Sweet and Savvy

What to do with all of that Halloween candy?













Margaret opted to eat hers. She ended up with two root canals and two silver teeth.

James on the other hand, opted to sell his. The sale was a hit and he ended up putting a little silver in his pocket.

Almost Two

Happy Birthday Gracie!

She's thirteen. Now what?

Kipboom- 3 Months Old

I can't believe I'm posting about a dog!

Happy Halloween

Kitchen Help

Who Would Chews a Puppy?

In these pictures it may look like Boom is listening, but he's not. This surprises me. We chose the German Shephard dog because this breed was described as being, "responsive and highly intelligent".

Life with a puppy has had its challenges. Two days after we got him, we discovered that he had parasites. I thought using a breeder would safeguard us against parasites, but, alas it did not. We got through the parasite ordeal and then we set up shop for a dog. We built a fence in the stairwell, cut a hole in the door and got him a nice heated bed. It wasn't long before we realized that we would need to have water on the roof, so we had a hose installed. Then we faced the dilemma of what and how much to feed him--that was tough considering the fact that we could not read the packages. At times it seems it doesn't matter what we feed him because he chews on everthing and lots of what he chews ends up being swallowed. He has chewed through three of our neighbor's internet cords, chewed up the upholstery on my porch swing and chewed through and then into pieces the cord to his heating pad. He chews up shoes, hats, gloves etc.

Chewing isn't his only problem. He is a mischief maker. One day, when Susan Grace was cleaning up the roof, she left the hose running in one corner while she cleaned in another. While her back was turned, Boom, picked up the hose with his mouth and carried it into the stairwell of our apartment. One hundred gallons of water later, Gracie realized that the hose was dumping into the stairs, not the drain on the roof. Flood! What a mess. It was on that day that I secretly hoped our neighbors would insist that we get rid of the dog. But, that was not to happen.

Gracie spends hours and hours with her dog. I would guess that 75% of it is work and 25% play. Still she does it. She's learned good lessons in responsibility and diligence and love. The other children's reactions: Miriam, much to her sorrow, is allergic to him. Anna, absolutely adores him and would spoil him rotton. James is scared to death of him. Margaret and Daniel aren't allowed to get by him--he jumps up on them and knocks them over. And Jim, he loves him almost as much as Susan Grace does.

Me, well, I'm leaning towards sending him to a really good obedience school.

Boom

When Gracie was two years old I worked as a home health nurse. One day, I went to do some home health visits and when I came home Jim was playing "dog" with her. She would roll over, sit, shake and even fetch at his command, then he would give her a treat. I was horrified. What happened to teaching the ABC's to our little one? I should have known then that this puppy problem was not going to go away. Gracie grew to love animals but one in particular, the dog.

As long as I can remember, Gracie has wanted a dog. This year she turned thirteen. She's never had a yard to run and play in. She's changed schools four times in six years. The last change was to a school in which she couldn't speak the language. To make matters worse, she went from being a middle schooler to being in elementary school again. A huge blow that she seemed to take in stride. In fact, she's taken it all in stride and then some. She was elected to be the student body president of the Korean Elementary School in our town.
I decided if Gracie could do the impossible, then so could I. On September 23 we drove to Yangpyang and bought a German Shepherd puppy. We named him Kipboom (it means joy in Korean). We call him Boom for short.

North Korea

In September, Jim's good friend from high school visited us here in Korea. While he was here, they took a tour up to the North Korean border or the DMZ (demilitarized zone). Susan Grace tagged along with them.

Since we moved here in 2008 I have wondered about our enemy next door. There have been times when I have woken up during the night and looked out the window and thought, "how will I get out of here with my family if war breaks out?" It's a frightening thought.
When North Korea does something aggressive, my friends and family worry. The truth is, life in South Korea moves along at a pretty regular pace. The buses run, the schools are in session and little is mentioned about North Korea. I think I noticed more emotion over the standard of U.S. beef than I did over North Korea's nuclear weapons testing in May of 2009. My perception is that South Korea doesn't know anything different than an enemy next door. They live with it. They are sorry at times, but they live with it.
The father of my close friend escaped from North Korea during the war. He survived on a bag of rice that his mother gave to him. He hid along the roadside traveling to Seoul seeking refuge. Only two generations ago this peninsula was divided by war.

War is near and real to them, but I don't think the South Koreans live in fear. They are too hearty. They just live.