Happy May Day!

What is May Day?

A celebration of Spring

A day of political protest

A neopagan festival

A Saint's feast day

A day for organized labor

In medieval England, people would go a-maying, or gathering fresh greenery and flowers from the woods and fields. This was also known as 'bringing in the May'.  This was described in "The Court of Love" written in 1561.

And furth goth all the Court, both most and lest,
To feche the floures fressh, and braunche and blome;
And namly, hawthorn brought both page and grome.
With fressh garlandes, partie blewe and whyte,
And thaim rejoysen in their greet delyt.


Edited to add that you may place your mouse pointer over the strange words to see the translation.


Are there any May Day celebrations in your area?

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Quote of the Week

It's where we go, and what we do when we get there, 

that tells us who we are. - Joyce Carol Oates

This week we have another quote dealing with where we are. This time we focus on the journey and how it affects who we are when we get there. It is the in-between moments that fill our lives and ultimately defines us. Like the branches on this tree, our path can change course many times during our lives, and each branch represents another step in our journey toward becoming who we are.


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Butterflies and Fleece

My wonderful friend, Ashley, made this really cute butterfly blanket for me for my birthday, and presented it to me when they were in town over Easter. 

As usual I am behind on crafty things and often jump on the bandwagon just as it pulls out of the station so I had not heard of the no-sew, tied fleece blankets. Apparently fleece is in now and to make it easier for the sewing challenged (yes, I am in that group) those with craftier minds than mine came up with this method.

The result is a beautiful blanket with a fringe and not a stitch of sewing. How cool is that?

She searched long and hard for colors and patterns that suited me. Cats and wine themes were not to be found, and anything pink was automatically rejected (I don't like pink...at all). Finally the butterfly pattern was selected, and a coordinating solid was chosen. 

To make the fringe, you lay the pieces together with the pretty sides facing out, making sure the edges are even. Then you make cuts into the fabric about 5 inches long at 1-inch intervals. When all the cuts are made, then you simply double knot the strips and you have a blanket. 

Being the curious sort, I wondered what else you could make using this technique and Google provided me with a plethora of styles, uses and methods. You can even fill them for a thicker blanket, make pillows, pet beds or ponchos. 


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Quote of the Week

"There" is no better than "here." When your "there" has become a "here," you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
  

Last week's quote brought to mind this one from the Chicken Soup for the Soul story, Rules for Being Human by Cherie Carter-Scott.

I read this to my husband and said I thought it was a lot like the grass always being greener on the other side of the fence. His take on this is that everything that makes us who we are goes with us so that when we are finally on the other side of the fence and look back, the side from where we came is the one that looks greener now. So the green-ness of anywhere is dependent more on us than the place itself. 

Just a little food for thought to twist your head around on a Monday morning. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

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28 and Counting!

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband of 28 years! 

I have shared this quote from Robert Fulghum before, but I am putting it out there again because I think it really sums up our life together.

We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness—and call it love—true love.



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