Tech Table Thursday, April 24, 2014
April 24, 2014
Justin: Welcome to MPA’s Tech Table. I’m Justin.
Diana: And I’m Diana.
Justin: And we’re your hosts. We’ll be serving up a heaping spoonful of all things tech.
Diana: We promise it’ll be easy to digest. Well, hi Justin.
Justin: Hello, Diana. Fancy seeing you here.
Diana: Fancy?
Justin: Oh, yeah, fancy. I know no one uses that anymore.
Diana: I do.
Justin: I know. I think it’s kind of charming.
Diana: I think so, too. It makes me think about our topic today.
Justin: That’s right. A charming, kind of historical tradition. Yes, it’s soon going to be May and the first day of May…
Diana: Is…
Justin: May Day.
Diana: Yay!
Justin: Right, exactly.
Diana: You know, that was actually one of my favorite days, or holidays growing up.
Justin: Yeah, well as a kid, you know, you think about May Day, and you always made May baskets in school. We did. They don’t do that anymore, I’m told.
Diana: They don’t?
Justin: Nope, but we used to do that.
Diana: Oh, no. We always did, and then I would do them on my own at home.
Justin: Well, it was so exciting because you knew that then, in like three weeks, you were going to be out of school. So psyched.
Diana: Also, it meant in three weeks, it was going to be my birthday.
Justin: Well, there you go. Very good. So, you know, doing May baskets is kind of interesting thing. Like I said, we did this when we were in school. And the history of making May baskets, it’s actually a traditional United States thing.
Diana: Really?
Justin: Yeah, I mean the actual May Day tradition comes from Europe.
Diana: Okay, that’s what I would’ve guessed.
Justin: Right. But May baskets is an American thing.
Diana: Okay.
Justin: So, what are May baskets? They’re small baskets, usually filled with flowers or treats, and you leave them at someone’s doorstep. The giver rings the bell and runs away.
Diana: Which is usually where I stopped with my May Day tradition.
Justin: Right, and it’s just, basically, a way to say, “Happy Spring!”
Diana: Or, “I’m thinking of you.”
Justin: Yeah, exactly. But the tradition actually says that the person receiving the basket tries to catch the fleeing giver, and if caught, a kiss is exchanged.
Diana: Oh, my!
Justin: That’s what the actual tradition says.
Diana: Of course, a kiss can be friendly.
Justin: Oh, absolutely, yeah, a kiss on the cheek or whatever. Yeah, but I didn’t know about that part until I read that.
Diana: I hadn’t heard that, either.
Justin: But I did some research on May baskets. It was fun in the office, you know, I was trying to explain why I was looking at May basket websites. But it was good, and then of course, you know, where do you go when you want to find suggestions on making pretty little things and crafty things? You go to Martha Stewart.
Diana: Oh, yes. Good old MarthaStewart.com.
Justin: Yep, MarthaStewart.com. And so, you know, you gotta love Martha but she has some good tips for making May baskets. And she thinks it’s a good thing to revive this tradition and make these May baskets. So, she says that you can make them from recycled tin and glass household containers.
Diana: Oh, neat! Yeah, reusing.
Justin: You know Martha. You know me, I just make a cylinder sort of thing out of a piece of paper.
Diana: Yeah.
Justin: And staple it. That’s what we used to do, I think.
Diana: Make it cone-shaped. Yeah.
Justin: But she says, “Hammer holes in the side of a tin can or antique cocoa tin.”
Diana: Oh, yes.
Justin: “Run twine or ribbon through each hole and knot inside.”
Diana: This sounds like something where I would try it, and I would take a photo, and I would post it to those Nailed It, Failed It boards.
Justin: Yeah, right. Exactly. And she says, “Wrap dark, iron wire below the lip of the jelly jar. Loop and twist a second wire around the first for a handle.” You just hear Martha doing this, right?
Diana: Oh, I know.
Justin: But she did have a lot of neat things. So, if you’re really crafty, check out MarthaStewart.com there for May baskets.
Diana: Awesome. I bet another good place you could go is Pinterest.
Justin: Pinterest, and then a fun little website I found called SkipToMyLou.org. SkipToMyLou.org had a lot of fun baskets and craft ideas.
Diana: Yeah, it sounds fitting.
Justin: Absolutely. So, enjoy your May Day. Maybe do a little basket for someone and don’t get slapped in the face when you try to kiss them!
Diana: Yeah, be careful with that one.
Justin: Yeah, be careful with that one. Until next time…
Diana: Take care.
Justin: Tech Table is brought to you by MPA of Bloomfield, Iowa, and God’s Country Radio. You can visit us online at AskMPA.com.
Diana: If you have questions or comments, please send them to questions@askmpa.com. That’s questions@askmpa.com.
Justin: And thanks for listening.
Post your comment