Happy Birthday, Mother!

Eighty-seven and growing,
Though it doesn't seem that long.
Wasn't childhood yesterday?
All my memories are so strong.

Eighty-seven and growing,
How I treasure each new year
And enjoy the days that come my way
While keeping memories dear.

Eighty-seven and growing,
Now I celebrate the years
The time I've shared along the way
Life's mingled joys and tears.
............ JTS 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOTHER

Odd Shots on Monday - "Fast Food in Japan"

More odd shots here.

An Evening Out

DD-Kr told her son, D.A., she would take him to dinner since his brother would be gone for the evening. D.A. hurried off to get dressed and reappeared as a dapper young man.

"I appreciate your dressing up for our evening out," she told him.
Standing up to his full seven year-old height, he replied casually, "I know. I think of everything."
During dinner, DD steered the conversation to the celebration of "Texas Day" at D.A.'s school.
"What part of the day did you like best?" she asked.
"Having dinner with you," was his gallant reply.
'Well, what part of Texas Day Celebration was the best," she persisted.
She received a short reply, "Peach Cobbler!"

I think the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.....and it starts early!

PhotoHunt - "Hands"

These are the hands of women in Japan, sitting on their bent legs, tying fabric for dyeing.

Kumo shibori
Kumo shibori is a pleated and bound resist. This technique involves pleating sections of the cloth very finely and evenly. Then the cloth is bound in very close sections. The result is a very specific spider-like design. This technique is very precise in order to produce this specific design.

This silk fabric is pulled up tightly on thread. The dots on the fabric to the right show where the stitches should go. The fabric on the left side has already been tied. The completed width of the tied fabric will be 4-6" until after it is dyed and released.

Muira Shibori
Muira Shibori is also known as looped binding. It involves taking a hooked needle and plucking sections of the cloth. Then a thread is looped around each section twice. The thread is not knotted; tension is the only thing that holds the sections in place. The resulting dyed cloth is a water-like design. Because no knot is used, muirea shibori is very easy to bind and unbind. Therefore, this technique is very often used.

This woman's fingers were flying so fast, it was hard to catch her action. She wrapped the moistened thread around the silk fabric and pulled it tight. It will tighten even more as it dries. She is in her 80's and has been doing this work since she was 7 years old.

Wordless Wednesday - "Happy Birthday, Abs!"

The last eight years have been exciting! I wonder what the next 8 hold in store?

[Click on photo for a closer view]

Odd Shot Monday - "Curiosity and the Cats"

Maneki Neko -- The Legend

This is the legend of the Maneki Neko: In the 17th century, there was a rundown and poverty-stricken temple in Tokyo. The temple's priest was very poor, but he shared what little food he had with his pet cat, Tama.

One day, a wealthy and important man was caught in a storm while hunting and he took refuge under a big tree near the temple. While he waited for the storm to pass, the man noticed a cat beckoning him to come inside the temple gate. This was so startling that he left the shelter of the tree to have a closer look at this unusual cat. At that moment, the tree was struck by lighting.

As a result, the wealthy man became friends with the poor priest, and the temple became prosperous. The priest and his cat never went hungry again.

When Tama died he was buried in the Goutokuji Temple's cat cemetery with respect and love, and the Maneki Neko was made in honor of him. A Maneki Neko in your place of business, your home or on your website is said to bring in good luck and visitors.

Maneki Neko is Japanese for "beckoning cat." The message he's holding says "Please come in. You are welcome!" and he is beckoning you with his paw . (In Japan, the gesture of beckoning is pretty much the reverse of the gesture used in the West.)

The Japanese Bobtail is a breed of cat with an unusual 'bobbed' tail more closely resembling the tail of a rabbit than that of an ordinary feline. The short tail is a cat body type genetic mutation caused by the expression of a recessive gene. Thus, so long as both parents are bobtails, all kittens born to a litter will have bobtails as well.

PhotoHunt - "Yellow"

These are last year's flowers, but the roadsides are filling up for this year. There appears to be a definite progression of color - Bluebonnets and the red of Indian paintbrush, followed by purple, then a long season of yellow.