These are the most beautiful pictures I have from St. Patrick's Day and they were actually taken today since yesterday was so full. There was no month of St Patricks Irish dancing and pub performing this year thanks to Covid protocols. Instead, the high school soccer team began its season yesterday, having transferred fall sports to spring.  We had a very late post game dinner of corned beef in the crock pot and baked potatoes and the girls made our standby soda bread recipe here.  Our informal family reviews of this recipe are very positive. 

We watched PS I Love You this week which always makes me exceptionally emotional. (insert disclaimer for any inappropriate content) It also makes me miss my big girls tremendously. Alannah suggested a St Patrick's playlist on Spotify so I happily blasted that while driving to and from the game.  

We did read the long biography from Butler's Lives and of course read the Lorica.  It was not picture perfect the day of, nor was it a well orchestrated "all at one time" celebration.  It was a bits and pieces, spirit of the day sort of thing, as it usually works out here. I pace myself and fit things in as they can be peacefully be fit in.  That looks different every year. 

The funniest Irish quote I saw this year has me chuckling still.  My friend Molly, who shares my unique combination of love for all things Irish AND for Polish pottery shared this one by Yeats:

“Being Irish, she had an abiding sense of tragedy which sustained her through temporary periods of joy.”  

We ARE a dramatic bunch with an acute sense of the tragic lol.  

So here I am, a day late and a dollar short, likely.  I don't create content. (though I don't begrudge those in a position to do so) I recall and record over here. And sometimes I recreate as I did today, having the tea and soda bread leftovers when we had a little more time to enjoy.

The forecast sounded ominous all last week.  A fierce winter storm was projected to move through our area and power outages were expected. We replaced the generator we sold when we left the mountain West and stocked up on food and water just in case.  While outages did happen further north, it was truly magical in our neck of the woods so we just ate our stash of snacks, watched movies, and laughed at the dogs diving through the snow. 

I have always loved a snow day.  As a child growing up in Wisconsin it was like winning the lottery. Before dawn we would sit glued to the television set watching the scrolling list of schools and government buildings closed, hoping to see the name that meant you got a whole day off to do whatever you liked.  That usually meant curling up on the sofa with a bowl of cereal insulated from the world outside. Naps. TV. Playing with the dog outside.  I still get a little rush when we have a reprieve from our usual routine and the world around us quiets in the hush of falling snow.  

We have been hunkered down for three days now. There was two feet of snow on the deck last night.  The neighbors finally made a path to the next closest plowed road. I expect ours will be cleared tomorrow. Then the temps are predicted to rise and it will all be gone again.  In the meantime we were treated to the most beautiful blue skies today.  There is nothing like the sky after a good snow.