SUNNY DAYS

What a difference a week makes.   Today the sun is bright and WARM.  No snow in the yard and no threats of snow in the yard.  It actually makes you think of spring cleaning, warm weather, washing windows ~~~ all kinds of weird stuff.  My sister-in-law is back in Alaska.  
I am working on a quilt for a lady.  She had a bunch of T-shirts from family reunions she wanted cut up and used in a quilt.  I have made quilts for years, but this is the first T-shirt quilt ever.  I have learned one lesson ~~ ALWAYS make sure the shirts are of similar sizes.  These shirts ranged from children's shirts to men's 2X.  As many shirts as I handled when I worked in soft lines (clothing) at WalMart I never notice a extreme difference in the size of the image between XL and 2X and forget about children's sizes WOW ~~ Live and learn, die and forget!!  Anyway it actually came out rather nice.  

 I actually wrote the above paragraphs several weeks ago.  I never posted them and finally decided to today.  Words have never been as prophetic as those.  When you think about the things that happened in Japan. Steals your breath away. I have been listening to Japanese TV feeds on the internet. To THEIR tv. What THEY are being told and are telling the world.  It makes a person want to drop to their knees and pray. Their lives, their culture, their children's lives have been changed for all time in the blink of an eye.  They have problems (lost families, lost farm land, lost factories, lost jobs) that will not be solved or even handled for decades, if ever.  They are a small string of islands, with a very limited amount of farm land to sustain their economy.  It doesn't sound that important on the surface.  When one thinks of Japan, they do NOT think of farmland.  You think of factories, cars, electronics. NOT food production.  But Japan was very efficient at growing food for themselves.  The earthquake and tsunami (and probably the nuclear plant) have destroyed some of Japan's most fertile and productive farmland in the islands.  The before and after pics are staggering. This will have a profound effect on their economy, probably forever.  For all their planning and building of sea walls and buildings, nothing stopped or even slowed down this disaster.  Japan was so much better prepared for this.  We don't stand a chance when it happens to us.  Our own citizens will be our destruction.  Look at the things that happened in New Orleans with Katrina.  There has been NO looting in Japan.  People have remained calm. Have helped each other over and over.  Have shared with each other. Looked after the elderly (instead of trying to destroy them to get them out of their way).  They have been POLITE and considerate of each other.  Instead of trying to grab everything on a grocery shelf, they left things for the others behind them in line.  It was unbelievable when I remember the pics from New Orleans.  This country could learn a whole lot about how the react in disasters from the Japanese.  In case you are wondering if I have any attachments to the Japanese. The answer is NO.  My Uncle Jack was on the "New Orleans" in Pearl Harbor on Dec 7,1941.  He survived and went on to retire from the Navy 25 years later.  I have never been fond of the Japanese, but I am truely impressed by them and the way they have treated each other during this disaster.  May God have mercy on them.  They are going to need it to survive the future.