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Friday, April 29, 2011

Celebrating May

May is one of our favorite months here at Circa. The life-giving rains of April have done their job famously, coaxing the trees and flowers to burst forth in a Broadway-worthy cabaret of multi-colored hues. 

It’s a grand time to celebrate! And if the warmer weather and eye-popping performance of Mother Nature itself isn’t excuse enough for you to throw off the comforter and kick up your heels, then mark your calendar with the following dates which are certain to inspire a bit of well-justified merrymaking.

We invite you to check in with us periodically as we’ll be taking a closer look at a number of these events as the merry month of May tap dances her way through our hearts.

May 1st is Mother Goose Day (how fun!) and, of course, May Day.
Every year at Circa we delight in gathering a bouquet of early posies from our garden and place May Baskets anonymously on doorknobs throughout our tiny village. It’s a simple gesture but we guarantee you’ll take as much pleasure in doing it as anyone who receives one does! (See our previous blog for suggestions on how to create your own May Day treasures to share.)

May 2nd is National Truffles Day (the mushroom variety, not the candy kind) and May 3rd is National Raspberry Popover Day. (Now that’s more like it!)

Cinco De Mayo, May 5th, is the ideal time to celebrate with a lively Mexican Fiesta. Bring on the Guacamole, Carne Asada Tacos, Rice and Beans and perhaps, if you’re feeling a tad naughty, even a Margarita (or two) might be in order. Feeling even more adventurous? Might we suggest inviting some of your favorite Senors and Senoritas over to the homestead, clear out the rugs, push back the furniture and have the local dance studio in to give Salsa dance lessons in your living room. Talk about kicking up your heels. Ole’! 

Artwork by the a-may-zing Geninne Zlatkis, from the whimsical website TheyDrawAndCook.com .
Be sure to visit Geninne's etsy store at www.etsy.com/shop/Geninne

May 6th is Nurse’s Day and May 8th is National Teacher’s Day, both worthy dates to keep in mind.

The second Sunday of every May is Mother’s Day. Whatever you do, mark this date! And remember~ candy, flowers and cards are nice, but nothing beats the gift of time spent together. 

May 11th is Eat What You Want Day (we’re serious~ whoopee!) and May 15th is National Chocolate Chip Day. (Can it get any better?)

May 13th is National Apple Pie Day, taken very seriously in our neighboring state of Vermont.  I.E ~ “No. 15, effective May 10, 1999, apple pie is designated the official State Pie. When serving apple pie in Vermont, a "good faith" effort shall be made to meet one or more of the following conditions: (a) with a glass of cold milk, (b) with a slice of cheddar cheese weighing a minimum of 1/2 ounce, (c) with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream. ~ from the Office of the Secretary of State, Vermont Legislative Directory.”    Way to go, Vermont!

  Noel's makes the most delicious Apple Pie - hands down!

 May 18th is National Museum Day and a trip to your local museum with the kids or grandkids is surely in order. Let’s teach our young ones early on that learning can be fun.

 A fun day with our god-niece Elsa at the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Boston.

May 23rd is National Taffy Day (it just got better!) and May 25th is National Escargot Day. (Umm~ to each his own.)

Memorial Day is May 26th in the United States, a time to reflect on the brave men and women who died in service to our great country. Perhaps a quiet picnic in the park today?



May is also Asparagus Month, National Book Month, National Better Hearing and Speech Month, National Nursing Home Month, Flower Month and, one of our favorites, National Barbecue Month. It’s been a long, cold winter here in Dresden and we’re more than ready to throw a few shrimp on the barbie to celebrate the month away. 



Lastly, but certainly not leastly (is that a word?), May is National Strawberry Month, and a fruit more worthy of such an honor would be difficult for us to name. After all, strawberries are known to be low in calories (excellent news!) and high in Vitamin C. They also contain antioxidants and may reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. Further, research indicates that these plump, little powerhouses may help improve our memory. (More strawberries~ please!) Besides all that, they’re delicious.

Here in Maine, as in much of New England, we can’t expect to pick our strawberries until June, but we find them so irresistible, we just can’t help but push the season a tad. After all, is there any better way to finish off a good, old, belt-loosening barbeque than with batch of home made Strawberry Shortcake crowned with oodles and oodles of whipped cream? 

 
In the Circa kitchen, tradition dictates that in lieu of cake, these crimson beauties rest their heads on a pillow of biscuits fresh out of the oven.  We’ll be posting a few of our favorite biscuit recipes (even one that’s gluten free!) in plenty of time for strawberry picking in your area.  

Yes, it’s clear to see that May is simply a-may-zing, so join us, if you will, as we find reason to celebrate this glorious month, week after week after week. 

3 comments:

bayrayschild said...

Thanks for this post. My granddaughter and I had fun reading it!

Happy May!
Audrey

Sunny Simple Life said...

Lovely photos and I love your header shot. I want to have iced tea in those chairs.

Vicki said...

What a delightful blog! Love the photos and join you in the chairs!