THE ADVENTURES OF PERIWINKLE & STINKY: PART CCCXLVIII

Adventure at the Cottage

Yesterday, Stinky sent a note to Periwinkle to meet him at their cottage, so he is waiting by the teleportation tunnel when he notices it begin to vibrate. Moments later Periwinkle comes tumbling out with the familiar whoosh right into his waiting paws. As they usually do, they spend several minutes whisker kissing and paw hugging.

When they finally come up for air, Periwinkle says, “I am so happy to be at our cozy little cottage, and you even decorated for Independence Day. It looks great!”

 

 

 

“I am happy you like it, Periwinkle. Before we head home, I will need to take all the decorations down and put them away.”

“I can help do that. But I am curious about why we are here?”

“I think it is the purrfect setting for today’s adventure. We are going to celebrate National Picnic Month with foods that have a special day today or are recognized for the entire month.”

“That sounds quite interesting, Stinky, and you know I love a good picnic. What will we be having?”

“It’s a surprise. You’ll find out when it is time to eat.”

“Phooey, you are such a tease,” says Periwinkle.

Tanabata

“Before our picnic, we are going to celebrate Tanabata.”

“What the heck is that? I’ve never heard of it?”

“Tanabata is a Japanese Festival celebrated on July 7th. It is also known as the Star Festival.”

“How do we celebrate?”

“On Tanabata, the Japanese people write short wishes, hopes, desires, dreams, poems or thoughts on colorful paper strips called tanzaku. The wishes can be for anything. The tradition of tanzaku originated in China and was later adopted in Japan during the Edo Period, which took place from 1603 to 1868.

“Traditionally the paper strips are tied to bamboo branches in public areas, like streets, parks, shopping malls, schools and shrines. The paper strips can be white, yellow, red, blue/green or purple. Each color represents one of the five elements in Chinese philosophy: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. The Japanese replaced the original color of black, which was associated with water, with purple. B lack was considered unlucky in Japan.”

“Are we going to write wishes and hang them someplace?” asks Periwinkle.

Tanzaku

“Yes, I have already written mine and I have collected one from each of my fursibs. Your mom sent Reesie’s and Noelle’s to me. You just need to write yours. I made paper stars instead of just strips of paper, and I have hung all the wishes on our big tree along with star-shaped white lights. We just need to hang your wish after you write it,” Stinky tells Periwinkle.

Stinky gives Periwinkle a purple star. As she is writing her wish, he runs into the kitchen to make certain he has everything they need for their picnic. When he returns, she has her star ready and they go outside so Stinky can hang it up.

 

 

“Stinky, please be careful up there!”

“I will. I promise.”

“Are strangers meant to read other people’s wishes?” asks Periwinkle.

“The festival is not meant to be a private gathering. It is a public, light‑hearted tradition where people express personal wishes in a low‑pressure way. It is designed to be accessible and inclusive. Anyone can join without needing to know the customs. Participants normally don’t share anything they wouldn’t want someone else to read. The tradition is meant for people to entrust their hopes and dreams to the ‘celestial realm’ as both an emotional and spiritual act.”

“Are we going to share our wishes with our readers?”

“We certainly can, Periwinkle. They are printed on each of the stars that we hung, but even if our readers enlarge that photo, they won’t be able to read them.”

“I have an idea. Can we print another set and turn them into a patchwork, like a quilt?”

“That is a splendid idea. Let’s go inside and do that, and then we can have our picnic,” replies Stinky

Star Festival Wishes

 

 

“Stinky, that turned out great, don’t you think?”

“Yes, I like it a lot. Of course, our tanzaku are unsigned, so readers will just have to guess which kitty wrote which note.”

“Some are pretty easy to guess, and others not so much,” replies Periwinkle.

“That’s true. Are you ready for our picnic. I set it up under the tree.”

“You bet, bring on the noms,” says Periwinkle, which makes Stinky giggle.

Picnic Time

 

 

“So, what goodies to we have for our picnic?” asks Periwinkle.

Stinky replies, “Deli sandwiches and salads, baked beans, blueberries, hot dogs, ice cream, watermelon, wheat and chocolate. I am not serving the horseradish that is included in this month’s list of foods. The wheat will be in the form of bread on our sandwiches. And I have hot fudge sundaes which include both ice cream and chocolate.” (Kitties should not eat chocolate, but as cartoon cats it is okay for Periwinkle and Stinky.)

“Wow, Stinky this really is a feast. You didn’t miss any of the foods you mentioned, and they all look and smell wonderful.”

Stinky has already started eating one of the hot dogs and just nods.

As they eat, Periwinkle thinks about her tanzuka and Stinky’s, which are basically the same. She decides to ask him about it. “I noticed we had similar wishes, Stinky. And, we have been engaged for quite a long time. Do you think we should start planning a wedding?”

“I like that idea. Let’s talk to our moms when we get home. I know they will have to plan it for a time that is convenient for both of them. Anytime is good for me!”

“Me too, but I know we have to talk to our moms,” says Periwinkle as she bends to give Stinky a whisker kiss.

When all the noms are finished, the tabbies clean up outside. As it is starting to get dark, they go inside the cottage and decide to head to bed and talk about ideas for a wedding.

 

 

The End

Periwinkle and Stinky will be participating in the Happy Tuesday blog hop hosted by Sandee at Comedy Plus. You can do the same by clicking on the Happy badge.