Double-take

I woke up around 7:30 and snuggled back under the covers. When I got up, it was just after 8. Chris was at his laptop. I drank a quart of water and read e-mail. He got dressed and went to church. I listened to most of an interview, then paused it to get ready for church. I found the green dress I made last fall. The print is technically of feathers, but with a little imagination, they could be palm fronds. I auditioned two necklaces, and picked earrings to match the second one.

I waited for Chris to arrive but it got late and I figured the service went long. So I got the keys and drove toward the chapel. I met Chris walking home. He got in the car and I pulled up to the parking lot. I got out and he took the car home.
I sat in my usual pew. I heard the praise team practicing and it reminded me that I had forgotten to listen to the songs. The service started late. The supply pastor did things a little differently. After the singing and greetings, he gave the sermon and then had communion. But instead of us filing to the back to have our bit of bread and grape juice, he asked us to bring it back to our seats so we could all partake at the same time while he gave the appropriate sayings of Jesus. And then the service was over. But I have to mention that my phone rang about 5 minutes before the sermon ended. I shut it off as quickly as I could, but it seemed like a long time before my fumbling fingers found the right button. I kept one finger on that button in case it rang again.
After the service, I called Chris to come get me, then checked on the call. It was Myra, so I called her back. She said she and Scott went out to the canal and saw the jewelry shop. The lady had dark blue stones and could make me a necklace to go with my Navy Ball gown. She told me to call her when I was ready to walk out.
I walked up toward the commissary and saw Terri B. We talked for a bit until Chris arrived. Then we went inside. Chris started shopping while I talked to Chris S. Actually, I ended up talking to lots of people I know. The commissary is like a community meeting place on Sunday afternoon. We got our groceries and went home. Chris and I put them away and then I changed out of my dress.
I called Myra and walked out to meet her. It seemed to take awhile to get there with all the crowd. She saw me first. We went inside the little store and she showed me the set of earrings. She said the artist could make a necklace to match. The artist talked to us for a bit and I was ready to order it made, but there were too many people there so we agreed to meet again tomorrow. Scott came inside to see what was the hold up.
Then we walked down the street to the wood-burning guy. Myra and Scott had brought a picture for him to copy, but the man preferred for them to sit. So they sat together. I sat by the artist and watched him create their faces on a wooden oval. It did not look exactly like them, but the image of Myra had an expression on it I could not quite identify. I decided to call it the Myra Lisa.
We walked back to post. Myra went home to get something to eat so I went home to have breakfast. She said to call her when I was ready to go out again, but I did not see the point since we were going back tomorrow.
I enjoyed my breakfast and read some e-mail. Then I got out the mower. I picked some dandelion first, then mowed our lawn and the one next door. When I got to their back yard, they were picking up. It was quite weedy, so I asked if they wanted to harvest anything before I mowed it. They said they were harvesting dog poo so I wouldn't step in it. In my mind I heard a phrase of music: "Scooby-dooby-poo, where are you?..." I had to mow slowly because the weeds were so thick. Then I cleaned out the mower and put it away.
Chris was making supper. He had just pulled the liver out of the oven. I cleaned the dandelion and ate some. I blended up some sprouts and ate them with the liver. I also had some of the cabbage Chris roasted. I read e-mail and looked for new sewing projects for the class or for myself. I listened to some interviews. One recommended magnesium, saying most people are deficient and it leads to leaky gut, thyroid problems and adrenal burnout. I downloaded a free pattern from So-Sew-Easy. It was one that I have had my eye on and it was free for one day.
I discovered that the spaghetti squash was done, so I scooped out some of that and drizzled olive oil on it. Then I jotted notes for my blog, waiting for Chris to get ready to watch TV. Then I heard a sound like gunshots. I put on my shoes and rushed out to see – nothing. I waited, but still nothing. I came back in. Then I heard it again. This time I saw fireworks over the stadium! I ran down to the antenna circle for the best view. It was great. I never get tired of fireworks. When it was over, I came in. Chris was hooking my laptop to the TV. I sat with him and we watched two episodes of Once Upon a Time. During the first episode Myra called to say Sue had invited us to go to the charcoal place tomorrow. I agreed to meet her at 9 at her place.
After the second episode, Chris went to bed. I stayed up to soak my broccoli sprouts, and take my evening supplements and post to my blog.
* With wood-burning, there is no way to erase. Gotta get it right the first time. *

Fireworks

I awoke early, but stayed in bed, tired and not wanting to face the cake. Chris got up to eat breakfast and play on his laptop. I fell back asleep. When I woke up again, I did not want to get up, but this time I did some tapping. It was enough to get me out of bed.
When I saw the time, I remembered the food waste needed to go out, but it was too late. I prepared my quart of water. I pulled out the recipe for the frosting. It said to refrigerate it for two hours. I decided to make only half. I used one can of coconut milk, and substituted honey and molasses for the maple syrup. Then I put the blender of frosting in the fridge. I took out the cake. I used a ruler to carefully cut it into 16 pieces. I trimmed one of the edges so I could taste the cake. It was actually good, and not just for a gluten-free, sugar-free cake. I trimmed all the sides so that the pieces would come out easily. Then I poured the frosting over the cake. Did I mention that I added some coconut oil to it so it would get more solid in the fridge? I put it back in the fridge, hoping it would be solid enough to wrap the pieces later.
I cleaned up the blender and utensils. I read e-mail. I listened to an interview, but stopped it at 11. I took out the cake. Since it was on a piece of parchment paper, I was able to lift it out of the glass baking dish and put it on a cookie sheet. I removed one piece at a time and wrapped it in Saran wrap. The frosting was still soft. I put the wrapped cakes on a jelly roll pan and put shoes on my feet. I carried the treats down to the antenna circle (the circle formerly intended to hold an antenna). I delivered them to the Christmas party committee. I explained that they were gluten-free, sugar-free and high in protein.

Next to that table, was the FRG yard sale table. I hung out with them for awhile and helped put up a canopy. Myra showed up. After a while we went down near the front gate to see the crowds of people waiting to come in. But it looked like no one was there. However, at noon, they all came from somewhere. We watched them show their ID's and follow the path laid out. Then we went to the tennis court where MWR had set up bouncy houses and stuff. Not many people there. We went to Myra's house for me to wash my hands since I had picked up some trash I found. Then we sat on her porch and sipped ice water while watching people walk by. We also saw the kids playing together, seemingly unsupervised. We discussed how we didn't have any toys to keep them occupied.
Then Dynee shouted over that the FRG needed plastic bags. So Myra got some and we walked over there. Then I went home and got more bags and a Frisbee. I also changed into shorts and a tank top because of the heat. I came back, handed some bags to the party committee and some to the FRG. I played Frisbee with little Terri until some other kids came by and wanted to play. That was my plan all along.
Then one of them needed to go potty. I found his mother and told her I could take him to my house since I live so close. So I did. He went potty by himself. When he came out, he asked if I had a husband. I said yes, and would you like to meet him. Chris stood up from his laptop and came over. I introduced them. The little boy tried to play notes on my keyboard, but it wasn't turned on. I redirected him outside. We went back to the antenna circle to play with the other kids. But most of them had gone down to where MWR had set up games and food.

I bought one of my cakes. All the frosting had completely melted. But it was good. I hung out with Myra, and then we heard music, so we decided to go see the jazz band that had been advertised. As I walked, I wondered why I could only hear the saxes. But when we finally saw the band, there were only saxes, including a soprano sax but no bari sax. It seemed to me they could use a trombone or two. Someone said they were teachers from the local middle school. I sat to listen and take pics. Soon it was over.
I hung about just a little longer, then went home to find out why Chris never came out. He was doing laundry. I had something to drink and made breakfast. I listened to two audios. Then I went back to get my jelly roll pan. There were lots of pieces of cake left. The man said the leftovers would go to Security. I brought my pan home. I watered the peas and lettuce. I finished another interview and a Sudoku puzzle.
I practiced my trombone. Then I took a shower and laid down for 20 minutes. I came close to falling asleep, but not quite. When the timer rang, I got up to get dressed, but did not know what to wear. So I asked Chris and he said he was going to wear a suit. So I put together a nice pants outfit. He got dressed and we took the car to the back gate. The others gathered, but Ms. Pae was not there. She wanted us to meet her at the stadium.
So we all walked onto the ROK base and out their front gate, then took a right. Soon we were at the stadium, which was filled with people. We followed Ms. Pae and were soon seated high up in the center. Pretty good seats, actually. We waited for the show to start. It was called the 10th Jinhae Military Band and Honor Guard Festival.
First, all the bands and honor guards processed onto the field, one at a time as they were introduced. Then there were speeches. The speeches were followed by three men standing in a car, driven up and down in front of the crowd and then around the assembled bands.
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When the pomp and circumstance was over, all the bands left. Then the first one came back and put on a show. It was very old-style Korean. Then there were honor guards that did tricks with their rifles. Some had singers, too. The U.S. 8th Army band was there. Their first number was probably a Sousa march. But after that, it was like being at a rock concert: loud music, flashing lights, gyrating singers, shifting camera angles, spouting fire. Not what you expect from a military band. As much of a show as it was, the instrument players did not move much on the field. They just danced and played in place while the singers danced up and down the field. But as they marched off, they played part of Stars and Stripes Forever, but did not do the trombone solo :(
Then the last Jinhae band played. They were really good, too, and their performance was like K-pop. I don't really get into K-pop though.

When the bands were done, the fireworks started. It was great to be so close to them, AND they were synchronized with the music. Lazers, too. I just took a pics as fast as I could, hoping by the law of averages to get some good ones. I hoped that someone recorded them and put them on Youtube so I could watch them again.
When the fireworks were over, the crowd trickled out of the stadium. It took awhile to get our group out, but then we headed for the front gate of the base, because the back gate had already closed for the day. But we still had to go back there to pick up the car. Chris drove us home. I changed clothes, then sat down to write my blog. I paused to move the pics to my laptop and then deleted the bad ones. I finished writing, hoping I hadn't forgotten anything. Then I soaked my broccoli sprouts and went to bed

2x the fun at the festival

I got up about 7:20 to see what time it was. I went back to bed and put a heating pad on my stomach. It was just after 8 when I started my day. I drank water and read e-mail. I got dressed for my skype call. Then I looked up Burkina Faso because Chris saw a job opening there with the Peace Corps.
My tapping buddy called a little early. We worked on her issues and she seemed to find resolution.
I saw that Amber had texted me last night asking if I had ribbon in pink, green or blue. She wanted it for tying up baked goods for the bake sale tomorrow. I offered her the pink because I got it locally. She said then that she would go buy some for herself.
I called Myra to get Kim's number. I wanted to pick up trash on base in anticipation of Open Base day, and Kim had offered to help me. Myra said Kim had to work today and invited me to come over for a hair cut. So I went over, taking my tote bag and fanny pack just in case. She rolled up her rug and set out a chair. She put a cape on me and trimmed my locks, but not by much. She called it shaping. Then she got out the vacuum and cleaned up the hair.
She wanted to walk in town so we headed out. People were coming back from the parade and said it was going onto the ROK base. So we headed over there. We walked down the main street. City buses were bringing tourists in to take pictures. It was hard to believe that for the festival they were letting just anyone on their base. There were guards stationed along the road to make sure that people did not walk into off-limits areas. We walked as far as we were allowed, and then walked back to our base. We stopped at the FFTC center to use the restroom, and then went out our front gate.
We walked to Admiral Yi circle and up, then over to the Rotary circle. I wanted stuffed squid and Terri had said one tent restaurant had good food. They all looked alike, but just one was across the street from a pantyhose vendor. I asked how much the squid were. I think she said 2 for $15, but I could not eat two. So she wanted $10 for one. A different place had quoted me $7 earlier in the week, so I offered her 7 and she accepted. Myra wanted no part of stuffed squid or any food prepared in the festival by people who were not washing their hands often. That described most of them. I ate the squid, relishing every bite. She even brought me some broth to go with it.

Myra got a Chilsing to drink. Then we looked at the vendor booths. I got another coconut, drinking the water and saving the shell for later. Eventually we found ourselves by the stadium. Something was going on, but we could not tell what and not many people were there, so we just headed back to the base. Along the way, we walked to the center of Admiral Yi circle to see all the new stuff they built there. Walking up the mountain toward home, we picked up trash along the route the Koreans will walk tomorrow. We threw it in trashcans along the way. It wasn't quite as thorough a job as I wanted, but we did not have bags to put stuff in. I went home and laid down.
Myra called to say we had walked 6.75 miles. I restarted my practice nap. I was not able to fall asleep before the 20 minute alarm rang.
I checked the latest kombucha batch. For some reason it tasted faintly of coffee. The scoby was very large and very frilly on top. I tore the scoby apart, put the best parts back in the jar, put the worst parts in the jar of previous kombucha, and ate the moderate parts.
I listened to some interviews while making breakfast. Chris came home.
I had just finished eating breakfast and was listening to a video by Norm Shealy on pain management when Myra called. She said she and Scott were going walking in town to see the festival at night and would we like to go along? I asked Chris and he said yes, so we got ready and walked down to their parking lot. The four of us headed out the front gate. Chris and Scott talked shop for awhile. They were so good together that I had the feeling that between them they could solve any problem. We walked down to the canal and headed left. We looked at the light displays on the road and in the canal. The entrances to the canal itself were closed. All the bridges over the canal had been hastily reinforced due to the weight of all the people trying to take pictures. When we got to the end of the lighted displays, we headed back. We saw a store full of handmade items, that was only open for the festival. A lady there would make a custom necklace for me if I brought a picture of the dress. Myra bought a necklace and earrings there. I got a lighted cherry blossom headband at one stand. I had seen many variations of the headbands and liked this one the best. Myra took our pic by one of the lighted arches. I took their pic in return. Scott looked for the drink-in-a-bag man.

(He sells drinks in a ziplock bag so you can put it in your pocket until you are ready to drink it.) But we could not find him. He must have sold out.
Then we passed a place roasting a pig. The men bought a portion of pork. We sat on a bench and they shared it. An older Korean man (who might have been tipsy) sat nearby and spoke to us. When the men had finished, we walked some more, ending up at the tower. But the tram wasn't working and I did not feel like going up all the steps.
On the way back, we passed near the massage place. I stopped to take pics for Terri. Then we walked down the main street to the big circle and turned right toward the base. We passed a place called We Love Shrimp. I had heard other people rave about it. So for 9,000 won, I got 8 pieces of big shrimp and 4 pieces of toasted bread. We had a nice chat with the shrimp man. As we walked home, I ate some shrimp and gave the bread to Chris.
When we got home, I finished the shrimp. I turned off my lighted cherry blossom headband. I downloaded all my pics, and deleted all the not-so-good ones. I recreated my day, trying to remember what all I did and in what order. I paused to give the broccoli seeds their evening soak. Chris was on his laptop. I finished writing up my blog post and went to bed.
* a plate of sliced stuffed squid, Admiral Yi in his new habitat, Chris and me with a lighted cherry blossom headband. *

Rainy day

When I went to bed after my skype call, Chris was on my side of the bed. So I crawled in on his side. It was not as comfortable since my knee pillow was not there and his head pillow is harder than mine. When he got up to go to the bathroom, I went over to my side. Later he got ready for work and left. When I got up, it was almost 9. I soaked my broccoli seeds. I drank a quart of water and listened to audios. I did some yoga stretches. I created a photo album on my Facebook page for cherry blossom pics. I loaded it with all the pics and then deleted the ones that weren't so good. Beverly 'liked' each one immediately. We texted back and forth. I got dressed just in case Myra came over after Bible study. I made up a new mixture of flax and chia seed.
Dynee called to ask me to come over and help her figure out the backing and binding for her quilt. I went over and helped her figure out the dimensions. I also showed her how to sew the binding together. She asked for some paper towel tubes and I went home and put some in a bag for her.
I texted Terri to see if she wanted to go with me to the massage place, but she didn't. She asked me to take a pic of the place and get the address. I called Myra to see if she wanted to walk out in town with me, but she did not since it was rainy. We had a long chat instead.
I cleaned up my cutting room instead of going for a massage. I sorted all my homemade pattern pieces and put them in bags. I made a pattern from a shrug that Myra lent me. I also tried on a lacy top that she gave me and it fit. I started on my sewing room, but it was a bigger mess.
I made a cucumber kimchi smoothie. I ran outside to take the daily pic of the cherry tree outside my house. I read an article on meditation and tried it. Chris came home from work.
I did Sudoku puzzles while Chris ate supper. I listened to an audio. Then I cleaned in the kitchen and soaked broccoli seeds until he was ready to watch TV. We watched 2 episodes. Then he went to bed. I stayed up to finish a puzzle and post to my blog.

Baskets are popular among all age groups

I got up, saw it was only 7am and went back to bed. I got up again at 7:35. I collated the recyclables and took them to the curb. I rinsed the broccoli seeds from last night. I oiled my hair. I drank my quart of water while reading e-mail. I put my 15” ruler in my class bag. I threw the pink ribbon in with it. I tried to write up the instructions for the project while listening to an interview, but I could not do both. I ate some seed crackers and a kimchi smoothie. I boiled the beans that soaked overnight and made a batch of seed crackers. Myra called to say she'd pick me up at 11 to move the stuff for sewing class. But I got her to agree to 11:30 because I had stuff in the oven. I took a shower and had to wash my hair three times to get the oil out. I got dressed. I turned the beans off, wondering why they were not getting soft. I printed out the instructions for the Easter basket project. The first copy had weird numbering on it so I turned off the numbering and printed it again. I wished the word processing software wasn't so 'helpful'. Ms. Sung from the chapel called to say the people using Classroom 2 were breaking for lunch so she had moved all our stuff to the other classroom. I called Myra to tell her, but she still wanted to go early. So I went out to wait and she was just driving up. She parked in back of the FFTC. We walked into the chapel and saw Dynee waiting. She followed us to Classroom 1. Our stuff was sitting on the table, so we set up the machines and the iron and arranged the tables to suit our purpose. The large cutting mat was not there. So we kept an eye on the people in Classroom 2 and as soon as they broke up, we asked Chief Hewett to get us a large mat. He brought two, which was good. Myra and Dynee picked out the fabrics likely to make the best baskets, and put the rest under the table to make space. Other ladies came in as I helped Dynee get started on hers. I spent about two hours just cutting 15” squares and sets of stabilizer. One lady brought her own fabric and ribbon, which was really nice. She also brought three kids and made three baskets, plus pieces for two more. Ms. Chung came, and Maria and Eileen and So Young. So all together, 10 baskets – our most popular project yet. The kids were really happy with the baskets they helped to make. And the two sets of instructions I had went home with other people. Everyone had a good time. Some people left early so they put some of our stuff away. In hindsight, it might not have been the best thing because those bins were not properly packed. Once everyone was gone, Myra and I were left to pick up all the toys the kids left on the floor, plus all the threads and leftover pieces, and had to put the tables and chairs back.
On the way out, Ms. Sung wanted to show me a stool that she wanted recovered. She had already shown Myra who said it would be easy. But I did not, because the fabric has to be stretched just right to be smooth and look good. I am glad I thought to ask how many. She said 30. Apparently these 'stools' are kneelers for the Catholic service and she wants them recovered in a different color. Myra and I both said it was too big a job for us.
We walked to the FFTC to get her car, then decided to walk up to the third floor to sign up for the trip to Daegu. As we were entering the building, we saw Chris walking up with Mr. Kim, the new Dan. So the four of us had a chat. Then Myra and I went upstairs to talk to Brittany. We told her we needed more rulers, cutters and fabric for the class. Then we tried to sign up at the front desk. Myra used her credit card and it took three people to get that straight. So I handed the man cash and waited and waited. But he told me to come back tomorrow since his transaction card wasn't working. We got in Myra's car and she took me home. I checked e-mail, then tried a 20 minute nap. I still did not fall asleep, but came closer than before. I played an audio while printing out another set of project instructions and the bean cake recipe. I played a second audio while working on the cake. The recipe called for a food processor, but the closest thing I had was a blender. So I blended. The mixture sat while I melted coconut oil. That should have been easy and I don't know why it took so long. Chris came home from work. I asked him about the kneelers. I found out then, that the kneelers are brand new, intended for use with chairs which were purchased to replace the pews. That set me aback. The pews are getting replaced? The whole chapel is new, just over a year old and now he is replacing the pews with chairs? Thinking about it, I decided pews were inclusive and chairs were exclusive. Since the chapel already did not seem much like church, chairs would just exacerbate the feeling. I thought it might just be the straw that breaks the camel's back for me.
I poured the cake batter (mostly eggs and beans – no wheat flour or sugar) into a lined glass dish. Then Chris helped me move it to a smaller glass baking dish. I put it in the oven at 325 and set the timer. Chris made himself supper while I made myself breakfast. I ate it while reading e-mail. I drank some sugar cane 'tea', made from sugar cane fiber soaking in the tea pot. After the cake came out of the oven, I jotted notes for my blog while it cooled. I practiced my trombone briefly, then I drank the rest of the sugar cane tea and took my supplements. We watched two episodes. Chris helped me wrap the cake and put it in the fridge. Then he went to bed. I stayed up to post to my blog. I thought I was going to bed, but then my tapping buddy called, so....

Blossoms, blossoms, everywhere

I got up about 8:15. I might have gotten the food waste out in time but did not think of it until later. I drank a quart of water while reading e-mail. I played an interview on dealing with pain and trauma while I cleaned my half of the kitchen since I did not get it done yesterday. I washed the large pot in the sink. I juiced some celery and blended it with some cucumber kimchi. I also dustmopped the floor. I looked up the recipe for vanilla bean cake. Chris came home for lunch just after 11. I asked him if we had the 6 eggs needed for the cake and he said yes. He put several cups of white beans in a pot to soak for tomorrow. I listened to the interview again. I figured out a Sudoku puzzle that I wasn't able to solve previously. I made breakfast and was eating it when Dynee texted me that she wanted to walk to Office Depot. So I finished eating and got dressed for walking. As we walked past Myra's place, I called her. She was getting up from a nap and needed 10 minutes to get ready. So we talked to some ladies passing by for a bit. They were gone by the time Myra came out. Then the three of us walked into town. When we passed The Foot Shop, which had taken down all their signs, their door was open. Curiosity got the best of us and we walked in and up the steps. It was full of ladies sitting around. A lady came forward to speak to me. I tried to explain that I was American and did not speak Korean. She indicated a shelf full of Doterra products (essential oils). I asked about massages and she gave me the 'no' sign. She rubbed orange essential oil on three business cards and gave them to us. She also put some on our wrists. We thanked her and left. We found Aritaum, a place Dynee wanted to check out. But they were not having the sale she hoped for. Then we went to Office Depot. I selected several colors of ribbon and bought three yards of each for class tomorrow. Dynee got some packages of ribbon and I'm not sure what Myra got. We walked across the street to the little place that sells home sewn items. We got some fabric there. Then we went to the rotary circle to the booth that sells sugar cane. I asked how much and he said $3. I handed him that much, and he gave me three sticks of sugar cane. Myra gave me a bag and I used my other bag to completely cover the sticks. Then we went back. When we got to the corner market, we bought pineapples. From there, we walked on base to the commissary. I got honey and garlic. As I came out, Myra was driving up, so I stopped to tell her I was going to walk home. We got into a conversation, and then she went to the commissary while I walked home.
I put the food away. I tried to take a 20 minute nap. I read e-mail and saw that Akia needed boxes. So I messaged her and she came right over. I gave her 4 from the shed and some advice on her pack-out.

Then I went back to e-mail. Chris came home from work while I was watering the peas, lettuce and pansies. He changed his clothes and made supper. I put a bowl of bean soup in the toaster oven. I listened to an audio until the timer rang. Then I ate it outside. When I came in, I asked Chris if the leftover bean soup smelled ok and it sparked an argument. After it was over, I went back to reading e-mail. I tried on the blossom headband that I made. Then I got a piece of sugar cane from the fridge and washed it really well. Chris plugged my laptop into the TV and we watched two episodes. I chewed on the sugar cane and it made a fibrous mess. Then Chris went to bed. I changed into my night gown and stayed up to clear more e-mail and to write to my blog. (and to look up a better way to eat sugar cane. )
* Blossoms, blossoms, in my hair. *

To post or not to post...

I did some mental programming again, but did not feel like getting up. I waited for my cortisol to rise and it did, just about 7:50. I drank my quart of water, then swished. I drybrushed, rebounded, and exercised. I boiled water for coffee. I tapped and meditated. About 10:30 I started cleaning. I cleaned both bathrooms, then started on the kitchen. I had just cleaned the stove top when Chris came home. He made his sandwich on the stove and I had to wipe it again. I cleaned his side of the kitchen.
As I started on my side of the kitchen, my phone rang. It was Anna. She was ready early to help me post a photo album to the community page for the sewing group. She wanted to come over, so I said ok. I ran to my bedroom to get dressed and she knocked on the door. She must have called from my front yard! Chris answered the door. When she didn't see me, she asked him if I was in my sewing room and he said yes, so she went back there. Pulling on the first shirt and pants I found, I greeted her there. I showed her the project for this week.
Then we sat on the couch and she recommended that I put all the pictures for the album in one folder on my hard drive. We worked on that for awhile, until she had to go pick up her sons. After she left, I continued to look for sewing class pics on my laptops and desktop. I had to search through the pics from before my old laptop crashed. I assembled as much as I could without going back to double-check.
Myra called to say she was available to walk at 2. Terri wanted to walk, too, so I texted her to meet us there. I clicked on 'create an album' and threw the pics in there. I hit 'post', then went to meet them. We walked out in town to the canal and then to the rotary circle. We saw a man selling sugar cane. I was curious but did not buy one. Terri showed us a cute little restaurant she and her husband found. She also showed us the tent where they got the best food. She bought some silk scarves at a little stand. Then we went back to post, stopping at the corner market. It looked like watermelons were on sale for $3 so we each got one. But when Terri checked out, they charged her $15. So the cashier went to check, and there was another sign we hadn't seen. When we pointed out the one for $3, someone took it down. So no watermelons for us.
We walked onto base and up to Housing. They went in and I went home. I watered my peas, lettuce and pansies. I had just gotten back inside, when Terri knocked on my door. She wanted to borrow a vacuum cleaner. I was going to lend her the Kirby but could not find it, so I lent her the Windtunnel. I grabbed the car keys and drove her home with it. She promised to return it in a week. I went back home. I drank some kombucha, and then some more. Finally I realized it had alcohol. What a rush! I reverted to the fermented coconut water. I mixed up some breakfast.
I started making a floral headband. It is a very popular item at the festival, but I would rather make one than buy one. So I took one of my brown vinyl headbands and backed it with a piece of red ribbon. Then I cut small squares of pale tissue paper. I wrapped two around the end of a marker and dipped it in glue, then pressed it through a hole in the headband onto the ribbon. I did that several times, then left it to dry before doing more. I ate breakfast. I saw that my photo album had not posted. I tried again, but it didn't work. So I posted it to my own page and had no problem. I found a photo album of old quilts on my home page. I checked my Pinterest page to see if they were also there, but some were not. I downloaded them to the laptop and cropped them. But, inexplicably, Pinterest would not let me load most of them. A lot of the pics were really out of focus, probably because they were digital pics taken of old photographs. I wondered what had happened to those early works of art.
Chris came home from work and made his usual supper. I stuck a few more blossoms on my headband. I texted Anna to see what I had done wrong with the posting, but she agreed that it must be a authorization thing. She said Elizabeth could help. So I texted Elizabeth. She created an album for me. I selected all the pics from the sewing file and added them to the album. Chris sat down with me to watch TV. After the first episode, I checked on the posting. The pictures had uploaded, so I hit 'post'. After the second episode, I checked again. Only 26 pictures had posted. So I went through the file, renaming each picture that posted with an x prefix so it would go to the end of the file. Then I selected the remaining photos and posted them. This time they all went. Success! I saw that my friends were commenting on the file as posted to my home page. There is something very gratifying about hearing from them so far away. I tried responding, but for some reason it wasn't working. But bedtime was at hand, so I stuck a few more blossoms on my headband, posted to my blog and went to bed.
* a lovely picture of the rotary circle - if only you could see it through the cherry blossoms. *