３月２９日（木曜日）２０１８
今度の日曜日（4/1）は何の日？日本では「エイプリルフール？…」という感じですが、アメリカでは「イースターサンデー（復活祭）」でキリスト教の人達にとっては大切な一日です。つまり今週の金曜日がキリストが十字架にかかった「グッドフライデー」で、その２日後の日曜日が復活祭。復活祭は「春の到来」も意味します。華やかなお祝いの一日で日曜の朝は明るいきれいなフリルのついた服を着た女の子が正装した家族と一緒に教会に行く姿を見かけます。キリスト教徒でなくてもパーティをしたり、子供達はエッグハンティングをして遊びます。これはパステルカラーに色をつけた卵（またはお菓子の入ったプラスティックの卵）を探すゲームです。スーパーへ行ったら、イースターの贈り物用にとお花がたくさん並んでいて気分はまさに「春！」でした。What is this coming Sunday? In Japan you might think that it is "April Fool's Day?" but in the US it is a big celebration day called "Easter Sunday" among Christian people. In Christianity March 30th is "Good Friday" which commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary, and it is two days before "Easter". Easter is the most important festival of the Christian Church, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is also a day of joy and celebration to welcome spring. On this special morning you will see girls wearing beautiful light colored dresses with a lot of frills going to church with their families who are nicely dressed up. People who are not Christian also have family parties and kids play Egg Hunting. Egg Hunting is a game to search for Easter eggs which are coloured boiled eggs in pastel colour or plastic eggs with candies inside. When I went to a supermarket today, there were tons of Flowers and flower pots which were for Easter gifts. I felt like the spring has just come!
３月２６日（月曜日）２０１８
３月１９日からカフェをS.Kさんにお願いしてボストンに来ています。お天気は良いのですが、お花見季節の日本に比べてまだまだ寒〜いのは北海道と緯度が同じだからでしょうか。それでも残っていた雪はこのお天気で一気に少なくなりました。お昼前に近所を歩いてみると、ニューイングランドの遅い春がそこかしこに見られました。歩道は樹木の根上がりであちこちデコボコ状態。足下だけはしっかり見て歩かなければなりません。これって何か格言のようですね。Asking Ms. S.K to take care of the cafe, I have been in Boston since March 19th. It is clear but still very cold here compared to Japan which is the season of cherry-blossom viewing. It is probably because of the fact that Boston is almost the same latitude as Hokkaido. Even though it is chilly, the amount of the snow which had accumulated recently has melted so much due to today's sunny weather. When I walked around near my house before lunch time, I found late New England spring here and there. I needed to watch my step when I walked on a sidewalk because the roots of the trees are rising up in many places and they made the walkway rough. "Watch my step" seems like a lesson given to me.
３月１５日（木曜日）２０１８
ポカポカ陽気の穏やかな一日。縁側のガラス戸を開けたら、賑やかにつぼみを付けた紅梅が目に飛び込んできました。ザラザラの枝から、どうしてこんな桃色の可愛らしいつぼみがたくさんつくのでしょう。紅梅、白梅は日本家屋によく似合います。It was a warm sunny day. When I opened the glass door of the veranda, I was overwhelmed with a sea of pinkish colors. The buds on the red plum tree are filling out and look very bright. I wonder why these cute pinkish buds came out from such rough and dry branches. I am glad that the red and white plum trees match with the old Japanese house.
３月１２日（月曜日）２０１８
数年前までアメリカで日本語を教えていた時の学生が昨日遊びに来て一泊したので、今朝の散歩は彼女と一緒でした。風は冷たいながらも前回より明るい陽射しが感じられました。そんな中で見つけた白梅の古木。きれいに咲き始めていました。少し過ぎたところの桜の枝はまだ硬そうなつぼみでした。Until a couple of years ago, I was teaching Japanese Language at a college in the US. A student from there came to visit me yesterday and stayed over night so I took today's morning walk with her. It was a bit cold but a fine day compared to the previous day. I found an old white plum tree which started blooming beautifully. On the contrary, the cherry trees which are just a few minutes walk from there are still budding.
３月１０日（土曜日）２０１８
今日は「多賀あさひや」で琴修会大正琴の演奏と体験会がありました。講師の高橋先生と藤井明美先生による大正琴の美しい演奏が３曲あり、その後 参加者は実際に大正琴を前に置いて先生方にそれぞれ優しく指導を受けていました。子供のときに聞いた懐かしい音色。お雛様の前で華やかで和やかな時間が流れました。今はリズムやオーケストラと併せられるように簡単な機械もあり、楽しく弾ける工夫がしてあります。四月から第二、第四火曜日11:00am~12 noonまで「あさひや」の離れでお稽古が始まります。やってみたいかた、興味があるかたは藤井先生（090-5012-8111)までご連絡下さい。Taisho-koto (a zither with three to five strings) Demonstration and Workshop were held at the cafe today. Three pieces of music were demonstrated by instructors (Ms.Takahashi and Ms. Fujii), and then a workshop was opened for participants to experience hands-on Taisho-koto-playing. It was a nostalgic and beautiful sound to me, as I listened to it when I was a child. This pleasant time in front of Hina Dolls lasted about one and half hours. There are some devices now which synthesize beats and orchestral sounds so the player can enjoy the music much more with these accompaniments. If you are interested in taking lessons, please contact Ms. Fujii (090-5012-8111). The lessons will be held twice a month (the second and the forth Tuesday) at Taga Asahiya.
３月８日（木曜日）２０１８
しばらく振りに散歩に出てみました。春の芽吹きを見逃したかといささか焦って家を出たのですが、多賀の里の春はまだちょっと早いかなという感じでした。それでも、田んぼの間を歩いていると２月とは違う柔らかな「臭い」が春を感じさせてくれました。田んぼは殆どが冬のまんまでしたが、ちらほら土を掘り返しているところがあり、ふと道ばたに目をやると土筆（つくし）が優しげに顔を出していました。「春探し」に出た甲斐がありました。I took a walk for the first time in a while. I was in a hurry because I thought it might be a little late to catch the first signs of spring, but actually the spring in Taga is still a bit early. However I could smell the fresh March air which is different from the previous month. Most of the rice fields haven't changed yet, but the soil of some of the fields were dug up for a rice planting. When I looked toward the roadside, I found some horsetails were coming up gently from the earth. It was worth coming for "the search for spring".
３月６日（火曜日）２０１８
地元の昔の仲間と一泊二日の伊勢旅行に行ってきました。私には５０年振りの伊勢神宮（内宮）でしたが何と大雨の中での参拝でした。でもこの「ビショ濡れお伊勢参り」は今回のハイライトとして愉快な思い出となりました。翌日は風が強いものの快晴の下で、二見浦を美しく眺めることができました。鳥羽水族館のアシカのカーリー君の健気な演技と爽やか調教師のおにいさんが好印象でした。I went to an overnight trip to Ise with my local old friends. It is for the first time in 50 years for me to visit Ise Shrine. It turned to heavy rain while visiting. However, I now remember it as the "drenched worship for Ise shrine ". Next day was clear with the blue sky above although it was very windy. We enjoyed the view of beautiful Futamigaura. At the Toba Aquarium, Carly, the Eared Seal and his young trainer in the water show were impressive.
３月２日（金曜日）２０１８
野田さんの染飾布展が終ったので、翌日、お雛様を飾りました。一年振りのお目見えです。ひな壇を作って、赤い毛氈を敷いて、古いお人形を並べていると昔のことが色々蘇ってきます。床の間の前にちょこんと座って箱からお雛様を出していた祖母を小さかった私は見ていました。祖母は私に何を話しかけていたのでしょう。穏やかなお人形たちは今も昔も静かな時の流れの中にいます。After the Kaze no Kooboo exhibition finished, I displayed Hina dolls at the alcove the next day. They appeared for the first day in a year. When I was making their tiered stand, placing the red felt mat and displaying old Hina dolls there, I recalled my early days. I was watching my grandma who was sitting in front of the alcove with her legs bent and putting dolls out from a box. Now I wonder what she was saying to me at that moment. The dolls whose faces are gentle and calm, remain quietly unchanged throughout all of these years.
