Photo taken from flight back from CA, 7/10

The sun has set on the Shakuhachi Forum BBQ.
It was a warm bright day
at times a distant cloud grazed the sun
It was full of friends sharing their love
alas the ice chest was bare
they went home, to their loved ones.

I would like to thank Ken LaCosse and Brian Ritchie for starting and maintaining the Shakuhachi Forum for the past 6 years. As a moderator, I enjoyed my time immensely and tried my best to help spread the love of the shakuhachi with impartiality. It was time consuming even when I wasn’t contributing so I can imagine how much work Ken and Brian was doing. A deep bow to you my shakuhachi brothers! I look forward to the next incarnation.

Life goes on. Spring is coming and it there are birthday parties coming. This one was on Saturday.

And then in Sunday, we went to the Museum of Natural History for this one. The lucky kids got to bite into a dinosaur cake…boneless cake that is   I love NYC!

In the shop this week was a crack repair that required additional thought. The maker, Ippou’s hanko was right in the middle of the ideal place for the binding. As an artist and maker, I really do not like to tampering with an artist’s signature. After a discussion with the owner, we decided that if we applied two bindings it would allow us to keep the hanko.

Well, most of it. You can see how close it got to the thumb hole.

I have great respect for those who create and try my best to always acknowledge their dedication to making the world a better place.

Namaste, Perry