03/06/2026 Friday 38-47F Cloudy
Finally the weather starts to get warmer. Tomorrow the high temperature will be in the 50s and Sunday in the 60s. Two weeks ago when we talked to Justin who lives in South Carolina, he told us that day the temperature there reached 70F—it sounded like a dream to us. This dream will soon come true, since next Monday we can embrace our first 70F after a long, long, tough winter.
The snow in my yard is all gone now. Fresh-looking green moss has crawled here and there along the pavers. Covered under and protected by the snow, it had been nourished for the whole winter, though all the other plants suffered. Yes, someone’s sufferings can be someone else’s benefits; this is the way the universe balances everything.
On Valentine’s Day I got a clay jug as the gift from my husband. “There is a Swiss chocolate store near Penn station. Yesterday I saw people lining up in front of the door. Should I buy some chocolates for you?” The day before Valentine’s Day, my husband suddenly asked.
“No.” I responded.
“Then how about a bouquet of flowers?”
“It’s too impractical to buy it right before Valentine’s.”
“So, what can I buy for you?” My husband asked. He always asked me before he made his purchases because he knew I was fussy.
“I want a jug for us.”
“A jug?” He widened his eyes—every time I could refresh his surprise.
“Yes, I want exactly this one!” I sent the link to him.
“Ok, I will buy it. Just be curious: What’s the use of it?”
“For drinking water.”
Now I happily pour boiled water from my jug into a mug to drink every morning. It is a Turkish jug, handcrafted from terracotta. I like its earthen yet authentic look, and the water poured from it tastes smoother and smells clean even though the boiled water was just poured into the jug two seconds ago. It functions like a natural filter and enhances my kitchen with a rustic hue.
Since I was a little kid, I always fancied three professions: Pottery, carpenter, and tailor. With all the three skills, I believed that I could build a beautiful little home, then extend them to a beautiful life: A wooden cottage with wood furniture; earthenware and porcelain on the tables and in the cabinets; the windows and beds are covered by all types of natural cloth.
Clay, wood, and fabrics, even now they still are my favorite materials, and I feel highly content dealing with them. Pity that among all the three professions I liked, tailor perhaps is the closest one to my career in the fashion industry. That kind of character, loving natural, genuine, simple things, had been embedded in me for decades and eventually led me to where I am now.
Yes, natural, genuine, and simple—they are MY definition of beauty. In one word, they are “Wabi-sabi”.
Every time I mention this word to people, they tend to say” Oh yeah, I know it—imperfection, and live in the moment, am I right?”
Yes and no. It is more than that. Wabi refers to a beauty of simplicity, robustness, and restraint; Sabi means naturally yet well aged like wrinkles on the face, patinas on the bronze, and weather-beaten stone bridges. One respects a down-to-the earth, austere elegance, and the other one admits how this elegance withstands time and usage and evolves.
When I read below sentences online, I felt a bolt of lightning flashing in my mind:
“Wabi-sabi is rooted in the Buddhist teachings of the three marks of existence: impermanence (mujō), suffering (ku), and emptiness (kū). It values the acceptance of transience and the appreciation of beauty that is 'imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.'"
Because everything is impermanent, we should cherish what we have right now and try to build them as solid as possible;
Because we all suffer, we have compassion for others, therefore every tiny sweet will taste sweeter;
Because the outer material world has nothing to do with a man’s happiness, we shall empty our desires and focus on seeking satisfaction from the inner us.
That’s why I like everything to be simple and long-lasting; that’s why I embroider clean and natural objects on my garments as my theme (If I were a pottery maker or a carpenter, no doubt I would draw or carve those objects as well on my products); that’s why I have only several pieces of furniture throughout my entire house but sometimes I still feel it is too full—I know I am a little too extreme. I always think that when I grow older, eventually I will live in the mountains basically with nothing in my house: A table, two chairs, a futon, and several willow chests. However, my garden needs to be busy, each season providing me with plenty of produce and their special features. And I will build a bamboo duct to lead the mountain spring water into my garden and my kitchen so both my plants and I can drink clean, fresh, sweet spring water!
For sure some plants in my current garden have died after this cold winter. I shall be able to tell which by next month. To replace them, I would love to have a Ya pear tree and a pepper tree. I can make pear pies, pear turnovers, pear jelly; about the pepper tree, I can harvest its green peppercorns in spring for braise and the red ones in autumn for stew. But I haven’t figured out where I can get these trees yet.