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.

Starting Early!

I’m one of those people that gets to places early and starts planning ahead. So we had our Fat Tuesday dinner on a St. Patrick’s Day table last night. I’m sharing that table for Tablescape Thursday with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch and also linking it up with Kathleen’s St. Patrick’s Day Party next Tuesday.

 

 

When Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, ’tis like the morn in Spring.
In the lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing.
When Irish hearts are happy,
All the world seems bright and gay.
And when Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, they steal your heart away.

 

 

 

 

 


 

Our Girls ~ Their eyes aren’t Irish but they were smiling last night. We had dinner together with Katie, Josh and Laura. We had an old Russian favorite for dinner and got caught up on what’s happening in our lives right now. Good times…

 

I’ll share the recipe soon on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog.

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.

Getting Ready…

…for some St. Patrick’s Day Fun.

 

I’ll be joining Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen for her St. Patrick’s Day Party on March 15th. I’m partying all month anyway since this is my birthday month. Actually, I’m partying all year because I’m turning the epic age of 60 in 2011!

In the meantime…

Psalm 118:24 (ESV)

This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Lord willing this is what I’ll be doing today…

This morning I’ll be moving like a Latin dance queen at Zumba. There are no mirrors so I can humor myself in thinking that I’ve got the moves. What’s important is that my heart is pumping and I’m burning some calories.

Late morning Katie and I are headed to Crate and Barrel for some light shopping.

At 1:00 we have Katie’s 3rd wedding dress fitting for her alterations. Today is going to be fun because Patty Forte Linna is joining us. She’s an artist and we’ve commissioned her to do a wedding painting. This appointment will be animated for sure!

That will be enough excitement for one day!

What are you doing today?


Happy St. Patrick’s Day ~ Got Green?

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!

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.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

 

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling…

This is a simple Spring tablescape I created for St. Patrick’s Day last year. I searched high and low here at the homestead and was shocked to find I do not have any St. Patrick Day decor. I did find some green so it will have to do.

 

When Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, ’tis like the morn in Spring.
In the lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing.
When Irish hearts are happy,
All the world seems bright and gay.
And when Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, they steal your heart away.

 

 

An appetizer ottoman scape from the Condo last year, too.

An early Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all!

For more Tablescapes visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Corned Beef & Cabbage

Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen is hosting a bit of the Irish food fest. So I decided to join in by offering this simple Corned Beef & Cabbage how to. I’m looking forward to cooking this up tomorrow for our meal tomorrow night! An early Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you!

When Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, ’tis like the morn in Spring.
In the lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing.
When Irish hearts are happy,
All the world seems bright and gay.
And when Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, they steal your heart away.

I’m combining this post with Three or More Tuesday that Tam at The Gypsy’s Corner hosts each week. I think the regular clover qualifies for 3 and the three vegetables I include in the Corned Beef and Cabbage qualify, too!

 

I bought the flat cut corned beef brisket seasoned in a package with an extra spice packet enclosed. I covered the brisket with water and brought to a boil with a couple onions quartered. After it came to a boil, I lowered the flame to simmer and let it simmer for a couple of hours. I pulled the meat out and added the cabbage, potatoes, and carrots and simmered the veggies until they were done. Put the meat back in the pot till I was ready to serve it. It has always turned out great but I really do notice the difference between the flat cut and the cheaper cut…

Don’t forget to click over to Kathleen’s to see all all the celebration posts around… and don’t forget the Guinness!

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage unless I pay them a lot of money. I’m slowly cleaning up many posts from this time period and deleting their ugly grey and black boxes with a ransom request. Such a time consuming bother.

 

St. Patty’s Appetizer Setting ~

Yippee! It’s time to set and see some tablesettings from around the Blogisphere. Susan at Between Naps on the Porch is our hostess for this weekly event. If you ever have a table setting you want to share you can join in, too. Click on the image above to get to Susan’s blog where you can see more tablescapes.

 

My tablescape today is actually an ottoman scape. It’s St. Patty’s Day appetizer setting for two. I got these great artichoke plates at Goodwill a couple weeks ago for 99 cents each!

 

We’re going a little Irish here so there’s some good Jameson Whiskey for the gentleman of the house and a nice Irish Guinness for the lady of the house.

 

I think I’ll have to play my Cd by the Chieftains while we enjoy our artichoke appetizers.

 

 

I will be making the traditional Corn Beef and Cabbage with potatoes next Tuesday but I wanted to share a little Irish with you for Tablescape Thursday. Enjoy…

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage unless I pay them a lot of money. I’m slowly cleaning up many posts from this time period and deleting their ugly grey and black boxes with a ransom request. Such a time consuming bother.

Tablescape Tuesday ~ Simple Spring

It might not be Spring here in the Northern Hemisphere but it is in the Southern Hemisphere so here is a simple Spring tablescape I created for St. Patrick’s Day.

 

 

For more Tablescapes visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.

Photobucket is holding all my photos hostage from 2007-2015 seeking a huge ransom to give them back to me. I’m slowly cleaning up all my posts and it is very frustrating.