Spring in Anjeong-ri

My apologies for not posting more regularly, but I have not done anything terribly exciting lately.  The colder weather has kept me from doing much.  It isn't the cold as much as it is how LONG it has been cold and the wind.  Winds here come out of Siberia, and they are colder than I have ever experienced.  It has warmed up now, and the cherry trees are in full bloom.

These trees are planted along the main road through town.  I walk under them daily.  It is starting to rain cherry blossom petals, so the blooms may not be around much longer. 

Everyone seems to be getting their gardens ready.  This ironing board was buried in the dirt and basically says keep out (zero persons less).  Gardens are literally wherever there is dirt available, so roadsides are usually off limits to a woman and her dogs!

I noticed this business today: Umi Feel Real Estate.  Umi Feel?  Another meaning lost in translation.

Han's Vill for Foreigners is my favorite name for an apartment complex.  If you are Korean, you need not apply, I guess.  Our community is called Ace Town.  It could say 'Ace Town for Foreigners' because most of us are.

I took this picture for my mother-in-law, Betty Billard.  It shows a happy couple knitting together while their kitty watches.  The gentleman is holding the yarn while the lady knits.  Above them reads 'Handmade yarn workshop'.  I cannot imagine very many Korean or American men holding yarn while their wives knit.  And my cats would have that yarn ball far across the room!

Tweek and Marie often impress folks when we are out and about.  We get stares and comments (which I cannot understand), and I take it as affirmations that my dogs are well behaved.  I have no idea what this sculpture is for.  It was in front of an apartment complex, and I thought it was pretty.

This kitty was NOT giving us positive affirmations as we walked by.  He is resting on top of vines and reminded me of how big cats sit on tree limbs.  I saw him run into the thicket; he is a bobtail.

I will close with this lovely tree.  Its branches are like a weeping willow's but are covered with white flowers.  I do not think it is a cherry tree, but I am not sure what it is.  It certainly is beautiful.  Thank God for spring!

The Garden of Morning Calm

Korea got the nickname 'Land of the Morning Calm' when the English translated the Chinese written name as morning calm.  The Garden of Morning Calm is just northeast of Seoul on Odoksan Mountain.  It is a botanical garden and is quite beautiful in the warmer months.  Korean filmmakers use its small church and grounds for romantic movie scenes.  The USO tour group had a bus from Camp Humphreys and a bus from Camp Kim (next door to Yongsan in Seoul).  The Garden is known for its lighting decorations in the winter time.  It is a garden for all seasons I am told, different at each change. 

 

We arrived when it was daylight.  The trails are all paved or packed dirt and gravel and were cleared of snow.  Trails that weren't cleared of snow were blocked off.  One trail was called 'Stairway to Heaven'.  It had lots of stairs but the highest parts were blocked.  It was not too crowded when we got there, but after night fell, people started showing up.  The lighted trees and plants, lighted tunnels and some angels, birds, animals were very pretty.

Bill is wearing his coat which means it was really cold.  The hat I wore is ugly but it is warm!  We did find a coffee shop in the park which gave us a nice break from the cold.

The bonsai garden was not as impressive as some we have seen, but the trees were still beautiful.

Then there is this sign.

Don't come in pease.  Just a lost in translation but some reason all I could think of were lines of peas not crossing the rope.  It seemed funny at the time.

After a 2 hour tour of the garden, we had dinner at a barbecue chicken place.  The couple we sat with were very interesting.  She is from Ukraine and a graduate student of international studies.  He is in the army and is the grandson of a very famous Filipino soldier who fought during the Japanese invasion.  He was imprisoned by the Japanese yet continued his fight for Philippine freedom.  His grandfather had a book written about him and his bravery.  We enjoyed talking with them.  We will return to The Garden of Morning Calm in the spring.

Another average day...

I have been in classes all this past week to prepare me for preparing tax returns for the soldiers and civilians who work at Camp Humphreys, so the dogs are feeling ignored.  Pepsi unfortunately is having a bout of her stomach issues.  She stayed home and rested while Tweek, Marie and I took a nearly two hour tour around town.

It is a beautiful, sunny day, but the temperatures could be warmer.  I suppose it was around 31F when we started and maybe got up to 35F while we were out.  Above is the Paengseong Public Welfare Center.  In the top picture, the name is in English under the Korean words on the left.  I suppose it serves the same purpose here as it would in the states.

 This wooded area is actually posted 'No Trespassing', but we walk sort of through it.  I used to let the girls off leash here, but they found way too many nasty things to eat, primarily cat poop, I think.

It isn't easy to see, but on the white sign is bacon, signaling that this restaurant serves pork.  Restaurants will have either a picture of the meat or or the animal whose meat they serve, so this place serves pork.

This restaurant serves fish.  That is a fish head on the left of the banner.

This little house serves a kimchee stew with pork or not.  All seating is on the floor, leave your shoes at the door, and you are fed until you are full at one price.  It is the best Korean food I have eaten thus far.  The kimchee is old (2-3 years) and delicious!

 Big K-mart in Korea?  Not really, but the Koreans are not hindered by copyright laws since they do not have any for foreign products unless a trading deal is made.  The grand opening of this store was this weekend.  I did not go inside, but it looked to be a grocery store and department store.

These types of flower arrangements appear at many store openings.  Bill and I both thought they were funeral flowers first time we saw them.

This is not a restaurant that serves goat:)  It is a feed and seed type shop.  Odd thing is I've never seen a goat in Korea.

This is a new park still under construction just down the street from our house.  It will have a couple of ponds and benches, nothing major, but very pretty.

Lots of churches are in our area.  I am not sure what denomination this was, but we have Episcopal, Catholic, Mormon, Methodist, Baptist.

It was clear enough today to see the mountains.

This is a black-billed magpie or black and white magpie depending on who you read.  The nest is the magpie's, I think.  I have enjoyed watching the birds in the area, but they can be hard to find.  Luckily I am getting better at finding them.