Springtime in Virginia!

Need I say more?

I love spring, I really do... kachoo!

(God bless you, too!)

Irish Heritage

It's a joke around my house. One of them will smile and say, "Mom, we love you even if you're NOT Irish!"

My own heritage is mostly German. There's a little English thrown in now and then but I suppose my side of the family should celebrate Oktoberfest more than St. Patrick's Day. I married a man whose mother was born and raised in Ireland. I don't think there's a drop of German blood in his veins, though he was born in Germany.

My children grew up with an Irish grandmother who taught them about leprechuans, Crunchie candy bars and Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles. I'm a little jealous that my kids can rightfully claim St. Patrick's Day for themselves.

I am lucky enough to have had an Irish mother-in-law who loved gardenias, served real whipped cream on a fruit flan, bought me my first Flake bar and introduced me to Marks & Spencer.

I like Guinness stout, Belleek pottery, listening to the Chieftains and drinking Irish Mist. Flogging Molly makes me laugh, I chose not to kiss the Blarney Stone and I make pretty good soda bread.

So thanks, kids and husband, for sharing your Irishness with me. And thanks, Mom. Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!

Lenten Devotions Podcast

This podcast first appeared for Advent. It features short reflections based on the daily readings for the season. There is now a series of reflections for Lent. As I scrolled through the artists list on my iPod this morning (on my way to the new Mary Chapin Carpenter album!), I was surprised to see Susan Daughtry Fawcett's name. Oh, yeah, she said she'd contributed piece for devo-to-go, it's the one for Thurs., March 8 - the Jeremiah reading. Fix yourself a cup of tea first! Then check out Susan's blog, This Passage.

Winter's Last Blast?

In a late January post I lamented that winter had not made much of an appearance here. I was concerned that spring would come and we wouldn't use our school system's 3 built in "snow days." Silly me! Since then, the school system closed for 4 snow days - actually it was sleet that froze into a very dangerous blanket of ice. Now the kids will be in school on a day they had previously been given off. Bummer.

Still, here in Virginia, we have nothing to complain about. We even got one of those picturesque snows that line every twig of a tree, every stalk of grass. It was wet snow that would occasionally avalanche from one branch to another down a tree.

I'm more comfortable now with the glimpses of spring. A wren sang beautifully Saturday morning. Soon he'll be searching for those formerly snow-laden twigs to invite a lady friend to housekeeping. Soon those growing stems of daffodils will burst with yellow blooms.

But I'm rushing the season. I've been invited to a Holy Lent. The flowers need to wait. Gotta get back into "Watch and Pray" mode!