Uneventful Weekends

Lately, we have been having uneventful weekends.  Somehow we’ve managed to keep ourselves busy enough to avoid posting on the blog.

 

Really, when I say the weekends have been uneventful, I mean U.N.E.V.E.N.T.F.U.L.!  We sleep late, eat decently, walk around, crochet, play games, do nothing.

 

The last couple of weeks have been somewhat interesting, though.  First of all, I got paid (cheers, anyone?).

 

Secondly, I bought an oven.  It’s a small convection oven.  The only thing is that it’s about twice as big as I thought it would be! (double cheers – pics to come later!)

 

Thirdly, I’ve become more comfortable shopping on Gmarket – the online store used widely in Korea to avoid sky-high prices on necessary items, especially in the baby and plus size categories.  I bought TheFry some leggings, which I’ve fallen in love with.  I intend to buy more when PapaFish will let me get away with it…

 

We had a game night with some friends from work over last week.  We ate chili.  It was awesome.  Then, over the weekend, we baked pumpkin pies and sold a few.  Want one?  Just drop us a line!

 

Finally, this last weekend we went to Songtan.  We went shopping at the Shinjang Shopping Mall, right outside of Osan Air Force Base.  Shinjang Shopping Mall is much like Itaewon except that there are much fewer people around on the weekend, and also most of the foreigners there are U.S. Air Force Personnel, rather than the extremely diverse mix of international people that reside and hang out in Itaewon.

 

I have found that Itaewon has cleaned up considerably in the five years since I was in Korea last, and some people have told me that the developments – such as the new sidewalks – are actually quite new (having been installed within the previous year).  Anyway, Itaewon is starting to look like what Shinjang has always looked like (at least according to my memory) from an architectural standpoint, at least.  Both Itaewon and Shinjang have significantly more storefronts than they did 5~7 years ago, and fewer random merchants.

 

Anyhow, after not having found the kind of winter blanket I wanted in Itaewon – most of the mink blankets I had seen there had sports teams or gaudy pictures on them – we headed out to Shinjang Mall in Songtan to find blankets and winter coats.   I found the shopping areas in Shinjang easier to navigate than those in Itaewon due to wider alleys and fewer people.  Since it was a Sunday, many stalls were also closed, but there were plenty of vendors still open and carts about, even in the blisteringly cold weather.

 

Also, we were on the hunt for a decent winter coat for PapaFish.  We ended up finding one with a multitude of pockets and a cuddly warm hood for 30,000 won.  Previously, I had bought my own winter coat for 15,000 won at a subway station.  I love the fact that we bought our two coats together for cheaper than I bought my own winter coat last year in Minnesota!

 

Next, we purchased a huge super-king size mink blanket in forest green for 41,000 won.  The blanket is very warm and toasty, and for once PapaFish and I aren’t fighting over and stealing the blanket from each other.

 

What’s next for us – who knows?!  Always there are adventures in the Fish Bowl!