The Navy Ball

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a young lady that went to a ball. This is her story:
Our sleep was interrupted by a strange animal sound: a series of short, hoarse vocalizations that sounded like something was being tortured. I got up to look out the living room window. I saw a dark figure of what was probably a deer walking down the street. When I opened the front door, it was gone. I went back to bed, but then the sound started up again behind our house, though not for long. Chris woke up too, and being married, we did not go back to sleep right away.
So the next morning, I woke up late, hearing the phone. It was Myra asking me if I was going to Round-up (which was in 20 minutes) so I said no. She promised to call when she got back. I drank water and texted Kathy about nail stickers to match my dress. After checking e-mail, I went next door to get the wrap Denee was lending me. Then I went to Myra’s place, feeling a little brain fogged. Mandy came over to pick up the dress that Myra repaired. It looked good. Myra needed me to help her pin straps in the right place. She was adding to the lining of the dress so her underwear would not show. But it did, especially in the back. But she seemed confident that she could cover it all with the extra fabric cut off the bottom. She said she didn’t need me anymore so I went home. I watered my plants and picked some tomatoes. I was trying not to eat because I wanted my stomach to stay flat. But I did have some onion soup which had some pieces of beef in it. I finished hemming my dress. Kathy came over with nail stickers. She explained how to put them on. She showed me her collection and I picked the silver ones. After she left, I took a shower. I sat down with my magnifying lamp, small scissors and a hair dryer. I peeled the stickers off the sheet, one at a time. Each one was curved at both ends, so I cut it in half and used the halves on the corresponding finger of each hand. The widest one went on my thumbnails and the smallest on my pinky fingers. I used the hair dryer to warm them up so I could stretch it to cover each nail, but the result wasn’t that satisfactory. There were wrinkles around the edges. I trimmed off the excess and filed, but again, the result wasn’t that satisfactory. On the other hand, without the magnifying lamp, they were all ok. When my nails were done, I called Kelly to see if she could do my hair. She was at the commissary so I spent the time putting in the earrings Myra lent me. The curved prong was short, so it was hard to get them in the holes in my ears. Kelly called me when she got home. I walked up to her house. I showed her my nails and she thought they were ok. She used a flat iron and a bit of hairspray to add volume to my hair. She showed me the mold in her house which she had just explained to Housing that they had to do something about. When I got home, I ate a baked apple. My nose started running, so I concluded that I must be sensitive to something in the recipe.

I opened an Amazon box that came two days ago. I found rosewater, so I applied it liberally since I don’t own perfume. I put on a touch of eyeliner at the outer corners of my eyes, and added a touch of lip liner and smoothed it out with my homemade lip balm. Chris came home and got himself dressed. I packed my clutch with tissues, Chris’ camera, safety pins, and a tiny sewing kit in case anyone had a dress emergency. Chris asked how he looked and I got his medals on straight. His hang-around-the-neck medal did not show under his tux because it was too low. So I put tucks in the ribbon to raise the medal just enough so it would show but not too much. Then Chris helped me get dressed, especially with the shaper. The twins did not move a nanometer for the next 5 hours. Chris took pics of me in my dress on the front porch. Then we walked down the hill to catch the first bus. We were the only married couple on the bus so I was worried that it was the wrong bus. And I thought Myra and Scott were coming, but the bus filled up and left right on time. As we drove out the gate, it occurred to me that I did not have my ID to get back. The bus drove through traffic and half an hour late arrived at Yeonriji. We all got out and took the elevator to the third floor. There was a wide open space in front of the ballroom. Directly in front were tables set with food covered in plastic wrap. People were taking pics from the grand stairway. We hung around greeting people and talking, waiting for the second bus to arrive. We had our picture taken by the evet photographer against a Navy Ball design background. Then the CSO called for everyone to find a seat. So we went in and looked for a table, with space for Myra and Scott. But we did not find one. Eventually we sat at the front with Danielle and Ross, and the ladies from the bank. Then there were speeches about this being the 241st birthday of the Navy. (I thought the ball was just an excuse to dress up.) Some awards were given out. FINALLY, he said tables 1,2 and 3 could proceed to the buffet. We were at table 6 so I figured it wouldn’t be long. And it wasn’t, plus we had good conversationalists at our table. When given notice, we proceeded to the buffet right outside the doors. But I spotted Myra at a back table and had to go greet her. Poor Chris got to the buffet and discovered I was gone. So he came back for me. Then we filled our plates. There was just enough offerings that I could eat to fill it. Some people took two plates so they would not have to come back. When we sat down again, I took a pic of my plate. I ate everything on it and considered going back for more since I saw sushi rolls on Danielle’s plate and fruit on Chris’ plate. I had not seen either at the buffet. But just as I got up to go, the CSO announced toasts. So I sat back done. Chris poured a modicum of wine in my glass. Then we all toasted whomever they could think of. After the toasting, four people stood for the cutting of the cake. There was a sword for this purpose. And a ceremony of the oldest giving a piece of cake to the youngest to symbolize the passing of wisdom. The ceremony continued, but due to the acoustics, I could not make it out. I wanted to lick the sword, but could not find a nice way to phrase it. (Ok, yes, due to the sugar content, I wouldn’t have done it anyway, but it would have been funny, right?) Afterward, we gathered for a group picture.

When the ceremony was over, regular table conversation started up. It was hard to hear anything in that room. But as I looked around, I noticed Anna approaching the women individually and they left. After a while, I remarked to Danielle that all the women were leaving but I did not know why. She said we should check it out. So we made our way to the other side of the ball room where the doors were. When we passed Chaun, she decided to accompany us. The three of us found all the other women gathered on the grand stairway to have a group photo taken. I don’t know why we weren’t invited, but we joined right in. Chris showed up in the group of men standing at the bottom taking pics. I tried to get his attention so I could give him our camera, but his mind reading skills were not working.
Then the DJ turned the music up and the younger people started dancing. It was not the kind of music Myra and I liked for dancing, although it had a beat. When we returned to the ballroom, the younger generation was lined up in rows and columns, doing some sort of group dance. The next dance seemed simple enough, so we joined in. But the next one was more complicated and I could not get it. Then we did the Macarena. Chris announced that the first bus was about to leave, so we made our way done to the street. We found that the first bus had already left and got on the second one. Soon Myra and Scott showed up, then some single sailors. One lady went back to tell the others that the last bus was leaving. When she got back, the bus pulled away from the curb and we were on our way. Chris, Scott and Ray discussed the wild boar hunt scheduled for tomorrow. Apparently we might get the pork dinner I have been joking about every time I see all the damage they are doing! Chris gave me his jacket so when we got to the base, I could wait outside the front gate for him to go home and find my ID and bring it to me. But Scott, being head of Security, said something to the MA that checked ID’s and she decided to let me on base. Myra said she would have waited with me. The bus pulled into the parking lot formerly known as Duffy’s and we got off. The four of us walked up hill to Myra’s place, and then Chris and I continued up to ours. Chris helped me get the dress and the corset off. Being able to breathe was such a relief. I was so tired I just got in bed and we fell asleep.

Finally a clutch I can appreciate

It was after 8 when I got up. I stood by the front door on one foot and finished yesterday’s puzzle. Then I sat down with a quart of water to read e-mail. At 9:10 I got dressed and went outside to water the plants. Then I grabbed my fanny pack and walked up the hill to Kelly’s house. I spent about an hour there. She trimmed my hair and showed me the couch cushions that she wants to cover. Two of her kids were at home sick. I walked home, picking up some flower pots that Linda left out for the trash. They still had dirt in them. I opened two windows and turned on a fan. I got out a sheet of directions for a snap/close pouch. I thought with the right fabric, it would make a good clutch for the ball. I assembled scraps from the dress I made. I had some shiny silver fabric from the Busan market. I covered it with scraps. It looked ok except for the seam lines. Then I found a bigger piece, big enough that I could make it in only two pieces. The silver had a 3 inch selvedge on it so I used that to add on either end of the lining for the contrast band. I took a break to have breakfast. I worked until almost 3. Then I walked out to the Chinese massage place. Mr. Lee Pong was not there. The clerk, who had done my massage last week, indicated a lady waiting to do the massage. But I looked at him and he guessed that I wanted him to do the massage. (In my experience, the men do a better job because their hands are stronger, which means they don’t need to use their elbows as much.) So he left me in the small room to change. Then I laid on the table and he massaged my back, arms, shoulders, hands, neck, head, and legs. I did not want to take the extra half hour for a foot massage. Then I walked back to base. I resumed working on the clutch. I had been trying to topstitch the contrasting band and the needle was gumming up which made it skip stitches. So I got a bottle of alcohol and soaked a cotton ball. I had to use it every few stitches to keep the needle clean. It was annoying to proceed one stitch at a time with the handwheel, but it was the only way to insure that every stitch formed. Myra called to talk about attending a function on a ship in Busan on Sunday.

All I wanted to do was take the tour which was earlier in the day. And I did not have my heart set on that. I figured the function would be just a lot of important people standing around, eating and drinking. Then then we would stand around listening to speeches in English and Korean. Not my cup of tea. Myra was busy re-making a dress for one of the other wives who had picked up her dress from the alterations person and it was ruined. God bless Myra. I slipped the metal parts into the clutch channels and then basted and sewed the side seams. I turned it right side out. I had cut it large enough for my phone, but somehow the seams were just thick enough that the phone would not go in I had a stretchy sequin band that I used to make a handle for the clutch. Then I got out my dress to see if it went. It was ok. Using a press cloth, I ironed my dress as best I could. The hem seemed odd somehow so I did not press it. I started taking it out, thinking I might shorten it just a little. I realized that the person who shortened it did not cut off the extra – she just rolled it up several times and sewed through it. It was not a consistent 3 inches from the original hem, so I took quite a bit out. I only stopped when I realized how late it was: 9:45. I took my evening supplements. I asked Chris to watch House with me. We had time for one episode. Then I sat down to write my blog post. When I was ready to post it, my computer started glitching. While it sorted itself out, I finished today's puzzle while standing on one foot. Then I posted and went to bed.

More pumpkins

I woke up early hearing Chris get up. I heard my alarm sound but stayed in bed to do some mental programming. I got up to drink a quart of water. I took a shower, then deleted a bunch of e-mail and started reading the rest. I tapped to prepare for the skype call with my tapping buddy. We had trouble connecting because the call kept ending. But we were persistent and got through the session. It ended early with him feeling that the issue was resolved. I read e-mail for a while and ate a cooked apple while listening to an interview. Then I went to sewing class with my quilt. I called Myra from the room, and she said she’d be right over. I got out one table and worked on binding. Myra showed up but had to leave again to submit some forms. Denee came to work on her potholders. Chong wanted to make an iron caddy so I raced home to get some Insulbrite. But all I had were 2 half pieces so I had to zigzag them together. I went back and got her started. Chantel came to work on a pumpkin. Eventually Myra came back. I fixed Denee’s potholder and she went home. We stayed late for Myra to finish the pumpkin. Denee wanted me to see a dress that she wasn’t going to wear to the ball in case I might want to wear it. So Myra and I went over there. We saw that dress and several others. I tried it on. Then we all went to my place for them to see the dress I made and the one I bought in Busan. They loved the dress from Busan but did not like any of my jewelry so we all went to Myra’s place to see hers. She lent me a necklace, bracelet and earrings. She stood on her diningroom table and I pinned up the hem of her dress. We all needed clutches so we agreed to go into town. I went home to hang up my dress and get some seed crackers because I was so hungry. We walked to the fabric store and they each bought some black chiffon for wraps. Then we went to the underwear store. We found nylons and panties without lines. The lady served them coffee and me water. We wandered through some other stores looking for makeup bags that might serve as clutches. We even went to Daiso. Myra got a gray flower pin there. Then we went to the junk store, but they did not have anything we needed and we were running out of time. We walked back to the base. I was exhausted, but I made it up the hill and home before I crashed on the couch. After 10 minutes, I got up to have a bite to eat and listen to some more of the interview. Fifteen minutes later I headed to the Housing Center. Myra was just turning on the lights. MWR had dropped off a load of stuff for us: mats, a rotary cutter, two sewing machines, two thread stands, and rulers. Amber came to make another pumpkin and take fabric to make a third. Mari worked on a pumpkin, as did Jadyn and Evelin. Elizabeth cut out pumpkin shapes but did not have access to a machine to start sewing. Anna came late to hang out. Myra made sure everyone’s name made the list which we have to have for MWR to fund our activity. We packed the machines back in their boxes and put it all away. When I got home I made and ate breakfast and took my supplements. I was listening to the last part of the interview when my laptop shut itself down due to overheating. I lost all my blog notes. I also lost the interview I was listening to because the link had expired and the buffer was all that was left. And then it was gone, too. We watched two episodes of House. Chris went to bed and I stayed up to blog.

Underwhelmed

I got up a little before 8. I drank my usual quart of water and read e-mail. I learned about the benefits of drinking camel milk. But it a rather expensive proposition, coming from Europe. I listened to audios while doing the puzzles for yesterday and today. I took my vitamin C packets and ate some seed crackers. I looked for the pattern for the front of my ball gown to cut a lacy overlay piece. But I could not find it anywhere. Over and over I searched. I laid out the fabric and taped it to the floor. I put the solid front piece on it, but it was so shifty. I laid the back piece on it to get it into shape. Then I pinned around it and laid some rulers on it to keep it flat and from shifting. While I was basting the two fabrics together, Chris came home for lunch with boxes. I opened the boxes, then went back to basting and listening to audios. The speaker was recommending spelling words with different body parts as a way of retraining the brain. While Chris was there, I found the front piece – it was on the floor between the couch and the stuffed chair. I laid it on, and it corroborated how I had laid out the front piece. I started cutting it out and finished the basting. I soaked my shapewear in a bowl of warm soapy water. After it had soaked for some time, I hung it up in the bathroom to dry. I listened to an audio as I made breakfast. The speaker said improving cognition improves balance and improving balance improves cognition. She runs a class where the participants alternate balance exercises with cognitive exercises. I guess I have to do my Sudoku puzzles standing on one foot for a similar effect!
I sorted all the recyclables and put them in bags. Then I made myself go back to working on the dress. I don’t know why I kept hesitating. When the pieces were sewn together, I went looking for facing fabric. I went outside to water plants, and picked some weeds for supper. I washed them. As they drained, I ate a baked apple. I went back to working on the dress. I cut the neck facing pieces and sewed them together. Then I sewed the facing to the dress and topstitched it. Chris came home while I was topstitching. I tried it on and was underwhelmed. Everything came out just as it was supposed to, and just like all the other dresses, but it didn't look good. Chris said it needed to be narrower at the bottom. I got out a pattern for a long dress and placed the skirt pieces over my dress. I decided to take each seam in one inch. Chris made his supper. I drizzled oil on my weeds and ate them. Then I sat down to finalize my Swansons order. The new offer was for 20% off Swanson brand only products. So I deleted the others, placed the order, then looked up the deleted products on Amazon. To that, I added small toys for Halloween. Sadly I spent all evening looking at such toys and comparing reviews. Finally I submitted my order. Then I thought about glow-in-the-dark paint to make glow-in-the-dark rice for Halloween. But I could not find the non-toxic kind on Amazon. Then it was time for bed.
* Version 5 doesn't look as good as the others *

Jinhae tower

After going to bed late, we got up late, not realizing just how late it was. Since I turned my phone off for church and had forgotten to turn it back on, the alarm did not ring. When I got to the kitchen, the clock read 9:45! I boiled water for coffee while swishing, dry brushing and exercising. I meditated and tapped while detoxing. Afterward I cleaned in the kitchen, more extensively than usual. I read e-mail and listened to audios, then decided to buy the interviews from the Awakening from Alzheimers Summit. Chris played his game all day. Finally we dressed for going out. We walked into town to the Jinhae tower. We walked up the steps, pausing frequently to stretch. I took some pics and then we looked for the road down. But there were many, plus paths and steps. I continued to stop and stretch. I wasn’t sure where we were at times but I could see the electric towers of the base. So we headed in that general direction. We looked through the traditional market, picking up a bag of apples. When we got back, Chris cored them and added nuts and raisins. He put them in the oven. I heated a piece of steak and added butter because it needed more fat. Then we ate some of the cooked apples. I read e-mail. I downloaded the audios and transcripts from the summit. I looked up Robert’s Rules of Order. I realized that in order for the procedure to work, everyone in the group had to learn the rules, which are contained in a 700+ page book. I couldn’t see the FRG doing that, so I looked up alternatives. I read through a few but they did not quite address our situation.
I added items to my Swanson’s order. I did not finalize because I am waiting for a better offer. Currently it is 10% off. There should have been a big sale for Columbus Day. I took my night-time supplements, including magnesium and melatonin. Then we watched two episodes of House. Chris helped me download pics from my phone. I checked e-mail one last time. Then I posted to my blog and probably went to bed.

Make-over

I got up before 8 because Chris got up to take his shower and get ready for church. I combed out my hair. The oil level seemed right but my hair still wanted to stand up rather than lay down and it parted on the left, which I never do. I tied a scarf around my head to encourage it to lay flat. I cleared e-mail while listening to audios from the Alzheimers summit. At 9:30 I took my shower. I hemmed the sleeves of the version 4 dress and put it on. Chris walked home from church. I raced around looking for the blue sling purse that almost matches the dress. Then I put on my shoes and we got in the car. Chris dropped me off at the chapel. I sat in the pew with Kathy and her family. We sang the praise songs. When it came time to shake hands, the lady behind me said she had met me at the embassy party in Busan. She remembered my name but I had to ask for hers. Did I remember it? Sadly, no. But her husband has worked with my husband. So maybe Chris knows her name? Sadly, no. The sermon was about how Jesus showed 8 qualities of good leadership. After the service, Chris was there to pick me up. But I had to visit the restroom and when I came back, he was conversing. It was after noon when we walked to the commissary for groceries. When we got home, we put the food away. I sat down to clear e-mail and finish an audio from earlier. I learned that mice given the equivalent of 2 apples a day decreased their inflammatory markers as much as the most powerful NSAIDs. I am all for eating apples, but as it turns out, you have to make applesauce with the peels on to get the right stuff. And commercial applesauce won’t work, he said. I tried on the dress I got in Busan with the shoes I bought in Masan. The dress was too long. I took off the silvery strip that was sewn under the bust line.

I tried different underwear to find something that fit with the dress. I put a strip of fabric through a gemstone barrette and pinned it to the front of the dress. It looked ok, but being a curved barrette, it did not sit flush. I tried running a full-length strip of fabric from neckline to hemline. That looked ok, too, I guess. I wished Michele were here to give her opinion. She was always my fashion consultant. Isn’t that why I had her? I sewed scraps of the version 5 dress together to see if the needle and thread combination works. It did. But I needed a break. I meant to go to the tower and walk up the 365 steps, but I got too involved in doing google searches and never went. Around 4:30 I went outside to run up and down the steps behind the duplex. When I came in, Chris was putting steaks in the oven and making asparagus. I took my supplements. I read e-mail until supper was ready. I ate supper while reading e-mail. Then I made seed crackers and removed unwanted items from the dining room table while the crackers baked. I took an anti-inflammatory to see if it had any effect on the painful patch on my scalp. (It did not.) Then we watched three episodes of House. Somehow Greatest American Heroine came up on Youtube and we watched that episode, thinking at first that it was just a song. Then I sat down to write my blog. About 11:30, Nela called me on Facebook. She is still under evacuation to Florida. After the call, I posted to my blog and went to bed.

Oktoberfest

I got up by nine. It was Replay Day for both of the summits I have been listening to this week, plus one I signed in late for. So, I started listening to Betrayal, which is a 7 part series on autoimmune disorders. While listening, I did today’s puzzle and exercised. I worked on my ball gown, matching pieces and basting them together and cutting off what did not match.
I ate an apple after hearing about the mice who ate the equivalent of 2 apples a day experiencing anti-inflammatory effects.
At 4 I took a shower to get the oil out of my hair. Then we walked to the Wentz’s for Octoberfest. He had made three kinds of beer: pumpkin, India Pale Ale, and Octoberfest. The pumpkin was my favorite. They made pretzels out of the spent grains, so I tried one. Chris drank a mug of each beer and I had a small sip of each. We went out back where they had a canopy set up with tables and chairs. He was wearing lederhosen and she was wearing a dirndl. They served an international menu: bratwurst, potato salad, fruit platter, asparagus wrapped in bacon, seaweed, chicken adobo, beer-shaped cake, cookies, sunflower seeds and jabchai. Some people brought stuff with them. Sadly, it rained the whole time. So, people came in with wet shoes, took them off to get beer inside then had to put them back on to go out back for food. Lots of people came and after 2 hours it was crowded. I asked Kelly to cut my hair next week. Then I signaled Chris and we went home. I made breakfast and finished basting the last piece. Then I ate breakfast while we watched two episodes of House. I played old songs on my new laptop and sang along. Chris and I danced to one of them. I took my supplements. I wrote up my blog post for the day, thinking I must have forgotten something because it was so short.
* The cake. *