Warming Up to Art

Near Jim's work is an artsy area with a fancy new coffee shop. We went inside to get warm and couldn't resist ordering some hot chocolate. We discovered that you can get a mug of hot chocolate with "cream-art" on top! Can you see the pictures?

Ice Skating in Downtown Seoul

We took the children ice skating in downtown Seoul's outdoor rink at City Hall. Not knowing what to expect, we stood in line to buy tickets. Each ticket ended up being one dollar (and that included the skate rental). A price like that is something to smile about!

Here Comes Santa Clause

Season's Greetings

The mail is magic in December. I love Christmas Cards.

A Christmas Carol

Our Christmas reading this year has included A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
Our family gives it five stars.

"God bless Us, Every One!"

No Room in the Inn

How Much Longer?

I'm taking predictions on our baby's delivery date. The one closest will win a Korean sovenier Christmas ornament.

(My due date is December 30th)

Oh, ho, The Mistletoe

We hung the mistletoe (thank you, Ellen) and each of my children laughed and giggled as I kissed them, begging for more. Each one that is, but Susan Grace. She said, "I just can't kiss you, Mom. I'm too old" (Sorry, Gracie. The mistletoe takes no excuses!)

Namdemun Market

Jim, Margaret and I did a little last minute shopping in the Namdemun Market of Seoul. We ate some chestnuts roasted on an open fire and had a little holiday cheer Seoul-style.

Sticky Fingers

Here's Margaret at our Chirstmas Cookie Party. We had 50 sticky fingers in our house that night. (But they sure tasted good).

The St. Augustine Ball

This year the fifth graders were treated to a St. Augustine Ball. The ball included a Scottish band that was flown in from the U. K. and some nummy Scottish food. I enjoyed watching the fifth graders dance together. The uniforms were lovely and I just had to chuckle when the children grabbed each other by the wrist instead of the hand and avoided eye contact at all cost. Oh, the preadolescent chemistry emerges. The days of innocence are waning.

Monday Morning

On Monday morning Margaret found my Sunday lipstick. I'm pretty impressed she knew what to do with it.

The Christmas Tree

This year our family had a tree decorating party. Jim made his famous molasses cookies, we turned on Grandma Gina and Papa's homemade Christmas CD and put some orange peels, cloves and cinnamon on the stove to boil. It was all there: the sights, sounds, smells and taste of Christmas.

Jim’s Favorite Molasses Cookies – from Carole Walter’s Good Cookies
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned in and leveled
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon cardamom (if available)
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups sugar, divided
¼ cup dark molasses
1 large egg

Melt the butter in a 3-quart, heavy saucepan over low heat. (This cookie is mixed by hand in the pot.) Cool to tepid.
Strain (sift) together three times the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, salt, and cloves. Set aside.
Using a wooden spoon, stir 1 ½ cups of the sugar, the molasses, and egg into the butter, mixing until smooth. Add the dry ingredients, one-half at a time, and blend well. Cover with wax paper and chill for 30 to 45 minutes, until firm.
Position the shelves in the upper and lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 375°. Moderately butter the cookie sheets.
Shape the dough into 1-inch balls between the palms of your hands. Place the remaining ½ cup of sugar in a shallow dish and roll the balls of dough in the sugar. Place the balls 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets.
Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the tops begin to crack. Toward the end of the baking time rotate the pans from top to bottom and front to back. Remove from the oven and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Loosen with a thin metal spatula and transfer to cooling racks.

Store in an airtight container, layered between strips of was paper, for up to 3 weeks. These cookies may be frozen.

**You can bake two pans of cookies at once as long as there is enough space for the air to move around the pans. That’s why the oven racks should be spaced apart and you turn the pans toward the end of the baking time. If you have time, bake them one sheet at a time, still rotating the pan front to back.

Happy Thanksgiving

Something to be Thankful For

This year our twelfth anniversary was on Thanksgiving. Here's something I am thankful for:

Horse Hunt

When we went on our trip out to the country, we were driving around and noticed a small sign on the side of the road with a drawing of a horse on it. Underneath the drawing was a phone number and an arrow. Having no idea what the sign meant and knowing that a phone call would be a dead end due to our lack of ability to speak Korean (I know, shame on us), we decided to follow the arrow and try and find the horses. After about an hour of searching and stopping by the side of the road to perform charades so that bystanders could guess what we were looking for, we found the coolest horse stable. My three oldest children had 45 minute horseback riding lessons. It was quite a find for a familly of seven that doesn't have a clue!

Halloween

This year for Halloween, some things were different. Susan Grace and Miriam were asked to work at a local Korean English Academy. They organized and played games with the children. They worked hard and earned a little money. I like the money over candy idea.

Some things were the same. A week before Halloween, our church had a Chili cook-off party. My chili didn’t win.



Some things were different: there wasn’t a Halloween costume parade or party at the school. What a relief!

Some things were the same: we went trick or treating on Halloween night and my children cried that they didn’t need jackets. Jackets would really ruin the effect of their costumes.

Some things were different: the neighborhood where we "trick or treated" was a gated expat community. It was a very small neighborhood, which ment very little walking for me. It was perfect.

Some things were the same: we got too much candy! James loves counting his. I think it could be considered a study in counting to one hundred. Candy anyone?

Some things were different: Susan Grace didn’t trick or treat with us and when we were done, she stayed for a Halloween party at a friend’s house. Can she be old enough to do that?

Some things were the same, almost.