Running in the rain

I did not drink salt water last night and I had a hot flash in bed this morning. Then I slept late and got just before 9. I exercised and listened to an audio. I called the trash center and asked if they could clean out the FRG lockers. They kept asking for a building number and I did not know it. So I promised to get it and call back. I called Chris for the bldg number, and he had to find out and call me back. I asked Nela too. When I called back with the number, the man was already there, waiting on me. I threw on clothes on and ran down there, in the rain. There were two very nice men. They carried out all I gave them from one locker and completely emptied the other one. They did not have anything for me to sign so I wrote on a piece of paper that I had authorized the removal of the items. I stopped at Nela's house to visit. Then I came home to eat seed crackers and take a shower. I filled some water containers, too. I watered the peas since they were under the eaves of the roof. I cleaned up the foyer area. Sook came to pick up the backpack. She was pleased. She paid me the 50,000 won I asked for. She tried on the backpack and I had to lengthen the straps as far as they would go. After she left, I called Nela. As I went to meet her at her house, I met Chris coming home for lunch. When I got to her house, she was ready so we went to the bus stop. The bus got there just ahead of us and I ran in front of the bus thinking it was going to stop. It stopped then. We got off at Home Plus, and walked down the street looking for the phone number on the sign. When we found it, we stopped in for lunch. Afterward, I had to call Jane to explain that we wanted to buy kimchi. I thought that was already set up. Jane said the lady would give me a lot, but it was less than I got at the everyday market. On the way back, we passed a store selling plants and seeds and gardening things. But it was too soon to buy tomato plants. We also saw a store selling kimchi and other wrapped foods. Nela bought a bag of pickled garlic. Then we went to a little general store. Nela bought some stuff, and we proceeded to the bus stop and waited. We rode back to base. I went to Nela's house to divide the pickled garlic. I came home, surprised that my feet were dry after all that walking in the rain. I called Sook back. She came over and showed me how she needed the straps to be attached higher and closer together at an angle. She brought me a container of a beef dish that she had made. I tasted it and it was good. I spent the last of the afternoon re-doing the straps and listening to an audio. I made and ate my breakfast. Chris came home, and made his supper. I showed him the beef dish, but he said it was a Friday in Lent so he could not eat meat. I listened to an audio on EMF radiation, and checked e-mail. I made notes on my backpack pattern about the straps. I posted a project to the Yongsan Quilters Facebook page. We watched Underdog together. I drank salt water and posted to my blog.
* this is the garden store. *

Still can't take out the trash

I woke up about nine, but did not get up right away. When I did, I woke up my computer and drank water while reading e-mail. Kurt skyped me to show me some fabric that a lady was getting rid of. But it was not quilting fabric. Myra called to say we were meeting in the raquetball court at the gym for yoga. Kurt went on to tell me about a digital book called the Autobiography of Jack the Ripper. Sadly, he had stopped at a cliffhanger spot so I was left wanting to know what happened. After the call, I ate seed crackers with coconut oil. I got dressed for yoga. I finished the audio from last night, a little surprised that it hadn't been replaced. I took my mat and a letter. I dropped the letter in the post box, then walked to the gym. Myra led us in some stretches. As we walked out, we chatted, all the way to Myra's house. Then as we conversed on the corner, we waved to all the cars going by. Even Chris went by in Linda's car. Then we split up and I went home. Chris showed me what was in the mail, and then he left. I returned some fabric to Linda. Jane texted me that today was the five-day market so she would not be coming here. I placed an order with Jo-anns for spool holders and heat-reflective fabric. I called Sook to make arrangements for her to pick up the backpack tomorrow. I walked to the Navy Lodge to return the keys and the card since no one could tell us how to dispose of the contents of the FRG locker. But I had the wrong key. I was going to go back for the right one, but the manager arrived, and he said to keep it for two more weeks and to promise that the lockers would be empty by then. I told him I would do my best. I called Myra to ask about who emptied the trash in her husband's office. She met me at the commissary and we walked to the recycling/trash center. The bay was wide open, but no one was there. It was 3pm. So we visited Housing and asked them about garbage. They told us to put it all in yellow trash bags. I asked about stuff that would not fit in a trash bag and they said to let them know what it was and they would quote us the contractor price for taking it away.
We walked up the hill to the pile. Myra found a small stool/table for herself. I found a piece of wire that was just the right stiffness to make a cone thread holder. We talked about leaving the FRG garbage there. She did not want to put the bags in her car and I don't have a license yet. After she left to paint and decorate her table, I went in. I made a matching tissue case for the backpack while listening to tapping audios. I called Jane and asked her to buy me some kimchi from the market. I wanted it from the little store that sold us kimbap several months ago. She said they would have to make it tonight and would have it ready to pick up tomorrow. I made a to-do list and put Pick Up Kimchi on it.
Chris came home late. He made himself supper. I heated a bowl of soup. We watched an episode of Hornblower. Then I filled a dish with turmeric and pepper. I spent the next hour and a half filling little capsules with it. Chris spent the hour listening to a meeting from all over the world. It was the most boring meeting I have ever heard, but he seemed to think they were making progress. After the meeting, I washed my hands several times, trying to get the yellow off. Chris went to bed. I got dressed for bed, but had to post to my blog before retiring for the night.
* mother and daughter cutting fabric together for QOV *

PJ party

I got up at 7 to assemble and put out the recyclables. Then I listened to the tapping meditation that will be taken down at 10am for the next round. Then I did another tapping audio, but realized that that one will be available continuously. I checked e-mail, deleting lots and reading others. I called Myra at the Ombudsman number and left a message. She called right back but that was coincidence. It was a different number. I ate some seed crackers with coconut oil, and then some cashews with butter. I readied a check to go in the mail. I was also going to do a condolence card, but did not have the address. I e-mailed Jen for it. I got my stuff ready for quilting. Myra and Nela came by to pick up me and my stuff. Myra dropped us off at the chapel. We carried it in as she went to run an errand. Nela and I set up the machines and iron. Kathy and her daughter came and so did Lily. Nela wanted to sew, Kathy wanted to cut and Lily was willing to rip out. That was good because some of the blocks were out of order. And that was my fault because I had done the pinning. I kept them busy cutting borders, sewing and pressing. Finally Myra came back. I gave her the task of assembling three blocks from leftovers for a second quilt. I cut corner blocks to add white accents to the blocks of the second quilt. Another boo-boo was made and more ripping had to be done. But we got it all into one piece and will do borders next week. At 1 we packed up to go. One of the secretaries told us we could have storage space at the chapel. We considered the pros and cons of that as Myra drove me home. Kelly came out to greet us. Myra promised her some Army green thread. Then she and Nela left. I made and ate breakfast. I composed a condolence message and addressed the envelop from the return e-mail Jen sent. I made up a Swanson's order. I sent a birthday message to my sponsored child. The site allowed me to attach a photo but it had to be less than 600kb. I had a hard time getting one that small. Nela called to say they were going walking into town. But I had stuff to do, so I told them to go ahead without me. I went up on the hill and found broken pottery and potting soil. I scooped some in a metal planter there and brought it down. Then I went back up with a bucket. And filled that. Back at the bottom, I found two small boxes which I filled with soil. I planted 4 of the pea plants and put them in the front flower beds. I watered both. When I came up, I mixed up a batch of seed crackers. I poured it on the baking sheet and while the oven was heating, I started on a second batch. When the oven was preheated, I realized I had forgotten the spices. So I had to scrape it up and mix it again, and re-pour.
The second batch I made I used pecans instead of hemp seed. I cleaned in the kitchen while they cooked. Then I did the tapping meditation, and started another audio – which I paused when Chris came home at 7. He made supper for himself and I heated up a bowl of bone soup. Then we watched two episodes of The Gamers. I put on my pajama pants and an oversized t-shirt. Myra called to say she would meet me at the top of the hill by her apartment. I put on my heaviest coat and took the pecan seed crackers. We met and walked to Nela's house. The three of us walked across the street to Kathy's pj party. Fewer people came and the food was different. I meant to leave at 11, but before I knew it, it was 12:30. I went to the bathroom, then announced that I was taking my leave. The party broke up. Keymora offered to drive me home, but I could have walked a lot faster than waiting for her to finish talking to Kathy. But she stayed by my curb until I got in the door. I posted to my blog and went to bed.

Thrifting in Changwon

I got up when Chris took his shower. Hoping to get a coffee morning in before meeting the ladies, I got started right away. I drank, and exercised and dry brushed and rebounded. I boiled coffee and listened to audios. I imagined my day going well and finding what I was looking fort. But I could not finish in time to get there by 10. I had to quit and get dressed for the freezing cold.
I met my friends at the bottom of the hill. We walked off base to the little corner store where we loaded money onto our bus cards and Danielle bought a card. Then we walked to a bus stop by GS 25 and waited for bus 751 to Changwon. We discovered that the bench seat at that stop automatically heats up when sat on. That was kind of nice in such cold weather. We rode the bus for about 25 minutes and got off at a large bookstore. Nela led us around E-Mart and Lotte Mart and down several streets to an indoor mall with booths. One sold second hand clothing. We looked through the scarves and picked out a few. Nela pointed out a backpack and it had the buckles I needed. For $3 it was worth it. We looked through the clothing, but it was too small. I wanted to take pics, but my camera battery was dead. Then Nela led us to the Alpha store. It was quite large. I looked at the ribbon section and found some small packets of ribbon, allowing me to get a variety of colors. I also looked at the hair bow section. They had some like my friend wants, but they were all black. I took a pic with my phone for her. I found a circular hair net that could be sewn to a hair bow. But the hair bows without nets were the same price as the ones with. Then I looked at the gifts bags. I selected one that was kind of all purpose. The ladies were in a hurry to get back, so I checked out. Then we walked all the way back to E-Mart. I was surprised when they stopped for lunch, knowing that two of them had to be back for other commitments. The restaurant did not have kimbap and there was nothing else I wanted. So I did not eat. We sat and chatted, then went to catch the bus. We must have just missed it because we waited quite a while. The ride back seemed to go faster. Then we walked back to post.
I went to the chapel to make sure our room was still available. They assured me they would call me if and when we ever got bumped. Then I walked home. I finished my coffee morning routine. I made up a new batch of supplements, and then made breakfast I ate it while checking e-mail. I listened to the two tapping audios while I sewed. I took the buckles off of the thrift backpack and put them on the one I made for Sook. Then I experimented with putting a zipper in the five minute billfold. It took longer than 5 minutes, but it worked out ok, at least in my opinion. I jotted notes for my blog so I would not forget. I laid out the sections of our QOV and photographed them then posted on the community Facebook page. I ate some raw veggies for supper. We watched The Great Escape. I did not remember it being so long. It was after 11 when it finished and we went to bed.

Apron class

I got up after Chris did. My knee did not hurt when I got out of bed, but it was still sore in certain positions. I drank water, swished and exercised. I watched videos as I ironed a piece of blue fabric to take to class. I took a shower, and ate seed crackers. I put some red, white and blue fabrics in my class box. I could not find my take-to-class sewing machine. I looked everywhere and found it set up in the sun room. Then I remembered doing that. I packed it in its case. Myra and Nela came by. We loaded the fabric and sewing stuff in the car, and went to FFTC. We unloaded and Myra had to leave. I spoke to Dan about having the room through the month of March. He said the military could commandeer it at the last minute. During class we made aprons. Some ladies brought their own fabric and some chose from our pile. Kelly had trouble with the machine I had fixed for her. I put my own thread on it and it worked find. Most finished and helped to clean up. Anna came back with her boy, but she did not finish her apron because he was into everything. Myra returned during class. She took several people home and came back for me and my stuff. She took me home. We sat talking in the parking space for some time, then carried my stuff to the house. Kelly's daughter returned my spool of thread, I took her machine back, and she gave me her husband's jeans to mend. I made and ate breakfast. I listened to tapping audios while patching jeans and ironing fabric. I laid a length of fabric in the hall to fold it and it got dirty. The floor must be dirtier than I thought. I swept the floor. I continued ironing and folding. I took a break at 4:30 to return the pants next door. Then I ironed until I finished the last piece. I got some food from the fridge for supper. Chris came home. We talked. My laptop was still in the sewing room (so I could listen to audios), so I went back there to read and clear e-mail. When Chris was ready, we watched 2 episodes of Hornblower (because the first was to-be-continued ). Then I drank my nightly salt water and we went to bed.

Pressing matters

Chris got up soon after my alarm went off. He made breakfast and went through the hymnal to make a list of which hymns he knew. I got up to wash another load of fabric. I checked e-mail and exercised. I saw that Elizabeth was looking for a walker so I posted that I had one. I cut the corners off a second load of fabric and threw it in the washer. I ate seed crackers with a Tbsp of coconut oil. My knee was hurting because I had slept on it wrong. I hoped that in the process of exercise and making breakfast it would work itself out. But every time I sat down, it stiffened up again. So I skipped walking to church. Chris also skipped church because he spent so much time going through the hymnal. Chris put a pot of bone soup on the stove to simmer. I had breakfast around noon. Then I spent the afternoon ironing fabric while listening to audios. Myra called to say she would pick me up early tomorrow. I went back to ironing and Chris went to the commissary. But they must have closed before he got the whole list. When I got out the hummus to mix with fresh garlic, there were no cloves. But I had two bowls of the soup, and I cut up some of the fresh vegetables into it. Chris did laundry and washed the sheets. I made him a loaf of bread. I posted to the community page about sewing class tomorrow. We watched Kindergarten Cop. Chris looked up some of the actresses. Then he went to bed while I stayed up to post to my blog and drink salt water.
* this is the quilt Myra made the day before the shower *

Baby shower

We heard the alarm go off from the warmth of the bed. We stayed in bed. Later Chris got up to talk to the voices. It was a kind of pre-game conversation. I got up to wrap the baby towel. I checked Pinterest for ideas. Then I cut an origami square into a snowflake. I got a sheet of green and a sheet of white tissue paper and wrapped as best I could, but it did not quite cover. I taped the orange snowflake to the top and it kind of looked like a cabbage. Then I competed with Chris' conversation by playing tapping audios while I exercised, swished and make breakfast (including seed crackers). At 11:30 I paused the audio to scrub the tray under my dish drainer. I put the hummus into a plastic serving container. Then I washed broccoli, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and bell peppers. I cut them up and put them on the tray. One head of broccoli did not look good inside – kind of gray. Odd. I left that one out. I nestled the hummus container into the center of the veggies and slipped the tray into the fridge. I got dressed, trying on several tops but not satisfied with any of them. I settled on a blue one. I cut up extra veggies and put them in a separate container. I wrapped the tray in plastic. Chris took a break to help me carry the veggies and the gift to the housing center where the party was. Tables were already set up and there was a place for my veggies tray and for gifts. More people came as we chatted. Anna asked me to give her son piano lessons. Eventually we got in line to fill our plates. I was able to get fresh fruit, veggies, and potato salad as an exception. Maria, the lady of the hour, brought veggies, too, but she made cute little cars out of hers. They were far too cute to eat. She also brought little gel candles to hand out. After we ate, she opened her gifts. Myra made her a quilt with a matching pillow. Ladies started leaving. The rest of us cleaned up. Myra, Nela, Anna and I were the last to leave. We stood outside talking. I found out that I have to make an appointment at Housing in order to return our loaner items. Our little group broke up at 5. when I got home, I ate an apple and checked e-mail. I sorted my fabric and put a load in the dryer. I put the buckles on the backpack, but was not satisfied with them. I adjusted the straps to a relative position with pins. I finished the tapping audio from earlier. I ate some chicken legs that Chris made for supper. We watched another Horatio Hornblower DVD while I washed and dried 2 loads of fabric. We even watched the commentary afterward. Then I checked e-mail one more time, posted to my blog and went to bed.