Even though our tea ceremony group is much more casual than others in the USA, we still try to have hatsugama every year. Due to our sensei's schedule, we were unable to hold the event this year unfortunately. (For those who don't know, our sensei moved to the east coast a few years ago and has been flying back about once per month to teach us.) However, we were asked to do a presentation for the Oishii Japan food event. Sensei had originally planned to fly in and lead the presentation, but with the blizzard last week, his flight was cancelled. I was asked to lead in his place.
I have done several of these kinds of presentations in the past, so I wasn't too nervous from a stage-fright standpoint. But since I had surgery back in December, I have not been able to practice very much. I felt rusty, and that's what actually made me nervous. Despite my fears, the presentation went very well. My husband provided narration (since this group was unfamiliar with tea ceremony) and one of our other members was my main guest. Two other members assisted some in the background.
And now on to the pictures! I was really excited to wear this iromuji. I bought it last year, but I was waiting for the perfect time to wear it. This event fit the bill in my opinion. The colors in my own crappy iPhone pictures are very washed out, but the two of the actual presentation taken by Frank Chin are very true-to-life.
