blossoms

We have two ornamental cherry trees in the front garden that look amazing - and attract dozens of bees - for the short time that they are in full bloom. Which is now. So we celebrated hanami in the rain yesterday with a small family gathering. Hanami (flower viewing) is a Japanese custom to enjoy the transient beauty of flowers and is usually celebrated with a picnic beneath blossoming cherry trees. Unfortunately we had to have our "picnic" indoors.

And the top for quilt #4 is done. It's a variation on this one. I'm going to focus on sewing for a bit. I've had sore hands that seem to improve if I don't do much for a while. Probably an RSI thing but so frustrating. It seems that crochet in particular and knitting are bad for me.

Some good news is that a local supermarket chain is going to stop supplying plastic carry bags by the end of 2018. I hope this will just be the start and that other supermarkets will follow and that eventually all plastic bags will be banned.

Reading: My father's wake by Kevin Toolis. This is part biography and part thinking about death and dying. The author, who is Irish, believes the wake embraces death as a normal part of living. Whereas the Anglo-Saxon world lives in denial of it. Not as gloomy as it might sound.