Happy Mother’s Day

By Diane Forrest

M - O - T - H - E - R

"M" is for the million things she gave me,

"O" means only that she's growing old,

"T" is for the tears she shed to save me,

"H" is for her heart of purest gold;

"E" is for her eyes, with love-light shining,

"R" means right, and right she'll always be,

Put them all together, they spell

"MOTHER,"

A word that means the world to me.

Howard Johnson (c. 1915)

Today is a day set aside to pay honor to our mothers.  Everyone has a mother.  They come in all shapes and sizes, young or old, sweet or mean, rich or poor, and everywhere in between.  According to Wikipedia, the modern holiday of Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia. She then began a campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the United States. Although she was successful in 1914, she was already disappointed with its commercialization by the 1920s. Jarvis' holiday was adopted by other countries and it is now celebrated all over the world. In this tradition, each person offers a gift, card, or remembrance toward their mothers, grandmothers, and/ or maternal figure on mother's day.

This past week I went to see my son for Mother's day.   His wife had gone out of town to visit her mother, and he had to stay behind to work, and "mother" his 3 dogs.  We had a wonderful relaxed visit.  It was the first time I had seen his new home, and we went out for a wonderful Italian dinner.  Of course when we came back from dinner, I spent the rest of the night cleaning the mess he had left for his wife. I guess mom's will always pick up after their kids...or is that just me?  We met for lunch the next day near his office, then I headed back home, wanted to beat the bad weather that was rolling in.

Mother's day is not about what to buy her; I have been reading several sites that offer suggestions about what she wants, what she doesn't want and things to surprise her with.  Personally the best gift I can get is spending time with my son, some younger mothers may want to spend time away from their children..hahaha.

Today is Mother's Day, if you are able, spend some time with your mom, eat lunch or brunch or dinner or give her a call if you are too far away. If your mother is no longer around, spend the day with an aunt or other family member, or even an elderly neighbor who is spending the day alone.

We at KISBYTO would like to wish all the mothers out there a very “Happy Mother's Day”.  How do you plan to spend the day?  

(All images from Google) 

National Garden Month

By Diane Forrest

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells, and cockle shells,

And pretty maids all in a row.

I have a friend who loves spending time in the yard.  She is always outside either cleaning or planting or doing something in the yard.  She is always complaining if it rains, because she can't get outside.  I am just the opposite.  I love to see it rain, it gives me an excuse to stay out of the yard.

I have never been much of a yard person; I prefer air conditioning to the hot humid days of Mississippi, and all the bugs that go along with it.   I do like for my yard to look nice, but.... getting it that way is certainly not my favorite thing. 

According to Nationalgardenmonth.org, every April communities, organizations, and individuals nationwide celebrate gardening during National Garden Month. Gardeners know, and research confirms, that nurturing plants is good for us: attitudes toward health and nutrition improve, kids perform better at school, and community spirit grows. Join the celebration and help to make America a greener, healthier, more livable place.

TLC offers some ways to help celebrate this month.  They include:

• Plant a row for the hungry
• Organize a yard share in your community
• Garden with a friend or neighbor
• clean out your garden storage area and inventory your stuff
• Organize a flower brigade and take fresh flowers to the local nursing home or hospitals.

Not only is it the time for planting fresh flowers and plants, but also fresh fruits and vegetables.  My father has already put out his tomato plants, and his neighbor has put out squash, zucchini, peppers and beans.   Not only do they grow enough for their families, but also have plenty to share.

For more gardening ideas, click on this site, and start planting your garden today!  http://www.nationalgardenmonth.org/

(All images from Google) 

May Day

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By Akindman

“Isn’t it appropriate that the month of the tax begins with April Fool’s Day and ends with cries of “May Day!”?” ~ Unknown

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Last year we focused on the history of May Day and this year we will look at some quotes, lyrics, poems and a little of this and that – we hope you enjoy!

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“Love is fragile -- she was thinking -- but perhaps the pieces are saved, the things that hovered on lips, that might have been said. The new love-words, the tenderness learned, and treasured up for the next lover.”

― F. Scott Fitzgerald, May Day

May Day (May 1st) is celebrated in many places around the world. The traditions and stories surrounding May Day vary from place to place. There is, however, one thing that is similar in most celebrations – the use of Flowers!

One of the most popularly known May Day traditions is to hang a basket full of spring flowers and/or other small gifts on a neighbor’s doorknob. The trick is you don’t want the neighbor to see you! If you get caught, you are supposed to get a kiss.

"The world's favorite season is the spring.

All things seem possible in May."

-  Edwin Way Teale

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"By the time one is eighty, it is said, there is no longer a tug of war in the garden with the May flowers hauling like mad against the claims of the other months.  All is at last in balance and all is serene.  The gardener is usually dead, of course."

-  Henry Mitchell, The Essential Earthman

"'Tis like the birthday of the world,

When earth was born in bloom;

The light is made of many dyes,

The air is all perfume:

There's crimson buds, and white and blue,

The very rainbow showers

Have turned to blossoms where they fell,

And sown the earth with flowers."

-  Thomas Hood

"You are as welcome as the flowers in May."

-  Charles Macklin

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"The sun was warm but the wind was chill.

You know how it is with an April day.

When the sun is out and the wind is still,

You're one month on in the middle of May.

But if you so much as dare to speak,

a cloud come over the sunlit arch,

And wind comes off a frozen peak,

And you're two months back in the middle of March."

-  Robert Frost

"The month of May was come, when every lusty heart beginneth to blossom, and to bring forth fruit; for like as herbs and trees bring forth fruit and flourish in May, in likewise every lusty heart that is in any manner a lover, springeth and flourisheth in lusty deeds.  For it giveth unto all lovers courage, that lusty month of May."

-  Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur

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"What is so sweet and dear

As a prosperous morn in May,

The confident prime of the day,

And the dauntless youth of the year,

When nothing that asks for bliss,

Asking aright, is denied,

And half of the world a bridegroom is,

And half of the world a bride?"

-  William Watson, Ode in May, 1880

"Spring - an experience in immortality."

-  Henry D. Thoreau

"A little Madness in the Spring

Is wholesome even for the King."

-  Emily Dickinson

"When April steps aside for May,

Like diamonds all the rain-drops glisten;

Fresh violets open every day:

To some new bird each hour we listen."

-  Lucy Larcom

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“It's spring fever.... You don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!”

-  Mark Twain

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"Spring is God's way of saying, 'One more time!' "

-  Robert Orben

"Also known as May Eve, May Day, and Walpurgis Night, happens at the beginning of May.  It celebrates the height of Spring and the flowering of life.  The Goddess manifests as the May Queen and Flora.  The God emerges as the May King and Jack in the Green.  The danced Maypole represents Their unity, with the pole itself being the God and the ribbons that encompass it, the Goddess.  Colors are the Rainbow spectrum. Beltane is a festival of flowers, fertility, sensuality, and delight."

-  Selena Fox, Beltane: Celebrating the Seasons

"Poetry is the silence and speech between a wet struggling root of a flower and a sunlit blossom of that flower."

-  Carl Sandburg

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"All furnished, all in arms;

All plum'd like estridges that with the wind

Bated like eagles having lately bathed;

Glittering in golden coats like images;

As full of spirit as the month of May

And gorgeous as the sun at midsummer;

Wanton as youthful goats, wild as young bulls."

-  William Shakespeare, King Henry the Fourth, Part I

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"For the May Day is the great day,

Sung along the old straight track.

And those who ancient lines did ley

Will heed this song that calls them back...

Pass the cup, and pass the Lady,

And pass the plate to all who hunger,

Pass the wit of ancient wisdom,

Pass the cup of crimson wonder."

-  Jethro Tull, Cup of Wonder

Links:

http://www.egreenway.com/months/monmay.htm

Spring is HERE!!!

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By Diane Forrest

After consulting the famed Puxatawny Phil, springing forward, doing some spring cleaning, getting a little spring fever, and even taking a spring break, the day has finally arrived.  Today is officially the first day of spring.

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I am sure you have noticed budding flowers, growing grass, leaves appearing on the trees, and if your town is anything like mine, everything is covered with a yellow dusting of pollen.  There is new life all around.  Birds are chirping. .bees are buzzing, the sun stays out longer, and the temperature is just right.

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While Spring is my favorite time of year, there are a few drawbacks.  This is also the time for thunderstorms, flash floods and tornados, at least in my area.

In technical terms, today is the beginning of the vernal equinox.  On the vernal equinox, day and night are nearly identical in length -- 12 hours each -- at the equatorial plane.

An equinox occurs twice a year, in March and September, when the center of the Sun crosses directly over the Earth's equator, as the Earth is tilted neither away nor toward the Sun. Many cultures around the world celebrate the equinoxes as special occasions.

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Spring is a very important time in my town.  We have a Spring Pilgrimage.  This is the time when people travel here from all over the world to tour our antebellum homes.  Ladies dress up in hoop skirts, horse drawn buggies are available to take visitors on tours, the town's people spend weeks sprucing up everything, putting fresh paint where it is needed, and planting beautiful gardens.  At night the residents put on a pageant for the visitors that depict life on the Mississippi.  For more information about the Natchez Spring Pilgrimage, click here:  http://www.natchezpilgrimage.com/

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So today, the first day of spring, go outside...shake off the winter blues if you are able, and enjoy the new fresh day.

Happy National Haiku Day

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By Diane Forrest,

I experienced several changes and new experiences  the year I started the 7th grade.  I changed schools, had several teachers, instead of just 1, we moved to a new town, and I was introduced to poetry.  We had poetry studies for 6 weeks, including memorizing poems, reading them, searching for different types, making a journal with them, and even writing them.  I still have my journal, still remember the one I memorized, Trees, by Joyce Kilmer, and I remember the haiku I wrote.

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Today is National Haiku Day.  A Haiku is a very short form of Japanese poetry.  It has 17 syllables, in 3 lines.  Usually 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second line. And 5 in the third.  They are usually about the seasons, or nature.  So why not try your hand at writing some, for some examples, check out this site:  http://www.haiku.com/ below is the haiku I wrote in the 7th grade.

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Pink Flower

Little pink flower

How pretty you are today

The sun shines on you

Revive the Romance

by Diane Forrest


May has been designated at Date your Mate Month.  While it is late in the month, you still have plenty of time to whisk your mate off to a wonderful evening or afternoon, or even morning date.  While it may not be a holiday officially passed by Congress, it is a time for you to rekindle the passion and joy you experienced while you were dating and renew the feelings you had when you fell in love.  Some activities you can do are:

Let food help you revive the romance:

• An elegant dinner at a romantic restaurant 
  
• A candlelight dinner at home
  
• A return to "your special place"  for an memory meal
  
• Visit an ice cream parlor, enjoy a banana split together
  
• Enjoy a picnic in the park
  
• Whisk your mate away from the office for a midday meal  together, maybe at a park
  

Do something fun:

• Go to the zoo
  
• Go to a carnival, ride the rides, eat as if you were a teenager, take a chance on winning a prize, hold hands while walking around
  
• There are numerous Spring festivals to take your mate to
  
• Spend a day in the park, throw a Frisbee, play horseshoes, spin your mate on the merry-go-round, enjoys swinging side by side
  
• Play a game of miniature golf
  
• Take a scenic drive, enjoy the beauty of your surroundings and the pleasure of being  together
  
• Visit a museum, art gallery, public garden, or some place of mutual interest
  
• Enjoy movie night, either at home alone or at a theater
  

Revive the romance:

• Take your mate to what used to be "your special place"
  
• Send a romantic card
  
• Give her flowers 
  
• Leave a love note or note of gratitude for your mate to find each day of the month
  
• Escape the daily routine for an afternoon rendezvous
  
• Spend a night away from home and make romance the
  

Main thing is, enjoy the time with your mate, and let them know how special they are to you, and that you would marry them all over again!

Springtime

“It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is.  And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!”~Mark Twain

Why do we love springtime?  What makes this time of the year special for you?  Is it that ole man winter is finally getting ready to leave and warmer weather is coming?  Is it the first sighting of a Robin, looking for worms or something else to eat?  Or is it seeing the Gold Finches returning to the bird feeders?  Might be the buds on your plants or flowers?  Maybe it’s the young chicks squawking at their parents for food?  Or the simple beautify of your surroundings.

"If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment."  O'Keefe, Georgia

Today, our landscaping crew is doing the annual Spring Clean Up – fallen branches from the storms of past, leaves that remain from the fall, picking up the old mulch and replacing it with new.  Giving the plants, shrubs, trees and flowers that little extra TLC so they can grow healthy and true.  I sit in my chair, typing away on this keyboard, knowing they will do a wonderful job, like they always do.  We are so blessed with kindness and beauty this spring.

"Where flowers bloom so does hope."  - Lady Bird Johnson

It is also America’s favorite past time has finally arrived, to call of “Play Ball”, starts again tomorrow afternoon, the crowd cheers as their team takes the field for a fresh new season, full of hope and dreams.  “Play ball”.

I cheer for the home teams in our area, we have four in all, two major league and two minor league teams, but to watch a good baseball game is really all that I desire, win, lose or draw – a good game is a good game and you have gotten your money’s worth, enjoyed the day, the fellowship of the fans, those vendors selling popcorn, hot dogs, ice cold drinks, peanuts, cotton candy and a variety of other non-healthy foods.  But really folks, lets face it; a good ballpark dog is part of the show – and hard to repeat their special taste at home.  It is not uncommon to find me parked somewhere watching kids play this game, without a clue who the players are, much less the teams.  For it is the game itself that draws my attention, and perhaps remembering those days, long gone by, that Dad, would be with us, watching games, ours or someone else, just enjoying the game and thankful for sharing it with others who you cared about.

"Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!" ~ Robin Williams

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.  ~Ruth Stout