Driving Range

Although I had back pain again this morning, it disappeared as the day went on. I broomed the kitchen floor, then vaccuumed it, then swiffered it. And still I saw some dust. At least it was small. It'll take the dust bunnies at least a week to grow to tumbleweed size.
Then I walked on post and caught the bus to the thrift shop. There I met Katie who wanted to tell me about an English weekend camp for underpriveledged Korean children. She wants me to help. That took over an hour. Then I found the the thrift shop was still closed. No one had shown up to work. I tried to call, but my phone was dead. So I walked to Tina's house to use her phone charger, but she was out. So I walked home. Along the way I passed the driving range where Michele works now and took some pictures. I stopped at the commissary for a few things, then went home to sew and clean some more. I did some mopping on the balcony. It was so dirty I had to wipe my feet off before I could come back in the apt. I also put together two baby quilt tops. Then Chris came home and fixed leftovers, but didn't have any since he had attended a luncheon for lunch and a promotion ceremony with reception after work. After supper I worked a bunch of Sudoku puzzles and listened to a video on the internet about the benefits of walking barefoot on the ground.

The next generation of sew-ers

I awoke this morning with the same back pain as yesterday, and a full dose of stiffness. So Chris and Michele made their own lunches and went off to work. Later I got up and walked around the apartment a bit, then started making copies from a sewing book for kids. I agreed to teach a lady's son and daughter to sew, beginning today. The pain diminished as I prepared the lesson. Could it be that the thought of being unprepared was giving me a pain in the back? I also packed a container with bean salad for our quilt meeting. It was raining hard, so I took my umbrella and my packed bag and walked onto post. Pam called and offered to pick me up at the apartment. But I told her the traffic was already backed up. It would have taken half an hour or more for her to drive that short way. ANYWAY, we were late as it was, getting to quilting. A new lady was waiting to meet us and help out. We set up our room for working on Quilts of Valor. We hadn't done it in a while so figuring out where each project had left off was difficult. But we got some done and Toniette will send them off to be quilted.
I asked the quilt group about 'adopting' a room at the Stork's Nest. We would be responsible for decorating it. And if we do it as a group we can get some help from the thrift shop. Those there at the time seemed to be in favor of it but wanted a list of what items were needed before committing. Ok, so later over lunch I brought up the subject again, since some people had left and others had shown up. This group was NOT in favor of it. Apparently they had looked into it before and the expectations were high (only new stuff is wanted, TV's, stuff that wears out ie. towels, is expected to be replaced, etc). So now I have some thinking to do. Maybe we can adopt the hallway?
So after quilting, Pam dropped me off at Gate 19. There lives the lady who wants me to teach her children. Turns out she has 5 of them, and three wanted to learn. So while she made another set of copies, I showed them how to stitch on straight lines, and pivot. They learned parts of the machine, and tool names. They sewed dot-to-dot. They were very focused and had good, straight lines. It was a good lesson. I will go back on Thursday for the next lesson. The mother drove me to my gate.
Chris came home soon and we had supper, discusing the Stork's Nest issue and why, if Obama is so smart, he does not-so-smart things. Then I watched a Netflix movie, which turned out to be in French with English subtitles. It bothered me because I kept feeling like I shouldn't need the subtitles, but I did.

E-Mart

Chris went to church without me this morning because of pain in my back. I stayed in bed and read Chicken Soup for the College Soul. Very funny. He came back with groceries. Later I took out some recyclables just to do some walking. It did make me feel better. So we drove on post, dropped off a big load of plastic bags at the thrift shop, and parked at gate 19. From there we walked slowly to E-Mart to look at plastic shelving. They did not have what I wanted, but had some metal shelving that propped itself between floor and ceiling. What I wouldn't give for a Lowes Hardware store! We also walked in I-Park Mall. No luck there either. So we did all that walking for nothing. We stopped at the ladies restroom. This is a picture of a squatter. Imagine having to use that when your back is out. Well, any port in a storm. After returning home, I lined a skirt in purple, and listened to some 60's music on a CD.

Saturdaaaay, and the living is easy.

I called my parents this morning to wish them a happy 50th anniversary. They said they are not planning to do anything special. If not for the 50th, then when? I finished reading a library book, so we returned it and stopped by the Px for elastic and by the thrift shop for DVD's. I finished the last of 4 pairs of shorts. We watched Shrek 2 and Footloose. Then I tried cleaning up my sewing room and rearranging stuff. I am trying to get the fabric on the shelves and off of the floor. I think I need more shelves. They don't sell 'em on base, so tomorrow we will go to E-Mart to see if they carry them there.

Gary Sinese and the Lt. Dan Band

Other than wash a load of fabric, and finish a pair of shorts, all I did all day was read. And I finished the book! After supper, Chris and I attended the Lt. Dan Band concert. I was amazed at how easy it was to be there. No lines, no tickets. Just walk up and find a spot on the grass. Someone said there were 1200 people there. We didn't have the best seat in the house, but it was better than standing right in front of the stage as many people did. I went up near the end to sing God Bless the USA with the crowd. It was fun, but next time I will bring a chair or something soft to sit on.

Seeing how someone else lives

I was a little late getting to the thrift shop because I wanted to finish a pair of shorts to wear for the day. I got there at 11 but it didn't take me all that long to finish the shorts so I must have done something else too, but can't remember what.
I really made progress getting donated books, VCR tapes, Dvd's and CD's on the shelves. It felt good to get that stuff cleared out. I claimed a box that some books had come in so I can make a shelf in a closet to store fabric. Mary Ann was there and she took me to her place afterwards to see her apartment. She said if we extended our stay, we could get a place like hers. She does have a nice apartment, but it would be a bit far to walk everyday to get on post. She has a vehicle, which makes it nice. Her apartment is full of eclectic Asian items from other places they lived in Asia. Most of it stored in black laquer furniture decorated with mother-of-pearl. So beautiful. She dropped me off close to Chris' office so I could catch a ride home. At the apt, he and I visited the vegetable man and selected some produce from his truck. I met a lady there who has only been here two weeks. So I gave her my number so she has someone to call. I invited her to the quilt group and she seemed interested. For supper we had chicken burritoes and fried green tomatoes.

From Tank to Table

I spent the night tossing and turning in pain because my back went into spasms. About 4:30 am I finally took something for it. I DID NOT get up to pack lunches early this morning. But later, I did get up, cleared out my e-mail and, feeling better, went out to lunch with Suyapa and her husband and daughter. We went to a place that specializes in serving eels. You can see them swimming in the tank, then you order however many you want, and they bring them filleted to the table and cook them on the grill. They also bring you traditional Korean side dishes. I thought eating eel would be interesting, but they were delicious too. One of the side dishes contained a long green pepper. Her husband took a bite and offered me one. I did and it burned my mouth for awhile. So of course I took one home for Chris.
Afterwards, we went to my house where her daughter watched DVD's and she and I sewed. Her machine is packed and she PCS's on Monday. Then her husband picked her up at the gate. I laid down to read a book and spent most of the evening that way. Then I worked on the three pairs of shorts I cut out Monday. I hope to wear one of them tomorrow.