Mayday Mayday Mayday

I decided to do a little research on the origins of May Day, and my source (wikipedia, much to the chagrin of one of my former law professors who vehemently denounced its legitimacy) tells me that early settlers of America celebrated May 1 by making baskets filled with flowers or treats and leaving them on someone’s doorstep. The basket giver would ring the bell and run away. The basket recipient would then try to catch the fleeing giver, and if they caught the person, a kiss would be exchanged. I may not be a history whiz, but I’m pretty sure the early settlers didn’t have doorbells. Nevertheless, in essence, May Day is a cross between Valentine’s Day, kissing under the mistletoe, and the grown-up version of tag. Sounds fun! I take a stand here and now that this May Day tradition be reinstated. As soon as I post this, I will begin drafting a letter to my local congressperson.

Now that May is here, bikini season is just around the corner. I received a friendly reminder of this when I was in front of a full-length mirror in a fitting room yesterday. Fighting the urge to pull a sharpie from my handbag and start circling those areas that need a little extra attention, I decided it might be time to ramp up my exercise and eating regimen just a tad. As such, I did something any responsible, health conscious person might do to kick off my new plan: I baked a cake.



I know, I know, I shouldn’t have. But I’ve been thinking about those coffee cake recipes, especially the Cinnamon-Streusel Coffee Cake, in March’s Martha Stewart Living ever since the issue came in the mail. Plus I needed an excuse to use my new cake stand.

I cut down the butter considerably in the streusel, and I used light sour cream in the cake part. That counts for something, right? I think it does because I hardly missed the extra butter – the cake is crumbly, moist, cinnamon-y, and oh-so-tasty. Here’s my plan to keep things under control: one little slice each afternoon with a cup of tea. If this cake has the power to get me through the workday (I have confidence that it will), those calories are freebies.

I could also take some of the cake off my hands by acknowledging the traditional May Day and make a basket full of coffee cake for my neighbors across the hall. In fact, the girl left me a very nice note on my door last week, expressing her deepest apologies for forgetting her trash bag outside her door overnight and subjecting me to its stench when I left for work the next day. She leaves me trash, I leave her cake. Only imagine the drama that may unfold if her husband answered the door and chased me down for a moment on the lips. I’m guessing she would probably leave something even more offensive on my front door than a sack of trash…. So, I will leave no baskets of flowers or treats on anyone’s doorstep. Instead I walked around my neighborhood and took pictures of other people’s flowers. I didn’t get any smooches for that.

Happy May Day to you all! April had seen better days, but I’m feeling quite optimistic about May. After all, April showers bring May flowers, most notably my absolute favorite – peonies!