Golden week

 I have to admit, the gold in "Golden Week" was rather gray. I was at least blessed to have the company of Flat Stanley, tagging along on daily activities.

He joined me on my weeding activities in the park. 

Luckily, the mosquitoes were not yet out. A week later they have returned and are voracious.

He was eager to see lots of koinobori flying in the wind.

Many local places that usually display carp streamers did not have them  out this year.  Maybe to control crowds during recent surge in virus cases.

333 koi were enjoying a breezy afternoon, and I had to hang on to Stanley to keep him from blowing away.

Stanley was very impressed with the "Boy's Day" things we saw on sale, walking through the local department store.

He really wanted a samurai outfit to celebrate the week, so I dug through my paper scraps and assembled a basic set of armour.

Many tasks are just daily events for me, but it was rather nice to have Samurai Stanley go along to hold the sweeping bin.

We had lots of windy days the past week and there were lots of leaves and flower petals cluttering our street and following us into the house stuck to our shoes. 

Stanley was a bit surprised to see what looked like fall, coming in the spring.

On "boy's Day", we visited a friend who set out lots of traditional displays. My friend is going to the states next week. She will get her vaccine there and visit her sons. She offered to take the laptop case I made for Kimie last year, that I have not been able to mail... since the US postal service made new rules.

Since Flat Stanley needed a little larger envelope for his return trip, and those are not allowed as they are a bit bigger than a postcard, my friend offered to take Stanley with her and mail the envelope from there. 

We had a nice sayonara party for Stanley, and he could wait in his envelope with my friend, and didn't get wet in the wind and rain on the way home.

Meanwhile, The I-Spy quilt went to its new home and the kids are enjoying it.

House repairs are moving along and the recent rain is not coming inside anymore. 

Assorted cacti are beginning to bloom and plums are falling from the tree. Each day there are victims of human feet, squashed on the street ... but a few useful ones too. (If I want to make plum wine).

In a bit of time, I will have an early Mother's day zoom visit with my wonderful kids. The Gold from Golden Week may be arriving a wee bit late ... but worth the wait.