It's February and a Leap Year!

Hello Everyone,

I cannot believe it but the calendar does not lie. February has arrived again. It is particularly poignant for me as an Aquarian. I'm sure this month comes round more quickly than the other eleven. It doesn't seem five minutes since 

Well, I'm certainly dragging it now with soixante-neuf arriving on Sunday.

Anyway, February, it is the shortest month of the year with only 28 days and 29 every fourth year or leap year and that is 2020! It was named after the Latin term februum which means purification. In the old Roman calendar, February 15th was the full moon and date of the purification festival, Februa. February and January were the last two months added to the Roman calendar by Numa Pompilius round about 713 BC.

Its birth flowers are the violet and common primrose and its birthstone is the amethyst which symbolises piety, humility, sincerity and spiritual wisdom.

Some famous people with February birthdays are: George Washington, Paris Hilton, John McEnroe, Yoko Ono, Thomas Edison, Ronald Reagan, Lisa Marie Presley, Charles Dickens, Morgan Fairchild, Rosa Parks and Moi!

Groundhog Day has been and gone. Today is possibly the most famous day of the month, Valentine's Day . A day when, traditionally, lovers give gifts to their loved ones. Flowers, in particular roses, tend to be the most popular. Consequently, their price shoots up for that day. Commercialism wins every time. What is the history behind this day? Who was St. Valentine?

The Catholic Church has at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus. One  was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage for single men because he preferred to have them work as his soldiers leaving married men with families at home. Valentine thought this was really unfair and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. What a romantic! When Claudius found out about this poor Valentine was put to death. I think he deserves to be the saint associated with this special day. Alternatively, there was a Bishop Valentine of Terni, also beheaded by Claudius II outside Rome. Take your pick!

Later this month we have the 29th, the one day which occurs every four years, known as leap day is the 60th day of the Gregorian calendar, leaving 306 until the end of the year or 299 to next Christmas! A complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours. So, every 4 years, an extra day is added to allow for the extra 24 hours.
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Well folks, enjoy the month, in fact enjoy every moment and remember that time only exists in life.

Happy Valentine's Day and have fun,

All my love, Lady M xxxx

Birthdays!

Hello Everyone,

It's 16th February today so it must be my birthday or rather another one! I cannot believe that it has come round again so quickly. Has it really been 365 days since the last time? We all know it's a sign of old age when birthdays seem to speed up. The pretty pic above was taken two years ago when I was 65 and in Paphos. Have two years slipped by since then? Seven years ago I celebrated my 60th in Paphos when a kind friend found the comment about 'pushing 60'.

Now I'm thinking to myself, I'm dragging 60 and pushing 70. In another decade or five minutes I'm either going to be pushing 80 or pushing up daisies. So, guess I should make the most of every minute that's left. What have I done since I hit 60? Published three books, visited new places, enjoyed  holidays and discovered the privileges of being a senior citizen. So, I've not been idle but there are still things to do and tomorrow is not promised to us. Three years to 70 and before then I have another book to share with the world and another two to write. I would like to move house. Not sure where I'm going but when it's right or if it's meant to be it will happen. They say the devil makes work for idle hands but I don't intend mine remaining idle. Today, I'm getting used to the idea, looking at the cards and slowly recovering from the last weeks in Cyprus. Tomorrow...

So birthdays, what are they? They are those annual events that take forever to arrive when you are a child but somehow speed up with age. The psychologists say that it is because we gain experiences with age and consequently have far more to occupy our minds which makes it seem as if time is passing by more quickly. But that does not explain why we look forward to them in childhood and grow to dislike them as we grow older. There are those milestones... 30...40...50...60 and if you are still around 70...80...90? If you are a UK resident the next decade is really exciting because if you make it to 100, a century you get a telegram from the Queen or reigning monarch. So, does your aim in life simply become the urgent desire to hit the three figure number for the joy and satisfaction of receiving a special card on that birthday and each subsequent one, if you make it?

As time goes by you tend to change without noticing. Appearance, thinking, behaviour, attitude, and then there's that awful day when you begin using phrases like, 'when I was younger', 'not in my day' or 'oh no I'm turning into my mother'. 

When you were a child there were lots of presents and cards and a party with a cake and party games and you were growing up, another year nearer, into that wonderful world of adulthood where everything seemed to be wonderful. No one telling you what to do, money of your own, allowed to drink and go out as you pleased. It was going to be fantastic. Then, after waiting forever the day arrives and suddenly the picture has changed. It has turned into a life of work, bills, problems and responsibility and you yearn for those carefree childhood days again. 

So, what are the joys of birthdays? Why do we wish each other 'Many happy returns of them'? How do we spend them? Parties? Family celebrations? Do you STILL look forward to them? Do you still enjoy them? Do you still look forward to cards and presents? Do your family spoil you? Do you spend them on your own? Which was your best and most memorable birthday? Which was your worst? Would you care to share your memories and/or views of that annual event?

Love to you all, from an ancient Lady M xxxx