called her to tell her I would be late, and then I searched and searched. My camera was missing too. Chris got Ms. Davis to call the restaurant. They had the camera but not the keys. He fetched it. I walked to Ichon station and took the subway to D. Ruth Ann had already shopped at Happy Quilt. I hadn't planned on it, but she had a beautiful piece and I wanted some too. Also, I had bought a green last week that went with so many things that I wanted more. But it was all sold out. Still, I found plenty to spend money on: a few more coordinates of the teal/blue/purple on black that we all admired at the warehouse. And I got some other greens too. Then we went looking at thread. I got three cones of white. She got two. We looked at denim. I bought two pieces. I showed her a few vendor stalls in bldg D that have quilting-weight fabric. Then we went to the other fabric market. It was after 4 by then. Chris called to tell me that our apartment was being shown and could I be home by 6? Well, that seemed reasonable. I bought some gray fabric for pants, and she got some Korean pancakes (lots of food vendors there, don't go at meal time). We saw tentacles, but they were too expensive. Then we took line 1 to line 4. The man from the magazine called with a few questions. Ruth Ann led me off the train and through the subway system to line 4. Good thing she did 'cause my attention was totally taken by the phone conversation. She got off at Seoul station, and I got off at Sinyongsan. I planned to wait for the post-run bus to take me to my gate, but another pedestrian offered me a ride after hearing the gate guard refuse to scan my card and insisting that I use the automated system. I was worried about missing the bus. She dropped me off at my gate and I was home by 5:50. Chris was at Michele's apartment supervising the installation of internet service and getting the codes. Michele had just gotten home from college. I cleaned up the kitchen and livingroom as best I could. Then a realestate agent brought a group around to see the apartment. Chris went back to work and got home late. I worked on my quilt, finishing the borders. I spread it on the backing only to find out that the backing was too short to trim. But it had to be trimmed. So I cut another 6 inch strip to sew on to it. Then I spread out batting pieces to see if I could piece a batt large enough. Nope. I don't have enough of any particular one. So I hope to call Cathy in the morning. Maybe she will have something.

Seoul International Fireworks Festival

I keep meaning to post this link to the pics of the fireworks festival. I think you will enjoy them.
http://blog.paran.com/imck/45931048

Aren't they beautiful?

i
Woke up around 8, did the breakfast and e-mail thing, showered and went to the thrift shop. Hardly anyone was there. I shelved books. Deb picked up two pizzas. They started eating around 11:40? Geri brought me sushi. Nyun left me a gift bag with two tiny plates on magnets. Ms. Chung, Geri, and Deb presented me with two Celadon vases signed by the artist. They are very beautiful and I was quite surprised. One is male and one is female. This is the female one. I did not unwrap the other one 'cause it was packed so well for shipping. It was a very small party. When I finished at 2, I went to the gas station gate. I walked into Itaewon and picked up the luggage tags that I ordered yesterday. When I got back, I sat on a tree stump to read in the sun. But the stump had sap on it and it stuck to my good gray pants. I went home to wash it off. Soap and water did not work, so I stuck my pants in the freezer. When they were frozen, I tried scraping it off. Then I let them thaw. I read e-mail for a bit, then went into my sewing room to find something for class tonight. I found my project pieces for the strip quilting project. So I packed several bags of strips for class. I also bagged up the old cones of thread, and a bag of 9x10 pieces leftover from another class years ago. Chris told me the landlord was coming over to see the apartment. What we didn't know is that she was showing to a potential renter. I would have cleaned up a little. Finally it was time to go. I grabbed all the bags and went to post. I was pretty early to the SPC. I set up tables, machines, an iron, rulers, etc. Then I sat in a chair to wait. Cathy came in to give me a little gift bag. It had a beautiful piece of fabric from Indonesia, and a CD of pictures from quilt shows, etc. She also had one copy of 9-patch Pizazz which had come in the mail. She let me read her quilt magazine as she went through the rest of her mail. Later Ruth Ann came in. She was surprised that none of the students were there. We chatted for a bit, then decided at 7:30 that no one was coming and to pack up. As we were packing, one lady came with her three quilt tops from last week. Cathy left, so Ruth Ann and I showed her how to put the quilt sandwich together. We love her color choices. Then we packed up and went out. Ruth Ann and I chatted outside for awhile, and then I went home, using the new automatic gate. Michele and Chris were both highly engaged in playing games on their laptops. I listened to an audio about the risk-benefit ratio of the flu vaccine, and then posted to my blog. Michele came in to ask for help with a 'puzzle' in her game. I tried to help. When she got tired of my help, she used my computer to google the answer. I chased her out of my chair and reclaimed the computer so I could finish.

Lunch with the ladies

Not having slept well the night before, I stayed in bed until almost 8. I read e-mail for most of the morning and then showered and dressed for lunch. I went over to the SPC to meet Cathy, Mary, and Judy. I left the QOV top there, got Cathy's signature on the minutes for last month, and changed the lock on the metal cabinet, giving keys to Cathy and Mary. We took Mary's van to the gas station gate and walked into Itaewon. We stopped at Santorini's for lunch. I had the octopus salad, and they all got gyros. It was very good. They paid for my lunch. Then we walked up and down Itaewon, enjoying the shops. I ordered embroidered luggage tags at one place. He does the letters freehand, It was the most amazing thing. We also stopped in a shop that defies categorization. See the merchandize behind Mary and Cathy. Then we went back to the SPC. The ladies gave me going-away gifts of fabric and seaweed. Both are things you can't have too much of, and something I had been looking for. And how practical - something to eat and something to wear! I was touched. Then I went to MP hill to sit in the grass and read - something I haven't done in a while. There was a very nice rock, very comfortable. But the temperature dropped and the wind got chilly, so I returned to my car. Strangely, my back bothered me after sitting there. I went home and laid down for awhile. I read some e-mail. Chris called to tell me the movers were coming to see what Michele wanted moved to her apartment. She wanted the hide-a-bed, so I opened it up and swept it out, washed the sheets. The fabric was ripped so I hand-sewed a denim patch on it. Then I put on a movie. During the movie, a lady came to see how much was to be moved. Then we ate supper and finished the movie. Chris went to bed, and I listened to an interview with Norm Shealy. I forgot to ask Chris if he wanted a sandwich, so I will make one anyway. I will have to pack something for myself too, since the thrift shop is throwing me a pizza party tomorrow.