Another Hanji Ladies Lunch

 Maybe I started a trend but Rocketman and I found ourselves this past Friday at one of my favorite hanji student's home for samgyetang (Korean chicken and ginseng soup).  It is a common meal during the Korean hot summer days.  This is a picture of our table without the rice which was also served with a piece of ginseng and jujubes.

 Our hostess was the one in the yellow apron.  She was so excited to have us at her home.  It really is a privilege to be welcomed into a Korean home.

 Here's everyone else waiting for the meal to start.  Hannah, my Korean hanji teacher's daughter was our interpreter along with Rocketman who's Korean is pretty good too.

As we finished up our lunch, they asked in Rocketman had eaten a chicken wing to which he answered that he had.  They all started saying "wow......" and laughing hysterically.  We were told that if a man eats a chicken wing, he will find a girlfriend because the chicken wing is the most delicious part of a chicken.  I even asked my Korean girlfriends about this and they knew about this belief.  It was too funny.

Our hostess is AMAZING when it comes to hanji.  I found out that she had been taking hanji only three years and two of those years she went very little because her husband had been so ill.  He had passed away last year.  This piece above is all done with hanji paper.  The flowers look like they were painted on but they were created by tearing hanji paper.

 She encouraged me to do some exploring with the rest of the girls.  This was her craftroom and I found a lot of hanji in it too.

 I thought this was too pretty to be in the corner of her craftroom.

 This real stuffed bird was given to her by a dear friend.  It is suppose to bring good luck and it was from China.

                  So much gorgeous hanji and to think she had only been taking lessons basically for a full year.

 Here is a second chest she had in her living room.  It was wooden and covered inside and out with hanji paper.

 She also showed me this contraption.  Can you guess what it is?  It's American counterpart is Maalox or Pepto-Bismo.  I had heard all about this years ago from my Korean girlfriends but they just carried needles.  This is for upset stomachs.  It's like a pen with a tiny needle in the end and when you have a stomach ache, you poke the outside of your thumb, below the cuticle.  If the blood is dark, you are very sick and if it is red then you should feel better by relieving the pressure in this way.  She gave one of the blue plastic needles to us to take home.  I don't think I'll be trying it anytime soon.

 The Japanese lady who was hugging Rocketman last week gave me these coin purses from Japan as a thank you for the food I had sent home with her.  They are so cute and cats are very popular in Japan.

                        Another lady gave everyone these strawberries.  Guess what they turn into?

A shopping bag.  They are so small, they are great to keep in your purse.

Rocketman jets off tomorrow for Taiwan for a few days, returning on Thursday.  I also have Hannah coming Wednesday for a sleepover.  We always have a great time.  Now if we could get the rain to stop here, life would be perfect.