Tenugui

My Japanese mother-in-law collected tenugui. In her day, they were often given out as free advertising when a new company opened or to celebrate a landmark. She kept few possessions so the tenugui she collected over the years serve as memories of her and events in her life over the course of many years. I pull them out from time to time just to look at the craftsmanship that went in to the production of them. They are only about 90 cms in length and 30 cms in width, made of 100% cotton, and hand-dyed. With time, I collected my own  in a variety of colors and designs. In the past year or so, I've even purchased some that would scandalize my dear old mother-in-law if she knew what I spent for them!

The world knows of the triple disaster events that happened on March 11, 2011 in Japan. That was exactly 2 months ago today. The M 9 earthquake was felt in every part of Japan. I am fortunate enough not to live close to the epicenter of the quake or tsunami stricken area but that day my home suffered one small rather insignificant bit of damage. The kakejuku (hanging scroll) that had been hanging in our tokunoma (alcove), in our Japanese-style tatami room, swung back and forth so hard that the silk bottom of the scroll ripped apart from the weighted bottom, and was left hanging by a thread. It was an early purchase of mine in Japan in the very early 1980s when I had little money. I was sad to take it down as the design of 2 men traveling down a mountain stream always gave me a peaceful feeling to look at.

For now, I have hung one of my tenugui (Japanese cotton towels) in the place where the far more expensive hanging scroll once was on display. It gives a new look to the space.

I chose a summery patterned one from my collection but I may start hanging others from my mother-in-law's collection from time to time as the mood and season strike me because I like this new look.

Feeling Thankful

Nearly 5 weeks ago, I had major surgery for Grade 1 endometrial cancer. I had gone into surgery with a preliminary diagnosis of "complex atypical endometrial hyperplasia", which is a pre-cancerous stage, but knowing very well that it could actually have already progressed to cancer. I spent 15 days in the hospital recovering from the complications encountered during surgery of severe adhesions from endometriosis that fused my intestines to other surrounding organs. That hadn't shown up on MRIs or CTs scans and came as a surprise to my surgeon so what was to have been a 1 to 2 hour operation turned into a 5 hour surgery. I was really grateful to the Dr. who watched my case closely over 6 years and jumped on things aggressively as soon as abnormal cells showed up in what had become a routine endometrial biopsy over years of perimenopausal hormone imbalance; the surgically team who compassionately took care of me in the operating theater; the devoted and kind Japanese nurses who worked hard day and night watching over the in-patients in the ward and kept me comfortable as I recovered enough to finally go home.

I was also grateful to friends who gave me support in the form of Kindle book gifts, "get well" cards, flowers, small presents, and snacks. One friend lent me some DVDs to watch as I recovered and another lent me a CD player and made a gift of some CDs to help me pass some time in the hospital, too. I wanted to do something special to thank my friends and decided to make some "thank you" cards as I'm still housebound. Sorting through some craft supplies I had at home, I found nice origami paper made of washi, colorful printed origami paper, and post card sized paper. With scissors and a bit of glue, I set to work. Over the course of 2 days, I created 19 unique floral cards to send to 19 special friends as thanks. I was pleased with the final result.

But, I had to wait a few days to post them. I'm still restricted to how far I can walk and part of the trip would have involved hilly streets that might have been too challenging. Rainy weather is forecast over the next few days and I worry that my friends will open an envelop of mushy contents! But, I didn't want to spoil the surprise.