eyeSage

2012-01-24T05:13:00.001-08:00

2012-01-24T04:47:00.000-08:00

Kitchen Reno

2012-01-21T17:37:00.000-08:00

We don't have the before picture but it was pretty cheap cabinets and flat white doors. We removed the original upper cabinets and painted the wall, put in the blue tile and timber shelf, and installed the door and drawer faces made at the shop. This repeat customer was very pleased, and the space is more open and welcoming.

AD/LCH VW EU 77

2012-01-07T16:42:00.002-08:00

photos from the vault- 2003-2005

2012-01-01T02:54:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year 2012

2011-12-31T20:20:00.000-08:00

2011-12-26T05:28:00.002-08:00

white Christmas ..eve... morning

2011-12-23T21:45:00.002-08:00

It has melted a bit. Hopefully some will remain for xmas day. It's great to live in the country, minutes from the city. How people survive apartment city life, I'll never understand.

2011-12-23T21:43:00.000-08:00

first snow dog walk

2011-12-23T21:29:00.001-08:00

The Samoyed is a rescue dog.

We have friends. They have Somoyeds. Between the two couples there were five Samoyeds. Now there are two. Perhaps they tend to run away, like Siberian huskies. A Samoyed appeared in our village, our village 'older sister' was given one b her brother, passed on to him by someone who couldn't care for him. We relayed the discovery and it turns out it is one which visited our house last year as a pup ( below). So we will bring him back to the friends who love Samoyeds.

It is a bit strange as distinct purebreds are not common, especially when pups like him may fetch up to 1k or much more, they are listed as some of the most expensive pups available here and in America.

2011-12-15T16:14:00.000-08:00

2011-12-15T05:40:00.000-08:00

2011-12-09T19:53:00.001-08:00

One fall day in November methinks , we visited Jiri mountain park with our painter friend Jeong-ju ( in blue shirt). We visited his hometown of Namwon and the theme park a few posts ago with his school chum and also graduate of Yeonmi's art school, her ' senior' in Korean speak. He is pictured at his exhibition in bottom photo. He provided us with these images. He does ceramic and lacquerware these days.
With us is Hae-jong 'onni'- a lovely dame- a Le Marais fan , frequent visiting coffee club friend and recently customer.

recent work

2011-12-03T23:53:00.000-08:00

As you can see from the two collages most of Le Marais recent work is recycled wood furniture. Maybe half or more of new orders are for our vintage style pieces. Sourcing the wood for these keeps us busy as well. I'm trying to make stuff using up all the wood I've collected over the past two years, as well as unfinished pieces, doors, drawers made for other things. So much wood in stock. So much space in display shop. You can also see above bottom corner , a steel table with used wood top. I've welded three tables now, this is the only one with grinded steel color, the others were painted matte black. I hope to do more welding, one table a week and my skills are getting better...

...

2011-12-03T23:32:00.002-08:00

Sunday again and a few moments to blog.

A couple of sad links to share. Greed of the 1% and global inequity ; the slashing of the global fund for Aids/HIV. An excerpt and the link:

Do they regard Africa as a territorial piece of geographic obsolescence? Do they regard Africans themselves as casually expendable? Is it because the women and children of Africa are not comparable in the eyes of western governments to the women and children of Europe and North America? Is it because Africans are black and unacknowledged racism is at play? Is it because a fighter jet is worth so much more than human lives? Is it because defense budgets are more worthy of protection in an economic downturn than millions of human beings?

And from Korea, presidential bulldozing or democratic tyranny..:

The Four Rivers project is far from its original goal of developing the regional economy and the rivers into a nature-friendly zone. Instead, it has produced environmental degradation and cultural and ecological destruction, while channeling super profits to the big construction companies.

Kim Sung Soo

2011-11-22T05:13:00.003-08:00

I visited my friend, CBNU graduate student Kim Sung Soo at his first solo exhibit this afternoon. I pass the spacious gallery and art-space daily on the way to the shop and finally stopped in for a show. I took a few snaps amidst our lovely talk. I just want to share a few thoughts about his work.

His last show featured the bear sculpture seen at this link ,and his first in series the cat ( Moonbug). What struck me then about the work, especially the bear was the presence, the material and narrative.

When approaching Bandalgom Village and George's Island ( the tortoise), the creatures have this large mammalian form which is inviting. I want to hug the over-sized teddy bear and pat the head of the tortoise which is at belly height- like a pony or massive dog coming in for a rub from the human. The treatment of the animals are cartoonish, light and fluffy in comical or animation style. However , two features distinguish these challenging works from pointless kitsch representation.

What renders the seemingly cuddly animal forms into his genuine interpretations of the natural world, are the the material use, and what I realized today, the treatment of the eyes.

Normally steel sculptures are cold and uninviting physically. Steel or metal artisitic creations look heavy and permanent, destined to be cast in cement in parks: immovable masses that won't be harmed when you bump into them. Like busts and statues of stone or bronze which speak of permanence , hopeful heroism, and supposed immortality, steel sculptures say more about the egos and aspirations of their creators than provoke genuine introspection on form or function. Sungsoo's whimsical creatures lend none of this to their weight and mass. On the contrary, they look light and fluffy, especially with the energetic colors of the recent pieces. It is the method of using steel , meticulously welding irregular squares into organic forms which take away the impersonal sense of the ironwork. Furthermore, the gestures, faces and form of the animals are both gentle and unprovoking, raising the comfort level of the viewer dramatically.

The eyes of his great beasts are but slits; small holes which don't distinguish the creature much more than giving credo to the familiar form of a visage. This subtle detail is what separates his animals from every day teddy bear stuffed animal images which all have over-sized, over dramatized facial expressions and friendly eyes. The animal world doesn't use eyesight the way humans do, yet we inflict our species' bias on the language of sight and visual communication, expecting animals to react the same way. When visiting animals in a zoo, people will be less enthralled with impassive creatures than those ( like our domesticated house pets who read our eyes for information, attuned to our communication methods) who may gaze at them and have eye contact even fleetingly. Sungsoo's animals retain their charm without falling into the trap of cliche misrepresentations of nature.

Some of the forms tell stories as well, with village scenes in the bellies of the beasts. I'll let viewers interpret those for themselves. Successful art provokes both emotion and thought, two distinguishing features which Sungsoo has very well achieved here.

The material and the method used to form the sculptures offer much potential in this series of work. The use of color or not, the wide array of possible - and possibly eccentric- animal choices ( already used Galapagos tortoises and armadillos), the inclusion of lights, variety of sizes and postures all offer infinite possibilities for this promising young artist. I'm excited and look forward to see what he creates next. With patience of course, these are quite labor intensive works.

2011-11-20T00:50:00.002-08:00

No news is good news I guess. No changes in our lives to report. After our simmer trip to Canada , we decided conclusively to put into motion the (re)patriation process. First thing to do is sell the house and the store and they were listed back in September.

Well, nothing has really progressed since then. We still work too hard every day at the busy , popular and stable Le Marais. We are grateful for the success there. We love the work and being creative, making stuff which sells and pleases our patrons. There is always work to do , countless projects on the go, and usually 3-4 weeks of orders to fill. We even have a helper putting in 2 or 3 days per week of sanding, moving and whatever. The 60-70 hrs on our feet leaves us quite pooped only to barely recover on Sundays. Once again, this is the same routine endured for some 24 months now.

No interest to buy or lease the store, there have been only 2-3 inquiries in 3 months. The house sees a few more visitors and many drive- bys, but the market is to blame. And winter is encroaching so there won't be much action home-wise as Koreans don't buy, sell or move over winter. Consumers believe the housing market is over-inflated ( which it is). Housing costs have soared over the last year so people are staying put, waiting for all to flatten out and stay in the same rental /ownership contracts they possess. Nobody is moving, furniture sales are slow , even moving trucks are rarely seen. So, we are here for the winter surely.

In terms of new customers for us, we are way down. Luckily, we are supported by patrons- like real artists should be. We have quite a few repeat clients and referrals.

The store is vexing..it's good to have a job but we can't make any changes in our lives when we are bound to the business. It's time for an action plan or lack of action back up plan. It would be a shame to just withdraw and close without cashing out.

WINTER is coming ,we think. Today was the first sign- it reached only about 7'C. Otherwise it has been fantastic and over 20' in the daytime last Thurs/Fri. We had a lovely hike with dogs in the valleys and hills around the village today. enjoying the fall colors contrast with the deep blue sky. I just picked all the tomatoes of my vines , about 5 pounds of green globes whose fate is uncertain with tonights freezing temperatures. They will ripen slowly, I'm sure. I'm always amazed when the tomatoes fruit for such a long time. There is still some lettuce and greens in the ground and the locals are just harvesting and preparing the winter cabbage kimchi.

The fire has been crackling all day to Sweety's content. She absolutely loves the warmth of the hearth and spreads herself all over the floor. Sweety is such a daily delight and absolutely the best cat I've ever known and will be impossible to seperate from. She loves boxes and bags and such as cats so and so I sewed her a blanket cushion box bed thingy today for luxuriating by the stove. Yeonmi has been cozy in the wing chair next to these, enjoying her new tablet pad computer. We decided on the Asus Transformer which has a real keypad to dock with , and a few more programs and functions than the Galaxy or Ipad tablets.

The last two weeks have been blue for me, with aggravating neck trouble again. I went through two rounds of intense pain and stiffness. It is going on 10 years since the onset of these reoccurring difficulties. I am determined to get to the bottom of it. Whether I work at the computer or in labor of sorts I will be plagued , so I have to deal with it. I'm looking for a diagnosis but still haven't got one. I visited the orthopedic specialist recently and the good news was he didn't seem concerned about disk or vertebrae damage due to the lack of telling symptoms from my history and his tests. Unfortunately, he just prescribed more hard drugs (yay!) and said if I want to get x-rays or mri done in a couple months after the prescribed medication period, he'll entertain it.

I've started more aggressive acupuncture treatment at a university hospital near the store. The doctor treating me is well- known and was recommended to me by a friend who averted surgery ( from the western medicine hospital) with his treatment and has not had any relapse in the years since. Thanks to the successful treatment of my tendinitis when I arrived in Korea by acupuncture and oriental medicine, I'm ready to embark on his treatment. He thinks it will be 2 months of 2 or 3 day per week visits.

His methods I say are aggressive because unlike the numerous local neighborhood private clinics who merely give gentle treatments , not cures so they don't lose their customers, this teaching hospital is after cures in the name of scientific research. I've gotten dozens of needles a the same time , going right for the tendons and ligaments motoring my shoulders and neck. When applid exactly at the center of the inflamed tissue, muscles grab the needle and spasm a bit and don't let go of then needle for 5-7 minutes until the tension is reduced. The difference in tension after a session is remarkable. As things loosen up, different levels of tension , strain and pain emerge or reveal themselves .

The hospital is big and quiet- the treatment is double the cost of other clinics. Which is still dirt cheap thanks to Korea's outstanding health care system, and I'm glad to pay for tranquility and quick treatment. I know we have a long way to go. Once I'm pain free , I'm going to pursue physio therapy and strength training to build up some muscle to to help alleviate the stress.

2011-11-06T02:11:00.000-08:00

2011-11-06T02:07:00.000-08:00

We visited this theme park tourist trap two weekends ago. This is a famous park in Namwon, which is an ode to a Korean folk romance tale . The park sets the scene for a famous work of literature.

2011-11-06T01:52:00.000-07:00

Near Songwang-sa, on the morning ride. About 3 times weekly, I've been out for rides around my neck of the woods, from east Jeonju towatds Soyang. I take 12-25 km trips choosing quieter roads. Some mornings are quite crisp, but the bright fresh light is empowering while the farm fresh air is heavy and ofal , er. awful. There are a number of livestock factories which are more noticeable when not in a car and contrast sharply with otherwise lovely fall morning air.

The best route takes me on a small climb past an army station, the temple and boy scout camp. Time permitting, maybe once weekly, I tackle the road towards O's gallery cafe and up to Weebong mountain fortress.

Mt Weebong is about 17oo' tall and the road winds up to the ridge pass at 1200'. here , the impressive fortress wall crawls along for some 4-5 km.

I've hiked it a couple times, and while plundering Reishi mushrooms, I found a cannonball. I never consulted the Archeology dept at the uni for fear of losing my souvenir. It looks pretty old, but then again everything in Korea does. Turning over 1000 yr old artifacts is a big deal in America but kind of ordinary here. The grind up to the pass is slow and steady and counts as 300m gain on the ride.

The return slope from the mini- great wall is quite fun and fuels an adrenaline rush for the 12k back home from there.

shops n such

2011-11-06T01:22:00.001-07:00

2011-09-25T04:55:00.002-07:00

TAIWAN

MANITOBA

CALGARY

EDMONTON

Bijoux 비쥬

2011-09-25T04:54:00.000-07:00

2011-09-25T03:51:00.000-07:00

2011-09-25T03:00:00.000-07:00

recent work

2011-09-23T15:52:00.000-07:00

lost in a haze of soft middle age

2011-07-26T16:12:00.002-07:00

A couple years ago, a university student of mine ventured that middle age starts at 35 to which I strongly rebuffed. At forty now, I can gracefully accept the reality of its onset. My body tells me how it has aged daily, but my face and attitude still deny the fact.

I want to thank all for the great messages, gifts and well wishes. Yeon-mi prepared an outstanding meal and party for me on Sunday. We had a dozen or so who ate and drank well.
On Monday, I returned to find mom and sister -in -law and nephew, cleaning the house and preparing a surprise dinner party. Again we ate well and joked hard.

On the day proper , we ended up working very long and hard. It wasn't meant to be that way but this is what we produced:

The Kids Liebe kindergarten owner has been our patron for while now, we made quite a few things ( major pieces) for her home and she approached us to overhaul this play place and main floor room.

The job included a major reno of the room behind the tree wall ( which I bid really high as to not do it) and so a reduction of the play fort. I started on Monday rebuilding the fort, and we started on the stairs, tree, animals etc a week ahead. We thought we would install after my b-day , but the momentum was there, and we pressed on to the 26 th and through the day. I didn't check the clock very much but it was suddenly 6pm and we were actually pretty much done. We left there at 7 and spent nearly an hour in the shop catching up on calls and messages ignored all day.

So it was very intense ( as the owner called my working style) but now it's finished. I had loaded my mp3 device with all- time favorites and I sustained the energy which Toots and the Maytals gave me in the morning. Yeonmi told the owner that my 40th will always be memorable for the beautiful decoration we made for the kids. All for the children- I can hear Whitney Houston singing now....

The job was accelerated by the proximity of the shop to the Kindergarten and only making one trip to rip pieces of various sizes to match the existing play structure ( which is no doubt from an imported European kit- the wood sizes and pieces were all irregular from available wood supply). My stock of lumber is quite extensive and it really makes things progress smoothly.

In the end, I refused a third dinner party from fatigue, knowing full well the extent of the leftovers at home. Lots of great gifts were received and I feel blessed by my family, friends and extended entourage. I am confident and comfortable moving into my fifth decade. Actually, having put it that way , it's not such an attractive proposition.

2011-07-18T05:48:00.002-07:00

I went for a hike to a nearby mountain, behind Songgwang temple, ten minutes from the house.
The lotus ponds are all in bloom so I took a few frames. The images of temples and lotus flowers are ubiquitous in Korea, so I don't try and invest too much effort in taking the picture that's been captured umpteen million times.

The hike was lovely, no one around on a well worn trail. I picked the first reishi ( gano) mushroom of the year- a couple weeks early from the heavy rain and warm temps- and have since found some nice ones, so I will see if I can get them to market if the price is right. The amount of time I spend in the hills off regular trails, I should be harvesting pine mushrooms and wild ginseng, but still haven't learned to identify those. A single ginseng root can be worth hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars.

The trail choice was foolish though. No streams to cross, just a vertical ridge trail which means I have to carry water for the pups. I can easily go 2-3 hours without hydration, but in this heat , Blue lasts 2-3 minutes. This means I carry 2-3 liters for the girls. Sari doesn't need that much and prefers to burrow herself into moist humus to cool off whereas Blue gulps a liter at a time.

The picture below was taken from the mountain which the house faces northwards. So here, looking south and west to Jeonju's edge the highest peak is Moak mountain on the south side of town. At three 9 o'clock in the frame is our house and village, to the left of the church spire that is just above the ridge in the foreground. Beyond our village and below the power line towers you can see the new freeway and tunnel entrance. The power lines and tunnel would be 90' hike from my door.
And finally, last Sunday was the wettest of the year. Inches and inches fell and flooding was widespread< but not severe. The manhole at the corner of the house can only take so much, so it flowed over the lawn. A lot of that is from our roof and gutters but most from granny's plot on the slope above us. A fair amount of silt comes with it.

Baekryon temple

2011-07-09T16:30:00.007-07:00

As I set off from Gongdok village on a bright morning in July, I utter expressions of nervousness to my spouse before taking a parting embrace. The anxiety arises due to language skills, cultural differences, modest knowledge of protocol and perhaps what fear of what I might discover on this simple journey. I'm going to a Korean Buddhist temple, named Baekryeon-sa nestled within Dogyu Mountain National Park.

The drive east from Jeonju is brilliant. Despite the haze , I feel immersed in the verdant carpeted slopes which swell and settle as I cruise along the elevated express toll way, sometimes piercing the mountain masses by the frequent tunnels. My guide and chaperone is in front of me. I elected to bring my own vehicle to ease the return trip, and semi- consciously facilitating the comfort of an easy escape. The temple is located 6 km from the park gate , main parking area ,and the tourist ghetto and its amenities. The gently sloping roadway is partly paved making it an attractive cycle route and easy walking track. Closer to the temple the drive narrows to a car width cement road hanging on to the river bank next a vigorous rush of seasonal water.

The rainy season arrived over a week ago and water is everywhere: trickles and puddles, mist and streams. The air is heavy and humid and the smell of vegetative growth is abundant. Sunlight eaters eek out existence, emerging from every pavement crack, reaching for the sky. Vines crawl across roads and spiral up every pole, fence or tree trunk.

As I drive , I can already anticipate the peaceful traquility. We cruise along below the speed limit and I struggle to deny and phase out my daily temptations: keep the radio off; make cancellation calls; no Internet; no Tour de France results. I let go of my worldly worries, the work projects, money matters ...

I'm going in search of peace, to reclaim some spiritual ground- not in any religious sense- and to look for answers to pressing personal questions. Or rather, let them arise. My mind is active and I look forward to narrowing down the range of thoughts and concerns.

Despite personally being mostly anti-religious, my interest and comfort with Buddhism comes from one of its chief practices: meditation. Sometimes known as the Science of the Mind or The Middle Way, Buddhism is a tolerant and accepting faith. My stay requires me to attend twice daily ceremonies and at least on group meal, but otherwise, my unofficial TempleStay is totally unorganized and allows me total freedom.

I've spent three two- week retreats at temples in Asia and frequented another English -friendly temple during my first two years in Korea. These experiences strengthened my meditative foundation and rekindled practice. Will I be able to retrieve this knowledge and preserve it afterwards? As I approach 40 years and undeniable middle age, I find myself on the verge of yet another major transition but also out of balance and unable to answer and nagging questions or make much needed decisions.

Once at the quiet temple, I try to be mindful and respectful of habits. I put on socks, vaguely reminiscing some faux- pas regarding bare feet. The others wear socks so it won't hurt to put on a pair. The others comprise of two women, and there are apparently two monks but one is away this week. So besides the tourist hikers passing through, there are four of us on the temple grounds.

My host is adorable and elegant. The sister-in-law of one of our shop patron/ friends, she volunteers her time here, returning to the city for family duties and other essential affairs. She is patient with me, repeating when necessary and understands my barely distinguishable Korean phrases. I understand maybe half of the words in her communication which is plenty enough. Thankfully she is articulate, so her messages are understood and acknowledged. So far, so good.

We chat, I'm explained the schedule and expectations- which are so few. She knows I'm trying to have a cleansing mini fast this week, so she knows I only want to come for one meal. Knowing some of my poor habits, she tells me, " There are no snacks here but we are making some fresh rice cake" of which I get to find outside my door later.

When I listen closely and study idiomatic expressions , I get to feel the poetry and rhetoric of Korean language.

The roar of waterfall is a constant. Bird calls can be overheard. Besides these things nothing is happening. Total tranquility.

After remarking this, my hostess says in plain Korean, " water song, bird song". And it's much more appropriate than the English water fall or bird call which imply noise. Upon this reflection, I realize that everything can be perceived differently and that's part of why I'm here: to remember how to let go of pre-conceived perceptions and interpret events in positive or, nominally, neutral ways.

It's the height of summer now and entomological wonders abound around my head and all over; I have to remember not to torture or murder any of them lest they be the temple founding monk's latest incarnation.

THe temple was founded in the late 7th century during the Shilla dynasty, the flowering age of Korean Buddhism. Stuppas adorn the site and surroundings,with a massive altar some 50m up the mountain from the temple site. There are 11 buildings now all constructed in the 1960s since the original structures were razed during the war. Some park signs and toilets exist but the amount of development doesn't quite match the amount of human traffic.

After a light lunch with delicious bean paste, greens and wild mountain plants, I summon up the courage to take an exploratory walk, or face/ embrace the meditation I came for.

From the temple, it's an arduous 90 minute trek up to the summit of Mount Deogyou. Listed at 2.5 km of distance the elevation gain is 700m from the temple which rests at a cool 900m above sea level. There are many rugged staircases to minimize the impact from the countless visitors. On the way up , I am mostly alone, only greeting a few fit hikers. I pause not out of poor fitness but to take in the trees and birds.

On the summit, I take in the spectacular view and the surrounding peaks, taking inventory and setting goals as mountaineers always do. I can see the other peaks of this mountain, including the one I came to on my first week in Korea. I can see the top of the gondola lift from the ski resort, only half a kilometer away. This explains the elderly nearby taking many photos. I took the lift in the winter but saw nothing from the white conditions on that day.

Back at the temple with aching knees, the suns rays move higher up the opposing slopes as the shadows grow deeper. Besides ubiquitous Korean power lines, nothing else disturbs the perfect view of nature. I have the blissful exhaustion of fatigue from the cardio exercise. Wagtails bob around the steam and doves and crows make their last rounds of the fading day.

The caretaker ladies announce to me that they're off and returning. But further details are not necessary. I assured them that I am ultimately content and require nothing. Suddenly I am alone. THe monk is no doubt in his quarters some 100m away. I haven't been this isolated in ages. It's difficult to be isolated in Asia. Some occasional camps have been far removed but I haven't bee out solo for eons. It has been seven years since I was this isolated, on the slopes on New Zealand's Mount Taranaki during winter at a similar altitude.

A temple to myself.

Clay roof tiles and timber posts seep into my consciousness as I prepare for an early evening. I set my own alarm and mentally prepare myself for the 330 am rise for the 4 o'clock ceremony. The sunrise and dawn will make it all worthwhile, granting that the rain continues to hold off. I do the math and calculate an early sleep time. Will I be able to make it through the morrow without a nap?

The morning comes and I'm awake and alert for the ceremony to which no one attended but me and the presiding monk. I see from the absence of other cars that they didn't return for the evening. I know when to bow by the falling clack to the Mok-tak, a wooden bell. I don't know what to , or if I should chant or say anything . The monk rings the bell inside the main hall, a 1m bronze casting. Its reverberations fill the room and vibrate the souls which surround it. I drift in and out of meditative/ sleep/trance state for almost two hours. This monk is very serious and determined, never had I witnessed that length of ritual without any special cause.

The dawn brings clouds and after futile resistance I end up napping by 8am. It is short-lived as dreams of flooding waters outside my room rouse me into avoiding the stressful sleep. The second caretaker had returned and I lunch with her. I assure her that I'm not hungry and that I'm perfectly content. Besides standard dining remarks and compliments, not much more is said for the rest of the day. I drift in and out of worldly concerns and am absorbed by the power and beauty of the forest and mountain serenity.

The ancient temple continues to be all mine. Contact is minimal. I wander around and meditate and absorb the isolation of the 1400 yr old site. I opt to take the river/ creek trail towards a cave as another trip to the peak would be both wet and too much for my knees. Yesterday's strain and the increasing amount of sitting cross- legged is taking its toll.

The walk is outstanding. Never have I seen such mature, rugged virgin forest in Korea. Fir, spruce, birch and other hardwood trunks are some awesome two feet or more at their bases. Again, I take my time on this rainforest walk, inventorying species, observing relationships, growth patterns.

I cover the 2.5 km trek in a slow 90 minutes. I come to a wild hog and her young at right angles. The300 pound sow is visibly upset and stands head on to me as the tiny tan and furry piglets scurry out and away from me , some 20 ft away. I challenge her vocally, asserting my ground. Both in shock and surprise , I remember to practice mindful speech by omitting cuss words, speaking positively and and complimenting her, while being loud. I announce my further presence at other narrowing parts of the trail. The signs of the pigs' presence are ongoing. Moments later I see the hind of a tiny water deer jolt into the bush as I turn around. Whom else is out there? I often feel spirits are present when walking in ancient populated places.

At the cave , I discover its namesake lived there in the 16th century. Searching for enlightenment in sense restricting caves is a popular Asian tradition. I imagine what kind of existence was possible. There , at 1300m there is little to forage for the vegetarian monk. Much time would have to be spent on collecting foodstuffs as daily alms being brought 90' from the temple seems unlikely. On the return walk , I notice rows of retaining stones forming small terraces indicating past cultivation.

The following day passes in a similar fashion, but with more rain. At lunch, my host returns with one son teenage son and a couple other folks. We are seven for lunch and again it is amazing. Temple food is generally always vegetarian, highly nutritious and wholesome. They stress the use of organics and medicinal foods, and traditional methods and care is observed for the preparation. Both the preparation and consumption are meditative rituals which remind us of the curative powers of food, the efforts required to collect it, and they great fortune we have in benefiting from it.

In the end, I opt to return to the city a bit sooner than I hoped. I achieved what I came for, and made solid headway into making decisions and conclusions. I feel relaxed and purified. I realize that the benefits of a longer stay of only one night are negligible and I should press forward with my new resolutions. Also, I feel somewhat jet-lagged from the early mornings and use that as an excuse. During a late afternoon tea, we have a nice talk and vow to return. I summoed up a fair amount of Korean speech from the depths of my mind and supplemented it with English. My dear host surprised me with repeating phrases and complete sentences of English of her own. She was having me on all these months. Many Koreans know much more English than they let on.

Only a three day escape, but it made a world of difference. Now, as always, the key is what am I going to do with it?

2011-06-15T14:54:00.002-07:00

Update!

My hand is fine.

I took it easy on Monday maybe only 6-7 hours of work without swelling or pain- thanks to medication. Le MArais is busy this week so I've risen early and put in big long days Tues and Wed and all seems fine with hand just a modest bit of tenderness at the knuckle itself, so not to worry.

One of Jeonju's wealthiest, returned to our shop on the weekend and ordered tables for the golf resort they own near Muju. But the order had to be done in a week, so we've put otheres aside for a few days. Included in the order is the largest table I've made so far, or widest at least 6' x 5' Italian glazed tile coffee table. We had to drive up to Nonsan ( 1hr north) to visit a tile shop to ask for help hunting down discontinued and very pricy tile. We contracted out one of our carpenter allies here in Jeonju to custom turn some big wide legs. the assembly will continue today. The table will take 3 or four to carry so I don't know about the Sunday delivery...

This lady came into our shop last year to buy a tile table I made very early on, maybe the 3rd item produced for the shop. We used red, green and yellow 18" tiles we were given from an interior company. She bought it impulsively for her office, our customers never cash n carry. So she has more money than time. So Yeonmi asked about this lady to our friends and neighbors after she prepaid this order, and all the long- time Jeonju people know this family is crazy rich. Oh well. it's better not knowing. But in the lounge of the Country Club, le Marais's work will have some good exposure.

Kitty bulletin.
Sweety is just fantastic. It is so exciting to come home to her. her personality is among the best of all the cats I've known, so she is really a delight.
She hadn't been upstairs in the 4 days after coming here, so I carried her up. Then she wouldn't descend the ladder staircase, so I put a can of seafood treats on the mid step. Still, she didn't descend so I lifted her down 3 notches, yet 3 steps away from the treat and she cautiously inched down. Then I put the can on the floor and she made it to the bottom. For the rest of the day she lounged upstairs. Now, she spends so much of her time up there on various perches and we can hear her tear across the floor and up and down the ladder 3 steps at a time. All day, up and down. Up and down.

Go Canucks! Although they haven't looked much like Cup winners, so tremendously outscored in the series.

SOS! Our router died- not the internet kind- the fancy wood tool kind. So I have to get one from Canada or USA. And fast.

Ok time to water the garden before going to work.

A life of Sundays.. part 2

2011-06-12T15:49:00.002-07:00

This lazy Sunday ( I gimped my hand- no work possible) was capped by a visit to the nearby Songkwang temple. This was after a delicious meal, a meal so fine and special, that I want to photograph it and detail the delights in a blog post someday. The restaurant serves a vegetarian lotus lily leaf rice course and it overlooks the lotus ponds next to the temple. In brief, rice is steamed with various nuts and seeds in a lotus leaf, giving it its tea like flavour and extra stickiness. The sides included first time oddities like aloe, ginseng and dropwort tempura, pickled cockleburr.

After the meal, we took a stroll, I hoping for birds near the ponds( a sparrowhawk was observed- these predators are responsible for the disappearances of our pond goldfish ).

The fairly large well-known popular temple is about ten minutes from our house. Sundays are usually quite busy with buses of tourists, hikers and photographers. But at 7pm Sunday eve it was strangely vacant and we got to witness some enchanting drumming and serene bell ringing by the monks.

Introducing happiness!
Sweety , our new furry feline friend is fantastic! She's very social and more affectionate by the day. She loves the camera too and keeps her pose as long as you want. She hadn't been upstairs yet so i carried her up and it took an open can of smelly seafood treats to get her to come down, then she practiced the rest of the day, and found a nice spot by the window to relax.

And finally, Miyong's garden. Our village older sister takes her flowers seriously and keeps 3000sq. foot garden lot for flowers only to delight of the village photographer. And she sponsors pollinators, too so she does a service as well.

About my hand: A thorn punctured the index finger knuckle while bushwhacking on Friday. The knuckle got inflamed and infected hours later while at the shop. The pain and swelling were intense Friday eve after visiting emergency. So I have meds and was given a ridiculous splint on Saturday which lasted all of 3 minutes- barely longer than it took to apply. It doesn't appear as much but is a numbing dull pain restricting movement. A suspected puncture of the tendon or ligaments is the cause of distress, and possible plant toxins.The doc put me on meds and immobilization of the finger/wrist for one or two weeks! See how that goes... very inconvenient. I'll wrap it up and try a few hours at the shop... the big rush of numerous orders has passed, but there are a number of commissions yet to complete, so I cannot really fully take the time off .

2011-06-09T19:12:00.000-07:00

Saree got a shave down last week for summer. I tried twice,
15 minutes at a time... after a couple days I gave up. Without sedatives its a heck of a challenge. So she got sheared at the vet. Te vet explained her winter hairloss as the result of hyperestrogenism , which also darkens her skin and also is the cause of her irregular menses. If you look back two years on this blog you'll see her white skin. She has Weimeraner grey tone now.

She appears quite wisened in this image but she is as daft as ever. For example, the new kitty cat was hiding in plain sight on the bedroom desk inches away ,watching as Saree hunted everywhere for her.

Blue is the same as ever. Always happy, just a whopping 28kilos.

2011-06-09T18:48:00.001-07:00

Mi-Yong's flower patch.

Yeonmi's village friend loves her flowers . Here is her blog site. There are many pictures of around the village and surrounding area.

Introducing happiness...again!

2011-06-08T15:52:00.002-07:00

So far she's named 'Sweety'. The vet gave her to us. They had three lovely , friendly cats in the animal hospital and her offered her to us when I visited with Saree last week. She was animal and human friendly, easily approachable ad doesn't show any attitude. She is a bit sketched out with noise, so she didn't enjoy the shop, but once home she explored everywhere and is natural and happy to be here... we believe. At four years, she came back from USA with someone and then couldn't be cared for.... until now. Blue still doesn't know about her as she always stays outside. I'll let Saree in soon to see how that goes.

hanok and more

2011-06-05T02:38:00.004-07:00

Some recent work to share here.

The first table set used the heavy hard pine we collected and milled from our mountain. I may have enough for one more table. This design has been popular; the fourth this spring. The nice feature is one board not cut square , so leaving the wavy edge of branch knots and such. After joing the 4 boards and butt ends, I cut off and ground the sapwood to get down to the tough and dense, resinous reddish wood. It gets Smoothed out and is a lovely front edge to this desk.

We've sold a lot of "rustic' furniture lately although it's not made with branches as in American rustic so I prefer to call it vintage. It's made of reclaimed wood, which has always been one of my main concepts for furniture at Le Marais. However, Korea has a distinct lack of decent used wood, we do pay a fair price, or rather the customer does. We got to sort through some hanok a couple weeks back and the above is from that wood, mostly white pine. I choose the least cracked pieces and then cut to dimension. It's dirty work with decades of dust and crud in the cracks and pores. The boards are often warped , twisted, dented, holed so selecting pieces is a challenge. We sand and wire brush the dark outside to raise and stress the grain and its texture. usually finished with boiled linseed oil. I'm not a fan of glass top tables, but it's pretty hard to find any in Korea without glass. The chair design is bit of a departure for us and we're pleased. the little bench was enormously popular in the shop, so we'll make some for stock; I returned to the used wood lot and grabbed all remaining usable pieces.

Both a re f'n heavy tables.

We're getting an old butcher's band saw next week ( not many used carpentry tools out there, and import ones are all overpriced- despite being made in China or Asia, tools are twice the price you pay at Home Depot: limited demand) and i will be able to cut more lumber out of the old posts and beams collected.

Below , is a console made with reclaimed siding ( some of which is Western Red Cedar) . The door is made by gluing some of our heaps of scraps.

and this is me as I approach middle age...

This is hanok. Hanok is a generic term for traditional post and beam wood construction with clay tile roofing. This is temple near Jiri national park dating to 9th C. AD. So they stand the test of time.
This hanok was once tofu restaurant near Jong-up, a small city an hour from Jeonju. The above table set delivery was the reason for our trip. We visited a traditional method sewing teacher who lives and works next to this building. The wavy beams are superb, this building is about 1000 sq. feet, and the roof tiles are in good shape except a bout 5% on the back side. The lot, complete with pond and granite walkway through the pond, some lovely trees and 4 more buildings is for sale for about 100k: a great fixer upper but too much work for us and not a great location. No, we are not thinking about it.

2011-05-30T05:35:00.005-07:00

Inspiration or energy for blog stories come at the wrong moments. Usually they fall around midday in my little assembly room while I toil away on something, conversing with myself , reflecting on events or opinions heard. The MP3 player is my constant companion and could be utilized for recording these thoughts, but the motivation and import get derailed easily with so many simultaneous projects undertaken at Le MArais. The ever all-consuming shop has been very busy again this spring.

The business is growing well in scope and recognition and popularity. We've made several repeated items and slowly diversify the portfolio with orders from brave lady home-owners decorating their new locales. We are also known for slow pace of production as well , it's a one man show for manufacturing. This has to be resolved and currently we're trying to find a solution.

Among our expanding circle of allies is the 'master' of the hardware shop we frequent. When I find Korean guys I like, I'm so glad to interact with them ( yes I have difficulty relating to the common Korean man). This shopkeeper keeps a perfectly moussed salt and pepper late 80's style rock'n'roll pseudo hair metal perm. It's always perfect. This dedication is impressive. Anyway, he sends us his customers who have technical inquiries ( I'm regarded as an foreign expert of sorts with multi- talents and knowledge ) and thinks of us when he can help us as he daily talks business with members of the carpenter community. Last week we got the nod to pick up some reclaimed Hanok ( Korean traditional post and beam home) wood, and met another cool older lifetime carpenter. With the wood we've made a couple tables already.
Ye-gam master also inquired to our business, as the others have reported less work of late. This to us means we are doing much more work than other shops and that the over- abundance of DIY shops is saturating the market. This would not be good except we have a niche. DIY shops were listed in the top 5 new jobs/ business market last year in Korea .

I have been fairly homesick/sick of Korea for the past little while. It seems to be passing as usual. This is a dangerous time to write, as negativity could easily find itself on the eyeSage.
Frustration of operating in a foreign and still very developing country, in terms of modernity and forward thinking, frequently overwhelms me. Driving is the worst part of any day, but I level out once out of the car ( that's still an hour of angst, shock and horror daily).

Planning a repatriation to Canada for 2012 and the major challenges and decisions surrounding that weigh heavily. The shop future, sale, expansion etc. and the house/ land here- our hands and minds are full with no time to really ever think or talk about those issues. Life is rich and full, yet still dissatisfaction over whelms me all too often. Here are two tales- a positive anecdote and a dissenting example of frustration.

We went for a lovely drive to ease our minds on Sunday to Jiri mountain, one of Ym's favorite places. We had delicious trout sashimi for lunch, hit the 1000m view point and visited a smaller temple.Leaving in the morning, on the way out of the village towards the new expressway ( recently completed after 3 years-the tollgate is about 1km away) I bitched about another needless and heedless fire, this one smouldering rice grain husks. This has been one of my ceaseless negative mantras in Korea - the farmers and their endless burning. Insert cuss words at will.

Of late it has irked me even more so. Here in our village there are recycling receptacles, centrally situated so no home is more than 100m away and they are collected thrice weekly, yet the majority of residences burn all their trash weekly. All the trash. Albeit they have less trash than a household as ours who shop at supermarkets. They pick up metal and glass bits later , who knows where those go. So I wake up almost ever lovely bright spring morning excited to take in the aroma of blossoms , birdsong and retreat immediately indoors to avoid toxic smoke. Other villagers are taking down old homes and burning everything- no trucks to the landfill. I have seen no real composting in this village of subsistence farmers.

So much burning in Korea. The air is always grey. The governments' firefighting efforts are warranted as their are so many careless rural outlaws and smoking hikers. Walky-talkied firewatch volunteers hang out for weeks in spring and fall, keeping an eye out for smoke.

Upon returning from our lovely drive on the great new time saving expressway, we found the fuzzers in our village , doing paper work next to the singed remains of a 'garage' right across from the morning's fire spot. The wind blew hard that day and the idiocy consumed a neighbor's structure and pile of stuff, further polluting the air with burnt synthetic materials.

So if you ask me the reasons why I want to leave Korea I will answer , I want to live someplace where people don't burn trash as a rule of thumb.

If you're still reading, here's the good note.

Koreans are quite particular and expectant of retailers and service companies. Manufactured goods have amazing 'A/S' ( after-service or warranty care in regular English). Getting stuff fixed is usually so prompt , courteous and inexpensive. I especially love having the cars worked on..it is so cheap! You pay for parts pretty cheaply and the shop rate seems like 10$ /hr. There's no excuse in Korea to have any visible or audible flaws in your vehicle... yet there are.
We do live in the country; Jeonju- Iksan has over a million residents , but it is still a rural minded, traditional and superstitious, and unfortunately, still perhaps a have-not province. I digress.

My Musso "Suh-Po-che" ( Sports) model SUV/pick-up manufactured by SsangYong , had its second "pung-ke" ( puncture) in a week. Both were remedied in a few minutes. The first was done within 5 minutes of being discovered. The flat was pointed out by a cabbie and there was a tire shop the next block. At 9 am there were no other cars as we rolled up to the lift. They reamed out the hole and stuck in some toxic putty and voila ! after five minutes and five bucks it was as if nothing had happened. No inconvenience.

This morning I rolled two feet before stopping. Another punc! We called our insurer and they promised a man on the scene within fifteen. Promised. When he came, arriving in a Matiz, ( a tiny , microscopic hatchback with tools, jacks and compressor packed into a refrigerator sized car), he repeated the formula above, and I was rolling in five minutes for five bucks. And the fellow gave me bottled water for my inconvenience. The insurer, Samsung Anycall ( Anycar- same pronunciation) later gave us a follow up ring, asking us about the service with a satisfaction survey. Now that's customer service. I did, however, wait the entire fifteen minutes for him to find the hidden valley village. No complains here.

2011-05-03T07:03:00.003-07:00

2011-05-03T06:36:00.000-07:00

The Dream Painted Diary Pension

2011-04-09T17:47:00.002-07:00

Ok that's my strange translation.

Starting at Christmas time we did a big job for an inn on the coast, decorating and furnishing five rooms. It is open, fully booked and a great success. Some friendships and fans were forged from this fabulous feat. Their visitors and friends visit us in turn, and the other gal who coordinated the interior stuff with Yeonmi is regualr visitor and new pal. She came wearing a typical Korean print t-shirt emblazoned with a maple leaf and " Pure Fuckin Canadian" to please me. I told her she'd get kicked off the bus in Vancouver for that. Typical I say because print shirts are everywhere with smutty sex slogans, whorific potty mouth language, sometimes racist and frequently in poor taste, and their proprietors don't realize the offensiveness.

This post is about the pension, which you can visit their website and see the image gallery. A great addition to Yeonmi's interior portfolio. I posted some images in February . Follow this link:

Art Diary Pension

If you click on 'preview' you can see flash galleries of the rooms.

Get on the bus, Le Marais bus!

2011-03-27T14:59:00.002-07:00

In the world of eyesage, there are only Le Marais furniture photos.

Spring has finally arrived, we may, touch wood , be past the frosty nights. In Gongdok village the farmers have been rustling and preparing, trimming and transplanting, turning and fertilizing. We have only enjoyed the first blooming perennials and have yet to do any maintenance or preparation.

Starting with above, we did a job for a friend's friend's cafe. The Ban-dal-gom ( half moon bear) has been a round for a year or two and changed hands. Even with the unrealistic plethora of cafes- I estimate over 30 in a square kilometer- nearby, their specialty is roasting beans so they have a loyal clientele apparently. We made three two- person table sets and a long window table. This kind of contract offers us the opportunity to try new designs. We offered the family price as I call it, so finding cost effective fabrication is also important. This means few mortise/tenon constructions , straight legs and so on. The family is super satisfied and we have a free pass for coffee and baked goods anytime. The problem as I expressed before with Korean cafes is they open at 10 or 11 am.

The great thing is that this was the first work with my self milled lumber. The long table with blue legs was in the show room for just two days but was a big hit and prompted one immediate likewise order, and inspired a couple more.

Spring means residents are moving and redecorating and several weeks of work orders were taken in the last week. Yeonmi told the last such customer yesterday to expect a two month wait. So you know what I'm doing. I'll have to put in some time on Sundays, to compensate for some down time in June and a trip abroad with a visiting mate.
March was not slower, but just not crazy busy and I took time to play with wood I had been collecting, logs and boards and cut offs. I made the little bus above, a rip off of my own work; we have a similar little sculpture here at the house which I made in the first few weeks of my courtship with Yeonmi when I visited Nondit quite frequently- 6 years ago..?

With cut-offs we save in stacks of boxes, we make mosaics, and clocks and little decorative wall pieces , which we sell for forty or fifty bucks. They 're smallish things that people who are enamored with the store can take away with out shelling out more cash for furniture.

I try and allow an hour or so daily to tinkering on things that are not orders, but creative experiments using all the pieces of wood collected. It's these whimsical and original musings which make Le Marais unique and eye-catching to the passers by.

I made plant boxes with old weathered wood, small remnants from the milling and hollowed out logs such as pictured above. the long log wasn't hollow, it got the chainsaw treatment. Winter has been never ending and I got restless for some greenery in our lives.

I just got a fresh buchingdae or pa-jeon ( spring onion pancake) brought to me . Still warm and delicious ( the pancake part is right as it's 9 am on Sunday as I write this, the onion part is accurate for Korean cookery), little grandmother from house below brought it up. These neighbors are those with not much family- three out of four sons dead and a daughter who rarely visits. We do our best to help them, usually with rides to town and me with house maintenance. So with the rumble in my stomach satiated , I will explain the latest such episode.

I was awoken by a much needed Sunday nap two weeks now I guess, to haraboji ( grandpa) pounding on the door. He doesn't yell hello or 'Andy" just, "ya" which is like 'hey' in English. And seeing as I have never understood more than three words from him -he has , like, 5 teeth remaining and the strongest accent/dialect- after a phrase , he just said come down and look. It took me thirty minutes and four trips up and down the drive with tools and parts to wake up fully and devise a MacGyvered way of stopping the flow of water from the outside faucet's broken pipe. He had dug away all the gravel and busted the concrete, was scooping out water, and I plugged it with plasticine and a pipe clamp and promised to get the right goods the next day. He was pushing cash on me but I accepted minimally what the parts might cost. Twenty bucks is a lot of money for this old couple whose income is negligible. They are really subsistence farmers and get some income from chili peppers, garlic at market, and maybe a very modest pension.

When leaving the next morning, gramps comes out with a fiver saying ' sea- men" or " semen" or " she - men" which I repeated all three and he nodded. So I repeated those in my head for two minutes before concluding 'cement', an item already on his list. And besides, it's concrete ready mix he should want. So he drops the last syllable of words , I thought...this may be my strategy for listening in the future. He understands most of the Korean I bumble out in reply . Anyway the job was done, in a very improvised, resourceful and not journeyman plumber method. And another year's kimchi is secured. Actually, we have so much goddamn kimchi remaining, the kimchi fridge is still full. We must have 50 kilos at least.

These kids of relationships are a great part of country living: feeling accepted and integrated into the community although sometimes their are social and community pressures for which we don't have the time or energy to endure. The pipe fixing was interupted by the call by the other neighbor two doors down who needed me to lift his bloody tractor that fell off the ramp while driving it up on to the pick up truck. So If it's trimming trees, taxi service, or handyman work I'm glad to do my bit around Gongdok.

We'll have to see how things go when word gets out that we're selling the house and moving...

2011-03-20T15:41:00.002-07:00

Haven't been taking many pictures lately. Blue came to the store and snuck into a photo. Below are a few benches made with reclaimed wood and funky rustic natural shapes: the middle one is heavy old weathered mahogony, bottom is from a sycamore log.
Last week , I experienced a very exciting ritual and rite of passge for a carpenter: I milled my own lumber.
Pictured below are the logs from home, some loaded to my truck and others into a white truck. The white truck belongs to a carpenter with his own shop who wants to team up with us on some stuff and send some work his way, namely for wood turning. So we brought two trucks of timber. He had experience with milling so he coordinated our effort at the mill, and I enlisted my other friend YunJae to help with some translation and moving boards around.
The logs were collected from around this village and another and some had been sitting for a year or two. It was a big day and finally all the lumber was stacked to dry in my shop. Only a few boards are ready t ouse.. otherwise some will be a few months. We paid to fall one tree but otherwise the wood was free, the milling and associated costs , transport, lunch etc. came to about 500$ . The lumber is worth, all old, about 6 times that.
i was quite gleefull all day , waching each cut reveal the grain and good quality. Over half was hardwood.

Not enough spring flowers yet. Or any for that matter, so I bought flowers for indoors. With a dirty and cheap lens, my camera still captures nice images.

Baekdu's threat and the Toba bottleneck theory

2011-03-13T15:26:00.003-07:00

We have been watching in horror and dismay the astonishing tragedy unfolding in Japan. The footage is both terrifying and saddening yet also fascinating: Gaia's power to move is immense and human life is so fragile and vulnerable.

While the seismic activity and resulting tsunami is devastating for Japan, Korea remains unaffected. Korea is a very seismically stable peninsula with very little activity recorded. However, one great risk looms: the eruption of mount Baekdu.

Baekdu, one of the largest volcanoes on earth, is listed as one of the top 5 most destructive eruptions in modern times. In 990 AD it coated the peninsula and northern Japan with 1.2 m of ash. Read this excellent article here or another similar here.

The fact that Korean scientists are expecting activity soon- in the next few years is daunting. if a significant eruption takes place, this could be how the NorK regime finally falls: crop failure, destroyed buildings from the quake, death and disease from toxic gases. Of course South Korea would also suffer similarly, but has wealth and infrastructure to manage. North Korea could never cope.

What I also discovered in reading about destructive volcanoes is the two most recent major eruptions in the 1800s, Krakatoa and Tambora. These eruptions changed global weather patterns by cooling the planet. Major eruptions millenia ago cooled the planet for thousands of years ad most notably , lake Toba and the massive eruption around 70 000 BCE stifled life on earth to create a bottleneck of living creatures, including humans. The Toba catastrophe theory
is supported by genetic research showing that modern humans evolved from just a handful of individuals who survived that catastrophe. Fascinating stuff.

Time to leave Korea. The real threat is from the most sacred and venerated mountain in this culture.

cuteness

2011-03-07T15:20:00.004-08:00

This samoyed ( 2 mos.) pup hung out for the day. Totally adorable. our friends now have 4 of them...

2011-03-05T04:11:00.002-08:00

2011-03-04T05:45:00.003-08:00

photo of the day

2011-03-01T02:44:00.002-08:00

recent works

2011-02-28T14:56:00.006-08:00

This is a collection of cushions we have displayed and sold, made by our talented and creative friend Kim Yong-mi ( my friend Jake's wife). The colorful and original designs are popular and eye- catching, and sell quickly. The four leaf patterned pillows on the teak bench at the bottom of 2nd image sold after one day on display- i think a couple others have sold without being photographed. they complement our shop really well. So we're happy she's getting some extra income from her art.

We've made a few small 'consoles' of late. Ad YM finally painted the chest of drawers above which was made in the fall. I chose Japanese cedar for the patterned grain and weight, but it's still super heavy.
Far above, you can see that some of the used wood creations are occasionally popular. Typically , we use a lot of reclaimed wood for decorations, door and drawer handles, drawer faces, small doors, and frames. It's a challenge at times to use, with the many cracks, dry knots and slivers , but the raised grain and rich tones make up for effort.

2011-02-22T06:27:00.003-08:00

2011-02-08T23:57:00.003-08:00

I had an awesome day of snowboarding at Muju resort. Merely an hour's drive, I and a friend, Dr. Lee my ENT, stayed at a condo and skied gratis- thanks to a reciprocal agreement between his hospital colleagues and the clinic at the resort. There was light snow in the morning but it was just above zero and the snow got heavy and wet by late morning. Unfortunately, it was overcast and foggy, so not so scenic, but the slopes were barren midweek after the holiday.I only had one major wipe-out , and was quite gleeful all day, enjoying good company, fun in the snow and a day free of work duties.

Monday was crazy busy and emotional. After I successfully renewed my visa, we negotiated the deal mentioned previously somewhere in this blog about expanding our land asset in Gongdok village. Although it has been planned and desired for almost three years, the opportunity suddenly arose to purchase the lot neighboring ours. The size is almost equal to our lot: a long strip below the rock wall originating at our drive and another rectangle at the same level on the slope. In effect, we have now one large long rectangular lot.

The seller was not the original title holder, but purchased the lot at auction and couldn't sell because there is no access to it except from by our land. So, essentially it was our destiny to acquire it, and this fate happened on its own accord. The purchase price was very reasonable- 30% lower than the original asking price 3 years ago. I reckon the value of that lot is three times our investment as it makes our house situated on just under 1/3 acre. We are delighted, but broke, or cash poor, if you will. So we have something to show for our efforts at LE Marais, and can leverage our equity a bit.

This leaves me a bit overwhelmed: I now have 600m2 of mountainside to landscape. Although this is exciting, it means more hard work. So the story of our home in Gongdok has a couple more chapters.

Everything in its own time...

The photo above shows in pink our existing lot, and in green the addition.

Happy New Year of the bunny

2011-02-04T01:35:00.004-08:00

Hooray .

The great part is that we shut the Le Marais Store down for 3 ENTIRE DAYS! That is amazingly cool. And we'll open tomorrow and take Sunday off , too. UNBELIEVABLE!

We sure need the rest.

We returned from family festivities last evening. We got to see everyone and had 4 family meals together. In Jochiwon, the patriarch, YM's eldest uncle proposed that we do the renos for an old hanok on the neighboring lot. The lot is quite majestic actually, and overlooks the village , facing southwards, they've landscaped a lot, put in big old trees, it looks lovely. They ( the family) are quite serious as they know that our effort would be significantly more serious, better quality and original and attractive. The budget is reasonably unlimited.

I have several reactions which are all negative, but the point is that this will be an additional family heirloom traditional home. The ancestors were the village founding upper class family and so doing a good job would be quite important and monumental. It would be great to be a part of that. It would involve major decisions about my time at the shop, getting some buddies/ bilingual workers to labor and coordinate other tradesmen, living with the over 80 yr old relations and eating rice daily etc...those logistics are the deal breakers, most likely, because, i do actually have a vision.

As I said to YM, any Korean contractor would put an effort which would last 10 yrs, but I would overhaul to last 50 yrs. This would include removing the hwang-to ( clay and straw filling) completely , replacing with brick at lower reaches and new mix elsewhere: foundation repairs, all new custom made insulated windows, a bathroom, and greenhouse. Anyways , I don't think it would happen, but it's exactly what I want to do, except I don't own it. And I think they have like 10K in mind for a reno, not 30k as I envision.

These kinds of opportunities never stop appearing for us. In the past two years, so many business, or work offers or proposals have come our way. Building wood houses, authoring DIY books, teaching DIY at uni, opening DIY hakwon, the list goes on. The TV stations and magazines seem to have stopped asking for us to appear.

The other great thing about the new year is I get another chance to do something about my desire to get back into shape. Keep posted for that.

The vet friend of a friend who we haven't seen in 2 years asked me to check his English texts , so I'm going to do that now. I thought about him the other day: need to get the dogs for a look see. Saree scratched up her hip, maybe on barbed wire: looks like she dug a few shallow cuts before abandoning a major patch of hair to the fence.

Blue is a tubby fat old bitch who never runs as her master is busy and lazy tired ( see above, re: getting in shape). Furthermore, or more likely is that she hoards and /or steals food from Saree. If she doesn't slim up with more walks , then I will have to devise a method to feed them separately. Anyways they need a check up and whatever. And i want to train Saree and keep her indoors after a good haircut. And breed her, maybe. Blue returned from her escapade today with a water deer's head, likely left behind from a hunter we saw two Sundays ago. She saw the carcass a few days ago , so she went back for some snacks. The water deer are tiny, maybe one meter tall at most-25 kg or so, but have massive incisors, like fangs which curve down and just about extend past the lower jaw. Blue chewed the fleshy frozen nose off and was gnawing on the neck when I found her. I'll stop with the details here.... Wild dogs. Lucky dogs to be wild, free roaming, well fed.

the weather has turned to a milder version of winter with daytime highs near 10', so the snow is melting. We spent a day, cleaning the yard, trimming shrubs and trees,and grass. I organized and cut firewood . Thinking about spring and having another go at some gardening and yard work. Last season was a failure: no time to plant, weed, or maintain. And the weather was fowl.

My latest obsession is consideration about buying the lot below and to the side of us. Taking ownership and then some landscaping or grading would significantly increase our property value and attractiveness to buyers. I think this is wisest short term investment strategy for us.
Also, I like building and landscaping and such, and would love to clean up the surroundings, as there are two abandoned diseased shanty shacks directly below us on the narrow strip in front of the house.

As you can probably guess, my mind is more on building these days than furniture, as I think its the best and fastest way to increase equity before making an exit from Korea. The elusive exodus. le Marais is doing very well, but for our skill and work effort, I think greater profits will come from flipping a house or the like.

As a postscript to the above comment about TV and magazines, YM just notified me that the editor of the architecture magazine who profiled us, followed this here blog and wants to visit the store ad maybe discuss some ideas....

Buan pension

2011-01-27T06:20:00.006-08:00

We went to Buan, not Buan actually, but its county, near the small port of Gyokpo, where we used to camp at the beach. This area is on the peninsula south of the Saemangeum seawall, the westernmost part of jeollabuk-do province.

The fast highway still isn't complete, but other development has increased tremendously.It seems like 3 years since we've been there and may actually be so. Hotels, resorts, "pensions' and minbaks are much more numerous than before. This is great , because it means Koreans are taking more leisure and vacation time and there's growing demand for classier accommodations.

Minbaks are rooms offered by private homeowners or restaurants, and basically have no furnishings per say: you have to bring your gear and basically do camping inside a concrete room. Floor heat, water and blankets and pillows to sleep on the floor are the basic offerings.

Pension is the word used for the next step up, usually a kitchenette, maybe a bed, usually a better spot with a view. Our clients built one such pension looking out to the sea and have 5 rooms. they wanted something special and unique and came to us. The owner enlisted two girlfriends to help design and decorate and they all came to Le Marais and Yeonmi helped them
tremendously with her visions of color schemes and whimsical styles and this is what they got:

We actually started this project before Christmas and there still a number of small additions to finish. I had no idea of the overall plan and just kept making all the stuff to specification. The four queen beds were a hassle when after making two there was nowhere to assemble them : painting and finishing them was the hard part ; my workshop is a series of small rooms , not a large singular space. So I'm glad to get my workspace back and the shop is looking a bit nude, and will be more so after next week when a few more pieces get delivered.

So the customer is ecstatic, as they have something unique and special- I'm recommending to offer breakfasts to put together in room= all ingredients in the room , kind of a B&B strategy- and with some nice photos on a homepage they could be booked year-round.

We're exhausted , especially after the final push of the last week with all the finishing and shuffling of objects.

some shots from summer

2011-01-22T16:34:00.004-08:00

The Kingston Row

Actually two years ago- from Bali. Best Mexican food in Ubud. great decor. I love the colors, this gem found on YM's camera.

And some watery shots from Star Lake.

2011-01-16T06:13:00.007-08:00

I should offset the text below with some photos. The real reason why you all turn to this blog anyway . Right? Despite having published hundreds of images here , there still loads of good ones unseen. Here are a few from around our village taken in 2010.

Doors of Asia

2011-01-16T05:16:00.003-08:00

the Kim Sisters

2011-01-16T04:36:00.003-08:00

You can read about these gals from Mokpo who had a lengthy tenure in Vegas here or here.
I like this image the most, maybe it's all the sixties hair and makeup and time life magazine photo set feel. I never knew of any vintage Korean American pop stars .

twentyten

2011-01-16T04:28:00.003-08:00

It's hard to believe that the new year is already old and two weeks. We are firmly into 2011 and twenty ten is becoming a trivial and distant episode.

All things considered, twentyten was good to Yeon-mi and I. Besides turning forty years of age this year , there are a great number of anticipated ,or, desired at least, changes to happen. The impending fortieth cannot be avoided and may instigate some changes, hopefully.

Looking back through 2010, it elapsed in record time, or so it seemed. Mostly, we worked at an excruciating pace, with few days of rest; not a moment , an atomic split second was spent wondering what to do . Le Marais and the constant furniture orders kept us going, usually a couple weeks behind, except for in August in the stifling humid heat of the Korean summer, where neither a shopper or shopkeeper have much desire for commerce. We actually were caught up then and I took a working sojourn in Canada.

Yeonmi , however, didn't get any breaks, as she is the full front end staff of our factory, consulting and retail operation. I actually took three trips out of Korea, where I actually kept very busy, in a restless work mode. I did manage to relax in Thailand for a few days and carry on at an unhurried pace. Most of the year was really spent exhausted most of the time, collapsing at the end of the day after a late meal, slowly summoning up energy for the workday each morning. We did finally close on Sundays and try ro relax, but my teachingesque duties kept me occupied and ritual visitors kept yeonmi busy. Hence, Sundays elapsed without much private down time.

Le Marais opened in November 2009 and it seems so recent yet what we accomplished is monumental. Despite only recording by photos about 70% of what we produced, there are some 3000 images in my folder of Le Marais, including renovations, store scenes and multiple shots of many pieces. There are countless tables, chairs, benches, bookcases, and so much more. The adventure started from a radical about face in business plan and yeonmi commanding me to make furniture to fill the need and requests from customers. Most of this was new to me and my carpentry has been rough and uninformed to say the leapt, for most of my efforts. I got lots of books, and videos and studied those frequently until mid year, when the growth slowed down and repetition and mastering and precision became more of a mainstay. Of course there are numerous Andy shortcuts and two visits to Canada and return trips with suitcases full of tools have aided in my apprentice ship. And now I use biscuits, router table and dowel jigs, for example, methods so uncommonly used here as the equipment rare, specialized and unavailable. As far as the business plan is concerned, it is time for another review. We started thinking we'd sell imported furnishings and do interior decoration contracts but the handmade furniture is what the market wants.

It has been a fun year, in the sense that making stuff, working independently and creatively is fun and enjoyable. Profitable, it has not been, not in financial terms for the amount of hours invested by the two of us. The experience is immeasurable and the satisfaction probably high. Our popularity with our customers is quite high and our reputation favorable; very well established within out city's community in a short time. There aren't, unfortunately enough well to do, individual taste seeking clients for our rustic or hardwood furniture, so we slog DIY pine furniture mostly. The success, measured by regular business, ongoing backlog of orders, and customer satisfaction may not be as pleasing as the ability to work by self -employment ( in Korea for me) and creatively making art, as a team , developing talent. Those benefits are numerous. So it has been a good year in that sense. Choosing your own destiny has a value that many often don't taste.

Reading Sam Harris's last book recently , 'The Moral Landscape', he points out about two kinds of happiness. The one where you say you are currently happy and satisfied with your life, and the second where your happiness is retrospective or nostalgic- looking back at a time saying 'those where happy times' although they were filled with frustration and challenges. For me this shop experience falls in to the latter because with the trials of learning, mistakes of fabrication, challenges of doing business ( pressure, demands, dishonest and strange clientele), physical exhaustion, lack of free time, and doubt about profitability make us irritable and burdened most of the time. We do have the ability to see all the positive amidst these tribulations and realize the freedoms and benefits and successes are quite wonderful and in the future we will remember this as a good period, although maybe too taxing.

The year of Le Marais has had interpersonal challenges: At least three thieves, corrupt and dishonest clients, two-faced neighbors, cantankerous drivers and cheating couriers. On the other hand, some of the neighboring shopkeepers have been civil and reputable, forging bonds and friendships, and bringing us new customers. The negatives, unfortunately, add up and are so irksome and detrimental that we can't wait to relocate to Canada, where at least I feel confident about avoiding a lot of those issues, despite having to face countless other challenges.

Yeonmi is as popular as ever and with her skill and grace has won the hearts of many customers, thus developing more friendships and patrons. Sometimes, especially the last two weeks, her output is, by my measure, minimal , as her hosting and chatting duties dominate. Only women visit our store as clients, and they are all unemployed- still the dominant norm for married women- have loads of time to visit. This of course is part of the business, but it isn't good for business. It's a lot of production time lost for Ym but gives her much needed physical rest. I, besides deliveries, stay behind the scenes as much as possible and just fabricate.

What I most often do is fabricate conversations in my head or with you, dear reader, but have no time to write, blog or energy to so when able. For that , I'm regretful. This blog suffered greatly last year.

So, I'm trying to release some of that here.

2010 was the year of le Marais. Undoubtedly. Some other stuff happened, too.

I open my lectures with a self introduction now that states the east vs. west mentality difference. I left my good job at the uni to pursue my hobby. Now I teach part-time and it's my hobby and I turned a hobby into a job- the cliché advice given to inspire audiences by established and self made successful people: do what you love.

I left the uni- not such a good job- but prestigious by Korean standards. After two years of great service (evaluations and testimonials to prove that) the uni offered me less than 50% of previous vacation time, taking away a day off per week, adding 4-8 hours of overtime per week paid at a rate less than the regular hourly. The last on the list there, among many more unmentioned issues was one of four blatantly illegal stipulations on the work contract. I was working two full time jobs and totally exasperated and felt no appreciation or reward or loyalty to the uni- besides my good relations and standing with professors and students- so I quit. Not a handshake, dinner, hat tip, bow or severance was offered. In terms of foreigners in Korea: they are an unwelcome economic necessity and totally disposable. To work in Korea , the necessary qualification is subordinate compliancy in all matters. Common sense, work ethic, quality have no bearing- workers just do what they are told, and fill the vacancy- and there's always someone to replace you.

The Uni did offer me two great opportunities besides teaching/training professors, for which I am grateful. I edited (and rewrote a fair bit) of an ill conceived course book. The book, authored by my dear friend and younger brown sister, Thesa , a brilliant, mature and hard-working lovely Filipina. This also became another reason to quit. Largely unteachable and not offering any measurable learning objectives, the chiefs' concept was diligently composed by Thesa, and my editorial opinions echoed hers ( but as a woman in Korea, hers went unheard). I could not force any major stylistic changes, and in the end could only clean up grammar, diversify syntax and modulate some content. The budget for my effort only allowed me to do so much and encouraged me to conserve energy in a losing battle, but the experience was rewarding and revealing.

I also did special lectures for the Center For Learning and Teaching, a resource center, and in the fall authored a training booklet for presentation and lecture skills aimed at professors who want to lecture in English. The book, finally printed last week, looks great, and was a stimulating enough process during the 3 months and 15000 words. The final print up looks good and I'm proud of it. In addition to this, I've lectured at another uni near Jeonju and have a workshop proposal package to solicit to other universities. I teach about 6-10 hours per week of private tutoring, mostly to Mds, and/or a few youths.

In 2010 we watched ( me tearfully) Yuna Kim clean house at the Vancouver Olympics. In her, I see the face of thousands of my students, especially the girls in still a man's world of a nation: The determination, quiet resolve, parental honor and dedication, and fierce competitiveness , all in a graceful and elegant package. Korean kids- and adults- live their lives for their parents and their expectations- and pass on those same expectations to their young. So when I see yeon- ah succeed, I see her unburdened from the heavy weight she carries from her control freak mother, her uber-nationalist, chauvinist, and competitive nation and her immense endorsement portfolio ( you'll find her rubbing elbows with Tiger Woods, Michael Schumacher on the athletic sponsorship best-paid list).

In 2010, we watched the weather. We watched a disaster in Haiti, in Pakistan. In Korea we had extreme weather as well and major deviations from normal patterns. When the world could bear any more tragedy, everyone watched Chilean miners. This was the real tragedy- spurred on by the media; the world cared about some 30 guys facing death rather than the MILLIONS homeless and diseased in two impoverished nations. That was disgusting, despicable and shameful, to be obsessed by the 'heros' doing 3d jobs mining the metals we need so we can continue on with heedless consumerism of useless things we enjoy when the MILLIONS dispossessed in Pakistan or Haiti don't even have rice or charcoal or dung to make a fire to cook it with. Optimist, I still am not, for our future when the 'developed 'world focuses attention on the plight of others in the club but turns the other way when poor, corrupt, tribal even , nations need help. Where was the financial help for Pakistan? Why won't the West show sympathy and compassion to such an unfortunate, disreputable, tumultuous nation? Again, we had to watch overweight, over-, privileged Australians be inundated last week when HUNDREDS are dying in Brazilian floods at the same time.

The import is in the climatic extremes, abuse of nature by overpopulation, and the dependence and idolatry of current economic norms: those that carelessly destroy nature and neglect sustainability for future populations. I'm glad the economic bailouts and stimulation packages worked and economies are rolling, because any funding to scientific research or sustainable initiatives regarding climate change would have suffered. Yet, unfortunately it's business as usual for China, USA, India Canada and the G20.

Nostalgia is human's greatest flaw. Memory serves us well sometimes, but the importance we give to history, religion ( living in the past, people) ancestry, trivia far outweighs any consideration we give to the future. People don't even live in the present, or they do so they can consider how they will be remembered. Only humans have the ability to manifest their futures, and we now know that we are at a critical juncture: to change habits for the benefit of future humankind.

Writing about climate change and its effect on the earth's populations is not what I had in mind for this post, but it is always on my mind- and has been since college. If and when I ever make efforts to radically change my habits ( really they are minimal- except for patterns of consumption- well the changes aren't minor, but the effort to communicate, network and embrace environmentalism as a lifestyle , not just a sidebar interest) I hope I can help to affect some change.

That aside took us way off course here. But the last lot about environmentalism and sustainability has been nagging at me for ages, and this is what I contend with in 2011: fulfilling my promise to myself about commencing a graduate degree before I'm forty. My greatest interest academically is in this field, however not in science or technology, and this is my conundrum.

2011-01-16T03:55:00.000-08:00

This happy gal is Hyun-ah, the daughter of a university colleague. Her Mom, was chief of the CTL department in addition to her duties as tenured prof. in Korean language department, and vice - academic dean. She facilitated and oversaw the training manual I authored.
When I met Hyun-ah at a luncheon, she struck me as remarkably outgoing, positive and intelligent and I made a bold offer to visit the shop, help out with mundane tasks and in exchange get some opportnity to learn and make stuff. So here she is with her first project, which she was delighted with and proud of her efforts. She has only come for a few Saturdays and hasn't accomplished that much but is genuinely interested in doing and learning more. She's a bright and lovely addition to Le Marais.

Sunday Sun

2011-01-16T00:53:00.000-08:00

Powder action shot featuring Saree and Blue.

This is where I live, 5 minutes outside a minor Asian metropolis, where a seldom visited country road affors tranquility, clean air and freedom for untethered doggies.

Snow has been on the ground since christmas day , the bulk came on Newyears and there have been dustings since then. This is the coldest winter I've experienced thus far, with the most snow...evenings have been -10 consistently for nearly 3 weeks, after a strange, warm and wet fall.

I'm going to try and get a bit of activity and physical mobility to placate and mitigate the anticipated after effects of a day of snowboarding. I've made a promise with a friend who changed his schedule to enable tuesdays off. So..midweek quiet ski hill here we come. The lovely muju resort is but 30'drive from our house. And there are only Japanese trustfundian youths there during the week, and insane hordes on the weekends.
After we finish the current big contract.

2010-12-31T15:53:00.004-08:00

Yes, I took some pictures around the village recently.

e

Yes, it has been snowing. And cold, a rare -13c last night. Quite brisk for the southern ROK.

No, I don't have any time to compose any lovely messages.

Happy New Year!

Best Wishes and Happy Holidays!

2010-12-24T18:18:00.000-08:00

and may all your christmases be bright

2010-12-24T18:15:00.002-08:00

We have a tree. I made pictures. Enjoy with love.

I took photos with the shutter open , zooming in and out and shaking or writing with the camera. The last image above, you can see all the letters of ANDY- luck or genius?

I especially like the 2nd one from top- you can see different numbers. As the lights flash and change colors, they burn on to the 'film' so each light stroke is of different duration.

sail along the reefs and coves inside your soul

2010-12-20T05:23:00.003-08:00

Winter solstice 2010

A full moon tonight and balmy weather. On the eve of the shortest day of the year it was 15'. Above 0. I had a short walk alone- the dogs abandoned me after 10', not to return for 3 hours- yesterday in but a couple light layers. I sat in the warm and windless calm of a maple grove to connect with the earth. The weather is unreal.

It's amazing that I live in one of the densest populations on earth, 5 minutes drive from an urban area of 700 000, where i have endless mountainous trails to myself, and for the dogs to run free, and hunt deer and wild pigs. In nearly three years I have never, ever crossed paths with a hiker or anybody out for a stroll on the forested slopes around my village. Once I passed a group on the ridge trail some 3km away from home, but the well worn paths- ancient ridge trails - must so rarely see any body. We see or hear deer or pigs ( or their telltale signs) nearly every walk, and it is these animals that keep the trails worn. Korean hikers walk together in hordes- or noisy groups, with their fluorescent uniforms , radios and cell phones. Seeking peace and quiet is not part of the plan.

2010 is drawing to an end. I hope to recap some events in the days to come...if I indeed take some down time. Not likely though, we took a big order for an inn today and i have a workshop in 2 weeks to prepare for.

So I'll wish all the readers a very merry Christmas!

sunday report on wednesday

2010-12-15T04:45:00.004-08:00

I'm pretty behind with the blog as per usual.

Last Sunday was tremendously tiring with the felling of a couple trees. There are three precious hardwoods for carpenters in Korea, they include Zelcova ( known locally as Neuti-namu), walnut and Chamjuk. We cut a massive and valuable hardwood- the Chamjuk- alternately and erroneously called Chinaberry in English. There are other lesser known or rarely available hardwoods such as birch or sycamore.

The Zelkovas can grow huge- 1-2 meters diameter and 2-3000 sq foot canopy, getting to be 400-500 yrs old. Many villages around the Korean countryside have these huge shade trees in village centers near streams, and act as community meeting places. The timber is very hard and not available commercially, so I haven't worked any yet. None of the valuable furniture timbers are available on the market. You have to know someone, have it cut and milled on your own initiative.

This is what we are doing with the chamjuk. Three smaller ones on an elderly neighbor's property were killed and need to be cut but are beween electrical wires so we'll have to call the power company arborist. The other massive one we took was alive , a towering 12-15meters ad 50yrs old. By far the nicest specimen I've seen in the past year since I learned about his species.

Worth about 1000$ unmilled, it sat between rotting standing pines, so 3 of those came down with it. It was awful. They got cought up on each other and the big chamjuk wanted to fall opposite the falling direction. So I had to rope it, with the elderly peasants trying to pull the tree upon themselves unsuccessfully- to which I was freaking out-safety first Korea! . I tethered it safely and went to get more rope and came back with a winch. Thankfully all the helping villagers were off duty having tea and the trees all came crashing down after a slight crank diagonally on the winch. The 6' sections were well over 100kgs and 4 truck loads later and all the pine bucked up for fuel, I was spent.

The wood has to dry a few months minimally before milling. I have made a couple things with it, it is very hard, pest resistant and rages from orange to deep red brown- mostly red. The tree we cut was the straightest of any such wood I've seen and will produce excellent boards. It is usually gnarly and swirled as most grow stunted. I just saw and sawed dollar signs while I was working on it.

Oh yeah, and I still love my new chainsaw.

YM tried to rest in the evening and the neighbors were calling to have us come to the community meeting. The frustration with our community has mounted lately, as with the arrival this year of 2 new younger ( under 60) households there has been more frequent social pressure and some initiative towards civic pride and whatever else I have no idea about ( this is a sleepy hamlet of 30 households) As Sunday is our only rest day ( and I always work like an animal), unplanned and bothersome, meddlesome unnecessary meetings are not what the doctor ordered. This has lead to frustration for us- wondering " are we living in communist North Korea?"- we moved to the country to get away from masses of meddlesome people. The announcement happy Koreans - yes if you live in older apartments or villages, there are intercom or PA announcements weekly , which you cannot avoid nor benefit from. People are literate now: post memos or SMS everyone concerned.

So , this leads all to the next step for us: evacuation. The store routine is wearing us down and we need a solution. We want to make a move from Korea and selling the house is involved so we are teasing all sorts of ideas. Such as...selling the house, buying another cheaper, older, isolated country home or industrial building to renovate to a living and work space, keep the change and rent it out while living in Canada or elsewhere. As for the store, despite its success, the rent and hours are major obligations and if we can get into online sales, we could sell the shop or lease it or get a manager and just make stuff without the retail duties. I mean, there are many more possibilities, and it has only been a year. Regardless of what happens, we will no doubt continue to work as many hours, we just want to find away to have more freedom, or flexibility and better profit margins. As it is now, we want to be out of the store by this time next year.

I have no idea how people get by this way, but all the shopkeepers have few customers. Our neighbor shoplady tell us we are the most successful on our row, and it must be true. There are just so many shops everywhere who must struggle to even make the rent. The people have no business sense ( ours is negligible ), originality or special talent ( those we do have). There are so many of the same kinds of shops with the same products, it makes my head spin. Most shops, cafes are empty most of the time.

Anyways , something's gotta give for us. Packing in the store and this house are not failures, just reflections on our desire for change and adventure. Here we are towing the line for just a year and ready to take more risks. We think renovating a house would be better use of time ( read: profitable leapfrogging ) than the daily 9-5 ( or 10 to 8, 6days a week).

ok that's it. for today.

I have to take a look at the published presentation skills book, for a final proof. The design looks fantastic- we totally rejected the first layout. I'm sure there are a few typos and omissions as the desk top publishers are not English speakers.

And..yes we have xmas tree. Will post for you all soon.

2010-12-05T00:20:00.000-08:00

Sitting on the fence between past and present tense

2010-12-02T20:30:00.002-08:00

Given between an increasingly large bump- like an emerging golf ball- and a barely visible scar on a forehead wrinkle, I chose the latter. The plastic surgeon in Iksan did a fabulous job. I had alternating stitches out today, the remainder will out on Monday.

While waiting to enter the secure OR zone, I stood by a biohazard pail with a cerain grandmother's amputated leg in it. A rather grim reminder of the horrors that occur daily in surgeries. While strolling to my OR, I saw my good friend Dr. Choi, who was so surprised as I hadn't announced or bothered him with this round of visits. I suspected I could see him as his surgeries are also scheduled Tuesday afternoons. So I got a vote of reassurance and he gave a pep talk to the OR staff reinforcing my VIP status. Actually, the Wongwang Uni hospital has a special program welcoming foreigners and treat every international citizen very respectfully.

It took 30'or so under the gowns and the only discomfort was trying to hold back sneezing from the iodine covering my face. I did and despite getting a bit hot near the end it was, for all purposes, painless. The incision is less than 2 cm and clean and relatively invisible. A success.

I think I like hospitals in Korea, not only because the service quality is so high, rapid, friendly, efficient and amazingly cheap ( generally hospital/ clinic costs are covered 90% by national health insurance), but because it is an English zone. All MDs and RNs have highly serviceable English and it is no problem to communicate health concerns. Other patients and staff always observe in curiosity the ease with which foreigners and doctors communicate.

Anyhow folks, I'm all good. I had a bit of a headache on the eve of the said day, but have not felt a thing since. Likely special bandages and super-steroidal ointments for the weeks to come.

2010-11-29T15:52:00.000-08:00

who wants a picture

2010-11-28T02:49:00.003-08:00

From my new series in progress " DOORS of ASIA". I'm selecting some images
I hope to exhibit soon. Somehow. Somewhere.

And something from the hand of my beloved.

Doors of Asia. Korea, Cheong san do

bringing home the kimchi

2010-11-27T16:41:00.002-08:00

It is Sunday and the only time I possibly have energy to write. My lover went to help some friends with their house renos/ I decided to invest time into my workshop proposal.

I couldn't focus so I went to burn off some steam. I had a lovely stroll with the ecstatic ( as usual) doggies and then stopped at toothless granpa's farm to do my neighborly service duty.

Blue has a bell on her collar- to give the wildlife a chance. She doesn't kill anything, but I'd rather they scatter earlier, and I want to know her whereabouts. Nature-wise , we have seen ( finally!) living raccoon dogs in our village thrice in the past 2 weeks. Once from the car- curious and not running away- and the other morning when I went out for a christmas tree, directly behind the house. It didn't react until we were 5 meters apart and I saw it before the dogs. The dogs couldn't find it after much searching, so it's burrow may be nearby or it was up a tree ( most likely).

The weather is fine, clear and maybe 11'C or so. The new chainsaw ( I can talk about it endlessly) starts up easily every time and tore down three persimmon trees for my elderly neighbors. The dogs stood by has I limbed ( this is not a word?) and bucked up the brittle branches to allow more sun on their garden plot. While doing so, I reflected as I often do, about my role in this community, the one in which I function and inhabit comfortably and easily despite such limited communication skill.

I am no doubt scrutinized and talked about, but fully accepted as a member of this extended family. We have some more friend-like neighbors with which we exchange ( mostly recieve ) foodstuffs but are cordial with most everyone. The nearest ( and the youngest) are the dearest and the dynamics are changing a bit as a few more middle aged couples move here. Strangers ( non-residents) regard me with suspicion as do I to them, but otherwise , anything I do, anywhere I go is pretty much okay.

We recieve kimchi form our friends and the immediate neighbors on this side of town. Below us are three homes, where two have numerous regular visiting offspring, and the other, I've written about before, less fortunate- they have lost three sons and have but one remaining son and one daughter whom we never see. But this grandma makes by far the best kimchi around. So when they ask me to do electrical work, fix something or cut wood- its truly my pleasure, not a duty. hence, I'm the family kimchiwinner.

The kimchi fridge , as odd as it sounds, is full. Like a deep freeze for Canadians who keep fish and game, the kimchi fridge preserves the pickled's and functions as a root cellar for roots and tubers. I like it because it stays at 2-3'c perfect for crisp cold beer, but now with some 80-100 liters of kimchi, the beer is in theregular fridge, and the larder is full of sweet potato. Besides cutting wood, I bake brownies, muffins and bread to give to others in exchange for foods received.

The farm behind us - salty granma's- was also remodeled due to my chainsaw and I have some valuable ( lumber wise) trees to fell on the other side of town sometime soon. So I am the town designated lumberjack. My height and reach ( and youthful fitness) is no doubt a factor. I am blessed to be regarded as a ( non-native) son here.

Furthermore, this musing gave me the chance to get Lisbeth Salander And Mikal Blomqvist out my head. Yup, I'm hooked on the Millenium trilogy as are many around the world apparently ( the #2 best -selling author worldwide) and have been listening to audio books for the last 2 weeks while I work in the woodshop. We've watched the films at the same time, and although I don't have the third book yet, I think I should just get on with it and put it behind me. When in the car, it is akin to driving and talking on a cellphone, with my attention fully on the gripping novel. But now I'm thinking about Millenium again. Dang.

Which leads me to this question: Have I 'read' those books when in fact I listened to them and have never seen a single printed word ? What do people say when asked that question.

Back to work.

it all about the cheese

2010-11-26T15:33:00.003-08:00

This is this blog's author.

I'm scheduled for surgery on Tuesday. Send flowers, chocolates.... kidding. This surgery stuff is becoming a hobby. The stats ( excluding oral) including the upcoming procedure:

Total times under the "knife": 10
Elective surgeries: 8
"plastic" surgeries : 3
Masses removed: 7
Orthopedic injuries : 0
Accidents : 0
Disease: 0
years elapsed: 23

I blame it on the cheese. So, to summarize. Seven masses in 23 years, at that rate I will live through roughly at least a dozen more. Fun. A real hobby.

The latest tumor is smack dab on the front of my forehead, can you see it in the picture above?
And it is not a cyst as presumed, but likely lipoma again, which means it is anchored below the muscle layer and not just the skin. This also means than my pretty face will be no longer, as there will be not only a small scar on the wrinkle line, but possibly a divot- lipoma gets enmeshed in the muscle. But it must be done because lipoma just gets larger and larger. The mass removed from my nape was at least pint sized and left a fist sized hole in my shoulder.

My French genes blessed me with nice thick dark and full hair which I will be wearing 'down' from now on to hide my scarred face. The same genes did not help me process dairy fat for which I blame due thanks to my scientifically unproven research. I sensed dairy was a cause and an Ayurvedic doctor consulted on my travels said the same thing. Regardless, I can't stop eating cheese ( only dairy I consume besides the occasional cream sauce, milk solids( choco) or probiotic yogurt). I'm not obsessed about the dietary root of the evil, but do give it consideration.

The excision will occur at Iksan's Wongwang University Hospital ( my 'home' uni hospital-according to good friend, endocrinologist and superstar robotic surgeon Dr. Choi, EunJong), where they treat foreigners regally, and I get VIP service. I'm on record the records there and despite the travel time, is a comfortable and familiar place which helps when far from comforts of home nation.

A cheese basket would be suitable consolation.

2010-11-21T15:22:00.002-08:00

a day at the marsh

2010-11-16T14:55:00.000-08:00

Lovely clear atumnal skies, look at the shop through my eyes

a bunting outside my window

2010-11-14T16:21:00.000-08:00

techno troubles

2010-11-11T17:31:00.004-08:00

I'm waiting for the power unit in my big computer monitor to be changed at the LG service centre near our shop. This morning it just imply died. It's going to be 45$ in 20 minutes. Korea's "AS= After service" industry is huge. Koreans expect warranty or repair work for every purchased item. They have a nice lounge here, massage chairs, coffee, internet and so on.

I regularly use 3 different iPODs. They rotate daily, at the store I have the ear buds in all the time- they cancel out tool noise efficiently and fill my ears with luscious tunes. Audio books also keep me entertained- i can listen to music easily 8-10-12 hours a day and never get bored_ this week it's 'The Year of Living Biblically". I also have so much to listen to, as usual. The batteries in these players are the reason why I use all three- they don't make it through my 20 hour work day.

The monitor is done in less than 10'. Back to new..and clean..... love the service. It's ironic that I was tempting my imaginary Santa with the thought of a larger LCD TV/monitor. it's a sign from above. Santa has been deified.

Sooo...The original shuffle I bought in Japan 5 1/2years ago is still going strong. Despite the frequent recharges, reset, and restore ( the reason I still can't uninstall iTunes completely) it has been a work horse of a Walkman. Yeonmi's Nano is istill in good shape after 4 years, and the green Shuffle i won as a photo contest prize recently survived a spin in the washer. I retrieved it soaking wet, dried it on the heater for a day, charged it up and loaded tunes.Surprise it worked!... unfortunately it's battery power lasted less than 2 hours...and it has been missing since then. I want a new MP3 that is not IPOD and doesn't need iTUnes or other software, I've had two and lost them both, but can't justify buying another when I have three functioning players...

It's now Monday morning as I finish this. I will clean my workshops first thing today and start the week tidy- and find the iPOD hopefully.

Sunday was ideal- I didn't drive anywhere. That's what relaxing and vacations mean to me- no watch, no cell phones , no driving. After a good hike- scanning for Christmas trees- I did some firewood stuff( surprise!) kitchen stuff ( lemon pie- thanks Tante) and some hot sauna yoga in the attic. The loft gets up between 40-50'C when the fireplace is going strong. mm mm.

I should email a couple profs from last week's successful and popular lecture at Woosuk University before going to Le Marais. The uni asked me back for a winter workshop, and from my presentation I gleaned that the profs are hungry for my kind of lecture, confirming my suspicion that there's a developing market here for the course I've been doing.

bye

poseur

2010-11-01T05:46:00.002-07:00

Here I am a few weeks ago at a hotel in Jiri mountain park, delivering a lecture to new incoming profs. The staff took some promo shots and sent me some.

I have no idea what I look like as a speaker, teaching others how to give presentations. But, everyone likes me and my work, so I'm doing something right.

The similar department at a nearby university ( WOOSUK) has asked me to do the same , very soon. Great work , when I can get it. And they want a winter workshop too.

So you know what I'm thinking. Market my course/lecture series to other universities. That's the beauty of a spousal visa and a niche.

2010-11-01T05:45:00.006-07:00

Yesterday, I delivered the above set. A young woman moving out on her own ordered them- copied from an Internet shopping design. We made much better quality than the factory furniture she wanted to buy. Easy and retro- but not really special.

However, the console pictured below is our latest pride. Made from ash ( imported from US) I learned a lot and applied all other skills in making it. Ash is wonderful to work with- very stable and strong- clear and mostly flawless. It took two 10' 2x8's to extract this. The door overlay is local brown birch from the mountain behind the house- a lovely hard wood- I wish I could buy some, pretty rare. The tile top, is a natural chalk white soft stone with gold/ rust ribbons through it- I had to cut it myself to get those small squares.

It is the culmination of a year apprenticeship. But seeing as I make so much stuff as fast as possible, some time for an elaborate beautiful project could produce something special. Alas, time is elusive.

I was so glad to see a radiant smile form the customer as she first noticed it upon visiting the store last night. The lady gave us the dimensions and request of tile as another in the store and a light colored hardwood, the rest was our design. She left with it in her car saying she was strong enough to get it into the apartment. We suspect she had some fear and shy apprehension regarding me- and didn't want the delivery. Any how..success and pride.

2010-10-31T02:45:00.004-07:00

One of our new customers insisted on taking a photo of us at the shop yesterday. My handsomeness motivated the gesture, and her need to show her son.

Yeonmi says" we are a weird couple as we never take couple shots of ourselves."

To Koreans this may be true, where couples and groups of friends take photos all the time , anyplace. For us, despite thousands of images from our travels , we have maybe a dozen shots of us together. As the photographer, I sometimes have to remember to get in front of the camera.

Anyhow, I haven't been blogging much , but it seems to be catching on again. I hope to detail the adventures of furniture making a bit more as well.

What I have been writing however, is a book(let) about lecturing and public speaking skills for the university. I say a booklet as it is just under 100 pages.

" It's more like a pamphlet" says Larry David to Jerry in last season's Curb Your Enthusiasm about Jason Alexander's Memoirs : Acting without acting .

Having said that, I kept it short, concise, and to the point, in hopes that it will be read and used by the target audience: professors whose duty it is to give lectures ( one course per year) in English. This comes after 2 years of teaching a similar course /workshop at CBNU. It will be published in the spring.

For your reading pleasure:

Public speaking is a widespread fear amongst most people. Although people’s lives are filled with the experience of listening to speeches from broadcasts, education, or participation in clubs and associations, they still are nervous when it becomes their turn to speak in front of others.

Even when becoming educators and experts of knowledge, some instructors still struggle to show confidence, authority and leadership. Acquiring and mastering public speaking skills is the key to delivering effective and memorable presentations and lectures. The knowledge and practice of speaking techniques makes good presenters great.

Or this:

The skilled presenter always has a clear plan for the structure, timing and sequence of their talks. It takes great practice and preparation to appear effortlessly organized, confident and to deliver presentations smoothly.

Preparing lectures and presentations gets easier over time and keeping and modifying plans for repeated talks is very useful as well. There are some variations in lesson, presentation or lecture plans, but most contain the same basic elements. Delivering unplanned talks is usually difficult for presenters, tiresome for audiences, and are likely to be miserable and unsuccessful events.

Yawn...

Anyways, the fine effort is nearly complete and submitted, just some appendices -forms and templates- to complete. It has been hard to find time to work at it consistently.

Le Marais stuff

2010-10-31T02:02:00.004-07:00

Le Marais is nearing it's one year anniversary.

eyeSage photography has nearly 2000 images in its folder. Most of these are not great or not of our self made products but nonetheless, the number of objects produced is actually astounding.

I started to assemble some collages of products for an in-store catalog- very popular with our guests to thumb through. It also gives an idea of our colors and style.

Here are a few for you.

kimchi wars

2010-10-26T17:04:00.003-07:00

The kimchi wars of 2010 are about to start.

Well, maybe.

We had two cold nights in a row, yesterday just hitting 0' and last night well below 1'. This morning's doggie walk poo run , we discovered all the remaining flowers, and crops frozen stiff with frosty coatings. Our blossoms and potted plants ( oops) left out are toast. The peasants ( yes, I have some un-PC guilt saying that- unlike Kenny f'n Powers) will be not impressed, with their fall cabbage and root crops quitting a month or so early. Yes, it's uncommon for frost in October.

Smaller cabbages probably will be toast, the larger ones, fine. We saw radishes, lettuce, eggplant and squashes all pretty much frozen mush. The village agriculturists have been busy- Saturday harvesting like bad before a rain on Sunday, mostly seeds- drying rice, collecting veggies, but there are still many things that go the distance- almost 2 more weeks. not this year.

This comes to an already lousy crop year. The incessant rain of August rotted away many crops- cabbage, lettuce, cucumbers- you name it. And farmers had a surplus last year so grew less this year. The markets are barren and vegetables are 3-4 times the usual price. A grapefruit sized head of iceberg lettuce goes for about 5 bucks. Needless to say, vegetarians must be going nuts, and everyone else working on metabolic disease when meat is cheaper than basic veggies. Instead of meatless Mondays it will be Tomato-less Tuesday and Spinachless Sunday.

Hence the kimchi wars. Markets are selling heads of cabbage- normally one dollar- for 6-8 bucks. Line ups, theft, greed and insanity doubtless follow. now, the fall crop- kimchi is made year round but normally in November after fall harvest.

See this link for more great information.

a quickie with some pics

2010-10-23T18:18:00.004-07:00

I think about blogging much more than I actually get down to it. Conversations in my head as I pace around the shop and my new little work room , pictured below.

I took a photo of the striation of various wood dusts of many tones. The sawdust is going to mulch the flower beds. Also giving a lot to a village friend with an exceptional flower garden.

Our elderly neighbor below us with his fancy plastic chair. I've photographed this gate a few times before. I sometimes fix things for them, and we get delicious kimchi in return- the best in the village. Our neighbors are pretty much all adorable.

And some Le Marais scenes for y'all. Our friend Yong-mi is quite the artist as well, from drawings to wood fabrications. We've sold a few of her fabric creations on consignment recently. here are some of her new cushions displayed on our sofa bench.
We did some work for a cafe near our store recently- wood partitions, shelving , framed pictures and such. This was for the exterior. I love the light, shadow and tones of this simple photo.

the cafe scene is out of control in Korea. There are hundreds now in Jeonju where there were none 5 years ago. They are popping up everywhere- and they are all empty. I don't know how owners justify spending so much on retail development and operate without customers. Furthermore, there are some on every block in certain neighborhoods, for example, 5 in a 2 minute walking stretch. And not a single one is open before 10am! Or has customers before 5pm.

Yes, I know of 2 cafe's in a city of 700 000 people that are open for morning coffee- except for the 2 Dunkin Donutses. One of the two is a 24hr joint. Crazy. So The difference is Koreans don't drink coffee to get going, they drink coffee to keep going- late at night. Also, it's all social and class/ image related. Coffee drinking is a leisurely western habit which speaks about class, lifestyle and success. Another blogger mentioned how college kids carry around Starbucks takeaway cups filled with instant coffee they make themselves. Coffee to most Koreans is a 30 second investment- 5omls of hotH20 added to powdered sugar coffee, ingested in a quick slurpy spurt. Ayways , for many others now, the coffee revolution is wlecomed, but still, the 95% of the coffee on the supermarket aisle is powdered crap.

There you go. A blog post. I didn't imagine writing about cafes.

village walk in October

2010-10-16T20:55:00.004-07:00

I do think about this blog from time to time. I'm sorry to let y'all down. I have every intention to continue detailing our 'interesting ' and exotic life.

As you guesses, I'm busy. Hence the lack of posts.

Fall is here with its fabulous weather: clear blue skies and cozy moderate temps- good for working and sleeping well.

Our Sunday walk produced these scenes.

Saree's hair matted with burrs and seeds. Great fun- there goes the nice coat she had.
Her next look: winter dreadlocks.

Yes, there are still numerous blossoms of many kinds.

Jeon-nam 2: Wildflower Story

2010-07-23T16:24:00.004-07:00

Jeon-nam Part 1

2010-07-23T16:17:00.003-07:00

Life and death of birds.

2010-07-11T15:58:00.003-07:00

I had a good weekend. By all measure of accomplishments it was fantastic. The lawn was cut before Sunday's rain. I cemented the fish/lily pond -also now filled with rain water. I made several small things at Le Marais. And We did absolutely nothing on Sunday. Zero. Zilch. Nada. As it should be.

Sunday's rain framed a domestic bliss with calls to family at home, pancakes, jazz, videos, books,naps, floral photography and a big lunch at a village friends all capped with a muddy sunset walk with a double rainbow- my first ever rainbow witnessed in Korea.

Saturday morning, I realized that in fact the Eastern Great Tits returned to last year's nest box( I cleaned it and improved it in the spring) for a late batch of babies. Could it be the same pair. This year however, both parents were helping out with the constant feeding.

Unfortunately, on Saturday at the store, we had a short-sighted sparrow who flew in and repeatedly slammed itself into the wall mural of trees inside the shop. Finally it was caught and released outside for a broken winged nose dive flight : cat food.

Furthermore, Saree toasted an infant dove, the most common and plentiful resident. On the way down the valley the fledgling was discovered and presumably maimed , and on the return was seen hobbling on the path where both dogs ran for it and finally caught it and snapped it's neck: cat food once again.

Saree, in your note book, 100 times please: " I shall not kill birds."

Unless they are big tasty male pheasants.

You win some, you lose some.

to blog or not to blog

2010-07-09T18:17:00.002-07:00

I'm gonna try.

This is the first post in ages.

To bring you up to speed, I quit CBNU and now only work one job: Le Marais. So that's only about 50-60hrs per week, plus a few lessons here and there. Much better than the 80hrs or so I was putting in until the end of June.

I wake up when I want. The dogs take regular walks. Even the lawn is getting cut. I help out with laundry too. Nonetheless, exhaustion is still the norm. Maybe a video will round out the day.

To be brief- Yeonmi is expecting me at the store ( I did the aforementioned chores, plus shampooed Saree, and tried to repair the lily pond)- I want to write again and share some news and adventures.

For the time being , have a look at this article and the most recent regarding a dear friend of mine in an awful predicament in Beijing.

2010-04-17T20:16:00.000-07:00

2010-04-17T16:24:00.000-07:00

2010-02-28T06:26:00.000-08:00

2010-02-28T06:24:00.001-08:00

Crocus and deerhunter

who's waiting for new eyesage photos

2010-02-28T06:22:00.001-08:00

Wild Days in Gong-dok

Yes, that is my dog Saree .
Yes, that is a deer leg in her mouth.

Yeon-a wins gold!

2010-02-26T15:10:00.002-08:00

The olympic fervor is reaching its climax with but a couple days to go.

Yesterday's ladies skate was the national highlight here in Korea. Yu-na Kim has been a national pride for the last two years as she has won several international competitions, and the pressure on her has been unbelievable.

Kim is a mega- star in Korea, her product endorsements numerous and her image ubiquitous. Even without a television , one can see her image on posters and print at every corner. She is the second richest Olympian in these 2010 games.

I watched the skate during lunch - we had Tokki Tang (rabbit soup) for my first time ever( spicy but tasty) at a restaurant nearby the store- and fought to held back tears. With Kim Yeon-ah , I see the hopes, aspirations and now, affirmations, of all of the thousands of bright and ambitious Korean teenage girls I have come to know in the last five years. And, as such, she is the best ambassador of the new Korea ( or how I would like Korea to be branded): hardworking, determined , modest and graceful. She represents all of the features I find most attractive in this nation.

The press around the world is rightly praising her world record setting skate. Sports Illustrated suggests Kim "will be ranked among the greatest Olympic champions" , and this good LA TImes article encapsulates the unfortunate nationalist view.

Her success was critical, and she was quoted as saying how much pressure was lifted from her with the win. I'm still trying to understand why this young lady is affecting me so strongly. It may be a Korean thing, it may be the aforementioned mirror of the youth I know. Mostly, when someone is absolutely the best at what they do, it demands attention. Perhaps it's her modesty with that talent that sets her above all others. Not sure.

And I have always hated figure skating. Seriously.

sweet home

2010-02-25T15:50:00.002-08:00

I'm back safe and sound after a week's journey to Canada. Thanks to the few I saw for being so accommodating and generous.

If you're in Canada and reading this don't feel resented if I couldn't touch base. I jammed 28 hours of flying time into nine days. Only six days were spent not in travel. I was jet lagged and drowsy the whole time- I slept through half of Avatar at Imax!- and I got a solid 4hours per night. Phew.

I ate well and visited with family and friends and can report everyone is healthy and well. Of course the whole journey is a bit strange without mon amour, Yeonmi, as everyone wants to see her as well. otherwise, I was in a daze most of the time, and deep reckoning about present physical existence and future repatriation plans.

The Olympics were fun, but without TV and time here, I'm falling out of the loop. The international competetion and cooperation is great but the nationalism both unifying for Canada but as usual in sports, dangerously chauvinistic.

Now back in Korea, I'm not jet lagged, but the sleep is still way off a normal pace. The weather has turned to warm, temperatures soared to 19' on Wednesday, and there was a torrent of rain yesterday, as much as 50mm over 24hrs. The workshop was flooded and it put me in a miserable mood yesterday having to deal with it.

le Marais is a bit out of control. The pressure is on to get through the job board, some 12 orders are noted , some of them quite big like a family photo studio that wants 8 pieces of furniture in three weeks. The clients are all very pleased and gracious and patient. The requests for DIY art lessons are numerous and I can't see how that's going to work. Luckily my new schedule will afford me about three 8 hour sessions per week there and maybe a couple more shorter sessions . All of our life revolves around the shop.

Spring is coming and yeonmi is excited for her garden but she'll have to plant her seeds by moonlight. Everything around us is brown and gray, and it may be a month or so before things look greener. There are a million small duties to tend to around the yard and a few unfinished tasks from late summer, before Le Marais happened.

And, my 'handphone' died. One of the keys stopped working the next such key powers it on. how this happened, I don't know, but the first store we went to yesterday was kind of rude and classless, so we'll keep going until we find a shop that treats us like loyal customers. So I can't call anyone or be called, and I won't be able to retrieve all the numbers stored on the old cell. I really don't know a single person's phone number, everything is speed dial.

more from Le Marais

2010-02-08T06:05:00.003-08:00

One of our loyal clients keeps ordering colorful whimsical stuff for her shop or home, inclusing the 'flower table'. Now a best seller, we have two more to make in addition to the gray one below.

Current window displays....these should be changed frequently for the full sun exposure it receives.

Tables and chairs, tables and chairs. the orders are many now, and we are both learning and improving fast.

2010-01-14T05:34:00.000-08:00

2010-01-14T05:30:00.000-08:00

return to CHiang MAi

2010-01-14T04:46:00.002-08:00

Until the past Saturday, I had been writing a lot. Since then, I have been shopping a lot and flaking a bit more,as shopping is surprisingly tiring stuff. It's actually work, if you consider that I'm in Chiang Mai now to source and research interior and decorative type items.

Last Friday I arrived in Ao NAng, Krabi province to visit a Thai friend Phet for a day or two. His son arrived with the mother from Finland and i was welcomed at his home. His dive shop is doing well and I went out on Saturday to nearby island reefs. Then his staff upgraded a dive package with photos for the customers, so I went out on the Sunday to photograph a couple on the first time out, and got to dive for free. I made some decent photos and short videos, despite not seeing any special creatures.

Wile in Ao Nang, I ate home hooking daily and got to enjoy more Thai hospitality and have some decent visits.

On Monday i took a speed boat from Ao Nang to Phuket, an hour's trip, transferred to the airport at then two short flights to get all the way up north. Much easier than trips in the past, avoiding Bangkok completely. I'm set up at a nice B&B guesthouse in the old city, across from a major temple.

The temple has been quite active this week with a funeral celebration for the district's most senior/chief monk. Processions and ceremonies occurred yesterday, continued today with many sectors of the community and government paying visits and homage.

Meanwhile, I have been driving all over town and outskirts, stopping at furniture factories and handicraft shops. I'm not able to buy loads of things this trip, but looking at quality and design for future orders. I have been looking for some other items to decorate the shop, by yeonmi's request.

Chiang Mai looks great and has cleaned up a bit here and there. I remarked again, how surprised I was upon arrival, that I like it here, as I did after my second arrival, four years ago. But after 3 days, the charm is fading, with tuk-tuk noise and exhaust, and it is after all, an Asian city.

It is busy with tourists, but as usual, the locals are so accommodating and friendly.
Smiles follow you everywhere and doing business is easy, even without the local language ( I can only recall numbers and greetings).

Shopping wise, the good stuff is all out of town and have discovered at least one of the hot spots. There are numerous antiques dealers, of high quality goods from SE Asia, but some of the prices are high. If we were purchasing cargo items for the store, I would include many old and weathered furnishing and decorations for myself.

I got a 5$ haircut and shave yesterday to shed the 3 week old beard and growth. The result has brought positive and charming compliments from the folks who saw me in the previous days.As in Korea, my clean shaven face pleases the fairer sex.

One more day before returning to the cold of the Korean peninsula. I will visit the post office with my boxes of goods to morrow and find a pair of shoes and sweater for the return voyage.

2010-01-09T04:06:00.001-08:00

images from Koh Yao Noi

2010-01-09T04:03:00.001-08:00

I said goodbye to Koh yao and my friends and all the wonderful people there, yeaterday.

Phang-gna bay underwater

2010-01-05T00:30:00.000-08:00

retracing one warm line

2010-01-02T20:11:00.000-08:00

I was warmly welcomed back to Koh Yao Noi.

I made the ferry pier with a lucky two minutes to buy some bamboo rice and longans. Once aboard,
there were
thai tourists as well as the local residents. How times have changed , even for the locals, digital cameras, cell phones and notebooks were being used. Less than 10 years ago the island had no telephone.
On arrival, I noticed the changes and development on the island. There are a few more accommodations, but increasingly upscale residences and villas as well.

I had an intoxicating afternoon nap then headed to www.lomlae.com where I visited and reconnected with the owners and saw their changes as well. They upgraded all the bungalows, added some structures. Another great man, Bee, whom I also first met five years ago, has been working at Lom for 3 years, we last saw him there in March of 2007. He works with the dive shop and has his own bar on the island.

After a gratuitous meal – the SomTam I have been longing for ages, done and presented perfectly, Radt drove me over to Bee’s. Bee plied me with complimentary Singhas and we caught up . His friends and staff were also so friendly and kept encouraging me to ‘take it easy’ which I’m doing quite successfully.

Then another meal was laid out. These are my favorite meals, home cooking by the staff for the staff and friends/family. Here you can sample the most authentic and local soups and seafood. I was full from dinner, but persisted: it’s a rare authentic experience. I struggled with the accents, and low pitch because of my poor hearing. Once dusk hits, and the cicadas warm up, the gentle tone of the Thai speech is harder to understand.

Today, I’ll get a motorbike and tour the island, take photos and track the changes. I shall visit the new bank-which never existed before- and change $ to Baht which I didn’t need to spend on my first day.
I’m waiting for the tide so I can swim and feel human.

Thai hospitality is unbeatable.

Happy New Year to all!

2010-01-01T19:45:00.000-08:00

I arrived yesterday in Phuket after a painless but long voyage from Gongdok village.

I am here to find the old, calm Andy. This involves, relaxing, taking life slowly, smiling, breathing stretching, mediation and eating well. I also will do some work for Le Marais, finding goods to import,later in Chiang Mai, but first, the south and the sea. My secret and secondary or third goal is to write, write , write.

I love Thailand. Everyone is friendly and smiling, and I started to smile as soon as I was off the plane.

I just finished breakfast , good coffee and basic toast. I’m at a guesthouse near the airport, it was five minutes away. I was very lucky: I waited for 30 minutes for a taxi- they weren’t working yesterday because of the New year’s day holiday. Finally I asked the young man at the taxi queue’ who can take me nearby on motorcycle?’ and he did, cheaply and took me to first guesthouse. It’s quiet here, very cheap and clean room.

The driving to bus Iksan IC was safe and easy. I left my home at 2 am to head out on the snowy icy roads, once on the toll highway I was fine, and arrived at the bus ( park and ride limo to airport) with out incident. The flight is ok- discount airline ( JIN Air) we got a small meal but they offer nothing else. No video, no magazine. I got an emergency row seat so I had room, but the other rows are terribly small. The greatest thing happened, I made a friend. The guy next to be looked cool arty east Asian with long hair, but he was American ( parents are Japanese). We talked and laughed for 6 hours about a million things= a rarity.

This guesthouse is far from anywhere I had to walk 15’to eat a t a local restaurant , they didn’t have a menu or speak English , I just said fried noodle, and beer it was less than 3$. Across the street was massage place, after 1 minute of touch, I said I want to change to 2 hour massage- my body is so stiff and unfamiliar. I feel sore back from the bed today.

I will find transport to Bang Rong pier to go to Koh Yai Noi island. I am relaxed and doing everything slowly. I’m going to find Sala ( fruit) and mangosteen and SomTam ( green papaya salad). MM.

Happy New Year to all. I’m starting off the year and decade well.