COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL |
MAY 6, 2021 | 5A
Betty Kaiser: Cook’s Corner — May Day Remembrances
joy. Coming on the first
of the month, it marked
the coming of spring and
summer. In elementary
school, clear through to
high school, it was a cele-
bration of life and fun.
We didn’t know that in
many countries around
the world it was an an-
cient agriculture tradition
that began with astrono-
my. In fact, most countries
have a May Day holiday
ranging from a springtime
fertility festival to a May
Betty Kaiser
I have fond memories of
growing up as a child in
the 1950s. It truly was an
era of innocence and fun.
May Day was a special
Bank Holiday! Among
other things, May Day is
an important holiday for
workers in Communist
countries.
May Day was always
just fun for us girls and
boys in the classroom. We
girls wore frilly dresses as
we danced around a tall
wooden pole on the play-
ground while holding on
to colorful streamers to
wrap the pole.
In class, our teachers
showed us how to shape
and make paper baskets to
fill with goodies. Those we
either gave to our parents
or special classmates. Of
course, we girls swooned
if a boy even looked at us
let alone gave us a piece of
candy!
In high school, we elect-
ed a queen and her court.
One of my favorite mem-
ories is a comic of the
Peanuts Gang (including
Snoopy) dancing around a
similar flagpole.
At home, we would fill
small baskets with treats,
flowers or tiny gifts and
notes to be hung on the
doorknobs of family,
friends and neighbors. We
would ring their doorbell,
say “Surprise!” and run.
Life can be a celebration
even during hard times.
So, let’s keep this tradition
alive. Surprise someone
this month with a special
joy of a belated May Day
treat.
Now, this being a cook-
ing column, I have to tell
you the truth — I don’t re-
member any special meals
on May Day. I do, how-
ever, remember making
small cookies and muffins
that we put in baskets for
friends and neighbors.
The following two recipes
are old favorites for this
time of year. Enjoy!
Keep it simple
and keep it season-
al with Betty Kai-
ser’s Cook’s Corner
Springtime Strawberry and Ricotta Muffins
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup (½ stick) melted and cooled
butter
• ½ cup cold water
• 1 cup washed, stemmed and chopped
strawberries
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• Powdered sugar for dusting
pans, filing them about ¾ full. Bake for
about 25 minutes or until a toothpick in-
serted into the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool for a few minutes before
removing from pan.
Serve warm. Dust with powdered sug-
ar if you like.
Easy Coconut Macaroons
Preheat oven to 350º F.
Mix Together:
6 Cups Angel Flake Coconut
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk (14
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 375°.
Spray muffin pan with non-stick
spray. Sift all dry ingredients together
into a large bowl.
Add eggs, butter and water and stir
gently only until the dry ingredients are
almost all moistened. Add strawberries
and ricotta and continue to mix gently
until incorporated.  Be careful not to
over-mix.
Spoon or scoop into prepared muffin
oz)
1 1/3 teaspoon vanilla
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto
a very well-oiled cookie sheet. Bake until
the tops are lightly browned, 15-20 min-
utes. Remove from oven and cool slight-
ly; remove from the pan onto parchment
or a cooling rack. Cool.
Also good dipped in melted choco-
late!
Makes 2+ dozen depending on size of
measuring spoon.
Pet Tips‘n’ Tales: Alexis’s Bike Buddies
By Mary Ellen
“Angel Scribe”
Alexis’ dogs, Harpo
(white, six years old) and
Lucy (black, three years
old), are Californian res-
cues now living in Canada.
Alexis gave much thought
when picking her dog’s
names.
Harpo was paw-posley
named after Harpo Marx
because of their curly hair.
Just as Harpo Marx lifted
his left leg up and made the
person next to him hold it,
oddly, little Harpo does the
same thing with his back
leg when you pet him. He
puts it over your arm! 
“I had a coworker who
called me ‘Lucy’ no matter
what,” said Alexis. “I love
the song, ‘Lucy in the sky
with Diamonds,’ and the
comedian Lucille Ball who
performed with Harpo
Marx.”
Seven years ago, Alexis
was cycling downhill when
a driver opened his car
door. She flew over his door
and landed in front of his
car on her head.
“I was alive but had Post
Concussive
Syndrome,
which resulted in ongoing
migraine headaches, nau-
sea and I couldn’t walk be-
cause balance was an issue,”
Alexis said. “Navigating life
became difficult.”
She adopted Harpo as
an Emotional Support
Animal, then Lucy for his
buddy. The dogs gave her
the im-PET-us to get bet-
ter because she wanted to
do more things with them.
During many medical tests,
young Harpo sat patient-
ly in the doctor’s office on
Alexis’ coat — twice for five
hours!
Alexis’ bike buddies, Harpo and Lucy love biking around
Vancouver, BC.
“I started practicing yoga
at home to improve my
balance.  It worked! Yo-
ga’s mind-body awareness,
breathing and propriocep-
tion (knowing where your
body is in space, damaged
from the accident) slowly
returned. The results were
more energy and being able
to walk. My mood also im-
proved.  I was motivated;
I had my dogs to live for;
they needed me strong.
“I completed yoga train-
ing, Love Your Brain Foun-
dation for Traumatic Brain
Injuries, and then Thera-
peutic Yoga for Pain Man-
agement with the goal of
giving others their lives
back,” Alexis said. “Yoga
increases mood, neuroplas-
ticity, mindfulness and re-
siliency while easing stress,
anxiety and pain sensitiza-
weather forecast
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
61° | 41°
64° | 37°
Showers
Partly Cloudy
SUNDAY
MONDAY
66° | 39°
71° | 41°
Contributed by
Lil Thompson
for The Sentinel
• Lorane Grange meets
tonight, May 6, at 7
p.m.  They have tentative-
ly set Thursday, May 13,
to clean up the Lorane
Grange Cemetery. It will
be discussed and a time set
during tonight’s meeting.
• Due to the governor
raising the county to “ex-
treme risk,” the Grangers
are not planning a bingo
night for May.
• Several construction
workers are busy on both
sides of the road on Stoney
Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
75° | 43°
Partly Cloudy
Save your money by
bundling home & auto.
(541) 942-0555
TIPS:
“Know your limits and
wear a helmet,” advises
Alexis. “If I hadn’t had worn
my helmet the time I flew
over the car, I would have
been dead. If you hit your
head, then you won’t be
able to help your buddies.  I
read that one country trains
a new driver to open their
vehicle door with their right
hand, forcing them to look
over their shoulder to avoid
accidents like mine.”
We would love
to hear about your
pet. Write: an-
gelscribe@msn.com
Point.  Please slow for flag-
gers and keep your eyes on
your lane. It’s too easy to get
distracted. Rain is forecast-
ed for the next two days, so
again please be careful.
• We have an election
coming on May 18.  Only
one Lorane RFPD position
is contested. Our current
fire board members have
done an extremely good
job.  Three CAL School
Board positions are also
up.  Two are uncontested
and the other has no one
running.  Please remember,
the ballots must be in drop
sites on election day, May
18, by 8 p.m.
SOUTH LANE COUNTY
FIRE & RESCUE
SAVE MONEY. SAVE LIVES.
Partly Cloudy
remain calm and interested
in the sights.
“They love exploring new
places and parks’ said Alex-
is. “I don’t drive a car, so
the bicycle enables us to be
adventurous. Their enthusi-
asm as we climb off the bike
is one of my most favorite
things in the world!”
LORANE COUNTRY NEWS
6-day
75° | 41°
tion. It proves an amazing
tool for trauma recovery. It
helps relieve stress, anxiety,
back and joint pain, and
fascia. I began teaching on-
line classes: SattvaYogaW-
ithAlexis.com.”
She also slowly started
biking and, soon, could
go longer distances.  Alexis
would hit a new goal then
pass a dog park and think,
“My dogs would love it
here.”
“My goal became includ-
ing my furry pals. I bought
a K9 Sportsack backpack
and, at first, took one dog
at a time to safely ease us
into the process,” said Alex-
is. “When we arrived at a
dog park or beach, I was
sad that their dog-pal was
not there to play with his
buddy. So, I bought a Bud-
dyRider so I could safely
take them both.”
Now, twice a week, they
bike 30K — nearly 20 miles.
Even in the busy Vancou-
ver, BC, traffic, both dogs
Swap & Shop
Buy – Sell – Trade
Ground Ambulance
Memberships
$65 per year
Ground Ambulance &
Air Membership
$124 per year
Call 541-942-4493 for info.
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