A TALE OF FORTUNE

Sure - Layden and I go to the bowling alley - once or twice a month, at least.  They make great burgers there, and yummy french fries.  But do we BOWL there?  Not really.  Maybe once or twice a year.  So, why then, is Layden standing in the Pro Shop with a brand-new gleaming blue bowling ball with custom drilled holes (and a monogram, no less)?  Well...

...the story goes something like this.  I was invited to attend the Army Community Services birthday celebration which was being held at the bowling alley. When I realized (at the last minute) that it was open to the community, I called Layden to come join me there for lunch and birthday cake.  So he did.  We participated in several activities, one of which was filling out a survey.  After we did, we were told that we were now entered in the drawing for the prizes.  That was fine with us - we didn't even know what the prizes were, and didn't ask because we never win anything anyway.  Or so we thought.  Turns out that Layden (you remember Lucky Layden) won the Grand Prize, which was a brand new bowling ball!  We were so busy admiring it and wondering what to do with it that we almost missed out on the fact that I won Second Prize which was a brand-new pair of bowling shoes!  Between the two of us, we are a complete set.

Layden's new ball making it's way down the lane for the very first time.  He did not have to paw through the balls on the rack hoping to find one that was not too heavy-holes not too big or too small or too far apart - ouch! my thumb got stuck-guess this one will do. 

 

On the other hand, I did not have to try on 3 pairs of shoes to find ones that fit and then have to wonder who might have worn them before me... I think they are kind of cute, in a bowling shoe sort of way.  They are a little stiff, though, so I will need to break them in with more bowling...

...LOTS more bowling.  Scores weren't so great - the first game broke 150 - combined score for both of us! We figure half the score for the ball and half for the shoes.  As, always, we are better together.  So, if you call and we aren't home, we just might be at the bowling alley.  (We even have a locker - can you believe it?!)

CULTURAL HISTORY

This past weekend we visited cultural history site #128 - the Hoeamsa Temple site.  We didn't know anything about it but we had seen signs on the highway and we were curious, so we packed a lunch and off we went.  It was pretty interesting.  This was a large complex with several temples and lots of smaller buildings, and, from what we can understand, it was also an observatory. 

Apparently the original temple site was established by this guy, the great monk Muhak, in the early 1300's.  The docent at the site said he was "Jedi priest" and we did think he could be a cousin to Yoda. 

The complex was burned to the ground during one or another of the conflicts that have plagued Korea over the years.  All that is left of the original structure is the pagoda, the foundation, and remnants of a few walls.

I love how the walls are braced with logs.

What we didn't know was that up above these ruins was the secondary temple site.  It sits on a small plateau on the side of the mountain - had the day not been so hazy it would have been a spectacular view.  We learned that the practice of locating a temple site on a flat spot in what is otherwise very rugged terrain is know as Namhoerang.   This site has several small temples and shrines that have been well-maintained, and also has some really old relics.

Buddha shrine

Love these dragons, and of course the beautiful roof beams that are so elaborately and painstakingly painted.

Roof tiles with lotus flowers - very beautiful.

Layden, ancient stone turtle, and our very courteous and knowledgeable docent, Miss Yi.  In the background are two pagodas. These are regional tresures - we think #'s 50-52.  There are numbering systems in Korea for historical sites and for cultural treasures.  There are national sites and treasures, and also regional sites and treasures.  Our region is Gyeonggi-doh.

This stone lantern is set so that it frames the dragon on the pagoda behind it.  These make up national treasure #388. They are very old, dating from the early Joseon Dynasty, which began in the late 1300's. 

Because I am 'University teaching" we were allowed past the green fence and got to get a close-up look at the dragon.  Very fierce.

The terrain around the temple site - very steep, rocky, rugged, and covered with vegetation.

It was a dreadfully hot and humid day - the sort where in very short order you are soaked and dripping.  So, we decided to have our lunch by the stream, which was very pleasant, but not very much cooler. 

There were LOTS of these dragonflies around.  They fly past the apartment all the time, but here I finally got a picture of one.  They are big, and interesting in a buggy sort of way.

All in all, it was a GREAT day!

Let It Snow!

Christmas in August?

Not exactly.  This is my birthday present!  This snowy street scene looks just the way our neighborhood did last winter.  We saw this at a show of local artists and I really liked it.   The artist is Kim Hun Ja, a well-known regional painter.  She works with traditional materials and techniques, but applies them to contemporary landscapes.  The lovely traditonal scenes of Korea are beautiful, but this is the kind of landscape I see most often, so this painting is very evocative. It is made on rice paper with traditional inks.  It is a large painting - as wide as our loveseat.  Kind of makes us feel cool on a hot summer day...

Practical

During monsoon season in Korea, even if it isn't raining, one always carries an umbrella. 

You never know when it will come in handy!

THE B'S - FROM BASIC to BIZARRE

Basics

Here is a shelf in my refrigerator.  I took the picture because of the milk bottle.  These are fun milk bottles, and even more so because they are made to fit in a small round door on our apartment door, should we wish to order milk delivery.  After I took the picture I was surprised to see that all the other things on the shelf are Korean foods - jars of ginger and citrus teas, ingredients for kim-bap, and, of course, kim-chee.

Beautiful

This is the edge of the roof of a shrine beside a road in the middle of the city.  I love the curve and sweep of the roofline, the tiles, and the beautiful bright designs.  Such a refreshing sight in the midst of concrete and brick and busy.

Budgerigars

Also seen on the side of the road, a truck selling parakeets.  It is parked next to the curb in what is actually a lane of travel, and there were customers pulling over, including several making impulsive u-turns.  Wish I had gotten a better picture but we were headed in the opposite direction - there is never a stoplight when you want one!

Bizarre!

What ARE these?

A stack of dried fish on a hand truck at the local market.  Odd-looking, and maybe a little scary.  They remind me of the screaming eels in The Princess Bride. 

They don't look quite so eerie - or unhappy - in profile

Bridge

This is a lovely decorative emblem on a bridge over the highway in Seoul.  I like it because it is pretty, and also because when I see it I know I am almost halfway home.

Balloon(s)!

Such a nifty neat balloon thingee - looks like a giant molocule.  This was a fun addition to my birthday celebration - very festive!