Aloha, My Friend,
“In May, nature holds up at us a chiding finger, bidding us remember that we are not gods, but over conceited members of her own great family. She reminds us that we are brothers to the chowder-doomed clam and the donkey; lineal scions of the pansy and the chimpanzee, and but cousins-german to the cooing doves, the quacking ducks and the housemaids and policemen in the parks.”
- O’ Henry, The Month of May
May is named for Maia, Mother of Mercury, the goddess of blessings. She gave her name to the fifth month of the Julian calendar. Through dancing and feasting her approval was sought.
The Goddess was once thought of as a source of all … feeling, intuition, dreams, passion, love and creativity. She was connected to the cycles of the moon and to the Earth. The Moon was thought to be the source of dew, sacred healing water. Water as a cleansing or purifying agent always played an important part in ancient festivities associated with a new year.
May is the month of gardens in the yard and in our life. And oh the weeds and unintended sprouts that grow between the rows.
There was an afternoon once, in May actually, that I spent a portion of it pondering the irony of a tiny garden that I had thrown some seeds at. On this Sunday, as the sun was falling west down Stuckey St., I was exhausted from being up the entire night before. In a distracted fashion my mind wandered and mulled over how unfairly treated were the roots of my plants. I tended to only notice the blooms and the fruits of my garden and gave nary a whit of thought to the labor of the tendrils that moved unseen, out of the attention of the sun. For a moment I accepted that that was so true for me in my very life, that I marveled and desired the beautiful, the exotic and distant and gave little purchase to those closest to me, my family, my friends, my true roots. And for a moment I was ashamed and glad that I was alone and no one could watch me wipe my eyes.
On a different note, I ask you, how can I let Mother’s Day go by without thanking my own mother, Fran/Mom, for putting up with me, forgiving my faults, ignoring my foibles and for having the love and strength enough to raise a wonderful herd of a family?
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.
And to all of the mothers in the BALI HI family.
So, what else is going on, eh? Would a Grand Opening make you happy?
Our Bali-HI family is growing daily with new artists and a new location in Railroad Square Art Park! We are now located in a cute little cottage at 565 Industrial Drive next to Star Seas Cafe! We hope you will join us 1st Friday, May 7th from 6 – 9 PM for our grand re-opening in the Square! We can still be found in Midtown at 1123 Thomasville Rd. in the Salmon colored building we are around back on the ground floor or you can come down the stairs or elevator through Lucy and Leo’s and Textures. It is more magical to enter through the verdant courtyard and enjoy some of the comfortable teak chairs in the garden. Our hours in the Square will be Tuesday – Sat. 11-6 PM and Sunday 12-5 PM with Laine joining me on 1st Fridays until 9 PM. The Midtown hours are now Tuesday – Friday 11-6 PM and Sat. 11-5 PM.
Our local artist family has grown and we now feature over 21 local artists with a monthly featured artist in Midtown. We still offer all our great Hawaiian and Bali arts and crafts too! The featured artist this month in Midtown is Rene’ Lynch who has installed some beautiful tropical watercolors including some small box framed pieces that are very affordably priced! Rene’ spent a year long sabbatical on Kuaui so you know she’s got island style! We also have several new fine jewelry crafters, some beautiful chain stitched bags, and more great mosaics from Cindy Sbrissa.
Best Wishes & Peace,
Elaine & Bill Grace
BALI HI Trading Company
565 Industrial Dr. – In Railroad Square
1123 Thomasville Rd – In Midtown
850/ 766-7175
aloha@balihi.uswww.balihi.us