６月３０日は半年を無事に過ごせたことへの感謝を込めて、自宅稽古の生徒さんとズームで割稽古／お茶を一服一緒にいただきました。感謝。
翌日は週一の食料品買い出し。かなり気を使うし、帰ってから保存食の準備などでちょっと疲れました。ので、軽めの浴衣。半幅帯がリバーシブルだということに気づいて（！）、裏側を使用。カルタ結びをしたので（あまり綺麗に結べなかったので写真ありません）、帯締め使用。
Kimono challenge Day 5
These kimono and obi were also given by my friends, and I have worn them so many times. 何とか５日連続で着物を着ています。ちゃんと長襦袢を着て、さっぱりしたグレーの着物と夏用の帯。こちらも頂き物で、何回着たのかわからないぐらい。帯はちょっとくたびれてきたかな。着物も実は袖がかなり短い。。。
Purple obijime (code) was made by my mother. This is not exactly for summer, but i just love the combination of colors. 帯締めは夏用ではありませんが、母が作ったもの。ちょっとアクセントが欲しくてこの色にしましたが、なかなかコーディネートするのは難しい。でも、着物だと洋服ではできないような色合わせが出来るので、何事もチャレンジ！
Kimono Challenge Days 3 & 4: Yukata
This yukata, casual summer kimono, is given by my old tea teacher. It seems a little bit small (short sleeves) , but this is perfect to wear when I am at home. Yukata is usually made of cotton, and no naga-juban is required. Simple and casual just like t-shirt and jeans :-)
Kimono Challenge Days 1-2
We marked 100 days of shelter in place in California since it started mid March. I’ve tried to stay positive and focused on whatever I can do. I’ve been cooking 2-3 meals everyday for my family, running 25 miles per week since the beginning of this year, and doing my tea practice a couple of times a week.
We still do not know when it will end, so I would like to create another challenge for the next 100 days - wearing kimono as much as possible :-) . Kimono has been a kind of uniform for me when I practice tea (I wear Kimono 3-4 times a week when I have my practice), but I rediscovered its beauty thanks to many resources (mostly books and videos) shared by many kimono-loving people. However, the problems of wearing kimono are (or at least many people think) that it requires a lot of EFFORT- we need to know how to wear them- and it is not easy to function wearing them. So, I just would like to see what happens if I wear kimono (almost) everyday.
There will be a special exhibit on Kimono at Tokyo National Museum from June 30 to August 23 which I will miss a lot!
コロナウィルス影響の自宅待機が１００日を過ぎ、カリフォルニア州ではまだまだ新規感染者が増加しているので先行き見えず。まだ暫くはお籠り生活が続くと思われるので、次の１００日チャレンジを「ほぼ毎日着物を着る」に。かなり無謀なチャレンジかと思いますが、毎日楽しみながら着物生活を送りたいと思います。その都度、着物生活についても考えていきますね。
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Here are the first two days of my wearing kimono!
Day 1: Washable kimono given by tea teacher and white obi for the online tea talk with my students. この日はオンラインの座学がありました。お茶の先生からいただいた洗える着物（かなり重宝）とこれも頂き物の帯。洋服だったら着ない柄ですが（笑）、着物だと色々な可能性が。帯が結構何でも合うことを再発見してよく着ています。帯揚げは長いこと使っているので、ちょっとくたびれてきました（涙）。
Day 2: Yukata（浴衣）, casual cotton kimono, with half-sized obi (半幅帯） I was tired from running 15.5 miles in the morning. Casual kimono are actually very cozy :-)
午前中に長距離ランののトレーニングで１５マイル（２５キロ）走ったので、ゆったりと簡単に着られる浴衣。半幅帯は夏用ではないのですが、ずーっと前に母が購入してくれたものでどうやって締めていいのかずっと分からなかった帯。最近、ようやく使えるようになりました。
Flower of the day: Mukuge (Hibiscus)
ムクゲ（木槿）Hibiscus syriacus in the bamboo one window （竹一重切）vase.
ネジバナ／モジズリ（綟摺）、Spiranthes sinensis, commonly known as the Chinese spiranthes
Small flowers of ムラサキシキブ（紫式部)、Callicarpa japonica
Flower of the Day: Tiger's Tail （オカトラノオ）
My chabana garden started from two plants from my tea friend’s beautiful garden; tiger’s tail and toad lilies（ホトトギス). I found my first tiger’s tail in this season! 丘虎の尾 (Lysimachia clethroides ）
Flower of the Day: Bell Flower
I found two colors of bellflower (桔梗）last year, purple and white. The purple one started blooming early in June, and this turned charming pink color this year.
Flowers in the morning (今朝のお花）
It is already in June! This is the 12th week of Shelter In Place. There are lots of limitations during this time, but one of the positive things is that I can go out our backyard and pick flowers every morning. Summer flowers are blooming!!!
Mother's Day
Early summer flowers are blooming in my garden!
Three Days Tea Time ＜３日間一服リレー＞
I participated in the Three Days Tea Time challenge and enjoyed tea times more than ever.
