Transplanted Yankee currently living in Orange County, California. I love anything with a monogram on it, I'm a skin-care/make-up enthusiast (which includes but not limited to: long bubble baths, masking, massage therapy and power napping). Avid bruncher. Amateur historian and genealogist, all-around nerd. Short and sassy, loyal, funny, slightly sarcastic, practically blind, loves to read, travel, and spend time with family and friends. Happy empty nester; still madly in love with (and married to) my high school sweetheart. Drink of choice is a Cosmo, of course!
I'm a little late with the "It's Gonna Be May" and "May the Fourth Be With You" (and also with you! hahaha! a little Catholic humor thrown in for giggles. I can't resist!) memes. And I'm also a day late for Cinco de Mayo (or Cinco de Drinko as I like to call it).
However, I am posting on the day Meghan Markle finally gave birth to a bouncing baby boy! Yay! Is it just me or does it seem like she was pregnant forever? I asked Coach the other day to weigh in on the rumors that she secretly already had the baby. And he looked me dead in the eyes and said, "I have no idea who that is." What? In? The? Holy? Hell???? We have a Harry and Megan wedding tea towel for God's sake!!! Who is this man????
We had some crazy storms for a couple of days which is normal in North Texas this time of year but the weather in Dallas this past weekend was pretty close to perfect. We had to cut down our big beautiful tree (see previous post) but this weekend we did a little project and installed a sun shade/sail over our patio area to provide some relief from the sun. It's perfect and with the curtains blowing, the sun shade catching a breeze, all my candles and pillows, flowers . . . it's very intimate, relaxed and very boho! We love sitting out there and it's easily one of our favorite spots!
May
May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days.
May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of November in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa. Late May typically marks the start of the summer vacation season in the United States and Canada and ends on Labor Day, the first Monday of September.
The month of May (in Latin, Maius) was named for the Greek Goddess Maia, who was identified with the Roman era goddess of fertility, Bona Dea, whose festival was held in May. Conversely, the Roman poet Ovid provides a second etymology, in which he says that the month of May is named for the maiores, Latin for "elders," and that the following month (June) is named for the iuniores, or "young people" (Fasti VI.88).
Special devotions to the Virgin Mary take place in May. I remember as a child, our elderly priest (whose name escapes me at this moment but he had snow white hair) always said prayers to honor Mary during his mass. I don't remember another priest ever doing that and it always stuck out in my mind.
Mayovka, in the context of the late Russian Empire, was a picnic in the countryside or in a park in the early days of May, hence the name. Eventually, "mayovka" (specifically, "proletarian mayovka") came to mean an illegal celebration of May 1 by revolutionary public, typically presented as an innocent picnic.
Eta Aquariids meteor shower appears in May. It is visible from about April 21 to about May 20 each year with peak activity on or around May 6. The Arietids shower from May 22 – July 2, and peaks on June 7. The Virginids also shower at various dates in May.
May's birthstone is the emerald which is emblematic of love and success.
The May birth flowers are the Lily of the Valley and the Crataegus monogyna. Both are native throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere in Asia, Europe, and in the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States, but have been naturalized throughout the temperate climactic world.
The "Mayflower" Epigaea repens is a North American harbinger of May, and the floral emblem of both Nova Scotia and Massachusetts. Its native range extends from Newfoundland south to Florida, west to Kentucky in the southern range, and to Northwest Territories in the north.
The zodiac signs for the month of May are Taurus (until May 20) and Gemini (May 21 onwards).
In Catholic tradition, May is the Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Strengths: Gentle, affectionate, curious, adaptable, ability to learn quickly and exchange ideas
Weaknesses: Nervous, inconsistent, indecisive Gemini likes: Music, books, magazines, chats with nearly anyone, short trips around the town Gemini dislikes: Being alone, being confined, repetition and routine
Expressive and quick-witted, Gemini represents two different personalities in one and you will never be sure which one you will face. They are sociable, communicative and ready for fun, with a tendency to suddenly get serious, thoughtful and restless. They are fascinated with the world itself, extremely curious, with a constant feeling that there is not enough time to experience everything they want to see.
The sign of Gemini belongs to the element of Air, accompanying Libra and Aquarius, and this connects it to all aspects of the mind. It is ruled by Mercury, the planet that represents communication, writing, and movement. People born under this Sun sign often have a feeling that their other half is missing, so they are forever seeking new friends, mentors, colleagues and people to talk to.
Gemini's changeable and open mind makes them excellent artists, especially writers and journalists, and their skills and flexibility make them shine in trade, driving and team sports. This is a versatile, inquisitive, fun loving sign, born with a wish to experience everything there is out there, in the world. This makes their character inspiring, and never boring. Gemini - the Caring Twins There is so much childish innocence in the nature of Gemini, telling their tale of brotherhood, love between best friends and relatives who are entirely different by character, circumstances, physical appearance or upbringing. They are in this world to mend differences and make them feel right, ready to give their life for a brother or a friend. Gemini Love and Sex Fun and always ready for an intellectual challenge, Gemini sees love first through communication and verbal contact, and find it as important as physical contact with their partner. When these two combine, obstacles all seem to fade. Inquisitive and always ready to flirt, a Gemini could spend a lot of time with different lovers until they find the right one who is able to match their intellect and energy. They need excitement, variety and passion, and when they find the right person, a lover, a friend and someone to talk to combined into one, they will be faithful and determined to always treasure their heart.
Juno’s Month
June is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar and its predecessor, the Julian calendar. It is believed that the month is named after the Roman goddess Juno, who is the wife of Jupiter and is also equivalent to the Greek goddess Hera. Another belief is that the month’s name comes from the Latin work iuniores which means “younger ones”.
Old English - Junius
Latin name - Junius mensis - Month of Juno
Old French - Juin
History of June
June was originally the fourth month of the year in the Roman calendar and consisted of 30 days. It became the fifth month with a length of 29 days when Numa reformed the Roman calendar. During the Julian reform, June was given a length of 30 days again.
Sixth Month in the Year
June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendar and is 30 days long. It is the month that has the most amount of daylight hours of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shortest amount of daylight hours in the Southern hemisphere.
Many celebrations take place in the month of June, especially marriages. According to one etymology, June is named after the Roman goddess Juno who is the goddess of marriage and a married couple’s household. It is considered good luck to get married in this month.
June and May are the only two months that doesn’t start on the same day of the week as any other month. June ends on the same day of the week as March every year.
Birth Flower and Stone
June’s birth flower is the rose or the honeysuckle.
The birthstones for June are the pearl, the moonstone, and the Alexandrite which all symbolize health and longevity.
The wild strawberries that start to ripen during early summer gave name to the Full Moon in June. Other names are Rose Moon, Hot Moon, and Mead Moon.
Alpine strawberry bloom and berry
The European Wild Strawberry (Fragaria Vesca) is also called Alpine Strawberry.
In ancient times, it was common to track the changing seasons by following the lunar month rather than the solar year, which the 12 months in our modern calendar are based on.
For millennia, people across Europe, as well as Native American tribes, named the months after features they associated with the Northern Hemisphere seasons, and many of these names are very similar or identical.
Full Moon Names
Today, we use many of these ancient month names as Full Moon names. A common explanation is that Colonial Americans adopted many of the Native American names and incorporated them into the modern calendar.
However, it seems that it is a combination of Native American, Anglo-Saxon, and Germanic month names which gave birth to the names commonly used for the Full Moon today. Some years have 13 Full Moons, which makes one of them a Blue Moon, as it doesn't quite fit in with the traditional Full Moon naming system. However, this is not the only definition of a Blue Moon.
Wild Strawberries
June’s Full Moon is named after the wild strawberries that start to ripen during this month. According to some sources, a European name for this early summer month was Rose Moon, and another was Hot Moon, for the beginning of the summer heat. Other sources quote Mead Moon as the Anglo-Saxon name because this was the time for mowing the meads, or meadows.
There are several different kinds of wild strawberries. The native North American type is the Virginia strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), also known as Mountain strawberry or Common strawberry. It grows naturally in the United States, including Alaska, and Canada. It has also been exported; one popular variety, which was imported to Great Britain in the early 1900s, is called Little Scarlet.
It was an accidental cross of Fragaria virginiana and the South American Fragaria chiloensis, also know as Sand or Beach strawberry, with larger fruit, which resulted in the modern strawberry grown commercially and in gardens, the Fragaria ananassa.
Europe has its own native wild strawberry; the Alpine strawberry (Fragaria vesca), also called European strawberry, Woodland strawberry, or fraisier des bois.
Close to Summer Solstice
Around every 20 years, the Strawberry Moon coincides with the summer solstice, which is either on June 20, 21, or 22.
So, get outside, enjoy the strawberries, maybe go to a wedding and wish some Gemini's a Happy Birthday!
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -- Dr. Seuss
"Nothing makes a woman more beautiful than the belief that she is beautiful." -- Sophia Loren
"There must be quite a few things a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them." -- Sylvia Plath
“Life is too important to be taken seriously.” – Oscar Wilde
If people are truly, madly, deeply in love with each other, they will find a way.~Gilda Radner
“Never judge a day by its weather. Sunshine is uplifting; rain, nourishing; wind, exhilarating; snow, cleansing; hail, stimulating. Any weather is better than none.” -- Author Unknown
"Everything you see I owe to spaghetti." -- Sophia Loren
"I know I'm vulgar, but would you have me any other way?" -- Elizabeth Taylor
"After thirty, a body has a mind of its own." -- Bette Midler
"Cherish forever what makes you unique, 'cuz you're really a yawn if it goes." -- Bette Midler
“I know I can be diva-ish sometimes, but I have to be in control. The nature of my life, the nature of what I do, is divadom, it really is." -- Mariah Carey
"I want minimum information given with maximum politeness." -- Jackie Kennedy Onassis
"I've been called a diva, queen diva, diva supreme, and I love it. However, that's really for others to decide, not me." -- Aretha Franklin
"No one loves a party more than I. I am a people person." -- Aretha Franklin
"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all." -- Jackie Kennedy Onassis
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