The Monthly Harvest - May 2025
A month-end roundup of what I've created, read, and experienced this month
May is such a lovely bridge between spring and summer. Ours was busy but good. Hoping yours was too. Lots of moving parts kept us on our toes, but we made it to Memorial Day Weekend. It’s the harbinger of summer here in New Jersey, where many go “down the shore” that weekend. Since school is out next month, I’m especially eager for summer as a time of restoration and creativity.
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” -Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)
Backyard News
May means baseball for my son and part-time gigs on top of teaching for my husband and me. We enjoyed both chilly and perfect evenings at the baseball field while watching my 14-year old son play. He’s looking more like a young man than a boy these days. Baseball is the only sport I follow and enjoy to any degree, so it’s been a fun time cheering my youngest child on.
I completed my 14th year as advisor to a group of students for a one-act play festival. It’s an experience close to my heart as a former theater kid. Advisors choose a student director, and each class in 9th-12th grade chooses a play and puts it on in a competition. Working with quirky, creative students brings me joy and reminds me of my old days on stage and behind the scenes in high school. We won second place!




“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” - Audrey Hepburn
After several years of summers too hectic to plan and plant a proper garden, I spent a little time outside last weekend. I planted tomatoes, eggplants, and herbs in containers and sowed hundreds of flower seeds for a little cutting garden. It’s an act of faith, planting a garden. Time and hope marry to render results, and already the seedlings are promising there will be color and joy blooming later on.
Media Greenhouse
Being a busy month, I didn’t read as much in May as I’d have liked. But I did manage to start Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. It’s the epic story of a Korean family living in Japan during the early and mid 20th century. A beautiful portrait of faith, love, and perseverance, Lee takes readers on a journey across the world to see life through the lens of a poor family trying to survive in difficult circumstances. A great read since it May is AAPI Month!
Summer is a blessed time where there’s a bit more breathing room and time to read. I’ve decided my goal is to read a nonfiction book each month this summer as well as at least two other books—one classic and one more contemporary. Of course, I hope to read even more and will report on my progress in the June Monthly Harvest next month.
I started watching The Guilded Age with my husband this month. Julian Fellowes of Downtown Abbey fame is the creator. It is a breathtaking feast for the eyes. As a lover of historical homes, including the Gilded Age homes in Newport, RI, this look at life in New York (and Newport) is more than just gorgeous homes and stunning clothing. It’s the complex story of high society and wealth in the United States during this period. It’s definitely not all glamour. The servants who worked for the wealthy play an important role. The social underpinnings of their world connects to and contrasts with their employers’ lives.
Cultivated Creations
I didn’t do as much creative work as I’d have liked during this busy month, but I did manage some little pockets of time.
The writers’ conference I attend has writing contests in a variety of genres. I entered poems in both the Light Verse and Serious Poetry categories. One of the best things about these contests is that after the conference, those who enter get feedback on their work from experts in each genre. Looking forward to seeing who wins and getting critiques on my work.
Someone gave me a plain journal from a corporation. I’d never used it and had an idea to make it special. Using scraps of adhesive wallpaper and a gold Sharpie to accent the design, I disguised the company’s logo beneath the wallpaper. I’m calling it my Audacious Journal. A post will be forthcoming of what will reside on its pages, but suffice it to say Big Bold Things will be the theme.
In December, I purchased some watercolor paints and have been teaching myself how use the medium. This month, I ordered gouache (gwash) paints and am endeavoring to learn how to use them. They are a more pigmented paint—like a marriage between acrylics and watercolor. Hoping to play around more with them this summer.
As I look ahead to summer, I am working on a plan to create a regular rhythm of writing and creating. My current system is no system at all, rather a herky-jerky hodgepodge of stolen moments. I know a routine is key, so I hope to look at my life in terms of “seasons” and determine what kinds of routines fit each. More on that in a later post.
Top Post of the Month:
Community Garden:
Join in the conversation by leaving a comment. Let’s get to know one another better as we continue on the writer’s journey.
What did you do, read/watch/listen to, and create this month?
What are your hopes and goals for the coming month?
Bless your efforts, your journal, your art... may creativity be both your friend and mine. with blessings,