Saturday, Sept. 4

Up late, around 8 a.m., but did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast.

The first thing Hubbie did was hang the flag on the well house in recognition of Labor Day on Monday. Then he peeled and cored pears that needed attention and set them to stewing.

Mother came over as I was exercising and worked on greeting cards. Once I was ready for the day, I didn't accomplish much before noon beyond ironing a couple of outfits to wear this weekend, and calling the theater in another town to make reservations for tomorrow to see "Guys and Dolls."

After lunch, Hubbie and I went once again to the discount store that is going out business, so I could browse through the greeting cards again. Today, we picked up about 50 of them at three for a dollar. We also bought several boxes of facial tissue at 30% off (autumn sneeze season is upon us, so we'll need these). I bought another glue stick, and a couple of cans of cranberry sauce, while Hubbie picked up two boxes of peanut brittle (not my favorite).

Back home, Mother had changed clothes so we could go to a Japanese flower arranging lecture at the college. The lecture began at 2 p.m. and lasted until around 3:30. Hubbie, naturally, opted out of going.

A Japanese flower arranger artist from a botanical garden in another state led the lecture. She speaks English, but not well, so she brought along an American woman to describe what she was doing as she created arrangements.

The woman created eight arrangements, adding them to four that were already arranged when we arrived. All were beautiful and pleasing, and all were different, but they each followed forms dictated by what is called Ikebana, which roughly means "bring life to the flowers."

These arrangements are meant to make guests welcome in homes, and can describe the seasons or certain events. They are asymetrical, as opposed to the generally symetrical styles in the U.S.

Ikebana originated about 500 years ago with Buddhist monks. It is based on simplicity composed of three main lines to symbolize the harmony between heaven, man, and earth (called Shin, Soe, and Tai). The arrangement also symbolizes man, woman, and child, represented by the heights (tall, medium, and short) and placements of the plants used.

The artist used several types of containers for her arrangements, but the most pleasing ones, we thought, were the shallow ones. She said she bought the containers at hobby stores, yard sales, etc. An item called a Kenzan is needed to make arrangements in shallow containers. The Kenzan is a heavy object with brush-like needles embedded in it.

Ikebana is an art form that is learned over many years, but I am going to try the technique in my home, using whatever is growing in our yard. After all, it only has to please me and whoever visits my home. I won't be tested on it (though the students who attended as part of their Japanese studies class probably will be).

Back home, I made a pear cobbler, and put a quart of the pears in the freezer. We had the cobbler with ice cream after a supper of leftover potato soup and bran muffins.

Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I settled in to listen to the radio as our favorite college team played its first game of the season. When it became apparent that we were going to trounce the opponent by a wide margin, we abandoned the game in favor of watching TV.