May in the Watanabe house

So the month has gone by and though I think that there was nothing to report on, once I get started on a post I seem to find things that have passed through the quiet days.  Let's see how much "didn't" happen this month.

After Julieta-san and family's visit, things did fall into sort of a slump.  We had spent so many months planning and thinking about the visit and then the last week doing drastic housecleaning, that once the event was over, it was sort of a letdown.  Julieta and family left just before Golden Week in Japan and just because of the crowds of people out traveling during that week, Tetsu and I chose to stay close to home.

Actually this year there weren't that many carp flying on Boy's Day which was a bit disappointing.  The custom has faded away in cities as there really isn't space to fly the great streaming carp kites, but in the past, farmers proudly displayed the kites over their fields.  Not so much this year. 

With the start of Golden Week, the farmers start flooding their fields and then planting rice.  

I love to see the green countryside reflected in all the connecting flooded rice fields.  Soon, the rice plants will be so big that the rice stalks will take over... and then we'll start hearing frogs who live in the flooded fields.

One day during Golden Week, Tetsu and I visited a famous wisteria tree in our town and we enjoyed walking around the ancient tree and smelling the sweet aroma.

Hiya!

I got a burst of energy and decided that I had enough scraps of fabric to make a pretty background and then I pulled out some McKenna patterns from which I'd made a larger quilt years ago.  I had planned to stop with this small wallhanging but as I still had fabric scraps I made another.

Well, of course I can't stop there!

The last quilt got made.

And now all three are up in the entryway!

While I was doing that, M-san finished her quilt of applique squares.  It looks so different from the one I made last month!

While I was in the sewing room I tackled the large, OVERFLOWING basket of scraps that multiply and I spent three days just cutting the whole basket down to strips, (3 1/2 inches wide, 2 1/2 inches wide and 2 inches wide), strings, (anything less that 2 inches wide), 5 inch squares (for a someday Hunter's Star quilt) 3 1/2 inch squares (can anyone recommend a quilt using 3 1/2 inch squares?), 2 1/2 inch squares and 2 inch squares (M-san and I have plans for those).  I also just moved a lot of random batik scraps to another box.  My once overflowing basket of scraps is EMPTY!  It pained me to see how much I was still actually throwing away but I really needed to get some control back in the sewing room.  Of course I still have drawers and boxes of fabric, but ONE BASKET OF SCRAPS HAS BEEN CONQUERED!!!

And then I got inspired to use some of the half square triangles I'd kept and I made another baby quilt for no one in particular...  

For the past few years I have been on the crosswalk guard planning committee in Nikko, but I actually add very little to the meetings.  It is enough that I follow along on all the written material that I'm given (I feel happy when I find myself on the right page!) and I mostly agree with what other members are talking about.  Twice a year there is a general meeting with about 50 people and I've usually been given the simple job of walking to the podium, formally announcing the start of the meeting and at the end walking to the podium and formally announcing the end.  I can memorize that short exchange!  This year however, one of the other committee members couldn't attend the general meeting and so it was left to me to take up the slack and report last year's activities and this year's proposed activities!  I've been a crosswalk guard for a long time so most everyone realizes my limitations and are very forgiving!

The animals are all still pretty healthy.  At 21, Cleo still climbs up on people's laps for a cuddle.

Tetsu is enjoying his garden.

******************************************

Leiya writes to say that Luka graduated from pre-school but actually he has another year before kindergarten so he'll be starting at a new preschool from fall.  He looks so grown up...

...until you see him with Tony and he doesn't look so big anymore.

Yesterday Luka Facetimed us to say that he had a loose tooth and then an hour later he Facetimed again to say that the tooth had come out!  I think he had banged it on Taiga's head a couple of months ago and it started to wiggle then.

Leiya reports that Taiga is more active than Luka ever was and so she has her hands full!

And that's about all the news from this side of the world!