knitting with the norwegians

I have been a little under the weather this week with a cold. So I have just been staying in most of the time trying to kick it. I did get out on Wednesday afternoon to play mahjong and this morning for painting class. I also made time on Thursday morning for one of my new favorite projects - knitting. I have wanted to learn how to knit for quite a while. I actually have a couple of books on the subject, including "Knitting for Dummies". Whether from impatience, lack of motivation or just plain stupidity I never quite picked up the knack of casting on the stitches (which starts the entire process). I could actually knit, but I just couldn't start the knitting if that makes sense.

When I returned last fall to the U.S., I picked up various craft supplies to bring back, like some embroidery, cross stitch, etc. I also brought back my trusty knitting needles and yarn in hopes of finally learning how to knit. Well lo and behold, when I attended one of the Wednesday morning coffees the first week I was back, I learned that there was now an informal knitting group!!

We meet on Thursday morning for a couple of hours. There are quite a few women from Norway, along with a smattering of British and French ladies. I was the only American until I brought on a couple of other American women that are now just as addicted to it as I am. There seems to be alot of expatriates from Norway and Great Britain here due to the fact that they deal with alot of shipping in their countries, I guess. The shipyard doesn't just deal oil related projects. In fact, the drillships that Ken's company are building are the first ones to be built here.

Back to knitting - I finally grasped casting on thanks to a lady from Wales. I did find out that the Norwegians knit differently. I don't really understand how it is different, but they sure do knit fast. I decided to stick to the standard way since I didn't think that I would always have a Norwegian on hand to help me. Anyway, after much practice, I now have a potholder! (Actually, I have knitted alot more than this but this is the first thing that I have declared a purpose to my knitted piece.)


Now onto a scarf or a blanket - baby-sized, of course.

you make me smile

I definitely have a magazine addiction. Not just any magazine - mainly ones relating to home, house, garden, decorating, shopping for the home, etc. I don't really feel bad about my addiction because I inherited it from my mother.....it is genetic. Both of us subscribe to various magazines. Sometimes a magazine will thrill us and sometimes it will fall out of our favor. Maybe a couple of years will go by and then we "rediscover" that same magazine and resubscribe. We also buy from the news stand but that can be risky - as evidenced one time when my mother bought the same magazine three times! Sorry Mama.

Anyway, when living overseas, it is difficult doing without. But my mother (and now my mother-in-law) are saving magazines for me to look at when I get back to the U.S. for a visit. I read some of them while home and save some to take back to Korea to savor on those days that I really need a good magazine. I know that I could get overseas subscriptions. However, I know from past experiences that it can not only be expensive, but you are lucky if you receive the magazine at all.

With the advent of the Internet, I can now log on to the magazine sites and read about some of the things I am missing. But it is not the same as sitting in a comfortable chair with a cup of coffee and relishing every page of a magazine. But it will have to do sometimes. As you can see from my site, I have numerous websites that I visit that make me smile and make my heart sing. One site that I am enjoying right now is doe-c-doe . She devotes a day for different passions, such as books, fabrics, embroidery, etc. Please take time to look at her website and enjoy, I know I certainly do!

Back to the point of this post! She was discussing the magazine Marie Claire and renewing her subscription. I remember when I lived in France and bought the magazine periodically to gaze at the new products and home interiors. Unfortunately, I was not fluent in French, but I could sometimes get by with my reading of the language. Anyway, when I saw her post, I remembered that I had bought that magazine here in Korea a while back. And as every magazine addict knows, you do not throw a magazine away for a good long while. You read it over and over and memorize every little object in the pictures that make you happy. I don't know about other addicts, but eventually I go through my magazine and scour it one last time. I will tear out the pages that I want and I paste it into a notebook that I keep (actually several notebooks). Then I might throw it away. However, there are some magazines I keep forever...!

I guess I keep regressing. Here is the magazine cover I bought almost a year ago when I was yearning for some inspiration. For some reason, I haven't seen it since. Unfortunately, I haven't picked up Korean the way I picked up French. Thus I can't read too much of this magazine. But I did enjoy the pictures. I really like this bag.








And these rabbits you could paste onto the wall.....















And the back splash in her kitchen.....

















And the clock on this page........















That probably has to do with this page that I cannot read......

Thank you to everyone that makes me smile - whether it is my mother or my mother-in-law, doe-c-doe, my painting teacher, the images I see in Korea every day or the many websites I enjoy.

full service

Yesterday Ken and I headed out in the car to the grocery store. It was cold and windy as usual, but we stopped to get some gas. The gas stations are not the names that we are accustomed to - they have names like Hyundai Oil and S-Oil. Gas is also sold by the liter and it takes 3.79 liters to make one gallon. I noticed that gas is around 1650 Korean won for 1 liter. And 1650 won is equal to $1.75 today. So correct me if I am wrong, but that comes to $6.63 a gallon!

However, before you draw any conclusions, let me enlighten you on a few things that occur whenever you pull into a gas station in Korea. First of all, there is only FULL SERVICE as far as I can see. You pull in, an attendant (usually in a uniform) rushes out and sometimes manages to bow to you as you pull up to the pump. Yes, bow. We then tell them "full" and they proceed to pump the gas for us. There is only unleaded and diesel - I haven't noticed all the different grades of gas here. After you pay, they give you the receipt and also a little gift. Usually it is a packet that you open up and find Kleenex in it. We have also gotten raincoats and white cotton gloves (driving gloves, maybe???). Yesterday we had another first - the man handed us two warm cans labeled Maxwell House.
Since it was so cold, we gave it a try. It was really good, creamy coffee in a can. I have seen some machines here that are labeled hot and cold drinks but never paid much attention to them, except for this one in Okpo with a telephone attached. It got Ken and I to thinking about how they can manage to heat the closed cans up just right without getting it too hot or exploding them. And if the FULL SERVICE gas stations are worth the extra three or so dollars a gallon.

Maybe if they added cleaning your windows and checking your oil????

happy birthday kipperman!!!

Today is Kip's birthday. I wish I could be there for a celebration with him. Usually he gets a McDonald's hamburger and some ice cream. I am sure that this year will be celebrated appropriately with his foster family (my parents). I can't believe he is only 14 years old, I feel like he has been with me my entire life. Anyone that knows him, knows that he is really an a little angel in a poodle costume.


It was a hard decision not to bring Kip to Korea with us. We miss him terribly but know that he is in a home that loves him (in fact, my mother has taken all these pictures of Kip and sends them to me!) and caters to his every whim such as..... he gets up way early, eats and goes back to sleep; he just stands at the door to be let out and expects you to be watching and know that - no barking for him!; he sometimes likes to be hand fed; he can't hear very well anymore so you have to take that into consideration; he likes Sunday morning breakfast (actually, he likes any breakfast...., or lunch, or dinner); he likes to sit at the table with the family whenever invited, whether it is for food or games;
he doesn't like to be outside much anymore; I could go on and on! We just felt the flight would be too long for an older poodle that was set in his ways. Plus, I would be going back and forth from Korea to Texas a few times a year and that would mean more trips. I do miss him terribly though, especially whenever I see a dog in Korea.

There are stories about dogs in Korea and how they serve dogmeat at some restaurants, and unfortunately it is true. The way it is done is a cruel practice and hopefully it is on the decline. I really don't want to get into specifics because it upsets me so. On the other hand, you do see an awful lot of pampered dogs on the streets.

And there are several pet stores in town that have the little ones in the window with all their clothes and dyed ears!



Yes, those are shoes....!







To close, here are a few more pictures of some of the little ones I have seen around town that are hopefully loved and appreciated for their companionship and loyalty.

happy valentine's day

I want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day. I roamed around my home and took some pictures of red items in celebration of the day. I hope you enjoy them.

Socks bought in the Korean market in Okpo.




Trinkets bought in China.
Little shoes (which I love) bought in China.
Chopsticks that are packaged with the noodles you buy here.
A stamp I bought on the street downtown that has my name written in Korean (I need to find out which way is up - it might be upside down or sideways!!)

The flowers that my sweet husband brought me at lunchtime today.

it sure is chilly outside

I don't remember it being this cold last winter. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, but some days I just can't get warm enough. We have had alot of sunny days but they seem to be windy too. I am just thankful we aren't dealing with several feet of snow like alot of people do in the winter. We did have a light brushing of snow a couple of weeks ago though.

Ken and I took the ferry to Busan on Saturday just to get out of town for a change. It was sooooo cold. But it was nice to have a change of scenery and to roam the marketplace and to eat some American junk food. It was hilarious about how indecisive Ken was over whether to go to McDonald's or Outback Steak House. As it turns out, we decided to go to Outback for a couple of appetizers and then Ken got a Big Mac afterwards. My, my, aren't we the gourmets of American junk food?

Back to being cold. Even the pig heads in the marketplace had plastic coats on for the day.


In case you want to get another look at the pig heads, here is a picture of a woman chopping at them.

I hope you aren't planning on ham for dinner tonight. You might want to rethink that.




After all of that, I will end with a cute photo of a little man that was standing outside a shop. He was definitely ready for the cold day.

say hay boke-mahn he pah du say oh

In other words, "please receive many new year's blessings". Today is Korea's Lunar New Year, or Seollal. The actual date each year is different because it is determined by the lunar calandar. This is probably the most important holiday of the year for the Korean people. Everyone travels home to be with their families, traditional food is prepared, ancestor worship ceremonies are held and they enjoy the food and companionship of being with their families.

I have noticed that the Koreans are very big on gift giving. This time of year is no exception. You can see various gift packages in the stores with anything from fruit to alcohol to fish to meat. Some of the stranger gift packs have tins of tuna, cooking oil and/or Spam in them. As I have mentioned earlier, we have received various gifts of fruit, wine and ginseng this holiday. Ken and I were at the grocery store last weekend and noticed one gift we haven't received - a $300 beef gift set.
The first picture shows three packets of beef for approximately $310 U.S. dollars. It really isn't a huge amount of meat either. This can be seen in relation to the size of boneless chicken breasts pictured besides some of the meat in the second photo. We haven't received any beef gifts, but we also haven't received any Spam either. I am thinking that we are probably in the middle range in the hierarchy of gift giving!

Last year was "the year of the pig". The year of 2008 is called "Mujanyeon" that stands for the year of the mouse. Get a glimpse of all the Korean new year signs . For some reason, the names of some of the animals are different from the Chinese signs. For example, mouse is rat in the chinese zodiac and sheep is goat, etc. Last year, you could see pig related items all over, especially plastic piggy banks. I guess all of the mice will be showing up any day now, although I can't imagine a mouse piggy bank. I will let you know about that.

While looking up the zodiac signs, I found a neat website that lets you figure out what sign you are. It also talks about your attributes and compatibilites. I was hoping to be something colorful like a dragon, even a pig would be cute. But I am a goat (or a sheep according to the Korean signs). It actually is quite on track with who I am. It says that goats are excellent care-givers - I guess being a nurse goes along with that. It says that home and alone is where goats feel most comfortable, where they can express themselves artistically, whether it's by painting, cooking or participating in whatever artistic endeavors they enjoy - I wonder if that includes watching HGTV and reading home decorating magazines? Ken is a dog (not really - that is his sign - LOL). He was pretty interested in reading about our signs. One thing he picked up on mine is that wood goats (my kind of goat - you will understand when you look at the site - it depends on the year you were born) need to spend more time caring for their own selves. How true, how true. I guess the lunar new year is a good time to make one more resolution.

birthdays and boxes

I had a birthday last week.

Since we had previously been invited to dinner that night with some of the employees of Ken's project and the shipyard, we celebrated with them. We went to a restaurant that I haven't been to before. It is close to the harbor area and they specialize in snow crab legs. Anyway, we feasted on wonderful (and huge) crab legs that were already cracked for us. Ken had sweetly brought a birthday cake for me and we commemorated with song and candles. My computer had been returned to me that day and I received my camera the next day. What a wonderful birthday!

Due to the fact that I seem to be getting older, I have had a renewed interest in vitamins and the ways and means of staying young (I wonder why...?). I bought a book in the U.S. on the subject
and have been reading parts of it since I have been back. This leads me to the subject of ginseng, or insam as it is called in Korean.

Ken has been receiving various gifts from various people in preparation for the Lunar New Year. We have gotten the usual fruit, wine and baskets of Korean sweets. One thing we got was a box of individually wrapped boxes of Korean Sliced Red Insam.



It has the consistency of a hard gummy bear and......I am tasting it again to describe the taste to you.......it tastes like I would think bark would taste.

It is not foul or awful tasting, but it is not something I would pick up to eat as a snack. On the outer box, it described in English that it is to be eaten before drinking, while drinking and after drinking, which I assume means alcohol. There was no mention at all of the medicinal qualities ginseng is to possess.

Yesterday we received another box of ginseng. I then realized that another wooden box I retrieved from the trash last spring (don't tell Ken) was probably a box that contained ginseng. The same plant picture is on the front.


Anyway, this ginseng was vacuum packed in large pieces. I guess that this is what it looks like before it is sliced into the smaller pieces. I am not going to open this because I will give it to someone that will enjoy it, like my cleaning lady or some of the Korean men at Ken's work. Bark taste or not, I did save a few boxes of the sliced ginseng to nibble on for health reasons!




But I am going to keep the box.

computers, camera & communication

I am a few days late in posting this, but since my last post my computer went kaput. Ken took it to the office and had the IT guy working on it all last week and I finally got it back on January 31st. It had to be completely reworked and all my favorite little things were gone but thankfully all of my pictures and music were saved. I am gradually getting it back to my comfort level. And as I mentioned in my last post, the problems with my camera intensified. So I spent all last week depressed and anxiety-ridden (not really, but maybe sort of) without two of my favorite things. It has really made me see how much the computer has helped us feel connected with our families and friends while living here. We didn't have that luxury when we lived in Scotland and France in the early 1990's. I also remember when Ken was out on a drillship for a couple of months at a time in the 1980's and the only way to correspond was on a ham radio once in awhile, and he also could send an email to the office once a week and they would mail it to me!! The families of the soldiers in Iraq have it so much better with emails and cell phones. Just think of the previous wars and the lack of communication then. How hard that must have been on families.

Anyway, I am connected once again and all is right with the world. And I got a new camera! When I was home this fall, I had considered buying another camera but never got around to it. As usual, I couldn't decide what I wanted. I contemplated upgrading from a point and shoot camera to a DSLR. I am writing this like I know what I am talking about, but I actually don't know what DSLR means......I just equate it to a camera that is more technical and thus might take better pictures. I researched a bit and just never bought one. Well, when my camera went beserck I went back to my research. I decided not to get a DSLR camera but did get an upgrade from my other digital camera. My mother had gotten a new camera for her birthday in August (remember her great photos on Flickr ?)and I had used it a few times when I was home and felt quite comfortable with it. So that was decided. Ken had the IT guy at the office (everyone should have an IT guy!) order one. The only problem was that the handbook was in Korean but I downloaded and copied it in English from the computer. I love it - it has great zoom capability and the macro (upclose) is wonderful. Want to see a quick picture (of one of the shelves behind me)?