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| BirthdayHad a great birthday today. Slept late and woke to a pouring, but cooling, rain. That's probably why I slept so soundly. And, not even the veggie vendors and truck farmers were out in this downpour. I got a mysterious package from one of my sons on Thursday, but resisted opening it until this afternoon. [Ain't I good?  !] It's a wonderful shirt made by the hill people of Viet Nam, with great swatches of colorful embroidery on a black background. I'd asked Kang to go to supper with me, but then I got a call from Shin saying he was sorry he couldn't come as he was sick. I figured Kang had called Shin, and passed on the invitation. Then, I got a call from Kang at 6:08, saying "Where are you?" Oops. I grabbed my purse, pulled on a jacket, poked my feet into shoes, and stepped outside.The rain had cleared and we had a cool Siberian high, a blessed relief after all the hot and muggy weather the last few days. I didn't raise a sweat running down the hill and wasn't out of breath when I said "Hi." Outback is right on the corner and Kang was standing there with his umbrella furled, serving as a cane. [He's the guy who shattered his thighbone last fall.] There was a crowd waiting inside; we sat and watched baseball for about 20 minutes before we were seated. He's a Samsung Lions fan, so I rooted for the Haehwa Eagles, heheheh. [ Most teams are sponsored by chaebol (family-owned companies).] The soup course was Spicy Mushroom, although I'd have called it "Herbal Mushroom." It was delicious, neither bland nor "spicy hot." I think I detected basil. We had grilled steaks, Rockhampton Ribeye for Kang and Victoria's Filet (the least fat) for me. I had baked potato and steamed veggies with mine. Kang had baked sweet potato and regular baked potato with his; he's a great trencherman. Come dessert-time, our waitress brought out a chocolate sundae for two with 6 birthday candles on it. Then she rounded up five co-workers to sing "Happy Birthday" in Korean with rhythmic hand-clapping accompaniment. Much cheering and bowing followed. I blew out all the candles with one puff, and she pulled out a digital camera to take photos. We worked on the sundae while she was gone. When she came back, she had two prints of the photo we had chosen, all done up in a birthday card, and a present for me! It was an Outback steak knife all done up in a stylish box. She also had the two small loaves of brown bread and cups of butter that they give customers to take home. T'was a really fun and satisfying birthday dinner. Kang suggested a movie, but I wanted to get back home and write this up while I'm still groaning with pleasure. [Also wanted to take my after-meal anti-cholesterol meds.] Happy Trails, ~ Sil in Corea *Update on Tropical Storm Kalmaegi: located over land about 200 miles south of Shanghai, losing force rapidly. Unlikely to reform or to affect Korea due to a mid-latitude trough and weak frontal system located astride the Korean peninsula. --from the U. S. Weather Service in Monterey, CA [my footnote: we are getting another band of thunderstorms and torrential rain. We've gotten about 3.5 inches or 83 millimeters so far today, not counting the latest dousing. Some "weak frontal system," eh?] | | |
| Sunday NotesThe sun is baking down today, about 90 degrees F. We had rain all night, so I stayed up and set the electric fan to blow cool air into the house. When I left the house at 2 p.m., it felt cooler outside because there was a breeze and lower humidity than indoors. I left the windows open, locked the door and set out for Hannam. Argh! Forgot T-card! It's cheaper to buy a new one than to pay cash fares for the round trip. The sweat was streaming off me when I got onto the train. Twenty minutes later, it's starting to subside. Love airconditioned subways and busses! I'm in my hottest-weather clothes: rayon culottes [they wick sweat away from my thighs], sleeveless cotton top, a thin crocheted white cotton jacket, thin cotton socks and sandals. Phillipe, Lacy, Teddy and I went to Insadong for supper and coffee. Teddy gave me a ride on his motor-scooter! That was fun, - it's been a long time since I rode one of those. The breeze was welcome. P & L went by bus and we met at Starbucks, with the sign written in Hangeul because Insadong is the antique heart of Seoul. (Wish I could show you how cool it looks, but this site doesn't know how to show it.) Went down the street to a "Chinese" restaurant where we had jjajjangmyeon and manduguk, pricy but good. The air-con was nice. Then back to Starbucks for cappuccino, which we drank outside, sitting on granite benches with small pools carved into them. They had water hyacinths filling the pools, quite attractive. After that, we headed down to the little triangular park on the corner to see some "farmer clowns" doing a traditional street play. Teddy had other fish to fry, so Phillipe, Lacy and I took a taxi back to the Lutheran church. I got some baloney text messages from Euni, so what else is old? She never showed up, after all that. Gina gave Soonhee and I a ride to Isu station afterward, so we got a chance to talk and I got a chance to become reacquainted with Soonbee, the terrier that I came very close to adopting three years ago. Fortunately for Soonbee, Gina took her. Gina has a much better set-up for coping with animals than I do: Bigger apartment and more folks around during the day. Coming home on the subway from Isu, I was people-watching and observed the interaction between two families who had toddlers about the same age. One ummah was encouraging her son to call the other boy's big sister "noonah." The boy with the big sister was sneaking peeks at me, but looked away whenever I smiled at him. One family got off at Boramae. Now, "noona" began dancing around, showing off her twinkly, pink slippers, and little brother began climbing the armrails as if they were monkey bars. But appah was having none of that. He started a game sort of like Simon Says, where the kids put their fists over or under his fist, depending on what he says. The little guy says "Moolah" ('don't know') and puts his fist wherever he wants.  Happy Trails! ~ Sil in Corea | | |
| Major Purchase!I now have my own computer, in my own home! Everything, including a Canon printer/scanner/ copier (but no ink cartridge), plus delivery cost about US$180. An expat family was moving to the states. It's got English Windows XP pro, but Corean-made hardware. The CPU is from Hyundai, the monitor is Samsung, the keyboard is Anyzen from Chungmac Co., and it all runs on 220 volts. The technician from KT [Korea Telecom] came and put it all together for me as well as hooking it up to the internet. Service here costs about $30 per month. He said that I should call him if I have any need for repairs or upgrades. (Free maintenance and repair are normal services for electronics customers in Corea.) He lives right in my neighbourhood, so it's handy for him to drop by. | | |
| Sorta Asian Potato SaladI tried an experiment, or a variant on Vinegarette potato salad. This makes a bit under a quart of salad. 6 new potatoes, scrubbed, diced and boiled with the skins on. Let them cool. 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper 1 small sweet onion, diced 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar 2 tsp. prepared mustard 1/4 tsp. ginger powder 1/3 tsp. turmeric powder 1/4 tsp. seasoned salt 1 tsp. brown sugar 1 to 2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds Mix all together and taste to adjust seasonings to your own pleasure. {I'm using Corean grocery products, so the flavor may vary slightly. My friend the gourmet cook says there's a difference.} ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I expect it will be even better the second day. You may want to add a little tamari soy sauce. I always seem to scant the salt when I'm experimenting. Happy Trails! ~ Sil in Corea Save the Rainforest! Send an eCard from Care2.com!
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| <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Mg6VXicZIQg&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Mg6VXicZIQg&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Point your cursor at the right-hand end of the second line to get the YouTube video in a separate window, then click on it. Likable rock'n roll. Features downtown Pullayup, in Washington State. The band is One Republic. Make sure you watch the very end, after the credits roll. Just to show that Pullayup is like any small town, if a rock group tried to shoot a video in Vassalboro, Maine, the same thing would happen. Found it on http://grpottersblog.blogspot.com/ Gary Rith is the maker of pots that make you smile. | | |
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