It’s been relatively
cold this winter in Tokyo. It always
seems cold to me I guess, but we have had a couple of months when the
temperature hasn’t risen much above 40°
(F). It doesn’t get much below freezing either, but with wind and rain that can
be a miserable temperature for a transplanted Floridian. And like Florida
summers it sometimes seems to go on for a really unreasonable amount of time.
So, being basically an optimist, I am always on the lookout
for change. Today I was surprised by the
sight of evidence that winter will end and spring will come. The plum tree is
on the side of the building facing the alley and when I went to throw something
into the trash, I saw two blossoms had opened, and many more are about ready to
burst.
When I was researching kamon to put in my Japanese Memory
Quilt I read
somewhere that the
plum blossom is a symbol of perseverance because it blooms when it is still
winter. I liked that idea so much, I decided I would make block with a plum
blossom kamon in the quilt. It reminds
me that I need to persevere; flower when it still seems to be winter, spring
will surely come.
So, being basically an optimist, I am always on the lookout
for change. Today I was surprised by the
sight of evidence that winter will end and spring will come. The plum tree is
on the side of the building facing the alley and when I went to throw something
into the trash, I saw two blossoms had opened, and many more are about ready to
burst.
When I was researching kamon to put in my Japanese Memory
Quilt I read 
