Asian Brush Painting - Class #7

This week's class took place on Halloween and I left Rocketman to man the door until his teleconference at 8:00 pm.  He only had two sets of trick or treaters so I have a lot of candy for our grandson, Noah.  This week's class was all about pumpkins and mushrooms.  Again, I begin by showing the talent of our amazing teacher.

                                                         How can this not make you smile!

                                                                           Cat and mouse.

 

                                                              And of course, pumpkins.

                  

 Now for mine!  I'm still working on loading the brush properly and I seem to have too much water  on the brush which is responsible for the puckering of the paper.

We also did some review.  Tomorrow I'm off to my daughter's house to babysit Ez for the day while his Daddy spends time volunteering at Noah's school.  We also have a going away dinner that same night for Rocketman's boss who has taken a new position at the company.  I'll be going from the west side of the Twin Cities to Hudson, WI before the night is over.  I'll be one tired girl when all is said and done.

Korean Bojagi Pouch

 I had my first bojagi class last Saturday at the Korean Heritage House. I had the BEST time and everyone went home with smiles.

 I got there early and had everything ready to go.  The toughest part of the class was choosing the fabric.  The fabrics are so vibrant and beautiful.  I had bought the satin from my Satin Guy in South Korea.

I also decided to conduct the class just like all the Korean classes I had taken in South Korea.  All my Korean classes consisted of three things: the craft, food (I brought cookies) and MUSIC!  I brought Rocketman's Bose IPod player and plugged in my IPod and picked my KPop Genre.  Everyone loved it.

I had extra kits and I have a bunch listed in my Etsy shop if you are interested.  They make amazing gifts. 

Asian Brush Stroke - Class #6

                This class was full of bamboo, koi fish, butterflies and dragonflies.  I was in heaven.

                     This was my teacher's demo and I was the lucky one to get to take it home!

                        Here are my koi fish with a few dragonflies.  They are a lot of fun to make.

                                                          My dragonflies and butterflies. 

We also reviewed bamboo again.  It was a first for the new students and a great review for the rest of us.

Rocketman raked leaves for the first time in a few years and he forgot how tiring it is.  I was so glad that he finished it up for me.  I was working on some deadlines and Christmas gifts.  At this time of year, I always wished that I had started the Christmas gifts a little soon. 

Asian Brush Painting - Class #6

                      Last week's class was all about grapes.  These were my teacher's samples.

                                                               Here are mine.

I never know when I see something that reminds me of my beloved South Korea.  Today it happened.  I was in a grocery store that I don't often shop at and I had just purchased some turkey from the deli. 

As I walked pass the sushi making guy (they seem to be in all my grocery stores), I noticed a South Korean flag pinned to his arm.  I stopped and noticed his name was Korean and stitched the Korean way with the last name first on his uniform.  I asked him if he was Korean and he sheepishly said that he was.

I went on to tell him that we had lived 3 years in South Korea and how much I miss and love Korea.  He was really taken aback and seemed stunned.  I asked him how long he had lived in the States and he replied, "10 years."  I asked him when the last time he had been back home and he said sadly, "2007."

I told him how much I missed Korea especially the food such as kimchi and how I missed all my Korean friends.  We continued talking for a few more minutes and he said that I was very unique to him.  He had not met an American who loved Korea so much.  I hope I made him feel more proud to be Korean and the next time someone asks if he is Korean, he will answer proudly, "Yes, I am!"

Our Son's First Home

Our son bought his first home this week and we spent Tuesday helping him move.  It's a beautiful home with wetlands behind it.  As we pulled up in the UHaul we saw tons of kids running around and having fun.

The home was owned by a retired couple who bought it in 2009 and put a lot of money into it.  Then this year the husband died and his wife decided to sell and move into a condo.  They had made so many improvements like new appliances, new roof and siding, water softner and new paint just to name a few.

                                                                           His backyard.

                                                                       The front entrance.

                                                                  Updated kitchen.

                                                     Living room in the upper level.

                                                                     Upstairs bathroom.

                                                  One of the two upper bedrooms.

                                                         It had a huge walk-in closet.

                                                 The family room in the lower level.

                                               There is also a bedroom on this level.

                                                     The lower bathroom with a jacuzzi.

The downstairs bedroom is HUGE!  Luke said that the space over the closets is where he is going to put his mounted record muskie.  I'm just so glad to see the muskie go.

Rocketman also took the day off.  As we approached Luke's apartment to start the move, we saw a pair of shoes outside the door.  He said that he always takes his shoes off and leaves them outside the apartment.  I never knew my son to be such a clean freak but that he is.

The best part of the day for me was a conversation I had with the widow and her daughter.  They told me that they hoped I would be very happy in the house.  I told them that I was Luke's mom.  They were shocked and said I didn't look that old.  I loved it, Luke, not so much.

He didn't have too much to move and it was all pretty light.  It was an amazing day to spend with our son and those days do not happen very often.

Help Nathan Kick Evans Syndromes Booty!

My daughter works with Nathan's mom, Erin, and she shared the struggle they have with their youngest son, Nathan.  At 11 months old, Nathan started showing some symptoms of a blood disorder, but was not fully diagnosed with Evans Syndrome until a year later. Evans Syndrome is a rare blood disorder that causes his body to attack his red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells.

At almost three years old Nathan has spent countless days in the hospital receiving blood transfusions and IV medications in the hopes that they will stabilize all three blood cell counts and keep him from becoming sick.

This translates into a roller-coaster ride his parents. A normal bump to the head for a toddler means an ER visit to be sure his counts are high enough to heal from it. A simple ear infection can last for weeks on end, even after ear tubes. Nathan’s immune system is suppressed by the medications he’s on, causing him to be susceptible to any and all illnesses that cross his path.

It is a TERRIFYING place to be in as a parent, to have a sick child, one whose illness isn’t always manifested in easily seen physical symptoms. To go to bed at night wondering what your child’s future holds, how long it will be. And to be buried under a mountain of medical bills with no end in sight. It’s enough to make anyone want to stay in bed curled up in the fetal position every day.

These are my daughter's words and she decided to do something about it.  She started a fundraiser.

I’m asking for your help. I know many of us out there are strapped financially, but even a $5 donation would go a long way. If enough people donate $5 or $10 we can reach our goal of $10,000 in a heartbeat. If you don’t have the money, then please donate your influence. Reblog this. Share the link to the external site with anyone and everyone. I truly believe that there is a lot of good in the world and I hope to continue to share that in ways like this.

Let's make a difference in their lives.  This is the link to donate.

Maedeup Monday!

Because it's been forever and because I received a wonderful email I decided it was time for a "Maedeup Monday!"  I've been spending my time preparing for my bojagi pouch class this Saturday at the Korean Heritage House in St. Paul.  I've got the kits all ready to go and am now just printing out the instructions.  The class is from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM.  I'd love to see you there.

But back to that email, I received a lovely email from Amanda who enjoyed my "Maedeup Monday's" while researching maedeup for a project she was working on.  She shared the maedeup pictures with me and you can see the results here.  All I can say is AMAZING and thank you so much Amanda for sharing it with me along with your kind words.

Halloween Crafting with Noah

Noah stayed overnight last weekend while Rocketman was in Asia and of course, he wanted to get out the polymer clay.  I was in a mini mood so I found some old bolts and used them as a base for some polymer clay ghosts.

                   Noah wanted to make a snowman and he made this all by himself.  We had a blast!

We met his mama and little brother, Ezra, at Donatelli's.  Rita even came out of the kitchen to give Ezra a squeeze.

They are having a pizza month with three very different kinds of pizza.  This is the Oktoberfest. This delicious pizza has a taste straight out of Germany. They take their thin 10” crust and layer it with slightly spicy horseradish mustard, thinly sliced Beer Brats, a handful of chopped white onions, sauerkraut and a mighty tasty smoked Gouda cheese.  I got it  without the onions and it was fantastic!!!

Rocketman landed yesterday from two and a half weeks in Asia.  As I was waiting for him near the International Exit, I spotted a Korean couple also waiting a few chairs down from mine.  Rocketman called as soon as he landed and I answered as I always answer him, "Yeobo sae yo."  I glanced up and the couple was leaning over staring at me.  It was so funny.

Then when Rocketman came through the doors, I greeted him Korean ajumma style with palms to his cheek with some more Korean.  I'm sure that Korean couple was wondering what was going on.

I had some trouble short term parking at the MSP.  They were flagging all the cars saying the lot was full and we would have to go to the other terminal which is the Humphrey terminal and far away.  The first set of guys I encountered I told them that my husband was landing in 15 minutes and coming from Japan and that he never is able to sleep on the plane and please oh please let me park in Short Term.

The first set waved me through and only me.  The second guy I can upon was NOT going to let me park so I gave him the whole spiel again.  By then I was really panicked and worried.  He finally let me through and I found a parking spot very close to the entrance and was very grateful.  I still don't know what is going on at the airport.

And The Winner Is....

                                    I had Noah pick the winner.  The suspense is killing me!

And the winner is LANA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Lana, please email me at beckymeverden at gmail.com with your address and I'll get this IPhone cover out to you right away.  Thank you all for playing!

Asian Brush Painting - Class #4

 

My teacher surprised us this week with some Halloween Sumi paintings.  I love this pumpkin!

 

This was our first project, chrysanthemums. 

                                    The second was mice!  They were so cute and fun!

                                                         Here are my chrysanthemums. 

        And my mice.  I think they look more like Hershey kisses with tails but they were fun to make.

Yesterday was a stressful day.  The sprinkler guy came out to blow out the sprinklers.  No big deal, right?  He knocked on the door and told me he was here to blow out the sprinklers and I went back to the kitchen.  All of the sudden I hear water and thought, "Wow, that's really loud."  We weren't here for the last blowout so I let it go for a minute.

Then it sounded like it was coming from the basement.  I ran down the stairs only to be sprayed with water coming from a pipe in the ceiling.  It went everywhere!  I ran upstairs and outside yelling at the guy who had phone buds in his ears and heard nothing.  I finally got to him and told him what was going on.  He turned off the blower and came inside to see what had happened.  He said that a pipe must have blown and I needed a plumber to fix it.  Sean, our kitchen contractor was on his way to I thought I would discuss it with him.

He went out to figure if he could blow out the sprinklers another way.  He came back a few minutes later to said that he was able to finish the blowout.  I returned to the basement to clean up the mess.  The water had hit a bookcase where I had all sorts of things like old photo albums and games.  It was a disaster area. 

Sean came and talked to the sprinkler guy but not before looking at his equipment and saw that he was blowing it out at 110 PSI and he should not have gone over 100 PSI.  He talked to the kid and told him so.  The kid finished and left.

I emailed the company complaining and got an email immediately telling me they would look into it.  Then a phone call saying that their plumber would call and fix the pipe.  The plumber called but he was a real jerk and now I haven't heard back from him.  It may be time to contact the sprinkler company again.

The photo albums that were damaged were the kind that have the sticky backs so I had to remove all the photos I could.  Some were really easy and some were a total loss.  These albums were from the 70's and early 80's before I knew NOT to use this type of album.  So I have a bunch of photos to organize and some were pretty funny.  I'll scan them and post later.

I saw that today Donatelli's was having meatloaf as a lunch special and I was all over it.  It was delicious!!!