Jungneungcheon stream, right outside our window here in Dongdaemun-gu is pretty ugly. It's covered with an overpass, is usually nothing but a trickle, and is littered with garbage. However it is under construction, a four year project, and it's starting to look better every day. I think it is going to look something like Cheongyecheon. They've already got up a walking bridge, some wooden platforms, and some greenery. It's too bad we won't be able to enjoy it after listening to all that construction every day.
Jungneungcheon right now:
View from our window:
Outside our door in Uijeongbu we will have Jungrangcheon, which is in better condition. It's been left pretty natural. There is a walking path up higher on the banks, and near the water is a cycling path. It's very quiet. I look forward to walking there. 
I went to the new place yesterday by myself to do some measuring and take notes of what needs to be done. The list is quite daunting. The place is spacious, but some things are need of fixing up. Most of the light fixtures are missing, as well as the light switch plates. The wallpaper in the master bedroom is pretty bad, and all the woodwork is painted a bright blue. We're going back to Uijeongbu tomorrow to talk to interior places to get some estimates. The owner has agreed to replace the fixtures and do the basics, but we'll have to pay for the woodwork. If it weren't this awful shade of blue I would just try to live with it, but it's unacceptable. There's a lot of work to be done. Ours is the building on the left:
View from our dirty window:
Here is some other stuff I couldn't resist buying.
My doctor's appointment was good. I was told it's normal for me to be sore right now, so that's good; I like normal. I'm continuing to gain weight... so far over 30 pounds! Do I look impressed?
Finally, just when we were going to leave the building, I spied this Noro Silk Garden yarn, which I had to get. Noro has to be one of the most popular yarns out there and I've heard so much about it, but I've never tried it. I didn't know it was available in Dongdaemun, and I assumed that if it was, it would be too expensive. To my surprise, the man only charged me $65 for the bag of 10 balls, which I think is a pretty good deal. Kind of hurts to shell out that kind of cash all at once, but when you break it down to the per ball cost, it's really not bad at all. I tried knitting up a swatch with it and I can see why people like it. Because of the silk content, it slips very nice over the bamboo needles and the colourway is so gradual and vivid. 
So it was a great trip. Karen and I then had lunch at one of my favourite restaurants, Himalaya, near Dongmyo Station. It was delicious and we had a nice talk about babies and childcare. Got some good book and product recommendations.
Also last week, I had to go to Kyobo Bookstore to get some new materials for new classes. Of course, I stopped by the Japanese Knitting section on my way to the English section. Always a mistake. The books and the patterns inside are too cute for words. And the worst part is that they're pretty cheap. Each book goes for about $10, which I'm sure is a lot cheaper than what people in the West pay to get Japanese books shipped over. Anyway, I picked up the two cutest ones, this time with some cute bag and scarf patterns. These are the patterns I'm particularly interested in:
I couldn't resist giving something a try with my new cotton, so I made these little coasters, which I just love. They only took me about an hour each. 
So, as the topic of this post suggests, doing these little crafts keeps me from going crazy. If I work well, I allow myself to do a couple rounds of crocheting. If I just goof off on Facebook or Ravelry, I can't. Very simple, but it works. I'm getting both work and crafting done, which keeps me satisfied. Last week I completed both my red silk doilie (which was not fun because of the twisty thread), and Antlia, which was for the Doilie Heads crochet-along. I like how both of them turned out. Now, I'm working on Crocus Doilie. I'm very excited about this one because I've been eying the pattern for months. I hope it turns out how I picture it.
Oh yes, and yet another time waster has entered by apartment -- a piano. I've been wanting a piano for years, and it's here. I bought it used, and I'm pleased with it. Nice sound. Surprisingly I haven't been drawn to it too many times. I'll likely play it more when these books are done. Toto loves the bench!
Well, back to work!
From there we went to Dongdaemun Shopping Town and shopped at the wholesalers. No matter how many times I go there, I will never stop being amazed at how much yarn there is there. Thank goodness I don't have a sewing machine, because there is so much fabric there, too!
It was when we got to the top floor that I gave into my weaknesses. I've been wanting to get into beading for quite a while, so I broke down and bought some lovely beads, fishing line, and clasps. It cost me all of $15, so I didn't feel too guilty. That night, I make a necklace and a bracelet, which I feel are pretty enough to be called successes. I'd like to learn some more complicated stitches for bracelets, like brick stitch.
After that, we went to an Indian restaurant called Himalaya and had some really deilicous Indian food. I was really happy to find this restaurant, as it is both yummy and cheap. It was a really nice change from Korean food and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. So, Saturday was a lot of fun, and I was happy to get home and look at my purchases while watching Law and Order.
Back to my Word document...
I was supposed to visit my friend Ed today at lunch and meet his little baby, Hannah, but I didn't think showing up sick would be very welcome. So, it's postponed yet again.
Back to the couch!
