Latha Buidhe Bealtainn! 19 Weeks

Yesterday was May 1st. May Day. Heather, Katie and I celebrated it at our friends the Mason's beautiful house. On their property they have a May Pole, which every May 1st friends and family gather around to dance in the summer. The day before (for an ancestry activity at the church) I had made some oat cakes (from a recipe from Grandma Jean, which she got from the Glen Ghorm Lodge in Nova Scotia. Gorm means blue in Gaelic). We brought them along to be part of the festivities.

It was a beautiful day, over 50 degrees when we began at 7:30 in the morning. We wove the ribbons around the pole, and ate a delicious breakfast brought by the various guests.

Today I made soup from a recipe I found in a Scottish cookbook. Nettle Soup. Stinging Nettles! We have quite a lot of stinging nettles in our property, so I made use of them. Cooking up an onion and three potatoes in a stick of butter, I then added two cans of chicken stock and after that had cooked for about fifteen minutes or so, I added the nettles(about a cups worth, though I think I could have added more). I then blended the soup and we ate it with bread. It was delicious, if I do say so myself! And I'm thrilled to discover that nettles are edible, and that we have a good use for all our stinging nettles!

Note: I am including picture of what used to be a main road, that went right past the Mason's house. I just learned from Heather that when Joseph Smith was in this area, this is the road he would have used, therefore, he went right past the Mason's house, as the original portion of it was built in the 1790's. Also the road used by the members of the Colesville Branch when they went to Ohio. (I don't know if these pictures will load up first or last). There is also a picture of a miniature May Pole, which Johannes Mason made.