I'm sure that you've said to yourself many, many times.. now, if I could just make my 'butt' bigger.. my life would be complete..

But, where could I buy such an item? WHERE?? Apparently, sold in the street of Namdaemun Market in Seoul, South Korea.

THE TAG:

DID you notice that the size is: XXL????


Full view..


Now, if you just must have one of these.. just let me know.. after all.. I'm sure that there are at least 4 people 'somewhere' who might want to have a bigger butt?

Somewhere.. I'm sure that there are.. but, I'm not one of them.. ARE YOU?

In the MOOD for something .. different?...

Tired of filtered water? How about natural spring water? Tap water leave you bored? ... well, maybe it is time you had some: ODD WATER!
This is a fairly new store that opened up only a few months ago. I'm not quite sure what the message is that they are trying to send... maybe it was an unfortunate 'adjective' choice? Maybe they meant to say: "Unusual water?" or even "Unique Water?"

I've not been brave enough to try it out YET... but, maybe I'll get a whim for the 'off-beat?' Or ready to walk on the 'wild side' and I'll go in and purchase a glass of ODD WATER.

Can't you just hear a country and western song being written about this?

Vincent (Starry Starry Night) Don McLean

Starry, starry night.. oh Vincent...

I found the song and it is even sung by Don McLean.. it also shows images of Van Gogh's art. Some of the paintings were on display in the museum.. pretty neat to see some that you've seen in books, on posters, calendars, cards, etc.. in person!


*Anyone remember this Don Mclean song? (Somehow that name doesn't look right?) Have I remembered his name wrong all these years? Or was it my 'snow day hope' being dashed again that caused the memory lag/loss?

IF you aren't familiar with the song- it is a hauntingly beautiful song about Vincent Van Gogh.

This weekend, I went to see the Vincent Van Gogh art display at one of the Seoul Art Museums.. the wait to get into the museum was over an hour and half about 20 minutes of it was outside in this line. *It was much longer than this and there are many, many people in line behind us. I didn't think to take a photo earlier. There was even a long line just to get the tickets to get into the museum.

Once we got inside the building, we were in another long line that snaked around in several loops.. my friends and I took turns going into the museum's gift shop for entertainment- while 1 or 2 kept our place in line. Made the time go much faster. I also knitted in line.

However, I must confess that I was bad, bad.. bad.. I tell ya.. bad....I took a photo of one of Vincent's earlier landscapes. His early years have some of my favorite paintings by him-- they were very realistic and serene.. before.. he had some 'issues' develop. *Of course, someone was there w/in one second and said in ENGLISH TO ME.. "NO PHOTOS!"



Of course, they also had one of his famous sunflowers on display.. (note: NOT THE REAL PAINTING- I took a photo of an art print in the gift shop.. I was only bad once! I didn't want them to take my camera away.)


Some of my other favorite paintings that they did have on display. *Again, photos of the prints in the museum gift shop!




This is the yellow house that he had lived in.


It was an amazing display and well worth waiting in line in the cold weather outside and the crowded lines on the inside on a cold February Sunday afternoon. He is one of my favorite artists and seeing his artistic expressions that he put his heart and soul in; made me feel connected to the past and the beauty that he saw in everyday objects/etc.

I am so glad that although Vincent Van Gogh only sold one painting in his life- he continued to do his life's passion- painting despite non-acceptance in the art world and by society. He was fortunate to have a close relationship with his brother THEO and his brother believed in his artistic abilities and helped to keep him supplied in canvases and paints. So, even though he had some rough times in his later life.. he was blessed to have a close relationship with his brother.

I have an announcement

It is snowing! It started about 2:15 and has been snowing for an hour.. w/ no indication that it is letting up. The streets are still in the 'wet' stage, the sidewalks are covered and it's starting to stick on the grass.

I will not give up my dream of a SCHOOL SNOW DAY until April 1, 2008.

THIS might be my long hoped for snow day.. because, it's going to get dark and colder soon-- which means if it keeps snowing.. it might stay on the ground/etc. ;D

WOO HOOO...


Oh, and guess what I did? Started a new project last night-- I remembered a gift that I needed to knit and since, it's a tricky lace scarf.. I need to start on it now- so, I'll have time to get it finished in time. This one is an exception to my decision on Sunday.. not to knit anything new. Nothing that I had already started would work for this gift.

UPDATE: Tuesday 6:45am.. yes, snow is everywhere.. main streets are still wet.. but, since, no one has called me to notify me that school has been closed or has a delayed start.. I can only assume (darn it) that school is starting at the normal time.

confession time

I was going through some things this weekend and I gathered up most all of my unfinished knitting projects. I know that there is a sweater coat that is almost finished that I didn't drag out from the back room to take a photo of it- reason it's not finished? Too many times moving and now the pattern is lost- and all I need to knit is another sleeve, put it together, pick up stitches for the collar and the front button bands.

Here they are in all their glory..

Softest very expensive Japanese mohair yarn ever.. I was doing this in the doctor's office.. (what was I thinking? When I only had 6 rows knitted before I took it with me- I was doing fine- until I had some sort of knitting lapse and stopped in the middle of the row- when they called me in to see the doctor and then the stitches fell off the needles. I tried and tried.. and can't figure out how to get it back in pattern, since it's a 12 or 15 row repeat pattern. Sigh..



Plum sweater.. lovely yarn to knit with. However, I do not know where the pattern is.. le sigh.. Stopped because of torn left thumb injury..



Green cable slipper- a pattern that I designed and just haven't finished the other side following my written scribbled directions to see if I can figure out if I wrote down all the steps and that what I wrote down makes sense. Also, stopped when I injured my left thumb..



A simple slipper using mohair and acrylic yarn together- it was meant to be a gift- but, it got put aside to knit another gift. So, I need to just finish this and send it to someone later on.



Soft mohair scarfette- that I had knitted on a plane... things got busy.. knitting got put in a plastic bag/forgotten/had left torn thumb injury and couldn't knit for a few months... then, started on 'gift' knitting.



Lavender scarf- started during winter break- just need to add another skein or two of yarn to finish it up.



My first mitten- not finished because .. after I made this one.. I knitted a pair of mittens for a gift and I lost interest in finishing the other mitten for myself.



Blue cotton sweater. Pattern???? Who knows where it is.. that is what moving will do for you.



Peek a boo mitten that I worked on several weeks ago- but, it's really too big for me and I'm deciding if I should just make the other one or take this one out and cast on fewer stitches.




AND yet.. Saturday.. while waiting on friends who were shopping and I didn't want to go into the store and 'be tempted to buy anything' since, I had already purchased plenty of yarn that morning in the market.. and ..(before I realized how many unfinished knitting projects that I really did have) I started this sweater coat out of some new yarn that I bought this week:


And then today.. Sunday.. I started a new scarf.. with some of the new yarn that I bought on Saturday...

So, the plan is.. say no to any more starting of new projects. Of course, I must add that I have knitted everything that I have started in the past 6 weeks or so.
I just need to focus on finishing the above projects and not be tempted by the new pretty yarn.

All of these projects are also now living together in one big bag.. so, they are easy to find when I feel the new to start a new *cough* project.

Did anyone notice that I wasn't posting?

Well, there was a big reason.. it's called: @~!#$&@#~!
*Just use your own imagination as to why... it has to do w/ bad juju


Here ya.. go.. some facts about me:

1. I really do like the taste of water... and don't understand people who say
that they don't like the taste of water. *I mean, what are they drinking
when they are 'thirsty?' Nothing refreshes as good as water does...

2. My favorite spring time flowers are: TULIPS

3. I have more than 4 sets of dishes.. that I have bought from different locations
that I've lived. Most are Italian though.

4. I really do wish that there was such a thing as a 'fairy godmother'

5. I do not like coffee and when I lived in Italy.. everyone was shocked that I
didn't want any coffee of any type. I was beginning to wonder if the customs
form had something in Italian that I was required by law to consume coffee while
I lived there?

6. I like dark chocolate better than milk chocolate.. but, it is not a problem for
me to have to eat milk chocolate.. not a problem at all..

7. I really do like to eat salads. I buy a large variety of salad stuff each week
and each week.. I forget to cut it all up and put it together in a salad and each
week- I have to toss out something that 'died' in the veggie department. I have
good intentions.. really, I do. I bought more salad stuff today.. let the cycle
begin.

8. by the way...
My high school English teacher told us: The road to HELL is paved with good
intentions. Which is probably true.. but, can you imagine getting away with
saying something like that in a classroom today?



Have a good day.. and step away from the bad juju...

I went by to see Namdaemun Gate this weekend..

and the city had already erected a wall around the fire destroyed gate.. which was sad.. because it would have been nice if they had left at least the front open for a couple of weeks or no glass in the insert.. so that people could come by and pay their respects. There was a rope that kept you back by about 20 feet and police on duty.

A shrine of sorts had been erected, people left traditional offerings as one would do for a death in Korea... you could also leave messages on a large piece of paper that was on display. I did leave a message expressing my sadness about the terrible event that had happened and how I always enjoyed seeing the beautiful gate when I'd go to the market or I'd see the gate while I was in a taxi. Of course, mine was the only message in English- but, I'm sure that other 'foreigners' had stopped by before my visit and more will stop by in the future.

There was a large black and white photo of the way that the Namdaemun Gate used to look like.. beyond sad.

The seventy year old Korean man who set it afire has been arrested and he did confess to the crime. Apparently, he felt that he hadn't been given enough money in a land dispute of some sort.

The gate sits in an island of land in the middle of many busy streets that pass in several directions around and past the gate.

In the market for a new purse????

This is the purse that I did buy:




These photos are from a building in the market that has nothing but: purses and backpacks or bags of all types.









But, here are SOME OF THE OTHER choices that were there:

Lookie, lookie.. some more yarn..

WELL, IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY ON THE 15TH AFTERALL. :D

I've always been a fan of 'not forgetting' to buy your own birthday present!


I bought a few different skeins of some yummy ITALIAN SOFT, SOFT MOHAIR YARN. Can you say.. 'Mama MIA?' It has very long soft color changes. I'm thinking of making a lace scarf. Ok, maybe 5 different lace scarves?

The 2 yarns with the glittery look to them.. (on top left in the photo) are from Japan. I had already bought one skein of knitted it up into a 'lace scarf' for a future gift.. and loved it so much- I wanted to buy a couple other colors.






This big ole hunk of yarn was dirt cheap.. wool/acrylic mix and I thought it would make great knitted hats to donate to Afghanistan.