Traditionally carved posts were made to scare evil spirits away from Korean villages. These ones are located outside Gyeongbok-gung Palace and seem to be doing a pretty good job. We did not run into any evil spirits while we were there.

My dad meets the octopus we would soon be eating as sashimi for lunch. Although it lost some of its sucking power when it was killed it was still able to suck on to the insides of our mouths as we tried to chew it as Jay so nicely demonstrates in the above photo. And yes it was quite tasty.

Christmas day on the Han River.

It was great having my dad and Ann visit for Christmas....this was a post-stocking, pre-present opening photo op.

Merry Curisumasu! Look how good we were this year. We hope you were good and Santa was nice to you too. Bob and Ann arrived last night, photos to come!

This was the view out our window when we woke up this morning. Maybe we will have a white Curisumasu....(that is how they say Christmas in Korean)

Seoul has many moods. Here's the lazy, hazy late-afternoon urban mood shot from the roof window of our highrise. The Han River, mid-frame, cuts the city in two. Building 63 is the tallest in Seoul.

All dressed up with the 18th MEDCOM ball to attend, which we crashed due to the tickets were sold out. The lesson might be that procrastination DOES have its rewards as we ended enjoying a $100 dinner gratis. 700 guests were all dressed up in black tie at the Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul and everyone looked quite nice. There was some pomp and ceremony of course and now some of it has more meaning after going to war for a year. It's nice to enjoy the holidays with Colleen again.

"Snow on Kimchee pots" Yesterday I visited an area south of Seoul called Icheon, which is pretty much the same name as the area we live in just spelled a little differently. Yes, the Korean language is a bit confusing. Icheon is known for its ceramics and there are many different pottery shops and studios in this area. I enjoyed seeing so many beautiful pieces in one place and hopefully just about finished off my Christmas shopping. Well, except for Jay's stocking......

This is down by the Han River path that we run for exercise and walk for enjoyment. It is getting cold around here, this day was -2 C but still beautiful.

K, Ritsuko, and Yoko enjoy cookies and Jay's homemade eggnog at our cookie exchange party. The eggnog was a big hit!!!
Not the best party shot, luckily the party went over better than my picture taking. From left to right in this photo, a Japanese friend of ours, and we do not know who the second person is.... not sure if that is good or bad that we had a possible party crasher....next an orthopod who works at the 121, the husband of a pediatrician at the 121, my friend Manisha from India, an OB from the 121 and a Swedish officer we met while visiting the DMZ.

This was our first experience with Korean Pizza and it won't be our last. We ordered a pizza called "Shrimp Nude." Contrary to the name this pizza was not nude at all, there were shrimp, peppers, corn, olives, kimchee, mushrooms, mayo and a strange sort of sweet cheese around the edge. We enjoyed it but will probably try a different one next time, maybe the bacon and potato.

Jay at the Korea National Museum on Thanksgiving Day. This Museum is just across the main road from our house. Surrounding the museum is a beautiful park that we explored on Thanksgiving after seeing a traveling exhibition of Landscapes from the Louvre. The weather on Thanksgiving although cold was beautiful.