Joyful, Joyeux, Joy…

…can’t get enough of these great words beginning with J. My weekend was filled with many joyful moments. It was my birthday weekend and I celebrated with friends and family.

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That one card I received pictured top left was hilarious. “It’s Birthday!, Blow out candles and make wish for good thing! Won’t get but is fun tradition anyway. Wishing you to have Happy Birthday”

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Still going on the Russian theme I received this fabulous apron and kitchen towel from my daughter in law’s mother. Thank you Pat! So sweet that she thought of me when she saw these Matryoshka themed gifts. Things like this from my heritage give me joy.

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I was overloaded with gifts including a tasty meal out from our dear friends, Dave and Beth. This Gusla with the beautiful painted Russian Fairy Tale scene was part of the things Beth brought for me or someone in my family to enjoy. It’s a great instrument that is simple to play with cards that slip under the strings showing you the strings to strum playing the tune. I played Happy Birthday to Me on my birthday morning feeling quite accomplished!

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On Sunday afternoon we drove to downtown Seattle for dinner and live Irish music at Fado, an Irish pub with our oldest, youngest and their fabulous spouses. Our middle son lives 6 hours away so he couldn’t join us but he sent along a card. The company and music was fabulous. I received such wonderful written notes from each of our children that really brought me so much joy.

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The food was good, too. A little Irish and a little Russian made for a nice meeting of two cultures!

And I’ll end this post with my ABC Bible Verse Card for the letter J!

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Knowing I have a God who does not change and who is faithful brings me a lot of joy and peace.

Linking up with ABC Wednesday with thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and her ABC team who keep things going each week.

St. Patrick’s Day Crawl

Cuisine Kathleen is having a sharing of the green party. If you’ve never visited her blog you should because she always has such yummy goodies to share and pretty tables to show. She knows what to put on a plate! For the 6th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Crawl I’m putting some goodies from the past together.  Thank you, Kathleen.

This little Belleek bowl is about the only thing I have that is Irish and worthy of St. Patrick’s Day. I found it at a thrift store for under $5.00 and thought it was a steal!

The Dear Little Shamrock

by Andrew Cherry

There’s a dear little plant that grows in Ireland.
‘Twas Saint Patrick himself sure that set it.
And the sun on his labor with pleasure did smile.
And a tear from his eyes oft-times wet it.
It grows thro’ the bog, thro’ the brake, and the mireland,
And it’s called the dear little Shamrock of Ireland.

That dear little plant still grows in our land,
Fresh and fair as the daughters of Erin,
Whose smiles can bewitch, and whose eyes can command,
In each climate they ever appear in:
For they shine thro’ the bog, thro’ the brake, and the mireland,
Just like their own dear little Shamrock of Ireland.

That dear little plant that springs from our soil,
When its three little leaves are extended,
Denotes from the stalk we together should toil,
And ourselves by ourselves be befriended.
And still thro’ the bog, thro’ the brake, and the mireland,
From one root should branch, like the Shamrock of Ireland.

shamrock ~ In the irish language, this tiny three-leaved -and, with luck, four-leaved – plant is called seamrac or semrach, the diminutive of the word for clover, seamar. Thus shamrock means, literally, “little clover,” which is just what it is.

The Dear Little Shamrock

There’s a dear little plant that grows in our Isle,
Twas Saint Patrick himself sure that set it;
And the sun on his labour with pleasure did smile,
And the dew from his eye often wet it.
It shines thro’ the bog, thro’ the brake, thro’ the mireland,
And he called it the dear little Shamrock of Ireland.

Chorus:

The dear little Samrock, the sweet little shamrock,
the dear little, sweet little Shamrock of Ireland.
That dear Ireland.

That dear little plant still grows in our land,
Fresh and fair as the daughters of Erin,
Whose smiles can bewitch, and whose eyes can command,
In each climate they ever appear in.
For they shine thro’ the bog, thro’ the brake, thro’ the mireland,
Just like their own dear little Shamrock of Ireland.

CHORUS

That dear little plant that springs from our soil,
When its three little leaves are extended,
Denotes from the stalk we togethr should toil,
And ourselves by ourselves be befriended.
And still thro’ the bog, thro’ the brake, thro’ the mireland,
From one root should branch, like the Shamrock of Ireland.

CHORUS

From 2008 at Fado an Irish Pub in downtown Seattle…

An Old Celtic Blessing

May the blessing of light be on you –
light without and light within.
May the blessed sunlight shine on you
and warm your heart
till it glows like a great peat fire.

IMGP7563I love Celtic Crosses. This one is from Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.

 I will be making Corned Beef and Cabbage this weekend at our son’s place in Eastern Washington. Do you make it this time of year?

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Are you wearing green today?

Do you make a special Irish dish to serve for dinner on this day?

Do you have a favorite Irish saying?

Have you ever been to Ireland?

Do you have any Irish relatives?

Have you ever attended a céilis? Céilis are held in large towns and country districts where young and old enjoy group dances.

We’ll be having corned beef and cabbage tonight along with some Guinness. I’m thinking I should try a good Irish stew recipe soon, too.

From 2008 at Fado an Irish Pub in downtown Seattle…

An Old Celtic Blessing

May the blessing of light be on you –
light without and light within.
May the blessed sunlight shine on you
and warm your heart
till it glows like a great peat fire.

 Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

ABC Wednesday ~ Jameson

J is for Jameson Whiskey

“If By Whiskey” Noah S. Sweat, Mississippi, 1948

Although Prohibition had been repealed, it was still a big political issue in Mississippi in 1948, when Noah Sweat was campaigning for the office of state representative in Alcorn County. So Sweat gave a speech intended to appeal to both sides of the issue. He won the election, and went on to serve as prosecutor and eventually Judge of the First Judicial District.

My friends, I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary. I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me how I feel about whiskey. All right, here is how I feel about whiskey.

If when you say whiskey you mean the devil’s brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster, that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink that topples the Christian man and woman from the pinnacle of righteous, gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, and despair, and shame and helplessness, and hopelessness, then certainly I am against it.

But;

If when you say whiskey you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the ale that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips, and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer; if you mean the stimulating drink that puts the spring in the old gentleman’s step on a frosty, crispy morning; if you mean the drink which enables a man to magnify his joy, and his happiness, and to forget, if only for a little while, life’s great tragedies, and heartaches, and sorrows; if you mean that drink, the sale of which pours into our treasuries untold millions of dollars, which are used to provide tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, and dumb, our pitiful aged and infirm; to build highways and hospitals and schools, then certainly I am for it.

This is my stand. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise.

-Noah S. Sweat, 1948

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