Noble's Birthday

Tuesday evening we celebrated Noble's twenty-sixth birthday. She fixed Bibimbap (Korean food) for her birthday dinner. Bibimbap is a bowl of rice, veggies and meat, topped with a fried egg, then red pepper paste is stirred in. Yummy!!! Korean meals are always served with several side dishes, Noble served Fresh Cabbage Kimchi, dried squid, and chopped and seasoned seaweed.

Bibimbap as served

With pepper paste (After I took this picture I added more red pepper paste) -- so delicious!

(L_R) Toasted Sesame Seeds, Red Pepper Paste, Cabbage Kimchi, Dried Squid, Seaweed

(L-R) Dandylion, TopDad, Noble and Mr. Movie

Photos of my loved ones!

Dandylion -- glasses are his fashion accessory!

The Birthday Girl - Noble

TopDad - The Provider and Protector of us all

Mr. Movie - caught smiling for once!

I did my usual sterling job of wrapping presents in brown paper bags:

Noble with Wolf Puzzle (purchased at a thrift store for 99 cents.)

Noble was delighted with two children's books by one of her favorite authors!

Purple canning jars! For use in the kitchen instead of plastic leftover containers.

We had cake later -- (actually I frosted the two pieces of cake I'd cut off to make the layers even and then cut that into five pieces for some "pre-cake" which made everyone so full no one was ready for cake until much later!)

While the boys did the dishes, Noble and I watched an episode of a Korean romantic comedy called Producers. The curtains behind the TV were open and we noticed the changing light as the sun went down. It was so beautiful we paused the show and went out to take pictures.

The very air glowed yellow!

I believe the air was yellow because of the dense moisture and the refraction of light. I've seen this phenomenon before, especially in Mount Vernon, Washington. It's magical as well as gorgeous!

More Highlights from Korea

Let's start with King Sejong, often called the DaVinci of the East for his many interests and achievements, including the invention of the Korean alphabet, called Hangul. 

Can you guess where we're going?

And here it is!

The temple itself was closed for routine maintenance, so we enjoyed the grounds which are lovely.

I call this the Dr. Suess tree!

Of course I have to have a picture with the lilacs!

 And look who we saw in Seoul:

Elder Law and Elder Ney with PFCMom

Apologies

I really want to finish my travelog, even if few are interested. I want enjoy the pictures and memories. Anyway, I keep getting sidetracked with lots of activities like high school graduation, and work around the house. Bear with me, I'll finish up soon.

The painting is done in the living room and I absolutely love the colors. Next step is getting the ghastly green carpet out and painting the floor. That's next week's project. I've got to hurry and finish so I can get outside and work in the yard. We've had lots of rain and everything, including the weeds, is growing a mile a minute.

Here's a flower I planted:

And some glorious clouds after a thundershower:

And another shot a few minutes later:

When I get the living room back completed and back together I'll take some photos and show you; then I'll get back to reporting about Korea. Occasionally out of the blue I have intense longings to return, I just love that land.

Meanwhile, back in Korea . . .

I looked at the dates on these photos and scratched my head trying to figure out how the first one is the 12th and the rest are the 13th. Duh, my camera was still on Iowa time so when it was noon in Korea, it was 10:00 PM in Iowa, hence at midnight Iowa time my camera turned over to the 13th. Okay, that discrepancy is explained.

We took an express (non-stop) bus into Seoul; this is a view of one, of dozens, of apartment complexes along the way. There were few stand alone buildings, generally they were clustered in groups of two to six, and generally thirty to forty stories high.

A picture for my boys who love their "Chucks". We found this store on our way to have lunch.

After lunch we took another subway to the area of town where an ancient palace is. The interior of the nearest subway station was built to look like an ancient fortress.

Inside this particular subway station were exhibits of artifacts or replicas, and art installations. This is a replica of the hemispherical sundial invented during the reign of King Sejong (b. 1397 d. 1450 r. 1418-1450).

This is one of the art exhibits. At first I thought it was artifacts from an ancient era, until I noticed the toilet and realized it was "installation art" of seats! Pretty funny.

We made it to Gyeongbok Palace just in time for the re-enactment of the changing of the guard. This was the first royal palace built by the Joseon Dynasty, three years after its founding. Built in 1395, Gyeongbokgung was located at the heart of the newly appointed capital of Seoul, then known as Hanyang, and represented the sovereignty of the Joseon Dynasty. It is the largest of the Five Grand Palaces, serving as the main palace of the Joseon Dynasty.

 This is the huge drum sounded at the end of the ceremony.

And our pictures with one of the Palace Guards.

The door (gate) into the inner courtyard.

The Throne in the main building.

Another view of the throne.

A gate between areas at the back of the palace yard.

The traditional dress, called a Hanbok. I love them for their beauty and gracefulness.

Fabulous brick work in the back wall.

Just inside the main door (see above) looking toward the main building where the throne is.

I've watched a few Korean Historical dramas so I could picture the courtyard full of soldiers and government ministers, retainers and scholars. It is a fascinating land and country. I was so happy to see it is person. Now I have to find a good book of history to satisfy my thirst and hunger for more understanding.

Five Modes of Transportation Needed to get to Noble's dorm in Korea!

That's right. We were driven in a private car to the airport; flew from Tokyo to Inchon; rode an express train from Inchon to Seoul; took three different Subway trains to a bus station somewhere in Seoul (don't ask me, I was totally lost the whole time I was there!); then took an express bus from Seoul to the city surrounding the Air Force base; took a taxi from the bus station to the main gate of the base, walked through security at the gate; then took another taxi from the gate to the dormitory building where Noble lives. Whew! All the while toting two suitcase, one large and one small, fortunately both are wheelies. I can understand why frequent travelers pack light, very light.

Anyway, a few photos on our way to the airport. First, a view of the narrow streets.

Pardon my "smart" camera which kept focusing on the rain splattered window, instead of seeing through the window to the bridge and river. (I dislike "smart" appliances of any kind, I prefer to think for myself, thank you very much.)

I think this is my one and only view of bamboo growing. Those tall feathery looking things, mostly in the lower right.

Upon arriving at Noble's we were so tired that we just sort of collapsed for a short while before venturing out to the store to buy food for Sunday and Monday morning. I was surprised at how cold, overcast and rainy it was. Just the week before my trip Noble assured me that it was warm and wonderful. How quickly the weather can change. 

Sunday we relaxed; there was no scheduled church as this was deemed General Conference weekend. (Because of the time difference watching Conference live is unreasonable.) So we watched a session, and enjoyed letting our feet rest. Noble had plenty of outing planned for us to we discussed them and made our final plans.