Legend has it that the cowherder and the weaver fell in love and ignored their respective trades. In anger the gods turned them into the stars Altair and Vega and separated them by the Milky Way. Once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month they come together as lovers. Japanese people celebrate Tanabata by writing their wishes and putting them on a tree or a bamboo pole. They sometimes burn them or set them alight and float them down a river.
7/7 marks the anniversary of Grandma Richards death (7/7/77). She was a remarkable craftsman. She wove rugs, crocheted shiver blankets, and knit mittens all with equal ease. She was never without some type of handiwork albeit doily, Barbie doll dress, or a jumpsuit for my decapitated baby doll, Baby (pronounced Baybee). I remember my father charting her biorhythms shortly after her death. All three lines reached a low point on the day she died. Mom, Jame, and I have been reconstructing the Shiver blanket pattern. She created a unique pattern by crocheting into the back side of the stitch. This made a rectangular shaped ridge for each row. I've never seen this done before.
My contract for employment with Hummingbirds Learning Center was slated to start today. In theory, I could be in Japan today celebrating Tanabata. Depending on the region, I still may have a chance to see it this year, or I may have to wait another year, just like the cowherder and the weaver.
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