Spring Festival is Just Around the Corner

Jack Rabbit IMG5358 by gm_pentaxfan

Sitting here typing with my electric bed heater turned on; 41 degrees F, gloomy, and gray outside; and my own Southeastern US covered in white; it's hard to visualize Spring just waiting around the corner. But then Spring Festival is the same thing as Chinese New Year, and the new year usually comes in with a bang of fireworks and not a profusion of petals. According to the Chinese calendar, we are about to usher in the Year of the Rabbit. I personally was born in the Year of the Snake; but would have preferred to be a cute, cuddly bunny. The Chinese zodiac is based on a 12 year cycle of the lunar calendar; so if you were born in or after February of 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, and 2011; you most likely are a rabbit 属兔子(shǔ tùzǐ). In honor of the approaching holiday, I thought I would share some rabbit images and ideas:

Rabbits in the Grass by potato hate

Easter Bunny by Scott Kinmartin

Rabbit by Alex Pierre

So if you'd like to join in the spirit of the new year, by taking a rabbit ride...

Rabbit - Panning by HelloMokona

decorating your plants....

Rabbits by Stacey (Swirly Girly)

or adorning appropriate attire....

Bunny Hats by A Turner
A Turner Designs Etsy

Please do! And check out these other incredible bunny creations to delight, inspire, and complement your celebration.

Sweet Rabbit Ring by littlemouse11 Etsy


Rabbit Silhouette Charm & Chain by Charms4You Etsy


Cute New Year's Red Bunny Bracelet by LittlePinkPixie Etsy


Claudette by LCRknitted Etsy
She also has a lovely blog about knitting & life with an autistic son


Clara: an Old-fashioned Bunny by Cynthia Toy - Fairiesnest Etsy
You can enjoy her special magic in blogland at The Fairies' Nest


Raspberry Truffle Bunny Softie by Mommy Lion Etsy


Radical Red Amigurumi Moon Bun by Moon's Creations Etsy


So if you're taking notes...

Pair of Hairs with HEARTS mini journal by FuzzyMug

In the Year of the Tiger (2010), Chinese Spring Festival landed on Valentine's Day. This lunar calendar the holiday begins on February 3, 2011 and ends 15 days later, culminating with the Lantern Festival and another round of explosives. Look who was ready to start celebrating last year...

COOL ... by SOCIALisBETTER

Dollin'

I've been negligent. Beth at By Hook, By Hand has an amazing blog with lovely images; simply extraordinary, beautiful dolls; and wonderful sewing, crochet, crafting patterns and tutorials. It is one of my favorite spots in blogland. I am a beginner crocheter, but I so enjoyed using her skirt and top patterns.


Thank you again Beth!

What to Write

I was looking through my pictures today, hoping for some inspiration; and found that my heart most resonated with this image of our terribly spoiled, though at the time worn out, family pet. Speaking of pets, our apartment complex neighbors across the way brought home the cutest little pink pig with a black saddle-like spot on its back and black on its ears. They are clearly keeping this dainty creature as a pet, but my husband says it will be dinner some day. Such is life in an upper middle class Chinese neighborhood. Nothing much has been going on of late as you can probably sense by this post, and yet there is a recognition in my heart that life could or should be continually rich when a person is loved and gives love. There is wonder and beauty to be seen in the ordinary if eyes are opened. I love the following quotes from "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander:

"There is much to be known," said Adaon, "and above all much to be loved, be it the turn of the seasons or the shape of a river pebble. Indeed, the more we find to love, the more we add to the measure of our hearts."

Adaon smiled gravely. "Is there not glory enough in living the days given to us? You should know there is adventure in simply being among those we love and the things we love, and beauty, too."

If only the head and the heart could communicate better.

Heart Travels

View from Odusan Unification Observatory

Korea

i came in search of an entertaining synthesis of commercialism and ancient tile-roofed palaces
of rainbow-color-saturated markets and vibrant neon signs
tongue tantalizing fermented spice
and slippered feet tucked under child-sized tables in elegant sparse rooms
but in your mountainous heart i found a wide gaping wound
i stumbled unexpectedly over my history
and grieved for brave faces and valiant lines lost
how can wholeness be
when your right hand scavenges for food and your left bare foot is swollen and bruised
when your grandfather sleeps in a lonely, unfamiliar grave
and your grandmother overtaxes her memories and dreams to imagine your face
when the great divide does not mean
a barrier between you and your enemy
but a tourniquet strategically applied near your heart
may this horrific disease never spread and consume you
may the warmth of true, unforgetful love
and a miracle do
what only a miracle can
rescue your suffering members
restore you... whole.

Hakka doll by Ada Lum

I originally created this post for my vintage cloth doll blog,
Asia With Embroidered Eyes;
but since it has some cultural significance, I decided to include it here too.Hakka women photo by Grant Gouldon Flickrcc

The Hakka people are said to have migrated South from north central China in as early as the 1400s due to times of wars and famine. Not being the original peoples of the lands they came to inhabit; they were known as the "guest people," which is the meaning of Hakka (in Chinese 客家 Kejia). Hakka communities can be found in Guandong, Jiangxi, Fujian, as well as other parts of China (including, of course, Hong Kong), all around the South China Sea, and even in Australia and the US. One article I read, referred to them as the gypsies of China.* The Hakka of the mid-1900's were a unique people... due in part to speaking their own dialect, not practicing footbinding of women, in a fondness for education, and in their unusual living structures and cuisine. Though known for their hospitality, some Hakka clans previously resided in round fortress-type multi-story, earth homes called tulou. A tulou could house hundreds of individuals all sharing a common family name.

Earth Buildings by Angel Zhang Flickrcc

The Hakka people were typically farmers, though there may have been fisherman among them as well. Hakka women worked the fields while the men sought jobs in the cities or as soldiers. Hakka cuisine is notoriously different, as the people are said to "have made an art of salting and preserving ingredients (pickling), as well as developing tasty dishes from whatever cheap produce was available." Their more well known dishes include: ja dai cheung (deep-fried intestines), yim guk gei (salt-baked chicken), and poon choy (literally dinner in a bucket)." (*Lonely Planet: World Food Hong Kong by Richard Sterling and Elizabeth Chong, 2001, p25) Some internationally recognized Hakka include actor Chow Yun-Fat and former government leader of the People's Republic of China Deng Xiaoping. There are actually many others as well. These "guest people," though often left with the least desirable land, living in poverty, and looked down upon; seem to have a persistent, patient will to triumph over their circumstances.

One version of Poon Choy by umami Flickrcc

Clearly, Hakka people were a special and distinct part of the cultural diversity that was Hong Kong during the time that linen crafter, business woman, and dollmaker Ada Lum made her life there; as seen in one of her following creations....

Information gleaned from:
Lonely Planet: China's Southwest by Damian Harper, 2007, p372
More information about the tulou can be found in:
Lonely Planet: China by Damian Harper et al, 2005, p340
Frommer's China by Simon Foster et al, 2010, p533
Wikipedia: Hakka People

16!

Z is for Zàijiàn 再见

Zàijiàn 再见 is the Chinese word for good-bye, but literally means, "See you again."

I just wanted to say "Thank you." to Jenny Matlock for starting us on this amazing, Alphabetical Adventure; for being our biggest cheerleader and encourager; for challenging us to imagine & express; and giving the wonderful opportunity to meet and hear from such diverse, creative, incredible bloggers.

Zàijiàn 再见!