My Memories: October 2011

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

The Seoul Zoo

After I hit 39 weeks of pregnancy, we started trying desperately (and without success) to get my body to go into labor. One of the funnest things we did was go to the zoo.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

In the beginning of my pregnancy, I was certain our baby would be a girl. I was so certain that I bought some "girl" fabrics to make a quilt. When I found out we were having a boy, I wondered what to do with the fabric. Gracie took the fabric to one of my friends to learn how to make a rag quilt. My friend added blues and stripes to the two fabrics and made the quilt boyish. Brilliant. Now the quilt is perfect for a baby brother.
Miriam liked the quilt so well that she wanted to learn how to make one. She decided that Daniel needed a similiar quilt. She made a cowboy quilt for him.

Awaiting the Baby

We spent most of the first weekend of October getting the house ready for our baby. We set up the crib, moved Daniel to a big bed, washed clothes, cleaned car seats and other baby equipment. The house now felt a little more full, but empty at the same time. We waited anxiously for our baby to arrive.

My Sugar Mold, Fall 2011

I got this antique sugar mold from Napa Style a few years ago. It makes flower arranging easy and fun.

Lemon Ice Cream

A few years ago, when we lived in Chicago, Jim gave me an ice cream maker for my birthday. We attempted, unsuccessfully, to make ice cream a few times. Soon thereafter we moved to Korea. I brought my ice cream maker with me but shoved it into a corner, resolving that if it was difficult to do in Chicago, it would be impossible here.
This summer, I noticed my ice cream maker sitting in the garage and I thought, "Why not try it again?". This time I read through the instruction manual and determined to take a scientific approach to our ice cream making. The first attempt of our ice cream making was for our Fourth of July party. It didn't turn out very good. I determined to try a few new recipes each Sunday during the summer months. A few more tries and our ice cream was delicious. Our favorite recipe is Lemon Ice Cream (a recipe Jim had growing up).

Lemon Ice Cream
6 quart freezer
5 1/2 C sugar
1 gallon whole milk
Heat milk until just bubbly, add sugar and dissolve over low heat.
Remove from heat. Add the juice of ten lemons.
Stir in one pint of whipping cream and 2 tablespoons of lemon extract.
Cool in refridgerator overnight.
Mix in ice cream freezer.

*This recipe actually makes two batches in our six quart machine.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Anna's Birthday

Anna's "lucky" birthday was planned to a tee: Everland, Hanbok, Chuseok. It was going to be perfect. Then, three days before her birthday, she came down with a fever. It was terrible. She felt aweful. The whole plan was foiled. On the morning of her birthday we drove into downtown Seoul and took some photos. She felt horrible and begged to go home. Sad. It turns out she had pneumonia. As my mom used to say, "...the best laid plans of mice and men".

Anna at Ten:
Anna's favorite color is red. But she says it will change soon to green.
Anna's favorite food is spaghetti.
Anna's favorite books are The Percy Jackson Series.
Anna loves music and doesn't have a favorite song because she "loves all songs." She just joined the church choir. It is one of her favorite activities during the week.
Anna's favorite movie is the Korean Series, Dae Jung Geum.
Anna's favorite pastimes are playing piano, reading, drawing, playing school with Margaret, and wrestling with James.
Anna is like sunshine. She is a sincere optimist. The other day she had to go somewhere she was just dreading. She muttered around the house for a while complaining about how horrible her day was going to be. Then she disappeared into the back room for a minute and came out with a big smile on her face. She said, "I've decided, I'm going to face this with a smile."

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Our Chuseok Girl

Anna's birthday this year fell on Chuseok Day. Chuseok is a special day in Korea when most people spend the morning with their families, honoring their ancestors. Many travel to the countryside where their relatives live. It is one of the only days of the year when Seoul is desolate, like a ghost town. We have made it a tradition to go to the amusement park, Everland on Chuseok. The weather is usually nice and there are few crowds, especially in the morning. Anna felt very fortunate that her birthday was going to fall on such a celebration and asked for one gift, a Hanbok. A few weeks before her birthday we went shopping for the special traditional Korean dress. I felt like she was trying on wedding dresses. She looked so lovely as she tried a few different colors and styles. The decision was difficult to make. It came down to a soft "blossom" pink and green dress or a more regal looking red and green dress that is the style of the time period of one of Anna's favorite Korean Heroines, Dae Jang Geum. She decided to get the "regal, Dae Jang Geum" dress and waited anxiously for her birthday and the chance to wear it to Everland....(to be continued).

Margaret's Hanbok

Chuseok holiday is a Korean harvest celebration when many wear the traditional dress or Hanbok. It is endearing to see the little children dressed in these colorful, fancy clothes. It seems there are no two alike. It is one of my favorite celebrations of the year.