This weekend was filled with tea - went to a tea ceremony in a Shizuoka department store, thanks to a co-worker at school who gave me tickets. His niece leads tea ceremony, so he had a few extra to give away. I tried to go last year (when he gave me some), but I didn’t have time because of the doco. Now that it’s finished, my weekends are mine, and so I went back to tea for some reason - like a lost puppy.
Anyway, after the tea ceremony (which was filled with middle aged women - I could count the males, children included, on two hands), I went down to Kayana town for its once-every-two-years tea festival. I went with a cat named Sam, who won the Suruga grant this year (he’s researching old Japanese wood-block prints). We wandered around, enjoying a good festival food dinner and hiding from the cold valley wind.
Eventually, we found Aroop’s group - since Aroop lives in Kanaya, he got the chance to particpate in the ‘parade’ - pulling a huge float with all of the others and showcasing some good group dances. As always, there are photos, which do a better job of description than these words.
And today, I used the sunny April mid-day to plant some vegetables in the small plot of ground out back. I’ve got green onions, bok choy, peas, and soy beans. Perfect ingredients for a good pasta/rice dish, or fresh salads. Also, the soy will make good edamame for summer snackage or sushi rollage. Just gotta water and wait now. Given that the flowers (tulips and daffodils) came up without issue, then I think I’ll have a better shot than my failed hot-pepper plot back in my high school days in Colorado. Green thumbs are also related to your geographic location, I think.