Settling on a house

I got up soon after Chris left for work. I drank a quart of water. and swished with magnesium and coconut oil. I listened to interview on essential oils for stress reduction and sleep. I researched Burkey water filters.
Then the maid knocked on the door and wanted to clean the room. I told her I should be gone by 11. I washed up and got dressed. I put away stuff so the room would be easier to clean, Chris called and said we needed to go by Housing and reserve the house, plus he had no internet access. I took my machine and went to get him. On the way I missed the turn lane, got turned around, and found myself at gate1 where I made a u-turn.
I picked him up at work and drove us to Housing, He had to write a non-refundable check for $125 to reserve the house. It does not come off the first month's rent. Just another way for them to get money. First thought: with our luck, Chris will now get a message saying he has been offered a job elsewhere. Second thought: it might be worth it. We set a date of Aug 24th to move in.
We went back to the hotel. Chris stayed at the hotel to work since he had no internet access at work. I went through fabric pieces to see which ones I needed. I laid out the blocks I had on the bed. I was not particularly fond of the effect. I packed some fruit and a small amount of seed cracker for lunch. I jotted notes for my blog. Then the bank called to say my ATM card was ready.
On the way to quilting, I stopped by the bank to pick up the card. Then I drove to the church. I got there about 11. There was a new lady there who had some pretty purple and blue blocks she was working on. Was her name Lorraine? I set up my machine but spent more time talking. Then we all sat down to lunch together. I had an orange, a banana and a piece of seed cracker. Someone had brought a fruit salad so I had some of that. Victoria had brought a cake to celebrate the August birthdays. I declined that, but heard it was very very good.
We went back to sewing and chatting, but I still didn't get much done. But I stayed late with Lauri and got two blocks finished by 4. Due to the traffic, I drove straight back to the base and did not stop at the grocery store.
When I got back to the hotel room, the room was clean and the beds were made. But I was overwhelmed by the scent of whatever the staff used to mop the floor. I couldn't open the window so I held the door open for a bit. Chris didn't seem to mind it.
I suggested we go out to eat. Chris said we should wait until 5:30 to be sure the restaurant was open. So I made a tiny breakfast and ate it while reading e-mail. I was reading e-mail, and clicked on a 'read more' link. Instead of taking me to the article, it opened a new page and gave me a pup-up saying I had to enter my name and password to unlock my computer. The pop-up would not go away and would not let me change to another window or do anything else. I had heard of this kind of virus. Chris tried shutting it down with Task Manager, but when he re-opened Waterfox, it came back. Somehow he was able to close the window in the split second between closing the pop-up and its reappearance. Kudos to Chris!
Then we went out to eat at I Korea. I got the kalbetang (bone broth soup with beef) and he got the spicy chicken, which did not taste spicy to me. We spoke some Korean to the waitress which was fun. But I left feeling a little too full after eating all the soup and rice.
Afterward, we stopped at the Walmart neighborhood store for lemons and coconut water, but did not find the coconut water. It was raining when we came out. We went across the street to the Holiday International market. We did not find coconut water there either, but she promised to hold some kimbap for me the next day.
When we got back to the hotel, I worked on ordering a water filter system from Burkey. They offered free shipping, but not to PO boxes, so I had to pay an extra $40 to have it shipped Priority Mail. I didn't want it that fast at that price, but there was no other option. And I would have had to pay it had I ordered it from Korea.
We watched two episodes of Agents of SHIELD and I fell asleep. I don't know what it is about that show that tires me out so.
* This is the quilt Lauri was working on. *

Renegades

I got up first to go to the bathroom. Then Chris got up, got dressed, and took the laundry down to get washed while the washers and dryers were free. He also had breakfast.
I swished with magnesium and coconut oil. I drank a quart of lemon water. I read some e-mail and then did some breathwork. Chris came back as I sat, not breathing. The video paused. It was not a good time to pause.
I started watching an episode of The Quilt Show. Then I took a shower and got ready for church. I watched some more while Chris took his shower.
At 10:10 we left the hotel and drove to the church. We had time to chat with people before the service started. I told Tim that I wanted to be on the Stewardship committee again. He said I could fill in for him in a few weeks and that there was a meeting this Tuesday.
We took our usual pew. It was a nice service, full of traditional hymns, just the way I like it. Afterward, there was a social hour with food. I got some fresh fruit and vegetables. I talked to a few more people, relishing in the feeling of being home.
Then we went to Publix for groceries. It was nice to shop in such a big store with so many choices. But it was more expensive than the commissary in Korea.
Then we drove us back to our room so we could put away the food. I exchanged my church dress for shorts and a top. I could see how overly-brown my shoulders were from the long walk we took yesterday.
I took my machine and drove to the Latter Day church where Renegades was making quilts for Linus project. It wasn't far from the Publix we had just shopped at. I parked in the front lot because the way to the back lot was barred. I carried in my machine and laptop case of notions. Most of the ladies were surprised to see me. They asked about Korea and how long I was here for. It was nice to be back.
They had to pack up early today and I was quite late, so Lynette gave me some organizing to do. I folded fabrics and placed them in tubs so they would fit. A few needed to be ironed so they would fold properly. New ladies introduced themselves to me. I took a few pictures of the Christmas quilts they were working on. Then as they packed up, I vacuumed the floor.
It was raining hard by the time we got out. I was glad my machine had a plastic cover on it. There was too much traffic to turn left, so I turned right. I drove by the old house. I saw the bushes were overgrown, but otherwise it looked ok. Then I went around the corner and back to base. When I got to the hotel room, I fumbled for my card key, but Chris couldn't hear me over the fridge noise.
I ate the rest of the cherries. I cleared some e-mail. I listened to an interview on treating hair loss. I looked at hashtag quilts online to get some inspiration for mine.
Kurt texted me on Skype. I looked up the health effects of the eclipse. I was hoping for something positive, but only found info indicating it could damage good fortune energies in your aura. It was not exactly what I had hoped to find.
I took a break to make breakfast. Leaving out the problem foods made it quite small. But that was ok, because Chris was cooking ground beef with onions for supper. I had some kimchi with mine and he had some rice with his.
I started reading my book from the library. It was easy because it was in large print. I had read it before and that made me brave enough to read it again even though I don't quite remember how it turned out.
I took a few minutes to jot down my blog for later, after we watch TV. I hate to keep Chris up while I write and there is no other room to go to.
About 8:30 we started watching agents of SHIELD. We saw two episodes. I was falling asleep. So Chris turned it off. Then I got up to finish my blog. Having taken my evening supplements already, I put in Holosync and went to bed.

A long walk on a hot day

Chris got up and put the laundry in a basket. I emptied my purse and threw it in. He took it downstairs to wash. He also took a book so he could have breakfast and read while the laundry proceeded. I meditated, drank a quart of water and swished with coconut oil and ionic trace minerals. Then I read e-mail.
He returned with a basket of clean laundry. He folded it and I put mine in the drawer. I had thrown my purse in the wash. The handles had gotten wrinkled in the dryer, so I got them wet and ironed them dry. Then we went for a walk.
We walked from the hotel to the residential area. It seemed like a good idea beforehand but it was a very hot day. We walked around the circle to see the next house that will be up for rent. It looked as though the people hadn't moved out yet. We also saw the outside of what seemed to be a 5 bedroom house. Chris said he'd take one of those if the 3 bdrm was rented by Monday.
On the way back, we stopped at the library. I was tired and parched. I drank a lot of water from the fountain and just sat with my eyes closed. Chris offered to go get the car and I agreed. My feet were getting raw from the shifting of my shoes. I should have worn the black ones.
After resting a bit, I got up and looked at books. I could not remember which book I had seen last time that I almost chose. Eventually I picked one in large print by Dean Koontz. Chris came back and we chose three DVDs from the TV series collection.
Then we went to the thrift shop. He sat down to look at a book as I looked around the shop. I was hoping to find a small blender, kind of like the Magic Bullet. I wished I had secreted it my suitcase so I'd have it now. But I did not see any small appliances. I did pick out a book from the 25 cent rack. That was so I could exchange it for a book in the library exchange rack. Then Chris drove us back to the hotel.
I took my shoes off. I made breakfast, adding the chocolate and chia and flax, but much less than usual. I had read online that someone avoided eating things high in phytic acid at the same time as taking their minerals, and that was enough.
I ordered some cod liver oil, because that is good for building strong teeth. I also ordered from Longevity Warehouse because it was $5 day. Then I spent the afternoon choosing things to order from Nuts.com. It turned out to be more than I needed for free shipping. But the ionic trace minerals had to come from Amazon. So, then I went through the nuts.com cart looking for items that were cheaper (or the same price) as on Amazon. Finally I had a cart from each site that was worthy of free shipping and I submitted the orders. By the time I was finished, I knew my credit card number by heart.
I listened to some interviews. Chris went to Mass. Halfway through the interview with Wim Hoff, I paused it to listen to Laura Silva doing a centering meditation. She said it was for problem solving so I concentrated on strengthening my teeth. Chris came back just as it was ending.
We each had something to eat. I finished the interview. His favorite phrase was “A cold shower a day keeps the doctor away. “ Then we read our books. I realized I had read mine before, but it was still interesting. When 8pm arrived, I told him I was ready to watch TV. But he kept reading for awhile. I swished with magnesium oil. Then we watched several episodes of the Addams family. Some of the DVD's were scratched and we couldn't watch all the way through.
At 10 he shut it off and went to bed. I turned off the light by the bed and turned on the bathroom light, shutting the door most of the way so only little light came out. Then I sat down to write up my blog, listening to the racket that the fridge makes when the compressor runs. Sadly this is the case in most hotels.
* I forgot to take pics again today. This is what the 3 bdrm duplex looks like. *

Low phytate seed crackers?

I tried to go back to sleep after Chris left, but I am not sure I did. I got up a little after 7. I drank a pint of the lemon water. I swished with coconut oil and magnesium oil. I brushed my teeth. I drank the rest of the lemon water. I checked e-mail. I ate some cherries. I messaged one of my friends back in Korea. I also messaged Beverly to get her address. Then I got dressed and made breakfast, leaving out the items that were probably high in phytic acid. There wasn't much left to eat. So after eating my breakfast, I ate a hard boiled egg as well.
At noon, I went to the WalMart neighborhood store. I wandered the aisles until I found the nuts and the seeds. I bought macadamia nuts and a can of coconut milk.
Then I drove to Beverly's house. She had just gotten home so I must have been a little early. We went into her kitchen. She pulled out cookie sheets and parchment paper. I pulled out my seed cracker ingredients. She got some bowls and we mixed up two batches, one with pumpkin seeds for her and one with macadamia nuts for me (lower in phytic acid).
She showed me her new sewing machines and her quilts in progress. She even showed me quilt projects that she had inherited. I picked out a blue to border her Aubrun quilt block. Then she packed the seed crackers in a bag. She gave me instructions on how to get home. Then she had to get ready for work while I headed back to the hotel.
I came back on University, pulled over into the Jordan lane turn, but it was a little too soon and I found myself facing a concrete curb with the proper turn lane just ahead of it. I checked my right side mirror and pulled around. There was a loud honk and a car swerved around me. I pulled off a few pieces of seed cracker and proceeded back to the hotel, intending to find my car's blind spots later.
Chris was in the room, changing his clothes. We went to the post office. He checked the mail and then I asked him to step around the car very slowly so I could see where my blind spots are. He did and I made a mental note.
When we got back, he read e-mail and I researched the meridians of the teeth. He called Housing and they said the house we looked at yesterday had been rented already. They offered him two other houses: a 3 bdrm and a 5 bdrm. They said he had to put down $125 to reserve a house, but as it was already 5pm, it would have to be Monday. He asked her to send the paperwork anyway. He and I decided to walk over there tomorrow morning to see the property.
I put some ground beef, kimchi and sprouts in a bowl for supper. Chris made his usual burrito. I listened to an interview on the Silva method. I jotted some notes for my blog and did some stretching. I made up some baking soda/coconut oil toothpaste and added ionic mineral drops. I brushed and swished with it.
I took my book (did I mention that we stopped by the library yesterday?) and went out the back of the hotel to sit in the barbecue area and read. But there were three guys there so I was going to choose a chair outside the area. They invited me to sit with them and have a beer, though I declined the beer. Then they offered me a burger, which I declined. But the conversation was interesting. I didn't get all that they said – army lingo I guess. Anyway, I stayed until 8 and then had to leave.
I rejoined Chris who was reading in our room. I thought he wanted to watch TV but he had other ideas. Then we watched several episodes of The 4400. After that, I typed up my blog and prepared for bed – after I responded to messages on Facebook.
* I forgot to take pics today, so here is one from last week. *

Surprising news from the dentist

I got up at 6:39, soon after Chris left. I messaged Myra to see if she was still up, but I guess she wasn't. I checked e-mail. I put coconut oil in my hair. I swished with both coconut oil and then with magnesium oil. I listened to an interview with Dr. Amen. Then I put the step stool in the tub and took a shower. I washed most of the oil out and also scrubbed the stool. The sides came clean but something was stuck to the step itself.
I trimmed flower stems and refreshed the water of the bouquet. Icut strip sets for QOV blocks, and packed strips and sewing notions into my laptop bag. I also packed an apple and a banana and some seed crackers. Then I grabbed the Brother machine and headed out to my car.
I gave myself half an hour to get to the dentist's office, but it only took 20 minutes. I signed in and sat down to wait. I had nothing to do so I closed my eyes. I waited. A lady came with an ipad. It had a form for me to fill out. There was a long list of symptoms I had to say if I have ever experienced. I answered no to almost all of them, wondering why they left out the symptoms of menopause.
About 10:15 the hygienist came out to get me. She apologized for being late. Then she took me back to the cleaning room. She brought me a heated pillow and a blanket and a knee pillow. She took digital x-rays of my teeth. The thing I had to bite down on hurt the soft tissues of my mouth and I wondered why they don't make a smaller one. After the x-rays, she took pictures of my two back molars with an intraoral camera. Then she cleaned my teeth and tested the gum pockets.
Finally the dentist came in. She looked in my mouth and said the two lower molars were fractured and that the space where food kept getting caught was caused by tone tooth missing a piece. She asked if I had bitten down hard on anything. I said no. She recommended crowns for both teeth before they cracked and fell out. I said I thought my teeth were meant to last a lifetime and she replied that your teeth are meant to last a lifetime – with the help of your dentist. She said that today's kids with their fluoride probably will have their teeth for a lifetime but that people from our generation didn't have fluoride and so won't be able to keep our teeth. She was talking to the wrong person if she wanted to sell that message. I told her that the last crown was a big problem for a long time and almost got me a root canal.
Then the hygienist polished my teeth. She took me to the front desk and told the secretary to have me back in 3 months for another cleaning because she couldn't get it all today. The secretary printed out the treatment plan for crowns for me to review later. I guess they can't take no for an answer.
I was going to go to quilting, but Chris had called several times during the office visit. I took the last call just as I was paying. He wanted me to call Housing and ask if we could look at the house that was coming available. It was already after noon so I just went back to base. I called Housing and talked to them, then left Chris a message saying they won't show it to us until they are finished with it next Friday and by then it may already be rented to someone else.
I took what I thought was the car title and walked to a building called One-Stop. I think I took the scenic route. Anyway, when I got there, some man was addressing everyone in the waiting room. Then he started calling out numbers and every so often someone would raise their hand. I stood and listened for a bit, then walked over to the info desk. Presently a man came up to ask what I wanted. I said I wanted tags and he handed me a number. Within a minute, my number was called and I went to the tag office. I handed them the title (which turned out to be an application for the title) and they looked up our insurance. Soon I was paying by credit card and receiving the plate. It was the easiest thing I'd done all day. And then I walked back to the hotel.
Chris called back, wanting to know the house number so we could drive by. I composed a message for a card and sealed it in an envelop. I walked the card to the post office. I mailed it, but forgot my keys so I couldn't check the PO box.
I came back, and drank several glasses of water. I read e-mail and made breakfast.
Chris came home from work. He changed clothes while I ate. Then we drove to the post office to check the mail – none. Then we drove up Goss Road looking for the house number. When we found it, we looked at it from the car while driving slowly down the road: big lot, sort of, and a truck in the driveway – probably the contractor. We went back to the hotel.
I looked up how to remineralize teeth. I diet high in minerals and low in phytic acid is key. And that means no nuts and seeds and chocolate. Darn!
I looked at houses for rent on Zillow. But Chris would rather rent on post even though the houses are small and expensive. Hopefully it will work out soon.
Chris made his supper. Then I had some cucumber and an apple while listening to an audio on insomnia. I paused it at 7pm when my tapping buddy called. We tapped for my issues around having crowns put in and risking root canals. Chris fell asleep on the bed.
When the call was over, I drank some salt water and took my evening supplements. I typed up my blog while boiling eggs to eat instead of nuts. Then I went back to researching how to remineralize teeth. There was an ache in my jaw by those teeth that wasn't there an hour ago. Was I afraid because those teeth hurt, or did those teeth start hurting because I was afraid?
* The Brother sewing machine *

The mail and the mall

I woke up in the middle of the night, sweating. I got up in the dark and smiled when I realized there was no chance I could step on a centipede. Then I went back to bed.
I heard Chris' phone alarm go off at 5:30. It took him a while to find it and shut if off. After he showered and dressed and left, I went back to sleep.
I got up at 8. I looked up the sewing machine I bought yesterday to see if it was an expensive one, but found no info. And no place had bobbin cover plates. Maybe that was why it was in the thrift shop. I swished while looking. Somehow I got onto Pinterest, looking at vintage toys and TV shows. I drank a quart of lemon water, then closed all the Pinterest windows. I put on soothing music and prepared for a meditation morning.
I did the exercises that I ought to do every day, as well as the drybrushing. I tapped and meditated. I was afraid the maid would interrupt so I got dressed and went out to ask her if I could just leave the kitchen trash in the hallway. She said yes, so I left it there for her to empty whenever she wanted.
When my meditations were finished, I cleaned up the kitchen. I made up a new batch of supplements and put in a Swanson's order for more. I brought in the empty trash can. Then I went out to the car. I considered driving to the post office but decided to walk. When I checked our mail box, there were two pieces of mail. I brought them back, stopping at the car to get the plant and the step stool. I watered the plant but was afraid it might be too late.
I read online about the Media Mail rate at the post office. It doesn't seem like sewing machines are covered, unless being mailed to a hospital or museum or university as research equipment. So I looked at sewing machines online at Walmart.com. They had one for $20. The reviews were good on the Walmart site but bad on Amazon. Then I found a better machine, refurbished for $46 with free shipping and it got great reviews. I decided that was better. I tried to order it and have it sent to Myra for the sewing group, but the address would not go through. I tried to chat with the customer rep but the chat got disconnected and she didn't call back.
Then Chris came home. He changed his clothes and wanted to go to the mall to get a new battery put in his watch. So we went to Parkplace Mall. We stopped at several jewelry stores that said their watch repair person had just left. Finally we found the jewelry counter in Belks. A man there replaced Chris' watch battery while I looked at the jewelry. Then we came back to the hotel.
I made breakfast and ate it. Chris went to the social hour downstairs and came back with hotdogs and baked beans. I tried the baked beans, but immediately had a hot flash. I read some e-mail. Then I realized that the order didn't go through because I had left out part of the address. So I entered that and it went through.
I listened to part of an interview but realized I wasn't hearing anything new. I listened to a meditation/visualization. I wrote up my blog so far. My tablet needed charging so I left it plugged in the room. I went downstairs and out to the patio. I sat there enjoying the sunset for half an hour. At 7 I went back to the room. Then we watched an episode of the Last of the Mohicans series. I was not impressed, so we switched to The 4400. That was better. We watched two episodes and then I took my evening supplements and went to bed.
* This is our lovely brown and black décor. *

Going places

Chris got up before his alarm went off at 5:30. I never heard it, but was dimly aware of when he left. I got up soon after to do some sewing. It took me a bit to get situated, but I set up an ironing station and sewed strip sets. Then I read some e-mail and made breakfast. After that, I got dressed and headed out.
When I got to the church for quilting, I saw that there were only two tables of ladies there. I talked for a bit and took a pic of one lady binding a QOV. Then I sat with Beverly and cross-cut strip sets for my own QOV. Beverly gave me a large cup with a baby aloe plant in it.
When everyone packed up to leave, we did too. Beverly offered to drive so I agreed. We went to some thrift shops in the area. The first one had five sewing machines, but two were in cabinets, two were too expensive and the fifth was a slant shank. I had never seen a plastic machine with a slant shank before. I was surprised that it was less expensive than the one next to it which had no foot.
So we left and went to a larger one across and down the street. It was full of clothing, which we ignored. There was also glassware and furniture and books and records and … and two sewing machines. One was in a case and it was heavy. But the other was lighter and in it's own box, which was perfect. It was missing the spool holder on the spool pin, the bobbin cover and the foot. But then I found a snap-on foot in the bottom of the box. Beverly carried it up front and we plugged it in. The light came on and it made stitches. She got a cart and we carried back to the back. We asked a lady in the employee's section if she could mark it down. We explained about the missing pieces and she took off the $25 tag and replaced it with a $15 tag. Then we put the machine in the box and took it to the counter. The lady asked us if we were eligible for the senior discount. I said I would be 55 on my next birthday and I guess that was good enough. She charged me 11 and change for the machine. The box had some but not all the styrofoam, but I thought I could pad it with patterns to mail it to Korea.
We went to another thrift shop and it did not have any sewing machines. Weird. But I did buy a stepstool to use in the hotel kitchen. Then we went to another shop that also did not have any machines. Two in a row! But next to it was the Asian store where I buy kimbap. But the owner said the kimbap lady was having surgery so no kimbap until next week. Isn't that what she said two years ago? I bought some sesame seeds, but she didn't have hemp seed.
So then we went to the neighborhood store (a version of Walmart). We each found a few things there, like hemp seed and bee pollen.
She took me back to the church and we transferred my purchases to my car. Then we each left for home. Ok, well, I didn't go home because there wasn't time. Instead, I headed down Drake to Whitesburg, and then over to Weatherly to the farmer's market. It had just started. I walked around, stopping to visit with the owner of the goat farm. He had stopped selling the raw milk because they needed it to make cheese. He let me taste two of the flavors. Really good. I bought one, knowing it might cause hot flashes. I did not see the hydroponic man. I bought peaches in one place and tomatoes and cucumbers at another. I hoped to see Jennifer there, but I didn't. So I took my food and headed back.
I passed the Goodwill so I stopped to check. There were no sewing machines and no small appliances. So I figured those must be somewhere else. The dentist wasn't far so I went there next. The car sounded really stressed and then I realized I had overshot Drive into Low. I remembered the manual saying not to change gears while moving, so I slowed down until I could pull into the parking lot and park. I went to the desk and requested an appointment. She had to look up my file, then gave me a time on Thursday. That seemed really quick and I wondered if business was not so good. But it was good for me.
Then I went down to the place where I used to get massages. Gabriele was not there, but the lady gave me her business card so I could call to make an appointment.
Then I drove back to the hotel on post. I took my food and sewing material up to the room. Chris was there on his laptop. I ate some of the peaches and mixed some leftovers for supper. I read my e-mail. I went back to the car to get the machine and brought it to the room.
I used the Montgomery Ward sewing machine to fix my shoe. It had torn when Chris stepped on the back of it in the elevator several days ago. I folded up a scrap of white fabric and stitched it to the shoe on either side of the rip. It seemed to fix it, but only time will tell if it will hold.
Then I put that machine away and got out the Brother that I bought today. I used pieces that I cut this morning and made a block. It sewed really smoothly. Maybe I won't send it away after all.
We started watching TV early – around 7. Chris put on The 10th Kingdom, but it ended at 8. Then he put on a miniseries called Last of the Mohicans. I did not think it was particularly well done. Chris fell asleep during the first episode and woke up when the Herons attacked Monroe's daughters. We called it a night at the end of the episode. He fell asleep right away and I stayed up to blog, hoping to stay awake long enough.
* This Quilt of Valor is all hand-pieced. *