My treasures

Things are still down off of the top of the cupboards since the earthquake and I have been sorting through things and throwing things away. I came across a couple pieces of Tetsu's artwork...

All three of these Tetsu made for me before we were married. The first one looks like a big card but actually it is 6 postcards that he designed and painted for me and then sent to me each day a week before my birthday.. There are a few English phrases on there... directly copied from an English dictionary... One of the very few attempts that Tetsu has ever made into the English language. Let's see... at the top it says

"I wish to express my hearty congratulations on your happy birthday".

Another says

"Adversity makes a man wise."

How romantic!

I'm afraid I can't read what a couple of the other phrases say... But the message is there! Tetsu sent this to me about 6 months after we started dating. (Notice that my name is spelled according to the Japanese syllabary...

6 months later I got a Christmas "card" from Tetsu, all carved out of wood and painted in his favorite florescent colors.



And 6 months after that another birthday greeting again carved on a wooden board and brightly painted. Tetsu included friends' names on this one and he got the spelling of my name right this time. I even got a small heart there at the top!

You can see how Tetsu spent two years capturing MY heart. We were married the next year.

I haven't gotten florescent cards and wood hangings since before we were married... but Tetsu makes me wonky cat houses and ironing boards and sewing bookcases and kitchen cupboards though not so colorful. (I think I asked him to tone down his color sense.)

These "treasures" are going back up on top of the cupboard.