My son isn't really aware that Christmas presents exist before Christmas Day. He's never asked about them and he never looks for them. It was a thing of beauty... until today. I had big plans to retrieve some toys from my vehicle while he was distracted in his bedroom, playing with his sister. I even tried to time the opening of the door with their happy giggles, but he was too clever for me. Just as I had precariously filled my arms with toys ready to be taken to my super-top-secret hiding place in the shed, I caught sight of his eyes peering out the front door. So I tossed everything back into my vehicle and announced that I had just finished loading it with donations for the orphanage. And then he brought me one of his cars to add to the pile. So....basically he's a saint, and I'm a liar. Welcome to the Christmas Season.
1. Outline the cookie using a #2 tip and thick black icing. Start with the front arm (I highlighted it in yellow. You know, in case the word "front" was confusing.) Everything else makes sense once you have that in place. After the arm, I did the shirt and the pants, then the hair, the face, and then the remaining detail lines. If you can... try not to make his leg wonky like I did.
2. Fill in half of the spaces and then take a break to make some popcorn. (Just me? Go ahead and skip to step 3.)
3. Fill in the other areas and let dry overnight.
4. Add tiny little black dots for the eyes and some holes on the pipe. Give him some rosy little cheeks and you are DONE.
If you came to visit me in South Korea, I would take you on a walk in Waegwan. I lived there for 2 years.
And I think I walked down every street in the entire town.
The neighborhood streets aren't so big in Korea. If you live in a house in a neighborhood, you have to park your car outside the neighborhood and walk to your house.Not everyone owns cars. Especially in towns this small.
This house was on the edge, so it was much easier to get a picture. This is a fairly standard house....except that you can't see the giant kimchi pots. They are probably around the left side. At night, the people in the home will sit outside on their platform and the neighbors will come join them. They will sit out there watching people go by well into the night. Because day time is for working. And night time is for people.
I kind of just wanted to rub it in that I saw this nearly every day of my life. This rice paddy is just a few hundred meters from my apartment building.
This is the town of Waegwan. Population 29,000. And there are at least 10 apartment complexes like the one in the middle of this picture.
Welcome to main street. They are not afraid of color here. Or parking on the sidewalk. Or driving on the sidewalk for that matter.
And this is the market. A tiny version of this came to my apartment complex every Thursday. I could walk out my door and buy eggs and vegetables and snacks and sometimes clothes for my children or a winter coat.... I miss that.
The vendors on the main road of the market sell food. The side streets have everything else.
Nearly every walk in Waegwan ended with this tunnel. My apartment is on the other side. The train track is on top. Giant spiders live inside it. And sometimes.... cars drive through it. They have really small cars in Korea. And they drive them wherever they will fit.
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