Linda’s Blog
NOVEMBER 5, 2020
As you can see, writing a blog is not prevalent on my mind. Sorry about that.
There’s only a few days left to purchase a lantern for Obon with your loved one’s name on it. You can have it done and tuck it away in a safe place until our next Obon, but if it was me, I think I’d hang it up outside (in clear weather of course).
I was wondering if you had purchased a fruit and vegetable box from Yasukochi Farms. We have purchased two now and I’m not sure we can resist a third, coming on December 5th. For two people, it’s quite a bit of produce. We revert to making veggies with udon as soon as we get the box, but if you’re in a rut and always make the same things for your meals, this box can help you to escape. I’ve never purchased fresh shitake mushrooms before, so that was interesting. I have to admit, next to portabella mushrooms, shitake are not my favorite. I put them in my stir-fry and that worked okay. I’d only bought a huge napa cabbage for parties, so having one just for the two of us took some creativity. It turned out to be perfect on fish tacos and in burritos. I may now prefer it for these because it’s so light.
We are having the annual food and coat drives. One of the best things about this, besides giving to great causes, and cleaning out your closet or cupboards, is you can drive through and leave your items at the Yasukochi Farms distribution day on December 5th. My daughter has her eye on a more versatile coat, but something will need to go before that happens. (It’s great timing and a super excuse).
I think my attention span has been affected by my electronics. It’s hard to watch anything in the evening without having something else to do. Last year I bought some fleece fabric and made hats while watching TV. I have to admit, the designs progressed so every hat didn’t take so long to make. I gave them all away, but my fingers are a bit itchy and I’m going to start making more for the coat drive. I just use a complementary color of embroidery thread to bind them together, just sewing the edges together. Even if you don’t know how to sew, you can do this. Once it’s finished, I’m quite pleased that I accomplished something while watching “ Jeopardy!” (It doesn’t work for “Midnight Diner,” because I have to read the subtitles; and I haven’t learned any Japanese even though I’m already on the second season). If you’re interested, I could write some simple directions. Let me know.
September 3, 2020
Cover Note with Emailed Kaiho
Reading, Dancing & Dharma, Oh My
For your reading enjoyment, we have posted a link on our Website to Kenji Sensei's article in the Buddhist Tricycle magazine. For dancing, hopefully you had the opportunity to dance along with an Obon celebration in your home via Zoom. And for Dharma, our guest speaker for the Fall O Higan will be the Minister’s Assistant, Noriko Kawai. Her dharma message will be available on the temple’s YouTube channel on Sunday, September 20. Read a brief biography of Noriko on page 8.
Breaking News: Southern District / BWA Conference October 3
This year the Southern District and Southern District Buddhist Women's Association Conference will be virtual. Save the date for the morning of Saturday, October 3.
Registration for San Diego will be coordinated through the BTSD office and our Deadline is Sunday, September 20. Registration is $20; please make out and mail checks to BTSD, as the Temple will consolidate our payments to Southern District by single check. See page 6 for more information; download the flyer here.
Fun Fundraisers
Yasukochi Family Farms, Now with Chicken Pie, for Pickup. Besides being a great fundraiser for everyone who participated back in July, following the event Yasukochi made a generous donation on top of expected proceeds. Thank you! September 26, we're doing it again, adding Chicken Pie to the menu. Yes, these are the delicious Temple-made chicken pot pies, frozen so you and throw them in the oven whenever you need them. As in July you can also purchase three-packs of strawberries and homemade face masks. See the order form with this newsletter or download it here. The order deadline is September 20 at 4 p.m. See page 2 for more information. The only way you can get your chicken pie is to order for this one-time event where you will pick up the pie.
Yasukochi Ongoing Fundraiser for Delivery. While our September 26 event is a single event, you can order produce boxes at any time directly from Yasukochi for delivery to your front door. If you add "Buddhist Temple of San Diego" to the Notes section, Yasukochi will continue to make a donation to the Temple. Check delivery areas; Yasukochi covers much of San Diego County. For delivery use the Yasukochi order form here that goes to Yasukochi. (If you want to pick up a box September 26 at the Temple. use the order form that goes to the Temple.)
Remember, to benefit the Temple, please put “Buddhist Temple of San Diego” in the Notes Section.
Ichiban Ongoing Fundraiser. Through September, any order for takeout (or their limited patio seating) from Ichiban Hillcrest benefits the Temple by 20% pretax. See pages 2 and 4 for more information or download the flyer here.
Smile and Support the Temple on Amazon
While many of us are spending more time at home and often buying things online, we want to remind you that Amazon Smile can send micropayments to the Temple with every purchase you make on the Amazon platform. The money comes from Amazon; your costs for items you purchase does not change.
Many of us already have an Amazon account, and the Smile option is a small tweak to your existing account. See page 4 for more information or click here to start.
Sincerely,
Linda Redenbaugh
August 13, 2020
If you know me, you know I’m chatty. I tend to ramble on in my intro to the emailed kaiho. This is an experiment in temple news with a bit of my rambling. I’m not sure what to call it, so for now, we’ll just call it Linda’s Blog.
New at the Temple
If you haven’t checked out Kenji Sensei’s article in the magazine, Tricycle, you can do so here.
Our recent fundraisers have been a huge sucess. Please give your support to them as they are also weathering this difficult time. The temple Board of Directors is considering another fundraising event with Yasukochi Farms and maybe sales of Temple-made frozen chicken pot pies. We will have more info to follow.
My RHETORICAL Question for You
I’ve been thinking lately; say things were back to “normal,” we are all going about our daily drudge, get up, get dressed, and do all the stuff you usually have to do during your day, hurry, you’re probably going to be late! So in the midst of this, someone asked us if we would like to slow down. We could work at home and have quality time with our loved ones… what would you want to do? What is that thing you always wanted to do, but never had time?
July 31, 2020
Notes for August 2020 Bussei Script (the Kaiho)
On July 26 Sensei Kenji held the Hatsubon service for the loved ones we lost in the past year. And by way of the internet, guest speaker, Rev. Matt Hamasaki, the resident minister of the Buddhist Church of Sacramento gave his dharma message. This can be seen on the Temple’s YouTube Channel.
Please check out the notice about Sensei Kenji’s article in the Buddhist Tricycle magazine and the short calendar listing on page 2 which includes info on our next fundraiser with the restaurant, Devine Pastabilities. Also, on page 2, you'll find info on the Zoom meeting for Shoshinge and the BCA Virtual Obon Dance. Please note that the meeting times for Shoshinge may vary from week to week, so please check with the temple by Friday afternoon if you plan to tune in.
There is an article on the Hogetsu Bakery in this Thursday’s, 7/30/20, San Diego Reader. With the word going out that they would be closing, the community is rallying around.
Our fundraiser with Yasukochi Farms was a huge success. I loved the surprise of not knowing what would be in the box. We weren’t vastly creative; we did a stir-fry with fresh noodles, mushrooms, Napa cabbage, crook-necked squash, and Japanese eggplant. Only the eggplant didn’t make it into our dinner. They were just too cute. They looked like little birds who could be having a conversation, and they had to be photographed.
Me and my daughter have been debating what to do with 3 boxes of strawberries for at least a month. Her vote has been a steadfast, just eat them! I make a lovely strawberry pie, but it must be consumed the same day you make it. Which isn’t a good thing for two women who are trying to watch their sugar intake and during COVID-19, we can’t share with the neighbors.
Speaking of neighbors, be sure to check in with them if it’s been a while.The pandemic can certainly weigh us down when our reserves get low and just hearing that someone is thinking of us can make a huge difference.