A New Month Means New Opportunities - Thoughts of May

Today is the beginning of a new month and what better time to look at your own agenda and to-do lists and do some prioritizing? May is a month of changes for us up here in the northern Midwestern states. Spring finally moves in, winter finally leaves, and summer begins knocking at the door. We are starting the month with temps that will be in the 40's and 50's but by the end of the month we can have 80's and sometimes even a stray 90! So May is all over the place.

I got a good laugh out of this card and thought
I'd share it with all of you. 

The astrological signs of May are firmly Taurus for most of the month, moving to Gemini on the 22nd. The most common gemstone associated with the month is the emerald and the flower is the beautiful and almost shy Lily-of-the-Valley. May is my month and I'm crazy happy about it - it's a special month of creativity and celebration.

I love these small little bell-shaped flowers and have them planted around
my house to welcome spring and May each year. 

May is a month for mothers - in the United States we celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May - the 11th this year. May will be a time of celebration for me - a landmark birthday, and at the end of the month, the Bead & Button Show will begin. I'll see the first flowers, the flowering trees of our short but stunning spring, and my egrets will return to my small area ponds.

These flowering crabapple trees are typical of the
flowering trees we get every spring.

I'll have the opportunity to see wonderful art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, as well as wander and play with dinosaurs at the Science Museum with an internet friend. I'll listen to fine music (because that's a daily must for me), I'll read lots of books (because that's a mandatory thing in my life) and I'll hopefully get a chance to play with more than just mentally envisioning my next jewelry and art projects.

Go Wild! What a game it was! Every time we were behind, we
scored to tie it, and finally we won in overtime. Exciting! 

DH and I will close on his father's house this month, and we'll wrap up a family tragedy later this month as well - one of those strange things that crop up to allow closure. The Minnesota Wild will CONTINUE in their quest for Lord Stanley's Cup, progressing in an overtime game last night. We'll meet the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday for the first game of the next stage.

For the first time in eleven years, we're moving on to the
second stage in our quest for Lord Stanley's Cup. I love
the Blackhawks team too, so this should be a good
series of games to actually watch. 

And I'll continue to write, of course, as well as continue my weekly conversations with Aearwen. So, May is looking like it will be a great month. I hope it will be wonderful for each of you as well. As we move into this month, look around you to see what might be possible to improve. Can you help someone out? Can you plant a new plant, groom a pet, or bring a meal to someone to brighten their day? Gifts that lighten the heart don't have to be major, they just need to be heartfelt and given without strings attached.

Celebrate May Day in your own manner. These old-fashioned Scottish
dancers with their braided May Pole in the background might be
inspiration for your own celebration. 

Happy May, Happy Thursday.