A little retro-update.

[weaselmom]

One of the things I am doing in my life is making a commitment to be more adventurous. This doesn't mean jumping out of airplanes; for me, adventurous could just mean getting out of the house for any reason other than work or groceries. Really what it is turning out to mean is trying new things with no guarantee that they will work out perfectly or be exactly what I hoped. F'r instance, for a long time now, I have wanted to go to one of the moon-viewing events at the Japanese Garden at the Arboretum. We never did it because...well, I just never got off my butt. So the last one of this year was this past Saturday, and S agreed to go with me. The weather was dodgy, but the event was going to happen despite the possibility of rain, so we decided to go. We took a tarp and a little blanket. The garden was looking its best in honor of the American Society of Japanese Gardeners or some such group. All the paths were lined with luminaria, all the stone lanterns had candles inside, and paper lanterns were hung on trees throughout. The orchard trees featured smallish round lanterns in green, red, and orange, looking like so much luminous fruit. We staked out our area and settled in. The entertainment was a woman who played the koto (kind of a cross between a harp and a guitar that rests on the ground) and a haiku-VIP who read various haiku having to do with the moon. (It was similar to what I imagine an old beatnik gathering might have been like, but incredibly genteel and, well, Japanese.) The general event plan was to wander around the garden in the failing daylight, then enjoy the entertainment, and then watch the (nearly) full moon rise over the trees. It is important to note that these people were using electrified microphones and equipment on a little stage open to the sky. Why, you ask?--Because it started to sprinkle. We huddled under our jackets. Then it started to rain in earnest. Just about the time I was ready to bail, it stopped, so we stuck it out. After all, if the entertainers were braving electrocution, the least we could do was to stay and hear them out. The clouds never did clear and we didn't get to see the moon rise. The important thing for me is that I actually went in the face of uncertain weather and did not flee or get distraught when it became clear that things weren't going to work out how I wanted. Next season I will definitely attend another event when the weather cooperates!

Comments

[silvergoth.livejournal.com]

Love you.

[bebemochi.livejournal.com]

That sounds so cool! Maybe I should have my own moon-viewing party, before it gets too cold. :)

[weaselmom.livejournal.com]

It was pretty cool! I couldn't help thinking about the scenes in Kij's Fox Woman describing moon-viewing parties where people would write poetry and such. That seemed like a nifty way to have a party too. On the little lake in our Japanese Garden, the staff launched lots of little boats (styrofoam, because I guess nobody wants to carve dozens of little wooden ones) with candles on them. There was no wind to speak of, so unless boats got caught in the negligible "current," they tended to get hung up on rocks or stuck in the reeds. Still, it was a nice touch. Whatever did the koi think, I wonder?

[bebemochi.livejournal.com]

The koi probably thought, "Can I eat it can I eat it? No...too big. Oh well."
*L* I guess I don't give koi alot of credit for having deep thoughts.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's so cool even if the moon was a no-show: The event was the thing! And yay to you for doing things you've been meaning to do. That's what life is all about. It sounds corny, but that line Gandalf delivers to Frodo in the caverns about "not how much time you have, but what you do with the time you have" that comes to me frequently.

Hugs,
Chris