Tanabata
on the seventh day of the seventh month
the Japanese celebrate Tanabata
http://www.japan-suite.com/blog/2014/7/6/tanabata-story-of-two-star-crossed-lovers
the meeting of two lovers, across the Milky Way, represented by the stars Vega and Altair
Vega was a weaver and patron of silk farming
in 1987, when I was a student at Kawashima Textile School in Kyoto we had a party
(click on the picture to enlarge)
the sensei (teachers) got a little bit drunk and the students had a great time
some/most? got a little tipsy too
we all wrote our wishes, for the year, on pieces of paper and hung them in the bamboo
for the wind to blow them to the heavens
my roommates convinced me to wear a yukata
and then had to dress me!
every year I hang my wishes in the bamboo – this year in the Japanese maple
and remember my roommate, Taeko-san (in the middle)
the fabric, origami cranes were made several years ago
and always fly outside on this day
Be Kind – Be Calm – Be Safe
Dr. Bonnie Henry’s mantra – we hear it every day
https://medicalstaff.islandhealth.ca/news-events/dr-henry-profiled-new-york-times
onesmallstitch.wordpress.com 
Loved your story
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Karen – thanks, good times.
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What a lovely story – both the original Japanese one and yours. I have plenty of bamboos in the garden – I think I will write some wishes and hang them there – it is such a lovely idea. Your cranes are beautiful too. They seem to figure in myths from many places. I keep coming across ideas of kindness and its importance. The kindness I have received whilst we have been shut in, the kindness I can offer to others, the kindness I see around me between other people. It seems to have been more visible over the last few months.
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Sue – I think of kindness as an old fashioned idea which happily is getting more attention in these trying times. Hope it continues.
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So do I!
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Sue – 🙂
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Jean, look how great you look in your Yukata! The Hittys need Yukata for next year perhaps…it does my heart good to know that wishes for kindness, calmness and safety are blowing around at the top of the hill as well as down here at the bottom.
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Kjerstin – it has been a long time since I wore a kimono or yukata – never could dress myself. I think the “be kind” phrase will be used for the rest of my life, she has saved a lot of lives.
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